BackupBuddyVFS' manual describes certain basic operations, such as basic backup and restore as well as advanced backup, restore, and encryption.

The BackupBuddyVFS manual is available in Adobe PDF format. If you do not have an Adobe PDF reader, you may download the free Adobe PDF reader here. Once you have installed the reader, please click here to view the BackupBuddyVFS manual.

How to I upgrade to the latest BackupBuddyVFS Pro? Is it free? We are happy to release an update to BackupBuddyVFS, now at version 4.3. Please note this is a PAID update to BBVFS Pro users who have purchased before March 2006. If you purchased after March 1, 2006, BBVFS Pro 4.3 is a free upgrade. If you have questions, please contact upgrades and include your order information. With the release of BBVFS 4, version 3.x will no longer be updated. Please note if you are using BackupBuddyVFS Personal(lite) you cannot upgrade with a demo version. Personal version customers please see your sales email/order information for your purchase and you can download a new version from that link. If you are an older BackupBuddyVFS Version 2.x customer, it is a paid upgrade. You can contact upgrades for upgrade pricing from BackupBuddyVFS 2.x.

My BackupBuddyVFS "Last Backup" date is not working after. What's wrong? This has been fixed in version 3.2 or better. Please download a newer BBVFS and install to your handheld over your current verison to fix this issue. We apologize for any inconvenience. You can Download BBVFS Pro here.

Can I use BackupBuddyVFS on my device? BackupBuddyVFS is only for use with devices that have SD expansion cards or  Memory Sticks®.  The only devices for use with BackupBuddyVFS are the devices with MemoryStick or SD and MMC card capability.

Which version of BackupBuddy do I use? Pro, Personal, Family, VFS? What are the differences? BackupBuddy for Windows, BackupBuddy.Net and BackupBuddyVFS are different and separate programs. Which you use depends on if you want to backup to your desktop PC when you HotSync or if you only want to backup to your handheld device's memory card. BackupBuddy.Net is only for Treo Smartphones to backup to a internet server, BackupBuddy for Windows works when you hotsync, while BBVFS backs up to the card only. You can use both for the best backup solution. We have a Bundle that includes BB for Windows and BBVFS Professional version. (visit our online store) BackupBuddy for Windows Professional comes with BBVFS Personal version which is limited in options and prefs..

Here is a summary of our backup programs:

• BackupBuddy.Net- BackupBuddy.Net makes it easy for everybody to securely backup their Treo over the Internet. Please note this is only for Treo SmartPhone devices at this time.

• BackupBuddy for Windows and Mac OS X Professional- main program for your desktop or laptop, but includes BackupBuddyVFS Personal version for your handheld as an option. Also has many features and options including multiple backup sets, memory card backup, zoomback etc.

• BackupBuddy for Windows Personal- only for your PC and has no advanced options or prefs.

• BackupBuddyVFS Professional- only for your Palm device so you can backup to a memory card. Includes multiple backup sets (checkpoints), encrypted backup, compression and other features.

• BackupBuddyVFS Personal- only for your Palm device and has only basic backup/restore. No prefs or options.

• BackupBuddy for Windows and BackupBuddyVFS Professional Bundle- includes both BB for Windows Pro and BackupBuddyVFS Pro.

• BackupBuddy for Windows and Mac OS X Family Pack- includes BackupBuddy for Windows and Mac OS X Pro and licensing for as many handheld devices you sync to your computer. This comes with BackupBuddyVFS Personal. If you would like the Family Pack and BackupBuddyVFS Pro, you would have to purchase the BackupBuddyVFS Pro separately. One Family Pack purchase and one BBVFS Pro purchase would cover your whole family's devices.

Does BackupBuddyVFS work with Palm OS 5?
Yes! Our newest version has OS 5 support. BackupBuddyVFS also has support for Tungsten T3-5 Full screen and Landscape display. The latest version supports the Lifedrive and the Treo 700p as well.

Why are so many files excluded from my backup?
BBVFS and BB for Windows automatically exclude older "legacy" files on newer devices like the T5 and Treo. These new devices have different filenames for these databases. For example, DatebookDB file was renamed to Calendar, AddressDB is renamed to Contacts. On newer devices you need to restore Contacts backup files to the device not Address files. The reason for this is for better synchronization with Outlook. The old files are still on the devices to allow migration from an old device to a new one. Other than that the legacy files are useless and actually can cause a problem if you were to restore them instead of the newer files. This is why they are "excluded". Also excluded are OS 5 system file stubs. These are files with "a68k" in the filename. There can be a lot of these and they are not supposed to be backed up. We apologize for any confusion, not to worry, your data is backed up.

