Preparing To Upgrade Your Database

You are here because you want to upgrade your existing Collect! and you are ready to prepare the groundwork.

Before you attempt an upgrade, you should ensure that your equipment is up to speed for the new database you will be running. Please examine the Help topic, Hardware Requirements to ensure that your system meets the specifications for a successful upgrade and optimal performance when you are using your new Collect!.

Getting Your Databases Ready

There are a few important tasks to complete in preparing for the upgrade. The first three can be completed in any order before proceeding to the final step. Do not skip any step.

First, run a full maintenance on your existing database, and then run a check to verify the database is in good order.

Second, due to financial changes that you might see, you must do a full RECALC of your database on the same day that you do your upgrade. This ensures that all financials are up to date.

Third, Collect! parses your transaction types when updating your accounts. Please examine your list of transaction types prior to the upgrade and correct any transaction types that have duplicate code numbers. During the upgrade, Collect! will keep only the first instance of any transaction type and delete any others that share the same code number. This may produce unexpected results.

Collect! uses default transaction types for updating your financials. These transaction types are created automatically for you during the upgrade if they are not already in your database.

If you are already using any of the default transaction types in your database for other purposes, Collect! will renumber the transaction type and any transactions that use the code. Please refer to Help topic, Upgrade Financial Changes for more information.

Finally, the most important step is to prepare a copy of this newly recalced and maintained database. This should not be overlooked. This is all your business data, the life of your company. Store the copy somewhere safe, prior to attempting the upgrade, so that you can revert back to it if needed.

Even an unexpected power failure might spoil your upgrade. Better to play it safe and have a recent back up!

A few suggestions for making the safe copy...

There are a number of ways to produce a safe copy of your data. Whatever method you use to backup Collect!, you should be confident that it will not take you long to go back to your previous working version of the Collect! system.

If you prepare correctly and allow time to do the database preparations and upgrade procedures, you will have no reason to panic. It should only take you minutes to get back to the database you were using prior to the upgrade.

If you are unsure of doing any of these steps, please do not attempt to upgrade. Get your technician to help you through the process, or ask for help from our experienced Member Services team. Doing this correctly with confidence will result in a smooth, painless process.

1. Safe Copy. Please refer to Backing up CV11 for details to create a copy of your existing Collect!.

2. CD or DVD, or Tape Drive. Burn your entire Collect! onto a CD or DVD, or use a tested and proven tape drive.

Restoring Collect! this way may take a half hour or more, depending on the size of your database. Rename the failed upgrade Collect! folder to anything temporarily, then copy the Collect! information completely from the CD back to the hard drive. Set the access and permissions to FULL READ WRITE on any files copied from the CD to the hard drive. You are back to your working Collect! system.

3. Routine backup. Follow your trusted and tested method of doing a backup.

The time this method involves should be known to you and your technicians. Backups may take many hours to accomplish a successful restore. This is why we ask people to test restore their backups - so you will know, in advance, what it takes to get your Collect! system working again as if nothing had happened.

Complete the tasks above and you are ready to confidently upgrade your database. Allow yourself enough time that, should something go amiss, you have time to get your restore in place prior to your collectors and managers needing to get into Collect!

Upgrading Multiple Databases

If you have more than one working database to upgrade, please prepare each database as described in the steps above. Make sure the necessary transaction types are in the database. Do a thorough maintenance on each database. On the day you intend to perform the upgrade, recalc all totals for each database, and then backup the database and store the copy safely.

See Also

- Introduction To Upgrading
- Upgrading Topics