So with the advent of boot loaders such as Excellers which allow you to choose different builds of Android, what exactly do you need to copy off the SDCard to backup your build?
I dont mean the data, sms, mail, etc, but the actual entire build?
Is it enough to simply copy the Android folder and the files inside it including data.img or is there a need to copy the other folders and files that android creates in the root of your SD (LOST.DIR, rosie_scroll, etc)?
Android builds automatically create those folders and files if they do not exist for them, but will it cause issues if they already exist, since we can now switch between builds on the same card?
Any ideas??
Oh, and I did search, didnt find anything conclusive though.
As far as I know. Making a copy of the Android folder is enough. Be carefull though, the DCIM folder must be backup aswell if you have made any pictures/video's. The rest of the folders .secure etc are just temp folders.
For backing up you can use the free program Titanium backup aswell (found on market), use the search, someone wrote a nice guide for it some time ago. Can be used very easy to transfer your installed apps from one build to another. Transfering system settings isn't a good idea, especially not if you switching different builds. Only when updating your current build it should be ok (not recommended), but sometimes copying your data.img to your new build is enough to get your applications in the new build.
Machiel187 said:
As far as I know. Making a copy of the Android folder is enough. Be carefull though, the DCIM folder must be backup aswell if you have made any pictures/video's. The rest of the folders .secure etc are just temp folders.
For backing up you can use the free program Titanium backup aswell (found on market), use the search, someone wrote a nice guide for it some time ago. Can be used very easy to transfer your installed apps from one build to another. Transfering system settings isn't a good idea, especially not if you switching different builds. Only when updating your current build it should be ok (not recommended), but sometimes copying your data.img to your new build is enough to get your applications in the new build.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically I just want to try out different builds concurrently, switching between them with Exceller.
Data isn much of an issue since most of mine is in the cloud somewhere but its a pain installing some new build only to find the one you just had and spent time configuring, was a hell of a lot better.
Well i'm not entirely sure about where the settings are stored. But my guess is, just backup the android folder and you will be fine (think most is stored in the data.img). Delete all the other folders and switch to your new build. If you don't like it, switching back should be a breeze.
Why don't you just try it once. Change some settings, delete all the folders except for the android folder and boot again, see if the changes you made are still there.
Machiel187 said:
Well i'm not entirely sure about where the settings are stored. But my guess is, just backup the android folder and you will be fine (think most is stored in the data.img). Delete all the other folders and switch to your new build. If you don't like it, switching back should be a breeze.
Why don't you just try it once. Change some settings, delete all the folders except for the android folder and boot again, see if the changes you made are still there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mainly because there arent enough hours in the day, so many roms, so little time.............
Well, since i'm at work and bored, I tried it for you.
Only imporant folder is the Android folder and our DCIM for your pictures. All the other directories do nothing but temp stuff on my rEVOlution 2.2. Deleted them all and android still booted just fine with all settings and homescreens I had applied.
Hope this awnsers your question now.
Excellent, thank you very much, I will be trying to clear some time later to try an alternate build on the same card. I will post how it goes.
Seems to work, as long as you edit the startup text to include the foldername of your build Exceller lets you switch between builds:
set cmdline "rel_path=YourbuildfolderHere"
Related
Title says it all. I've seen this question asked but too many times I see people saying. "Use Search Function"
The search function has been scoured and I see plenty of great apps that restore and backup apps, contacts, etc.. none restore data WITHIN the apps.
Is there an app that backs up DATA within the apps not just the apps.
Thank you,
come again.
Titanium backup backs up my apps plus all system data
I'd like to know this too, with possible Rom coming in September I'm desperate to make the change over as smooth as possible.
post in general section
Mooved
Good question. I use MyBackup (online) for saving my data - but only sms-contacts..
If you find an app that save all you need, please post its name here ^^
thx
The process is quite complex (at least the way I do it) but it can be done!
Note: YOU NEED LINUX FOR THIS (or if you're brave you can mess with the tools on this site: http://www.chrysocome.net/download. success is not guaranteed. Still post about your experiences though )
Note: Steps 1 to 3 are not always necessary, it depends on which Android build you are using.
1) Give Root Explorer (or a similar file explorer app - must be able to access system/data files) root access
2) Locate the folders containing the user data you want to backup, this is usually somewhere near /data/data. The folders have various naming conventions and dont always contain the name of the app (i'll check and edit this post if i have time)
3) Change the folder's permission settings - I usually just permit everything
4) Shut down Android and in one way or another, mount your sd card on your Linux machine, and locate your data.img or userdata.img file.
