Database Users

Backup Software Found!

I bought Spb Backup a couple of days ago and have just had a major problem with no option but to hard reset.
Spb Backup... wow!
It put me right back to where I was before, applications, Registry hacks all my vga settings.. the lot! its like I never even did a hard reset!
The backup file was stored on the SD card and its an excutable, you just run it, correct the clock and hey presto jobs a goodun! 8)
oh and activesync didnt see any difference!

Did you notice any duplication of application icons, something I notice in another backup application?

That's true. Nice program and cheaper than Sprite backup......

cktlcmd said:
Did you notice any duplication of application icons, something I notice in another backup application?
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Nope didn't notice any duplication, not found any ill affects and like previously said its cheap

dherrero said:
That's true. Nice program and cheaper than Sprite backup......
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Ya, also Spb seems to have much better compression than Sprite.. AND Spb leaves you with an exe thats self installable

One more question please. Can I store and run SPB Backup application from my SD Card?

cktlcmd said:
One more question please. Can I store and run SPB Backup application from my SD Card?
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Haven't tried that, I don't see why not. The only problem that you might have is if you have scheduled backups setup.. because the app needs to wake the system and the SD card may not be ready quick enough. I have mine installed in the extended ROM.
Download the trial and give it a shot

How do you install it to extended ROM?

One problem I found with SPB Backup, whilst backing up, it hangs at midpoint and then finally finishes but with an error message stating that file 'history.txt' wasnt backed up. Happens everytime. Any idea why?
Thanks. Cheers

I have been trialling this in Beta for a month or so. Even the beta's were good.
However, I do recommend anybody that is considering using it after a failure or error, to hard reset the device prior to the restore, otherwise it overrides and adds to what is already there, so if there are extra files and extra registry entries, they will remain.
The originals will all be restored correctly though, so you are unlikely to detect a problem.
I have restored, and hard reset on many occassions throughout the beta, and it works a dream.

Is it possible to backup, upgrade to a new complete ROM and then restore?
Or when you upgrade to a new rom you cannot use older ROMs backup?
Thank you.

I dont believe you can restore over an upgraded rom.
primarily cause the rom files are not copied. my entire backup, compressed 11mb.
you probably could, and when we were fiddling with WM2003SE for the himalaya model, we used this peculiar feature to do that.
YOu might try it and see, but some of the system files, dlls and hidden files may get modified some how, dont know enough about it. depends on the size and extent of the upgrade, it will probably work, but maybe a little unstable.
Either way, its not recommended. What I do is a fresh rebuild without syncing, with all my registrations, connections, and website usernames and all customisations done, and then call it a "virgin" backup, so that it can always be a perfect starting point for a base machine on a new ROM. This is then kept for te life of that ROM incase I want to go back to a nice clean environment without to much effort.

Hi does anyone know if this will backup txt messages to

cktlcmd said:
One more question please. Can I store and run SPB Backup application from my SD Card?
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yes, you cand. I did it

simon_darley said:
I have been trialling this in Beta for a month or so. Even the beta's were good.
However, I do recommend anybody that is considering using it after a failure or error, to hard reset the device prior to the restore, otherwise it overrides and adds to what is already there, so if there are extra files and extra registry entries, they will remain.
The originals will all be restored correctly though, so you are unlikely to detect a problem.
I have restored, and hard reset on many occassions throughout the beta, and it works a dream.
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You shouldnt, bacause you need to restore the registry to make your apps working again but in the new ROM the registry structure or data may (and normally do) change, so you would corrupt the new rom

scotjen1 said:
Hi does anyone know if this will backup txt messages to
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Yep, it backs up all your text messages and your emails

Thanks vbjoe am installing now.

Problems on my JASJAR
First of all it duplicates Alarm notifications on my JASJAR. Secondly if you hard reset the device and then restore the backup, it always hangs at almost 100%. Had to cancel the restore and restart the device. But once restarted, it looks like everything is restored despite that restore hangup. But i am not certain, might be some problem in restoring with i come across later in future.
Can't depend on it.

