Database Develop

NanDroid question

i'm about to root yet another device, yay!
this idea may have already been discussed, but... if i'm able to get to the jf/cyanogen recovery console, can i restore a nandroid backup without fully letting the new install process complete?

what...?
you mean you want to bork an update and then restore your nandroid?
i wouldnt recommend it but it should work fine

I have heard in many occassions for those that had bricked their phones were able to do a nandroid restore on their freshly rooted devices. I haven't tried it before but obviously you want to make sure you have the radio updated first followed by whatever spl you were using. Flash the Cyanogen or Amon_Ra recovery file and you should be good to go. If you play your cards right, you might even be able to use switchrom to backup/restore the apps too.

Nandroid backup - does it get EVERYTHING ?

Folx,
I got bitten by the rooting bug. However, as I do use the phone quite a bit, I want to play it safe , so that if the ROMs I am about to try, don't quite work out, I want to get back to stock img and the apps I have and the settings I have etc.
So - as I perform Nandroid backup - does it backup everything ? In other words, if/when I have to restore from the said backup, will I get EVERYTHING back - all the apps and settings, as if nothing has changed ?
Or will I have to reinstall and configure all the apps anew ?

Yes, you will get your apps and settings back.
However I think it doesn't backup other partitions like "radio", because I recently had a problem with my radio and nandroid restore didn't help, I had to flash it again. Anyway, yes, as far as apps, settings, SMS, contacts etc. are concerned you're good.

BlueScreenJunky said:
Yes, you will get your apps and settings back.
However I think it doesn't backup other partitions like "radio", because I recently had a problem with my radio and nandroid restore didn't help, I had to flash it again. Anyway, yes, as far as apps, settings, SMS, contacts etc. are concerned you're good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It creates img files of boot, data, system (and your ext partition on your sd card if you are using one). Anything found in those will be imaged and backed up. It is way too dangerous and pointless to backup the radio. Radio isn't a partition btw.
Don't confuse nandroid backups with other (titanium for example) backups that can carry your settings from one rom to another...

So I have to have the radio image in order to safely restore a NANDROID backup? This thread is old and I don't know if things have changed by now...
PS: Unsure if I have to start a new thread to get an answer to this...

If you won't have a radio image intact, your phone won't boot at all. It won't even turn on.

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] OTA Update and Safestrap Clarification

Hello all,
I've been running Eclipse 2.2 on 902 for some time and I've stubbornly refused to switch away from using bootstrap for all my backup needs, however, after reading enough about it I decided to give safestrap a try. I've had a little trouble with the process however and was looking for a little clarity...
My understanding with safestrap was that in addition to giving me a safe (technically unsafe) 2nd partition/access to recovery in case I messed something up, that it would also pretty easily transfer data, apps, etc from one partition to the next, making flashing roms (and I thought updating) much easier and quicker without needing to backup individual portions of my system, Is this correct or am I mistaken?
Onward to what I did (my goal is to update to 905 and install eclipse 3.0) - Installed safestrap, backed up safe and unsafe side. I then went to unsafe and used bootstrap to restore to IMMEDIATELY after I applied the 902 update (had backed it up previously). This backup was literally a stock Bionic which I had updated from 886 all the way to 902, rooted, then installed bootstrap to backup. I then updated this to 905 with no issue, and of course backed it up... From here, my understanding was that I could simply swap over to safe side, then install the eclipse 3.0 through finding a zip in recovery - Recovery would not do this for me. It gave me an error similar to "cannot apply eclipse3.0.zip (bad)"
I tried to push the ROM both without making any changes (just switching from unsafe to safe and immediately trying to apply the zip) and when that didn't work I wiped data, formatted system, and wiped cache/dalvik and got the same error. (the net result through all of this was making my safe side non-responsive, and me ending up restoring safe side system to the initial backup I had made about 30 minutes prior).
Is this working as intended? Should I look at safestrap as purely an extra failsafe to keep me from bricking my phone and not an easier method to flash/update? If I have to expect that I need to go to safe, follow the same path to apply the update as I did on unsafe, then flash 3.0 and restore with titaniumbackup, sms/call log backup, etc, I will, but I just wanted to make sure I'm not misunderstanding something with safestrap that may allow me to make this whole process easier - I'd be much more interested in trying out a variety of ROMs if the restoring of my data wasn't such a hassle when I did it.
Sorry for the long post - I'm long winded and also wanted to get all of the information out there for anyone who may answer.
Thanks in advance!
-Jamie

Guess I was too wordy and nobody wants to read it (or posted in the wrong spot maybe) -
tldr:
Is there a way to use safestrap as having a way to easily transfer data etc from one rom/update to the next? or should I be using it solely to have an extra backup to prevent me from bricking my phone, and just do the longer more arduous methods of restoring data and settings after a rom swap/update?