5) Open a command line window, enter the following:
Code:
sudo mount -o loop data.img /mnt/data
Note: you might need to create the folder you are mounting too
Note: sudo not always neccesary
Note: change data.img to userdata.img, you'll know if this applies to you
6) Browse to the folder containing the data you want to backup and copy it onto your computer. DONE!
You can restore these backups on a different build by using the same method, just in reverse. Also, don't forget to check if the same folder already exists, if yes, it can be extremely annoying to find you dont have permission to change/overwrite it!
I used this to copy all of my saved games, i especially didn't want to loose my Asphalt 5 progress
P.S. if this solves your problem, please change the title of this thread to simplify things for other users
Thanks Kev007, I'll try this
filou75 said:
Thanks Kev007, I'll try this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While it is good to know how to do this stuff, just download Titanium from the market. It backs up all apps plus data in about a minute. You can restore individually or in batches using filters. Search around there is lots of info on this app.
It is great to learn some basic Linux stuff. It will help when you are trying to do things in Android. If you have no intention of learning Linux, Titanium is the way to go.
that be good actually - on my last android reinstall I lost my paper toss high score (allbeit only 3 pmsl) but still seems like a good thought considerin the games etc with save data.
Seconded - Titanium Backup preserves all my app data.
This is one of the reasons I love Android over WinMo - backing up app data is practically a nobrainer when you have the right tool.
+1 on Titanium Backup.
Works great on all builds. Just don't try to restore native HTC apps/data from sense to vanilla Froyo.
Kev007 said:
The process is quite complex (at least the way I do it) but it can be done!
Note: YOU NEED LINUX FOR THIS (or if you're brave you can mess with the tools on this site: http://www.chrysocome.net/download. success is not guaranteed. Still post about your experiences though )
Note: Steps 1 to 3 are not always necessary, it depends on which Android build you are using.
1) Give Root Explorer (or a similar file explorer app - must be able to access system/data files) root access
2) Locate the folders containing the user data you want to backup, this is usually somewhere near /data/data. The folders have various naming conventions and dont always contain the name of the app (i'll check and edit this post if i have time)
3) Change the folder's permission settings - I usually just permit everything
4) Shut down Android and in one way or another, mount your sd card on your Linux machine, and locate your data.img or userdata.img file.
5) Open a command line window, enter the following:
Code:
sudo mount -o loop data.img /mnt/data
Note: you might need to create the folder you are mounting too
Note: sudo not always neccesary
Note: change data.img to userdata.img, you'll know if this applies to you
6) Browse to the folder containing the data you want to backup and copy it onto your computer. DONE!
You can restore these backups on a different build by using the same method, just in reverse. Also, don't forget to check if the same folder already exists, if yes, it can be extremely annoying to find you dont have permission to change/overwrite it!
I used this to copy all of my saved games, i especially didn't want to loose my Asphalt 5 progress
P.S. if this solves your problem, please change the title of this thread to simplify things for other users
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now THIS is an answer. I knew I wasnt the only one trying to do this. I dont need to backup the APPS because I already have them backed up oin my PC.
My buddy has a linux box ill try this with. Thanks.
PS. To the titanium suggestions. I've tried that. Doesnt seem to save game states or 3rd party app preferences...
Hi, i have ShubCrafts android rom from early august currently on my HD2 and i want to change over to darkstone HD2Froyo V2.1.
I wanted to know if i backed up my apps using titanium backup will it keep all my data from the apps? furthermore can i backup my personal information - sms, contacts, and then restore them in darkstone's rom without any problems.
lastly on the root of my sdcard i have several folders from android apps, Grooveshark, Kindle, Espn score center etc and i wanted to know if i should reformat my sdcard and then place a single android folder on there with the darkstone files, or can i just rename/delete the shubCraft android folder and then just replace it with darkstone's and then run android.
oh one last thing, i wanted to ask how do i go about adding a 1GB data image, i will be trying to use this file - 1GB data.img v1.1 for DarkStone's Froyo v1! - and hopefully it is compatible. Will i just have to boot android for the first time let it create the data image and then replace it with the 1GB file i have downloaded, directly in android or boot back to winmo and then copy/paste it into the android folder.
So sorry for the multitude of questions being asked, any help appreciated.
Arigato Gozaimasu
I am also interested to see if this can be done. I just got a larger MicroSD card and I don't want to have to start from scratch.
