Back Up and Restore Database |
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The reasons to make backups are covered earlier in the section Setting Up Your Campground Database, so it's assumed that you will be doing this on a regular (daily) basis. Your data is too valuable to lose, so don't skip this step! Making a backup is very simple. In fact, after the first backup is made, it can be done with 2 or 3 mouse clicks. In addition, the software will remind you to do a backup if you haven't done one recently (the default reminder is every 3 days).
A backup of the database is simply a compressed copy of the database files (in standard "ZIP" format), which can be used to restore all of your data either on the original computer or on another computer with the Campground Master software installed. Normally backups are made to a USB memory stick or CD-RW disk since any computer can read these. If you have a more sophisticated computer setup, you might make backups to other kinds of removable storage or to another computer on the network. (We recommend using removable storage, since backing up to another computer does not allow for easy rotation of daily backups or for keeping a portable copy off-site.)
Backing Up
Before making your first backup, you need to decide where you're going to back up your files. Some other options were mentioned above, but for this discussion we will assume that you will back up to a floppy disk, which is normally your A: drive. If you use a CD or memory stick, the drive letter might be D:, E:, etc.
After inserting a disk in the drive, just click on the "Safe" icon on the toolbar to start. You will see a "Save As" dialog, which is the standard Windows file dialog for saving files to a specific location. From there you need to do two things -- enter a file name and select a location for the file.
The first part will actually be done for you in most cases. You should see the name of your database in the File name field, possibly with a .zip extension instead of the normal .prk extension. If you don't see anything in the File name field, or if you prefer to name your backups differently (for instance you could use a different name for each day), then you can change that name. You should either leave the extension the same, or enter a name with no file extension (in which case it will use the default extension of .zip or .prk). Whatever name you use here, it will be remembered and used the next time you make a backup.
VERY IMPORTANT: You need to select a location for the backup. If you have backed up before, the previous location is already selected for you. If this is the first time, you will need to select it from the Save In: drop-down list at the top of the dialog (called Look In: on some computers). Assuming you want to save it to a memory stick, this may be as simple as clicking on the list to open it and clicking on the appropriate drive selection letter, like E: (you'll need to know which one is the memory stick drive, often shown as "removable disk"). If you don't see the drives listed, click on My Computer to open up that folder, then click on the same drop-down list again.
Now that you have a file name and location selected, click the Save button on the dialog (or OK on some systems). If there's a previous backup on that drive, it will show a warning that there is already a file by that name on the disk, and ask if you want to replace it. Answer Yes to proceed with the backup.
While the file is being backed up, the cursor will change to an hourglass. You can't do any other functions while the file is being backed up. Initially it should only take a few seconds. As the database grows, it will take a little longer to back up. Once the backup is finished, a "Backup Complete" message will be shown.
That's it, you've created a backup! Now the next time you back up, it can be done in 2 or 3 clicks -- click on the Safe icon, click Save (since the location and file name will be recalled from the first time), and click Yes if it asks you to confirm replacing the file.
Backing up to a CD (CD-R/W) drive (Windows XP or later)
Note that backing up to a CD is not supported on all systems. This is very dependent on the specific Windows configuration, hardware setup, and other software installed. A USB flash drive is currently the best device to use for backups (or you can direct them to a cloud backup location like DropBox). That said, if CD's are all you have to work with, you can try it...
If you're using Windows XP or later with a CD-RW drive, then you can select the CD-RW drive as the backup location in Campground Master. The file will actually be placed in a holding area where Windows will see that it's waiting to be recorded on the CD, and then Windows will prompt you to record the file (something like "Files waiting to be written to CD" will appear in the lower right corner). Be sure to follow the prompt from Windows, or else the file will not be recorded to the CD!
If you get an error when attempting to create the backup, then your CD driver software doesn't support direct writing to the CD.
Using floppy disks
Still using floppy disks? Believe it or not, Campground Master can back up large databases to multiple floppy disks if needed, assuming your computer is old enough to use floppy disks. You will be asked to "Insert disk 2 of the set" and so forth until the backup is complete. If you're using multiple disks, make sure you have each one labeled according to disk number (disk 1 of 2, disk 2 of 2, etc.) and that you have enough disks in rotation to make a set each day.
Automatic Backups
As an added precaution, the program automatically makes a backup at the start of each day and places it in the same location (folder) as the database file. The automatic backups include the date in the file name, and are kept for 32 days by default. Older ones are automatically deleted, and the number of days they're kept will be the same as the number of days for log files (see Maintenance / Program Options / Database). However, since these backups are still vulnerable to computer malfunction (hard disk failures, viruses, etc), this is not a substitute for making manual backups! This is only an extra safeguard in case you delay in making regular backups.
If you need to restore from one of the automatic backups, simply use the Restore function as described below, but navigate the Open dialog to your database folder. You will see a series of files with your database name plus "_Auto_Backup_" and the date. (They will be .zip files, so be sure you're looking for the .zip file type.) Select the latest one and restore from that file.
The Automatic Backups mentioned here are part of the basic program function and should not be disabled or the number of days reduced, since the program can call on those whenever necessary to recover from database corruption.
Scheduled Backups or Secondary Automatic Backups
The Automatic Backups are great as a last resort, but you should also be making other backups as mentioned above. Many users prefer this to be automatic as well, and/or want to choose the location for those such as an external hard drive, mapped drive on a separate computer, or a cloud drive. A second location to store auto-backups can be configured under Maintenance / Program Options / Database. See that section for details.
In addition, it's possible to schedule backups at a particular time and to a particular location. An article explaining how to do this can be found in Newsletter #41, available online or through the Help menu of the program.
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