Since I have been updating my Rom's very frequently lately, I have been doing a lot of CWM backup's. My question to you all is, at what point should I start deleting some of these recoveries?
They take up a lot of space, so keep at least two and delete the rest or the latest one. It doesn't matter really which you keep.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Can you tell from the backup's name what are its contents? If not, then you should start renaming them so the name makes sense
I suggest that you either keep the ones that are important for you, or copy them to PC and rename them in some way that you'll be able to tell what's in the backup. You can always copy back from the PC whatever backup/rom you're missing in your phone. After having once my SD card fubared (grrrrrr), I started copying once in a while to PC some backups anyway...
If you're making backups from nightly to nightly builds etc, then probably you can keep the latest that was working properly, or ones that have different roms etc.
Thanks. Will do
For some reason it doesn't seem to work. When I look at the play store reviews, they say that Titanium Backup doesn't work well restoring apps with 4.3. For me it just hangs at 0%. 4.3 has been out for a while, what have people been using?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
andrewdroid said:
For some reason it doesn't seem to work. When I look at the play store reviews, they say that Titanium Backup doesn't work well restoring apps with 4.3. For me it just hangs at 0%. 4.3 has been out for a while, what have people been using?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, andrewdroid...
Yes, I've just been looking at the reviews you mention, and I must admit, I'm puzzled.
I've been running Jellybean 4.3 (recently updated to build JWR66Y) since the beginning of August, and I've had no problems with restoring apps from Titanium.
I recall, during the first few days of JB 4.3, there where issues with Titanium, and the recommended advice was to change the backup path (where you're backups are stored) as follows...
Go to... Titanium>>Menu>>Backup folder location...
...and navigate (using the back button) to /storage/emulated/legacy/TitaniumBackup ...and select 'Use the current folder'.
And at the time, this worked for me. But subsequent updates to Titanium fixed the problem, and my backup path is now the more technically correct /storage/emulated/0/TitaniumBackup.
Titanium will offer to move the files to the new location, but in the event, nothing actually gets moved, because the locations are actually identical... just different ways of specifying the same location.
So, you could try modifying your backup path location in Titanium settings as outlined above, using either of the two 'paths' I've given. I've just tried both, and in both instances, my backups restored flawlessly.
I've no idea if this will work for you, but I do know there was an issue back in the early part of August, and the 'legacy' path fixed it for me... maybe it might for you.
Hope this helps... and good luck.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Just completed my first root and flashed my tablet to cyanogenmod. I'd like to thank this community for making it so simple. It seemed like a lot of reading but every instruction had a purpose and i understood it more as the process went along. I had no problem throughout the process due to the very detailed instructions here on this forum.
However, I seem to have made one mistake. I used TiBu to backup my apps and data. However, i failed to make the update.zip folder as i didn't think about losing the app when i flashed to the new rom. When i check my device, there is a huge titanium backup folder.
Is there a way i can restore my apps and data from the tibu folder, or did i lose it all by not creating the update.zip folder?
Im afraid to just reinstall TiBu in case it overwrites the old folder.
This is the only problem I had with the whole process and appreciate any help or suggestions.
giusti825 said:
Just completed my first root and flashed my tablet to cyanogenmod. I'd like to thank this community for making it so simple. It seemed like a lot of reading but every instruction had a purpose and i understood it more as the process went along. I had no problem throughout the process due to the very detailed instructions here on this forum.
However, I seem to have made one mistake. I used TiBu to backup my apps and data. However, i failed to make the update.zip folder as i didn't think about losing the app when i flashed to the new rom. When i check my device, there is a huge titanium backup folder.
Is there a way i can restore my apps and data from the tibu folder, or did i lose it all by not creating the update.zip folder?
Im afraid to just reinstall TiBu in case it overwrites the old folder.
This is the only problem I had with the whole process and appreciate any help or suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rename the huge titanium backup folder, install TiBu, delete new folder and rename huge titanium backup folder back to original name.
Pre-flashing, I created a backup with TWRP's backup, which contains the system, data, and boot folders. After flashing to a new rom (AOSP Google offical kit kat ver), I flashed back to stock, using Kies. However, no matter how hard I tried, I can't seem to find my pictures anymore. I attempted numerous recovery methods but to no avail.
I thought factory resets/ full wipes didn't remove the DCIM folder, but I was careless enough to forget to backup the folder seperately.
No folder I can find contains a .nomedia file, and I hopefully haven't overwritten the SD data yet.
