Database Users

Need a NOOB guide to EVO and Backing up.

I have read MANY threads, hunderds of pages.. I have rooted my phone... (the hard way, Thanks Toast) and I still really dont "GET IT.."
I would love a white board on the components of the whole process.. including titanium backup..
Meaning a writeup, showing each part of the system, and a paragraph on what it does..
Us Droidnoobs would really like to understand how this works from a high level... (or maybe I just belong on a short yellow bus...lol)
I just dont get what is required for each part, and what it affects..
NandUnlock: What does this do for us?
Engineering SPL: What is this?
Clockwork: ( i loved the movie.. but don't get how it pertains to the phone)
But seriously.. I dont know what is is, so how can I pick from the 2 avaiable?
Recovery: What parts of things dose this include? What is its function?
Nandroid back up: Do i need this and Titanium BK? Which will do what?
I want to figout how to back up my EVO and install new roms, and then re populate all my settings and data.. i use exchange, so i don't care about emails and contacts, but i have other email (pop) accts, that i want the accounts and preferences retained..
I have to root my bosses phone later today, and was wondering if i can do it with out it being activated? I was gonna get it rooted, and then activate it on Monday when I see him..

I'm by far not the most knowledgeable person but I can answer some of your questions... Anyone that knows better please correct me and let me know.
NandUnlock: What does this do for us?
This is required to install custom ROMs. Without it, you could install signed ROMs from Sprint (ie: Engineering ROM or Stock ROM) but not custom ROMs (like Fresh, DC, Cyanogen...).
Engineering SPL: What is this?
The way I understand it's a ROM version before the Stock ROM that Sprint/HTC probably used to test the phone before release. We use it because it is special in that it allows us to unlock the NAND part (Sprint stock ROM does not allow this).
Clockwork: ( i loved the movie.. but don't get how it pertains to the phone)
But seriously.. I dont know what is is, so how can I pick from the 2 avaiable?
Err... Not sure picking what...? But Clockwork is a great recovery app that makes it easy to drop files on the phone even if it wont boot or install custom ROMs/updates whether they are signed or not. It also makes backing up your phone (everything including the ROM, AFAIK, I use it and very happy with it) a snap. It reboots your phone to do this.
Recovery: What parts of things dose this include? What is its function?
Recovery is a special part of your phone that is away from the operating system. The OS can't install on top of itself, so you need separate code to do it. It's also a tool for when the OS is broken/not functioning and doing diagnostics.
Nandroid back up: Do i need this and Titanium BK? Which will do what?
I should know more about nandroid... but don't really. I think it backs up the recovery part/hboot? Errr... someone help me on this one.
Titanium backup makes it easy to backup your paid apps and even stock/OEM apps that came from the mfr or carrier. It has other backup functions, too.
I want to figout how to back up my EVO and install new roms, and then re populate all my settings and data.. i use exchange, so i don't care about emails and contacts, but i have other email (pop) accts, that i want the accounts and preferences retained..
Can't think of how to do this off the top of my head. Does it store on SD card? I can't be sure. I think there's an option to store this information on the SD card, so that should work AFAIK.
I have to root my bosses phone later today, and was wondering if i can do it with out it being activated? I was gonna get it rooted, and then activate it on Monday when I see him..
I'm pretty sure you can I don't see any reason why not but I've never encountered that situation before...
Hope this is helpful.

Thanks..
anyone else have their views on my questions? or differences fro the above?
thanks in advance..

I need more info on the Nandroid back up please..

Clockwork and ArmonRA both provide the capability to BACKUP your ROM, referred to as Nandroid. I know there are some plus and - to each. You should get in the habbit of ALWAYS taking a nandroid backup before you try a new rom. Give yourself something to fall back on.
TB lets you backup applications and OS settings and restore them. It will relink your apps to the market, which other apps will not do.
You must be very careful restoring OS settings, as each rom is built differently. Setting in DC will not work in Fresh for instance. So you can use TB to restore all your apps quickly, but you should still do the configuration manually.
You can root a non activated phone, but I think the activation process can cause you problems. I would wait until it is activated.

