Restore failed - HELP!

[terrypin]

I had to do a hard reset this evening (my first) and when I tried to restore from the EXE backup file (produced last night), on my 1GB CF card Pocket Backup Plus failed to complete and gave error message

To start the restore, I had used the built-in File Explore to locate and run the EXE file. Pocket Backup Plus opened, but apparently with an evaluation version. Should that surprise me? On reflection, until I restore, I don't HAVE Pocket Backup Plus! But I thought that would be all taken care of by the self executing restore... Instead, it asks me to either Authorize or proceed with the evaluation version by pressing OK. I chose OK, and it failed as above.

I've e-mailed Sprite, but would appreciate any advice please.

[a little later]

I've subsequently restored from an Oct 9th backup made with iPAQ Backup (STG file), made before I registered Pocket Backup Plus. It's very out of date but I thought it would be a good basis to proceed. However, although it seemed to restore OK, I now get a request to set up a new Partnership with ActiveSync. I expected a restore to include my Partnership? Should I go ahead an create the same one again?

Using iPAQ 2210 with WM2003.

--
Terry, West Sussex, UK

[Jason Dunn]

Something is screwy, because even though the version of Backup Plus that is in the backup file is only a trial, it will still restore. Bad CF card perhaps? Or a glitch while it was creating the backup?

[terrypin]

Thanks Jason. I had two backup EXE files, 30th and 31st Oct, and both gave same failure. VERY disappointing...

Any advice about that partnership thing please?

--
Terry, West Sussex, UK

[spikedrabbit]

The partnership change would most likely be caused by a change in the device name. I could be wrong though as I am a newbie, but I found that out when I renamed my device... Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[tanalasta]

With pocketbackup plus, I assume the registration details are stored in the registry and whilst the trial version pops up after a hard reset you'll find that after restoring (provided you made the file after registering) it'd be all fine and dandy again!

I've had a few problems with pocketbackup plus after doing computer/desktop backups. If the connection freezes/breaks for whatever reason, the program just refuses to create any new backup files properly from thereonin and corrupts when it gets up to the registry. So the created file won't restore either. The only way I could solve this problem is to hard-reset and restore with an older uncorrupted file.

So sorry I can't be of much help - but just letting you know I have had the same experience. The only thing I could suggest is backup daily and (well you have a 1GB card you lucky sod :wink: ) so keep at least 3 backup copies... 2 isn't enough because sometimes the second copy is erased if you backup more than once a day. Otherwise pocketbackup is a great program!!! Saved me countless of times from reinstalling/registering the two dozen odd programs i have installed.

[terrypin]

tanalasta,

Many thanks, that's very helpful. And reassuring to know that at least some of the behaviour I saw wasn't unique to me.

After many hours I did manage to restore to a reasonably recent state but it was an uncomfortable experience. Had to use built in iPAQ Backup with a very old backup as intermediate step. All very fraught. In summary, these were the aspects that confused me:

1. Main one was that I didn't know WHY Pocket Backup failed. No reply from Sprite to Thurday's urgent email or Friday's chaser so far.

2. Unsettled at being asked to run Authorize or to use the 'evaluation' version. Not welcome when facing sudden disaster. Must be for reason you suggest, i.e stored in registry. My view, which I'll pass on to Sprite, is that if it's not possible to store the registration details in the EXE, then at least warn users ahead. Even better, eliminate that dialog altogether. What point is there in offering the Authorise option if it's bound to fail - and at worst further screw up an already complicated scene?

3. I hadn't expected to lose my 'partnership' and get involved in creating a new one. Must admit this is an area that I'm hazy about. The old was 'Pocket_PC', the new I named 'PPC'. On recovering, I've now deleted PPC, so hope I'm back to the status quo. Another Catch 22 seems involved here, again when I was looking for a no-brainer recovery!

4. Probably because of above, I ended up with hundreds of duplicated files to synchronize. Ditto my Tasks. Some of it I got automatic help in removing dupes, but still a lot had to be done manually.

5. Restoring from desktop PC, using the 'Sprite PC Service' failed abysmally. "Failed to connect to the host PC. Check the device is connected and port numbers match". I emailed Sprite about that too. Seems they need to do some serious work on this. I have lots more backup files on PC than PPC (that 1 GB is mainly a juke box, and pretty full already!). They seem useless at present. And at around 28MB each, that's not trivial.

