Well if advising someone to re-install their computer operating system...does Q have a procedure for copying the user data files to a CD-ROM ?
Of course I know that Q has this one little user file that is your file...but that file is really just an index to other files ?
(And of course I'm saying that W'ndows Restore is rediculous in how it works and does not work but that a destructive re-install procedure using the Recovery partion of the computer works very well...if you have one. Or there's a OS DVD.)
Okay I take it that...File>Backup...gets your actual and complete data files to wherever you want them.
And I took a new look at W'ndows Restore.
The problem is that restore points created manually are only held for a short period of time and then W'ndows is replacing them with automatic restore points. So if you get hit with a virus at the wrong time you go check for your restore point and it is gone ! (And W'ndows might be aware of system activity and set a new restore point after a virus installed !)
You have to create manual restore points on a schedule you can't just create ONE and think it will be there when you need it.
Yes. In Quicken, just click File | Backup (or Ctrl+B) and point to the CD. (I'm sure you mean a writeable CD in a CD burner, not a ROM.) These days, a USB flash drive might be a better option, but any dependable backup media that will be accessible after the re-install should be OK.
We have to be careful here! Quicken persists in calling it "a file", but it really is a set of related files. To reduce the confusion, in this newsgroup, we often call this a "fileset". It includes the .qdf file, plus other files that MAY be created by Quicken, depending on how YOU use the program. Some users have .qel, .qtx, .qph and perhaps other extensions. The .qdf file is the most important (and usually the biggest), but the others should be included, too.
If we use Quicken's own functions on its File menu (Copy, Move, Backup, etc.), it will handle all the files in the fileset automatically. But if we use Windows' Copy, for example, we must remember to include the whole set: QDATA.*, not just QDATA.QDF.
Please don't confuse WinXP's or Vista's System Restore with a backup program! Its function is quite different.
After re-installing WinXP or Vista or another operating system, you will need to re-install Quicken from the CD or other media. Once the program is working, use its File | Restore Backup File, browse to the location of your data files, and click on the .qdf file. Quicken will load the .qdf file AND all the related files that it needs. Then you can use File | File Operations | Copy to create your new working copy on your hard drive or wherever you like.
No...Restore would make an OS re-install unnecessary. But W'ndows replaces your manual restore points every 1 to 3 weeks. So if you don't have a safe restore point then the OS re-intall is necessary and then you must have CD copies of your data files.
Back-up of application files for a OS re-install is not confused with a Restore operation which could work without backed-up files...
I usually assume that the computer user does not have a safe restore point and just tell them to re-install the OS.
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