I was reading FadedLite's Guide to root the Nexus 7, and one of the commentors posted that you should create a nandroid backup and bootable image after installing CWM but before adding SU. I'm not entirely sure what the purposes of these backups would be, but anyone can download the factory image from google here. So is a nandroid backup really necessary?
This is my first post on xda (although I've been here since March and have rooted 2 devices already) so I'm really hoping I posted this correctly.
I would say, and a lot of XDA users will tell ALWAYS make a backup. Although there might be factory image at Google backing up your own system is a very good idea.
Well, it's not necessary but it's always that just in case notion. I mean what about that slim chance that your USB port was not working and it suddenly stopped working properly?
I make nandroid backups only when I'm testing new ROMs and PLAN to go back to my original. I made a nandroid backup of my Galaxy S III stock ROM and then tried out jelly bean, once I was sick of it I switched back to the stock ROM because it worked obviously
I was just thinking that a backup stored locally would take up a lot of the tablet's very limited space. As long as you can boot into recovery, couldn't I just store it on another device and move the file over while in recovery? While there is a chance of usb malfunction, it is a slim chance... then again I have already perma-bricked one of my devices already, but that was an issue trying to install cwm so I couldn't have made a backup anyways.
Well, if your USB port goes, wifi or Bluetooth transfer would allow you to transfer your backup over. Unless you also don't have a bootable rom at the same time.
Nandroids are huge but it might be a good idea to have a working flashable build on internal memory at all times so you can boot up and transfer stuff.
Koush is developing a new CWR that creates TINY backups, I have no clue how he does it but he does.
unless you are running pure stock from google or a full final rom like cyanogen final, you should always have a backup.
You can download the image, but you lose ALL of your data. A nandroid backup keeps your apps and data.
A nandroid backup of ICS/JB is around 1.5-2GB in size. and yes that is a huge file size. And yes you can remove it from the device and put it back on. i STRONGLY recommend copying the entire directory and then erasing the individual files from your device so you don't forget where they're suppose to go.
If you are planning on doing custom roms or any root activity a nandroid is basically required.
Going to update to a new release? nandroid.
going to install a new theme, boot animation, metamorph? nandroid.
Are the chances small that something will go wrong? yes. But if it does, do you really want to have to redo EVERYTHING on your device?
I do a backup once a week on my galaxy nexus through clockwork mod that way i don't ever have to worry about something going wrong. restore the backup and at the most i'm back to where i was 7 days before.
Also, with USB-OTG you can connect the nexus 7 to a portable hard drive and store your backups there.
Not all flashable zips wipe the device. I actually find it very annoying when devs add wiping to their zips. I flash without wiping a lot and rarely have problems.
Related
So, I just rooted my Mytouch 4G a few days ago using the 'Ultimate' guide on this forum. I had root access and I disabled and deleted some stock apps from my phone. I was using LauncherPro instead of the HTC Sense launcher. I made a backup in Clockworkmod recovery immediately after installing Clockworkmod, before I'd made any major changes.
So, I spent the past few days removing and tweaking things. I had my phone working extremely well. But then I realized that I actually wanted an .apk file (the stock visual voicemail app) that I'd already deleted from the phone. It should be in my original backup file, right? So I figured that I'd make a new backup, restore my old backup containing the .apk file, copy the .apk file off of the phone, then restore my recent backup. Well...this didn't work.
When I restored either the original backup or the more recent backup, the phone would boot up and I'd get a message that the System UIDs are inconsistent. The phone would let me make phone calls, but 95% of my apps were missing from the loader. Most of the icons on my home screens were grayed out and would tell me the applications were missing when I tried to click on them.
I tried Fix Permissions in Clockworkmod recovery, but it didn't help. My Android Market app and all of my file manager apps didn't work, so I couldn't reinstall any apps. When I'd wipe all the data on my phone, but only restore the System backup, the Android Market would work and the phone basically returns to stock. But as soon as I restore my Data backup, everything breaks.
At this point, I've already wiped the phone and started over from scratch, but I'm afraid to rely on Clockworkmod/Rom Manager for backups again. Any ideas what went wrong?
did you flash a different kernel? this may be the issue, as I know that for other devices CWM does not restore the kernel.
this happens when your backups/card gets corrupted... it could of been a number of things... changing the name of something to how much you scan the card... hard to say exactly what caused it... If your really worried about it I would suggest making a backup of your backup on your computer just to be safe...
