I have an IBFX live mini account and I've tried to download and import Alpari's data but it seems to go in to the history center wrong. The reason I know something is wrong is because I can backtest the same EA on an FXDD STD demo account and on the IBFX live mini account and get completely opposite results. Then when I compared the data in the two different account's data center I found that they weren't the same even though I got the data from the same place. Is there something that I need to do to make things right on a live mini account? Thanks

__________________

Knowledge is Power

The data of Alpari rus and data of IBFX are very different. Sometimes as summer and winter.
Basicly different on high/low of the bar.
Alpari UK should be different with IBFX as well.
Alpari rus data and IBFX data are more different then FXDD and IBFX.
Alpari rus is similar with North Finance and Fibo Group.
liteforex data is similar with Alpari rus if no any news events; and similar with IBDX during the news.

If you are downloading the data pressing 'Download' in history center so it will not be your broker's data. May be, Metaquotes changed something already but I don't think so.

How to get your brokers data?

Go to Tools, Options, Charts and place 99999999999999999 in Max bar in history and the same in max bar in chart. Means - any big number. Anyone but it should be very big number.
Open Tools - History Center. Double click on pair you want to test, double click on timeframes to download the data. Never press download button from History Center as you will download some unknown data from somewhere if you press it but you need your broker's data. Then open the charts/timeframes you want to test, right-mouse click and Refresh every chart.
Then make Auto Scroll off (on the top of Metatrader just near Zoom out), open chart M1 chart, press Page UP on your keyboard and hold it (hold Page Up). You will see the chart moving back. It is the data downloading from your broker's server. It take a time. Then do it with every timeframe and every pair.
Then Refresh once again.
You did not get so much history in this way as everything is based on M1 data but at least you will get some data of your broker.

When somebody is giving some good EA settings so the first question should be: which broker?

For example, MaChannel was coded on high/low of the bar (close bar) and this high/low of the bar is very different for different broker. So, you will get different results in backtesting and in forward testing as well.
The same with Firebird some versions.

The thing is that I used the Alpari data on both of my accounts. That's why I'm wondering why the backtests are so different. I imported the data from Alpari into my FXDD account as well as my IBFX live account. Then when I did the backtest they came out opposite of one another and so then I looked at the data line by line in the data center. That is when I noticed that they data was in there different even though it should have been the exact same data. So do you know if there is something I need to do to import into a live mini account?

Thanks

__________________

Knowledge is Power

Forgot to say: if you are doing any backtest or optimization of the settings so it is the better to do it offline. It means it is better to disconnect Metatrader from the broker. Otherwise your Alpari data will be mixed with FXDD data.

The other thing is the following.
If you are testing some martingaled EA, or use money management (any kind), so your backtesting results will depends on the time/date you start. For example, you backtest EA since 21 January 2001 and the same EA since 22 january 2006. It may be very different results.

The same thing is for deposit size for martingaled/money management EAs: starting with 5,000 deposit size or with 7,000 - you may have very very different results.

The other thing is how many "Bars in test" and so on (in the statement). I mean how many bars you used: if you are backtesting EA with FXDD with 1,000 bars and the same EA (and everything is the same) with IBFX with 1,200 bars so you should get different results. It does not depend on you.

The other thing is EA by itself. Some EAs were coded on high/low of the bar so those EAs should have very different results with different broker and very different results with forward testing compare with backtesting on the same data/broker.

I may continue but it is a lot of reasons why your backtesting results are different. For example - spikes on IBFX (very often) and no spikes on Alpari rus (just few spikes and all the spikes are discussed by traders especially). Some gaps in data for Alpari rus and no gap for IBFX. And if you are backtesting EA by Metatrader which is cionnected with the broker so your data is mixed.

If you have Alpari rus data on IBFX Metatrader so it means that no any IBFX data you should have. Just Alpari data only. Or IBFX data only. Because the Alpari data and IBFX data is very different.