STICKY: Making backups of your stuff

Yes, you can burn it to CD and such

from GalCiv2 Forums

I know some people out there don't like Stardock Central.  Features = Complexity and we totally understand that.

Here are a few benefits of Stardock Central you may want to take advantage of:

You can Archive the game.  Just right click on the game and each module you want to back up and select "Archive".

This will ZIP it up to the archives directory in Stardock Central.

You can take this ZIP and burn it to CD, put it on other machines in your home.  Our license allows you to have it on as many machines YOU OWN as long as no more than 1 copy is being played at a time per license.

You can take the ZIP file and put it on a machine that does not have an Internet Connection.  You will need to install Stardock Central, however.  Once SDC is installed, choose File->Restore Applicationa and browse to your ZIP file.  SDC should take care of your various registry things as well as activation (if you don't have a net connection, it should bring up a dialog when you try to run the game that will require that you get email support to get a special code).

If you bought the retail version, none of this applies as you already have a CD and you can make backups of that as you will, same license restrictions.

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Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
"If you bought the retail version, none of this applies as you already have a CD and you can make backups of that as you will, same license restrictions."

If I do have the retail version, how do I make backups of any updates issued through SDC? Is there a way to burn just the updates to a separate CD, so I don't have to zip up the whole game to move it to my laptop?
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Ok this is how I understanded Brads mail, correct me if Iam wrong.

You can have the game on multiple machines but only one can be active at any given time. Does this mean the game logs into your dabase or in some other way connects to internet when the game is booted?

Also I understanded this only affects the downloaded version. Does it mean that game installed from CD doesnt check internet connection?

Sorry if this seems dumb as he**, but my english isn´t perfect
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Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
As I understand. No. When it loads it checks for an internet connection. You can however turn this off in the options menu. Great for being on the road, or sea when you don't have the connection available.

The CD will check for the connection as well. Unless you turn it off via the options screen.

And yes it can me on multiple machines. Just can not play on more than one at a time unless you have more than one license. After you load the game up click on manual. All the legal stuff is in the last couple pages and it specifically addresses this.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Actually, it only touches the net if it hasn't been activated.  Once it's been activated it's set.

We rely on the honesty of customers to only have 1 copy of the game running at a time per license.  We don't enforce it, we just ask users not to have more than 1 copy going at once or to put it on machines they don't own.

Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Actually I had a question about the activation. Does activation do something else besides it enables you to download updates? (had slight problems with activation due to two accounts, fixed now)

Another guestion, does archiving pack only the game files or does it include your account info as well?
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Just keep in mind to archive each package on it's own...I had archived the full game at than restored it, but than he has not found the tutorials, media or Movie files...and now I'am trying to get the movie files for the last two hours...so much for preloading...
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Do I have do actually re-download the files to archive them? I just used the install button to download them, and I want to move them to my other computer. When I right click on an installed module, the only archive option available is "Download and archive" The "Selected module" is grayed out. There is also another option thats greyed out too, "Entire app. with skins". Anyway, do I have to re download the entire files all over again?
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
You can Archive the game. Just right click on the game and each module you want to back up and select "Archive".

This will ZIP it up to the archives directory in Stardock Central.

You can take this ZIP and burn it to CD, put it on other machines in your home. Our license allows you to have it on as many machines YOU OWN as long as no more than 1 copy is being played at a time per license.

You can take the ZIP file and put it on a machine that does not have an Internet Connection. You will need to install Stardock Central, however. Once SDC is installed, choose File->Restore Applicationa and browse to your ZIP file. SDC should take care of your various registry things as well as activation (if you don't have a net connection, it should bring up a dialog when you try to run the game that will require that you get email support to get a special code).


