Database Users

What happens if you accidentally delete the /data directory?

I'll tell you...basically not good things
After updating lots of apps, I decided to run the command to remove the boot-cache through a terminal app on my phone, rather than through adb shell (sprint needs to hurry up and fix this bug.)
Unfortunately, the terminal app doesn't like landscape, so when hitting the front slash after the data directory, my finger instead (to my absolute horror) hit the enter key.
Hilarity did NOT ensue. Basically everything started FC'ing. I rebooted into recovery, did a wipe, and started over. Everything seems to be fine, but for those that are more familiar with the filesystem than I, could there be any residual effects, or would the wipe/factory reset basically take me back to step 1? Thanks!
I'm going to try and write an app that not only clears the boot cache, but also turns on net sharing, kinda like a "utilities" app in the interim until Sprint can fix our stuff. Should be simple enough.

Factory reset should take you back to step 1.
Have you installed the recovery ROM? It doesn't modify your actual OS at all, but it enables you to do "whole phone" backups via Nandroid. Very handy for just such an occasion.

jonnythan said:
Factory reset should take you back to step 1.
Have you installed the recovery ROM? It doesn't modify your actual OS at all, but it enables you to do "whole phone" backups via Nandroid. Very handy for just such an occasion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do believe so. I followed our five star "how to root the CDMA Hero" thread, and I think the RA-Recovery part was included there.
I'm assuming since I can reboot into recovery mode, this is, in and of itself, the recovery ROM you're talking about. I have the option of a nandroid backup in there.
So, then let me ask you this. If I get my phone how I like it, can I do a Nandroid backup, and always be able to restore to that point, similar to commercially available backup apps? Thanks for the quick reply!

a Nandroid backup will restore everything on your phone (not your SDCard) so it should work to restore even if you delete the whole /data directory. It's not tested but it seems like it should work since it's an image of the whole freaking thing.

[Q] Simplified Root Instructions?

This is the first time I've ever rooted an Android device. The process has been fraught with uncertainty and misinformation from around the internet. I'd like to describe what I have come to understand is the current preferred method, and ask a few questions to hopefully get my S5 where I want it to be.
I don't want to do anything to crazy (yet, anyway). I just want to remove some bloat and get the notification panel as close to vanilla Android as possible.
So far, I have ran towelroot, which was incredibly simple.
I installed SuperSU from the Play Store. During installation, it got stuck at "Disabling KNOX...". I have since learned that this is common and a reboot usually fixes it. However, I have also learned that I probably don't want to disable KNOX yet anyway, since I am not going to flash a custom ROM until there is one that is known to be stable and is able to create the vanilla Android experience that I want. Some people said that I should have installed SuperSU from chainfire's page instead of the Play Store, but I think that was old information.
Edit: I'm editing these steps as I go along:
1. Install busybox and the Safestrap APK
2. Use Safestrap to set up a new ROM slot and use that slot from now on (consider the italics a strikethrough)
^Even though the instruction video on the Safestrap page said this, apparently that's not what most people do. They use Safestrap to make a nandroid backup, and then use only one slot, the stock ROM slot, to experiment or flash a new ROM.
3. Install Titanium Backup
Edit: I also had to install SD KitKat Fixer and then reboot afterward to allow TB to write to the SD card...
4. Use Titanium Backup to backup all apps and data to SD card
5. Use Titanium to freeze processes that I carefully choose
Edit: I froze everything from the list here.
6. Install Xposed framework
7. Find the modules to customize Android how I want
Does that sound right? Any tips/advice?

ergalthema said:
So far, I have ran towelroot, which was incredibly simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By doing this, you are rooted.
Even if you are not going to flash a custom rom, you can and probably should disable KNOX. Doing so will not trip the counter.
Install busybox and the Safestrap APK - This is indeed necessary if you want to install another ROM to customize. The whole point of safestrap is to flash ROMs and is not related to rooting itself. The other use of Safestrap is to create a complete backup of your current system so that if you mess something up, you can restore to a known, working state.
Use Safestrap to set up a new ROM slot and use that slot from now on - This is fine if you want to switch between ROMs. I know some people like to do this, but I am not one of them.
Install Titanium Backup - absolutely
Use Titanium to freeze processes that I carefully choose - correct and there are threads with lists of APKs to freeze. You will also want to make sure you freeze SDM so that it doesn't prompt for security updates.
Use Titanium as a backup? (not sure about this) - this is to backup your apps, texts, things like that but NOT your ROM
Install Xposed framework
Find the modules to customize Android how I want

