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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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...
Click to collapse
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...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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

best backup solutions please

ok so all take the chance i know this has been posted a lot on this forum but to be honest the information i obtained from all the threads is not sufficient enough to solve the problem which is IS IT POSSIBLE TO CARRY OUT A FULL BACKUP AND RESTORE ON THE HD USING THE VARIOUS BACKUP SOFTWARE THAT WE HAVE SUCH AS SPB BACKUP, SPRITE ETC.. surely there must be a solution out there somewhere to carry out a full backup and restore because now that we have everything moving over at the hd rom development forum with new roms everyday surely a complete backup and restore of the entire system of the HD is now more important than ever because there is now a lot of software for us to use on our HD so please dont flame me for bringing this up again but its just a desparete attempt to get help. perhaps this way, the programers can then help to make some software that makes it possible to make a full backup and restore on the HD, or even maybe starting a poll or something with people stating what software they have successively used to perform a complete backup and restore thank you again guys and to be gratefull for this great website that makes it possible to provide us with a better device i will make my donation on 27/01/09 thank you xda, lots of love from UK

I think your . button is jammed LOL

I've been wondering the same thing, really. I'm pretty new to these devices. How do people cope with new ROMs coming out all the time as far as installed software? Is there a way to install everything you want including all the dang activation keys, then make a backup that will re-install everything once you update the ROM?

Not sure whether there is an easy answer. I don't think you can save all the various settings - but that does not take long. Place as many as your apps on the storage card a possible. Make sure you keep the original installation cab files on the storage card.
The difficult one (for me) is the bookmarks in Opera. I now keep the URLs on an email on my Pc and resend it after a hard reset. They each have to be opened and saved as bookmarks but at least no typing.
If there is an easier way I would be keen to hear as well.

I use Sprite Backup 6.5 for full restores after ROM Updates, and Level 1 (Personal data and programs) updates have never failed. Tested quite a few non-official ROMs from this forum, never had a problem. Never tried restore after a hardreset, never did one.

i think the best backup-restore program is Spb backup restore. I have used Sprite but it always fails me when it comes to restore.

RaymondScrott said:
Not sure whether there is an easy answer. I don't think you can save all the various settings - but that does not take long. Place as many as your apps on the storage card a possible. Make sure you keep the original installation cab files on the storage card.
The difficult one (for me) is the bookmarks in Opera. I now keep the URLs on an email on my Pc and resend it after a hard reset. They each have to be opened and saved as bookmarks but at least no typing.
If there is an easier way I would be keen to hear as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I notice that each time i flash with a new ROM .. I have to re-install all the programs from my storage card again .. though most of the apps i have installed it on the Storage card ...

Lucas0511 said:
I use Sprite Backup 6.5 for full restores after ROM Updates, and Level 1 (Personal data and programs) updates have never failed. Tested quite a few non-official ROMs from this forum, never had a problem. Never tried restore after a hardreset, never did one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anyone know what's the different between the 3 levels ?
Let's say I have my ROM and programs running perfectly but I wanna try out new cab files .. I will do a back-up and if anything happens I restore with level 3 ??

My vote is Sprite Backup. Have used it from many years and each update improves on the last. It is stable, functional and easy to use.

Backup my HD2 for official ROM upgrade

So i've searched the forum for how to backup my phone as i want to install the official 1.6 rom which i got from the HTC site yesterday.
Now, after reading tons of threads i must say i'm still confused. I'm surprised there is not a simple stickied guide for noobs on how to simply backup your phone, upgrade and restore.
I was good at this malarky on symbian but this is like starting over gain, i'm clueless. I know the apps SPB, Sprite & pimbackup as well as microsoft my phone are all options for backing up but i need to get this staright in my nooby nut before i start it. So...
What i want:
1). a programme that will back up my contacts and most importantly my SETTINGS, no one seems to mention backing up the settings
2). then, should i hard reset before the upgrade? hard reset after? both? not at all?
3). I'm not bothered about registry tweaks i can redo the ones i want and i've got all my cabs on my pc ready to re-install.
Sorry if i'm being thick but i want to get this right, i don't want to lose all my settings and have to go through the entire phone to make it mine again..
If the above 3 questions can be simply answered i would be eternaly grateful

The reason backup.restire isn't really mentioned much is that restoring settings after can be a little hit and miss. I hear spb backup can restore settings after a new rom, but also there are several threads where people say the phone fails to boot after the restore and they must hard reset.
The reason is that flashing a new rom is like completely wiping and reinstalling your pc operating system. Its a whole new system, so if you restore for example some registry settings, there is no guarantee that something in the new rom isn't changed from the old one.
Personally, i just re do everything manually. (Flashed a new rom not 30 minutes ago actually, and all i have left to set up is the email accounts. Takes no more than 20 minutes all in to get ot back to how i had it before)
You should hard reset after you flash a new rom. No point doing it before. Do teh flash, let it set itself up, then hard reset, let it set itself up again, start using.
You have cabs and reg tweaks saved, (as do i) so i'd say bite the bullet and do the settings manually.

