Lost family tree

car · Post by **car** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 3:04 pm

My pc crashed recently and I lost everything. Most important being the family tree.

I orginally downloaded a programme from IGI Family Search - at least eight years ago. I have a disc but it won't work as the original programme is not on my pc of course. I think I have checked properly on Family Search but can't find any programmes to download. Does anyone know if this facility has been discontinued or am I not looking in the correct place?!

I had been thinking of a new programme but didn't really want to be forced into it. Luckily, I have paper copies of about 95% of my tree.

I have been checking out this part of the Forum and Legacy seems to be quite popular. If I download the free version is it expensive/difficult to upgrade?

Many thanks

Christine.

Post by **paddyscar** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 5:13 pm

Hi Christine:

Ouch!

Do you know the name of the programme you downloaded? I have Brother's Keeper for Windows 6.4 which I downloaded from Ancestry about 2005 - 2008. It was one of several that they had made available at no charge.

New version 6.6 is available at bkwin.com.

I have sent you an e-mail.

Frances

arthurk · Post by **arthurk** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 5:19 pm

It sounds like you may have been using the LDS program Personal Ancestral File (PAF), which is no longer available. When you say you have a disc, is this a backup copy of your own family file, rather than the program installation disc? If so, and if it was PAF, you might be able to avoid having to re-input your old data.

Legacy is certainly a very capable program, but you might like to look at RootsMagic too - I've used both, though Legacy was some years ago now. Each has its strong points, and there are a few things that Legacy has which I wish RootsMagic had too, but what swayed it for me when I changed was that RootsMagic had better inbuilt charting, and was only about half the price (when buying from a UK supplier).

Both Legacy and RootsMagic come in free and paid-for versions, so you can try out the basic features before committing yourself. In both cases, when you decide to pay you are sent a code to unlock the more advanced features, so there's no need to redo anything that you've input previously. And what may be important for you - both will open/import PAF files, as long as they're not from a very old version, so if your disc is a backup copy, you may be able to get up and running more or less straight away without too much hassle.

Good luck, and ask again if you need to.

Arthur

car · Post by **car** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:01 pm

Frances & Arthur - Thank you both for replying. Unexpected visitor arrived just as I clicked on "Post Reply". Have shouted "Hi" but just wanted to acknowledge your posts.

Frances - will check my email asap.

Will reply later but thank you both

Regards

Christine.

Falkyrn · Post by **Falkyrn** » Sun Sep 29, 2013 7:30 pm

If you still wish to use PAF I have the installation program which I can post to my Dropbox account and send you the link which will allow you to download the installer

car · Post by **car** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:31 pm

Frances - thanks for replying. Have emailed you.

Arthur - I think you are right - It was the LDS programme. In some respects glad it is not still available, at least I was reading the site correctly!

Yes, the disc I have is a backup copy of my family tree. I must have downloaded the original programme (i.e. downloaded it from LDS) about eight years ago, if not longer. I will check out Legacy again also the RootsMagic programme you mention.

Many thanks both for your invaluable help. =D>

Regards

Christine.

car · Post by **car** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:44 pm

Falkyrn - thank you so much for your offer. I have used this programme for quite a while - certainly with this pc and maybe the one before it, which could be bewteen eight and fourteen years ago. Over the years a few mistakes (on my part) got the index in a bit of a mess and I have been swithering recently about trying a new programme and sorting everything out. The part I will miss most is the notes. I should have printed them off separately - although I am not sure if I could - but hindsight is a wonderful thing! If nothing else, I should be kept occupied during the long dark evenings that are looming.

May I come back to you if, as Arthur thought may be possible, my back up disc doesn't work with Legacy and/or RootsMagic?

Regards

Christine.

Falkyrn · Post by **Falkyrn** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:31 pm

Just let me know if you need the program and I'll make the transfer.

car · Post by **car** » Mon Sep 30, 2013 8:45 pm

Falkyrn,
Thank you for your generous offer. Will keep it in mind. Part of me wants to try something new and another part wants to stick to the tried & tested!

Regards

Christine.

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Tue Oct 01, 2013 2:57 pm

Ancestral Quest is pretty well the same as PAF. There’s a basic free version and a special discount on the paid version. Details here: http://www.ancquest.com/paf/index.htm

Alan

TalkingScot.com

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