Database Users

preserving market "my downloads" list between wipes/rom installs

I've wiped and installed a lot of roms lately, and generally when I go to 'my downloads' in the market, only my paid apps are there. So, I have to go though the process of searching the installing each app again. It's just easier when they are all in a list.
I figured it would be a good idea to backup all my apps and then reinstall them afterward with adb in linux as such:
for a in `ls *.apk`; do adb install $a; done
this works, but of course they don't show up under 'my downloads' and I don't get update notifications.
Is there a way around this?

gsgleason said:
I've wiped and installed a lot of roms lately, and generally when I go to 'my downloads' in the market, only my paid apps are there. So, I have to go though the process of searching the installing each app again. It's just easier when they are all in a list.
I figured it would be a good idea to backup all my apps and then reinstall them afterward with adb in linux as such:
for a in `ls *.apk`; do adb install $a; done
this works, but of course they don't show up under 'my downloads' and I don't get update notifications.
Is there a way around this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to backup and restore the database file located in the market folder....it should be here...
Code:
/data/data/com.android.vending/databases
I'm assuming since you can backup and restore your apps thru adb then you can figure out how to pull and push this to your phone

I assume you would want to do this to get update notifications. If so you can grab "aTrackDog" from the market. It will list all you apps and when you refresh it will tell you when updates are available and give you a link to get the update from the market.

AdrianK said:
I assume you would want to do this to get update notifications. If so you can grab "aTrackDog" from the market. It will list all you apps and when you refresh it will tell you when updates are available and give you a link to get the update from the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will it only work for software installed through the market or will manually installed software show up as well?

DirectMatrix said:
You need to backup and restore the database file located in the market folder....it should be here...
Code:
/data/data/com.android.vending/databases
I'm assuming since you can backup and restore your apps thru adb then you can figure out how to pull and push this to your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. I'll do this next time I wipe and reflash with the latest coolest rom. =)

gsgleason said:
will it only work for software installed through the market or will manually installed software show up as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, works for the apps on my ext3 even after switching builds several times, works great.

DirectMatrix said:
You need to backup and restore the database file located in the market folder....it should be here...
Code:
/data/data/com.android.vending/databases
I'm assuming since you can backup and restore your apps thru adb then you can figure out how to pull and push this to your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For those of us who are not that familiar with adb, can you give a short tutorial on how to pull and then push that database folder?

well i just wiped and installed the latest cyanogen mod and when i went to the "my downloads" section of the store all the apps i had downloaded before were all there (paid and free)
I also thought it didnt do that, apperently it does

Gilliland12 said:
For those of us who are not that familiar with adb, can you give a short tutorial on how to pull and then push that database folder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need ADB, you can use the terminal emulator from the market or the recovery console.
To pull the database, open terminal or recovery and type:
Code:
su
cd /data/data/com.android.vending/
cp databases /sdcard
that will copy that database file to the root of your sdcard.
When pushing it back it is probably best to do it while the phone isn't running, so only use the recovery console:
Code:
cd sdcard
cp databases /data/data/com.android.vending/
reboot
I haven't tested this, but it will have the same results as the ADB method.

AdrianK said:
You don't need ADB, you can use the terminal emulator from the market or the recovery console.
To pull the database, open terminal or recovery and type:
Code:
su
cd /data/data/com.android.vending/
cp databases /sdcard
that will copy that database file to the root of your sdcard.
When pushing it back it is probably best to do it while the phone isn't running, so only use the recovery console:
Code:
cd sdcard
cp databases /data/data/com.android.vending/
reboot
I haven't tested this, but it will have the same results as the ADB method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks.

Backup for Root works perfectly for me

if you got a paid app through adb and got a refund, can you still get updates for that app if you have it installed?

opasha said:
if you got a paid app through adb and got a refund, can you still get updates for that app if you have it installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you will not get updates without re-purchasing the app. And talking about ripping off app developers on this forum is frowned up so please stop discussing it.

opasha said:
if you got a paid app through adb and got a refund, can you still get updates for that app if you have it installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you got a refund, then you shouldn't have the app. That's stealing and it's not nice. Most apps are cheap (a couple of bucks at most), stop being a cheapskate.

