SPB Restore - Do It Without Hard Reset?

[DLCPhoto]

I've generally only done a Restore with SPB Backup after a Hard Reset when things really got messed up. It's a bit of a hassle, because I have to re-activate the phone, and there's always a couple of things that don't get restored correctly (e.g. GPS Location doesn't seem to get turned back on correctly).

This is probably something I should know, but is it advisable to do an SPB Restore without doing a Hard Reset?

Out of nowhere, my Verizon TP2 become sluggish, so I did a soft-reset, but it won't go past the HTC screen, and never shows the "loading TF3D" message as it should. I've taken out the battery and SIM and tried again, but no dice. This happened once before, and I have no idea why. It booted fine this morning, just like when it happened previously, but then decided it won't boot properly.

I've read of others having similar problems, but haven't seen any solution. I'm tempted to just try a simple Restore using a Backup from last night or the night before, without a Hard Reset, but wasn't sure if this would complicate things, create duplicate entries, or create other unwelcome issues.

And if anybody has a clue why TF3D all of a sudden refuses to load, when no registry entries have been changed, no new programs installed, no new configuration changes, etc. then I'm all ears.

Thanks.

[blkhwkz]

I have done a restore with SPB without a hard reset many times on several phones without an issue for things like this or when I broke something making changes to the phone.

[DLCPhoto]

Thanks for the reply. I'm starting a reset from last night's backup.

This is so strange, and frustrating. Fine one minute, unbootable the next. I almost feel like I'm back in the Windows 95 days!!

I was able to partly boot without TF3D, and access settings. I turned off TF3D to see if it would boot to the Today screen normally. It hung on the Windows 6.1 green screen for a long time, and then came up with a black/white screen I've never seen before, which started with:

"The device is unable to boot because either you have turned off the device incorrectly..."

It showed that for a while and while I was typing the text onto my PC, it went to the partially crippled Today screen. I was able to access SPB there, and started the Restore from last night's backup.

I love the TP2 when it's working right, but find it considerably less stable than I would like. And I'm very particular about what I install on the device, what Registry settings I tweak, etc., am not yet using a custom ROM, so I really didn't expect this much instability.

[HBOOT]

Maybe I missed, are you stock? a hard reset will be good. And are you using one of those "save ram" cabs, push internet and the other? hard reset, load things one at a time, keep an eye open

[DLCPhoto]

Originally Posted by HB

Maybe I missed, are you stock? a hard reset will be good. And are you using one of those "save ram" cabs, push internet and the other? hard reset, load things one at a time, keep an eye open

Yes - stock ROM. I've done Hard Reset before when problems arose, but as I indicated above, I have to re-activate, re-configure a few things that don't get restored properly, also re-set my PRL (I'm previously Alltel, and the PRL they give me doesn't work with my Network Extender).

And after my last reset/restore, I've been adding things one at a time, documenting what I did, and have a Backup done nightly, precisely for this purpose - to help track down what might be causing problems.

So, for the last 3 days or so, it's been acting just fine, and then out of the blue, it won't boot properly. No new programs installed, no Registry settings changed, etc. Fine last night and this morning, and then boom, it's messed up again.

IIRC, the last time the same thing happened was also on a Wednesday morning. I'm an Ophthalmologist, and I operate Wednesday mornings, leaving my phone turned on in the locker where I change my clothes. It almost makes me wonder if there are some odd electromagnetic fields in the vicinity that are causing problems. There's a lot of equipment in the area, although nothing directly in the locker room area, but it makes me wonder...

[jmorton10]

Although the hard reset never hurts (& is sometimes necessary), I have done TONS of SPB restores & in at least 90% of them I did not hard reset first & they worked perfectly anyway.

~John

[DLCPhoto]

Originally Posted by jmorton10

Although the hard reset never hurts (& is sometimes necessary), I have done TONS of SPB restores & in at least 90% of them I did not hard reset first & they worked perfectly anyway.

~John

Thanks John.

The first attempt did not work - I ran SPB from the device, selected the Backup file on the Card, and I'm not sure if it completed - I was doing something else, and when I looked back, I was on the Today screen. I would have assumed that it would have automatically done a soft reset if it had completed correctly.

I reset, but it didn't get very far - the "HTC" didn't even come up. I used File Explorer to navigate to the backup self-executable file itself, and after a long delay, it finally started up, and is going through the Restore right now. We'll see if it completes or fixes this.

One odd thing: has anybody seen, or know what this symbol means? It is not present in the TP2 User Manual:



This showed up the last time it messed up like this (on the prior refurb TP2, so I don't think it's likely a hardware issue). If I try to call my cell number, the 3G will drop to 1x, as if it's recognizing the incoming call, but it never rings, and once the call drops to Voice Mail, it returns to 3G.

This is very, very frustrating....

ETA: The restore is still proceeding, although incredibly slowly. Must be going on 45 to 60 minutes so far. It's never taken this long before...

[DLCPhoto]

Update:

The SPB Restore, run directly from the .exe on the storage card, took about an hour (usually not nearly that long), but eventually completed, asked for a reset, and the phone booted up into TF3D, and everything seems to be running correctly.

I still have no idea why this occurred - anybody think odd electromagnetic fields in the Operating Room Locker could induce some odd behavior like this??

I'd still like to know what that odd Phone Symbol is above, if anybody has any idea.

[HBOOT]

I think it is just software conflicts somewhere, a bad tweak, cab, reg edit....what phone symbol you are referring to, the one you posted I have seen before, the odd one at times appear when first booting and ppc still trying to know what the phuk is going on with it no signal, no data....think it is just one step before t finds life.
I will definitely take that thing back if it misbehaves like before, could be a bad flash...i dunno really.Good luck and thxx for keeping us posted

[DLCPhoto]

Originally Posted by HB

I think it is just software conflicts somewhere, a bad tweak, cab, reg edit....what phone symbol you are referring to, the one you posted I have seen before, the odd one at times appear when first booting and ppc still trying to know what the phuk is going on with it no signal, no data....think it is just one step before t finds life.
I will definitely take that thing back if it misbehaves like before, could be a bad flash...i dunno really.Good luck and thxx for keeping us posted

Yeah, your explanation of that odd phone symbol sounds about right.

As to the cause of the problem, it just doesn't make sense. I Restored from the SPB back up from last night, and it is working fine. But it's also the same setup as when I turned it on this morning, as no programs have been installed nor other changes made. I did the backup, turned the phone off, and turned it back on this morning.

You're probably right that there's an App, a RegEdit, or some glitch somewhere, but when it manifests itself randomly, after days of stability, it makes it almost impossible to track down.

My TP2's behavior makes me think of the nursery rhyme:

And when she was good, She was very, very good. But when she was bad she was horrid.