Related
(I also posted this on the Titanium users forum, but there is a lot more traffic here, so I hope to get better results here)
Like a lot of people here, I test a lot of ROMs on my phone. Probably every week I go through at least one new ROM. A lot of people suggest NOT backing up system settings when installing new ROMs, because the settings on a current ROM may not make sense on the newly installed ROM. But many of the settings *should* be safe to backup, in my opinion. For instance, each time I install a new ROM, I spend quite a while resetting my SMS, gmail, ringtones, and other notifications. I would think those would be safe to backup. My questions: Which setting in Titanium should be safe to backup and restore when installing a new ROM? Specifically, which items in the titanium system settings refer to the notification sounds and ringtones? There are so many of them and some of them are quite cryptically named, I don't know which ones are the ones.
Thanks in advance!
Skip
OK, I know there are Titanium users in here. We've all heard not to use it to restore system settings when testing new ROMs. I have searched and my question has not been answered as far as I could tell (can't prove a negative). So, how about a little love, please
Bluetooth pairings, wireless access points, sms/mms, and web bookmarks and I think that's it.
Hi guys,
First of all (in case you didn't realize it), I'm an android noob. This is my first Android phone (my employer tried to give me an iPhone, but caved when I told them I'd just stick it in my drawer and save it as an emergency phone) and I just rooted it
Now...I made a backup of it after rooting. This should get me back to stock if I need it, right? Should I copy it off the phone? I guess it will be removed if I have to wipe...?...
Also; will I retain my settings, sms/mms etc etc if I use a custom ROM? This is my main concern at the moment, as I want something more fancy and hopefully less energy consuming ROM.
Cheers!
tiwas said:
Hi guys,
First of all (in case you didn't realize it), I'm an android noob. This is my first Android phone (my employer tried to give me an iPhone, but caved when I told them I'd just stick it in my drawer and save it as an emergency phone) and I just rooted it
Now...I made a backup of it after rooting. This should get me back to stock if I need it, right? Should I copy it off the phone? I guess it will be removed if I have to wipe...?...
Also; will I retain my settings, sms/mms etc etc if I use a custom ROM? This is my main concern at the moment, as I want something more fancy and hopefully less energy consuming ROM.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there!
if you made the backup just after rooting, if you run that Backup (through CWM etc) it will revert the phone back to how it was at the time of the backup, so if you didnt have any settings,sms,Apps etc they will not show. you can copy the backup file if you wish to but i believe (not 100%) the backups are stored on External SD and as a result are not lost on a Factory Reset/Wipe
Some Custom ROMS (Litening ROM i use) allow you to flash with no loss of data, including all your apps, SMS and settings. Basically you have the exact same phone layout but with a Spiffy,fast,Fresh rom they are really easy to flash with ODIN, now im not sure if other Roms (Villain, Cognition, etc) retain the Data partition on flashing you would need to check out the specific Threads on the Android Development section of the forum
hope that helped !
Thanks - that was helpful I will look into the other ROMS and decide from there.
Do you know if any of the SGS2 ROMs have more themes available? I get bored easily, and it would be great to change the look and feel every now and then
well being that the phone is still relatively new and still not available for the North American market, the development for it is still small. However, the CM7 team are developing roms for it, and a lot of other custom roms are based off CM7, so there should be a good selection of roms in the near future. the sgs2 is one of, if not the most anticipated android device this year, so i'm sure rom selection wouldn't be a problem.
Thanks, guys
I just bought Titanium Backup after some recommendation in another thread. Is there anything I should be aware of, or any recommendations, when making a backup before trying out other ROMs?
tiwas said:
Thanks, guys
I just bought Titanium Backup after some recommendation in another thread. Is there anything I should be aware of, or any recommendations, when making a backup before trying out other ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whenever i do anything such as update/change my ROM, i do a Ti backup of all my apps (incase they go missing) then a CWM backup of my System which i can roll back to if i have any problems
Also, just to 2nd what p00kienrayray Said, the only ROMS i know of which support themes are MIUI and CM7 which should hopefully work fully soon
tiwas said:
Thanks, guys
I just bought Titanium Backup after some recommendation in another thread. Is there anything I should be aware of, or any recommendations, when making a backup before trying out other ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, there *definitely is* a recommendation, when making a backup before trying a rom which wipes your phone, check out the message I sent to TB developer..
