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Can some one provide some instructions on how to go about making a CW zip file to flash and install all the apps that is on my phone?
I've seen a few of these floating around in the forum, and wanted to make my own to save time after every ROM flash
Do I just grab all the APK files throw them into a folder and Zip & Sign it?
or do I have to do a Nandroid backup first, then only use the app files from the backup?
I would like to know this too....
Would be nice as well instead of restoring
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Take an existing update.zip type file. Add a folder to it with the full proper path for your apps you want to pre-install (typically this will be /data/app) and put all the apps in that folder. Should look something like this in a windows/mac explorer window:
Code:
META-INF
/com/google/android/updater-script
data
/app/myfirstapp.apk
/app/mysecondapp.apk
Then use a text editor to edit the META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script file to include the commands to copy over your stuff. It would something along the lines of:
Code:
ui_print("Installing New App Files to /data");
package_extract_dir("data", "/data");
Edit out anything in the update template you're working out of that you don't want to happen (ie., format or symlinks, etc).
Repackage the zip file and make sure nothing else got in there by mistake by re-opening it (like those pesky Mac .ds-store files).
You can re-sign it with the android tools, but I don't believe you need to with Clockwork.
I would have a fresh nandroid before testing anything, of course.
You feel this approach is better than just using Titanium to restore apps? You won't get back any app data that isn't stored on the sdcard.
Thanks!
yes, now that makes sense, i recall reading that some where else to add extra APK to the ROMs
so it's the same idea, just without the ROM portion
now i get it
distortedloop said:
Take an existing update.zip type file. Add a folder to it with the full proper path for your apps you want to pre-install (typically this will be /data/app) and put all the apps in that folder. Should look something like this in a windows/mac explorer window:
Code:
META-INF
/com/google/android/updater-script
data
/app/myfirstapp.apk
/app/mysecondapp.apk
Then use a text editor to edit the META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script file to include the commands to copy over your stuff. It would something along the lines of:
Code:
ui_print("Installing New App Files to /data");
package_extract_dir("data", "/data");
Edit out anything in the update template you're working out of that you don't want to happen (ie., format or symlinks, etc).
Repackage the zip file and make sure nothing else got in there by mistake by re-opening it (like those pesky Mac .ds-store files).
You can re-sign it with the android tools, but I don't believe you need to with Clockwork.
I would have a fresh nandroid before testing anything, of course.
You feel this approach is better than just using Titanium to restore apps? You won't get back any app data that isn't stored on the sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya essentially this method is doingan advanced nandroid restore for data only except without the settings.
Sent from my MattedBlues CM7 Nexus S from the XDA Premium app.
kenvan19 said:
Ya essentially this method is doingan advanced nandroid restore for data only except without the settings.
Sent from my MattedBlues CM7 Nexus S from the XDA Premium app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose if you want the app data restored as well, you would just need to identify it's location in the /data directory and add it to the /data folder in the update you're making. Seems like most of the app data goes into /data/data.
Just thinking out loud here...
So for a sample app on my phone I have called jefit pro I'd put the following in the update file.
Code:
/data/je.fit.pro-1.apk <---apk itself
/data/data/je.fit.pro <--the folder
/data/data/je.fit.pro/databases/data
/data/data/je.fit.pro/lib
/data/data/je.fit.pro/preferences/preferences.xml
I'd just pull the whole folder for the /data/data/je.fit.pro from the phone via adb.
I'm not sure how useful putting the data back is, since that's not a static set of files on many apps, but for some apps where the data is just some settings or preference files it may be a nice touch.
I don't really see any advantage to this over just use Titanium to restore apps and data, but it should work.
