I am using Simply Accounting 2008.  I installed product on a computer which also uses XP as its operating system.   Now everytime I backup the company the size of the cabinet file is doubling.  Why is this.  I can't see any differences in the setup between the two computers I have running.  I don't want to move the other companies to the new computer until this is resolved.  My backup size has jumped from 531 kb using 2007 to 1800 kb at start of using 2008 and is now sitting at 227980 kb after 8 backups.  This is a small company with very few transactions even if I compact backups, why is this what is happening?Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you

Hello Suncoast,

What is the location of the backup?  I suspect you may be backing up into your SAJ folder or something to that effect and this is why the file size keeps doubling.  If you backup into a new folder in a new location does this continue to happen?

Hello Bernadine,

This is a data issue so you may want to call support for assistance with this but you need to remove all cab files and any duplicated sai and SAJ folders from your current SAJ folder.  If you back up into that folder, and do it again and again, you're backup sizes will be inflated because the backup you make is going to backup your data plus all the other files in that location and as the issue compounds, the situation gets worse and the backup file gets bigger and bigger.  You want to remove all files and folders that do not pertain to the original data.

 It can be complex sorting out if the situation has really compounded which is why I mentioned possibly calling support for remote assistance.  You want to remove anything that doesn't belong, but you do not want to remove a critical file from the original data.  (You can compare based on the sample sai and SAJ folder called universl.)

I hope this helps somewhat.

Hi Kim,

Thank you so very much for responding.  I am so confused, what ever happened to just a simple file extension that you could put anywhere.  So is it safe to assume that the smallest CAB file of the SDB1 through 6 is sufficient enough to save and delete everything else?  Should I then maybe restore from the smallest backup to a My Documents location and not in the SAJ Restore from Backup File Folder that Simply automatically puts there.  I just don't know what a SAI file is so any information you can give me would be great.

 Bernadine

Hello Bernadine,

In the previous database the file extensions were sdb and sdw.  In the 2008 version the .sai file and SAJ folder take their place.  The SAJ folder houses your data.  I don't think it was anticipated that people would try and back up in to that folder during development but I have seen this scenario happen on occassion.  I try and recommend to clients to think of that SAJ folder as locked down.  Don't put anything in it & don't take anything out of it.  Create a seperate backup folder in a seperate location and back up in to that.

You can try to restore the smallest backup to a new location (check the creation date though as you don't want to restore a file that is too old to work off of) and then check the contents of the SAJ folder for any unnecessary files.  Or call support.  We have a trick to try and rebuild the SAJ folder which we can also try with you.

And remember the tip I provided above.  If you're not sure what should be in your SAJ folder use the sample Universl SAJ as a guideline.  The ibdata file is your data - do NOT move, delete or adjust this file at all.

Good luck Bernadine and call support at 1-888-522-2722 if you need to

Hello Bernadine,

I'm so glad the situation appears to be resolved.  A great indicator of this is the fact that your backup completed in a reasonable time frame yet again.  I'm happy to hear it!

 Thank you for taking the time to post back your results and do call Support if you notice any strange behaviour in your data file and a technician can take a look at the contents of your SAJ folder.

Again Bernadine, I'm happy to help

Kim