Archiving and Backing Up Software and Games in Impulse

This is a timely post, ID.

I'm on XP and decided I wanted to revert to a prior version of WB that supports MaxBorderCut settings on non-perpixel frames.

I first switched to the XP 'skin' in WB Config.

I then unloaded WB.

I uninstalled WB7 using Impulse.

I restarted Impulse and could not find Windowblinds anywhere as 'available' for D/L or installation.

I selected 'Restore archive' from the main menu and selected the WB archive I wanted.  Impulse started the restore and after a minute or so displayed a message in the lower left corner that WB 6.6 had been successfuly restored.

It still did not appear anywhere within Impulse so I closed Impulse & rebooted.  When I tried to launch WB Config, Windows coudn't find it and indeed wbconfig.exe does not exist on my hard drive.  The folder Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\Windowblinds exists and has some files in it but not wbconfig.exe.

I have an active OD subscription.  WB is listed in the Registration page.  'Detect application' does not find WB6.

I did a data reset - still no WB.  I have 'Show pre-release versions' checked in Preferences.

I currently can find no way to install any version of WB thru Impulse.  The only update showing in the Update list is SKS7, despite several restarts of Impulse.  I've D/L'd WB7 from Impulse Anywhere so I should be able to get it re-installed, but I'm trying to figure out why it doesn't appear in Impulse as available for D/L, as well as why the Restore of 6.6 failed.  Where did I screw up?

The subject matter here is so important to subscribers that I linked the how to back up I just published to the guide in the OP.

@Daiwa: Did you reboot after the uninstall?

Did you try resetting data in Impulse Preferences?

I read your OP and then clicked the link and archived everything. All I got is WB7, DesktopX, Logon Studio and SKS7 freeversion. I hit the archive on SKS7Pro by mistake and it archived. I don't have the Pro version. Will that cause problems?

@DrJBHL:

I rebooted after uninstalling & unloading WB.  I tried resetting the data in Preferences and restarting Impulse.  I'm really puzzled why WB isn't at least showing up as being available for D/L in Impulse.

There has been a lot written about archiving, even though archiving is quite straightforward.  I can't find any step-by-step instructions or tutorial on restoring (not in the wiki or forums, best I can tell), particularly the process of uninstalling the current version and restoring a prior version using Impulse, though I know I did that more than once way back in the Stardock Central days when betas would turn out to be problematic.

I'm hardly a newbie, BTW, so maybe step-by-step instructions should be available somewhere.

If you have "Pre-Release versions checked, uncheck it, close and then reopen Impulse. Then Shift+right click on the application and verify installation in the submenu that opens. It'll show as "Not installed correctly". Do the update, and reboot.

Are you sure your subscription isn't expired, Daiwa? You can check that using this link: https://www.stardock.com/account/regs

My subscription is definitely active, just renewed in January.

I unchecked "Show pre-release versions" and restarted Impulse.  WB7 then showed up on the list as available, but Verify was not an option in the shift+right-click menu.

I went ahead and installed WB7 successfully using Impulse and I'm now back where I started.  Thanks for that.

Now, how to get version 6.6 installed?

Anyone know the current procedure for reverting to a prior version?  I have the current release version of WB7 installed and wish to revert to a version for which I have an archive file.

I would first uninstall the version installed.  You then just need to open Impulse and click restore archive, browse to the .impulse file.

Thanks for chiming in, ID.

However, that's precisely what I did the first time and it failed, even though Impulse gave me a message saying version 6.6 had been successfully restored.  I switched to the default XP 'skin' first, then unloaded WB before uninstalling it using Impulse and then doing the restore.

Should there be reboots in there somewhere and if so, where?

I'd let it reboot once after you applied the default XP skin and before you uninstall WB - let it boot once without loading WB at all, doesn't look like you did that.  No guarantees, might want to wait and see what everybody else says.

Reboot after uninstalling, looks like you did that

Reboot after restoring, looks like you did that

One other thought - might try the "Reboots" as cold starts using the "Turn Off" option instead of the "ReStart Option" (but let Impulse do its automatic warm restarts).  I know it's supposed to be the same but I'd swear sometimes cold starts clear out better.

Afterthought: AntiVirus disabled during uninstalling, restoring, installing, updating

Thanks for the input, Dave.

I switched to the XP 'skin' & rebooted which unloaded WB (icon did not appear in SysTray after reboot).  Uninstalled WB7 using Impulse and rebooted.  When I restarted Impulse WB was not listed as an available update.  Performed a restore from an archive of 6.6 & Impulse displayed a message saying the restore was successful.  Rebooted.  No WB listed in Impulse as installed.  No wbconfig.exe anywhere.

Wondered if I just coincidentally had a bad archive so tried restoring a different one with the same result - no wbconfig.exe anywhere.

Reverting to a prior version should not be this dodgy.  I can appreciate the frustration expressed by some who've posted about problems they've had trying to re-install OD apps using Impulse without an active subscription.

Any other suggestions, ID?

I feel that I am in much the same boat as Daiwa - I rebooted today and WB is just GONE. Big difference for me is that my subscription ran out in Jan and I have to wait until March to renew. I have tried restoring from archive, and nothing works. I made sure that the "Pre-release alpha" is unchecked. I have rebooted several times. I just don't understand why WB has disappeared.

Can I (should I) look for something that might have caused WB to go away?

Please help!

Sorry Daiwa I was hoping that would get it.  That's the methodology I've used before to uninstall/reinstall/rollback/restore various SD software and it's worked.  Only other thing I can think of is to try one of the registry cleaners like CCCleaner after uninstall if you're so inclined (I don't use them myself).  I find myself wondering if the restore function has gone sideways, I'm not anxious to test it.

Einstein: I would certainly run a full virus scan and a solid disk check utility if you have it.  (Someone around here probably knows of a good free disk check utility, honestly I just use what came with my drive.)  Obviously things shouldn't just disappear.  After that, since you're subscription has lapsed, you might try restoring the most current non-beta version of WB you have archived.  That might make a difference with a lapsed subscription.

(By the way, it never bothers me if anybody else has suggestions on these things, I know I'm not that good  ...)

As do I.  I know SD doesn't want it sideways, and that they really do intend for us to be able to restore archived applications for use indefinitely.  We/they just need to figure out how to make that actually work.

It's all well and good to backup & archive everything and SD has made it incredibly simple to do that, but it's pointless simplicity if you can't restore what you've backed up.

For what it's worth I just now restored an archive of SoundPackager I made about a year ago and it went fine.  I know that doesn't mean a lot other than at least on some level Impulse archives are still restoring to XP which is good to know - I thought maybe an MS XP patch had gotten in the way.

That's about as far as I'm willing to go, I don't want to muck around with my WB install and that wouldn't necessarily be helpful either.  Probably time to start a ticket with Support if nobody else is coming up with anything.

You know Island Dog, I just now realized that this post was here to point to the guide.  Don't know how the heck I blew by that.  Sorry about that.

Daiwa:  I will point support here, but I would suggest sending them an e-mail and linking to this thread so it is logged.

Thank, ID.  Will do.

Edit:

esupport.stardock.com ticket # SWN-463508

I have an issue that doesn't seem to be mentoned specifically in any of the links. My sub lapsed about three days ago, and when I try to restore some of the archived apps (specifically, WB, SoundPackager, and IconPackager), I get an error dialog stating that XX must be registered before the archive can be restored. Is there some workaround for this or am I just boned?