IBM Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

One of the technologies that I’ve been working with recently is IBM’s Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore. Another of IBM’s ThinkVantage technologies, this is provided free of charge with an IBM PC (and can be licensed for other OEM’s PC models).

In essence, Rescue and Recovery writes a backup of the entire PC hard disk to either a hidden partition on the local hard drive, a second hard disk, recordable media, network drive, or to a USB device. The first backup is a base image, then subsequent backups are differential. Backups can be scheduled and up to 31 backups can be stored before overwriting. In a recovery scenario, the process is simply booting from a rescue CD, which is easily generated and is not machine specific, or pressing the Access IBM button on selected IBM PCs, then selecting the backup to use and the file(s) to be recovered. Individual files, or the entire system, may be recovered, even preserving selected data and logon credentials written since the last backup.

All configuration settings are stored in an easily edited text file with full product documentation including customisation available in PDF format.

11 thoughts on “IBM Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore”

  3. please help! I’ve boght an IBM T43p from a company and now would like to use the IBM Rescue and Recovery, however when trying to access that area I am promted for a password, which I don’t know and cannot get, since the person who installed the system left the country. Is there any ways to get the old password, or just to remove it?? If I delete python.exe – would that help?

  4. Is anyone checking this website? Can anyone give me an advice on my problem(posted Saturday 23 June 2007, 14:18)? What if I uninstall the IBM Rescue and Recovery Software and afterward I would instal another version – could I get rid of the password?
    thanks in advance for the answer!

  5. Alex,
    Did you read the rules for comments before posting? I suspect not, or else you would have seen that:

    I can’t offer support to everybody on the Internet and although I’ll help if I can, I have a day job too!

    I’m sorry that no-one has answered your question but I just don’t know the answer! Please be aware that this is a blog, maintained by one person, in his spare time – not a support forum.

    I suggest you contact the person who installed the system (wherever they are in the world now) – or failing that, ask for support from IBM.

    Mark

  6. I just ran Rescue and Recovery to restore the drive on my daughter’s laptop. Now it only boots to Rescue and Recovery. We can’t get it back to Windows. It’s out of warantee. IBM/Lenovo have nothing on this on their website. Does this do anything that can’t be done better using format c: ?

  7. Bill
    format c: will just get you back to a blank formatted hard disk whereas Rescue and Recovery will let you restore the system to the point of the last backup. If you haven’t been taking backups using Rescue and Recovery then this should mean that the last backup is the system as supplied by IBM/Lenovo – i.e. just Windows and the ThinkVantage utilities.

    HTH, Mark

  8. Bill/Mark,

    I find the Rescue and Recovery to be different from the explanation given. I have an IBM desktop that uses Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore. It’s actually one of the data analysis downloaders beside me right now.

    The Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore on it is accessed by hitting the enter key on boot. That sends you directly to a password screen, and will ultimately lead you to a set of options. I haven’t gotten past the password to actually use the software yet, but I do know that it’s not directly used for restoring systems to previous backup points. It’s more, if not only, for system recovery to a factory state.

    If you can figure out a way to beat that password, Mark, I’ll owe you one for a while. Need to reformat it right now, and I don’t want to have to use a Windows XP CD.

    Just figured I’d add that to your last statement, Mark. Keep up the good work.

    Will

  9. Thanks for the extra information Will – bearing in mind that I wrote this post 3 and a half years ago, I think it’s fair to assume that the product has moved on since then.

  10. Mark are you the one responsible for “Wicked Access by Mark” appearing in my log files on a few of my IBM Desktop PCs?

    Sounded like a root kit but after some reading I think it might be legit; 1-800-IBM-SERV doesn’t want to say it is though.

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