Starting without a Configuration - May 18, 2006 Release and Newer

Hold down the Control and Shift keys as FileBack PC is starting to bypass the configuration. 

Starting without a Configuration - All versions

Open your FileBack PC program folder (normally C:\Program Files\FileBack PC) and rename the FileBack.FBCfg and FileBack.FBBkCfg files so FileBack PC does not attempt to load them at startup.

Restoring Your Configuration

Once FileBack PC has loaded without a configuration we can attempt to open a previous version of the configuration file.  FileBack PC always creates a backup whenever the configuration is saved (either manually or as it is shutting down) called FileBack.FBBkCfg in the FileBack PC program folder. When FileBack PC is started without a configuration file it will go through the first-time setup wizard, which will ask for a configuration file as one of the steps.  You can point it to the FileBack.FBBkCfg file and have it attempt to recover your configuration file, or step all of the way through the wizard and use the File / Open Configuration menu option to read the file.  In either case, immediately save your configuration as FileBack.FBCfg as soon as you can.

If the FileBack.FBBkCfg file has become corrupted as well, you can restore a backup of your FileBack.FBCfg file, or rebuild your backup job using the steps outlined below.

Rebuilding Your Configuration

In its default configuration FileBack PC will create backups of each backup job in the form of a hidden file in the destination folder of each job.  These files can be imported into FileBack PC to rebuild a configuration when no other backup is available.

It should be noted, however, that if you are running the Enterprise or Administrator edition that some or all of your backup jobs may have been stored in some external .FBBJ files.  These file(s) will be located under "C:\Documents and Settings" (or wherever you have set them up manually).  If the jobs were stored in the default locations FileBack PC will attempt to load them automatically when it is started with no configuration.  In this case these particular backup job files should not need to be imported manually; the jobs should show up automatically.

The automatic backups of individual backup jobs are stored in hidden files so locating these files may require some adjustments in your Windows configuration before they will be visible.  In Windows XP, go to Control Panel / Folder Options (this may require you to select Classic View), go to the View tab page, and under Advanced settings, set the value for "Hidden files and folders" to "Show hidden files and folders" before proceeding.

Next we can begin the search for the backup job files.  Click Start / Search (and submenu For Files or Folders if using the Classic Start menu), or press Windows + F.  If you are using XP's default search, click "All files and folders." Next, click "More advanced options" (or turn on the "Advanced Options" checkbox) and turn on "Search hidden files and folders."  Under "All or part of the file name" or "Search for files or folders named" enter *.FBBJ, and under "Look in:" make sure that you have selected "My Computer" (or "All Local Hard Drives" if any of your backup jobs used on a network drive), and click Search or Search Now.  This search may take a while if you are running on a computer on a network or with a large number of files.

Once the search has completed, double-click each BackupJobXXXXXXXX.FBBJ file that is found.  The main FileBack PC window should then come up and it will open the Tasks window.  Select the "Import backup job files" option and click OK.  Repeat for each backup job file that is located.

After all jobs have been located and imported, immediately save your configuration in FileBack PC (File / Save Configuration As...) as FileBack.FBCfg in C:\Program Files\FileBack PC. 

Backing Up Your Configuration