File Placement on the PC

[mikede1025]

Very new guy here for another question. You folks here have been so helpful. You're all just great.

OK, I'm talking about the installing of VCarve pro; Cut 3D; Vectric; and the Shark's control panel software.
When I first installed these programs when my Shark arrived I allowed my PC to install them wherever the program told it to and that's something I really hate because I like being able to put things where I see fit and in such a way that I can find them in my own logical way. But I let it happen nonetheless and when I need to navigate to any of it I find myself pulling my hair out and by the time I do find it I forgot what I wanted. Oh, maybe I should mention that the Vcarve is version 6.5 then you'll know it resides in Program Data.
Here's the question. Can I put these programs in my computer where I want them or do I have to keep them where they were installed? To help you answer let me say that I'd really like to just create a folder and name it something simple like "CNC" and then within that folder I can make sub-folders with each program in it. That way when I'm lookiing for a sample I know right where to go. If I find some pictures or projects that I want to keep then I know right where to put them and retrieve them. When I save a code, I know right where it's going and it's all under one roof so to speak.


Thanks,
Mike
Mike

[Adrian]

VCarve uses the ProgramData folder for storing information that can be changed by the user such as Post Processor, background bitmaps etc. Those items used to be stored in the main folder but that goes against the security requirements for the later versions of Windows.

You can always get to the correct area by using the "open application data folder" item on the VCarve File menu.

You can install the main VCarve program anywhere you like when you first run the install program but the ProgramData part will always be where it is as far as I know. There are ways of moving it with symbolic links etc if you know your way around Windows enough.

Unless you're running as an Administrator all the time it's pretty easy to get yourself into some right security holes by mixing program and data storage together though.

If you're using Windows 7 or 8 have you looked at the Library feature? That lets you create a library called CNC that looks like a folder but the contents of it can come from different folders all over your disk (and others).

[David Warkentin]

I had been saving all my vcarve files on my desktop. What a cluttered mess that became. So I made a new library and put all those files in there. Then just make a shortcut on your desktop from there and you'll be just a click or two away from your files.

[mikede1025]

Once again, thanks so much for the responses. They really helped.
Thanks to David because now I know that I can do that. And thanks to Adrian (yet again). Your answer was my main concern. I figured that they put that (those) files into Program Data for some good reason so now I'll be sure to keep them there no matter what else I do.

Mike

[Ms Wolffie]

I bought an external hard drive and put only CNC stuff on it.
Then I made a shortcut to the drive on my desktop.
Saves cluttering up the internal hard drive plus, if anything happens to my computer, I still have all my files
Cheers
Wolffie

[calgrdnr]

Hope not to Jinx you Wolfie. but I have seen more external drives fail then internals .. best is to have both . but you must remember to backup/sync your stuff. I did have a internal failure of all my CNC files and no back up on external in the last 2 years

I feel like a real Idiot I tell all my PC customers to replace/clone Main hard drives every 2 years and to make sure have back ups ... and here I didn't follow my own advise ..

Shame on Me .


Kent

[Ms Wolffie]

Hope not to Jinx you Wolfie. but I have seen more external drives fail then internals .. best is to have both . but you must remember to backup/sync your stuff. I did have a internal failure of all my CNC files and no back up on external in the last 2 years

I feel like a real Idiot I tell all my PC customers to replace/clone Main hard drives every 2 years and to make sure have back ups ... and here I didn't follow my own advise ..

Shame on Me .


Kent

No, you didn't jinx me.
The large external drive is from my old computer, reborn in a new case. It serves as a backup for all CNC files.
The smaller portable one can afford to play up without me losing important stuff.
Sometimes I have a springclean because I tend to have duplicate files all over the disk
Cheers
Wolffie

[mikede1025]

Hope not to Jinx you Wolfie. but I have seen more external drives fail then internals ..

Kent

Well, even backups aren't fool proof. I've always backed up my QuckBooks daily onto a flash drive because previous to that my hard drive flew south and I lost all my QuickBooks data. A real nightmare. So for about 2 years I was backing up to flash drives and just deleting older backups as the drive would fill up. One day I put the flash in and it wouldn't display anything. It said that the drive needed to be formatted. Yes, after all that time using it. And that was my only option. It wouldn't let me do anything else. Either click ok to format or it would simply just sit there doing nothing. So, in the last ditch desperation I finally went ahead and did the only thing that was possible. I clicked OK to go ahead and format it. Well, you should all know the results of that. POOF.!!! What I'm saying here is that my fail-safe failed. haha. My back up pooped. So, do we back up our back ups? And so on? Probably the only fool proof method I guess would be those places that offer the online backups of your entire system for a yearly fee. Even if we put them onto a CD or a DVD, they could fail as well.

Mike

[PaulRowntree]

At the end of the day, the only solution is to have multiple copies, stored separately. Even the commercial services have to do this (you hope, but who knows?). Frequency of backups is determined by how valuable the data and your time are.

With decent software, backups don't take too long. It is odd, but often we think it ok to do virus checks every night, but how many of us treat our data so nicely?
cheers!