[Q] Updating ROM - Desire HD Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello,
i have one question. I didnt find answer on this quest yet, so i ask here. I have ARHD 7.0.0 from mike (great job mike ) and in a short i want to update to 7.0.1 without superwipe. But i dont know, if i will loose my data, like apps, contacs sms or something else. Before this i flashed new rom only with superwipe tool.
I know its maybe stupid question, but i am still beginner and i am not sure, if i am right with many things. (and sory for my bad english sometimes ).
Thank you

You can just flash 7.01 over your existing 7.00, because it doesn't wipe anything on its own.
And if you want tro be sure, just make a nandroid backup via CWM before.
It will secure everything for 100%.

Thanks,
Good to hear this, i was bored with instaling apps and doing everything one more time, because i didnt use any backup app, that was mistake

Consider getting yourself a copy of Titanium Backup (or MyBackupPro, I think it's called).
You can schedule backups of everything you have, from SMS messages through to user apps and data, then restore after flashing.
I don't do that much ROM flashing myself, 1/month approx (I will eventually get to ARHD v7), but it's great to restore so easily

Ok, it seems to be good app fro doing backups and restores
Thank you for your advice, next time it will be easily to flash new ROM
I am looking forward to new version of ARHD!

majky11 said:
Ok, it seems to be good app fro doing backups and restores
Thank you for your advice, next time it will be easily to flash new ROM
I am looking forward to new version of ARHD!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
be aware that once you flash a rom over (in your case 7.0.1 over 7.0.0) all your MODS (they aren't right now for ARHD 7, but for future records ) will be deleted
also if you removed some bbloatware software...it will be flashed again
so my advice
Get Titanium, as you already being advised and backup all aps
DO a NANDROID BACKUP (make this a regular job....it will save from a lot of mistakes that you will do ..trust me ..it happens)
Get familiar with ROM CLEANER from PATRIC83 thread....removes a lot of crappy htc software that you dont need
flash rom
flash rom cleaner
reboot
VOILA

Related

Are there any "Android for Dummies" manuals or write ups??

