Database Users

NANDROID Restore Script with GUI available - G1 General

Nandroid Restore
UPDATE: XDA member Cyanogen has put together a new recovery image that has a Nandroid restore mode built right in. This allows Nandroid to be totally selfcontained on the device. My (and Markazah) program still is good for easy restores if you keep multiple backups because Cyanogen's only restores the latest backup (within the Recovery image GUI anyway.)
Here is a link to his "Pimped out recovery image with new features"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=523558
Awsome Cyanogen!
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Nandroid, created through the efforts of Infernix and Brainaid, is a great tool for backing up your phone. The NANDROID backup process itself is easy to use; however, some folks are not so sure about how to restore these backups back to their phone.
Solution: Nandroid Restore and Nandroid Restore GUI
What it does:
Automates the FASTBOOT portion of the restore.
Nandroid Restore will use FASTBOOT to wipe and then restore the boot, system, userdata and recovery partitions from your phone.
When these tasks are completed, the script then reboots your phone.
What you should expect:
You should end up with a clean restore and all of your data just as you had it when you made your NANDROID backup. EASY!
Directions:
Get your phone into the Secondary Boot Loader (SPL):
Plug your phone into your computer with the USB cable
Take your NANDROID backup off of your SD card and place it in a directory on your PC with a copy of both fastboot.exe and AdbWinApi.dll.
Enter the Secondary Boot Loader (SPL) of your phone by powering down your phone and then powering it back up while holding both the <END> button and the <CAMERA> button.
Restore using NANDrest.bat from the command line:
On your PC, drop to a command prompt and navigate to the directory that you placed your NANDROID backup and fastboot.exe files.
Execute the program "nandrest.bat".
(It is also possible to simpily run this script from the folder without using the command prompt. We all have our preferences after all.)
Restore using Nandroid Restore GUI: (GUI written courtesy of XDA user Markazeh)
Make sure that the 4 Nandroid Restore GUI files are in the same folder as your NANDROID backups.
The GUI will make sure that all required files (the *.img files and Nandrest scripts.)
(See the included pictures)
Reference knowledge:
NANDROID is included with JesusFreke's testkeys modded recovery image. If you have a JF ROM then you probably already have this recovery image and NANDROID.
You must have the Engineering SPL or HardSPL to use FASTBOOT.
Fastboot.exe and AdbWinApi.dll are found in the "tools" folder of the SDK files.
FASTBOOT requires drivers to be loaded into your Windows Operating System. These drivers are in "usb_driver" folder of the SDK files.
Conclusion:
Sure, it's pretty simple and I use it to save time and automate the repair of my latest screw-up and now you can too!
Thank you to Infernix, Brainaid, JesusFreke, Haykuro, TheDudeOfLife, Google and all others that have given their skills and time to the Android community (and subsequently introduced the necessity for NANDROID. )
And thank you to XDA member Markazeh for providing the GUI for Nandrest.bat.
NANDROID post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=459830
Secondary Boot Loader (SPL) post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=455860

will try this, thanks.

Thank you for this.

where is nandrest.bat?

@Sandshrimp: The nandrest.bat file is inside of the nandrest.zip file. You must first unzip nandrest.zip before you will be able to access nandrest.bat.
How is this script working for the rest of you?

Hey nicksen,
i was bored this evening, so i decided to write a little GUI for your Script...
How it works:
- First off, i deleted the ":AREYOUSURE" part in your script, cause a security check is
in the GUI.
- When you start the GUI, it checks if no file is missing and shows missing files
graphically.
- You can only press the "Flash" Button, when every file is in the folder...
I renamed the "nandrest.bat" to "nandrest", that no one can accindently flash the phone by clicking the nandrest.bat. When you click "Flash" the Programm renames the script to "nandrest.bat", that Windows can open it and after your Script has finished it renames it back to "nandrest".
Hope you like it!
Greetings
Markazeh

Markazeh said:
Hey nicksen,
i was bored this evening, so i decided to write a little GUI for your Script...
How it works:
- First off, i deleted the ":AREYOUSURE" part, cause this security check is
handled in the GUI.
- When you start the GUI, it checks if no file is missing and shows missing files
graphically.
- You can only press the "Flash" Button, when every file is in the folder...
I renamed the "nandrest.bat" to "nandrest", that no one can accindently flash the phone by clicking the nandrest.bat, cause i deleted the security check in it... When you click "Flash" the Programm rename the script to "nandrest.bat", that Windows can open it. After your Script is finished it renames it to "nandrest".
Hope you like it!
Greetings
Markazeh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nicksen782: Thanks a bunch for the script!
Markazeh: Thanks even more for making a user friendly GUI for it!
This is amazing work, I love this community for this sort of collaborations.
I'll send people this way for easy restore.

@Markazeh -
Thanks! I like the GUI! This is technically my first contribution so I'm pretty tickled that it has been useful so soon. May I suggest that your GUI also check for the presence of AdbWinApi.dll and Fastboot.exe? Oh, and maybe throw my name on your GUI for the script portion? I can rewrite the first post of this thread to include the new GUI.
THANKS!

Yeh, I'm gonna put your name also on the GUI.
I CAN check for the other files, but some people have these files in the win dir....
I have to think about that....
I'll upload the GUI with your name in it in a few hours
May you can give a suggestion on how to handle the problem with the files....
Greets

This works great, thanks guys! Nice job!

Wow! What a great idea. We have all been needing this, IMHO.
How difficult would it be to make it possible to restore only one or more portions of the backup? For example, I did a wipe on the last flash of 1.5, and I want to restore my /data, but not the rest. If you could add that capability, this app would be perfect.
Thanks for your work.

agreed
stellarman said:
Wow! What a great idea. We have all been needing this, IMHO.
How difficult would it be to make it possible to restore only one or more portions of the backup? For example, I did a wipe on the last flash of 1.5, and I want to restore my /data, but not the rest. If you could add that capability, this app would be perfect.
Thanks for your work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd prefer not to restore the recovery partition every time for example (it doesn't change too much in my experience outside of flashing to an "official" build). That would be a great tweak!

Ok, ill discuss with nicksen...

Markazeh said:
Ok, ill discuss with nicksen...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I will keep an eye open for your answer.
Another idea: Could this script, or one like it, possibly be added to 'recovery' so that it shows in recovery mode along with the backup command? It would be really sweet if we could do an 'alt + r' (or whatever) and restore the most recent nandroid backup. I know it is asking alot. But, "to g-e-t, you have to a-s-k." Right?

stellarman said:
Thanks. I will keep an eye open for your answer.
Another idea: Could this script, or one like it, possibly be added to 'recovery' so that it shows in recovery mode along with the backup command? It would be really sweet if we could do an 'alt + r' (or whatever) and restore the most recent nandroid backup. I know it is asking alot. But, "to g-e-t, you have to a-s-k." Right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it should be possible in a way, but we cant do it, cause this script is for windows and android/recovery is linux based...

