Database Users

General flashing tips and advice

After reading a few threads regarding issues when it comes to flashing, I would like to do Public Service Announcement about flashing ROMs. I want to compile tips and advice to people who are noobs like myself. Feel free to add/modify/correct these.
1. Back up personal photos, videos, music, whatever you consider valuable, onto your computer. Often. I remember reading someone lost all his son's newborn pictures because a ROM fully wiped his internal SD card. Don't let this happen to you.
2. Use Titanium Backup app. If don't know what this app is by now, you should. This will back up all your downloaded apps from the Market. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT BACK UP SYSTEM DATA. Get the paid version! Only back up your own apps. If you flash a new ROM, restoring system data from another ROM would/could screw up your freshly install ROM.
3. If you're flashing a new ROM, I highly recommend this method for a fresh and clean install:
Originally Posted by CaelanT
boot to recovery
Wipe Dalvik
wipe cache
factory reset/data
boot into fastboot
fastboot erase boot
fastboot erase system
fastboot erase userdata
fastboot erase cache
fastboot erase webtop
fastboot erase preinstall
fastboot reboot
flash ROM in recovery
wipe Dalvik
wipe cache
reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Credit goes to CaelanT on this one.
4. Flash at 100% battery. Never risk bricking when your phone has low battery. The phone could die when the ROM is installing. It's basically full of DO NOT WANT if you're flashing on a unfull battery.
4A. If you didn't flash at full battery, use the app called Battery Calibration. The app resets the battery info, so ideally use this app when at 100% battery. Or follow the instructions in the app.
5. Make a Nandroid backup via CWM. Preferable before you flash a new ROM, kernal, framework, ect. I'm OCD, so I personally make a Nandroid backup about once a week. You never know if your phone is gonna bootloop or boot properly. Backups WILL save your life.
Again, feel free to correct me if anything is wrong. Happy flashing!

Get a mod to sticky this
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using xda premium

I always wondered about backing up system settings and restoring on a new rom. Granted, it'd be perfect if you're wiping the current rom but flashing a new one and then restoring old settings would probably mess it up! Great post, bookmarked!

So only my second CWM flash coming up (work takes up way to much time to be playing with it as much as I'd like)
Currently on Alien #2, going to upgrade to 4 and the 1.77.30 radio.
Will going through all the fastboot wipes eliminate EVERYTHING? And then, when flashing Alien4, will it all be restored?
It is my understanding, perhaps wrongly, right now that Alien does not touch the webtop, so if I wipe the webtop partition, flashing alien will not restore it and I will need to restore is separate/manually for example?

Whenever I flash a custom blur-based rom (not cm7) - sorry if I am using the wrong
terminology, it still has some reminiscence of previous setting - mainly is the screen
setting. For example, a quick note widget with content I typed in and a whatsapp app
shortcut on the Home screen even though the app is not installed after a flesh flash .
I did do every steps listed by op. However, I did skipped the fastboot steps after wiping the big
3 in recovery during my first few times of flashing a new rom.
Is it normal that some of the previous settings are retained?

Photobucket is great for backing up pics in the cloud, every time I take a picture its instantly automatically uploaded to my Photobucket for storage. You can pick a picture quality to match your battery/data usage. I know this is slighty off topic but hopefully noone looses any more baby pictures..

need help clearing info on mt4g to sell

sorry if this has been covered anywhere else... I searched and couldn't find a definitive answer. I'm getting ready to sell my MT4G (it's rooted w/s-off, running 2.3.4 and Virtuous Unity v2.39.0... my question is, once I remove my SD card, and erase my contacts, pics, etc... what else/how should I go about clearing what's left? Do I need to dissociate my google account from this device? do I need to wipe data/dalvik/cache and just reflash the ROM? I know I can't just do the "factory reset", but that's pretty much what I need to do... thanks for any and all help/suggestions.

Factory reset is simply a data and cache wipe.
That's all that is required. The ROM won't be affected unless you wipe system. It's why we always say to be sure you wipe system between ROMs.

