Database Users

[Q] Correct procedures for doing a Restore via CWM

Do I need to do a full factory reset if I bootloop before trying to do CWM restore. I have been unsuccessful in making the restore stick. I have bootlooped a couple of times and the CWM restore would not successfully boot, it too kept bootlooping. SO I was wondering what the HECK am I doing wrong . I need to understand this before diving into the phone too much. Also having problems getting adb to install from the android sdk, but that is probably just not enough time spent looking at proper install instructions. That's what I get when I only have about 30 minutes a day to actually plug into the laptop and work on these things.
I found what I was looking for. Needed to be on working rom then restore works. Got it.

Never mind... You got it.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda app-developers app

Or so I thought. Do I need to wipe personal data? Basically do the factory restore/reset? If yes then is that done through CWM or through settings menu? In my head I think doing it through CWM is the more appropriate place, then Get to working ROM then do a restore? Final question for this post, do I need to reflash the mods on their own or is that part of the restore.
I have not needed to officially complete a restore as I do not have much that is not already on sd card that I need to keep. But it is important to know how to do a restore in the event it is needed. It does get annoying when I bootloop and can't restore to my previously working settings, especially if it was a setup that I was particularly fond of.
How about this for steps?:
Wipe data
Flash EG04 Deo.zip
Wipe Dalvik
Reboot
Recovery mode
CWM Restore
Reboot

Okay, in trying to follow you on this. If you made a backup with CWM recovery when your phone was working, you should be able to flash it at any time. So let's say for some reason your phone starts bootlooping, you should:
Boot into recovery
Wipe cache partition
Wipe dalvik cashe
Flash your backup
IF your backup had any mods you WILL need to flash them after you flash the backup. If you don't the phone probably will bootloop..
Cross fingers
Reboot phone
Your back up should have been made with a working rom, so you shouldn't need to flash one before you flash the backup.
Someone else please jump in if I missed something!!
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda app-developers app

roaddog665 said:
Okay, in trying to follow you on this. If you made a backup with CWM recovery when your phone was working, you should be able to flash it at any time. So let's say for some reason your phone starts bootlooping, you should:
Boot into recovery
Wipe cache partition
Wipe dalvik cashe
Flash your backup
IF your backup had any mods you WILL need to flash them after you flash the backup. If you don't the phone probably will bootloop..
Cross fingers
Reboot phone
Your back up should have been made with a working rom, so you shouldn't need to flash one before you flash the backup.
Someone else please jump in if I missed something!!
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And here is even more fun. I was booting up into recovery every time for awhile because it didn't like something I flashed. So I erased all my data and had to reflash eg04 deo twice before it took. Right now rebuilding the phone. Everything seems to be working correctly now. I didn't even try the restore because it didn't work.
Back to the using restore issue. What I'm hearing is that I can flash restore at anytime, and maybe have to flash the mods (is 1-3 TB101 everything mod) if it doesn't boot properly. I use EG04 deo topped with TB 101 mod and ciscogee's i400 SuperSU zip.

jaycush said:
Back to the using restore issue. What I'm hearing is that I can flash restore at anytime, and maybe have to flash the mods (is 1-3 TB101 everything mod) if it doesn't boot properly. I use EG04 deo topped with TB 101 mod and ciscogee's i400 SuperSU zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be correct. I use TB's mods also, and anytime I restore a backup I have to flash the mod too. Not sure why, because the backup "should" have the mod in it also, but that's the way it is.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda app-developers app

Today I successfully comlpeted my first restore. I flashed the restore and immediately went and flashed the TB mod and it worked. Very cool, and thanks a lot for the help.

jaycush said:
Today I successfully comlpeted my first restore. I flashed the restore and immediately went and flashed the TB mod and it worked. Very cool, and thanks a lot for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome... Glad you got it working!
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda app-developers app

swiftkey problem

i am on on stock mk2 and every time i make a back then flash a another ROM. Then restore that back up swiftkey says
swiftkey cannot download language pack. and the only way to fix it is to re flash the ROM is there any fix for this.

I would un install SwiftKey, then return install it... I think you can backup your custom dictionary, the rest should go quickly
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

I had this problem after I switched from stock rooted mk2 to Carbon Rom for a day then restored my backup of stock mk2..I ended up going into philz recovery and manually wiping everything and then restoring my backup again... fixed the problem and the phone is running a lot smother... Try it out and see it if works for you
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

tnadawg89 said:
I had this problem after I switched from stock rooted mk2 to Carbon Rom for a day then restored my backup of stock mk2..I ended up going into philz recovery and manually wiping everything and then restoring my backup again... fixed the problem and the phone is running a lot smother... Try it out and see it if works for you
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
so i would go to clean to install a new rom then restore the backup?

