Transferring from old laptop

[BadgerSporran]

This may have been answered but... 

I bought a Western Master set with elink and RailMaster software a few years ago. I then mothballed everything and now my Grandson wants to see Pops layout working. I have software installed on a very old laptop and wondered if the software can be transferred from that laptop to a newer one. I actually cant find the CD - any ideas?? 

[Chrissaf]

What follows assumes that the old Laptop is still working.

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If you have lost the original CD you must first find and note down the RailMaster Activation Key number. This number was originally printed on the CD Packaging. You will not be able to transfer RailMaster to a new PC without it. You will then have to purchase an unused retail version of RailMaster to get a new CD key.

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Power up the old Laptop and start RailMaster (hereafter referred to as RM).

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Click the ? icon in the top icon navigation row. The CD Key number will show at the bottom of the 'About RM' screen that will open. The CD Key will take the form of five blocks of alpha numeric characters separated by hyphens. i.e xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

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Be sure to carefully write this code down exactly as displayed.

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Now go to pages 131 & 132 of the RM manual, where the whole transfer process is documented (the 131 / 132 page references relate to the RM manual that were current at the time of the post publication). The steps required are highlighted in overview below, but with an extra level of detail that is not replicated in the RM manual (the old laptop must be connected to a working internet connection for this to work):

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• Deactivate the RM CD key on the old Laptop using the 'Padlock' icon.
• Copy the files listed on Page 132 from the old Laptop onto a transfer media such as a memory card or memory stick.

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Now turn your attention to the new Laptop (I am assuming here that the new laptop will be one using Win7, Win8 or Win10). The new Laptop must be connected to a working Internet connection throughout this following process.

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• Download the RM software from the link at the top of the RM forum page and save it to your hard drive (BUT DO NOT INSTALL IT at this time).
• Connect your eLink to a USB2.0 port on the new PC and power up the eLink. Use Windows 'Plug n Play' to install the Microsoft Windows USB Serial Port driver (choose the search online option in the driver installation process....do not try and install the driver from a Hornby provided file).

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If you need more in depth information to install the driver, then refer to this previous post and start with my reply, 2nd one up from the bottom of the page.

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• Once the eLink driver is correctly installed and showing correctly in Windows 'Device Manager'. Make a note of the Com number shown in 'Device Manager' you will need this number later. It should be either Com3 or Com4.
• Leave the eLink connected to the new Laptop and powered up.
• Now you can run the RM installer file you previously downloaded. Right click the downloaded file and choose "Run as Administrator". This is an important step and musn't be overlooked.
• Be sure to look out for any installation messages that appear that mention anything about security. Make sure that you click all 'ALLOW' options that might get presented to you.
• You have a choice of Activating the new RM installation with your previously noted CD Key either as part of the RM Installation or later. Personally I would choose later as I would want to make sure that all is well with the installation before committing to the activation process. If you choose not to activate, then RM will install in 'Evaluation Trial' mode.

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Note: Either way, if you activate now or later. You must remember to input the SAME contact details that you used when you activated RM the very first time. This information will have been logged against your activation key on the Hornby servers the first time and the information in the re-activation process must match, else the activation is likely to fail. Another reason for activation failure is due to your Anti-virus and Firewall settings not being compatible. Hence my comment about choosing 'ALLOW' options in installation dialogue boxes that might or might not appear.

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If you chose to activate later, then if all is well. RM should start in 'Evaluation Mode' and correctly recognise the eLink without any error messages. If you do get error messages, report back here with what they say and await further instruction.

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One quick thing to check if you do get an eLink to RM communication error such as 'cannot find eLink'. Open the 'System Setting' screen in RM. Check to make sure that an eLink is chosen in the 'Controller A' pull down box. Also make sure that the SAME Com port number (3 or 4) that showed in 'Device Manager' in the earlier step is selected.

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Assuming no errors. Then you are probably OK to try activating the RM CD key. Use the ? Help Screen again for this.

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Once the activation has completed OK and RM becomes the full licensed version (a RM restart may be required to complete that task). Then you can copy the files you copied from the old Laptop over to the new laptop. This should load your original track plan and roster of locos. Make sure that your own track plan file name is selected in the 'System Settings' screen as the 'start up' plan to load. Close and re-open RM for your plan to be loaded.