Clockwork: ( i loved the movie.. but don't get how it pertains to the phone) But seriously.. I dont know what is is, so how can I pick from the 2 avaiable?
i use AmonRA. why? because it seems that the general rule of thumb is that clockwork is easier for us noobs, but if anyone has issues they are told to use RA. so, i just use RA. i used clockwork for a bit but have i switched to RA; it's really not much different interface. the only thing i wish RA would do would be to allow me to 'browse for the zip to be flashed'. (oh yeah in RA...press both up/down at the same time to go back a level)
i believe you can use clockwork and simply 'flashover to RA' as needed from within the running OS. it can flash RA or Clkwrk or old version. i had something happen last month and wasn't sure what i did...once i got RA working, i said screw it and stayed with it. Clockwork does have a nice interface designed to make it easier to test out new ROMs...RA does not have this. is it needed? not really.
Nandroid back up: Do i need this and Titanium BK? Which will do what?
i use both. when i'm doing a buch of tweaks or testing a ROM, i make sure to make a nandroid backup (think Norton Ghost for phones). i also use titanium, mainly for when i install a new ROM. it allows me to restore just the apps and their settings onto the new ROM. its not perfect but does get most things. you'll need to setup things like email, facebook, twitter, meebo logins, etc.
so, although i often take a nandroid and titanium backup at abotu the same time, they are used to restore slightly differently. nandriod is my 'oh crap, this is bad i want to get off this ride' and titanium is my 'sweet, now how do i get my apps back in place without manually installing and config'ing each and every one'
(make sure to read about 'user apps' vs 'system data' w/ titanium).
I want to figout how to back up my EVO and install new roms, and then re populate all my settings and data.. i use exchange, so i don't care about emails and contacts, but i have other email (pop) accts, that i want the accounts and preferences retained..
titanium will get most of this. but i always seem to have to some tweaking cause some app has been installed or whatnot since my last backup. oh...and the titanium paid version will install all apps w/o manual intervention.
enjoy.

Clockwork: ( i loved the movie.. but don't get how it pertains to the phone)
Use either Clockwork or Amon RA, will not make a difference. Clockwork is used in ROM Manager as default.
Recovery: What parts of things dose this include? What is its function?
Recovery (volume down + power) allows you to flash zip files (rom, radio, apps, whatever), do manual nandroid backup, wipe your device, etc. Clockwork and Amon RA are both recoveries that do essentially the same thing.
Nandroid back up: Do i need this and Titanium BK? Which will do what?
Nandroid backups EVERYTHING on your phone, all apps, data, including rom, radio and kernel. It can be accessed via recovery or via an app called ROM manager.
Titanium Backup allows you to backup all your apps and data. You may ask why would you want to use Titanium Backup if Nandroid backs up everything? When you flash a new rom, you can use Titanium Backup to restore all your apps. (Otherwise restoring via Nandroid will restore your old rom over your newly flashed one)
I want to figout how to back up my EVO and install new roms, and then re populate all my settings and data.. i use exchange, so i don't care about emails and contacts, but i have other email (pop) accts, that i want the accounts and preferences retained..
Search the Market for email backup. Your google account restores all your contacts anyways.

Quick addition for your pop3 accounts. You can actually use GMail to push all your pop accounts. this will retain all the settings for those accounts if you reflash a new rom. There is a tutorial on here somewhere on how to do that. The GMAil push lets you set up labels and seperate email folders for your different pop3's also, you can add labels through the web interface and they will show up on your phone automatically, providing of course you have them set up to sync.
Another quick comment on Nandroid, this is a carbon image of your phne basically, so if you flash a new rom and then do a nandroid it will restore your phone to exactly how it was when you did the backup. So it wont work as an app backup, because if you flash a new rom and use nandroid you will be completed reverted to the rom you were on when you backed up. Make sense? Use titanium or there is even a backup called "mybackup" in the market which works also, I personally use titanium but my backup is a one click everything backup. Although it does not restore your market links, which allow you to get update notifications for your market apps.

