Database Users

Understanding the root process

Hi all,
I am interested in trying custom roms for various reasons on my G2. With the recent breakthrough in allowing full root, now seems to be a good time to try.
What I don't seem to be grasping is the whole process so, here is what I think* needs to be done, and I'd appreciate a more seasoned person to set me straight
1. Obtain full root via RAGE or oneclick Visionary method
2. Install RomManager
3. Obtain Rom
Here is where I kind of get blurry on the whole topic.
Once I have the files needed, Does RomManager do a nandroid backup so I can revert back in case I want to revert back to stock? Is this how I would revert back to stock or do I need to find the original pre or post OTA rom for the g2?
Does a program like Titanium Backup allow me to backup all of my apps and settings so they are easily restored no matter the rom, or if I revert back to stock?
Thanks in advance all, I have been reading every subset of these forums but I still feel a bit scared to try and wanted to get the facts straight before trying. I'm mostly just concerned that I wouldnt be able to revert back to stock if I had to.

gjm777 said:
Once I have the files needed, Does RomManager do a nandroid backup so I can revert back in case I want to revert back to stock? Is this how I would revert back to stock or do I need to find the original pre or post OTA rom for the g2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rom manager can perform the backup, wipe, and install of a new ROM all in one go, you just need to tell rom manager where the ROM is on the sdcard and it will ask if you want to backup and/or wipe first
gjm777 said:
Does a program like Titanium Backup allow me to backup all of my apps and settings so they are easily restored no matter the rom, or if I revert back to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i do not know if titanium backup will restore the settings within the apps, but the backed up apps will work on any custom ROM you install on your phone.

Thank you for making that more clear!
So when wiping for a new rom, you want to wipe the cache, and do a full system wipe as well?
Lastly, now that I have the stock g2 rom backed up (did it manually via recovery, not in the rommanager app) I can flash as many roms I want to try them, but really can revert back to stock based on that backup. I guess what I'm saying is, I dont have to revert to stock before trying out a new rom right?
Thanks again, this is a huge help!

With your ROM backed up, that's essentially a "screenshot" of the state of your phone at that time. So yes, you can jump from ROM to ROM, clearing data, and whenever you're ready to go back to stock, you just restore your stock ROM and pretend nothing happened.
And yes, I recommend wiping everything when flashing a new ROM. Although if you're coming from the same type of ROM (I.E HTC Sense to another HTC Sense) you can probably get away with not wiping data.
And with Titanium Backup, I do reckon that settings are kept. When you restore apps, you're given the option to restore the app or app+data.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Perfect,
Thanks for the help all, much appreciated.

[Q] How can I backup oficial Desire Z rom etc.?

I am going to have my new Desire Z in a few days and I want to root it. I have a question, how can I backup all of oficial rom, kernel, radio ets.? Because I am not sure if I will send it to HTC for warranty in a few months or in 2 years. What do I need to do before rooting my device for not to have any warranty problems? Thanks for now...

Deadly Sto(R)m said:
I am going to have my new Desire Z in a few days and I want to root it. I have a question, how can I backup all of oficial rom, kernel, radio ets.? Because I am not sure if I will send it to HTC for warranty in a few months or in 2 years. What do I need to do before rooting my device for not to have any warranty problems? Thanks for now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you're going to have to downgrade in order to get root, which will wipe the device as far as I know.
After you've downgraded and rooted, you can then use ROM manger to make a 'nandroid' backup of the device. It effectively makes a perfect copy of the entire device, and saves it to your SD card. After you flash a new ROM or anything, you can always go back and restore that nandroid backup, putting you exactly where you were when you made the backup.
It should be noted that when you send it into HTC for repair, you'll want to unroot it anyways, which will wipe the device again and return to stock w/ S-ON (you dont want to send it to HTC with your info on it anyways), so keeping the stock rooted ROM isn't completely necessary (although it is a good idea to have around for troubleshooting reasons).

