Database Users

Backup Desire, every bit of it?

Excuse me if this has been covered before, but is there a way to backup the device in a way, that if i root it, and then flash some ROM to it, and i mess up or just want to go back to my previous state?
I read something about nandroid? But in order for me to do that, i need root. Correct? so, what if i want to "unroot" my device? and is nandroid suitable for the Desire?

What does nandroid actually do? Does it back up everything?

nandroid makes images of all of the disk, so it's a full backup, but it's having issues restoring those backups to the Desire at the moment. And yes, you'll need to at least get to the recovery menu to run nandroid for now.
The only other route of which I know is just backing up apps and data, and you can use Titanium Backup for that (or MyBackup, I think). Without root, when you restore the apps, you won't be able to tell the Market you have these things installed, though. Doing that still requires you to fully reflash and do some setup, though. I don't think there's a cut-and-dry backup and full restore method at the moment. If there is, I'd certainly be interested...

I am also in the hunt for a good backup application. Dont mind paying as long as work as it should. But i dont think there is any backup application that can backup applications (most of them maybe just supported some limited apps).

kuailan said:
I am also in the hunt for a good backup application. Dont mind paying as long as work as it should. But i dont think there is any backup application that can backup applications (most of them maybe just supported some limited apps).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium Backup will back up everything that's on your phone except for apps installed by the system (and those it'll try and backup if you're rooted). It's worked flawlessly for me.

The Professor said:
Titanium Backup will back up everything that's on your phone except for apps installed by the system (and those it'll try and backup if you're rooted). It's worked flawlessly for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying Titanium now at the moment....just wondering I have seen a lot of application backup options/lists?? but where is the options to backup SMS, contacts, etc?? I find the UI is a little complex.

So is the best way of doing it.. Backup.. Copy folder to pc...
Then when i wanna restore.. Install titanium. copy license and folder back?

kuailan said:
I am trying Titanium now at the moment....just wondering I have seen a lot of application backup options/lists?? but where is the options to backup SMS, contacts, etc?? I find the UI is a little complex.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup only does apps.
Personally I use MyBackup, it backs up settings, sms, calender, home screens, settings e.t.c. as well as apps and keeps market links intact.
Well worth the money.

Ive got both now lol! have to wait till i install a new rom.. ill try mybackup first then

abc27 said:
Titanium backup only does apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, RLY?
Official Titanium Backup site says otherwise.
http://www.matrixrewriter.com/android/
Features of the Free version:
No time limit
Very fast app listing (~1 second for 300 apps)
Sort apps by name / last backup / backup frequency
Filter apps by name / type / status / Apps Organizer labels (also affects Batch operations)
Backup/restore regular apps + their settings
Backup/restore protected apps + their settings
Backup/restore system settings (incl. Wi-Fi AP list)
Restores the Market links when restoring apps
Zero-click background batch backup
Interactive batch restore
Many batch scenarios (eg: if more than N days since last backup, etc)
Zero-click app un-installer
Zero-click system app un-installer
Desktop widgets
Additional features of the Donate version:
Branding to your name
Multiple backups per app (history length can be chosen)
Zero-click background batch restore
Batch verification of all backups
Ultra fast HyperShell (much faster for almost everything)
Market Doctor can remake any broken Market links (only for apps that were backed up with the link in place)
App freezer can disable an app (and make it invisible) without un-installing it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just moved from one ROM to another smoothly with Titanium. I recommend it.

How to Backup you Desire before rooting it ?
Titanium requires Rooted phone ......
other Appli ?

You can try Sprite Backup but no application will work that well without root, sorry.

Is anybody test Sprite Backup?
I think MyBackup Pro and Titanium are similar when you have the system app active.

Hi
barring rooting the device and doing a nand backup/restore, I have used Sprite Backup in the past on my diamond (XDAndroid) successfully and it u could also use the application backup/restore with Astro (from the marketplace) and for txt msgs use sms backup -
http://github.com/jberkel/android-sms/tree/restore_backups - Backup/restore to gmail account

Backup, upgrade and ... how to restore?

