Database Users

Make sure to backup your efs partition!

I just wanted to share a story of woe and redemption so that it doesn't happen to you.
As background, I had sim unlocked my phone using helroz's method a while back, and my phone has been working fine from team whiskey's early days till now. Recently, I was flashing my phone as most of us do. I noted that after flashing the dead horse kernel, my market was not working properly, so I decided to odin back to JFD. From there, I flashed Bionix, but afterward, noted that I wasn't getting any cell reception. After some investigation and several odins, I looked at my software info and found that my baseband was unknown. I flashed back to JFD however, and it worked fine. In fact, this was the only rom where the cell worked. The phone otherwise was functioning flawlessly, including wifi.
Further investigation showed that this has happened to others, and anecdotally, people have fixed it by odining over and over or doing some magic with their sim card. I did just that but to no avail. After some thinking, it occurred to me that maybe my /efs data was bad, so I took a look. Hitting *#06# showed the generic samsung IMEI while in JFD (it did not work in other versions as the baseband was not working), not my normal IMEI. That's odd. I still had the backup from trying to sim unlock it months ago. I tried to overwrite the /efs folder w/ my own, but I could not write it due to 'not enough space.'
Further investigation showed that indeed, my efs partition had been borked, and so I could not write data to it (I could copy however). The only way to fix this is by flashing/odin'ing a new partition. This only works if you have a backup, which I didn't. Basically, I had a fancy media player at this point.
I went ahead and looked on craigslist and found a vibrant w/ a broken screen, figuring I could swap out the guts. I immediately backed up the /efs folder and partition of the broken phone, just in case. On a whim, I tried to flash the efs partition from the broken phone to my phone. Lo and behold, the baseband came back. I was now able to write to that partition, so overwrote the /efs folder w/ my backup from before. My IMEI came back afterwards, and so now, I have 2 functioning vibrants. I'm not sure what data is stored in /dev/block/stl3, but I do know I was able to fix my phone using another phone's data. They both work w/ my sim, though I am unsure if they can connect simultaneously using different sims or if they are somehow cloned, but the IMEIs are different for sure.
The moral of the story is that this phone is nigh unbrickable and even when it doesn't boot, you can always try the jig. The only part of the phone you can't fix w/ a routine odin it seems, is the efs partition, so I would encourage everyone to make a backup and keep it safe. This is not done standard as an initiation into rooting and roms and such, but it should be. Normally, odin'ing a rom does not write to this area, but even w/o screwing with this, frequent flashing and odins can apparently corrupt it, leaving you high and dry. With this backup and odin, you could probably fix your phone from any jam.
Here are the relevant threads on how to do this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882039
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=859914
Keep those backups safe!

Thank you for sharing ur experience, I recently noticed that my data speeds have gone down after unlocking my vibrant using the method you mentioned above.Damn, I get edge speeds when I am on a HSPA network. Dunno whats the problem,called up simple mobile,am not data throttled.Sigh..
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

man this is scary, but your phone still works at JFD right?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

It didn't for a while. Now, both phones are fully functional. I had a copy of the /efs folder of my old phone, but not an image of the partition. The problem is, when the partition gets screwed, you can't write to it, making the /efs useless.
That's why I'm trying to get people to make the backup. It takes a few minutes, but can be a lifesaver. I do believe you can flash a foreign stl3 partition and overwrite the /efs like I did, but unless you had a friend, no one would share it w/ you as it contains their imei info. Better to just back up your own. And if you lose your /efs, game over.

How exactly do you back up a partition?

Very cool of you to post this up. Is there any reason to back up your efs partition if you have no reason to unlock?
<---backing it up anyway.

It's not the unlocking. It seems that over time, some people (such as myself) screwed up the efs partition by just flashing/odin'ing various roms. It shouldn't happen, but it does. Consider that no roms write to the stl3 layer, yet mine was working one day, then one odin later, it didn't. I'm sure the number of people this happens to is quite small, but when it happens, it happens. It's like a 6 mb backup which isn't that big of a deal.

