Database Develop

newb graduation questions

Hi
Ive been trolling around for a while.
So far ive
-unlocked the bootloader, flashed the boot with epe54b himem from modaco
-put the file in place that enabled the color trackball notifications from chainsdd, which while there is no config and it simply enables the apps to be able to flash different colors is actually kind of nice
- tried to install the wifi tether from the code.google.com page but apparently the kernal i have doesnt work with the wifi drivers the android-wifi-tether app needs and the himem superboot that i flashed cause my wifi doesnt start when i use that. so i just went with barnacle app to use as wifi tether which works without having to modify the kernal and wifi driver.
i still have the stock recovery and stock rom, and sort of like it that way. dont want to start messing with roms untill i am confident i can easily restore all of the phone and game settings i have(the girlfriend was sort of sad when i told her i lost the progress she had made in abduction world attack, not to mention i forgot to unlink my warcraft authenticator before the initial wipe after the bootloader unlock...dreading calling blizzard and getting that sorted out)
couple of questions i have -
what does the userdata store specifically? does it store all of the shortcuts and widgets i have on the home screens? the google voice and phone settings and system settings?
i looked around a bit and still cant find a definitive answer to this, if i put nandroid or amon_ra recovery in as the recovery, then flash it back to the stock recovery from the modaco site, will i be able to get ota updates.
if i back up my system, userdata, and cache then start messing with roms and wiping everything on the phone, will i be able to restore the system, userdata and cache and be ready to go in the all of 3 or so minutes it takes to flash them.
The only reason im so concerned with being able to go back to what i had is i rely on the phone a bit for work and after hours calls and things of that nature and need to be able to be ready to go if need be. after unlocking the bootloader and that initial wipe the part that took the longest was getting the shortcuts and widgets, email and contact icons on my home screens back to where i wanted them and dont want to have to do that again.
basically i want to flash roms, and shop around for a good rom that i like while still being able to flash back to what i currently have set up, home screen shortcuts, k9email, phone and all.

Anyone have any input?

Just get Titanium backup for your apps, and also flash a recovery that lets you do Nandroid backups. Really, if you are unlocked, there is absolutely no downside to using Amon's recovery image, and having backups is excellent piece of mind.

I tried editing my post, and it erased what I wrote.
OK, again:
1. Nandroid backups save everything, including all of your user data, EXCEPT what is saved to the SD card by certain apps. All of that can of course just be copied off.
2. Why would you want OTA updates? All the OTA process does is download the update.zip file into /cache, and then launch recovery to install it from there. This means that, once the file is available, someone will post the update.zip minutes later and you can flash all you like.
3. Nandroid gives you a complete system backup, including user data and configuration. Titanium backup will add in being able to restore configured apps onto a different ROM (for example). Use both, be safe, wear protection.

ok, sounds like nandroid gives me what im looking for then
perhaps i'll try and imaging and restoring it to see how it goes when im sure work will not bother
and i'd like ota updates since im lazy lol

[Q] Random Titanium Backup Question...

Sup XDA... first time poster... on/off lurker... just a quick question i was messing with my captivate today trying to load 2.2 on it... kies wasn't working for me so i did a whole lotta messing around with the phone... in the process i backed up my stuff on TB... while trying to restore it, it restored from a previous upgrade i did in dec. i ended up losing most of my text messages, profiles i set up and important memos... anything i can do to restore it or am i screwed...?
I think i accidentally hit the back up user apps instead of user apps+data and restored user apps+data... could that be the reason...?

I don't think that TiBu backs up text messages. I use SMS backup+ on the market for that. It backs it up to my Gmail account. It does this automatically, and has the option to restore if I flash a new ROM.
I read somewhere that TiBu system data back ups can cause issues if you flash a new ROM and try to restore system data from a different ROM. So I have always been afraid of system data in TiBu.
If you back up the apps without the data, then the app will install, but it's a fresh install. That way anything you did in the app is lost. For example if you back up just the app Facebook, when you restore you are not signed in anymore. If you backup app + data, when you restore you are already signed in again. That could be how you lost memos from an app, but Text messages is another animal.
If you are playing with Kies, you should try the custom ROMs. They are extremely easy to install, there's lots of guides, and they run so much better than the 2.2 from Samsung/AT&T.

Don't really think you can do anything at this point to get your stuff back. You should do a nandroid backup before flashing new firmware, though. If the rom you flashed didn't work, or if you couldn't restore something with TB (or forgot to even do a TB backup), you can always roll your phone back to your previous firmware, complete with all your data.

quarlow said:
I don't think that TiBu backs up
If you are playing with Kies, you should try the custom ROMs. They are extremely easy to install, there's lots of guides, and they run so much better than the 2.2 from Samsung/AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree a ROM is the way to go. Huge improvement over just using a bloated 2.2.

