Making Back-ups of Test Files on Cirris Testers

Cable Testers and Harness Testers Made Easy!

Cable Testing Products Support Information Center About Us Contact Us

1-800-441-9910

Remember to Backup Your Test Files!

There are many ways you can unintentionally lose information on your tester. Hard drive failure, a power surge, lightning, floods etc., and of course sometimes equipment just fails. If you regularly make backup copies of your files and keep them in a separate place, you can get some, if not all, of your information back in the event something happens to the originals on your tester.

Making provisions for safe-guarding your test files is never a bad idea! Experts agree that all computer owners should use some kind of backup solution to protect against data loss or corruption. (It only takes one fatal hard drive crash to bring this truth home with a vengence!)

Deciding what to backup is usually very straight forward. Anything you cannot replace easily should be at the top of your list. Before you get started, make a checklist of files to backup. This will help you determine what to backup, and also give you a reference list in the event you need to retrieve a backed-up file.

Cirris Systems outlines on this page how to backup your wirelists files on different model testers.

Backing Up an easy-wire Database (CR, CH+ and CH2)

You can make a backup copy of the database and then, if necessary, restore the present database with the backed-up copy. All Test Programs, test statistics, and libraries (Connector Type, Wire Color, easy-wire Adapter, etc.) are stored in one common database which you can backup in one operation. You can automate database backup or perform it on demand. Included in database backup are two functions that optimize disk space: (a) deleting unnecessary test results, and (b) optimizing the disk space used by the database.:

How to - Set up or turn off automatic backup

In the easy-wire Main Menu, click Utilities.
In System Utilities, click Database Maintenance.
In Database Backup Options, click one of the following options: DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, NEVER

Note the backup location (folder path) in the "Database will be backed up to" screen. If you want to change it, click the button to the right with three dots and select another directory (folder).

How to - Back up the database on demand:

In Database Backup Options, note the backup location. Change it, if necessary.
Click Back up the database now. (Manual backup is independent of any automatic backup settings - you do not have to change any auto settings).

Optional: To lower the size of the database, click the Clean Up tab, then Delete unnecessary test results data.

Backing Up Wirelists on the Touch 1

Step by Step instructions to copy files from the Touch 1

The following step-by-step instructions are designed to help you backup one or more wirelists on your Touch 1. These same instructions are not only used for making backup copies of your wirelists but would be used for moving any files (report files, script files, wirelists files etc. etc.) during your daily use of the tester.

From the Touch 1 Main Menu, Click on System Setup.
In the System Setup window, Click on the Disk Utilities button.
In the Disk Utilities window, Click on the Copy Files button.
In the Select FROM LOC & FILES window, use the arrow keys to move the black bar up and down until you have selected the location where the wirelist files are found, then click on the Open Location button.
(The default location for the Touch 1 wirelists is the root directory on the hard drive or (C:\)
When you are in the new location, Mark the files you wish to copy by using the arrow keys to move the black bar over each file you wish to backup then press the MARK button. When you are finished selecting the files press the OK button.
(Note: When a file has been marked, there is a small right arrow > to the left of the file name. Also, you can select the MARK ALL button and mark all the files in this folder with one click!)
Now select the "TO" location (where the files will be copied to!) (The "COPY TO" window looks just like the "FROM LOC & FILES" window). Move the black bar to the location you wish to copy the files to then press the OPEN LOCATION button, (select A drive for the floppy drive or another drive if your Touch 1 is networked.
When you have the proper FROM and TO locations selected and the files you want to backup MARKED, you simply press the "Copy button". All the files that have been selected and marked will be COPIED TO the selected "TO" location.
NOTE: You would use this same methodology to move any kind of files in and out of the Touch 1 tester.

Backing Up a 1000-R+, 1000-H+, 1100-R+ and 1100-H+

(also the 1000RX if equiped with the optional serial interface)

Using CTLWIN, a small utility,( designed for manipulating test files as well as backing them up), you can easily backup all the wirelists in your tester. The files listed on the right side of the screen are those found in the tester's memory and those on the left side of the screen are those storied in the computer's memory. Simply click on the Utilities drop down menu and select backup tester wirelist and off it goes. See the instructions below for the complete process.

How to - Backup All the Wirelists in a Tester:

In the CTLWIN Main Display, (right side of screen) select all the files you wish to backup, click Utilities.
In the Utilities drop down window, click "Backup Tester Wirelists.
In Analyser Memory Backup window, select FILE, BACKUP.
In the "Save As" window, type in the name you wish to give this GROUP BACKUP of test files. (File will be saved with a .img extension.)

Note the backup location (folder path) that the file will be saved to. If you want to change the Save To, location, click on the folder drop down button and select a different folder.

NOTE: This program stores all the wirelists together in one file with a .img extension. However the .img file is a text file and can be opened with Notepad or any other text editor. You can delete files from the .img file if you wish without damaging the ability of the file to restore the remaining wirelist back to the tester later on.

How to - Back up Individual Wirelists.

In the CTLWIN Main Display, (right side of screen) select the file you wish to save.
Using the left arrow (mid-screen) copy the wirelist from the tester to the left side of the screen (to the computer).

Note the backup location that the file is saved to. (If you want to change the "Save To" location, select a different folder.)

That is all there is to it!

Cirris Systems - Technical Tips - File BACKUP