How To Reinstall TCOYF on a New Computer or Hard Drive

When you buy a new computer, reinstall your operating system, or reformat your hard disk drive, you must reinstall your software because much of what it needs to run has either been erased or references to required system files have been removed.  Fortunately, this is relatively easy to accomplish.  If you still have your database file (or kept a backup!), then getting your old data back is easy, as well.  This page will explain all of the steps necessary to get Taking Charge of Your Fertility Software up and running again.

Step 1: Install TCOYF on Your Computer

If you have the TCOYF CD-ROM, you can install directly from that.  If not, click this link to download and install the complete software application on your PC:

Click here to open the download page in another window

If you are running Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT, you may be required to download and install Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) from the Microsoft website.  If this download is required, the installation program will notify you and take you to the appropriate page at Microsoft.

Step 2: Start TCOYF and Enter Your Serial Number

Once you've installed TCOYF (and MDAC, if required), run TCOYF by opening the icon on your desktop or by clicking Start --> Programs --> TCOYF --> Taking Charge of YOur Fertility Software from the Windows taskbar.

If TCOYF starts up with your existing data loaded and doesn't display the Introductory Trial screen, you are done.

If TCOYF starts up and displays the New Cycle Database Wizard first (which helps you build a new cycle database), then proceed to Step 3.

If your operating system has been reinstalled or you have installed TCOYF on a new computer, the Introductory Trial screen will be displayed and you will need to enter the serial number provided when you first purchased the application.  This is because your registry doesn't contain your serial number, so the software doesn't recognize the fact that you've already paid for it. 

If you purchased the software via download and still have access to the original e-mail address you used when you purchased TCOYF, then you can retrieve your serial number by clicking the following link:

Click here to retrieve your serial number

If you purchased the CD-ROM version of the software, then you will need to find and enter the printed serial number that was provided with the CD-ROM.

If you need help entering your serial number, click the following link:

Click here for help on entering your serial number

Step 3: Loading Your Existing Data

If you have re-installed TCOYF on a computer that previously contained your data AND you have not reformatted your hard disk drive, proceed to Option A within this step.  If you have installed TCOYF on a new computer and are transferring your data (from the old computer or from a backup) proceed to Option B within this step.  If you have reformatted the hard drive that contained your data and you do not have a backup, then you cannot recover your existing data and must build a new cycle database.

Option A: For re-installations without reformatting

If TCOYF is trying to build a new cycle database, cancel the process.  Close all windows in TCOYF with the exception of the main Calendar screen.  Then, click File in the TCOYF menu and select Search for Existing Database... from the list of options.  Click the Search Your Computer tab on the window that opens and you'll see the following:

 
If your data was previously stored on your "C" drive, then simply click the Search Now button and TCOYF will scan all folders on your hard disk for any existing TCOYF database files.  If your data was stored on another drive (such as a network drive), click the Browse button and select the hard drive to scan.  If TCOYF finds your database, it will be displayed in the empty box in the middle.  Simply double-click the file to load it, or highlight it and click the Open Highlighted File button.

If TCOYF can't find your database, it's because it was either deleted or renamed by someone (perhaps accidentally), as the TCOYF program never deletes any data file from your system.  In that case, you will have to start over with a new database.  Simply click the Close button, then select File and New Database in the main TCOYF menu.

Option B: For NEW installations and transferring data

First, you MUST have access to your old database file for it to be recovered, obviously.  If you reformatted your computer's disk drive and didn't keep a backup of your data, you will not be able to recover it.  If you simply re-installed your operating system and didn't reformat, then your data is probably intact and can be recovered.  Regardless, this step will reveal whether or not your data is recoverable.

If TCOYF is trying to build a new cycle database, cancel the process.  Close all windows in TCOYF and exit the program.  Close all programs running in the taskbar (it's okay to leave the programs running in the system tray).

Go to the computer where your TCOYF database was originally located, and then follow the steps below:

1. Click the Start button
    

2. Click Search (under Windows 95/98/NT, click Find)
    

3. Select For Files or Folders (under Windows 95/98/NT, select Files or Folders)
    

4. Type *.TCF (asterisk-period-T-C-F) in the Search for files or folders named box (under Win 95/98/NT, it's simply labeled Named).
    

5. Select My Computer from the Look in drop-down selector.  (If you are running Win 95/98/NT, make sure the the box labeled Include subfolders is checked.)
    

6. Click Search Now (under Win 95/98/NT, the button is labeled Find Now).
    

7. If any TCOYF cycle database files exist on your computer, they will be displayed in the box below the search form. Be patient, it can take a while to scan large disk drives.  (If no database file is found, then you will have to build a new cycle database from within TCOYF.)
    
   If multiple files are found, check the date each file was last modified to determine which is the most current one.  Do this by right-clicking each file individually and selecting Properties from the popup menu.  Examine the Modified property of each one in succession. 
    
   Once you have identified your database file, copy it to a floppy disk or burn it to a CD-ROM and transfer it to the My Documents folder on your new computer.  If the file is too large to fit on a floppy and you don't have a CD-ROM burner, you can probably compress it with WinZip to get it to fit on a floppy disk.  (PLEASE NOTE: It goes beyond the scope of this page to explain how to do this in detail.  If you are unfamiliar with these topics, you should find a geek-friend to help you... everyone has at least one of these friends and they're always happy to help! )
    

8. After copying your TCOYF cycle database to your new computer's My Documents folder, simply double-click it to start TCOYF with this database loaded.  The next time you start TCOYF from the desktop icon or your Start menu, this database will be preloaded.

That's it.  If you need additional assistance, please e-mail us at support@ovusoft.com!