It's better to be safe than sorry.
I did an experiment on my Galaxy Tab, that I move the /efs folder to memory card.
Soon I found the reception goes way worse (at least 10dBm less) and the serial number changed to 00000000, then I immediately copied (restore) the folder and everything was back to normal.
I tried to examine the files with hex editor but I found nothing spectular.

vnamee said:
It's not the unlocking. It seems that over time, some people (such as myself) screwed up the efs partition by just flashing/odin'ing various roms. It shouldn't happen, but it does. Consider that no roms write to the stl3 layer, yet mine was working one day, then one odin later, it didn't. I'm sure the number of people this happens to is quite small, but when it happens, it happens. It's like a 6 mb backup which isn't that big of a deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's really weird. I've never really looked into the occurrence because I always assumed it was isolated only to those that did some weird hacking in an attempt to unlock, or to those that were developing and found themselves doing some nasty, nasty things.
I just created efs_dev-block-st13.img and efs-backup.tar.gz so hopefully I'm all safe and sound now.
Thanks again! Once I get beyond GPS stuff I find myself clueless.

draikz said:
How exactly do you back up a partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to read the two links in the OP and download adb. You also need root and busybox.

all you need is to root your phone, such as w/ superoneclick which will put busybox on there. Then all you need is adb.exe.
Open up a command prompt where adb.exe is located. You can adb su or just go adb shell and then su.
The only commands you need are:
cat /dev/block/stl3 > /sdcard/stl3.bin (backs up sector management layer of partition)
cat /dev/block/bml3 > /sdcard/bml3.bin (backs up block management layer of partition)
tar zcvf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar.gz /efs (tars /efs folder)
cp stl3.bin efs.rfs (just makes copy of stl3.bin to new name efs.rfs)
tar -cf efs.tar efs.rfs (makes an odin flashable tar of partition)
I kept a copy of stl3.bin, bml3.bin, efs-backup.tar, and efs.tar.

vnamee said:
all you need is to root your phone, such as w/ superoneclick which will put busybox on there. Then all you need is adb.exe.
Open up a command prompt where adb.exe is located. You can adb su or just go adb shell and then su.
The only commands you need are:
cat /dev/block/stl3 > /sdcard/stl3.bin (backs up sector management layer of partition)
cat /dev/block/bml3 > /sdcard/bml3.bin (backs up block management layer of partition)
tar zcvf /sdcard/efs-backup.tar.gz /efs (tars /efs folder)
cp stl3.bin efs.rfs (just makes copy of stl3.bin to new name efs.rfs)
tar -cf efs.tar efs.rfs (makes an odin flashable tar of partition)
I kept a copy of stl3.bin, bml3.bin, efs-backup.tar, and efs.tar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got backups of stl3.bin, bml3.bin and efs-backup.tar.gz
When I try to make the partition an odin flashable tar it tells me: "No such file or directory".

You have to cd into the directory, or else it should be:
cp /sdcard/stl3.bin /sdcard/efs.rfs (just makes copy of stl3.bin to new name efs.rfs)
tar -cf /sdcard/efs.tar /sdcard/efs.rfs (makes an odin flashable tar of partition)

This is kind of old news, but nevertheless important.
Months ago in the Q&A section there were two threads about the importance of the EFS, and how a corrupted nv_data.bin and EFS can cause many problems including losing the ability to use a different carriers sim, yet nobody paid attention to those threads, but I thought the info was vital.
Would using ROM Manager and backing up your current rom, also backup the /efs?

vnamee said:
You have to cd into the directory, or else it should be:
cp /sdcard/stl3.bin /sdcard/efs.rfs (just makes copy of stl3.bin to new name efs.rfs)
tar -cf /sdcard/efs.tar /sdcard/efs.rfs (makes an odin flashable tar of partition)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I did. I'll do it again and post up exactly what I type and put in. Maybe it's just operator error.

Here ya go.
It might have been operator error because that time I watched efs.tar get written to /sdcard

It should be efs.rfs, not efs/rfs. It's a file, not a directory.

SamsungVibrant said:
Would using ROM Manager and backing up your current rom, also backup the /efs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid does not back up the /efs partition, at least not that I can tell. All those files in the backup folder are of the various partitions, and efs partition is not part of it.
The reason I made this thread to begin with is because when I had this problem, I looked high and low, and found scant info. In the future, if someone else has this problem, this will come up in a search and won't have some lame magical fix that may or may not work.

vnamee said:
It should be efs.rfs, not efs/rfs. It's a file, not a directory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pinky slip!!! For whatever reason, it took 3 tries but I finally got it to backup. Thanks for the help! I would never think to back this stuff up. Everyone does Nandroid's like crazy, which is good, but losing this stuff is losing your phone!

Excellent write-up vnamee thank you..........

[Q] Custom rom installation variants.

Hello!
I have been searching the forums here about custom roms, and so far, I saw two methods of how to install them.
Method1. update.zip
Method2. Backup/Restore or just advanced restore.
(both in xRecovery)
What's the difference?
If the developer of the rom stated do Method1, can we still do Method2?
Will it affect anything?
Thanks.

You cannot do the other method, it´s not possible, because they are completely different .
Method 2"restore" is like you make a backup trougth xrecovery and restore it. You can do a complete restore (recommended) or only system (your data will be not deleted, but in most cases you will have some problems)
Method 1 update.zip is a kind of script.

