GoBack is advertised as a tool which becomes part of your operating system to protect you from data loss through: user error, virus attacks, glitches in software installation, and even crashes. GoBack keeps track of all moves that affect your hard drive allowing you to go back in time to retrieve specific files or to restore your hard disk. GoBack is different from a backup system which involves copying to separate disks. Mistakes may be corrected without having made a backup. This is quite a considerable task. The question is: Can GoBack do all this?

Before I installed GoBack, I watched the GoBack movie which is included on the CD-ROM. This movie showed the loss and restoration of an appendix to a report. Sounds good!

I decided to install the Easy Installation which is recommended for most users. Before doing so, I was advised to backup my system and to close all operating systems including the virus scan. This scared me, but I was game. So I installed GoBack. Actually, it installed itself after I inserted the disk. After installation GoBack continuously protects and monitors your hard disk without any action on your part. It integrates itself into the operating system to protect it from data loss. It runs automatically whenever you start the computer. Installation provides these services: You can view your hard disk as it was at an earlier time, revert your hard drive to an earlier time, retrieve specific files from the past, and entirely restore your hard disks.

Now for the test. I deleted the program Cowboy Casino by placing it in the recycle bin and emptied the bin. This took place at 12:20:33PM May 1, 2000. I shut off the computer for a few minutes and then rebooted. I accessed GoBack from the desktop. I clicked on "Revert entire hard drive to a time in the past or view the hard drive as it was before". A window opened up which has a calendar and a clock and a list which indicates the times at which changes took place on the computer. A safe time of 12:25:25PM was noted. At the side, there is a GoBack Assistance Window which asks you what you are trying to do and when you click on the item it gives specific directions like how to click on the calendar and to write in the safe GoBack time. So I clicked the safe time. Lo and behold, after the computer was restarted, I went to Start, Find, typed in "Cowboy Casino", double clicked on "Cowboy Casino", clicked on program, open and there it was. Back where it belonged. Magic.

Next I looked through my documents to find one to delete. I chose a letter I had written to the FCC in regard to a provider changing my long distance carrier without authorization. I made a hard copy of this letter just in case. Then I deleted it and turned off the computer and rebooted. I clicked the program GoBack on my desk top and clicked "Revert drive". GoBack determined a good time to go back to. This time was before I deleted the FCC letter. I clicked yes to indicate this time was good, and GoBack restored the hard drive to that specified time. The computer then rebooted itself. Once Windows restarted, I checked and found that the deleted FCC letter had been restored. In a like manner, I deleted all of the files in my document folder, after first making hard copies. On the GoBack Menu, I selected "Create a GoBack drive" showing another drive as it was in the past. This opened the GoBack drive window. I saw several entries of files which had been moved to and deleted from the recycle bin. A System Safe Point was indicated. I clicked on this which was a time before I had deleted the files. I clicked Create a GoBack Drive, and GoBack created a virtual drive which showed what my hard drive looked like at the specified time. A message box showed which letter the drive had been assigned. I used Windows Explorer to look at the GoBack drive. I opened the My Documents Folder on the GoBack drive, and all the files were there. I dragged them from the GoBack Drive to my hard drive. Another way to accomplish this would be to copy and paste. Once the files were recovered, I went back to the GoBack Drive Window and clicked the Discard GoBack Drive button to get rid of the virtual GoBack drive in order to free up the disk space.

There are some cautions.

1: The GoBack Boot Screen appears before that of the operating system. If you blink, you will miss it. If you press the space bar during the GoBack Boot Screen's brief appearance, in emergency situations you can revert your hard drive to an earlier state by using the Boot Screen. However, if you are able to properly start up under the operating system, it is best to use Windows to access the GoBack program.

2: If it appears that your computer has a physical hardware failure, then it should be serviced before you attempt any data recovery. Repeated attempts to recover using GoBack will use up your GoBack history and may reduce the possibility of reverting your hard disk after the physical problems have been repaired.

3: GoBack Boot Screen supports most mice. If the arrow for your mouse does not appear on the screen, you need to use the access keys (underlined letters) appearing in each command option.

4: Disabling GoBack clears the GoBack History, and the ability to go back in time is lost.

5: On Sunday, April 30th, 2000, in the Business Section of the Sun Sentinel on page 2, a consumer writes in about GoBack and its advantages and asks if there is other software on the market that does what GoBack does. The response was that if you plan to spend $90 for Windows ME later this year, It does not pay to buy GoBack for $70 as the same type of feature will be included in Windows ME.

The User's Guide is very comprehensive. It provides a step by step outline of the procedures to follow in the installation and use of the GoBack program. It includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions and the answers to these questions. In view of the fact that my Quicken files had been inadvertently deleted at some time in the past, and that I had been unable to recover them totally by using my back up floppies, and that the restoration required a lot of hard work, I think that the GoBack program would have been an angel in disguise if I had it then, and it certainly will eliminate a lot of angst and anguish should a program or file be lost in the future. I recommend this program highly.

GoBack 2.1 by WildFile Cost $70. Wild File, Inc. P.O.Box 47038, Plymouth, MN 55447