martonikaj said:
Well you're going to have to downgrade in order to get root, which will wipe the device as far as I know.
After you've downgraded and rooted, you can then use ROM manger to make a 'nandroid' backup of the device. It effectively makes a perfect copy of the entire device, and saves it to your SD card. After you flash a new ROM or anything, you can always go back and restore that nandroid backup, putting you exactly where you were when you made the backup.
It should be noted that when you send it into HTC for repair, you'll want to unroot it anyways, which will wipe the device again and return to stock w/ S-ON (you dont want to send it to HTC with your info on it anyways), so keeping the stock rooted ROM isn't completely necessary (although it is a good idea to have around for troubleshooting reasons).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off all thank you for your post...
Second; The things that I understand;
1) I have to downgrade and root my phone
2) I must have a nandroid backup (I will learn what it is and how to do this), so i will have a backup which will help me to restore me device again when i want.)
3) I need to S-ON my device again when sending to HTC.
4) The mst important is saving nandroid backup will save my device
Are these true or will i have to study more?
By the way, I want to try sense 3.0 but i am not sure to have virtuous rom. do you recommend to get it? Which is best; to have a gingerbread rom w/ sense 2.1 or froyo rom w/ sense 3.0? As i know, virtuous rom doesn't have gingerbread now but it might have soon...

Deadly Sto(R)m said:
First off all thank you for your post...
Second; The things that I understand;
1) I have to downgrade and root my phone
2) I must have a nandroid backup (I will learn what it is and how to do this), so i will have a backup which will help me to restore me device again when i want.)
3) I need to S-ON my device again when sending to HTC.
4) The mst important is saving nandroid backup will save my device
Are these true or will i have to study more?
By the way, I want to try sense 3.0 but i am not sure to have virtuous rom. do you recommend to get it? Which is best; to have a gingerbread rom w/ sense 2.1 or froyo rom w/ sense 3.0? As i know, virtuous rom doesn't have gingerbread now but it might have soon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep you got it. After downgrade/rooting (follow Wiki guide), use ROM manager (download in the market) to flash ClockWorkMod Recovery. Then use that to make a backup. It saves the file to your SD card. Copy that file to your computer for safe keeping (good to have it in 2 places if you really wanna make sure you keep it).
To get S-ON later if you need to send in for repair, follow the Wiki to unroot and that'll be done. It should be noted that unrooting the phone will flash it back to completely stock setup, so the stock nandroid backup isn't necessary to keep in order to send back to HTC. The only real reason to keep that rooted stock backup around is for troubleshooting problems, etc. you can always go back to the stock ROM to try things.
As far as running Virtuous for Sense 3.0 or 2.1, that's all personal preference. I advise just trying different ROMs and seeing which you like. Everyone likes something different. Just remember to nandroid the one you're on before switching so you can go back if need be.

[SOLVED!] How can I backup oficial Desire Z rom etc.?
martonikaj said:
To get S-ON later if you need to send in for repair, follow the Wiki to unroot and that'll be done. It should be noted that unrooting the phone will flash it back to completely stock setup, so the stock nandroid backup isn't necessary to keep in order to send back to HTC. The only real reason to keep that rooted stock backup around is for troubleshooting problems, etc. you can always go back to the stock ROM to try things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I quess to have a nandroid backup is necessary to send back to HTC before you told me. Thank you for this. I will try lots of roms and decide which one i want.

I was just going to make a post about the same subject until I saw this. I also too want to back up my G2 stock rom. I'm currently returing my old G2 inplace of a replacement G2. I want to know how I can back up the stock rom without rooting? I downloaded rom manager but need root to continue. My old phone was rooted and had all my backups that way. I wanna try out the new 2.3.4 from OTA when I get the notification to do so, but just incase I don't like it I wanna go back to stock then root. So how can I do a full backup without root or doing a factory data reset? Thanks

Kilroy672 said:
I was just going to make a post about the same subject until I saw this. I also too want to back up my G2 stock rom. I'm currently returing my old G2 inplace of a replacement G2. I want to know how I can back up the stock rom without rooting? I downloaded rom manager but need root to continue. My old phone was rooted and had all my backups that way. I wanna try out the new 2.3.4 from OTA when I get the notification to do so, but just incase I don't like it I wanna go back to stock then root. So how can I do a full backup without root or doing a factory data reset? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way to do a full backup is to root and use ROM manager to make a nandroid backup. Like I said before, backing up the stock ROM is nice for troubleshooting etc. but in order to un-root you'll have to completely wipe the device and will install the stock ROM again.
If you want to try out 2.3 you can use CM7 (which is stock 2.3 w/ some improvements), or wait for the official OTA to be pre-rooted then you can flash it after you've rooted.

