Develop Bugs

[Q] Advanced ROM flashing techniques

I just learned how to root and flash ROM's for my evo a few days ago and I had a few questions now that I got the basics down.
1) Do I have to do a "data wipe, then cache, then Davlik" if I am just flashing a kernel and/or theme?
2) Is there a way to save NAND backups onto my computer so I have multiple versions of a rom/kernel combination?
3) Is there a way to save sense and all of my programs before I flash a ROM so that after I flash I don't have to type my username/password in all of my programs and reorganize my UI?
4) Are there any useful tips out there to make this process easier?

nitrosilver said:
I just learned how to root and flash ROM's for my evo a few days ago and I had a few questions now that I got the basics down.
1) Do I have to do a "data wipe, then cache, then Davlik" if I am just flashing a kernel and/or theme?
No you do not have to wipe data cache and dalvik for themes and kernels. some may say they advice it but personally i have literally flashed them hundreds of time with out and never had an issue. the exception is if the dev says you should flash ... always listen to the dev.
2) Is there a way to save NAND backups onto my computer so I have multiple versions of a rom/kernel combination?
Yes just conenct the phone to a computer navigate to where the nand are stored and copy them over. for clockwork it is ussually int he clockwork folder for amon ra the backup folder.
3) Is there a way to save sense and all of my programs before I flash a ROM so that after I flash I don't have to type my username/password in all of my programs and reorganize my UI?
It is not advised. while you can back up all your apps and there data it is not recommended to restore the system data between roms. The reason being it can cause conflicts with changes made by the dev. It is a little bit of a hassle but it is best to type back in your username/password and reset up your home screen.
4) Are there any useful tips out there to make this process easier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back u apps with titanium back up (if you dont have it get the paid version) otherwise it is going to take a few minutes to set up your rom once you flash it there isnt much you can do that is "safe"

1. Thats the way Ive always done it.
2. Yea copy the nand folder to your computer.
3. I use my backup pro, its simple quick and easy. Some people like Titanium backup but every time I used it its always caused problems for me.
4. My method: Backup apps+app data using backup app, nandroid backup, wipe+cache+dalvik, flash ROM, download backup app and restore.
A little tip, I always add the backup apk to my ROM using winrar so I can restore my apps immediately after I flash.

Thanks! That was quick. This forum is awesome!

Backup and Restore

I read alot about wiping data in CWM3 and was wondering what that wipes and is it good to do periodically since it seems to be part of repair procedures. What gets wiped. Also what is the difference in backing up in CWM3 and My Backup Pro.
Thanks for helping us noob's learn.

When you wipe data/factory reset. You're clearing ALL the setup that had been done on the phone. So the next boot; it will act like it did when it was first taken out of the box.
Starting the tutorial and prompting to login or create a google account.
recovery backup is like an image of your phone; it is always best to use this when trying a theme or anything that could cause your phone to not boot. You can always go back into recovery and put your phone back into the state it was prior to the change (kind of like a restore point in windows)
the backup programs really just do apps their data and some system data but could not help you if a theme or kernel causes your phone to stop booting to android. This is more like copying files to a folder in windows and then copying them back when needed.
Either backups are good to have as they serve different purposes. ALWAYS backup your phone. It can save you much headaches later.
Hope that helped.

[Q] N7100 adb backup problems, and potential alternatives without rooting?

