Restoring from a Backup |
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We all hope it never happens, but the day may come when your computer malfunctions or some other problem requires you to restore the database from the backup copy. Hopefully you had been making daily backups so you won't lose more than a day's work. (This is also a good reason to keep copies of printed receipts for at least a day or two, in case you need to re-enter reservations.) This function can also be used to load the database that was backed up from another computer. Also, as long as you haven't disabled the logging function, it can also apply all changes made since the last backup automatically, so you shouldn't lose anything if the files are intact.
Restoring from a backup is just as easy as making a backup, but there are more steps and warnings because it's inherently a risky function. Even with a perfect backup, you are asking the software to load a database that may be older than the one it's currently using, so you need to be sure that it's necessary.
To start a Restore, select Restore from Backup from the Maintenance menu (it's at the bottom). Remember that you must have Administrator access to use this function. After one or more warnings (depending on whether the current database is saved and whether you've done a backup from this computer), you will see a File Open dialog.
Note: If you're doing this on a computer that had a previous database on it (from a prior installation of Campground Master) and it's opening that database automatically, and you don't know the Administrator login for that database, then you won't be able to get to the Restore from Backup function. If you're running version 10.0 or later, then close Campground Master and hold the Shift and Ctrl keys down while launching it again to skip any auto-open or command-line-specified database loading (make sure you keep holding Shift & Ctrl down until it's fully open). Then you can create a blank database using the New Database function under Maintenance, and then you can restore your backup into that database file.
"Look In" location -- If you have done backups from this computer, it will assume you want to restore the last backup made and will fill in the file name and location accordingly -- so all you would have to do is click the Open button. If this is a new computer and you have not made a backup on it before, then you will have to navigate to the location of the backup file (as in Backing Up above), and select the backup file name from the file list. This may be the removable drive letter, eg. E: (locate it with the "Look In:" drop-down list), or in some other location.
Auto-Backups -- If you don't have a backup that you made yourself and you're trying to recover from a corrupted database file, then you can try one of the backups that were made automatically each day. These will always be located in the same folder as the database that was being used. Assuming you're using the default / recommended location, then this should be in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Campground Master\ (assuming a recent version of Campground Master and using Windows 7 or later). You should see a series of files there named the same as your database plus "Auto_Backup" and the date, e.g. if your database was named "My Park", an auto-backup may be "My Park_Auto_Backup_2022-05-22.zip". If you're not seeing those files, or if you aren't sure where your database was located, check under File / Open Previous Database..., which will list the locations and file names of any databases recently opened.
Once you have selected the right folder and the File name field has the proper name in it, you can click Open. Now it will load the backup from the disk (asking for other disks in the backup set if necessary). Once that is done, you will be informed that the pre-restore database has been saved (to a file with the time and date in the name), in case you need to revert to that database.
Multi-disk Note (for legacy floppy disk support): If your backup required more than one disk, you should insert the last disk of the set first (e.g. disk 2 of 2). Otherwise you may get an error message that the restore failed. Once you've inserted the last disk and started the restore, it will ask for each disk as needed.
Once the backup database is loaded, you may see a message indicating that there are changes in the logs that are not in the database -- this is normal, since you are restoring from a backup, and you should answer YES to the prompt so that the logged changes are restored also. (The only exception to this is if your actual purpose for restoring was to undo some drastic changes.) If all goes well, the database will be back to the way it was, with all changes intact.
Finally, a confirmation message will be shown.
If you are sure that the database you just loaded from the backup is the data you want, then you can continue as normal (you will need to log in again, since the restoration procedure automatically logs out the previous operator). If you're not sure yet, read the following section carefully.
IMPORTANT: The restore operation should be done while the original database file is opened (i.e. the current database name and location are the same as it was when it was last used normally), otherwise the program won't be able to check the log files for post-backup changes. It's also important that the database be saved to that same location after the restore is done. If the database cannot be opened from the original location for any reason, then the following procedure is recommended:
1. Open whatever database you can (even the sample database if necessary), and restore from a backup as above -- but then immediately do a File / Save a Copy As to save the database as the original name, and the original location. Be sure no changes are made before you do the Save -- don't even look around in the data, since that can cause changes to be logged.
2. Close Campground Master, and re-open it. The database should be re-opened automatically (assuming you didn't use the Sample Database icon). Then you may see a message indicating that there are changes in the log -- answer YES to apply the missing changes. Now you should be fully restored.
Aborting a Restore Operation
Assuming you have just completed the Restore and done nothing else, you still have a chance to change your mind and get the previous database back. This is because the pre-restore database is saved to a unique filename. So if the restored data is not what you want, you can still get back to the database you had before the restore using File / Open. Just locate the pre-restore file (it will contain " PRE-RESTORE " in the file name, along with the date and time), which will be in the same location as the database. However, that will become your new current database when you open it -- so then you need to use File / Save a Copy As to save the data back to your normal database name and location.
Additional Topics:
Recovering a database from an alternate drive