[Q] Best way to switch builds and not loose everything

I am looking at switching builds but dont want to have to reinstall everything post the new build install on my sd card.
What back up system do people recommend, and do any actually allow a full backup/restore that will work?
If not then i will have to reinstall everything, but that seems a really long winded way about switching builds!
Thanks

I save the data .img file from the current build. Then I copy the new Android folder on the root of the mem stick. Then I put the data .img file from the old intall back in the new folder.

The above suggestion doesn't always work. If you're going to a completely different build then it may cause problems.
I use Titanium Backup Pro. It does cost, but not much and allows a full backup and restore of all apps and data.

i just use the free titanium backup to backup all my apps. google sync for contacts and then all i have to do it set up a couple of things like wifi and it work

I used to use the free version, but the last restore I did had nearly 200 apps in it, and you have to click "install" and then "ok" for every app with the free version. The paid one does it without you needing to do anything - that's the only reason I paid for it. (Oh, and it can freeze apps too, which is good for finding out what would happen if you uninstalled an app.)

How do you restore your Settings/Apps after flashing? [UPDATE]

So,
now that the first usable ROMs for X8 pop up i am wondering: what is the easiest way to import all your settings to a new ROM?
i am thinking of Apps, App-Settings, Sync-Settings (gmail, Roadsync..), SMS, Mails etc etc...
Restoring/Setting this up manually after every installation of a new ROM takes some time.
What is your trick for the lazy people?
How much can be backed up with Titanium Backup? I'm still not sure about this.
What other Apps can you recommend?
update: found a solution at lifehacker today.

Non of them will work when going from ROM to ROM. When you go to a new ROM, you should backup the previous one so you can go back to the default when there is a problems with the Custom ROM.
Basically, you can't transfer apps or anything from one ROM to another. You will have to manually install them yourself, take a list of them and download/install again. I wish it could work but it cant ):

Too bad.
Ok, I cant backup apps this way.
Is there a way or script to automatically install apps (apks) from a folder on sdcard?
Maybe I could use AppBrain to sync apps.
But how about System Settings, Accounts...

Hm, actually come to think of it .. If your phone is rooted (obviously is lol) you can go to Root Explorer or any root application manager, go to System>App and if you can transfer them to your SD card, I use Root Explorer, just select all and zip them, then transfer to SD card .. All the .apk's will be in the zip file. I suppose just install one by one
As for system settings, accounts etc. those can't be backed up .. You'll just have to be updated manually :L Don't be lazy haha

just found this tip from lifehacker using titanium backup. looks pretty convinient.
if someone tries this, please report if you have success.

laureus said:
just found this tip from lifehacker using titanium backup. looks pretty convinient.
if someone tries this, please report if you have success.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use this, for me it's the best way.
Titanium backup can store all your current apps and data settings for theseapps, too.
After flashing your new ROM, install Titanium backup and restore your backuped apps. Works fine.

[Q] Best Out... ?

I bought a Desire Z about two weeks before the 1.72.405.2 OTA update came along, and I allowed it to update (Yeah I know, this was after all my first Android device).
Anyway, lately my phones been running slowly and apps force closing, so I've decided to downgrade it and root it (psneuter method), and try some different ROM's.
What I was wondering is, what would be the best way without root, to backup as much of my data as possible, apps, sms, files, and also if possible a backup that I can use in case I scew it up, so I can get it back to the way it is now.
I have a copy of:-
RUU_Vision_HTC_WWE_1.34.405.5_Radio_12.28b.60.140e_26.03.02.26_M_release_155556_signed
which I believe is the stock ROM for this device, but as far as I know if it goes wrong I'll be unable to flash this as the update won't allow me to flash an earlier version..
Would I be able to mount and then backup the whole phone using adb or any other method.
I've been reading about it for a while now, and while I have lots of bits of information, I've been unable to find a good solution.
Thanks,
...John...