Fetz Braun said:
You cannot do the other method, it´s not possible, because they are completely different .
Method 2"restore" is like you make a backup trougth xrecovery and restore it. You can do a complete restore (recommended) or only system (your data will be not deleted, but in most cases you will have some problems)
Method 1 update.zip is a kind of script.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that!
So you mean, Method1 is like, if you want to upgrade your rom?
Will doing Method1 erase all data?

It depends on a script. There is a file called update-script in every update and custom zip, you can view it in notepad++. If it contains FORMAT command it will wipe any partition that is named after the command. Most ROMs update zips only wipe system, which is a necessity, since you need to put new system in. Some ROMs, like doixanh's one, also wipe cache to get rid of old ROM's stuff. If there is a format data instruction, all your data and apps are gone.

[RECOVERY][CWM] JCSullins CWM Recovery 6.0.1.9 [2012-12-04]

Hello,
I don't know if you noticed but JCSullins made a new cwm6 based recovery.
If you want to give it a try I've made a cwm flashable update archive,
**Removed - wait for JCSullins official release**

menthe said:
Hello,
I don't know if you noticed but JCSullins made a new cwm6 based recovery.
If you want to give it a try I've made a cwm flashable update archive,
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hzxb7fswws5l0ss/update-cwm6_tenderloin-20121204.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For those not in the know, it is recommended to update your recovery and essential if you plan to update to cm10. This fixes s file system corruption bug that shows up when expanding the partition in preparation for cm10.
Sent from my HP TouchPad using Tapatalk 2

menthe said:
Hello,
I don't know if you noticed but JCSullins made a new cwm6 based recovery.
If you want to give it a try I've made a cwm flashable update archive,
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hzxb7fswws5l0ss/update-cwm6_tenderloin-20121204.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your installable zip! I had been trying to get things updated and couldn't get the uImage written to the /boot dir on my TP.
Went through adb (reinstalling drivers, connecting,etc.) then tried renaming and copying to /boot through ES File explorer with SU permissions, but it still wouldn't let me write to the /boot folder. I'm not quite sure why - I thought SU permissions allowed me to write to the /boot folder, but I guess not... I'll have to further investigate. I'm still noobish on quite a lot here.
Needless to say, your zip file helped and was finally able to get CWM6 updated on my TP. Thanks button pressed! :good:

"Went through adb (reinstalling drivers, connecting,etc.) then tried renaming and copying to /boot through ES File explorer with SU permissions, but it still wouldn't let me write to the /boot folder. I'm not quite sure why - I thought SU permissions allowed me to write to the /boot folder, but I guess not... I'll have to further investigate. I'm still noobish on quite a lot here."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open terminal
type
su
umount -o remount,rw /boot
then use es file explorer.

chadster1976 said:
Thanks for your installable zip! I had been trying to get things updated and couldn't get the uImage written to the /boot dir on my TP.
Went through adb (reinstalling drivers, connecting,etc.) then tried renaming and copying to /boot through ES File explorer with SU permissions, but it still wouldn't let me write to the /boot folder. I'm not quite sure why - I thought SU permissions allowed me to write to the /boot folder, but I guess not... I'll have to further investigate. I'm still noobish on quite a lot here.
Needless to say, your zip file helped and was finally able to get CWM6 updated on my TP. Thanks button pressed! :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rom Toolbox lite will allow you to .

*sigh*
"... At this point I'm just putting out a uImage to allow those who are
comfortable swapping out the uImage to test." (less than 24 hrs ago on rootzwiki)
I was hoping to get some feedback from the "more advanced" users testing this before creating an
installable zip and unleashing it on everyone. So far, virtually no feedback.

I flashed it and now I'm soft bricked. Can't boot into sk8's CWR6, CM10 or anything.

Lesson learned, ask developers before posting there work
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

It likely not the CWM6 that did it but the boot partition full. If you have an extra webos kernel, some moboot themes, TWRP, and then this new larger uImage for CWM you will likely run out of space.
Probably should put that warning here it's pretty important people realize it and/or add a script to remove TWRP, to prevent issues with this zip.
@jcsullins +1 Feedback. Installed your CWM uImage manually. Mounted as mass storage in CWM, copied files, Installed latest CM10 12/05(over older CM10 installed with Acme3), Installed Gapps, Installed Camera Preview 3 patch, Installed WEBCM10, cleared both caches in CWM and noticed no issues during all the processes.

I ACMEU wiped and ACME3'd the whole deal back on w/new recovery. It needed the clean up anyways and I had a NAND from yesterday.
Nice, thanks JC.

