If your computer that was previously running inFlow stopped working for some reason, but you still have access to the hard drive, you might be able to recover your inFlow data, even if you didn’t explicitly make a backup beforehand, by looking to see if inFlow automatically made a backup file.

PLEASE NOTE: If you’re not able to see the folders outlined below please follow these steps to show hidden files/folders: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.

Here’s how:

Option 1: Try Using Auto-Backups

Look for automatically created backup files. Browse to the following directory:

Windows XP or Server 2003: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\inFlow Inventory
Vista, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 or Windows 8: C:\ProgramData\inFlow Inventory

There you may see some files that are named something like inFlow_autobak_yyyy_mm_dd__hh_mm.ifi

These are automatically created backup files, tagged with the date of the backup. You can copy these files to a safe location and then use Restore Data on a new installation of inFlow to revert to this database.

Please note that any information entered since that last backup will be lost.

Option 2: Try using the database files directly

If option 1 didn’t work, there is one more possibility. Please make a copy of the following 2 files:

Database File:
Windows XP or Server 2003: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\inFlow Inventory\inFlow.mdf
Vista, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 or Windows 8: C:\ProgramData\inFlow Inventory\inFlow.mdf

Database Log File
Windows XP or Server 2003: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\inFlow Inventory\inFlow_log.ldf
Vista, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 or Windows 8: C:\ProgramData\inFlow Inventory\inFlow_log.ldf

If you’re reinstalling inFlow, you can uninstall/reinstall it. After that, try loading inFlow; if you still see your data there, then you’re done! Otherwise, continue on with restoring the data.

To restore your old data, start by stopping the SQL Server service, as follows:

1) Open the Services window.
Windows XP, click Start –> Run –> type services.msc
Vista or Windows 7, click Start –> type services
Windows 8, hit Windows Key + R –> type services

2) Scroll to SQL Server (INFLOWSQL) and click Stop to stop the service. (Leave this window open for now.)

3) Copy the two files that you made a backup of into the corresponding folder on the new machine:
Windows XP or Server 2003: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\inFlow Inventory
Vista, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 or Windows 8: C:\ProgramData\inFlow Inventory

4) Restart the service by going back to the Services window you opened and click Start.

Now your data should be restored. Open up inFlow on the new machine and take a look!