Restoring NT from a computer system backup

[sgordet]

I've been remiss in making weekly NT backups using the NT backup program. This morning, I installed an indicator update which crashed NT--I can't even start it in safe mode.

I did make an automatic backup of my entire system last night. My backup program allows me to restore individual files and folders. I would like to delete everything NinjaTrader program-related and re-install it all from my system backup.

If that's possible, could you tell me what I would need to delete and then restore from last night's backup? I'm running Windows 10.

[sgordet]

OK. I was able to restore from the Acronis backup.
When I tried to uninstall an indicator in order to install an upgrade, NT reported that it successfully uninstalled it. When I tried to install the upgrade, I received the messages in the attached files. When trying o reboot NT permanently crashed. The vendor tells me that the uninstall of the existing indicator works fine on his end. After re-installing NT, I confirmed that the problem is with the old indicator, that it won't uninstall. I crash after trying to uninstall the old indicator, before I attempt to install the upgrade.
Can you tell from the error messages, what I need to do to completely uninstall the old indicator>]?

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello sgordet,

Thank you for the message.

In short, all of the 3rd party items are held within Documents > NinjaTrader 8 > bin folder. So, if you use the steps below to rename the folder and restart NinjaTrader, it will make a new bin folder to start fresh with and then reimport your add-ons.

Remove all 3rd party NinjaScript Items from the platform to start fresh:

• Close NinjaTrader
• Go to the Documents folder > NinjaTrader 8 > bin, Right-click on this folder and Rename it to "bin Old" and press Enter to save the name change
• Now we need to Repair the NinjaTrader installation:
  • Go to the Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features > Click NinjaTrader 8 > Click Repair > Click Next through the prompts until finished
• Reopen NinjaTrader and check for compile errors using the steps below:
  • Go to New > NinjaScript Editor > Right-click on the background and Compile to show if there are any errors remaining
  • If yes, take a screenshot of the error messages and include that in your response.

As a side note, we have documentation that the Acronis software can affect the NinjaTrader platform. While it may not do anything, I wanted to bring this to your attention sooner than later in case you happen to be experiencing any of the other known behaviors:

• This is all of the information we have on the matter.
• If you have any further questions about the Software, you would want to reach out to Acronis's support team directly
  • 
    • Here are the two links at the bottom of the picture above:
      • Publicly available link: https://kb.acronis.com/content/59686
        
        More information about Cyber Protection: https://kb.acronis.com/content/65499
        

Please let us know if we may provide any further assistance.

[sgordet]

Thanks, Clayton, for providing such detailed instructions. I had already discovered the NT folder in Docs, deleted it, and re-installed it from the Acronis backup. It seems to be working fine, but I'll keep an eye on it.

The problem of the indicator not uninstalling happened before I restored NT from the Acronis backup, so that couldn't have caused the problem. Could you please take a look at the error messages, and see if you can give me any advice on how to completely uninstall that indicator, so I can install the updated one?

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello sgordet,

Thank you for the update.

Since NinjaTrader didn't create the indicator, we have no way of knowing which files would specifically need to be removed to only remove that one indicator so we can only provide the steps to remove ALL of the 3rd party add-ons which were included in our last response.

• If you want to know what files need to be removed to only remove that one indicator, you would have to reach out to the developers and ask them directly:
  • 3rd Party Disclaimer

Here are the steps to remove all of the 3rd party add-ons from NinjaTrader so that you can reimport the ones you want:

• Close NinjaTrader
• Go to the Documents folder > NinjaTrader 8 > bin, Right-click on this folder and Rename it to "bin Old" and press Enter to save the name change
• Now we need to Repair the NinjaTrader installation:
  • Go to the Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features > Click NinjaTrader 8 > Click Repair > Click Next through the prompts until finished
• Reopen NinjaTrader and check for compile errors using the steps below:
  • Go to New > NinjaScript Editor > Right-click on the background and Compile to show if there are any errors remaining
  • If yes, take a screenshot of the error messages and include that in your response.

Please let us know if we may provide any further assistance.

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello sgordet,

Thank you for the message.

You can follow the steps previously sent to remove all of the 3rd party add-ons and reimport the ones you want.