Hell Jonbaker,
Appreciate you have taken some time to search which is what a lot of new users DON'T do so lets help you out here.
I suggest you do this:
Go to the SPB Mobile website, download a trial version of SPB Backup. When you run it the software backs up the following:
- PIM Data including text messages
- Email
- Documents and files
- System files and settings.
Once you have done this, ie made the backup onto a dedicated sub directory on the SD card on your device, do the following: as a further backup, make a copy of the SPB backup file and transfer it to your PC. This way if anything goes wrong you have 2 copies of this valuable file in 2 different locations.
Next upgrade your ROM from the HTC site, which seems to be your preferred option.
Once the ROM is installed and the phone boots back up ok AND you are happy that there are no problems with the ROM then do the following:
- Use file explorer to navigate to the sub directory on your SD card where you kept the original SPB backup file from before.
- Tap on the file and it will eventually load up. Note that it is a self executable file but it sometimes takes a little while to load up
- This bit is important: once the file is loaded up, walk carefully through the screens until you see the options for Full Restore or Customized Restore
- Choose Cutomized Restore. If you don't you WILL screw up your new installation
- At the next screen you will see that ALL the options are already ticked. Untick System Data . This bit is very important. Leave all other options ticked
- Walk through the rest of the screens then let the software do its thing
- Once done the device will reboot itself and all your data, PIM, emails, etc will have been restored.
Job Done.
By the way, you will have to restore your software packages manually but at least your PIM data is already restored automatically. Afraid there is no other way out if you are changing ROMS.
If you get stuck come back and we can see what we can do. If you take your time and think logically you will be fine.
Cheers
WB
PS: Whatever you do, DO NOT DELETE the SPB Backup file as you may need it again at a later date. Also get into the habit of making regular automated backups which this software allows you to do.
I backup every day, 7 days a week, for peace of mind.
WB

samsamuel said:
You have cabs and reg tweaks saved, (as do i) so i'd say bite the bullet and do the settings manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mmmm, pain in the arse, i've had this phone a week and i've spent hours and hours learning it and getting it how i want it and now i learn of the new rom and i got to start from scratch again.
After coming from the N96 where an over the air upgrade could be done and not losing a single file or setting without backing up, this is taking a huge step back for me. However, that was the only advantage i could tell you that the n96 has over this phone!
I might try the spb backup, if it fails on my settings i can hard reset no loss yeah?
Thanks for the info again mate, very helpful member

wacky.banana said:
Hell Jonbaker,
Appreciate you have taken some time to search which is what a lot of new users DON'T do so lets help you out here.
I suggest you do this:
Go to the SPB Mobile website, download a trial version of SPB Backup. When you run it the software backs up the following:
- PIM Data including text messages
- Email
- Documents and files
- System files and settings.
Once you have done this, ie made the backup onto a dedicated sub directory on the SD card on your device, do the following: as a further backup, make a copy of the SPB backup file and transfer it to your PC. This way if anything goes wrong you have 2 copies of this valuable file in 2 different locations.
Next upgrade your ROM from the HTC site, which seems to be your preferred option.
Once the ROM is installed and the phone boots back up ok AND you are happy that there are no problems with the ROM then do the following:
- Use file explorer to navigate to the sub directory on your SD card where you kept the original SPB backup file from before.
- Tap on the file and it will eventually load up. Note that it is a self executable file but it sometimes takes a little while to load up
- This bit is important: once the file is loaded up, walk carefully through the screens until you see the options for Full Restore or Customized Restore
- Choose Cutomized Restore. If you don't you WILL screw up your new installation
- At the next screen you will see that ALL the options are already ticked. Untick System Data . This bit is very important. Leave all other options ticked
- Walk through the rest of the screens then let the software do its thing
- Once done the device will reboot itself and all your data, PIM, emails, etc will have been restored.
Job Done.
By the way, you will have to restore your software packages manually but at least your PIM data is already restored automatically. Afraid there is no other way out if you are changing ROMS.
If you get stuck come back and we can see what we can do. If you take your time and think logically you will be fine.
Cheers
WB
PS: Whatever you do, DO NOT DELETE the SPB Backup file as you may need it again at a later date. Also get into the habit of making regular automated backups which this software allows you to do.
I backup every day, 7 days a week, for peace of mind.
WB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent advice, i will try this, i appreciatte you taking the time to write all that out in detail. I shall follow the steps you gave and report back with how i got on
one last thing, at what point should i hard reset? i'm guessing straight after i'm happy the rom has been installed correctly. Then restore?

