vB Easy Archive - BitPim to save phonebook backup?

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BitPim to save phonebook backup?
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Posted by: ecarvin

I can use BitPim to save my 8600's phone book to my computer as a backup, right? I looked at the file called "phonebook" and it looks like it has all my contacts in it -- although in an inscrutable hex format, of course.

I won't be able to manipulate it on my computer or anything (without some serious programming experience), but at least if I fried my phone I'd be able to upload my contacts back onto it, right?

Posted by: apollosmith

NO! I tried this and it fried my phone. Well, it might work as long as you don't make any changes to the phonebook that is stored on the phone (then there would be no need for the backup, right?).

I made a backup of my phonebook from my first phone (that the Verizon store fried), then uploaded it to the replacement phone they gave me. None of the phonebook entries were there. So, I started making a few dummy entries, then uploaded the phonebook file again. The dummy entries were replaced with the ones in my phonebook. So, I created a whole bunch of dummy entries and the reuploaded the phonebook and all of my contacts were there. Yippee, I though! I noticed that I had one extra dummy contact in there, so I deleted it and immediately the phone locked up and went into a boot loop. Back to Verizon for a new phone.

In short, the phonebook file is not the only one manipulated when you edit your phonebook. The nvm001 file is also changed each time and there is a relationship that I can't quite figure out. The nvm001 file seems to be an index file for the data stored in the phonebook file. Anyway, unless you can figure this out, be very careful with these files.

-Smitty

Posted by: ecarvin

Wow, I'm glad I asked.

I suppose I could create a backup of the phone's whole root directory, and if I ever screw up my phone and need a new one, I could upload everything from my computer onto it. That's a lot of data, but I guess it would have all the phonebook stuff in it, right?