Seriously, lol..
I am coming from a CE device and going to android is a little bit of a learning curve.. Not that its harder but its different obviously.
What I am asking basically.. All these guides that are written out talk about things as if we already know them..
Don't get me wrong, they are written great, but I don't know certain lingo.. For example I am really wanting to install a ROM.. Just got my evo a few weeks ago, Rooted it and thats it.. Looking into Roms and reading the instructions, its like "WHATTT??"
Sure they explain how to do it, but they don't explain in detail certain steps.. It happens as many people assume they should know..
For example (and they are all like this)
I am looking at the FRESH'S rom.. Seems like a good Rom from what I read, but looking at the instructions for just the Radio
http://geekfor.me/faq/flash-radio/
2) Boot in to RA and pick “Flash zip from sdcard”
RA?? What is RA??
Before these instructions it says "Don’t flash this unless you have a CDMA Evo 4g"
I am sure most people know what CDMA is, but I don't.. Have no Idea, lol
I am basically hoping there is a guide "FOR IDIOTS"
Thanks all
ra is a recovery, you can have either clockworkmod or amon_ra, they both do the same so its personal choice.
cdma is type of network, ie sprint, verizon, cricket. gsm is the other, ie att etc.
now that your phone is rooted, make a backup before anything else. you boot into recovery by turning the phone off, then give it 5 secs then hold Volume down button and then pressing the power button, when it responds you can let go. wait for img file checks to finish then press volume down once to highlight recovery and press power to select. you will now be in recovery. go into nandroid and make a backup.
you can use rom manager from the market to flash many roms however the fresh and damagecontrol links are currently erroring.
before flashing any roms be sure to wipe data and cache either in recovery if done manually or by checking the box in rom manager
Anyone wanna help a fellow brotha out and make a quick 10 bucks.. Lunch money at least.. Just to call me and maybe walk me through some of it, or atleast verbally explain some things
Paypal will be done right away..
Id really appreciate it..
install rom manager, you can make a backup through it. its an automated app, tell it what to do and it will boot into recovery and do it then reboot again
Have Rom manager.. I just did a "boot into Recovery" I then did a nandroid backup.. But why? I did this with Titanum.. How many back ups do I need? This is where I get confused..
I did a couple things with Titanuim and it took like 600 megs of space, now I am doing what seems like the same thing with nandiod back up?
Now, do I just unzip both the fresh rom and the radio, put it in a folder on my Sdisk, open rom manager, choose manually install or whatever it says, and point it to the unzipped Fresh Rom??
If yes, then how do I do the radio?
THANKS
Also, I know my apps will be gone by doing a root, and I could just download then again,,, (correct??)
What about my contacts and pictures and videos??
THanks
you don't unzip the rom, and you shouldnt need the new radio, put the fresh zip on your sd card and in rom manage tell it to flash it and check wipe data and cache.
you can always redownload your apps from the market, purchased ones stay purchased
no loss of pics or vids. sd card isnt wiped
you can check your current baseband version and if its the same then your already set
fastfed said:
Have Rom manager.. I just did a "boot into Recovery" I then did a nandroid backup.. But why? I did this with Titanum.. How many back ups do I need? This is where I get confused..
I did a couple things with Titanuim and it took like 600 megs of space, now I am doing what seems like the same thing with nandiod back up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium will backup your apps and app data too if you want. When flashing a new ROM you can download titanium from the market and then restore all of your apps.
Doing a nandroid backup in essence takes a snapshot of what your phone looks like at that point in time (apps, user preferences, theme, etc) and saves it. At any point later on, after trying different ROMs, changing settings, etc you can revert to that nandroid backup and restore it. Doing so will bring your phone back to that exact state when you performed the nandroid as if you never did any of the changes afterward.
And a lot of your questions can probably be answered in the post linked in my sig.
m4rk0358 said:
Titanium will backup your apps and app data too if you want. When flashing a new ROM you can download titanium from the market and then restore all of your apps.
