where are vws settings stored?

[marklyn]

Does anyone know where the settings for VWS are stored on the hard drive, what file/folder name?
I like to back up settings files when I can but dang if I can find anything that looks like a config file, etc.
By the way, I'm on a Windows 7 machine.

[sam2004gp]

Your best bet is to copy the entire VWS folder. Thats what I do.  I have done a few restorative copies back to the VWS folder as well.  

But basically any file that ends with .bin is either your VWS database or a settings file.

[marklyn]

Your best bet is to copy the entire VWS folder. Thats what I do.  I have done a few restorative copies back to the VWS folder as well.  

But basically any file that ends with .bin is either your VWS database or a settings file.

I thought about that but I already have a backup program that backs up my data folder daily and creates a new zip file based on the day&month as part of the backup filename.

I was really hoping to avoid backing up the entire folder by finding at least those files that change when I configured the station/software.

[DaculaWeather]

You could use a batch file that only backs up changed files and set it to run with Windows Scheduler.

[marklyn]

You could use a batch file that only backs up changed files and set it to run with Windows Scheduler.

Problem with that is there are too many changed files.  There are several folders that have changed files in them, most related to new files that are automatically created and uploaded to our weather site every few minutes.
Somewhere, there must be configuration settings in some file(s) just waiting for me to back them up for safety. 

[Anthony]

They are in vws/setup.

[DaculaWeather]

What is it you're trying to do? Just back it up?

[Anthony]

He's wanting to back up the different settings that VWS uses. Go back and read his first post.

[Axelvold]

If I'm not totally wrong so are the setting files stored directly in the folder setup.

[sam2004gp]

They are in vws/setup.

But sometimes the data is not stored there.  Assuming it would be nice to backup those as well.

[marklyn]

They are in vws/setup.

I think you're close.  There are a bunch of .bin files in that folder, many of them with current dates and some of them with dates that I might have configured from a few days ago.  Problem is that they're not descriptive enough to know for sure which ones I could tag to backup.  I'd like avoid backing up and restoring a file that might cause a problem.
I see the data folder does appear to have pretty much only weather data files in it and I do back that one up daily.

[DaculaWeather]

You need to back up all the files, different settings are stored in different files.

Like I said before, if you're concerned about the amount of files you're backing up, use a batch file to only backup changed files from c:\vws on down (or where ever you installed it).

You'll want every changed file when it comes time to restore.

[marklyn]

You need to back up all the files, different settings are stored in different files.

Like I said before, if you're concerned about the amount of files you're backing up, use a batch file to only backup changed files from c:\vws on down (or where ever you installed it).

You'll want every changed file when it comes time to restore.

I have no concern at all regarding the amount of files I'd be backing up with your suggestion.  My concern is that I'm afraid that if I back up all changed files, as you suggest, that some of the files I'm backing up might be data files with current weather data in them.  In the event that I needed to restore files, the danger would be in restoring an old group of data files (in addition) to the files I'm really after, which is just files that hold the weather station configuration information within them.
I generally do this with larger, more complex programs I have installed, and those which offer a great deal of configuration choices that aren't easy to setup or remember to do so in the event of an accidental change, disk failure, corrupt files leading to a re-install, etc.  In all the years I've worked with various programs of varying complexity, I've always pretty much been able to figure out where the configuration files or registry settings are located so I can choose to back them up or export the reg settings.  VWS, thus far, is proving very difficult and even writing to Ambient has not helped my cause.

This all started the other day when moved VWS to a new computer and subsequently upgraded VWS to a new version.  I re-set up all of the settings (and there were many!).  All was running fine and I needed to reboot the computer a couple of day later for something.  When it came back up, VWS lost all of it's settings and I had to pretty much go through the entire process again, but I could remember most of it from the few days before when I initially set it up.  While what I'm trying to accomplish may not be of 'mainstream' interest, it is important to me and the importance I place on a good backup.

[DaculaWeather]

It's just me but when I do a restore, I want the last snapshot of my config files, data, or whatever. I appreciate your desire to backup just setup files but my question is why not everything? If you're doing a separate back-up of data files, just restore those back on top of the first restore.

If you try to selectively back up certain files, and especially in the case of VWS, you're probably going to miss one or more sooner or later. But unless you tell it to, it's going to place all of it's files under the VWS directory.

Keep a copy of the current version of VWS that you're running in case you need to re-install and then restore the VWS over the new install and you should be fine.

Sorry, I don't have a better answer for you, it would be nice to have a single config file but they just didn't do it that way.
 

