Notices

I got an email from Quim last night with that info(everyone declined got one, evidently), but after reading the requirements I decided not to try to apply:
1. They're looking for Qt apps, I'm not using Qt here
2. The reasons for declining me last time haven't changed, and
3. There's already 60+ people with valid-looking apps. If there were 20, I'd have a chance -- any app would be approved likely -- but with 60+, I'm sure I'd be declined.

Also, Aegis may be a problem... Though I'm sure it'll be able to be worked around.

[Edit]

these instructions are complex and no longer need to be done, instead use the files and instructions from
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...&postcount=915

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[original message]

Eureka !

I have finally gotten backupmenu to start directly from u-boot, testers needed,

download the zip archive from

http://www.box.net/shared/5tnq9ydnjmou9bc6raao

total size 5.6MB !

there is two ways to do this :

1) no repartitioning required ! but r&d mode required

2) by making a new partition on your sdcard, r&d not required.

instructions:

extract the content of the archive to the first Fat32 partition of your sdcard (can be ext2 if you have patched u-boot)

shutdown then start again(do not reboot), and let u-boot timer timeout. depending on where you got u-boot you may need to boot with the keypad slider opened.

special thanks to NIN101 from here

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1062613

this wouldn't have been possible without his kernel.

what should work :

charging, usb networking, mass storage, usb console, ssh server, checking all partitions, root console, backup and restore.

what has been tested :

basically nothing.

some issues :

1) it isn't colorful

2) there is a problem with modprobe, it only works correctly if your current directory is /lib/modules/2.6.37/
I made a symlink at /kernel to point to /lib/modules/2.6.37/kernel/

this would make it work if your current directory is / but this is not the proper way to fix..

if someone knows how to fix modprobe path please do !
I tried setting path in /etc/modules.conf
and using modprobe with -C <config file> to no avail
however this should not affect general use at all.

3) this requires r&d mode, there is watchdog support in this backupmenu, but the problem occurs way before that, uboot takes a long time to load the files, causing the device to shutdown right after starting the kernel.

this is how to enable r&d mode, and is to be done once :

Shutdown the N900, hold the U key to go into flashing mode then on your pc :

the advantage of this is that you are operating from the ram, not from the sdcard ! so you have complete control over all storage devices.

this also implies that any change to the content of backupmenu while it is loaded will not be preserved after reboot, as in reality you are modifying content that has been loaded in the ram.

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you can use this without r&d mode, but you will have to repartition your sd card for this :

first convert the backupmenu-uInitrd back to initrd.

dd if=backupmenu-uInitrd of=backupmenu.img.lzma skip=64 bs=1

lzma -d backupmenu.img.lzma

mkdir /mnt/backupmenu_temp

mount -o loop -t ext4 backupmenu.img /mnt/backupmenu_temp

now make an ext4 partition anywhere on your sdcard, size should be around 40 MiB, and mount that partition.
then

cp -ap /mnt/backupmenu_temp/* /media/<where you mounted the partition>/

then place the kernel(uImage) on your first partition of the sdcard, and write a uboot command file to reflect your setup.

should be something like :

replace mmcblk0p4 with where you created the new ext4 partition
and please note that mmcblk0 is your sd-card, and that the setenv command is actually a single line.

then convert it to a uboot script, call it boot.scr, place it on the first partition of your sdcard

the command used is :

again this command is a single line..

then boot it..

As requested by robbiethe1st, I now post my findings on using BackupMenu with a stock maemo kernel. The terminal mode will not work for starters, this is mainly due to the fact that there are lack of console fonts (kernel modules). The end result is that the user gets a blank screen with a rather nicely lit backlight. Pressing Ctrl+D (which is the default handle for logout) gets the user back to BackupMenu.

(update 18/08/2011): USB console requires USB networking to be started prior to starting the USB console. If USB console is started before USB networking is started or when USB networking was not even started one cannot get a login screen.

Yes, I see your doubt. And I can understand you...
Backup Menu is very hard to get it working at the N9. But if someone could get it running then you. (okay, perhaps only my own, naive opinion... but I'm absolutely convinced)
Quim's reply regarding the first point at your list was this:

Perhaps Nokia wouldn't love to see their Aegis system getting broken. But the copy protection from Sygic mobile maps worked also very well with your backup menu. I had simpy to register my new N900 again at Sygic.

A lot of problems... Nonetheless, I would love to see a N950 in your Hands! I would feel very unsafe buying a N9 without a toolkit like your Backup Menu.

Yea, sure. I'll apply. It doesn't cost me anything... but I won't hold out much hope.

Thanks. I don't hold much hope, too. But you should never give up. Nokia has not the biggest interest in your application. But in my opinion a big part of the community and a lot of developers (ready to brick their N9 several times a day) are very interested. I can't live without one of my personal super heroes on this list, even if he could get declined. You wouldn't know if you don't try. Hurry up!

hey robbie. i flashed my phone. i had the 2 files from backupmenu. i restored my phone n now it seems bricked. i doesnt boot. it just shows the bright white nokia screen n shuts down. please help? why did it not work?
edit: i think this is because the backup is like a month or two old and as robbie said it is not supported with the new version of backup menu. so robbie can u please give me the old backup menu's deb file so that i can restore tha backup like i did a month back? cause i really need the bakcup

Uh, one or two months shouldn't have mattered. the old version was last available about ~9 months ago.
Also, the old files wouldn't show up in the new version's restore list, so... it'd be pretty hard to restore.
I suggest:
1. reflashing back to stock
2. installing backupmenu
3. restoring.
That should fix it. More than likely you had a different kernel in the old backup than the new one(say power kernel, nitdroid, uboot...) and the modules weren't available. Hence, no booting.

thanks a lot. it worked

So, just checked. We have over 1,200 unique devices with BM 1.1 installed, and over 1,500 installs. Quite an accomplishment, I'd say.

That being said, I've gotten a total of $5 in donations -- total -- since releasing 1.0. No, I don't expect a huge amount, but it *would* be nice to have a few dollars around for things like extra case bits and batteries...

So yea. If you use it and like it backupmenu, please donate a few dollars. Link's on the first page.