wacky.banana said:
... - This bit is important: once the file is loaded up, walk carefully through the screens until you see the options for Full Restore or Customized Restore
- Choose Cutomized Restore. If you don't you WILL screw up your new installation
- At the next screen you will see that ALL the options are already ticked. Untick System Data . This bit is very important. Leave all other options ticked
...
By the way, you will have to restore your software packages manually but at least your PIM data is already restored automatically. Afraid there is no other way out if you are changing ROMS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great post WB.
However... your statement i quoted above is not 100% correct. Its sort of dependant upon what ROM you are upgrading to and whether a system restore using SPB Backup will cause problems or not. The only way to tell is to actually try it out!
For info here... i have used SPB Backup for years. Recently though i used SPB Backup to backup my entire system,... applications, registry etc (not PIM data as i use MS Exchange to simply sync).
I then upgraded my ROM from 1.43 stock to 1.66 stock and restored using my backup file.... everything was back... all of my apps and registry tweaks were present and working with no hiccups AT ALL. The restored system was complete and included system integrated stuff like SPB Mobile Shell, S2u2 and even my manila home screen edits and tweaks.
It was then a simple matter of synching with exchange to get my contacts back.
When you run the restore on your newly flashed device... definately do a custom restore and if you are doing system data also, SPB Backup should prompt you with the fact that it has recognised your ROM has changed. You should then run the restore in ROM upgrade mode.

hmmm, system data.. would that mean registry tweaks and installed apps? does that also include settings or is that covered else where in the restore?

jonbaker76 said:
hmmm, system data.. would that mean registry tweaks and installed apps? does that also include settings or is that covered else where in the restore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
system data is indeed ALL of your apps and registry tweaks.
WB's post will only backup and restore your PIM data.
What i am saying is that you can indeed backup and restore EVERYTHING!
If i were you i would do two backups... one for just your PIM data,... and the other one for PIM AND system data.
Then when you do a full restore with ALL of your apps, settings, registry tweaks (system data) and get any issues... at least you have your PIM data backed up seperately.

@ Audio Oblivion,
I know where you are coming from; however I wanted to ensure that the OP had a 100% safe route back to a new working system hence me posting the intructions the way I did.
No offence to the OP but I gather at the moment that the simpler things are for him the better the end result!
To the OP, take my route (honest, I'm not precious about it) and you will be fine.
WB

ok cool, i have 2 last questions:
1). where do i install spb, i take it on the storage card as it would get removed from the phone memory.
2). What backup setting takes care of the actual phone SETTINGS is that in PIM or system data?
oh and this: one last thing, at what point should i hard reset? i'm guessing straight after i'm happy the rom has been installed correctly. Then restore?

wacky.banana said:
@ Audio Oblivion,
I know where you are coming from; however I wanted to ensure that the OP had a 100% safe route back to a new working system hence me posting the intructions the way I did.
No offence to the OP but I gather at the moment that the simpler things are for him the better the end result!
To the OP, take my route (honest, I'm not precious about it) and you will be fine.
WB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep... im sure he appreciates it and you are 100% correct your method is safe.
Im just expanding his horizons a little ...

I've flashed about 20 times, and each time SPB restored reliably. Worst case scenario if it doesn't work: reinstall everything by hand. Shouldn't take too long.
Suggestion: keep a folder on your SD card of all cabs you'd want reinstalled. Handy regardless of outcome.

ok cool, i have 3 last questions:
1). where do i install spb, i take it on the storage card as it would get removed from the phone memory.
2). What backup setting takes care of the actual phone SETTINGS is that in PIM or system data?
3). At what point should i hard reset? i'm guessing straight after i'm happy the rom has been installed correctly. Then restore?
I'm ready to roll, just need to know the above , many thanks

UncleBeer said:
I've flashed about 20 times, and each time SPB restored reliably. Worst case scenario if it doesn't work: reinstall everything by hand. Shouldn't take too long.
Suggestion: keep a folder on your SD card of all cabs you'd want reinstalled. Handy regardless of outcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3 rules for anyone with a winmo device:
1. Keep a folder with all of your cabs, reg entries, tweak files etc on your sd card.
2. Backup PIM data (i use MS exchange.. you can use PIM Backup, SPB Backup... whatever...)
3. When you have all of your core apps installed and the phone is completely setup... Do a system data backup (i use SPB Backup).
You can now wipe your device and restore completely within minutes at any given time.

