May NOT work for 2.3.3, if attempting on 2.3.3 use old part 1! - Will wipe all data though
Windows ONLY!
Hey guys, rooted my Nexus S today, and decided to write a thorough, detailed guide on how I did it, as none of the guides I had found had everything detailed. I came across a few problems, and all of this is in the guide. I successfully completed it on my Nexus S running 2.3.2, so any version below that will also work.
The original guide was made by AllGamer, and can be found here. I followed this guide, and added things when I found it was needed
The full guide with everything (including links, pictures) can be found on my site, Complete Android.
New info: Upon finding another thread over at XDA (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=931865) it has been realized that you can root your Nexus S without unlocking the bootloader, and therefore not loosing your data on the SD card. Part 1 for the new method is still the same, but choose the new Part 2!
WARNING: Rooting your device will wipe all data off it, so you will loose EVERYTHING! Make sure you backup all important data first. Only applies to old Part 2 (fastboot oem unlock method), but it is still a good idea to backup important information!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you will need:
Nexus S (obviously)
Android 2.3 SDK
USB Cable
PDAnet (for drivers)
Clockwork Recovery Image
Superuser
Part 1
Download the Android 2.3 SDK (or direct from Google here, 32MB).
Once it has finished downloading, unzip it, and run the SDK manager.
Select whatever components you wish to install, but you MUST make sure you install Google USB Driver (Available packages > Third party Add-ons > Google Inc. Add-ons > Google Usb Driver package, revision 4) otherwise this guide will not work!
We must now install the Google USB Driver, or the phone will not be recognised as a device other than a mass storage device.
Connect your Nexus S to your computer, and put it in USB storage mode.
Put it in USB Debugging Mode (Settings > Applications > Development > USB Debugging)
Windows should now recognise your Nexus S when you plug it in, and ask to install drivers. It probably won’t find anything, so we need to help it manually.
(Installing drivers manually varies between Windows versions, so please refer to http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html if you are having trouble). Launch Device Manager (you can find it in Control Panel), find Other Devices, and listed under that heading, you should find Nexus S. Right click, and select Update Driver Software. Click Browse my computer for driver software, find your SDK folder, then the google-usb_driver folder inside it, click OK, then Next. This should install the USB driver successfully. Reboot your computer.
Power off your Nexus S, connect it to your computer via USB cable, and boot it into the Bootloader Interface (you can do so by holding down the Power and Volume Up buttons at the same time).
It should say LOCK STATE – LOCKED, in white just above the green Android. You are now ready to move on!
Part 2 - Fastboot oem unlock method - WIPES ALL DATA!
We now need to install PDAnet on our PC so that Windows can see our Nexus S when we are using the Command Prompt. Install PDAnet from here, select Samsung when asked about the Manufacturer, allow the driver to be installed (because the driver is unverified, don’t worry about this!). Follow along with any other instructions. You should be set now.
With the latest SDK version, some tools have been relocated to another directory, so we need to make a copy and move them back. Navigate to the directory where you unzipped the Android SDK file in part 1. Inside it, go to the platform-tools folder, and copy both AdbWinApi.dll and AdbWinUsbApi.dll. Go back to the main Android SDK directory and find the tools folder. Paste these two files in there, and we are all ready to use ‘fastboot oem unlock’ (the rooting command) now.
Open a command prompt window (Start > Run > cmd.exe).
Change to the tools directory within your Android SDK folder by using the following command (without the quotes and replacing *YOUR SDK* with the path to your Android SDK folder) ‘cd c:\*YOUR SDK*\tools’.
Make sure your Nexus S is still in the Bootloader Interface (refer to step 9, part 1 of it isn’t).
Now in the command prompt, type in (without the quotes) ‘fastboot oem unlock’.
Now turn your attention to the phone, and read through the new information displayed on the screen. Using the Volume keys select Yes, then press the Power button. This will WIPE EVERYTHING! I bear no responsibility for any lost data on your phone!
If everything is successful, on your phone, the LOCK STATE should now read UNLOCKED, and on your computer, the command prompt window should say something like this:
Download the Clockwork Recovery image (here if you don’t already have it) to your Android SDK tools folder (*Android SDK*\tools).
Rename the newly downloaded Clockwork Recovery image to ‘recovery.img’ (no quotes).
Now we need to flash it to our Nexus S, so enter this command into the Command Prompt (make sure it is in the Androis SDK tools folder!) ‘fastboot flash recovery recovery.img’ (without the quotes).
