Database Users

wipe qestion

i'm about to wipe my eris, but i have some apps i have bought and would like to keep the apk's. where are they kept on the phone. i checked the data dir. from astro, but it says empty. do i need to check from a command prompt as su. is there a file manager for the phone that will let me copy the paid for apk's to another dir for later, or will the market remember i paid for them and let me dl them again?

if youre wiping to install Ivan's .8 with market fix. (theres a thread on the first page) then youre purchased apps will show in the market after you flash

i'm wipeing to go from aloyious v6 to v7

last rites said:
i'm about to wipe my eris, but i have some apps i have bought and would like to keep the apk's. where are they kept on the phone. i checked the data dir. from astro, but it says empty. do i need to check from a command prompt as su. is there a file manager for the phone that will let me copy the paid for apk's to another dir for later, or will the market remember i paid for them and let me dl them again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps are stored in the directory "/data/app"
This directory require Super user priviledges to view or copy.
You copy them your computer with the adb pull function.

i'm wipeing to go from aloyious v6 to v7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could also use ELIPS3 program, it will back up all apps.....very useful if you switch roms alot
Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk

theres also titanium backup which is free on the market and will back all your apps and system data. if you donate for the paid version its even better. that's what i use every wipe
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

astro file manager backs up your apps to the sd card. Very easy to do and you can set it to back up and reinstall all in a row.

thanks, backing up now

Remove/Disable unwanted applications/running services

I installed JM6 (the 'old' way) and my phone is Rooted via SuperOneClick.
How can I remove standard installed applications (eg. Ereader, Calculator etc) and how can I see which applications/services are running and how can I remove unwanted services running in the background?

Get Root explorer from the market. Can delete apps with it but be careful you dont delete anything you shouldnt.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

risq said:
Get Root explorer from the market. Can delete apps with it but be careful you dont delete anything you shouldnt.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you tell me how Root Explorer works? (how to delete apps/services, how to see which are running)

You delete apps from Data/apps or system/apps. Most apps are named so youll recognise them. Delete the .odex and .apk
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

risq said:
You delete apps from Data/apps or system/apps. Most apps are named so youll recognise them. Delete the .odex and .apk
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And where do I find which services/application are running (after booting) and where do I disable/enable them?

DO NOT DELETE ! (move to internal or external SD card, just in case you need to restore)
More tips here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=856136

I'm a recent convert to Titanium Backup. In the pro version you can "freeze" processes. I'm not exactly sure, but what I think it does is close the process and copy the app to a cache folder.it's no longer running and it doesn't show up in the launcher. All you have to do is unfreeze it to bring it back.

How has Titanium Backup performed for you? Have you noticed any adverse affects from its use? I am looking to lock down the Galaxay tablet for use in one of our departments. Titanium Backup seems to be the way to go. I assume you need to root the device in order to use it?

daniel.weck said:
DO NOT DELETE ! (move to internal or external SD card, just in case you need to restore)
More tips here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=856136
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Second that. Leave them where they are and just rename the apk to apkx.
When you reboot they will be gone, but can be easliy restored by removing the 'x'
Be warned though, if you remove the wrong app's you can get stuck in all sorts of 'force close hell'
Not then end of the world though and is a safer method of playing with your android devices.
Root explorer and ADB are your friends

I've found Titanium Backup does the trick using the freeze option. Very handy should you want to get an app back again. As said, be very careful deleting something, or at least make a copy on your sdcard just in case .
Oh and make sure USB Development is ticked just in case the only way back in is via an adb shell!

Finding Droid X bloatware files

Hey I have 2.2.1 Android version and 2.3.340 Sytem version on my Droid X and I need some help. When I first rooted my X I very quickly uninstalled all the bloatware that I didn't want bc I didn't know that you could just keep it and rename it. Now I have Root Explorer and I have the capability of renaming files, but I'm missing a TON of bloatware. Do any of you guys have link directing me towards a place where I can download those missing files? Thanks!
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Did you make a backup before you. Started your install spree
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Unfortunately, no. I'd already uninstalled a few apps before I made my first backup. Yeah, I know....stupid, right? Lol.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Lol I'm pretty new at all this but I'm sure you could find a stock rom and flash it on your dx. Search around. I'm sure your not the only
One whose done this. If not you can get the apks for em
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

I sent you a PM like 5 minutes after you posted this...
Check it?