Hmm. Mine does.
mr.tenuki said:
did you flash a different kernel? this may be the issue, as I know that for other devices CWM does not restore the kernel.
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Sent from my stickie key HTC Glacier using XDA App
I did make a backup of my backup, but it's not like these backups sat on the memory card for months before they got used. I ran the restore within minutes of when I made the last backup. Besides, aren't the backups hashed with md5 and then retested before restoring? So, if the files did get corrupted, I would think Clockworkmod would have notified me, no?
I just wish that after making a backup, there was some way to test it out without taking the chance of trashing my phone.
Regarding using a different kernel, I did not. I did not flash any experimental/downloaded images, these were simple backups and restores of my existing phone data.
mr.tenuki said:
did you flash a different kernel? this may be the issue, as I know that for other devices CWM does not restore the kernel.
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This is for phones that dont support Nand like the vibrant. HTC phones is a full backup including kernel.
sundayhustler said:
I did make a backup of my backup, but it's not like these backups sat on the memory card for months before they got used. I ran the restore within minutes of when I made the last backup. Besides, aren't the backups hashed with md5 and then retested before restoring? So, if the files did get corrupted, I would think Clockworkmod would have notified me, no?
I just wish that after making a backup, there was some way to test it out without taking the chance of trashing my phone.
Regarding using a different kernel, I did not. I did not flash any experimental/downloaded images, these were simple backups and restores of my existing phone data.
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Your right, CWM does do a md5 check when restoring. I'm sorry, I don't know what could be wrong. I currently have like 5 backups of 4 ROMS and have to restored to just to play around. Did you do apps2sd? This can cause major issues when switching ROM's.
I am also having a problem restoring to my stock rom. how big does my backup file have to be?
I have had this problem before. I think in my case my issue was caused by and incompatible version of CWM. I found that to be safe, I usually make two back ups, one with recovery in 2.5.12 and one with 3.0.0.6.
It was the file. It was only 60mb, apparently I ran out of memory thanks though my other backups work fine and I found the stock rom on a thread.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
oh haha i was about to post.
Hey all,
I was trying to get OTA2 installed while retaining my root and long story short I ended up formatting my /system in CWM thinking it would rebuild the factory image. Now of coarse my system won't boot. For some reason I am also unable to mount /sdcard. Is there anyway I could restore my system?
Thanks for any help!
restore \system of your CWM backup
I don't have a CWM backup . I know, a real bonehead move. If anyone could help me out with a clean CWM backup I'd be willing to compensate.
Edit: BTW I have a 16gb US version of the TPT.
Is it even possible to flash someone else's CWM backup?
Could I use the full image that Lenovo took down, found here?
I don't suppose there's an nvflash image for this device...
While I'm not sure, it might be possible to use that full image. Certainly worth a try. You might try asking on that forum, if you haven't already.
Yes, It is possible to restore from someone else's backup. I, in the past have copied my backups to my pc when they were too much and If i needed them, I just copied them back to external_sd/clockworkmod/backup/ and voila, it would appear for restoration in CWM.
I may be wrong, I do not believe that region should have any effect but to be safe (since you already made one mistake ) restore your US version with a US backup. I have a UK version and I would have uploaded a backup for you if you couldn't find a US one but unfortunately, my tablet is at the lenovo repair centre, being treated for the dreaded micro usb port failure. Hope someone here can help with a backup.
Thanks for the advice!
I downloaded that full image, but I could not get it to flash in the traditional sense. I extracted it and copied the system directory to my system partition and the tablet actually boots now. However, wifi does not work, whenever I press any of the menu keys a red frame flashes around the screen, and I cannot go to the About section of the settings to try to download updates or anything, it just crashes. I am also unable to update to OTA1 via zip in CWM, it gives me:
Code:
assert failed: file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.buildfingerprint") == "Lenovo/ThinkPadTablet/Indigo:3.1/ThinkPadTablet_A310_02/0024_0065_US:user/releasekeys" || file_getprop("/system/build.prop","ro.build.fingerprint") == "Lenovo/ThinkPadTablet/Indigo:3.1/ThinkPadTablet_A310_02/0037_0075_US:user/release-keys"
Since you still need a lot of help anyway why don't you try manually installing all of the updates up to OTA 0076. You have to have all the updates before it flashed first. Link here:
http://download.lenovo.com/slates/think/tablet1
The nandroid backup would have to be of a factory restore, correct? Otherwise, all accounts/settings, etc would be within the backup as well.
I wasn't planning on doing a factory restore any time soon, but if the CM9 ICS port releases is soon, I can make one then as I have the same model and region as you.