Doing a nandroid backup in essence takes a snapshot of what your phone looks like at that point in time (apps, user preferences, theme, etc) and saves it. At any point later on, after trying different ROMs, changing settings, etc you can revert to that nandroid backup and restore it. Doing so will bring your phone back to that exact state when you performed the nandroid as if you never did any of the changes afterward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for explaining that.. MAkes sense now..
Also.. You say I don't need a new radio, but the main Fresh Rom post, says I "SHOULD " get the new radio, (which he posted) and install that before or after..
fastfed said:
Also.. You say I don't need a new radio,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did?
you would install the radio after, manually in recovery. leave it zipped too, put it in an easy place to get, like the root of the card.
m4rk0358 said:
I did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I said it mark, I was assuming OP had all current updates which include the radio
m4rk0358 said:
And a lot of your questions can probably be answered in the post linked in my sig.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you write that? its really the best I have come across.. Thanks!! I am on my way.. Its in the middle of the rom install..
Wish me luck
I still need to find out if I should install the "Recommended" Radio or not..
THANKS GUYS!!
NewZJ said:
I said it mark, I was assuming OP had all current updates which include the radio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well.. I have all the current (Sprint/Evo) updates.. But nothing from aftermarket..
Phone just rebooted.. Here we go
Oh one more thing..
If I feel to revert back to stock and use the "nandroid" back up, will it back up the radio I had then too??
Looks Like I am done... That was nice and easy (thanks to Rom manager)
I am now going to install the radio that was recommended.. Can I use Rom manager for that too??
in TitaniumBackup (tiB) ... go to Batch .. Backup all user apps
(i would suggest purchasing tiB. the paid version is MUCH faster and you won't have to click on each app to restore it. i also like that you can create a flashable zip file for your backup. ie: an update.zip file. it's under the the "More" section.)
i would suggest using Amon_RA as your loader. here is the thread to review it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=705026&highlight=amon_ra
do a nandroid. (don't forget to copy a nandroid onto your computer once in a while...having ur nandroid exist only on ur sdcard sux if you lose ur phone or ur card melts)
- between ROMs..do a full wipe. (ie: From Fresh to BakedSnack or CM6) just do it. it will save you stress and irritation. it will also help you streamline your recovery process and develop overall familiarity with the system.
- when upgrading a ROM (ie: Fresh 3.1 to Fresh 3.1.1 or 3.2) usually you can just wipe your Cache and DalvikCache (always read the FirstPost of your ROM ... some times you need to full wipe)
- Flashing a kernel can have significant impacts on your device. always flash Cache and DalvickCache. always have a good nandriod ready. always be plugged in or have >50% battery. always in this case means...not technically "Required", but don't cry to me if something goes awry.
the tiB will restore your applications but not settings. some apps like launcherPRO OR adw.Launcher or SMSbacup+ etc will allow you to export your settings. then you simply import your settings when needed. usually works quite well.
the nandroid is more like a 'Ghost Image' we use on computers. it will allow you to recover your devices almost 100% to the point it was when the image was taken. similar to tiB but diferent. tiB backups up the apps. nandroid backs up the whole system.
check this thread for Radios... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715485
yes, you will flash the radio zips in the recovery console as well
this is a combo zip and should work fine http://www.mediafire.com/file/ry3k8....00.09.01_WiMAX_26023_R01_PRI_NV_1.77_003.zip
OK.. Now that I have FRESH ROM.. I would like to get a theme.. Right? Isn't this what most people do after a Root,Rom,Radio, Theme??
Thanks
Umm this is not good.. where are all my contacts? I was under the impression they would stay.. How do I get them back? I did a nandroid back up and a Titanium too.. Where did they go? Or should I just sync to my computer again?
Thanks
if your contacts are synced to gmail they will appear shortly after sync, if you have them on your computer you can sync them that way
once the radio is current you don't have to update it again, it won't be downgraded with flashing roms

