How to restore apps/ActiveSync/etc. after ROM upgrade?

[quinxy]

I can't seem to figure out how people restore their apps, data, ActiveSync, etc. after updating their ROMs. It seems like people on this site replace their ROMs a few times a year at least, and with all the cleverness required to follow all the ROM issues, surely you can't all be manually re-installing every single app every time, etc. Are there some tools I don't know about that are useful for backing up/restoring files before/after ROM burn? Every backup program I see says you must not use it to restore after ROM update (which I understand, since you don't want to restore old versions of many key files). But surely someone could create a backup/restore app which knows which things should NOT be restored.

Thanks!

[pof]

I do rom upgrades quite frequently, now I can have my device back with my settings and programs installed in around 10 minutes, here's what I did:

1)Install registry workshop (http://www.torchsoft.com/en/rw_information.html) on your desktop computer, this program allows you to remotely browse / export the registry on the PocketPC and compare current regitry settings on PocketPC with a previously dumped registry file.

2) Install RegDiff (http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA000007/regdiff.htm) on your desktop computer, it allows you to generate .reg files out of two exported registry dumps done by registry workshop.

3) Spend a few hours going setting-by-setting and exporting the registry after changing each setting, compare and generate .reg file for that. Keep in mind that sometimes you need to power off the device for a while or soft reset for the registry setting to be permanently stored.

4) Once you have all the .reg files for your settings combine them in a single .reg file

5) Use WinCE Cab Manager (http://www.ocpsoftware.com/products.php?nm=cecabmgr) to combine the cabs of all the programs you install, set the registry settings, and put shorcuts to all applications into the right places. This is the most "time consuming" part of the process.

Finally I end up with 2 big cab files:
- First one is around 9Mb which I install on pocketpc memory, this includes all today screen plugins, plus Net CF 2.1 and some registry settings (mostly WM5 settings and preferences from the today plugins)
- Second one is around 25Mb which i install on storage card, this includes all the other 3rd party apps I like and registry settings for those apps.

What I do after hard reset or rom upgrade: Install the two cab files, setup mail accounts and mms manually and use directpush to sync all my contacts and calendar items again.

The process of exporting all the registry settings is a PITA, but it is worth spending the time if you're going to switch roms frequently.

[pkx]

Look for an app called Sprite Backup.

[Menneisyys]

Look for an app called Sprite Backup.

Yup, Sprite is the easiest. Be warned, however, that it isn't able to restore PIM databases over the AKU3 upgrade. See my Backup Bible, where I;ve explained this all.

[quinxy]

Wow, thanks. That's a lot of work to get things set up! Clearly worth it if you can re-install everything in 10 minutes, though.

I started to investigate your recommendations, installed Cab Manager, and see how you use that.

How do you get the cabs if the install isn't directly via cab? In other words, if the install is initiated via ActiveSync, then are the necessary cabs always found under the Program Files\ActiveSync directory?

As for Sprite Backup, it looks great, and maybe that would be enough for me for now. I wasn't clear (I did search through and skim the Backup Bible and the WM5 backup software comparisons but couldn't find exactly where it talked about the issue regarding AKU3) is the PIM issue a known bug? Or some limitation/problem related to new security or something?

Quincy

[pof]

How do you get the cabs if the install isn't directly via cab? In other words, if the install is initiated via ActiveSync, then are the necessary cabs always found under the Program Files\ActiveSync directory?

If it's installed via activesync you can find them there, but generally what I do is extract the cab files from the exe using orange (http://www.synce.org/index.php/Orange) in Linux, don't know if there's a windows equivalent.

[quinxy]

pof,

Don't know if you ever ActiveSync since you use Linux, but is there a way to NOT break your ActiveSync by upgrading your ROM? I thought I tried once, years ago, to set the device name back to the original name and ActiveSync still didn't recognize it as the old partnership.

quincy

[Menneisyys]

pof,

Don't know if you ever ActiveSync since you use Linux, but is there a way to NOT break your ActiveSync by upgrading your ROM? I thought I tried once, years ago, to set the device name back to the original name and ActiveSync still didn't recognize it as the old partnership.

quincy


If it doesn't recognize it, just delete the old partnership and recreate / reconfigure it . It's just some seconds.