"Hi, I bought titanium few days ago to help the transition from my Magic to the new Galaxy S2. I used to use My backup Pro but appreciated the apps freezing function of Titanium that could possibly help avoid the battery drain problem on the S2 due to the Samsung WiFi sharing bug.
I had quite a bad experience, though, regarding a hard reset I had to perform on the phone, which I previously backed up with Titanium: the default backup directory is /mnt/sdcard but that corresponds to the internal memory on the S2, while the external one is located in /mnt/sdcard/external_sd (if I am not wrong). That led to losing a week worth of photos (the one part I couldn't really get back, given that I had a week old backup made with SMS Backup & Restore + Call Log backup & Restore made on the Magic).
Ok, lesson learnt for me but may I suggest that the default directory can be automatically set to /mnt/sdcard/external_sd if the terminal is an S2, for future users not to be unsatisfied? Is it something that could be implemented in TB?
Thanks for listening,
*************
PS well, shame on Samsung as well for such a weird choice... I would have set /mnt/sdcard for the external one and /mnt/internal_sd for the internal one... and don't understand why the hard reset (performed through the *2737*3655# code - if I remember correctly) does reset the internal memory which if I am not wrong is a separate partition from the system."
CONFIGURE YOUR TB BACKUP DIR TO /mnt/sdcard/external_sd BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE
Not to mention that some apps like SMS Backup & Restore do not allow you to change the dir, therefore you have to manually move the backup results after you have finished
Hi all- I have a 16gb GT10.1 and, while 16gb of storage was more than I could have dreamt of having in my first computer, it's not a lot once you've had your tablet for a few months. 100 apps + copilot GPS maps (deleted all but NA) + a gig of music, and I end up so low on space I can't do a new backup. I don't keep any videos on the tab, but it's fine with me because streaming works great on the GT10.1 (allshare, netflix, grooveshark, and google music beta FTW!). With only one nandroid backup and one Titanium backup I still find that I usually don't have more than 1-3 gigs of space left, and it often drops to less than one gig, especially if I forget to delete my old nandroid backup. Using the "clear data" function when installing a new ROM through CWM doesn't affect your SD card.
So I decided that it was time to figure out what was hogging my SDcard. I found a few files and directories that can be deleted without ill effect (at least as far as I can tell, I backed them up on my laptop just in case). So far I haven't deleted anything I use and I'm up to about 5 gigs free.
I'll post what I've found here, but I'm sure there's more. If you know of other directories, files, or apps that take up significant space and can be safely deleted, or other ways to free up space, put them into the comments and I'll try to update the OP. Also, try to figure out what the files are for and put that information in too.
***Warning: I am not responsible for deleting your important files, your backups, your homework, or your favorite picture of your cat. Everything in this thread has been tested by me or by at least 2 other forum users (hint, hint), but that doesn't guarantee that it won't set your tablet or your hair on fire. Use this guide at your own risk***
Big files that can be deleted:
mnt/sdcard/DCIM/.thumbnails/.thumbdata3-xxxxxxx
(Has something to do with a database of thumbnails. Deleting it has not had any effect on me, but I don't use my tab for photos. Mine was 124mb).
Directories that can have ALL files in them deleted:
mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.amazon.venezia/cache/
(This is where the Amazon Appstore puts downloaded apks, including the daily free ones, and it NEVER gets cleared out. Mine was almost 2gb when I found it.)
mnt/sdcard/ScreenCapture/
(This is where all those screencaptures you accidentally took went. I've personally never intentionally taken a screen capture...)
