# Software Update Deleted all the Installation Variables!
**URL:** https://forum.universal-robots.com/t/software-update-deleted-all-the-installation-variables/40874
**Category:** Technical Questions
**Created:** [August 19, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://forum.universal-robots.com/t/software-update-deleted-all-the-installation-variables/40874 "2025-08-19T17:17:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bruce2](https://forum.universal-robots.com/u/bruce2)
#### Post date: [August 19, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://forum.universal-robots.com/t/software-update-deleted-all-the-installation-variables/40874/1 "2025-08-19T17:17:39Z")
Yesterday I installed the latest software and firmware update, 5.12.xxxx, and have come to discover that ALL of the installation variables have been deleted. All of them! Is there any way to recover them? The robot at this time is apparently unusable without them. Is there any other recourse other than recreating everything from scratch again?
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### Author:  [@efn](https://forum.universal-robots.com/u/efn)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2025, 7:30am UTC](https://forum.universal-robots.com/t/software-update-deleted-all-the-installation-variables/40874/2 "2025-08-20T07:30:45Z")
Not to be sassy, but always do backups.
That being said, I don’t know of any internal backups of the installation variables - just the programs.
It should be fairly easy to recreate the variables, though. Check the program for lines with unfinished codes and then create the variables.
The issue will be the missing values, though, if you had a lot of data stored in the variables.
Also, 5.12 shouldn’t be the latest. Did you mean 5.22? Which software did you come from?
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### Author:  [@eric.feldmann](https://forum.universal-robots.com/u/eric.feldmann)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.universal-robots.com/t/software-update-deleted-all-the-installation-variables/40874/3 "2025-08-20T13:07:31Z")
The problem I encounter when this happens is that while the variable is highlighted Yellow in the program (indicating it can’t find it), when I go to type that exact same thing in the Installation, it won’t let me hit OK because it complains that that variable already exists (because it sees the one in the program). The few times this has happened, I had to go to the program, CHANGE the variable name to like “myVariableName\_2” THEN go make “myVariableName” in the Installation, then go BACK to the program and select my newly made Installation variable. Just kinda dumb.
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### Author:  [@efn](https://forum.universal-robots.com/u/efn)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2025, 5:05am UTC](https://forum.universal-robots.com/t/software-update-deleted-all-the-installation-variables/40874/4 "2025-08-21T05:05:52Z")
I don’t recall having that issue. Weird. Do you use the Initialize Variables tab/feature enabled when highlighting Robot Program? I don’t use this, and maybe that would be the difference.
But that sounds like a lot of work, yeah.
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### Author:  [@james.mccormick](https://forum.universal-robots.com/u/james.mccormick)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2025, 2:37pm UTC](https://forum.universal-robots.com/t/software-update-deleted-all-the-installation-variables/40874/5 "2025-08-21T14:37:20Z")
I use WinSCP FTP client to connect to the robot controller file system and backup .urp, .script, .variables, and .installation files.
Easy to restore files if they get accidentally deleted.