Database Users

Hard reset: check for safety

Hi there,
I've found a lot of information on the wiki and this forum, and maybe it's because I don't have any experience with this, but I'm still nervous about doing a hard reset... Yeah laugh if you like
I want to perform a hard reset because I've messed around with my HD a lot and want to start with a clean installation.
Because I already once lost all my contacts I just want check if I'll be allright if I do the following:
- All applications (cab), music, photo's, documents placed on storage card
- PIMBackup to make a backup of my contacts
I don't have any troubles reconfiguring my e-mail accounts.
But really, this is it? Or do I miss something? I can't come up with anything more I'd need to backup. Any tips?
Thanks in advance!

dusdus said:
Hi there,
I've found a lot of information on the wiki and this forum, and maybe it's because I don't have any experience with this, but I'm still nervous about doing a hard reset... Yeah laugh if you like
I want to perform a hard reset because I've messed around with my HD a lot and want to start with a clean installation.
Because I already once lost all my contacts I just want check if I'll be allright if I do the following:
- All applications (cab), music, photo's, documents placed on storage card
- PIMBackup to make a backup of my contacts
I don't have any troubles reconfiguring my e-mail accounts.
But really, this is it? Or do I miss something? I can't come up with anything more I'd need to backup. Any tips?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off welcome to XDA.
There is various backup software available which you can use. Best free one would be Sashimi which can be used to backup everything including contacts, emails, apps installed, registry changes, settings. However this takes a bit of settings up first time unfortunately. Another free backup tool is PIMBackup which can be used to backup contacts & emails.
There is also 3rd party backup apps like SPB Backup, Resco Backup & Sprite. A word of caution using these though. You can only really use these for contacts, emails etc as changing between roms means settings, registries etc would not be the same on each rom, so if you where to perform a full backup including settings, apps installed etc and then perform a full restore this could cause complications when changing between roms

Thanks a lot Enough confirmation to run it this evening.
I'm not feeling like changing to another ROM. I can't decide what ROM is a decent one, there's too much choice and too much testing involved. I've worked a lot with Linux and used a lot of beta-software, which ended in endless errorsolving. I kinda want a lite ROM which simply works. I already spend 3 hours reading the forum today (I love my job ;-) and can't find the right reasons to choose a lite and stable ROM
So I'll guess I'm going back to the original state of the phone as it was when I bought it a year ago. Or is there any ROM you'd specifically recommend?

All I do is sync with outlook. Then hard reset. It's then just a case of installing what apps you want and re-syncing. simples. By doing it that way you will only get back on your device what you actually want.

Freypal said:
All I do is sync with outlook. Then hard reset. It's then just a case of installing what apps you want and re-syncing. simples. By doing it that way you will only get back on your device what you actually want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this is very true, but if you use Sashimi, whole process can be done in 5-10 mins, i.e. everything from flashing to having apps installed, settings changed etc. Only difficulty with Sashimi is the initial setup of it.

How to get back my pictures, contacts, text messages and other files?

Hi, there!
Yesterday, my little son formatted my Samsung Galaxy phone as he was playing with it. All my saved pictures, contacts, text messages and other files on the inner memory card were gone. So, I am wondering whether there is a way for me to get them back. Do you know any way to help me get them back? Any idea can be appreciated! Please, help me!

......:banghead:
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

Jhody4657 said:
Hi, there!
Yesterday, my little son formatted my Samsung Galaxy phone as he was playing with it. All my saved pictures, contacts, text messages and other files on the inner memory card were gone. So, I am wondering whether there is a way for me to get them back. Do you know any way to help me get them back? Any idea can be appreciated! Please, help me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK! Don’t worry! In this technological era, the accidental formatting problem cannot be a big deal. The deleted files often can be easily restored with the help of a data recovery program.
So, in your case, I hope you can act carefully to restore all your wanted files back as below:
1. Stop using the Samsung phone right now in case that any new file on it may overwrite your original data.
2. Plunge this phone to you computer so that you can begin to retrieve your data.
3. Download a phone data recovery program to retrieve all your lost data back.
Nowadays, there are plenty of data recovery programs available online. But, not all of them can work as efficiently as you think. So, you should select a most proper one for your data after doing much searching.
But, if you still doubt, you can firstly take chances with some phone data recovery freeware that work much more efficiently than some paid ones, such as Recuva, TestDisk and iCare Data Recovery Free, etc.
4. Do not save or back up all the restored data on the same phone in case of any data loss.
In the future, you should learn a lesson to be more careful about your data and always back it up well.
I hope my words can help you out!

