Notices

1) Flash with a fiasco.

2) Turn on the system

3) Add devil and testing repo and Install backupmenu.

4) Turn off the system and create a root image with backupmenu.

5) Turn on the device and copy the root image in your hard disk on you PC.

6) Turn off the device and put it in flasher mode pressing U and plugging the USB cable

7) Flash the "customized" root image created by backupmenu. Even if this is identical to the original (exept for backupmenu).

8) Turn on the system and go to the settings/informations.

In practice.. Every image created by backupmenu, even the simplier with no flashing of the kernel, doesn't show the informations about the version of the system ..
Because this informations seem to stay in another "place" ... not in the root.

Huh, thats odd.
I mean, when I go to Settings > About Product, I see "Nokia N900, Maemo 5, Version: 10.2010.19-1.002, then the wifi mac, bluetooth and IMEI numbers...
Yours doesn't after a restore?

Just an update: I've got a beta of BackupMenu nearly done; I've run into issue after issue with getting it working.
First, it was getting all the required files and permissions for the chroot. Then, busybox-tar decides to crash if a read error happens. Then, busybox-tar also won't add files to archives, only create archives.

I ended up using gnu-tar and gnu-ls, as the busybox equivalents wouldn't do. After finding the actual files, and their dependencies(and realizing gnu-ls resides on /opt/, so it had to be copied to the rootfs first...), I finally have it more or or less working.

Now, just some more fixes, and I'll have something better than before. Hopefully.

No i see unknown version T_T

OK, alpha test version!

http://robbiethe1st.afraid.org/Backu...0100919.tar.gz
This is an alpha version, and -will not- restore!
Mainly because there's a glitch in the restore-file-selection code, but...

Anyway, instructions for install are as follows:
1. copy the above file to your MyDocs directory
2. Open up a terminal, sudo gainroot, then type: tar xvzf /home/user/MyDocs/backupmenu-20100919.tar.gz /
3. After it extracts, type:
cp /opt/maemo/usr/bin/gnu/tar /usr/share/backupmenu/
4. If you have the regular version of backupmenu installed, disable it:
mv /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenu.item /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenu.item.bak


To disable this new version:
mv /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenuLauncher.item /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenuLauncher.item.bak
And reinstate the old one:
mv /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenu.item.bak /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenu.item


Note that this version uses tar archives of the files instead of an image. Thus the resulting images cannot be flashed with the maemo flasher.
I may end up releasing a "bootstrap" image that allows you to flash it, then run BackupMenu and restore your files.

Anyway, I'd like the fearless among you to try this out, make backups of your root and optfs's.
Also of note is a file inside the resulting tar archive: "tarstatus". This file has any errors that Tar encounters, and I'd like you to post yours here(if it contains anything). If it doesn't exist... Let me know that also.

Ok, I'm done.
Here's the first beta of the above version. It should backup and restore properly, and hopefully work on -any- N900.
http://robbiethe1st.afraid.org/Backu...0100923.tar.gz
Remember: backup your files before testing this; There may be a glitch or two in it. Once you know it works for you, it should be safe.
Also, even if it -does- screw up, the backups -are- known to be good and should be fine. Also, being tar archives, its possible to fix errors in it(say a missing or corrupt file), then restore it, which wasn't possible with the old version.


Anyway, instructions for install are as follows:
1. copy the above file to your MyDocs directory
2. Open up a terminal, sudo gainroot, then type: tar xvzf /home/user/MyDocs/backupmenu-20100919.tar.gz /
3. After it extracts, type:
cp /opt/maemo/usr/bin/gnu/tar /usr/share/backupmenu/
4. If you have the regular version of backupmenu installed, disable it:
mv /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenu.item /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenu.item.bak


To disable this new version:
mv /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenuLauncher.item /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenuLauncher.item.bak
And reinstate the old one:
mv /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenu.item.bak /etc/bootmenu.d/BackupMenu.item


Go ahead and try it; I want to know if it works or not!
Note that the only three features to be testing and working are FSCK mode, Backup mode and Restore mode. Everything else... who knows.

You say now the backups are vanilla tar files. This means it's not possible any more to restore the rootfs backup through the flasher, right?

Yup. In order to do that you'd have to make a virtual UBIFS filesystem, load the files into it, image that with tar, and then restore that. All in all, painful and probably not worth it.

I did it this way because some people get errors with the img files - due to flash media errors. I may end up providing that functionality -also-, but only if this method ends up not being foolproof.
I probably -will- have to release a single flashable image that lets you get to BackupMenu, for if you completely screw things up.

mmmm ...

Nokia-N900:~# tar xvzf /home/user/MyDocs/backupmenu-20100919.tar.gz /
tar: /home/user/MyDocs/backupmenu-20100919.tar.gz: funzione "open" non riuscita: No such file or directory
tar: Errore irrimediabile: uscita immediata
tar: Child returned status 2
tar: /: non trovato nell'archivio
tar: Uscita con stato di fallimento in base agli errori precedenti
Nokia-N900:~#

@Dany-69: It installs if you start from / and untar without the last slash.