BMD

[mcblondie]

Hi all, hope you all had a nice Xmas. Santa brought me Family Tree Maker software so guess i'll be busy for a wee while.

Anyway, reason for posting is... Is Scotlands People the only website that allows you to download and purchase BMD's?

Still going crazy waiting for Ancestry to upload the Hamburg lists so that i can purchase manifest with info on my grandfather

All help/advice welcome.

p.s. Awrra best when it comes.

[LesleyB]

Hi mcblondie

Is Scotlands People the only website that allows you to download and purchase BMD's

For Scotland, yes.

Best wishes
Lesley

[trish1]

Hi McBlondie

I've used FTM for years - have an ancient version - very easy to use. I've tried to use different software at times but ended up going back to the easy one

You can find the indexes (not certificates) to the first 20 years of civil births/marriages registration on the IGI. Includes parent names for births.

Pre civil registration, the IGI also covers many areas of Scotland & there is often little more on the parish record than is shown in the index.

Trish

[mcblondie]

Thanks Trish,

I'm still in the process of entering all my info (arggghhh) i thought i could upload the tree that i had on Ancestry but not all the info came through so decided to do it manually.

Think i'll take a couple of days holidays from work in the next few weeks and just dedicate it to putting in all my info.

[HeatherH]

Hello mcblondie,
No matter which program you use to work with your tree online make sure you make backups on disc every so often incase of emergencies .I have lost my entire tree twice now and can tell you I was almost in tears when I realized my computer was crashing and I didn't have an up to date backup . Luckily I was able to create a GEDCOM and email it to a friend who sent it back when I finally had my computer sorted . In fact just a few days ago my son had decided to delete some of the games he had downloaded to our computer . Coinsidentally some of the names began with the word "Legacy" the name of the software I use . He hadn't deleted my whole tree just a portion of the software so it wouldn't open . 3 hours later I had it up and running again .Son is doing fine and is expected to reach his next birthday .
I have tried quite a few tree software packages ( get free copies with my Family Tree mags from time to time .) Legacy is the easiest to use that allows both the birth and christening date to display at the same time .I found this important the farther back I went as I couldn't find any birth records just christening info .
Happy Hunting ,
HeatherH

[DavidWW]

Be aware that there's a basic problem with GEDCOM in that it won't reliably retain and transfer linked text files; and is generally accepted not to be 100% reliable in terms of data transfers between various software packages. (I'm no expert, BTW, on the reliability of the LDS sponsored "son of GedCom" )

Yes, by all means, "park" a GEDCOM on disk or CD with a mate, but I'd strongly encourage you also to "park" with the same mate a CD with a full copy of your genealogy software's data files, which will include such linked text files, images, etc., .........


It's a bit like the discipline necessary to create backups of your hard disk, - partial in terms of data files only?; or full, in terms of a complete "mirror" image of your HD?; or, similarly, the discipline necessary to regularly scan your HD for trojans/
popups etc., with appropriate expert software, - SpyBot in association with AdAware SE Personal seems still to be the best option, - regardless of what anti-virus packages, professional such as Norton or MacAfee, or shareware such as AVG that you use; never mind regularly defragmenting and otherwise "cleaning up" your HD; in other words, regardless of whether or not you do all this on a regular basis, there is just no substitute for a CD sitting in your guid mate's house along the street, containing a full backup of the data files from your genealogy software plus a GedCom file.

If you do follow such an ultimate backup route, there is still one thing that you need to check; this being that the data files on the backup CD are readable and can be used back on your own 'puter, and similarly regarding the exported GEDCOM file.

There's no sadder genealogist than one who has taken all but the last step, but only when they need to use the backup CD discovers that they can't access the data files or the GEDCOM file

My personal approach to the situation is a pair of 80Gb external hard disks, which are regularly used for full backups of the complete HD on my desktop, - via so-called "one touch" software, i.e. after the first backup to the external HD, further backups are on an incremental basis ; regularly switched, with one of them residing in a neighbour's house, and, yes, I have checked that I can access the data and all other files on the external HDs, and continue to do so on a regular basis.

Let's put it this way. A pair of such external HDs will currently cost you around £100 in the UK, - less in N America, more in Australasia.

Soooo.... what's your time worth ? In other words, to re-enter all your genealogical data is unlikely to take less than a day, quite possibly several days; and that's not including rewriting all those associated text files, and finding and linking all those image files ...................

I'd argue that the expense of purchasing a pair of external HDs is more than worth it !!, but only if you are ready and willing to regularly implement the required, frequent backup procedures ....................

David

[wini]

HEATHER,,
I am glad you have forgiven your son.
Your incident is why I really liked the car sticker I saw which said

"INSANITY IS HEREDITARY, YOU GET IT FROM YOUR CHILDREN"

How true it is. although you love them dearly I am sure they are sent to try us.

wini

[HeatherH]

Hi Wini,
He was very sorry and it was an accident done while trying to do a good deed and free up some memory . Thus he lives . Smart lad kept a hot cup of tea near me at all times lest my concentration be broken and I remember why I was there in the first place .By the time I had it sorted I was just so happy all was not lost .
I always figured Robbie was born to keep me young while my daughters 18 and 21 were putting the grey in my hair .But I'm sure there are a few patches I can now blame on him .
DWW is 100% right in making sure your backup is readable by your computer or any computer for that matter . In my early days I had oodles of backups that could never get opened.No good assuming my software could do the job if its been erased when the PC crashed .
I finally found a method that works for me but don't ask what that is as I'm not computer friendly and tend to get lost after bites and bits .Luckily I do have access to someone who is very computer smart (and who blames a good portion of his grey hair on me . No idea why that is )
Happy Hunting ,
HeatherH

[mcblondie]

Thanks to all for your kind support and advice

I will take all this on board and refer to it should things go wrong. Lol I think i would go crazy if i lost all my info. So far i'm having fun with the software, thankfully in my workplace i work constantly with an Access database so had the basic knowledge on how to operate FTM. I also now have at my disposal a new 80Gb portable hard drive that hubby got so i'm making sure I back up all info to everywhere possible.

Katie