[Q] Best way to change roms?

I've been running PA for a while now, and I was wondering what the best method for swapping Roms is. (What to wipe) and how to do so without losing what is stored on my internal sd card, our currently installed apps.
(As a side question, what are some good roms with pie?)
Nexus 7

Factory reset, which will wipe data (but leaves /data/media intact) and cache. Although generally not necessary, I'd also format /system. Many devs will have their updater script format it as part of the flash, but I have seen a handful that have not. Your apps will be wiped when doing a clean flash- that's just the way it is. You should not be dirty flashing (wiping just cache and dalvik) between roms as it will lead to problems. You can use apps such as Titanium Backup or Rom Toolbox to backup and restore your user apps. Do not restore system apps or data.
Your side question is a quick and easy way to get this thread locked. Go to the dev forum for your device, whether it's tilapia or grouper, and do some reading and test drive a rom or two that piques your interest. There is no substitute for research and forming your own informed opinions.

you should also nandroid backup before you flash anything, that way you have a safe point to restore to if something goes wrong, or you don't like the new rom.
if it's a rom upgrade (not rom switch), you can flash directly over the top at your own risk if the changes are relatively minor and the dev says full wipe not needed. you won't lose any data and it saves having to set everything up again. i've personally never had a problem when flashing an upgrade straight over the top. I always do a nandroid backup beforehand though just in case :good:
and yeh..find a rom you like, not what someone else says is best for them...

If you're flashing 'like-for-like', ie, flashing a ROM upgrade, you can generally 'dirty flash' it over the top - UNLESS THE DEVELOPER STATES OTHERWISE.
The developer of the ROM I use always states 'no wipes needed' when he releases a new version...
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If you're changing ROMs completely, then a factory reset is necessary, otherwise you're likely to have all manner of problems...
So backup your apps using Titanium beforehand...
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You can optionally format /system... but be careful... make definitely sure you have on internal storage, either...
a) A flashable ROM .zip
...or...
b) a NANDROID backup
...or you'll find you have a tablet with no OS... just a custom recovery and the bootloader... although not irresolvable, such a situation is a pain in the arse to fix!
-----------
Above all... before you do anything - MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP - I cannot emphasise this enough. It takes less than 5 minutes. And it is your lifeline back to a functioning Nexus, should anything go wrong.
Good luck...
Rgrds,
Ged.

Still no way to backup multi user data/apps?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

If anyone Soft-Bricks their Nexus 7

If you did Soft-Brick your new Nexus 7 2013 and you cannot access your Nexus 7 from your computer or a Factory Reset does not help please follow this guide. :crying:
(This is way different than the 0 Internal Storage bug. Go here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2380913 )
Step 1: Download and install Wugs toolkit from here: http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/
Step 2: Let it download the files it needs and choose what device your have EXACTLY what you have.
Step 3: Install the universal drivers by finding the Initial Setup part which is the big bar at the top. Go to the Step 2 tab and install the Universal Drivers and then let that install. It installs ADB so you can access ADB even in recovery if you could not before.
Step 4: Launch the Advanced Utilities in the bottom left and you will need a new ROM. Go here to get one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2411
gApps: http://goo.im/gapps
Step 5: Once you have those two things go to Flash Zips at the top right and tell it that the file is on the computer. Go to add files and add the ROM then GAPPS and enable to the left that it is a ROM but disable the nandroid backup because you really don't need it at the moment. Also have Wipe Dalvik, Cache, and Data on at the bottom.
Step 6: Confirm it and let it flash. Done! It will take about 5 minutes. Go eat or do something while waiting. It might take less but if you want to be on the safe side just let it run until your device powers on. :victory:
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT YOU DO WRONG.
If you have any questions or comments please leave some.:good:

So, use a toolkit to install a ROM. How is this some magical fix?

