[Q] Trying to unflash ROM - very overwhelmed! - Galaxy S III Mini Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi there,
I recently rooted and flashed a custom ROM onto my Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. I'm very new to this thing and find everything quite overwhelming, but I want to learn.
I flashed this ROM - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2119219 (the v6 No Wipe version because I was petrified about losing my data if I factory reset), but the phone is now extremely laggy and buggy, so I want to go back to the stock ROM (so I can do a nandroid backup) and then try a different custom ROM like Dmod.
So, my question is, do I have to factory reset my phone to go back to stock? Or can I just flash this file (http://hotfile.com/dl/189271016/833...T-I8190N-BTU-I8190NXXALL6-1356151513.zip.html) using the CWN recovery menu without wiping? I'm asking because my phone keeps giving me an error everytime I try to backup using the CWM Recovery menu.
Thanks and if you need me to explain something in further detail, let me know.

YamiWheeler said:
Hi there,
I recently rooted and flashed a custom ROM onto my Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. I'm very new to this thing and find everything quite overwhelming, but I want to learn.
I flashed this ROM - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2119219 (the v6 No Wipe version because I was petrified about losing my data if I factory reset), but the phone is now extremely laggy and buggy, so I want to go back to the stock ROM (so I can do a nandroid backup) and then try a different custom ROM like Dmod.
So, my question is, do I have to factory reset my phone to go back to stock? Or can I just flash this file (http://hotfile.com/dl/189271016/833...T-I8190N-BTU-I8190NXXALL6-1356151513.zip.html) using the CWN recovery menu without wiping? I'm asking because my phone keeps giving me an error everytime I try to backup using the CWM Recovery menu.
Thanks and if you need me to explain something in further detail, let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That firmware is a zipped odin-file. Can't be flashed in CWM.
Make a cwm nandroid backup of your "/data" to your external sd (that's your installed apps)
You can also backup your apps and appdata using titanium backup or similar, for later restore.
Just remember to never backup/restore systemapps.
Backup internal sd to computer just to be sure, if you in any situation have to make a factory reset. Make sure any kind of backup is on your external sd before you make factory reset, or it will be lost forever

YamiWheeler said:
Hi there,
I recently rooted and flashed a custom ROM onto my Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. I'm very new to this thing and find everything quite overwhelming, but I want to learn.
I flashed this ROM - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2119219 (the v6 No Wipe version because I was petrified about losing my data if I factory reset), but the phone is now extremely laggy and buggy, so I want to go back to the stock ROM (so I can do a nandroid backup) and then try a different custom ROM like Dmod.
So, my question is, do I have to factory reset my phone to go back to stock? Or can I just flash this file (http://hotfile.com/dl/189271016/833...T-I8190N-BTU-I8190NXXALL6-1356151513.zip.html) using the CWN recovery menu without wiping? I'm asking because my phone keeps giving me an error everytime I try to backup using the CWM Recovery menu.
Thanks and if you need me to explain something in further detail, let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Backup your data in CWM, flash my ROM and restore your data with CWM.

Benzonat0r said:
Backup your data in CWM, flash my ROM and restore your data with CWM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CWM has NO choice to backup/restore only parts of the device. Only a full backup is possible.
This is only in TWRP. Pity! I only use CWM because TWRP makes corrupted backups (three times) for me.
Or is it possible to pick out only DATA from the backup? And what is happen with the dalvik cache, which
consists of the byte-code for all installed apps, optimized for the ROM which created it?
"advanced restore and restore only /data". Is this the way in CWM that you mean @benz?
JackoMJ

Yes that's exactly what I meant, "advanced restore and restore only /data"
You don't have to worry about cache and dalvik because it's automatically created on the initial start.

thx for the information Benz (usefull in the future perhaps),
but i´ve decided to use Titanium Backup.
JackoMJ

