how2gn09.htm
How to know what type of backup to use in any situation
The Club Office backup module provides many types of backups. It's important that users know what each backup is for, because in the event you need to restore the system, the restore method may require some user intervention. This is because most of the databases inside Club Office are interlinked -- updating one and not the others can throw things out of sync. Some of the backups are provided as a method of capturing only a few files of the database set and are, more-or-less, intended to be used to assist support efforts. We often don't need a whole set of data files, only a partial set.
BACKUP ALL - This is the safest option to use in most cases, because it captures all the data, including photos, user profiles, and more. The corresponding RESTORE ALL feature works only with backups made with the BACKUP ALL option.
BACKUP DATA ONLY - This is essentially the same as the "ALL" option, except it skips all photos. If you do not need to backup member photos regularly or if you don't use Club Office to manage member photos at all, then you can safely use this option in place of the "ALL" option. Backups made with this option are smaller and take fewer diskettes than the "ALL" option. The corresponding RESTORE DATA ONLY feature works only with backups made with the BACKUP DATA ONLY option.
BACKUP PHOTOS ONLY - If you use member photos with Club Office, you might periodically use this backup to capture only the photos, leaving the data alone. In fact, using a combination of DATA ONLY and PHOTOS ONLY may be very efficient for you as long as you don't need to back up member photos on a regular basis. The corresponding RESTORE PHOTOS ONLY feature works only with backups made with the BACKUP PHOTOS ONLY option.
BACKUP PAYROLL ONLY - This provides a way to capture only the employee data and the system configuration settings. It's suggested that a backup be made prior to finishing a payroll and as payroll has no effect on either receivables or payables, this normally takes little time and is compact enough to fit on a single floppy diskette. The corresponding RESTORE PAYROLL ONLY feature works only with backups made with the BACKUP PAYROLL ONLY option. Caution: if a payroll restore is required, check with other users first. Restoring will replace the main configuration file, which holds configuration information for ALL modules. There's also the probability that if the payroll data was restored and another finish payroll process was performed, there would be two sets of payroll journal entries in the general journal, one of which would have to be deleted lest the general ledger be incorrect. The two key data files in the payroll backup are CONFIG.MDB and EMP.MDB. The general journal (GLJRNL.MDB) is NOT included as part of the payroll backup. Periodically a Club Data tech support person may request a payroll backup to assist in solving a certain payroll problem; the payoll backup is the preferred method for capturing only the necessary files, which take less time to email to our office.
BACKUP A/P ONLY - this includes the AP.MDB, GLJRNL.MDB and CONFIG.MDB databases, so before restoring the A/P only, be sure to check with other users to see what they've done that might affect either the journal or the main system configuration module. For example, payroll and A/R both create journal entries, so if you restore an A/P backup for a date prior to either the past payroll or A/R month-end finish process, the g/l journal will be replaced with one that does not have those entries. The corresponding RESTORE A/P ONLY feature works only with backups made with the BACKUP A/P ONLY option.
BACKUP A/R ONLY - includes the DAILY.MDB, MASTER.MDB, MASTER2.MDB, CONFIG.MDB, AR.MDB, all POS*.MDB files and the MSTR2BAK.MDB file, if the backup is made during the middle of month-end A/R processing. It does NOT include the G/L journal (GLJRNL.MDB). Restoring a system with the A/R backup affects not only the main system configuration file, but sales comparison history information, member configuration and billing settings, member balances, and the entire A/R transaction history. The corresponding RESTORE A/R ONLY feature works only with backups made with the BACKUP A/R ONLY option, but users are cautioned NOT to restore this on their own, but to consult with Club Data prior to using the restore option.
PERFORMING A PARTIAL RESTORE - This is to be done only under the guidance of a Club Data tech support person. There are situations which warrant restoring only one or two files out of a backup set instead of all of them, and this normally is the case in multi-user, networked installations. Call us -- we'll ask a few questions to determine what is safe to restore and we'll walk you through the procedure. We're sorry that there isn't a conveniently safe way to automate this process because in a multi-user environment, there are too many possible combinations of database situations to predict, and each must be considered individually.