jonbaker76 said:
ok cool, i have 3 last questions:
1). where do i install spb, i take it on the storage card as it would get removed from the phone memory.
2). What backup setting takes care of the actual phone SETTINGS is that in PIM or system data?
3). At what point should i hard reset? i'm guessing straight after i'm happy the rom has been installed correctly. Then restore?
I'm ready to roll, just need to know the above , many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) card. Pretty sure you don't have a choice.
2) as I said, I do a complete backup and a complete restore, so in my case, the question is moot.
3) right after the new ROM boots completely.

jonbaker76 said:
ok cool, i have 3 last questions:
1). where do i install spb, i take it on the storage card as it would get removed from the phone memory.
2). What backup setting takes care of the actual phone SETTINGS is that in PIM or system data?
3). At what point should i hard reset? i'm guessing straight after i'm happy the rom has been installed correctly. Then restore?
I'm ready to roll, just need to know the above , many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Install SPB Backup wherever you like... i install all of my apps on SD unless there is a specific reason to install them on device memory (functionality issues etc). The Backup file that SPB creates is a self extracting exe file so you dont need to actually install SPB backup to run it.
2. Depends exactly which settings you are referring to but if you want what i think then the answer is system data.
3. After the rom has installed correctly and you have run through the initial device setup. Hard reset the device and run through device setup once more.

Just to clarify here:
PIM data is contacts, emails, texts and their associated accounts.
System data is EVERYTHING ELSE!

Just thought i might mention in this backup thread that there are certain apps that dont need re-installing on fresh device builds (after rom flash or wipe) if they have already been installed to removal media such as SD cards.
SPB Backup is one of them, Tom Tom is another... there are loads actually... most of my apps dont need re-installing.
The basic rule is... if you can install it to your SD card.... after a rom flash/wipe try to run it straight from the program files folder on your sd card without running the install first. If it works... simply copy a shortcut for it into the windows start menu.

Yeah the settings i'm referring to Audio Oblivion are like ringtones, backlight options etc, so that is system data.
I'm good to go now, big thanks to all that have helped me in this thread
I'm sure other WM noobs will find this thread useful if found

Let us know how you get on. Think logically and DON'T panic.
Worse comes to the worse you can always repeat your steps provided you keep hold of that SPB Backup file like your life depended on it.
WB

Flash new ROM and keep data?

Hi all,
I know this might be a bit silly, but i've loads of apps installed and i want to avoid having to reinstall all of them.
Is it possible to install a new ROM while keeping all your data and apps? If so is it advisable?
Cheers

Hi. U can use SPB Backup and do a full backup which will backup everything including phone settings preferences. Its great and i use it all the time.

rumz82 said:
Hi. U can use SPB Backup and do a full backup which will backup everything including phone settings preferences. Its great and i use it all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my experience this method is not fool proof and does bring the possibility of registry and application association problems.
So do bear this in mind if you start to experience unexpected results.

bobtastic said:
Hi all,
I know this might be a bit silly, but i've loads of apps installed and i want to avoid having to reinstall all of them.
Is it possible to install a new ROM while keeping all your data and apps? If so is it advisable?
Cheers
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I use Silent_UC which re-installs/updates the newly flashed rom in several ways, which helps a lot. PIMBackup for contacts/text messages. CHTEditor for manilla links.
But is there one thing that does it all safely, the answer is no.

pa49 said:
In my experience this method is not fool proof and does bring the possibility of registry and application association problems.
So do bear this in mind if you start to experience unexpected results.
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I agree to a certain extent.Issues,if any, would be with certain tweaks such as manila/sense that do not work with all roms. It really is ROM dependant i guess. To tackle this issue in the past,what i did/do,is install certain tweaks or apps that are compatible with all ROMS and manila versions(after a fresh flash/reset)& do a full backup.This backup i like to call "basics". This includes phone settings aswell ie: Preferred ringtones, backlight settings etc. I then restore this backup each time i flash another rom,and its worked perfect for me so far. I then install other apps if want. Got to be honest,since i flash different roms often,i tend not to install alot of apps,only the ones i use regularly such as memmaid,resco explorer and the likes.
Sorry to go all long mate forgive me! just trying to explain my experience

Thank you all for your replies. I'll look into the back programs. Can't believe i didn't think of that!
Cheers!

Try Sashimi. A pretty nifty tool I found through the formums. It seems like a pretty complex tool, but seems like people who flash a lot, love it for keeping their apps intact after flashing.