How to backup Logos 4?

Dear all:

Do we have a way to backup our Logos 4? If I remember correctly, for Logos 3 we just need to install the software, put back all the book files into the resources directory and then restore the license. We don't need to re-download all the book files again. What about Logos 4? Do we have a way to backup our license and book files? Thanks for your advance.

Kelvin

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DMB

Kelvin ... you're so right about Libronix.

This is one MAJOR reason I keep my sizable book investment on Libronix and use Logos4 as a convenience.

Earlier the Logos' owner's answer was 'back up your PC'.

Josh Hunt

at today's internet speeds, it doesn't seem redownloading is a big problem. it won't need to be done but once in a blue moon anyway.

Jacob Hantla

There is no need to backup your books or your licenses with Logos 4. That is one of the major advances from Libronix to Logos. With Logos you had to put a lot of time and effort into maintaining a copy of your license and backing up all your personal files. This is now done automatically at Logos' expense. If your computer crashes or if you want to install your copy of Logos onto a new computer, you simply download the installer, type in your username and password, and Logos will automatically recognize all of your licenses, download your books, and sync a copy of all your user files (notes, highlights, etc).

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/404892#Comment_404892

Just to clarify ... the above answers assume you have a Logos.com to download your books from. And assumes you agree with Logos' future theological software integration. Think ahead; life happens.

humbleservant888

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/404893#Comment_404893

What do you mean " you agree with Logos' future theological software integration"? Thanks for your advance.

Kelvin

Fred Chapman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405074#Comment_405074

You can backup L4. I keep a backup copy on an external HD.

To do so simply copy the Logos 4 folder.

In Win7 the path is C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Logos4

In XP the path is C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Logos4

This link may be helpful http://wiki.logos.com/Quick_Installation_onto_multiple_computers

humbleservant888

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405090#Comment_405090

Thanks.

Mark

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405262#Comment_405262

I agree that it is wise to back up the L4 folders.

If I understand things correctly, there are some books from the past which, if you own, but Logos no longer has a license for, then it will not be on their servers. This would also be true of books from companies such as E4 of a few years ago.

I would like to happily be wrong. But this has been my understanding from others forum posts.

Further to my understanding is that somehow, your L4 license contains the information that you may own books no longer purchaseable or attainable on the L4 servers. But if you have a copy on your computer, then it will work in L4.

Thus, it is always a wise idea to have a backup of your L4 resources.

If I am wrong, then I would request not only to be corrected, but also for some kind of proof that books purchased in the past from places other than Logos are on the Logos servers (including E4, Galaxie, and any of the other companies that once used L3 ...see http://www.libronix.com/page.aspx?id=techpartners0 for a fairly good list)

Mark

Ken McGuire

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405275#Comment_405275

As someone who has just suffered a HD crash on my laptop, I just had the pleasure of reinstalling Logos 4. Took about 2 days between downloads and indexing. Granted, there were other system downloads that were competing for a bit... But it was not a fun experience.

David Thomas

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405277#Comment_405277

This summer I got a new laptop and did a fresh install, download and index. Granted, I only have about 900 titles in my library (Scholars Silver plus some original language stuff and a few Vyrso books), but I found the install from Logos servers to be much easier than some of my other programs that had to be installed. Also, something to think about-- Since Logos is continually releasing updates to resources, one would have to backup their L4 after each resource update or one's backup would be obsolete as soon as it is reinstalled onto a new drive.

Jacob Hantla

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405275#Comment_405275

I agree that it is wise to back up the L4 folders.

If I understand things correctly, there are some books from the past which, if you own, but Logos no longer has a license for, then it will not be on their servers. This would also be true of books from companies such as E4 of a few years ago.

I would like to happily be wrong. But this has been my understanding from others forum posts.

Thankfully you are wrong. When Logos no longer has a license to a resource, it means that they can no longer sell it. But you will never lose a license, nor access to a book that you have purchased. Logos maintains these on their servers and has maintained compatibility with all new iterations of their software at their expense. I have many E4 books (some are my favorite, such as Haldane's commentary on Romans) and Galaxie products. They all are stored and maintained on Logos servers to be synced to those who have the licenses, even though many of them are unavailable for sale.

Some make their own backups. To my mind this seems like a waste of time and effort for at least the following reasons

Logos ins't going out of business anytime soon.
So long as Logos is in business, they maintain a copy of my licenses, updated copies of all resources, and copies of all my documents.
If Logos is going out of business it will not be a surprise and we will not be faced with a everything's-available-one-day-and-now-its-all-gone scenario
For me to lose my documents and books (and thus be dependent on a backup), I would need Logos to SIMULTANEOUSLY shutter their doors, shut down all servers, eliminate all opportunities for me to gain access to my files, AND have all of my computers face catastrophic crashes.

