To make a backup of your database, you will need a portable flash drive (minimum of 4gb) to make the backups on.
NOTE: It is very important to only insert the drive when making the backup, and then removing the drive after the backup has been made. The purpose of this backup is to make sure you have a healthy copy of your database that can be stored away in the case where the server gets damaged, stolen or hacked. If the drive is left inside the PC, then you risk the chance of losing your backup as well.
1. Go to our website.
2. Click on the "LOGIN" button at the top-right corner.
3. Log into your account using the appropriate details.
4. Go to the "Software" tab.
5. Download any version of Advantage (i.e. "Advantage_201x.6.x_xxbit_Upgrade_Components")
6. Once the file has been downloaded, extract the file to the desired location.
7. Double-click on the folder, and open the "Backup Shortcuts" folder.
8. Copy the two files called "unzip.exe" and "zip.exe" - and paste them into the following directory: "C:\Windows". If a prompt comes up asking for permission to paste in this location, click on "Yes".
9. Go back to the Backup Shortcuts folder > WinXP > Backup to E.
10. Copy the file called "1. Backup (E).bat".
11. Go to the following directory: "C:\Advantage" (If the directory does not exist, simply right click, create a new folder, and rename it to "Advantage".)
12. Paste the "1. Backup (E).bat" file into this folder, right-click on the "1. Backup (E).bat" file, got to "Send to", and select Desktop Shortcut.
13. Go to your desktop, rename the icon to whatever you desire. Then right-click on the icon and select "Properties". Click on the "Advanced" button, and tick the box to run icon as administrator. Click "OK" when finished.
14. Right-click on the newly created backup icon, and click edit. Here is an example of what it should look like:
15. If the Drive letter of the flash drive that you plugged in is not the letter E:, then you will need to manually adjust the backup file as shown in the above screenshot. All locations (Number 1 - 6) will need to be changed from E: to the drive letter of the flash drive.
16. Once that is done, you will need to adjust 3 lines, marked "NB" in the screenshot above.
17. The first line, by default, reads "cd "\program files\microsoft sql server\mssql\data" This should be changed to the location of the databases that you want to back up, where in this case it would be changed to "cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA"". Do not copy and paste the line directly from this article, as your SQL instance name might be different. Go to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQLXX.XXXXX\MSSQL\DATA" (The X indicates that your instance name might be different). Note the location, and paste it.
18. The second line that you need to edit should read: "copy adv2017.* c:\advantage\backup". You will be replacing the "adv2017" with the name of the database that you want to backup, also adding an additional asterisk(*). For example. "copy adv2017.* c:\advantage\backup" will change to "copy ExampleDatabaseName*.* c:\advantage\backup" like in the screenshot above.
19. The third line, also marked as NB above, will change from "zip -m %yyyy%%mm%%dd%%HH%%min% adv2017.*" to the following: "zip -m %yyyy%%mm%%dd%%HH%%min% *.* - where the ADVxxx is replaced with an asterisk (*).
20. Click on File, and then click on "Save".
21. The setup is now complete, you can double-click on the backup icon and let the program run until it has finished backing up the database.