helping you stay protected in the digital age

I use many different PCs and sometimes, very rarely in fact, do I sometimes have to re-install my operating system due to various issues on one or the other. One thing I don’t enjoy doing is going program-by-program and manually backing up my data. Sometimes I forget a program and realize it afterwards… when I can’t find something.

One way I prevented myself from manually backing up (and accessing) my Blackberry Intellisync data is by moving it to a network folder. This allows the network drives, in a RAID configuration, to not only add a layer of redundancy to my data but allows me to access this data from multiple PCs either when I don’t have access to one of them or if I am recovering a PC from a serious problem. I don’t know if there is an easier way of doing this but it is very easy if you have a shared folder or drive on a PC or server on your network.

I am using, and own, a NAS (network attached storage [server]), Blackberry Desktop Manager 4.3, and another computer used to run the Blackberry Desktop Manager [BDM] in this instance it is my Gateway CX2610 Convert able Notebook PC running Windows XP Professional.

1. Once you have your network share running (and security permissions appropriately set mind you) click the “Options” on the BDM located in the upper left corner of the program. See “How to configure file sharing in Windows XP” if you need instruction.



2. Next, select “Data Folder Settings”. A new window should appear.



3. Click the radio button labeled “Use This Specified Folder” and then the “Browse” button. Navigate to your network share. For me, this meant navigating to a folder labeled “Blackberry” in my “My Documents” folder (as my “My Documents” folder is available offline on a NAS share).



4. Select “Ok”. You should be brought back to your previous window. Check the “Current Folder” against the “Use This Specified Folder” locations to determine whether or not your Intellisync default location moved. Mine has as it now resides on a mapped drive “Z”.



5. Once you select “Ok” you’ll be prompted with a window asking you if you are sure you want to move your data folder. Select “Yes”.

I ran a manual backup sync of my Blackberry then opened the “Blackberry” share to make sure the most recent data was in the replicated folder, and sure enough it was!

To use the same Intellisync data on multiple PCs say with the same Blackberry phone install Blackberry Desktop Manger on another PC on your network, and follow the instructions above to “move” your Intellisync folder to the same network share. Now your Blackberry Desktop Manager will pull your Intellisync data from the same share.

A simple trick/tip to access and backup your Intellisync data!

~ by johndball on December 23, 2007.