If all is successful, the Command Prompt window should look something like this now:
Download the superuser app to the Android SDK tools folder.
Power on your Nexus S, leaving it connected to USB.
Mount the USB storage, and drag and drop the superuser .zip file you just downloaded into the root of the internal SD card (so Computer > *Device Name*, not in any other folders!). It should look something like this:
Power off the Nexus S, and return to the Bootloader Interface (step 9, part 1).
Select Recovery using the Volume buttons, then the Power button.
The phone should reboot into Clockwork Recovery, but if not don’t panic, just repeat steps 9-12, including downloading a new copy of the file (mine only worked the second time around, don’t worry!)
Using the Volume buttons and Power button, select install zip from sdcard.
Select choose zip from sdcard.
Select the su-version#-signed.zip file you downloaded earlier and apply it.
Select yes (there are lots of nos).
Confirm it says something like this: install from sdcard complete
Select Go Back.
Select Reboot. (You will now also have an unlocked padlock when you boot up)
Done! You now have to set up your phone again like when you first got it, but it will be rooted now.
New Part 2 - Does NOT wipe everything - Keeps a locked bootloader
Make sure Part 1 is completed.
Make sure you have downloaded the Clockwork Recovery file and the Superuser file.
Move the Clockwork Recovery file to your tools folder within the Android SDK folder, and rename it to recovery.img (for simplicity).
Connect your Nexus S via USB to your computer and mount it as USB storage. Copy across the Superuser file to the top level of your sdcard. (So the first window you see, not in any other folders. The sdcard is just where all the files are stored, don't worry about it too much for now).
We now need to install PDAnet on our PC so that Windows can see our Nexus S when we are using the Command Prompt. Install PDAnet from here, select Samsung when asked about the Manufacturer, allow the driver to be installed (because the driver is unverified, don't worry about this!). Follow along with any other instructions. You should be set now.
With the latest SDK version, some tools have been relocated to another directory, so we need to make a copy and move them back. Navigate to the directory where you unzipped the Android SDK file in part 1. Inside it, go to the platform-tools folder, and copy both AdbWinApi.dll and AdbWinUsbApi.dll. Go back to the main Android SDK directory and find the tools folder. Paste these two files in there, and we are all ready to use 'fastboot boot' (the boot image command) now.
Open a command prompt window (Start > Run > cmd.exe).
Change to the tools directory within your Android SDK folder by using the following command (without the quotes and replacing *YOUR SDK* with the path to your Android SDK folder) 'cd c:\*YOUR SDK*\tools'.
Make sure your Nexus S is still in the Bootloader Interface (refer to step 9, part 1 of it isn't).
We now need to use the 'fastboot boot' command to load Clockwork Recovery onto our Nexus S. In the command prompt, type in the following (but without the quotes, as always) 'fastboot boot recovery.img'
Once you are in Clockwork Recovery (it may take a couple of tries, don't panic, just redownload Clockwork Recovery, and complete steps 3 and 10, part 2) it should look something like this:
Using the Volume buttons and Power button, select install zip from sdcard.
Select choose zip from sdcard.
Select the su-version#-signed.zip file you downloaded earlier and apply it.
Select yes (there are lots of nos).
Confirm it says something like this: install from sdcard complete
Select Go Back.
Select Reboot.
Done! You should still have all your data present on your phone, and have root access!
Notes
As AllGamer said in his tutorial:
It’s normal to lose the recovery after the reboot, the steps to flash the CW recovery needs to be repeated every time you want to access the CW recovery.
This is due the build in protection in 2.3
As some one pointed it out on another topic, the good thing about this is that you’ll never lose the stock recovery of 2.3, thus minimizing the chance of a bricked phone.
If you want to the CW recovery to remain permanently, you’ll need to rename /etc/install-recovery.sh to something thing else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep this in mind! It's not because you did something wrong
Also, some root apps require BusyBox to be installed, as I found out with Titanium Backup, so once you set up your Nexus S again, head on into the Market, and download BusyBox. It installed fine on my Nexus S this way, and now TB works fine.
I hope this is the best, most thorough guide you will find on rooting the Nexus S. Enjoy! Feedback is appreciated, and I will help out if you need any extra help.