I'm just really busy at the moment due to school and I rely on my tablet for school!
That would be the only safe way to let someone have a backup.
toenail_flicker, Thanks for the suggestion, I'll start from the top of the list and work my way down.
obscure.detour, being a student also, I completely understand. Luckily I just bought a Livescribe pen to offset my need for my TPT for the moment .
In the mean time, in case anyone else would be willing, you could also take a backup of your current system, do a factory restore, take a backup of the clean rom, and than restore your original image.
Thanks!
LOL You make it sound easy, but for a CWM noob it's a dicey thing. Never restored anything. Perhaps someone with more confidence in CWM than me can pull it off for you.
I know letting someone have a backup that contains personal info my be tricky, but if you've got time (couple of hours) on your hands you can backup your current system, do a factory reset, and since a factory reset only affects data, it wont wipe your root or CWM. you can then make a CWM backup of the newly reset rom, copy it off the sd card and restore your earlier system which you backed up.
This would save the OP having to start installing the OTA updates one by one.
Like I said, my tablet is away for repairs, otherwise I would have helped him. Or, maybe that's a good thing cos its certain that my tablet's main board will be changed, thus its going to be a fresh android installation on it. when I receive it in a couple of days, if you're still in need, I'll try to reroot and install CWM so I can send you a backup.
Much appreciated darkhandsome18! Installing the OTA's failed . It looks like the image I found is actually a test build. Even the earliest patches do not recognize it as a viable base to install on.
Did you ever get someone's backup? If not I can make one for you today. I am on OTA2 though, were you updated before you wiped system?
Here is a CWM backup from my 32GB US TpT.
Extract the file onto your external sd card in the folder /clockworkmod/backup/
Reboot into CWR
Select Restore Backup and select my backup (You can use advanced backup to restore individual parts or just the normal restore to restore everything, which will be factory reset US OTA2 with root)
Hopefully everything will work properly and you will never format your system partition without a nandroid backup again.
I have it on my Dropbox for now but will delete it in a couple of days because it takes up a lot of space. Let me know once you have downloaded it.
If you don't have a Dropbox account then sign up here and we'll both get an extra 250MB of storage space.
jhankinson, thanks! I was not on OTA2, would that be a problem? Also, I'm having issues backing up my current setup, I got ICS running. CWR gives me "Error while backing up boot image". Any ideas?
I'd like to backup my current (semi-working) setup before attempting to restore yours. Thanks again for uploading that!
I finally got it to work by remounting my sdcard in rw using ADB in clockwork recovery. That backup seems to have worked flawlessly jhankinson, I can't thank you enough!
This is great news! I knew I couldn't help you, but so glad GodfatherIP was able to help you. He helped me a great deal, too, recently.
Who is GodfatherIP?
I just noticed that the current clockworkmod for the Nexus 4 generates backups that only include images for boot and recovery.
Is there any way to get a full backup of everything on the device, which can be restored to return the phone to exactly the same state it was in? Having all files in formats that can be restored via fastboot would be ideal (just reflash boot/recovery/system/userdata).
Typically the solution is to dump all of this to the sd card, but since this phone doesn't have an sd card it would probably make sense to just send it over adb to be written to a PC (which is how I believe nandroid used to work when I first started using it on my G1).
If nothing exists I guess I can probably just whip up a script that runs over adb from an insecure recovery.
Why not just use titanium/etc? Well, I do, and that would be my solution for restoring individual apps/etc. However, if I want to mess with an experimental ROM for a few hours I'd rather just do a full image of the whole device and then restore it when I'm done. If I have image files I can restore via fastboot then I know that the phone is restored to the exact state it was in when I started.
I just use TWRP once a month or anytime I make critical changes to my system. (aka NANDROID backup) And also Titanium Backup Pro for individuality of app storage.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Hate to self-reply, but the other reason I don't like Titanium is that it isn't atomic. Time passes between the first and last backup, so the phone might not be restored to a consistent state. It is better than nothing, and it is as good as you can do for an online backup without converting the phone to something like btrfs, but I'd really prefer an atomic backup, which is best done offline unless the OS is designed for it.
chinchillables said:
I just use TWRP once a month or anytime I make critical changes to my system. (aka NANDROID backup) And also Titanium Backup Pro for individuality of app storage.
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Believe it or not I hadn't heard of TWRP. That seems to work better - I'll see if I prefer it to clockworkmod - if nothing else I'll just boot it from fastboot for backups.