Deadly Sto(R)m said:
I quess to have a nandroid backup is necessary to send back to HTC before you told me. Thank you for this. I will try lots of roms and decide which one i want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea sorry for the confusion if I made it sound that way. The action of un-rooting the device will put it back to stock, you don't have to save the stock ROM. The only reason to do so is if you like to have the stock rooted ROM around just in case you want to try something on it.

martonikaj said:
Yea sorry for the confusion if I made it sound that way. The action of un-rooting the device will put it back to stock, you don't have to save the stock ROM. The only reason to do so is if you like to have the stock rooted ROM around just in case you want to try something on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got all you told me. Thank you for all.

Deadly Sto(R)m said:
I got all you told me. Thank you for all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. GL.

Thanks for the info. Finally can get the desire z re-done

[REQ] - Nandroid backup of Android 2.3.6 on NS 3G

Hi all,
It seems I must have deleted the gingerbread nandroid backup I did before moving to ICS a while ago. There is now a need for me to move to GB for a few hours whilst I test something out.
Is anyone able to either:
- Point me in the direction of instructions on how to revert back to GB
or
- upload a STOCK GB nandroid that I can restore via cwm
thanks!

Have you looked in the development section? I'm sure there's stock GB ROMs available to just download and flash. I don't think anyone's gonna give you an actual nandroid as you'd then be logged into their account.

jesusice said:
Have you looked in the development section? I'm sure there's stock GB ROMs available to just download and flash. I don't think anyone's gonna give you an actual nandroid as you'd then be logged into their account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it safe to just flash a lower version ROM.. I was under the impression that it wasnt hence the request..

Just backup whatever you're on right now.
And do a FULL WIPE in CWM.
Then flash a GB ROM.
You can run (mostly) any ROM regardless of what your kernel, radio baseband.
You can't downgrade only when you do official updates like OTA.

adaimespechip said:
Is it safe to just flash a lower version ROM.. I was under the impression that it wasnt hence the request..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Make a backup first and make sure you format /system and /boot along with the factory reset. And of course if you use Titanium don't restore any system data.

jesusice said:
Yes. Make a backup first and make sure you format /system and /boot along with the factory reset. And of course if you use Titanium don't restore any system data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jk0l said:
Just backup whatever you're on right now.
And do a FULL WIPE in CWM.
Then flash a GB ROM.
You can run (mostly) any ROM regardless of what your kernel, radio baseband.
You can't downgrade only when you do official updates like OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers guys, thanks for this!

If I flash CM9 and want to go back to CM7 can I just recover my backup...

...and still have all my apps?

well I am a noob at this but... I flashed Cyanogenmod 7 on my fire and then did a system restore back to stock (I had to reinstall it). most of my stuff was still there. except books. hope this helps

CodenameDeadpool said:
...and still have all my apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can but if you changed anything app related it would not transfer when you restore your backup. You can backup your apps and then restore them in any rom using Titanium Backup.

Thank you fiddlefaddle and thank you airmaxx

[Q] A few random questions about cwm, backup etc

I have successfully rooted my device using the version 2.0.0 of the toolkit. I think I'm going to donate a few euros to get the latest, the author deserves all the money.
A few questions:
What exactly is CWM? What's the difference between a backup made with titanium backup and a backup made with CWM? Is it enough to backup the system settings or do I need to backup even the apps? I mean the list of installed and purchased apps should be always available on the Google play account, at least I hope so...
Should I download the latest version of CWM (the . IMG file) and flash it with the toolkit or should I use the integrated version that seems to be IN the toolkit?
Thanks in advance for the answers.

A CWM backup will backup everything. If you restore it, your device will be exactly the same as it was when the backup was made.
Titanium backup only backs up apps and their data

But with titanium backup do I need to backup all the or only their data?
Is CWM useful even to install other Roms?
Sorry for the confusion: I'm not an expert.