[Request]Dual Boot 2 ROMS

i was looking around and found that evo n other android phone can dual boot so i wondering if some one can come up with dual boot for g2
You can just use nandroid if you want to switch. It's not too bad to test out and play between ROMs.
Stryder5 said:
You can just use nandroid if you want to switch. It's not too bad to test out and play between ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i hate installing apps over n over.....
its more practical to use nandroid
theXeffect said:
i hate installing apps over n over.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you talking about? You wouldn't need to if you backup the roms properly.
Why in the world would you want to dual boot? Just nandroid.
im just saying it would be cool to have cuz its call dual boot n something new to try.......u guys dont? thats fine.......i wish someone would tho
I don't think I'm performing nandroid backups properly either. I always have to reinstall apps like the OP. Can someone please tell me the right way? Thanks!
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Lol! what on earth are yall talking about? nandroid only works with the same type of rom you used previously. for example, using rooted stock rom then backup via nandroid then switch to CM and restoring doesnt work. you would have to flash back to rooted stock and then restore. you can obviously make multiple backups... one for each rom. but again... you have to be on the same rom... otherwise, the restore will seriously corupt your current rom.
I'm beginning to wonder if some even know what dual boot actually means, lol!
Thats why you do a wipe befor you restore from a nandroid backup
shiznt said:
Thats why you do a wipe befor you restore from a nandroid backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesnt really matter if you are using a different rom this time around especially a themed one. Sometimes it can help.... but if the rom is completely different like sense then to stock or CM, you gonna have issues no matter if you wipe or not. Are folks crazy? the system folder varies HEAVILY between different roms. sure you can TRY restoring just the data/cache/ext but that doesn't always work out right. Stick around, kid. You might learn something if you quit running you mouth
Calm down guys. . . . Nandroid works just fine. .
I have used it on an array of ROMs, Stock, Sense, CM . .It works. You just need to backup, then wipe and flash the ROM you want. If you want to go back to the other ROM, back up, then restore the one you backed up previously. You can even name them, you just have to change the folder name in the clockwork mod folder on your SD and look for backups.
Seems like there's a little confusion on how Nandroid works...I didn't understand it myself until recently. I'll attempt to explain how it works, if any experts think I got it wrong, please let me know.
Basically, Nandroid lets you backup your current phone's state (ROM, apps, settings and all) into a single save file that you can restore whenever you want. So as an example, let's say you install ROM X, but you want to try ROM Y. You would first make a Nandroid backup of your phone, then flash ROM Y. Then let's say after a day of playing around with ROM Y, you want to go back to ROM X, you would then make a Nandroid backup of ROM Y, and restore the Nandroid of ROM X. Your phone will then be exactly the way it was when you created the backup of ROM X, and at any time you want you can restore your ROM Y. In this way, you can bootup any ROM you've saved in the past, anytime you want. This makes Nandroid a fairly effective "multi-boot".
You might notice one slight pain in this whole process, the first time you use any particular ROM, you'll have to setup your phone all over again. This can be made easier if you use Titanium Backup, which is an app that backs up your apps and settings to your SD card. Then when you try out a new ROM, install Titanium Backup from the Market and use it to restore your apps and settings. If you're using the free version, this means tapping the screen twice for each app on your phone ("Install", "Done", repeat), but I noticed the paid version claims to have a "0-click restore" feature.
I hope this helps clarify some things.
~~Tito~~ said:
Calm down guys. . . . Nandroid works just fine. .
I have used it on an array of ROMs, Stock, Sense, CM . .It works. You just need to backup, then wipe and flash the ROM you want. If you want to go back to the other ROM, back up, then restore the one you backed up previously. You can even name them, you just have to change the folder name in the clockwork mod folder on your SD and look for backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol! Thats what I've been trying to explain to them but they just want to argue with me for some reason. hahaha! They'll figure out on their own any way if they want to be stubborn about it. Heck, I was just trying to save them some frustration. oh well...