Your guide has been wonderful however I'm stuck on part 2, step 4. I tried writing in the path to my directory and they keep giving me whatever I wrote in the command prompt "is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file"
"Change to the tools directory within your Android SDK folder by using the following command (without the quotes and replacing *YOUR SDK* with the path to your Android SDK folder) ‘cd c:\*YOUR SDK*\tools’."
This is how my command prompt looks like when I first open it. "C:\Users\Du>"
and this is what I typed in the command prompt: "Downloads\android-sdk_r09-windows\android-sdk-windows"
^^^I did exactly what you said above and nothing is happening. I don't know whether I'm writing in the directory wrong or what. Please help me out thanks
Your guide is nice, however as shown in distortedloop's stickied Root & Recovery thread, fastboot oem unlock is not required for rooting & flashing. We no longer have to lose all our sdcard data when first rooting and/or flashing a ROM.
Other than that, this seems to be a nice amendment of Allgamer's sticked root & recovery thread. I'm sure it will be useful to many.
STARSCR33M said:
This is how my command prompt looks like when I first open it. "C:\Users\Du>"
and this is what I typed in the command prompt: "Downloads\android-sdk_r09-windows\android-sdk-windows"
^^^I did exactly what you said above and nothing is happening. I don't know whether I'm writing in the directory wrong or what. Please help me out thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so if you want to change directories in the command prompt, you need to use the command
Code:
cd
So in your case I would type in
Code:
cd c:\Users\Du\Downloads\android-sdk_r09-windows\android-sdk-windows\tools
That way is fool proof, however you could take a shortcut, because you are already in the Users/Du folder (because of how it looks when you first open it), you could just type in
Code:
cd Downloads\android-sdk_r09-windows\android-sdk-windows\tools
Hope that helps
ravidavi said:
Your guide is nice, however as shown in distortedloop's stickied Root & Recovery thread, fastboot oem unlock is not required for rooting & flashing. We no longer have to lose all our sdcard data when first rooting and/or flashing a ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this way is a cleaner approach personally, but hey choice is good That's what Android is all about
EDIT: New approach added, now there is choice and easyness for all
Other than that, this seems to be a nice amendment of Allgamer's sticked root & recovery thread. I'm sure it will be useful to many.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
Jonathon Grigg said:
I think this way is a cleaner approach personally, but hey choice is good That's what Android is all about
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure that wiping all your data pointlessly is "cleaner."
It's not even clear what exactly the oem unlock of the bootloader really does for us, since you can get into clockwork recovery without that step. Once you're in clockwork you pretty much own the phone. I'll be interested to see if someone can use clockwork to flash a new boot image once rooted without the unlock; if so I can't see any reason to unlock the bootloader. That said, mine is unlocked, and I like it that way, but many won't root for fear of losing data on the phone.
Even if you end up having to do the oem unlock in the long run for some activities you want to do, it seems that rooting, then installing Titanium and backing up your apps and app data fully is a better way to go than just losing all your data (any app that doesn't store its data on the sdcard) that can't be backed up without root would be a lot less painful than WIPING everything on the phone, including the sdcard.
It's not worth arguing about, but I think any method that is including the oem unlock step should at least mention that that step can be skipped. How many people will go through the pain of a wipe that they didn't need to because they didn't see that there was an option without it. I guess that's there own fault for not doing enough searching on their own...
Anyways, nice and thorough effort. I'm sure many will benefit from your additions to AllGamer's tutorial.
distortedloop said:
I'm not sure that wiping all your data pointlessly is "cleaner."
It's not even clear what exactly the oem unlock of the bootloader really does for us, since you can get into clockwork recovery without that step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been wondering that myself. My guess is that for the average user you don't need to, but maybe it's for real power users who build their own ROM which has been fully modded or something, I'm not sure.
but many won't root for fear of losing data on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely agree with that, and your guide is probably the best way for those people!
Even if you end up having to do the oem unlock in the long run for some activities you want to do, it seems that rooting, then installing Titanium and backing up your apps and app data fully is a better way to go than just losing all your data (any app that doesn't store its data on the sdcard) that can't be backed up without root would be a lot less painful than WIPING everything on the phone, including the sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, this is one of the better uses for both methods. I already had to wipe my phone twice due to Samsung CS so I'm used to it Although it does give you a chance to clear out the apps you don't need. Doing that I noticed better battery life on my phone.
It's not worth arguing about, but I think any method that is including the oem unlock step should at least mention that that step can be skipped. How many people will go through the pain of a wipe that they didn't need to because they didn't see that there was an option without it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't going to argue I'm happy to adjust my tut to include something about this, after all it was aimed at more beginners.
