Category: Technical Instructions

How to Upgrade Your Samsung Galaxy Phone Episode 1 : Backup the phone data

 Click here to launch the podcast. Then, minimize that window and read this post to follow along.

Here are the step by step instructions for smartly upgrading your smart phone. An upgrade is a big deal. You could lose data, and even in rare cases your phone could stop working permanently. That’s called “bricking”, and you do not want to do that. Don’t worry, I will help you back up your data, and then upgrade your phone. ** if your phone is rooted, UNROOT before you upgrade or your phone  will brick!

Android Froyo 2.2 Operating System upgrade is now available for the SGH-i897 (Captivate). This update is only available by tethering your Captivate via a USB cable to a PC per the instructions below. Due to the large file size, the update is not available directly over-the-air to your phone.

Step: Get ready.
Here are the minimum requirements for upgrading your phone. Don’t begin this upgrade if you do not have everything.

COMPUTER

  • Desktop/Laptop Computer Running 32bit Versions Of Either Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, or XP
  • All Firewall & Anti-Virus Programs Should Be Disabled
  • Administrative Privileges Required To Download & Install Software Including Drivers
  • An Available USB Port On The PC That Supports 2.0 USB
  • Windows Media Runtime 11 (automatically installed by Kies Mini if not present)

PHONE

  • Fully Charged Battery

OTHER

  • USB Data Cable (Included In Retail Box)
  • Any Previous Samsung Kies Software Should Be Remove
Step: You must connect your phone to your pc

Connecting & Transferring

  1. Press the Home Key
  2. Plug the cable into the phone
  3. Plug the other end of the cable in a USB port
    • Tip: Avoid the use of multiport hubs if possible.
  4. When prompted, tap Mass storage
Depending on whether you have used  your phones mass storage before or not, you may need to configure the following screen(s)..otherwise you might need to slide down the top menu and choose “mount”..
    1.  Tap Connect USB storage

    1. Your PC will recognize your Phone as a Removable Disk. Click on Open folder to view files.

Step: back up your phone data

On your pc, you should go to the desktop, right click and create new folder. Name the folder with your initials, then “phone backup”, then todays date. My folder is named” DWD phone backup 08012011″. open the folder and adjust the window so it only takes up a small part of your screen.

When you have the window to your phone open, you will see a list of sub folders. Most important to a lot of people would be the photos taken with the phone. These are usually located in the DCIM folder under the Camera subfolder. The best way to be safe is to select all, right click, choose copy. Then click into your backup folder. right click , choose paste and prepare to wait for a few minutes for your data to back up.

 

Coming soon will be part 2: Upgrading the phone.

Technical Instructions: How to use smart phone as portable flash drive

Donald Denney
2/16/2011

How to use your smart phone as a smart  solid state storage device.

These instructions are for experienced users who have file management skills and a thorough knowledge of connecting devices to a computer. This is an advanced method of file storage and transportation.

Introduction

Most students have the need to transport files. Storing them on a flash drive is one of the most common methods of file storage and transportation. However, there are many problems associated with using a flash drive. Flash drives are not secure, and  are very easy to lose. Carrying multiple devices around is inefficient. “Smart Phones” come with ample storage, can hold your files  and interact with computers easily.

Tools For this project, you will need: A “Smart Phone”, USB cord, Personal Computer. All of these should not be more than a few years old, or they won’t have the proper firmware, software and file transfer protocol installed. Steps

  • The first step is to figure out if your phone will work for this purpose. If your phone came with a USB cord for connecting to computers, then it should work. Also, if the phone uses external memory card storage, then it has a good chance of working for this purpose.
  • The second step is to connect the USB cable to your phone. Carefully insert the correct end into the proper slot on the phone. Use extreme caution not to insert the cable improperly, and don’t use too much force or you can permanently damage your device.
  • The third step is to connect the other end of USB cable to your computer. If you have a choice, use the High Speed USB port usually located toward the front of most computers. If you don’t have a choice then just use whatever port is available.
  • The fourth step is to wait while Windows recognizes your device. Sometimes this can take quite a while. If you are prompted, answer the prompts using your desired settings. You shouldn’t need to install any software from CD or the Internet. Windows comes standard with the default drivers you will need.
  • The sixth step is to navigate to the folder where you will store your files. From “My Computer”, a new drive letter will appear in the same manner as when a flash drive is inserted.  Navigate into the drive, and choose a location for your files.
  • The final step is to transfer your files. Copy and paste, or save the file  from your favorite application  directly onto your phone flash drive.

Conclusion The phone can be a wonderful file storage medium, and it is a lot more convenient than using a separate flash drive. The benefits of having your files with you wherever you go are plentiful, including knowing they are secure, having the latest version of a file, and always knowing who has access to your files. As new phones are released, they are packed with features that make it easy to use as file storage for music, videos and documents.