Database Users

Upgrading to 1.35 - backup and restore?

I've installed a ton of stuff in my 1.18 version phone. I just got some BT 620 stereo bluetooth headsets and the music only plays for a few seconds. I want to try the 1.35 ROM's. Can I successfully backup my entire Hermes, do the upgrade, and then restore?
If so, what backup software should I use? SPB Backup says "use at your own risk" for ROM upgrades and Sprite Backup outlines a method.
I definitely understand that if you backup registry stuff, and the underlying settings in the ROM cause the registry settings to change, you are just asking for trouble. Kind of like taking a bunch of windows 95 registry settings and jamming into Vista.
TIA
Knox

newtronic said:
I've installed a ton of stuff in my 1.18 version phone. I just got some BT 620 stereo bluetooth headsets and the music only plays for a few seconds. I want to try the 1.35 ROM's. Can I successfully backup my entire Hermes, do the upgrade, and then restore?
If so, what backup software should I use? SPB Backup says "use at your own risk" for ROM upgrades and Sprite Backup outlines a method.
I definitely understand that if you backup registry stuff, and the underlying settings in the ROM cause the registry settings to change, you are just asking for trouble. Kind of like taking a bunch of windows 95 registry settings and jamming into Vista.
TIA
Knox
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Click to collapse
You can if you revert back to the original ROM Version, you already answered the ? about the registry and I can tell you already some has changed from 1.18 to 1.35 I just did this upgrade this week.

Just to be clear, I am understanding from what you said that there were registry changes from 1.18 to 1.35 and so don't do a backup/upgrade to 1.35/restore.
Thanks! I guess I'll plan on a day of re-installing everything.

newtronic said:
Just to be clear, I am understanding from what you said that there were registry changes from 1.18 to 1.35 and so don't do a backup/upgrade to 1.35/restore.
Thanks! I guess I'll plan on a day of re-installing everything.
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That is correct sorry I was not clear.

It seems Sprite Backup can do the job. There is an unique feature from Sprite Backup called the Upgrade Mode Restore which supports to restore a backup file made before ROM upgrade or changing to a new device.
For more information you may need to visit their FAQ at
http://www.spritesoftware.com/faq

whenpigfly said:
It seems Sprite Backup can do the job. There is an unique feature from Sprite Backup called the Upgrade Mode Restore which supports to restore a backup file made before ROM upgrade or changing to a new device.
For more information you may need to visit their FAQ at
http://www.spritesoftware.com/faq
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Click to collapse
Yes but it is still not a sure thing. You may incur additional lockups and freezes. It is much better to re-install your apps manually.

wpbear said:
Yes but it is still not a sure thing. You may incur additional lockups and freezes. It is much better to re-install your apps manually.
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If you read the FAQ first and do it all correctly it will work. Most ppl go ahead and upgrade their ROM then they find they get problems simply restoring the backup image. You have to run the upgrade util on the old, hard reset ROM to get the correct .sbu file, this is the most common mistake ppl make, I have restored after ROM upgrade many times and not had any issues, you just need to do it correctly...step by step I suggest read the FAQ first, it is less time consuming than reinstalling all your apps and reconfiguring your device The only thing you cannot restore are POP accounts, they have to be deleted before the initial backup, then recreated, on the new ROM

Spb Backup too "smart"?

I'm using Spb Backup to make full backups. So far it's OK I even tried to restore after HR and it always worked.
Recently I made another full backup and upgraded to the latest stock ROM from SE service site.
Made restore... I mean the full restore and now I'm trying to figure out did I ruin the ROM upgrade?
I do understand that Spb Backup doesn't change the ROM itself. But what happen when I restore the full backup made with previous R2A to my X1i upgraded to R3A? Does it somehow substitute system files of the newer WinMobile 6.1 R3A with older files from 6.1 R2A?
I don't want to use partial restores (PIM etc.) as soon as it's a long and difficult process to restore all the software and features installed.
Thanks in advice.