Yes, I'm a noob. No, I can't keep things brief. I'm sorry video, I just can't do it. Hello XDA. Here's my pickle:
So, my camera's faulty, and I'm going to have to send my Note II back to Kogan. This is my first Android handset, and my first time properly experiencing and using Android (I moved here from a Blackberry Pearl 9100). I don't consider myself a base-line user, I'm competent with many forms of electronics and computing so I quickly settled into Android nicely. Thus far I've rooted, flashed recovery and flashed CyanogenMod 9 for one Android phone (I was the first in my family to make the switch, my sister got a Galaxy Wonder for Christmas and I flashed CM9 so she could have at least ICS for her phone) and it was a fairly straight-forward process, nothing too difficult (although it seems my father's Motorola Defy+ might be a bit trickier).
I'll get to the point, due to the camera being basically dead on arrival, I've got to send it back. I don't want to send it back with all of my personal information intact however, I'd prefer to take a full backup of it and then factory reset the device before sending it away. This is where the warranty clause comes in.
I can't root the device (this action breaks warranty) and therefore can't flash CWM to do a nandroid backup. After some reading, a nandroid sounded like the ideal solution but obviously I can't do that. See, I wanted to backup all of my data, including (if possible) apps, settings, accounts, the works. I really don't want to have to go through the process of re-downloading all of my apps (my internet connection isn't the quickest around) and setting everything up just the way I want it again.
I stumbled across the adb backup technique, and considering the N7100 shipped with Jellybean 4.1 and adb backup requires ICS 4.0+, I thought "Hey, why not. It seems pretty straight forward." I also figured it'd be a small learning experience, I'm thinking about getting into android app development sometime in the near future and needed the SDK anyway so I downloaded and installed that, fired up adb and ran the backup with the following parameters:
Code:
adb backup -f <FILE PATH> -apk -shared -all -nosystem
And it seemed to get stuck on the apk for GTA Vice City. So, after about an hour of sitting, I pulled the plug and tried again. This time it got to Angry Birds and got stuck once more. I decided to run it again, but with a different set of parameters, I thought "Maybe it's getting stuck with the SD card data."
Code:
adb backup -f <FILE PATH> -apk -all -noshared -nosystem
This time it got stuck on Bad Piggies. I pulled the plug once more and started searching for answers, but there's not a huge amount of discussion about the backup function, let alone specific to the Note II. I read some stuff about the One X getting stuck on certain parts, but they certainly weren't games like this.
And that's the thing that links them all, they're games. I'm not sure if that specifically has any effect on the process, but I'm beginning to think that trying to back up EVERYTHING so that I can restore my device to the same state it is in now is a futile effort. Without the ease of a nandroid 'snapshot', I'm running out of ideas. I could go through and delete every game I've installed and try the backup again, but I'd like to see if anyone else has any alternatives or explanations.
Here are my queries, don't feel like you've got to answer them all, they're just the questions I've got in my head right now.
1. Is there any known reason as to why adb backup gets stuck on these apks?
2. Is there a better way of creating some form of 'snapshot' of my device without rooting it?
3. Would Samsung Kies' backup utility keep my app and system settings after a factory reset (in that it'd load up Nova Launcher with all of it's settings, along with the few widgets I have, intact)?
4. Are there any apps that would do this? I've heard Titanium Backup will, but you need to be rooted to use that.
I'm starting to feel that just doing it the manual way is going to be easier in the long run.
With question three, I'm assuming that Kies won't backup any apks, and therefore when my phone is sent back to me I'll have to set it up again, download my required/desired apps and then restore my settings through Kies (which will hopefully also restore settings for apps like Nova Launcher, and even better, for widget applications like HD widgets). However, if I'm wrong and Kies DOES backup apks, I'll just do that, it's so much less screwing around and it does what I wanted it to do but didn't think it did in the first place.
Thanks XDA,
-svdkillswitch
(Also, first post!)
Other information:
Device: GT-N7100 (international)
Carrier: Unlocked, Telstra
Android version: 4.1.1, 'Jelly Bean'
Baseband version: N7100UBALJ1
Build number: JRO03C.N7100UBALJ1
Rooted: No

Easiest way
Root with exynos abuse exploit (method 3 in link)and install titanium backup and backup all data using it. I recommend to save backup folder in Ext SD card.
After finishing this you can unroot from application itself.

