Can`t transfer data from W 98 2ed to XP on new computer.

[Richard151]

I`m trying to transfer directly sidekick99 version 6.0 data from an older computer running Win 98 2nd to a new computer running XP. The Original installation disk installs on XP and works.
What is the simplest method ( if there is one ? )to transfer data, calander,notes,contact,etc.
All and and help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[james33]

Dear Richard,
To answer your question:
How do I back up and restore my user data in Sidekick 98/99?

To backup files in Sidekick 98, you will want to use the Sidekick 98 Backup and Restore utility. To launch it, choose:
File | Back Up and Restore.
Back Up and Restore is a simple, yet powerful, feature. You choose which files you want to copy or back up, and choose the location to copy them to. Later, when you are ready to bring those files back to their original directories, Sidekick 98 puts them back in the proper locations.
After the first time you use Back Up and Restore, Sidekick 98 remembers which files you backed up or restored most recently, and displays them as the default files for backing up or restoring.
You must close Sidekick 98 before you can run Back Up and Restore. If you choose File | Back Up and Restore from within Sidekick 98, you will be prompted to close Sidekick 98 first and you will then be able to continue. You can also run Back Up and Restore as a stand-alone application from your Sidekick 98 program group. To access it, choose Start | Programs | Sidekick 98 | Backup & Restore.

Backing Up

To back up files, follow these steps:
1. Save your open files.
2. Choose File | Back Up And Restore.
At the opening dialog box, choose Back Up and click Next.
3. Choose the files to back up in the Back Up dialog box.
By default, Sidekick 98 looks in the Userdata folder. However, you may want to back up other information, such as resource files, which are located in the Resource folder. You can navigate to the resource folder by clicking the Browse button to the right of the Source file directory.
4. After you've selected all the files you want to back up and specified the directory to back them up to, click Begin.
If you need to close Sidekick 98, you will be prompted to do so. After that, click the Begin button again and Sidekick 98 will back up the files that you specified.
If you are backing up to a floppy disk, you might run out of disk space for all your files. If this happens, Sidekick 98 copies your files across multiple disks, prompting you to insert as many as needed.

Restoring

To place backed-up files onto a second computer, or to restore files to your primary computer:
1. Choose File | Back Up And Restore. At the opening dialog box, choose Restore and click Next.
Notice that each file to be restored already indicates its own destination directory.
You can change the destination directory before you add files to the Restore list if you do not wish to overwrite the ones you were currently using.
2. When ready, click Begin. If you are currently running Sidekick 98, you will be prompted to close Sidekick 98. You will then be able to proceed. If you are restoring from multiple disks, Back Up and Restore prompts you to insert the disks in the correct order. If some of the files that should be restored are missing, it will notify you.

Sidekick's Files
This document refers to a "Memo Write file" or "Calendar file" as a single file, but each of these is actually composed of several files. When you create new Calendar files or Memo Write files, Sidekick 98 creates and maintains these extra files automatically

Memo Write Files
A Memo Write file is made up of *.SKWrite, *.SKContent, and *.SKNoteHeader. The asterisk represents the name you give the file when you save it from the Memos view. A fourth file with the extension .SKTmpContent is a temporary file that exists only as long as that Memo Write file is open. Back Up and Restore does not back it up. Memo Write files are listed without an extension in Sidekick 98, so they appear as one file.
If you have an AUTOMATED BACKUP routine then it is a good idea to backup this Temp File at the same time too but save the entire set of Write files in their own folder including this one as it is easier to identify them.

Calendar Files

Your "Calendar file" is actually up to nine files in the XXXX????.SKW format, where XXXX stands for your name or initials (which can actually be shorter eg XX if you saved it with only 2 initials).
When saving, opening, backing up, or restoring calendar files, Sidekick 98 lists XXXX as the name of the calendar.
The ???? part of the file name stands for the type of calendar file, as listed here:
· XXXXEVEN.SKW Appointments
· XXXXCALL.SKW Calls
· XXXXTASK.SKW To Dos
· XXXXMAST.SKW Goals
· XXXXRECR.SKW Recurring Activities
· XXXXINIT.SKW Calendar Settings (includes print settings)
· XXXXCSCA.SKW Personal list definitions
· XXXXDATA.SKW Special days and multi-day events
· XXXXALAR.SKW Alarms