You need to go into advanced in philz, wipe everything that has sdcard behind it... Just don't wipe sdcard1 because that is your external card... After you do that go into backup and restore and restore your backup... If you need more help just let me know, I'm just going off of memory but I can go into the recovery and tell you exactly what to wipe if you need me to... Just let me know
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

tnadawg89 said:
You need to go into advanced in philz, wipe everything that has sdcard behind it... Just don't wipe sdcard1 because that is your external card... After you do that go into backup and restore and restore your backup... If you need more help just let me know, I'm just going off of memory but I can go into the recovery and tell you exactly what to wipe if you need me to... Just let me know
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
i cant find it can you see what exactly what you do.

I rebooted into philz... Go to Mounts and Storage (I thought it was advanced, sorry) and format /system, /cache, and the other 2.. Don't format anything with sdcard1 behind it... After you do that go back to the main menu in philz and select backup and restore and restore your backup... Hopefully that helps more
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

tnadawg89 said:
I rebooted into philz... Go to Mounts and Storage (I thought it was advanced, sorry) and format /system, /cache, and the other 2.. Don't format anything with sdcard1 behind it... After you do that go back to the main menu in philz and select backup and restore and restore your backup... Hopefully that helps more
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
thanks i will try

No problem, glad to help... If you have any other problems feel free to ask and I'll help ya as much as I can
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

danzelcool said:
thanks i will try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did it work for you?
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[Q] Backing up before flashing rom?

Hi, I want to flash WanamLite ROM to my new Galaxy S4, but last time I flashed WanamLite without backing up I ended up with a generic IMEI, so I need a way to back up my phone and IMEI and all the other important stuff, I can't afford Titanium Backup PRO right now, any other way to backup my phone so I can restore it in case anything goes wrong?

Once you flash a custom recovery like twrp or cwm you can backup your efs folder, you should keep that folder somewhere safe. After that you should make a nandroid backup and also keep this safe incase you want to go back to your stock rom
What I also like to have is my stock firmware on my pc so if anything goes wrong I can flash the stock fw
Edit: you can also backup efs manually but I am not informed about these techniques so I cannot tell you
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app

Stefan0vic said:
Once you flash a custom recovery like twrp or cwm you can backup your efs folder, you should keep that folder somewhere safe. After that you should make a nandroid backup and also keep this safe incase you want to go back to your stock rom
What I also like to have is my stock firmware on my pc so if anything goes wrong I can flash the stock fw
Edit: you can also backup efs manually but I am not informed about these techniques so I cannot tell you
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
I'm already rooted, can I back up the efs before I flash the rom?

galaxynoob1 said:
I'm already rooted, can I back up the efs before I flash the rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are various efs backups on play such as this although I haven't used them to restore them personally

If you're already rooted then you can also just flash a recovery with sgs4 flasher from the play store. Really nice for keeping updated. Backup efs With the custom recovery, or as the person above me stated, use an app for it
Sent from my GT-I9505 using XDA Free mobile app

Wipe phone? How do I do it without loosing root?

Hi there, my phone has been acting wonky the past week or so. I'd like to just factory reset (under settings or safestrap) not sure which one is better.
I am rooted running stock with some apps frozen.
What's the best way to reset without loosing root and safestrap?
Thanks!!
do I have to unfreeze everything first?
I tried searching (as I know search is my friend but I was getting contradictory information.
Thanks for your help!

You will not lose root from a factory data reset. All an FDR does is wipe caches, davlik, and system cache. It does not replace files or software, like it would if someone were to odin a firmware tar.

warpedmind0u812 said:
You will not lose root from a factory data reset. All an FDR does is wipe caches, davlik, and system cache. It does not replace files or software, like it would if someone were to odin a firmware tar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for getting back to me! So can I just reset? Or should unfreeze my apps first?
So it would just have the stock apps that come with the phone on it after a reset?
Thanks!
It's been so long since I've had to do this lol

warpedmind0u812 said:
You will not lose root from a factory data reset. All an FDR does is wipe caches, davlik, and system cache. It does not replace files or software, like it would if someone were to odin a firmware tar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are totally wrong lol. a fdr does wipe the system so he would need to have a rom.zip stored on his internal storage/ext sdcard... if he uses SS to do a factory reset he will not boot until he flashes a rom.
now if he does an advanced wipe and selects only the caches thats a different story
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app

elliwigy said:
you are totally wrong lol. a fdr does wipe the system so he would need to have a rom.zip stored on his internal storage/ext sdcard... if he uses SS to do a factory reset he will not boot until he flashes a rom.
now if he does an advanced wipe and selects only the caches thats a different story
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
yikes! So I won't use SS to wipe. If I just factory reset under settings....should I unfreeze all my apps first? When I boot up again the phone will have all the stock apps, and nothing more correct?
Thanks guys!