[Q] Backing up my entire(?) Galaxy S I9000 with nandroid

Hey folks,
So here I am, after almost 18 months of enjoying my nice Samsung Galaxy S device with official ROMs, finally thinking of flashing a custom ROM. I've done some reading on the subject, and I have some experience flashing ROMs using ODIN- I once flashed the official Samsung 2.3.3 ROM to my device when Samsung Kies decided to go rebel on me.
Now, flashing a custom ROM takes a little more knowledge, and I would like to feel secure doing it. That means I would like to backup my phone, being able to restore it if necessary. Apparently a "nandroid backup" will be able to make an image of my complete "system". That leaves me wondering: what is my complete system, and what is not?
So I've got a couple of questions, assuming I would want to back up my ENTIRE phone. That includes text messages, whatsapp messages, app settings/scores, pictures, movies, etc.
1. Would Nandroid be able to do this job? It creates a system image, does that include all apps (and their scores/settings)? And what about text messages, that are -for as far as I know- also stored in the system?
2. Would just a Nandroid backup be enough? Do files like images, mp3s, movies, etc stay where they are when a new ROM is flashed? I have no clue what part of the system is replaced when a costum ROM is flashed... And therefore no idea what might disappear, and what needs no back upping.
I'm also wondering: after flashing the rom, and while being on it, will I be able to retrieve those old messages, apps, images, etc? I'm assuming the stuff on my internal SD card is pretty safe, but I'm better safe than sorry :b. Or would that require the titanium backup stuff?
These are some specific questions, probably easy to answer for those that are experienced users. Any other tips are welcomed as well! Thanks a lot for the effort!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1186090
Next time, use "Search" before asking, thx!

Had honestly done that, couldn't find the answer to what it specifically did and did not back up. Hah, and you just answered the only question that I had left in the thread you linked to. Thanks ChaosLord88.

Understanding question: Full-Backup possible?

HI,
I am asking myself the following question:
Is a full (=complete) Backup even possible? Basically, i.e. technically, it should be possible, since all the data is there and just needs to be backed up.
So much for the theory.
My question in detail goes like this: Is it possible to make a full backup from say JB 4.1.2, unlock the bootloader, install custom-ROMs, play sometime with it, see what one likes, and then re-stock the phone to retail 4.1.2, restore the backup and use the phone like it was before messing around with it?
I did install a custom ROM but want to try a few others. But the stupid thing with restoring the apps from google play by installing every single one, alining them as before in folders and stuff takes up way too much time to just mess around like that....
Thanks for hints and tipps!

If there is no problems with restoring backup (like on few Motorola devices caused size of partitions) just use CWM or TWRP to backup Your ROM and when You'll be bored with customs restore full rom with data using CWM as well.

Try making a backup with CWM or TWRP, then flash whatever you like and recover your app data and stuff from your CWM backup with Nandroid Manager on Play Store. There are others apps that do the same also (Titaniumbackup,etc). Get the donation version if you want to restore sms, phone calls, etc.

Correct me if I'm wrong but once you unlock the bootloader there is no way back to a locked bootloader!
So once you do so your warranty is void.
Also when you unlock your bootloader your entire phone gets wiped, so every data is gone.
My suggestion:
Install twerkmymoto, you phone won't get wiped, you then can make backups and play around with your phone without unlocking your bootloader.
You can easily change a lot of settings with xposed so you have the stable stock rom with the UI features of a custom rom.

Cyanogenmod, lost contacts, messages etc

Hi all,
I wanted to give cyanogenmod a go as I really liked the security guard idea so I used the HTC sync manager to backup my contacts and messages and set about getting cyanogen installed.
All went to plan (pretty much) until I tried to retrieve my contacts etc. I didn't realize the Sync Manager was dependant on Sense which obviously isn't there anymore so the phone won't sync with the software.
What can I do?
I think I can revert to stock if I can find an image and then retrieve the contacts, is there then another way to back everything up?
I hope you can help because my phone's looking very empty and sorry for itself
Thanks

Sync your contacts with google and back up your messages with an app from the play store. I use SMS Backup and Restore.

Thanks, do I need to 'de-root' my phone or can I install a stock image? Would I get this image from HTC?

I went into bootloader and clockworkmod to try and restore the original rom from there, does cyanogen not make a backup of the previous rom?

No ROM makes a backup before it Flashs that is up to you to do yourself. You will have to flash a stock based ROM.

Thanks for the reply. I did a bit of reading before installing and CM seemed like a quick and easy option to get the job done and try an alternative ROM. I even said over on their forum that I had backed up using the Sync Manager and no one thought to mention that I wouldn't be able to restore any data. No one said make sure you take an image yourself because CM won't do it for you.
And to top it all off I'm not that happy with CM, the battery life is atrocious.
Ah regrets!