jcollier said:
Install busybox and the Safestrap APK - This is indeed necessary if you want to install another ROM to customize. The whole point of safestrap is to flash ROMs and is not related to rooting itself. The other use of Safestrap is to create a complete backup of your current system so that if you mess something up, you can restore to a known, working state.
Use Safestrap to set up a new ROM slot and use that slot from now on - This is fine if you want to switch between ROMs. I know some people like to do this, but I am not one of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first step in installing Xposed in this thread is to do a nandroid backup. I'm not totally sure what that is, but someone in another thread said implied that Safestrap essentially does the same thing. That is why I was planning to use Safestrap.

ergalthema said:
The first step in installing Xposed in this thread is to do a nandroid backup. I'm not totally sure what that is, but someone in another thread said implied that Safestrap essentially does the same thing. That is why I was planning to use Safestrap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I meant by this: "The other use of Safestrap is to create a complete backup of your current system so that if you mess something up, you can restore to a known, working state."
A nandroid is a backup image of your system so that you can restore it if you screw something up. Safestrap isn't "essentially" doing the same thing, it is doing exactly that thing. Safestrap is a way to make a custom recovery work on our phone without an unlocked bootloader.

Good advice up to here, but you might want to hold off on using Exposed. As I understand it, Exposed lets you tinker with the existing stock ROM. I don't think I would want to do that, and I have rooted and ROM flashed several Android devices over the years. But its up to you.
With your being new to rooting, I'll offer this advice:
Titanium Backup (a.k.a. "TIBU") is a good way to back up all your apps. Here are some suggestions in using it:
--Buy the PRO version. It has more features, is not very expensive, and helps support a really cool app that is very handy.
--Set the Preferences/Backup folder to your REAL external SD Card. It will default to internal storage (also called "sd card"....don't get me started lol) which is IMO totally useless. If you lose internal storage due to corruption or whatever, you would lose all your backups. Having them on the REAL SD card you can also archive them to your PC.
--Set your Max Backup History to some number larger than the default "1". I use 7. Why? Well, have you ever seen the developer of one of your favorite apps suddenly screw it completely up in some update? Or, worse yet, sell out to some other vendor who now made it a PAY SUBSCRIPTION app?? I have. By keeping multiple backups you can roll back in time to previous versions that you know WORKED when those things happen. I have several apps I will never update, especially on the Store, for various reasons. (TIBU used to be able to disconnect the link to the Store so apps didn't try to update, but Google broke their ability to do that).
--When you do make TIBU backups, select "app and system data" which is IMO incorrectly worded and causes confusion. It should read "app and APP data". Because that is what it really does. Backs up the data IN your system that is associated ONLY with the APP. NOT any "system files". When you restore a backup, restore "app and system data" and you not only get the app installed, you get all your data it created, as well as all your customized settings restored! It is a real time saver. And you can "usually" even do this with a new device, using the TIBU backup folder on an SD card you had in some previous Android device. I've done it many times.
Safestrap installs a custom version of TWRP recovery. From that you can make the aforementioned "nandroid" backups of your complete system. (You won't see the word "nandroid" in TWRP while you are doing this. It just calls them backups). Couple of caveats with TWRP (and the Safestrap version):
--The date/time stamp used in both TWRP and its alternative, Clockworkmod Recovery (CW) will always be wrong. I've read (in short) there is no way for them to fix it. BUT........you most certainly CAN edit the backup file name to be whatever you like while setting it up to make the backup. So I recommend deleting the portion of the name that is the screwed up date it will generate, and putting in a date you can read, like my preferred format of 2014-07-10-1727 which is today at 5:27 PM, or whatever format you like.
--By default, TWRP recovery uses (in the Advanced settings) an inane "power saving" feature of the display, which will maddeningly keep turning it off and making you think the phone died while it is in the middle of making your backup. A - ALWAYS keep your phone on the charger when working in Recovery!! Don't even start unless it has at least 40% charge. B- Turn OFF the inane "power saving feature" and get some peace of mind. The screen will stay lit forever, until you reboot system when you are done.
--By default, TWRP will be set to use INTERNAL STORAGE as the place to keep your nandroids. Again, I consider that a very bad idea. Use a REAL External SD card and keep them there. And make regular backups to your PC of the SD card. I've seen a great many SD cards suddenly fail without warning. Your device will pop up and tell you the SD card is corrupt, and you need to format it. Usually, there is no way to recover the lost data on the card when that happens.
--On my Galaxy S5, making a nandroid of the stock OS via Safestrap took up over 4GB! That is almost 4 x what I normally see making a nandroid of a custom ROM on some previous device. So make sure you have plenty of room on whatever SD card you choose to use.

