Win OS reinstall looses Program files including logs - GCM file found
Mary Ann Wallace
wallace at naples.net
Sun Feb 1 09:14:01 EST 2015
Thank you, John and Dave, for your comments. You confirmed that if the
files in C:/Program Files are gone and I'm left to recreating my data.
It would be nice if the program had a feature that asked where do you
want your data and log files saved to. It seems to save automatically
to C:/Program Files. In my early days I had tried saving to another
place, but when I opened the program it would just bring up whatever it
had in that directory and not where I had saved it. That's when I got
confused because it seemed I then would always have to use File -> Open
feature to load the datafile and I wasn't sure whether I was loading the
right file. When it was in C:/Program Files, it seemed to automatically
load the most recent one so I may have copied the file back to
C:/Program Files and left it that way. Can't remember at this stage.
It had gotten to the point where I started taking screen shots of my
directories on the temporary replacement XP just because I couldn't be
sure where things were since I didn't know how to control things. I
wonder if some feature could be added under settings or such to allow a
user to see where the data files are automatically being saved with a
feature to change it which would help the average user. That would
alert users if their data files were ending up in a file where they
didn't want it to be. Perhaps it's already there and I just don't know
how to find it.
It'll probably be more than a few weeks before I get to re-entering the
data, but I will post back to the list when I am finally current if
things go smoothly. If they don't, I might need to return here with
questions.
Thanks again. Your quick responses were very much appreciated.
Mary Ann
Win 7 Pro 32-bit.
On 1/31/2015 11:17 PM, Dave H wrote:
> Mary Ann,
>
> Sorry to hear about your troubles. It's not good practice to keep any
> of your data files, gnucash or otherwise in C:\Program Files on
> Windows. You should create a GnuCash folder in your Documents folder
> and save your gnucash data file(s) in that and also back them up to an
> external drive or similar so the answer to number (2) is yes.
>
> There is a brief mention of gcm (Gnucash Metadata) files in the wiki -
> http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ#Q:_Why_can.27t_GnuCash_find_my_data_file_anymore.3F_It_just_says:_parser_error_:_Start_tag_expected.2C_.27.3C.27_not_found
> as below ...
>
>
> *Q:* Why can't GnuCash find my data file anymore? It just
> says: parser error : Start tag expected, '<' not found
>
> *A:* We're very sorry, but you just shot yourself in the foot.
> GnuCash uses $HOME/.gnucash to store metadata files. In
> particular, $HOME/.gnucash/books stores metadata about your data
> files. In versions 1.8 and earlier the metadata file was named as
> the encoded name of the full path to your datafile, but as of 2.0
> this was changed and the metadata file is just named the same as
> the data file. So if you saved your data file into
> $HOME/.gnucash/books and updated your versions, GnuCash just
> overwrote your data file with the metadata file. You'll need to
> copy a backup file and move it somewhere outside of $HOME/.gnucash
> and tell GnuCash to look there by using the File -> Open feature
> to load the new datafile.
>
> *Note:* This should no longer happen as someday [in 2011?] the
> metafiles got the extension *.gcm* /GnuCash Metafile/, while by
> default datafiles get *.gnucash*. Nevertheless it is a bad idea to
> store your datafile in this application settings folder.
>
> Cheers Dave H.
>
>
> On 1 February 2015 at 14:04, John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us
> <mailto:jralls at ceridwen.us>> wrote:
>
>
> > On Jan 31, 2015, at 7:08 PM, Mary Ann Wallace
> <wallace at naples.net <mailto:wallace at naples.net>> wrote:
> >
> > Facts: Gnucash v.2.6.3 originally installed on Win 7 Pro 32-bit
> (X84) laptop. Hard disk failed 7/2014, but an image of the disk
> was created and shows all logs and data through that date.
> Program files and data were also able to be copied over to an
> external drive and loaded onto a Win XP substitute computer which
> was used for Gnucash until 1/16/2015 when the XP OS failed without
> having an image backup. Extensive travel delayed repairs and both
> the Win7 & and XP were repaired this past week. The Win 7, with a
> new hard drive and Acronis image backup restored Gnucash with all
> the program files and logs up to the last 6/25/14 log.
> Unfortunately, the XP OS that had later data was re-installed and
> the process deleted all program files not originally on the OS and
> because the logs were saved in C/Program Files, these are gone.
> The only remaining files are GCM files located in Documents and
> Settings under .gnucash. The last entries were done on 01/06/2015
> and this file exi!
> sts: gnuxmlaacounts.gnucash.20140917001406.gnucash.gcm dated
> 01/06/2015, 6kb.
> >
> > The manual says nothing about GCM extension files. I found a
> program, Dolphin, that handles GCM but this appears to be for
> video games. When I tried to click on the above file, I got an
> error message saying "No suitable backend was found for the file."
> Gnucash would not open the file. I downloaded Dolphin, but have
> no idea how to use it or if I should. I can't find anything in the
> manual under backing up and recovering data that applies to my
> situation.
> >
> > It was my mistake not verifying more closely where my logs were
> being saved on the XP. I thought they were being saved on an
> external hard drive since I started the program from there.
> Instead, I found too late that they were on the C drive in Program
> Files.
> >
> > I do not know programming, although I can follow directions to
> edit registries and the like. I am a retired CPA/accounting
> instructor. I love Gnucash and was delighted to have found it
> after being totally frustrated with using Quicken. It's based on
> sound accounting principles and you make adjustments like you
> would in regular accounting. I thank the developers for
> developing this program.
> >
> > 1) Is there any way that this GCM file might contain the "image"
> of everything I've done up to the last date, 1/06/2015 and any way
> of restoring it to a log or other type of Gnucash file that the
> Gnucash.exe program would read? The Win7 is now back in operation
> has everything up until July, 2014 and I've copied the .gnucash
> with GCM file in /books; /checks; /translog from XP to Win7.
> (checks and translog are empty). Any hope?
> >
> > 2) Also, can important data logs be saved to Documents and
> Settings and run from there rather than C:/Program Files for
> easier backup? Apparently, in restoring Windows, users need to be
> aware that data files saved in C:/Program Files will be lost and
> diligence is required in backing them up.
> >
> > 3) I notice each time Gnucash is started, whether or not
> anything is done, a GCM file appears with the current date in
> Documents and Settings and 3kb in size:
> gnuxmlaacounts.gnucash.gcm. What is the purpose of these files?
> >
> > Yes, I have pages of printouts and could painstakingly and with
> many days recreate over 6 months of data with the files I have on
> the Win7 as a last resort. I'm hoping there might be another
> solution. Thank you for any suggestions and help.
> >
>
> The documentation doesn't say anything about .gcm files because
> they're a gnucash implementation detail for saving the program's
> state with a particular book, things like which tabs you have
> open, what windows are displaying where on the desktop, stuff like
> that. If you've lost the .gnucash file -- it isn't in
> $HOME/.gnucash -- then the .gcm file won't help you at all.
>
> If you still have the XP disk, there are a number of enterprises
> that will retrieve as much data as can be retrieved from a dead
> disk. http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/ is one well-known
> example. They typically charge around $500 to evaluate the disk
> and provide a quote; the cost of actual data recovery runs to
> several thousand depending on difficulty and disk size. Since you
> have the paper trail it might be cheaper to hire a temp to
> keyboard the data for you. Your call.
>
> There's nothing we can do for you, nor is there any magic hidden
> GnuCash backup. Sorry.
>
> Regards,
> John Ralls
>
>
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