Backup and File Restoration

by James P. Terry

Backup Tips and Pointers • Error Messages and Backup Problems

A Word to the Wise Is Sufficient

The saddest tale heard at the Support Desk is, “My hard drive crashed and I never made a backup. How can I get my file back? I had thousands of names, years of hard work and a great deal of money and travel invested.” As you can see, there are some very good reasons for having a backup “safety net.” All kinds of situations can occur:

The need to copy your family files from an old computer to a new one
The need to send a backup family file to another user with whom you are coordinating research using IntelliShare
The need to go back to an earlier file version because of a mistake made when deleting or merging records
A user deletes a family file by mistake
A computer virus or worm destroys files
Hard drive failures
Theft or loss of equipment
Disasters, water damage, sudden power loss, power surges, brown outs, fires....

Although there are many sound reasons for backing up regularly, there is never a good reason not to. A word to the wise is sufficient.

Tips and Tricks:

Backing up and restoring is an excellent way of moving your family file to a second PC or laptop. Just backup on the first PC and restore the family file in Legacy on the second. It makes a perfect copy -- nothing lost!

You can view a video demonstration of backing up and restoring family files on our training CD 'Your 12-Step Checklist to Using Legacy Family Tree' for sale in our Online Store (please Click Here).
When backing up to a CD-R, in some instances you will need to first backup to the hard drive and then use the software that came with the CD-R drive to burn a copy to the CD. You can tell because you will get a message saying the you do not have permission.
Windows Vista and Windows XP both have a built Extraction Wizard. Just RIGHT click on a backup file (has a .ZIP extension) and click on Extract All on the pop-up menu.

Backup Basics

If not already done, we recommend that you set your Legacy options to automatically prompt for backups each time you exit the program. Here’s how:

1. Click Options on the menu bar and select Customize from the options menu.

2. At the Customize screen, click on the Other tab.

3. Next click the Turn on or off Optional Reminder Messages button, then select the Prompts/Reminders tab and check mark the box to Automatically Prompt for Backup. Close the screen and click the Save button.

Now each time you quit the Legacy program, you will see a message asking if you want to backup the family file(s) you had open. Just click the Backup button and the process will start. Here are the steps for Legacy 6.0:

1. When the Backup window appears, make the following changes:

Save in = Select the backup location. Make certain a writable CD, flash drive or other medium is inserted.*
File name = Enter a name - A file name can contain up to 255 characters, including spaces. It cannot contain the following characters:
/ : * ? " < > |
Save as Type = Make no changes - Leave this as is.

2. Click the Save button.

3. If you have a previous backup file of the same name on the drive, a message box will ask you if you want to overwrite it. Click the Yes button.

4. A message box will ask, “Would you like to Delete any existing files on the disks as we go?” Click the Yes button.

5. After the Legacy program has shut down, remove the backup medium (CD, flash drive, etc.).

You can also backup at any time while the program is running by clicking File on the menu bar, selecting Backup Family File from the file menu, and following Steps 1 through 6 above.

* When backing up to a CD-R, in some instances you will need to first backup to the hard drive and then use the software that came with the CD-R drive to burn a copy to the CD.

Testing Your Backup

We recommend that you test your backup and restore procedures. Testing is done, not because Legacy has a high backup failure rate, but it does make certain you know the steps to properly backup and restore a family file. For the sake of this discussion, assume the current family file is the one you backed up. Don't wait until a problem arises to discover you made some procedural errors. Before you test, please rename the current family file to keep it from being overwritten. Here is how to restore a backed up family file:

1. Put the disk or flash drive containing the backup file in its drive.

2. Click File on the menu bar and select Restore Family File from the file menu.

3. If any family files are open, you will see a message box prompting you to close them. Click the OK button.

4, The Restore window appears, make the following changes:

Look in = Choose the CD drive, second hard drive or flash drive where the backup resides.

The name of the backed up family file will appear in the large box. You can recognize it because it has a .zip extension. Click once on the filename to highlight it.

File name = Should be the same as the filename in the large box described above.

5. Click the Open button and the Restore Location window will appear.

6. Check the drive in the small box at the bottom of the screen. It should be your hard drive (not the drive that the backup is on). The default or normal location for Legacy family files is the C:\Legacy\Data folder. Starting with the top folder (the drive) double-click on the folders in the large box until you come down to the subfolder where you keep your family files.

7. Click the OK button.

8. If you get message boxes warning that a family file or file ending with .FG already exist, click the OK buttons and proceed.

9. Next a progress bar will move across your screen as the program restores your backed up family file. When done you will see a message box asking, “Would you like to Open the Restored Family File?” Click the Yes button.

Multimedia Backup

Backing up a family file does not include multimedia (picture, sound and AVI files). These must be backed up by clicking File on the menu bar and selecting Backup Multimedia Files from the file menu.

The Legacy program does not (yet) have a utility that will restore (unzip) a multimedia backup. As a result, multimedia backup file cannot be restored in Legacy the same way that a backed family file can. However, if you have Windows XP or Windows Vista, you only need to insert your backup disk or memory stick into the new or second pc and use the Extraction Wizard that comes with Windows or Vista.

1. Browse to the backed up multimedia file and click on it with the RIGHT mouse button and then select Extract All from the popup menu.

2. The Extraction Wizard will open. Click on the Next button in the Extraction Wizard window.

3. In the next screen type C:\ as the directory where the pictures will be extracted and then click the Next button.

When restoring your multimedia files, extract them only to C:\ , where C is the letter of the drive where your multimedia files are kept. This ensures that picture and sound and paths will be preserved so that Legacy can find your files. If you extract to another location, Legacy won't be able to find the files because the extraction location is relative to the folder you select as the starting location. Click Here for more information.