khaytsus said:
So, use a toolkit to install a ROM. How is this some magical fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never meant for it to be a "magical" fix. It is just a fix for a soft-bricked Nexus which had a rogue ROM and a Factory Reset would not fix nor was ADB working. Maybe someone has this happen and if you have a Backup from lets say Titanium Backup you kind of don't want to Format Data. So if you could just appreciate if I made a tutorial for the less fortunate in Android I am sorry. Skip the thread next time please

WeRSpecialPeople said:
Also have Wipe Dalvik, Cache, and Data on at the bottom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You say here to wipe data.
WeRSpecialPeople said:
Maybe someone has this happen and if you have a Backup from lets say Titanium Backup you kind of don't want to Format Data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And here not to format data. Though wipe and format are not the same, the end result to the user is still that the data is gone. So I'm not sure whether you mean for the data gone or not.
WeRSpecialPeople said:
If you have any questions or comments please leave some.:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Usually, the better option is to find the most similar ROM to the one that the data partition was populated with, so there will be a smaller likelihood of problems. For example, an older working nightly of the same ROM. Dirty flashing a random ROM is less likely to be problem-free.
2. Out of curiosity, why a toolkit, especially when flashing a ROM zip from recovery (not even ADB or fastboot) would work just as well?

bananagranola said:
You say here to wipe data.
And here not to format data. Though wipe and format are not the same, the end result to the user is still that the data is gone. So I'm not sure whether you mean for the data gone or not.
1. Usually, the better option is to find the most similar ROM to the one that the data partition was populated with, so there will be a smaller likelihood of problems. For example, an older working nightly of the same ROM. Dirty flashing a random ROM is less likely to be problem-free.
2. Out of curiosity, why a toolkit, especially when flashing a ROM zip from recovery (not even ADB or fastboot) would work just as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright Formatting Data wipes the whole device usually. Wiping the data gets rid of the users apps. Lets say you have a backup in storage/emulated/legacy. It will still be there after you wipe the data.
1. Yes but that is the users choice. I couldn't find a definite stock ROM to the device so I will just let them pick.
2. If you want me too I could make a tutorial using ADB if you really want me too. This was just a 5 minute tutorial on a toolkit and I understand that most people here do not like toolkits but it is a really easy way. Just tell me if you do want me to add ADB tutorial as well and I will. :silly:

WeRSpecialPeople said:
Alright Formatting Data wipes the whole device usually. Wiping the data gets rid of the users apps. Lets say you have a backup in storage/emulated/legacy. It will still be there after you wipe the data.
...
Just tell me if you do want me to add ADB tutorial as well and I will. :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think formatting data wipes the whole device...just the data partition. Same as wiping data. The kernel and ROM in the boot and system partitions respectively stay. Wiping data wipes all user data as well, not just apps. In either case, I don't think sdcard gets wiped.
Since I won't be using it, I personally don't mind what you do with the toolkit, but users need to be aware that it's not the most problem-free method.

bananagranola said:
I don't think formatting data wipes the whole device...just the data partition. Same as wiping data. The kernel and ROM in the boot and system partitions respectively stay. Wiping data wipes all user data as well, not just apps. In either case, I don't think sdcard gets wiped.
Since I won't be using it, I personally don't mind what you do with the toolkit, but users need to be aware that it's not the most problem-free method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sdcard is on /data so if you wipe data (including factory reset) the sdcard is 'formatted'.

khaytsus said:
Sdcard is on /data so if you wipe data (including factory reset) the sdcard is 'formatted'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it now...how odd. Has it always worked like that on every device? On my Galaxy Nexus, TWRP specifically ignores the sdcard mount point.
EDIT: okay, I think I understand the confusion. I meant that wiping data/factory resetting from recovery doesn't wipe sdcard. I know that doing so from Android does.

