Section 15. Clear Personal Data from Your Device

15. Clear Personal Data from Your Device

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

8 Install the BlackBerry Desktop Software

9 Connect Your Device to Your PC

13 Back Up Your Device

SEE ALSO

14 Restore Your Device

15. Clear Personal Data from Your Device

So, the time has come to sell your cherished BlackBerry device on eBay. What am I thinking, you can't get rid of your BlackBerry 7100! But maybe you have another reason for needing to clear the device of all your personal data. Maybe you've been using it personally and now you need to shift gears with a clean business install. Or maybe you just want to start over with a clean slate. Regardless of your motive, there is a quick and easy way to blitz your device of all your personal data. Just be careful and back up the data before you clear the device, just in case you change your mind later.

1.	Open the Backup and Restore Window With your BlackBerry device plugged in to your desktop PC and turned on, click the Start button on the Windows taskbar of your desktop PC to open the main Windows system menu. Then select All Programs, BlackBerry, Desktop Manager . The BlackBerry Desktop Manager application appears. Double-click the Backup and Restore icon in the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. The Backup and Restore window appears.
2.	Open the Backup/Restore Window To selectively clear personal data from your device you use the Backup/Restore window, which provides detailed access to the databases of information stored on your device. Click the Advanced button to open the Backup/Restore window.
3.	Clear Specific Device Data Only The Backup/Restore window allows you to clear individual pieces of information from your device. The window consists of two panes that show the current PIM data on your device next to the data available for restoration from today's backup file, if one exists. The right pane in the Backup/Restore window shows the current data on your device, whereas the left pane shows the data in the backup file. The right pane is the only pane of interest for clearing data. NOTE The Backup/Restore window also lets you back up and restore data on your device using backup files. For more information, see 13 Back Up Your Device and 14 Restore Your Device . To perform a selective clearing of a certain piece of information, click the entry in the right pane and then click the Clear button. As an example, to clear the web browser bookmarks from your device, click Browser Bookmarks in the right pane and then click the Clear button. The browser bookmark data will be removed from the device. TIP To select more than one piece of information for clearing, hold down the Ctrl key on your desktop keyboard while clicking the entries in the right pane of the Backup/Restore window. TIP If information on your device changes while you have the Backup/Restore window open, click the Refresh button to update the right pane so that the changes are reflected. Click the Close button to exit the Backup/Restore window and return to the main Backup and Restore window. To return to the main BlackBerry Desktop Manager window, click the Close button once more.
4.	Run the Application Loader Wizard to Clear All Device Data You might decide that clearing selective data from your device isn't enough and you need to take more sweeping measures. In this case you might want to consider clearing all the personal data from your device. Double-click the Application Loader icon in the BlackBerry Desktop Manager to get started. The Application Loader Wizard window appears. Click the Next button to get started with the Application Loader Wizard. The wizard will take a few moments to analyze your device and then display the Handheld Application Selection window. This window includes all the applications installed on your device, which aren't important for simply clearing the device's data. TIP You must be careful when using the Application Loader Wizard because it allows you to make sweeping changes to the applications installed on your device, including critical core applications such as the phone and security features. Unless you really want to remove an application from your device, you should never uncheck an application in the Application Loader Wizard because it will be uninstalled . Generally speaking, it's not a good idea to uncheck standard applications unless you fully understand the implications of doing so. Click Next to continue along in the wizard. The completion window of the Application Loader Wizard appears.
5.	Open the Handheld Data Preservation Window The Advanced button is what provides access to the wholesale clearing of device data. Click the Advanced button to view the Handheld Data Preservation window.
6.	Clear All the Device Data The Handheld Data Preservation window provides a couple of options for clearing information from your device. The first option, Erase all application data , clears all the data associated with applicationsthis is data you've created while using the applications and is what you're interested in clearing. The second option, Erase all currently installed applications , clears the applications themselves from your device. Even though the latter option might sound harsh , what it means is that the applications are erased prior to being reinstalled. In other words, the BlackBerry Desktop Manager performs a clean install of the applications onto your device. The bottom line is that, to successfully clear your device of all data, you must check both options and click the Next button. The end result is a device with a clean install of the applications and no application data. After clicking the Next button, you might be prompted to automatically back up your device before carrying out the data clearing. This is a good idea just in case you change your mind later about clearing your device of all data. Just accept the default option to back up your device, and then click Next to continue. Click the Finish button in the Application Loader Wizard to proceed with clearing all the data from your device.