jcollier said:
Even if you are not going to flash a custom rom, you can and probably should disable KNOX. Doing so will not trip the counter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know it wouldn't trip the counter. I'm curious why I should disable it though.

I followed the video exactly and when I get to the point of the first Restore (around 9:00), it says "Restore Complete - Failed". There is a button to Reboot System. When I tap that, the phone won't turn on. I have to pull the batter to get it back on. I guess I'll be uninstalling Safestrap. If I "Uninstall Recovery" from the stock ROM slot, will the space be freed up again and the phone be returned to the same state as before I tried using Safestrap?

ergalthema said:
I followed the video exactly and when I get to the point of the first Restore (around 9:00), it says "Restore Complete - Failed". There is a button to Reboot System. When I tap that, the phone won't turn on. I have to pull the batter to get it back on. I guess I'll be uninstalling Safestrap. If I "Uninstall Recovery" from the stock ROM slot, will the space be freed up again and the phone be returned to the same state as before I tried using Safestrap?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I ask what it is that you are restoring? Have you already made a (nandroid) backup? That's what the restore function is made to restore. If you tried to use Restore on some other kind of file, then it would try to overwrite your ROM (OS) with it, and make the phone unusable. If that happens, I think your only fix would be to Odin back to stock and start over from scratch. I believe there is a link to do that in the thread telling how to root the S5.

Zoandroid said:
May I ask what it is that you are restoring? Have you already made a (nandroid) backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The video at 9:00 explains it. I think it is basically flashing the backup I made of the stock ROM to the newly created ROM slot in order to begin running from the new ROM slot.

ergalthema said:
The video at 9:00 explains it. I think it is basically flashing the backup I made of the stock ROM to the newly created ROM slot in order to begin running from the new ROM slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, OK. Since there aren't any ROMs available yet, I did not pursue that aspect of Safestrap. So you have stepped outside my range of experience with it. Hopefully someone else can help you.
If you get to a point in your endeavors where you find a solution to apply ad-blocking to the S5, please let me know in a PM. I've had no luck so far. It appears this will be yet another issue that will only be solved with some creative developer work. Google has done something in KitKat to block not only apps like Ad-Aware and Adblock Plus from working, they also seem to have some kind of snooper utility that, if you try to search online with the S5 for ad blocking, will pop up a browser page saying Google "cannot access" the page! Pages which my PCs can see easily. Crafty little PITAs for sure! I thought it might just be Chrome doing this, so when I tried to get Firefox from the Store, I was stuck in an endless downloading loop. I had to kill that and restore a copy from TIBU. They are doing everything they can think of to lock down a smartphone and spoon feed us only what THEY want us to see. Including copious advertisements.
There was a time when Android meant "freedom". I guess that time has passed. Now it is time for someone else with very deep pockets to re-kindle a hassle-free smartphone OS. It is a shame. Android has so much potential.

ergalthema said:
The video at 9:00 explains it. I think it is basically flashing the backup I made of the stock ROM to the newly created ROM slot in order to begin running from the new ROM slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why flash the stock ROM in a newly created ROM slot? You should only create a ROM slot if you decide to run a custom ROM. If not, you can use safestrap to create the backup (nandroid) and save it to your SD card so you always have a "safe" restore point essentially. I run a custom ROM in my stock slot. And for the record... There are several ROMs in the development section which are quite stable. Also, you can check out the Safestrap thread there as well. If you read through the thread you'll have a better understanding of how it works and what bugs there are right now.
The thing that I find great about XDA is that folks will always try to help each other out. Good luck!
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Do we have a thread where folks are reporting having tried various versions of the available ROMs for the Verizon S5, and can make a simple statement about what works and what doesn't? I think that would be a really good idea. Without something like that, the only way to really know which ones are trouble free is to slog through and read each and every post on every ROM thread, most of which will usually be outdated information anyway.
Maybe it could be done as a Poll so it doesn't grow into something just as long to read as the above.

