Do you archive/store your downloads (mainly install files)?

[app103]

If you lose one of your versions, you can see if its archived at OldVersion.com:

http://www.oldversion.com/

-laughinglizard (October 07, 2007, 05:49 PM)

Similar site:  http://oldapps.com/

I save everything...I am a packrat.

Keep in mind 4 of the primary reasons for saving older setup files:

1. Newer doesn't mean better.
2. Sometimes freeware goes payware.
3. System requirements may increase in newer versions while the hardware on your PC may not.
4. A lot of great little known freeware has a tendency to disappear from the web and become lost forever.

I have setup files for applications, or versions of applications, that I will probably never use again, but that doesn't mean I will get rid of them.

I have recently found myself contributing to the oldapps.com collection, filling requests on their forum for stuff that is near impossible to find, and in some cases supplying English versions to applications where the older version that is most commonly found, is in a different language.

I also inherited a lot of setup files from my father. I think it could possibly be the entire Tucows Windows collection of 1999. I don't even know what half of it is. 

My dad has this habit of hitting a download site and getting everything he can and including it on a special partition with any pc he gives as a gift. The collection grows larger with every pc. My first PC from him came with a collection of about 100 setup files. My second came with over 300! It is up to the receiver of the pc to find out what it all is. It's actually kind of fun.

One of the greatest discoveries I have come across in the collection is an ancient, free, mildly crippled, non-expiring demo of an application for ripping CD's (CD Stripper). As it turned out, it is the ONLY thing I can use on my old P1 that will work and not crash. I did buy the most recent version of it, but alas, just like the rest of the CD ripping software I tried, it crashes on the old PC. I would have loved to have been able to purchase & receive a full version setup of the ancient one instead. I only bought the newer one because I felt they deserved my cash...it was more or less a donation, since I will never use the newer one on any pc I own. (I already have much better tools that can do same job on newer pc's)

CD Stripper..

Then: Do you archive/store your downloads (mainly install files)?

Now: Do you archive/store your downloads (mainly install files)?

Also, as a favor for friends that own older 9x pc's, I give their old snails new life by reinstalling their OS for them, properly configuring it, and supplying older freeware that will run better on it than the newer versions they would probably end up with if I didn't supply the older ones. So there is actually a need for me to keep all that old junk, the way I see it. It saves me a lot of time & trouble hunting down those files online while I am at their house, not to mention the extra time needed to download it all over dialup (most of them are still dialup users).

As far as archiving them, I do this as I download them, kind of. Everything gets it's own folder...I will make a note of the version number either in the name of the subfolder in which I store it and all related documentation, or in the file name itself.

It initially goes into an 'Untried' folder if it is something I have never used. Once installed, the application's setup folder is moved to the 'Installed' folder. Once uninstalled, it gets moved to a 'Not Installed' folder. If I had a good reason for uninstalling it, there will be a text file added with the reason, to remind me just in case I should get the crazy notion to try it again. Call it a personal mini review, if you like.

[Armando]

Keep in mind 4 of the primary reasons for saving older setup files:

1. Newer doesn't mean better.
2. Sometimes freeware goes payware.
3. System requirements may increase in newer versions while the hardware on your PC may not.
4. A lot of great little known freeware has a tendency to disappear from the web and become lost forever.

-app103 (October 11, 2007, 03:27 PM)

Nicely summarized.

[Darwin]

Yes - app you've highlighted exactly why I am still obsessive about archiving my software downloads... 

[tinjaw]

Now I have even more reason not to archive my files.





I will just ask one of you for them if I can't find them on the Net. 

[Darwin]

I did a double take on that one, tinjaw... Didn't notice the second line of text 

[wraith808]

I picture is worth a thousand words....

Anyway, I don't leave raw executables sitting around on my drive. They are always archived. This give much more protection against damage in the event of a malicious virus.
 (see attachment in previous post)

-Nighted (October 07, 2007, 11:21 AM)

What is this nifty software in your picture?

[Dr-Leech]

I just save installers in a folder install software and when I've some time I delete a bunch of installers.
I'm too lazy.

[tymrwt33]

Save every downloaded program in a "Downloads" folder. When it gets to be aroud 500-600MBs I put it  on a CD and start again. Having software even two or three years old, particularly freeware saves a lot of trouble. You can search the web of course but sometimes that can take a long time.

[PhilB66]

I picture is worth a thousand words....

Anyway, I don't leave raw executables sitting around on my drive. They are always archived. This give much more protection against damage in the event of a malicious virus.
 (see attachment in previous post)

-Nighted (October 07, 2007, 11:21 AM)

What is this nifty software in your picture?

-wraith808 (October 15, 2007, 11:54 AM)

Looks like Windows Explorer addons - QT TabBar and FindeXer.

[justice]

I thought of archiving downloads but they're always such an unassorted bunch of files, and with two pcs at home one will always be connected to the net if the other one fails.
I've never ever resorted back to an older version,however i tend to keep a copy of downloads of purchased software now because they tend to charge if you want to download it again *grr*.

[wraith808]

I picture is worth a thousand words....