GUI looks good, another suggestion would be to allow user selection of what is flashed. E.g. Data.img only or just Boot.img and System.img

@ markazeh: There have been some good suggestions. Perhaps checkboxes next to the "found/not found" labels? These checkboxes could default to all checked or all checked except recovery. You could also give the user the option of flashing or not flashing individual images via these checkboxes. Maybe 3 radio buttons at the top labeled: Restore EVERYTHING, Restore ONLY data, Restore EVERYTHING except recovery. Something to that effect. How can I help further?
I personally would really like a NANDROID restore to be available via something like alt+r in the recovery mode such as stellarman has suggested. My assumption is that the recovery mode loads in some of these partitions that we would be trying to restore and that would cause a problem. However, if it were possible to safely unmount these partitions and then restore using flash_image then it might work. The flash_image program however is on the system partition so a ramdrive or other temporary solution would need to be created first. I figure that this is why this hasn't already been done.
Can anybody confirm any of this?

Well the problem is, that i have to split your script in these parts: data flashing, recovery flashing, system flashing and boot flashing, cause i cant go to a part in the script, i can only run a bat.... So im going to split your script in these parts.
Then we have 4 small scripts....
Im going to put 4 Buttons to Flash System, Boot, Data and Recovery.
Should be done Tomorrow.

Version 1.1 here...
All you need is in first post!
Note: I give no guarantee if your phone will brick... But if you use our program properly it wont brick!

awesome
Markazeh said:
Version 1.1 here...
All you need is in first post!
Note: I give no guarantee if your phone will brick... But if you use our program properly it wont brick!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You guys rock, thanks!

Related

Thanks to AlphaRev Team we can now S-Off the Aria(Removes Security Flag)
**This is for any Aria either shipped with or upgraded to 2.2.2 Firmware**
For an alternative guide check out post #84 by zervic in THIS Thread
Requirements you must have:
*All Drivers installed on Windows PC (See Aria Superthread)
*Aria S/W v2.2.2 (either from the Update RUU or Factory Shipped)
***WARNING*** Installing the Aria Update RUU will format the phone. Any info not backed up will be lost. SD Card is not affected
---If you have ClockworkMod installed you can make a Nandroid backup which can be restored later
*HBOOT 1.02 (installs with the Update RUU)
Difficulty Level= Medium/Some experience required
How To S-Off
-If you have s/w version 2.1 or Custom ROM follow installation instructions for Un-Rooting in the Aria Superthread
if needed: Download ATT Aria Shipping ROM 2.2.2
1- Make sure USB Debugging is checked in Applications/Development
2- Go to Revolutionary Website and click "Download For Windows". a form will pop up which we will fill out later
3- Save file to PC and keep web page open
4- Plug in phone with data cable then run downloaded program Alpharevx.exe
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5- Take note of where it reads "Enter Beta Key [Serial: your personal serial ]
5- On AlphaRev website fill in the short form with your info including the alphanumeric serial given from the program (case sensative)
6- Click "Generate Key" and copy the beta key into the AlphaRev.exe program (case sensative) and press Enter
Congrats!! you should now have S-Off. If fail, check the alphanumeric serial and key for accuracy
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________​
Install Clockwork Recovery
Download CWM 2.5.0.1 OR CWM 2.5.1.7 Off-Mode(no annoying recovery screen while charging)
Download Android Flasher
1- Extract Clockwork Recovery.zip to folder
2- Connect Phone with data cable then Run Android Flasher
3- Check box "Recovery" and click Begin
4- Navigate to Clockwork Recovery folder extracted earlier and select "Recovery.img" click Open
Once complete the phone will boot into recovery
If you made a Nandroid backup before running AlphaRevX it can now be restored
NOTE: you may also install CWM using ADB command, but this is much quicker
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________​
How To Install Superuser Permissions
Three options to aquire this:
1- Restore your Nandroid backup from CWM Recovery
2- Install a Custom ROM which includes SU
3- Follow the steps below to add SU to the Stock 2.2.2 ROM
Newer SU 3.0.6 Signed
-Older SU 2.3.6.1
-Copy SU_2361.zip to SD Card
-Boot into CWM Recovery
-Select Install Zip file from SD
-Select Choose Zip File
-Select SU-2.3.6.1-ef-signed.zip and confirm install
-Reboot and you now have SU in the App Drawer
Enjoy!! and please support the Dev's that make this possible

Thanks for creating a guide.
zedbra said:
How To Install Superuser Permissions
-Download SU 2.3.6.1
-Copy SU_2361.zip to SD Card
-Boot into CWM Recovery
-Select Install Zip file from SD
-Select Choose Zip File
-Select SU-2.3.6.1-ef-signed.zip and confirm install
-Reboot and you now have SU in the App Drawer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to point out that this step is OPTIONAL. This will allow you to acquire root with your default, stock ROM. However, if you intend to install a custom ROM (Cyanogenmod, Liberated, etc.) then you should just skip this step entirely and go straight to installing the ROM of your choice.

Sweet write up! If I'm not busy this weekend, I may take a jab at it. Thanks duder.

Finally, a well done step by step writeup, that pulls all of the pieces together along with the necessary links.
Well done.
Thanks

Thank you for the comments guys!!
@drumist thanks for pointing that out. this was explained in the guide i made on other forums. fixed it here now
@cHarley04 the download for 2.2 RUU is linked in the Aria Superthread, which is linked in the first step on how to S-Off
maybe i will include the direct link for simplicity

I was just about to do this and went to alpharevs sight and the windows download link is replaced with, "windows version is under review, sorry". Noooo! I'm off today, kids and wife are asleep and my little little aria almost saw the future. Oh well, next weekend hopefully that puppys up and running. I know there's a Linux download link but I like sticking to what I always use, sucky windows.

tommyguns818 said:
I was just about to do this and went to alpharevs sight and the windows download link is replaced with, "windows version is under review, sorry". Noooo! I'm off today, kids and wife are asleep and my little little aria almost saw the future. Oh well, next weekend hopefully that puppys up and running. I know there's a Linux download link but I like sticking to what I always use, sucky windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here
got excited at the first sight
but...

Yeah I would have no idea how to run a virtual linux instance so I could do this... hopefully AlphaRev gets the windows version cleared soon, so I can root and use wifi hotspot.

Suleeto said:
Yeah I would have no idea how to run a virtual linux instance so I could do this... hopefully AlphaRev gets the windows version cleared soon, so I can root and use wifi hotspot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vm player is easy to set up a virtual machine with and you can get it free from vmware.
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App

mtnlion said:
Vm player is easy to set up a virtual machine with and you can get it free from vmware.
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is true, you could also burn the live ubuntu CD. then just boot PC from CD Rom
EDIT: Windows support is back online

yay!!!
got s-off but now im trying to load off mode charging recovery through android flasher and its giving me ERROR: the process adb.exe not found and fastboot.exe not found?n Ive downloaded and extracted it and try opening through android flasher and when i click on the image file a pop up says, adb is not recognized as an internal or external command. How do i go about installing a recovery?