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If all has gone well, with no error messages. Then you should be good to go and be able to control your layout with the new RM /Laptop installation.

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Note that it is not possible to just copy over all the program files from the old Laptop to the new one. That will just not work.

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TIP: I write long posts. If you intend to write a reply, it would be appreciated if you didn't use the 'White Arrow in Blue Box' button. This is not a 'Reply to this post button. It is best to write any reply you want to make in the 'Reply Text Box' at the very bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

[Yelrow]

Badger, if you do not have. Activation key, simply buy another CD from Hattons for  £4 in their sale. You can then follow Chris’s instructions.

[BadgerSporran]

Yelrow and Chrissaf - many thanks!! i found the old laptop and found it still works. I am thinking of deleting all other software from the laptop so that it is a dedicated model railway laptop. It will mean that I only have to think about that laptop for model and no other. 

Grandson will be over the moon as I have been telling him that my work IT manager is working on the laptop. 

As ever you have been so helpful - thank you. 

[Yelrow]

Badger, excellent idea. If your search did not find the cd, for the sake of £4, and in case it breaks in the furure, meaning you have to transfer, it could still be worth buying. Many of us bought spare ones when hattons had them new for £5

[BadgerSporran]

s,

 

I have now succesfully transferred RM from old to newer and after much effing and jeffing got things running. I followed Chris' advice and did not activate until I knew that I had functionality and now all is good. 

I will now see how you add trackpack extensions to the trackplan for the set. 

Thanks both once again

[Chrissaf]

Another satisfied customer....

[Fishmanoz]

Hi Badger, just one other thing you should check, even if everything appears to be working ok so far - there were a number of Western Master sets shipped with the wrong power track, a DC one instead of DCC.  To check, flip open the top of the little black plastic cover on the little box between the rails on this track.  Is there a little component (capacitor) in there with wires soldered to the connections to each rail?  If so, it is the incorrect DC power track and you need to convert it to DCC by removing the component by cutting off the legs. If there is no component in there, you have the correct DCC track.

 

Wih this capacitor across the rails, the DCC signal is degraded.  Sometimes things appear to be working ok, sometimes not, particularly when programming.  So you can save yourself grief later by removing it now. 

[Spireblade]

Having successfully transferred RM to a new laptop I'm having trouble restoring the backup files that I put on a dongle. I have read pages 131/ 132 but it only explains how to back it up, and says nothing about what to do when putting the files back. I cant find an import files function and putting them into the RM system files dosen't seem to work either, so as it stands I have no locos, or more importantly my track plan. 

How do I get these files into the correct place?

 

Cheers

Spireblade

[Chrissaf]

Spire,

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Question:

Were the files put on your USB Memory Stick (dongle?) using the 'Back-up' feature [as per Page 135 in manual] in RailMasterPro? or were they copied manually onto the memory stick [as per Page 131 & 132 in manual].

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Either way....whether via ProPack Back-up or copied manually:

Can you list the names (including the .extension) of all the files you have backed up onto your USB memory stick (dongle?). Do that for me to review, then I might be able to offer some advice.

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If there are a large number of files, then it may be easier to do a screen capture of the Windows Explorer screen that is displaying the files and post that back here as an image.

[Spireblade]

Hi Chrissaf, the backup was mase to my dongle via the backup button in Propack. The files are there, plans/programmes etc. /media/tinymce_upload/c6706846fd5ec99c4f86dc8ab7077cde.jpg

[Chrissaf]

OK given that you used the ProPack backup button, all the files listed look to be correct. There are no files listed with the .BAK extension (which is good). At first I thought that you might have been trying to copy back the .BAK files in error.

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About half of the files listed are default files in RailMaster that strictly don't necessarily need transferring back to the new Laptop.

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The RM Back-up routine was changed in the version 1.70 software release. I don't mean the 'Back-up' routine invoked by using the 'ProPack' button. I mean the auto 'Back-up routine' that is invoked each and every time you close RM down. The auto close down back-up routine now makes incremental back-ups for the last 7 days, thus far more .BAK files are created. But this in theory should not impact upon what you are trying to do.