j0hn0n1 said:
I bought a Desire Z about two weeks before the 1.72.405.2 OTA update came along, and I allowed it to update (Yeah I know, this was after all my first Android device).
What I was wondering is, what would be the best way without root, to backup as much of my data as possible, apps, sms, files, and also if possible a backup that I can use in case I scew it up, so I can get it back to the way it is now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without root, a good app to backup your other apps is astro file manager, its available free from the market, you just have to hit menu, tools and it'll back up all the apps on your sd card, in terms of files, just make sure their all on your sd card and they'll be fine
Not sure how to back up SmS but i know their are apps out their, a point you may have forgotten is to make sure you back up your contacts as they all get wiped and I made this mistake, the easiest way to do that is to make sure your contacts sync up with your google account so after rooting, you can just sync them back,
Hope i helped!

Use google to remember what apps you've downloaded from market. Once associated, when you flash a new rom, google will automatically redownload all your associated apps. For sms, i suggest you download GoSMS and use their internal backup feature. It will save to sd and be visible to your stock sms app as well on restore.
Sent from my AOSP Virtuous Desire Z using XDA App

Ya but too many times google starts restoring apps that I uninstalled months ago. Great idea but bad implementation imo.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App

Sorry I haven't replied, was in work all day yesterday.
I have Astro File Manager, but I hadn't even considered it, thanks. I have my contacts sync'd with Google, so it seems that as long as I backup my files and sms everything else should be done automatically anyway.
Go SMS seems worth getting anyway, as the bog standard Android messages app is seriously dull. I'll give it a try.
I had wondered about Google Market restoring apps, but I thought it would only reinstall apps that were installed at the last sync.
If you install an app and it screws up your phone, and do a factory reset then Google will just reinstall the app that caused all the problems in the first place.
Definitely a good idea, but needs more work.
Anyway, thanks for all the info, I'll give it try tonight, when I get back from work.
...John...

I find SMS Backup & Restore to be the best app for this purpose and I wouldn't recommend the backup feature from the market, as you said it is likely to give problems.
Without root though, the backup choices are somewhat limited for apps and such.

I've been using Super Manager by gpc. It works pretty good, plus offers a ton of other features that can be used with or without root.

I've backed up what I could, although it's typical that as soon as it's all gone I realised things that I should have wrote down (I had been using the wallet/pocket app and although I backed up all my apps, I'm guesing it won't have backed up any of the passwords, logins, bank details, etc).
Anyway, I've downgraded and successfully rooted my phone (through gfree), I have CID: 11111111 and S-Off, but I haven't installed and ROM's yet as I read somewhere that you are supposed to wipe everything between ROM's, am I wiping the Davlik cache or doing a factory reset (I mean won't the factory reset just reset my stock ROM back to it's original condition).
I'm also wondering about finding custom ROMs, on my dell streak I had installed ROM Manager and could get a list of any that were available.
I first installed ROM Manager and used it to flash recovery, but this time I've installed CWM first, so would it be safe to install ROM Manager now, will it want to flash a recovery over the one I have already.
Or is it not advisable to use ROM Manager, as I have previously heard of a few problems it may cause.
Thanks ...John...

Rom manager shouldn't give any problems, but for custom roms it's best to take a look at the development forum. If you don't like that you can still use the list in rommanager, it might be just me who prefers downloading roms to my pc first.
But before you install any of them I recommend you make a nandroid backup from recovery just to be safe.

I think the issues were that some people, not all, found problems flashing some of the gingerbread roms via Rom manager. Better to save the Rom to SD and then flash it via CWM.