Have you got the recovery.img out and put it on your download folder?
Signatures are fancy.

im trying to understand attn1 instructions and im stuck at #4. Extract recovery.img from the archive to the same directory/folder/map as fastboot? where can i find this? Thanks for the fast response. noob alert!

tommyguns818 said:
im trying to understand attn1 instructions and im stuck at #4. Extract recovery.img from the archive to the same directory/folder/map as fastboot? where can i find this? Thanks for the fast response. noob alert!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
open up the clockworkrecovery rar with winrar or a program like it and youll see a file that says recovery.img that's the file you'll want to extract into the adb folder with the fastboot.exe

so guys is this still for only 2.1 users or can you already have the 2.2.2 installed

bkeaver said:
so guys is this still for only 2.1 users or can you already have the 2.2.2 installed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is specifically for, 2.2.2
The first step in the process, is to upgrade to 2.2.2 if you don't have it.
If you already have 2.2.2, you just skip that step.

cHarley04 said:
This is specifically for, 2.2.2
The first step in the process, is to upgrade to 2.2.2 if you don't have it.
If you already have 2.2.2, you just skip that step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
let me ask 1 more way so that I am not mis-understanding..
if my wife took the OTA update from AT&T and it upgraded her phone to 2.2.2 which put the security in place preventing you from rooting this will allow me to undo that?
sorry for the extra question

I'm a knucklehead sandwich!!!! I was missing the fastboot.exe!! It was late and I was a few beers deep. All good now. S-off woooohooo!!!!!

bkeaver said:
let me ask 1 more way so that I am not mis-understanding..
if my wife took the OTA update from AT&T and it upgraded her phone to 2.2.2 which put the security in place preventing you from rooting this will allow me to undo that?
sorry for the extra question
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes!!!
Sent from my HTC Aria using XDA App

@Tommyguns, glad you got iy M8
@bkeaver, yes the guide is for factory phones with 2.2(same as OTA update), and for those who want to upgrade from 2.1 using the 2.2 update RUU.
pretty sure it says that in the guide, but i will check and make adjustments for clarity if needed
Edited first post. also please take special attention to anything posted in RED
zedbra said:
Requirements you must have:
*All Drivers installed on Windows PC (See Aria Superthread)
*Aria S/W v2.2.2 (either from the Update RUU or Factory Shipped)
***WARNING*** Installing the Aria Update RUU will format the phone. Any info not backed up will be lost. SD Card is not affected
---If you have ClockworkMod installed you can make a Nandroid backup which can be restored later
*HBOOT 1.02 (installs with the Update RUU)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Introduction
After releasing my 'Update to .253' thread, I've figured it is something you might want to do your self, maybe because you like to use your own created FTF, or even want to modify your ROM a bit before flashing. This guide will help you through it, as secure and successful as possible!
Anyone can do it!
There is no need to unlock your bootloader to work this guide, however it did help me out of some sticky situations myself, as long as you keep a cool head while working on your ROM, you'll be able to get out of any situation.
The XDA mantra: MAKE BACKUPS!
Before you do anything on your phone, make sure you create a solid backup first. As CWM and TWRP both do not backup your internal storage, create a backup of it's contents too before trying to install your very own ROM.
Prerequisites
Flashtool version 0.9.x.x (the latest) - Windows / Linux / Mac
Needed to flash your phone, also needed to create the FTF bundle. The Linux version is already installed in the VM but you can download any other version too, to do the flashing and FTF building before hand in a desktop enviroment you are accustomed to.
[GUIDE] Download ANY firmware customization from Sony & create an FTF with Flashtool
This thread will help you make an FTF file for your DIY project, as we already have this excelent thread I will save myself the trouble of creating a guide for that
VMWare Player (76Mb) (Free for non-commercial use) and [NUT]'s UbuntuHost VM (Bittorrent: 4.84Gb)
The VM you download is OK to use on any 4.1.2 ROM as base.
If you wish to use a 4.2.2 ROM, you will need the DIYGuide UPDATE PACKAGE 1 (Bittorrent: 169Mb).
If you wish to use a 4.3 or 4.4 ROM, you will be needing DIYGuide UPDATE PACKAGE 2 (Bittorrent: 159Mb). Flashtool however needs to be updated to 0.9.15.0 if you are going to build a 4.4 ROM
See the index below for the link to the guide post that explains how to use it.
This you will need for the tricky bits, as modifying a ROM is safer on a Linux host with less chances of breaking file permissions. As most of the world around us uses Windows, I've created a VM to support you in your tasks. I've installed the Linux tools you need, for me this VM works just fine.
The VM needs about 10Gb space on your pc and you need around 1Gb of free RAM when trying to use it smoothly.
This VM also contains a build script, simple but effective, which will create the (unsigned) flashable zip for you, grabbing all the files it needs along the way and giving you time to edit what ever you want during the building process.
I've made sure you have fastboot and adb commands to be found in the PATH variable, and that the connection to most android phones and tablets will most probably work just fine. You can do adb and fastboot commands to your phone without having them in the directory where you keep the files, easy to use!
The VM has one user, which is called XDA Community. To log in on Ubuntu, use the following credentials:
User: xda
Password: xdauser
This user has SUDO privileges, so expect to type that password again when prompted to do so while installing packages or even when running the rombuilder script.
Download and install WinRAR or 7Zip to be able to unpack my VM.
Included in the ROM you will build using this DIY Guide
Your DIY ROM will be rooted with SuperUser (or SuperSU when you used an update package), including the reboot fix. It will also include XZDualRecovery 2.3 RELEASE (or newer if you used an update package). So you will end up with a cool ROM!
Extra's
You will be able to use my AROMA ROM Mutator package to fix your JB 4.1 ROM if anything might fall to pieces in the future regarding root. You'll also be able to use it to make the switch from SuperUser to SuperSU using the mutator, if you might change your mind in the future.
Guide Index
Chapter 1: Introduction and Prerequisites
Chapter 2: Installing VMWare Player and getting 'UbuntuHost' running
Chapter 3: Preparing the FTF for NOOB use
Chapter 4: Preparing and Extracting the ROM
Chapter 5: Building the (unsigned) flashable ZIP
Chapter 6: Installing your DIY ROM
Addendum: How to replace the recoveries to suit your device
Addendum: How to update your VM
Frequently Asked Questions

Installing VMWare Player and getting 'UbuntuHost' running
I'm assuming you have downloaded the VMWare Player application suitable for your system. Installing it is a basic knowledge to most Windows users, so I'm not going to elaborate on the actual installation.
I'm also assuming you have downloaded the VM. You can now unpack it to your Documents folder.
Now, fire up VMware player and when you see the following...
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Then click on 'Open a Virtual Machine' and navigate to the folder you just extracted:
Click on the UbuntuHost.vmx and confirm the choice. You'll end up with this view:
Now you can either double click on the name in the list on the left or click play on the right to start it.
Remember, the password is xdauser
NOTE: This Ubuntu has the Unity interface which means, among other things, the menus are moved from the application window to the top bar. Move your mouse over it and the menus will appear.
And you are ready for the next chapter!