dracoaffectus said:
Seems like there's a little confusion on how Nandroid works...I didn't understand it myself until recently. I'll attempt to explain how it works, if any experts think I got it wrong, please let me know.
Basically, Nandroid lets you backup your current phone's state (ROM, apps, settings and all) into a single save file that you can restore whenever you want. So as an example, let's say you install ROM X, but you want to try ROM Y. You would first make a Nandroid backup of your phone, then flash ROM Y. Then let's say after a day of playing around with ROM Y, you want to go back to ROM X, you would then make a Nandroid backup of ROM Y, and restore the Nandroid of ROM X. Your phone will then be exactly the way it was when you created the backup of ROM X, and at any time you want you can restore your ROM Y. In this way, you can bootup any ROM you've saved in the past, anytime you want. This makes Nandroid a fairly effective "multi-boot".
You might notice one slight pain in this whole process, the first time you use any particular ROM, you'll have to setup your phone all over again. This can be made easier if you use Titanium Backup, which is an app that backs up your apps and settings to your SD card. Then when you try out a new ROM, install Titanium Backup from the Market and use it to restore your apps and settings. If you're using the free version, this means tapping the screen twice for each app on your phone ("Install", "Done", repeat), but I noticed the paid version claims to have a "0-click restore" feature.
I hope this helps clarify some things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was a perfect explaination! I hope that sheds some light for folks who didnt understand what I meant and I apologize for being annoyed. originally, I had thought the OP was talking about dualbooting with android/windows mobile or something... I didnt think about the possiblity of running two android roms. I see how nandroid was brought up now... yeah, thats kind of silly to dualboot with two android roms. but to each his own...
theXeffect said:
im just saying it would be cool to have cuz its call dual boot n something new to try.......u guys dont? thats fine.......i wish someone would tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i cant believe nobody agrees, i would love to have dual boot just like my my laptop with win7\ubuntu netbook remix. the iphone people are dual booting into android or Ios and thats kinda cool even if its not completly functional. Id rather dual than trying to restore back and forth. Good Call
I used the Nandroid method on the G2 to switch between SuperD's ROM and KingKlick's Eclair builds. It works and really does make a good "multi-boot." Also, I use MyBackup Pro to back everything up, and all the settings for the apps and the phone are saved.
veritasaequita said:
i cant believe nobody agrees, i would love to have dual boot just like my my laptop with win7\ubuntu netbook remix. the iphone people are dual booting into android or Ios and thats kinda cool even if its not completly functional. Id rather dual than trying to restore back and forth. Good Call
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, I have to agree with you... There are several things that bother me about nandroid, which I say, is not a good replacement for dual-booting. With dual boot you can shut down your phone/computer and be able to switch between operating systems. I can use Windows 7 to play games, Ubuntu to code, and Mac OS X 10.5 for multimedia. I'm pretty sure that people don't backup Windows 7, wait for that to finish, then install Ubuntu on their computer, wait 20-30 minutes for it to boot up, then get to work(and I'm sure computers would be horrible if you needed to do that). But I'm just saying this so I can get into the conversation and actually get somebodies recognition so they can actually start working on a script for the G2 so you can dual-boot. I'm pretty sure that it's possible... but I'm not sure if there's anybody willing to do it.
Well that's accomplished by partitioning, on a pc.
whichever rom u install completely takes over the previous one, thus eliminating that previous rom. There would need to be some sort of partitioning mechanism,involved. to achieve the dualboot, wouldnt there?
correct me if i am wrong, but the hboot controls the partitions of the phones, and when the G1 needed a new hboot to be re-partitioned to allow for better bigger ROMs there were a LOT of bricks that took months to figure out how to fix, so if someone wants to try to flash the hboot from another phone(and risk losing their phone forever) then by all means have at it, but for the time being nandroid will have to do.