Backup program
Try Sunnysoft backup manager.
http://www.sunnysoft.cz/en_clanek.php?clanekid=51

hangs happened to me, i left it on its own and it did finish restore on my wizard

Recommend a Reliable Backup Program Please

Hi Everyone,
Which Backup program do you use? Is there one you recommend? All this hacking my Cingular 8525 around has had me hard-reset at least twice within the last week. I need a good and reliable backup program since installing all of my software is taking me over 2.5 hours of time.
Thanks for responding.
ADP

spb backup has never let me down.well worth trying.
sprite also gets good reviews but I've never used it.

read http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=1270&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

I've tried different backup programs with my TyTN.
I found that the only perfect working program is SPB Backup.
I've already restored my data after hard reset with this program (not once) and all is good.

i use spb also, works great

I vote for spb as well.
Although keep in mind that it only does back up system settings and core software installed in device (not sure what exactly), not the whole file system of your PDA. My problem was, I deleted some files and uninstalled some programs after backing up, and after restore they were not there! (just blank icons).
I would love to mirror my whole device on PC hard drive, yet I am not sure about software for this purpose.

how well does spb backup perform when you do a ROM upgrade?

MilanoRex said:
how well does spb backup perform when you do a ROM upgrade?
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Whatever backup product you use, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT applying a backup from a different ROM version. You're asking for serious trouble.
Simply put, if you update your ROM, you're also plan on reinstalling everything clean from scratch...

mnez said:
I vote for spb as well.
Although keep in mind that it only does back up system settings and core software installed in device (not sure what exactly), not the whole file system of your PDA. My problem was, I deleted some files and uninstalled some programs after backing up, and after restore they were not there! (just blank icons).
I would love to mirror my whole device on PC hard drive, yet I am not sure about software for this purpose.
Click to expand...
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Mobile Deployment
Deploy an identical policy based corporate image to all your mobile devices. From the original creators of the industry leading Symantec GhostTM cloning solution, Sprite Clone provides rapid and reliable deployment to multiple mobile devices thereby assuring consistency and cost effectiveness...
http://www.spritesoftware.com/sprite-clone

goestoeleven said:
Whatever backup product you use, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT applying a backup from a different ROM version. You're asking for serious trouble.
Simply put, if you update your ROM, you're also plan on reinstalling everything clean from scratch...
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Sprite Backup works perfectly with ROM and DEVICE upgrades.. I switched from my Wizard to my Hermes without any problems..

MilanoRex said:
how well does spb backup perform when you do a ROM upgrade?
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Use Sprite Backup in this case, it'll work unless you try to cross-restore between AKU2.x and AKU3.x. And please DO read my above-linked article; in there, I've also elaborated on this very question.

bobstarina said:
I found that the only perfect working program is SPB Backup.
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Strange you had problems with the otehr alternates (Sunnysoft Backup, SKTools 3.0, Sprite 5.1). Are you sure you tried the LATEST versions of them? It's only lately that, for example, Sunnysoft Backup received REAL WM5 support.
Also please read the Backup Bible I've linked in above if you need more info on all these questions.

MilanoRex said:
Sprite Backup works perfectly with ROM and DEVICE upgrades.. I switched from my Wizard to my Hermes without any problems..
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Both of you are correct. Sprite DOES work great in most cases, except for restoring AKU3 content under AKU2 and vice versa.

does restoreing after a ROM upgrade using Sprite also keep your current registry changes as well...or do i have to do all registry hacks all over again...or even after just a hard reset not a ROM upgrade do i still have to enter the reg. edits all over again....

Sprite works well for me

strikeIII said:
does restoreing after a ROM upgrade using Sprite also keep your current registry changes as well...or do i have to do all registry hacks all over again...or even after just a hard reset not a ROM upgrade do i still have to enter the reg. edits all over again....
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It will restore your registry changes too. Otehrwise, it wouldn't work at all with a lot of third-party apps that also use the Registry to store their stuff / settings.

Does anyone know if Spb backup will back up outlook notes?