Related

[Q] Proper way to make Nandroid Backup and Restore

Hi all,
I'm just curious on what is the right way to make Nandroid backup on the International Note? *I'm used to my AT&T Galaxy Note that only uses 1 CWM version - so I have no clue with the N7000*
So I already know that I have to use the Abyss Kernel to flash in between Custom ROMs.
How about making Nandroid Backup and Restore?
Should I flash Abyss first, then reboot to recovery (from advanced, not restarting the phone) then make the back up or restore from there?
Or should I use the CWM version of the ROM that I last flash that I want to backup (e.g. Alliance ROM)?
Will it affect restoring from different CWM versions?
Thanks!
keplenk said:
Hi all,
I'm just curious on what is the right way to make Nandroid backup on the International Note? *I'm used to my AT&T Galaxy Note that only uses 1 CWM version - so I have no clue with the N7000*
So I already know that I have to use the Abyss Kernel to flash in between Custom ROMs.
How about making Nandroid Backup and Restore?
Should I flash Abyss first, then reboot to recovery (from advanced, not restarting the phone) then make the back up or restore from there?
Or should I use the CWM version of the ROM that I last flash that I want to backup (e.g. Alliance ROM)?
Will it affect restoring from different CWM versions?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somehow it will affect, and i am not sure you can restore from diff roms.
nandroid backup procedure is same(going in cwm recovery and do backup)
shivg86 said:
Somehow it will affect, and i am not sure you can restore from diff roms.
nandroid backup procedure is same(going in cwm recovery and do backup)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh ouch .. that is really a good point. So Nandroid does NOT back up CWM?
If it does not, I guess .. I can only restore from nandroid using only one ROM with the same CWM it used.
Hi keplenk =)
I backup and/or restore almost every day. I'm not a cwm-r or android expert at all, just talking from my own experiences.
In the beginning, many months ago, when I just had bought my N7000 I flashed/restored/backup/wiped from all kind of kernels and cwm recovery versions, and it happened that I wasn't able to restore my backups. It was kind of very frustrating from time to time to loose a well tweaked and configured rom. But I was lucky I didn't emmc brick. That I realize today.
Then I changed my cwm-r habits. And I would for backups recommend you just enter cwm-r from whatever rom you are using and make a backup (nandroid). It will backup your kernel and cwm-r too.
To restore I would say it's a good idea to flash Abyss4.2, then REBOOT recovery to full wipe and then restore rom. Make sure you really installed Abyss4.2 and REBOOTED recovery before you wipe because else there could be a risk you end up with a nasty emmc hardbrick depending on if you are on a safe kernel or not. Many people would probably say it's not necessary to wipe, and maybe it isn't. But by the time I didn't it happened once in a while that I got problem with restore, not often at all though, but still it happened a few times. Since I started using this method with wipe, restore has worked fine without any problems hundreds of times (yes, I flash/backup/restore a lot xD, haha).
But once again, I'm just speaking from my own experiences nandroid backup/restore... I don't say it's the proper or best way to do it. It works fine for me though.
Happy Flashing =)
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

[Q] I need some help to get back to Ultimate XXLSZ

I was using Ultimate ROM XXLSZ_JB_4.1.2_v5.2 without any problems apart from poor battery performance.
However, I attempted to install Rocket ROM-V1-XXLSZ and have now got myself into trouble.
I followed the instructions to flash the latest XXLSZ-OXA cwm kernel and then flashed the Rocket ROM. It worked ok but I would like to return to the Ultimate ROM and kernel I had before.
I have a pevious full Nandroid backup of the phone (made with ROM Manager Premium) of the Ultimate ROM and the PhilZ kernel it came with but cannot restore it. I get the error "MD5 Mismatch" and the restore aborts.
Even if I reflash the original Ultimate ROM with all the usual wipes, the XXLSZ-OXA cwm kernel is still there and I still can't restore from the Nandroid backup. I tried re-flashing PhilZ 3.1 kernel separately and then the Ultimate ROM file but this didn't work either. The kernel is still the same.
Can anyone tell me how to either
1. completely wipe the phone so I can install Ultimate ROM AND the built-in PhilZ 3.1 kernel.
OR
2. get the phone to the point where I can restore from my Nandroid backup which I assume will restore the earlier version of the ROM at the same time.
I hope I've explained the situation clearly enough.
Thanks in advance.
Trevor
Install a cm kernel then wipe your phone then install a fresh ultimate rom and later on advance restore the data
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Go to cwm/backup and restore/misc nandroid setting/ untick md5 check. And try to restore again
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
You don't want to restore your nandroid. It is a bad backup.
In philz recovery go to mounts and storage. Format system data preload cache. Them go to advanced from main page and wipe dalvik
Flash ROM. Guaranteed to work.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SV using Tapatalk 3
Thanks. I know I can flash the ROM again but I was hoping to learn why the Nandroid backup no longer works.
Since posting, I gave up trying to restore the Nandroid backup, did all the usual wipes, re-flashed the Ultimate ROM and re-installed all my apps from scratch so my phone is more or less back to normal (Incidentally, I notice that no matter how many times I do this, all my music and photos are still there even though they're stored on the internal sd card. Dunno why).
Most of the ROMs I've tried have the kernel built in so all I needed to do was do the usual wipes and then flash. If I didn't like the ROM, I just wiped again and restored the Nandroid backup using CWM (Vol Up + Menu + Power) and the phone was back to its previous state.
The only thing I did different this time, as per the Rocket ROM instructions, was flash a kernel first. I may have done something wrong with that step or messed it up somehow. Even when I flashed an earlier version of the PhilZ kernel, the restore still didn't work. I've still a lot to learn about ROMs and Kernels, I guess.
As I said, I have successfully restored from Nandroid backups many times before this without any problem after experimenting with different custom ROMs. Can I ask you why Nandroid is a bad backup? Is it a problem with ROM Manager?
(One problem I've always had with ROM Manager is that if I choose to write the backup to the external sd card, it falls over with error messages. If I choose the option to backup to the internal card, it works but writes the BACKUP TO THE EXT CARD ANYWAY! I cannot get a reply from the dev about this).
Is there a better, more reliable backup method you'd recommend that does the same thing as the Nandroid?
I notice that different ROM managers use different CWM Recovery versions ie ROM Manager Reboot Recovery = 6.0.1.2, ROM Toolbox Rebooter = CWM 6.0.2.8 (same as Vol Up + Menu + Power). Could that be part of the problem?
Sorry for the long winded post.
Trevor
asf58967 said:
You don't want to restore your nandroid. It is a bad backup.
In philz recovery go to mounts and storage. Format system data preload cache. Them go to advanced from main page and wipe dalvik
Flash ROM. Guaranteed to work.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SV using Tapatalk 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] CWM Recovery - restore from backup - only data?