(<<---- this would be the whole folder and its subfolders that I pulled via adb off the phone)
distortedloop said:
I don't really see any advantage to this over just use Titanium to restore apps and data, but it should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AllGamer, I'm glad you brought this up, while I don't personally have any apps I want to put on the phone in this method, except perhaps titanium itself, I just realized we could of course do the same thing for all those little custom tweaks we put on our phones, like for me I push my personalized ringtones/notification sounds to /system. That's easy enough with adb or rootexplorer, but why not just flash them from a zip while in CW after a wipe or install of a new rom?
distortedloop said:
AllGamer, I'm glad you brought this up, while I don't personally have any apps I want to put on the phone in this method, except perhaps titanium itself, I just realized we could of course do the same thing for all those little custom tweaks we put on our phones, like for me I push my personalized ringtones/notification sounds to /system. That's easy enough with adb or rootexplorer, but why not just flash them from a zip while in CW after a wipe or install of a new rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the idea came up from several places, first Titanium Backup itself offers to create a signed .zip installer for CW
and i've seen other devices forums with people packing up like 100+ apps/tweaks/mods into it to flash after CW is done flashing the new ROM
yes, of course we can use TI, i have TI pro and it's very easy, but Ti is slow.... at restoring 300+ Apps
but everytime i see CW restoring a Zip file or even a full Nandroid backup, it does it so fast and quickly, that i though... hell might as well keep an updated signed .zip wtih all my must have apps, and flash it along right after any new ROM flash (when testing out different Custom ROMs) then i don't need to spend like an hour everytime restoring + configuring the phones
i noticed that Ti works a hell of a lot faster if the apps are already installed, and you only need to restore the data.
and that is the main reason i want to compile a list of all the apps
once they are all installed, then i can use any of the good market utilities that can do mass Apps2SD and i'll be up and running in as quickly as 15min vs. a whole hour waste on a restore/config everytime you change the ROM
using Ti i found most of the System settings can be restored safely without corrupting the new ROM
email
accounts & syncs
bluetooth pairings
wifi
... ah shoot forgot the rest
only do not restore settings for:
launcher,
wireless network (phone company)
android market
and anything that has to do with default settings
probably this weekend i'll dissect the CW zip created by Ti itself, and add more to it
Sounds like a good plan...but you've got 300+ apps if I recall correctly. I imagine that will take a long time to restore either method!
The Titanium update zip is a good place to start. Use the setting to make it a "user" app and it will put it in /data, where you want the rest of your apps as well. You could just dump what you want right into the zip file there in the folder that has titanium's apk itself and not even worry about messing with the updater-script file.
Well I browsed through all the forums and I could not find anything that I am going to explain. There are some tits-bits here and there, but I hope this proves to be useful.
I will also explain if you have a xrecovery backup, then how to extract your games and progress from there.
Many of you might be switching ROMs very frequently or upgrading/downgrading their Android. While doing this, we lose all our apps and games and more importanly the game's PROGRESS, if we do not save them.
There are apps available to save apps/games and progress but there is a way to do all these thing MANUALLY. This for those who want the control in their hands , like me.
PART A:
Here's how you do:
1) Create a backup folder on the sdcard with a name that you like. eg. mybackup
1) from your filemanager or from the shell, browse to the directory /data/app and do ls -l. You will get a list of apps which you have installed.
2) Select the app that you want to save/backup and move it to sdcard folder that you have created. The names here would be long but it will be almost similar to the name you see in the UI.
For eg.
Code:
cp uk.co.aifactory.moveitfree.apk /sdcard/mybackup
. would be the command to backup Move It game.
3) Now go to the the directory /data/data and do a ls -l. browse through the list and find a directory which matches the name of the apk without the .apk extension.
for Eg. for the 'move it' game, you will find a directory uk.co.aifactory.moveitfree
Move this directory to the backup folder
Code:
cp -r uk.co.aifactory.moveitfree /sdcard/mybackup
.
For those working on shell, remember to do cp "-r" as you are copying a directory.
You are done!!. You have backed up your app and all the progress related to that app.
Now you can copy mybackup folder to your PC or keep it in the sdcard if you have enough space. Its your choice...
PART B:
How to get the progress and games back after flashing the ROM or after wipeout.
Its easy. Just reverse the steps mentioned above.
1) copy the .apk file from your backup folder to /data/app through filemanager or shell.
Eg.