Is the special code from email support the serial #? I opted not to get the CDs because I don't have the room for yet another box (bits are so much more compact ). My concern is at some time in the future I install Stardock Central and install the archive ZIP but Stardock is no more (God forbid!!!) so I can't get the code. I guess I could request the code now and store it with the archive.
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
Okay, It seems the greyed out archive options are only greyed out if the stardock app. is currently downloading, or archiving something. After I finished the downloads I can archive them one at a time. Yay!
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I have downloaded and archived my GalCiv2 file on a data-stick as I don't have Internet-connection at home. Now, I try to open the archived file to start to install the jewel. I un-rar the archived file on my HD at home and click on exe. Nothing happens. I am doing something wrong. What's the issue? - SDC is installed on my HD.

Any hints?
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
I've made the mistake of downloading the main files first and, when it failed half way through, download the other media files. I completed the main files later. Problem : the multimedia files are not considered as downloaded even though they *are* on the disk (I copied them in the game directory by hand and I can play the game with sound & movies).
Any way I could avoid redownloading 1gb of data I already have ?...
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Make sure you have SDC 2.29a or higher. Please uninstall Stardock Central through Add/Remove programs, restart your computer, and install the version from HERE

This may pick up all the previous files on your hard drive and download what's needed.
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
A CD user can make backups of their CD, but how about patches? Is that the same process as with the download version?
Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
Reinstalling SDCentral made the trick and the files were recognized as installed. I'm archiving as we speak. Can I delete the files in SDCentral/Stardock/TotalGaming/... to make some room ?
Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top
I've tried to do this, but something seems strange.
I packed up all the files into this one giant 1+Gig archive. Then on the machine I wish to port them to, I install Stardock, log on to it, go to "Restore Archive", and have it browse to the location where I saved the 1+Gig archive file.

The funny thing is, it says it's looking for a zip file, when the archive is an .sdc file. But anyways, I'll select the file, and I immediately get an error about some sort of DLL corruption (I wrote it down and forgot to bring it with me).
Anyone have any idea what that could be?
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
Isn't it possible just to copy the installed folder completely and save that as a backup?
Reply #17 from Stardock Forums Top
I second this question but I think the game needs registry keys to work (especially for the registration)
Reply #18 from Stardock Forums Top
Look guys, it's not that hard. You simply go into Stardock Central and archive the game which creates a zip archive which you do with as you please. It really is that simple.

I did this in GalCiv 1 all the time. I archived the game. I then ran that archive on my laptop which installed the game there (i never have had SDC on the laptop). After a few updates I might archive again and then install it on the laptop again so that the laptop has all the updates.

I think too many people are making this out to be much harder then it really is.
Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top
I thought it created .sdc files and that you needed SDC to reinstall these ?
Reply #20 from Stardock Forums Top
I hate to be one of the people making it harder than it has to be, but the .SDC file it created in the BACKUP folder was a few bytes over 990 megabytes. The initial post in this thread from Froggy says to burn it to CD? Was that a typo for DVD? I know I am doing *something* wrong here, but so far, can't figure out what.

Jon "perplexed" S
Reply #21 from Stardock Forums Top
I hate to be one of the people making it harder than it has to be, but the .SDC file it created in the BACKUP folder was a few bytes over 990 megabytes. The initial post in this thread from Froggy says to burn it to CD? Was that a typo for DVD? I know I am doing *something* wrong here, but so far, can't figure out what.

You could always use, say, WinRAR, WinZip, or some splitter program to make two files which you can burn to seperate CDs and merge later.
Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top
I have no problem copying, tinplanted, you just save the tutorials or multimedia on a separate disk
the problem i am haveing is activating the game once it is intsalled on a computer that has no net connection.
other posts say you need a special code, I got a different code by email from [email protected] but the program still says i cant activate because sdc cant access the net

I could really use some help with this, other posts don'r really explain it very well
Reply #23 from Stardock Forums Top
sorry i can't spell
Reply #24 from Stardock Forums Top
Hmm, when I try to restore my archive it gets stuck on 99%. Re-downloading now :/
Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top
My restore only goes to 99% as well. Also, it insist on internet connection in order to activate on a computer without access - something I thought I didn't have to worry about.