How to Back Up and Restore

You can backup (backup is used here as a generic term) the contents of the B2’s Hard Disk to a USB memory stick/flash drive or a portable USB HDD - either device will need to be formatted with FAT32 to work with the B2 - the B2 can do this - see 'Formatting the USB device'.

It is also possible to backup to a computer over your LAN using the B2’s NAS mode - see 'Backing up with NAS' section.

There are two options:

Export to C: B2 owners not needing the backup to be JB7 compatible should use this. Running 'Export to C' generates a B2 backup file called B2Export - this folder contains a ‘music’ folder and a ‘playlist’ folder.

Backup to C: For JB7 and B2 owners who need the backup to be compatible between both machines. This generates a backup file called ‘hardfi’ and a ‘playlist’ folder.

Formatting the USB device:

With the B2 powered off > plug the USB device into USB C (or USB A) > power on > using the front panel control go to - Settings > Maintenance > Format USB C.

Don't use ‘Format HDD’ as this will erase all of the music on the B2’s HDD!


‘Partitioning’ will be displayed briefly and then ‘Formatting’ for around 30s to 1 or 2 minutes (depending on the device’s memory size) - any quicker than this indicates that the format hasn't worked, so run it again. Please note formatting will erase all data on the memory stick/HDD. When completed the display will return to the Home screen (the one displaying the clock).

FAT32 will work with a maximum memory size of 2TB.

Running the backup:

Before running the backup go to Settings > Scan Disk - this ensures the music index is up to date - then using the front panel control go to USB Menu > Export to C (or Backup to C - JB7 Functions menu - for JB7 compatibility) - the display shows the progress and when completed reverts to the Home screen - *press and hold the PLAY/STOP button - ‘Saving’ is displayed briefly and then at the Home screen - power off and remove the backup device.

*This ensures the B2 is idle and is the preferred procedure before removing any USB device and when powering off.

When backing up it is best to leave the B2 to this task only i.e. not playing from the HDD, listening to the radio, etc.

Backing up can take several (many) hours so run it overnight, for example.

To check the required memory capacity required for the backup – go to Settings > Maintenance > Free Space (the red LED flashes to indicate Free Space is active – wait for it to finish before the next step) > press INFO on the remote or click the COG on the UI page to see the stat’s.

If you encounter problems at the formatting the backup HDD stage, it may be due to the power requirements of the external HDD exceeding what the B2 can supply. In this case try using USB A (as it can supply more power than USB C – it’s a Raspberry Pi thing) and if this also fails try using a powered USB Hub between the HDD and the B2 (the hub powers the HDD).

 If there is sufficient capacity on the backup HDD > plug the backup device into a computer > select ‘Continue without scanning’ (for Windows users) > rename the Export folder to ‘Backup_old’ or similar  > plug the backup device into USB C on the B2 > do a new backup - run Export to C (or Backup to C from the JB7 Functions menu). You can keep doing this until the backup device is full > then delete the oldest backup.

Incremental Export:

A complete (new) backup (Export to C or Backup to C) can take several (many) hours depending on how much music there is. Subsequent backups are incremental so only anything not already in the backup file will be copied and will be quicker.
 

Restoring a backup:

To load a ‘B2Export’ to the B2 – using the front panel control go to USB Functions > Import USB C.

To load a ‘hardfi’ (a JB7 backup) to the B2 – USB Functions > JB7 Functions > Restore USB C.
 
 
Loading a backup to the B2 does not copy the Playlists – use Import Playlists.
 
If it is necessary to format the B2’s HDD before loading a backup (for 'HDD read only' issue, for example) - on software versions before 22nd August 2018 you have to turn off NAS mode for formatting to work – Settings > Maintenance > Stop NAS.


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