How to backup important everything? - G2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'd like to know if it's possible to backup all my partitions including my EFS partition before I start hacking away at the phone?
I found the thread about it but it says to flash it via custom recovery, but in order to get that custom recovery, I have to use AutoRec, which modifies the very partitions I'm trying to preserve, so I'm a bit of a dilemma here.
I'm just looking for a way to make sure I don't completely brick the phone and in the same time have a 'clean-slate' button at my disposal which restores stock everything, including partitions, roms, recoveries and any other modification.
Cheers.

There is no way to backup entire partitions without root but you can backup photos/music you would need a recovery to backup these partitions or a rooted adb but recovery is the best and easiest way

Related

[Q] re-enable OTA updates Nexus 7

Hi all,
I have a nexus 7 running Android 4.1.2 stock w/ root. Some months ago, I disabled the OTA update notification - but I can't seem to remember how!
I want to now re-enable OTA updates so that I can update to the latest android version, and not lose my installed apps.
I've searched the device for FOTAKill.apk inside /system/app, and its not found
I've also searched for frozen / hidden apps using Titanium Backup Pro... nothing
When I enter Settings -> About Tablet -> System Updates... it says I'm up to date... but I'm not, considering I'm running 4.1.2.
Any help or pointers in re-enabling OTA is appreciated!!
- make a full nandroid backup.
- using fastboot, flash the system.img file from the 4.2.2 factory image to the system partition.
- using your custom recovery, reflash a SuperSU root kit bundle.
- using the custom recovery, wipe cache and dalvik-cache.
If you don't like the result, restore the nandroid backup and proceed in a different fashion. It will probably break things like stickmount and any other changes that you caused in /system.
Note the above method is for use by lazy and sloppy users. A better approach is to make TiBu backups of only your market apps, bite the bullet, and start from scratch with a flash & (new) configuration of a pure stock ROM. In any case, every conceivable procedure should start with making a full nandroid backup and getting it copied to a safe place off the tablet.
I will also say that unless odd problems crop up, the portions of the factory install procedure (using fastboot) that deal with erasure or flashing of the userdata partition should be skipped, as these steps completely wipe your /data storage - including your /sdcard area in /data/media/0 and any CWM/TWRP nandroid backups!
It's not really clear why these steps would be needed unless the /data ext4 filesystem in the userdata partition got corrupted somehow. A more sly approach would be to use the custom recovery's "factory reset" procedure to clean up /data - either before or after flashing the factory ROM - and completely skip anything that touches the userdata partition in the factory install instructions.
good luck

[Q] Is it possible to create full partition backups with stock recovery?

Hello,
I've just joined. A very basic question - is it possible to create full partition backups without a custom recovery? The only reason I'm running TWRP (2.6) at the moment is to be able to create full backups. I understand stock recovery doesn't allow that?
Thanks
Online nandroid backup or something doesn't need a custom recovery.

Nandroid Backup

I'll just put this out there for other noobs using twrp. I've never done a nandroid backup before, and I'm currently running twrp v2.6.3.2. When I select backup, it directs me to select which partitions, with boot, system & data already checked. Do I need to check any of the other options (Recovery, Cache, EFS)? TIA.
thestrangebrew said:
I'll just put this out there for other noobs using twrp. I've never done a nandroid backup before, and I'm currently running twrp v2.6.3.2. When I select backup, it directs me to select which partitions, with boot, system & data already checked. Do I need to check any of the other options (Recovery, Cache, EFS)? TIA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most important is the EFS one, somewhere mentioned it contains your IMEI etc. Backup it, and copy it for safe keeping. Everything else you should be able to recover, but EFS if lost might lead you to a non-usable phone.
Cache not needed.
Recovery well depends, but its just 8-11MB more I would check it as well.
Actually you can back it up all.
The most space will take the SYSTEM and DATA anyways, the rest is few MB's. Let's say SYSTEM is your ROM (system apps etc), and DATA is your config and installed apps. (Not entirely true if you do some modifications but these 2 partitions you need to restore the backup as you had it)
Boot is the kernel. Which might be needed by the specific System if you go custom, again only some MB's.
Just remember that you can even choose what you will recover. So when you change your recovery, kernel etc and you go for restore of some older backup, careful of compatibility in between ROM and KERNEL for example
Awesome thanks for the quick informative info. I figured it wouldn't hurt to just backup everything, but I thought I'd ask just in case I missed something.

What to backup to recover before flash ROM?