[Q] How frequent do you make nandroid backups?

I seem to make one right before I decide to make a big change on the phone for example and rom update or theme update.
It's starting to be hard to keep up with the all of them. Anyone else got tips on how to manage them or if it's possible to make auto backups every week or so like titanium dose with apps?
I back up before making major changes. I only keep 1 or 2 recent backups on the SD card and will archive the rest onto my computer. I'll eventually clear them out, but there are a few worth keeping- such as the stock, rooted rom.
I just keep a fresh back up of the phone in stock with nothing on it besides stock apps and crap. Auto sync takes care of my contacts and I could care less about what texts I lose, most of my apps are on the sd card so I just load what I want back.
dietotherhythm said:
Auto sync takes care of my contacts and I could care less about what texts I lose
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. I don't care much about losing any texts. I have it set up for auto delete at 50 anyway. I theme my phone on a daily basis. So I usually backup when I'm about to push a file into the framework. If the push was successful (phone doesn't go into a boot loop) then I delete the old backup I just made and backup again with the changes I just made. Otherwise, I also backup when flashing a ROM (obviously).
I back up when I flash a new ROM, a new theme, or make tweaks to certain files (like the anti-data-throttling technique). Beyond that, I have no need.
Sent from a Western Union telegram.
How do ya geniuses do the nandroid backups?
I've been tempted to flash cyanogen mod, but I see so many glitches, and since I'm no expert at this, I kinda doubt to do the rom flashing to my phone.
EdWRX said:
How do ya geniuses do the nandroid backups?
I've been tempted to flash cyanogen mod, but I see so many glitches, and since I'm no expert at this, I kinda doubt to do the rom flashing to my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rom flashing is easy, use Rom manager from market to flash clockwork(after rooting if not already there) and then download cyanogenmod as it is awesome stable right now and flash via rom manager.
it should then ask if you want to back up(nandroid) and/or wipe, check both options and you will have a backup
on original topic i have pro version of rom manager and so i have it set to make a backup every 4 days(but i don't delete very frequently and my 8GB sd card is not nearly big enough)
ive got my stock rom backed up from when i first rooted just incase i ever want to go back, Cm6.1 and then the current virtuous rom that im using. i really do need to clean my SD card up though, haha.
Like most, I made a nandroid as soon as I'd finished rooting, and then I keep one copy of my current ROM (Virtuous). If I'm going to make a major change or upgrade, I'll make a backup and keep it around for a few days, till I'm sure there are no bugs, and then keep the newer and delete the older backup. At most I have 3 backups, but normally I only have 2.
Honestly.... Never.
There's nothing a Nandroid can fix that flashing a new rom cant And the new rom gives you a nice change
once a week!

[Q] HTC Wildfire (Buzz): What is the best custom ROM for this device?

Hi people,
I'm pretty new at this, altough this device is my second android smartphone. My first was an LG GW620(rooted and cyanogenmod) now I have the Wildfire (already rooted).
Before I will use custom roms I would love to ask you some questions, because I had a lot of problems with the cyanogen mod on my LG. (Radio FM didn't work, bluetooth, camera, ect..)
Wile rooting my Wildfire, I did a backup with the Clockworkmod Recovery (nandroid I presume) but I am a bit of a noob when it's about backing up and "restoring" it to the same state as before the custom ROM. So I would like to know if indeed I can restore it to the same state (rooted, Android 2.2.1, software 2.22.405.1) and how axactly to do that?
Also, will I have the same problems again with the cyanogen MOD like before?
And last but not least :
What is the current best suited custom ROM to use on this device (hopefully bug-free ^_^) ?
(I did a search and found an old thread (2010) asking for the best rom suitable for the wildfire, so I wanted to create a new one)
Thank you for your help and your input!
With regards, xXxeXtreme
PS.: Sorry for any spellingerrors, still need to install an english spellcheck on this b0x :>
...I'll do that right away ;-)
/ Not 1 more thread like this. Sigh
Anyways, the answer depends on whether you like HTC Sense or not. If you can answer this with 100% surety, you can choose your Custom ROM more easily. CM7 for the Wildfire has come a long way from CM6, and, doesn't have the problems you listed. (FM Works, Cam works, Video Recording works, BT works - BUT, with an additional app called Bluetooth File Transfer installed, else, it may cause issues)
If you cannot live without Sense and its apps (Like Contacts and Dialer), then look at Sense based ROMs like JokerDroid, WildPuzzle, DK Custom ROM etc.
The entire listing can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1029318
There is no definitive answer to what is the best ROM. Every member will have their own opinion, based on what suits them. No ROM is 'universally' good. Infact, many have given up root and gone back to the Stock ROM, because that is what suited them ultimately.
Nandroid Restores can be done from the same menu where you backed up. When you backed up, you must have noticed another option called "Restore". Nandroid Backups are restored from there. Make sure that you do NOT rename the backup folder on your SDCard, nor move it to any other location.
Wow, that was fast thanks for the reply.
I did notice the restore option, but I wanted to be 100% sure that that would indeed revert things to its stock state. And although the Sense is great, fast and ...
I do long for the CyanogenMod's hugely configuration options. So I think I will go for that.
I'll let you guys know how it turned out
Greetz,
xXx
Hmmm... I installed ROM Manager premium and through there I downloaded the CyanogenMOD 7.1.0-RC1, wiped the Dalvik cache and installed it.
When it tried booting, it looked like it got stuck in an boot-loop, it froze and booted again, over and over again.
I'm now trying to restore my last backup, hopefully it will work.
Any ideas? Has this happened to anyone?
Grtz,
xXx
EDIT: I thought of something, I wanted to keep my apps, contacts, ect.. so I 'only' wiped the dalvik cache, nothing else.
Could this be what caused the boot-loop?
EDIT2: Ooooh yes, the ROM Manager premium did a complete backup, and my is back just like it was when I backupped YIIHAAAA (...yeah, I was a bit affraid there ^_^ )
Strange thing though, when I started the phone with volume-down, power button, then did a backup from there, it did'nt backup data and all. only the system. How does that come? (PS.: I used revolutionary to S-Off)
EDIT3: Yups; that did the trick. Wiping all of the data before flashing the mod was what I did wrong. Now it boots up perfectly
It's necessary to perform a full wipe before installing a new ROM. (Not applicable for updates to an existing ROM, like CM RC1 to a new nightly). Else, you are going to end up in a bootloop.
best rom hhhmmmmm ?
No one can tell you whits is the best rom. It is up to you. Whits phone is the best ????
I use hell fire and love it. It is smoot easy and beautyfull. I have not found anything whits not function. Then it maybe should bee me. But no rom can change that.
If you looking for the orginal rom to buzz (wildfire) look here. Here is a gooooood webpage.
http://shipped-roms.com/download.ph...5.55.24H_3.35.20.10_release_160191_signed.exe
You can find a lot of orginal roms here with a lot of language.
I my self is pretty new to this game. But I have just boyed a cheep phone and start playing. It is a nice and safe way to learn.
I have tryed a lot of the roms and found that if you take your time and let the phone rest in peas wheil it work nothing gos wrong. As the guy up mention wipe everything before flash. Take your time and maybe a cup of coffe and you are playing the best computergame ever.
Have a nice time with the nerves on edge.