Preparing the FTF for NOOB use
Why would you do that? Well... to make sure you won't screw up flashing the wrong bits and make it erase your userdata... better safe then sorry!
This step is actually also needed to unpack the system partition from the FTF you created using the guide I put in the OP.
Copy the FTF you created to the VM by dragging the file in to the VM window. You can see Ubuntu recognizes it as a ZIP, which it essentially is.
Open it by double clicking on it.
Now delete userdata.sin, cache.sin and appslog.sin from it. Then drag system.sin to the DIY Guide folder on the desktop. Once it's unpacked, delete system.sin from the FTF as well.
That was easy, wasn't it? Lets move on to the next chapter.

Preparing and Extracting the ROM
Click on the Terminal icon on the left, type 'cd FlashTool' and then './FlashTool'.
NOTE: Use 'sudo' and your password you used to login to run FlashTool as root if you run in to problems.
In the Tools menu, you can select Sin Editor, select the system.sin in your DIY_Guide folder in your home.
Then click 'Extract data' to start the extraction, now go get a cup of coffee, this might take a while
Once it's done you will end up with a file called 'system.ext4' inside your DIY_Guide directory.
Click Close and close FlashTool using the orange X in the top left corner.
You can rename it to something you like but it should end with '.ext4' to allow the scripts to recognize it. Just open up the DIY Guide folder on the desktop and right click on the system.ext4 file and choose 'Rename'. For purpose of demonstration I renamed mine to 'nuts.ext4'
NOTE: The scripts allow for more then one flashable system to be created, so you can repeat the above multiple times, just remember to rename the system.ext4 to something else, otherwise you'll just end up overwriting the same file over and over again
Because of size considerations, the virtual disk is not really big (10Gb) so you'll run out of space fairly quickly, do not forget to empty the trash after this step!
That's it for this chapter, lets move on!

Building the (unsigned) flashable ZIP
Now we can open the Terminal by clicking on the icon on the left with the '>_' sign in the 'monitor'. Change directory to DIY_Guide and type 'ls -la' to show the following
You can start the build process using the rombuilder script by typing './rombuilder' and it will ask you for your password before it starts.
Once it successfully mounts the system partition it will open it for you. The script will pause for you to complete whatever modifications you want to do to it. Remember the XDA Mantra? Well... a backup would be good to make right now.
If you have more then one system.sin extracted, the above process will repeat itself until it passes all the various .ext4 files it has found.
NOTE: The mounted ext4 image has been mounted as root and as the contents are owned by root, you will need to sudo your actions when modifying the contents!
Tip: To make it easy on yourself you can use the terminal to open a file manager running as root. Type ctrl+shift+t, this will open a new terminal tab. In there type 'sudo nautilus' which starts the file manager again, but with an appropriate warning at the top of the explorer window, that one will be running as root. Be careful, you might wreck your entire VM if you mess things up big!
Once you are finished with the modifications or just enter through to the next bit, it will pack up the system partition and repeat or when done it will continue to create a flashable ZIP for each of the different .ext4 files you created.
You're almost done! Lets move to the next chapter...

Installing your DIY ROM
FOR 4.1.2 ROM's:
Before doing these steps, remember to have any recovery installed on your phone if you are doing this with a locked bootloader, otherwise you won't be able to flash the zip you've built!
Put your '$NAME.flashable.zip' on (the external) SDcard;
Put the 'FTF' inside the FlashTool/firmwares folder;
Create a backup of your phone in CWM or TWRP and don't forget to backup the contents of 'SDCard0';
Flash everything in the 'FTF' to your phone and boot the phone straight to recovery after that;
NOTE: If you have an unlocked bootloader, you CAN flash the kernel, but you do not need to, to keep your custom kernel.
Flash '$NAME.flashable.zip' in recovery (Works in both CWM and TWRP!)
Reboot to system without clearing (dalvik-/)cache.
And you're done! :victory:
FOR 4.2.2 AND 4.3 ROM's:
Before doing these steps, remember to have any recovery installed on your phone if you are doing this with a locked bootloader, otherwise you won't be able to flash the zip you've built! You will need XZDualRecovery 2.5 BETA or newer to make this work.
NOTE: This guide assumes you are coming from a 4.1.2 ROM. If you have a 4.2.2 ROM already installed, you can skip this one and use the above guide.
Put your '$NAME.flashable.zip' on (the external) SDcard;
Put the 'FTF' inside the FlashTool/firmwares folder;
Create a backup of your phone in CWM or TWRP and don't forget to backup the contents of 'SDCard0';
Flash '$NAME.flashable.zip' in TWRP, then TURN YOUR PHONE OFF AFTERWARDS - DO NOT BOOT IT YET!
Flash everything in the 'FTF' to your phone;
Now boot to system without clearing (dalvik-/)cache.
And you're done! :victory:

Addendum: How to replace the recoveries to suit your device
Download XZDualRecovery specific for your device, the flashable package to be precise.
Drag the file to the VM window and open the zip. You will see 2 folders in there, traverse in to system/bin where you will see the files you need most.
Open the DIY_Guide on the VM's desktop, traverse to updater/system/bin and drag all the files from the zip in to this directory, replacing all the files already in your VM and you are set to go
On the Xperia Z Ultra, Z1 Compact, Z1 and (Tablet) Z2, don't forget to copy the disableric file from the tmp folder inside the recovery zip to the updater/system/xbin folder. Forgetting to do so will cause your system partition to be not fully accessible from the fully booted ROM.
For completeness, you could copy the dr.prop file inside the zip to the updater directory too: this will ensure people downloading your package will know what XZDR version was included.

Addendum: How to update your VM
The update package 1 contains the following:
FlashTool 0.9.11.0
XZDualRecovery 2.5 BETA
The Remount-Reboot fix
Superuser has been replaced by SuperSU
IMPORTANT NOTE: This update makes your flashable ZIP assume you are updating from a 4.1.2 ROM to a 4.2.2 ROM. So the resulting flashable ZIP will move the contents of your internal storage to the new 4.2.2 location. If you are creating a package to go from a 4.2.2 ROM to a 4.2.2 ROM, you will need to edit the updater-script to stop it from doing that
Code:
ui_print(" Moving contents of the internal storage to it's new location...");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" NOTE: This may take a while!");
ui_print("");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mv", "/data/media", "/data/temporary");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mkdir", "/data/media");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mv", "/data/temporary", "/data/media/0");
set_progress(0.850000);
Remove the above portion from updater/META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script using gedit and you're set! :fingers-crossed:
The update package 2 contains the following:
Flashtool 0.9.13.0
SuperSU 1.86
XZDualRecovery 2.7.62.
How to update:
Download the update package from the link in the OP;
Open the Home directory in the VM on the bar on the left;
Drag the file in to the home directory straight from your host PC's location where you stored the downloaded package;
Remove the FlashTool and DYI_Guide folders or rename them (to rename, right click on them to get the menu with the rename option);
Now open the diyvm-update.tar.gz, drag the 2 folders in to the Home directory.
All done! :good:

