suunto DM: PC specific?

[bcal]

my 'local' dive centre recently downloaded all the dives from my suunto vyper to a floppy disk for me. I downloaded the Suunto DM software and got myself a PC logbook. Great. The problem came when I wanted to update the logbook. I copied it to floppy, and the same centre transferred my latest dives to the floppy. But when I got home to my PC, all the user-entered info (dive sites, buddies, gear etc) from the earlier dives had disappeared.
1) is this just an example of the sometimes dodgy way the software seems to behave?
2) is the transfer in some way PC-specific (i.e. does the transfer have to be done to the same PC to keep that user-entered info)?
3) if (2) is true and it is just naff programming, is there a way to copy dives from one logbook to another?

This was mentioned as a side-issue in a previous thread, but nobody seemed to pick up on it. Any light you can shed on the matter would be appreciated.

 

[scubasean]

bcal once bubbled...
my 'local' dive centre recently downloaded all the dives from my suunto vyper to a floppy disk for me. I downloaded the Suunto DM software and got myself a PC logbook. Great. The problem came when I wanted to update the logbook. I copied it to floppy, and the same centre transferred my latest dives to the floppy. But when I got home to my PC, all the user-entered info (dive sites, buddies, gear etc) from the earlier dives had disappeared.
1) is this just an example of the sometimes dodgy way the software seems to behave?
2) is the transfer in some way PC-specific (i.e. does the transfer have to be done to the same PC to keep that user-entered info)?
3) if (2) is true and it is just naff programming, is there a way to copy dives from one logbook to another?

This was mentioned as a side-issue in a previous thread, but nobody seemed to pick up on it. Any light you can shed on the matter would be appreciated.

It may be process, not software related...

Please outline the steps used, separately....

What I get from your note seems a bit jumbled...

1. LDS dowloaded floppy disk for you.
2. you D/L SDM and "got yourself a PC logbook" (I presume that you are calling SDM the logbook.)
3. you updated the logbook (with dive info, etc.)?
4. you copied it to floppy
5. you took the floppy to the LDS to add more dives
6. dive info for earlier dives missing

What may have happened is that the LDS merely redownloaded your computer and copied the new file over the old one.

That way, the old dives would still show, and the dive info wouldn't be there.

 

[bcal]

scubasean -
sorry if I was unclear, but you got the steps exactly right. Thinking about it, the file on disk may have been overwritten rather than updated. Guess I'll just have to try again next time I'm there. In the meantime, does anyone know if there is a way to copy dives from one logbook (the latest download [on floppy disk]) to another (the original download including extra user-entered info [on my PC]). I tried exporting/importing the relevant profiles but ended up with the three new dives merged into one 232m dive!
cheers...

 

[KrisB]

From suunto.com's FAQ on the dive instruments:

Q: I have a Vyper dive computer and Dive Manager software which I used in England. Now I live in Australia and use a different PC. I have loaded the software onto my new PC but want to continue my logbooks from the PC in England. How can I export the logbooks from England and import and continue the logbooks in Australia?

A: All dive data is kept in a *.sdl file. Copy these files to the new computer and file them in the logbook folder for easy access.

 

[jamiei]

my question is... why don't you get an interface and do it yourself... seems like much more of a hassle going to your LDS every time you want to download dives. You can build them yourself for much cheaper than suunto's prices.

 

[scubasean]

jamiei once bubbled...
my question is... why don't you get an interface and do it yourself... seems like much more of a hassle going to your LDS every time you want to download dives. You can build them yourself for much cheaper than suunto's prices.

Or do like I did and buy the assembled version from jamiei....It works great.

Sean