Setup seems to have started over

[LDWhite68]

After being away for a week on business, I opened up TF4.06 yesterday. It acted like a brand new install. No files loaded, no user maps, etc. Any idea how that could have happened or if I can bring back to how it was without doing all over? The only thing odd I know of that happened while I was gone is that my wife had to buy a new power cable. Is it possible that there was some auto update of Vista, Java, etc. that messed it up? Otherwise TF seems to run the same as before.

[ScottMorris]

Sounds like somehow you lost your TopoFusion.ini file, and it recreated a default one for you.  It's possible another installer wiped it out.

You could search your computer (including hidden areas) for TopoFusion.ini.  An older file with your user maps in it can be dropped into c:\program files\topofusion and it will override any other ones (the software will look there first, then it will look in the more buried system areas).

Let me know how it goes.

[LDWhite68]

Hmm. There are no topofusion.ini files in the "program files\topofusion" folder. Instead, I found one in "C:\users\ldwhite68\AppData\Local\Application Data\Topofusion" and one in "C:\users\ldwhite68\AppData\Local\Topofusion". It looks like the one in "Application Data" is a new default (created 1/30/2011). And the one in "Local" is the one I want (created 12/30/2008; modified 1/20/2011). I also found one from 2009 in one of my document folders (presumably as a backup). I don't understand the difference between these AppData\Local folders and the "Program Files" folder in Vista. I'm guessing that they intended to make Vista friendly toward different users being able to maintain different configurations of the same programs? Should I just delete the newer file and see if the program finds the older configuration file when I start it back up? Or do I need to move the desired file into the position where the new/default file is? (Of course I think I want to backup all these somewhere before doing anything!)

[ScottMorris]

Yeah, first try deleting the newer one and see if it finds the old one.

If not, copy the old one into program files\topofusion.  It should pick that one up there first, if it exists.

Not sure how you got one in those two places.  It should only be looking in one.  Unfortunately my understanding of how vista fools software into thinking files are where they aren't isn't perfect.  I'm not sure even the people who wrote windows understand it. 

[LDWhite68]

Looks like that did it. Everything seems to be back like I remember it. Thanks for the help! I can send you the log files if you're interested in looking in them for any clues to what happened.

[ScottMorris]

Thanks, but the logs probably won't help.  It's just a windows installer / directory mystery, I think.  Good to keep in mind, maybe I'll discover a pattern sometime down the road.  Glad you got everything back.