Roland Makes oopsy
jcsullins said:
*sigh*
"... At this point I'm just putting out a uImage to allow those who are
comfortable swapping out the uImage to test." (less than 24 hrs ago on rootzwiki)
I was hoping to get some feedback from the "more advanced" users testing this before creating an
installable zip and unleashing it on everyone. So far, virtually no feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for taking the time to create this great new CWM6. I have been really enjoying the new looks and graphics. I have tested flashing different zips and Roms. I have made and restored Nandroid backups and even restored older CWM5 backups with CWM6. I do this to try and help but sometimes I really step in $#@# trying to help, like with the 4.2gapps.
Sorry about being so anxious to get this out to the public. I have had a lot of complaints about Bricked TouchPads and would like to get the word out about the problem and how to fix/prevent it.
I feel very responsible for the people affected due to me making an install video without knowledge of the corruption issue beforehand.
I wanted to make a video explaining that there was an issue but to fix it they can, Backup, uninstall, reinstall and restore. To prevent future issues I want to included this in my install instructions. They would of course need your New CWM6 to do this and I have been eagerly awaiting this fix.
Sorry about all my stupid mistakes, I get a bit over excited about Tech stuff at times. Please accept my sincerest apologies.

jcsullins said:
*sigh*
"... At this point I'm just putting out a uImage to allow those who are
comfortable swapping out the uImage to test." (less than 24 hrs ago on rootzwiki)
I was hoping to get some feedback from the "more advanced" users testing this before creating an
installable zip and unleashing it on everyone. So far, virtually no feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, but I didn't see your post in Rootzwiki or I would have posted there.
This cwm has worked flawlessly. I haven't had a chance to try all the new features, but the ones I did try worked fine.
Thanks so much for this. The old 5.0.2.6 was starting to show its age. I hope this cwm does away with the sporadic partitioning problems I'd been seeing.

jcsullins said:
*sigh*
"... At this point I'm just putting out a uImage to allow those who are
comfortable swapping out the uImage to test." (less than 24 hrs ago on rootzwiki)
I was hoping to get some feedback from the "more advanced" users testing this before creating an
installable zip and unleashing it on everyone. So far, virtually no feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my limited testing to this point, I've not uncovered any issues. I flashed a couple of different roms, gapps and misc zipfiles and all were fine. I also made a nandroid and a subsequent restore which also worked fine.
I like the idea that that the default backup method was tar as opposed to dup, as I am more comfortable with that. Also, was pleasantly surprised to find that USB storage mount was working, I thought that this was "broken" in CWM 6.x. I transferred files back & forth on my PC with no problem.
The only oddity I came across was when trying to view the files in my nandroid backup folder in ES File Explorer, or the stock CM File Manager, the 2 android_secure.vfat.tar files were not visible. Yet they were visible in Root Explorer and of course, when I transferred it over to my PC for safekeeping, they were there.
That's about it for now. Great job as always, JC. Thanks.
Mike T

New Backup Options
I am just trying some of the new backup options. It seems that we have a choice in the backup we make now, the Default is Tar and the 2nd option is Dup. There is also a "free unused backup data" option, since the backups appears to be in several files. I wanted to backup my backups but I am in over my head here and don't know much about the new backup options. Has anyone else had a chance to take a look? I like the spinning ball animation in the Androids stomach while I make and restore my backups:good: I can use my old CWM5 backups but now I don't know what to do about the new ones. Could anyone more experienced help me out please:fingers-crossed:
webdroidmt said:
In my limited testing to this point, I've not uncovered any issues. I flashed a couple of different roms, gapps and misc zipfiles and all were fine. I also made a nandroid and a subsequent restore which also worked fine.
I like the idea that that the default backup method was tar as opposed to dup, as I am more comfortable with that. Also, was pleasantly surprised to find that USB storage mount was working, I thought that this was "broken" in CWM 6.x. I transferred files back & forth on my PC with no problem.
The only oddity I came across was when trying to view the files in my nandroid backup folder in ES File Explorer, or the stock CM File Manager, the 2 android_secure.vfat.tar files were not visible. Yet they were visible in Root Explorer and of course, when I transferred it over to my PC for safekeeping, they were there.
That's about it for now. Great job as always, JC. Thanks.
Mike T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was having the same issues trying to view the files from ES File Explorer, and from the PC. I feel like such a noob

