Help! Opencpn parallel installation (lossless) question

[Stria]

Hi everyone!

I'm running OpenCPN 5.8.4.0 on a Windows 10 PC. I need to keep this current instance of OpenCPN "as is" (with charts, tracks, plugins) for archival reasons.

I also need to download and install an updated instance of OpenCPN 5.10.2 on the same computer, to be used for navigation. The new instance should:

a) Access all charts
b) Retain all tracks, waypoints, etc., from the previous version
c) Be fully independent: meaning it should record and update what's needed without changing anything recorded in the previous version, which should remain accessible.

I tried a "parallel" install, and although I managed to install OpenCPN 5.10.2 separately, this instance still overwrites the previous one—even when I created a new user on the PC to try to keep them separate.
(During the parallel installation of 5.10.2, I avoided deleting any files, of course.)

Does anyone have a solution for setting this up?

[rooiedirk]

You could do a portable OpenCPN somewhere on your hardisk.
https://opencpn.org/wiki/dokuwiki/do...e_opencpn_v2&s[]=portable

[barnakiel]

Have you tried from a USB stick ?
I normally run many same apps from USBs pluged into my machine.


?
b.

[wholybee]

Before you do anything you should understand where all OpenCPN stores files:
C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenCPN
C:\ProgramData\opencpn
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\opencpn
And also where ever you choose to keep your charts.

So before doing anything that might corrupt the copy of OpenCPN you wish to archive, you should backup those locations.

The "portable" option causes OpenCPN to instead of using all of those locations to keep all of it's files in a single directory, which you can choose. If you do not use the portable option then both copies of OpenCPN will share the same data locations. I would probably convert the version you wish to archive to a portable version, which you can then move to a USB (and then run on any computer you want) and also make a backup incase the USB is damaged or lost. In converting to a portable version, I would copy the above locations to the portable version, leaving the original location intact.

Then once the portable archive version is working as a portable version(to be sure I would test run from the USB on a different PC), do a regular install of the new version. That would then upgrade the original OpenCPN and keep all the saved data.

[Stria]

Thanks a lot everybody, @barnakiel, @rooiedirk and @wholybee.
I did the backup, stored a portable version of the previous instance of Opencpn in a Usb following the linked instructons, tested and updated the laptop version. Everything solved.
Great answers/suggestions!

[Stria]

Thank you all so much, @barnakiel, @rooiedirk and @wholybee.
I backed up, stored a portable version of the previous Opencpn instance in a USB following the linked instructions, tested and updated the portable version. All resolved.
Great answers/suggestions