Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Troubleshooting -- FTM for Windows: Problems Backing Up Your Family File

Problems Backing Up Your Family File

It is always a good idea to backup your data frequently, especially if you have made significant changes to your family file. We also highly recommend that you keep two backup disks as an extra precaution. Alternate between those two backup disks each time you backup so that you always have another backup that you can revert to in case of a problem with the first one. You may even want to keep one of your backup sets at a remote location in case something happens to your home (flood, fire, etc.).

Why can't I reuse my floppy disk for backups?

When you backup your data to a floppy disk, you can reuse the disk for subsequent backups of the same file. Family Tree Maker may ask you to insert a blank disk, however. This typically happens when the name of your family file on the hard drive differs from the name of the backup file on the floppy disk. Family Tree Maker does this to make sure you don't overwrite a backup for another family file that you may have.

Ordinarily, the name of your family file should not change. Therefore, you should be able to reuse a backup disk without doing anything special. If you find that the program keeps asking you to insert a blank disk, you should really consider why the name of your family file has changed. One thing you can do to reuse the same backup disk in this case, is to format the disk or simply delete the old backup file first. We do recommend that you read below, however, to try and determine why your filename has changed and how to avoid this in the future.

Why is my family file being renamed?

One way your file can get "renamed&wuot; is if you open a backup file. Family Tree Maker will save your backup information in a new file. Ordinarily, you should not have to open your backup file. There are some situations where you may inadvertently open a backup file, however. The following suggestions will help to avoid opening backups inadvertently.

The most common method of inadvertently opening backups is by how you start Family Tree Maker. If you typically start Family Tree Maker by double clicking on the icon for your family file, you may inadvertently double click on the icon for a backup file. To avoid this, don't double click on the red family file icons always use the blue icons. The red icons are either .FBK or .FBC files which are both backups. In Windows 3.1 you will not see red or blue icons for your family files, you will have to look at the three-letter extension at the end of the file name. Family Tree Maker data files (the blue icons) are .FTW files. Family Tree Maker backup files (the red ones) are .FBK and .FBC files.

An even better method of starting Family Tree Maker is to use the Start Menu in Windows 95/98. Click on Start, Programs, Family Tree Maker, and then the Family Tree Maker book icon to start Family Tree Maker. If you have Windows 3.1 you can double click on the Family Tree Maker program group, then double click on the Family Tree Maker book icon. One thing to note about Family Tree Maker is that if you start the program this way, it will always open the last file you were using.

If Family Tree Maker is shut down unexpectedly (because of a crash, power outage, etc.) you will receive a message the next time you start the program:

In versions 4.40 and earlier of Family Tree Maker the program will talk about a "possible problem" and you will be given two choices: Yes - to continue opening the family file, or No - to open a backup. You should always try to determine why the program shut down unexpectedly. If you need help with this we recommend you call our Technical Support Department for further assistance. The best thing to do is answer Yes to the message so you do not have to restore your backup. If the problem persists, restoring the backup may be necessary but you certainly don't have to restore the backup each time as it may or may not help with the actual problem.

In version 5.0 and later of Family Tree Maker the program will indicate that it was not shutdown properly. You can click OK to continue opening the file or Cancel to open the backup. As explained above, try to determine why the program shutdown unexpectedly. Also keep in mind that you don't always have to restore the backup as it may or may not help with the actual problem.

Why can't I backup my file to a Zip or Jazz drive?

Family Tree Maker treats a Zip or Jazz (or other type of removable media) disk like a floppy disk. If it sees that there is any sort of data on the disk, it will not allow you to backup your file to the removable disk because it thinks you may overwrite a backup for some other family file. Sometimes new Zip disks come with a "Read me" file, which may fool Family Tree Maker into thinking there is data on the disk. The best way to backup to a Zip disk is to use the backup command in Family Tree Maker and specify a custom location to make the backup in. Here's how to do this:

The first thing to do is to create a new folder or directory on the Zip disk. The new folder will be where you save your backup file. Creating a new folder for your backup file will allow you to save other backup files or other data on the disk as well.

To create a new folder in Windows 95/98:

Click on the Start menu, select Programs, then Windows Explorer.
The Windows Explorer program will load, it initially displays the contents of your C: drive (your hard drive).
Scroll down (or up) on the left-hand side of the Explorer window, until you find an icon for your Zip drive.
Click on the icon for your Zip drive to highlight it.
Click on the File menu, select New, then Folder.
A new folder will be created. It will appear on the right hand side of the Explorer window.
The new folder will be given the default name of "New Folder" which you can change to something a little more meaningful like "Backup" or "FTM Backup". Type in the new name and press the Enter key on your keyboard when finished to accept the new name.

To create a new folder (directory) in Windows 3.1:

In the Program Manager, double click on the Main program group.
Double click on the File Manager icon.
This will start the File Manager program.
Click the Disk menu and choose Select Drive.
A window will appear listing all the drives on your system. Click on the drive letter for your Zip drive and then click OK.
The File Manager will show the contents of the Zip drive on the right-hand side of the window.
Click on the File menu and select Create Directory.
A window will appear where you can enter the new directory name.
Type in the new directory name and click OK.

Now that you've created a new folder/directory, follow the instructions on Backing Up Your Family File to a Floppy, Zip, or Jaz Drive.

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