Legacy Family Tree Genealogy Software: Help - Legacy locks up or freezes

• Legacy locks up or freezes

Make certain that that other programs are not running and that your computer meets minimum system requirements:

Pentium class computer.
VGA or higher display.
Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000
A Hard Disk with 55 megabytes of available space.
A CD-ROM drive.
A mouse.
Internet connection recommended.
256 megabytes of RAM minimum.

The minimum 256 MB for memory (RAM) is important. One indication of low memory problems is that Legacy runs fine for a time, but after a while locks up. Often all you need to do in this situation is restart your computer. Please consider a memory upgrade for your computer.

If Legacy freezes:

1. If Legacy freezes when trying to open it, please delete from the Legacy folder on your hard drive all of the USR files (files ending with .usr). These files contain user settings to customized background colors, screen fonts, window sizes, startup family, report settings, as well as file locations, etc. There is no family data in any of these files, so deleting them does not delete your data. Upon start up, Legacy will recreate the files to their default settings.

2. If Legacy freezes or locks up when you are working in the program (this may happen only in certain screens) then exit Legacy and restart it.

3. Click on Options on the menu bar and select Customize. In the Customize screen click the Reset to Defaults button at the bottom of the screen and then click Save.

4. Please update your Legacy program as this will often repair this error. Legacy 6.0 users please visit http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/DownloadUpdate.asp. Legacy 5.0 and earlier users please visit http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/helpDownloadVersion5.asp.

5. Run File Maintenance > Check/Repair to fix problems in the family file. There may be some problems that need to be manually corrected. Check/Repair will also "compact" your family file by recovering space in the database and reducing the file size which will make updates, queries and deletes faster.

When the program freezes and won't shut down normally:

Click on the X button in the upper right corner of the Legacy window to close the program.

If that does not work, on the key board press Ctrl+Alt+Delete simultaneously. The Close Program screen will appear. Highlight the Legacy in the list and click the End Task button.

If you still experience problems, completely uninstall Legacy. Before you start, make sure you have your Legacy Deluxe Edition Customer ID Number because you will need it for the last step. You can find it in Legacy by clicking on Help and selecting General Information. Your Customer ID will appear in the General Information screen on the right end of the line below where your name appears. Please write it down.

First, click on Start and go to the Programs list. Next find the Legacy 6.0 folder icon (not the red and blue shield icon) and click on Uninstall Legacy x.0 within the folder. After Legacy uninstalled proceed with the steps below.

1. With Windows Explorer or My Computer find and look in the C:\Legacy folder or whatever folder you had Legacy installed in. Within this folder you will find several files remaining that you will need to delete. Carefully delete all of the files in the Legacy folder but DO NOT delete any of the folders like the Data folder, Picture Folder or Web Folder as these folders hold your data and you don't want to accidentally delete your family file (ends with .FDB) or pictures. All the other files should be deleted.

2. Download and install the current build of Legacy 6 .0 from http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/DownloadLegacy.asp. Use “Install from the Web” for the fastest install. If you are re-installing an earlier version of Legacy please Click Here.

3. Last, start Legacy and click on Help and select Unlock Deluxe Edition, then enter your name and Legacy Deluxe Edition Customer Number and then click Unlock.