Copy USR Folder
Written by Justin Sieger
Updated at June 3rd, 2026
It has always been Stenograph's recommendation to do regular CATalyst backups of your files, along with Cloud Backup, to prevent any data loss in case of a computer failure. But sometimes, a computer fails before there's an opportunity to backup your files and the computer requires an IT professional to service the computer.
In the rare event of a computer failure, your IT professional, can copy the usr folder from the CAT4 folder to an USB flash drive or external hard drive. The usr folder contains all of your CATalyst users, jobs, dictionaries, layouts, etc. and can be copied back to CATalyst on a new computer. Here are the steps in case your IT professional determines this is necessary.
Copy the USR Folder to an External Device
Plug a USB Flash Drive or External Hard Drive into your computer. A notification should appear with the assigned drive letter for the device (usually D:, E:, etc.)
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Right click on the Start button and left click on File Explorer. If the notification did not appear in Step 1, on the left side, look for This PC. Under This PC, you will see Removable Disk and a drive letter. This is the drive letter of your device.
On the left side, under This PC, click on Windows (C:). On the right side, double click the CAT4 folder.
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Right click on the usr folder and left click on Copy (Ctrl-c).
Back on the left side, click on the Removeable Disk that you noted earlier.
On the right side, right click on some empty space and left click on Paste (Ctrl-v).
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A copy dialog box will appear and will copy the files to the removeable disk. Depending on the number of files in the usr folder, this may take several minutes to complete.
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When the process is complete, the copy dialog will disappear. To remove your USB device, right click on the USB icon in the lower right corner and left click on Eject (Device name and drive letter). A notification will appear saying it's safe to remove your hardware. You can now unplug the device from your computer.
Copying the USR folder to a New Computer
Plug the USB flash drive or external hard drive into your computer. A notification should appear with the assigned drive letter for the device (usually D:, E:, etc.)
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Right click on the Start button and left click on File Explorer. If the notification did not appear in Step 2, on the left side, look for This PC. Under This PC, you will see Removable Disk and a drive letter. This is the drive letter of your device.
On the left side, under This PC, click on Removable Disk.
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On the right side, right click the usr folder and left click on Copy (Ctrl-c).
Back on the left side, under This PC, click on Windows (C:).
On the right side, double click on the CAT4 folder.
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Right click on some empty space and left click on Paste (Ctrl-v).
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A paste dialog box will appear and will copy the files to the CAT4 folder. Depending on the number of files in the usr folder, this may several minutes to complete.
During the process, a Replace or Skip Files dialog box may appear. Choose Replace the files in the destination as the files you're replacing will be the default CATalyst files and not your files.
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When the process is complete, the copy dialog will disappear. To remove your USB device, right click on the USB icon in the lower right corner and left click on Eject (Device name and drive letter). A notification will appear saying it's safe to remove your hardware. You can now unplug the device from your computer.