[Q] Advice on backup and rooting

First post and I have to say great forum here and lots of great information!!
I am a long time unix / linux user and work in the technology product development and I have been researching for about a week after updating to official ICS over Kies for information on backuping up my phone and rooting.
I had considered rooting before but never had a good reason really until I loaded the official ICS update and had to reset to get it working, losing all my apps / data. Kies was not cooperating so I did not get a good backup and it would not keep my app settings any way. This is when I found out that my old Blackberry and even iPhone had much more complete backup solutions that non-rooted Android. I have totally recovered the other devices without losing anything in the past so I thought Android would be a snap as well.
Any way to the point now. After searching I have found great work done by the members and I feel pretty comfortable proceeding to root my stock ICS and getting Titanium to do a full backup. I will fix my keyboard and few other things while at it.
My questions are:
1. When the next official release comes from ATT / Samsung will I have to reflash to the stock boot.img (found in another thread) to be able to get the upgrade and then root my phone again?
2. Once rooted, is it better to just come back here and get the updated ROM and flash manually?
3. Is the best way to achieve the complete backup solution I am looking for?
I am pretty happy with the stock ROMs but I want to be able to get a good and full backup going forward since it takes so long to reinstall everything. I could even live with the bloatware if I was confident I could completely restore at anytime.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Roy
Titanium is good for backing up apps and data. If you want a complete back up, you'll want to make a nandroid backup with CWMR. As for the ROM part, it all depends on if you're happy with what you get stock or if you like customized things. I'm sick right now or I would go into detail.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
Shawn said:
Titanium is good for backing up apps and data. If you want a complete back up, you'll want to make a nandroid backup with CWMR. As for the ROM part, it all depends on if you're happy with what you get stock or if you like customized things. I'm sick right now or I would go into detail.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Shawn. I saw a reference to nandroid but did not realize it was part of CWMR. Can I assume if I get CWMR loaded I will be able to backup my current apps / settings or will that just set me up for the next time? I have been sort of assuming once I get CWMR loaded and get root that I may lose my current settings.
Appreciate the reply especially while sick! Hope you feel better soon.
VideoRoy said:
Thanks Shawn. I saw a reference to nandroid but did not realize it was part of CWMR. Can I assume if I get CWMR loaded I will be able to backup my current apps / settings or will that just set me up for the next time? I have been sort of assuming once I get CWMR loaded and get root that I may lose my current settings.
Appreciate the reply especially while sick! Hope you feel better soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A nandroid backup is more like an image backup of the flash, so you would have to restore the whole thing to get back any files you may have lost. It's mostly for backing up prior to flashing a new ROM, so if you don't like it you can go back to what you had easily.
If you want to back up pictures and things like that you should be able to plug the phone into a computer and mount the flash as a drive (I've done this on my Linux and Windows systems many times). Then you can copy the files you want to save to your computer, or copy a new ROM to the phone so you can flash it with CWMR.
You're welcome. Nandroid backups are for when your phone bootloops or is "bricked" or if you want to restore to something previous. For me, I use Titanium to backup all app data before flashing something and then make a Nandroid with CWMR. In my opinion its a good idea to use both so you're safe from any problems down the road.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
Shawn said:
You're welcome. Nandroid backups are for when your phone bootloops or is "bricked" or if you want to restore to something previous. For me, I use Titanium to backup all app data before flashing something and then make a Nandroid with CWMR. In my opinion its a good idea to use both so you're safe from any problems down the road.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
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Click to collapse
mvi57 and Shawn,
Thanks guys, got it now. I will probably do both types of backups as well.
I think I understand the system a little better now. The recovery partition probably does not affect the bootloader or ROM so if I just replace it with CWMR I still boot the same and will not lose my current data. I am guessing the next official ROM will probably load fine but I would probably just have to root the phone again.
Thanks for putting up with the noob questions. I have not done embedded development before but some of the guys on team have so I have some terminology i need to get used to.
VideoRoy said:
mvi57 and Shawn,
Thanks guys, got it now. I will probably do both types of backups as well.
I think I understand the system a little better now. The recovery partition probably does not affect the bootloader or ROM so if I just replace it with CWMR I still boot the same and will not lose my current data. I am guessing the next official ROM will probably load fine but I would probably just have to root the phone again.
Thanks for putting up with the noob questions. I have not done embedded development before but some of the guys on team have so I have some terminology i need to get used to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will need to root again once you update. Replacing stock recovery with CWMR will not make you lose any data.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
VideoRoy said:
First post and I have to say great forum here and lots of great information!!
I am a long time unix / linux user and work in the technology product development and I have been researching for about a week after updating to official ICS over Kies for information on backuping up my phone and rooting.
I had considered rooting before but never had a good reason really until I loaded the official ICS update and had to reset to get it working, losing all my apps / data. Kies was not cooperating so I did not get a good backup and it would not keep my app settings any way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a hard lesson to learn that there were relatively easy solutions to avoid it :/ I as a fellow long time Linux user, I'm suprised!. I myself can not stand not having root access when I need it. I luckily have had Titanium Backup for quite some time now and it IS a life saver for many of your apps and settings! It's a must! I too had the issue of not being able to update via kies and assumed it was because my device was rooted, so in my frustrated lack of sleep mood I had going, I said meh all and grabbed easily accessible data off the memory and flashed the ICS from sammobile.com if i remember right. I've since flashed NardRom as well and am having some signal/sms issues. That being said, MAKE SURE you do a nandroid backup and don't get all anxious and overzealous like I did. If I am not mistaken and understand correctly, sometimes when flashing roms you may overwrite various signal related files like the modem or wireless? With a nandroid backup you can simply restore from that like nothing ever happened! Just follow directions to the T. I've yet to brick my SGH-i927 but I've bricked our captivates a few times