So at this time, there is no need to make a backup. Logos has in fact gone very far out of their way at their own expense to make sure that you do not have to even give a second's thought or effort to backing up. This is very nice and a very valuable service included for free when you purchase a Logos digital library. This is one of the things that sets Logos far apart from the competition in terms of value and services added above and beyond the digital books you are buying.

Mark

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405374#Comment_405374

Jacob

Thanks for that encouragement. If this is true, that is great. But I seem to remember forum posts that indicate differently. I guess since this thread is running current, if someone has found out differently, I hope they will post to let us know.

The issue for me is not current L4 offerings. It is past resources that are no longer for sale.

To make it very clear, this should be clearly stated somewhere on Logos' website. Without clear confirmation from Logos that they will not change their policy in the future, to me, it is uncertain.

Mark

Jacob Hantla

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405277#Comment_405277

As someone who has just suffered a HD crash on my laptop, I just had the pleasure of reinstalling Logos 4. Took about 2 days between downloads and indexing. Granted, there were other system downloads that were competing for a bit... But it was not a fun experience.

Wow! 2 days is certainly not my experience. I'm not sure what your bandwidth or Logos library looks like, but I have just under 8,000 resources in my Logos library and I can get from installation, to download complete, to index done while I sleep.

Compared to installing any other big-time application that I own (the Adobe Suite is a good example), Logos is pure joy.

What made it "not a fun experience"? Just the time waiting or difficulty along the way. I grant that if you have slow internet or data cap a local backup of resources is probably a good idea. I suspect that even if I had a local backup, I would still just let Logos download it because it is easy and doesn't require any thought or effort. But I have pretty fast cable internet (20 Mbps downlink) and no data cap.

So while I see absolutely no reason to back up your data for purposes of keeping it safe, if you have internet limitations, you may want to backup and install resources from a local backup rather than the cloud.

Jacob Hantla

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405377#Comment_405377

The issue for me is not current L4 offerings. It is past resources that are no longer for sale.

I have not found any nor have I heard of any lost licenses for resources. I have the E4 resources that you speak of and can access them from a recently installed copy of Logos (with all resources downloaded from Logos servers). See the screenshot of Haldane on Romans by E4 below running from Logos. You WILL NOT however have access to many of those files via the mobile apps or web interface (biblia.com) as they were licensed to Logos for viewing on a computer via the application (this may be the lack of access which you are remembering)

Bob Pritchett

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405377#Comment_405377

To make it very clear, this should be clearly stated somewhere on Logos' website.

"It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future."

With that said, once you've bought a resource I can't see any reason we could/should remove you ability to access it. Logos 4 resources are all stored in the cloud and available for you to re-download as needed. The only resources not stored that way are from specific outside resource producers from the 1990's, who built stuff for Logos 3 long before cloud-based access was offered or imagined. All future resources will be under the current or future contracts and we should be able to continue to give you restore-access even if we lose the right to sell new copies; we don't plan to do any more work in the 1990's. :-)

Of course there may be exceptions -- I can't predict the future, and I'm going to try to obey the law and avoid lawsuits. If a copyright holder were to sue us, or threaten us, or turn out not to have the rights they'd told us they did, and the "real" copyright holder was upset, we might be forced to take something down. But these are unlikely and rare situations.

Mark

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405379#Comment_405379

Thanks again, Jacob for your time. I have not lost any resources. I also have my E4 resources. However, can you comment on this thread: http://community.logos.com/forums/p/53683/391731.aspx#391731

See especially what Richard writes. Threads like these make me concerned. I have already mentioned that I have read on the forums of people losing resources and not able to get them back because they are not on the L4 servers. The thread I reference above seems to indicate that not all 3rd party resources are on the L4 servers.

I understand that not all resources are accessible on ipad, biblia.com etc. I am not speaking of these things.

Mark

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/405403#Comment_405403

Bob

Thanks for your input on this. You have confirmed what I assumed. For those of us who have such resources built in the 1990s that are not on the L4 servers...If they were converted from our L3 programs to L4, then our license confirms we are owners of those resources. However, if the resource for some reason is not on the L4 servers, then the only way to have access to them is if we have a back up copy of those resources on our computers in L4. And that is the reason why those of us who have resources from the 1990s need to have our own back ups.

This is what I understand from what you wrote.

I completely understand the issues of not knowing what the future holds in terms of copyright etc and that some resources available now may not be able to be stored on the Logos servers in the future. Hence the need for individuals to back up their purchases. Correct?