EDIT: Added a new part to my tutorial based on your guide, just includes some more detail. Thanks again.
Thanks distortedloop
This is awesome cause i relocked my bootloader i really just needed root. Thanks!
Edit oops lost track of tabs open.
I think we can use this method to unlock oem without wiping data.
boot cw -> full backup -> unlock and flash cw (wipes data) -> restore backup (got ur data back and oem unlocked)
the only problem i can think of is that restoring backup would re-lock oem again but i am not sure of that.
i can't try this right now but if someone could, please give feedback.
Jonathon Grigg said:
I wasn't going to argue I'm happy to adjust my tut to include something about this, after all it was aimed at more beginners.
EDIT: Added a new part to my tutorial based on your guide, just includes some more detail. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nicely done. Thanks.
sam4free said:
I think we can use this method to unlock oem without wiping data.
boot cw -> full backup -> unlock and flash cw (wipes data) -> restore backup (got ur data back and oem unlocked)
the only problem i can think of is that restoring backup would re-lock oem again but i am not sure of that.
i can't try this right now but if someone could, please give feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I suggesting a couple of posts above (root without unlock to at least make a backup of user data).
Restoring a titanium backup would not re-lock the phone. A nandroid restore might, depends on what all it imaged and restores, but it's so easy to re-root, that doesn't seem like a big deal.
Jonathon Grigg said:
Download the Android 2.3 SDK (or direct from Google here, 32MB).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like you forgot to add the link in your copy pasta.
AtomicPC said:
Looks like you forgot to add the link in your copy pasta.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been working on it I just wanted to get it up here as soon as I could That's why I mentioned that the full guide is available on my website. I'm going back to school today, so I don't really have too much time for changing links now. Besides, most people on XDA should know how to look at the 'What's needed' part
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Jonathon,
Thank you for posting this detailed guide to rooting without losing your data! I do have a question. As you've probably heard, there are a few updates coming soon and if they are like they were on the N1, they always broke root. So getting root back was tricky unless I "unrooted" before applying the update. Using your method, is it easy to "unroot"? Thanks!
No problems
As for your problem, I never actually had a N1 so I don't exactly know why that would happen. So far from the 2 updates available to NS owners it seems like the OTA update does break root but it appears to be the same to get it back again. Can someone confirm this? I haven't been through an update with my root yet.
As for unrooting, if you haven't unlocked the bootloader (so you have followed the new part 2) I think it is just a case of finding a stock image (I think there's a GRH78 one around here somewhere) and booting into Clockwork Recovery and flashing it. That should remove root and then also give you a notice to install the GRH78C OTA update so you get the latest version.
I think that is what you meant? If you did unlock the bootloader (using the original part 2) then I think you just have to follow the same steps as I mentioned just then but afterwards go back into the bootloader interface and run 'fastboot oem lock' and it should be right.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Question on Part 2- step 1.
Code:
# We now need to install PDAnet on our PC so that Windows can see our Nexus S when we are using the Command Prompt. Install PDAnet from here, select Samsung when asked about the Manufacturer, allow the driver to be installed (because the driver is unverified, don’t worry about this!). Follow along with any other instructions. You should be set now.
Why above step is required if one already installed USB Driver for Nexus S and "ADB devices" command can find the device ?
On Allgamer thread didnt ask to repeat installing USB driver ?
What purpose for the pdanet driver ?
I dont want to put redundant drivers into my system which may interfere each other during flashing process.
hmanxx said:
Why above step is required if one already installed USB Driver for Nexus S and "ADB devices" command can find the device ?
On Allgamer thread didnt ask to repeat installing USB driver ?
What purpose for the pdanet driver ?
I dont want to put redundant drivers into my system which may interfere each other during flashing process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I tried to use the fastboot command with my Nexus S connected, it would hang and not do anything, despite leaving it for about 5 minutes. I searched online, and found the PDAnet solution, so I don't know what the difference is exactly. All I found the Google SDK USB drivers to do is enable you to see your device in Device Manager, however you could try it without the PDAnet drivers, and let me know what happens!
Thanks
Thanks for the prompt reply.. I tried out the google driver..it doesnt work under fastboot. I eventually get the fastboot enabled driver..that could explain why the pdanet driver required.