Anyway, I don't leave raw executables sitting around on my drive. They are always archived. This give much more protection against damage in the event of a malicious virus.
 (see attachment in previous post)

-Nighted (October 07, 2007, 11:21 AM)

What is this nifty software in your picture?

-wraith808 (October 15, 2007, 11:54 AM)

Looks like Windows Explorer addons - QT TabBar and FindeXer.

-PhilB66 (October 16, 2007, 11:00 PM)

Thanks!  Looks interesting....

I thought of archiving downloads but they're always such an unassorted bunch of files, and with two pcs at home one will always be connected to the net if the other one fails.
I've never ever resorted back to an older version,however i tend to keep a copy of downloads of purchased software now because they tend to charge if you want to download it again *grr*.

-justice (October 17, 2007, 06:49 AM)

I positively *hate* when they do this.  And many places are charging 2.99 to 9.99 for "Download Protection" so that you can download it again.  This is the kind of thing that makes me rethink my stand on ESD.

[Rocker452]

I have my installers in a folder that I also sync to a thumb drive. I only put the ones I use regularly in there and all the ones that I pay for. I try to keep it updated with latest versions but sometimes get behind with that. It does save time though if I have to reinstall the OS or restore a backup image.

[vixay]

I did a double take on that one, tinjaw... Didn't notice the second line of text 

-Darwin (October 11, 2007, 06:58 PM)

me too

Btw Armando How do you tag files? I am in the same boat i have a huge list of folders and i always sort my downloads by category and all that. But instead i would love to have it tagged, and easily searchable. I use CDS (copernic) to search for now.

Though i was thinking of setting up a FARR alias to do that as well, but ran into too much confusion and out of time in trying to get it to work (for another purpose of course, like running portable apps all from my \Programs\ directory, and trying to find one when using the 'p' keyword/tag/alias/whatever it's called. So didn't bother with the alias for my categorized appz folder as yet )

Sometimes i think i should start my own file organizing site, where i pull information from the web about the application and add the appropriate tags/category/folder to it... just so my organizing becomes easier! I think PADD.XML are a great attempt to do that, but sadly few follow it, and big ones don't follow at all!

It would be neat to have a semi-intellingent organizing app that asked google for the tags and applied them automagically  

I actually have a whole workflow around downloading, testing, archiving.

The reasons i archive are:

• I manage multiple pcs
• I am the tech support for dozens of pcs (the family tech support), so lots of time is spent on research like a lot of the fellow DCers! Just gotta find a way to step 4. Profit!!!
• App i installed on one PC often needs to be put on another later (then i don't have to remember and search again)
• same reasons as app103 as well but my list includes more family oriented or geek support stuff

  Keep in mind 4 of the primary reasons for saving older setup files:
  
  1. Newer doesn't mean better.
  2. Sometimes freeware goes payware.
  3. System requirements may increase in newer versions while the hardware on your PC may not.
  4. A lot of great little known freeware has a tendency to disappear from the web and become lost forever.
  
  

  -app103 (October 11, 2007, 03:27 PM)

  
  Nicely summarized.
  

  -Armando (October 11, 2007, 05:31 PM)

Here is top level view of my archives, though there are plenty of subfolders as well



I used to invest a lot of time doing this earlier, now it has tapered off and i don't care as much. My new interest is maintaining a good collection of portable apps that i can just dump on a new pc! Used to love doing this on the good old 486 days! Though managing a bunch of floppies was a pain!

[Armando]

Btw Armando How do you tag files? I am in the same boat i have a huge list of folders and i always sort my downloads by category and all that. But instead i would love to have it tagged, and easily searchable. I use CDS (copernic) to search for now.

-vixay (October 18, 2007, 03:59 AM)

Sorry, I forgot about your question! 

After a lot of pondering I devised a tagging system based on file names so that : 1- it can be compatible with as many search tools as possible (farr, X1, etc.), 2-it can be used by at least 2 OSs (MS Windows and Linux), and 3- it can be as robust as possible. Tag2find will eventually be an option, but not as it is now.

It's not perfect: file names tend to become gigantic and it's pretty important to keep them under control because of the windows 259-260 max path limit (IMO a stupid limitation, even if I understand why — when will that change!!! Amiga’s SFS allowed 32000 ack in 1998)... In my case, the 259 character limit is especially a problem for documents names — I put a lot of info in there : document type, author, date, title, etc. + tags ; I do that for very good reasons (don’t want to hear about windows files metadata capabilities : too inconsistent), it's extremely helpful. For applications, file/folder names length are not as preoccupying since I don't write anything else in the name but the program’s name  +  the tags or categories.)

I use renaming programs to do quick batch renaming. I use AHK to keep my system perfectly coherent.

Of course, if you want more details, I'll do it. 

[vixay]

Armando, that was certainly insightful, i thought that just putting it in the name would be a good option. But like you said the limitations and all. Regardless, i'd love more details on how you do it with the help of AHK and all.

Thinking more on it, a good idea would be like a category list, which you check off and it adds it to the filename!