I'm no expert but I have successfully used Safestrap, installed eclipse 3.0 as well as tried other roms and themes, and have other Android experience as well. Sounded like you may have used bootstrap and Safestrap at the same time. Am I wrong? If not, from my understanding that is a no no. Uninstall bootstrap completely and use Safestrap only. I also upgraded my "unsafe" system to .905 via OTA before attempting 3.0. My first experience with Safestrap, however, was not entirely positive either. I think my download was corrupt because it stopped working correctly. I downloaded again and haven't had any problems since. I followed this guide http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455888 and it worked. He's not really all that clear at times. It's also not necessary to factory reset after flashing a new rom. Always do it, but it can be done before too. I always do it before and have no problems. Also if you decide to apply a theme make sure you boot up the new ROM before flashing the theme. This guide was not entirely clear on that and it got stuck in a wicked boot loop that ended with me on stock and Safestrap gone. Keep trying. Hope some of this helped. I'm wordy too
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

Btw, to answer your first question, the best way I've found to transfer user apps from ROM to ROM is with titanium backup. Other data will still be on your sd cards and accessible to the new ROM. I never use titanium to restore system settings and most system apps though. Things tend to get messed up if you try to do this from one rom to another. System apps can be converted to user apps with titanium which is cool then backed up and restored to new ROM. And never restore Google play app with titanium. Some go so far as to say don't restore apps with data but I haven't had any trouble except with core google apps like play, gmail, voice. Usually flash gapps if I have to and restore other core Google apps directly from play store. Sometimes titanium "hangs" on some apps. Not to much trouble with it lately maybe it's fixed used to be a PIA though.Sorry there's still plenty of setup involved any time you want to "dial in" a new ROM.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

Thanks G-diddy,
To clarify, I knew bootstrap and safestrap didn't play well together. That being said, I did NOT use safestrap to try and restore to a bootstrap backup. I installed safestrap, then swapped to my UNSAFE side, then restored to a previous bootstrap backup (using bootstrap), then OTAd to .905. I then backed up this fresh near stock but rooted .905 with safestrap (thus should never have to use bootstrap ever again). I then tried to swap over to safe and push eclipse 3.0 but had no success... At present my phone has near stock but rooted .905 on my unsafe side, and the same .902 with 2.2 eclipse on my safe side that I've been running for months...
I guess I have no choice but to restore my present safe side to the old bootstrap backup, then manually ota, then install the rom, I just thought that Safestrap would make all of this process easier - in as much as since my unsafe side is successfully updated, I was hoping my safe side would be too, making the process somewhat simpler. Sounds like I'm wrong in this assumption though, unless someone else can say otherwise?
Thanks for the tip on Titanium Backup too, although I've been using the premium version of that for months now, ever since I decided I was going to turn my phone into a toy

[Q] Installing a ROM and Updating

Hey guys,
Sorry if this seems really noobish, but I seem be to kinda lost in all of this ROM'ing goodness.
I have read up on installing custom roms and plan on doing so but I have a couple of questions first before I take that last step (already unlocked and rooted on my One) - note: I have read through the guides but I still seem a little confused as to what exactly changes.
I notice that all tuts mention that you will lose all data on your phone. Does this include installed apps or are we just talking system files needed for the new rom? I have my phone setup already and have my apps backing up with Helium (Carbon) but this is something I seem to be a little confused with
Secondly, using something like CWM (Premium), can I update my ROM quickly and easily without losing any data?
I know that unlocking my bootloader will not get me OTA's so I am looking forward to using many of the awesome ROMs here on the site!

1) When you flash a rom, you need to do a full wipe in aroma.
Full wipe will erase all but not the sd, so your app in home, your background, your account will be erased.
2) You can upgrade your rom with CWM if is the same rom and the base isn't different.
If the base is different you have to do a full wipe.

One more
How likely is base to change for a ROM package? And if I have to flash that new ROM package instead of doing the update through CWM, am I back at square one again with my apps and data or is it just updating what it needs to?
Thanks again for the help!

Then:
Now, all the rom is based on 1.29.401.13.
When it will change (it depens from htc) and you will flash the latest update of rom, you have to do a full wipe, and you will lose all file, settings and other.
Instead, if you have to flash an update like: you're on 2.5 to 2.6, you can flash the rom with only dalvik cache and cache wipe.
But it depens, you always have to read in thread rom

I guess its not so big of a deal considering I can backup most of my apps using Helium and the rest of the apps can just be redownloaded if I keep a list. Configurations should be backed up anyways.
Thanks for the help!

If you're rooted and you will restore your app after a full wipe, i advise you titanium backup.
With this you can do a flashable zip with all your apps and data

Thanks!
I will take a look at Titanium backup and see what it can do! It would only make sense that someone would invent a way to backup all your apps and data (no matter what) to be able to restore them after a ROM update that wipes the phone completely!

Titanium backup can do this
However, only data app, not system app.
If you backupping system app too, you can have issue with new update of rom