Clair0048 said:
OK! Don’t worry! In this technological era, the accidental formatting problem cannot be a big deal. The deleted files often can be easily restored with the help of a data recovery program.
So, in your case, I hope you can act carefully to restore all your wanted files back as below:
1. Stop using the Samsung phone right now in case that any new file on it may overwrite your original data.
2. Plunge this phone to you computer so that you can begin to retrieve your data.
3. Download a phone data recovery program to retrieve all your lost data back.
Nowadays, there are plenty of data recovery programs available online. But, not all of them can work as efficiently as you think. So, you should select a most proper one for your data after doing much searching.
But, if you still doubt, you can firstly take chances with some phone data recovery freeware that work much more efficiently than some paid ones, such as Recuva, TestDisk and iCare Data Recovery Free, etc.
4. Do not save or back up all the restored data on the same phone in case of any data loss.
In the future, you should learn a lesson to be more careful about your data and always back it up well.
I hope my words can help you out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5. Forget the technological era... Honestly, you are ****ed... If you do find a software that recovers the data... Let me know... Try google + (for pictures) this time around... At least pictures will not be lost the next time. Also always try to configure apps to save data on sdcard instead of internal memory. Take care...
Sent from my GT-N8000 using XDA Premium HD app

Always R-Studio was saved my ass in many catastrophes that happened to me, as previous said you only need not to use the phone until you are rdy with the program in a pc and then plug it and try to recover. I wish you luck m8
Sent from my 9100

[Q] Backup & Restore

How did you guys restore apps and data along with sms/mms, call history and bookmarks from your previous phone? I am coming from a rooted gs3 and would like to figure this out before I make the leap to the gs5. I have always used and loved titanium backup but know it won't work without root.

rotzy said:
How did you guys restore apps and data along with sms/mms, call history and bookmarks from your previous phone? I am coming from a rooted gs3 and would like to figure this out before I make the leap to the gs5. I have always used and loved titanium backup but know it won't work without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also migrated from rooted s3, no luck on app data (had to reenter some), apps that sync to cloud (i.e. google apps) restored data fine. Used samsung smart switch app to migrate call logs, sms, bookmarks, etc..see play store, worked well.

Really? Nobody saves and imports their app data when they switch phones or is it so simple to do that no one wants to tell me how to do it!?

rotzy said:
How did you guys restore apps and data along with sms/mms, call history and bookmarks from your previous phone? I am coming from a rooted gs3 and would like to figure this out before I make the leap to the gs5. I have always used and loved titanium backup but know it won't work without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use SMS Backup+ for SMS/MMS and call log. Apps and data I didn't really bring with, I started over, except for a couple with their own backup and restore functions, like Llama and Nova Launcher.
I prepared to restore more data using Koush's Helium, but decided against it so that none of the "issues" from my old phone would follow me to the new one...
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

