Pocket PC Thoughts: Saving Your Bacon with Spb Backup 1.0

Trial #1 – Full Backup, Soft Reset, Full Restore
For my first run, I decided to make things as easy as possible, and do a full backup and restore. Unfortunately, I also decided to do this with the Pocket PC in its cradle and attached to my laptop. Big Mistake! (as you’ll see in a moment.)

When you launch Spb Backup, you may notice that it only gives you the option to back up your files.


Figure 2: Spb Backup’s opening screen.

So where’s the Restore option? Well, if you think about it, since Spb Backup only produces self-extracting executables, there really isn’t need for the Restore option. Everything you need to handle the restore is within the package produced – but more on that later.

As shown above, there are three options for Backup – a Full backup in which everything on your Pocket PC is included (except, I’m assuming, files located on external cards); a Custom backup where you selectively pick which folders and files you want copied; or a Scheduled backup which can be set to run on a regular basis.

So, after selecting Full Backup, the next screen asks where you would like to place the backup.


Figure 3: Selecting a location for the backup.

By default, the file is named “Backup_” and suffixed with the current date. Its location is set to the first available storage card. If you want to change the location tap on the drop-down list in the Location box.


Figure 4: Choosing a different location for the backup.

If you want to place the backup within a folder on a card, choose the Custom option from the list.


Figure 5: Choosing a folder for your backup.