Or, if you want to try and resolve the errors, please use the following steps to see where the compile errors are coming from and send that in your response so we may provide more detailed information on how to resolve them:

• Open NinjaTrader
• Go to the Control Center > New > NinjaScript Editor > Right-click on the background > Click Compile
• If any errors appear, make the window full screen and then send us a screenshot of as many of the errors as possible.
  • If you are unsure of how to take a screenshot, I recommend using the Windows Snipping tool.
    • Click on the Windows Icon at the bottom of your screen and type the word "Snip"
    • Click on the Snipping tool, click New, then click and drag around the area you want to screenshot
    • Click File > Save As > Save the screenshot where you can find it
    • Please click here for a video demonstration

Once we have the screenshot we will respond with the specific steps that are needed to make these compile errors go away.

Please let us know if we may provide any further assistance.

[sgordet]

When I restore from a backup, I assume that I'm going to lose all my Sim101 trades that were made after the backup. Is there a file that I can put aside and then replace in NT after I've done the restore that will allow me to keep those trades?

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello sgordet,

Thank you for the message.

If you don't want to lose the trade history, you could make a copy of the Database file before you import and then put the copy back in after importing.

• Close NinjaTrader
• Go to the Documents Folder > NinjaTrader 8 > db > NinjaTrader.sqlite (This is the file that holds the trade history for the Sim101 account)
  • Right-click and copy this file and paste a copy somewhere else like the Desktop
• Then, open NinjaTrader and import your backup file.
• Then, close NinjaTrader and move the Database file from your desktop back into the db folder and replace the one that is there.

Please let us know if we may provide any further assistance.

[sgordet]

Thanks, Clayton. That worked.
This all started because I couldn't remove a 3rd party indicator. I contacted the vendor, and he told me that the zip file that they provide has a cs and a dll file. When I tried removing the indicator from the Remove Indicator window, NT informed me that it successfully did so; however, when I re-booted, it was still on all my charts and in the Remove Indicators window.
I closed NT and removed from the bin location the cs and dll files that they had provided. After re-booting, the indicator is still there. Is there anything else that I can do?

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello sgordet,

Thank you for the update.

You would want to keep working with the developer to figure out why it is still showing their add-on's name in there. Or, to rename the entire bin folder to restart fresh with the 3rd party add-ons.

To remove all 3rd party NinjaScript Items from the platform and start fresh:

• Close NinjaTrader
• Go to the Documents folder > NinjaTrader 8 > bin, Right-click on this folder and Rename it to "bin Old" and press Enter to save the name change
• Now we need to Repair the NinjaTrader installation:
  • Go to the Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features > Click NinjaTrader 8 > Click Repair > Click Next through the prompts until finished
• Reopen NinjaTrader and check for compile errors using the steps below:
  • Go to New > NinjaScript Editor > Right-click on the background and Compile to show if there are any errors remaining
  • If yes, take a screenshot of the error messages and include that in your response.

Please let us know if we may provide any further assistance.

[sgordet]

After I rename the bin folder and run the compile errors check, will I be able to restore that folder?
I have a lot of indicators. It will be a big job for me to re-install all of them.

[NinjaTrader_Clayton]

Hello sgordet,

Thank you for the message.

Imagine you have a bad apple sitting on the table. Then, you pick the apple up and wipe the table clean. Then you put the bad apple back in the same spot on the table, it wouldn't stop the bad apple from being a bad apple and getting the table dirty again.

• So, the steps you suggest would most likely have no effect on this behavior because you would be taking the files out and putting the exact same ones back in.

There is something within one of the files in your bin folder that is causing this to keep appearing and you can either go through every file and figure out which ones need to be removed to stop this from happening.

Or, you have to wipe the entire slate clean and start fresh.


NinjaTrader didn't make any of the 3rd party add-ons so we have no documentation on what files correlate to what or what they need to function. For that reason, we can only provide the steps to remove all of the 3rd party add-ons.

• If you don't want to remove all of the files, then you will need to keep working with the developer of this add-on and get them to help you figure out why the name of their add-on software is still showing within NinjaTrader.
  • 3rd Party Disclaimer

Please let us know if we may provide any further assistance.

[sgordet]

I got it fixed! There was no way for you to know that when the developer told me that his only files were the dll and cs files in bin, I thought that the safest thing to do was to rename them rather than deleting them. I changed the suffixes to csbak and dllbak.

As a final Hail Mary pass before giving up, I deleted both files. Voila, NT loaded without the indicator.

Maybe knowing that users do dumb things like this will give you something additional to ask them if they've done when a user can't get rid of a 3rd party indicator.

Best,
Stephen