Hi all,
I just tried upgrading to cyanogenmod 2.1 - SUCCESS (thanks to this forum )
but now the next problem has presented itself... is it possible to restore my backup (more specific: text messages)?
I made a nandroid backup, and after I got to 2.1 I restored... and it did a good job, I got back to the original 1.6.
So put all this information in one question: is it possible to backup + restore my personal settings (text messages) without restoring the firmware?
Or is the backupfunction just a "I just f***ed up my phone"-lifeline?
Thanks

I see that you said you restored back to 1.6 fine using nandroid - have you checked to see if you still have your messages OK? If not then they are probably gone for good. Cant remember if you get messages back with Nandroid, as I have used BART the last couple of times which definitely included messages.
If that worked and you still have your messages, you need to use a backup app and backup those items prior to flashing 2.1, then you can just restore the messages.
I use MyBackUp Pro (there is a full test version that lasts 30 days so would probably be good for a one off demo - but is worth paying for full version as per my explanation) - it allows you to back up all apps incl their data, plus a lot of the paid apps and their data too under the app backup option; and then they also have a data backup option which allows you to backup things like contacts, sms, your home pages etc. Of course you can choose to back up all or pick individual items and its the same for restore.
This is very useful when wiping the phone, as you restore your apps backup first, then restore your data backup - thus it will also install all the widgets as the apps are already loaded - if you do it the other way around your widgets wont work and you will have to remove them from the home screen and then put them back again.

Backup (unrooted)

Hi All,
This might be a bit of a repeat post (I'm sure there's bits of it everywhere), but I'm curious about the availablility of any real good backup for the x10...
As I see it, there are a number of options:
Android Contacts Backup (through menu/more when in the contacts app)
SE Backup - The new tool with the latest FW
Sprite Backup (I'm sure there are others too, but none that I have researched)
Sync type backup (GMail/SE Sync)
while there's a fairly decent list, all options have their flaws:
Android Contacts Backup only backs up contacts, and it does not backup FB or TW links, nor does it backup the high res contact pictures
SE Backup does not backup synced contacts (why??), but you can restore a lot of system settings, including advanced contact info
Sprite Backup - Similar to SE Backup (infact, I think SE Backup is made by Sprite) - backs up heaps, but restore options are limited - I've found best results backing up with Sprite, but restoring with SE Backup
Sync type backup - well, these again are really limited to contacts and calendar stuff
Worst of all, none of them restore apps - all have to be reloaded from scratch...
In my old WinMo days, there were some great backup apps - I could backup my phone, do a complete hard-reset, then run my restore, which would put absolutely everything back on my phone: apps, contacts, SMS's, everything you can think of.
Is there anything like that for Android for an unrooted phone, or do I need to root my phone to get something decent...
Also, has anyone had any experience on what works best?
For me, this was:
Run full backup using Sprite Backup
Restore using SE Backup
Reload all apps

MyBackup Pro

MarylandCookie said:
MyBackup Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So does MyBackup Pro also backup those special x10 features, like high res contact pics, contact links to Twitter and Facebook, and the face tagging in Mediascape?

I know this isn't what you asked, but if you ever do decide to root your phone, I definitely would recommend Titanium Backup.
It is fantsatic.

titanium backup was the reason i rooted my phone

krazykirk said:
I know this isn't what you asked, but if you ever do decide to root your phone, I definitely would recommend Titanium Backup.
It is fantsatic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, but a good answer nonetheless...
Almost seems like I should consider it...

[Q] Want to change ROM, but need my settings restored...

... yes, right, I need to backup, I know.
The thing is: when I changed my ROM I normally didn't bother to actually reinstall and configure everything as I upgrade/change not really often. Now I wanted to go from ARHD 3.6 to the current 5.x one with actually _no_ trouble if possible. Is there a way to backup just about _everything_ from a running ARHD 3.6 (from Google Mail settings, to SMS, contacts and WLAN APs, ...) and restore it to the newly installed ROM?
Thanks for any hints,
Marc

kosique said:
Is there a way to backup just about _everything_ from a running ARHD 3.6 (from Google Mail settings, to SMS, contacts and WLAN APs, ...) and restore it to the newly installed ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google mail is sync'd with Google mail so nothing to do.
Everything else you can use MyBackUp Pro or Sprite backup for settings, sms etc.
Use Titanium for apps.

[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.