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Now did you by chance create the files on the memory stick using RM version 1.69 but are trying to restore them to an installed version of RM version 1.70.2 if you did, let me know as this might have a bearing on what to suggest next if the suggestion below doesn't work.

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You need to copy the files on your memory stick to the following folder in Windows 10.

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C:/Program Files (x86)/Railmaster

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If I have inadvertently selected some default RailMaster files in the highlighted list below then you should get a pop-up message asking if you want to replace the destination files with the version your are copying over......I would choose 'Yes'. The "Announcements.prg" and "Double slip.pln" files I have highlighted in yellow, upon reflection I now think are RailMaster default files, so those files should generate the copying message I have just described. So this would be a good indicator that you are copying the files from your memory stick into the correct RM folder.

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RM should not be running when you perform the copying task.

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There is one file in your list that I would not copy over just yet. I am assuming that the new Laptop is running RM version 1.70.2 and you do not have any starting up connection errors with your controller. This would indicate that your current 'Railmaster.ini' file is correct and optimised for your new Laptop.

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So I would not (at this stage) copy over the 'railmaster.ini file' from your memory stick in case it upsets a perfectly good working system.

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Just to note that the 'railmaster.ini' file in your published list does not show the .ini extension and is just listed as a plain 'Railmaster' file, as shown below.

/media/tinymce_upload/485a7a4162d7de0264082b0aacd33bf0.jpg

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I have highlighted the files below that I think are specific to you and probably the minimum you need to copy over. The file above is indicated by the blue boxes.

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/media/tinymce_upload/9b848116cd49d6a9595fe239bf4b7f3c.jpg

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I am assuming that your track plan is the top file in the list named "1 Langtree Junction.pln" and not "Langtree Junction.pln" listed near the bottom of the list, as the first one has a later file date.

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The "Resource.mdb" file is all your loco roster information. And all highlighted files that end in .prg are the 'Program Files' that you I presume you have created.

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If none of the .prg files are ones you have created then the "your track name.pln" & "Resource.mdb" files are the only ones that realistically need copying over.

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Do remember that once your original track plan has been copied correctly into the correct folder, then and only then will it show up in the selection list on the RM 'System Settings' screen as a 'plan' that you can load into RM at start up. It won't get displayed in RM until the 'System Settings' screen has been updated with the plan to load.

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It may be that you did previously copy the files to the correct folder, but didn't implement this final step to make it work!!!.

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[Spireblade]

Yay!! Brilliant. All up and running. Yes it was just the final bit I hadn't done correctly. Once again, many thanks Chrissaf.

 

:-)

[Chrissaf]

Oddly, the 'final bit' documentation, I added to my reply as an 'afterthought' in an edit.

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If I had thought of it earlier, I would have mentioned it in my previous reply and saved myself a lot of effort. The clue that should have triggered the thought, but didn't......was when you said you were not too concerned about the locos....but more concerned about the 'track plan'. I should have asked why the locos were not important to you. I just assumed that you didn't have too many and were happy to just re-enter them afresh. I assume then that after copying the files the first time, the locos were in your roster, it was just the track plan that had not appeared.

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PS - If you go back to my 'How To' on Page 1 of this thread. I did comment on the need to update the 'System Settings' screen......see extract from that post pasted below:

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/media/tinymce_upload/a31d19304823260bf820565b529efb69.jpg

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Just glad it was sorted with a simple fix.

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Your right though, the ProPack Back-up utility should have an 'import' function to be a proper back-up and restore utility. Perhaps you should add that to the 'RailMaster Desirable Features' thread. I don't have ProPack to check, but there is absolutely no indication in the RM manual that an 'import' function exists.

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https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/desirable-features-for-future-railmaster-software-updates/#post-95457

[Spireblade]

I was more bothered about my track plan as allocating points and signal sequences is a bit of a ballache whereas the locos are easily entered in, even though I have 32 of them. Thankfully, it's all as it should be, but an import option would have been helpful.

I'll suggest it. 

 

:-)