BaseCamp data lost after disk problem

I forgot to add one important thing. The backups I refer to are routine daily backups that I do on all my personal files. They are NOT backups made from within BaseCamp.

One lucky thing. I have an extra memory card in my nuvi 65 LMT and I tend to keep a lot of stuff even after they are unlikely to be ever used again (vacation locations and routes, mostly!). I was able to get quite a lot off the unit and back into BaseCamp.

But, I still wonder where the data that I had in BaseCamp where stored and how I can get them. I know that whatever it reads when it opens is on my backup drive.

This may be a way out. I was curious to see what database BaseCamp was using. In the menu Edt>Options>General, there is way to select a database. The interface sadly (they should learn from Forte Agent!), does not say where the current database is (should be easy to display a pathname).

Is it the SQL file in my drive backups that I mentioned before?

Just a chance .....

No, you need to locate the alldata.gdb or alldata.gdb.bak

You say all of your data was backed up but that it's not a BaseCamp back up, so what was backing up your data?  You mention all your personal files but had you selected alldata.gdb to be backed up?

At the point of the disk problem (and ever since) I have been using Windows File History. (I used a nice piece of back software that came with my Maxtor drive, but, alas. the GUI does not work on Windows 10 :-(  )

So, the various versions I see are the File History versions of whatever was on my computer.

I went back to the file that Windows classifies as a database file.

The pathname is

D:\FileHistory\.....\Documents\Garmin\Backups\3DD171531\2019-04-21 (12.25.35)\.System\SQLite\D4955180A (2019_11_30 23_04_27 UTC)

The " (2019_11_30 23_04_27 UTC)" bit is, of course, from File History.

As I have just created a "new" database by shipping data from my GPS into BaseCamp, where would I find it? Persumably, if I just replace it with the back up file, I should be able to get things back. If now, I just move the new file back. I cannot find any information on their directory structure.

Thanks for your interest.

Search for alldata.gdb on your system, that will be the BaseCamp data file. 

As for the backup, the fact it has .system in the path name suggests it's the backup from a Garmin GPS not BaseCamp

I don't know why Garmin has chosen to make the default database file a hidden, hard to find file called alldata.gdb.   I have learned it is better to create your OWN .gdb file in the location you want.  This makes it easier to find and easier to automatically backup.  This is for a MAC so it may be different on Windows,  When you get your old Alldata.gdb library restored create a Backup.  Go the Preferences/Advanced/Create New Library and chose the name and location.  Do a Restore Backup of the Alldata Library backup to this new library.  Close Basecamp. Double Click this new library gdb file to load Basecamp.  This library will then become the default library when you load Basecamp.  You can have multiple libraries this way if you want.

Thanks. Some good news, though the problem is not solved. I did find *several* AllData.gdb files on my system.

One was created on 27 Apr 2020. This surely is the "new" database generated when I imported data from my GPS unit into BaseCamp. It is in a "logical" location as for as Windows logic goes. It is in .....<user>\AppData\Roaming\Garmin\Database\4.7.

But, I think that I found the files I want. The guys who fixed my machine (they custom built it for me) are very good at their job and they created a C:\Windows.old directory where, among other things, they put some user data that existed at the point of the registry screwup. There I found several AllData.gdb files, the latest on 31 Aug 2019. As I do not use BaseCamp that often, it is likely to the "latest" version -- the old I need.

Going by the datestamps, each of these AllData.gdb files seems to be paired with an AllData.gdb.bak file.

But, here is the hitch. I do not know how to read an AllData.gdb file. When  I do a File>Restore in BaseCamp, it starts to look for a backup named *.Backup. It is the only kind of file that can be restored.

Is the answer to this is to overwrite the "new" database created on 27 Aug 2020 with the one backed up on 31 Aug 2019? Just want to make sure that I do not totally tie up BaseCamp.

Thanks for the advice re backup locations. When applications allow it, I prefer to set the data directory to something on the Desktop rather than the AppData swamp. By the same token, I chose my Garmin directory on my Desktop as a backup location. The .Backup file was created there and BaseCamp seems to remember the location.

Please be explicit with the instructions with the 'Restore Backup" operation. I am new to this. There is nothing on the File menu other than Restore and that looks for the .Backup files. If I have to overwrite files/directories

1. Should I overwrite just the AllData.gdb file, or

2. Overwrite the entire Database\4.7 directory now sitting in ...AppData\Roaming\Garmin

The Database directory contains more than just the AllData.gdb file. There are 3 directories (GeocacheLogs, Thumbnails and TrackSegments) and the file FolderData.gfi. This file has its own FolderData.gfi.bak file. Presumably, BaseCamp is expecting to some consistency in all of those.

Thanks for your help.

If you think you've found the relevant file just copy alldata.gdb and overwrite the one in 4.7, also copy the FolderData.gfi file as without that you'll just get all your data in one list.

YES!!

Thanks to all. I just overwrote the entire Garmin folder. I had some legacy stuff (Ver 4.4 and 4.6 directories).

And it works.

The reason that this was not in my regular File History backup is because I do not back all the stuff in AppData. Only those directories that have application data that I want to save and carry across machines. Needless to say, I have added Gramin to the list :-)