[GrapheneMan]

How to read a BlackBerry Desktop Software Backup from a mis-matched OS.
I have noticed a lot of restore questions being raised due to mis-matches between OS versions etc.

I answered some questions with my solution which has worked but it appears to be missed by some people so I have posted the solution in its own this thread, hopefully it will be easier to find.

(Hope the Moderator does not object to the effective re-post, intent is to help more people by being more visible ..... please delete this thread if it breaks any rules)

I was able to read a backup from 2.0.1.668 on the 2.1.0.840 beta, which was not being recognized at all.

It should work between any 2.x.x.xxx versions.

It requires a bit of work changing a file in the backup file (the file called [xxxxxx].bbb where [xxxxxx] = the name of your backup)

Note: Instructions are based on Windows 7 PC.

[The .bbb file appears to be a zip archive of a number of QNX tar archives ( 1 or more) with a Manifest file & PkgInfo file to describe the overall 'Backup' package.]


See attached pdf file as it is too large to post and includes screen caps.

Hope it is useful.

[diegonei]

Your PDF asks for a password.

And you know, we really wouldn't mind if you used 3-4 replies to show how it is done, it would help with search querries.

[pacoman03]

It opens for me, as read only, without problem and without a password.

[GrapheneMan]

The PDF is Read-Only .... it is the default I use to prevent changes being made accidentally or otherwise.

Old work habits die hard :=)

If it is a problem I can send it in another format if you let me know or remake it without the password.

I will try posting it into single post, if possible.

The PDF opens in Adobe Reader, Foxit PhantomPDF and misc viewers on Win7 and PDF viewers on the Playbook with no problem. i.e. Does not ask for password.

Please try again and let me know what the error message is.

[GrapheneMan]

***** Instructions re-done for people who cannot read the attached pdf *****

Apologies for fuzzy pics - caused by scaling to make them readable

How to read a BlackBerry Desktop Software Backup from a mis-matched OS.

I was able to read a backup from 2.0.1.668 on the 2.1.0.840 beta, which was not being recognized at all.
It requires a bit of work changing a file in the backup file (the file called [xxxxxx].bbb where [xxxxxx] = the name of your backup)

Note: Instructions are based on Windows 7 PC.

[The .bbb file appears to be a zip archive of a number of QNX tar archives ( 1 or more) with a Manifest file & PkgInfo file to describe the overall 'Backup' package.]

************************************************** *******************************
IF YOU DO A 'FULL' RESTORE I WOULD ADVISE THAT ONCE THE DATA HAS BEEN RESTORED AND COPIED TO SOMEWHERE SAFE
THE PLAYBOOK IS RE-INSTALLED WITH A CLEAN BUILD OF OS
AS THE SETTINGS FROM A MIS-MATCHED OS MAY CAUSE PROBLEMS. BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
>>>> MAKE A COPY OF YOUR *.BBB FILE *NOW* TO ENSURE THAT IT CANNOT BE LOST OR CORRUPTED <<<<
>>>>> Y O U H A V E B E E N W A R N E D <<<<<
************************************************** *******************************

Example:
"BlackBerry PlayBook 12345678 (09-04-2012).bbb" is the name of a backup I have made, it is found in
"C:\Users\[xxxxxx]\Documents\BlackBerry\Backup\" where [xxxxxx] is your user name on windows 7.

The BlackBerry Desktop Software will tell you where your backup is saved if you select 'Device Options' and hover the mouse cursor on the Blue underlined text next to the Change Button. [A pop-up tooltip will appear with the full path]



You will need winrar, please download the trial version and install from WinRAR archiver, a powerful tool to process RAR and ZIP files
The default trial period will be enough to do what you need, buy it if you want it and find it useful.

When installed right-click on the *.bbb file that is the backup you require and select 'Open'



on the pop-up window click the radio button for 'Select a program from a list of installed programs

From the list of installed programs select 'WinRAR archiver' and OK
You will see a display like the following window.



The file you want is Manifest.xml, left button click and drag the file to a known folder/location.

At this point make a copy of the file called Manifest-ORIGINAL.xml ....... this is your backup and can be restored if all else fails.

The contents of the file will be like this for a Full backup (with 3 different Archive ids):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<BlackBerry_Backup><Version>2.0</Version><Client platform="windows" osversion="Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1" dtmversion="7.1.0.32"/><SourceDevice pin="12345678" hwid="6001A06"><Platform type="QNX" version="2.0.1.668"/></SourceDevice><QnxOSDevice><Archives><Archive id="app" name="Application Data" count="134" bytesize="3399553492"/><Archive id="media" name="Media" count="268" bytesize="14575952852"/><Archive id="settings" name="Settings" count="969" bytesize="1337828"/></Archives></QnxOSDevice></BlackBerry_Backup>

With an editor that does not change the layout or format of the file such as notepad.exe or with a hex editor you need to change the items in BOLD.

pin = the pin of the Playbook the backup will be restored to.
version= the OS Version of the Playbook being restored to i.e 2.0.1.358 or 2.0.1.688 or 2.1.0.840

The pin and OS Version will be displayed by the BlackBerry Desktop Software when you connect the Playbook and it makes the connection for the backup software.

When the Manifest.xml file has been edited/changed the file can be dragged to the winRAR window to overwrite the original Manifest.xml file.
At this point if the changes are correct the file will be recognized by the BlackBerry Desktop Software as a valid backup and you will be able to choose what you want to restore.

Please follow these instructions carefully as this procedure has been used and it does work.