Database Users

using nandroid to switch between RAV/Cyanogenmod?

I have an SD card with 3 partitions: fat32(7gB)/ext4(488mB)/swap(91mB). not sure what order I created them in, and not sure if that matters.
when I do a nandroid backup, is it also backing up my ext4 partition where my apps2sd apps are kept? I want to be able to use nandroid to swap between many different ROMS, but still have all my settings saved per ROM. And hopefully apps as well, whether it be by the nandroid restore or (and im not even sure if it works this next way im describing) by different ROMS being able to see the apps in apps2sd and use them?
Like I said, Im not sure how apps storage/location actually works. If I install apps on the sd card, and I put an upgraded or even a different custom ROM on, does the system see the apps on the new ROM? Or are we also supposed to wipe ext partitions as well?
Can someone let me know what "wiping" data and/or cache actually does? IS there a basic phone architecture doc I can read to see what data / cache actually is used for?

Wiping refers to the internal memory of the device. Not the SD.
By wiping you remove all settings and software installed on the device itself.
If you boot after a wipe, you will have to re-enter your google account information and wait for the sync to complete.
If you have apps2sd, (most of) your apps will be on the ext partition on your SD card. Those don't get deleted when you wipe. If you have go from 1 apps2sd capable rom to another, your apps will still be there. And the apps that store settings on the SD will have their settings saved too (only one I know of is gem-miner).

try bart
opticalc said:
I want to be able to use nandroid to swap between many different ROMS, but still have all my settings saved per ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend using a more complete back-up and restore tool like BART or Switchrom. Do a search for BART on the Dream Development forum and you'll find everything you need. It's built in to the latest RA recovery images as well and works great.

[Q] Quick way to (re)install multiple apps

Is there a quick way to (re)install all my apps after changing ROMs?
Been using Pongster's awesome NAND HyperDroid build since v5 and have been upgrading along the way by reinstalling the data section from my CWM backup. Recently on v11 I started having a few glitches and upgrading to v12 only made matters much worse. I just want to start a fresh on v12, but is there a way quicker than writing down all my apps then selecting each from the market. Have looked in Android Market on using desktop PC and it only lists 11 apps. Thanks.

SheenaIsAPunkRocker said:
Is there a quick way to (re)install all my apps after changing ROMs?
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Click to collapse
I believe Titanium Backup Pro is the most popular choice, it can restore all your apps and data automatically, plus there's an option to repair missing market links.

That rom uses an ext partition, so as well as restoring the data partition after a fresh flash, if you also restore the sd-ext partition (same method), all your installed apps will be restored, complete with all their settings still in place, since you are restoring data too.

D'oh, and double d'oh. Thanks for the tips. I backed everything up using Titanium backup. Being running HyperDroid without an EXT partition so while I was in the process of installing v12 again, I thought I'd use the handy partition function in ClockworkMod. However, what it fails to mention is in re-partition my SD Card for me it would handily wipe everything Looks like I'm hosed now anyway!

nooOO!, hah, oh well, it happens, and theres no better learning curve than seeing mistakes in action.

I literally had the SD card in my desktop to copy everything on it, but before I did, I put the SD back into the phone to do something else ... never got around to doing that copy. At least phone numbers are backed up on Google (I hope!), but I guess I'll have to start again on Tower Raiders 2, that's the real loss!!

since you are at a fresh start, you COULD try reinstalling all the apps, and THEN restore the data partition, which (unless im wrong) holds settings? ,,though i know some stuff uses folders on the fat32 part of the sd card too, , so may not work, , worth a try if you're in an investigative frame of mind.

Starting over

Using Titanium Backup, I have seen my internal and SD card get fuller and fuller. I'd like to start from the beginning. Here's what I have planned, let me know if this should work.
1. Download the same fresh ROM that I've been using, FR008.
2. Using ADB, remove bloatware and apps that I'm not going to use.
3. Flash the UOT Kitchen zip that I made recently, as well as a font zip.
4. Nandroid backup all of these changes.
5. Wipe Dalvik, wipe cache partition, wipe data/factory reset, wipe battery stats.
6. Copy the contents of the SD card to a safe place (PC or USB)
7. Reformat the SD to remove the EXT3 partition, make it all FAT
8. Copy the Clockworkmod folder back to the SD card (it will be the only file)
9. Restore the Nandroid backup I made in #4.
This should give me a fresh start and then I can reinstall the apps that I want. I assume this process will remove all of the remnants of junk left behind by all the previously uninstalled apps. I know there has got to be some serious junk in the 1 year of messing with this thing.
On a side note...is there a way to have the previous purchases made in the market no longer visible in the "My apps" view? Some of the previously purchased apps no longer have any purpose for me. It would be nice to clean that up.

