[Dim-Ize]

I wanted to update a game, The Bard's Tale, which requires 3+GB of free memory in order to install. So, I deleted Asphalt 6 Adrenaline HD (516MB) in order to free up some memory, installed my update, and attempted to reinstall this game from my uninstall list in App World. Regrettably, this now requires a purchase as it was a free game from RIM when I got it.

It is in a backup I did two weeks ago - but, when I open up DM - it only shows a few options: Application, Media, Settings, or something like that... I don't see how I can just select that game file from within the backup master file. I don't want to completely restore my PlayBook to several weeks ago - just that one game.

Is that possible or am I out of luck?

[peter9477]

It's not possible, sorry. Since 2.0 or so, backups are encrypted. A backup can't be extracted except by reinstalling to a PlayBook configured with the same BBID as the one it was generated on in the first place, which has the side effect of wiping out all other data (or so I recall... haven't done it more than once or twice, a long time back).

With any luck RIM will provide a "selective restore" capability with BB10, but I'm not holding my breath on that one...

[FF22]

It's not possible, sorry. Since 2.0 or so, backups are encrypted. A backup can't be extracted except by reinstalling to a PlayBook configured with the same BBID as the one it was generated on in the first place, which has the side effect of wiping out all other data (or so I recall... haven't done it more than once or twice, a long time back).

With any luck RIM will provide a "selective restore" capability with BB10, but I'm not holding my breath on that one...

Peter, I have not gone nosing around a backup file in a while - I pretty much gave up trying to backup using the Desktop software. Are all "files" or aspects encrypted such as media (photos, music, etc) or only the apps?

The original poster can try restoring just apps and hope for the best and then remove any freebies that can still be downloaded and then download the newer apps he/she wants.

[Herve5]

While this isn't of any help to the OP, I wonder whether having root access and a simple terminal app would allow actual machine backup...
It's for this kind of behavior, practically insulting the custome, that I dislike closed tablets in general...

[peter9477]

Peter, I have not gone nosing around a backup file in a while - I pretty much gave up trying to backup using the Desktop software. Are all "files" or aspects encrypted such as media (photos, music, etc) or only the apps?

I haven't done much either, other than when the change was first made. I confirmed that what used to be a standard "tar" file no longer was in spite of the .tar extension, and pretty much gave up investigating at that point. There's an encryption routine run on the output file as it's generated on the PB and/or transferred from the PB, and the Desktop Manager program basically has no idea what's there. In fact, the latest DM still offers an "encrypt backup" option, which I believe is now next to useless because it would only encrypt an already-encrypted blob of data.

If you want to back up media with a hope of getting access to individual files (without first having to restore the whole thing to a PB), use the sync functions or just copy things over WiFi from the Samba network share.

[saudadeii]

Well, you can rename the BBB to ZIP and then open it. You find an XML file and a bunch of DAT files. The XML lists what got backed up into each DAT file. However, that's as far as you'll get. I don't think the DATs are encrypted as much as they are binary data files. If you open them in Notepad, you *can* read some of them. Regardless, they're useless outside of DM.

[peter9477]

saudadeii, the outer file is still a regular .zip file, true.

It's the ones in the Archive folder, called settings.tar, app.tar, and media.tar, which are no longer just tar files. It is these files which were previously unencrypted, and which are now encrypted.