[Graphicism]

 
So today when I load up foobar this is what I see (below). I've been using foobar for years with no problems, I even spent time making it look and function exactly how I like and now it's all fubar? I re-downloaded and installed the program and this did not fix it, I suppose I could uninstall it from my system and do a fresh in install but then I'll loose all my settings won't I? 
 
What happened and is there a way to get everything back to how it was?
 

 

[thuantran]

Did you install foobar normally or in portable mode?

 

[Graphicism]

Standard installation

 

[thuantran]

Type this into Windows Explorer address bar: %appdata%\foobar2000 back up everything there to somewhere else and try to load the theme file .fth first under the same mentioned directory. If it is your old installation (*), uninstall everything and install again in standard mode, then without foobar running, restore the previously backup stuffs then start up foobar. You should have your old config back. If (*) does not happen, you're screwed and need to set it up again.
 
Anyway in order for stuffs like this don't happen again, Jesus is your salvation. Read the instruction carefully.

 

[Roller]

I don't believe it's related to fth files, as they manage the layout of the customizable area, not the basic menus which are also missing. A complete uninstall, meaning both install folder and all those AppData litter folders.
 
I feel that it's a much better policy when doing a stardard install to keep all configuration files, etc, in the install folder. Don't mind that thing of not being able to update components from within foobar. Many components don't even work like that as they're not on the official components page, and it makes a world of difference when it comes to making periodic foobar install backups.

 

[thuantran]

Quote:

I don't believe it's related to fth files, as they manage the layout of the customizable area, not the basic menus which are also missing. A complete uninstall, meaning both install folder and all those AppData litter folders.
They do but not entirely, the menu should still be there saved for other customization to the toolbar, this bring me to the revelation that the OP is using Columns UI. @OP: Was your previous config using this or DUI?
I feel that it's a much better policy when doing a stardard install to keep all configuration files, etc, in the install folder. Don't mind that thing of not being able to update components from within foobar. Many components don't even work like that as they're not on the official components page, and it makes a world of difference when it comes to making periodic foobar install backups.
It's not recommended to save user specific settings in program installation folder, it's Windows doctrine that should have been done before but not until Vista that it has been promoted, Windows is a multi user system for what it's worth. Install as portable and you'll have your mentioned behavior.

 

[Roller]

I've discussed before about the whole thing of keeping config files in install folders, and I strongly disagree with Windows policy. It's a different way of doing things, and for single user systems, I don't really see the point of scattering files and folders through obscure folders when it can be neatly packed together in a single folder, which can be backed up and restored on different systems with no hassle at all.
 
Windows can recommend anything they want, as long as they don't force users to do things in a fixed way, which is happening now. Curiously, Windows 8 might finally fix that.

 

[Graphicism]

Thank you for all the help.
 
Unfortunately the backup didn't work or I didn't do it correctly... I backed up my data, deleted foobar in it's entirety, reinstalled and launched foobar and the basic look was back. I closed foobar replaced my backup files, loaded foobar and got the very same gray screen? I think I'm going to have to setup everything manually, I can download the components and setup my DSP chains easily enough, I can't remember however what I downloaded to make it look like this:
 
I'll have a read through the Jesus link later, any explanation as to why or how this happened, or is it simply because I stopped attending Sunday school? 

 

 

[Roller]

Did you delete foobar folder in AppData folder?

 

[Graphicism]

I had backed that up however replacing it resulted in the blank gray foobar as seen in my initial screenshot. 

 

[Roller]

For future reference and easier backups, either do a standard install and keep all components in the install folder for much easier management and backup, or do a portable install. That way you can just save your settings, components and configs separately with no fuss. Restoring old configs should be done individually to pinpoint the faulty item.