Use the BlackBerry Desktop Software - Backup and Restore
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The Desktop Manager software contains a feature called Backup and Restore that enables you to back up everything or selected items on the BlackBerry to a file on your PC. In the event of some problem, you can use the backup file to restore the data on your PC. Backing up files is one of those tasks that most of us tend to ignore—until there is a problem, anyway. Most PC operating systems include backup software that is often not used in a way that consistently protects data.
Because the BlackBerry is a portable device, you are always in jeopardy of losing data. The unit may be damaged, stolen, or lost, and the more you use your BlackBerry, the more important the information stored on the unit will become. You can alleviate any fears of losing information by simply performing a backup and keeping those backup files on your PC. In the event of a problem, you can easily recover any lost information.
If you open the Desktop Manager, you see the Backup and Restore icon. Double-click the icon (or select it and click File | Open) to open the Backup and Restore dialog box, as shown in Figure 5-3. The following sections show you how to use each available component of Backup and Restore.
Did you Know? Backup Filenames
When you work with Backup and Restore, it is very important that you use unique names. You’ll want to be able to distinguish one backup file from the next, and you’ll also want to know what file is most current. For example, if you created a backup file on Monday and one on Wednesday and your BlackBerry had a catastrophic failure on Friday, you will want to use the Wednesday backup file in order to restore the most current information to the BlackBerry unit. For this reason, a filename that includes the date is very effective. I recommend that you use the default filename, but if you want to use another naming convention, do consider using one that provides the current date within the name.
Full Backup A full backup saves everything on your BlackBerry unit to a file on your computer’s hard disk. By default, the file is named “Backup-(yyyy-mm-dd),” where yyyy is the year, mm is the month, and dd is the date; a typical backup filename might be Backup-(2004-07-22), which tells you that the backup file was created on July 22, 2004. You don’t have to use this default filename, however—you can easily change it to whatever you want.
To begin a full backup, just click the Backup button in the Backup and Restore dialog box. This opens a dialog box, shown in Figure 5-4, where you can select the filename and choose a location on your computer in which to save the file. (You might consider creating a new folder in My Documents for this purpose. If you choose a different folder, just remember the folder name and where it is located on your computer.) Also, notice that the backup file will be saved as an IPD file. This file type is specific to the BlackBerry, so you should not change the extension to save the file as some other type. Doing so may prevent you from using the backup file for a restoration.
Figure 5-3 Backup and Restore helps you protect your BlackBerry data.
Figure 5-4 Choose the save location and change the filename, if you like.
Once you make your selections, click the Save button. The backup process begins, and you see a status indicator window, as shown here. From this point, the process is automatic and requires no further intervention from you. Once the backup is complete, you’ll notice the IPD file appears in the Windows location you selected.
How Often Should You Back Up?
A common question concerns the frequency of backup: how often should you back up data on your BlackBerry? That question is subjective, of course, but the idea is to have the most current data backed up at all times so that it can be restored in the case of a failure. Here are a few guidelines that will help you make a decision that is right for you:
- If data changes infrequently on your BlackBerry, back up once a week.
- If data changes often, back up every three days.
- If data is critical, especially e-mail messages, back up every day.
- If you make a number of configuration changes on the BlackBerry,
back it up that day.
Tip: Subsequent backup operations do not “write over” the previous file. For example, let’s say you created a backup file yesterday. When you create one today, the new file is given a different filename—it does not overwrite the old file unless you assign the same name and choose to replace the old file. As you can imagine, when several different backup files are available, the inclusion of date names as part of the backup files can be very helpful.
 This chapter is from How to Do Everything with Your Blackberry, by Curt Simmons (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2004, ISBN: 0072255870). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now. |
Next: Restore a Backup Job, Perform Selective Backup >>
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