Sprite is the only one worth getting since you can restore after a ROM or device change Just make sure you RTFM before you go changing anything as there are things you need to do before hand

Interesting to hear that Sprite Backup works without problems for all of you. On my TyTN, when it wants to reboot before beginning a backup, the TyTN gets stuck at the Windows Mobile screen. Removing/re-inserting the battery usually allows the boot process to finish - but only until the next reboot. After that, all subsequent reboots show that behaviour, no matter if initiated by Sprite Backup or otherwise. And very strangley, after a day or two this phenomenon disappears slowly. A hard reset fixes the problem immediately - at least until I re-install Sprite Backup or restore an (executable) backup I made earlier.
What's even more strange is that this seems to be reproducable, even across different ROM versions. I saw that first with the O2 Germany ROM my Trion came with, and also after I updated to the south-african WWE ROM.
Cheers
Daniel

SPB Backup V Sprite Backup Manager

Has anyone tried both of the above? Which is regarded as better?
Do they backup everything?
I need to send my machine back to HTC for a repair and they say it will lose everything so I will back it up. So I want to back up everything!
Before I get a program to do this can anyone shed some light on which is best and why?

Vote for SPB. Extremely fool proof. Havent used Sprite.

My Vote is for SPB
I have been using SPB for 2 years and I have to say it is the best for me , easy to customize and quick, has all the features that u need. creates a self extracting restore file u don't need to reinstall SPB to use it. Give it a try. Sprite is just as good I have used it as well but I have to recommend SPB for ease of use.
Ed...

Spb for me too.
If i remember correctly Sprite does NOT Backup the Registry.

Vote for SPB too.
I never have a problem with.

ausi said:
Spb for me too.
If i remember correctly Sprite does NOT Backup the Registry.
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So, from a hard reset by starting the self extracting executable my device would be returned to its original state? Is that correct?

for_me, Spb Backup

Sprite is more capable - can restore to a different device something spb cannot do?

More q's
And what if you change ROM in the meantime? Or if you upgrade to WM6 and the backup was done on the WM5?

The FD said:
So, from a hard reset by starting the self extracting executable my device would be returned to its original state? Is that correct?
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Exactly correct!!........i do it all the time without any problems.

sabestian said:
And what if you change ROM in the meantime? Or if you upgrade to WM6 and the backup was done on the WM5?
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Neither Sprite nor Spb will help you there, remember you're basically changing the OS while your installed programs relate to the installed OS at that time.

ausi said:
Neither Sprite nor Spb will help you there, remember you're basically changing the OS while your installed programs relate to the installed OS at that time.
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So they don't actually change the OS back to the version that was previously installed? All the programs do is put back what system settings and programs were previously installed?
Is that correct?

The FD said:
So they don't actually change the OS back to the version that was previously installed? All the programs do is put back what system settings and programs were previously installed?
Is that correct?
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Yes!......... they are basically a Backup program which when in trouble they will restore your Device to the same state and configuration as when you did the backup. This saves a lot of time when you Device gets totally stuck and needs a "Hard" Reset.......then you only need to double click on the backup exe. file (which should be on your SD card) and "Walla" you get it all back without having to waste hours in reloading your original programs.

Is there a program that backs everything up?

Hey guys, is there a program for Windows mobile 6 that basically copies everything on your phone to a memory card or to the computer. Like copy every single bit of the phone memory. I know there was a such thing for Motorola's that just in case something did go wrong, you could just flash it back to the original backed up state.

SPB backup is great, it will back up everything to your storage card (plus you can schedule it).
It creates an executable which you just need to run to restore everything back to as it was when you backed up. I've used it after hard resetting a few times and it worked perfectly.
It wont work if you're flashing the rom to something different, but if you're just hard resetting, it will be fine.
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/backup/?en

Sprite Backup is the way to go, I've used them on all my devices over the last 5 years.
There is an INDEPTH guide to backups on this forum, knock yourself out with that little link in the upper right corner called "Search"

I have used both pretty extensively on the 8525, and in my opinion SPB backup is far more reliable than Sprite Backup. Note that I was testing with SpriteBackup v5.1.0 build 1447 and there is now a newer version available that may work better.

SPB is the best for me.. I'm actually restoring a backup this moment after re-flashing my rom.