Code:
cp /sdcard/mybackup/uk.co.aifactory.moveitfree.apk /data/app
2) copy the data directory to the location /data/data.
Eg.
Code:
cp -r /sdcard/mybackup/uk.co.aifactory.moveitfree /data/data
You are back to business, just browse through your apps and enjoy the games from where you left.
UPDATE :
For Angry Birds, when you are done with the above steps, delete the file
/data/data/com.rovio.angrybirdsrio/files/settings.lua
It app will not open up if you dont do it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Those who have already backedup their ROMs and not saved their apps as mentioned above, dont worry, I have a solution for that too. I am specifically going to explain the method to get it from xrecovery backup.
When you backup your ROM or system using xRecovery, it stores all the data inside /sdcard/xrecovery/backup/<date>.
Inside that folder, there are 3 img files.
cache.img
system.img
data.img
data.img contains all the data/app/games that you had installed, while system.img contains everything that came bundled with ROM. It might differ a bit per devices, but mostly its data.img
I tried to open this file ".img" with a lot of extraction tools but none could help. Atlast, i got help from our great <zdzihu>, and he said, he saves the archive with yaffs2 compression.
There is an app "unyaffs2" which you can use to extract the contents of the archive. Get it from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=910255
This app will extract the contents to the folder where you ask it to. Once you have your data, repeat the above mentioned steps to get your apps and games running!!
Thank you for the how to
it not change owner
this is very big problem
Hi dateno1, can you be more specific?
What app are you trying on
What method u used to copy
What error r u getting exactly
Which device and on which step
Sent from my X10mini using XDA App
ronaksv said:
PART B:
How to get the progress and games back after flashing the ROM or after wipeout.
Its easy. Just reverse the steps mentioned above.
1) copy the .apk file from your backup folder to /data/app through filemanager or shell.
2) copy the data directory to the location /data/data.
You are back to business, just browse through your apps and enjoy the games from where you left.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have question on the process of getting it back.
on step 1 you said copy.
is it also ok if you are going to reinstall it then proceed to step 2.
thanks.
Hi everyone, I'm trying to clean up my phone to make it faster and free up some memory. But while I was looking for files and folders that can be thrown away, I wasn't sure about few of them & couldn't determine whether I can get rid of them or not! Here are the folders and files I'm asking about (they're all located in the internal memory):
1- (.droidga)
contains some unknown files like (gad_ds), (gad_gt), (gad_install), and some other files with the extension of (.p)
2- (iten)
contains only one file (iten_v2.db)
The following ones are located inside (Android/data) folder:
3- (com.chartboost.sdk)
contains a file (chartboost.cb)
4- (ly.font)
contains a cache folder with many different files
can anyone please explain what these folders are & if it's safe to remove them or not!
Thanks a lot!
- Ramy
r.romyo said:
Hi everyone, I'm trying to clean up my phone to make it faster and free up some memory. But while I was looking for files and folders that can be thrown away, I wasn't sure about few of them & couldn't determine whether I can get rid of them or not! Here are the folders and files I'm asking about (they're all located in the internal memory):
1- (.droidga)
contains some unknown files like (gad_ds), (gad_gt), (gad_install), and some other files with the extension of (.p)
2- (iten)
contains only one file (iten_v2.db)
The following ones are located inside (Android/data) folder:
3- (com.chartboost.sdk)
contains a file (chartboost.cb)
4- (ly.font)
contains a cache folder with many different files
can anyone please explain what these folders are & if it's safe to remove them or not!
Thanks a lot!
- Ramy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These files and folders are generated by the apps that you have installed. If you want to delete unnecessary folders then use Android Assistant(18 Features) from Play Store and do cleanup. This will also give you a slight performance gain.. But if you delete these folders then again it will be regenerated by the corresponding app.
One more advice if you are rooted and find reduction in performance then Wipe cache from cwm from time to time this will also help you.
Hope you got your answer.
Thanks
kk9999gada said:
These files and folders are generated by the apps that you have installed. If you want to delete unnecessary folders then use Android Assistant(18 Features) from Play Store and do cleanup. This will also give you a slight performance gain.. But if you delete these folders then again it will be regenerated by the corresponding app.
