Beersmith Reset Lost My Recipes. Help!!!

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Redweasel

Redweasel

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I have a registered version of Beersmith. I tried to use it today and it asked me for my product code again. I had it written down so I entered it and up pops the program.

All My Recipes Are Gone!!! It completely reset as if I just downloaded it.

Anyone know a way to recover the data? I am sooo upset right now.
 
Best thing to do is make regular backup copies. I'm not sure what the official method of recovery is, but what I would do is immediately copy your Beersmith folder over to another directory so in this recovery process you don't muck anything up.

Then look in the directory, Beersmith appears to make backups regularly of all the import database files. I'm not sure if it happens after a change or what, but look in the dir for the .bak files. Recipe_1.bak will be the most recent backup with Recipe_2.bak, Recipe_3.bak, etc. being older. You should be able to copy the most recent/valid one over to Recipe.bsm and have your data back.

If you've modified any of the other databases Hops, Yeast, Equipment, etc. You might want to copy those over as well.

I suspect on the official Beersmith site or forums there is probably an article about this
 
Redweasel,
Thanks for the PM - do quick search on your computer for files with the extension "*.bsm" using the windows find files tool.

My guess is that you actually have two installs of the program (or at least two directories) and you may have inadvertently opened the wrong one.

If that fails, you can go to the BeerSmith directory (under C:\Program Files) and see if there are any BSM or BAK files. The BAK files contain complete copies of your recipes and other data.

As always, I recommend making backup copies of your files before you try to open or manipulate them (ideally you should back up the whole BeerSmith directory).

Please let me know how it goes.

Brad
 
Thanks for the quick reply Brad and for the help with your support forum. I'll check into it when I get home and let you know how it turns out.
 
Well, no luck. It's like I just downloaded a new copy. Srange occurance. Luckily I found the hard copies of the better ones and I've posed a few on another forum so everything is not lost.

I'm going to uninstall and redownload in case I have an internal bug with the program.

I'm going to make sure and keep a backup file from now on just in case.
 
Are you sure you don't have any BSM files anywhere else? There should be these as well as *.bak files in the BeerSmith directory. I have no idea how they could even be deleted - the program never deletes them.

Brad
 
The bak files were all from today. I'm truly baffled. It's truly like I just downloaded the software this morning. I'm starting to wonder If SWMBO accidentaly uninstalled it and tried to cover by redownloading.

Luckily I can replace most of what I lost from hard copies and prior posts.

Thanks for your help Brad, this is one of the reasons I chose this software. Your personal attention and support of your product is what a lot of companies and products are missing these days.
 
Had exactly the same thing happen to me today.
I started the software from the windows start menu where it is number three as in third most used applications so it's not a case of multiple installations. Aked for the license key which I reentered but all recepies are gone, not a single .bak file on the system and the .bsm are all the ones that comes with a new install.
That's the last 6 months brew log gone:mad:
 
Redweasel I think you might have had this happen too early for this to be a specific cause......... but Brotom7, tell me... are you running XP or Vista?

And more specifically, have you installed any software updates recently before this occurred? Like specifically Service Pack 3??

It almost sounds to me like something external is editing the registry, then upon re-starting, BeerSmith gets confused and reinitializes all its stuff.

And I feel yr pain, Brotom7, I just lost 8 months' of recipes.... But it was my own damn fault, I made a backup of my Documents folder before wiping my HD and reinstalling Windows...... but I never copied my .BSM file out of there (The Program Files folder) before wiping it. :(

Oh well live and learn. I've got paper copies. It's just nuances that have been lost... notes, kegged-on dates.. little stuff. And all on beers that have already been drank heartily. :)
 
Hi,
I may have found the source of your troubles. If you have insufficient privileges to write to the Program Files directory, Vista conveniently stores your data in a "compatibility" directory. To see it, use explorer and go to "C:\Program Files\BeerSmith", then click on the "Compatibility Files" button in explorer.

The problem is that this maps your stored files to "C:\Users\NAME\AppData\VirtualStore\Program Files\BeerSmith" where NAME is the name of your user.

Now if you log in as another user or change the status of your user (for example from a non-admin to an admin user) the mapping will be different under Vista and your recipes will no longer be there.

Another great O/S feature brought to you by Vista...obviously I'll be looking at ways to correct this in the near future but you can likely recover your data if this happens by going to the old "compatibility" path above.

