The "backing up files" thread is interesting; thanks to all. This is a related question: My husband uses his computer only for PAF. It's Win98, Pentium 2. Is NOT connected to the internet, though we've tried. (My computer, six feet away, is on internet, Verizon DSL.) He's getting a new Dell, may be delivered tomorrow; Win XP Home, Pentium 4; added 3.5" floppy drive and CD burner. He has a zip feature on the old one, but even with that cannot get all our PAF on one floppy, so he's going to break PAF down into (four?) files. Any advice, please? Thanks, Dolly in Maryland

----- Original Message ----- From: "Dolly Ziegler" <dsz@bcpl.net> > > He has a zip feature on the old one, but even with that cannot get all our > PAF on one floppy, so he's going to break PAF down into (four?) files. > > Any advice, please? Thanks, Dolly in Maryland > The backup file that PAF creates is a ZIP file. When that file is too long for one floppy, PAF will automatically span over however many floppies are needed. Or let PAF create the backup to the hard drive and then burn that file to a CD. There is no need to break down your master PAF file into smaller files for backup purposes. Make sure you are NOT using a separate utility (WinZip, etc) to create your PAF backups, but let the PAF program do it for you. I would only use WinZip for things like zipping a GEDCOM or other files prior to emailing, zipping and unzipping other archives, etc. Let PAF handle the backup and restore functions internally. Gary Templeman

THANKS to Gary, Rollei, Ross, Larry, Bill L., Bill D., Theresa & Alan B. for taking the time to offer suggestions on the various ways to do this. I suspect we are not the only ones on list who are very much interested! Cheers, Dolly in Maryland USA

Hi Group, Somehow I missed this thread or deleted it, thinking I didn't need to worry about it. I have now purchased a laptop computer to take with me on research trips. So I need to transfer/copy, or whatever term is appropriate, my master file (over 32,000 individuals) from my tower computer to my laptop. Both computers have Windows XP Home Edition, with Service Pack II installed. My need for help is about the following items. 1. Downloading PAF5. I have the setup file still on my tower computer desktop. Should I transfer that file to my laptop and install from there, or is it better to go directly to the website and download from there? 2. Moving Data from one computer to the other. I plan to put my entire database on the laptop initially. I want to be able to add information to either one; mostly the laptop, while traveling for research purposes, and then transfer it to my tower computer. I know there has been much discussion concerning the importance, or lack of importance, of RINs and keeping them the same for each individual when info is transferred. Until I actually experience transferring and adding new data, then transferring it back to the other computer, I'd like to keep existing people with constant associated RINs and newly added people winding up with the same RINs after transfers in either direction. I'm afraid transferring the data via a GEDCOM won't maintain the RINs like I want them to. Can someone give me baby step instructions on what kind of files to create and how to transfer them. My tower has a CD-RW drive and my laptop has a DVD-CD ROM drive. I also have a 3.5" floppy drive in each computer, but using a backup file still takes more than one disk to hold the data. Thanks for your help. Dick Cazier Lakewood, Colorado USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dolly Ziegler" <dsz@bcpl.net> To: <PAF-5-USERS-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 7:03 PM Subject: Re: [PAF-5] ?moving PAF to new computer > THANKS to Gary, Rollei, Ross, Larry, Bill L., Bill D., Theresa & Alan B. > for taking the time to offer suggestions on the various ways to do this. > I suspect we are not the only ones on list who are very much interested! > Cheers, Dolly in Maryland USA > > > ==== PAF-5-USERS Mailing List ==== > FreeBMD - Free Access to England and Wales Civil Registration Index > Volunteer as a Transcriber Today! > http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/ > >