Database Users

What happens if you accidentally delete the /data directory?

I'll tell you...basically not good things
After updating lots of apps, I decided to run the command to remove the boot-cache through a terminal app on my phone, rather than through adb shell (sprint needs to hurry up and fix this bug.)
Unfortunately, the terminal app doesn't like landscape, so when hitting the front slash after the data directory, my finger instead (to my absolute horror) hit the enter key.
Hilarity did NOT ensue. Basically everything started FC'ing. I rebooted into recovery, did a wipe, and started over. Everything seems to be fine, but for those that are more familiar with the filesystem than I, could there be any residual effects, or would the wipe/factory reset basically take me back to step 1? Thanks!
I'm going to try and write an app that not only clears the boot cache, but also turns on net sharing, kinda like a "utilities" app in the interim until Sprint can fix our stuff. Should be simple enough.

Factory reset should take you back to step 1.
Have you installed the recovery ROM? It doesn't modify your actual OS at all, but it enables you to do "whole phone" backups via Nandroid. Very handy for just such an occasion.

jonnythan said:
Factory reset should take you back to step 1.
Have you installed the recovery ROM? It doesn't modify your actual OS at all, but it enables you to do "whole phone" backups via Nandroid. Very handy for just such an occasion.
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I do believe so. I followed our five star "how to root the CDMA Hero" thread, and I think the RA-Recovery part was included there.
I'm assuming since I can reboot into recovery mode, this is, in and of itself, the recovery ROM you're talking about. I have the option of a nandroid backup in there.
So, then let me ask you this. If I get my phone how I like it, can I do a Nandroid backup, and always be able to restore to that point, similar to commercially available backup apps? Thanks for the quick reply!

a Nandroid backup will restore everything on your phone (not your SDCard) so it should work to restore even if you delete the whole /data directory. It's not tested but it seems like it should work since it's an image of the whole freaking thing.

Issue after rooting

I recently rooted my HTC Hero and had no issues with it. I was trying to nandroid backup it, but now I can't download any of the programs from the Market. I have a restore image, but I dont have any clue how to get it onto my phone. Help would be amazing, I hope I didn't brick my phone.

thejawa said:
I recently rooted my HTC Hero and had no issues with it. I was trying to nandroid backup it, but now I can't download any of the programs from the Market. I have a restore image, but I dont have any clue how to get it onto my phone. Help would be amazing, I hope I didn't brick my phone.
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Click to collapse
You haven't bricked your phone. If you are positive you have a restore image or that you've done a nandroid back up. You should be able to boot into recovery and restore you back up by:
**You should either have your Nandroid back up still on your SD card or you saved it somewhere on your computer when you did your first Nandroid back up, if the latter -- copy the ENTIRE Nandroid folder onto your SD card and proceed with the following steps.
1. Turn your phone off
2. Press and hold home+power to boot into recovery
3. Choose Backup/Restore
4. Choose Restore backup
5. Choose the back up file (labeled Nandroid)
6. Confirm that you want to restore the backup by pressing the home button.
7. Wait a while
8. Reboot your phone
And report back if you have problems.

Looks like when I go into the recovery page, the only option I have is Clear Storage, nothing about restoring

thejawa said:
Looks like when I go into the recovery page, the only option I have is Clear Storage, nothing about restoring
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Click to collapse
You are positive that you flashed a recovery ROM correct? Do you remember doing steps 13-19 from the guide below? Also, what resource did you use to "root" your phone and did it ever mention anything about installing a custom recovery image, if so -- what version of the recovery image do you currently have?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=583291
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Make sure that you are not holding down both the Power and Home keys. You only need to hold down Home and TAP power to make it come on. Once you feel the vibrate you can let go of the Home key.