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Could I use this for any other Xperia device?
A: Sure you can! The proof is starting to pop up now and then
Just make sure you put in the right recovery pieces to support your specific device
Q: Am I allowed to release my ROM to the public?
A: Of course! I only require a simple mention or a humble thank you in your topic, where ever that may be. I like to know where my work travels to, so post or PM me the links to it
Q: Am I allowed to change the updater script to suit my needs?
A: You are allowed to change whatever you wish, I have NO copyright or license stuck to my work, simply because I consider anything with a license or copyright not to be 100% pure open source.
Q: I would like to make a ROM for my device, but there is no XZDualRecovery for it?
A: Try to integrate a recovery package available for your device. You can of course also request XZDR support, but it can take some time before that happens.
Q: I want to expand the storage capacity of the VM, is there any guide for that?
A: Yes, @gregbradley posted one here.
Q: My VM disk is slowly filling up, while I am keeping the trash empty, how come?
A: @GavTheStoner found out why, read his post on the subject and the solution he found.

Would be very useful! Thank you for the nice and clear guide!
Could you please also provide the script and other files needed such recovery etc. ? The whole VM image is large...

Fishmanzero said:
Would be very useful! Thank you for the nice and clear guide!
Could you please also provide the script and other files needed such recovery etc. ? The whole VM image is large...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No
It's not hard to find parts in my releases...
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

Great guide! Thanks a lot for this!
Gesendet von meinem Xperia Z via Tapatalk

Don't suppose anyone's come up with a way to rebuild to FTF?
Would love to be able to do that and just load with FlashTool.

Johbremat said:
Don't suppose anyone's come up with a way to rebuild to FTF?
Would love to be able to do that and just load with FlashTool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too, but unfortunately that's just impossible... Sorry
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app

Great Guide
Thanks for sharing - I was able to create my own deodexed and zipaligned 10.1.1.A.1.307 firmware. I tweaked it a bit so it doesn't reboot when changing system to R/W.
Next I'll try creating one for the Japanese 10.1.D.0.343 build

I was able to create a working 10.1.D.0.343 build for the SO-02E variant using your guide. Is it cool with you if I upload it and share it for our Japanese friends? I'll give you credit of course. :good:

lancebukkake said:
I was able to create a working 10.1.D.0.343 build for the SO-02E variant using your guide. Is it cool with you if I upload it and share it for our Japanese friends? I'll give you credit of course. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course you can
If I didn't want you to release it to the public I'd have that explicitly stated in the OP ... which I haven't, so go right ahead! :good:
--- ON A DIFFERENT NOTE ---
I'll be updating the VM soon to reflect the changes in the updater script, the remount-reboot fix and the latest XZDualRecovery.
I'll also make a tar archive with a little guide in one of the reserved posts to help you update your VM so you won't have to download it all over again

Thanks!
But its possible to create a ROM out of a CWM Backup on Windows.. I.E. thats more simple
Thanks for the VM though

jader13254 said:
Thanks!
But its possible to create a ROM out of a CWM Backup on Windows.. I.E. thats more simple
Thanks for the VM though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it is, but that is basically a TAR backup and requires a few extra steps: flashing the FTF to your phone, then booting to recovery to make that backup, dragging that to your PC and stripping the META info from the nandroid backup process adds to the TAR (which makes it a non-standard tar archive!) and you still risk losing all permissions and ownership information on the files inside the archive when extracting that to integrate it in your flashable zip... which is a ZIP and does not know about the extended file permissions and ownership from a Linux system... so you will have to make your updater-script reset permissions or instruct your users to do so using recovery... :silly:
Using this VM and my method of using the SIN file to extract a ROM prevents a huge heap of possible issues and keeps the updater-script nice and small and the installation a breeze

[NUT] said:
I know it is, but that is basically a TAR backup and requires a few extra steps: flashing the FTF to your phone, then booting to recovery to make that backup, dragging that to your PC and stripping the META info from the nandroid backup process adds to the TAR (which makes it a non-standard tar archive!) and you still risk losing all permissions and ownership information on the files inside the archive when extracting that to integrate it in your flashable zip... which is a ZIP and does not know about the extended file permissions and ownership from a Linux system... so you will have to make your updater-script reset permissions or instruct your users to do so using recovery... :silly:
Using this VM and my method of using the SIN file to extract a ROM prevents a huge heap of possible issues and keeps the updater-script nice and small and the installation a breeze
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just used a nice tool called "yaffey" which keeps the file structure and I set permissions via updater-script.
Works really fine but may be more difficult
Reall great way though and big thanks for this guide

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For anyone interested, below are the steps for getting your device dual-booting with CyanogenMod 10.2.
Why?
I don't want to erase native firmware and want to give a try to CyanogenMod
I want to have both native and CM, because I like native Samsung S-Pen apps, but want to have more fresh Android too
I like experimenting - it's cool!
The Idea
Our Android device has 2 boot partitions - for normal boot, and to boot into recovery. If I want to boot CyanogenMod, I need to place its boot image instead one of those boot partitions. E.g. if I want to have both native firmware and cyanogen - then obviously I need to replace recovery partition. However I can do the backup of recovery and restore it later if needed.
But, I also need to place cyanogen system and data partitions somewhere. Putting it on the external sdcard makes CM working really slow, repartitioning internal memory might be good idea, but it is not so easy and is not necessary for experimenting. Thus I've created 2 image files and put it to native data partition (mmcblk0p12) to media folder, e.g. into internal sdcard, then changed cyanogen boot image to mount those image files on boot as system and data partitions.
Prerequisites:
Rooted Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2012 Edition
2GB of free disk space at internal sdcard
Recovery partition backup, because we are going to replace it with CyanogenMod boot image
Clear understanding of what you are doing, because you potentially can break your device
Downloads:
CM 10.2 boot image
CM 10.2 data partition image
CM 10.2 system partition image
Steps
This manual suggests that you are going to do the recovery backup to external sdcard and has native firmware which means that recovery partition is mmcblk0p6, data partition is mmcblk0p12 and internal sdcard is /mnt/sdcard folder (otherwise you need to change the commands appropriately and might need to fix cyanogen boot image too).
Download 3 files by the links above and upload to internal sdcard of your device. Connect to your device via ADB and run ADB shell, or type the next commands in terminal emulator:
Code:
# become root
su -
# go to external sdcard to create recovery backup
cd /mnt/extSdCard
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p6 of=./recovery.img
# go to internal sdcard folder
cd /mnt/sdcard
# unpack partition images - each is 1Gb of disk space
gunzip ./system.img.gz
gunzip ./data.img.gz
# write CM boot image to recovery partition
dd if=./cyanogen.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p6
# finish
exit
exit
Now you can reboot your device into recovery mode and see CyanogenMod booting.
Restoring native recovery:
If you got tired from CyanogenMod and/or would like to take back your recovery, please use the backup you've done before. Lets say it is placed on your external sdcard, then connect to your device via ADB and run ADB shell, or type the next commands in terminal emulator:
Code:
# become root
su -
# go to the folder with recovery backup
cd /mnt/extSdCard
# write recovery image over recovery partition
dd if=./recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p6
Please let me know If I missed anything in my steps.
P.S. What I've changed in Cyanogen boot.img to make it using img files instead of partitions in form of patch: View attachment cyanogen_boot_img.patch. It is also necessary to create /host folder in initrd folder tree.