=================================

I didn't mention in my OP what precipitated the hard reset: trying to uninstall a registered program (Pocket Informant 4.6). Last night I bit the bullet and repeated this attempt - with exactly the same result. :( Reckon I'll post separately about that.

--
Terry, West Sussex, UK
Using iPAQ 2210 with WM2003.

[cyclist]

With pocketbackup plus, I assume the registration details are stored in the registry and whilst the trial version pops up after a hard reset you'll find that after restoring (provided you made the file after registering) it'd be all fine and dandy again!
Works for me, and has worked many times.

The only thing I could suggest is backup daily and (well you have a 1GB card you lucky sod :wink: ) so keep at least 3 backup copies... 2 isn't enough because sometimes the second copy is erased if you backup more than once a day. Otherwise pocketbackup is a great program!!! Saved me countless of times from reinstalling/registering the two dozen odd programs i have installed.
If there are potential problems with backing up to the PC, then do it another way. I've only got a 64Mb card so I have to be stingy with space. I backup to the card, and set Pocket Backup to keep the last 4 backups on the card. However before Pocket Backup deletes the files from the card I copy them from my card to the PC, using either Explore in Active Sync or a card reader. Lots of room on my PC to keep a full set of daily, weekly and monthly backups. Then I can copy any backup I like from my PC back to the card and restore it. This can be done with a newly hard reset PPC - just connect as guest and use Explore to copy the file back to the card. Card reader is faster though.

[terrypin]

Thanks, cyclist. Could I ask one follow-up please. I'm getting a card reader. With my PPC frozen at the end of a soft reset, as it was, is the procedure then as follows?

- hard reset

- immediately use the card reader to copy an EXE backup file from my PC to the CF card

- insert CF card into PPC, locate and run the EXE

IOW, will I be able to do that as a quick no-brainer without having to think about Owner Information, Partnerships, ActiveSync?

--
Terry, West Sussex, UK
Using iPAQ 2210 with WM2003.

[cyclist]

Thanks, cyclist. Could I ask one follow-up please. I'm getting a card reader. With my PPC frozen at the end of a soft reset, as it was, is the procedure then as follows?

- hard reset

- immediately use the card reader to copy an EXE backup file from my PC to the CF card

- insert CF card into PPC, locate and run the EXE

IOW, will I be able to do that as a quick no-brainer without having to think about Owner Information, Partnerships, ActiveSync?

OK, let's take this slowly step by step.

1) PPC freezes. If it is connected to the PC, disconnect it.
2) Use card reader to write the Pocket Backup self extracting file to the card. This should be a backup that you originally did to a card, not to the PC.
3) Hard reset the PPC.
4) PPC goes through its start up routine of aligning the screen and moving the dentist's appointment.
5) PPC asks for time zone; set your correct time zone.
6) PPC is now at start screen. Go into clock settings. Set time and date to the real time and date, or some time and date *after* the time you took the backup file. (This is a precaution. I can see how a time/date earlier than the backup could cause problems with restoring files whose creation date is in the future, so avoid them. But I haven't tried this so maybe Pocket Backup could cope).
7) Put the card in the PPC. Use File explorer to locate the backup to be restored and tap on the file.
8 ) Pocket Backup will put up its screen showing that its an evaluation copy, offering the choice of either entering the registration code or restoring. Choose restore.
9) Pocket Backup does the restore and asks for a soft reset at the end. Do the reset.
10) At this point my device is now back to where it was with all the old owner information, regional settings, partnership name, contacts, calendar, registration codes for all software and everything else restored. The alarms for events scheduled between the backup and restore times will go off, dismiss them.
11) Connect the PPC to the PC. My PC always recognises the partnership and shows that it is connecting to the correct device name. The PC then says that it hasn't synced any information types before. I set the rules in Active Sync to leave conflict items unresolved, and then let it sync. Sometimes I get one or two duplicates, if I've changed part of an item since the backup, but mostly the sync correctly identifies everything.

Caveat: this works for me on PPC 2002 Phone Edition, but you've got Windows Mobile 2003.[/list]

[terrypin]

Many thanks, much appreciate your going to the trouble to spell it out. I aim to try that out at earliest opportunity.

--
Terry, West Sussex, UK
Using iPAQ 2210 with WM2003.