ZeroHour064 said:
It's a hard lesson to learn that there were relatively easy solutions to avoid it :/ I as a fellow long time Linux user, I'm suprised!. I myself can not stand not having root access when I need it. I luckily have had Titanium Backup for quite some time now and it IS a life saver for many of your apps and settings! It's a must! I too had the issue of not being able to update via kies and assumed it was because my device was rooted, so in my frustrated lack of sleep mood I had going, I said meh all and grabbed easily accessible data off the memory and flashed the ICS from sammobile.com if i remember right. I've since flashed NardRom as well and am having some signal/sms issues. That being said, MAKE SURE you do a nandroid backup and don't get all anxious and overzealous like I did. If I am not mistaken and understand correctly, sometimes when flashing roms you may overwrite various signal related files like the modem or wireless? With a nandroid backup you can simply restore from that like nothing ever happened! Just follow directions to the T. I've yet to brick my SGH-i927 but I've bricked our captivates a few times
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am with you all the way.
I have installed CWMR now and completed a nandroid backup. After tracking down the backup I copied to my laptop for safe keeping. Also installed the keyboard fix only and it worked fine. Later tonight I will give root a try with Titanium.
BTW I was having SMS issues with the stock ICS. No alerts and basic funky things. I have loaded Go SMS Pro and am happier not only fixing the app issues but giving me Group text mode so I am not an outcast with the rest of my iPhone family
Thanks for helping me get going here.
ICS has a bunch of issues, including the bad notifications.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
As others have posted. I back up all my information per app via Titanium backup and every few months I make a new Nandroid backup. This gives me the best of both worlds. A full backup that I can get back to via Nandroid backup and little backups from Titanium backup if I choose to uninstall and re-install an individual app later on in the future.
Just a few other tips from my recent experiences. Since the problems I was having with NardROM... an entire night with no text msgs from my ole lady got me pretty worried and I learned it was issues with my flash or the rom with my phone so I wiped it out and went back to the stock ICS. I also flashed the keyboard fix and have noticed no problems. I did flash the tether fix too but it's not working for me at the moment so I'll play with it later. I'm also using my regular Captivate as a secondary phone/toy using google voice and wireless so if I'm not getting anything on one # during testing or usage I will notice it and get it on the other phone.
Also, as a long time GOSMS user I like to try out the various features but I must warn you stay away from, or have a backup plan on top of it, if you purchase the 180-day premium features and utilize the local backup. I'm not fond of having things backed up to a cloud so like you I back up all my phone stuff to my server and desktops at home but running raid 5 (paranoid much?). The problem I had is when I restored all my text from the cloud after a flash and noticed the new local backup feature in a GOSMS update I thought hey i can do away with the cloud and use this right!? Wrong. I deleted the cloud backup without double checking and on this last flash, attempted to restore roughly 20k+ messages from the Gosms local backup feature and it errored out or froze the phone EVERY time I tried. Frantically searching through everything I had, I learned that Titanium Backup does do a backup typically of the related data, I beleive the listed backup is SMS/APN/MMS or something similar. You have to enable writing to /system in Titanium's settings. There's a howto on xda I beleive and google searches on restoring it. Another thing, if you have numerous backups and are playing around and i.e. have just flashed, installed Titaniumbackup and want to backup something before you restore it from an older version, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CHANGED MAX # of BACKUPS FIRST, otherwise you have just overwritten your previous backup :crying:
*Correction* I'm using jayjayjoker2's debloated ICS 4.0.4 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1843001
ZeroHour064 said:
Just a few other tips from my recent experiences. Since the problems I was having with NardROM... an entire night with no text msgs from my ole lady got me pretty worried and I learned it was issues with my flash or the rom with my phone so I wiped it out and went back to the stock ICS. I also flashed the keyboard fix and have noticed no problems. I did flash the tether fix too but it's not working for me at the moment so I'll play with it later. I'm also using my regular Captivate as a secondary phone/toy using google voice and wireless so if I'm not getting anything on one # during testing or usage I will notice it and get it on the other phone.
Also, as a long time GOSMS user I like to try out the various features but I must warn you stay away from, or have a backup plan on top of it, if you purchase the 180-day premium features and utilize the local backup. I'm not fond of having things backed up to a cloud so like you I back up all my phone stuff to my server and desktops at home but running raid 5 (paranoid much?). The problem I had is when I restored all my text from the cloud after a flash and noticed the new local backup feature in a GOSMS update I thought hey i can do away with the cloud and use this right!? Wrong. I deleted the cloud backup without double checking and on this last flash, attempted to restore roughly 20k+ messages from the Gosms local backup feature and it errored out or froze the phone EVERY time I tried. Frantically searching through everything I had, I learned that Titanium Backup does do a backup typically of the related data, I beleive the listed backup is SMS/APN/MMS or something similar. You have to enable writing to /system in Titanium's settings. There's a howto on xda I beleive and google searches on restoring it. Another thing, if you have numerous backups and are playing around and i.e. have just flashed, installed Titaniumbackup and want to backup something before you restore it from an older version, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CHANGED MAX # of BACKUPS FIRST, otherwise you have just overwritten your previous backup :crying:
*Correction* I'm using jayjayjoker2's debloated ICS 4.0.4 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1843001
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great information thanks!!
The backups I am most worried about are all the system settings, app settings and data mostly. I am probably older than most folks here and I do not really text much except family and a few co-workers. I honestly never worried about backing up my SMS / MMS but I will check on my APNs because I had that problem on a Blackberry once. Email is where I store most important stuff and talk about paranoid I have multiple copies of my emails on different computers on different operating systems. 20 years working in storage will do that to you
I believe that if Google or Samsung even came up with a backup solution that did what Blackberry or Apple could do it would solve a lot and I probably would not even be working on this. Blackberry saved my bacon more than once with the complete backup they do in their clunky software and last year when my daughters iPhone would no longer power off, I was able to use iTunes to do a complete backup and she was up and running on a new phone in 15 mins exactly where she left off.
Thanks for the advice!

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