Yes I recieved the pm. Thanks for the help!
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Okay, so I've got the file now that has all the stock droid x apps on it. I tried to copy and paste the apps from my sd card to system/apps. Unfortunately that crashed my phone and I had to flash back to my backup ROM. What did I do wrong?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

mj23kb08 said:
Okay, so I've got the file now that has all the stock droid x apps on it. I tried to copy and paste the apps from my sd card to system/apps. Unfortunately that crashed my phone and I had to flash back to my backup ROM. What did I do wrong?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you cant just copy the files over.
you need the apk and the odex files
then you need to change the permissions to rw-r-r and install it
then you need to reboot
i would SBF and start over renaming them to bak or try a custom ROM thats 10x better than stock like apex, darkslide or if you prefer ASOP then Liberty.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance, but what's sbf? Lol.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Oh, and after reading your helpful info on changing the permissions I still wasn't able to install some of the files. So, a few questions:
#1- What folder do I need the files to be in before I try to install the apps?
#2- Do the still end up in /system/app like all my other apps once I install them?
#3- Why would an app like for instance "friendfeed.apk" say "Aplication not installed" after I click on "install"? Bc that's what a lot of my apps are saying when I try to install them.
Please help! I'd rather install each of these apps 1 by 1, THEN rename them, instead of completely returning my phone to stock, customizing it (ringtones, apps, wallapapers), THEN rooting it again, installing the rest of the apps that I can't run without Superuser access, and THEN renaming all those files. Ugh, this is a pain in the butt. Please give me step by step instructions on how to do this (move "x" file and "y" file to folder "z", etc....). I'm a noob at this so I need it basic. Thanks!

Back up your contacts to your Google account and return your phone to stock. All your apps can be redownloaded from the "my apps" section of the market once you sign in w/ your Google account. Your contacts will also be resynced. It's a piece of cake. And rooting with z4root is so, so, so, easy.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Ugh....I was trying to avoid returning it to stock. I've got all my ringtones and stuff customized. Is there no way to leave my phone as is and just put the files back on there?
Also, would just doing a factory data reset put all the stock apps back on there? Or do I have to do more?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

[Q] Phone.apk lost, trying to reinstall [SOLVED!!]

Okay, this is the 2nd time this has happened.....my phone.apk has disappeared from my phone, EC09.
Last time I just blew everything up and started over. This time I refuse to do that. I'm using Dialer One, so at the moment, things are not urgent. But I do want my touchwiz dialer back.
I've backed up the app with Titanium Backup on a previous nandroid backup, and it will not restore the phone app on my current ROM. I've also tried using ADB and the install command, and I get a "install parse failed no certificates" error message.
Anyone have a way to solve this problem for me?
UPDATE: I found a valid backup from TiBu that worked for me and another user. Download this zip, unzip the files into your Titanium Backup folder on your SD card. Scroll through the apps/backups in TiBu until you find [Voicemail] Dialer 2.2.2, restore app+data. Should be good to go!
Download Dialer Tab Titanium Backup files

This seems to be a common thing happening on this phone. This also happened to me when i was running complete stock no root a while back and I had to do a hard reset to get it back. I don't know what the apks issue is but its happening to a lot of people and so far the only way to get it back that I know of is to do a hard reset.

I also lost dialer on EC09 awhile back, gave up trying to fix. Just have also just been using Dialer 1. Odd thing with it though is I had to dial 911 and it wouldn't let me, every time inputted numbers it would bring up my contacts and wouldn't let me dial it.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2

Well I guess it's mildly comforting to know I'm not alone with this problem. I know there must be a way to get the dialer back without a hard reset. I just got tired/overwhelmed of researching exactly how Android handles apk's and how ADB works.
I have the apk. I just haven't been able to get it on my phone properly.