dr.ketan said:
Easiest way
Root with exynos abuse exploit (method 3 in link)and install titanium backup and backup all data using it. I recommend to save backup folder in Ext SD card.
After finishing this you can unroot from application itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help,
You say in the linked post that while it doesn't trigger the flash counter, it can cause problems with the camera. If I'm just temp-rooting, backing it up with Titanium, and then un-rooting it again, none of these effects will remain I assume. I guess it doesn't matter too much anyway actually, because my camera is the reason I'm sending it back in.
And once I get my device back, it's as simple as installing the apk, rooting the device, installing Titanium and restoring my backup from the ext SD.
Sounds good. I'll give it a whirl and let you know how I go. +1'd.
-svdkillswitch

It cause camera issue only if you disable exploit, here you need not to do anything rather thn just root.
-Install that apk file, get device rooted.(there is option to root device in application), you need not to check disable exploit
-Install titanium Pro from market and backup (first select backup location to Ext sd card)
- Once finish, uninstall titanium and unroot device from exynose app
You can also factory reset and send to service centre.

dr.ketan said:
It cause camera issue only if you disable exploit, here you need not to do anything rather thn just root.
-Install that apk file, get device rooted.(there is option to root device in application), you need not to check disable exploit
-Install titanium Pro from market and backup (first select backup location to Ext sd card)
- Once finish, uninstall titanium and unroot device from exynose app
You can also factory reset and send to service centre.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that's all I did. Rooted, installed Titanium and backed-up my data to the external SD card. I've un-rooted the device, all I need to do now is factory reset.
Thanks for your help, much appreciated.
-svdkillswitch

but adb doesnt work

EFS folder lost, Access nexus service menu?

Hello everyone!
Yesterday, I tried to upgrade to a Kit Kat rom. I used the Galaxy nexus toolkit, and did a full backup... plus an EFS backup. Afterwards, I did the full format/wipe from CWM recovery, and installed the ROM.
Well, apparently one of the options wipes your EFS file folder; I have no way of connecting to my network. My IMEI is the stock number, and I've spent hours scouring the internet trying to find a way to restore it. The majority of the responses are "try a factory reset and restore" or "too bad so sad, should've backed up". Well, I did try several options. The first being the EFS restore. Apparently, the backup is stored on the phone and wasn't sent to my computer, like the rest of the normal backups. That option is now out. Oh, how I miss SD storage.
The second was a full restore to stock, again, nothing. Third, I had an old nandroid backup. After doing these I saw that the EFS tree is left untouched, as it is so delicate. The only way to do this is give up and send it in for servicing, or to do a phone NV Backup swap with QPST.
I need to get access to the service menu (or any way to change the USB/Modem) as listed here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1946915
Unfortunately, *#7284# does nothing on an i9250, nor does anything besides *#*#4636#*#*... which isn't what I need. The terminal command doesn't appear to work, either.

I don't understand very well but, have you tried to restore your EFS backup from recovery? Did you make the backup from recovery or from toolkit?

lkeops said:
I don't understand very well but, have you tried to restore your EFS backup from recovery? Did you make the backup from recovery or from toolkit?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done a recovery from the toolkit (as the files are stored on the computer and not the phone) which is where I made the backup from, as well.
However, the EFS partition is apparently never included in this backup, as it is supposed to be immune to changes and formatting. I proved them wrong.

Well I did that same blunder last month with my nexus and then I tried all remedies plus own experiments but couldn't get results. All I heard is that to send phone to service centre. If you find any other solution so do mention here, I gave up after so many tries

what9000 said:
I have done a recovery from the toolkit (as the files are stored on the computer and not the phone) which is where I made the backup from, as well.
However, the EFS partition is apparently never included in this backup, as it is supposed to be immune to changes and formatting. I proved them wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@what9000 you may want to check out this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2508320
Specifically post #6 AND #9
I have personally never used the nexus backup tool, but if it does does backup the /radio folder, you may be in luck.