putney1477 said:
yikes! So I won't use SS to wipe. If I just factory reset under settings....should I unfreeze all my apps first? When I boot up again the phone will have all the stock apps, and nothing more correct?
Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worst that will happen u will have to odin a stock tar and reroot.. i would back up all your pictures n everything onto a ext sdcard or pc.. essentially, a fdr from settings or the stock android recovery will make it like new again if you havent flashed a custom rom but i never use it.. i would always just odin a stock tar or use ss fdr and flash a stock rooted rom.zip through ss
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app

elliwigy said:
worst that will happen u will have to odin a stock tar and reroot.. i would back up all your pictures n everything onto a ext sdcard or pc.. essentially, a fdr from settings or the stock android recovery will make it like new again if you havent flashed a custom rom but i never use it.. i would always just odin a stock tar or use ss fdr and flash a stock rooted rom.zip through ss
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Oh boy lol....
Ok so if I odin back to nha, take Ota to ni2, odin stock ncg kernel, root with towelroot, odin stich ni2, reboot. I should be fresh out of the box right?
Then I can download ss and install.
Holy crap that's a lot of steps.
Thanks!
Heather

putney1477 said:
Oh boy lol....
Ok so if I odin back to nha, take Ota to ni2, odin stock ncg kernel, root with towelroot, odin stich ni2, reboot. I should be fresh out of the box right?
Then I can download ss and install.
Holy crap that's a lot of steps.
Thanks!
Heather
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup.. if u have to.. like i said, if ur already rooted with ss installed you might as well wipe in ss and just flash a stock rooted ni2 rom
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app

putney1477 said:
yikes! So I won't use SS to wipe. If I just factory reset under settings....should I unfreeze all my apps first? When I boot up again the phone will have all the stock apps, and nothing more correct?
Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
elliwigy said:
you are totally wrong lol. a fdr does wipe the system so he would need to have a rom.zip stored on his internal storage/ext sdcard... if he uses SS to do a factory reset he will not boot until he flashes a rom.
now if he does an advanced wipe and selects only the caches thats a different story
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Just to clear this up a factory data reset from the settings menu and safestrap do the same thing. It resets the settings, removes any user installed apps as it wipes data folder where your user installed apps are stored. It will be the same ROM you flashed minus any user apps, root and safestrap will remain. If you enter safestrap and do a advanced wipe with system checked and try to boot without flashing a ROM you will have to Odin back to stock to boot back up because the system will be gone. Lastly if you enter the stock recovery and reset from there it will do the same thing as SS and the settings menu. The only way to return to stock is Odin. Hope this clears up any confusion.

Misterxtc said:
Just to clear this up a factory data reset from the settings menu and safestrap do the same thing. It resets the settings, removes any user installed apps and wipes data. It will be the same ROM you flashed minus any user apps, root and safestrap will remain. If you enter safestrap and do a advanced wipe with system checked and try to boot without flashing a ROM you will have to Odin back to stock to boot back up because the system will be gone. Lastly if you enter the stock recovery and reset from there it will do the same thing as SS and the settings menu. The only way to return to stock is Odin. Hope this clears up any confusion.
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Click to collapse
what he said lol. i was just going off my past experience.. wiping via stock recovery caused me to have to odin back to stock.. it bootlooped and i didnt have ss recovery any longer.. ss default fdr has system wipe on as default so if you use tge default wipe you need to have another rom available to flash in ss or you will need to odin. Or of course do advanced wipe and unselect the wipe system portion.
theoretically, stock fdr should only wipe as misterxtc stated.. i suggest back up your stuff and try it and let us know how it goes lol
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app

elliwigy said:
what he said lol. i was just going off my past experience.. wiping via stock recovery caused me to have to odin back to stock.. it bootlooped and i didnt have ss recovery any longer.. ss default fdr has system wipe on as default so if you use tge default wipe you need to have another rom available to flash in ss or you will need to odin. Or of course do advanced wipe and unselect the wipe system portion.
theoretically, stock fdr should only wipe as misterxtc stated.. i suggest back up your stuff and try it and let us know how it goes lol
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Okay so I did exactly what you said. I wiped the phone from inside settings. When I booted it back up it was back to stock, because I'm not running a ROM. I did notice that when I signed into Google some of my apps started automatically redownloading. Actually almost all of them did. I am still rooted, & I do still have safestrap on my phone.
My question at this point is, I no longer have the safestrap app or the towel root app in my app drawer, but should I redownload them just so that they are in my app drawer? Will that affect the phone at all?
Thanks again

