Copying Campground Master to a New Computer
There are a few reasons you may need to copy your entire Campground Master software and data to another computer. Perhaps you bought a new computer, or want a backup on a home computer, or you're adding another computer to the network. In any of these cases, just follow the steps below.
Replacing the Master computer in a networked setup: These same steps apply for replacing an old Master with a new computer. The only difference is that once the new computer is up and running, you will need to configure all clients to point to the new computer as the master -- then the old master can be ignored.
Copying the software usually just involves a few simple steps, assuming you still have access to the old computer or another computer (e.g. networked) with a current copy of your database. No authorization code is needed for installation, since that's in your backup.
Quick overview: (See the detailed steps below if you don't know how to do all of these)
- Download & install Campground Master from our web site.
- Make a Backup of the database from the old/existing computer.
- Use New database to create a database on the new computer, and Restore the data from your backup.
- If networking to other computers, do the Network setup to get it connected.
- If it's a new networked computer, see if any workstation-specific settings need to be configured.
If you no longer have a working computer with Campground Master running on it with your database, and have no recent backup file to restore from, then you may still recover the database from the old hard drive if you can access it. See "Recovering a database from an alternate hard drive".
Windows upgrade note: If you're upgrading to a new version of Windows, you should do steps 1 through 5 below before upgrading Windows so it's easier to restore your database after upgrading. Otherwise you may need to use the procedure "Recovering a database from an alternate hard drive" to locate the database file.
Detailed step-by-step instructions:
These are given in general terms because specifics may vary, but only basic computer knowledge is required.
If you're still not sure how to do a particular step, consult your computer support person.
If restoring an existing backup to a new computer: If you already have a backup and just need to install it to a new computer, start at step 6.
| 1. Make a backup of the current database (assuming you still have it on a working computer) using the Maintenance / Back Up Database function. If you're running Campground Master on multiple computers (e.g. a networked system or as a backup), you can do this from any computer with current data on it -- it doesn't have to be done from the exact computer you're replacing. If you're adding a computer to the network rather than replacing one, just make the backup from the Master computer.
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| You'll need to save or copy the backup to a USB memory stick or other location where you can get to it from the new computer. Be sure to correctly select the "Save in" at the top to specify where it's saving it when you do the backup.
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| Tip: We suggest using some unique filename you'll recognize when restoring. It's easy to forget where it was saved and accidentally try to restore the wrong file later, so using some unusual name like "John's Friday the 10th backup" will ensure that you are selecting the correct file later.
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| 2. Use Maintenance / Restore from Backup on that same computer to verify that the backup copy is readable. (Don't worry, if it's not readable then your current data won't be altered.)
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| 3. If you're using a version prior to 4.0: Also copy any map image files (.bmp files that are located in the same folder as your database) onto your backup disk. If you're not sure what folder that is, go to Maintenance / Program Options / Database, and look at the current database path. The map images are not part of the normal backup in older software versions, so these need to be copied separately, using normal file copy functions in Windows Explorer or My Computer. If you're not sure which .bmp files are being used, go to Maintenance / Park Setup / Maps an check the Filenames (not the map Names). Also if you use any "bitmaps" on custom Forms, for instance a company logo for your receipts, those BMP files need to be copied separately.
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| 4. If you're using the Export to Web function: Copy any template files (.htt files) that you're using. These might be in a different location -- see File / Export / Export to web vacancy grid(s) to check the template file location.
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| 5. You'll need to know what version you've been running so that you can install the same version on the other computer. Check Help / About Campground Master to see what version you're running.
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| 6. Locate an installation disk or download file for the same version you're currently running. All major versions can be downloaded from our web site if necessary. (See https://CampgroundMaster.com/downloads.html)
If you're not authorized for the latest version, use the "Previous Versions" button at the top-right of that page to find your version. If you can't locate the exact version then use the next higher version, assuming you're authorized to upgrade to it -- but be sure to also update any other computers that will still be using Campground Master.
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| NOTE: Do not use your original installation disk unless you're sure it's the same version you've been running. There is no need to install from an older version disk if you're going to be installing an updated version from the web site anyway.
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| 7. Install the appropriate version of Campground Master (from the disk/download in step 6) onto the new computer.
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| 8. Run Campground Master. It doesn't matter whether you load the sample (demo) database or not. However if it loads some old database and you don't know the login password, then you may need to get around that -- see the note in step 9 below. It may also show errors about not being authorized for this version -- ignore those and continue to the next step.
Networking note: At this point, we recommend that you close Campground Master on any existing client computers until you get the new one up and running.