If you don't have Windows XP or Windows Vista, you must get a utility like WinZip. (Go to www.WinZip.com )

Backup Tips and Pointers

Backup your family file regularly. Create a routine and stick with it. Backup every time you make changes to your family file, no matter how small the changes may be.
When making backups, never save them to the same drive where your primary family files are kept. If the drive fails, you would lose both your primary and backup family file at the same time.
Use a high quality backup media. Although floppy disks are cheap, they have a high failure rate. Seriously consider a different removable media, such as Zip disk, tape drive or CD-RW.
Make numerous backups of the same data. Backup your data and then back it up again to a different set of media. Rotate between two or three sets of backups for added safety.
Most of us keep our backup disks handy -- in a plastic case right next to our computer. Should your home be destroyed by a fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane or tornado, etc., you stand the risk of loosing everything. Keep your backup in another location like your workplace. (Even though the chance of such disasters is rare, you wouldn't cancel your home owners insurance would you?)
Most fire-retardant safes are rated for 1750 degrees for one hour. Paper can withstand heat far longer then magnetic media, which is made of plastic or other materials that warp or melt. Invest in a safe deposit box at your local bank and use it to store your backups.
Do periodic restores to ensure that the backups are working properly. Don't wait for an emergency to discover your backup has a fatal flaw.
Use anti-virus software and keep it updated (major anti-virus software companies publish updates frequently). Do regular virus scans to keep your system clean. Also scan your backup media. Remember, viruses and worms can copy themselves to backup disks, tapes and etc. and then infect a clean hard disk during the restore process, causing repeat disasters.
Although it is a peripheral issue, make certain that you write your Customer ID number in the front of your Legacy manual or on the envelope that holds the program CD. That way if you have to reinstall your program, you will have the number ready to go and can avoid delays and the expense of a long distance phone call to us. In addition, have an emergency boot disk ready if you need to restore your system.
When naming your backup file consider using the family file name and the date of of back up, for example "Smith-21May05.zip." That way you will always know what the back up file contains and the date it was created.
Regularly share your files with other family members. If you ever have problems and can’t restore your backup, you can get your information back from your relatives.

When naming a backup file it is not necessary to add the .zip extension. The program will add it automatically.

Zip drives and zipped files (*.zip) are not to be confused. It is merely a coincidence that they have similar sounding names. You can, of course, save a zipped (backed up) file on a Zip drive just like you would any other drive.

When backing up a family file, don’t remove your diskette from the drive until after you exit the Legacy program. This will avoid fatal “Read past end of file" errors. You must exit Legacy with each file you backup.

If Legacy has any difficulty creating or opening a backup file, try WinZip. (Go to www.WinZip.com.)

Run a Potential Problems Report and correct record problems, then run File Maintenance - Check/Repair on your family file before you backup. File Maintenance will reduce the size of your family file by deleting abandoned information and compacting your family file. The result will be an even smaller backup file devoid of serious information problems.

Operations like merging and deleting records and file maintenance will reduce the size of your family file. This is why it may take three diskettes to backup a file one day, but only two diskettes the next. Not deleting existing files on diskettes will also affect the number of diskettes needed to backup.

Error Messages and Backup Problems

The most common reason for backup failures is that people forget to change the destination drive (if backing up on a diskette, zip drive, etc.). If this change is not made, the backup file will be saved to the hard drive and not to the diskette or other medium. The result will be that when you look at you backup disk or tape, there will be no backup there.

You can search for a Legacy backup file on your hard drive by clicking the Start button on your computer Desktop and selecting Search / Files or Folders on the start menu. The Search window will open. Please type *.zip in the Named: box, then change the Look in: box to My Computer and click the Search button. The computer will search itself for any files ending with .zip and create a list. Make note of where any backed up Legacy files exist and restore your backed up family file from the indicated location.

Exceed expired license message: If you get a message that the Exceed license has expired or a message to the effect that you need to purchase the Exceed backup module, please reinstall your Legacy program.
Error 3026 - Error Saving xxxx. Not enough space on disk. Some people open a backup file from a diskette (A: drive) and then try to restore the family file to the same drive. The A: drive quickly fills up as they do the restore. Make sure the restored family file is being saved to the hard disk.
A:\ is not accessible. The device is not ready. There is no disk in the drive. Please insert a disk and click the Retry button. This error can also cause the computer to hang up (freeze) as it tries to find the missing disk.
Backup Error - Out of disk space. Delete the contents of the C:\Windows\Temp folder and try again.
CD issues and problems. You should use the software that came with the CD-RW drive to burn the backup from the hard drive. Click here for more information on issues and problems unique to CDs.
Legacy cannot see the backup file. Check your drive path. Use My Computer or Windows Explorer to see the files on the backup disk or tape. Legacy backup files end with a .zip extension. If no file with the .zip extension can be found, then there is no backup file on that tape or disk.
Read past end of file error. This error may happen when backup disks are removed before Legacy shuts down. The solution is to make a new backup file and leave the disk in its drive until Legacy shuts down. You must exit Legacy with each file you backup.
You do not have permission to open this file. Click here for more information on issues and problems unique to CDs.
Other errors. In rare instances the Legacy program may be damaged so that it cannot backup or restore family files. Please run the Legacy installation again, which will repair the program. Also delete the contents of the C:\Windows\Temp folder and delete all files ending with the .usr extension from the Legacy folder on your hard drive. Then restart your computer and try again.