Backup/Restore Your Custom Key Color Layers for EVGA Z20/Z15 Keyboards

Once you've created your custom key color layers in Unleash (see the guide, here), you can back up and restore or copy/duplicate your custom color profiles as needed.
 
This is handy if you have a new PC, a new Windows installation, if you've moved your keyboard to another USB port on the same PC, or even if you just want to share your custom configuration.
 
Using this process, you won't need to re-build all of your custom color profiles from scratch.

Back Up your Custom Key Color Layers for EVGA Z20/Z15 Keyboards

Accidentally deleting your hard work is generally considered a Bad Thing. So your first step should always be to back up the configuration you're currently using before you make any changes.

1. To begin, hold down the [Windows] key on your keyboard and press R.
   • You can also right-click on the Start menu Windows icon and select Run.
2. In the popup Run window, type %APPDATA% and click OK.
   • This will take you to an area of your Windows user profile that typically contains application and/or game settings. Don't delete or change anything there unless you know exactly what you're doing.
     
3. Double-click on the folders EVGA, Unleash RGB, and then ProfileManager.
   • In the ProfileManager folder, you'll see one or more folders named with a long random string of characters, such as 71ECCFEAF90A7D062755F957D5C749 in my example.
     
   • If you see more than one of these folders, it's because each one represents a USB port that you've plugged your keyboard into, and then clicked Apply in Unleash to save your color configuration. Only one set of profiles is used at any time, so soon you'll need to determine which one is actively being used by Unleash. We'll get to that, shortly.
   • Double-click on that long-named folder to open it. You should see a list of folders named 001 through 009, each one corresponding to a color profile you've saved in Unleash. Each one of these folders contains your custom configuration file for that layer.
     
   • You'll see folders here only for custom profiles that you've created and clicked Apply for. Don't be alarmed if you don't see nine folders.
     
4. So now, copy the folder(s) (with the long name) in this area and paste them into a new backup folder of your choosing. The location of your backup folder should be somewhere other than in the %APPDATA% area.
   • See my example below (I backed up only folders 001-009 instead of the parent folder, because I had only one long-named parent folder).
     
   • If there's more than one long-named profile folder, you'll need to figure out which one is currently active in Unleash. The easiest way to do this is to just make a minor change to a color profile in Unleash and then click Apply. Then navigate to the corresponding profile folder (001 through 009, whichever one you saved) and check the date and time the folder was modified. The file you're looking for will have the most recent Modified date and time of the profile you just saved, and this will tell you which collection of profiles (in your 71ECCFEAF90A7D062755F957D5C749-like folder) are in current use by Unleash.
     
5. That's all there is to backing up your custom color profiles. You can now place them in a safe place, put them on a USB drive, etc, for restoring them later.

Restore Backed-up Custom Key Color Layers for EVGA Z20/Z15 Keyboards

Let's say that you have a new PC, or you've nuked your old Windows installation, or you've moved your keyboard to a new USB port. Basically you want your customized color profiles restored and working without having to recreate your hard work on your profiles one by one.
 
For the this part of the guide, I closed Unleash and then deleted my profile folder 71ECCFEAF90A7D062755F957D5C749 (see above) after first backing up the files in that folder.
 
Unleash won't create any profile configuration folders (001-009) or the long-named parent folder in C:\Users\[YourWindowsLoginName]\AppData\Roaming\EVGA\Unleash RGB\ProfileManager until you create a new custom color profile and click Apply to save it.

1. So assuming you're working from a clean install (on a different PC, Windows install, or USB port, whichever), you first need to create at least one simple custom color profile. If you need help with this part, please see the other guide I linked at the top of this article:
   1. Run Unleash.
   2. Select a Profile number from the right side of the interface.
   3. Click the Lighting Effect tab.
   4. Click Custom.
   5. In the Layers pane, click the + to add a new layer. You don't need to make any other changes.
   6. Click Apply to save the new layer.
      • Unleash will create a new custom layer parent folder with a more or less random name. (It simply re-created my old 71ECCFEAF90A7D062755F957D5C749 folder, which is fine).
      • Inside that folder will be only the corresponding folder for the new profile you just saved in Unleash. In my example, I edited custom Profile #1 and clicked Apply, which created a sub-folder called 001 in parent folder 71ECCFEAF90A7D062755F957D5C749. That parent folder is all you need.
      • Note that you're doing the above because Unleash will probably not create a folder with the same random name as before. So you can't just copy/paste your backed-up 71ECCFEAF90A7D062755F957D5C749 folder and assume that it will work.
2. Close Unleash. Verify that it isn't running (the Unleash icon should not appear in the System Tray, near the clock).
3. Now delete only the new profile sub-folder called 001 (or whichever corresponding profile you created). This is just to avoid dealing with an over-write prompt in the next step.
   