wow!!
it's really hard to be done xD
i thought it will be as easy as it was on my old Galaxy S2
all what i needed to do is to restart the phone and press home to boot to second Rom
i hope it's going to be easier soon
and thank you for you efforts toward our device Development

MoNsTeRmUk said:
wow!!
it's really hard to be done xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it is not as hard as it probably seems Download 3 files and overwrite recovery partition.
Probably I need to compose something like zip file for CWM or TWRP when I have free time... But if would be really nice if someone get it working too following current steps

X-Stranger said:
Well, it is not as hard as it probably seems Download 3 files and overwrite recovery partition.
Probably I need to compose something like zip file for CWM or TWRP when I have free time... But if would be really nice if someone get it working too following current steps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really Appreciate your work here brother And as it seems our device is not getting much of the attention unlike other devices
And what i meant by hard is it's possible to be done without any mistakes , but i take sometime to do so and you need a computer every time you want to change the Rom so it's not a solution for every time use .
I wish you good luck and Thank you for your support

MoNsTeRmUk said:
I really Appreciate your work here brother And as it seems our device is not getting much of the attention unlike other devices
And what i meant by hard is it's possible to be done without any mistakes , but i take sometime to do so and you need a computer every time you want to change the Rom so it's not a solution for every time use .
I wish you good luck and Thank you for your support
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for kind words Actually you don't need to have the computer to change ROM, you can type commands from terminal emulator directly from Android. I'm also thinking about creating small Android app which can be installed to each ROM and will be able to switch boot partition within one click.

Thanks for this superb work. Can't download last file ?
Please if can make someone flashable zip it would be great I am a noob but I want try this thanks again
Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk HD

other roms
Can I do this this with another rom

maro_X said:
Can I do this this with another rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is possible, but your another rom must be specially modified for this.
What rom are you talking about exactly?

Multi-boot solution
I've tired of writing images to boot partition every time I want to switch between native firmware and Cyanogen, so decided to compose a little program that I was talking before. So let me introduce you N8xx Boot Manager!
The idea:
You put your boot images files to some folder on your sdcard, lets say to /mnt/extSdCard/images/boot
And recovery boot images to /mnt/extSdCard/images/recovery
Now you run Boot Manager and select what you want to boot as normal boot or as recovery
As soon as you selected it, the application asks you if you would like to write this image to the appropriate partition (boot or recovery)
After successful writing it will ask you for booting from that partition, e.g. propose to reboot into your another rom or recovery
For sure all the settings like path where to keep images and boot/recovery partition names can be fixed appropriately to your device at the Settings tab
For sure the application requires root permissions, e.g. your device must be rooted. You can also check this from Settings tab
The application file: View attachment bootmanager-1.0.apk - feel free to install it to your device and use posting me bug reports
P.S. The only thing I've forgotten - the button to create native boot image file backup You still need to do it manually, sorry Hopefully in next release, if there be people interested in N8xx Boot Manager
P.P.S. Generally this program can be used for any device - just put correct images and correct boot partition names
P.P.P.S. Why N8xx and not N8xxx or N80xx? Because I've missed one symbol when typed application name in Android Studio and was too lazy to change that later :laugh:

N80xx Boot Manager
Updated version of N80xx Boot Manager: View attachment bootmanager-1.1.apk
Changelog:
Fixed application name
Fixed images path detection when no settings were changes
Added "Backup boot partiton" and "Backup recovery partition" buttons
Thus, now to install CM 10.2 as dual boot you don't need to go to ADB or terminal - just upload 3 img files to your device proper locations, installl boot manager apk, create stock boot/recovery partitions backup, then select what you want to boot and boot to that rom!
P.S. Going to update first post of this thread with steps based on Boot Manager, just would be nice if someone confirm that it works.

swamimahesh said:
Can't download last file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Re-uploaded.

I love u man
Finally alittle love for our device :crying:

Do I have to reinstall apps when booting to cm?
edit: I dont really understand the first step when you extract data and system.img. Can you explain more clearly the procedure?
edit2: did anyone do this dualboot successfully?

data.img.gz
Hi,
Thanks for this post !
The unpack data.img.gz don't work for me, an error occurs (with several softwares).
The md5 is ok.
Could you repost this file ?
TY.
:angel:

I can not use the n80xx boot manager app. It was failed to back up recovery or boot img. And it can not detect backup folders also. I am using revolution hd9 on n8000
Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk

netj said:
Hi,
Thanks for this post !
The unpack data.img.gz don't work for me, an error occurs (with several softwares).
The md5 is ok.
Could you repost this file ?
TY.
:angel:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like file hosting has disk issues thus my files become broken. System.img re-uploaded already. Now please try that View attachment data.img.gz and let me know if it works for you.

muop_92 said:
I can not use the n80xx boot manager app. It was failed to back up recovery or boot img. And it can not detect backup folders also. I am using revolution hd9 on n8000
Sent from my GT-N8000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the same Revolution HD 9.0 by mike1986 and it works for me. The backup might fail if backup folder is not available. By default it is trying to use external sdcard for backups, it is looking for /mnt/extSdCard/images/boot and /mnt/extSdCard/images/recovery paths for the purpose. Please create those folders if you don't have it, or change boot manager settings according to your thought where the backups should be. The boot and recovery folders should exist anyway, e.g. it is up to you to create them.

X-Stranger said:
I'm using the same Revolution HD 9.0 by mike1986 and it works for me. The backup might fail if backup folder is not available. By default it is trying to use external sdcard for backups, it is looking for /mnt/extSdCard/images/boot and /mnt/extSdCard/images/recovery paths for the purpose. Please create those folders if you don't have it, or change boot manager settings according to your thought where the backups should be. The boot and recovery folders should exist anyway, e.g. it is up to you to create them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is /mnt ? I saw in my device only /storage/extSdCard
Sent from my GT-I8160 using Tapatalk 2

muop_92 said:
Where is /mnt ? I saw in my device only /storage/extSdCard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same. External sdcard is available on both these paths as far as I know. You can change it otherwise in application settings tab.

