Backing up Evernote database

[J. Chew 1]

I'd just upgraded my HDD and reinstalled everything - including Evernote new version.

Just want to know, if I want to back up the database and all (prolly not required as the cloud will sync to puter anyway), this is the right folder (C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Evernote)?

Tks!

[PinkElephant 8,244]

There is little experience with backing up the new version locally.

The server master plays a more central role than in the prior version, and there is no sync button - it syncs right away. The local backup will most likely be overwritten by the sync.

IMHO there are currently 2 ways for a technically working backup:

• v10: Export ENEX-files, one per notebook (because the note-notebook relation is not conserved in the ENEX format) - yes, that is a lot of manual work, depending on the number of notebooks. But the reimport can be protected against being overwritten - just import to a new notebook. This is not possible when copying the bare metal data from the disk.
• Install legacy, sync it and either use the export features there (can be scripted, which does not work with v10) or grab the local database of the client. The advantage is that it is easier to control syncing in a restore with legacy than with v10.

The main conclusion is that v10 is build around the server and backing it up locally is currently not really supported. On the server there is note history to go back to a prior version if a could editing took place.

P.S. Hope you got yourself a nice SSD to replace the HDD. EN is known to perform much better from an SSD.

[AlbertR 563]

Yes it is the right folder - but(as you mentioned correctly) it is not required. It may be not complete because there is no "sync complete" indicator available.

[AlbertR 563]

Just a small addendum: I installed a new computer before 2 days, installed both versions (V10 and Legacy) and started to search within the notes immediately after installing. And whow - V10 seemed to have all notes available immediately.

Legacy took a longer time to answer with complete search results. Only after a complete sync, all notes have been found. But after then it was much faster that V10...

Conclusion: V10 has a more sophisticated sync methodology - based on what the user needs this moment. But because of more iNet traffic it needs, it sometimes needs more time to sync specific note's content (even it V10 knows, that a note contains what I'm looking for, it needs some time to show me the content). Legacy allways tries to sync everything until it is completely mirrored on your HDD/SSD...

From a professional user's point of view, the good old Legacy mode makes more sense: I have the disc space, I have the processor speed and I really need fluent answers even if my iNet performance lacks.

For beginners oder semi-professional users, V10 impresses with total cloud functionality across different devices and device types.

[PinkElephant 8,244]

Interesting observation: Legacy builds an own search index locally. This is strength and weakness at the same time. It runs locally and does not depend on an internet connection. But at the same time it can become corrupted, straying off the server copy which is the master for legacy as well.

From my experience it is good practice to run the repair tools build into the legacy help menu (holding strg/Win or opt/Mac before opening help). If needed a forced sync can help to get rid of local database problems.

[ArjenC 124]

5 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

But at the same time it can become corrupted, straying off the server copy which is the master for legacy as well.

Corruption on the server is also possible, support ticket is needed to fix this issue. So no real difference in both versions.

[DTLow 5,737]

3 hours ago, J. Chew said:

Just want to know, if I want to back up the database and all (prolly not required as the cloud will sync to puter anyway), this is the right folder (C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Evernote)?

Yes, you have the right folder    
You can back it up, but it's of limited use in restoring lost data

The more common backup/restore process uses the Evernote export feature   
The backup notes are stored in .enex or .html format