Cardfiles

Unlike calendars and Write documents, cardfiles are single files. A cardfile is saved with the name you give it and the extension .SKCard. Cardfiles are listed without their extensions in Back Up and Restore.
Bear in mind that when backing up cardfile information, template settings will not be backed up.The files containing Address book, Envelope, and Label template information must be manually backed up if you want to be able to use these in the future.
These files are:
1. Address Book Templates: skwph2.skw
2. Envelope Templates: skwnv2.skw
3. Label Templates: skwlb2.skw
These files are stored (by default) in the C:\Program files\Starfish\Sidekick 98\data\ directory.
Report Files

The Label contents are actually part of the Cardfile and are saved with the Cardfile so they can be backed up by copying and then deleting all the cards and saving the blank cardfiles in a backup folder as Cardblank1 , 2 etc (wow what original names!).
In the event of corruption in the original cardfile they can be opened and all the cards dragged into them and then Save As under the original cardfile name..

Report files

Like cardfiles, Report files are single files. A report is saved with the name you give it and the extension .RPT.
(Report Templates are saved under the extension .TPT)

Resource Files

There are three types of resource files, all of which are located in the Resource folder:
*.skr Master list of all resources available to you
*.skd Detailed information for those resources you manage
*.dat Information on resources that have been recently transferred

Expense Files

Expense files are listed under [Others] They have the extension .SKExpense.
Back Up and Restore Files
When Back Up and Restore copies files, it creates and places a .LOG file alongside the copied files. This file allows Back Up and Restore to keep track of the files that have been backed up or restored. Back Up and Restore creates and accesses this file automatically, so you don't need to worry about copying or updating it.

Q03
How do I Back up my data in Sidekick 99

Calendar:
To make a backup of your Calendar, first make a note of the name and location of your Calendar, then choose File | Save Calendar As
or just press F12
Then choose the folder you would like to save the files to. If you are saving the files to floppy disk, you will need to choose the correct drive as well. Sidekick will then make a copy of your Calendar in that folder.
IMPORTANT:
If you take the disk out after this the calendar will become unavailable, so to return to the original Calendar, you will need to tell Sidekick to open it again. To do so, choose File | Open Calendar, then choose the original Folder and your usual Calendar.

Contacts:

To make a backup of your Contacts file, first make a note of the name and location of the file, then choose File | Save Cardfile As and choose the folder you would like to save the file to. If you are saving the file to floppy disk, you will probably need to choose the correct drive as well. Sidekick will then make a copy of your Contacts file in that folder. To return to your usual copy of the Contacts file, you will need to tell Sidekick to open it again. To do so, choose File | Open Cardfile, then choose your usual Contacts file. You will then want to close the backup copy of the file. To do so, click the tab of the backup file to make it the current Contacts file, then choose
File | Close Cardfile.
Since the tabs of the backup file and the usual file will display the same name, Check the window title to see which file is which. The title is above the menu options. The file name and location will be displayed after Sidekick 99

Note: The files that store information for the various print templates in your Contacts files are separate from the Contacts files themselves. These files should be backed up as well.
You can use Windows Explorer to back up these files. Simply copy these files to the folder where you have made the backup copy of your Contacts file. You will find these files in your Sidekick 99\Data folder.If you ever have to reinstall Sidekick, be sure to copy these files back to the Sidekick 99\Data folder.
The three files which store the template information are:
skwlb2.skw file = Label Templates
skwnv2.skw file = Envelope Templates
skwph2.skw file = Address Book Templates
Memos:
To make a backup of your Memos file, first make a note of the name and location of the file, then choose File | Save Memo File Asand choose the folder you would like to save the file to. If you are saving the file to floppy disk, you will probably need to choose the correct drive as well. Sidekick will then make a copy of your Memos file in that folder. To return to your usual Memos file, you will need to tell Sidekick to open it again. To do so, choose File | Open Memos File,then choose your usual Memos file.
The Userdata folder:
Alternatively, if all of your Sidekick data is saved to your
Sidekick 99\Userdata folder, you can simply make a copy of the whole folder. This would make a backup copy of all of your data files at once and you would not need to re-specify which files to open again in Sidekick.
Warning! You would still need to copy the three Contacts template files stored in the Sidekick 99\Data folder.

I got the above from the following pages at Tek-Tips from the FAQ pages in the Starfish Sidekick Forum.

See faq807-2966
and faq807-3000
Which list all the Starfish FAQs
All the answers are on those pages and if you copy the text and paste it into Word (or even Sidekick) you will have all the Starfish FAQs from their Site and Most of the answers you need.
There are quite a few more around the Forum too so use the search Tab at the top. Regards Jim
Check the FAQ area of this Forum for answers (If there are any FAQs!) , it could save you a lot of time and effort and means that links are more likely to be current. Please 'Comment' on them if they are not!