This page discusses how to restore RTG Bills on a new hard disk. These instructions assume that you have a backup of the data, and possibly the programs, from the old hard disk.

Even if you have a complete backup of the RTG Bills folder, it is not sufficient to simply restore the folder on a new hard disk. You also need the RTG Bills installation file to install software that goes into the Windows system folder.

We assume that you do not have access to the old hard disk, either because the disk has failed or because it was removed from the computer. However, if you are trying to move RTG Bills from one computer to another, and you do have access to the old computer, use the instructions for moving RTG Bills to a new computer.

Our goal will be to get the latest version of RTG Bills working on the new hard disk, with all of your current data from the backup. RTG strongly recommends that you always use the latest version of the program.

The overall process is simple: restore the data from your backup onto the new hard disk, then install RTG Bills on the new hard disk.

You must choose a Data Location, which is where the RTG Bills data files will be installed. The standard Data Location for a non-networked computer is:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\RTG\RTG Bills\

for Windows XP, or:

C:\ProgramData\RTG\RTG Bills\

for later Windows versions. These are hidden folders. If you don't know how to see hidden folders, instructions are here:

Can't Find Database

However, on a network, the data must be in a shared folder accessible to other computers. For example, it might be in the folder:

\\MyServer\Rtgbills

where Rtgbills is a folder somewhere on the network and MyServer must be replaced by the actual name of the file server where the folder is located.

The installer for the current version of RTG Bills and RTG Timer can always be obtained from this page:

Upgrading RTG Bills

At this point, we'll assume you have the installer for the current version and a license key for that version. (There is no free trial period for a previously-licensed RTG Bills database.)

The exact procedure varies, depending on how the backup was created.

How was your backup created?

• Using RTG Bills Version 2.04 or later
• Using RTG Bills V2.03 or earlier
• Using other backup software

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RTG Bills Version 2.04 or later
If you used the File > Backup command in RTG Bills Version 2.04 or later, the backup was created by the RTG Backup program. It will be restored by the RTG Restore program. Proceed as follows:

1. Install RTG Bills on the new hard disk. When you are asked for the Program Location (where the programs go), use this standard location:
   
   C:\Program Files\Rtgbills
   or
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Rtgbills
   
   When you are asked for the Data Location, enter the location you chose earlier.
   
   
2. If the backup is on a device that Windows cannot access directly, such as a tape drive, you must restore the data files to your hard disk first. The backup consists of two files, Bills.rbi and either Bills.zip or Bills01.rbd. RTG Restore needs both of them, in the same location, in order to restore your data.
   
   
3. Start RTG Bills and choose File > Restore From Backup. This will start the RTG Restore program.
   
   
4. You will be asked to locate the backup. Specifically, you must find the file Bills.rbi on the backup device. Follow the instructions to restore your data.
   
   
5. Start RTG Bills again. If necessary, RTG Bills will update the database for use with the current version of the software.
   
   
6. You are done! Check your data.

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RTG Bills V2.03 or earlier
If you used the File > Backup command in RTG Bills Version 2.03 or earlier, it did not use RTG Backup and you cannot use RTG Restore. RTG Bills simply copied all of the data files to the backup device. You must use Windows "copy and paste" commands to copy the files from the backup device and paste them into the RTG Bills data folder. Proceed as follows:

1. Open the RTG Bills folder on the backup device and use Edit > Select All and Edit > Copy to select and copy the files and folders. Then open the RTG Bills data folder (the Data Location you selected in the previous step) and use Edit > Paste to complete the copy operation.
   
   

   Read-Only Warning!
   If you saved the files from the old hard disk on a CD, then copied them to the hard disk on the new computer, Windows may have made all of the files read-only. This will cause an error message when RTG Bills tries to open the database. You must remove the read-only attribute from all of the files in the RTG Bills data folder. Click here for instructions.

   
   
2. Install RTG Bills on the new hard disk. When you are asked for the Program Location (where the programs go), use this standard location:
   
   C:\Program Files\Rtgbills
   or
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Rtgbills
   
   When you are asked for the Data Location, enter the location you chose earlier, which already contains the data from the backup device.
   
   
3. Start RTG Bills. If necessary, RTG Bills will update the database for use with the current version of the software.
   
   
4. You are done! Check your data

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Other Backup Software
Perhaps you did not use RTG Bills to create the backup. You might have used a program that backs up your hard disk to another device, such as a CD, a tape, or another hard disk. Proceed as follows:

1. Restore the data using the software that was used to do the backup. Typically, backup software does not simply copy files. Files are compressed and combined to save space on the backup device. Therefore, you need the same software to restore the files.
   
   If you aren't sure where on the backup the data is located, you may want to search for the file rtgbills.mdb, which is the RTG Bills database.
   
   The data should be restored to the Data Location you chose earlier.
   
   

   Read-Only Warning!
   If you backed up the files from the old hard disk on a CD, they may be marked as read-only when you restore them. This will cause an error message when RTG Bills tries to open the database. You must remove the read-only attribute from all of the files in the RTG Bills data folder. Click here for instructions.

   
   
2. Install RTG Bills on the new hard disk. When you are asked for the Destination Location (where the programs go), use this standard location:
   
   C:\Program Files\Rtgbills
   or
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Rtgbills
   
   When you are asked for the Data Location, enter the location you chose earlier. The installation program will overwrite any old files that should be updated with the files for the current version, but it will not overwrite data files. This is exactly what we want.
   
   
3. Start RTG Bills. If necessary, RTG Bills will update the database for use with the current version of the software.
   
   
4. You are done! Check your data

Start RTG Bills on the new computer. To verify that the data has been transferred correctly, view reports that list all items:

• Client List
• Matter List
   Select All Matters
• Timekeeper List
• Rate Tables
• Code Tables
• Tax Codes
• Shorthand Codes
• Fees and Expenses by Matter
   Select All Matters and To Date
• Payments and Adjustments by Date
   Select To Date
• Retainer Account Summary
   Select All Matters

You may also want to use the Client/Matter Check report to see if there are any problems in the matter information, such as missing matter names.

In addition, we suggest that you use the File > Compact Database command. It checks that the entire database can be read. t may even make your database work faster (by optimizing query statistics, for the technically inclined).