New computer, lost back up

[Mike or Penny Novack]

On 3/30/2016 5:06 PM, Anne Four Counties wrote:
> Gnu is the software Acc application which I have installed on my new pc
> I wish to take the data I have been using on the softwares off my old PC and input into the software in my new PC
> How do I do this?
The way you have worded this makes me think you don't understand the 
GENERAL problem of moving data from your own computer to the new one. 
The fact that you say you can no longer find the data on your old 
computer makes me think you don't understand the difference between 
"copy" and "move"  (while we speak of MOVING the data from the old 
computer to the new one what we would normally want to do is first copy 
the data to the portable medium (US stick, external drive, etc.) and 
then copy from that to the new machine). Although we really should be 
talking about ALL of your data from your old machine I will discuss this 
in terms of gnucash.

a) Is the operating system of the new machine the same as the operating 
system of the old machine? If it is, the data should be copied into the 
same place. But if it is not, the new operating system might have a 
different structure for where user data goes. So when migrating to a 
machine using a different operating system than the old, that is the 
FIRST thing you need to find out, where does user data go.

b) Were you successful moving other data? For example, can you find that 
document you composed the week before? If you are using email (as 
opposed to webmail) can you see your old emails? Do you still have your 
bookmarks? Do you see now why I am saying GENERAL problem? Although we 
here are to help you specific to your gnuash data, it will help if we 
know whether your other data made it over but just not gnucash or if you 
couldn't successfully migrate any data. << *>>

c) WHERE did you try to put the gnucash data? The fact that you referred 
to "into the software" makes me worry that you tried putting it into the 
same directory (file folder) as the software is on the new machine. Even 
without knowing what operating system you are using I can tell you that 
THAT would be the wrong place.

Michael D Novack

* Things like your email and bookmarks would be going into a special 
part of user data generally called something like "application data". 
That directory (file folder) might not even be visible unless you ask to 
be shown it << generally MS Windows of all stripes comes with that 
"hidden" by default, so to migrate you need to at least for a while 
check "show hidden folders" >>  The right place for your gnucash data 
would be in the ordinary "documents" directory, but probably best in a 
sub-directory you create for that purpose. And BTW, the first time you 
try to open your gnucash data on the new machine its NOT going to be 
able to find it without help. You would need to use "file => open" and 
TELL gnucash what to open.