New to RootsMagic and somehow have x2 RM10 databases now have problems

RootsMagic
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Hi everyone

I am new to RootsMagic. I hope you don’t mind me identifying as RM. Between the initial stall of RM 10 and the update 10.0.9, I had upgraded from Microsoft (MS) 10 pro to MS 11 pro 64 bit Operating system x64 based processor. My As I don’t want the Rootsmagic in the C drive due to C being an SSD but rather a drive which I called S which is HDD and is my working drive. I am not a fond lover of clouds, but rather more oldschool of harddrives when it comes to backups.

Somehow I in the update it went to my C drive so I moved to my S drive after I had entitled the very first installation of RM10 to RM10 old. Hence I now have x2 RM10 folders in the S drive. When I opened the updated RM, then backed up, the backup seemed like a portrait rectangle outline visible on my computer, but not being recognised when I wanted to access. As I thought it to be an issue of having the icon linking to the original RM10, I deleted it from my desktop. I did research, followed the settings, only to find that RM10 also is displaying a rectangle with a border.

Given the above, would it be best if I uninstall both versions of the RM10, delete all folders and download, then do a fresh install the RM10.0.9 on my preferred S drive?

As I am trying to get familiar with the program, is there an option that I can organise that when I do backups they will automatically go to my preferred S drive instead of wanting to go into the cloud of onedrive?

Thanks everyone for your time in assisting me with my RM10 dilemma and may you all have a wonderful day.

Kind regards
Ruth

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There are others likely better with suggestions, but if it were me, I would uninstall your duplicate versions of RM10, restart your computer, turn off or pause onedrive, and reinstall RM10 fresh to the hard drive of your choice. Personally I want my programs on my C drive and with people not computer savy, I would use the default suggested by the install program. Within the open program, once installed you can chose the folder of choice for your backups. For example I put my RM backups, gedcoms, and reports in a folder C:\RM10data

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If its an issue with the Places Table/DB …. Did you download and run the “PlaceDBSetup.exe” it does not always load or run during the install.

Dave

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Hi mscheffler and Dave

Thanks both of you for your valued input.

Dave, yes I did download and run the “PlaceDBSetup.exe”, which does explain my current situation. Is there a full download version of the RM10.0.9 update available? If so, where and how can I get access to it? If not, then would it be advisable that I take your suggestion mscheffler suggestion on board and run the RM10 which I had downloaded when I made the purchase a couple of months ago.

Kind regards
Ruth

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There is a distinction that needs to be made between your RM software and your RM data.

You almost certainly want your RM software on your C: drive. And indeed, it seems likely that’s where it already is. That’s where it goes by default, and I’m not sure I know an easy way to put it anywhere else. There are some not so easy ways to put it somewhere else, but software typically goes into a folder called Program Files on your C: drive.

It sounds like it’s your RM data that you really want to go into your S drive. If so, you need to set up your Folder Settings appropriately in RM. The way you do that is under Settings > Folder Settings.

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If I understand correctly, it is your C drive that is an SDD and your S drive that is an HDD. Under those circumstances, I would place my RM database on the C drive and my RM backup files on the S drive. RM will run very much faster if its database is on an SDD than if it’s on an HDD. You can store your database on the C drive and still keep it outside of OneDrive. And indeed, it is not recommended to keep an RM database inside of OneDrive.

Most software will run about the same speed if the data is on an SDD or an HDD. Well, an SDD is way faster than an HDD. But most programs only read your data when you open a file and only write your data when you save the file. But RM reads and writes your database continuously and saves your data as you go. There is no Save at the end and there is no undo.

I confess I do keep my RM database in my OneDrive folder. But I pause the OneDrive sync while I am using RM. The way I do it is not recommended, but it works for me.

Be aware that even for files in OneDrive, the files are actually on your C drive while you are using them. You computer is never actually using files “in the cloud”. The files are on your computer while you are using them.

There is a OneDrive option that I strongly recommend turning on so that your files are always on your local computer. Click the OneDrive setting and then the Gear icon. The option is then under Settings > scroll way down to the bottom > Advanced Settings > Files On Demand > Download all files. Not having Download all Files be the default is one of the dumbest things Microsoft has ever done.

1 Like
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Hi thejerrybryan

How are you?

Thank you for your reply and valued input.

You shared about the ideal location for the RM being in C, with the very informative visual and word pictures. The difference in speed between the SSD and HDD. How that that programs will read/write upon saving, but not with RM as that reads/writes throughout. In my understanding of another difference between SSD and HDD is that with reading/writing does shorten the lifespan of the SSD but does not affect the HDD. When I originally had installed, as a precaution in case the RM did read / write, I decided to place the RM in the S drive rather than the C drive where I have all my other software.

With your advice that RM does read / write does make me want to once again instal on my S drive. I am so happy that you shared that your preference and how it does work for you, even though you have your RM database in OneDrive.

With your input along with the input by both mscheffler and Dave each have been very valuable in how I can resolve my RM10 dilemma. I now realise that if I am to take advantage of the RM updates I need the full update, not the run/start update. That I will need to uninstall both and clear all records of RM, then to do a clean instal. With the confirmed knowledge of the RM operational does read/write, as I want to preserve the lifespan of the SSD, I need to instal the RM on my S drive which is an HDD drive.

I do appreciate that in doing this process, in case that the backups may be corrupted, I felt it was best to do a total clearance of all records on both C and S Drives, as I had the downloaded exe drive on a backup HDD drive. One thing I did notice in doing the clearing, I had to manually delete, not uninstall the two folders on S with the program and data.

I successfully, did the clean installation and it was worth it to again do the registration, which I had previously copied on a word document in that drive along with the Family Atlas which was purchased with the RM10. To do the clean install I used the pack and go option, even though it did prompt that it was a fixed drive.

I didn’t realise that the RM10 exe dated on 11 August 2025 included the latest update of 10.0.9, which was a bonus as my RootsMagic software is up-to-date. So now it is ready for action.

Thank you once again, thejerrybryan, mscheffler and Dave for each of your valued assistance, and also a big thank you to the team who have created RootsMagic.

May you all have a wonderful day, and weekend.

Kind regards
Ruth