# Should I completely uninstall RM8 when going to RM9 on M2 MacBook Air?

**URL:** <https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/should-i-completely-uninstall-rm8-when-going-to-rm9-on-m2-macbook-air/6743>\
**Category:** RootsMagic\
**Tags:** question\
**Created:** [March 10, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/should-i-completely-uninstall-rm8-when-going-to-rm9-on-m2-macbook-air/6743 "2023-03-10T22:20:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![robertjm](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/robertjm/32/1594_2.png) [@robertjm](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/robertjm)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/should-i-completely-uninstall-rm8-when-going-to-rm9-on-m2-macbook-air/6743/1 "2023-03-10T22:20:11Z")

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Hi all,

I downloaded the RM9 update today and was about to install. But, did want to ask; is the company advocating completely uninstalling RM8 before moving on to the latest version? I seem to remember that in the past. But, perhaps it was for different reasons.

Thanks!

Robert

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**Author:** ![kfunk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/kfunk/32/68_2.png) [@kfunk](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/kfunk)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/should-i-completely-uninstall-rm8-when-going-to-rm9-on-m2-macbook-air/6743/2 "2023-03-10T23:07:15Z")

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You can install both version at the same time. Many of us have at least 7, 8, and 9 installed. The one thing you need to do is copy your RM8 database file to a new place BEFORE opening it in RM9 because there is a conversion that happens and if for some reason you need to go back to RM8, you will have to restore a backup. I am on a Windows machine but I have separate folders for RM4, RM7, RM8 and RM9 datafiles.

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**Author:** ![robertjm](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/robertjm/32/1594_2.png) [@robertjm](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/robertjm)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/should-i-completely-uninstall-rm8-when-going-to-rm9-on-m2-macbook-air/6743/3 "2023-03-10T23:19:35Z")

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Thanks!! Truthfully, I’ve only had this Air for a couple of months, and after installing RM8 I hadn’t loaded up my database. If I look I’d bet the database is actually from RM7, or thereabouts.

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**Author:** ![kfunk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.rootsmagic.com/kfunk/32/68_2.png) [@kfunk](https://community.rootsmagic.com/u/kfunk)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://community.rootsmagic.com/t/should-i-completely-uninstall-rm8-when-going-to-rm9-on-m2-macbook-air/6743/4 "2023-03-10T23:33:13Z")

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If it is a RM7 database, it will import into either RM8 or RM9 and the RM7 database will remain on your system unharmed after the import. It is just the 8-\>9 conversion that could cause fits. I still would strongly suggest maintaining separate folders for the various version’s datafiles.