Does BackupBuddyVFS support multiple memory cards?
Yes :) the latest version does support multiple cards. It will select by default the one that has more free memory. You should be able to select them yourself in the device prefs as well. If you are using a T5 or LifeDrive your internal drive appears as a memory card. If you are using BBVFS Pro, you can choose to backup the internal drive separately in the Options menu.

I get "out of memory" errors or reset during backup on my T5/TE2/Treo device. How can I fix this?
First be sure your version of BackupBuddyVFS is up to date. See the BBVFS Version History Page for details. New palm devices use NVFS memory and apparently there was a memory leak issue. Please check the Palm update page to see if your device needs an update. Another thing you could try is doing a soft or warm reset before backup. A Warm reset (reset while "Up" button is pressed) starts just core system services without broadcasting reset notification. Among other consequences, this implies:

• No background applications are activated.
• Smaller amount of opened/locked databases.

I'm having trouble with scheduled backups. Why doesn't it work?
You may be running the copy of BackupBuddyVFS only from your expansion card memory. BackupBuddyVFS has to be used from your RAM to perform scheduled backups. The copy on the card should really only be used when restoring after a hard reset. Note: if any program is active that is time scheduled or any alarm has gone off and not been acknowledged, BBVFS scheduled backup cannot launch. All alarms, "System Lockout" or security locks have to be disabled in order for BBVFS to run an auto backup.

I'm having a crash when I do a scheduled backup on my Tungsten device. How do I fix it?
If you are running a scheduled backup and the hotsync application is open on your handheld, you may have a problem with the backup. You can run the scheduled backup from the launcher screen or other applications, but there was a bug with running the scheduled backup from the hotsync app on the Tungsten. As a workaround, just make sure you are not leaving your device with the hotsync screen when you have a scheduled backup that is going to go off. This can be an issue if you hotsync before going to bed and have a scheduled BBVFS backup set in the middle of the night. After your hotsync, just exit back to the launcher. This should be fixed in the latest version so be sure you are running the very latest BBVFS. Please see our download page for a link and version history. Please note, BackupBuddyVFS scheduled backup cannot run if any palm security lock or "System Lockout" is enabled on your device.

How do I get collapsible graffiti and landscape support on my Tungsten T3?
You have to have version 2.1 or better of BackupBuddyVFS installed. There are also two display support files you have to install to the handheld device. Note: this is only for Tungsten T3 users. You can downlad the files here: T3 Display Support Files

I'm getting a message that "This application requires the presence of the Virtual File System (VFS) Manager." What's going on? You have installed BackupBuddyVFS to a device that doesn't support VFS. At this time only some devices have this system. If you are getting this message, please delete the BackupBuddyVFS program from your handheld. (listed as backup in the palm app delete list) This will not affect the backup to the standard desktop BackupBuddy program.

Can I have both BackupBuddyVFS:Lite (personal) and BackupBuddyVFS(pro) on the device at the same time? No. You can only have one installed at a time. 

When restoring BackupBuddyVFS asks me if i want to overwrite newer files on the palm with older files from the backup. What should I do?
In the event of a restore to a device after a hard reset, files like your datebookDB and addressDB will be recreated on the device by the Palm OS. They will be empty however. The copy in your backup directory on the card is technically older, but has all your data in it. In this case, you should select to overwrite the files. If you are only restoring a few files and haven't lost all data on the device, this may not be relevant. If you are restoring after a hard reset or total loss of all data on the handheld, you can choose "yes to all" when prompted about overwriting the newer files on the handheld.

I'm having a crash during or after my restore. How do I fix it?
You can try manually restoring some files from the backup directory and see if you are able to find which file is causing the problem. It's possible there is a corrupted file. Manually select a few files at a time from the advanced screen in BBVFS. Restoring some files at a time can help you locate a problem. If you do 5 or 10 at a time, you'll eventually get to the bad file and restore the rest. After this, you may need to reinstall the problem file from new or from a desktop backup if you have one. Another thing you could try is doing a soft or warm reset before backup. A Warm reset (reset while "Up" button is pressed) starts just core system services without broadcasting reset notification. Among other consequences, this implies:

• No background applications are activated.
• Smaller amount of opened/locked databases.

I'm having trouble restoring and can't figure out which application is causing trouble when I restore.. What do I do? You may want to try a free application called ResetEmu. This can help determine if an application has trouble with a restore. It sends every installed application a certain launch code to test whether it crashes. If it does, running ResetEmu again will tell you the name of the application that behaved incorrectly.

I have MSMount and I'm having trouble with my backup freezing, what's going on?
If you have MSMount enabled it won't allow BackupBuddyVFS to complete the backup. You'll need to disable MSMount in order to get a complete backup. In the latest version of MSMount, you can select to disable MSMount when using certain applications. This should work well to address this issue. For more info on MSMount see this Palminfocenter article.

