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Backup Module vs Hotsync?


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Topic: Backup Module vs Hotsync?

plutnicki
Member

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 39

I Hotsync with my PC fairly regularly and don't travel much.

Is there stuff that the Backup Module does that a Hotsync doesn't cover?

Thanks,

------------------
...Jim

01-14-2000 03:52 PM

Soul Raven
Member

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 239

From what I understand, the Backup module backs up every bit of data in internal memory, where Hotsyncing only backs up databases. This means that if you only Hotsync and lose your data, you can sync to restore the data files, but you would have to re-install all of your applications (games, DOC readers, etc.) and sync again to get them on your Visor. With the Backup module, you would just have to pop in the module and hit "Restore", and everything would be put back in it's place, games and all.

------------------
Soul Raven - "Sm� hjerne, stor gl�de"
Wherever you go, there you are.
-----
The views and opinions expressed in this message are mine.....all MINE! And you can't have them! HAHAHAHAHA!

01-14-2000 04:03 PM

Eug
Member

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 434

quote:
Originally posted by Soul Raven:
From what I understand, the Backup module backs up every bit of data in internal memory, where Hotsyncing only backs up databases.

Unless you're running extra software which sets up everything for backup.

01-14-2000 06:03 PM

Soul Raven
Member

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 239

You are correct, sir. Programs like BackupBuddy, while I have not used them to comment intelligently (and some would question if I could comment intelligently on ANYTHING....(Kether, my little American babushka, where are you?)), allow one to back up more than regular hot-syncing.

------------------
Soul Raven - "Sm� hjerne, stor gl�de"
Wherever you go, there you are.
-----
The views and opinions expressed in this message are mine.....all MINE! And you can't have them! HAHAHAHAHA!

01-14-2000 07:03 PM

Ken
Member

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 107

So then, does it matter which one I invest in ... the BackupBuddy or the Backup Module? Or are they basically the same thing?

01-20-2000 06:12 PM

Soul Raven
Member

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 239

I would say that both BackupBuddyNG and the Backup springboard perform the same function, just implement it differently.

The Backup module is a springboard, compact, self-contained, and easy to use......and if you are like me, easy to lose. Don't worry, I found it.

BackupBuddyNG requires a Hotsync operation, so you have to schlep along a PC/laptop for it to be of any use.

Personally, I bought the Backup module for ease of use, and for the fact that I don't take my laptop EVERYWHERE. BackupBuddyNG is cheaper, I think, and if you are always close to a PC, pretty easy. I haven't used it, but I understand it is invisible when you Hotsync.

------------------
Soul Raven - "Sm� hjerne, stor gl�de"
Wherever you go, there you are.
-----
The views and opinions expressed in this message are mine.....all MINE! And you can't have them! HAHAHAHAHA!

01-20-2000 07:57 PM

Eug
Member

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 434

OK. So right now I'm on vacation. One hour into the first flight I get bored and start playing with all the newly loaded software on my Visor. Oh no! Major crash -- looping reset. So I try a few soft resets. Nothing. I try a few warm resets. Nothing. I take out the batteries for a few seconds --> stops looping. Try another reset --> back to looping. I'm on the plane sweating and doing this for another 10 minutes. Same thing happens. Finally I give up. Hard reset --> lose all my data.

Fortunately, I synch with excite so that my contact info is on the net, but it's a hassle.

I'm trying to figure out how to order a backup module from Canada, but haven't figured that out yet.

Now my Visor is a very expensive note pad and calculator. There aren't even any games to keep me amused on the plane. Eug is not happy.

------------------
Eugene Hsieh
Editor, VisorCentral FAQ

01-20-2000 10:42 PM

pubwvj
Member

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 45

quote:
Originally posted by Soul Raven:
From what I understand, the Backup module backs up every bit of data in internal memory, where Hotsyncing only backs up databases. This means that if you only Hotsync and lose your data, you can sync to restore the data files, but you would have to re-install all of your applications (games, DOC readers, etc.) and sync again to get them on your Visor.

