backup, restore and transfer

One of the great benefits of using our streaming subscription service is that you need not make large system backups of videos, in case your system fails. ErgVideo by susbcription is pretty self-contained in the application. Your performance and configuration data is stored in your Documents\ErgVideo Data, which, as part of your personal folders system, is likely part of your regular backups anyway. If you create several training plans or custom rides, you may want to add Public\Videos\ErgVideo\ErgVideoLibrary.xml to your backup plan, so these can be restored if your system meets with grief.

After download, maintaining your system is your responsibility. Protect yourself against system failures by adopting a backup routine. We find many people neglect to do this. We do not offer you a backup service nor perpetual downloads. Downloads are no longer available. Start a subscription and acccess all of the videos for one low price per month.

This is very easy. Whats most important is to preserve your investment in the downloaded files. Our downloader will offer you a choice on where to store your downloads, and defaults to (system drive):\Users\Public\Videos\ErgVideo. When you launch the downloader or the ErgVideo application, this folder will be created automatically in the public videos directory. (Users\Public\Videos). Each ErgVideo will be stored in in a folder with the name of the video, and inside the folder are two files. So if you load "ThresholdTestHD" the default folder will be Users\Public\Videos\ErgVideo\ThresholdTestHD and two files ThresholdTestHD.evr and ThresholdTestHD.wmv will be created. 

After downloading, you should copy the ThresholdTestHD folder and its contents to a different drive or a memory stick (or more simply, be sure the folder is assigned in your weekly auto-backup schema). Do not just copy them to another folder on the same drive, because when the drive fails, you will lose BOTH copies. You should do this for each video.

If you choose to store your videos in a different place than the default, that's fine, as long as you also create a backup copy on a alternate media.

You might also like to be sure your performance data is backed-up. Simple: assign the folder "Documents\ErgVideo data" into your backup regime.

If you have used a backup system, then restoring your files is as simple as following your backup program's restore function.

If you have not used a backup system, but you HAVE saved your ErgVideos to alternate media (manual backup) then moving to a new PC is pretty simple. These instructions assume you have a PC still operating but you will put it out of service, or you are transferring a few ErgVideos from one PC to another. If you let your PC die without a backup, you will have more work to do, and it could cost you extra.

1. Load ErgVideo on the new system and run once, just to create the (system drive):\Users\Public\Videos\ErgVideo folder correctly.
2. Copy the file (system drive):\Users\Public\Videos\ErgVideo\ErgVideoLibrary.xml from your old system to the same place on your new system. There is also a folder called "backups" that is handy, but not necessary to copy over as well. These hold a history of your libraries and settings going back 10 distinct usage-days. Copying this can save your custom workouts. 
3. If you did all default-installs of videos, copy all of the folders for each ErgVideo that you want to move from the first PC to the second PC, from \Users\Public\Videos\ErgVideo to the same place on your new system. If you redirected the file storage on download, you are best off to store the videos in the same place on the new system, if possible. This will save a manual step later in configuring your library.
4. DO NOT COPY ANY OF THE HIDDEN FOLDERS from the old system (system drive):\Users\Public\Videos\ErgVideo\ to the new. Any files inside these maintenance folders will be auto-regenerated as you run ErgVideo. Copying them will create more work for you, not less. 
5. Launch ErgVideo. The library list will appear for your whole collection, but if you didn't transfer all of your videos, when you select the ones you did not, an error with throw. Remove those entries in the library list using Options...local video library manager...remove. If some do not appear in the list, try the Options...library and training plans...add function and navigate to where you have them stored on the new system.
6. Licensing: Because you are on a new PC, when you select the transferred videos (for use), you will be required to re-authorize them according to our licensing scheme. NOTE THAT YOU HAVE A LIMIT OF 3 AUTHORIZATIONS PER VIDEO. Also note that when you authorize a video on a new machine, it will be automatically de-authorized on the old. We assume the transfer is because the PC is being taken out of service and will never be used for ErgVideo again. If you try to reauthorize again on the first PC, it counts as another authorization cycle, PC#2 will be de-authorized, and this new auth will represent your FINAL authorization cycle. Subsequent transfers will require payment to extend the license to more authorizations. Again, our scheme is meant to ease transfer when a PC dies, and does not allow perpetual exchanges between machines. Given modern machine lifespans, you have about 10 years of use without extra fees, if you only transfer when necessary.
7. If you transfer only SOME of your videos from one PC to another, be advised that you should remove them from the old machine. This will ensure that you (or the kids) don't inadvertently re-discover the videos on the old machine, select them and then blindly perform your final auth.  The auth screens to everything to remind you which PC is authorized and that other machines will de-auth when you proceed. Do not ignore these, it's fair warning. Delete the folders holding each ErgVideo (as described above) on teh old machine, so you don't make this mistake.

Finally, you may want to port-over your performance data to your new PC. Simple, from your backup system or your old machine (assuming it still works), Copy folders Documents\ErgVideo Data\Performances and \Reports to the same place on your new system. The other folders shouldn't be copied over, they will all re-initialize fresh and update as you define your new configuration.

Some FAQ's:

Q) If I have the video still on DVD, can't I install from there?

Yes indeed. It is slow. If you don't have a dvd drive then a USB portable one will work. Your DVDs could be degraded if not stored perfectly and cleanly. Be prepared to clean them with an optical cloth. If you use a paper or natural fibre (cotton) cloth, you will destroy the DVD completely. We don't send replacements.

Q) How do I do this "copying" from one system to another?

Networking: if your two PC's are both connected to your router either by Wifi or ethernet cable, you can see the files on the old pc with the file explorer on the new PC, assuming they are in public directories (see what we did there?) or you set network file sharing just right to be able to see the files you want. If so, the copy happens by dragging from the window showing files on the old pc to the place representing a destination folder on the new PC. Drag & drop copy. Wifi is slower than a hardwired connection.

Sneaker-Net: You can connect a portable USB HDD drive (or some big memory sticks) to your old system and copy the required folders from there to the portable drive, using drag and drop. Then connect the portable drive (or stick) to the new computer, and copy from there to the required folders on the new system with drag and drop.

Q) Wow, it seems complicated. Don't you think it'd just be better to adopt some sort of regular backup system for my PC so I could use that to handle restoring files to a new one when the disaster hits and I have to face all of this?

Indeed, yes I do. But it really isn't that complicated if the old system is still working when you make a transfer. The problem is that people don't make a backup AND they only think about this problem AFTER the system has completely died and files are all gone. That's the REAL problem. You can save yourself all this work if you take care up front to make some sort of backup copies. Downloads are no longer available. Start a subscription and acccess all of the videos for one low price per month.

Our license agreement prohibits transfer of ErgVideos to other users, and we apply a zero tolerance policy when this sort of license agreement violation is discovered. All licenses of all parties involved will be revoked, disabled, and terminated without refunds. You will find your ErgVideo environement inoperable. The support line will not discuss nor offer any further support to parties involved.