4. Now return to the profiles folders (001-009) that you backed-up earlier. Select them all, right-click, and select Copy.
   
5. Return to your new custom profile folder.
   • In my example, this is: C:\Users\[YourWindowsLoginName]\AppData\Roaming\EVGA\Unleash RGB\ProfileManager\71ECCFEAF90A7D062755F957D5C749
     
6. Right-click in the empty folder and select Paste.
   • You should now see all of the folders named 001 through 009, depending on the profiles you had when you performed your backup.
     
7. Finally, run Unleash. Your restored custom color profiles should now be active and working.

If you have any questions or problems with this guide, please let me know. Thanks!

Pinned & BR awarded
 
Thank you, for the very detailed guide - this should help many owners of these items

Cool GTX
Pinned & BR awarded 
Thank you, for the very detailed guide - this should help many owners of these items

Thanks! I hope it proves useful.

So this 5 layer limit, it that a hardware limit or software limit ?
Also is there any easy way to turn off the light bar ?
I had to turn off the first layer just to disable the light bar with a custom setting which only leaves 4 layers to set colors
It would be nice to be able to just turn off the light bar, since they aren't really functional to using the keyboard
 
Thanks
Bob
 
 Edit: This should actually be in the thread "Basic Key Color Configuration for EVGA Z20/Z15 Keyboards" if someone could move it, thanks

bobby999So this 5 layer limit, it that a hardware limit or software limit?

I have no idea. Probably both. If it's a hardware limitation, there's no reason for the developer to add more than 5 layers in the software.
 

bobby999Also is there any easy way to turn off the light bar?

The light bars at the sides of the keyboard? Yes. You can do this for any lighted key on the keyboard:

1. Open Unleash, select an affected Profile, then click Lighting Effect.
2. In Layers, click on the New Layer that has the offending color of your sidebar lights.
3. Hold down the keyboard CTRL key and click each of the seven lights of the light bars on both sides of the keyboard to deactivate the layer color on those lights. Release the CTRL key.
4. Colors of layers beneath the original one may shine through. If this happens, follow steps 2 & 3 again for every color/layer that shines through, until those specific lights turn off completely.
5. Click Apply to save the changes.
6. Repeat all of the above for any other affected Profile.

bobby999Edit: This should actually be in the thread "Basic Key Color Configuration for EVGA Z20/Z15 Keyboards" if someone could move it, thanks

Do you mean this entire article? Or just turning off key colors completely?

• If the former, no, I think the guides are good being separate as they are. They are entirely different, complex processes.
• If the latter, I'll add a note to the configuration guide.

 

tmaellerI have no idea. Probably both. If it's a hardware limitation, there's no reason for the developer to add more than 5 layers in the software.

 
Yes, but if isn't a hardware limit, then the software could be changed to give us more layers. So it would be nice if EVGA could answer it.
 

tmaellerDo you mean this entire article? Or just turning off key colors completely?

 
Sorry, I meant my post, my questions belong in the setting colors thread, not the backup/restore thread.
 
Thanks for your answers, I was able to turn off the light bar, and I can remove the completely dark layer I had deployed.
 
I would be nice if they could add a setting in Zone Select called All Keys, so you could turn off the light bar in a profile, which would work on my linux machine without using the Unleash RGB software.

bobby999Yes, but if isn't a hardware limit, then the software could be changed to give us more layers. So it would be nice if EVGA could answer it.

Yeah, unfortunately there's a lot that could be done to significantly improve user experience with these keyboards. Even the backup process on this page should be a relatively simple thing to implement in Unleash, but we weren't even provided a manual for how to use the features of this keyboard, so I won't hold my breath on improvements coming any time soon.
 

bobby999Sorry, I meant my post, my questions belong in the setting colors thread, not the backup/restore thread.

Ah, got it. Well, FWIW I added a note to the other guide (under step 13, which is where I felt it would do the most good).
 

bobby999Thanks for your answers, I was able to turn off the light bar, and I can remove the completely dark layer I had deployed.

Awesome, I'm glad that worked for you!

was confusing but worked for me!

latenightlexiwas confusing but worked for me!

I'll do what I can to make it more clear, but it might help if you could provide more specific feedback. Thanks!
 

Thank you so much for this write up. I literally just setup my Z20, assigned my custom keys, setup lighting on multiple profiles, then moved the keyboard to its final position (moved to different USB ports as well), and saw I had 'lost' everything when I plugged the keyboard back in and launched Unleashed.
 
I was able to follow the OP's instructions and restore my settings right away. I've bookmarked this thread as well so I can routinely backup my profiles as I modify them.
 
Thank you again for saving the day, @tmaeller !