The general recommendation is to have a clean start on a new ROM and not to restore from backups - for precisely the reasons you say.
It is indeed a long chore to reinstall everything, but that's the safest way to ensure a clean start.
Some backup programs claim to be able to do upgrade restores, but I've never had much success with them.

Understood. Thanks.

this probably isn't much help but I recently put the r3a on a new xperia from this site then used spb to restore a previous backup from r2a on my previous phone straight from the exe backup (did not install spb backup first).
The only problem i encountered was having to reinstall 1 or 2 applications.

sms2000 said:
I'm using Spb Backup to make full backups. So far it's OK I even tried to restore after HR and it always worked.
Recently I made another full backup and upgraded to the latest stock ROM from SE service site.
Made restore... I mean the full restore and now I'm trying to figure out did I ruin the ROM upgrade?
I do understand that Spb Backup doesn't change the ROM itself. But what happen when I restore the full backup made with previous R2A to my X1i upgraded to R3A? Does it somehow substitute system files of the newer WinMobile 6.1 R3A with older files from 6.1 R2A?
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Click to collapse
This is an old and somewhat hoary question.
In short, ROM upgrades always re-organise chunks of the Registry from earlier ROM's. So restoring a previous backup over a ROM upgrade risks conflict with these changes
There are several safer methods for rebuilding on a new ROM:
1) use UC ... many, many posts on this + a 150+ page thread
2) there is a thread on this X1 sub-forum showing how to use a \2577 folder on the card to re-install CAB's as an automated process (Flashaholics Anonymous, I think)
3) if you have most apps installed on the card, a lot will run without re-installation, or at least just the addition of SN etc. Then they won't show up in the "Remove Programs" utility, but to de-install, just delete the folder from the card and then delete the shortcut.
I keep a relatively up-to-date copy of all \Windows\Start Menu\Programs shortcuts in a mirror folder set on the card so restoring these is simple
To test the differences in Registry, use the "Compare" function in the excellent freeware editor CeRegEditor

You will eventually find a bug if you restore a backup file after changing rom versions.

There is a "Force ROM update" mode in the options when you restore. I've never tried it because I like the idea of a clean install when i upgrade a ROM. But if your keen, give it ago.

Scott Whitmore said:
There is a "Force ROM update" mode in the options when you restore. I've never tried it because I like the idea of a clean install when i upgrade a ROM. But if your keen, give it ago.
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Click to collapse
And report back with your findnings
I've always wanted to try it, but am too scared

That's a problem that I have no problems...
I restored full SpbBackup without "ROM restore". System reports it's R3A, but Windows Mobile version seems to be the same with R2A. Should it be the same or not?
First I upgraded, second - I restored my backup and only third - I decided to ask this question.
OK with another system Registry organization, I can understand it very well but why any major changes from any 6.1 to another 6.1?
Jumping from 6.1 to 6.5 may and should introduce completely new Registry hives.
Still after restoring full Spb Backup everything works fine, including Hebrew support and fonts, iGo8.3 with A-GPS, additional panels etc.
Anybody with stock [ENG] R3A, please report your Windows Mobile version?

It isn't the operating system that changes - it is all the configurations, tweaks and add-ons that change.
The base OS will still be WM6.1, but there are lots of things that HTC and SE have thrown in to customise the device, and change the look and feel of it, but underneath the hood it is still basically WM6.1.
Your problem will be that you took a backup of the R2AA version which will include lots of settings, registry tweaks, software versions and suchlike. When you restore this over R3AA then you might find that the new and (hopefully) improved R3AA settings/files/whatever get overwritten with the old R2AA settings/files/whatever.
You may be okay and never notice the difference, or you might run into any number of problems...freezes, lockups, crashes, instabilities...and you're unlikely to ever figure out why.
Hence, the generally accepted wisdom is to use backup restorations to test experimental ROM upgrades, but to install from scratch if you decide to settle on a different ROM.

