Backups and updates

On the Offline edition, every bill, batch and udhaar record lives on your main PC, so MediPOS backs up the pharmacy data by itself and installs updates in a way that can be undone. This guide is for the owner. It explains when backups are made and how long they are kept, how to copy them to a USB drive, and how signed automatic updates install and roll back.

When MediPOS makes a backup

Each backup is checked straight after it is made: its checksum, and that its contents can be read. A backup that fails the check is never offered for a restore.

If the main PC is off at 10 pm, that night's backup waits. Switch the PC on later the same night and it runs at once; leave it off until morning and there is no nightly backup for that day. If you switch off at 9:30 pm, close the cash shift first so a shift-close backup is made, or ask support to set an earlier hour.

Where backups are kept

Backups are in C:\ProgramData\MediPOS\backups on the main PC. The folder is hidden, so type the path into the File Explorer address bar. Each backup is two files:

• medipos-20260924-170012-daily.dump, the data;
• medipos-20260924-170012-daily.dump.json, its check details.

The time in the name is UTC, five hours behind Pakistan time, so 170012 is 10:00 pm. The last word says why it was made: daily, shift-close, before-update or manual.

How long backups are kept

After each backup, MediPOS keeps:

• the newest backup of each of the last 14 days on which a backup was made;
• the newest backup of each of the last 12 months.

Older files are deleted. On a day with a shift-close backup at 6 pm and the nightly one at 10 pm, only the 10 pm one stays.

How to copy backups to a USB drive

A backup on the same PC does not help if its disk dies or the PC is stolen. Make a habit of copying one out, for example every Sunday:

1. Plug in the USB drive.
2. In File Explorer, go to C:\ProgramData\MediPOS\backups. Windows may ask for administrator permission.
3. Sort by Date modified and copy the newest .dump file and its .dump.json file to the USB. A restore needs both.
4. Eject the drive and keep it away from the shop PC. A drive left plugged in can be hit by the same virus or ransomware as the PC.

These copies are not encrypted. Anyone with the file and MediPOS could read your sales and customers, so keep the drive locked away.

Cloud copy of your backups

With the cloud copy on (it is, to begin with), the newest backup also goes to the MediPOS cloud every night: encrypted on your PC before it leaves, and sent in small pieces, so a slow or broken connection simply carries on later. It needs internet once a day; if there is none, it tries again every hour. MediPOS keeps the last 7 days and one copy a month for 3 months.

The copy is encrypted with your pharmacy's own key, which MediPOS keeps locked with its server key. The files alone cannot be read by anyone, and when you move to a new PC, MediPOS support brings the copy back there once the new PC is activated with your owner account.

Switch it on or off under Settings → Backups, which also shows when the last copy went and whether the last one failed. With it off, keep a USB copy (above) instead.

Encrypted copies

MediPOS can also write an encrypted copy of a backup to a USB drive or a second disk. This needs a backup key, which MediPOS support sets up on the main PC; support can make the copy with you. Keep a copy of the key somewhere safe outside the PC. Without it, nobody, not even MediPOS support, can open the encrypted copy.

How automatic updates arrive

The MediPOS Host service checks for updates when the PC starts and every 6 hours, and downloads them in the background. If load-shedding cuts a download, it carries on where it stopped. Every update is signed by MediPOS. A file that does not match its checksum and signature is deleted and never installed.

Install now first asks "Install MediPOS 0.10.1 now?", shows what is new, and warns that billing stops for a few minutes on every counter.

What happens while an update installs

1. A fresh backup is made and checked. If that fails, nothing is changed.
2. Billing pauses on every counter, with the banner "Installing MediPOS 0.10.1. Billing pauses for a few minutes — please do not turn this PC off."
3. The new version is put beside the old one and your database is updated.
4. MediPOS checks the database and every module.
5. If all is well, you see "MediPOS 0.10.1 is installed." Open windows offer Restart now to switch to the new app.
6. If anything fails, MediPOS rolls back by itself: it restores the pre-update backup and the previous version, so your data is exactly as it was, and tells MediPOS support. You see "The update could not be installed and was undone. Your data is safe; MediPOS support has been told." That version is not tried again automatically; the banner offers Try again once support has checked it.

Counter PCs hold no data, so they update their own app and service at any time.

Rules and tips

• Install now, Remind me tomorrow and Try again need the Manage settings permission. Anyone can click Later.
• Do not switch off the main PC while an update installs. A UPS protects both updates and backups from power cuts.
• Updates need internet. A PC that was offline for weeks catches up when it next connects.
• There is no backup screen in the app: backups run by themselves on the main PC.

Common questions

How do I make a backup right now?

Close the cash shift under Money → Shifts. On the Offline edition, closing a shift makes a backup a moment later.

Will an update delete my data?

No. A checked backup is made first, and a failed update puts that backup and the previous version back by itself.

Can I stop updates?

Normal updates install only when you choose. Important ones can be postponed twice. Security updates cannot be postponed.

Related guides

• Restoring a backup or moving to a new PC
• Shifts and the cash drawer
• Installing MediPOS Offline
• Licence activation and working without internet