Originally Posted by AdrianK View Post
You don't need ADB, you can use the terminal emulator from the market or the recovery console.
To pull the database, open terminal or recovery and type:
Code:
su
cd /data/data/com.android.vending/
cp databases /sdcard
that will copy that database file to the root of your sdcard.
When pushing it back it is probably best to do it while the phone isn't running, so only use the recovery console:
Code:
cd sdcard
cp databases /data/data/com.android.vending/
reboot
I haven't tested this, but it will have the same results as the ADB method.
i tried this but it dodnt work.
when I did the first command it said ommiting databases. so I thought it worked.
flashed to the new cyanogen 4.0 rom (which is amazing btw!) did the second command and it said cannot stat file "databases" no such file or folder.
what gives??

Id say the databases were open and couldnt be backed up.
You should try to copy them from the recovery.
Also, after copying why didnt you check if the database files were in your sdcard (or the path you specified for the copy) before wiping? If the file is not there its obvious that it cant be restored after the wipe..

thought it might have been hidden or on my ext2 partition! never mind i got atrackdog!

addiosamigo said:
thought it might have been hidden or on my ext2 partition! never mind i got atrackdog!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems you can only copy each of the four db files individually... but copying the entire folder doesn't work.

All that is needed is assets.db
Open the terminal and enter
$ su
# cp /data/data/com.android.vending/databases/assets.db /sdcard
Wipe, flash, reboot.
YOU MUST OPEN THE MARKET AND AGREE TO THE TOS BEFORE RESTORING!!!!
Open the market, agree to the TOS, and close the market. Open the terminal and enter
$ su
# cp /sdcard/assets.db /data/data/com.android.vending/databases/assets.db
# reboot

cannot delete sms messages

Somehow I let my ritual of deleting my messages get away from me and now I have an inbox with over 2k messages...and I can delete none of them. Anytime I try my app (both the stock one and handcent) lock up and become non responsive.
Any advice?

So, I got impatient and did a data wipe (i backed up first). It obiviously got rid of my messages. But I decided that I don't like losing everything else, so I tried to restore my backup. No go. It returns something about needing to run it in the console?
The more advice I could get at this point, the better...

I have a fix for this that I helped brock do. I knew I should have made it public. lol. One day too late! I'll post it here in a little bit.
Edit:
So yea I too have noticed that when trying to delete large threads (500+ texts) it will typically FC. Sometimes if I click "wait" enough it will eventually delete, however 1000+ threads never seem to go. This work around will wipe ALL of your threads, however it's much better than wiping your entire phone. The best advice I guess would be to just clear them out every 250 texts or so.
These instructions are for windows. If you have mac or linux then you'll just need to change the parts about pulling the db from the phone.
Code:
mkdir c:\temp
adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db c:\temp (this will backup the database to your computer at c:\temp, just in case)
adb remount
adb shell
rm /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
reboot
Let me know if you have any problems. Maybe I should add this is a fix in my apps installer program, just like clearing the cache.

Flip, you are a wizard! Thank you!

hello ive got exactly the same problem i have atleast 5k messages in on thread and cant delete them i dont understand what to do with that code you have put up flipzmode can you shed some light on it for me please .