RolandDeschain79 said:
I am just trying some of the new backup options. It seems that we have a choice in the backup we make now, the Default is Tar and the 2nd option is Dup. There is also a "free unused backup data" option, since the backups appears to be in several files. I wanted to backup my backups but I am in over my head here and don't know much about the new backup options. Has anyone else had a chance to take a look? I like the spinning ball animation in the Androids stomach while I make and restore my backups:good: I can use my old CWM5 backups but now I don't know what to do about the new ones. Could anyone more experienced help me out please:fingers-crossed:
I was having the same issues trying to view the files from ES File Explorer, and from the PC. I feel like such a noob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Roland, hope all is well with you. I am not having a problem viewing my nandroid files on my PC, just from the apps I mentioned within Android.
Anyway, just a quick blurb on the 2 backup methods of .tar & .dup. Tar is what we are used to with the older CWM version, .dup is something new to CWM and fairly similar to the way a windows PC does backups. I'm no expert but in a nutshell, .tar backs up everthing each time you do a nandroid, .dup does incremental backups each time and stores the data in "blob" files which become very large. With the .dup method, because it's only doing incremental, backup time is faster than .tar but with the large "blob" folders of data, it's a PITA to move to your PC for safekeeping.
With all the flashing I do, I'm constantly moving nandroids back & forth, so I prefer .tar at this time. But as usual, YMMV. Take care.
Mike T

.dup & .tar enlightenment
webdroidmt said:
Hi Roland, hope all is well with you. I am not having a problem viewing my nandroid files on my PC, just from the apps I mentioned within Android.
Anyway, just a quick blurb on the 2 backup methods of .tar & .dup. Tar is what we are used to with the older CWM version, .dup is something new to CWM and fairly similar to the way a windows PC does backups. I'm no expert but in a nutshell, .tar backs up everthing each time you do a nandroid, .dup does incremental backups each time and stores the data in "blob" files which become very large. With the .dup method, because it's only doing incremental, backup time is faster than .tar but with the large "blob" folders of data, it's a PITA to move to your PC for safekeeping.
With all the flashing I do, I'm constantly moving nandroids back & forth, so I prefer .tar at this time. But as usual, YMMV. Take care.
Mike T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for the detailed response. I’m feeling good now that I am starting to understand the new recovery. I also really liked having those individual .tar backups:good:, I made one for each version of CM. I wonder how .dup backups will affect the free space on my device. I also backup a lot but I did find that i was able to restore the older CWM5 backups without a problem. I will probably just keep the older CWM5 .tars for CM7, CM9 and do my CM10 backing up with the newer .dup. Time to transfer some backups:victory:

Can we maybe get rid of the link in op? Jc has stated this was only for testing, you shouldn't host a devs work without permission, and maybe for the fact of it will soft brick a TP? Just saying....
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda app-developers app

Sorry for possibly misunderstanding but is it recommended to use this yet due to possible corruption issues with older versions of CWM or only intended for testing atm? I've been meaning to ACME uninstall the TP and reinstall CM10 clean again and if this newer version of recovery is recommended for flashing I'll throw it on there while I'm at it
Thx JCSullins! :fingers-crossed:

jcsullins said:
*sigh*
"... At this point I'm just putting out a uImage to allow those who are
comfortable swapping out the uImage to test." (less than 24 hrs ago on rootzwiki)
I was hoping to get some feedback from the "more advanced" users testing this before creating an
installable zip and unleashing it on everyone. So far, virtually no feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
Sorry for that :/
I haven't seen your rootzwiki post and so far I was just willing to help users to install it
easily (seems that was my mistake :x) because after I gave it a try it solved the issues
I was having with the previous CWM one. There is just one thing that disturb me, in
Backup and Restore menu, 'choose backup format' should be rename in something like
"choose default backup format".
That's just my 2cents and besides this all functions work well, thanks for your hard work.
I'll remove the link from the OP post and wait for your public release
Sincerely, menthe.

Has anyone tried the adb sideload yet?
When attempting to sideload I get: * failed to write data 'protocol fault (no status)' *
Any other adb commands I issue are met with "error:closed"
I am stuck here because I don't have a power button to do a hard reset... please someone tell me this function is working and I am just doing something wrong. My TP has a full charge and I don't feel like waiting 8hrs for it to die so it can be reset.
Edit: just took the whole thing apart and pulled the battery

[Q] Understanding Directories, and Backing Up

I want to make a backup of my Android I9505 by copying all the files to my laptop.
I don't understand the directories
Using ES3 I see
/ Device (Which I guess is root.)
0
extSdCard
I assume that exdSdCard is (as it almost says) the external SD Card.
So what are "/" and
"0"
I guess I should back up all directories. What do you think?