After i installed the fastboot enabled driver, i could test the connectivity under fastboot with "fastboot devices"
thanks going to try out rooting..i just want simple root access..without wiping data is a ++ ..
I managed to run fastboot boot recovery.img...going into clockwork menu..apply the superuser.zip.(for froyo version)..till completion..no word of failure..
However after rebooting, su and SuperUser.apk are not installed.( I used adb to check the system/app and system/bin folder.
Edit- manage to root properly after system mounting .
Just a note..to properly complete the rooting, one need to apply mounting then mount system before applying the Superuser.zip install from sdcard.
Prior to step 11, you may want to add the following steps for folks having problem to get the superuser.zip to install properly.
Originally Posted by droidmage
So all you guys who are having trouble getting root inside the rom, When your in recovery before you flash the superuser.zip file select -- mounts and storage -- then --mount /system -- then flash the .zip file and reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the extra bit of info, I will attempt to add that in when I get a bit more time on my hands. when I did it it seemed to work fine so thanks for discovering that!
Enjoy your rooted phone
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Hey guys and gals,
My Galaxy S had an incident which resulted in a broken, non-responsive touchscreen. The phone itself is working and appears to have lost no data. I'd like to backup the phone in whole. Got it attached via USB and Dev mode, ADB, Droid Explorer and Android Screencast are working. Z4Root installed. Thought of two ways of backing-up the phone:
1. Use Android Screencast to backup through some GUI app. Problem: AS can't control the phone, give it control (by modifying /data/local) since the ADB shell has no root permissions and the app that gives those (Superuser, with Z4Root) is a GUI app. Double-rooting?...
2. Use the ADB shell to boot the phone in recovery mode and backup to the SD card using that. Problem: Need a suitable recovery image that I can control using just the volume and "home" buttons. Some reassurance that it won't screw my data up would also be welcome.
Would appreciate any help!
Edit: Downloaded recovery-clockwork-2.5.1.2-galaxys.zip (from a 2010 blog post by Koushik Dutta. Can't post a link due to technical reasons). Can I rename it update.zip and flash it from the default recovery? If so, than I would be able to do a Nandroid backup, wouldn't I?
Edit: Current build is xxJP7 with recovery version 3e, which means installing a new recovery image is going to be problematic. Also, no CF-Root version intended for this build. Unverified reports that other versions work for this build as well, but not in a hurry to risk it.
Edit: Managed to install the SpeedMod kernel using Odin 3 1.52 (and ADB and Android Screencast), following a guide written by Rodney Chua ("Tourist in Paradise" blog). Managed to backup in whole using the new recovery. Haven't been successful in testing the backup through the SDK emulator. Also wasn't able to repair the Android Screencast problem despite having root control through the new recovery.
Any way of testing a recovery image for integrity?
Edit: The strangest thing happened on the way to the forum: I Started Android Screencast and had GUI control over my phone, while my shell suddenly had root permissions. I used that chance to install the latest ClockworkMod recovery, and after getting the okay I tried to backup from within the program. After a couple of seconds my phone suddenly showed the old 3e recovery (which shouldn't really be there) with an error message. A reboot from ADB was normal, and a reboot to recovery brought me back to the SpeedMod recovery I've recently installed. No trace of a new Nandroid backup, and I've no Android Screencast control anymore.
I did find out, though, that the shell root permissions are due to Droid Explorer presumably running the adb root command on startup.
Edit: Somehow lost the IMEI and all related data. A Reboot sorted this somehow, though. Some icon and widget placement was lost, presumably do to the device clearing the dalvik cache after I've tried fixing the Android Screencast issue. Have the nandroid backup (and nothing significant has changed since doing that), so I don't care much. Android Screencast positively related to having ADB running with root permissions, though it occasionally stops working and requires an ADB and/or Android Screencast restart.
Edit: To sum things up, managed to do what I wanted to do - Got a complete nandroid backup.
Heard from adb based backup but would be interested too. Any similar to odin but in "pull" mode?
Hello Everyone,
So I have had a Nexus 7 for about a few months now and I love it! I have done some research and I am getting mixed answers.
My question is: Is it possible to Unlock a Nexus 7 without having to wipe the data.
Thanks so much in advance.
No.
The tablet can now be rooted without unlocking the boot loader, however.
There is a third method for re-locking & unlocking without touching the data - but it requires at least one prior unlock which does destroy all data.
bftb0 said:
No.
The tablet can now be rooted without unlocking the boot loader, however.