I think the only thing that will harm your system is when you choose to merge the old registry values with the new one. It's all the registry settings that can get confused with the new ROM.

Mr Anderson said:
It isn't the operating system that changes - it is all the configurations, tweaks and add-ons that change.
The base OS will still be WM6.1, but there are lots of things that HTC and SE have thrown in to customise the device, and change the look and feel of it, but underneath the hood it is still basically WM6.1.
Your problem will be that you took a backup of the R2AA version which will include lots of settings, registry tweaks, software versions and suchlike. When you restore this over R3AA then you might find that the new and (hopefully) improved R3AA settings/files/whatever get overwritten with the old R2AA settings/files/whatever.
You may be okay and never notice the difference, or you might run into any number of problems...freezes, lockups, crashes, instabilities...and you're unlikely to ever figure out why.
Hence, the generally accepted wisdom is to use backup restorations to test experimental ROM upgrades, but to install from scratch if you decide to settle on a different ROM.
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But isn't it fine to restore just emails, contacts, tasks?
Without all the tweaks, settings...

doministry said:
But isn't it fine to restore just emails, contacts, tasks?
Without all the tweaks, settings...
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Click to collapse
Oh yes, that kind of stuff is alright - things like emails, PIM data and any other database files used by the software (stuff like saved game files, SplashID databases, saved settings for things like PhoneWeaver, PocketPlus etc).
If you sift through the backup and do selective restoration of just the databases then you should be fine.
It's mainly the registry settings you have to worry about, as poetryrocksalot says. However, you should also avoid restoring anything which comes with the HTC or SE customisations (such as panels, HTC task manager etc) because you risk losing newer software versions and could introduce incompatibilities between old/new files.

Backup and ROM-Update. How to?

Hello Forum!
I would like to update Leo's ROM (HTC, German Stock-ROM) from 1.43.407.1 to 1.48.407.1. BUT, I don't want to install all programs and tweak my baby again (not to forget all the emails and outlook settings, SMS etc.). Is there a way of doing a backup, which can effectively "survive" a ROM update, or is this simply not possible without coruption? Normally I use Sprite Backup 6.5.5 for my phone backup, but it does not tell me to many things about what will happen if a backup would be applied to the phone after ROM update. By the way. I don't think Sprite Backup will backup the ROM itself but just the other data on the internal memory, does it?
Thank you in advance folks!
Studebaker

hi,
spritebackup is trying to be smart on restore, so you can chose how it should behaive on restoring after romupdate. when i remember it rigth there are 3 or 4 options to choose from when you start a restore, they are listed at there website and in the manual/helpfile.

Hello madbird,
Yes, I noticed that. I just want to make sure that it really does work even after ROM update. What I do not want is problems afterwards. Anybody tried already?
Thanks guys!
Studebaker

I have been using SPB Backup's ROM upgrade mode on my Polaris for restoring of my settings & applications over sequential ROM upgrades.
Apart from some minor issues it really saved me a lot of reconfiguring time.
Naturally I haven't been able to try it on Leo, since custom ROMs can't be flashed yet.

