Resource.mdb

[RB51]

Thanks, Chris, but it's just starting to get a little above my pay scale 😎. I think I will stick with the routine you showed me and try to remember to make a backup - at least when I have made any significant changes. R-

[Augustus Caesar]

@Roger

The best way is the free way... all it takes really is a little discipline and if you know where the original files are (main database file and its backup when made by RM) then simply copy and paste to anywahere other than the original program installation folder. It's as simple as that really.

 

Like I say, it is really down to remembering to do it and ensuring that after each major program change that you complete the process by doing a copy and paste of those files. If you have the space then copy and paste to TWO different areas so you know you are ahead of the game and have virtually no chance of ever losing anything like that again... :-)

[RB51]

Exactly - the simpler the better. That's me.  😳 R-

[96RAF]

@Rog

You don't have to run to the cost of an external drive just for your RM backups - you could comfortably fit them on a USB stick.

 

I keep my ebooks (1000s of them) and the associated app on a memory stick, as well as my SCARM app and plans and my Elite firmware updates, so that when I decamp from Cyprus toUK for the hols I have them all with me.

 

I just wish I could cart RM about in the same fashion without all the dereg/rereg carry on.

 

Different story if you are backing up a laptop or pc that only has a single HDD and you don't want to go to the trouble of partitioning, etc, then you need the capacity of a big external drive. They aren't overly expensive though, I paid just over 40 quid for a 1TB one that I cart my TV series and films about on.

[RB51]

Thanks Rob. That is exactly the solution I am going with - I could perhaps have said so  😇. Chrisaf has given me precise instructions - and checked my homework - to do just this. I am happy with that. R-

[Chrissaf]

AC and Rob,

Working with Roger via private messages. I helped him develop a very simple .BAT file. When you run the BAT file it copies all the relevant RM files in one operation to a backup location of your choice (using DOS Copy commands), over writing any files if finds with the same name at the backup location. The BAT file is specific to Roger's PC set up and file/folder naming strategy, so not suitable for publishing here for all to use.

[96RAF]

Good to know:

A) there is a workaround for backups, even if Chris's bat method is not universal that it is fairly easy for most people to do the samething manually to an external drive, be it your regular backup drive or a simple memory stick.

B) that the RM in-built facility is not infalable so precautionary measures should be taken to avoid possible future inconvenience if it does fail.

[Augustus Caesar]

@Chris

Great stuff... didn't think of that initially so well thought. 😇

 

The only caveat I have with USB sticks is that they are unreliable at times and so fond of failing at the worst of times... just when you need them most.

Don't get me wrong... they are excellent for immediate backups but for regular stuff I wouldn't trust them. They fail for the stupidest reasons at times, can be unplugged without ejecting safely thus risking the loss of data as it could be scrambled and the risk of physical breakdown as some are not well made. The latter can incur bad solder connections with constant use in and out of the sockets on a laptop or PC.

I've soldered back together several of them over the years and most work again but, for me, I don't rely on them at all for backups... well, not on a regular basis and cetainly not with critical data.

 

Don't be put off from what I say here though... it's purely a personal thing and, of course, experience.

[96RAF]

Agreed AC.

i had a batch of orange 64gb Intenso ones from Maplin some time back and they all fell over in turn.

i got my money back each and every time having sent them the first one and referring back to it subsequently. The german manufacturer also said they would replace them if i sent them back - which was not economical from here.

 

now i stick to well known brands, not that it is any guarantee of infallible reliabilty either.

[Augustus Caesar]

@RAF

 

Well, wouldn't you just know it... I actually had a guy ask me to try and fix a USB stick (16GB although that isn't important) which failed on him roughly 3 months back. When his laptop failed he also asked if I could have a look at the stick.

 

I literally had to prise apart the two halves of plastic casing (not unusual) but when I saw the inside I was a little surprised... lots of burning around a soldered joint near the physical connector that goes to your PC/laptop etc. When it first failed he said he heard o 'pop' from it but it continued to work indifferently until it just failed. However, he didn't take a copy of critical files so thought he may have lost them. I brought it and his laptop home.

 

The laptop was a simple fix so no need to elaborate on that one. The stick however saw some of the plastic near the burning melted to the casing! I have not seen that before... well, not where it stuck to the casing. I managed to get the workings apart from the outer palstic and found on the underside three areas of broken solder where one took the majority of the hit to it. Now, whether this was a one off fail or whether it happened over time I cannot say except that from the guy's story it may have happened over time... who knows?

 

Anyway... I managed to 'file' down the melted pastic and rehouse the workings and get a connection to all three joints with some fine soldering. His data is now safe although I advised him to destroy the stick and use other methods of saving data. He promised to use an external drive but whether or not he does that is anyone's guess.

 

I was telling him of the discussion on here about this and that I had contributed some comments and he said he would read them. Again, who knows if he has?

 

Not that any of this may be of any importance but I thought it ironic today of all days...  😮  (well, yesterday now as it is beyond midnight and someone may tell me off for that!!! lol)