Backup & Restore Data

Tip: How To Backup and Restore SurveyGold Data

All of your SurveyGold data (including your surveys, questions, respondents, responses and even your software activation code) is stored in a single database file that is typically located on your computer's internal hard drive. The reality of today's computing environment is that hard drives fail, computers get replaced, and sometimes files even get unintentionally erased.

To prevent you from having a bad day when the inevitable occurs, your SurveyGold software periodically invites you to create a backup of your data as you exit SurveyGold. Every time you accept the invitation to backup your data, SurveyGold creates a unique copy of your database file as it exists at the time the backup is made.

Where to Backup Your Data

When you accept SurveyGold's invitation to create a backup, the only thing that you need to tell SurveyGold is the name of the folder where you want SurveyGold to make the backup copy of its database file.

It is a very good idea to make the backup copy on to a different media (i.e., USB flash drive, network folder, external hard drive) rather than backing up your data to a folder on the same drive where the SurveyGold database exists. The motivation for doing this is to avoid losing both your SurveyGold database file and your backup database file in the event that your computer's hard drive fails.

How the Backup File Is Created

When SurveyGold creates a backup of your data, it does so by copying its own database file (a file named survey.db) to a folder location that you specify. It names the backup file as follows:

survey_backup_<datetime>.db

Note that <datetime> is replaced with the backup date and time. For example, if you made a backup of your database file on June 2, 2008, the resulting backup file would be named:

survey_backup_20080602.db

Note that in early 2009, the backup file name was enhanced to include the SurveyGold client ID in the name. So, if your backups beginning in early 2009 will include this ID in the file name. The client ID is a number that uniquely identifies your instance of SurveyGold software. This change was made so that if multiple SurveyGold users are backing up their databases to the same folder location, it is possible at a glance to determine which backup file belongs to a specific user. Here is how the file name looks:

survey_backup_<clientID>_<datetime>.db

Note that <clientID> and <datetime> are replaced with the client ID for your SurveyGold software and the backup date and time. For example, if you made a backup of your database file on January 29, 2009, and your client ID was 123123123123123123123123 the resulting backup file would be named:

survey_backup_123123123123123123123123 _20080602.db

How to Restore Your Data from a Backup File

In a typical scenario, you first download and install SurveyGold software directly from our web site. You do not need to enter the registration code or activation code into the software because the database you are about to restore already contains this data.

Step 1
Close SurveyGold if it is running.

Step 2
Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the network folder where your survey_backup_<clientID>_<datetime>.db file is located and copy it to the folder where SurveyGold looks for its database files:

Windows XP or Windows 2000

If you are using Windows XP or Windows 2000, the SurveyGold Database folder is located at:

    C:\Documents and Settings
          \YOUR_WINDOWS_LOGIN_NAME_GOES_HERE
            \Local Settings
              \Application Data
                \SurveyGold
                  \Database

Windows Vista or Windows 7

If you are using Windows Vista the SurveyGold Database folder is located at:

    C:\Users
        \YOUR_WINDOWS_LOGIN_NAME_GOES_HERE
            \AppData
              \Local
                \SurveyGold
                  \Database

Note: If you cannot see the specified folder via Windows Explorer, it is most likely hidden. Here is how to resolve this:

1. Open Windows Explorer.

2. Select the Tools menu.

3. Select the Folder Options menu item.

4. Select the View folder.

5. Check the option entitled "Show hidden files and folders".

6. Click OK.

You should now be able to see this folder. If it does not appear, please consult with your IT staff as to where this folder is located in your particular environment.

Step 3
Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the SurveyGold Database folder (as specified in Step 2). Locate a file named survey.db and rename it to surveyold.db. Rename the survey_backup_<clientID>_<datetime>.db file to survey.db

Step 4
Launch SurveyGold and you will see your data as of the last time you backed up your data.

If You Do Not Have a Backup of Your Data

If you do not have a backup database file it is a worst-case scenario because there is no other way to recover your data. We do not keep a backup of your database file nor do we keep a backup of your web survey responses on our web site. You have the only copy of your data. So, play it safe and always maintain a backup copy of your SurveyGold data.