[mmorris]

  Your best bet is to just take a screen shot of every drop down and box and make a pdf out of all your setting, 

[sam2004gp]

I have no concern at all regarding the amount of files I'd be backing up with your suggestion.  My concern is that I'm afraid that if I back up all changed files, as you suggest, that some of the files I'm backing up might be data files with current weather data in them.  In the event that I needed to restore files, the danger would be in restoring an old group of data files (in addition) to the files I'm really after, which is just files that hold the weather station configuration information within them.
I generally do this with larger, more complex programs I have installed, and those which offer a great deal of configuration choices that aren't easy to setup or remember to do so in the event of an accidental change, disk failure, corrupt files leading to a re-install, etc.  In all the years I've worked with various programs of varying complexity, I've always pretty much been able to figure out where the configuration files or registry settings are located so I can choose to back them up or export the reg settings.  VWS, thus far, is proving very difficult and even writing to Ambient has not helped my cause.

This all started the other day when moved VWS to a new computer and subsequently upgraded VWS to a new version.  I re-set up all of the settings (and there were many!).  All was running fine and I needed to reboot the computer a couple of day later for something.  When it came back up, VWS lost all of it's settings and I had to pretty much go through the entire process again, but I could remember most of it from the few days before when I initially set it up.  While what I'm trying to accomplish may not be of 'mainstream' interest, it is important to me and the importance I place on a good backup.

...another reason to back up the entire VWS folder every 6 hours and keep about 3 weeks of those backups, as I faithfully do.

[marklyn]

...another reason to back up the entire VWS folder every 6 hours and keep about 3 weeks of those backups, as I faithfully do.
[/quote]

I don't understand your model.  Let's say something similar happened to your computer and you lost all of your settings so you restored your entire vws folder from 3 weeks ago.  Your settings may now be back in place but so would 3 week old data files.  You'd now be missing 3 weeks of data that I use for historical reports, averaging, etc.

[DaculaWeather]

He would have the data that was captured, at the oldest, 6 hours. Within seconds of backing up the files under VWS, you have new updated files. I'm still not sure why you don't just want to backup all the files?

[marklyn]

He would have the data that was captured, at the oldest, 6 hours. Within seconds of backing up the files under VWS, you have new updated files. I'm still not sure why you don't just want to backup all the files?

My problem exhibited itself when I had to reboot my computer for something else after I had my settings configured for several days.
Let's say I set all of the settings exactly as I wanted them to be 2 months ago and I backed everything up then.  [In my case, the computer was rebooted and all settings were lost for some unknown reason.]  If I restored my backup from 2 months ago, I'd have old data.  I might have my settings back but I don't want the old data.
Even if I backed up my system every day, I can't be sure when the problem occurred to cause some problem with my VWS settings, so I wouldn't be sure when I'd need to restore from.

For me, if I could back up my settings separate from regular (daily) backups, this would be the best model and I'd never need to be concerned about restoring older data.  I do wish it VWS was more distinguished in where it puts data files & configuration files.  Might be a nice feature update.

[DaculaWeather]

I think that's why Sam keeps 3 weeks of backups.

It appears to me that all the settings are directly under the VWS\setup folder. Everything else looks like data to me. I use a piece of software called TreeComp that does a quick sync of my files to the backup location.

I backup (sync'd) all my files about 20 minutes ago. I now see the following updated files under the setup folder:
climate3.bin
position.bin
warning.bin
metipos.bin
menu.bin

Nothing else under setup has changed. I have numerous files in other folders, jpg's, html, and history files, but I don't see anything else that looks like a setting file.

[marklyn]

Thanks. What I may need to do is just unhook my cable to my Davis Vantage Pro 2 temporarily (so no files update) and then go into the various setting pages and change settings/save to see exactly what files change and where.  That might give me my best clues.  Appreciate the help though.

[sam2004gp]

The reason I do VWS backups every 6 hours... up to a few weeks back.  Is if I do find a problem days after the fact or become corrupt I can keep "stepping back" until before the problem or corruption occurred.  Now granted if I had to go back a week or so to get good data again.  I would rather be missing a small "week's worth" chunk of data, then having to start totally over, and loose all of it because I never backed up anything, or backed up the wrong stuff.  
.....But basically another reason I backup the entire VWS folder is I never have to worry if I got it all.  

As mentioned before on a monthly basis I also do an entire "drive image" backup of the WX machine to DVD.  That way if my hard drive dies, or major crash, then I can restore the last image within 20 minutes or so; restore my last "VWS backup" from the external hard drive and again only have lost a few hours of data.

My mantra is you can never have too many backups.  I do this type of thing to all 5 computers in the house, my 4 Ipods, and 3 Cell Phones.  I am a stickler for doing backups.

As for the .bin files listed above, the reason they have recent timestamps is  those files keep changing because they usually have Upload/Download/Update Schedules associated with them.  

 
A hint if you ever have a "menu" setting that starts acting funny.  Shutdown WVS.  Then again, backup the entire VWS folder. Delete the corrupt .bin file.  Restart VWS.  VWS will then recreate the "default" .bin file for that one and you can go back to the menu and re-enter the settings.  
^^-----Sometimes this has fixed crazy things for me.