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Backup Management

The Cognito Money backup system helps protect your financial data by creating copies of your database and application files. Regular backups are essential to prevent data loss in case of hardware failure, application errors, or other unexpected issues.

Types of Backups
  • Database Backup: Creates a copy of your database file only, containing all your transactions, categories, budgets, and other financial data.
  • Full Application Backup: Creates a complete backup of your entire Cognito Money application, including the database, code, and configuration files.
Backup Path Configuration

Cognito Money supports both primary and secondary backup locations. You can configure these paths in the Backup Settings page, allowing you to store backups in multiple locations for added security, such as an external hard drive or network location.

To Create a Database Backup:
  1. Navigate to Backup Management from the main menu.
  2. Click the Database Backup button in the Create Backup section.
  3. The system will create a backup file named app_backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.db with a timestamp and store it in your configured backup location(s).
  4. You'll receive a confirmation message once the backup is complete.
To Create a Full Application Backup:
  1. Navigate to Backup Management from the main menu.
  2. Click the Full Application Backup button in the Create Backup section.
  3. The system will create a zip file named bill_manager_full_backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.zip containing your entire application and store it in your configured backup location(s).
  4. This process may take longer than a database-only backup.
  5. You'll receive a confirmation message once the backup is complete indicating how many locations were successfully backed up to.
Best Practice: Create backups regularly, especially before making significant changes to your financial data or before updating the application.

To Configure Your Backup Locations:
  1. Navigate to Backup Management from the main menu.
  2. Click the Backup Settings button at the top of the page.
  3. Enter the full path to your desired primary backup location in the first input field.
  4. Optionally, enter a secondary backup location for redundancy.
  5. Click Save Settings to apply the changes.
About Primary and Secondary Backup Locations:
  • Primary Location: The main directory where all backups will be stored.
  • Secondary Location (Optional): An additional directory where copies of all backups will also be stored for added security.
Recommended Backup Locations:
  • External Hard Drive: For example: E:\Financial_Backups\Bill_Manager
  • Network Drive: For example: \\SERVER\Backups\Bill_Manager
  • Cloud-Synced Folder: For example: C:\Users\YourName\OneDrive\Bill_Manager_Backups
Important: The system will attempt to create a test file in each specified location to verify write permissions. If the test fails, you'll receive an error message.
Tips for Choosing Backup Locations:
  • Choose locations outside the application directory to protect against data loss.
  • Use different physical devices for primary and secondary locations when possible.
  • Ensure the chosen directories have sufficient space for multiple backups.
  • If a location doesn't exist, the system will attempt to create it automatically.

Viewing Available Backups:
  1. Navigate to Backup Management from the main menu.
  2. Scroll down to the Available Backups section.
  3. All backups in your primary backup location will be listed in a table.
  4. The table shows the filename, type, size, creation date, and available actions.
Downloading a Backup:
  1. In the Available Backups table, find the backup you want to download.
  2. Click the Download button for that backup.
  3. The backup file will be downloaded to your computer through your browser.
Deleting a Backup:
  1. In the Available Backups table, find the backup you want to delete.
  2. Click the trash icon button for that backup.
  3. A confirmation dialog will appear asking you to confirm the deletion.
  4. Click Delete Backup to permanently remove the backup file.
  5. If a secondary backup location is configured, the system will attempt to delete the backup from there as well.
Warning: Deleted backups cannot be recovered. Make sure you really want to delete a backup before confirming.

To Restore a Database Backup:
  1. Download the desired database backup file from the Backup Management page.
  2. Shut down the Cognito Money application completely.
  3. Locate the original database file (usually app.db in the application root directory).
  4. Create a safety backup of the current database file.
  5. Replace the database file with your downloaded backup copy.
  6. Restart the Cognito Money application.
To Restore a Full Application Backup:
  1. Download the desired full application backup zip file.
  2. Shut down the Cognito Money application completely.
  3. Extract the contents of the backup zip file to a temporary location.
  4. Back up your current Cognito Money directory (just in case).
  5. Copy the extracted files to your Cognito Money installation directory, replacing the existing files.
  6. Restart the Cognito Money application.
Warning: Restoring from a backup will overwrite your current data with the data from the backup file. Any changes made since the backup was created will be lost.

Backup Frequency Recommendations:
  • Regular Users: Create a full backup at least once a month and a database backup weekly.
  • Heavy Users: Create a full backup weekly and a database backup daily or after significant data entry sessions.
Backup Retention:
  • Keep at least the last three full backups.
  • Maintain a rotation of database backups covering the last month.
  • Periodically archive older backups to long-term storage.
  • Regularly check your backup locations to ensure they haven't reached capacity.
Additional Security Measures:
  • Configure both primary and secondary backup locations on different physical devices.
  • Consider using a cloud storage service as one of your backup locations.
  • Verify your backups occasionally by testing the restore process on a test system.
  • Keep a record of when backups were created and where they are stored.
When to Create Extra Backups:
  • Before upgrading the Cognito Money application.
  • Before importing large amounts of data.
  • Before performing any database maintenance.
  • After completing annual financial reconciliation.
  • Before making significant changes to your financial categories or structure.

Common Backup Issues and Solutions:

Problem: Unable to create backup due to "Permission denied" error.

Solution:

  • Verify that the application has write permissions to the backup directory.
  • Try running the application as an administrator.
  • Choose a different backup location that you have full access to.
  • Make sure the directory exists or that the application can create it.

Problem: Backup process takes a very long time to complete.

Solution:

  • Full application backups can be large. Consider using database-only backups for regular use.
  • Check if your backup location is on a slow drive or network connection.
  • Ensure you have enough disk space on both the source and destination drives.
  • If using multiple backup locations, one slow location can delay the entire process.

Problem: Backup succeeded in primary location but failed in secondary location.

Solution:

  • Check that the secondary location is accessible and has sufficient space.
  • Verify permissions on the secondary location directory.
  • If the secondary location is a network drive, check network connectivity.
  • Try creating another backup after resolving the issue with the secondary location.

Problem: Error when restoring from backup.

Solution:

  • Ensure that the Cognito Money application is completely shut down before restoring.
  • Verify that the backup file is not corrupted by checking its size and format.
  • Make sure you have sufficient permissions to replace the existing files.
  • If restoring a database backup, ensure it has a .db extension and is a valid SQLite database.

Problem: Unable to see backup files in the Available Backups list.

Solution:

  • Verify that backups were created successfully (check for success messages).
  • Confirm that the primary backup path is correctly configured.
  • Check if the backup files exist directly in the configured backup directory.
  • Try refreshing the page or restarting the application.