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sue535

PC to Laptop and back again

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I will be getting a laptop and I want to know how to share my data back and forth with my PC. My laptop will not be attached to the internet. I would like to data entry on the laptop while at my cottage. Then I would like to update my PC at home with what I did on the laptop. I figure I can do a backup from the laptop to a thumb drive. My question is how to get the data from the thumb drive to my Project on the PC.

Right now I just open my Project and the latest info comes up. Do I do a Restore? I don't want to mess up my Project by doing the wrong thing.

I make backups to my hard drive, but I've never had to use a backup.

Obviously you can tell I am not very computer literate.

Sue

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Sue,

 

In general, you have to copy your project from your desktop to your laptop, and then back again. To do that, you will need some connection between the two PCs. If you have a home network, you can do it that way. It sounds like you do not have a home network, so perhaps using a thumb drive is best.

 

The most reliable way to make the copy is to use TMG's File > Backup command. Write the backup file (*.SQZ) to a drive on the PC (not the thumb drive). When the backup is complete, copy the SQZ file to the thumb drive. Then eject the thumb drive and insert it into the other PC. Copy the SQZ file to a drive on that PC. Then start TMG and select the Restore command.

 

Be very, very careful to keep track of which PC has the most recently updated project, and never do data entry on the stale project.

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Sue

 

As JohnC says, you can do what you want using the TMG backup and restore function. However, this can result in a problem if you aren't careful to follow an exact procedure to ensure you don't lose everything in the event of a restore failing. For example, you should never restore over your last good copy of your data on either system. Rather, restore to a special "new master" folder where you can check TMG can open and work with the restored database before using it for the new master. These old and new master database folders form a "father/son" pair that swap over to be the current working master database.

 

As a better alternative, I suggest looking at an external file synchronization program that can maintain the full database on both the main and laptop computers identical via a USB drive or LAN network connection, which doesn't need to be connected to the full internet. I do this using a program called "Goodsync" (http://www.goodsync.com/) that works for me to achieve a similar main and laptop synchronization as you require. Other programs may perform a similar function, but check how they address the security issue of how to recover from a failure in the synchronization or backup process.

 

With all these procedures, you must never work on both systems together. This will lead to your not knowing which is the last master. Unfortunately, file journaling is still in the domain of large systems and not available for home PCs, AFAIK.

 

Hope this helps

JohnW

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Sue

 

Why not use an external hard drive (USB2, Firewire or SATA) to keep your TMG data files in? All you need to do is connect the drive to the appropiate computer - there is no need to worry about syncranising backups. Just do your regular backups to another drive or external media.

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I agree with Collybs, this is the method I use with three computers, home PC, work PC and laptop for visits. No problems at all, you are always using 'live' data, and you have multiple machines to keep back-ups on!

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Sue

 

Why not use an external hard drive (USB2, Firewire or SATA) to keep your TMG data files in? All you need to do is connect the drive to the appropiate computer - there is no need to worry about syncranising backups. Just do your regular backups to another drive or external media.

 

Sue,

What is your experience as to speed? I've found other programs run slower if their database is on a thumb drive, even a USB 2 drive, rather than a real hard disk.

 

As far as backups are concerned, I suggest keeping a number of backups. I seldom delete any, although ancient ones disappear when a PC goes to the great computer room in the sky. I've had a couple of cases where I had to restore several generations back to recover from a data problem that was not detected for a while.

 

Pierce

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Pierce,

 

You have to differentiate between a thumb drive (USB (2) memory stick) and an external hard drive connected via USB2. Of course, they probably will not reach the speed of an internal disk. But I think the difference using the latter, especially in random access as databases usually do, is rather small.

 

External drive:

advantage: fast, big capacity like 300 or 500 GB, disadvantage: size, maybe external power needed

 

USB Memory:

advantage: small, disadvantage: low capacity (about 2 or 4 GB), slower

 

REgards

Helmut

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Or a SMALL external hard disk, I use a WD Passport 6GB drive, matchbox size and enough room for ALL my personal stuff. (I also have a 8GB Iomega which I use for business stuff at home, similar size). Both self powered, and spped is not an issue.

 

You can get enclosures for 2.5" hard drives and then pick up a cheap low capacity (20-60GB) laptop drive.

 

It may be just me but I have had a couple of USB memory sticks fail, the Passport has been in constant use for over two years now without problems.

Edited by robmoff

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Pierce,

 

You have to differentiate between a thumb drive (USB (2) memory stick) and an external hard drive connected via USB2. Of course, they probably will not reach the speed of an internal disk. But I think the difference using the latter, especially in random access as databases usually do, is rather small.

 

External drive:

advantage: fast, big capacity like 300 or 500 GB, disadvantage: size, maybe external power needed

 

USB Memory:

advantage: small, disadvantage: low capacity (about 2 or 4 GB), slower

 

REgards

Helmut

 

Helmut,

I've used both an external hard drive (both direct connect and through a home network) and a flash (thumb) drive, connected through the USB port.