Hi Guys.
I haven't worked much with CWM so far and couldn't find a proper answer in the threads here.
When I do a restore from a CWM backup I've not seen an option to choose just data or apps ... so I suppose the whole system including the rom and kernel will be restored. right?
As I'm happy to have CM 10.1 running after all finally, I'd just like to restore the data (SMS, etc.) from a CWM backup. Is there a possibility to do so?
Thanks for your help.
Cheers
I don't think you can do that. I used titanium backup pro to restore only the apps+setting to do that.
Sent from my tf101
Ok, thanks. Should have thought about it before.... Sometimes fingers are faster than the brain.
Cheers
You can do an advanced restore and just restore /data but it's not recommented to do this coming from stock and restoring on CM I guess...
Afro said:
You can do an advanced restore and just restore /data but it's not recommented to do this coming from stock and restoring on CM I guess...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not?
ProtheusIRC said:
Why not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock and CM use different bases, and therefore restoring data of Stock can bring over some incompatible data/apk's and this can and most likely will cause a bootloop, from reading i think i can establish the safest way when your changing Rom's is to full wipe and 'clean' install. However when going from nightly to nightly this is not needed, and some data can be restored between same android version Rom's, for example CM10.2 is 4.3.1, data may work on slimbean 4.3.1.
Hope this clears things up for you.
I would also suggest to do a clean install without data recovery. If you want your data you can use Titanium Backup for App data. For the other personal stuff you can make a backup to your PC..
Sent from my 4X HD via XDA Premium
CWM Recovery, URGENT REPLY!!
I faced this problem that my rom got stuck on boot image, so I had another custom rom zip in my sdcard, so to install that I had to format my phone, now I have that backup and I only want to restore system settings, apps, app data, my data(sms, call logs and stuff), I dont want to restore the system or anything else which will make it get stuck on boot image again, now which choices shall I choose in advanced restore to restore only these specified items?
Please reply urgently as I have to travel in a few days and I wont be able to do it over there.
Cheers