You can use Helium (on the app store) by Clockworkmod to back up the app data on unrooted phones (you need to plug into computer first and download a Helium app on the computer). It can backup app data on rooted phones without any issues. Note that saving the backups to external SD card and then transferring the SD card will not work - I don't think Helium has been updated to work with external SDs in KitKat yet. Therefore, use the cloud save or simply sync between your two devices.
I have run into some issues with game saves - for example, restoring a Plants vs Zombie save ended up causing a force close on the program (while PvZ 2 works fine). A couple other games refuse to back up (oddly enough, I never ran into this issue while my GS3 was on Jelly Bean 4.2, only after I updated to 4.3 and went to backup in prep for a move to the GS5). I also generally have bad luck restoring data to apps that have associated "accounts" - i.e. facebook and linkedin, so I take care to avoid restoring those and just login with my new information.
You can also use ADB on your computer to do a manual backup (Helium actually does this technically, it just spoofs your phone into thinking its still plugged in). Apparently this backup solution is a built in part of Android, just never utilized. Its not easy to use, and cannot selectively backup and restore apps unless you know the specific "com.android.xyz" app name. Google "ADB backup android" and you should find some tutorials - there is one on the Nexus forums here on XDA that walks through some of the flags and settings. Be careful to not backup system apps if you do that, you are asking for trouble.
Personally it bugs the crap out of me that there is no app data migration built into Android - yes contacts, calendar, etc can all be stored in the cloud, but why not app data? For all its rhetoric about the cloud and keeping information synced up, its a glaring oversight on Google's part. I think android theoretically restores app data on certain apps (if developers code it the right way) when the initial restore is performed after initially setting up a device, but I have yet to see that work correctly. Plus that initial restore process is full of holes - lots of apps don't re-download. You would think that, in order to sell more phones, at the very least manufacturers would want to make backup/restore as easy as possible. Samsung does have Smart Switch, but it doesn't backup app data and really only restores those items that are likely in the cloud or on SD cards anyway (pictures and contacts).
Even early 2000s blackberries had backup and restore functionality, as did old palm pilots from the 90s.

Thanks Rlin5741.
I've read such contradictory reviews about Helium that I didn't want to try it without hearing from someone here. Are you saying it is possible to plug my rooted GS3 into the computer and backup apps and data with Helium and then restore them onto the new phone OR would I need to plug both phones in and transfer directly?

rotzy said:
Thanks Rlin5741.
I've read such contradictory reviews about Helium that I didn't want to try it without hearing from someone here. Are you saying it is possible to plug my rooted GS3 into the computer and backup apps and data with Helium and then restore them onto the new phone OR would I need to plug both phones in and transfer directly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooted GS3 can back up to Drive without a PC. New GS5 will need to be connected to a PC to restore.
You don't have to have both at once.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

JohnKuczek said:
Rooted GS3 can back up to Drive without a PC. New GS5 will need to be connected to a PC to restore.
You don't have to have both at once.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.

JohnKuczek said:
Rooted GS3 can back up to Drive without a PC. New GS5 will need to be connected to a PC to restore.
You don't have to have both at once.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've generally done very selective backups - game saves, etc, and perhaps call logs and SMS/MMS. I generally do not back up system apps (especially if you are moving to a different model phone), any app that has an associated "account" (email, facebook, linkedin) because those apps have deeper integration with the system. If you do not backup system apps, and selectively backup others, if you still run into issues you can clear app data through the app manager; that should clear out any restores.
Since Helium uses Android's built in, hidden backup functionality, it actually refuses to back up certain apps - such as Google Authenticator. I think app developers can flag their apps to prohibit backups for security reasons.
More on Android's built in backup solution (http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-nexus/general/guide-phone-backup-unlock-root-t1420351). I DO NOT recommend doing the full backup from your old phone and restoring it on your GS5 - the full backup will hit all apps. At the very least, use the flag to avoid system files.

Rlin5741 said:
I've generaly done very selective backups - game saves, etc, and perhaps call logs and SMS/Mook marks nerally do not back up system apps (especially if you are moving to a different model phone), any app that has an associated "account" (email, facebook, linkedin) because those apps have deeper integration with the system. If you do not backup system apps, and selectively backup others, if you still run into issues you can clear app data through the app manager; that should clear out any restores.
Since Helium uses Android's built in, hidden backup functionality, it actually refuses to back up certain apps - such as Google Authenticator. I think app developers can flag their apps to prohibit backups for security reasons.
More on Android's built in backup solution (http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-nexus/general/guide-phone-backup-unlock-root-t1420351). I DO NOT recommend doing the full backup from your old phone and restoring it on your GS5 - the full backup will hit all apps. At the very least, use the flag to avoid system files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definately don't want system apps or anything you can log into. I'm only looking to restore call logs, sms/mms, bookmarks and game data. I'll give helium a try when I'm ready to switch.

