Before we get into the “how,” let’s discuss the “why.” Scouring the mytreo.net forums will yield horror stories about catastrophes, unplanned hard resets, and resets that make you lose all your preferences. The simple fact of the matter is that, when you own a device that is largely a means of information storage and access, it’s in your best interest to protect that data.

When you first get your Treo, you are prompted to install the accompanying software to your pc or mac, and then perform a hotsync. There are really two purposes to a hotsync: 1) to give your device a unique user name that will not only identify it during future hotsyncs, but allow software to be registered to that unique name, and 2) to create a backup on your computer of all the information stored on your handheld. So your first lesson is: Sync often, and sync regularly. Something will happen to cause you to need that backup. It’s just a matter of when.

The major advantage your Treo has over your mac or pc is its portability. You take it with you everywhere you go. It only stands to reason that some day when you’re away from your home or office, something is going to happen causing you to lose all that precious information you have stored on your Treo. The kinds of things that can cause you to lose information are too numerous to mention. It is important to know there are many, and one of them will affect you.

This is why it is important to have some secondary method of backing up your data. Let’s briefly discuss these secondary methods of backup. This is not meant to be a software review, we will save that for another time. The purpose of this article is merely to impress upon you the importance of keeping regular backups, and some of the features existing in the various applications available.

The majority of the backup applications you find, depend on using your SD card to store the backup set. Here are some of the applications available:

• BackupBuddy VFS

• BackupMan
• RescoBackup
• Backup Lite
• Card Backup
• myWorkbench

This is by no means a complete list, and some of the apps listed have multiple versions such as personal and professional. All of these apps come with trial periods, so as usual, I strongly urge you to try them all before settling on any one.

Features

The next thing we need to examine is what exactly gets backed up, how it gets backed up, and which method you are most comfortable with.

• Automatic or manual backup: set a time for the backup to start itself and save to your sd card. Some of these apps will allow you to save only one backup set, others will allow you to save as many as you want. Some do not give an automatic option.

• Backup set naming: Depending on the app you use, you will have to take a sequential backup set name, or you can give a set a unique name.
• File inclusion:
  • Include all files on your Treo to backup to your sd card

  • Incremental – add only the changed files to your last backup.
  • Choose which files are backed up

Most people with whom I’ve discussed this, are happiest doing incremental backups. I, however, prefer doing a full backup so that I can revert to a specific recent date if I have problems. It’s all personal preference.

One last option I want to point out is backing up to a server with BackupBuddy.Net. Unlike the programs mentioned above, this one does not need an sd card. Instead of purchasing an application, there is an annual fee, and you need a data connection. This is a great alternative to sd cards which can get lost or get corrupted.

Remember: you never plan on an endless reset loop. Be prepared – have a good backup ready.

Related Links

SD card

BackupBuddy.Net

BackupBuddy VFS

BackupMan

RescoBackup

Backup Lite

Card Backup

myWorkbench

Filed under: How-to guides