Have you tried posting in the shubcraft build thread?
can anyone help us.... please
Hmmm. well I used this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=741383
However make sure you read mstrk242 post on the 2nd page:
mstrk242 said:
I think some of the confusion on the linux side is resize2fs -p (size) is for block size not bytes. So 512000 is actually 2gb. If you do 256000 it worked for me my data.img was 4 block size. If you are using the build I am (mattc 1.4rc) this will work. I suggest copying the data.img to your hd and doing it there so you cant mess up the original. I also found that my build doesnt seem to like a bigger file than 1gb, but its the only one ive tested this on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only problem with this method is that you need linux (you could just use a live cd) and you kinda need to know how to start/use the terminal (which is a bit like cmd/command prompt on windows). But I've found this guide quite straight forward.
hey is anyone able to help, please i would greatly appreciate any answers to my problems.
thank you
ichigo786 said:
Hi, i have ShubCrafts android rom from early august currently on my HD2 and i want to change over to darkstone HD2Froyo V2.1.
I wanted to know if i backed up my apps using titanium backup will it keep all my data from the apps? furthermore can i backup my personal information - sms, contacts, and then restore them in darkstone's rom without any problems.
lastly on the root of my sdcard i have several folders from android apps, Grooveshark, Kindle, Espn score center etc and i wanted to know if i should reformat my sdcard and then place a single android folder on there with the darkstone files, or can i just rename/delete the shubCraft android folder and then just replace it with darkstone's and then run android.
oh one last thing, i wanted to ask how do i go about adding a 1GB data image, i will be trying to use this file - 1GB data.img v1.1 for DarkStone's Froyo v1! - and hopefully it is compatible. Will i just have to boot android for the first time let it create the data image and then replace it with the 1GB file i have downloaded, directly in android or boot back to winmo and then copy/paste it into the android folder.
So sorry for the multitude of questions being asked, any help appreciated.
Arigato Gozaimasu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I have frequently switched between shubcraft and Froyostone so might be able to help. I use Titanium back up.
1. Backup your current build using titanium backup (free on android market)
2. Download and extract your new build. What I also do is download the apk files (from www.freewarelovers.com) of a file manager such as Estrongs as well as Titanium backup and copy them into the 'AndroidApps' folder contained within the new build to be installed. This way they install on first boot and avoids me having to connect to market for their installation.
3. Go to your SD card and remove all your current native android files and folders. Leave folders that belong to your installed apps such as grooveshack, espn etc.
4. Copy your new build onto your SD card and boot.
5. After 1st boot, reboot again by pressing the power button.
6. Work though initial android set up
7. Go to settings>applications> tap 'unknown sources' > ok
8. Open your installed titanium back up. Tap 'backup/restore', Press windows hardkey button, select 'batch'. Scroll down on the list and tap 'restore missing apps + data'.
9. After installation, reboot device
10. Enjoy!!
NB: Froyostone v2. comes with 1GB data already!
can i but more than 1 android build on the same card and manually run whichever i want? and if yes then how?
Yes, you just have to rename the folders of the builds you don't want to use and name "Android" to the one you have chosen. ^^ Is that what you mean?
suzaku said:
can i but more than 1 android build on the same card and manually run whichever i want? and if yes then how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For each build you have you must change the default name of the android folder to something like android1.
Then edit your startup.txt to reflect this set cmdline "rel_path=Android1"
Then you can have as many builds as you want.
cool thanks guys
but there's something that confuses me; when running android it creates many folders on the SD card itself not inside the Android folder. so if i put another build on the same card, wouldn't that conflict with the old one's folders?
doesnt bother my builds
great gonna try it out thanks a lot
suzaku said:
cool thanks guys
but there's something that confuses me; when running android it creates many folders on the SD card itself not inside the Android folder. so if i put another build on the same card, wouldn't that conflict with the old one's folders?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've gone through the exact same questions and concerns. There was no topic like this one so I just went ahead and gave it a try. I put several builds in separate folders and edited the Startup.txt accordingly, as suggested in one of the previous posts. Sure enough, there were common folders that all builds were using, such as ".Android" and a few more. However, it was not an issue, at least for me. On the contrary, it was an unexpected advantage. For example, on one build I installed and configured AppBrain Web Push with a list of about a dozen autoinstall apps. As soon as I switched to a different version, all those apps automatically loaded on the first boot
I suspect same will happen with for example camera shots, bookmarks, although didnt have the time to experiment.
I can defintely say I saw no issues in putting more than one Andorid build on one SD card.
Use Exeller Multiple Build Loader
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=737001
And now I am no longer a Junior member...
Hi, im planning to buy a HTC HD2 these days and i will most likely use Android as the default OS. Now i wonder if the ROM must be installed on SD or can i just boot it? For example if i want to boot Sense rom one time and non sense next time, do i need to reinstall something or just boot it up?