Apps that can be deleted
Coming soon! (Haven't flashed Task's newest (v11) yet and I think he finally got rid of some of the garbage that I have to uninstall every time I flash... Will update this list when I do)
Other ways to save space:
Titanium backup: [preferences menu]
Backup app external data
(Allows you to choose whether you want to backup app data every time you do a Titanium backup. Serious reduction in the size of your backup, but with a pretty obvious disadvantage... Check the next option for something less drastic)
Select external data by max size
(Allows you to choose the maximum size of app external data backup. Default is to keep 32mb or smaller data caches. Most apps don't exceed that, but the few that do - like copilot - don't get backed up. I didn't mess with this one but)
Max backup history : set to "1"
(Sets the number of backup data "points." One is plenty unless you want double or triple backups)
Also, check this directory:
mnt/sdcard/Android/data/
This is where most app data goes. I found lots of stuff here that I didn't need any more. It's worth mentioning that this is where music you set as "offline" on google music beta is stored.
*Tip* Most of the subfolders are easy to identify as software you own, but sometimes you'll find that an app didn't uninstall properly and the data is still there!
Hope this helps! Please add your ideas for significant space savings in the comments.
**Update: So just after I originally posted this, Task650 started making a "slim" version of his ROM. Though none of the stuff above is affected, he's taken out many of the crappy Samsung programs and saved a lot of space that way. I usually had to use Titanium Backup to delete those programs with every new flash; now there's no reason to! I definitely recommend that ROM.
**Update 2: Just wanted to say "thanks" to the person (or persons) who voted this thread 5 stars. Also "thanks" to the person (or persons) who voted it one star. That's awesome of you.
DecrAPPify - removable apps list
Here's a list of apps installed in stock 3.2 (and some custom ROMs) that can be safely removed.
You may want some of these depending on your uses, so don't just remove them because you can...
Delete these with Titanium Backup. You might have to go into the settings and turn on "Chuck Norris Mode" (I didn't make that up).
/data/app/com.androidapps.spare_parts-1.apk
/data/app/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup.apk
/system/app/Asus_Weather.apk
/system/app/BluetoothTest.apk
/system/app/CalendarGoogle.apk
/system/app/ChocoEUKor.apk
/system/app/ChromeBookmarksSyncAdapter.apk
/system/app/Dlna.apk
/system/app/DualClock.apk
/system/app/Ebook.apk
/system/app/FactoryTest.apk
/system/app/Finsky.apk
/system/app/fotaclient.apk
/system/app/GoogleFeedback.apk
/system/app/GooglePartnerSetup.apk
/system/app/HelvNeueLT.apk
/system/app/HTMLViewer.apk
/system/app/Kies.apk
/system/app/kieswifi.apk
/system/app/lcdTest.apk
/system/app/LiveWallpapersPicker.apk
/system/app/Memo.apk
/system/app/mini_penmemo.apk
/system/app/MiniTwCalculatorService.apk
/system/app/MobilePrint.apk
/system/app/MusicPlayer.apk
/system/app/oem_install_flash_player.apk
/system/app/PenMemo.apk
/system/app/PhotoEditor.apk
/system/app/PRUI.apk
/system/app/Quickoffice.apk
/system/app/Roboto.apk
/system/app/signin.apk
/system/app/SnsAccountFb.apk
/system/app/SnsAccountLi.apk
/system/app/SnsAccountTw.apk
/system/app/SnsDisclaimer.apk
/system/app/SnsImageCache.apk
/system/app/SnsProvider.apk
/system/app/SoundRecorder.apk
/system/app/Swype.apk
/system/app/Vending.apk
/system/app/VideoEditorGoogle.apk
/system/app/Videos.apk
/system/app/wipereceiver.apk
/system/app/WorldClock.apk
/system/app/wssomacp.apk
/system/app/wssyncmlnps.apk
As above, if I've missed any, please let me know!
Thanks for the list twa_priv!
