Backups are currently performed using the Barry Backup GUI program, located in the gui/ directory of the source tarball. Instructions for building the GUI can be found on the Install and CVS pages.

When Backup starts, it scans the USB bus for Blackberry devices. If it finds one, it assumes that is the device you want to work with. If it finds two, it prompts you to select the device to backup.

When connecting to a device for the first time, you are prompted to give the device a name. This will be linked to the device's PIN number for easy identification later.

The main screen presents you with two options: Backup and Restore.

When backing up your device, your data is saved in a compressed tar file in your home directory, under ~/.barry, organized by PIN number. Each tar backup file is given a timestamp in its filename.

When the backup starts, you are prompted to give the backup an optional name. If you specify a name, it will be used as part of the tar filename.

Pressing the Restore button will show a File Open dialog, pointing to your ~/.barry directory, for the current device PIN.

You are not limited to the tar files in this directory, nor are you limited to backup files from the same device. You can use this tool to copy data from one device to another.

The restore is governed by your current configuration, which determines what databases are restored. Any database that is restored will be completely erased before the backup data is re-written.

There are some databases that are read-only on the BlackBerry. In addition, if your device is connected to a BES, you may not be able to restore your data. If you get errors when trying to restore a certain read-only database, disable that database in the Restore Configuration dialog, as described below.

Configuration is performed via the Edit menu, and provides two filters for determining what databases are accessed during backup and restore operations. You can also change the device name here, and turn off the backup name prompt.

Each configure button provides essentially the same dialog, containing a list of databases available on your device, as well as checkboxes to enable them.

For the backup filter, only the enabled databases will be saved. For the restore filter, only the enabled databases will be restored, even if the backup file contains more data.

This configuration is saved per device PIN. If you backup a different device, you will need to configure its backup strategy again. You can only change the configuration for the current device with these dialogs.