I can't seem to connect my phone as a UMS, even though it shows up as a Drive. It just reports being empty (Windows asks to insert a disc).
I'm currently on a rooted, 4.2.2 JellyBean.
Also, does the /data contain the DCIM?
Is there any way to recover the photos, since I have the backup?
Edit: All data from other apps (Phone, Messages, Contacts, games, etc.) have been restored properly. However, music was wiped, which gives off an impression that I can't restore the photos. I won't give up hope; I believe in the skills of the community!
Thanks!
If you did a factory reset in the stock recovery you're sol. Don't know away to restore your photos.
Ah, dammit. Thanks for answering.
xEden said:
Ah, dammit. Thanks for answering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would not give up so fast.. There might just might be a recovery program out there that can help.. I have recovered from formatted partitions numerous times.. Google is your friend and good luck know how crappy it is to lose all your pics..:good: Edit try recuva if there is lost data on sd card..
hankbizzo5 said:
I would not give up so fast.. There might just might be a recovery program out there that can help.. I have recovered from formatted partitions numerous times.. Google is your friend and good luck know how crappy it is to lose all your pics..:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, but I've been using Google for about 2 days to no avail. From checking .nomedia, using ~10 common recovery tools, always failing in some way.
As a side note, do you know how to mount my phone (4.2.2 Jellybean, rooted) into UMS mode? I've gotten it to UMS mode, but I can't seem to be able to have Windows recognize it. It just shows as a blank F:\ drive that says "Please insert a disc". I think I would be able to progress further if I could have a fix to that. The majority of results say that it's impossible for 4.2.2, since one of the primary parties removed the feature (Samsung, I think?), or there's a fix for older versions.
Thanks for the good luck!
Did a swap from a 64 GB 6P to a 128 GB and tried just doing a nandroid. That would've worked but the fingerprint reader wouldn't work without a factory reset. I also accidentally restores the old EFS in TWRP without knowing I shouldn't, but used the original EFS (did a backup on new device before transfer) and restored it back to what came the device.. So I did that and re-did everything and it seemed to have no problems at first. I downloaded some Google Music playlists, Viper4A + busybox, and at some point my phone stopped letting me modify the files.
Camera can't take pictures. Chrome can't download files. I can't add/remove files via PC. I can't modify files via file managers. I tried chmod 777 sdcard but it doesn't fix the problem. I tried reflashing the ROM and all, and did a complete wipe but restored the data (only) from TWRP - so the problem might be somewhere in there. I haven't changed anything from the setup I had on the 64 GB, so I don't know what the hell happened - it was working fine and then just stopped letting me do stuff.
I'll probably try a complete factory firmware restore then flash the ROM all over again, but wanted to see if there was a simple fix first.
Nitemare3219 said:
Did a swap from a 64 GB 6P to a 128 GB and tried just doing a nandroid. That would've worked but the fingerprint reader wouldn't work without a factory reset. I also accidentally restores the old EFS in TWRP without knowing I shouldn't, but used the original EFS (did a backup on new device before transfer) and restored it back to what came the device.. So I did that and re-did everything and it seemed to have no problems at first. I downloaded some Google Music playlists, Viper4A + busybox, and at some point my phone stopped letting me modify the files.
Camera can't take pictures. Chrome can't download files. I can't add/remove files via PC. I can't modify files via file managers. I tried chmod 777 sdcard but it doesn't fix the problem. I tried reflashing the ROM and all, and did a complete wipe but restored the data (only) from TWRP - so the problem might be somewhere in there. I haven't changed anything from the setup I had on the 64 GB, so I don't know what the hell happened - it was working fine and then just stopped letting me do stuff.
I'll probably try a complete factory firmware restore then flash the ROM all over again, but wanted to see if there was a simple fix first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would just flash the factory image and start over. Sounds like something went wrong with the various issues you had.
Hi,
First post, so be gentle. I searched the forum and found quite a few posts about a boot looping S5 but most referring to custom ROMs - my phone started doing this on its own. Running marshmallow 6.0.1. Its almost 3 years old, and up until now has never caused problems. It was charging when this first happened, and it could have updated (I have no way of knowing what update though).
First thing I tried was a new battery, I charged it up with the phone off, but it still wouldn't boot.
The problem:
-It either hangs on the startup splash screen ("Samsung GALAXY S5") and can only be turned off by pulling the battery (sometimes), or.. it restarts on the same screen (mostly).