** Most of these apps have been removed in Galaxy Task v12 slim **
Or you can get cache cleaner from market. It help cleared a few more mb's . Disk space is another app that can show you what's taking up the space.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
It amazes me how much crap accumulates on my tab as well - thanks for starting this thread.
A couple suggestions that I've found useful, too:
1. NANDROID backups - each of mine is at least 1GB - keep an eye on how many you're keeping around... I'm a bit of a flash-junkie, so I have 2 currently, but usually only keep one around;
2. SD Maid in the market is pretty useful at rooting out junk.... I only use the free version, so not sure how much more the paid one would remove - but every time I've run it, I usually can clear up a few 100mb.
Hope it helps!
I just do a factory reset every few months. Gets rid of a lot of crap.
Most people don't like this method because they want to "settle in" and doing a factory reset upsets the nest. However, I like to experiment a lot with apps and a reset clears out the experiments. It lets me start all over fresh.
TabGuy said:
I just do a factory reset every few months. Gets rid of a lot of crap.
Most people don't like this method because they want to "settle in" and doing a factory reset upsets the nest. However, I like to experiment a lot with apps and a reset clears out the experiments. It lets me start all over fresh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of us serial flashers are doing factory resets weekly...if not nightly.
slack04 said:
Big files that can be deleted:
Hope this helps! Please add your ideas for significant space savings in the comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the effort!
Where could I find a "summary" of the Android file structure (no joy with google search)? Let say, a factory install of Android 2.2 or 3.0 or whatever.
It would be interesting to know what each directory is for.
got556 said:
Most of us serial flashers are doing factory resets weekly...if not nightly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the last 3 weeks Ive probably did a full wipe at least 20 times all on my phone though
Since Ive installed the CM KANG I havent wanted to flash anything else
DT3CH said:
In the last 3 weeks Ive probably did a full wipe at least 20 times all on my phone though
Since Ive installed the CM KANG I havent wanted to flash anything else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to be clear: there's a difference between a "full wipe" (which most people mean is just using the "clear data" function in CWM) and a factory reset (which is done by going to Settings-->Privacy-->Factory Data Reset.)
The factory data reset deletes everything on the tab. I personally never use this; there's no advantage to the user since the android system sees it as an SD card. The full wipe deletes the system partition and that's the only thing that makes a difference when you're installing a new ROM.
Think of it this way: There are 3 partitions. Android is installed on one partition and an image of the stock ROM is saved on another backup partition. A third partition is just for data (this is what you see when you plug your tab into windows). When you factory reset, you're formatting both the android partition and the data partition, then installing the ROM on the android partition and recreating the file structure on the data partition. Wipe data, on the other hand, just formats the android partition--which is where the ROM is loaded. (BTW--This is totally oversimplified, if you're a dev don't flame, I'm just trying to make it easier to understand. Also, don't ever mess with the partitions on your tablet...)
BTW- This is similar to how I manage my Windows computers. I have the same three partitions described above. Every 8 weeks or so I write down the applications I want to permanently add to my system; make sure all my data is transferred to the data partition; figure out what tweaks and applications I've added since the last time I imaged the drive (I keep a list); and then I format the windows partition and reinstall the most recent image. Then I set all the tweaks and add all the applications I wrote down; run a windows update; and reimage the drive (and save the image on the recovery partition). This way my windows installation is always like brand new, except with all the updates done, all my programs installed, and all system options configured. My data is completely unaffected, and I can do this in about 15 minutes.
got556 said:
Most of us serial flashers are doing factory resets weekly...if not nightly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what Titanium Backup is for
All of my info is in the attatchment, just wondering if its possible? I don't really want to lose my data etc.
Cheers in advance
jarrodstrachan said:
All of my info is in the attatchment, just wondering if its possible? I don't really want to lose my data etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummm, what?
You've got a CM10.1 nightly ROM with a Motley kernel, and you want to know "how do I get the upgrade"?
Upgrade to what, stock 4.2.2? How would that be an upgrade? It's a completely unrelated ROM!