Zoandroid said:
Do we have a thread where folks are reporting having tried various versions of the available ROMs for the Verizon S5, and can make a simple statement about what works and what doesn't? I think that would be a really good idea. Without something like that, the only way to really know which ones are trouble free is to slog through and read each and every post on every ROM thread, most of which will usually be outdated information anyway.
Maybe it could be done as a Poll so it doesn't grow into something just as long to read as the above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be great - especially for the people who aren't on this site all day and don't know what is good and current.
shoresteve626 said:
Why flash the stock ROM in a newly created ROM slot? You should only create a ROM slot if you decide to run a custom ROM. If not, you can use safestrap to create the backup (nandroid) and save it to your SD card so you always have a "safe" restore point essentially. I run a custom ROM in my stock slot. And for the record... There are several ROMs in the development section which are quite stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm realizing that's probably what most people do. In the instructional video posted on the main Safestrap OP, it instructed to keep the original stock slot intact, and use a new slot for experimenting with another ROM. I would love to know a stable ROM that gives the most vanilla Android.

AllianceRom Issues Verizon GS5 4.4.2

After searching for a fair while i've come to the conclusion that there aren't any threads that pose my set of issues. I've tried installing AllianceRom several times, i follow their instructions to the letter, and everytime i end up with a failed extraction, i've re-downloaded the ROM twice now and am simply unsure of how to continue, i would LOVE to see their rom in action and how it functions i'm just at a loss for how to continue, steps i take with safestrap as such.
1. Reboot into recovery
2. switch to rom-slot 1 (also tried the other numbers.. just in case)
3. create the slot, wipe it
4. install zip file ( tried from different folders, on both internal and sd storage)
5. facepalm i'm not sure what to do now i'm slightly sad because it's the seemingly coolest looking rom, there's so much customization options to it.. i just want it hopefully someone out there has an answer, and if not i'll let the subject die for now, thanks for your time to anyone whom reads this.
-brando

brando5055 said:
After searching for a fair while i've come to the conclusion that there aren't any threads that pose my set of issues. I've tried installing AllianceRom several times, i follow their instructions to the letter, and everytime i end up with a failed extraction, i've re-downloaded the ROM twice now and am simply unsure of how to continue, i would LOVE to see their rom in action and how it functions i'm just at a loss for how to continue, steps i take with safestrap as such.
1. Reboot into recovery
2. switch to rom-slot 1 (also tried the other numbers.. just in case)
3. create the slot, wipe it
4. install zip file ( tried from different folders, on both internal and sd storage)
5. facepalm i'm not sure what to do now i'm slightly sad because it's the seemingly coolest looking rom, there's so much customization options to it.. i just want it hopefully someone out there has an answer, and if not i'll let the subject die for now, thanks for your time to anyone whom reads this.
-brando
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried flashing to stock slot yet? rom slots have many known bugs as of now and most ROM devs recommend flashing to stock slot and avoiding rom slots.

MrHyde03 said:
Have you tried flashing to stock slot yet? rom slots have many known bugs as of now and most ROM devs recommend flashing to stock slot and avoiding rom slots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not, all honesty i'm super new to the entire process and thus far I haven't done that because i still use my stock rom on occasion flipping back and forth between the two and I'm primarily terrified of bricking my phone. What process would i go through to get my stock rom backed up and assuredly not going to be screwed out of it not existing before i tried flashing to the stock slot? I know i sound paranoid because i really am especially after it not working =/

Possibly figured it out
If i'm correct, i now know the issue. the file site dropped some people's network connections, and i'm guessing since my file size was only ~650 mb that was my issue, if not i'll inform you otherwise i'll be deleting the thread, thank you mr. hyde

brando5055 said:
I have not, all honesty i'm super new to the entire process and thus far I haven't done that because i still use my stock rom on occasion flipping back and forth between the two and I'm primarily terrified of bricking my phone. What process would i go through to get my stock rom backed up and assuredly not going to be screwed out of it not existing before i tried flashing to the stock slot? I know i sound paranoid because i really am especially after it not working =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Reboot to safestrap
2. Activate stock slot
3. backup -> data and system should be checked only
4. Wipe data/factory reset option
5. Install -> romfile.zip
6. Reboot.
If you want to be safer, after step 3 backup, reboot back to your system and copy the backup folder from external sd/ TWRP/######/backup folder. This way you'll have a backup on your computer in case something breaks. The nice thing is, safestrap is safe and won't (shouldn't..) brick your phone.
EDIT: just saw your recent post. yes, the alliance rom zip file should be 1gb or greater.