-If I leave it for 10 minutes without a battery, it goes further, getting to the point where it asks for the password, but then freezes at this point at restarts.
-I can get into recovery (vol up + home + power buttons) and have cleared the cache. It never hangs or freezes whilst in recovery.
-Whilst I had enabled developer options (used for debugging bluetooth problems once) I have NOT enabled USB debugging - so it seems ADB push/pull to recover user data won't work.
I don't really want to do a factory reset as google hasn't backed up everything, so I'm stuck. Does TWRP or clockworkmod go into the recovery partition (sparing user data)? Or do these only work after a factory reset? I have read a fair bit about Odin, Kies, and firmware updates, but as I don't know what the problem is, I have no idea where to start - I was hoping there are some kind of debug logs on the phone that could at least point to the cause, but of course I cannot access it. The fact it doesn't crash/hang/restart in recovery leads me to believe it isn't a hardware problem - but the fact this happened suddenly without me changing anything is suspicious. Ideas?
If you have an SD card inserted remove it - a corrupt SD can cause bootloops
If it boots without sd card transfer what you need from it to a pc either via USB card reader or via USB cable whilst in twrp
Once done format sd card & transfer files back - note only transfer back personal files eg pics music etc & not the android folder or any app data
If it still bootloops your only choice maybe a factory reset
You can flash twrp at any time - it will not erase userdata unless you goto the wipe section & do it yourself
You can create a backup & extract it on a pc but remember twrp backups do not backup personal files like pics music docs
You can however mount internal storage & transfer what ever files you want to pc
If all else fails flash stock firmware via odin
TheFixItMan said:
If you have an SD card inserted remove it - a corrupt SD can cause bootloops
If it boots without sd card transfer what you need from it to a pc either via USB card reader or via USB cable whilst in twrp
Once done format sd card & transfer files back - note only transfer back personal files eg pics music etc & not the android folder or any app data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, it stil does it without the SD - forgot to mention I tried that too.
TheFixItMan said:
You can flash twrp at any time - it will not erase userdata unless you goto the wipe section & do it yourself
You can create a backup & extract it on a pc but remember twrp backups do not backup personal files like pics music docs
You can however mount internal storage & transfer what ever files you want to pc
If all else fails flash stock firmware via odin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, this is what I was hoping. So twrp, goes onto the recovery partition? I did read (here: hxxps://twrp.me/faq/backupexclusions.html ), as you mentioned, that TWRP doesn't back up internal storage automagically. Even if done manually, as long as I can transfer the files to PC, I'll be happy. Thankfully, it's only one folder of photos that I google didn't back up, but I might as well grab everything.
I may post back with questions, thanks for the reply!
Right, I keep reading that "USB debugging" must be enabled when installing TWRP, or doing almost anything. But I don't have this enabled, and I can't enable it since I don't have access to the phones system. Is this required to install TWRP? I know it is required to use ADB which I believe is used to flash the TWRP. If this is the case, it looks like a dead end. I did find one link claiming to enable USB debugging from a recovery, but the instructions are incomplete, and it also mentions performing a factory reset first - which kind of defeats the point.
BuriedCode said:
Right, I keep reading that "USB debugging" must be enabled when installing TWRP, or doing almost anything. But I don't have this enabled, and I can't enable it since I don't have access to the phones system. Is this required to install TWRP? I know it is required to use ADB which I believe is used to flash the TWRP. If this is the case, it looks like a dead end. I did find one link claiming to enable USB debugging from a recovery, but the instructions are incomplete, and it also mentions performing a factory reset first - which kind of defeats the point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the g900f all you have to do is the following
Install Samsung USB drivers https://developer.samsung.com/galaxy/others/android-usb-driver-for-windows
Put phone into download mode (hold Vol down home & power button) & connect to pc
Push Vol up to start connection
Open odin https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=4431749&d=1519672710
Place twrp.tar in the AP section & flash
https://dl.twrp.me/klte/
As soon as the phone restarts enter recovery - hold Vol up home power button
If the phone starts to boot before entering recovery you will need to flash it again - once you have entered twrp once it will stick
Once again, thank you for the clear instructions. I Successfully got TWRP on my phone, and it appears on the PC so I could see the file structure in explorer (!). Progress.
I went to copy two photos as a test - MPT/USB transfers have always been unreliable for me anyway - and the phone froze. I only noticed when the touch screen became unresponsive and the clock wasn't updating. So this could well be the original problem - a hardware issue that causes the phone to freeze when it does anything remotely taxing. Or.. it could be the MPT transfer.