Studebaker72 said:
Hello Forum!
I would like to update Leo's ROM (HTC, German Stock-ROM) from 1.43.407.1 to 1.48.407.1. BUT, I don't want to install all programs and tweak my baby again (not to forget all the emails and outlook settings, SMS etc.). Is there a way of doing a backup, which can effectively "survive" a ROM update, or is this simply not possible without coruption? Normally I use Sprite Backup 6.5.5 for my phone backup, but it does not tell me to many things about what will happen if a backup would be applied to the phone after ROM update. By the way. I don't think Sprite Backup will backup the ROM itself but just the other data on the internal memory, does it?
Thank you in advance folks!
Studebaker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to restore and at the same time 100% incorporate all changes introduced by the rom upgrade you need 2 additional procedures (apart from a backup software).
1) Overwrite the new registry over the old registry
2) Overwrite the new double copy files over the old double copy files.
The first Step can be easily done in the following way
After upgrading you install Resco Registry.
You export the entire registry.
You restore the old backup image
Finally you re-import the previously exported reg file.
This will overwrite all keys that were changed during the rom upgrade.
Regarding the second step, let me quickly explain to you what I mean with double copy files.
After hard resetting your device and during the first boot, a customization tool is running in the background that copies some files from the rom (and the windows folder) to the storage memory (and different folders).
If you restore the previous rom image, these files will be overwritten with old versions. You can partially overcome this issue if the double copy files are both found in the same directory (f.e. Opera9.exe and OperaL.exe in Windows folder).
In this case you delete the duplicated file in storage and apart from releasing some mbs of free space you also use the latest version, which always resides in rom. This procedure can not be followed with files and folders that are copied during the customization process from Windows folder to other folders.
In order to overcome this issue and to be able to restore a previous image incorporating at the same time all the changes introduced by the upgrade, we have to find a way and activate the customization tool after completing the restore process. In this way the double copy files will be re-overwritten with the newer ones.
Check also this thread.
Finally another way to rebuild your system without much effort is to setup Sashimi once and then use it to quickly reinstall everything.

Hello Step2p!
Thank you so much for taking some time for that really interesting answer. The registry, yes, I guesses that could be a problem. Please let me comment to your points, because I'm in no way an expert in that:
The first Step can be easily done in the following way:
-After upgrading you install Resco Registry. => OK
-You export the entire registry. => Ahm, OK...
-You restore the old backup image => Yes, because I want to have my tweaked registry from the "old" ROM back.
-Finally you re-import the previously exported reg file. => Ouch. Than my tweaked and modified entries will all be gone. Right?
This will overwrite all keys that were changed during the rom upgrade. => And also all the former ones will be overwriten by new ones??
Did I get that right? After your procedure my old tweaks will be history, just because the new registry that we will have remaining at last will be pure as snow. New and unmodified.
Thanks again,
Studebaker

Studebaker72 said:
Hello Step2p!
Thank you so much for taking some time for that really interesting answer. The registry, yes, I guesses that could be a problem. Please let me comment to your points, because I'm in no way an expert in that:
The first Step can be easily done in the following way:
-After upgrading you install Resco Registry. => OK
-You export the entire registry. => Ahm, OK...
-You restore the old backup image => Yes, because I want to have my tweaked registry from the "old" ROM back.
-Finally you re-import the previously exported reg file. => Ouch. Than my tweaked and modified entries will all be gone. Right?
This will overwrite all keys that were changed during the rom upgrade. => And also all the former ones will be overwriten by new ones??
Did I get that right? After your procedure my old tweaks will be history, just because the new registry that we will have remaining at last will be pure as snow. New and unmodified.
Thanks again,
Studebaker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you will lose all system registry tweaks (but not 3rd party tweaks). Unfortunately it is almost impossible to have the latest registry without losing these tweaks.
But updating the registry is an important step, because many of the bug fixes are actually registry tweaks that we never find.
In order to overcome this issue you have 2 options
1) Use an application like BsB tweaks which allows you to quickly setup the main registry tweaks
2) Create a reg file (or better a cab file) with all the tweaks that you are doing. After importing the registry you can run it in order to re-overwrite the tweaks.

Oh yes, a cab file sounds great to restore my tweaks! I just have no idea how to do that. How to convert my registry tweaks into a cab file, is there some software available to do the trick? Sorry for my stupid questions, that's like rocket science for me....

WinCe CabManager is very easy to use.
If you find it difficult you can export your keys using Resco Registry and then join the individual keys using a text editor.