 

Generally I find that response time working off a drive connected through the USB 2.0 port or the network is slower than working off the internal hard disk. And I still find many TMG steps to be slower than I expect, even using the internal drive. But then I am used to using Ultimate Family Tree, which seemed slow on the computer I had 10 years ago, but just flies on modern machines.

 

In any case, how you feel about the speed issue depends on what you are comfortable with and the benefits you see in using the slower methods.

 

Pierce

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As JohnC says, you can do what you want using the TMG backup and restore function. However, this can result in a problem if you aren't careful to follow an exact procedure to ensure you don't lose everything in the event of a restore failing. For example, you should never restore over your last good copy of your data on either system. Rather, restore to a special "new master" folder where you can check TMG can open and work with the restored database before using it for the new master. These old and new master database folders form a "father/son" pair that swap over to be the current working master database.

 

As a better alternative, I suggest looking at an external file synchronization program that can maintain the full database on both the main and laptop computers identical via a USB drive or LAN network connection, which doesn't need to be connected to the full internet. I do this using a program called "Goodsync" (http://www.goodsync.com/) that works for me to achieve a similar main and laptop synchronization as you require. Other programs may perform a similar function, but check how they address the security issue of how to recover from a failure in the synchronization or backup process.

 

With all these procedures, you must never work on both systems together. This will lead to your not knowing which is the last master. Unfortunately, file journaling is still in the domain of large systems and not available for home PCs, AFAIK.

Why would you "lose everything" if a restore fails? You have the database on the other PC, and you have a backup of the current state of the target PC from when you moved that data to the other PC. The extra steps you describe complicate the movement of the data while providing little (if any) extra protection. Good backup practices (backup frequently, save backup files in safe locations, etc.) protect against the rare occurrence of a restore failure and they also insulate against other issues. IMO, therefore, the "father/son" approach isn't worth the trouble.

 

By the way, I have restored hundreds of projects that have been sent to me by TMG users and I have never had one fail. That doesn't mean it won't happen, of course. Also, I follow the same process every time to minimize trouble. I don't use flash drives or other media that might be suspect. (flash drives have a short useful life relative to hard drives, for example.) If I get a backup file on a flash drive I copy the contents to a hard drive before doing the restore. The point is, develop a rationale procedure, test to make sure it works properly, and then follow it. Combined with multiple layers of backup files, you should never "lose everything".

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Why would you "lose everything" if a restore fails? You have the database on the other PC, and you have a backup of the current state of the target PC from when you moved that data to the other PC. The extra steps you describe complicate the movement of the data while providing little (if any) extra protection. Good backup practices (backup frequently, save backup files in safe locations, etc.) protect against the rare occurrence of a restore failure and they also insulate against other issues. IMO, therefore, the "father/son" approach isn't worth the trouble.

 

By the way, I have restored hundreds of projects that have been sent to me by TMG users and I have never had one fail. That doesn't mean it won't happen, of course. Also, I follow the same process every time to minimize trouble. I don't use flash drives or other media that might be suspect. (flash drives have a short useful life relative to hard drives, for example.) If I get a backup file on a flash drive I copy the contents to a hard drive before doing the restore. The point is, develop a rationale procedure, test to make sure it works properly, and then follow it. Combined with multiple layers of backup files, you should never "lose everything".

 

Perhaps it was me then :) - but I've had a USB memory stick go bad (It was well-used, so...) It had apparently worked but, part-way through, the process stopped and the result wasn't readable by TMG. This introduced a measure of panic... Yes, I had the data on the "wrong" computer, but my fail-safe procedure had just had a failure.

 

I, like you, have never had a similar problem with a network transfer between computers so perhaps the restore process would be OK using that methodology, but Backup/Restore had failed for me once, so... I now regularly use GoodSync over a LAN to synchronize my project database files along with the rest of my working data, avoiding having to rely on a backup/restore process.

 

I use NAS connected drives without a problem and now even have them remotely accessible on colleagues' remote sites. I use that system to carry a full copy of my my working TMG master, alongside other important data that gets manually updated after any significant work on any computer. I do it manually, because I don't really trust computers, having spent most of my working life designing and fixing them :grrr:

 

In my experience of some considerable use of USB, it always seems to need watching. A consequence is that my USB disks are relegated to the cupboard somewhere. I'd never use one to carry my working master even with good backups, although, as others have said, it does get over the master/slave issue. Personally, I'm not a USB fan, since I've probably experienced more computer problems via that interface than any other. It works well for most of the time so you start to rely on it. Then, when it fails, it seems to do so in a big way at the end of some major work. No :no: USB is not for me for important work - especially the network connection...

 

JohnW

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