What I do is I have organized on my desktop computer (Macintosh PowerBook G3w) a folder called set which mirrors what I have on my Visor plus more stuff I am considering or just want to keep available. It looks something like this:

Palm: (where the install went including...)
.... Conduit Manager
.... HotSync� Manager
.... Palm� Desktop
.... Serial Port Monitor
.... Backup Users
.... Conduits Folder
.... Extras Folder (where I put things I don't use much)
.... Manual Folder (Manuals, tech support, etc)
.... Users Folder (Where my backup/sync is)
.... Visorware Folder
........ Installed Folder (programs, info, etc - original .prc, pdb, readme's, etc.)
............ Apps Folder (Most of this level appear as categories on Visor)
............ eReaders Folder
............ eBooks Folder
............ eRef Folder
............ Education Folder
............ Graphics Folder
............ Music Folder
............ Play Folder
............ Science Folder
............ Travel Folder
............ Utilities Folder
............ Hacks Folder
........ Xtras Folder (dup of Installed but no room. e.g., more eBooks, more games...)
........ Trying Folder (stuff I'm trying out)
........ Buy me! Folder (Stuff I intend to buy (shareware usually))
........ Find Me Folder (List of stuff I'm looking for or for just a better version of)
........ Later (Stuff that I'm not ready to try yet but want to keep for trying later)
........ Handspring Folder (misc. Handspring stuff like devkit, etc.)

I have cleaned all the folders in the Installed Folder up such that simply dragging and dropping that folder into the HotSync Install window will install all of my program and reference files. This makes doing a restore easy and keeps a nice referencial mirror between my Macintosh and the Palm.

Additionally I use a backup bit set program on the Visor to occasionally do complete backups and then I archive those with StuffIt.

------------------
Walter

BlackLightning's cool laser printer iron-on Transfer Toners
& Flash Magazine [email protected] or 1-800-252-2599

[This message has been edited by pubwvj (edited 01-25-2000).]

01-25-2000 08:15 AM

Mark Squires
Member

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

quote:
Originally posted by Soul Raven:
You are correct, sir. Programs like BackupBuddy, while I have not used them to comment intelligently (and some would question if I could comment intelligently on ANYTHING....(Kether, my little American babushka, where are you?)), allow one to back up more than regular hot-syncing.

The easiest way to achieve that is with LaunchEm, which comes with a utility that forces a backup on demand for whatever you want. I was appalled awhile back to find that some (but for some reason not all) of my apps, just as you said, were not backed up. So after a hard reset I had to reinstall several shareware programs. Not any more....I love LaunchEm

01-26-2000 07:29 PM

Mark Squires
Member

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

quote:
Originally posted by Ken:
So then, does it matter which one I invest in ... the BackupBuddy or the Backup Module? Or are they basically the same thing?

Ken, I often said to people in the past that it didn't matter if I lost my Visor data because I already had it all backed up on my desktop. This is largely true.
But there is one big difference: If I'm on the road, or on vacation and I either HAVE a lot of data I need, or am adding to it regularly, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere near my desktop for days if not weeks. A lot of good it does me to know that the train schedules for my Paris-Amiens trip are backed on my desktop when I'm in Paris and 3000 miles and 7 hours away, right? And what makes this situation very possible is the issue of having to change batteries on the road. If you fumble one away and there are no batteries in the unit for more than a minute or so, you lose all your data, and (even assuming you had nothing new) have no way to get it back until your next hot sync. That would be a real bummer if I were depending on my Visor (as I do) for phone contact info, scheduling, travel info, foreign lanugage dictionaries, e-book reader, etc....

So mostly you don't need a backup module. But when you do need it, it's indispensable.

01-26-2000 07:33 PM

MarkH
Member

Registered: Jan 2000
Location: SW Virginia
Posts: 19

I know this was dumb on my part, but in retrospect, I think it would have been nice if Handspring had made a note of this on their web site. I had ordered a Visor for my wife earlier w/ the backup module. Today I ordered another Visor for myself and like a total boob didn't even think about ordering another backup module. I figured that there must be a way to use the backup module on 2 different handhelds, such as by User ID's or something. Actually, I hadn't given it a whole lot of thought (obviously). It was only after I ordered and then decided to try out the Backup Module, that I realized my mistake. Unfortunately with Handspring there is no way to correct an order despite having placed it only an hour earlier on the Net, so it looks like I am going to be paying an extra $8.95 for shipping. ugh - Just thought I would post this note in case someone else was as dumb as I've been!

02-01-2000 08:57 PM

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