[Q] Different backups, superusers, and flashing kernels

Hi all,
I have learned a lot about Android customization in the last week since my Nexus 4 finally arrived at my door, and I have become reasonably comfortable with the processes of flashing ROMs/kernels, and backing up my phone to make sure I have something stable to return to if something happens to go wrong. However, I am still dealing with a few points of confusion that I was hoping someone could clarify for me:
1. I have CWM installed on my phone and I can use it to backup/restore images of my phone for safety. However, I have heard about other methods like Nandroid, Carbon/Helium, and Titanium Backup while browsing the forums, and have tried them only to become confused as to how they are different from using CWM backup. Could someone please explain this to me and clarify which is the best for keeping a backup of my phone stored on my computer?
2. I have noticed that when I "wipe date/factory reset" in CWM, not everything on my phone is wiped. There are still plenty of files left over from previous ROM installs when I browse my phone with Android File Transfer, and obviously the .zip files you need to flash new ROM's/kernels are left too. What exactly is deleted when do a CWM factory reset?
3. Is it necessary to wipe everything when installing a custom kernel? I have CyanogenMod 10.2 installed because it is quick and relatively bloat-free, but allows for enough customization that I can make the my phone feel the way I want it to. I want to give Matr1x/Hells-core a try, but I am tired of factory reseting everything when install a new kernel. Can I get away with just wiping Cache/Dalvik and flashing the new kernels? If not, what is the best way to avoid losing app data between ROM and kernel flashes?
4. What is the difference between the default Android superuser, CWM superuser, and SuperSU? They all seem like the same thing and it makes me nervous installing different ones.
Any information you guys can offer would be great. Thank you so much for your time !

Downloaded7 said:
Hi all,
I have learned a lot about Android customization in the last week since my Nexus 4 finally arrived at my door, and I have become reasonably comfortable with the processes of flashing ROMs/kernels, and backing up my phone to make sure I have something stable to return to if something happens to go wrong. However, I am still dealing with a few points of confusion that I was hoping someone could clarify for me:
1. I have CWM installed on my phone and I can use it to backup/restore images of my phone for safety. However, I have heard about other methods like Nandroid, Carbon/Helium, and Titanium Backup while browsing the forums, and have tried them only to become confused as to how they are different from using CWM backup. Could someone please explain this to me and clarify which is the best for keeping a backup of my phone stored on my computer?
A backup in CWM is the same as a nandroid backup. It basically take a "snapshot" of your ROM and restore it exactly as it was when backing up.
Titanium Backup is an app that backup your apps and app's data. It's recommend you only restore user's apps and data. Let Google restore any system app's data.
2. I have noticed that when I "wipe date/factory reset" in CWM, not everything on my phone is wiped. There are still plenty of files left over from previous ROM installs when I browse my phone with Android File Transfer, and obviously the .zip files you need to flash new ROM's/kernels are left too. What exactly is deleted when do a CWM factory reset?
Wiping data/factory reset only wipe the data. Wiping system will wipe your ROM (system partition) Of course you don't want to wipe all the files such as the ROM you're going to flash.
There's an option to format internal sd, that will wipe EVERYTHING so unless you know how to ADB push files or sideload a ROM, DO NOT touch that.
3. Is it necessary to wipe everything when installing a custom kernel? I have CyanogenMod 10.2 installed because it is quick and relatively bloat-free, but allows for enough customization that I can make the my phone feel the way I want it to. I want to give Matr1x/Hells-core a try, but I am tired of factory reseting everything when install a new kernel. Can I get away with just wiping Cache/Dalvik and flashing the new kernels? If not, what is the best way to avoid losing app data between ROM and kernel flashes?
No, just flash kernel. Some recommend wipe cache and dalvik cache after kernel flash before reboot.
4. What is the difference between the default Android superuser, CWM superuser, and SuperSU? They all seem like the same thing and it makes me nervous installing different ones.
Different app that does the same thing. Usually go with what is recommend by the ROM's dev. I ususally just leave what's included with the ROM.
Any information you guys can offer would be great. Thank you so much for your time !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope that answer some of your questions. I'm sure I left out some stuffs so hopefully someone else can add to it.:good: