How do I move multiple years of ProSeries Basic (software and client data) to a new computer (old one died)

[gammoncs]

My current ProSeries Basic computer died.  I have purchased a new computer and I need to get my 2015-2024 software and clients moved to the new computer.  I have a good backup of all of my BASWIN and Client Data files.  I see how I can go back and install prior year ProSeries Basic software which I assume would build the new BASWIN YY folders/files and new Client Data folders for that year.  After each year's software is installed, is there a way to restore the BASWIN YY folder contents and my Client Data Folder contents from my backups?  I saw notes where a handful of individual files needed to be renamed and restored but not the whole folder.

In addition, it is not clear whether the restored BASWIN YY files/folders needed to exist before the previous year software installation or whether they are restored after the install.

So back to my question.   Since I don't know how all of the Intuit Software/client data/Intuit Link components work, I need to know the easiest way to get all of my previous years Intuit software and files "restored" to my new computer so that I can get work my way back to being ready with my 2024 software as well as being able to get to my previous year software too.

I am sure that this is not real clear but I just want to make sure that I do this right so I only have to do it once.

Your thoughts and/or ideas are appreciated.

Danny Gammon

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Is this the article you read?

https://accountants.intuit.com/support/en-us/help-article/install-products/installing-proseries-new-...

[gammoncs]

Yes, this is the article that I found.  It is not clear whether I first install all of my previous year software and then restore client data and BasWinYY files or whether the restored BasWinYY files have to already be in place when the install is run for that year.  Also, since my old computer is dead, I have to rely on file backups from my external disk drive which were not created from within the ProSeries Basic software.

It would be good to know if the entire BasWinYY folder could be restored for each year as opposed to renaming 14 files inside the folder and then just copying those 14 files from the backup, for each year.  It seems like restoring the whole BasWinYY folder would better insure that nothing is missed in the restore but maybe that is just wishful thinking on my part.

Again I will do whatever has to be done, I just want to make sure that I get each year right the first time.

Thank you for your response.

Danny

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Get all your programs installed, start with the oldest year first.

You'll just need to move those backed up data files into the 23Data folder (or you could just replace the data folder for each year with the ones you have backed up), then running the Homebase Maintenance within the program, it will pull them all into Homebase if they dont show up at first.

[gammoncs]

I understand.  So nothing in the BasWinYY folders need to be restored to define things like printer settings, folder locations, etc.?  Just double checking.

Thank you for sharing this information.

Danny

[TaxGuyBill]

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@gammoncs wrote:
So nothing in the BasWinYY folders need to be restored to define things like printer settings, folder locations, etc.? 

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Personally, after installing the program on the new computer, I also copy the entire "Common" folder from the old computer to the new computer.  That carries over some the settings and other stuff.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

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@TaxGuyBill wrote:

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@gammoncs wrote:
So nothing in the BasWinYY folders need to be restored to define things like printer settings, folder locations, etc.? 

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Personally, after installing the program on the new computer, I also copy the entire "Common" folder from the old computer to the new computer.  That carries over some the settings and other stuff.

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Do you copy the Homebase folder too?  I havent done it in 7 years so my memory if foggy, but I think I backup the Common and Homebase folders and move both of them over too.....Ive got a new system sitting still in the boxes, Ive been dreading doing the install and moving everything over!

[SensibleandHourly]

Thank you for posting this. I am planning on purchasing a new computer this year as well. May I ask what/why you chose the computer that you did? 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, 

Dawn 

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

I bought an HP Envy i7 with a 1TB solid state drive and 32M of RAM   

Space and RAM were my biggest concerns, I think a terabyte of space and 32M should work for what I use it for.

Here's PS system requirements, I think just about any new system you purchase will meet or exceed them

https://accountants.intuit.com/support/en-us/help-article/product-system-requirements/system-require...

[gammoncs]

I will just throw this out there.  If I have all of my BasWinYY folders backed up can I copy ALL of my backed up folders to the new computer after installing the Intuit software?  Will that create problems?

Danny

[gammoncs]

My preference for my Intuit Software is a desktop/tower computer.  For me Dell computers have been reliable over the years so I selected the Dell 7000 (7010) model because it was the closest to what met my specific needs.  There are a number of 7000 models with a lot more horse power than I need (gamers, developers, etc.).  I also found some good black Friday deals on Amazon this time of the year. 

I hope this helps even though everybody's needs are a little different.

Danny

[gammoncs]

BTW - The Dell 7010 had a current Intel processor, 32GB of main memory, 1TB of SSD (electronic disk), a R/W DVD drive, and WIFI connectivity. 

Danny

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

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@gammoncs wrote:

I will just throw this out there.  If I have all of my BasWinYY folders backed up can I copy ALL of my backed up folders to the new computer after installing the Intuit software?  Will that create problems?

Danny

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As long as you put them in the proper folders, you should be fine.

[SensibleandHourly]

Thank you, that is helpful. I was also looking at Dell's, nor do I need space for gaming etc. I hadn't really considered the difference between a Tower and a Desktop. 

[IRonMaN]

Seems like a terabyte hard drive and 32 GB of memory is popular.  That's what I currently have but I need to be mobile for after tax season so for quite a few years I have been using Dell laptops with a docking station.  But of course, if it is going to be a laptop in does need to have a numeric keypad on it.

[TaxGuyBill]

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@Just-Lisa-Now- wrote:

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Do you copy the Homebase folder too? 

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I don't, but you may want to. 

I don't customize Homebase AT ALL, partially because I use Basic and up until a couple of years ago we couldn't customize it.  Because I don't customize it, the Homebase folder doesn't do anything for me.  But you may want to copy it.

[gammoncs]

Ok.  Since I have all of my BasWinYY, Client files, and ProPdf files backed up, I tested the restore of my first year just to see what works for me.  Here are the steps that worked for me and it is probably the simplest method if it works for you.  Note:  I used the default location for the BasWinYY files and a modified location for the client files.

1. Go to the Intuit MyAccount page (https://myproconnect.intuit.com/account/dashboard) and restore all of the previous year ProSeries software that you want to restore.  I am restoring 2017-2024.

2. I restored all of my BasWinYY folders (entire folder) to the default location on the new computer.  When asked, I selected "Replace Files".  Note: YY indicates the year.

3. I restored all of my Client File Folders to the new computer.  Note:  Be sure to know where your restored Client File Folders are located.  The default location is inside the BasWinYY folder for each year.  I chose a different location.

4. I restored the ProPdf folder to the new computer. (It has all of your PDF files for all of the years)

5. I then launched my ProSeries Basic software for 2017.  Once open, I went to File>Change Directory.  Using the Browse option, I changed the location of the "Current year client files" to the location of my restored client files for that year.  Note: When you first launch the software, there will not be any clients displayed.  Once you change the client file location (clicked OK), all of the clients will be populated in the software. Make sure the client file year and the software year are the same.  Depending on how may clients you have this could take a little while and you might get a message that the system is busy. 

6. Test opening a client in restored ProSeries Basic software.

7. Perform steps 5 and 6 above for all of the rest of the years you are restoring..

This worked for me.

Danny Gammon