One more advice if you are rooted and find reduction in performance then Wipe cache from cwm from time to time this will also help you.
Hope you got your answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I'm actually using another app called "Clean Master" & it does the job very well, but still these folders & files exist.
I know they're are not a big deal even in terms of the space they occupy, but the thing is I had tons of apps installed on my phone previously then I decided to do the factory reset few days ago. It feels much lighter and faster now, but even after the reset some folders created by apps I had before were not completely removed. I removed everything I know, but also wanted to go further and remove any other unnecessary files. I just wasn't sure whether the files I mentioned are system files or not.
& no my phone is not rooted.
Thanks a lot for the tips! :good:
Hello folks,
I am tired of restoring all my apps settings and replaying my games from the beginning each time I install a new rom or do a factory reset so I was looking (a couple of hours ago) for how to restore my apps setting and especially my games progress after every data wipe......
I read that many users faced problems using helium and some similar apps (Titanium Backup seems to be perfect for this job but it's a paid app and that is the problem:laugh and after all this I figured out that what were doing these apps to make a full backup of an app is just making a copy of the app.apk and the app folder in /data/data where app is the name of the considered app(sorry if this is well-known but I really didn't know)
So I made this tutorial on how to backup/restore your apps and data MANUALLY because this let you choose which app to backup/restore...
This tutorial is for noobs (because I am noob!!!!!)
Requirements:
Galaxy SL or any other android device.
ES explorer or any other file explorer with root access support.
Your phone needs to be rooted.
Backing up app and data:
Enable your explorer read/write permissions (for ES explorer >>settings>>root options).
Go to /data/app and copy the app.apk to your SD card backup folder.
Go to /data/data and copy app folder to your SD card backup folder.
that's it, now your app is fully backed up.
Restoring app and data:
Install app.apk from backup folder
Go to /data/data and remove the existing app folder (don't launch the app now because it won't start)
Copy the app folder from the backup folder to /data/data
launch your app now, it should work!
that's it, now your app is fully restored.
Notes:
I tried this to backup and restore NFS most wanted progress and it WORKED!!!!
Maybe this methode don't work for some apps but it should work for the rest of them.
For system apps go to /system/app .
app folder should start with "com." (for example "com.ea.games.nfs13_na" for NFS most wanted).
I don't know what is the difference between this methode and the adb methode so can someone tell me if there is a difference.
Restoring apps settings from/to different android versions may not work
hey guys, this is my first thread so please don't blame me if it's not good enough
sorry for my bad English and hope this will be helpful for you
Best regards
any replays here???
how to restore helium backup manually????
:fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed:
ASMI1 said:
3. Copy the app folder from the backup folder to /data/data
4. launch your app now, it should work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, it works!
But there is some small point. The Android system uses technical users to separate the data of the apps from each other. If you copy the files this way then the copied files will belong to root and be accessible for all apps.
So you should also take care that the file and folder attributes for rights, users and groups are correctly set. Therefore start and stop the installed app again, it will create its folder in /data/data. You can then see (and set) the attributes in the properties entry of ES file explorer. And only then overwrite the files with the backup and after this set the attributes.
Unfortunately this is not very comfortable with ES file explorer, because it has to be done for each and every file/folder separately and the technical user has to be chosen from a long list...
ThemGo said:
Thanks, it works!
But there is some small point. The Android system uses technical users to separate the data of the apps from each other. If you copy the files this way then the copied files will belong to root and be accessible for all apps.
So you should also take care that the file and folder attributes for rights, users and groups are correctly set. Therefore start and stop the installed app again, it will create its folder in /data/data. You can then see (and set) the attributes in the properties entry of ES file explorer. And only then overwrite the files with the backup and after this set the attributes.