Yes, Kcarpenter's right...I wouldn't want to be held liable for deleting your data, but then again...it'll teach you a lesson and you'll never forget to make a Nandroid back up.

try and fix your market problem first, I say. Does gTalk run on your phone? if not, try creating a brand new google account, rerunning the setup app, and log in with that one. Let us know how it goes.
edit:I've seen this happen to more than one person, and it's on google's end, not yours if this is the case.

Clockworkmod vs Titanium?

I've had such great help in these forums (Nook specifically) I couldn't resist trying my luck in these (Droid X) forums as well.
So, I've searched for Clockworkmod threads but they are all (That I found or noticed) from back in August.
Plenty of info to be had on Titanium Backup.
So my question, is Titanium the backup/restore program of choice? I was hoping for an idiots guide to backup and restore (especially in the event of problems) but the guides are kind of sketchy on the restore part.

Titanium
Use titanium backup to backup and restore all your apps. Useful when trying out new roms, although without the paid version of titanium you will spend alot of time tapping through the installation screens as it goes through your apps. Titanium won't help you recover a broken system.
SBF
Use RSDLITE 4.9 with a .SBF file to perform what many call a "sbf". This is usually used to restore a phone back to stock, or to recover from a bad/corrupted operating system. If your phone is unbootable, this is your recovery option. SBF'ing your phone is not as scary as it sounds, just download the system restore file (.sbf), connect your phone via usb to your computer, and use RSDLITE 4.9 to flash the phone.
Nand backups / Clockwork recovery
Use clockworkmod to do a full backup of your phone. Think of it as a clone of your phone. Restore your phone by booting into clockwork recovery and instead of choosing "backup", use the "restore" command. It will then allow you to select one of the backups you have made with clockwork. Pretty easy stuff here.

jeftep said:
Nand backups / Clockwork recovery
Use clockworkmod to do a full backup of your phone. Think of it as a clone of your phone. Restore your phone by booting into clockwork recovery and instead of choosing "backup", use the "restore" command. It will then allow you to select one of the backups you have made with clockwork. Pretty easy stuff here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, this is exactly what I was after. My only problem remains that I do not see any guides on how to go about downloading/installing/operating this program. I'll keep searching now that I know more about what I'm searching for. Thanks!

Search the market for "rom manager", it's free. Load it and tap "flash clockworkmod recovery".
You can use this app to reboot into recovery or by holding down the home and volume down buttons while pushing the power on button.
You can also download the DX bootstrapper from koushik's site, just google "koush bootstrap". Also free.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Woah there buddy.
I'm going to clarify this process a bit for you before you mess something up, if you don't mind.
Root your phone.
The simplest method is to search for Z4Root here in the forums...it's a .apk that roots your phone for you.
Now...
I assume you want a sweeeeeeeet rom, ya?
We can do that...
MY personal recommendation would be this...
Make sure you have at least 2-3 gigs free on your SD...it won't need to STAY that way...but during this process, it will.
Open your contacts.
Click the options button.
Backup your contacts to your SD card.
Now download Titanium from the market...
The free version works fine for 99% of what you need.
The only problem is (as mentioned) you have to manually click the "install" button for all 500098098098 of your apps when you restore...as opposed to just one button and letting it work for a few minutes.
Open Titanium and backup all of your apps+data.
Do you want Liberty 2.0? I personally use it and LOOOOOOVE it...but you currently have to pay $5.99 for it...a free version should be released soon.
If you do...just download liberty toolbox donate from the market.
It will install the rom for you! The option is under the "Rom Manager" part...
Make sure you select both options when installing....The "Backup" and "clear data" ones.
If you don't want liberty...read below...if you've chosen to pay the $5.99...skip down to the ****** below.
Download either DX bootstrap or Rom Manager.
Rom manager actually installs Clockwork...where bootstrap is simply a method of booting into clockwork via an application.
Either work fine.
Find the ROM you'd like to install and download the .zip
Put the zip on the root of your SD card.
Boot into clockwork.
(With DX bootstrap you click "bootstrap" and when it finishes click "reboot recovery")
Backup. (Camera button selects options, volume moves up and down, and power moves back a page)
Now Wipe Data/Factory Reset
Now...Wipe Data/Factory Reset
And again.
And again.
I usually do that 3-4 times just for extra security.
Now install zip from SD card.
Pick the "Choose Zip from SD card" option.
Find your rom's .zip
Click Reboot.
******
CONGRATULATIONS!
You're running a custom ROM!
Now...if you're contacts don't automatically start restoring...
You can choose the backup that you made from the options menu in your contacts.
Now...restore all apps+data with Titanium.
And you're back to where you were before the rom.
All your contacts...all your apps...
You may need to go back into your settings menu and change those back to your exact specifications.
Now...
If you don't like your rom...
You can boot into recovery again...
And restore to where you were previously with one click.
At this point after deciding I like the rom (I don't keep much free space on my SD)
I usually move my nandroid backup from before the rom to my computer...and delete it from my SD card...and then do another backup of my current (rom'd) setup.
I keep a copy of the titanium backup on my PC as well...and delete it from my SD card...there is no reason to waste a gig of space that can easily be transferred back when needed.
My recommendation is to always have you're most recent nandroid backup on your SD card and a copy of your last few on your computer.
You can rename the backup folders for organization...but don't use any spaces or special characters.
If you're REALLY hurting for space...
You can delete the nandroid backup safely if you have a microSD reader on your computer...in the case that your phone doesn't work and need to transfer the backup back onto your SD card.
Happy modding!