MrHyde03 said:
1. Reboot to safestrap
2. Activate stock slot
3. backup -> data and system should be checked only
4. Wipe data/factory reset option
5. Install -> romfile.zip
6. Reboot.
If you want to be safer, after step 3 backup, reboot back to your system and copy the backup folder from external sd/ TWRP/######/backup folder. This way you'll have a backup on your computer in case something breaks. The nice thing is, safestrap is safe and won't (shouldn't..) brick your phone.
EDIT: just saw your recent post. yes, the alliance rom zip file should be 1gb or greater.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it worked (go figure i feel like a dumbass), however after all of it i realized looking at oyur name that you seemed familiar for some reason. The first ROM i flashed, was yours. Thanks for that, it's very well made.

Xposed on Huawei Ascend XT

I have system-less root on my Huawei Ascend XT and also system-less Xposed installed and working. See https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70512435&postcount=3 for Xposed installation instructions I used.
Let's discuss anything regarding Xposed and modules in this thread .
Thanks, divineBliss
EDIT: WARNING: NOTE: CAUTION:
Please be aware that if you install Xposed framework on your XT, at times the phone won't boot correctly as evidenced by the fact that if you try to go to bring up the phone settings window/app, the screen will just flicker and the settings screen won't open. The simple solution is to just reboot the phone. Sometimes it takes multiple reboots before the phone successfully reboots/settings app can be successfully opened. This issue has been experienced by me and several others who installed Xposed framework on the XT.
For me personally, the advantages of using Xposed modules far outweigh this minor inconvenience which only happens after a phone reboot.

Not running xposed yet but have there been any issues or maybe a list of what works and doesn't? I'd like to know what others are getting from xposed.
Sent from my H1611 using Tapatalk

I got Xposed modules that let me listen to YouTube with app YouTube app minimized and even screen off.
And another module to adjust YouTube volume/scroll video by swiping on video screen.
See
http://www.howtogeek.com/263663/how...k-for-frustration-free-android-customization/
I used Magisk to install Xposed framework.
Also see: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70472229&postcount=488

Some how Xposed didn't install right, It wasn't working so I uninstalled it. My phone started to boot to recovery mode. Couldn't get passed it. I went into TWPR and recovered the Boot backup that TWRP installs to your internal. It "worked" but whenever it booted back to the home screen I got a black screen with nothing but for my notification bar and soft keys.
I tried to use my Backup from whenever I rooted but they are not showing up. I backed them up onto my computer so I put them onto my SD card and they are still not showing up in TWRP

1. After you installed Xposed with Magisk and rebooted the phone, what happened?
2. Did you wait about 30 minutes if the screen was dark or on the boot logo?
3. Go into TWRP and make sure you selected external SD for source. Use the TWRP file manager to make sure you it can access external SD - specifically the folder where you put the TWRP backup.
dabadguycr said:
Some how Xposed didn't install right, It wasn't working so I uninstalled it. My phone started to boot to recovery mode. Couldn't get passed it. I went into TWPR and recovered the Boot backup that TWRP installs to your internal. It "worked" but whenever it booted back to the home screen I got a black screen with nothing but for my notification bar and soft keys.
I tried to use my Backup from whenever I rooted but they are not showing up. I backed them up onto my computer so I put them onto my SD card and they are still not showing up in TWRP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
1. After you installed Xposed with Magisk and rebooted the phone, what happened?
2. Did you wait about 30 minutes if the screen was dark or on the boot logo?
3. Go into TWRP and make sure you selected external SD for source. Use the TWRP file manager to make sure you it can access external SD - specifically the folder where you put the TWRP backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. It was working great for about 20mins than everything started to freeze up and crash. Everything before was working great.
2. Yes, it only took around 10mins to boot back up.
3. I did that and my SD card is showing up. What file should the backups be in? I'm thinking I should make another backup than place the ones I have into that file.
I'm wondering if it is something with my launcher. I get Notification bar with everything and Soft key but nothing else.