Unfortunately this is not very comfortable with ES file explorer, because it has to be done for each and every file/folder separately and the technical user has to be chosen from a long list...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi ThemGo! You have reopened a bit old thread :laugh: Now a days, the play store is bull of useful apps to backup almost everything on your android device. I found that Titanium backup Pro is the best among them all. Its a paid app but it really deserve it
Kind Regards
ASMI1 said:
the play store is bull of useful apps to backup almost everything on your android device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, but what - as happened to me last month - if your phone dies suddenly, you get yourself a new one and fortunately have a not too old backup made with cwm recovery, what will you do?
Yes, extract the necessary data from the backup and then copy it manually to the new phone.
ThemGo said:
Of course, but what - as happened to me last month - if your phone dies suddenly, you get yourself a new one and fortunately have a not too old backup made with cwm recovery, what will you do?
Yes, extract the necessary data from the backup and then copy it manually to the new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Havent really tried that but if both phones are using same android version that may work. Because some of my apps that were backed up on Jellybean are not working on Kitkat & Lollipop even when using the same phone so I guess the backup procedure is not just a matter of copying & pasting.
Hello guys...first of all, i would like to thank you for your time reading my thread and about my problem
And i am sorry if i posted this on the wrong section.
I have been searching for days and in many forums, also googled about my problem...but to no use
I hope the pro's out there can help me out.
Okay..i am playing maplestory live deluxe game from the play store.
The problem is that i want to restore a maplestory live save game file. The save game file is from another link on the internet, which someone else played and uploaded it for other people to use. I want to use it. The save game has many godly items that i need.
But i dunno how to patch the save game file to my maplestory live file, so that i can use that save game.
I use android device (samsung galaxy tab 2 7.0 gt-p3100)
It has [email protected] rooted
Already install titanium backup
The person who posted the save game link said that, the save game file must be extracted and placed under sdcard/titanium backup folder on my device. Then open the titanium backup app and search for the folder...then hit restore.
The biggest problem is, my titanium backup could not detect the save game file that i got from the link.
I know the file is not corrupt cause other people who downloaded it has no problem whatsoever in restoring the file.
I already tried menu>prefrences>backup folder location>detect>whole device on my TB, but it says "no backup location was found"
The save game file is there under sdcard/titanium backup. I can see it clearly...but for some reason TB cannot detect it under the backup/restore tab.
I have also tried reboot to recovery and fix permission...but the problem persist.
Do help me...and thank you in advance
Anyone??...help..
I'm not sure but what i think is u already have a backup in ur titanium backup so it wont show to restore data from the new saved file.
So try this
1. Take a backup of tb folder (in case u mess up)
2. Except the apk file in tb folder in sd card delete other 2 files.
3. Then try the same procedure as above (i.e. copy the data to tb folder again....and so on)
Sent from A2 running
System 1 : Jb leak 4.1.2
System 2 : Useless (Almost)
System 3 : Slimbean
System 4 : Slimkat (latest)
sbetatester said:
I'm not sure but what i think is u already have a backup in ur titanium backup so it wont show to restore data from the new saved file.
So try this
1. Take a backup of tb folder (in case u mess up)
2. Except the apk file in tb folder in sd card delete other 2 files.
3. Then try the same procedure as above (i.e. copy the data to tb folder again....and so on)
Sent from A2 running
System 1 : Jb leak 4.1.2
System 2 : Useless (Almost)
System 3 : Slimbean
System 4 : Slimkat (latest)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry..but i don't get what u are saying.
Delete other 2 files? Which file?
There are 3 files on your tb folder
1. Apk
2. Tar.gz (data)
3. Properties file (all compressed)
U have to delete the tar.gz (the data file) in ur tb folder and then put the new data file in that folder and try restore again.
Sent from A2 running
System 1 : Jb leak 4.1.2
System 2 : Useless (Almost)
System 3 : Slimbean
System 4 : Slimkat (latest)
Negative...does not work for me.
Okay...its my first time using TB..
I think the main problem is that i dunno how to access folder or file from TB.
Whenever i hit the Backup/Restore in TB it only opens a list of app that says "Ordered by app name (click to change)"
The list of app name is very long and have 3 colours : red, green and white.
