If you have been using Tax Assistant on a standalone computer and you buy a new computer, you will probably want to transfer all your Tax Assistant data files from the old computer to the new computer. In this application note we describe how to do it.

Step 1: Determine where the Tax Assistant data is stored on your old computer.
Tax Assistant has the flexibility to store data in a variety of ways. When you first install Tax Assistant, we recommend that you create a Tax Assistant data folder to store all your data. You can use the Data Folder function, available from the Tax Assistant Desktop, to do this. If you have not configured Tax Assistant to store your data in a Tax Assistant data folder, all your data will be stored in sub-folders within the Tax Assistant program folder.
If, as recommended, you created a Tax Assistant data folder on your old computer, and you are sure that all your data is stored in sub-folders within this data folder, it is very simple to copy your data to your new computer. You can skip the remainder of Step 1 and Step 2. Go straight to Step 3.
If you are not sure where the Tax assistant data is stored on your old computer, proceed as follows:
Start the 2005 Tax Return program and select File --> Folder to view the Folder sub-menu. Make a note of the item that is ticked; this is the currently selected data folder for this program.
Now select 'Manager...' on the Folder sub-menu to open the Folder Manager window. The currently selected folder is highlighted in blue. Against the 'Folder Name' of the currently selected folder you will see a Directory Path; this is the sub-folder that contains your 2005 Tax Return data files. The path to your data folder is the same as this, but without "\TAX05" at the end.
For example, if your 2005 Tax Return sub-folder is:
C:\PROGRAM FILES\TAX ASSISTANT\TAX05
your data folder is:
C:\PROGRAM FILES\TAX ASSISTANT
We have assumed that the data for all your Tax Assistant programs is in sub-folders within the same Tax Assistant data folder. If this is not the case, you will have to follow the above procedure in each Tax Assistant program to determine the paths to all the folders in which your data is stored, and repeat Steps 4 and 7 for each of your data folders.

Step 2: Create a temporary Tax Assistant data folder on your old computer.
You only need to carry out this step if your data is in the Tax Assistant program folder on your old computer (see Step 1 above).
If your data is in a separate Tax Assistant data folder on your old computer and you know what the path to that folder is (see Step 1 above), you can skip this Step and proceed to Step 3.
We assume your Tax Assistant program folder is also your Tax Assistant data folder, i.e. the data files are in the same folder as the program files (The default is "C:\TAXASS" or "C:\PROGRAM FILES\TAX ASSISTANT", depending on when you first installed the software).
Use 'Windows Explorer' or 'My Computer' to create a new folder, such as C:\TAXDATA.
Copy ALL the sub-folders, except DOCS and BACKUP, from your Tax Assistant program folder into C:\TAXDATA.
DO NOT copy any files from the main Tax Assistant program folder.
Delete all "Application" files from the sub-folders within C:\TAXDATA. Application files are those with the extension ".EXE". By default, Windows Explorer hides these extensions, so you may have to use the View options to view the file extensions. It is not essential to delete these files, but deleting them will keep your Tax Assistant data folder compact and "tidy".
The folder C:\TAXDATA is now a "Tax Assistant data folder", which can be copied to your new computer (see Step 4 below).

Step 3: Cancel the Tax Assistant licence on your old computer.
Run Tax Assistant on your old computer, go to Licence Control and click on the 'Cancel' button to cancel the Tax Assistant licence. Email the cancellation request file to licence@drummohr.com. We will acknowledge cancellation of the licence.

Step 4: Copy the Tax Assistant data folder to your new computer.
If you have been using a Tax Assistant data folder on your old computer, or if you created a Tax Assistant data folder in Step 2 above, you can now copy that folder to your new computer. If the two computers are connected to a network, this process can be carried out directly using Windows Explorer. Otherwise you will have to use a backup and restore procedure using floppy disks, Zip disk, CD-R, memory stick, etc. In this case, the procedure will depend on your system and the media you are using. Consult the supplier of your computer or backup device for details.

Step 5: Install Tax Assistant on your new computer.
Install the Tax Assistant CD on your new computer. We also recommend you visit our website, download the latest versions of the Tax Assistant programs and install these after installing the CD. It is a good idea to keep copies of downloaded updates to avoid having to download them again when moving the software to a new computer.

Step 6: Activate the Tax Assistant licence on your new computer.
Run Tax Assistant on your new computer, go to Licence Control and click the 'Request' button. Follow the steps to generate an Activation Request. Email the Activation Request file to licence@drummohr.com. We will issue an Activation Key to activate the licence.

If you have any difficulty with the above procedure, please check carefully that you have followed each Step correctly. If you continue to have a problem, visit our Ask a Question page and submit your question to our support staff, giving as much detail as possible about the difficulty you are having.