I tried WM6 upgrade! (Looking now for WM5 ROM.)

Well, finally I tried the (official) upgrade from WM5 (1.8.407.1) to WM6.
I found detailed instructions using SpriteBackup 3.14 or higher. And since Version 5.01 were deliverd with my Herald, I gave it a try!
But that's were this endless night began...
The instructions used "GetUpgradeData.exe" from Sprite Software.
This is what I did:
- I created a complete Backup with Sprite Backup 5.01.
- I did a hard-reset.
- I run the "GetUpgradeData.exe" and got a sbu-file I stored.
- I actually performed the ROM-upgrade
- I installed Sprite Backup.
But wenn I tried to restore the Backup I made earlier I didn't found the "Upgrade-Mode" that was mentioned in the instructions and which I created the sbu-file for.
On the Sprite-Homepage, I got the information, that this functions seems to exist only since 5.1!
So I installed the newest version as trial. But this damn software doesn't restore backup made with older versions of itself! :-O
Since I found no possibility to makes Sprite Backup 6 *do* this, I decided to give 5.01 a try nevertheless. But it didn't work. I actually can't remember anymore, what error came exactly in this situation, but I realized it would work.
Since then I look for a downgrade to restore my backup on good old WM5.0 and try the whole szenario with Sprite 5.1 (I don't like 6).
I actually *found* a WM5-ROM, but it's not 1.8.407.1, it's 5.4.407.1.
- I "updated" the ROM, WM5 runs fine.
- I installed Sprite 5.01.
- I run Sprite 5.01 and got an error mentioning to little free memory!
- I performed a hard-reset, installed Sprite and tried to restore selected parts of the backup to need less memory. It ends successful, but during the following Warm-Start I get repeatetly the error that "The last cold-start" wasn't complete. So it performs a new reset by itself.
And that *are* my possibilities:
- restore all and have to little memory
or
- restore parts an get this weird error.
Why is this? and How can I change it?
I still have the hope that a 1.8.407.1-ROM would fix all problems. But where to take from. :-((
Any ideas how I can save my Herald? Please? It's 7am now an I'm puzzeling for 5 hours now. I want everything back to normal! :-(
Thanks for every help you can give me...

I didn´t really read the howl thread - but
NEVER try to take a WM5 backup to work with a WM6 Rom!!!
You never treid to use a Windows 95 backup on a Windows Vista PC???
So why you wanne restore a backup from a complete different Rom??
Install all new. NEVER use a backup when flashing a new rom.
Just my 2 cents

papamopps said:
I didn´t really read the howl thread
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No matter. It's just one posting. ;-)
NEVER try to take a WM5 backup to work with a WM6 Rom!!!
[...]
Just my 2 cents
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Well, my two, too, until yesterdey, when I learnd about that option in Sprite Backup. I quote from the manual of "Sprite Backup 6":
http://www.spritesoftware.com/downloads/SpriteBackupHelp.pdf said:
Setting Upgrade Mode Options
Sprite Backup automatically detects if the restore process is being performed between different devices or ROM versions and automatically enables this function and you will be asked to select the type of 'Upgrade Mode' operation you wish to perform.
ROM: Use this option to perform restore operations between the same devices with different ROM revisions. For example: restoring from a KJAM ROM 2.16.9 to a KJAM AKU2 ROM version.
Device: Use this option when you wish to restore across devices and ROM versions. For example: When restoring a backup file created on a WM2005 KJAM device onto a WM 2006 JAZJAR device.
Safe: If your device does not boot after performing a ‘ROM Upgrade’ or ‘Device Upgrade’ restore use the ‘Safe Upgrade’ operation.
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The problem is that my version of Sprite Backup does not have this capability unexpectetly. Which I realized when it was to late.

one comment of a nearly flashaddict:
i ALLWAYS install all new. it is much faster after a few month when you make a hardreset and flash new......
believe me. i flashed so many roms - and allways installed it completely new!!

Sure you are right. And actually that's my choice now.
I made it to restore at least my personal data in WM5, backed them up new and restorem *them* on new installed WM6.
Now I'm on the configurating, installing, reconstructing part. :-((