In reality you should be able to easily "clean up" whatever is taking up the extra space. First, when you uninstall an application, the app data stored on internal memory is automatically erased. Uninstalled apps can leave behind data on the SD card (and many do), but you can just delete this yourself (even stuff inside the Android folder) without going to the extreme of formatting the entire card. As for the internal space getting larger, this is probably the result of your dalvik cache growing and growing. This is completely normal and doesn't make your device slower, but it can mean you'd run out of space. You can clear your dalvik cache from CWM, but ultimately the phone will just recreate it.
But, if you just WANT to start with a clean slate, that's up to you. If you are going to go that route, then I'd advise you to simply wipe everything (dalvik, cache, data, and in addition to what you said, the system partition) before installing the fresh ROM. Making a Nandroid backup is unnecessary for this process (although you might want to make one at the beginning just in case you want to revert). Like I said before, stuff on your SD card can be deleted whenever you want, so you can just delete/format it before or after you do the above.
You should NOT wipe your battery stats unless your phone is giving inaccurate battery readings. Wiping this will just make your phone give you less accurate battery readings for a while.
duckredbeard said:
On a side note...is there a way to have the previous purchases made in the market no longer visible in the "My apps" view? Some of the previously purchased apps no longer have any purpose for me. It would be nice to clean that up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think if you force close and clear the data for the Market app, it will clear that list (and repopulate it only with apps currently installed).

The purpose for writing the sd card is to get rid of the ext partition.
My last Intruder was a Grumman A-6E.

duckredbeard said:
The purpose for writing the sd card is to get rid of the ext partition.
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Click to collapse
It seems to me like your intention is to avoid running out of memory, which is why I'm confused why you want to delete your ext partition. The Aria has such little internal memory that I'd suggest using apps2sd with any custom ROM, but to each his own.
In any case, if you are going to delete it, the easiest thing is probably to delete it before you install anything. If you have a computer with a microSD card reader, then you can do:
1) Turn phone off, remove SD card, and format the card from your computer.
2) Copy all the ROM zip files you want to install to the SD card, and put it back in the phone.
3) Boot straight into Clockworkmod, take a Nandroid backup if you want, then wipe everything and do a clean install.
The reason I'm confused with the list of steps that you gave is that you're taking a nandroid backup, then wiping everything, then doing a restore. The restore just completely undoes the wipe, so what was the purpose of wiping? If your intention is to only restore the system partition, then I don't see why you don't just delete the ext partition before wiping.

Ok...that was a little scary. On the high anxiety side of uneasy. I used my old Aria (ATT didn't want the old one on an insurance claim) to clean out FR008 Liberated ROM. I used adb to remove any and everything I had not used in the last year since I got the phone. Stock widgets, HTC widgets of all sorts, app sharing, setup wizard. Lots of stuff. I then applied my font pack and UOT kitchen mods. Once I was happy with that, I did a nandroid of that and saved it away.
Then I took the sd card and made a copy of it. Using Ubuntu, I removed the EXT3 partition and made it all FAT32. Then I copied over pertinent files such as notifications, wallpapers, and the beloved Tasker folder, which contained a very recent backup. I also created a clockworkmod folder and placed the aforementioned nandroid in that folder (from the old device to the new).
Inserted the SD and rebooted into recovery, restored the backup. Rebooted fine.
The only apps I have installed so far are Titanium backup and Tasker. I'll be monitoring Titanium as I reinstall the apps from the market that I know I want.
The scariest part for me was juggling the SD cards and what nandroid was to be the newly reborn aria. Glad there were no issues with the Tasker restore also. That is alot of work rebuilding profiles and tasks.

[Q] Nandroid backup gives me error for /data everytime

I get an "error backing up /data" every time I try a full CWM backup. I want to do a full backup before I wipe for a new Rom. I know there's an error on one file, but I don't know where it is. Is there another way to backup the files on /data?