Look, there are ROMs that are just a little too different to be exchanging body parts between. In some cases - for instance a steady progression of closely related ROMs, e.g. CM10.1 nightlies - you can just flash the new ROM over the top of the old without performing any wipes. But I wouldn't ever blindly mix all of /data between a stock and CM ROM.
Overflashing without a wipe will replace /system and the boot image but preserve:
- Market Apps & their data
- Data from (former?) System Apps & frameworks --- but their corresponding app at the same version may not be installed
It's the last bit that is the troublesome part, and it's why I said "steady progression of closely related ROMS". If the ROM being replaced is not a recent ancestor of the new ROM, you could have -
missing system apps (data present but no app for it) -- not too much of a problem
data present for a system app which is version mis-matched with the replacement System App (can be a problem)
Anyway, there are combinations of ROMs which are so far apart from each other, either in their frameworks or versions of Pre-installed apps, or their expectations of settings found in /data that it's just not a good idea to "overflash" one ROM on top of the data from another - there's just too large a chance of developing all sorts of troubles.
In those cases, you need a "completely New ROM" strategy:
- You make a FULL Nandroid backup of the existing ROM and get it stored off of the N7 someplace; this is for disaster recovery. Who knows - you might not like the new stuff, so it will let you go back to exactly where you were.
- You back up only Market Apps and their data from the old ROM; when they get restored, they will certainly match each other. You can use Titanium Backup (for root users) or the Carbon App (for non-root users) for this purpose. Also other** misc. backups.
- You perform a factory reset to wipe /data (excluding /data/media on the N7)
- You flash the new ROM, and boot it as a brand new device, entering your Google Creds
- Market Download (or sideload from prior backups) Titanium Backup or Carbon (depending on what you used)
- Restore your Market Apps and associated data.
- Reboot once. If you get warnings about "UID mismatch", you need to boot into a custom recovery again and run the "fix permissions" option in the custom recovery.
- Tweak or re-do settings as needed.
** there are some things that can be separately backed up with other apps such as SMS/MMS messages, APN settings, Bookmarks, etc. Or, Launcher/Home apps that let you save & restore your homescreen layouts. Feel free to experiment, or look at the TiBu capabilities here.
You can probably get away with overflashing newer ROMs within the same minor release group without wiping data. For instance, near-stock 4.2.1 -> 4.2.2 or 4.2.3, but not something like 4.1.2 -> 4.2.1. Same thing with CM - anything within the 10.1 grouping might be perfectly fine, but you certainly wouldn't want to overflash a CM9 ROM with a CM10 ROM (for example). At some point it is simply the better idea to install a ROM as if it were completely new, and then restore market apps & data back into that ROM.
If you want to try Pure Stock with "your data", go ahead and install it as above: start out as if it were a completely new tablet, and then finish up with TiBu or Carbon to install market apps & data from backup.
** Whether or not to use Google Cloud service to backup/restore "settings" is a good question; it would be nice if it could be restricted to just generic Android settings alone, but it wants to re-install all your market apps as downloads, too. This will exacerbate "UID mismatch" problems, as you will be restoring them from TiBu or Carbon.
bftb0 said:
Ummm, what?
You've got a CM10.1 nightly ROM with a Motley kernel, and you want to know "how do I get the upgrade"?
Upgrade to what, stock 4.2.2? How would that be an upgrade? It's a completely unrelated ROM!
Look, there are ROMs that are just a little too different to be exchanging body parts between. In some cases - for instance a steady progression of closely related ROMs, e.g. CM10.1 nightlies - you can just flash the new ROM over the top of the old without performing any wipes. But I wouldn't ever blindly mix all of /data between a stock and CM ROM.
