understanding backups

arslonga · 09-25-2021, 07:45 AM

Good day.

I was wondering if someone could offer some light on the following scenario.

Suppose I connect my ereader to a Windows computer, access its contents with Windows File Explorer, select everything and copy and paste it onto my pc. If in future my ereader stops working normally (or altogether), will copying and pasting these contents back on the ereader restore it to the state it was originally? Thank you for your attention.

davidfor · 09-25-2021, 10:24 AM

Yes, that will work. I do it, and have suggested doing that plenty of times here. And have used the backed up files to restore to a particular point plenty of times. You do need to be careful. Make sure you have copied everything. And when restoring, remove all the files from the device. And restore to the same firmware version that you did the backup with. It will probably be OK with a newer version of the firmware than the backup was done with, but, if you are having problems, you want to minimise the variables when trying to fix them.

rashkae · 09-25-2021, 02:34 PM

It depends on what caused the failure though. If the kobo stops working due an error in one of the books, misconfiguration in the config files, or corruption in the database,, restoring the files from your backup will work.

However, the Kobo operating system itself is not accessible to Windows when you attach to usb, so corruption of the system files (either due to hardware failure or botched update, or somehow attempt to replace / patch the system) will not restore form your file backup

davidfor · 09-25-2021, 09:01 PM

Which is why I said to get the device going before restoring the files. Only the books and other files on the books partition are being restored. After a factory reset and update to the appropriate firmware, these can be restored when the device is connected to get back to the same state.

milady133 · 09-30-2021, 11:50 AM

I'm a few days late to the discussion, but just in case, it's important to remember when you make that copy that you are copying hidden files that are not visible by default on File Explorer.

09-25-2021, 07:45 AM	#1
arslonga Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	understanding backups Good day. I was wondering if someone could offer some light on the following scenario. Suppose I connect my ereader to a Windows computer, access its contents with Windows File Explorer, select everything and copy and paste it onto my pc. If in future my ereader stops working normally (or altogether), will copying and pasting these contents back on the ereader restore it to the state it was originally? Thank you for your attention.

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09-25-2021, 10:24 AM	#2
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	Yes, that will work. I do it, and have suggested doing that plenty of times here. And have used the backed up files to restore to a particular point plenty of times. You do need to be careful. Make sure you have copied everything. And when restoring, remove all the files from the device. And restore to the same firmware version that you did the backup with. It will probably be OK with a newer version of the firmware than the backup was done with, but, if you are having problems, you want to minimise the variables when trying to fix them.

09-25-2021, 02:34 PM	#3
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,274 Karma: 5935030 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	It depends on what caused the failure though. If the kobo stops working due an error in one of the books, misconfiguration in the config files, or corruption in the database,, restoring the files from your backup will work. However, the Kobo operating system itself is not accessible to Windows when you attach to usb, so corruption of the system files (either due to hardware failure or botched update, or somehow attempt to replace / patch the system) will not restore form your file backup

09-25-2021, 09:01 PM	#4
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,905 Karma: 47303824 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	Which is why I said to get the device going before restoring the files. Only the books and other files on the books partition are being restored. After a factory reset and update to the appropriate firmware, these can be restored when the device is connected to get back to the same state.

09-30-2021, 11:50 AM	#5
milady133 Groupie Posts: 188 Karma: 616200 Join Date: May 2014 Location: Spain Device: Kobo Forma, Hisense A5	I'm a few days late to the discussion, but just in case, it's important to remember when you make that copy that you are copying hidden files that are not visible by default on File Explorer.

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