MS Cloning Method to Quickly Restore Data After ROM Upgrade

[Tron_Of_Borg]

I'd like to toss this out for discussion. This might already exist, it might not.

Microsoft had system builders use a Disk Differencing technique to extract what exactly had changed after installing applications and customizations.

First, we'd install the OS and create a base image.
Second, we'd install the apps & customizations we wanted for our customers.
Third, we'd create another image. An app would then compare these two images and determine what files were added/changed and what registry additions, deletions, alterations were performed.

I'm hoping we can do the same for ROM upgrades.
1. OLD ROM - Base image.
2. Install apps and customizations - Image "Apps". This will give us our customizations.
3. Install new ROM - NEW base image created. Compare to OLD ROM base image to see what has changed (that we need to look out for that our APPs image might adversly change).
4. Apply Apps image to restore all customizations & applications.

Ideas anyone?

[jasonkruys]

The theory sounds good.

Maybe buzz can comment?

[Carnivor]

The theory is very feasable, ive used similar building Win PE rescue disks, you have a app that gives you the base bootable image made from a Win XP install CD. then you add home made "modules" ie, your installed apps or networking capabilities etc. then it makes an image for you to use,

that cant really be that difficult to do the same for Win CE,

Ive also seen a M$ webcast thing where the guy took 45 mins to build an entire image for a win ce device,

so yer, it is very feasible that such dev apps exist, after all, they were made and then sold to the hardware vendors before ever being a rom image.

check in msdn for win ce 5 stuff, its a very intresting read, :shock:

[buzz_lightyear]

it is a good idea, but only for linear ROMs, where each file has always it's own and same place in the rom and such rom is not compressed.
hmm...

but you can do partial rom upgrades with wm5 roms...

...and it would be possible to make registry diff + DOC Storage partition backup, where you actually install programs (so called \Device) and userdata.

buzz

[Tron_Of_Borg]

it is a good idea, but only for linear ROMs, where each file has always it's own and same place in the rom and such rom is not compressed.
hmm...

but you can do partial rom upgrades with wm5 roms...

...and it would be possible to make registry diff + DOC Storage partition backup, where you actually install programs (so called \Device) and userdata.

buzz

Ok...Since I'm not a programmer and somewhat of a noob with respect to WinCE, I am NOT constrained by what might be a logical limitation to a programmer or someone in the "know". So, below is my thinking ... outside of the box (er, PDA) style.

But first, I need to grasp further Buzz's post above about the locations of things in ROM. Does this mean that there isn't, for lack of a better example, a FAT for the ROM? That every individual thing is expected to be at some specific, static location that can't change? If so, I see your point. But that tells the system that this location is static? Also, doesn't that make bug fixes difficult as the fix might exceed the designated space in ROM? Or do bug fixes always get re-applied after each reset? Patching in memory is how I'm looking at this. (Remember, I'm a non-programmer...deal with me, please.) LOL

Ok..out of the box time.
1. Can a shim be used to capture calls to a certain location in the ROM and redirect to another location (within the ROM or even the storage card. Linux builds anyone?). Like what HD disk managers did to get around LBA limitations or even boot sector viruses did.

2. Can an emulator be used to simulate/backup/build/test the ROMs on a PC before wiping the PDA? Don't laugh, but if not, could something be done with Virtual PC? Oh..Ok, laugh.

(Should I go hide somewhere?)