Move PP to new PC

[GaryS]

Using Win8. Ok. I've read all about how to do this and basically I'm supposed to move the Data Folder and move the INI file. I do a new install of PP on my Win8 PC don't set up any accounts. I copy my old data folder and my old INI file. When I start PP I see nothing. Data and INI are set to be in the PP folder in PP Options. I look at the INI file and all my accounts are there. So I add a make believe account to PP and close it. I look at the INI file and all my old accounts are gone and the new make believe account is the only one there. I replace the INI file again with the old one. Start PP and my new make believe account is the only one showing. I look at the INI file and the make believe account is not there but all my old accounts are. Where is it reading this information from? BTW I deleted the INI.BAK file and told PP not to create a backup file. I search my hard drive for poppeeper.ini with it set to show hidden files. The only INI file it finds is my old one with all my old accounts and not the new make believe account. I run PP again and my new make believe file is the only one listed. So I think maybe PP is storing my make believe account in memory somehow. A long shot I know. So I reboot. Check the INI file and see it contains my old accounts. Start PP and there is my make believe account and no other accounts.

Can someone explain what is going on here?

[Jeff]

I'm guessing that you're upgrading from WinXP (or previous), is that correct? And is your data being stored under C:\Program Files\?

As of Windows Vista, folders under C:\Program Files\ are protected by what's known as UAC. This can be kind of a pain to revert because Windows stores files in the "Virtual Store" and there may be multiple copies of the files.

Before we get too deep into how to fix that -- please confirm that this is the case. Specifically:
1) Is POP Peeper installed under C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\ ?
2) Is data being stored in a "portable" method? ie. if you go to Tools / Options / Storage, is the "Data path" set to 'data'?

I actually just helped someone else with this issue, so I'm going to post the (modified) instructions I gave him.

Code: Select all

The path names assume you have a 64-bit OS; if you don't have 'C:\Program Files (x86)\', then use 'Program Files' instead

There are 3 different folders you're going to need to find, and I would recommend opening a separate Windows Explorer window for each one:
1) The PP *Program* folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\POP Peeper\
2) The PP *AppData* folder:
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\POP Peeper\
3) The PP *VirtualStore* folder:
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\POP Peeper\
(Due to the nature of the VirtualStore, I cannot guarantee that that is the correct path, but it should be; let me know if you can't find it)

Note: All 3 folders should exist, but some folders in the structure may be hidden.  You should just be able to paste the above folder locations into the address bar of WinExplorer and get there, but if you have any problems, let me know.

Now here's what you'll need to do:

1) Exit POP Peeper

2) In the *Program* folder, if there is a folder named "data" rename it to "data-backup"

3) In the *Program* folder, find the file named 'poppeeper.ini'

4-1) Recommended: Copy the poppeeper.ini file from your original backup to the *AppData* folder; go to step #5

4-2) If you don't have a backup, or you've already made modifications to PP settings that you want to keep:
4-2a) In the *VirtualStore* folder, find the file named 'poppeeper.ini'
4-2b) Determine which file from the previous 2 steps is newer; Copy the NEWER poppeeper.ini file to the *AppData* folder

5) In the *Program* folder, delete poppeeper.ini

6) Rename the *VirtualStore* folder to "POP Peeper-backup" e.g.
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\POP Peeper-backup\

7) Restart POP Peeper

8) Go to Tools / Options / Storage and clear the "Data path" value; Press OK to save
-> you should also notice that all your accounts are listed

9) Exit POP Peeper

10) Using your original backup, copy the CONTENTS of the C:\Program Files\POP Peeper\data\ to the *AppData* folder.  Note: do not copy the root 'data' folder, only its contents.  For example, if the location of the address book file (addrbook.csx) in your backup is:
C:\Program Files\POP Peeper\data\addrbook.csx
then its new location should be:
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\POP Peeper\addrbook.csx
note that the 'data' subfolder does not appear in the new location.

11) Retart POP Peeper -- all your data should now be restored

[spc3rd]

This topic is now closed.