It is a good practice to back up your Winspect system on a regular basis. This protects you against accidental file deletions, and against computer-related disaster, such as hard-drive failures, water or fire damage, and so on.

From proper backups, even a sophisticated inspection system can be restored to its original configuration in under an hour.

Back-ups should be saved onto stable media, such as a CD-ROM, and stored away from the Winspect computer. Some users prefer to back-up to a network drive, which itself has off-site secure backup.

There are four simple steps to backing up a Winspect system.

1. Backup the Winspect program files
2. Backup your Winspect workspaces and related configuration files
3. Backup your Winspect data files
4. Backup any drivers and configuration files for your motion control hardware.

1) Back up the Winspect program files.

If you installed Winspect from a CD that was shipped to you, proceed to step 2: your install CD is itself an effective back-up.

Web Downloads:

If you downloaded your copy of Winspect from the web, you should save a copy of the self-extracting installation file to CD-ROM, and store this disc away from the Winspect computer.

Remember to write the file's extraction password onto the disc, or save it in a text file that is burned onto the CD along with the installation program.

2) Back up your Winspect workspaces

Winspect workspace files have the file extension *.ws5
Workspace files are usually located in the folder C:\Winspect\Workspaces...

Many users have more than one workspace, to accommodate different set-ups for various parts or scan types. Be sure to make a backup for each workspace that you use regularly.

Workspace Components:
You can also save the individual components of the Winspect Workspace, which makes it faster to build new workspaces, or modify the existing ones.

If you have saved any custom configuration files, such as custom palettes, scan configurations, motion axis descriptors, or user-defined headers, etc. these should also be backed up.

Winspect Workspace Components

Description	Default File Location
Scan configurations	C:\Winspect\Scan Definitions\ *.scn
Motion controller configurations	C:\Winspect\Motor Configurations\ *.axd
Instrument Manager configurations	C:\Winspect\Instrument Configurations\ *.vid
Custom palettes for image display	C:\Winspect\Palettes\ *.PL2
Custom templates for the User Defined Header	C:\Winspect\Setup Descriptions\ *.XML
Saved Settings for supported pulser types

3) Back up your Winspect data files

Winspect data files have the extension *.sdt. The default folder for Winspect data files is C:\Winspect\Data, but Winspect data files can be stored anywhere on the Winspect computer, or anywhere on a connected network.

Winspect Data Files: Standard Locations

Description	Default File Location
Winspect data files collected during scanning	C:\Winspect\Data\ *.sdt
Data files captured by the Pulse Characterization application	C:\Winspect\Transducers\ <FOLDERS>\*.sdt

Note: You can use the Windows Explorer search tools to find any other locations where Winspect data files might have been stored.

4) Back up any configuration files for motion controller hardware

Motion controllers typically have their configurations stored in permanent memory, such as an EEPROM chip right on the controller board.

It is advisable to download the configuration and make a back-up copy. If the controller hardware ever fails, a replacement card can be configured exactly the same way as the original, by copying the backup file over to the replacement unit.

For Galil DMC controllers:
Run the Galil DMC-Setup program, which automatically loads the current controller configuration. To back up the configuration, use the menu command File-->Save DMC File As...and specify where to store the backup DMC file. Galil DMC configuration files must have the extension *.dmc

For other motion controllers:
Consult the controller manufacturer's manual to determine what configuration files are used and where to find them.