Descriptions storage in PLC-5

We recently had a hard drive failure on the laptop computer we use to login to our PLC-5 and SLC-500 controllers.We have a PCMK card in the notebook and a DH+ cable so we can log into all our controllers from here in the shop.
After we installed the RSLOGIX software on the replacement HDD and started logging into the various controllers we discovered that all the descriptions and other info that were associated with the ladder programs had disappeared.This tells me(to my regret) that this info is certainly not stored in the PLC memory with the ladder logic.Some of the info we can recover from printed copies of the program and I guess I will have to manually re-enter this bit by bit.Lots of other stuff recently entered is just plain gone.
Heres my questions

1.Where does this data reside.Is it part of the .RSS and .RSP
data file we have on each controller.

2.What is a good method of secondary backup of the files so if we
crash again we dont lose all the descriptions and other data.

3.We dont have access to any network drives from this PC but we do have one of those USB data sticks with 256 Mb and this is large enough to hold everything.Im just not sure what data I need to drag onto it.Any help greatly appreciated

Thanks-Jimlew

Put the whole file on the USB sticks.

The documentation for RS500 is on the laptop/source file, not in the controller.

RS5000 V15 loads the tags onto the controller, so when you upload, the tags come with it.

Can you get someone to do a data recover on the old HD?

Jimlew,

Have copies of the program ever been saved to any of the OTHER computers on the network? What about the previous laptop, the one you used before you got this one? You still may have copies of the symbols and comments somewhere on another computer. Someone may have even saved them on a floppy disk at one time in the dim, dark past, maybe out-of date, but much better than starting from scratch! Many older laptops had removable floppy drives that could be swapped with a CD drive. Surely someone at some time in the company history knew that critical parts of the programs DO NOT reside in the PLC? If so, that person must have made some backup copies. I do it routinely, every time I make a change in ANY PLC program.

As Crocop said, there are companies that specialize in recovering data from damaged drives. They charge a stiff fee, but most people are only too happy to pay to get the programs back.

Otherwise, the SECOND thing you should do (after first re-creating the programs!) is to save several backup copies. It is best to spread them around. Put one copy of all your programs on a network drive (if available), one on the pen drive ("data stick"), one on an old 3.5" floppy disk (you did remove the floppy drive before getting rid of that last old computer, didn't you?), and one on a ZIP disk. If you have a home computer, then E-mail copies to yourself at home.

Depending on ONE copy of a set of PLC programs on a hard drive is like....well, sort of like being lost on a mountain in the middle of a blizzard, and wet firewood lying all around, with ONE match in your pocket.

Thanks for the feedback guys.The old HDD was replaced by our IT guys and they said they couldnt retreive any data from it.We do have an older laptop that has one year old versions of the programs and that certainly helps.The logic added since than comes back as just generic data with no ID descriptions,but at least we have the bulk of our labeling.

To rephrase my main question though "where is this id data stored?".Is it part of the .rsp file (PLC) or .rss file (SLC), or is it in a seperate file apart from these.I just want to make sure that I am backing up EVERYTHING I need to avoid this from happening again.Thanks for any feedback

Jimlew

It's part of the RSS file.
Do you know how to export it?

Do you really want your old files?

Ask IT to take it to an expert, unless you completely destroyed the hard drive, it can be recovered.

The tags are stored in a database in the project file on the hard drive and only the ladder is stored in the PLC memory. If you do have an older copy of the program, export the tags into a CSV file and import the CSV file into your most current rsp file. You also have some options for import and export tags pending your version of RS-Logix.
You can use the database editor in RS-Logix to make additional edits to the database. Afterward always copy the rsp file to a CD, network drive or whatever backup device you can get your hands on.Your thumb drive will more than likely hold your backups. I work with some programs >10000 lines and only require 150meg to backup.

The hard drive that went bad can usually be recovered at one of about 6 labs in the US. The problem is hard recovery cost usually start @ $1500 which could be cheap compared to problems that could come up losing the tag database.