Im really looking forward getting my HD2, ive been watching youtube like crazy now.. gotta go sleep hahah
There are boot loaders you can install in winmo. Some support multiple android builds which will allow you to choose sense/no sense builds on boot up. By doing so though, your data from your sense build will not be available on your non-sense build and vice versa.
Ignore the any "dual boot" app for a minute. Most Android builds I have seen can happily coexist with as many other builds as you have space for on your SD card. Just make sure:
* they reside in distinctly named folders (e.g. rename the build's Android folder to whatever you want)
* the startup.txt in each build's folder refers to the folder name (see instructions in the EBL thread)
As each build comes with clrcad+haret, you can now freely launch whichever build you want with File Explorer.
Note that the builds are not perfectly insulated from each other:
Most builds seem to use an "Android" folder on the SD card for various data and caches. Avoid putting a build in this folder! Be wary that data in this folder may be incompatible between builds, though I have not yet had such a problem. If in doubt, rename the folder to something else (or backup and delete) and reset your build.
Also note that many apps directly use the SD card for storage - this may cause data leakage between builds (I find it's a good thing, as data [like downloaded game files] and configs are basically reused).
I also find it very useful to "temporarily factory reset" a build. Basically, I rename data.img to data.img2 and reboot. This way I can figure out if a problem is caused by my own meddling, or by something in the build, then I rename back and reboot when done. I often keep a backup data.img in which I have only set up the barest essentials (OOBE, Market account, Ti-backup and Root Explorer) for such testing.
Now, for a "dual boot" WM app which supports several build folders, I recommend EBL.
can someone please explain to me why, since updating to 4.2, I have what looks like a duplicate of my SD card contents in a sub folder called storage/emulated/0/?
all my gallery apps, Gallery, DroidIris etc. see duplicates of all my pictures now?
And If I save a pic from a browser It points to the folders in storage/emulated/0/, not the SD card ones?
deleting any file in one folder effects the other, so it is probably not a true duplicate thats taking up space is it?
I assume this has to do with the multi user addition to 4.2, but I have not set up a second user at all.
Does this just occur to people upgrading, or to people who installed a fresh version as well?
Cheers.
CarsnGadgets said:
can someone please explain to me why, since updating to 4.2, I have what looks like a duplicate of my SD card contents in a sub folder called storage/emulated/0/?
all my gallery apps, Gallery, DroidIris etc. see duplicates of all my pictures now?
And If I save a pic from a browser It points to the folders in storage/emulated/0/, not the SD card ones?
deleting any file in one folder effects the other, so it is probably not a true duplicate thats taking up space is it?
I assume this has to do with the multi user addition to 4.2, but I have not set up a second user at all.
Does this just occur to people upgrading, or to people who installed a fresh version as well?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this has been added as part of the multi-user feature and is where the data/content is stored for other users. It has been mentioned on the forum somewhere else, cant remember where I seen it though.
I also wondered this but then thought logically.
Two users using the same SD card wouldn't be a good idea.
So they sort of virtualise the SD card, and then when a new user is created a sort of partition is created for the user.
I was wondering what that was in ASTRO I thought it was something I did wrong and yes if you delete one file it will end up deleting both of them so be careful luckily I deleted some old downloads I didn't need anymore GOD BLESS YOU GUYS
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
thats all fine, thanks guys,
but now, if I download a new pic from dolphin browser to the /emulated/0/pictures folder, the gallery sees my SD/pictures as well as the /emulated/0/pictures folder, the original has 99 files in, and the new one 1 file in, both are called "pictures".
the "save picture as" action opens up its own file explorer, and it wont let me go back far enough in the file tree to access the SD/pictures folder so I can only save in the new /emulated/0 folder and its sub folders?
cheers.
I can't find the folder on my pc. I am trying to run a backup app and it stores it there. I try to replace the backup location to downloads for example and it won't work. It's driving me mad.
The linked directories are linked to look like separate directories but they link to what is called a mount point that the actual physical storage and the actual file. What you do in any of folders will be done in all the folders.
I'm still wrapping my mind and this and my Linux knowledge it's weak. So I'm not going to try to suggest how to deal with these folders. As much as possible I'm letting the app handle the files.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
CarsnGadgets said:
can someone please explain to me why, since updating to 4.2, I have what looks like a duplicate of my SD card contents in a sub folder called storage/emulated/0/?
all my gallery apps, Gallery, DroidIris etc. see duplicates of all my pictures now?
