Family Historian User Group

As described in the following link; https://groups.io/g/family-historian/topic/89797708, I am having issues with backing up and restoring FH to a new computer.

Mike T has suggested starting the process again and I would be very grateful for support in this.
Thank you.

Rhoda

OK, the first step is to describe what process you performed on the source Windows 10 PC.
It may be necessary to run through it again.

One problem was the USB stick had two Family Historian Project folders nested in each other.
So how could that have been created on the source PC?

You say you used the 'Backup and Restore FH Settings' plugin to Backup customisations.
What is the full file path to its Backup folder on the source PC?
How did you copy that Backup folder to the USB memory stick?
How did you copy all your Projects to the USB memory stick?

You also mentioned Google Drive. That is an alternative way of migrating folders from PC to PC.
Are you planning to have Google Drive on the target Windows 11 PC?

Once the source side of things is clear we can then proceed to the target Windows 11 PC.

Screenshots of useful details would be helpful and can save a lot of description.
See FHUG Knowledge Base Forum Usage Tips under Attachments for advice.

Mike,
As suggested I have started the whole process again.

The following screenshots should show you how I created my backup file on the source PC.

I will send a further two to show the end result.

Last two shots of backup on the source PC.

OK, so the full path of the plugin's Backup Folder is:
C:\Users\terry\Documents\Family Historian Projects\Birkenhead Charsleys\Public
That holds a Family Historian folder with all the backed up customisation folders & files nested inside.

That path is nearly 100 characters long and the Windows limit is 255 characters.
It should be OK unless you tend to use very long names for saving custom Diagram Types, Report Types, Queries, etc.

The next step is to migrate the Family Historian Projects folder listed above to the target Windows 11 PC.

So you need to use Windows File Explorer to Copy that folder to your USB stick.

The USB stick file path should be something like this:
D:\Family Historian Projects\Birkenhead Charsleys\Public\...
with all the other Project folders inside the Family Historian Projects folder.
Do you agree?

This is the path of the plugin backup folder. Is it as you would expect?

Yes, that all looks good.

I assume that you have performed the Tools > External File Links... command checks for each Project as advised in the Family Historian Copy and Migration Guide under Media Files. If not then please do so now.

The next step is to migrate your Family Historian Projects folder to the target Windows 11 PC.

So you need to use Windows File Explorer to Copy that folder to your ESD-USB stick.

The ESD-USB stick file path should be something like this:
E:\Family Historian Projects\Birkenhead Charsleys\Public\...
with all the other Project folders inside the Family Historian Projects folder.

BTW: In several of your recent screenshots you appear to have FH open twice on the same Birkenhead Charsleys Project.
That is not a good idea as they will be sharing the same GEDCOM file, etc.

Is this correct?

Yes, perfect.

That is better than the screenshot you posted in the family-historian@groups.io which had:
D:\Family Historian Projects\Family Historian Projects\... etc

The new Windows 11 PC screenshot you posted in the family-historian@groups.io had:
C:\Users\Rhoda\Documents\Family Historian Projects\Family Historian Projects\Family Historian Projects\...

I presume all those Family Historian Projects folders have only just been created.
So there is no harm in deleting the top-level Family Historian Projects folder that is inside Documents.
That will remove all those nested folders that are superfluous, so you can start from scratch.

Now you can use Windows File Explorer to Copy the Family Historian Projects folder from the USB stick into the Windows 11 C:\Users\Rhoda\Documents folder.
It is the exact same process as you just performed on the Windows 10 PC but in the reverse direction.
Post a screenshot of those folders after that Copy.

How's this?

That is also perfect
I wonder what you did differently before to get those multiple nested Family Historian Projects folders?

Now you should be able to run FH and open all six Projects via the File > Project Window... command.
Just ensure the Location: near the bottom is the Installation Default My Documents\Family Historian Projects
Right-click your preferred Project name and choose Set as Default Project so it opens automatically.

If that all goes well, then you can run the Backup and Restore Family Historian Settings plugin as instructed in the Restoring Program Settings section of the Family Historian Copy and Migration Guide. Please follow the instructions carefully.

The Backup Folder: location should be C:\Users\Rhoda\Documents\Family Historian Projects\Birkenhead Charsleys\Public

Finally, work through the remaining sections of the Family Historian Copy and Migration Guide.

Thanks Mike.

I now have this "minor error message" which I cannot understand as I seem to have the latest version of FH on my PC

Rhoda, when reporting errors like that, please tell us what you did to get the error message.
Your error message screenshot was blank so I removed it.

I suspect you are getting the message when you try to use Restore in the plugin.
It is because you did not update to the latest FH V7.0.11 on the old Windows 10 PC as advised.

Assuming it is only that the last number is different, e.g. you had FH V7.0.9 or V7.0.10 on the old PC then in the plugin on the Options tab tick the Allow the FH Program Version to be later than the Backup Folder Version option.

Mike thank you so much for your patience. The migration seems to have worked!

I think the nested tables may have occurred because I tried to back up the Project onto the USB several times without deleting the destination folder on each attempt. I think I thought that a new folder would be created on each attempt (distinguished by date and time) but that clearly was not the case.

You are correct that the the "Minor Error Message" occurred at the Restore stage. It said "FH Version 7.0.11.0 Installed does not match Version 7.0.11.0 Backup. Install a free update so the program version matches the backup version to make them compatible..."

I did not understand this, firstly because the message implies that the two versions are actually the same and secondly because I did follow your advice and upgraded to the latest version before I started, although this appeared to be 7.0.11.

Your advice to select the option to "Allow the FH Program Version to be later than the Backup Version" seems to have done the trick however.

I also do not know why my final screen shot did not appear. I obviously need to work on Paint.

Anyway, Thanks again for your time and trouble.

Best wishes,

Rhoda

I'm glad we got there in the end and that everything continues to be OK.