Re: Re-installing Eudora 4.2 or Over-installing 7.1.0.9 over 4.2?

[Daniel Jacobson]

In article <dolj7817d3e6kn4p3...@4ax.com>, Joody.Jo...@comcast.net says...
>
> Sad, but true, folks: You will never be rid of me in this
>group. :)
>
> Here's my situation. A friend is running 4.2 on her Win-XP
>machine. She's getting all kinds of errors ... runtime this, .dll that
>... I don't have the technical details, but these problems are out of
>my league to repair. I tried installing a system backup from before
>the problem began, but no luck.
>
> 1. I have the Eudora 4.2 install disk from Qualcomm. Would it
>be easiest to merely reinstall that over (in the same directory) the
>flawed 4.2?
>
> A. If so, what can I do to preserve her existing
>address book and mailboxes? She has a LOT of mailboxes and her address
>book is huge.
>
> B. To get all her settings from the old to the new,
>can I just replace the new Eudora.ini with the old Eudora.ini (via drag
>& drop)?
>
> C. Or would it be easier to just install 4.2 into a
>new directory I create, and then drag & drop the old .toc, mbx, files
>to the new install?
>
> 2. If it would be best to put 7.1.0.9 on her machine, I'd have
>the same questions as 1A, 1B, and 1C above.
>
> OR DO YOU HAVE a better idea? Please keep it simple for me,
>or I'll be back here with more questions. <G>
>
> If this was for my machine, I'd barge ahead and try everything,
>since I have a spare operational copy of Eudora 4.2 and 7.1.0.9 ... but
>she does not.
>
> As always, thanks so much for your help.

Try:
Eudora is made to install over your previous version so all mailboxes
and settings will be preserved. Of course, backup the original directory
until you are satisfied that the new/reinstalled version is working
correctly.

You have the option to override the default directory if installing
new or override the existing directory if upgrading. Your choice.

You may want to consider deleting the eudora.ini file and reconfiguring
from scratch when upgrading.

How to move and back up files (Win)
http://www.eudora.com/techsupport/kb/1602hq.html

Also:
Installing upgrades over older versions
http://www.eudora.com/techsupport/kb/1463hq.html
--
Over and Out
Daniel Jacobson

[John H Meyers]

On 10/13/2012 4:30 PM, Just Judy wrote:

> Sad, but true, folks: You will never be rid of me in this group. :)

How very nice of you to return!

I seem to recall that you "took the plunge," some time ago,
and upgraded your own Eudora to the current version, yes?

So how has it been -- are you happy with the results?

> Here's my situation. A friend is running 4.2 on her Win-XP
> machine. She's getting all kinds of errors ... runtime this, .dll that
> ... I don't have the technical details, but these problems are out of
> my league to repair. I tried installing a system backup from before
> the problem began, but no luck.

I'm surprised, because I've even run version 3 on Win XP,
and it worked fine, so I don't know why version 4.2 would be any less fine.

> I have the Eudora 4.2 install disk from Qualcomm. Would it
> be easiest to merely reinstall that over (in the same directory)
> the flawed 4.2?

You can always re-load the program files "over" themselves --
the program files should never actually change, but if they do
(which suggests disk corruption or malicious agents),
they can be made "as good as new" by writing them anew.

> If so, what can I do to preserve her existing
> address book and mailboxes? She has a LOT of mailboxes
> and her address book is huge.

Installing writes over the program files only,
and in later versions, one additional file "Deudora.ini"
(note this name starts with "D"), which is a "program" file that
helps Eudora to remember where the user files have been stored.

> To get all her settings from the old to the new,
> can I just replace the new Eudora.ini with the old Eudora.ini
> (via drag & drop)?

Installing Eudora's program files does not create any new Eudora.ini!

In fact, the installer itself doesn't create any Eudora.ini,
not even the first time that Eudora is ever installed on a computer!

What creates Eudora.ini (and other required files such as In.mbx,
and in fact every file that normally has to be created for a new user)
is that when Eudora is running and needs one of these files,
but finds that the file does not currently exist,
at that very moment it creates a brand new (empty) file for you,
which quickly creates all your vital files when you first run Eudora,
_after_ having already put the program files in place via the installer.

Thus, if you accidentally delete your settings (Eudora.ini),
an empty settings file will be created next time; if you accidentally
(or even deliberately) delete Out.toc, then Eudora will build a new one, etc.

On the other hand, if you do already have all these files in place,
then even a newly installed or updated set of Eudora program files
will simply use what you've left in the folder in which your user files reside.

If you launch a new installation and everything acts as if brand new,
all that's happened is that Eudora didn't find the old user directory
when launched, which can be corrected by an appropriate adjustment,
followed by a re-launch.

> If it would be best to put 7.1.0.9 on her machine,
> I'd have the same questions as 1A, 1B, and 1C above.

To which the answers are pretty much the same.

Whenever we updated an old device known as a phonograph,
we just put our existing priceless record collection on it,
and they started playing exactly the same music as before,
except perhaps we could hear it better on the better equipment this time :)

Aren't you a veteran of this "upgrading my Eudora" process yourself,
and have an experience of your own as to how easy (or not) it was?

> If this was for my machine, I'd barge ahead and try everything,
> since I have a spare operational copy of Eudora 4.2 and 7.1.0.9
> ... but she does not.

Program installers for almost every version of Eudora
are still available from http://eudora.com/download
(which contains a link to "old installers"),
so one can have any desired version,
up to and including the last one (7.1.0.9),
and you can even have a free "Paid" mode registration
for any version from 4.3 onwards, by visiting:
http://eudorabb.qualcomm.com/showpost.php?p=50617

> Judy a/k/a The Clueless One

Oh come now, you have had your own experiences of both equally old
and equally new versions, and of upgrading yourself, haven't you?

And also of always receiving help here?

So there -- no one is better clued in on this situation
than someone who has lived through it all herself,
and I would defer to your judgement as to what's best for your friend,
because you not only lived the experience of upgrading,
but you also know your friend, which none of us does.

I hope you'll always be our friend too,
and why would we ever want to be "rid of" such nice friends?

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