Did I back up my Android phone correctly (copied phone + card tocomputer)

On Sat, 22 Nov 2014 01:13:04 +1100, Gordon Levi wrote:

Anyway, why don't you use KIES to create a backup?

Presumably because he may want to replace his S3 with a something not
made by Samsung. I don't think that Kies can cope with that.

Good point.

--
s|b

Paul wrote:
James P. Doolittle wrote:
BobbyM wrote, on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 12:44:57 +0900:

I have the Kies program installed on my computer. It listss all of the
items one can back up (16 items):

That's good information.
I've added below how I've manually backed up those 16 items:

And I guess that would be the definition of insanity.
Owning a device that cannot be properly maintained.

This is one reason there's no mobile junk in this household.

Who needs that kind of misery ? Why do I need to know
about "rooted" capability ? And so on.

It's basically these companies, holding their user
community... as hostages.

Do I want to develop a "14 step recipe" ? No... Just, No.

*******

There are software products like this, but they required
a rooted device, to be used.

http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/...omplete-guide/

Even when a PC is in seriously bad shape here (storage failure
imminent), I can at least take a stab at dd_rescue to make
a copy of *everything*. Doesn't matter what file system is on
it. Could be a FreeBSD system, could be Linux, could be Windows,
at least if you're allowed to copy the raw drive, you've got
some chance of restoring to working hardware. With
mobile_device_of_the_week, the outcome is less certain,
unless you're a level 39 wizard or something.

And there's really no reason for mobile devices
to be this badly designed. No excuse at all. It's
"hostage taking" at its finest.

JDS, if this isn't your cue, I don't know what *is*!

James P. Doolittle wrote:
VanguardLH wrote, on Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:17:58 -0600:

When you said "slower", were you thinking Kies couldn't use
a USB cable or that the Kies app seemed slower than whatever method

I had (wrongly) assumed that Kies only used WiFi.

Since Kies uses USB, then I don't think it should be any slower
than my manual backup using USB.

If Kies an do more than what I've figured out manually, that's good.

Make sure that Windows Explorer sees one or more 'hidden'
folders/files on both Android drives. In this context 'hidden' means
that the folder/file name starts with a dot ('.'). And if it's a folder,
then make sure that you see the stuff *in* that folder. For example for
my setup - Android 4.1.1 and Vista -, Android's File Manager shows the
'.android_secure' folder on the SD-card, but pretends it's empty, but
Windows Explorer *does* show the files in there.

As other have indicated, Android backup (without rooting) is a
non-existant concept. With careful analysis you will probably be able to
backup and restore your personal files, contacts, 'text's (SMS) and
hopefully email, but you're bound to lose some stuff like app-specific
settings, etc.. So be also prepared for that.

For the moment, I would advise to use your manual method *and* make a
backup with Kies.

But let's look on the bright side: With W8[.1], Windows 'backup' is as
bad as - if not worse than - Android 'backup'! :-(

Gordon Levi wrote:
"s|b" wrote:

On Thu, 20 Nov 2014 23:32:06 +0000 (UTC), James P. Doolittle wrote:

I connected my Samsung Galaxy S3 to my Windows computer
and slid over the entire "phone" and "card" directories.

Is there anything else I need to back up before resetting
the Samsung Galaxy S3 to factory defaults?

You should try asking in comp.mobile.android instead of a Windows
newsgroup. Oh wait, you just did...

Anyway, why don't you use KIES to create a backup?

Presumably because he may want to replace his S3 with a something not
made by Samsung. I don't think that Kies can cope with that.

That wouldn't be very kies, would it!? :-) Sorry, Dutch pun.

But seriously, there seems to be some 'standard' for the lower level
software which these kind of Android-to-PC applications use.

For example my Huawei 'HiSuite' software documents (via a built-in
FAQ) how to use it (HiSuite) with Android devices of other
manufacturers, like Samsung, HTC, Motorola, SONY, etc. and where to find
the (Windows) drivers for these brands. Maybe Samsung's Kies has a
similar facility. (I have a Samsung tablet but it's not holding anything
yet which needs to be backed up, so I haven't tried Kies.)

On Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:07:48 +0100, s|b wrote:

On Thu, 20 Nov 2014 18:11:27 -0600, Jesse Harris wrote:

PC Magazine suggests a simple copy always be your FIRST backup!
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423270,00.asp

| The First Copy
|
| I recommend making the first backup of your Android data be a copy of
| the SD card you keep on your computer.

A copy of the _SD card_ which doesn't have contacts on it. (Not in my
case anyway.)

SD card with no contacts? How can you access it?

Slowly I came to realize what you meant!

Finally I recalled what the thread was about: people's addresses and
such :-)

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On Fri, 21 Nov 2014 12:23:33 -0800, Gene E. Bloch wrote:

A copy of the _SD card_ which doesn't have contacts on it. (Not in my
case anyway.)

SD card with no contacts? How can you access it?

Slowly I came to realize what you meant!

Finally I recalled what the thread was about: people's addresses and
such :-)

That's a relief.

--
s|b

Gene E. Bloch wrote, on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 12:23:33 -0800:

Finally I recalled what the thread was about: people's addresses and
such

The thread is basically how to manually make a copy of what (may)
matter to an Android user to want to save *before* resetting a phone
to factory defaults (to fix other reasons).

1. Contacts & phone & SMS logs
2. Pictures & screenshots & video
3. Music & ringtones & voice records (including voice mail files)
4. App data such as map favorites, text memos, spreadsheets, shopping lists, etc.
5. Settings such as wifi passwords, swipe passwords, email passwords
6. Apps such as a list of apps to re-install and the home screen setup, background, etc.