Help deleting folders - used rooted phone

I just bought my first Android phone - HTC One. I'm loving it so far!! The guy I bought it from previously rooted it and ran several roms on it. I'd like to copy all the files to my computer and then figure out how to wipe all the folders back to stock (no need to have all kinds of roms and folders from apps he had installed previously, etc.)
Is there a way to do this and wipe everything back to factory?? I tried to do the reset through the OS but the files are still there. I also seen factory reset in the bootloader but havent tried it since I'm still learning and dont want to brick the phone.
If you have the nandroid backup of stock the mobile.
Then goto recovery mode and wipe all data,dalvik cache, battery stats.etc..then say restore..The original stock will be back.
If atall u see old files delete with no fear using root explorer.(be carefull)
If any thing goes wrong just restore the backup through recovery....
Good luck:thumbup:
Sanjay Kumar said:
If you have the nandroid backup of stock the mobile.
Then goto recovery mode and wipe all data,dalvik cache, battery stats.etc..then say restore..The original stock will be back.
If atall u see old files delete with no fear using root explorer.(be carefull)
If any thing goes wrong just restore the backup through recovery....
Good luck:thumbup:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ... I was thinking the same thing last night ... I thought after rebooting into recovery TWRP had a wipe function (not sure if this does a full wipe or not).
How would I restore a backup once I wipe the device if it wipes the entire device? Use USB and upload it back to the device then restore?
Lastly, I restored into the first backup the device has on it but unfortunately it has tons of stuff already installed on it and I'd like it to be a fresh build. Additionally, I'm only on version 4.1.2 and I'd like to upgrade if possible. Perhaps I can find a newer version of the factory AT&T image which is fresh?
I seen a 4.2.2 thread stickied on here ... would that be a factory AT&T image I could restore to after wiping the entire device of everything? Or perhaps I should try the 4.3 leak or even wait for 4.3?

