TMG-L Archives

Archiver > TMG > 2010-04 > 1271362477


From: Rick Van Dusen <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] Installing project on new hard drive
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:31:54 -0700
References: <49af2.5bbb07fd.38f837c9@aol.com><004501cadcd6$b08d4200$11a7c600$@com>
In-Reply-To: <004501cadcd6$b08d4200$11a7c600$@com>


A clear "yes and no".

The main reason (besides size) for using a .sqz file to transfer data is
that TMG consistently finds and saves all the needed data files, whereas
the user dragging them has many opportunities to mess things up.

*Most* of the time, the dragging of the whole folder will mostly work;
you can lose, for example, accents. Normally, in my limited
experimentation, the actual data (names, dates, etc.) will be intact.
(Before I learned about .sqz files, I had copied my data between laptop
and two desktops, and had had no problems. I would never choose that
method over .sqz again, though.)

My advice:

1. Keep your last extant .sqz files.

2. First, restore from your last successful .sqz file. This should
recapture some of your settings that might otherwise be lost.

3. Have all instances of TMG closed and Copy--don't Move--the dragged
files back to the default TMG data folder. This will overwrite most of
the files you just created with the restore.

4. Open TMG, and if your project opens successfully, reindex, etc.

5. If your project does not open successfully, try copying the dragged
files again. If that doesn't work, restore from your last .sqz (better
than nothing).

My guess is that this will give you back most if not all of your data.

I'm so sad for you that you had the occasion to write this testimonial
for regular backing up, but I thank you for writing it and I hope many
will take heed. (I'm a total bug on and "evangelist" for effective
backup plans.)



Cheryl Freeman wrote:
> Earlier this month my notebook's hard drive had issues that resulted in no
> Windows services loading - which made most of my applications, including
> backups, unusable. I'd gotten off my regular backup schedule because of an
> issue with my home wireless network, and I have made a number of changes to
> my TMG project since my last backup. After the HD issues started, I could
> not do a backup or even use TMG's backup utility. About the only thing I
> could do was open my file manager and drag files, so I dragged the files I
> wanted to keep to an external drive.
>
> I would prefer not to restore my last .sqz file, but rather use the project
> files that I copied to my external drive. Because I copied them by dragging
> the "parent" folder of my project, the file structure is intact and the
> location of my exhibits folder will match where it was previously.
>
> Having said all this, is it possible to get a working copy of my project by
> dragging the parent folder of my project onto my new HD in the directory
> location where it was previously, or do I need to restore from a sqz file?
>
> Thank you,
>
> Cheryl Freeman
>
>
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