Download Backup-Restore Instructions

Backup and Restore
Backup/Restore is an important element in guarding your database against potential data loss.
Data loss can occur in several ways, whether it be hardware (power failures, hard drive crashes,
etc.), software (bugs, viruses, etc.) or user oriented (deleting data files, importing bad data,
etc.).
A much more subtle source of data loss is through data corruption which is usually caused by
power failures and/or machines crashing, being turned off, or rebooted while the data tables
are still open. Often the data corruption can go on for a long period of time after the initial
corruption before anyone notices. Although this form of corruption is rare, it does happen and
this section will help you to be prepared when it does.
The Backup and Restore feature allows you to compress and save your entire database in one
step and to restore your database should it ever become corrupted and un-repairable. We
recommend backups should be made at least once a week. It is more important to back up your
data frequently if you do not store your data on a network server. While network servers are
usually well maintained, protected against power failures, rarely crash, and should have hard
drive or tape backups regularly, desktop machines are inherently more unstable and rarely
enjoy the same degree of continuity as a network server and are thus more prone to data
corruption.
What is created when you backup?
The Backup/Restore feature works with an SQL bak file extension. The user names the file and
decides which directory it will reside. Only the data files in the DataComp data directory will be
backed up. Photos, images, and word processor and spreadsheet templates are not stored in
the database and are NOT backed up.
Backing up Your Data
1. Log into the Admin Module:
2. The DataComp Administration screen will be displayed. Select Backup/Restore.
Typically, most customers have a single database called Main Data or DefaultData. For existing
DataComp customers, they may have migrated their data from older versions of DataComp in
which the new database is typically called Main Database. A database name needs to be one
word and cannot contain spaces or wild card characters. In the example below, the customer
has created five databases for various purposes. In our example, we will be backing up the main
database.
3. As indicated on the image below, highlight the database you wish to back up.
4. Click the Continue button.
5. You will be asked if you would like to choose your backup directory. Selecting “Yes” will
allow you to browse out to the selected file path. Backing up to an external hard drive is
highly recommended. Selecting “No” will send the backup file to the default file
location.
6. The selected database will be backed up to the specified folder. As shown in the image
below, the pathway and back-up file name is indicated.
Please note that the back-up file with a bak extension contains all your data from all six
databases, but does not back up your pictures or images. Doing a back-up within the
DataComp Admin Module does not require you to turn off and on the DataComp SQL service.
Restoring a previous back-up
If you need to restore a previous back-up, simply go to the Back-up/Restore button and select
and select Restore Data. The next screen is shown below, listing out the Database(s) that you
currently have and wish to restore to. As shown below, the Main Database has five previous
back-ups. The top two indicate that two back-ups were done on the same date. Simply
highlight the back-up which you wish to restore from and click Continue. Please note that the
restoring function will overwrite any data in all six databases.
If the back-ups do not appear in which to choose from, you can click the browse button and
search for back-ups that may not necessarily be under the default folder.
Tip
If you are emailing your data to another DataComp user to restore, we recommend that you zip
the bak file. After the back-up file has been emailed, it can be unzipped and restored.