[GNC] Best way to upgrade from an old version (2.6.14) to current

[brad]

I'm a bit confused as to the best update method.   These seem to be 
differing methods, incrementally updating GC (3 steps), or jump to 4.4 
(1 step) and let it do the data update in one step.    Is the JR one 
step method reliable for a big file with many accounts?

On 1/8/21 10:15 AM, John Ralls wrote:
>
> The old GnuCash file still has a bunch of imports and starting with it will save you some time importing and perhaps training the import-matcher. Make a separate backup of it for an extra layer of safety.
>
> Since you didn't actually use GnuCash much it's probably safe to just install 4.4. The installer will take care of uninstalling your old 2.6.14. There's a bunch of upgrading that GnuCash will do on its first run and a bunch more on the first import, so be patient! If your existing file is large and your old laptop is slow or doesn't have a lot of memory it may take more than an hour--someone reported several hours for a very large file--to run all of the startup scrubs and then more hours to update the import maps, so plug in the laptop, turn off energy savers (it's OK to blank the screen but you don't want it to go to sleep), and plan to leave it running for a while.
>
> As you bring the GnuCash file up to date do small imports--a month or two worth of transactions--to begin. If most of the imported transactions are matched correctly then you can go to larger import batches, but if they're not then you'll want to do a half dozen or so small batches to train the matcher. Note that there's a recently added feature that allows you to select several transactions in the matcher window and assign all of them to the same transfer account; just right-click after selecting and pick Assign Account from the context menu (it's the only option).
>
> Remember to save frequently so that you can easily go back if something goes wrong.
>
> Regards,
> John Ralls
On 1/8/21 10:28 AM, D. via gnucash-user wrote:
> Welcome back!
>
> Let me start with the last point first: in my experience, Gnucash's developer team is deeply committed to compatibility, and works to ensure that upgrades preserve ALL previous data. Furthermore, the default data storage is XML, which is text that is human readable, and fully transparent to the end user (I'll add the caveat here that for efficiency's sake, the file is usually stored in a compressed format, which cannot be directly read by humans, but which can be expanded and then read).
>
> Under the circumstances, you can follow either path, but I'd probably choose to upgrade and update in place, depending on details. Arguing in favor of a fully new start in 4.4 is the simplicity of downloading that version and starting anew. Rather strongly against this, however, is the fact that you have already imported most of your history into the older version--a process that is usually somewhat painful.
>
> Under the alternative, you'd update the software, confirm your existing data, and then import new transactions from Quicken. This would allow you to build off the existing data set, perhaps quickly.
>
> If you follow the upgrade path, the recommended method is to:
> 1) Make a backup of your data file.
> 2) Upgrade to 2.16.21, open your file and perform a check & repair on the entire file.
> 3) Upgrade to 3.11, open your file and perform a check & repair on the entire file.
> 4) Upgrade to 4.4, open your file and perform a check & repair on the entire file.
> 5) Export new transactions from Quicken.
> 6) Import these transactions into Gnucash.
> 7) Perform any reconciliations in date order.
> 8) Relax, don't worry, have a home brew.  (This last directive might not apply to the current set of activities)
>
> HTH,
> David T.
>
>