Connect your phone via USB.
Bring up command prompt (or terminal if in osx or Linux)
Change directory to where you're adb is and then input flip's commands.

nvm got it wewt~
and adding this to app installer would be hot~

Permission Denied
I am Getting a "permission Denied" after i Type in the command, "adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db c:\temp"..... phone is rooted and i did verify that the phone is pulling up in the bridge... Any help is greatly appreciated

i had to do this: (just put in w/e drive your adb is on if it isnt a H~ more then likely a C drive)
cd H:\android-sdk-windows\tools
adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db H:\temp (this will backup the database to your computer at H:\temp, just in case)
adb remount
adb shell
rm /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
reboot

all this is complete jiberish to me im not very compouter literate with these codes etc been trying for ages to figure it out and delete these messages its really doing my head in now

cant delete sum msgs how n where do i put that code so i can delete msgs over +1000

sprint hero messages
still cannot get this to work, i have changed the dir to F but i still get errors that says adb is not a rec. internal or ext command
plz help

I had the same problem (about 1600 messages for one contact) I set the phone's display to never turn off so it wouldn't go to "sleep" then I clicked delete on the thread and walked away for about 15 minutes and it eventually deleted. It seemed like the screen turning off and going to the lock screen is what was making the messaging app unresponsive.

riotkid976 said:
Connect your phone via USB.
Bring up command prompt (or terminal if in osx or Linux)
Change directory to where you're adb is and then input flip's commands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is "Abd"? It is not recognizable in my command prompt!! Please help!!! Thanks!!

I'm adding this in to my kitchen so it can be done with the click of a button. I'll post here when it's released.

Fresh is Sick
Thanks Fresh i definitely that was the easiest way to delete the threads and it worked great. Can't wait for the next best thing you put out there!

SOO glad I found this thread. My girlfriend doesn't even have this phone but this thread has solved her issue with her mms.apk force closing. This needs to be pinned or something.

[SOLVED] Installed applications -> .apk?

Hey!
I have a lot of applications on my phone. I would like to collect all to my memory card in form of .apk-files, so I easily can install the programs I have now after I've flashed with another ROM.
How do I do this?
I have ADB Shell installed, my phone is rooted and so on and so forth.
I would like to avoid making a backup with Astro, since the installation probably won't come out clean (?).
EDIT: Solved it via ADB.
Wrote the following:
adb pull /data/app/ c:\"foldername"\
adb pull /data/app-private/ c:\"foldername"\
And all your installed applications will be copied to the folder you specify, as .apk-files.

After you backed up all your .apk files, did you have to manually re-install all your apps? or did you have a way to batch install them via adb? or is it possible to adb push those files back to /data/app/ and /data/app-private/ ?

Just push them. The directory is /system/sd/app/ if you have a2sd enabled.

Stable ROM w/Backup Assistant?

Are there any stable ROMs that have Backup Assistant? My son just bought a Droid X and I rooted it for him. I have an Incredible and it seems like I have so many more choices as far as ROMs go. I put a couple ROMs on his X but they both had Backup Assistant removed and he really needs to have it.

I'm not sure of any of the ROM's currently that have Backup Assistant still in it. I think most of the ROM's have taken out all/most of the Moto Blur features and a lot of the "bloatware" that verizon throws on their phones. MY guess would be that most devs are pulling this out of the phone. If you really want to add it back in, I would try this...I have never had to do this for Backup Assistant, but I have manually added Facebook back in like this...
NOTE: If you have the phone rooted, I would make sure that you have koush's bootstrap installed and make a backup of the phone in its current state in case something goes wrong. Then you have a backup you can restore.
The usual...I take no responsibility if your phone gets messed up from following this...
Open a command prompt with the phone attached using Charge only USB mode.
Type the following commands:
1) type: adb shell (press enter)
2) tyep: su (press enter)
3) type: mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
You will need the android sdk installed, and open up ANOTHER command prompt to the sdk/tools/ folder. Paste the attached .apk and .odex files for backup assistant in the tools folder. You will need to rename the .odex.zip file to just .odex
make sure that ithe phone recognized by adb (at command prompt, type adb devices)
From command prompt at C:\<sdk location\tools\
1)type: adb push BackupAssistanceClient.apk /system/app
2)type: adb push BackupAssistanceClient.odex /system/app
switch back to the first command prompt where you typed adb shell (MAKE SURE NONE OF THIS IS MISPELLED! the slightest error can brick a phone!
1) type: cd /system/app
2) type: chmod 644 BackupAssistanceClient.apk
3) type: chmod 644 BackupAssitanceClient.odex
4) Type: exit
you may need to type exit one more time, but make sure it returns you to a normal command prompt. Then type adb remount
This will remount the /system portion of the phone back to the normal read-only state.
Then you will need to reboot the phone. When it loads up, this should have the app reloaded for you to use.