I *assumed* that merely making a copy of the entire sdcard & phone
over USB cable copied all that; but I can't find most of what's above
in those files.

Where are they hidden?

Frank Slootweg wrote, on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 19:47:56 +0000:

For the moment, I would advise to use your manual method
*and* make a backup with Kies.

This seems like good advice to use multiple methods, because
I prefer a manual backup (for simplicity and failsafe) but I
can't seem to find half the stuff I thought I had backed up
by copying over the entire phone & sdcard directories.

1. Contacts & phone & SMS logs
2. Pictures & screenshots & video
3. Music & ringtones & voice records (including voice mail files)
4. App data such as map favorites, text memos, spreadsheets, shopping lists, etc.
5. Settings such as wifi passwords, swipe passwords, email passwords
6. Apps such as a list of apps to re-install and the home screen setup, background, etc.

BobbyM wrote, on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:17:05 +0900:

Whatever floats your boat

I don't understand what you're trying to intimate.

a. I want to back up what needs to be backed up.
b. I want that to be done the easiest most reliable way.
c. It needs to back up over USB cable to a laptop USB port.
d. I haven't found a single solution that works yet.
e. So, I'm trying a combination of solutions.

Why do you say "whatever floats your boat" without offering
advice on how to accomplish the requested task?

On Fri, 21 Nov 2014 22:46:03 +0100, s|b wrote:

On Fri, 21 Nov 2014 12:23:33 -0800, Gene E. Bloch wrote:

A copy of the _SD card_ which doesn't have contacts on it. (Not in my
case anyway.)

SD card with no contacts? How can you access it?

Slowly I came to realize what you meant!

Finally I recalled what the thread was about: people's addresses and
such :-)

That's a relief.

LOL!

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On Fri, 21 Nov 2014 22:29:47 +0000 (UTC), James P. Doolittle wrote:

BobbyM wrote, on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:17:05 +0900:

Whatever floats your boat

I don't understand what you're trying to intimate.

a. I want to back up what needs to be backed up.
b. I want that to be done the easiest most reliable way.
c. It needs to back up over USB cable to a laptop USB port.
d. I haven't found a single solution that works yet.
e. So, I'm trying a combination of solutions.

Why do you say "whatever floats your boat" without offering
advice on how to accomplish the requested task?

The phrase basically means "I'm glad you're happy", but it could be
meant sarcastically...

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On 11/22/2014 7:29 AM, James P. Doolittle wrote:
BobbyM wrote, on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:17:05 +0900:

Whatever floats your boat

I don't understand what you're trying to intimate.

a. I want to back up what needs to be backed up.
b. I want that to be done the easiest most reliable way.
c. It needs to back up over USB cable to a laptop USB port.
d. I haven't found a single solution that works yet.
e. So, I'm trying a combination of solutions.

Why do you say "whatever floats your boat" without offering
advice on how to accomplish the requested task?

You seem to know nothing about Kies, don't want to know anything about
Kies & don't want to use Kies. If you want to rely solely upon your
manual backup, it's fine by mine. I just I'd known that before I posted
my lengthy list of whqt Kies does back up!

Paul wrote, on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 03:14:16 -0500:

There are software products like this, but they required
a rooted device, to be used.

Everyone has their own preferences, but, I, for one, prefer
a *simple* manual method (so I'm not held hostage by the
application), and, I don't have a rooted device.

I'm not against rooting, but, I just haven't done the considerable
research that it takes not to brick the thing, as most of the
rooting web sites I've seen are in Chinglish and can't be trusted
for anything.

BobbyM wrote, on Sat, 22 Nov 2014 10:37:15 +0900:

You seem to know nothing about Kies, don't want to know anything about
Kies & don't want to use Kies. If you want to rely solely upon your
manual backup, it's fine by mine. I just I'd known that before I posted
my lengthy list of whqt Kies does back up!

Ah. I see. OK. Fair enough.

I had tried Kies, very long ago (two years maybe?), and all it did was make
it absolutely miserable to copy files over, one by one (never more than one
at a time), and, it was painfully slow over WiFi compared to USB cable (which
it didn't do).

From your suggestions, I must assume they've vastly improved the thing in
the past two years.

s|b wrote, on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 17:07:19 +0100:

Presumably because he may want to replace his S3 with a something not
made by Samsung. I don't think that Kies can cope with that.

Good point.

Well, yes, and no.

As I recall, I had used Kies looooong ago, and it was a complete POS,
but, it was so long ago, that I don't even remember what device I had
used it on (it may even have been an Apple device, for all I remember).

I "do" remember that it (the freeware, anyway) only transferred a single
file at a time, and, it wouldn't talk to the USB cable (so I had to use
WiFi instead, which was dog slow). Anyway, that extremely bad taste of
what I remember being Kies wasn't really why I was balking here.

The reason I was balking was that the risk is that Kies is going to hold
my data hostage. Luckily, I'm actually trying to factory reset a phone,
and then re-install what makes sense; but I'm also trying to *back up*
the data so that it can be used in the future (for example, if my
current phone is lost, broken, or replaced with a different phone).

What phone that will be, in the future, will need to be able to
accept the data that Kies backed up. There's far more chance of
that happening with the KISS manual methods than an all-in-one
iTunes-like solution, where the data is irretrievably enmeshed
(usually on purpose by the app developer) and stuck "inside" the
application.

But, since so many have suggested Kies, that's what I'll try next
and report back (at the moment, I can't install anything, because
the phone if full to the brim).