Yes! said:
I have been using SPB Backup's ROM upgrade mode on my Polaris for restoring of my settings & applications over sequential ROM upgrades.
Apart from some minor issues it really saved me a lot of reconfiguring time.
Naturally I haven't been able to try it on Leo, since custom ROMs can't be flashed yet.
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Click to collapse
Hello Yes!
May I ask what kind of "minor issues" you are refering to?
Thank you!
Studebaker

Studebaker72 said:
Hello Yes!
May I ask what kind of "minor issues" you are refering to?
Thank you!
Studebaker
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Click to collapse
Well, firstly i had some issues with the mail accounts.
After restoring in ROM upgrade mode all mail accounts were available and working. However it seemed like their configuration had not been fully restored.
When i wanted to modify an account (i.e. synch frequency) i had to completely reconfigure the accont, since its configuration wasn't there.
The issue only became noticeable when the account option need to be adjusted.
Secondly i also had the feeling (might be subjective) that the cycle of backing up, upgrading, restoring (in ROM upgrade mode), backing up (from previously restored rom), upgrading, restoring (in ROM upgrade mode) etc....pollutes the image somehow.
I have gone through the cycle for 5 or 6 upgrades without noticeable problems, but i'm not sure how it will behave after more cycles or after a major upgrade.
For so far i've only used ROM upgrade restores on my Polaris but i will try it on my Leo tonight.
I will post my findings here after upgrading.

Thank you, that is very interresting! Sprite Backup is a very powerful tool, no doubt! But to recover every little detail after a ROM update seems too good to be true. The registry scares me, the registry from the 1.48 might not be identical to the 1.43. But the backup will plaster all the old settings over it, can that be OK?? Who knows...

Backup

Hi may i check how do you guys backup your files and settings(bluetooth, camera etc) before flashing rom? my s200 with the stock rom, keeps giving me clean boot once in a while so much so, i am tired of having a nice and customized today screen...

icegal said:
Hi may i check how do you guys backup your files and settings(bluetooth, camera etc) before flashing rom? my s200 with the stock rom, keeps giving me clean boot once in a while so much so, i am tired of having a nice and customized today screen...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try SPB back up. Its a trail but you will only need it once every time you do a flash. You can use it to make complete system restore

thanks fer the info! but will the backup work if i upgrade from build 21XXX to 23XXX?

icegal said:
thanks fer the info! but will the backup work if i upgrade from build 21XXX to 23XXX?
Click to expand...
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Yes there is a special mode for system upgrades. Just give it a try sometime. The program is as good as it gets

icegal said:
thanks fer the info! but will the backup work if i upgrade from build 21XXX to 23XXX?
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Click to collapse
It depends on what you are trying to backup - for PIM data, emails, text messages and documents it works fine even with ROM upgrades.
But if I use it for system data, I have to be really careful - sometimes certain registry settings really mess up Sense and programs... also, let's say you install software (e.g. Google Maps) because your earlier ROM didn't include it; but if it is cooked in your new ROM then it isn't useful to restore it from the backup.
So what I rather suggest is you figure out how to backup data/settings from each application and restore it after flashing (e.g. for Cookie Home Tab, the editor has a way to export the settings; some applications create a file to save the data, etc.). You will need a good registry editor (pref. PC based) to do this though
/Sifaan

How come I'm still 1.48 ROM when I've updated?

Hey guys,
In the "About My Phone" section in the settings it says that my ROM version is 1.48 when I just updated to the 1.66 version. I used SPB Backup to backup and restore all my files and settings...could that have caused it to change? When I reset my phone though the main HTC startup screen said 1.66.
WHY!!!!!!!!!!

Yes.
You should do a full backup/restore only on the same ROM, not when flashing a different one. Otherwise it will overwrite some system files with the ones of the old ROM.

dont worry about it, it is only entries in teh registry, the files themselves will most likely be fine for the most part.
However if you notice anything odd in teh next day or so, do a new backup, of just your data, not the registry so much, and do a hard reset.

Or just dont use backup tools, there mostly anoying, just make sure you have a sync source, and an autoinstall for the apps.
Quicker, easier, and less likely to cause issues than backup tools