Well, it has been repaired. Thank you all for your help, in the end I managed to pull some things together in a mash up of fixes.
It appears that upon a new restore from a nandroid backup, I was still getting no signal. However, I did a *#06#, and my IMEI was intact. I read that the Radio folder gets backed up, but not the factory folder. Upon a new install, I imagine the radio folder is wiped, which is why every install from then on had a bunk imei (it had nothing to pull from as my factory folder is toast)
However, it looks like the efs backup I had *did* save the folder structure... I found the efs.tar backup in my galaxy nexus toolkit folder. It had the folder zip, but couldn't restore it due to permissions... didn't feel like messing with that at the moment. I copied them in with root explorer, grabbed the nv_data files from the /radio/ folder, deleted the files from /radio, and restarted. Lo and behold, they were restored from the factory folder with the correct IMEI.
I just put a fresh copy of kit kat 4.4.2 on and have cell service again. Oh happy day, I don't have to use my old HTC Sensation! :highfive:
This also marks the first time a backup actually saved my skin. Usually I vaporize the backup accidentally before it has an opportunity to prove itself useful.

Please help a beginner with Recovery and Cryogen

Hey guys,
I am a total noob at all this rooting stuff. I have had my S3 for several years now and am still pretty happy with it, but I like technical work and decided to get the most out of my phone. I have been trying to figure some things out and have read alot of posts but still a little hazy. The best way to avoid hours of fixing something you broke out of ignorance? Double check with the pros.
Android version 4.3
So here is what I have done so far: I made a samsung smart switch backup of my phone then followed this posts instructions http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2793071 . Worked great. I am all rooted, I have superSU installed. Everything went fine. because it sounded like a good utility I downloaded ROM manager from the playstore (from this post's recommendation http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2135588 . I set up and ran the clockwork recovery app, it did a weird boot and screen and proceeded to run a backup. I cannot find that backup file but it says it made one and when i tired its remote backup download server (which is only for premium users) it showed a backup even through I could not download it. Then I downloaded titanium backup * root from the playstore and I had it backup system and user apps. After failing to find my titanium back up (it made 306 backups? ok......) I created a new folder in my SD card and routed the backups there. I open that folder and found a ton of files with GZ extension. I copied that whole folder (1.4gb) onto my computer.
That is what I have do to this point. I want to use the Cryogen ROM so I went to their site and found my phone model (https://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/D2tmo_Info). That page has a big warning about incompatible ICS Bootloader and tells me to update my firmware. I would be fine with running slightly older version of Cryogen, pre 10.1 but A) security concerns and B) I dont think what they have posted are the stable releases and C) no recovery (i have no idea what that is supposed to do,. recover what?) At that point I stopped and did some research but came away not at all enlightened. A lot of posts talk about other utilities such as adb, Odin, and so on but I am clueless. If I haven't mentioned a program or an action assume I dont have it or have not done it.
Also, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2135588 mentions booting into recovery mode and making two backups (one to each sd card and phone) I want to be as safe as possible but all these backups are eating up alot of space. Do they all need to be stored on my phone at all times? Which ones can I copy to my computer for storage and delete from my phone?
Things I want to do:
--create good backups
--transfer as many backups as possible to my computer
-- install Cryogen ROM
What are the next few steps?
My current thinking is to boot into recovery mode and create backups as specified in the noobs guide. Transfer those backups to my computer. Then use ROM manager to install cryogen v12.1. (firmware update? need? how?). I am not taking any further action until I hear back from this thread, but I just wanted to explain my current plan of action which is probably incorrect.
I really appreciate any help you fine folks can give.
Edit: after doing all the titanium backups stuff i talked about I returned to home page... my background has changed. WTH?
Edit2: I went ahead and ran two backups in clockwork recovery mode, one to sdcard and one to sdcard1 ( I assume to phone card and external card). I found a bunch of files in the SD card's clockwork file. My device and card are running low on space, I need to get the backups onto my comp. Holding off until I find out if I need to keep a backup on the device at all times.
Edit 3: I keep getting a pop up that says t-mobile account app has stopped working.

In order to run the latest CM ROM for the T999, recommend installing the latest bootloader and modem on the phone. I recommend using the latest CM ROMs to help ensure that the phone is running the latest security patches.
To determine the baseband and bootloader on the phone, download and install the Samsung Phone Info app from the play store and run it.