Migrating IMatch 5 to new computer / Installing IMatch 2017

[petej]

I am replacing a computer that has IMatch 5.5 installed.  I am trying to decide if I should move IMatch 5.5 to the new computer or buy IMatch 2017.  In either case, I want to make sure I am following the right steps.

Option 1 - If I decide to install IMatch 5.5 in the new computer,  can I still download it from photools.com, or do I have to copy it from the old computer? If the latter, what program files would I have to move?

Option 2 - If I decide to buy and install  IM 2017 for the new computer, I know I need to copy the database file (IMD5) and the Settings database file (IMatch5.pts) and install them in the new computer, right?  Anything else I need to move? (I don't have any scripts)

Thank you in advance.

petej

P.S.  Mario, in case you're looking, I'm leaning towards option 2! 

[Mario]

1. You can always download the software you have a license for from the customer portal:

https://www.photools.com/customer/

I keep even legacy versions on-line for a long time after it is no longer supported.

2. Use Pack & Go to transfer your database(s), all your settings, presets etc. to the new computer. That is what Pack & Go was designed for.
See the help for Pack & Go for full details. If you have not used Pack & Go before and you have questions, post a message.

3. Definitely upgrade to IMatch 2017. It's far better, faster (especially the 64-bit version) and the support period for IMatch 5 ends in three months.

[petej]

Thank you Mario.  I downloaded IMatch 2017 to my new computer.  I will try to move my database using Pack and Go.

[petej]

Can't get Pack & Go to move my database to new computer....

I downloaded IMatch 2017 to a new computer.  Tried to move the IMatch 5 database from the old to the new computer using Pack & Go.  I have Windows 10 on both computers.

Created the Pack & Go file on the old computer.  I had it run the database diagnostic, compact and optimize the data base, and also pack cache files.  On my first try at creating the package file the computer got through the diagnosis but then froze up.  Second try was OK.  I copied the folder with the package file (.impag) to the C: directory of the new computer

I opened the Pack & Go program on the new computer; clicked on the "Restore" tab; and entered the location of the package file.  The "Restore to original folders" option was selected and I did not change that.

The Restore process started OK but then stopped.  See attached screen shot.  Tried this several times with the same results.  Each time, clicking on "Abort" and "X" did not close the window, I had to use Task Manager to close it.  I did not get the "file access denied" message, so I assume file access permission settings are not the issue.  Copy of Protocol file text attached.

What am I doing wrong?  I would appreciate any help I can get.  I'm eager to get started with IMatch 2017!

[Mario]

Screen shot looks good. No problems in the log file either.

You can always copy the database in Windows Explorer from the old to the new system. Did you try that?
Note: Since your files are on a new computer, you will have to relocate them once the database is opened in IMatch 2017.

[helen]

Hi,

I am migrating database from iMatch 3 to iMatch 2017. I follow the basic steps:
1 create an empty target database in iMatch 2017(without password);
2 start the converting

The problem is I discovered that the property schema is converted successfully but the value of each property are missing in new database.
Do you have any clue for this problem. My question:
1 Do I need to import the property schema manually in iMatch 2017?
2 All the values of each property is stored in the database, right?

Waiting for your reply...Thank you in advance for your help

[Mario]

The database converter converts properties into IMatch Attributes automatically. You usually don't need to do anything manually.
When you look at the Attributes panel for some of your files, does it show now contents at all? Not even the Attribute Sets?

The database converter creates many log files (see the help for details).
Please ZIP and attach these log files. I can then check for errors during the conversion.

I'm not to deep anymore in the converter, most users converted their IMatch database three years ago when IMatch 5 came out.
I need the log files to tell you more.

[petej]

Screen shot looks good. No problems in the log file either.

You can always copy the database in Windows Explorer from the old to the new system. Did you try that?
Note: Since your files are on a new computer, you will have to relocate them once the database is opened in IMatch 2017.

Mario,
Thanks for responding.  I will try to copy the database from old to new computer.  I assume you are talking about the process in the Help topic "Traveling with IMatch".   Does it matter what folder I copy to on the new computer?

I am still very concerned that I can't get the .impag file to restore the .imd5 database, settings, etc in the new computer.  Why does the IMatch Pack & Go window (my screenshot in previous post) freeze up needing ctrl-alt-del/task manager to close it?  Is this a problem on my computer? 