Well i know the red coloured is the OS Kernel and can malfunction your device if u delete or wipe it.
But i do not see any file or folder to access from there (Backup/Restore)
So, how do i backup or restore any file or folder if it isn't there..?
For example, u said to backup my tb folder...i know that the tb folder is under sdcard/titanium backup..
But i don't see it in the Backup/Restore in TB. Is there something i'm missing here?
kraken83 said:
Negative...does not work for me.
Okay...its my first time using TB..
I think the main problem is that i dunno how to access folder or file from TB.
Whenever i hit the Backup/Restore in TB it only opens a list of app that says "Ordered by app name (click to change)"
The list of app name is very long and have 3 colours : red, green and white.
Well i know the red coloured is the OS Kernel and can malfunction your device if u delete or wipe it.
But i do not see any file or folder to access from there (Backup/Restore)
So, how do i backup or restore any file or folder if it isn't there..?
For example, u said to backup my tb folder...i know that the tb folder is under sdcard/titanium backup..
But i don't see it in the Backup/Restore in TB. Is there something i'm missing here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt mean backup/restore tab ... what i said was just copy your tb folder from sd card to pc in case u mess and can restore easily.
And can u just send me the file so that i can check on my side if it works.
Ok..i dunno how to put the file in this post.
But u can get the file here.. http://www.mediafire.com/?g9pvpg26gqtfg
Its a list of save game that this person uploaded and share with other people to use
I need the maplestorylvdelx.zip file and having trouble with it.
Like i said..when i extract it and put it under sdcard/titanium backup...TB just not detecting it.
When i hit Backup/Restore in TB and click on Maplestory icon to restore data...there is no restore option...only backup option.
kraken83 said:
Ok..i dunno how to put the file in this post.
But u can get the file here.. http://www.mediafire.com/?g9pvpg26gqtfg
Its a list of save game that this person uploaded and share with other people to use
I need the maplestorylvdelx.zip file and having trouble with it.
Like i said..when i extract it and put it under sdcard/titanium backup...TB just not detecting it.
When i hit Backup/Restore in TB and click on Maplestory icon to restore data...there is no restore option...only backup option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the problem at last .... its not a tb backup file..
If u wanna see how does a tb saved game file actually look like, download a7 (i.e. asphalt 7 game file) from the same link u gave me and open the zip.
Those are the tb files needed to restore game data using tb software like i told u previously (tar.gz and properties file).
Now for your solution
As your file is simple save game data file......
You only need to copy the downloaded file (i.e. maplestory.zip) to root/data/data
And start the game and u will get the saved data.
Hit thanks if i helped you
Sent from A2 running
System 1 : Jb leak 4.1.2
System 2 : Useless (Almost)
System 3 : Slimbean
System 4 : Slimkat (latest)
Okay...first of all, thank you for your patience with me.
Now i finally know the difference between a TB save file and a normal save game data.
Just one last noob question...
U said to extract the maplestory.zip then put it under root/data/data right?
Errr...where do i find the root/data/data folder?....lol
When i open My Files under storage>sdcard , there is no root or root/data/data folder..
But, i do have ES File Explorer and ASTRO File Manager app..
When i use both this app to look in my device...there is also no root/data/data folder... BUT there is a folder named root that is located under device...along with other folders (acct, cache, config, d and so on)
Is that the folder u are mentioning? But the root folder is empty.
And exactly what do i see in this root/data/data folder anyway?
Is it empty or have something in it?
kraken83 said:
And exactly what do i see in this root/data/data folder anyway?
Is it empty or have something in it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use recova
Sent from my HTC Explorer A310e using Tapatalk 2
Use recova? What is that?
kraken83 said:
Use recova? What is that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use root explorer ...... the first screen it shows after start is the root folder now
Scroll down and find the data
Then open that and u ll see another data folder
Open it and paste ur file in that folder.
Sent from A2 running
System 1 : Jb leak 4.1.2
System 2 : Useless (Almost)
System 3 : Slimbean
System 4 : Slimkat (latest)