1. After it booted up fine for 20 minutes, what did you do during that 20 minutes before it crapped out?
2 . So after you installed Xposed Framework with Magisk, the phone booted up fine within 10 minutes?
3. Yes, go back into TWRP and backup just the recovery so you see what directory it creates, then put your original TWRP backup into a similar parallel directory and see what happens.
What launcher are you using?
dabadguycr said:
1. It was working great for about 20mins than everything started to freeze up and crash. Everything before was working great.
2. Yes, it only took around 10mins to boot back up.
3. I did that and my SD card is showing up. What file should the backups be in? I'm thinking I should make another backup than place the ones I have into that file.
I'm wondering if it is something with my launcher. I get Notification bar with everything and Soft key but nothing else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
1. After it booted up fine for 20 minutes, what did you do during that 20 minutes before it crapped out?
2 . So after you installed Xposed Framework with Magisk, the phone booted up fine within 10 minutes?
3. Yes, go back into TWRP and backup just the recovery so you see what directory it creates, then put your original TWRP backup into a similar parallel directory and see what happens.
What launcher are you using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did 3. Took about 5mins to reboot. No launcher but luckily I had a pop up for updates so I was able to get into store to download a launcher.
imma try to download one.
It just says Download Pending nothing else.

Did you just restore a TWRP backup? Rooted backup or before root backup? Why was there no launcher in this backup?
dabadguycr said:
I did 3. Took about 5mins to reboot. No launcher but luckily I had a pop up for updates so I was able to get into store to download a launcher.
imma try to download one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
Did you just restore a TWRP backup? Rooted backup or before root backup? Why was there no launcher in this backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought I froze the stock launcher I think I may have deleted it. The stock launcher is found in the System files since it's read only I can not restore the system.
I thought I placed the stock recovery on my phone but I guess not. I still have super user and root.
I just checked my root with rootchecker and its working perfectly.

You can check or uncheck the box when TWRP starts to make System writable and you need to do that now to restore your System backup from TWRP. If you made a backup after rooting, you could try to restore that.
dabadguycr said:
I thought I froze the stock launcher I think I may have deleted it. The stock launcher is found in the System files since it's read only I can not restore the system.
I thought I was using a stock back up but I still have root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Is your phone working now? What was the lesson learned out of all this? Got some notes/bullets to share for others?
dabadguycr said:
I thought I froze the stock launcher I think I may have deleted it. The stock launcher is found in the System files since it's read only I can not restore the system.
I thought I placed the stock recovery on my phone but I guess not. I still have super user and root.
I just checked my root with rootchecker and its working perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
Is your phone working now? What was the lesson learned out of all this? Got some notes/bullets to share for others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's working again!!
I learned be very very careful removing Xposed and do not remove or freeze the stock launcher.
If you are restoring from a older backup and it doesn't show up. Make a new backup (I did cache only back up so I could tell the difference easier) on your SD Card. It should create a folders called
TWRP/BACKUP/(folder with 8 different letters and numbers) / (Then your new backup file)
Place your old backup folder under the new one. It will now show up in TWRP.
It's safe to restore a backup with root and super user. Takes around 10mins first boot.

Now that you have mastered restoring in 10 minutes, try Xposed again. I got it installed first try with Magisk. .
Every time I boot, I click the settings icon to make sure it works. Sometimes the screen just flashes and no settings screen comes up, so I just reboot. I'm not sure if that's caused by Xposed or what at this point, but it's not worth uninstalling Xposed for me to find out at this point.
dabadguycr said:
Yes, it's working again!!
I learned be very very careful removing Xposed and do not remove or freeze the stock launcher.
If you are restoring from a older backup and it doesn't show up. Make a new backup (I did cache only back up so I could tell the difference easier) on your SD Card. It should create a folders called
TWRP/BACKUP/(folder with 8 different letters and numbers) / (Then your new backup file)
Place your old backup folder under the new one. It will now show up in TWRP.
It's safe to restore a backup with root and super user. Takes around 10mins first boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
Now that you have mastered restoring in 10 minutes, try Xposed again. I got it installed first try with Magisk. .
Every time I boot, I click the settings icon to make sure it works. Sometimes the screen just flashes and no settings screen comes up, so I just reboot. I'm not sure if that's caused by Xposed or what at this point, but it's not worth uninstalling Xposed for me to find out at this point.
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I honestly think Magisk uninstall was what crashed my phone. I think I may have uninstalled it wrong. From the guide I read it said download the uninstall go into custom recovery and open the zip. I just thought it was Xposed because that's when my system started freezing.

divineBliss said:
Thanks, these details are important. So make a backup of Boot, System, and Data (and be sure you already have a good backup of Cust somewhere) if you want to try installing Xposed again. Depending on what else you do, you should only need to restore System if things get messed up trying to install Xposed again. And again, I have it installed with Xposed modules working, so it's possible.
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Does installing Xposed even touch the system? It looked like it modifies the boot but doesn't touch the system.