Overflashing without a wipe will replace /system and the boot image but preserve:
- Market Apps & their data
- Data from (former?) System Apps & frameworks --- but their corresponding app at the same version may not be installed
It's the last bit that is the troublesome part, and it's why I said "steady progression of closely related ROMS". If the ROM being replaced is not a recent ancestor of the new ROM, you could have -
missing system apps (data present but no app for it) -- not too much of a problem
data present for a system app which is version mis-matched with the replacement System App (can be a problem)
Anyway, there are combinations of ROMs which are so far apart from each other, either in their frameworks or versions of Pre-installed apps, or their expectations of settings found in /data that it's just not a good idea to "overflash" one ROM on top of the data from another - there's just too large a chance of developing all sorts of troubles.
In those cases, you need a "completely New ROM" strategy:
- You make a FULL Nandroid backup of the existing ROM and get it stored off of the N7 someplace; this is for disaster recovery. Who knows - you might not like the new stuff, so it will let you go back to exactly where you were.
- You back up only Market Apps and their data from the old ROM; when they get restored, they will certainly match each other. You can use Titanium Backup (for root users) or the Carbon App (for non-root users) for this purpose. Also other** misc. backups.
- You perform a factory reset to wipe /data (excluding /data/media on the N7)
- You flash the new ROM, and boot it as a brand new device, entering your Google Creds
- Market Download (or sideload from prior backups) Titanium Backup or Carbon (depending on what you used)
- Restore your Market Apps and associated data.
- Reboot once. If you get warnings about "UID mismatch", you need to boot into a custom recovery again and run the "fix permissions" option in the custom recovery.
- Tweak or re-do settings as needed.
** there are some things that can be separately backed up with other apps such as SMS/MMS messages, APN settings, Bookmarks, etc. Or, Launcher/Home apps that let you save & restore your homescreen layouts. Feel free to experiment, or look at the TiBu capabilities here.
You can probably get away with overflashing newer ROMs within the same minor release group without wiping data. For instance, near-stock 4.2.1 -> 4.2.2 or 4.2.3, but not something like 4.1.2 -> 4.2.1. Same thing with CM - anything within the 10.1 grouping might be perfectly fine, but you certainly wouldn't want to overflash a CM9 ROM with a CM10 ROM (for example). At some point it is simply the better idea to install a ROM as if it were completely new, and then restore market apps & data back into that ROM.
If you want to try Pure Stock with "your data", go ahead and install it as above: start out as if it were a completely new tablet, and then finish up with TiBu or Carbon to install market apps & data from backup.
** Whether or not to use Google Cloud service to backup/restore "settings" is a good question; it would be nice if it could be restricted to just generic Android settings alone, but it wants to re-install all your market apps as downloads, too. This will exacerbate "UID mismatch" problems, as you will be restoring them from TiBu or Carbon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a fantastic response and I can only thank you for taking so much time to answer my question, after reading that I understand why mix and matching is a bad idea. Either way thanks alot for the response, I think I will backup my apps and media and completely wipe/reflash a new ROM. Thanks again buddy, much appreciated.
Why I love XDA....
"...there are ROMs that are just a little too different to be exchanging body parts between..."
--by bftb0--
Quotes like this are pure gold... even if I did choke on my cigar whilst reading it.
Rgrds,
Ged.
Starting to flash roms often got a addiction new to this and keep having to spend hour to get everything setup got titanium backup pro, whats the best way to be able to backup apps/settings on apps, settings on phone even layout of icons and such?
hate spending so much time redoing it, thanks please tell me what you do to fasten the process, many thanks
On my experience, I prefer to take time doing everything again to avoid mislead apps or erros..
I agree with both. I like a quick setup on 1st new update of a ROM and then go back to do everything clean. So.......
I use Google/phone backup and restore on prompt, let it download and install my apps and reapply my settings. I also use a launcher with a back up function so I can just restore my screens and then I just TB on top of everything to reapply my apps settings etc. ( my TB backups are always up to date ). If the ROM has sufficient changes I will revert to doing a clean setup, minor changes I will keep as it is and if minuuuuuuute or no real changes or non effective to my usage I will restore my previous version and repeat when necessary.
Just my way, maybe help maybe not ?
see Y'all on the (Kick)Flip side