GaryLW said:
I get an "error backing up /data" every time I try a full CWM backup. I want to do a full backup before I wipe for a new Rom. I know there's an error on one file, but I don't know where it is. Is there another way to backup the files on /data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you update to the newest recovery from Thor's site?
www.tegraowners.com

Yep!
I have the latest of Thor's, and have done a titanium backup for every thing else. But, I'm paranoid and want a backup before I wipe it completely.

GaryLW said:
I have the latest of Thor's, and have done a titanium backup for every thing else. But, I'm paranoid and want a backup before I wipe it completely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get the error on mine all the time. I just ignore it and haven't had an issue yet. (been too lazy to update my recovery, so wanted to see if it fixed the message)
Just stay with the 3 wipe method before you flash, and you will be ok Also, if you worry about leftover data, you can go to Mounts, and format them as well.
But, I typically do the 3 wipes.
Also, with Titanium, make sure you did not backup any system apps, then try and restore them to a new rom. Sure fire way to brick the device.
Generally it's useful for things like game data. The new market pretty much remembers most of the free apps you downloaded, and all of the paid apps.

I don't think I was quite clear in my original post. I need to backup the /data.img because I have a load of stuff I don't want to lose, and I don't know where everything is stored. Can anyone tell me what is stored (folders, etc.) in the data.img of a nandroid backup so I can maybe just copy it to my ext sd?
(I have a persistent adware/malware that I can't find/remove. My antivirus doesn't detect it. So I want to wipe it, and selectively restore apps without losing my data/media.)

Backup, Unrooting and Restore

So i have a samsung s8 G950F Rooted running android 7.0, But im having lots of troubles, apps crashing etc etc, so i want to factory reset, unroot and then upate to 8.0 and then root again. so my questions are
1. what is the best method of backing up everything ? like apps positions, apps data, photos, videos, and contacts , so basically a full backup?
2. how to properly unroot My device?
3. how to restore my full backup?
any help is appreciated, thank you, i looked around, but all the posts are from 4-5 years ago, so id like to know the most recent and advanced way

Bump

ZainHikary said:
So i have a samsung s8 G950F Rooted running android 7.0, But im having lots of troubles, apps crashing etc etc, so i want to factory reset, unroot and then upate to 8.0 and then root again. so my questions are
1. what is the best method of backing up everything ? like apps positions, apps data, photos, videos, and contacts , so basically a full backup?
2. how to properly unroot My device?
3. how to restore my full backup?
any help is appreciated, thank you, i looked around, but all the posts are from 4-5 years ago, so id like to know the most recent and advanced way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, i am gonna answer your questions one by one
1. by apps positions if you mean the apps on the screens of the android then they are gonna moved after format, even after restore your backup. second you are gonna need titanium backup from playstore. Since you have root download lucky patcher from your browser or from your pc and patch the titanium backup you just downloaded from PlayStore .. and then select backup your apps, i suggest you to backup the on a usb with the adapter from the box of your phone , or on a sd card, be carefull do not wipe them . the contacts you can go to the Contacts apps and on the settings back them up to your Sd Card or to your Usb Otg.. Unless if you have them moved on your Sim Card then no need to backup them
..
Your videos and your other personal data move them all from the internal storage to your Usb or to Sd card too ..
2. you dont need to unroot your device to update your device, which methods are you gonna use to upgrade your phone? firmware from odin ? You are gonna need to root your device after the update then .
3. if you use titanium backup then you are gonna find the restore option on the app . your personal data from your usb or sd you are need to move them on your internal storage , and restore the contacts.

Get titanium, backup needed apps on external sd. Instal twrp through odin, insall custom rom like alexega or sac (wipe system and data before or some roms already offer this options).
Later restore backups of needed apps through titanium. All files on sd card/s will remain after new rom installation (if you are unsure backup your media files to computer), just dont wipe media/internal sd. Forget about restoring full backup, if you have a lot of rubbish code flowing around you need get rid of it, just back up apps with data that are important. That's how you should do it.
Ps: Ideally everyone should format data once 3 months and restore backups of needed apps later, it's the only way to keep it in excellent working condition

Extreemator said:
Get titanium, backup needed apps on external sd. Instal twrp through odin, insall custom rom like alexega or sac (wipe system and data before or some roms already offer this options).
Later restore backups of needed apps through titanium. All files on sd card/s will remain after new rom installation (if you are unsure backup your media files to computer), just dont wipe media/internal sd. Forget about restoring full backup, if you have a lot of rubbish code flowing around you need get rid of it, just back up apps with data that are important. That's how you should do it.
Ps: Ideally everyone should format data once 3 months and restore backups of needed apps later, it's the only way to keep it in excellent working condition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably you didnt read my post above.