Well, the problem has been solved.
Apparently the backup I made of the phone app through Titanium Backup was corrupt. I had an entire backup of my SD card on my hard drive and I tried restoring the phone app from that. Titanium Backup restored it fine.
I couldn't understand why TiBu would be unable to restore an app IT backed up! Apparently it wasn't unable to!
If anyone wants the three files created by the backup, I can zip them up and post them.

spearoid said:
Well, the problem has been solved.
Apparently the backup I made of the phone app through Titanium Backup was corrupt. I had an entire backup of my SD card on my hard drive and I tried restoring the phone app from that. Titanium Backup restored it fine.
I couldn't understand why TiBu would be unable to restore an app IT backed up! Apparently it wasn't unable to!
If anyone wants the three files created by the backup, I can zip them up and post them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If not to much trouble I would like a copy of them, as my Tibu won't restore either and tried another method offered here somewhere without success and just gave up.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2

KJW979 said:
If not to much trouble I would like a copy of them, as my Tibu won't restore either and tried another method offered here somewhere without success and just gave up.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure I should post this link elsewhere, but here you go!
Phone 2.2.2 backup up with TiBu

Nevermind I see it's resolved.

Okay since this is zip I believe it just gets installed through recovery, am I right. So when I try it just hangs at installing, had to pull battery to restart phone.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2

I'm sorry for not explaining things with the link. That is the three files that Titanium Backup creates when backing up an app. I zipped them into one file. Unzip them into your Titanium Backup folder on your SD card, and restore the phone app through Titanium Backup.

Well I give up, just going to stick with Dialer 1. Took zip, extracted and moved to Tibu backup folder, went into Tibu, didn't show up in apps list went to batch and reinstalled from batch mode and still nada. Tibu shows as installed but not there. Under application settings it shows 0.00 for file size, that can't be right, so guessing did not install.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2

fix!
No need for any flashing!!!
Just go into a file explorer (like root explorer) and go into system/app/ and look for the app the has disappeared and hold it down, a menu will pop up and go down to permissions.
there will be 3 columns. The first one should have all 3 boxes checked, the second column should only have the top box checked, and the last column should have all boxes UNCHECKED.
After you do that press ok and there should be a pop up saying that permissions were changed!
And that's it! Your app should be back! If not, try installing it after u change the permissions by pressing down on the app until u get a pop up and press open with, then pick apk handler, then just install, and it should work!
I'm new to the forums, so I hope this is helpful!

killjoy1179 said:
No need for any flashing!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No one has suggested or recommended flashing in this thread, to my knowledge.
Killyjoy's suggestion may very well work, but the file you downloaded from me might not have been the right one.
I have two trios of files that came from Titanium Backup when I was trying to restore the phone app. One trio has the word "phone" in it...and that's what you downloaded from me the first time, the other trio has the word "dialer" in it, and that is here
My initial instructions should still apply. Unzip these three files into your Titanium Backup folder of your SD card. Look in TiBu for "[Voicemail] Dialer"
You should see that there is a backup from 4/06/12. If the app shows as installed on your phone, I'd uninstall it (MAKE SURE you see that TiBu recognizes a backup exists first) and then restore the app+data from the backup.
That's how I got back up and running......if you want to give the TiBu method one more go.

spearoid said:
No one has suggested or recommended flashing in this thread, to my knowledge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I just browsed thru the comments real quick and thought I saw the word flashing in there lol. But this way definitely works, I lost my phone apk. 2 times after installing tb101 mod and I got it back both times.
I figured I'd post some screencaps so you guys could maybe understand what I was saying a little bit better.
Hope they help!

killjoy1179 said:
No need for any flashing!!!
Just go into a file explorer (like root explorer) and go into system/app/ and look for the app the has disappeared and hold it down, a menu will pop up and go down to permissions.
there will be 3 columns. The first one should have all 3 boxes checked, the second column should only have the top box checked, and the last column should have all boxes UNCHECKED.
After you do that press ok and there should be a pop up saying that permissions were changed!
And that's it! Your app should be back! If not, try installing it after u change the permissions by pressing down on the app until u get a pop up and press open with, then pick apk handler, then just install, and it should work!
I'm new to the forums, so I hope this is helpful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Checked permissions they were right, used apk installer but get message saying not installed.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2

