boot drive switch, how to keep Vegas presets?

musman wrote on 1/15/2006, 10:05 PM
Sorry for the awkward title, but my C drive and boot drive is making a bad sound when I start up and the other day would go past the XP symbol. The computer has said, "Your hard disk may have a problem", so I figure this thing is going to die soon. I have a replacement drive, but once I install it and load XP and Vegas onto it I'm sure all the Vegas and Sound Forge presets I've made will be gone. This is thing of a big deal to me as I'm actually in the middle of a project right now.
So, is there a way to get the presets I've made back? I'm hoping it will help that I have a removable hard drive drawer thing that I can put the old C drive into. So I should have acces to the old C drive after the new C drive is installed. Can I just copy certain Vegas/SF folders onto one of my video storage drives and use them to replace the ones Vegas installs? If this won't work, would it help that I have a removable hard drive drawer thing that I can put the old C drive into? This would give me access the old C drive after the new C drive is installed.
FInally, and this is a little OT, but I'm sure I'll lose my Internet Explorer favorites as well. The VAST majority of these bookmarked sites are Vegas and other filmmaking related sites that I'd have a heck of a time trying to find again. Actually, most of the sites came to me as recommendations from this site. So, is there any way to save them as well?
Sorry for the long post, but thanks ahead of time for any help!

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 1/15/2006, 10:13 PM
They're stored at the registry level (presets) but you can also use the Preset Manager to export/import the presets. Just load up your presets in the Preset Manager.
I've forgotten which folder holds the presets in the reg, I think it's either File Format or DX Cache. (DX cache sounds right in my mind tho)
Anyway, I'm certain someone will chime in, but indeed, you can move them from one to another location.
musman wrote on 1/16/2006, 12:03 AM
Thanks, Spot. I've never known what the Preset Manager really was or what purpose it serves. Just took a look at it and am no better off than I was before.
Don't suppose someone could point me in the right direction...
Spot|DSE wrote on 1/16/2006, 8:04 AM
Open the preset manager, look for any chains you've created, and import them. (press the down arrow inthe GUI)

Then in the new drive, open the preset manager, locate the newly exported presets, and press the "up" arrow to reinstall them. Very fast, very easy.
Fleshpainter wrote on 1/16/2006, 8:57 AM
Favorites can be saved by dragging them into a folder - open explorer and a folder and resize each in a half window.
Ben  wrote on 1/16/2006, 12:34 PM
Just come across this myself. Preset Manager is all well and good for, er, FX presets! But Vegas <desperately> needs a way to export and import ALL it's settings when upgrading, moving to another machine, etc.

By all settings I mean - toolbars, preferences, installed scripts, keyboard shortcuts, stored views, presets.

The same problem of not being able to transfer these settings exists with Sound Forge and ACID and Sony should probably create a utility to work for all three. Microsoft have something very similar for their Office suite.

In the many years I've owned Sony products, I've spent countless frustrating hours transferring my settings from one installation to another! These are supposedly professional apps, and so really do need a suitable solution for this.

Ben
Redio wrote on 1/16/2006, 6:25 PM
Ben

I totally agree with you.

Rune
Ben  wrote on 1/17/2006, 6:16 AM
Good stuff Rune. Anyone else? Would be really good to get the momentum going on this and perhaps make Sony realise its very much needed.

Ben
Quryous wrote on 1/17/2006, 8:13 AM
Saving ALL settings for a new installation, or upgrade, or changing drives, etc., is actually quite simple.

The programmers of many programs have been using this trick for years. Simply have the application write a file containing ALL settings to the same folder where the application resides.

Then, after migrating, or whatever, have the NEW application read the file, either automatically or manually, and write it to the registry, if necessary (expect windows to finally get away from the registry in the next edition of windoze).

Nothing to it.
Ben  wrote on 1/18/2006, 7:43 AM
Absolutely there's nothing to it - we just need Sony to do it! You're right, very easy with most other apps. But Sony's "bits" seem to be all over the place, mainly in the registry.

They need to sort this out; professionals expect to be able to migrate settings. Makes setting up Vegas in a work places, for example, across multiple machines, very difficult indeed.

Ben
riredale wrote on 1/18/2006, 8:48 AM
If your drive can boot successfully at all, just do a clone before it dies for good. I do it all the time; in fact, in another contemporaneous thread I mention that my desktop died a horrible death a few weeks ago due (probably) to a rogue power supply, and the C drive died along with other components. But with an image (such as Ghost or TrueImage), you can get a new disk up and running in a matter of minutes, and the new disk will be EXACTLY the same as the old disk. No reloading of any individual software or settings.

From a re-reading of your original post, I think maybe your drive won't boot at all any more. Perhaps a DOS-based utility such as "SpinRite" could sort things out enough so that you can get it running again long enough to do a clone.