Indeed, the seed restoration worked in the latest version ( 1.8 ) but of course I've lost all the customizations/notes of the original wallet 
We probably need to make more regression tests between versions so upgrades don't break existing client data.
Thanks for the help.
We probably need to make more regression tests between versions so upgrades don't break existing client data.
Thanks for the help.
I recommend you to backup your electrum.dat file before updating if you have set important labels and have imported keys. You can also use the plugin to keep your labels in the cloud, so you'll never lose it.
Which plugin is this? I've just gone through this same problem: after months of use, Electrum stops opening, but it can be recreated from the seed if I move the electrum.dat file; so the problem seems to be related to the electrum.dat file. But upon recreation, I've lost all my notes, which is really a bummer since that certainly helped me keep track of what was what. a) Is there a way to get these notes back? and b) for next time, what is this manner of backing up the notes which you refer to?