How do you start Tap&Go after initial setup?

Initial setup did not pop up with v20. I wanna do Tap&Go because I have over 200+ apps from previous phone. Searched night and day and can't find the damn way. Anyone know?

larciel said:
Initial setup did not pop up with v20. I wanna do Tap&Go because I have over 200+ apps from previous phone. Searched night and day and can't find the damn way. Anyone know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to Play store and download the LG Backup (sender) to your current phone(old device)
Open the app, select how to transfer (probably wirelessly) on the V20 go to LG Backup - receive data and then hit start on the old device.

Is LG Backup preferred over Helium for non-rooted phones? I have never done this, go from a non-rooted Note7 to a non-rooted V20 (likely my plan next week).
I need to know what the best course of action is for doing this, Tap&Go, Helium, or LG Backup. I want as little setup to be required on the new device when I get rid of my Note7....
I feel like this should have been perfected by now considering whenever my girlfriend gets a new iPhone, she has all her apps and app data transfer over without hesitation, all the way down to whatever level she was on in Candy Crush (ugh) without using any type of login to the game itself to know that via cloud backup or other. I've never used Helium before but I started using it last night for backup and it appears it might go smoothly, I just don't know about restoring just yet.

My V20 is supposed to be delivered today. My plan is to use the LG Backup to transfer apps, then Helium to transfer most of the app data. There are some app that Helium can't backup but most of them just needs a login/password to get back up and running.
edit: batch restoring with Helium is usually not as smooth as the backup part. I normally would get random errors that Helium has stopped during restore. But when you open Helium again after the error, you can see which apps restored and which apps didn't so you can manually restore individual ones.

I just used LG backup. So far everything looks good. I did take a Helium backup of the app data in case I find something missing.

nicholb said:
I just used LG backup. So far everything looks good. I did take a Helium backup of the app data in case I find something missing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does the LG software transfer other stuff like samsung smartswitch does, including stuff like wifi settings, sms, photos, files/folders, etc?

maximus96 said:
does the LG software transfer other stuff like samsung smartswitch does, including stuff like wifi settings, sms, photos, files/folders, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looked to me to be about the same as smartswitch, but I have not yet really dug into what it copied. I know for sure it copied apps, photos, and SMS. It spent quite awhile copying "personal data" which I am assuming is app data.

nicholb said:
It looked to me to be about the same as smartswitch, but I have not yet really dug into what it copied. I know for sure it copied apps, photos, and SMS. It spent quite awhile copying "personal data" which I am assuming is app data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read that it does not copy app data. Personal data is probably stuff you put in the internal storage.

maximus96 said:
I read that it does not copy app data. Personal data is probably stuff you put in the internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The amount it copied under that was 4gb after zipping. That is a lot more than my files. Particularly since all my photos and videos were on the SD which I had physically moved to the V20 before running LG Backup. That is why I am thinking there had to be some app data in that.

nicholb said:
The amount it copied under that was 4gb after zipping. That is a lot more than my files. Particularly since all my photos and videos were on the SD which I had physically moved to the V20 before running LG Backup. That is why I am thinking there had to be some app data in that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know, thanks.

LG backup is so slow and error-prone because data transfer size is so big. It zip files and send over BT(?)
so helium backup is good one?

KryptosXLayer2 said:
Is LG Backup preferred over Helium for non-rooted phones? I have never done this, go from a non-rooted Note7 to a non-rooted V20 (likely my plan next week).
I need to know what the best course of action is for doing this, Tap&Go, Helium, or LG Backup. I want as little setup to be required on the new device when I get rid of my Note7....
I feel like this should have been perfected by now considering whenever my girlfriend gets a new iPhone, she has all her apps and app data transfer over without hesitation, all the way down to whatever level she was on in Candy Crush (ugh) without using any type of login to the game itself to know that via cloud backup or other. I've never used Helium before but I started using it last night for backup and it appears it might go smoothly, I just don't know about restoring just yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right. Much easier on an iPhone to transfer to a new iPhone. Android sucks when getting a new phone although Google tried to make it a little easier in the Pixel.