I recently rooted my Moto G5 plus and would like to check out a a few custom ROMs. However, from reading the instructions on a few custom ROM threads it isn't clear to me what to backup in TWRP to be able to recover or go back to the stock ROM if I want to later.
I've read that I should backup Data, logo, and boot, and internal storage, plus all apps and data with Titanium Backup, but what about System, System Image, Recovery, OEM, and EFS? What about persist?
Can someone give me a quick summary of what I need to backup to go back to my current state if I want to experiment with some other ROMs?
Thanks.
Splice_9 said:
I recently rooted my Moto G5 plus and would like to check out a a few custom ROMs. However, from reading the instructions on a few custom ROM threads it isn't clear to me what to backup in TWRP to be able to recover or go back to the stock ROM if I want to later.
I've read that I should backup Data, logo, and boot, and internal storage, plus all apps and data with Titanium Backup, but what about System, System Image, Recovery, OEM, and EFS? What about persist?
Can someone give me a quick summary of what I need to backup to go back to my current state if I want to experiment with some other ROMs?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back up everything available in TWRP, including efs and persist. Then store it all on the cloud. You can never have too much backed up.
Too many people have screwed their devices in this forum by not backing up persist and then applying bad modifications. It is unique to your device and you can't use someone else's to guarantee full functionality.
I backed up all 53 partitions and stored in my harddisk. It's less than 5GB.
I left out only the data partition because for that I use Titanium Backup and RSync.
Yet I haven't backed up the partition table, also this is important...
NZedPred said:
Back up everything available in TWRP, including efs and persist. Then store it all on the cloud. You can never have too much backed up.
Too many people have screwed their devices in this forum by not backing up persist and then applying bad modifications. It is unique to your device and you can't use someone else's to guarantee full functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i backup my efs and persist in a custom rom 64 bits that backup won't work in stock right? it is intact
Backup everything... although it may be too late already, but any working backup is better than nothing.
What you should REALLY do is unlock the bootloader, then before you do anything at all one-time boot TWRP, NOT install it, and backup everything and move it off the device and to the cloud. Once you have rooted or modified your device, even installing TWRP, you are not getting a clean backup.
nicolap8 said:
Yet I haven't backed up the partition table, also this is important...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
acejavelin said:
What you should REALLY do is unlock the bootloader, then before you do anything at all one-time boot TWRP, NOT install it, and backup everything and move it off the device and to the cloud. Once you have rooted or modified your device, even installing TWRP, you are not getting a clean backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have anyone backed up and successfully restored a full partition backup before? I mean running dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p* of=/sdcard/*.img for all partitions before installing TWRP. Would restoring it later (after flashing roms and such) return your phone to 100% stock state, being able to re-lock BL, take updates and everything?
prokaryotic cell said:
Have anyone backed up and successfully restored a full partition backup before? I mean running dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p* of=/sdcard/*.img for all partitions before installing TWRP. Would restoring it later (after flashing roms and such) return your phone to 100% stock state, being able to re-lock BL, take updates and everything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... there are some things you cannot write to, period, but the OS can (has to do with encrypted files/partitions I believe), bootloader unlock is one of these things. Many of the mmcblk0 partitions cannot be written to, you can really one write to about 8 or 10 of them via software without having an external writer (for the life of me I can't remember what it's called).
acejavelin said:
No... there are some things you cannot write to, period, but the OS can (has to do with encrypted files/partitions I believe), bootloader unlock is one of these things. Many of the mmcblk0 partitions cannot be written to, you can really one write to about 8 or 10 of them via software without having an external writer (for the life of me I can't remember what it's called).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. Wasn't expecting to be able to return the bootloader status to untampered, but what matters most is being able to return to a fully working stock rom and take OTAs without bricking the device. There's also all the issues people keep getting in this forum - such as losing their IMEI, 4G, VoLTE - can be those be avoided (and even fixed) by restoring the right backed up mmcblk0 partitions?
prokaryotic cell said:
I see. Wasn't expecting to be able to return the bootloader status to untampered, but what matters most is being able to return to a fully working stock rom and take OTAs without bricking the device. There's also all the issues people keep getting in this forum - such as losing their IMEI, 4G, VoLTE - can be those be avoided (and even fixed) by restoring the right backed up mmcblk0 partitions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can restore your efi folder to correct this most of the time, if you have a clean backup. Otherwise you need to get it JTAG programmed
prokaryotic cell said:
I see. Wasn't expecting to be able to return the bootloader status to untampered, but what matters most is being able to return to a fully working stock rom and take OTAs without bricking the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to clarify that you understand, you can't return your bootloader status to untampered but you can lock it again. However it really isn't necessary to do that just to get OTAs. All you need to do is return to your stock with stock recovery and no-root (fastboot method not TWRP flashable.) OTAs work fine once you have done so. I have restored a TWRP backup just by booting into TWRP but it seems like I had some issue unrelated to OTA, although I don't recall what they were and is was on my previous phone (Moto G4).

Pixel 4 (nandroid)

So since there in no TWRP for the pixel 4 currently is there anyway too make a nandroid backup?
If I remember correctly this is where the entire partition(s) is/are backed up like as in a snapshot was taken of the way every little minute detail about it was arranged. Since TWRP does this backing up for us and it's not available how can we back up our phones in this type of detail? Titanium does a decent job but it's not an actual exact duplicate of the way things were at a certain point in time on the partition like a nandroid is. Basically, if someone flashes a ROM (one not requiring TWRP to flash, namely pixeldust, I believe it has a patched boot partition allowing unsigned files to be flashed w/ stock recovery) and something hangs it up for whatever reason there needs to be a nandroid backup to revert to if the flash goes to hell in a hand basket, right?
Is there a way to make an old skool nandroid like TWRP makes?
One could ADB pull partition copies to make backups of partitions but how this would turn out with the android 10 "dynamic partitions" is still beyond my understanding.

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