There is a third method for re-locking & unlocking without touching the data - but it requires at least one prior unlock which does destroy all data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am checking this out now.
Just wanted to say thanks ahead of time
@handy
If you were asking about this because you were contemplating rooting, please be advised about the importance of making full nandroid backups. Perversely, the rooting guides fail to mention how important this is... especially if you are averse to wiping the tablet.
The reason? If you are rooted and you wedge your O/S somehow with a "mod gone bad", the only means of rescue will be unlocking the boot loader (to be able to use the advanced capabilities of fastboot), which wipes the tablet.
The way to do this with a locked bootloader is to flash a custom recovery to the recovery partition (from a root shell command line) after you have rooted.
That way if something goes wrong with booting the regular OS, you have a custom recovery to fall back on - and hopefully you used it to create a Nandroid backup before modding your lightly rooted stock ROM.
good luck
I agree with @bftb0
Just make it clear, I't possible to root without wipping. But you are still locked. Not possible to Unlock without wipping yet. If your data and OS is important for you (not for me) you must keep a backup first. Don't rely on the words I'll be successfully rooted with my OS and data anything can go wrong at any moment.
I just want to thank you all very very much!
I was successful using the method linked in the original post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2233852
I have been researching for ways to root my Nexus 7 without having to unlock it since unlocking would mean losing all my data and the sole purpose of wanting to root my nexus 7 was to gain access to good backup programs and methods like titanium backup and full bit by bit NAND backups. Which I am still not sure I can use full bit by bit nand yet but hey this is a start in the right direction. And I didn't lose any data doing this.
Thanks so much and I will keep in touch with how it goes.
HandyAndyXDA said:
I just want to thank you all very very much!
I was successful using the method linked in the original post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2233852
I have been researching for ways to root my Nexus 7 without having to unlock it since unlocking would mean losing all my data and the sole purpose of wanting to root my nexus 7 was to gain access to good backup programs and methods like titanium backup and full bit by bit NAND backups. Which I am still not sure I can use full bit by bit nand yet but hey this is a start in the right direction. And I didn't lose any data doing this.
Thanks so much and I will keep in touch with how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get started on installing a custom recovery (either CWM or TWRP) immediately so that you can make a Nandroid backup.
And then get a copy of that off the tablet for safe keeping.
Note (here I am reading between the lines of your post) that on the N7, Nandroid backups exclude /data/media !! - Basically, everything that you see in "/sdcard" is NOT BACKED UP by Nandroid.
You need a full Nandroid backup in the event of some kind of disaster (rooting experiment or mod gone wrong), but you also do need to backup stuff you feel is worth keeping from your /sdcard. You can use MTP for that if you want.
good luck and be careful.
Thanks for the backup tips! I was not aware that it won't backup sdcard directory.
Not to get off the thread topic because the whole purpose of rooting for me was to gain the best backup possible and being able to use USB flash drives now is nice too.
Anyway, I would like to know what you recommend for backup and how it works / how to use it. I would love to have something that works like acronis. I am really interested in making a bit by bit image that I can store on my desktop or flash drive that I can recover from.
I am researching on my own but I'd love to get input from you guys if you don't mind.
PS: Thanks again! You have been great help!
And now that I see the thanks button, everyone of you is getting a thanks!:good:
Forget my last question asking about backup. That would go in another thread anyway and besides I ventured into using TWRP that I installed using GooManager and its just awesome. Thanks again everyone and be well.
HandyAndyXDA said:
Forget my last question asking about backup. That would go in another thread anyway and besides I ventured into using TWRP that I installed using GooManager and its just awesome. Thanks again everyone and be well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP does exactly what you want with backups
Unfortunately TWRP does not backup everything! Luckily I didn't do a hard factory reset when I was testing it out so I didn't lose any data.
It seems to me that TWRP does not backup internal storage. On another note these android directory names and aliases are really making me crazy lol.
I would really like to be able to recover from a hard factory reset including all data on the nexus 7. Is there any way possible to do this with TWRP or anything else?
Thanks so much.
HandyAndyXDA said:
Unfortunately TWRP does not backup everything! Luckily I didn't do a hard factory reset when I was testing it out so I didn't lose any data.
It seems to me that TWRP does not backup internal storage. On another note these android directory names and aliases are really making me crazy lol.
I would really like to be able to recover from a hard factory reset including all data on the nexus 7. Is there any way possible to do this with TWRP or anything else?