Right I've done a nandroid backup, and I've saved one to another mSD card which I can keep somewhere just in case (probably a bit over cautious, but...).
I thought that by saving apps to an sd card, they would run from the sd when I restarted my phone, even the ones that I had moved previously with the application manager in settings are not seen.
Still reinstalling the ones I want isn't really that bad.
Seriously, somebody needs to sort out the Markets app backups feature, when I was setting up the phone at first, I specifically chose to not automatically sync with Google and that I would do it manually when needed. Then I went in to the market to get a file manager and the download failed, it was only when I looked at what was going on I realised it was already downloading and reinstalling 96 apps. I looked around for a 'cancel all' option and there isn't any, so I had to cancel them all one by one and then uninstall the ones that had managed to install.
A simple checklist to select the apps you want would be great, oh, and a cancel all button would be a bonus.
Anyway, things are not as much fun when they're too easy.
Thanks ...John...

[Q] What do i have to backup before changing rom?

Applications backup but not cache or data?
System backups?
Sms and call logs?
And system backups?
Are those all to do? If i backup those, when i restore, will i be able to have my desktop widgets, desktop icons sorted correctly ?

I think the best answer is "it depends on what you want to restore to".
When I change roms, I make a full backup using CWM, that way, no matter what the new rom breaks, I can go back to exactly where I was before.
But if you really want the new rom and think the problem is in one app or setting, you can backup only the apps .apk, the apps data and the rom settings, then you can restore everything individually and see where the problem is.
This all assuming you are not changing major android versions (like from froyo to gingerbread) or not changing roms "types" (like from stock to CM or to miui). If you are, then the partial backup is not recommended since it may not work.
In this last case, your best hope is to backup the apps .apk and store all other data somewhere where you can import to android (like storing the contacts in google account), since you shouldn't really restore anything else.

paulo_andre said:
I think the best answer is "it depends on what you want to restore to".
When I change roms, I make a full backup using CWM, that way, no matter what the new rom breaks, I can go back to exactly where I was before.
But if you really want the new rom and think the problem is in one app or setting, you can backup only the apps .apk, the apps data and the rom settings, then you can restore everything individually and see where the problem is.
This all assuming you are not changing major android versions (like from froyo to gingerbread) or not changing roms "types" (like from stock to CM or to miui). If you are, then the partial backup is not recommended since it may not work.
In this last case, your best hope is to backup the apps .apk and store all other data somewhere where you can import to android (like storing the contacts in google account), since you shouldn't really restore anything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want a full back up; calendars sms call logs applications data system data etc. For sms i use go-sms backup, i hope it will restore without any problem. When i backup with cwm and restore, will my settings (system( be protected as before?

With CWM if you restore you will get all data, including Rom, Kernel, sms, calls, etc All you data that is in internal memory. Don't worry. If you restore it, you will get the phone like it was when you made the backup.

Titanium capabilities
I was wondering if it is possible to backup app (with their data), sms and contacts....all in one go using Titanium (non-pro version) (I think we call it batch backup)? I am totally new to the ROOTING and CUSTOM ROM worlds and I am literally freaking out with all the huge info on this topic on the internet. I am using a CM10 on I9000. Please help!

Yes i wonder too.

Boot in recovery
select backup to ext sd
run...
you have back up everythin like ghost in pc....
( so you can try another rom and if you dont like it restore your back up and you have you old rom
working with all data app contacts etc )
you must youse the same cwm version for restore with the one that you use for backup

Cursed Chico said:
Applications backup but not cache or data?
System backups?
Sms and call logs?
And system backups?
Are those all to do? If i backup those, when i restore, will i be able to have my desktop widgets, desktop icons sorted correctly ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you attempting to backup so that you can move the apps/sms/settings to the new ROM or backing up in case you want to restore? Titanium backup is probably the thing you want in the former case and either with cwm backup or with linux dd backup in the latter. Personally I had problem moving system settings between roms, but apps should work just fine.