StonebridgeGr said:
Hello, i am gonna answer your questions one by one
1. by apps positions if you mean the apps on the screens of the android then they are gonna moved after format, even after restore your backup. second you are gonna need titanium backup from playstore. Since you have root download lucky patcher from your browser or from your pc and patch the titanium backup you just downloaded from PlayStore .. and then select backup your apps, i suggest you to backup the on a usb with the adapter from the box of your phone , or on a sd card, be carefull do not wipe them . the contacts you can go to the Contacts apps and on the settings back them up to your Sd Card or to your Usb Otg.. Unless if you have them moved on your Sim Card then no need to backup them
..
Your videos and your other personal data move them all from the internal storage to your Usb or to Sd card too ..
2. you dont need to unroot your device to update your device, which methods are you gonna use to upgrade your phone? firmware from odin ? You are gonna need to root your device after the update then .
3. if you use titanium backup then you are gonna find the restore option on the app . your personal data from your usb or sd you are need to move them on your internal storage , and restore the contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot worked like a charm

Extreemator said:
Get titanium, backup needed apps on external sd. Instal twrp through odin, insall custom rom like alexega or sac (wipe system and data before or some roms already offer this options).
Later restore backups of needed apps through titanium. All files on sd card/s will remain after new rom installation (if you are unsure backup your media files to computer), just dont wipe media/internal sd. Forget about restoring full backup, if you have a lot of rubbish code flowing around you need get rid of it, just back up apps with data that are important. That's how you should do it.
Ps: Ideally everyone should format data once 3 months and restore backups of needed apps later, it's the only way to keep it in excellent working condition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much !!

Also while we are at it!
What's the difference between wipe and format
So I got the oem lock thing and i have to wait 7 days etc
So when I get the poem unlock I'll be rooting my device
But to install tarp and magisk I have to "wipe" data
What exactly will be wiped?
My pictures and videos or apps or what exactly so I know before rooting

ZainHikary said:
Also while we are at it!
What's the difference between wipe and format
So I got the oem lock thing and i have to wait 7 days etc
So when I get the poem unlock I'll be rooting my device
But to install tarp and magisk I have to "wipe" data
What exactly will be wiped?
My pictures and videos or apps or what exactly so I know before rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's same but it very differnt. it's confusing. Format data in this case applies to full data wipe. While if you go to twrp wipe menu and choose to wipe data, it won't touch media (folder with all user files) folder in data. While format will erase all patrition and reformat it.
All will be deleted, since it's full data wipe with media. Just data wipe without media deletes just apps. You won't need to install magisk or su separately if you install custom rom like i mentioned.

Extreemator said:
It's same but it very differnt. it's confusing. Format data in this case applies to full data wipe. While if you go to twrp wipe menu and choose to wipe data, it won't touch media (folder with all user files) folder in data. While format will erase all patrition and reformat it.
All will be deleted, since it's full data wipe with media. Just data wipe without media deletes just apps. You won't need to install magisk or su separately if you install custom rom like i mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I ended up installing the official rom for oreo I'm waiting for oem unlock soon, I wanna install twrp and root using magisk, but one of the requirement is to "wipe" in this case it's just the apps? I'm gonna backup just in case anyway! But I want to make sure

All will be deleted no reason to make surerer. I hope you understood titanium part, although i recommend it only if you have important apps, with data that i use (i have only a few), otherwise throw them out.
Then after you installl, you can make full backup of data through twrp. I usually do it after a week i installed rom i choose, and if i install a lot of apps i no longer need, and overall android gets slower, i just restore this back up and always have os that is 1 week old without any setting up to do. After just a couple of apps i restore recent data to them with titanium. If you had this with phone it becomes problematic as you said, i suggest you to remember how to do it.