webmanoffesto said:
I want to make a backup of my Android I9505 by copying all the files to my laptop.
I don't understand the directories
Using ES3 I see
/ Device (Which I guess is root.)
0
extSdCard
I assume that exdSdCard is (as it almost says) the external SD Card.
So what are "/" and
"0"
I guess I should back up all directories. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
0 is your internalSD ( /storage/ emulated/0/ )
/ is root directory
If you just copy folder like that , yes you will make a copy of the folders and the data inside of them but it will not work to restore your system , for that you will need something like a Nandroid copy or use Titanium Backup to be re install after you restore your rom

webmanoffesto said:
I want to make a backup of my Android I9505 by copying all the files to my laptop.
I don't understand the directories
Using ES3 I see
/ Device (Which I guess is root.)
0
extSdCard
I assume that exdSdCard is (as it almost says) the external SD Card.
So what are "/" and
"0"
I guess I should back up all directories. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are WAY overthinking this.
Install custom recovery. Use it to make a Nandroid backup.
That's a single zip file that you can later use to restore everything in exactly the same state as it was the day you made the backup. (Takes all of 5 minutes.)
Then if you want to store that backup zip file on your PC you can easily copy it to the computer and store it there for as long as you need.
Your way of doing this will take a lot longer to copy the files and won't ultimately work to restore the system.

Skipjacks said:
You are WAY overthinking this.
Install custom recovery. Use it to make a Nandroid backup.
That's a single zip file that you can later use to restore everything in exactly the same state as it was the day you made the backup. (Takes all of 5 minutes.)
Then if you want to store that backup zip file on your PC you can easily copy it to the computer and store it there for as long as you need.
Your way of doing this will take a lot longer to copy the files and won't ultimately work to restore the system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using ROM Manager, I boot to Recovery mode. I only see
- Reboot system now
- apply update from ADB
- Apply update from external storage
- wife data/factory reset
- wipe cache partition
- apply update from cache
No Backup option.

webmanoffesto said:
Using ROM Manager, I boot to Recovery mode. I only see
- Reboot system now
- apply update from ADB
- Apply update from external storage
- wife data/factory reset
- wipe cache partition
- apply update from cache
No Backup option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi ,
Then i guess you are 100% stock , no root , no Custom recovery?
if so then you need an app that does not need root to back up your app , Titanium is good but you need at least to be root.

MAX 404 said:
Hi ,
Then i guess you are 100% stock , no root , no Custom recovery?
if so then you need an app that does not need root to back up your app , Titanium is good but you need at least to be root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Root and I use Titanium Backup.

webmanoffesto said:
I have Root and I use Titanium Backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are root but you do not wish to install a Custom recovery or custom rom , right?
If so use titanium to make a back up of your apps , contacts , settings , email , sms ..etc etc
If you want to make a nandroid you need to install a Custom Recovery

Just install a custom recovery.
It won't affect the operation of the ROM at all if you're completely happy with the stock rom.
Root and Recovery are mutually exclusive things. One has nothing to do with the other. Each exists independently of the other.

Skipjacks said:
Just install a custom recovery.
It won't affect the operation of the ROM at all if you're completely happy with the stock rom.
Root and Recovery are mutually exclusive things. One has nothing to do with the other. Each exists independently of the other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1

[Flashable][GT-I9070] EMMC repartition

Hello, am new here so if I did something wrong please correct me OK
-presentation:
we all love running latest android versions and install big a** games like asphalt 8 and have all the Google apps that we love
But in Janice it's some kind of impossible to do all of that ( come on its only 4 years old!!)
As they say no impossible under the sun now you can easily increase system or data or what ever partition your want just by flashing a Lil file and without losing a single file
-Warning:
Me and XDA are not responsible for any soft hard leaks or what ever you are doing this by your self!!!
Make a full backup(system data boot) before starting..
DO NOT USE THIS FILE WITH ROMS THAT USE CACHE (CM10.2)
-Requirements:
1. Janice or Janice-p(not tested)
2. TWRP Recovery (Any Version)
3. The attached file
Instruction:
1. Download the repartition file
-rename the file with your favorite partition sizes like "lanchon-repit-20160317-system=1-data=max-cache=0.03125 wipe-preload=min wipe-fota=min wipe ext4-sdcard=2-janice.zip" which means 1gb system 2gb sdcard and the rest will go to data partition so you will be able to install more apps
2. Boot into TWRP and make a backup
3. Flash the repartition file of your desire
4. Take a nap or watch big bang theory just waste some time
5. When the script finish restore your backup and reboot
6. Enjoy your games or what ever
-Credit:
1. @Lanchon
2. @madkita
If you want a file with your own sizes just write or in comments and i'll do my best to offer it to you