spearoid said:
No one has suggested or recommended flashing in this thread, to my knowledge.
Killyjoy's suggestion may very well work, but the file you downloaded from me might not have been the right one.
I have two trios of files that came from Titanium Backup when I was trying to restore the phone app. One trio has the word "phone" in it...and that's what you downloaded from me the first time, the other trio has the word "dialer" in it, and that is here
My initial instructions should still apply. Unzip these three files into your Titanium Backup folder of your SD card. Look in TiBu for "[Voicemail] Dialer"
You should see that there is a backup from 4/06/12. If the app shows as installed on your phone, I'd uninstall it (MAKE SURE you see that TiBu recognizes a backup exists first) and then restore the app+data from the backup.
That's how I got back up and running......if you want to give the TiBu method one more go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one worked, stock phone finally back, thanks for zips and help.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2

Excellent! I'll update the OP

Weird...I've tried the whole process using root explorer and its not working for me either...I know it can be done, so I'm going to keep working on it.

killjoy1179 said:
Weird...I've tried the whole process using root explorer and its not working for me either...I know it can be done, so I'm going to keep working on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If using Tibu to reinstall back up, I had to verify back up was there then uninstall in TiBu and then reinstall.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2

Ok so I think I've got it figured out.
You delete the app that's missing out of the system
/app folder.
Copy and paste the new app into the system/app folder.
And then check the permissions and then reboot and it should be there.
Note: the app that your replacing needs to be from the Same ROM. So just download the rom your using and extract the app and go from there.
So next time your app goes missing, try this method and let me know if it works.

How to delete app that was installed via recovery as a zip file?

I installed a handwriting app from another thread via twrp recovery by choosing install from zip file , so the nexus sees it as a stock app, only giving me the option to disable instead of delete. How do I uninstall it, now that it's a system app? I've searched all over the web and can't figure it out. I tried using titanium backup to do it, but it just boots me into twrp and I see no setting in there that let's you delete an app that you flashed via zip... Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Restore the backup image you made before installing the app
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

If you know the name of the app and are rooted, you can go to /system/app and delete or rename the app. Disabling the app would work also. Why is that not ok?

I don't want to have things taking up unnecessary space. I'll try un installing by deleting that folder, since I didn't make a backup, I never imagined I would have to go so far as to restore just to uninstall an app, my mistake. I just can't believe that's the only way, I've restored before from backups and it's quite a lengthy process sometimes. At least when I used titanium backup.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Solange82200 said:
I installed a handwriting app from another thread via twrp recovery by choosing install from zip file , so the nexus sees it as a stock app, only giving me the option to disable instead of delete. How do I uninstall it, now that it's a system app? I've searched all over the web and can't figure it out. I tried using titanium backup to do it, but it just boots me into twrp and I see no setting in there that let's you delete an app that you flashed via zip... Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are Rooted you can use Ron Toolbox from the store. It allows you to uninstall any app. Even System apps. I have been using it for some time and love it. It's great for getting rid of crapware installed by the OEM and Carriers that you don't want on your device. But it does require Root.

Thank you all, I am rooted. Deleting the apk in system /apps folder seemed to work, at least I no longer see it when I look in settings and downloaded apps. I will try rom toolbox though, thanks again for the quick responses!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

If it is an HTC phone with S-ON (i.e. no S-OFF), then then any change to the /system partition will be reverted on next reboot, so, yes, you can uninstall a system app, for example using TitaniumBackup, but it will re-appear after reboot.
If you don't have a nandroid backup, then you could open the original ZIP file that you flashed, look what it does, and create an UNDO.zip and then flash it. If it overwrites some existing files, then you can pull them from the original ROM.
For example, if all you need to do is remove some files:
1. Take the zip attached in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2058944.
2. Unpack the zip.
3. Edit updater_script in a text editor, and modify the paths to the files you want removed.
4. Repack the zip.
5. Flash via recovery.
The operation can be done completely on the device if you have a proper file manager with archive support. I used TotalCommander which can open ZIPs and edit files in them, and when you press the back button it will ask you to repack the modified file back into the ZIP.
More info on creating your own flashable ZIP files:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2290009