I'd like to take everything i have entered into the online FTW program and burn it ALL to CDs or DVDs or drives whatever... although i seem to spend hours on this computer, i have not stumbled across an option for complete back up. Did i miss something? To clarify, this is for on on line info only (syncing seemed to be so slow i didn't put the desk copy back on my laptopat reimage). Now everything is online and i'm fretting about my months, no years, of reserach. ALSO, if my subscription lapses (heaven forbid... but the job was eliminated a fw moths ago... lusxuries are scrutinized) what will happen to my work? Will it be delete or somehow made inaccessible (like changed to awt or something)? If reactivated are my trees where i left them, in the condition they were at time???
just wondering... i've survived a house fire where we lost everything but our lives and a dog... i dont' want all the years of repalcing to go 'piff'.
hey, thanks for listening... and i love this stuff!!!!!
denise

Denise,

Please clarify: You said "i have entered into the online FTW program". That is two different places.

The "Online" piece of what you posted, would indicate that you put that information on a Web Site. Ancestry.com perhaps. All of the Data in Online.

Then you said "FTW Program". That would be a program on your Hard Drive AND the information would be on your Hard Drive.

If you are talking about the Family Tree Maker program, on your Computer, it has a File, Back Up feature already built in. Depending on the Version, normally the program will Back Up your Family File to where ever you want. Your Hard Drive, a Floppy, or a CD. Several versions also had an Online Back Up feature.

As to a Family Tree at Ancestry.com, you CAN download that Online file as a GEDCOM file from the Internet to your Hard Drive. Then you could burn the file to a CD, if you wish.

Russ

Can you use the back up file as a working file on your computer then so as not to fill up your computer at times whe you are not working on it ?? How do you save it and then retrieve it to work on it???

Denern,

When you Back Up your Family File, you open it by doing a File, Restore from Back Up.

You should back up your file, at least once in a while, to some place other then your Hard Drive.

Russ

Thanks or you reply, Russ. Are you talking about the back up like on a disk or memoery stick ? I'm a little dense here but if you were to back it up to two memory sticks o let's say 8 gig each and then use one for updating etc. and the other for a longer term of backup could you then delete it from your hard drive and then download from the stick, make changes and then save them to the stick nad on and on. Sorry about the denseness but I'm trying to not ill up my new computer ???

Deneren,

You can put your Back Up of your Family File anywhere. I am not sure that I would rely on a Flash Drive (Memory Stick) for long term storage, but you could.

I do suggest that you have your Working Family File on your Hard Drive. Update there and put your Back Up's on the Flash Drive. I use Flash Drives for Tempy work. Transfer a file between PC, or to carry my file with me to be worked on elsewhere. But the Hard Drive is where the work is done.

Does that help?

Russ

I keep my files as follows (about 80GB total content).

(1) Main Hard Drive - Active files.
(2) External Hard Drive (1 Drive - automatically backed up daily, 2nd Drive automatically backed up weekly.)
(3) DL-DVD's - Once per month backup of main files (about 16GB.)
(4) Flash Drive - backup of main files (about 16GB.) Convenient storage, etc. Memory sticks are not good devices for active files.

Note that most flash drives are formatted as FAT32 and cannot contain files larger than 2GB.

Regards,