Ok !
X-Stranger said:
Looks like file hosting has disk issues thus my files become broken. System.img re-uploaded already. Now please try that View attachment 2519204 and let me know if it works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
It's Ok !
Thanks !
I have just modify the paths :
dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p6 of=./recovery.img --> dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p6 of=./recovery.img
dd if=./cyanogen.img of=/dev/mmcblk0p6 --> dd if=./cyanogen.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p6
:good:

Hi guys,
I present here with small tutorial to backup your sdcard and your applications with their data. For this you'll required to know adb commands which I've posted in Moto G Index thread which can be found here. (I've too referred it and learnt about this process. Even you can create many more if you are crazy like me )
Backing up sdcard and your applications with their data is essentially process to keep them safe in case something goes wrong with your phone and need to be wiped.
I know that there are lot of other third party apps like Titanium Backup, Helium etc which are available in Google Play Store which can do this task.
But this method is safe, easy, reliable and works on stock and rooted devices.
Before starting, you need to download the zip which is attached in this post or you can also download Android SDK and install it on you PC and work on this commands.
Now, Go to Settings --> Developer options --> Check "usb debugging".
Connect your device to pc.
Backup & Restore sdcard​
Backup :
Open a command prompt (shift + mouse right click) in "sdk platform" or in the folder downloaded from here, and type
Code:
adb devices
Press ENTER Key. You must see your device serial number. If you don't see it, probably your device drivers are not installed properly on your PC.
Now type
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/ /sdcard/
This command will pull your sdcard (not move or cut) to "c" directory under "sdcard" folder.
This process may take time depending upon the size of your sdcard. Please don't abort it until finishing.
Restore :
Open a command prompt (shift + mouse right click) in "sdk platform" or in the folder downloaded from here, and type
Code:
adb devices
Press ENTER Key. You must see your device serial number. If you don't see it, probably your device drivers are not installed properly on your PC.
Now type
Code:
adb push sdcard /sdcard/
This command will push the "sdcard" to your device.
This process may take time depending upon the size of your sdcard. Please don't abort it until finishing.
Hit thanks if you find this useful.

Backup & Restore Applications and Their Data​
Backup :
Open a command prompt (shift + mouse right click) in "sdk platform" or in the folder downloaded from here, and type
Code:
adb devices
Press ENTER Key. You must see your device serial number. If you don't see it, probably your device drivers are not installed properly on your PC.
Now type
Code:
adb backup -apk -noshared -all -nosystem
Now look at your device and accept backup process. (You can continue without entering the password)
Wait until finishing.
This will backup your apps and their data to the PC (a "backup.ab" file will be created in the same folder).
Restore :
Open a command prompt (shift + mouse right click) in "sdk platform" or in the folder downloaded from here, and type
Code:
adb devices
Press ENTER Key. You must see your device serial number. If you don't see it, probably your device drivers are not installed properly on your PC.
Now type
Code:
adb restore backup.ab
Now look at your device and accept restore process. (If you entered the password while backing up, you need to enter it while restoring)
Wait until finishing.
This will restore your applications and their data to device.
Hit thanks if you find this useful.

It will be useful to change rom and not lose the progress of the games and some configurations?
Excuse my bad English.
Ivan!

Leproso_Ivan said:
It will be useful to change rom and not lose the progress of the games and some configurations?
Excuse my bad English.
Ivan!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK, some of the app's data is not properly restored. (Experienced this when my device was not rooted)

Mr hOaX said:
AFAIK, some of the app's data is not properly restored. (Experienced this when my device was not rooted)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try when I change the rom.
Iván!

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took a long time and that was only backing up SD card lol. but I can say it can successfully backup

bublz654 said:
took a long time and that was only backing up SD card lol. but I can say it can successfully backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends upon your SD Card size
Good job for uploading screenshot for others
Credits given

Mr hOaX said:
It depends upon your SD Card size
Good job for uploading screenshot for others
Credits given
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had 7.18 GB on my SD card lol. no problem for screen shot I'll try n backup app+data soon

please help, I'm trying to do backup the fourth time now and I keep getting that, I rebooted phone deleted. c:/sdcard directory its not working. what can I do ?

never mind I got 5th time lucky

I finished backing up my apk + data it didn't show any successful pop-up but I guess it works

where the backup.ab file ?

wouldn't pulling the whole data partition do the same job in one shabang?

meangreenie said:
wouldn't pulling the whole data partition do the same job in one shabang?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't think so, in just trying to find where the backup. an file is for my backed up apps and their data

bublz654 said:
don't think so, in just trying to find where the backup. an file is for my backed up apps and their data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for late reply mate.
But your backup file is saved where you adb and fastboot files are present!
It's in the directory where you had launch adb cmds to start the backup process.
If you don't find it still search it in C:\ drive or else your backup process was aborted because of failure.
It works for me, and you usually get prompts on your device to start the backup process and also get the prompts to restore the backup.
If you are facing more issues, PM me

Mr hOaX said:
Sorry for late reply mate.
But your backup file is saved where you adb and fastboot files are present!
It's in the directory where you had launch adb cmds to start the backup process.
If you don't find it still search it in C:\ drive or else your backup process was aborted because of failure.
It works for me, and you usually get prompts on your device to start the backup process and also get the prompts to restore the backup.
If you are facing more issues, PM me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok man thanks for explaining, i will look for the backup.ab wheres the adb n fastboot files tomorrow. This guide is great
Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

Hello! Does it work if I do a backup on a motoG Lte then I restore it in another one motoG Lte? Becouse I have to send it back to where I've bought it and they're shipping me a new one
Thanks in advance!

is that the backup.ab folder ? (6th file from top )

bublz654 said:
is that the backup.ab folder ? (6th file from top )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes mate. I'm extremely sorry for late reply. I was unavailable these days.
If you are not able to restore that *.ab file, then it is "corrupted" due to incomplete process of backup!
bazuzu666 said:
Hello! Does it work if I do a backup on a motoG Lte then I restore it in another one motoG Lte? Becouse I have to send it back to where I've bought it and they're shipping me a new one
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes mate

Mr hOaX said:
Yes mate. I'm extremely sorry for late reply. I was unavailable these days.
If you are not able to restore that *.ab file, then it is "corrupted" due to incomplete process of backup!
Yes mate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The .an file worked when restoring. When trying to restore SD card it says could not find SD card folder. So I had to move everything manually

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Fastboot Enhance
What it can do?
- Show fastboot vars
- Switch between fastbootd & bootloader
- Switch between A & B slot
- Flash Payload.bin in fastbootd
- Flash images
- Erase partitions
- Delete logical partitions
- Create logical partitions
- Resize logical partitions
- Unpack Payload.bin
- Extract specific image from Payload.bin
- Show Payload vars
- Show dynamic partition metadata
And above all, it has friendly GUI
Download
Releases · libxzr/FastbootEnhance
A user-friendly Fastboot ToolBox & Payload Dumper for Windows - libxzr/FastbootEnhance
github.com
By using this, you can freely switch between different versions of HydrogenOS & OxygenOS & Custom ROMs.
It is mostly tested on 8T but should work fine on any device shipped with dynamic partitions.