Trying to recover deleted "Gallery" folder from S8

Hello everyone
I'm sorry to be a pain but I'm having a bit of trouble.
I accidentally deleted my "Gallery" folder from my phone and had not set up a Cloud backup ie Google Photos, Samsung Cloud etc.
I tried several recovery programs however they could recover various stuff but not the Gallery folder or its contents (approx. 2000 photos)
Some of the software said I needed to root my phone which I did and then ran recovery again, but none of them found anything.
Doing more research, I am trying to go down the route of extracting the RAW data from the phone to look at it that way using ADB but I am pretty much stuck trying to find the folder or data in the phone.
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? Or should i resign myself to the fact I have lost my photos and put it down to my error?
Im not overly tech savvy, so if you do have a idea, please be gentle, Layman's terms
Anyway, Thanks you in advance and have a beautiful day
Tony

I have faced similar situations earlier, but everytime I have managed to recover atleast 70% of the images using the following apps.
* DiskDigger (by Defiant Tech)
* Undeleter Recover Files & Data (By Fahrbot PRI)
These two apps are far best (as per my experience) to get the job done.
Try and see if it works for you. Best of Luck.

Sulaco75 said:
Hello everyone
I'm sorry to be a pain but I'm having a bit of trouble.
I accidentally deleted my "Gallery" folder from my phone and had not set up a Cloud backup ie Google Photos, Samsung Cloud etc.
I tried several recovery programs however they could recover various stuff but not the Gallery folder or its contents (approx. 2000 photos)
Some of the software said I needed to root my phone which I did and then ran recovery again, but none of them found anything.
Doing more research, I am trying to go down the route of extracting the RAW data from the phone to look at it that way using ADB but I am pretty much stuck trying to find the folder or data in the phone.
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? Or should i resign myself to the fact I have lost my photos and put it down to my error?
Im not overly tech savvy, so if you do have a idea, please be gentle, Layman's terms
Anyway, Thanks you in advance and have a beautiful day
Tony
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kazi_rizwan said:
I have faced similar situations earlier, but everytime I have managed to recover atleast 70% of the images using the following apps.
* DiskDigger (by Defiant Tech)
* Undeleter Recover Files & Data (By Fahrbot PRI)
These two apps are far best (as per my experience) to get the job done.
Try and see if it works for you. Best of Luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will also vouch on these I have used them to recover some photos before the key here is to quit using the device as soon as possible so those data locations of the pictures are not over wrote.If it is soon enough they still may be there,Under the marked for deletion state

TheMadScientist said:
the key here is to quit using the device as soon as possible so those data locations of the pictures are not over wrote.If it is soon enough they still may be there,Under the marked for deletion state
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, forgot to mention that.

Sulaco75 said:
Hello everyone
I'm sorry to be a pain but I'm having a bit of trouble.
I accidentally deleted my "Gallery" folder from my phone and had not set up a Cloud backup ie Google Photos, Samsung Cloud etc.
I tried several recovery programs however they could recover various stuff but not the Gallery folder or its contents (approx. 2000 photos)
Some of the software said I needed to root my phone which I did and then ran recovery again, but none of them found anything.
Doing more research, I am trying to go down the route of extracting the RAW data from the phone to look at it that way using ADB but I am pretty much stuck trying to find the folder or data in the phone.
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? Or should i resign myself to the fact I have lost my photos and put it down to my error?
Im not overly tech savvy, so if you do have a idea, please be gentle, Layman's terms
Anyway, Thanks you in advance and have a beautiful day
Tony
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi OP - How did this work out for you? Also I am in the exact same situation but I do not have my device rooted.. Any advice on a solid guide to root my device? Were/are you able to unroot the device later?