[Q] Questions before flashing custom ROM

I am planning to flash a custom rom on my phone (for the first time).
Model : Xperia SP(C5302)
Build : 12.1.A.1.205 (Stock) running JB 4.3 with LB
I have rooted my phone using the towelroot method and installed supersu. I have also installed custom recovery from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2649923
I am planning to flash this custom rom http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-sp/development/cyanogenmod-11-locked-bootloader-users-t2868398
So I have a few questions that I am not clear about(even after searching the forums). And sorry if they are dumb. I really want to understand as much as possible before flashing roms.:fingers-crossed:
1. After reading the thread of my recovery, from what I understand, the recoveries are installed in /system. But on OP of the custom rom, I am about to install, there is an instruction to format /system before flashing the rom. So my question is if I format the /system partition, won’t my recoveries be removed (by the recoveries itself) before I even flash the rom?
2. Also will the recovery still be available to me if say I enter bootloop for some reason during flashing the rom?(asking for the same reason as above that is wiping my /system should also remove my recoveries)
3. Does CM 11 come with any inbuilt custom recovery? If not can I install the one I am already using (assuming installing a custom rom will remove my installed recoveries)?
4. Say I screw up during the flashing procedure. So if I want to rectify this I should first flash the stock .205 ftf, root, install a recovery again and then restore using the nandroid backup. Am I correct?
5. Is it necessary to wipe cache and dalvik cache before flashing rom? I see this instruction in some roms but not in others. And dalvik should be wiped after flashing rom and gapps, right?
6. Should I install supersu again after I flash the rom. I read in an article that it causes problems with CM. As far as I know CM11 comes pre-installed with superuser. But it also supposedly causes some problems.
7. Is it safe to restore user app+data, messages and contacts backed up using Titanium backup on a newly flashed rom? I have seen conflicted views on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that’s it for my questions (for now at least... ).
A Big Thanks in advance for all your helpful answers
Prat92 said:
I am planning to flash a custom rom on my phone (for the first time).
Model : Xperia SP(C5302)
Build : 12.1.A.1.205 (Stock) running JB 4.3 with LB
I have rooted my phone using the towelroot method and installed supersu. I have also installed custom recovery from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2649923
I am planning to flash this custom rom http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-sp/development/cyanogenmod-11-locked-bootloader-users-t2868398
So I have a few questions that I am not clear about(even after searching the forums). And sorry if they are dumb. I really want to understand as much as possible before flashing roms.:fingers-crossed:
And that’s it for my questions (for now at least... ).
A Big Thanks in advance for all your helpful answers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, I am only explaining the one I know about
1. Well, wiping the system will remove the recovery. That's why you'll have to flash the ROM after wiping the system. Do not ever reboot the phone after wiping the system but haven't yet flashed the ROM zip, else you'll have to do more work to flash the Stock ROM. This is due to the fact your phone does not have an OS to boot into! When flashing the ROM zip, the recovery will be automatically installed.
2. This is based on luck, most of time you'll end up unable to boot into anything. A fix is to flash the Stock ROM again.
3. Every ROM has recovery built with it (unless stated otherwise in the thread)! Upon flashing, it will be automatically installed too.
4. The methods you mentioned is correct. However, only restore the nandroid backup if you want to stay on stock. You could always retry to flash the ROM again. Nandroid backup is an image backup of your android. If you restore your nandroid backup, you'll end up with your previous version of android (like the way before you started flashing the ROM)
5. Wiping /cache and dalvik-cache is a really good practise! It doesn't really matter when you will need to wipe them, but personally I wipe them all before flashing the ROM. Wiping /data and performing a factory reset through recovery is recommended if you're coming from a different ROM. That's why backing up user apps through TiB (Titanium Backup) is recommended for you to easily get your installed apps back. Remember, nandroid backup and apps backup from TiB is different to each other.
6. No, this might cause extreme conflicts. No, I am using SuperUser as long as I have used CM. It never fails to give root permission at all despite the hatred I sense in some apps that overly-recommends SuperSU.
7. Of course it is very safe to restore them backups with TiB. However, based on my experience, messages and contacts were unable to be restored due to the difference in ROM version. I don't know if anyone else faces the same problem as mine. As of this, I really recommend your contacts to be synced with Google.
Heads up!
Based on this post, the dev of the ROM you wanted to flash, MrSteve555, recommends PhilZ when flashing the ROM.
TechnoSparks said:
First of all, I am only explaining the one I know about
1. Well, wiping the system will remove the recovery. That's why you'll have to flash the ROM after wiping the system. Do not ever reboot the phone after wiping the system but haven't yet flashed the ROM zip, else you'll have to do more work to flash the Stock ROM. This is due to the fact your phone does not have an OS to boot into! When flashing the ROM zip, the recovery will be automatically installed.
2. This is based on luck, most of time you'll end up unable to boot into anything. A fix is to flash the Stock ROM again.
3. Every ROM has recovery built with it (unless stated otherwise in the thread)! Upon flashing, it will be automatically installed too.
4. The methods you mentioned is correct. However, only restore the nandroid backup if you want to stay on stock. You could always retry to flash the ROM again. Nandroid backup is an image backup of your android. If you restore your nandroid backup, you'll end up with your previous version of android (like the way before you started flashing the ROM)
5. Wiping /cache and dalvik-cache is a really good practise! It doesn't really matter when you will need to wipe them, but personally I wipe them all before flashing the ROM. Wiping /data and performing a factory reset through recovery is recommended if you're coming from a different ROM. That's why backing up user apps through TiB (Titanium Backup) is recommended for you to easily get your installed apps back. Remember, nandroid backup and apps backup from TiB is different to each other.
6. No, this might cause extreme conflicts. No, I am using SuperUser as long as I have used CM. It never fails to give root permission at all despite the hatred I sense in some apps that overly-recommends SuperSU.
7. Of course it is very safe to restore them backups with TiB. However, based on my experience, messages and contacts were unable to be restored due to the difference in ROM version. I don't know if anyone else faces the same problem as mine. As of this, I really recommend your contacts to be synced with Google.
Heads up!
Based on this post, the dev of the ROM you wanted to flash, MrSteve555, recommends PhilZ when flashing the ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for such detailed answers. That cleared most of my doubts
Just some last few questions(promise!)
1. If wiping /system does remove the recovery before I install the rom, how is it possible to access it even to flash the rom? Shouldn't it like just close right when I wipe /system. Or does it not work like that?
2. Just to be sure the nandroid backup I made on my stock rom won't work if I later try to flash it through recovery while using CM,right?
Prat92 said:
Thanks for such detailed answers. That cleared most of my doubts
Just some last few questions(promise!)
1. If wiping /system does remove the recovery before I install the rom, how is it possible to access it even to flash the rom? Shouldn't it like just close right when I wipe /system. Or does it not work like that?
2. Just to be sure the nandroid backup I made on my stock rom won't work if I later try to flash it through recovery while using CM,right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Wiping system wont close the recovery at all. It still runs and you can still navigate within it. But remember do not reboot unless you've flashed the ROM! The mechanism of how the magic works is yet to be acknowledged. So I can't tell why it doesn't closes upon wipe. My best guess here is that the recovery might be running on a temporary partition perhaps. I hope a developer see this post and explains the magic.
2. Nandroid backup works all the time (if they are no errors when you are creating them). Nandroid backup is simply a backup of your whole device. If you're on CM, restoring nandroid backup will get your phone back to the way when you attempted the nandroid backup (stock ROM, rooted, and triple recoveries installed). Nandroid backup is useful when you're about to try something that may damage your ROM, without doing so much work to restore your device.
Say, you created a nandroid backup in cwm in which Cyanogenmod was installed. And then you flashed something afterwards. If that "something" damages the ROM and gives you bootloop, you can simply flash Stock ROM, root it again, install recoveries again, and restore the nandroid backup. Then, voilà, cyanogenmod is back. This will simplify your work rather than flash CM again, then gapps, then restore your apps and all those other things that will consume so much time
So a new nandroid backup will backup the whole device, in a form of an image.

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