Cheers,
Brad
 
Thanks for the reminder. I just backed up my .bsm files to an external drive.
 
Cheers Brad, I knew it smelt of an OS "bug"... er, "feature"!

That's why I'm still sticking to my XP SP3. Use whatcha know, know whatcha use! ;)
 
Thanks for the update Brad. I'm a Vista user AND my user is admin level but I still have files in the "Compatibility" folder.

Thanks Bill, yet another bang up software feature.
 
BeerSmith said:
Hi,
I may have found the source of your troubles. If you have insufficient privileges to write to the Program Files directory, Vista conveniently stores your data in a "compatibility" directory. To see it, use explorer and go to "C:\Program Files\BeerSmith", then click on the "Compatibility Files" button in explorer.

The problem is that this maps your stored files to "C:\Users\NAME\AppData\VirtualStore\Program Files\BeerSmith" where NAME is the name of your user.

Now if you log in as another user or change the status of your user (for example from a non-admin to an admin user) the mapping will be different under Vista and your recipes will no longer be there.

Another great O/S feature brought to you by Vista...obviously I'll be looking at ways to correct this in the near future but you can likely recover your data if this happens by going to the old "compatibility" path above.

Cheers,
Brad
Click to expand...

Great proggy Brad, I love it! Now, what would one have to do to get you to port it to Linux without having to run it under Wine or VirtualBox? Ol' buddy, ol' pal, ol' friend o' mine! :D
 
So if I want to create backups on a different disk in case of complete failure do I want to copy the bsm or bak or both?
 
@foppa In the past, I've always just copied the recipes.bsm file when I move it between laptop + desktop.
 
Hi,
If you backup the *.BSM files, they contain all of your data including the ingredients. The BAK files contain older versions of the BSM files just in case something gets corrupted.

The BAK files can be renamed back to BSM files and opened up - but they are really just extra insurance.

Cheers,
Brad
 
Here's an idea. Go buy a 1 gig jump drive, you know, one of those storage sticks that go into a USB port, they're cheap these days. Open it and copy the entire Beersmith folder onto it. Do this every week and keep the stick in a secure location.
 
BeerSmith said:
Hi,
I may have found the source of your troubles. If you have insufficient privileges to write to the Program Files directory, Vista conveniently stores your data in a "compatibility" directory. To see it, use explorer and go to "C:\Program Files\BeerSmith", then click on the "Compatibility Files" button in explorer.

The problem is that this maps your stored files to "C:\Users\NAME\AppData\VirtualStore\Program Files\BeerSmith" where NAME is the name of your user.

Now if you log in as another user or change the status of your user (for example from a non-admin to an admin user) the mapping will be different under Vista and your recipes will no longer be there.

Another great O/S feature brought to you by Vista...obviously I'll be looking at ways to correct this in the near future but you can likely recover your data if this happens by going to the old "compatibility" path above.

Cheers,
Brad
Click to expand...
Hi Brad,
I seem to be having the same problems as some users in this thread. Lost the last two years of recipes from my Beersmith software. I cannot find it by searching the harddrive for *.bak or *.bsm as you suggested. I am running Vista. I also have only one login profile setup (always have) so I don't think the files are 'hidden' in the compatibility folder that you describe. At any rate, I cannot see the 'compatibility button' in the Vista version of "Explorer". Additional info: I no longer see even the folders that I created in Beersmith (ie: the folders I created titled "browns", "hefs", etc. are missing as well as the recipes contained in them). Oddly, the first recipe I entered into this software remains as well as its folder but it is the only one. Any other ideas? Thanks for your dedication to your product as shown by your support on this msg. board.
 
The compatability directory may not show up if you have changed user permissions. Try going to your "C:\Users\{NAME} directory (where {NAME} is your original user name).

Then do an advanced search from there being sure to include system directories and hidden files. The regular search may not find the files, but if you include all files and system directories it should find them.

Brad
 
BadKarma said:
Here's an idea. Go buy a 1 gig jump drive, you know, one of those storage sticks that go into a USB port, they're cheap these days. Open it and copy the entire Beersmith folder onto it. Do this every week and keep the stick in a secure location.
Click to expand...

Take it one step better.

copy your beersmith directory to the USB key and run the exe from there. It will ask for the license key again but from that point on you can run beersmith off the key or copy the directory to your hard drive and run from there.

I keep it on my keychain and always have a backup on my two computers. :D
 

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