Even if I can get the database copied to the new computer via Windows Explorer, I am still concerned about not getting Pack & Go to work.  Does that mean that if I use Pack & Go to back up my IMatch data I may not be able to restore it?

[Mario]

I can't tell why it's freezing up. According to the log file, it's already finished.

Did you try to restore the package into a separate folder?
Some virus checkers block applications from writing to certain folders, which may explain why Pack & Go stops responding.
Crete a folder on your disk (e.g. c:\impg) and restore into this folder. Does this work?

The database can be copied to a folder of your choice. I keep all my databases in c:\imdata but you can also put the database into My Documents or whatever.

[helen]

The database converter converts properties into IMatch Attributes automatically. You usually don't need to do anything manually.
When you look at the Attributes panel for some of your files, does it show now contents at all? Not even the Attribute Sets?

The database converter creates many log files (see the help for details).
Please ZIP and attach these log files. I can then check for errors during the conversion.

I'm not to deep anymore in the converter, most users converted their IMatch database three years ago when IMatch 5 came out.
I need the log files to tell you more.

Hi Mario,

Thanks for your reply. The attached is my convert log. I discovered that the property schema is transferred to the new database. I mean the Attributes Set is existing, but the attribute values are gone. Can you help me to see what the problem is ? 

[Mario]

@Helen

IMatch reports that your IMatch 3 database is physically damaged. It encounters the problem while reading property data, which is most likely the reason that no properties can be migrated by the database converter.

The database system reports: Physical database damage: 'unknown error' which is not good.

Database damage is really rare but can happen, e.g., when Windows shuts-down unexpectedly, because of a power failure, disk or network problem. In that case an IMatch database may become damaged without IMatch knowing! Errors in a database may go unnoticed for a long time if the damaged section is in a rarely used part. The error then shows up when this section of the database file is used again. Which can be weeks or month after the problem happened.

The only way to find such problems is to run a database diagnosis frequently. I don't recall anymore if IMatch 3 did prompt the user or how good the database diagnosis in the old database system was. Much has changed since IMatch 3.

Do this:

1. Make a copy of your IMatch 3 database file. Just copy the entire folder.
2. Open the database in IMatch 3 and run a diagnosis.
3. If the diagnosis is OK, run a Compact & Optimize (not sure how this was called in the old version).

Then try to export your properties manually.
Go to Database > Import & Export > Export Property Schema.
Export everything, including the image property set.

If this works, great. You can then import the resulting file into IMatch 2017 via the "Import IMatch 3 Property Set" feature available under Edit > Preferences > Edit Attributes (button on the lower right).

If this does not work, the only chance would be to restore your database from the last known 'good' backup.
If this is not possible, you can send me the database and I'll see what I can do. The database "QPID Imatch database.imd4" seems to be pretty small (4MB) so you can just send me the entire folder containing the database per email.

[petej]

I can't tell why it's freezing up. According to the log file, it's already finished.

Did you try to restore the package into a separate folder?
Some virus checkers block applications from writing to certain folders, which may explain why Pack & Go stops responding.
Crete a folder on your disk (e.g. c:\impg) and restore into this folder. Does this work?

     I tried to move the database and associated files following the guidance in the Pack & Go Help topic, i.e., I used the "Restore to original folders".  If I understand it right, all IMatch data files are in ProgramData and AppData sub-folders created by IMatch when it is installed.  So in the "Restore to original folders" mode, Pack & Go copies these files from the ProgramData and AppData sub-folders on the old computer and writes them to the corresponding sub-folders on the new computers.  As mentioned in my earlier post, this didn't work. 

     Question:  In the "Restore to original folders" option, how does Pack & Go know where to put the database (imd) file in the new computer, since there is no place in the Pack & Go application window to specify a destination for the file?  Does it create a folder with the same name and in the same location as on the old computer? 

     If I understand you correctly, you are suggesting that I try the option "Restore to a different folder".  If I do that, how do the settings, scripts, cache files, etc. end up where they are supposed to go?  Do I have to move them via Windows Explorer?  If so, is there any guidance on what goes where?