Notes for fastboot visualization
- You need to pre-install related fastboot usb drivers to make sure the device can be recognize by the software.
- Only in fastbootd or bootloader mode can the software recognize your device.

reserved2

I wonder if this would work with kb2007 TMO to go to ColorOS? I will download a check it out, thanks for the contribution!

xzr467706992 said:
Fastboot Enhance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dev
xzr467706992​thanks for making this tool! I created (modified) a non-working OTA incremental update Linux program to install 11.0.9.9.KB05AA on my rooted Op8T (not available as a full update yet) and this program notified me that the -cow files, when I clicked on install from payload.bin, had to be deleted as they were temp files and taking up space in super - now I'm running an unreleased build (full update) on my Op8T!!! I have no idea where you found documentation on these temp -cow files, but it was the missing part of all my work!!! Without those logical files present, there was enough room in Super to install the fully updated Super components (odm, product, system, system_ext, and product)! And I have to say, your program is awesome!!! Intuitive interface, high functionality, and makes things just easier to see and do.

mslezak said:
Dev
xzr467706992​thanks for making this tool! I created (modified) a non-working OTA incremental update Linux program to install 11.0.9.9.KB05AA on my rooted Op8T (not available as a full update yet) and this program notified me that the -cow files, when I clicked on install from payload.bin, had to be deleted as they were temp files and taking up space in super - now I'm running an unreleased build (full update) on my Op8T!!! I have no idea where you found documentation on these temp -cow files, but it was the missing part of all my work!!! Without those logical files present, there was enough room in Super to install the fully updated Super components (odm, product, system, system_ext, and product)! And I have to say, your program is awesome!!! Intuitive interface, high functionality, and makes things just easier to see and do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disregard I just found your thread

Great job

mslezak said:
Dev
xzr467706992​thanks for making this tool! I created (modified) a non-working OTA incremental update Linux program to install 11.0.9.9.KB05AA on my rooted Op8T (not available as a full update yet) and this program notified me that the -cow files, when I clicked on install from payload.bin, had to be deleted as they were temp files and taking up space in super - now I'm running an unreleased build (full update) on my Op8T!!! I have no idea where you found documentation on these temp -cow files, but it was the missing part of all my work!!! Without those logical files present, there was enough room in Super to install the fully updated Super components (odm, product, system, system_ext, and product)! And I have to say, your program is awesome!!! Intuitive interface, high functionality, and makes things just easier to see and do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google has mentioned the copy-on-write(COW) device here
Virtual A/B Overview | Android Open Source Project
source.android.com
For virtual a/b, the COW devices are created during the process of update. When there's enough spaces in super, they'll be created there, otherwise they'll be created in /data/gsi/ota.

xzr467706992 said:
Google has mentioned the copy-on-write(COW) device here
Virtual A/B Overview | Android Open Source Project
source.android.com
For virtual a/b, the COW devices are created during the process of update. When there's enough spaces in super, they'll be created there, otherwise they'll be created in /data/gsi/ota.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I found it there for "virtual A/B" just an hour or two ago actually. They don't explain it too well, however.

Please don't mind I have few doubts about how to use this.
1. Suppose I have installed a custom rom and now I want to go back to Oxygen OS, can I do it by flashing the payload.bin using this fastboot enhance tool? If yes, what exact steps I have to go through?
2. If I flash the payload bin using this tool, will my all partitions will be recreated automatically as it was in a fresh stock condition when I used this 8T for first time even if the custom rom did any mess up with size or anything else? Also will it cleanup inactive slot too?

Amsal1 said:
Please don't mind I have few doubts about how to use this.
1. Suppose I have installed a custom rom and now I want to go back to Oxygen OS, can I do it by flashing the payload.bin using this fastboot enhance tool? If yes, what exact steps I have to go through?
2. If I flash the payload bin using this tool, will my all partitions will be recreated automatically as it was in a fresh stock condition when I used this 8T for first time even if the custom rom did any mess up with size or anything else? Also will it cleanup inactive slot too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can switch between custom ROMs and OOS using this tool.
This tool will only flash partitions listed in payload.bin, that means other partitions will remain unchanged.
Logical partitions will be automatically resized during flashing.
This tool will not create snapshot & switch slot when flashing, which is different from a normal update or sideload. That means the current slot will be flashed with new images in payload.
Note that on 8T, only the current slot you are using is bootable because of virtual ab, DO NOT SWITCH SLOT.

xzr467706992 said:
Yes, you can switch between custom ROMs and OOS using this tool.
This tool will only flash partitions listed in payload.bin, that means other partitions will remain unchanged.
Logical partitions will be automatically resized during flashing.
This tool will not create snapshot & switch slot when flashing, which is different from a normal update or sideload. That means the current slot will be flashed with new images in payload.
Note that on 8T, only the current slot you are using is bootable because of virtual ab, DO NOT SWITCH SLOT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your clarification
So the exact steps to flash any rom(OOS, Custom Rom) would be:
1. Boot to fastbootd mode
2. Load the payload.bin in Fastboot enhance v1.8
3. Click the flash payload.bin
4. Reboot to recovery and wipe
5. Reboot to system
right?

Amsal1 said:
Thanks for your clarification
So the exact steps to flash any rom(OOS, Custom Rom) would be:
1. Boot to fastbootd/bootloader mode
2. Load the payload.bin in Fastboot enhance v1.8
3. Click the flash payload.bin
4. Reboot to system
right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but you need to reboot to fastbootd for logical partitions (also theres hint in software)
Btw remember to enter recovery and wipe data after flashing

xzr467706992 said:
Yes but you need to reboot to fastbootd for logical partitions (also theres hint in software)
Btw remember to enter recovery and wipe data after flashing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
reboot to fastbootd for logical partitions? I didn't got this.
Sure I will wipe from recovery after flashing the rom!

Amsal1 said:
reboot to fastbootd for logical partitions? I didn't got this.
Sure I will wipe from recovery after flashing the rom!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That means: flash payload in fastbootd because we have logical partitions.

xzr467706992 said:
That means: flash payload in fastbootd because we have logical partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can I enter fastbootd mode bro ? Thank you

hieu76pro said:
How can I enter fastbootd mode bro ? Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are in system
adb reboot fadtboot
If you are in bootloader
Press the "reboot to fastbootd" button in software

xzr467706992 said:
If you are in system
adb reboot fadtboot
If you are in bootloader
Press the "reboot to fastbootd" button in software
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks bro

I am getting this while trying to flash evo x rom payload.bin:
These are the two cow partitions I found:
Is it safe to delete these two partitions?

Amsal1 said:
I am getting this while trying to flash evo x rom payload.bin:
View attachment 5383121
These are the two cow partitions I found:
View attachment 5383123
Is it safe to delete these two partitions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes if system update status is none