Either way, I had to pull the battery and it seems the TWRP didn't take as when I tried to boot into recovery, it had the stock recovery menu. So at least I'm not going backwards, nothing is broken.
Now I know how to get TWRP on there, and to boot back into recovery right away, and I know that it works. Next up is getting it on there and leaving it for 10 minutes to see if it crashes/freezes. If its OK, then I'll have to look for another way to pull files off. Can one use ADB with TWRP? If its enabled then I could use "pull" to get the files off and hopefully quicker (or at least more reliably) than ****ty MPT. Ideally I'd like to just pull everything off so I can decide what to add back later after a fresh reset.
Thank you once again for your advice!
Replying to my own post. It still can crash (screen has random colours on it and it freezes) but rarely whilst in TWRP. I was able to use adb and pull off all my camera photos that weren't backed up, and with the "-a" option, keep the file attributes.
Also solved the MPT problem - if anyone has the same issue or cares - using USB 3.0 sockets on my PC and only at the back rather than the sockets on the front (which are awful quality anyway). It's sitll onyl USB 2.0 but I guess the socket is higher quality.
Last question which I may make another thread for: How can I back up contacts, internet bookmarks, SMS and "memos" from a Samsung S5? I read that TWRP does not back these up, so I would need the location of the directory where these are stored. My google fu yielded somewhat vague answers from stackexchange, but no exact directories. If TWRP includes these in backup great, if not I would like to know if there is any kind of work around. MMS messages probably aren't that important, but contacts and memos really are. If I find any answers, I'll post back for others. Cheers!
Right, I realise people either know this, or don't care, but I did say I would post with anything I've found. I couldn't find the answers googling, so I was digging around in the file browser in TWRP.
- Almost everything in data/media - which isnt' backed up by TWRP - is exposed to MPT. I say almost everything, because some isn't, but I backed up the entire folder anyway with adb pull. This is the "internal SDcard" people mention in forums (internal memory partition, not an actual card). Simply copying from windows explorer grabs the files, but not with the correct directory structure. Best to use adb pull with the -a option to keep file attributes.
- Samsung memos, bookmarks (from the samsung internet browser), and contacts are not stored in /data/media. Rather these are in data/data. in the following places (absolute directories):
- memos: data/data/com.samsung.android.app.memo/databases/memo.db
- bookmarks: data/data/com.sec.android.app.sbrowser/databases/SBrowser.db
- contacts: data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db
It seems TWRP does not back these up -I could be wrong though. Samsung's own utilities probably do but I have never used them. I don't know if google stores these either since I haven't used its backups to check.
I am still unclear of exactly what TWRO backup backs up. I understand that the /media folder is not included (downloads, photos, music etc..) but are app settings in data/data included?
BuriedCode said:
Right, I realise people either know this, or don't care, but I did say I would post with anything I've found. I couldn't find the answers googling, so I was digging around in the file browser in TWRP.
- Almost everything in data/media - which isnt' backed up by TWRP - is exposed to MPT. I say almost everything, because some isn't, but I backed up the entire folder anyway with adb pull. This is the "internal SDcard" people mention in forums (internal memory partition, not an actual card). Simply copying from windows explorer grabs the files, but not with the correct directory structure. Best to use adb pull with the -a option to keep file attributes.
- Samsung memos, bookmarks (from the samsung internet browser), and contacts are not stored in /data/media. Rather these are in data/data. in the following places (absolute directories):
- memos: data/data/com.samsung.android.app.memo/databases/memo.db
- bookmarks: data/data/com.sec.android.app.sbrowser/databases/SBrowser.db
- contacts: data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db
It seems TWRP does not back these up -I could be wrong though. Samsung's own utilities probably do but I have never used them. I don't know if google stores these either since I haven't used its backups to check.
