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CARCare
Title:
HOW TO:
Use a CARCare Database Backup Copy
Background:
As you exit CARCare, by default it will present a Database Backup dialog.
Also by default the backup directory path will be set to C:\Program
Files\CARCare\Backup.
This path can be adjusted to an alternate path, as long as the new path is NOT
the same as that used by your live database. When you click the Backup
& Exit button, CARCare
makes a copy of your live database, appends a date/time-stamp to the
end of the file name, and stores the copy in the specified backup folder.
A database
backup copy will look like:
CARCare.db.20060701-113233
Where:
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CARCare.db
is your database filename
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.20060701
is the date (yyyymmdd) the copy was made
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-113233
is the time (serialized) the copy was made
Locating the
Most Recent Backup Copy:
The date/time-stamp represents the date/time that the backup copy was made,
NOT the last time the file was updated internally. This enables you to
distinguish between these two criteria. Use the Date/Time-stamp to locate your
most recent backup copy. The greater the serialized time value, the later it was
in the day.
Replace the Damaged database with your most recent backup:
You should NEVER open and use a backup copy as-is... You must first rename
the backup copy to what your actual database is currently named, then place the
renamed backup copy into the appropriate folder. This process involves simply
removing the date/time-stamp from the end if the filename. Once this is done,
you can use this file to replace (overwrite) your damaged database file.
When you restart CARCare, you will see the prior contents of the database at
the time it was last backed up.
IMPORTANT:
Maintaining these simple backup copies of your database does NOT
eliminate the need to perform daily archival backups of your database, to removable
media such as magnetic tape or CD-R/RW. Any PC or server that contains your CARCare
database should always be configured to run daily backups. Having backups on
external media will protect you in the event of a hard disk failure.
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