hi,
thanks for the guide! a couple of comments:
1) i suggest people get REPIT from its main site:
https://github.com/Lanchon/REPIT
the files posted here are already very old, i've updated REPIT several times.
also, i only provide support for the latest version. older versions are unsupported.
2) if you download the files from here, they will not work.
(XDA messes with the filenames changing = for -)
3) you don't need to backup anything unless you want to revert the flashing of the kernel.
4) you don't need to flash any particular kernel to run REPIT, you just need a recent TWRP build.
5) TWRP with gparted is not needed anymore: REPIT now bundles gparted and other tools.
6) the configurations proposed here are incorrect. you should use:
a) if you want 3GB data and rest as internal sdcard:
-system=1.0-data=3.0-cache=0.03125+wipe-preload=min+wipe-fota=min+wipe+ext4-sdcard=max.zip
b) if you have an external sdcard, and want 6GB data and a very small internal sdcard:
-system=1.0-data=max-cache=0.03125+wipe-preload=min+wipe-fota=min+wipe+ext4-sdcard=0.0625+wipe.zip
then your internal sdcard will be useless. so you need to swap internal and external sdcards as detailed here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...ment/mod-internal-memory-repartition-t2863629
these configurations will keep contents of system and data. if you don't care about their contents, configure wiping (add '+wipe') for those partitions and REPIT will repartition much faster then.
7) read REPIT manual before using!
https://github.com/Lanchon/REPIT

Lanchon said:
hi,
thanks for the guide! a couple of comments:
1) i suggest people get REPIT from its main site:
https://github.com/Lanchon/REPIT
the files posted here are already very old, i've updated REPIT several times.
also, i only provide support for the latest version. older versions are unsupported.
2) if you download the files from here, they will not work.
(XDA messes with the filenames changing = for -)
3) you don't need to backup anything unless you want to revert the flashing of the kernel.
4) you don't need to flash any particular kernel to run REPIT, you just need a recent TWRP build.
5) TWRP with gparted is not needed anymore: REPIT now bundles gparted and other tools.
6) the configurations proposed here are incorrect. you should use:
a) if you want 3GB data and rest as internal sdcard:
-system=1.0-data=3.0-cache=0.03125 wipe-preload=min wipe-fota=min wipe ext4-sdcard=max.zip
b) if you have an external sdcard, and want 6GB data and a very small internal sdcard:
-system=1.0-data=max-cache=0.03125 wipe-preload=min wipe-fota=min wipe ext4-sdcard=0.0625 wipe.zip
then your internal sdcard will be useless. so you need to swap internal and external sdcards as detailed here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...ment/mod-internal-memory-repartition-t2863629
these configurations will keep contents of system and data. if you don't care about their contents, configure wiping (add ' wipe') for those partitions and REPIT will repartition much faster then.
7) read REPIT manual before using!
https://github.com/Lanchon/REPIT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thus settings are right this is the same file I used and it worked perfectly and I told you I created this threat for noobs who can't understand github and there download section is not working for me it says "try again in 30 minutes" that's why I use old files

madkita said:
Thus settings are right this is the same file I used and it worked perfectly and I told you I created this threat for noobs who can't understand github and there download section is not working for me it says "try again in 30 minutes" that's why I use old files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol no, without the '-sdcard=...' specifier those files won't work, trust me.

Lanchon said:
lol no, without the '-sdcard=...' specifier those files won't work, trust me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thank you updated OP

first of all thank you both
just to be sure, i have a couple of questions:
- how much space does a full backup take?
- what is the limit to the repartition? right now i'd like to add one gigabyte to system for apps, which numbers do i need to write in the zip name?
- what does the "wipe preload" and "wipe fota" strings do?

TheSteve87 said:
first of all thank you both
just to be sure, i have a couple of questions:
- how much space does a full backup take?
- what is the limit to the repartition? right now i'd like to add one gigabyte to system for apps, which numbers do i need to write in the zip name?
- what does the "wipe preload" and "wipe fota" strings do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In TWRP it will be around 500-600mb with compression
lanchon-repit-20160317-system=1-data=max-cache=0.03125 wipe-preload=min wipe-fota=min wipe ext4-sdcard=2-janice.zip
Just rename the file to this and your will have 1gb system 2gb SD card and the rest well go to data if you want to edit a partition size for example the number 1 after system means the system will be 1gb and the number 2 in front of SD card means the SD card will be 2gb and max in front of data means the rest well go to data partition
Preload and fota are partition used in only stock ROMs and stock based ROMs so if you are running a custom ROM this will give you more space in the partition your set to max

thanks to both devs, i have one question is it compatible with cm13 ?
will i be able to re-size F2fs or i need a EXT4 to use this tool .

i just did everything but i'm not sure it worked
i used this name for the flashable zip
lanchon-repit-20160317-system=1-data=max-cache=0.03125 wipe-preload=min wipe-fota=min wipe ext4-sdcard=2-janice
but in system info it still says that data is 3.91GB, and i have 1.84GB for SDcard
maybe i should have gone further and give 3GB to SDcard?