Clock work mod will backup your entire android build as it is. all data, apps, settings, contacts, messages. etc
Titanium will backup apps and their data only
If you bork your software or try another rom then decide you want to go back, a Cwm backup will take you right back to the exact point you made the backup
Titanium is useful to have when changing roms because after loading a new one you can load your previous apps & data into your new rom whereas Cwm would completely overwrite the rom
In essence they are similar but perform completely different tasks
Sent from my Nexus 7
With titanium I usually just backup all user apps with data (meaning anything you have downloaded that is not part of the rom)
You cannot flash a new rom with titanium. that is what Cwm is for
Cwm deals with the roms
Titanium deals with apps

CWM & Backup
nihil39 said:
I have successfully rooted my device using the version 2.0.0 of the toolkit. I think I'm going to donate a few euros to get the latest, the author deserves all the money.
A few questions:
What exactly is CWM? What's the difference between a backup made with titanium backup and a backup made with CWM? Is it enough to backup the system settings or do I need to backup even the apps? I mean the list of installed and purchased apps should be always available on the Google play account, at least I hope so...
Should I download the latest version of CWM (the . IMG file) and flash it with the toolkit or should I use the integrated version that seems to be IN the toolkit?
Thanks in advance for the answers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CWM is a recovery mod used for Flashing new rom while at the same time gives you handy things to do like, do a NANDROID- Creating a image for ur current rom and all its sys settings with apps and there data. U can also Flash other things like a previously created Update.zip for Titanium Backup, which is helpful after u have flashed a new rom and want all ur previous apps and data back.
A small thing a consider sharing, When Flashing a new ROM, Back up only the apps+data thing and not the System. As ur new ROM will have its own System settings (better to adjust it then than bfore). Now, also Create an update.zip, which a mentioned earlier from TitBckp Menu.
Have Fun.

bagofcrap24 said:
Clock work mod will backup your entire android build as it is. all data, apps, settings, contacts, messages. etc
Titanium will backup apps and their data only
If you bork your software or try another rom then decide you want to go back, a Cwm backup will take you right back to the exact point you made the backup
Titanium is useful to have when changing roms because after loading a new one you can load your previous apps & data into your new rom whereas Cwm would completely overwrite the rom
In essence they are similar but perform completely different tasks
Sent from my Nexus 7
With titanium I usually just backup all user apps with data (meaning anything you have downloaded that is not part of the rom)
You cannot flash a new rom with titanium. that is what Cwm is for
Cwm deals with the roms
Titanium deals with apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
I still don't get the point of backing up apps. I mean: their settings (and system settings) ok but why backup something that can be downloaded again from google play store? I guess my account keeps record of my installed and (above all) purchased apps (tapatalk only). Am I wrong?
Other question:
I'm using the stock Jelly Bean 4.1.1 rooted and I don't want to mess with cooked roms whatsoever. I rooted the device in order to get USB on the go support and TiBackup.
Will I get updates from google or I will have to manually flash a rooted version of an updated Rom? I think I will have to install CWM at the end, I guess

etgine sandy
nihil39 said:
Thanks.
I still don't get the point of backing up apps. I mean: their settings (and system settings) ok but why backup something that can be downloaded again from google play store? I guess my account keeps record of my installed and (above all) purchased apps (tapatalk only). Am I wrong?
Other question:
I'm using the stock Jelly Bean 4.1.1 rooted and I don't want to mess with cooked roms whatsoever. I rooted the device in order to get USB on the go support and TiBackup.
Will I get updates from google or I will have to manually flash a rooted version of an updated Rom? I think I will have to install CWM at the end, I guess
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please answer at least the last question...

nihil39 said:
Please answer at least the last question...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit: If google release an update, you dont have to relock it

Jordanooo said:
If google release an update, i think you will have to relock your bootloader to get it officially.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do not have to lock your bootloader to get an update only reason to lock it is if you have to return it
Sent from my BAKED Nexus

spaceman860 said:
You do not have to lock your bootloader to get an update only reason to lock it is if you have to return it
Sent from my BAKED Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, in my condition (rooted stock rom) will I get the official google updates without doing anything?

You will still get the updates but Cwm will not be able to install them.
You would need the stock recovery to apply ota updates
In reference to your previous question regarding titanium. You could re download the apps from play store after a wipe.
Titanium also restores any preferences you had saved. And in the case of games it will also restore your progress & game saves
Sent from my Nexus 7

Thanks, so there's no point in backing up the whole app, we only need its data and settings.
I haven't installed cwm yet. Did you use the toolkit downloadable from another thread in this forum? If yes, does the toolkit automatically download the latest version of cwm?

I'm not sure with the tooolkits
I have never rated them
It's much wiser to learn to do these things manually as it really doesn't take very much learning and it's always valuable to know what to do in case you bork something
Sent from my Nexus 7

Does cwm also backup sripts like link2sd and 2nd fat32 partition?