svgutman@cox.net wrote: > Lorin, > > > Saw your old message post at Roots Web > (http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PAF-5-USERS/2005-04/1114544204). > I have been trying to help my mother restore her PAF research. Her > computer crashed and all she had were .bak files in PAF 2.31 on > floppy. I believe I've figured out that we have to restore the PAF > 2.31 .bak files to PAF 2.31 .dat files using PAF 2.31 software, which > we don't have now. > > > > If you did actually find an old copy and wouldn't mind sending it > along, your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for > your time. > > > > Sharon Gutman > See if you can download it using the following URL. http://www.infowest.com/personal/w/wbs/paf23.zip But as far as 'restoring' *.dat files from *.bak files for PAF 2.3, I believe it only involves renaming them. I have heard that PAF 5 can recognize and convert PAF 2.3 data files. You might try this: Create an empty folder on your harddrive. Copy the *.bak files to that folder. Rename them to .dat files. (Just change the .bak to .dat on each file). Start up PAF 5 and use File|Open navigate to the new folder that holds the newly renamed .dat files. Click Open. If PAF 5 recognizes them and is able to convert them directly it will ask you if that is what you want done. If you can't get PAF 5 to open it directly you might be able to get it to find the PAF 2.3 data set by getting it into search mode. ------------ Search mode -------------------- If you open PAF 5 it usually opens the last .paf file you were using. If you close that file without closing PAF (File|Close) (so the main window under the menu bar is blank grey) and then exit PAF. And then restart PAF it will present a box with several buttons. One of those is labelled 'Search' or some such. If you click on that button it will search your whole hard drive for PAF datasets. I know it will find and list PAF 3 datasets. I'm pretty sure it will also list PAF 2.3 data sets. Once it has listed all the PAF data sets on your hard drive you can select the one you want to open. If it is an older format PAF 5 will ask you if you want to convert it to the PAF 5 format. I hope this helps.

Lorin Lund wrote: > svgutman@cox.net wrote: > >> Lorin, >> >> >> Saw your old message post at Roots Web >> (http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PAF-5-USERS/2005-04/1114544204). >> I have been trying to help my mother restore her PAF research. Her >> computer crashed and all she had were .bak files in PAF 2.31 on >> floppy. I believe I've figured out that we have to restore the PAF >> 2.31 .bak files to PAF 2.31 .dat files using PAF 2.31 software, which >> we don't have now. >> >> >> >> If you did actually find an old copy and wouldn't mind sending it >> along, your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for >> your time. >> >> >> >> Sharon Gutman >> > See if you can download it using the following URL. > > http://www.infowest.com/personal/w/wbs/paf23.zip I stand corrected. The above link won't work for MS Internet Explorer users. (It works fine for Mozilla Firefox) Just go to http://www.infowest.com/personal/w/wbs/index.html and click on the "paf 2.3" link.

CAREFUL: My recollection is that there is a one-bit difference between a *.bak and a *.dat file for PAF 2.3. Consequently, renaming the files will not work. Just last week a patron brought a PAF 2.31 backup disk into our Family History Center. Since we have PAF versions 2, 3, 4, and 5 on one of our computers (all of those versions are included on the CD) I was able to Restore and then Open the database. I next made a GEDCOM file (on the hard drive), opened PAF 5 and Imported that GEDCOM file. It worked without any problems. Another caution. Before I made the GEDCOM file I ran the database check and fix function. It found three errors in the marriage records and fixed them. Lorin Lund wrote: > But as far as 'restoring' *.dat files from *.bak files for > PAF 2.3, I believe it only involves renaming them. > > I have heard that PAF 5 can recognize and convert > PAF 2.3 data files. > > You might try this: > > Create an empty folder on your harddrive. Copy the *.bak files to that > folder. > Rename them to .dat files. (Just change the .bak to > .dat on each file). > > > > ==== PAF-5-USERS Mailing List ==== > RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: > Connecting the World One GEDCOM at a Time > http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/ > > >