I have PiDirect and I have trouble with Backup to the card, help?
If you are running PiDirect and have files on your card appearing to be in RAM, you should not attempt to select these files for backup to the card. The files are already on your card in the PiDirect directory and can crash BBVFS if you try to back them up. You may need to exclude these files from backup in the BBVFS advanced screen and select the option "use my backup set" in the prefs.

I have PDADefense and I can't backup to the card - are these compatible?
There is an issue with BackupBuddyVFS encryption and PDADefense. PDADefense also provides for card encryption and it will not let BBVFS take control from it. To resolve the problem, the PDADefense file on the memory card has to be removed so that BBVFS can work. This will remove PDADefense protection from the card. If you need this protection, you won't be able to use BBVFS. You can use these two programs together, but you can't use the encryption options on both. The best is to use your PDADefense encryption and just use BBVFS for a standard backup without encryption.

I'm having trouble with BBVFS freezing during backup or removal of orphans. What's wrong?
If you have any hacks, try to disable and see if this helps. If you have a lot of files to backup, be sure your power off timer is set to 2 or 3 minutes. If it times out while backing up, you may not get a complete backup. Some international characters can cause trouble with the VFS support on the card. VFS support on Palm devices may not be able to handle international characters in filenames. The best thing to do would be to either exclude them from backup to the card by using the advanced screen of BBVFS. Or rename the files.. if you have other files on the device or in your backup directory on the card with international characters, you may want to rename or remove them from the backup directory to make sure there's no problem with any future backups or restores. You can use a free program like Filez to access the card backup directory and all files on your device. If you have trouble deleting files from the card you may have to format the card to remove these files. VFS cannot read files with certain characters in filenames. For example "/", "\", ":", "*", "<", ">", or "?" This isn't a BackupBuddy bug, but an issue of filename support in Palm OS. It is similar to using a "/" character in Windows filenames. Note: the name of the card is sensitive to these rules too.. If you have a space at the end of the card name or other international characters it can cause an issue. Rename your card in the card info application if needed.

What type of encryption does BackupBuddyVFS use?
BackupBuddyVFS uses XTEA 32 rounds ECB Mode at 56 bits.
TEA stands for: Tiny Encryption Algorithm. ECB stands for: Electronic CodeBook Mode. It is the simplest Mode to use with a block cipher. Encrypts each block independently.

Does BBVFS encrypt all my Backup files?
No. Our encryption only works on your data files. Applications are not encrypted when backed up.

I'm having trouble with my LauncherIII shortcut backups. What should I do?
LauncherIII shortcuts have filenames like <<filename.pdb. The "<<" characters in the filenames can cause trouble with the VFS support in BackupBuddyVFS. The best thing to do is to exclude these files from backup to the card. You can use the advanced screen of BackupBuddyVFS to exclude any filenames with characters like these. VFS has trouble with some filenames just like Windows doesn't allow a "/" in the filename.

Why are there two icons for BackupBuddyVFS on my Launcher?
If you have a third party launcher application like Silver Screen or LauncherIII, you may also see applications that reside on the memory card. Since BBVFS copies itself to the card when you first run it, you could see two copies. The copy on the card should be used for restore in the case of a total loss of data on the device. Use the copy in the device's RAM for everyday backup.

How do I uninstall or delete BackupBuddyVFS?
You can remove backupbuddyVFS just like any other application on your palm. Go to your main launcher screen and choose "delete" from the menu. You'll see "backup" on the list of applications. Highlight and delete to remove BackupBuddyVFS. Change the "Delete From:" to your card and use the same method to remove it from your memory card. If you have made backups to an SD card or Memory Stick, you should first use the "delete backup files" option from BackupBuddyVFS' basic screen option menu. This will clear out the backup directory on the card.

How do I get upgrades?  Upgrades and updates are provided by Blue Nomad, LLC in its sole discretion. That being said, all of our upgrades up to BackupBuddy for Windows 2 have been free to all registered users! If you haven't received the latest upgrade from us, please send us the following information: your order number or a copy of your sales receipt email, your full name, and the email address you registered under, Palm hotsync name. You can also include any previous download link and password info. Send to upgrades@bluenomad.com.

How do I change my registered email address?  Please send us an email to  upgrades@bluenomad.com write "new email address" in the subject line. Please be sure to include your full name, old email address and new address to expedite. If you know your order number include this as well.  

How do I get technical support?
Send email to support@bluenomad.com. Before emailing a support request, please include information on the type of device and memory card you are using, free memory available on both and a description of any problem you may be having. If you are having a crash, include the exact steps to reproduce the error. Backup or restore logs should also be included. Include the version of BackupBuddyVFS.

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