The Xposed install is supposed to be system-less, and you get did things working by only restoring Boot, that's why I said probably just Boot needs to be restored. If things didn't work after that, I'd restore System, and then if still not working, restore Data after that.
If you do try and reinstall Xposed, can you take notes on where it takes a long wait before something happens ........ I forgot to do that and don't remember now. It's not fun when the screen goes dark and you don't expect it ....... actually I seem to remember that happening for like 30 minutes ??? when I install Magisk/Xposed ........ the screen wasn't even on.
dabadguycr said:
Also
Does installing Xposed even touch the system? It looked like it modifies the boot but doesn't touch the system.
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divineBliss said:
The Xposed install is supposed to be system-less, and you did things working by only restoring Boot, that's why I said probably just Boot needs to be restored. If things didn't work after that, I'd restore System, and then if still not working, restore Data after that.
If you do try and reinstall Xposed, can you take notes on where it takes a long wait before something happens ........ I forgot to do that and don't remember now. It's not fun when the screen goes dark and you don't expect it ....... actually I seem to remember that happening for like 30 minutes ??? when I install Magisk/Xposed ........ the screen wasn't even on.
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I'm going to install it manually. I think Magisk was what missed up my phone last time so I rather go that path then taking the chance at missing something up again.
I'm going to install sdk23 should I install arm arm64 or x86.
I don't believe our phone is a 32bit system so x86 is out. I think arm64? Correct?

Yes, arm64. Take notes and good luck . Do you have a link on how to install it manually?
dabadguycr said:
I'm going to install it manually. I think Magisk was what missed up my phone last time so I rather go that path then taking the chance at missing something up again.
I'm going to install sdk23 should I install arm arm64 or x86.
I don't believe our phone is a 32bit system so x86 is out. I think arm64? Correct?
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divineBliss said:
Yes, arm64. Take notes and good luck . Do you have a link on how to install it manually?
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https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
I'm using this link.
Believe I just download the zip to SD card
Go into TWRP
Click install
Find the zip
Swipe to install
Click Wipe
Wipe cache and dalvik

Twrp backup and restore quick guide?

As the title says, could one of you fine people run through the process to flash twrp, swap slots, and backup, then the process to restore this backup when needed? All without getting stuck in bootloop and wiping?
I'd like to run LOS but want the option to restore my setup if I encounter jank, like the missing Gboard swipes I had on the first LOS install I tried. Ended up having to wipe and reflash because of that. Thx!
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

It's in the FAQ. Invisiblek recommends flashing TWRP to the other partition and then switching partitions again within TWRP to complete your backup. What I want to know is how to perform an adb backup properly on this device. When I do adb backup -all -apk, the file turns out to be only about 13 mb's. https://mata.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Airwolf79 said:
It's in the FAQ. Invisiblek recommends flashing TWRP to the other partition and then switching partitions again within TWRP to complete your backup. What I want to know is how to perform an adb backup properly on this device. When I do adb backup -all -apk, the file turns out to be only about 13 mb's. https://mata.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
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I've read the facts several times and I'm not feeling it. It seems you enter fastboot and immediately swap slots, then boot twrp and swap slots again, then backup? What about restore? And when I reboot out of twrp back to my stock rooted ROM must I flash the boot.img for my rom "F" or face bootloop again?
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

Eric_Sheill said:
I've read the facts several times and I'm not feeling it. It seems you enter fastboot and immediately swap slots, then boot twrp and swap slots again, then backup? What about restore? And when I reboot out of twrp back to my stock rooted ROM must I flash the boot.img for my rom "F" or face bootloop again?
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
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Restore would be the same process, but not sure about the boot.img. This is why I want to perform an adb backup. The partition system on these phones is presenting a lot of obstacles for developers, and with sales so low, it's unlikely that we'll ever see a development community at the level of phones like OnePlus. I've been reading the Pixel forum a bit to try and learn more the partition system since the phones have been out longer and they have a stronger community. I have tried several times to perform a TWRP backup on both partitions, and it's never completed fully. Usually freezes around 90% and I have to force reboot and delete the backup. Haven't tried it without encrypting the backup yet though. Maybe that's the issue. If you are able to complete a backup, I would suggest deleting your fingerprints first and/or pin, as that can cause problems on restore.

