What is the quickest and safest way to test new software and revert all changes, if needed?

I'm looking for Windows 7 software that will allow me to quickly create a "checkpoint", do whatever I might need to do to my computer - install programs/drivers/updates, create/delete personal files, reboot the system multiple times, open questionable attachments - and then revert the entire system back to when the checkpoint was created.

Essentially I want Windows Restore Points that save my personal files and partitions, too.

It sounds like disk imaging might be the ticket, but creating them is much too slow and the restore process too involved... I'm hoping to sacrifice full disaster recovery for speed. Creating a checkpoint should be as close to one-click as possible, and rolling back should be a matter of selecting a restore point and rebooting. Ding!

I'm familiar with Sandboxie, True Image Home "Try and Decide", Returnil, and a number of other "virtual system" apps that actively "catch" changes and allow you to commit or reject them. I'm not interested in these for a number of reasons - I prefer the "cut and dry" restore point approach.

Finally, I'll note that I've just recently become aware of Comodo Time Machine. It sounds absolutely perfect, however, a quick skim through the user forums show more than a few horror stories of corrupted, unbootable systems. Any positive personal experience with the software to suppress my superstitions, or suggestions for more established alternatives would be greatly appreciated - Comodo Time Machine seems relatively new. I'm willing to purchase unbloated, quality software.

Thanks for your help!

Solution 1:

I've been looking for something like this for a while now but nothing has turned up. For now, I've found the best solution is virtualbox It's easy to setup, supports a wide variety of Operating systems and it's free.

Solution 2:

If you're using XP or Vista you might find Microsoft SteadyState useful. Unfortunately it does not support Windows 7.

Solution 3:

I've found the perfect software for this. It's called Rollback Rx, and does exactly what I requested. You can create "snapshots" of your entire hard drive in seconds, and restore your entire computer to a previous snapshot in less than a minute. You can even recover files from your most recent snapshot AFTER restoring to a previous. It also appears to have a good amount of history behind it and the forums and support team are super helpful. See http://www.rollbacksoftware.com/ for details and download.