Thanks for the info, all of which answered my question just right. I've been using Gingerbread rooted & deoxed since Friday and it is quite nice. The improved battery life is phenomenal!

I want to STRONGLY recommend that everyone who is new/does not know what they are doing actually go through the process of flashing the rom. I was inexperienced once and I hard bricked it (unfixable). No one needs to go through that and anyway that's what keeps our bootloaders locked.
INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT STEPS
If you do not wipe data/cache/dalvik cache/battery stats, you will bootloop. Repeatedly wiping is not at all necessary but its good for ocd.
If you do not mount system and data, your phone WILL NOT BOOT and you will have to sbf.
SBF'ing is not difficult but a pain in the ass. First of all you do not need version 4.9. I used 4.7 three days ago to flash the most recent system version. Make sure that you have the file for your bootloader version or again your phone WILL NOT BOOT.
That being said, I have found that all problems are almost always careless mistakes or at least mine have been
You will find that as long as you're careful and follow all instructions, you'll never have any problems

Ok. Great info. I have been reading through the stickies n then came across this.
I am currently running darkslide 4.2 with blur. Flashed using clockwork mod on DX rooted with z4. I know that's alot of acronyms but yall understand. I used the bootstrap to get to clockwork and load everything using astro file manager.
Here is the question.
Do I have to wipe my cache in clockwork or can I leave it? So far I have left it n its running fine but doesn't seem any faster and my battery runs down in about a day.
I also use Titanium to back up my stuff but do I ha e to back up everything manually or is the free version one touch good enough? I noticed there are alot of things not backed up in to do list. I will happily get the donate version if its recommended.
Thank you all for your time and effort to answer our beginner questions.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Glad to see you are making progress, jperro. It never hurts (in my experience) to wipe the cache.
The paid version of Titanium backup lets you perform batch operations without interacting with every single install screen. There are other features that make it good, but thats the main one that saves you time/frustration.
I only back up a few system apps/data like Contacts Storage and Wifi Hotspots Storage. If I'm restoring my phone, chances are I'm either trying a new rom and I don't really want to muck it up with any old data - so I don't back up all the system apps/data that Titanium Backup shows as "not backed up". Besides, I've got nand backups in case I'm flashing back to a previous setup, so restoring system data or apps via Titanium seems redundant.

Ahhh. Ok. Thanks jeftep for the info. Very useful and informative.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

[Q] Force clockwork restore?

