Sprite Backup

klinesamuel · 07-09-04, 03:18 AM

I was surfing the internet on my X30 in landscape mode. All of a sudden it locked up, the only way to get it to turn back on was to perform the dreaded hard reset.
Lucky for me I installed Sprite Backup last month and within three minutes I was surfing again like nothing ever happened.
If you ever thought about getting this program, do it. It is amazing.

07-09-04, 08:29 AM

Sprite Backup is one of the "must" have applications. Have had it for almost a year now and it has saved me many times. I always do a backup before installing any new software just in case something goes wrong.

reese · 07-09-04, 08:53 AM

I use sunnysoft backup manager. I like it, and it has helped me out when my new Axim came. I just backed up my old one, Cleared it, and restored my backup to my new one. My main PC never knew the difference! Very usefull.

Just my 2 cents

shdytxmn · 08-01-04, 04:42 PM

I have always been a strong proponent for Sprite Backup. I too have realized it's benefits many times.

pswets · 08-01-04, 09:16 PM

One more voice in the chorus: ditto. Sprite Backup turns a disaster into a non-event. For peace of mind alone it is worth it.

08-01-04, 10:37 PM

I agree whole heartedly about Sprite Backup. What's really nice that is that if you need to restore after a hard reset you don't have to be near your PC. The backup is self restoring.

08-03-04, 09:54 PM

Exactly Cheryl, I can go to from hard reset back to normal in less than 5 minutes. Just tap the self-executing backup file via File Explorer, and you're back in business in about 2 min!!

FallN · 08-04-04, 02:40 AM

Questions:

1. Do you have to reinstall Sprite to get the self-extracting file to load? (silly question, but I have to ask)

2. Does one have to install all of their programs or does Sprite do it for you?

Thanks in advance.

jacklew · 08-04-04, 03:00 AM

Falln -
1. No, just double click the file. However you can save a little room if you install Sprite Backup to BIS or SD and then save backups with native extension.
2. You can choose not to activate Battery Monitor, etc. IIRC, the install puts the files in the directory. You can remove the files if you want to save space.

08-04-04, 03:19 AM

I just wish the newest version of Sprite Backup were as spare and efficient as the slightly older versions. I tried to use this newer version for a week, but just couldn't stand the incredibly long delays while it scanned and showed me silly graphics, so I went back to an older copy and have of course had no problems with that. I just used it again the other day when a new piece of software went sour on me and forced a hard reset, as soft resets refused to complete. In three minutes all was normal, and I connecte to an Internet time server to synch my X5's clock using CityTime.

And to the question regarding program installations; I set Sprite up to backup absolutely everything to SD memory, registry, databases, files and all. I choose the compressed self-extracting EXE option, and have 'stop programs before backup' set as the default. Takes about 3 minutes to backup, slightly longer than if uncompressed but half the storage card space used as well. I have it automatically name files by date, and keep about a half-dozen on hand always just in case I miss something from a few days back. Selective restoration of the odd file is very fast and easy, as is restoring the whole registry or a database.

jacklew · 08-04-04, 05:11 PM

Using 3.0.1 build 1676 (mid July 2004) on all Axims. I set it up in Advance Mode and it does take less time scanning the file system on all 3 machines than v2.3. All I see while scanning the file system is the wait icon.

The only problem I have is that if the backup has finished without problems and I pull a report, it locks up. Not a problem since I have to reset anyway. If I don't pull a report and click OK, it does a reset to restart stopped processes, which is normal.

I haven't checked out the builtin Backup since early last year when I successfully backed up but failed to get pass ~70% when restoring. Retried to different media and still No Go, therefore I avoid the stock Backup program.

DELLaxim · 08-08-04, 04:54 PM

I am trying to install the "trial version" and have downloaded it from Sprite itself, as well as from Handango, and each time I install, I get an error on my PC that states the following:

"The installed version of the application could not be determined. The setup will now terminate"

This is with my Axim in the cradle, and out of the cradle. It's attempting to install to the PC, so what gives? I can't even get it to install to the PC so that it can install to my Pocket PC. Any help in this matter would be deeply appreciated. Thanks!

08-08-04, 05:34 PM

Yeah, that's a fun little error isn't it? I partook in a wasted few weeks of tech support exchanges with Sprite Support, which seems to have been contracted out, and they never resolved the issue. I do not know why the error happened on my notebook PC (my only PC), but it started perhaps 1 major and 2 minor releases ago in terms of Sprite. I tried just installing with the old version intact, which failed. I tried uninstalling the old version from the PPC and PC as they later recommended once they finally got back to me. I tried re-installing an old version to the PC and then uninstalling that, and still this version can not be determined error. I tried deleting every trackable component from the filesystem and registry of PC and PPC, and tried installing with two different PPCs connected, but nothing worked. Sprite Support was not able to resolve the issue, and though I asked, they ignored my requests for just a CAB file. Apparently they are not able to send these out or release them on their site, though over 2 years ago a Sprite staff member promised me that they were actively at work on a 'mobile version' of the site where CAB files could be downloaded. That never happened.

What finally changed for me was completely bizarre, something I have not been able to explain. One day I was rebooting the notebook because it had locked up. This was a forced power-off reboot, something I try to avoid but seems inevitable with Win98SE at least a couple of times per week. During the boot, a strange totally blue screen appeared, then a line of text flashed for about a second saying something about a registry recovery... I didn't see it clearly, just out of the corner of my eye and as I rapidly glanced towards the screen... Watching in complete horror, I saw the OEM's splash startup screen, something I'd not seen since the last time I reinstalled the OS on a cleaned disc. My desktop was a mess. None of my program settings survived, though it seems no registration codes got forgotten, just settings, preferences, customisations.

My last registry backup had been about a month earlier (I know, stupid me - I'm doing them twice a week now), and given the number of things I'd changed since were just too many to make a lot of difference from what I was seeing, so I decided to just start working on this new monster as it was. Over the next few weeks I modified settings as things came up, including DUN, email accounts, folder customisation, whatever. After about a week it occurred to me that trying to install Sprite might work now, as the registry might have been wiped of whatever bug was blocking me. Presto! It installed flawlessly to both PC and PPC! Since it was the registry which somehow reverted to something sort of halfway to virgin, I can only assume that Sprite had been corrupted somehow, or had corrupted something, which can only be fixed by wiping things back to something like factory-new condition. I'd thought it might be Activesync's records of installations and had uninstalled that and reinstalled without saving settings, but that had not made any difference. Nope, it must have been the registry.

So what can I tell you? Email me, gerard @ luthier.ca without the spaces, and I'll send you the CAB if you like. I forget if I've saved out the WM2003 version of the CAB or not, but will check if you like. No problem at all. Except, of course, that you still won't be able to install the PC side of the software... I'm not going to suggest that you wipe your PC hard drive and start over just for this, but it does seem that Sprite is unable to offer other solutions.

08-08-04, 05:40 PM

Yes, the best bet here would be to install it from the .cab file. I have it as well if you need it.

DELLaxim · 08-09-04, 12:10 AM

I've installed the trial version now, and though I do a backup, it gives me a error message at the end of the backup when it "verifies" that it is allcorrect. It states, "ERROR: CRC does not match" when I look at the log file. It does, however, politely tell me that if the error persists that I might want to check the storage, meaning my CF card. I'm backing up to the CF card, does this matter?