Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

Just read this one too - it might help you to have an idea: http://discussions.europe.nokia.com/...ht/true#M29481

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

interestingly enough, i was just trying to figure out how to minimally back it up with a terminal over ssh, and found immense success.

after some testing, all you need is '/home/user/.cache/tracker/'!
{and /home/user/.local/share/data/libqtcontacts-tracker/photos for contact pix}
this is contacts and conversations and recent calls.

i backed it up {carefully record the perms and users}, then reflashed to factory default + openkernel {firmware, emmc, openkernel}. i then copied it back, set the perms, rsync'd it again to make sure it didnt change, then rebooted. when it booted back, everything was there.

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

I think that it is too complicated for a general purpose (laugh) ... but I did not even think that it could be done like that ...

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

while i agree this solution is not for everyone, its surprisingly simple. you just copy that dir out, and youre done. restoring it is copying it back and immediately rebooting. only caveat is thta it may take a few tries to restore; the backing up is easy and can be automated.

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

I just wish there was a way to export the entire conversation into a word documents as it is, would have been a DREAM come true lol

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

this is easy enough to do, if you are comfortable running commands in a terminal. i got mine working, anyway. {last week, i transferred my old n900's 7000 text messages to my n9. ive gotten only a few texts since, but all 7000 of the old ones came out alright.}

you can do it with meego-terminal on the phone, but it would be much easier to do on a faster desktop or laptop.

do you only need to do this once, or do you need to do this at intervals every so often {like, once a month}?

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

I would probably only need to do it once!
In saying that, once I have "run these commands":

- What is the risk of it corrupting my phone/conversations?
- What are the risks in general?
- How will I be opening/accessing the extracted conversation once I have taken it off my phone?

Thanks :)

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

first, let me say, if this sounds mysterious and hard, dont do it.
that being said, it is relatively easy and about as safe as anything you can do as root can be.

the only interaction you need to have with your phone is copying a single file off your phone {the message db}. once the file is copied from your phone, you would do everything on the linux computer.

so there are really no risks to your phone or conversations, unless you make a strange typo or something.

still, i recommend you use the built-in backup thing {Settings -> Sync&Backup -> Backup} before doing ANYTHING EVER.


so, you can copy the file n9=>pc easily, in two steps.
first, copy it to your MyDocs folder using the phone's terminal.
second, connect the phone to a computer and use the Mass Storage to copy it off.


step #1
requires root permissions, so be careful. if it works, there is no output.
in meego-terminal, type:
note: if it says 'Permission denied' while youre doing this, there is no way for you to copy the file without going through enormous pain {installing an openkernel}. you do not want to do that.

if you dont know how to get a terminal, look elsewhere on the forum.

step #2
when you connect the phone via usb and do mass storage, meta.db should simply be there for you to copy off like you would a music file.


once its off, you have the full database. you can manipulate it on the computer with no risks to damaging the data on your phone. you could, for instance, convert it several times, and store a pdf ordered by time, another pdf ordered by person, and a text file of just the conversations. the nice thing is that once you have this file, you could convert it LATER; the data is safe.

however, the db is extremely complicated, and there is no documentation for how its set up {as far as i know}. i guessed. ill give you my script, but what worked for me may not work for you. SOMETHING will work for you eventually, and the important thing is just to get the source data off the phone before your worst fears come true.

here is what my final output looks like {my friend and me, numbers changed to 5s and 2s}:

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

Wow!, thank you for such a detailed response!
I forgot how to access the terminal on the N9, having a really blonde day today lol

Also, once it has been formatted as you have included below, does that include both party's messages and PXT messages?

Sorry for the thousand questions, really appreciate the help!

Re: N9 Conversation Backup
 

no problem. i may have missed the boat, though; i have no idea what PXT messages are. i only have SMS messages working {sent and received}, nothing else; if you meant something else, sorry! i think that IMs and MMS also get funneled through here, but i havent explored the layout for them.

{also stored in this DB is every file you have ever touched on the phone, album art, email account information, instruction manuals and text, and a billion other things that REALLY shouldnt be. be careful sharing this file!}

now, as to formatting the db, you will need sqlite3 and, if you wanna run my script, perl. do not assume that my script will work; it is a hack, and must be a hack, because there is no documentation to work from.

to get a terminal, enable dev mode in settings->security. it will reboot automatically and terminal will be at the bottom. when youre done copying the file to MyDocs, you can turn off dev mode.