lennie paz said:
Are there any stable ROMs that have Backup Assistant? My son just bought a Droid X and I rooted it for him. I have an Incredible and it seems like I have so many more choices as far as ROMs go. I put a couple ROMs on his X but they both had Backup Assistant removed and he really needs to have it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not pull his contacts off of Verizon's website and import them into Gmail?

milan616 said:
Why not pull his contacts off of Verizon's website and import them into Gmail?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either they do not know how to do this, or they don't want their contacts with Google
I would suggest syncing with Google over using the Backup Assistant
Log into the Backup Assistant web site
Somewhere you will find export contacts
Export as a csv file
Log into GMail
Go to Contacts
Click import
Find your downloaded csv file
Import
Run the merge and clean option
And you are done

I BELIEVE Apex still has Backup Assistant, not 100% sure though as I've been running GummyJAR for a while now:
http://androidforums.com/droid-x-al...id-x-running-running-fast-can-12-16-10-a.html
Honestly if you just want to be able to keep track of your contacts, I would just back them up to the SD card, load up a different ROM (my personal favorite after having tried them all is GummyJAR at the moment), load the saved contact list then make sure your Google account is backing them up. It's what I do and I prefer it over relying on Verizon's software.

Yeah gmail.contact sync is super easy... but apex has backup assistant on it still, fyi
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

My favorite would be chevyno1's SSX 1.1 at the moment.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Yeah ApeX is definitely the way to go !! and it indeed does have Backup assist.

milan616 said:
Why not pull his contacts off of Verizon's website and import them into Gmail?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To the OP, this is what I would suggest. Gmail backup is much easier. Once you log in to the phone with your Gmail account, your contacts will automatically come up.

Yes I would suggest Gmail contacts as well. I ROM all the time and my contacts always get sync'd to my phone as soon as I add my Gmail. Once I add my FB it also syncs with their profiles and adds/updates pictures.

[SOLVED] Unable to save to user storage except Download, UID and perms appear ok

After doing a restore with CWM of 4.4.4 backup, I'm unable to save files to user storage. Owner is 0 root, GID is 1028 sdcard_r, permissions drwxrwx--x, same as on my N7 '13.
Drive can export a file to ./Downloads though. ?:| Other files can save to that folder.
Have tried with Nova Launcher backup (can save backup file to ./Download, but no other), ES File manager ("EACCES (Permission Denied)"), Total Commander file manager. Helium backup can't backup locally either.
Noticed yesterday that I couldn't delete folders or move files from folders (Alarms, Notifications, Pictures), so did it in Recovery with ADB shell. Think that's just another symptom.
Never encountered this before. Anyone ever see this, fixed this?

Oh, one note. During my 5.1.1 order, I did a fresh wiped boot of 4.4.4, set up accounts and basic apps, and did a CWM backup. Moved it off with adb (adb pull /sdcard/ ./sdcard/).
After flashing 4.4.4 completely, I used CWM and adb push to move the entire backed up /sdcard/ back to the device so I could do a restore (adb push /sdcard/ ./sdcard/). Restored in CWM.
Could this have been an issue? /sdcard/ created by adb ?

Solved. Did a CWM backup and was readying to pull that off, and checked on a hunch. After mounting /data/, I shelled in (adb shell) and checked permissions (ls -ald /sdcard/0/ ) and lo and behold -- many (not all) of the folders were owned by root:root, not media_rw:media_rw. /sdcard/0/Download/ was not.
Changed ownership of all under /sdcard/0 (chown -R media_rw:media:rw * ) rebooted, and can save in those folders again. Hopefully that didn't bork something else up.