The database can be copied to a folder of your choice. I keep all my databases in c:\imdata but you can also put the database into My Documents or whatever.   OK!

[Mario]

Please don't quote a ton of text and then put comments into it. Your post is almost unreadable...


If you use the "original folder", Pack & Go will do that. If you try that on a system with a totally different folder layout, this cannot work, e.g. if the database folder does not exist. Program data will always

Did you copy the database manually? This takes only a few seconds and should lead to success immediately.

If you restore to a separate folder you can copy individual files to the real folder.

[petej]

Sorry for the inconvenience.  Since my thread was hijacked by another poster, I tried to link my questions to specific comments you had made to me.  It obviously didn't work too well and I apologize for that.

[Mario]

Could you copy the database manually?
When you export into a separate folder, does Pack & Go succeed?

[petej]

Mario,

I finally got my IMatch5 database running on the new computer.  I haven't worked with it yet but I assume (and hope!) that all my database data (attributes, etc) have been transferred correctly.

I guess I had 3 options for getting the database to the new computer:
     (1) Use Pack & Go and "Restore to original folders"
     (2) Use Pack & Go and "Restore to a different folder"
     (3) Copy the database manually in Windows Explorer from the old to the new computer

After my initial failure using option 1, you suggested options 2 and 3.  It took me a while to give up on option 1 for the following reasons:

     a.  The Pack & Go help topic says "Pack & Go can restore the files included in a package to their original folders or to a new parent folder.  Restore files to their original folders.....to transfer the files in the package from one computer to another"  [emphasis added]  So I was trying to follow the Help guidance to move my database to my new computer.

     b.  I have been using Pack & Go to back up my database.  Not being able to get option 1 to work gave me grave concern regarding my ability to use Pack & Go for backing up and subsequently restoring databases when needed. 

     c.  I admit I didn't really understand option 2.  The Help topic says "Use this mode if you only want to restore selected files".   I didn't feel comfortable doing this since I didn't know what files to restore where!

     d.  Copying the database file from my database folder on the old computer to a similar folder created on the new computer seemed clear enough.  My hesitation to use this option was also based on the backup issue.  I could back up the database by copying the imd5 file, but then how about the rest of the associated files?

In any case, option 1 didn't work (I even tried to use it with the virus checker temporarily disabled).  I then used option2.  It seems to have worked, but I still have to figure out where to put the files other than the database that are now in the restore folder.  Not sure what "the real folder" means in your comment "If you restore to a separate folder you can copy individual files to the real folder".  I'll work on that.

If I can suggest, someone should review the Pack & Go Help topic I mentioned in para a. above.  It may need some clarification for readers that are moving from one computer to another.  Also, it might be helpful to others using option 2 (because they can't can't get option 1 to work) to clarify in Help what you should to do with the files (other than the database) that are in the folder Pack & Go restored to. 

I know this is a bit long but I wanted you to better understand what my issues were/are and to give you some suggestions for improving the Pack & Go Help topic.  Thank you very much for your help. 

petej

[Mario]

I use Pack & Go often to copy my settings between computers and I'm pretty sure other users do so as well. It's usually a just works.

The option to restore to a separate folder is, as explained in more depth in the help, just a way to unpack the entire package contents into a separate folder. You do this if you want to copy selected scripts or settings or the database manually. Not replacing all existing files with their counterparts from the package file.

The Pack & Go log file you had attached to one of your posts was from a run that locked normal, no problems reported. A package was apparently successfully restored. That's all I can tell from the info I have now. Nothing that would indicate a problem.

If you had restored to a separate folder and attached the log, I could compare the two logs. From your passing remarks above I think I understand that you have restored the package to a separate folder successfully? So the package is OK, Pack and Go is working on the machine. Important data. Because this means that Pack & Go is blocked from writing to the original folders, which indicates a security software, group policy or file system permissions are the problem.

[helen]

@ Mario

Hi,

Thanks for your advice. Now the property contents are populated successfully. 

[sinus]

helen,

from 3 to IM2017! Wow, a big step and a lot to discover!
Enjoy it! 

[Mario]

Yep. Several years of development missed 

I suggest you start with reading the For IMatch 3 users help topic in the IMatch help. It's from 2014 but still mostly valid for IMatch 2017.