I am still unclear of exactly what TWRO backup backs up. I understand that the /media folder is not included (downloads, photos, music etc..) but are app settings in data/data included?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All app data is backed up in a twrp backup
If you were to restore a twrp backup your phone would be in exactly the same position as when the backup was created including app settings & data
The common partitions it will backup are system data cache & boot (kernel) - it can also backup (if included in the twrp.fstab) modem/efs & other partitions
The only things a twrp backup doesn't backup is personal files eg downloads music pictures documents etc
You can make a twrp backup & extract it on a pc - I'm sure there are guides which explain how to do this
TheFixItMan said:
All app data is backed up in a twrp backup
If you were to restore a twrp backup your phone would be in exactly the same position as when the backup was created including app settings & data
The common partitions it will backup are system data cache & boot (kernel) - it can also backup (if included in the twrp.fstab) modem/efs & other partitions
The only things a twrp backup doesn't backup is personal files eg downloads music pictures documents etc
You can make a twrp backup & extract it on a pc - I'm sure there are guides which explain how to do this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent. Well I've manually (well, same directory structure) backed up pretty much everything I could think of anyway so even if the phone goes south, the media files are safe. I'll do a TWRP backup on my PC as well (just for easy restoring if I need to) I'm assuming this can only be done via adb? as the UI only gives options for internal or SDcard storage - which is another option.
I have some more questions as I am not sure how to proceed. Yes, everything is (or can be) backed up. But the phone still freezes which may or may not be a hardware issue. So I am stuck deciding:
1) looking for logs to attempt to diagnose the problem. Probably won't get me anywhere. logcat doesn't seem to work.
2) Just performing a factory reset from TWRP. Unsure exactly what this resets. Firmware? OS? wipes all apps?
3) Using Odin to flash stock firmware (I only have one large md5 file from updato.com for use with "AP"). Does this wipe apps and data? (I'm not including media files here).
In some forums people claim that user data (as in apps and app data) isn't wiped by using ODIN to update the firmware, others say it wipes absolutely everything. Whilst I have back ups I'd obviously prefer it to keep the apps and their data, assuming they aren't the cause of the problem. Apologies for so many questions, I probably don't need to know all the details, but I'm curious and cautious.
BuriedCode said:
Excellent. Well I've manually (well, same directory structure) backed up pretty much everything I could think of anyway so even if the phone goes south, the media files are safe. I'll do a TWRP backup on my PC as well (just for easy restoring if I need to) I'm assuming this can only be done via adb? as the UI only gives options for internal or SDcard storage - which is another option.
I have some more questions as I am not sure how to proceed. Yes, everything is (or can be) backed up. But the phone still freezes which may or may not be a hardware issue. So I am stuck deciding:
1) looking for logs to attempt to diagnose the problem. Probably won't get me anywhere. logcat doesn't seem to work.
2) Just performing a factory reset from TWRP. Unsure exactly what this resets. Firmware? OS? wipes all apps?
3) Using Odin to flash stock firmware (I only have one large md5 file from updato.com for use with "AP"). Does this wipe apps and data? (I'm not including media files here).
In some forums people claim that user data (as in apps and app data) isn't wiped by using ODIN to update the firmware, others say it wipes absolutely everything. Whilst I have back ups I'd obviously prefer it to keep the apps and their data, assuming they aren't the cause of the problem. Apologies for so many questions, I probably don't need to know all the details, but I'm curious and cautious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin firmware images (unless custom made) do not wipe user data apps & settings however unless it's the same firmware as already on the phone it will most likely bootloop until you do a factory reset in stock recovery
This will erase all app data & settings but not internal storage unless the device was encrypted in which case all internal storage will be erased
For twrp if you want to flash a custom rom
If encrypted format data (option on right of wipe menu) This will erase all internal storage - then restart to recovery
Then once encryption removed or not encrypted to begin with
Wipe system (previous rom)
Wipe data (app data settings)
Wipe cache
Flash rom
Flash gapps
Flash root (optional)
Restart
So it looks like a firmware flash with ODIN is the way to go. As I've loaded on TWRP I can no longer see the firmware version that was on the stock recovery screen to check if I have the right image downloaded. Is there a way to see the firmware version from TWRP? I tried
Code:
adb shell getprop
Which had [ro.boot.bootloader]: [G900FXXU1CRH1] that I'm guessing is the firmware version, although the hit on sammobile doesn't mention the carrier (vodafone). If I search by region and carrier, I get a different version.
Update: Just tried to backup to a blank SD micro. It freezes and restarts 2% into it every time. Tried:
Code:
adb backup " -all -noshared -f "C:\phone backup.ab" "
And it said "now unlock your device to confirm action" but TWRP gave no such dialog. At this rate I can't actually do a proper backup of anything. Is there another way? I don't have enough space on internal storage. I guess I could try USB storage (USB memory stick with adapter).