And If I save a pic from a browser It points to the folders in storage/emulated/0/, not the SD card ones?
deleting any file in one folder effects the other, so it is probably not a true duplicate thats taking up space is it?
I assume this has to do with the multi user addition to 4.2, but I have not set up a second user at all.
Does this just occur to people upgrading, or to people who installed a fresh version as well?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same for me. Music player, gallery and other apps now show two copies of files. Any solution to fix this yet?
algus said:
Same for me. Music player, gallery and other apps now show two copies of files. Any solution to fix this yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are confusing a symlink'd directory with a second copy.
No one - so far - has reported a real problem related to duplicate file - so don't be expecting a fix.
Spend the time reading up on Linux directory structures instead.
rmm200 said:
No one - so far - has reported a real problem related to duplicate file - so don't be expecting a fix.
Spend the time reading up on Linux directory structures instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.
It's not broken do don't expect a fix. It only 'looks' like you have duplicate files. A change you make in any single place will show up in all locations. Delete a file in one place it will be gone everywhere. The whole file system is an optical illusion. Layers on layers of naming parts of the file system.
For instance /sdcard is actually /data/media/0 if you created another user on your tab they would get /data/media/1 but they would find their files under /sdcard in a file manager.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
I understand that it is a link. As I said problem is that applications show two copies of all files put in /sdcard folder. Because applications treat each link as a separate file. This is exactly what the original poster and I wrote in our posts.
So far I fixed this problem for myself by deleting all files from /sdcard (they disappeared from other linked locations as well) and saving them back straight to /storage/emulation/0 (they appeared in other linked locations, including /sdcard, but this time the gallery and other apps show single copy of each file in their collections).
This is not confortable for a typical user to learn about all these linked folders and I consider it as a drawback of Jelly Bean.
algus said:
I understand that it is a link. As I said problem is that applications show two copies of all files put in /sdcard folder. Because applications treat each link as a separate file. This is exactly what the original poster and I wrote in our posts.
So far I fixed this problem for myself by deleting all files from /sdcard (they disappeared from other linked locations as well) and saving them back straight to /storage/emulation/0 (they appeared in other linked locations, including /sdcard, but this time the gallery and other apps show single copy of each file in their collections).
This is not confortable for a typical user to learn about all these linked folders and I consider it as a drawback of Jelly Bean.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying to understand what you are seeing.
On my device, the gallery app only shows pictures in my user: emulated/0. This is from selecting a picture and then asking for info on it.
What apps are showing duplicates, other than a file explorer that you would expect to show symlinks?
I should add - are you copying pictures directly to /sdcard from somewhere else?
Well I had a problem...because of all the multiuser crap I was unable to restore a titanium backup cause of all the emulated directories that another user makes...I had to delete every /0 directory that it made cause if you install another Rom it makes a new /0 directory inside the other /0 directory so after flashing CM10, MIUI and slim bean I finished with a directory like this: sdcard0/0/0/0.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
restoring backups seems to be a problem too in cwm. Hmm how to fix it
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
I ran into this problem with Titanium Backup and my Nexus 7. I was trying to copy the titanium backup folder on the Nexus 7 to my windows PC (also tried mac too) as it was taking up a lot of space on the Nexus but Windows and Mac wouldn't have any of it. It just copied the folder and not the contents. Android file Transfer manager on mac just keeped crashing. I did not try adb pull folder with WugFresh toolkit, so that may work. I ended up copying from the nexus 7 to a USB drive using an OTG cable.
I been looking into this too, this is what I find so far I did a fresh install after I installed my Rom I wipe storage on my N7 so I have a clean storage nothing on it about 27.80gb after I installed one game that is 2gb and its show on both storage emulated and 0 n after my available space is 23.72gb. So I think its does create a duplicate that take space. But Im not sure.I going to run some more tests. If this is true this kinda suck cus then my 32gb n7 is only 16gb then.
Ps. Also if u reboot ur n7 and u go to storage there is another folder under emulated with 0 with the same files you can deleted this folder is save you won't loose anything but if you reboot and go back to storage the file reappear and you can delete but once u reebot again it will reappear again and over again.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
No way are there 2 copies of files (unless you are auto backing up, which I do). My free space was 3.9gb before and after 4.2. Have all the extra meaningless folders.
You could think of the emulated storage locations like a shortcut. You could place multiple shortcuts to your 'My Documents' folder on your desktop without creating multiple copies of 'My Documents'.
Same problem with Galaxy Nexus
I have the same problem with my Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.2.1
In my Windows Explorer i dont see the same files like in my Phone with Total Commander on my Storage.
This is not funny.