Thanks so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so, if TWRP were to back up the internal storage, where would it store that backup? It wouldnt be able to store a backup of itself ON itself...
if you want a backup of the internal storage, just copy it to a usb thumb drive over OTG or to your computer, nandroids are not meant to back up 'sdcard' storage and never have been
want to recover from a complete loss of everything?
make TWRP backup
copy /sdcard contents to USB OTG or computer, your TWRP is on that directory so you would be copying EVERYTHING
Pirateghost said:
so, if TWRP were to back up the internal storage, where would it store that backup? It wouldnt be able to store a backup of itself ON itself...
if you want a backup of the internal storage, just copy it to a usb thumb drive over OTG or to your computer, nandroids are not meant to back up 'sdcard' storage and never have been
want to recover from a complete loss of everything?
make TWRP backup
copy /sdcard contents to USB OTG or computer, your TWRP is on that directory so you would be copying EVERYTHING
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks and sorry I didn't mention that I was backing up using TWRP to a usb flash drive all along. I am having trouble copying /sdcard now for 2 reasons:
1) Sometimes its called "Storage", sometimes its a directory within others, sometimes its called "internal".......I am just not sure what the actual directory is anymore.
2) I have tried copying as much as i could manually to my desktop via usb. but does windows see all that i need to copy and each time i select all and copy it, windows explorer lags and eventually crashes lol.
As of now I am trying to copy one fold at a time to windows. .....no I don't know what I am doing. Just getting frustrated so I am trying to copy it all on my own as well as useing TWRP lol
since MTP came about copying using windows explorer or any file browser, just plain sucks.
you have a couple of options here,
1. Use AIRDroid and copy it over your wifi
2. Use ADB and simply do 'adb pull /data/media C:\path\to\your\backup\folder
personally i prefer adb, i make regular backups of my phone and tablet and keep them on USB thumbdrive or sdcard on my laptop
Pirateghost said:
since MTP came about copying using windows explorer or any file browser, just plain sucks.
you have a couple of options here,
1. Use AIRDroid and copy it over your wifi
2. Use ADB and simply do 'adb pull /data/media C:\path\to\your\backup\folder
personally i prefer adb, i make regular backups of my phone and tablet and keep them on USB thumbdrive or sdcard on my laptop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already tried Airdroid which was working great until about 20 minutes later when it just stopped. Guess its just too much for airdroid too.
Yeah MTP isnt great lol.
And thanks again, I will give the adb method a try.
HandyAndyXDA said:
Already tried Airdroid which was working great until about 20 minutes later when it just stopped. Guess its just too much for airdroid too.
Yeah MTP isnt great lol.
And thanks again, I will give the adb method a try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, one more thing:
Am I correct in saying that all that Windows sees is the total internal storage? In other words every file that I can explore using Windows is what TWRP doesn't backup?
I got the adb command line tool. I have it running, but how do i direct it to the nexus? I mean there is no drive letter for the tablet.
Sorry to be a pest.
HandyAndyXDA said:
Oh, one more thing:
Am I correct in saying that all that Windows sees is the total internal storage? In other words every file that I can explore using Windows is what TWRP doesn't backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. Pretty sure.
HandyAndyXDA said:
I got the adb command line tool. I have it running, but how do i direct it to the nexus? I mean there is no drive letter for the tablet.
Sorry to be a pest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look at the command that i posted. You don't use a drive letter.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Pirateghost said:
Yeah. Pretty sure.
Look at the command that i posted. You don't use a drive letter.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that exact command aside from changing the save destination and no luck.
I don't know what I am doing wrong lol
HandyAndyXDA said:
Oh, one more thing:
Am I correct in saying that all that Windows sees is the total internal storage? In other words every file that I can explore using Windows is what TWRP doesn't backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not been able to convince myself that the MTP implementation is deterministic, although in theory it is impossible for it not to be. (Translation: I don't trust it at all)
"adb pull" will work best when the remote shell automatically acquires root privileges, but that requires a modified boot image (the /default.prop file in the boot ramdisk) for rooted-stock ROMs, but this shouldn't be needed for "adb pull /sdcard/" - it is needed for pulling files from other areas of /data, or /system, etc though.
You previously mentioned "bit for bit", and that won't happen for adb or MTP as all timestamps, ownership, and file mode info will be lost when files are transferred to a Windows filesystem. The latter two are not particularly important for /sdcard, and I suppose that a lot of people won't care too much about timestamps either. You might feel differently though.