BuriedCode said:
So it looks like a firmware flash with ODIN is the way to go. As I've loaded on TWRP I can no longer see the firmware version that was on the stock recovery screen to check if I have the right image downloaded. Is there a way to see the firmware version from TWRP? I tried
Code:
adb shell getprop
Which had [ro.boot.bootloader]: [G900FXXU1CRH1] that I'm guessing is the firmware version, although the hit on sammobile doesn't mention the carrier (vodafone). If I search by region and carrier, I get a different version.
Update: Just tried to backup to a blank SD micro. It freezes and restarts 2% into it every time. Tried:
Code:
adb backup " -all -noshared -f "C:\phone backup.ab" "
And it said "now unlock your device to confirm action" but TWRP gave no such dialog. At this rate I can't actually do a proper backup of anything. Is there another way? I don't have enough space on internal storage. I guess I could try USB storage (USB memory stick with adapter).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just backup to internal storage or SD card & transfer to pc
Backup is stored in eg sdcard/twrp
The firmware you need is
https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/galaxy-s5/SM-G900F/BTU/download/G900FXXU1CRH1/233034/
Free downloads on sammobile will be back on Monday or find an alternative site
TheFixItMan said:
Just backup to internal storage or SD card & transfer to pc
Backup is stored in eg sdcard/twrp
The firmware you need is
https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/galaxy-s5/SM-G900F/BTU/download/G900FXXU1CRH1/233034/
Free downloads on sammobile will be back on Monday or find an alternative site
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't backup to SD card because it freezes at 2%. And using "adb backup " -f "C:\mybackup.ab" --twrp boot system data" " asks me to unlock my device - but TWRP doesn't show anything. On top of all that, it seems sammobile is under maintainance so I cannot download that firmware file until Monday Probably a good thing as it gives me a couple of days to keep trying to back up. Right now it gets into TWRP from recovery boot about one in 6 times. I'm out of idea's.
You can probably tell the frustration is real. Right now, I cannot use adb or twrp to backup onto internal storage (no space), the SDcard (crashes 2% into it, even with a blank SD card). It doesn't seem to crash whilst in TWRP, and I managed to pull the media folder off use "adb pull" so it seems it doesn't crash when using ADB commands.
So my only option before attempting to flash firmware is to make a backup via adb. However, I cannot get this to work at all. "adb backup --twrp" prompts me to unlock my phone, but the phone just displays the TWRP menu still. "adb backup -f "c:\backADB.ab" -noshared --twrp system boot data" tells me "adb: unable to open file c:\backADB.ab". Using simply "adb backup" puts me in the backup menu in TWRP, but then I can only change storage to internal or SDcard.
So either we can't yet backup to PC via adb and the TWRP documentation is out of date, or bugged. I'm on windows so I don't know if that makes it impossible - I just want to be able to get a backup on my PC's harddrive(s). Am I missing something with ADB?
Edit: it seems to now attempt to back up with "adb backup -f "c:\mybackup" --twrp system boot data" however.. this starts to back up and crashes at... 2%.
Just flashed the linked firmware with Odin after managing to get my apps backed up with my samsung account (the phone didn't crash for 15 minutes!). It cycled through "installing system update" restarting several times before hanging on the startup screen. I then pulled the battery, booted into stock recovery performed a factory reset (TWRP was gone). Now it is back in bootloop.
I installed TWRP again to use the file browser and my data has indeed been wiped (RIP). So what now? I could just let it boot loop and hope that it somehow gets back into android - it did that before, maybe one in 15 times. But I've done pretty much everything that has been recommended.
Rather than leave this thread hanging, I might as well post progress. After many *many* reboots interrupting the phone updating apps, it seems stable. It still occasionally crashes, but I can now make it crash and restart on demand by trying to install snapchat. It downloads it successfully and about a minute of "installing" the phone restarts, and reboots about 15 times before finally booting properly. I installed several other apps, none of which restarted the phone.
So, I'm going to get a new phone, and it seems that most things are backed up (please note, samsung doesn't back up contacts, shealth data, or splanner data despite claiming they do so). But I am curious as to what this problem could be. I have no experience debugging phone problems, and I realize it could be many things, but is there a way of checking the phones RAM (unlikely) or internal memory (flash, = more likely) for corruption? I may run a stress test to check if its power, CPU, or hover heating. If it passes that then it has to be memory usage.
Update: Today it only lasts a few minutes before it restarts. This is without any app updates - although I cannot be sure because I don't know whats going on in the background. This happens with, or without the SD card, and with both the new and old battery. I don't know where to start debugging. Any pointers?