I also use Ti Backup Pro for individual apps. I think that there is a place for both.
Hi
As you've prob guessed I'm a noob, hence the help.
Ive just recently rooted and unlocked my nexus 7 with wugfresh 1.6.2 and am now looking at putting a custom rom on it.
Ive followed the advice and put titanium backup on and backed up my apps and system data.
Having read the instructions for installing Smooth Rom 4.4, it states 'Please do not restore a 'system' data backup as it would overwritte some important files'
does this mean I cannot restore my apps from titanium backup as I cant restore system data as they where backed up together or is there some other way for me to do it ?
does titanium backup get wiped as well ?
All Help appreciated, this is my first rom install and I dont wanna **** it up.
Robbie_UK said:
All Help appreciated, this is my first rom install and I dont wanna **** it up.
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The most important thing to do is to make a FULL nandroid backup before you begin.
The 2nd most important thing to do is to get that backup copied someplace else besides the tablet. (PC, USB key, etc) Screw-ups involving accidental erasure of the psuedo- SD card area on the tablet are commonplace with folks that are new to this. It won't do you any good to make a backup if you immediately erase it while fooling around with a custom recovery (or toolkit) that is new to you.
I suggest you learn to make backups using the custom recovery rather than relying on a toolkit.
If you are happy with the tablet in it's current configuration, then a back-up allows you to survive any ****-ups that inevitably follow as you can return back to a known state and proceed again having learned from your mistakes.
FULL NANDROID BACKUPS. COPIED SOMEPLACE SAFE (OFF THE TABLET)
As for TiB, the only thing that is 100% safe is to only restore apps & their data that are NOT pre-installed in whatever ROM you are installing. Note this means not restoring any of the Google gapps as well, as you may have had a different versions of those apps running on your current ROM than on the to-be-installed ROM, whether pre-installed or updated later.
Yeah it's a bit of work restoring apps one by one and re-configuring things. There probably are System apps that can have their data safely restored to the wrong version of the app - but there are absolutely no guarantees that correct operation of the app will follow that.
cheers and good luck
SOLVED!
cheeseypi said:
I have been scouring the internet for over 2 hours, and I can't seem to find anyone who has done something similar to this, so here goes:
I currently have a Nexus 6P with the Pure Nexus Project Rom installed. I would like to switch to CyanogenMod. Normally, this would be no problem, however I am running into some difficulties with backups. Ideally, I would just do a NANDroid backup from TWRP, but I don't have enough space on my device. Right now I am running a full ADB backup to my computer, but in this instance I don't know if I'll be able to restore that backup to a new CyanogenMod installation.
TL;DR: Will an ADB backup restore to a new custom rom i.e. restore to CM from PureNexus? If not, is there a way to do a NANDroid backup directly to my computer?
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Click to collapse
You shouldn't be using TWRP to backup/restore data between different ROMs in the first place. That will not only back up your apps but all settings as well, which will cause problems on a different ROM. The only safe way is to use Titanium Backup to backup your user apps (not system apps) and then restore that backup on the new ROM.
Heisenberg said:
You shouldn't be using TWRP to backup/restore data between different ROMs in the first place. That will not only back up your apps but all settings as well, which will cause problems on a different ROM. The only safe way is to use Titanium Backup to backup your user apps (not system apps) and then restore that backup on the new ROM.
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Well that goes against everything I've seen... Thanks though.
cheeseypi said:
Well that goes against everything I've seen... Thanks though.
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Could you point me to where you've seen someone recommending to restore a nandroid /data backup on a different ROM? It's widely known that this is nothing but trouble, if it's on XDA it probably needs to be taken care of.
cheeseypi said:
I have been scouring the internet for over 2 hours, and I can't seem to find anyone who has done something similar to this, so here goes:
I currently have a Nexus 6P with the Pure Nexus Project Rom installed. I would like to switch to CyanogenMod. Normally, this would be no problem, however I am running into some difficulties with backups. Ideally, I would just do a NANDroid backup from TWRP, but I don't have enough space on my device. Right now I am running a full ADB backup to my computer, but in this instance I don't know if I'll be able to restore that backup to a new CyanogenMod installation.
TL;DR: Will an ADB backup restore to a new custom rom i.e. restore to CM from PureNexus? If not, is there a way to do a NANDroid backup directly to my computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup is the only really viable solution in such a case. When you need to make a snapshot of your whole system in case of failure you use a Nandroid backup, however when you need to transfer data between /system formats then it's best if you use titanium backup.