Restoring Old Backups

The database format, and database filename, was changed between version 2.70b of DONATION and earlier versions, where the database filename was DONATION3.DB, and version 3.00 of DONATION and later versions, where the database filename is DONATION4.DB (and the backup filename was DONATION4.DB.GBK).

There are a few situations in which you may need to restore an old-version database file to DONATION. The most common is when your organization has been running an older version of DONATION on a computer, and you buy a new computer (or switch to a new Treasurer or Envelope Secretary) and put a new version of DONATION onto that other computer.

If you try to use the normal Database à Restore menu option to restore the backup file from the previous computer, it will not work, because the backup file is named DONATION3.DB but the normal Restore option is looking for a new-style backup file named DONATION4.DB.GBK. Instead, use the menu option Database à Restore Old Database (DONATION3.DB).

N.B. If you use the Database à Switch Database menu option to maintain multiple databases on one computer, and your current database is named something else (say DONATION4.ORG2), then the title of this menu option changes accordingly, e.g. to Database à Restore Old Database (DONATION3.ORG2). (The filename of the database file you are restoring also changes accordingly, to DONATION3.ORG2, but the rest of the instructions below will refer to the standard filename, DONATION3.DB, for simplicity.)

This is a slightly complex routine, so please read the various messages and questions that come up as you run it carefully.

One main issue you may run into using this option is that you can only use it if an earlier version of DONATION (2.70b or earlier) has also been installed on this same computer that you are running it on. If it hasn't been, you will be informed of this, and offered an option to go to the DONATION web site and download version 2.70b from the DOWNLOAD page (the installation file name for that is named DONINST27.EXE). You should answer Yes to this, then download and run that installation file. It will make it possible to run this menu option but, strange as it may seem, it will not move you back to be using that version - you will still be using your current new version of DONATION. So, there's nothing to worry about in doing this. After you have done that installation, start DONATION again and re-run Database à Restore Old Database (DONATION3.DB) to actually do your restore.

Once it has ensured that you have previously had version 2.70b or earlier installed on this computer, it will prompt you for the DONATION3.DB file to restore, with a "Restore Backup File" dialog box. Navigate to the directory that holds your backup file (named DONATION3.DB) from the earlier version of DONATION, and select it there.

After this, it will give you a couple of further confirmation messages about what it is doing, and finally (if everything has been successful so far), it restarts the program, and it will prompt you with a large message box to convert the data from the old database format in the DONATION3.DB file to the new database format in the DONATION4.DB file. Answer Yes. (This triggers the Converting Data from Prior Versions of the Program routine.)

Once the conversion is completed, your old database file will have been fully restored.

Restoring for users of the Network Version

Only a user on the computer that has the Network Server version installed on it can do restores. Users of the Network Client version will receive a message explaining that they cannot do restores.