TheSteve87 said:
i just did everything but i'm not sure it worked
i used this name for the flashable zip
lanchon-repit-20160317-system=1-data=max-cache=0.03125 wipe-preload=min wipe-fota=min wipe ext4-sdcard=2-janice
but in system info it still says that data is 3.91GB, and i have 1.84GB for SDcard
maybe i should have gone further and give 3GB to SDcard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup it works if your wanna check system download a small app called disk info
If you want 3gb on sdcard change the 2 number in front of it this will give you 2gb on data

DaksAnkit said:
thanks to both devs, i have one question is it compatible with cm13 ?
will i be able to re-size F2fs or i need a EXT4 to use this tool .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup 100%
Make a backup first and when resizing all partitions will be formated to ext4 then restore your backup it will automatically format them to f2fs

ayt man thanks , trying it right away !!
edit : getting error 1 in twrp 3.0.0 on cm13 rom I THOUGHT IT WAS compatible with repit , as said on the GITHUB
also i tried flashing zip from github page of lanchon , that zip also did not worked it said something like couldn`t find meta-inf lanchon REPIT.
??? where did i went wrong i just flashed the zip from twrp it did nt worked i moved the file to /tmp then tried there also same error .

DaksAnkit said:
ayt man thanks , trying it right away !!
edit : getting error 1 in twrp 3.0.0 on cm13 rom I THOUGHT IT WAS compatible with repit , as said on the GITHUB
also i tried flashing zip from github page of lanchon , that zip also did not worked it said something like couldn`t find meta-inf lanchon REPIT.
??? where did i went wrong i just flashed the zip from twrp it did nt worked i moved the file to /tmp then tried there also same error .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cm13 recovery doesn't have parted script you have to use the recovery I provided in first post just follow it

madkita said:
Cm13 recovery doesn't have parted script you have to use the recovery I provided in first post just follow it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope , it says error 1
invalid partition configuration ,.. sdcard : sdcard=max.zip
i flashed the kernel then renamed the file attached to ..
-system=1.0-data=3.0-cache=0.03125+wipe-preload=min+wipe-fota=min+wipe+ext4-sdcard=max.zip
something is not right can you please help , i would like to have 1 gb system n 2 or 3gb in data partitions correct me if i am wrong if the size configuration is wrong ?? what should i do.
also so i have to now restore my backup to get back to cm13 coz i am stuck at recovery ? any shortcut,like(flashing cm13 kernel) to go back to system as it was before or i have to restore the backup ?

DaksAnkit said:
nope , it says error 1
invalid partition configuration ,.. sdcard : sdcard=max.zip
i flashed the kernel then renamed the file attached to ..
-system=1.0-data=3.0-cache=0.03125+wipe-preload=min+wipe-fota=min+wipe+ext4-sdcard=max.zip
something is not right can you please help , i would like to have 1 gb system n 2 or 3gb in data partitions correct me if i am wrong if the size configuration is wrong ?? what should i do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use this and don't miss with it
lanchon-repit-20160317-system=1-data=2-cache=0.03125+wipe-preload=min+wipe-fota=min+wipe+ext4-sdcard=max-janice.zip

madkita said:
Use this and don't miss with it
lanchon-repit-20160317-system=1-data=2-cache=0.03125+wipe-preload=min+wipe-fota=min+wipe+ext4-sdcard=max-janice.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man , i sorted it out the problem was silly , i had checked option in windows to
HIDE EXTENSION NAMES OF KNOWN FILE TYPES , so i was just copying and the .zip kepton adding twice
.zip.zip and that is what was happening anyhow the device has started reparting , so one last question after when this process is over , i just install my backup and that is it ? right !!

DaksAnkit said:
Thanks man , i sorted it out the problem was silly , i had checked option in windows to
HIDE EXTENSION NAMES OF KNOWN FILE TYPES , so i was just copying and the .zip kepton adding twice
.zip.zip and that is what was happening anyhow the device has started reparting , so one last question after when this process is over , i ust install my backup and that is it ? right !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup just restore your backup and you're done ?

madkita said:
yup just restore your backup and you're done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alrighty then !!
:good:
I`ll post how did it go later in the thread .
you have a good day bro enjoy sunday .. cheers

Can someone here confirm that the kernel cm12.1 (OP) can be installed in the latest CM11 ROM by epirex? And if repit could work after 12.1 Kernel installed in CM11 ROM? Thanks in advance.

TPD-21 said:
Can someone here confirm that the kernel cm12.1 (OP) can be installed in the latest CM11 ROM by epirex? And if repit could work after 12.1 Kernel installed in CM11 ROM? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First make a backup with your cm11's kernel then flash cm12.1 kernel then flash the script and the kernel doesn't t care about your current rom so it should work every where