But you know. I find that there is a difference in paradigm between tagging, and folder hierarchy. Tagging almost always requires you to search, and doesn't give you a good folder level view, but gives you quicker access to stuff you need. Whereas folders, give you good views, allows exploration, but makes finding things a bit harder. I think when we reach the tags = folders in explorer stage is when it'd be great! (like the delicious extension in firefox!)

[icekin]

I keep a copy of the installation program files on my external drive, but replace it with a newer version when it comes out. That way, I always have the latest collection of install files for the programs on my PC.

However, if the new version consumes more system resources, I keep the old version around until I decide whether the new version's features are worth the extra resource overhead.

Unfortunately, due to a limited hard drive space in the past, I deleted several paid programs (mainly CAD related) that I got for free as part of an academic license. Now, I am stuck with an old computer that can't run the latest CAD programs due to system requirements being exceeded.

[Armando]

Vixay : I didn't want to highjack this thread with my long answer, so I created another one : How I tag my files -- an answer to vixay  

[Contro]

I wanted to know how many if any (probably so..) of you archive (or store) your downloaded files, mainly program install files. Program install files include .rar/.zip/etc archives/installers, .exe installers, etc., the files that setup/install/unpack programs/files.

If so, do you have a certain way of archiving them? Do you spend a lot of time archiving them? Or just dump them into a "installers" or similar directory/folder?

Some reasons why I archive install files:
The most obvious reason is that if you ever need the install file for some/what ever reason, you have a local copy - You do not need to download the file again. This can be great for large (10mb+) & rare files. And a chore for small files, because if you need a small installer file, you probably just end up redownloading it, but this time the later version - I archive all downloaded installers.

Also some times when you want to download a file, you try to download it from the web, but some times it takes a very long time just to download a small file, either due to problems or what ever - now you either try to look for a mirror (another server/place where you can get the file) or, if you have a local copy, resort back to your local copy.

Another reason is, you may not have internet access, but you need an installer for what ever program.. your archive to the rescue

Some problems with archiving them:
Organizing them! If you are fussy then organizing can take up a lot of time.. too much time infact. One thing I've come to dislike is installer files without the version in their name.. some of you probably like this, but for me, it's extra work since I archive every download [Side note: I don't download a lot, but when I do download some thing I want to make sure I don't have to go thru the trouble of downloading it again, for what ever reason.]

For instace, let's say last month I downloaded skype.exe, and the version is at 3.00, now today I update my skype, and also save the .exe installer to a temp dir, ready to be sorted later.. So now I am free to do some clean up, so I go of to store skype.exe 4.00 to my Archives > Software > Messengers > Skype directory.. but hmm.. there is already a previous version of skype here with the same name (the old version).. What to do? Overwrite it with this newer version? Rename the older version? Rename the newer version... Rename both versions!? Sing the national anthem and hope they sort them selfs out!? Some of you would probably just overwrite the old version - fair enough. But myself, I like to keep versions in case I need to roll back to any one if I am having problems, missing features, disliking any version, etc. So I am left with two choice.. Rename the old, and rename the new.. Or create directories for each version.. The later is my preferred method of archiving the versions. [Mainly because searching for filenames can do wonders ] Now if the installer was named skype_4.0.0.exe, this saves me from having to create extra directories for each version.. makes sense right? I can just dump them in the Skype directory, and have a nice listing of the different versions.

Disk space is another problem - ok, not really a good enough problem, especially in todays times

Any thoughts, tips, remarks?

-mitzevo (October 07, 2007, 10:42 AM)

I am a vicious of software. Specially of the wonderful freeware.
I kept by categories all download and link in Goldmine to the web where come from that soft.
Usually I make trees about the use of that program.

Why ?

Because I am turning conservative. If a program does what I need I don't like to change and follow the rules of Bill Gates.
So I try to locate my soft and use as long as i can under a virtual machine and so on.

I take a bad step when windows 98 SE to xp. And now I continue with xp, not with vista, not with seven, not with eight, not with nine.

In the most recent pc I have seven in multiple startup, but I really use windows xp.

My dream some day is use multiple virtual machines under a machine with a 64 bit system and 32 GB RAM aprox......

Best Regards

[Curt]

Do you archive/store your downloads (mainly install files)?

-yes, if it was a purchased program, or some useful hard-to-find or abandon ware.
If the register key is not too long, I will make it part of the filename,
-if it is too long for that, I will create a text file with the same filename as the installer, +txt.

edited:
hmm... I didn't notice at first how old this thread is.

[Contro]

 

but the thread is for the present
 

[Curt]

Giveaway of the Day - free licensed software daily. SerialSafe - SerialSafe is a portable software serial/license manager.

http://www.giveawayo...eday.com/serialsafe/

SerialSafe is a portable software serial/license manager. The program allows you to store serial numbers, license numbers and license files directly into the programs database.

This allows users to keep all their sensitive software registration information in one place. The software does not require installation, thus making it portable for use on USB sticks and other portable media (even web storage).

-giveawayoftheday 'today' May 29, 2012

[Contro]

I have few serial licensed software.
I usually keeps that information in my old CRM Goldmine 5.5
And have a free copy of revo uninstaller (when freeware) to take control of the installed programs.
I like because when needed you can select a full uninstallation.

Best Regards