putney1477 said:
Okay so I did exactly what you said. I wiped the phone from inside settings. When I booted it back up it was back to stock, because I'm not running a ROM. I did notice that when I signed into Google some of my apps started automatically redownloading. Actually almost all of them did. I am still rooted, & I do still have safestrap on my phone.
My question at this point is, I no longer have the safestrap app or the towel root app in my app drawer, but should I redownload them just so that they are in my app drawer? Will that affect the phone at all?
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you don't need them anymore. SS is where it needs to be regardless if it's in your app drawer or not. As long as you see it on boot up your good. Towelroot can be uninstalled after the root process is done, it's a one shot deal unless you Odin back to stock.

Misterxtc said:
No you don't need them anymore. SS is where it needs to be regardless if it's in your app drawer or not. As long as you see it on boot up your good. Towelroot can be uninstalled after the root process is done, it's a one shot deal unless you Odin back to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thanks again.
It's funny, I have been rooting and flashing roms for 5 years and I feel like I still have so much to learn.

putney1477 said:
Awesome! Thanks again.
It's funny, I have been rooting and flashing roms for 5 years and I feel like I still have so much to learn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem, I started about one year ago. I learned very early that a good backup and Odin are your best friends. lol It's pretty hard to mess up the phone beyond Odin or a backup, I've done some pretty risky things.

putney1477 said:
Awesome! Thanks again.
It's funny, I have been rooting and flashing roms for 5 years and I feel like I still have so much to learn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive been on xda since the first galaxy phone made.
i also work for a cellular company..
i have never done a factory reset on my phone (obviously haha) i always use backups or just fresh installs
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app

[Urgent] Unstable after flashing ROM update, nandroid restore doesn't fix it

I was on CM12 nightly, and it was working fine. I decided to flash the latest update, but before I did I performed a nandroid backup. Right after rebooting after flashing, I kept getting errors about Timely has stopped working, or Google Play Services has stopped working. In short, the phone was unusable.
So I restored my nandroid backup, and the first thing I got was that Nova Launcher has stopped working. I couldn't get it to launch into my home screen. I went with Trebuchet, and opened WhatsApp, and it says that the messages have been corrupted.
What is happening?
It's urgent because I'm flying off soon.

Did u change the kernel of your phone? Did u wipe dalvik cache and cache after installation?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

kurpen said:
Did u change the kernel of your phone? Did u wipe dalvik cache and cache after installation?
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I think it's related to this: when restoring the nandroid backup, it never gets to completion. Instead, somewhere around 2/3 through, it shuts off and reboots into recovery. So the restore isn't complete.
I'm thinking of switching my custom recovery to TWRP. I'm currently on CWM-based Recovery v6.0.4.7 Compiled by Xiaolu. Do I just download the new recovery in .zip and flash it as per normal?

It might just show it's 2/3 but in fact finish it anyways however I am not sure about this ;/ try to wipe everything (dalvik, cache, data) and then restore your backup. If that doesn't help do the wipes again and this time wipe system partition as well.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

kurpen said:
It might just show it's 2/3 but in fact finish it anyways however I am not sure about this ;/ try to wipe everything (dalvik, cache, data) and then restore your backup. If that doesn't help do the wipes again and this time wipe system partition as well.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I think the backup is faulty. I tried using PhilZ recovery to restore, and the /data and /system restores were incomplete (I know because it says Done: 600/700MB). Now it's unbootable. I'm gonna try using Chenglu to restore, then get it partially working, then use TiBa to backup all my apps before clean-flashing the latest ROM.

Let me know what the outcome is
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

kurpen said:
Let me know what the outcome is
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Ended up reflashing Chenglu's recovery to restore the nandroid backup, went in to backup everything with Titanium Backup, then flashed the latest ROM (wiped everything) and set up everything from scratch
Have moved on to Philz recovery now.

fterh said:
Ended up reflashing Chenglu's recovery to restore the nandroid backup, went in to backup everything with Titanium Backup, then flashed the latest ROM (wiped everything) and set up everything from scratch
Have moved on to Philz recovery now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, but u got it working I hope you're not gonna need to do it again
Cheers
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