I'd like to know as well.

Tried exactly what you've described - also with no luck.

Let's keep bumping this ;-})

Found Stern's SB #164 on their site (http://www.sternpinball.com/upload/downloads/sb164.pdf) which indicates a backup is possible. Same as other backup instructions for other games.

However, like you guys it didn't work. After some experimentation I did manage to get it to make a backup.

My steps on SMVE:

1. Follow 1,2,3 from page 2 of SB #164
2. System will not let you back up from here. Panicked a bit at first, glad I didn't brick the new pin.
3. Powered down with the on/off switch
4. Returned Dip#8 to the original ("off") position
5. Powered back up, entered the SM: "UTIL/USB"
6. Inserted a USB memory stick
7. Selected "BKUP"
8. System did a check for sufficient memory on the stick and then started the backup
9. Received a successful "GAME CODE IMAGE SAVED" message
10. Exited out of the Service Menu

Pictures loaded in reverse order to pinside, the scores were taken after the process was complete

Hope this works for you.

2SZ_3406_(resized).JPG
2SZ_3408_(resized).JPG
2SZ_3409_(resized).JPG

Wow! Been running the backed up code through Pinball Browser to see the animations and listen to the sound clips. Next up, trying to replace J Jonah Jameson's callouts in SMVE with the originals in SM by J.K. Simmons.

Had success uploading a modified file. Replaced "Player one, you're up" call out from SMVE with JK Simmons version from SM. Unfortunately, all the movie clip sound files and the extra JK Simmons call outs are under-sampled and don't sound as crisp as the new SMVE call outs. Need to pull some high quality Toby "woo-hoo" samples from the movies to add.

Skip to step 5 above to just backup your code.

I'm getting 0 byte files after the success message on a backup of Metallica.

Same thing happened with me on 2 different USB sticks. When I tried the 3rd one, it worked like a charm.

Unfortunately, I get a valid backup but my High Scores don't come across on Pinball Browser. It's weird too that the date on the newly copied file is saying 2010??

It was my understanding that I the backup only makes a copy of the current code on your game, allowing you to revert back to the old code, should you be unhappy an update that was installed.
What that means to me, is that there is no possible way to save your settings/scores AND update to newer code.
But IMO, that shouldn't be possible anyway, because rule and scoring changes will change the game and (possibly) the scoring amounts and such.
It might make it so you could install the old cod again, and have all those things saved.
But then you're running old code.

Makes sense...never thought of it in that way. I'm glad I wrote down all the high scores as it's very important to those in my house...they're sticklers about that. As suggested by someone else in a post I read from who knows where, I'll just remove the glass and manually trigger what I need to in order that I get the High Scores back.

I had changed a few songs but otherwise I wanted everything to remain the same. Hopefully I can remember all my Feature Adjustments....ugh.

This happened to me repeatedly trying to back up my Avenger's LE. This only made a successful backup when using a USB stick 1Gb or smaller! Often said it was successful with larger sticks, but they had 0 byte files when viewed on the PC