Actually attempting to do something closer to "bit-for-bit" brings it's own set of problems. You could use a (busybox version of) "tar" program in either the recovery or the OS, but you probably need to write the output to a mounted NTFS filesystem because of large-file ( > 2Gb) limitations of FAT filesystems. That's a non-starter with a stock kernel (for the regular OS, anyway) and it is my impression that TWRP's kernel isn't mounting NTFS in rw mode yet (I don't know about CWM)
To date when I've needed to wipe the tablet and restore it I've just used Nandroid backup/restore plus adb pull/push for /sdcard. (I wish adb was faster - it seems to be 3x-5x slower than MTP)
I suppose there are other alternatives (network mounting of CIFS shares using compatible kernels, etc) but I haven't tried them so far.
good luck
Ok, here the thing, I would love to root my OP3T, and I have downloaded the toolkit (https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3t/development/toolkit-oneplus-3t-toolkit-unlock-t3507729) and understood I will have to unlock bootloader and hence wipe everything. However, the backup options of the toolkit backs up apps and app data, but not the rest of the internal SD (i.e. my music, my movies, my files...). Any chances of having a tool with no root that would back up everything, so that I can restore my OP3T to the non-rooted state I had before tweaking it ?
Tried Helium, but no success. Thanks for the help.
StressFull said:
Ok, here the thing, I would love to root my OP3T, and I have downloaded the toolkit (https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3t/development/toolkit-oneplus-3t-toolkit-unlock-t3507729) and understood I will have to unlock bootloader and hence wipe everything. However, the backup options of the toolkit backs up apps and app data, but not the rest of the internal SD (i.e. my music, my movies, my files...). Any chances of having a tool with no root that would back up everything, so that I can restore my OP3T to the non-rooted state I had before tweaking it ?
Tried Helium, but no success. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about copying the stuff via mtp or even better with adb (adb pull /storage/emulated/0/ C:\your\destination\folder\here)?
4_ever_dave said:
How about copying the stuff via mtp or even better with adb (adb pull /storage/emulated/0/ C:\your\destination\folder\here)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, agree. Any option for the lazy ones ?
Plus it does not really address the "back to unrooted" request !
Hello guys,
I hope someone can help me with this problem...
So the thing is - yesterday I finally got OneUI 3 and Android 11 update (yay?). But ofcourse as soon as the phone rebooted and optimised all the apps and came back to main screen it rebooted after a minute or so...everytime. As soon as I enter my pin and unlock the phone it reboots after a short period.
The same problem happened when I de-bloated the phone a while ago via ADB - but I then enabled back all the apps except facebook and some "safe to debloat apps" which were not even system apps and it has since worked for almost a year. But here we go again....
I even "re enabled/installed" all the apps I could list in ADB ( so basically all the apps on the phone) and then went to wipe cache - but still no go.
I am also wondering if there is a posibility to somehow mount storage just to copy some files to my computer (which are important, and my latest backup is around a month old) and then I'll gladly do a a factory reset - no problem.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
If you're able to use ADB to enable/install apps, then you should be able to use "adb pull path/to/files" to copy the files to your computer. You could reboot into recovery mode and see if your computer pulls up the storage that way too. Also, if you have TWRP, you can use the file system to copy files to an external SD card. So you have a few options to get your files.
You can also create a back-up of specific apps (and their data) using "adb backup -f MyBackUpName.ab com.corp.AppName".
TacoDeMuerte said:
If you're able to use ADB to enable/install apps, then you should be able to use "adb pull path/to/files" to copy the files to your computer. You could reboot into recovery mode and see if your computer pulls up the storage that way too. Also, if you have TWRP, you can use the file system to copy files to an external SD card. So you have a few options to get your files.
You can also create a back-up of specific apps (and their data) using "adb backup -f MyBackUpName.ab com.corp.AppName".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, thanks for the reply and helping out.
But all the commands and stuff is kinda useless because the phone reboots sooner than in 30 seconds after getting to the main screen. When I boot to recovery the storage doesn't get mounted.......
And I would've had TWRP but the phone is still under warranty so that's a shame, because on my backup phone I have it (and so did on all the previous ones) and it would be great. But IIRC if I install TWRP now, the phone needs to be wiped.
FFS samsung, what is this....because I now read a couple threads and posts on social media people having exactly same problem, and some didn't do anything with ADB prior to update. shame...