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| 9. Go to Maintenance / New Database (clear all). It will ask you for a database name, so enter the same name as your database used before. IMPORTANT: If this will be networked with other computers using Campground Master, then the database name must be exactly the same as it is on the master (server) computer (or if you're replacing the master, it must be the same as before, which is also the same as used on the other computers). You can find the database name in the caption bar at the top of Campground Master (after "Database:"). Spacing and any punctuation is important.
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| Note: If you're doing this on a computer that had a previous database on it (from a prior installation of Campground Master) and it's opening that database automatically, and you don't know the Administrator login for that database, then you won't be able to get to the New Database function. If you're running version 10.0 or later, then close Campground Master and hold the Shift and Ctrl keys down while launching it again to skip any auto-open or command-line-specified database loading. Then you can get to the New Database function. If you're running a version prior to 10.0, then you will need to contact support to get a temporary login so you can access the New Database function.
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| 10. If you copied any extra files from step 3 or 4 above, go to Maintenance / Program Options / Database to determine the current database location, and copy those files from your backup disk to that folder (using Windows Explorer or My Computer to copy the files).
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| 11. Go to Maintenance / Restore from Backup to restore from the backup -- you'll probably get a couple warning messages, and then be sure to select the correct backup file in the Open dialog (select the location in the "Look in" drop-down list). (Using a unique name as suggested in step 1 helps to know you got the right file.)
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| Note: If you don't see the file you backed up in step 1, then it's most likely that you didn't restore from the correct file. This is most often due to not selecting the correct "Save In" in step 1, or not selecting the correct "Look In" in step 11. Likewise, if you don't see your data after restoring, and/or your login doesn't work, then you are not restoring from the correct file. Review steps 1 and 11.
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| 12. If all looks OK, go to File / Save to make sure it's saved to the hard disk.
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| Note: If you're getting errors about not being authorized for this version and it won't save the database, then either you have not purchased the upgrade to this version, or else you just haven't entered your current authorization code. Contact support for assistance.
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| 13. Important: If this is part of a multiple-computer (networked) setup, see additional notes below for required networking configuration.
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At this point you should have Campground Master running and showing your data on this computer. If it's not showing your data, start again with step 1, making sure the backup is done with a unique name so you are restoring form the correct file.
Any supporting software, such as X-Charge, printer drivers, etc. may also need to be re-installed on the new computer.
Also keep in mind that the printer selection and options in File / Printer Setup are computer-specific, so you may need to do some tweaking there also if you don't use the default printer settings for everything.
Networking Configuration:
For a networking setup, whether this will be a replacement master/server or a new client linked to an existing master, you'll also need to set the appropriate network settings.
For example:
-- If it's going to be a Client, you need to go to Maintenance / Network Setup / Network Settings to set the appropriate "This workstation ID", "Master's ID", and "Master's IP address". (It will appear to be another master, not linked to the other computers, until you do this!)
-- If it's a Master/Server, you need to find its IP address (and preferably set it as "static" in Windows), and configure all other clients to point to this new master. This could also involve changes to your router's Port Forwarding if you're connecting form a remote client.
See the Networking documentation for details, and also review the notes below.
Important networking note: If you're changing which computer is going to be the Master, be sure to refer to this article for the proper way to do this: Changing Network Master computers.
Also STRONGLY recommended: Adding or replacing computers can often result in synchronization issues, especially if the steps are not done perfectly the first time.
Therefore, please perform a Full Network Resynchronization as soon as possible after the new computer is connected (before bringing any other existing clients back up if possible).
See here for details, but usually you can use the "One-Step" option: Full Network Resynchronization.
Workstation-specific settings for new computers
If you're setting up a new networked workstation (e.g. adding a workstation ID 2 for the first time), then be aware that there are a lot of workstation-specific settings you may need to configure for the new workstation. Note that this doesn't apply if you're just moving or re-installing with a workstation ID number that was used before.
Note: You can take a shortcut and synchronize most workstation-specific settings to be the same as the Master in one step -- however this will affect all workstations, not just the new one, so make sure you don't have some settings different on purpose. See "Synchronize local options to all workstations" under Maintenance / Network Setup.
- Most important would be the Credit Card Processing Setup, if you're processing cards through Campground Master. You'll need to configure the new computer to have the same settings as the other computers. Note that the "Synchronize local options to all workstations" function mentioned above does not synchronize these because this could cause problems in some cases.
- Any Tab View Options and default site filters are workstation-specific. While it's not critical that these be the same (they may be different on purpose), be aware that things may look different if the options are not the same.
- Printing Options are workstation-specific. See Maintenance / Printing Options.
- SMTP Setup may be workstation-specific, unless you're using the "Global" option.
- The default settings for most Reports (meter lists, occupancy report, etc), like filtering, grouping options, etc., are workstation-specific. While these are often changed each time you use them anyway, there may be common settings you are used to having set up already.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us.
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