I while preparing to flash a new ROM I scrolled one to many selections in the format menu and selected "format sdcard" by mistake. (anyone else think the little warning notice up top should inform you which area you are about to format and not just a generic "formatting can not be undone" warning... I have thought this before but never voiced it to anyone and it seems my fears were well founded)
So now I have lost my app data backups and ROM backups, along with various other data.
I have used a couple programs to recover the data on the sdcard and have managed to get the clockwork backups back. Problem is, I want to do a partial restore of just /data (from the advanced restore menu) but the md5 sums are not matching. As I as just restoring /data and from the same ROM currently on the phone, I am not overly concerned by that. I just need to get as much of the original app data back as I can so I can do a new backup of the app data and then do a proper wipe and flash of a new ROM.
I know there was a way to force a restore with ADB when I had my old N1, is there a way to do so with the current recovery on this phone?
Thanks in advance... I been up way past my normal time so I am dead and can't focus well. So its off to bed and hopefully will come back to some good news after work.

Nobody.. anything?

[Q] what is the procedure to flash a custom rom at p8lite

It's been a lot of years I have to flash a rom at my phone(I was doing it with all my phones before) and I see things have changed with Huawei.
Thanx in advance for any replies.

lepidas said:
It's been a lot of years I have to flash a rom at my phone(I was doing it with all my phones before) and I see things have changed with Huawei.
Thanx in advance for any replies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What rom do you want to flash on your device? You didn't told what rom you want to install, so don't blame me if I'm going to give you some bad instructions:
Ex. XePeleato's Lineage OS
1. Download it, of course
2. Install TWRP and Root: I don't know how to explain this, so here is a tutorial that I used every time when I wanted to root, and it worked 100% "But be sure to have all adb drivers installed, otherwise it may give errors.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BurRlFSaCP0
3.After TWRP and Root are installed successfully, copy .zip file rom to your phone "It would be best if you have a SD Card bigger than 16GB to make TWRP backups on it and to copy roms to it.
4. Reboot to TWRP. "I reccomend just turning off the phone than restarting it, it has a bigger succes rate in bootin to TWRP. "After phone is completely off, hold Power+Vol. Up+Vol. Down at the same time"
Disclaimer: Release the power button and continue to hold the vol buttons until it boots to twrp, because if you hold keep pressing the power button the phone will restart continuously.
5. BACKUP! Highly Reccomended! Once booted up to TWRP, cilck on "backup" and be sure that everething is checked and(if you have sd card) be sure that is copying backup to External Storage, to not fill up internal stroage.
Disclaimer! Backuping may take a while, so grab some snacks and wait.
6. Wipe. Do not USE advanced wipe, Especially INTERNAL STROAGE, that will delete EVERYTHING what you have internal storage, and TWRP, so if you restart the phone after internal storage you will have no TWRP, so just stick to Normal Wipe and slide to wipe (takes 5 min.)
7. Install. After wiping, click install and it will prompt you to select the .zip rom file from a file manager. After you find the .zip file and click on it just slide to install.(takes 5-10 min.)
8.Restart and boot into your custom rom.
Disclaimer! All P8Lite Custom Roms are not stable and some things don't work. So,
9. Go back to emui. Boot back into TWRP, do a normal wipe, and click Restore. You will be prompted to select a backup. You will only have a backup, I don't think you need more than 1 backup, so select it, and slide to restore. (This thing take some time from 30 min to 1 hour, so just wait and be sure that your phone is plugged in and the battery does not die on you)

Where is the Thanx button

lepidas said:
Where is the Thanx button
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It is a big hand with a finger up like this:good: and it is under this text, second button from left to right.
Please press it.

wtf where is it I can see!!!!
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1491846929.png

lepidas said:
wtf where is it I can see!!!!
http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1491846929.png
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Click to collapse
Well, I can see it, and you should see it too.