Airwolf79 said:
Restore would be the same process, but not sure about the boot.img. This is why I want to perform an adb backup. The partition system on these phones is presenting a lot of obstacles for developers, and with sales so low, it's unlikely that we'll ever see a development community at the level of phones like OnePlus. I've been reading the Pixel forum a bit to try and learn more the partition system since the phones have been out longer and they have a stronger community. I have tried several times to perform a TWRP backup on both partitions, and it's never completed fully. Usually freezes around 90% and I have to force reboot and delete the backup. Haven't tried it without encrypting the backup yet though. Maybe that's the issue. If you are able to complete a backup, I would suggest deleting your fingerprints first and/or pin, as that can cause problems on restore.
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Another issue I've run into is that I "allow modifications" upon booting twrp but it doesn't always allow writing to system, read only. If I could learn a reliable way to backup, restore, and boot every time I'd be a lot more comfortable!
I guess I have more time to tinker but every time I have to setup from wipe again I like the phone a little less and want to move to my OnePlus 5t. I really prefer the EP, most things being equal. Form factor is a huge plus for me.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

Eric_Sheill said:
Another issue I've run into is that I "allow modifications" upon booting twrp but it doesn't always allow writing to system, read only. If I could learn a reliable way to backup, restore, and boot every time I'd be a lot more comfortable!
I guess I have more time to tinker but every time I have to setup from wipe again I like the phone a little less and want to move to my OnePlus 5t. I really prefer the EP, most things being equal. Form factor is a huge plus for me.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
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I agree. Not sure exactly what the benefit of swiping to allow mods is. At this point I've already had to wipe the entire device once, and I just don't want to mess with it anymore until we have some more reliable methods of flashing with TWRP, and until we get some more ROMs. This is why I'm just running the stock ROM for now with Magisk and Xposed. I absolutely hate the stuttering screen scrolling, and not crazy about the haptic feedback either, but the form factor of this phone is just so perfect, I just can't bring myself to get rid of it. How do u like the 5T? I love my OP3, and am strongly considering getting one.

This is something you'll eventually have to get used to as more phones launch with the A B partitioning scheme and system-as-root. The 5t didn't launch with Oreo in order to avoid having to implement all these things including Treble.
I suspect they'll eventually improve the tools to make it easier especially when Samsung finally ships Oreo. The OP6 would also likely drive more work to make it easier.

Airwolf79 said:
I agree. Not sure exactly what the benefit of swiping to allow mods is. At this point I've already had to wipe the entire device once, and I just don't want to mess with it anymore until we have some more reliable methods of flashing with TWRP, and until we get some more ROMs. This is why I'm just running the stock ROM for now with Magisk and Xposed. I absolutely hate the stuttering screen scrolling, and not crazy about the haptic feedback either, but the form factor of this phone is just so perfect, I just can't bring myself to get rid of it. How do u like the 5T? I love my OP3, and am strongly considering getting one.
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I've wiped 4 times I think, it's cool 1-2 but after that it's a huge pain! I need magisk hide for gear S3 Samsung pay and my bank app so no xposed for me. I root for that reason and substratum Swift black theme.
I've got to tell you, I had my OnePlus 5 set up perfectly and sold it for the 5t, now slow dev and the white effing navbar I can't seem to reliably get rid of is hurting it vs the EP. Also it's a little bigger than the OP5 and it pushes it into "too big" territory, it's borderline. I thought the bigger screen vs the front capacitive buttons was a slam dunk but now not so sure. No more long press for last app and double tap for recents on the on screen buttons is another bummer for me. I used those on the back button on the right and never had to reach the recent button on the left, huge usability improvement now gone.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

ChronoReverse said:
This is something you'll eventually have to get used to as more phones launch with the A B partitioning scheme and system-as-root. The 5t didn't launch with Oreo in order to avoid having to implement all these things including Treble.
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Agreed, and once we start to get more of these phones on the market, we should get better dev support for the PH1.