Database Info

[Guide] Backup and Flashing Recommendations, Info, and Tips

I found I was repeating myself a lot when helping out people new to rooting their Evo. I also found that this knowledge I'm putting into this doc doesn't really exist in one place, but is spread throughout the entire Evo Forum. So below is some information to help out people with backing up their device, some backup tips, some general information on flashing, and tips and best practices for flashing. Hope this helps!!
Assumptions:
This guide assumes you are fully rooted at this point. If not follow any one of the guides in the Wiki that has been stickied on the main page of the Evo Dev forum. My personal recommendation is the Unrevoked. Very easy to use, just read up and make sure your phone is compatible.
To test root type "su" into a terminal. You should get a "#" back. You can use a terminal emulator from the market or ADB. To get ADB up and running follow this guide here. If that seems confusing than take a look at this guide I wrote for Notion Ink Adam Tablet users here. That guide is for Windows users, but Mac and *nix users shouldn't be much more difficult.
Backing up
NAND Backup:
Once rooted you can use the app quickboot to boot into recovery to do a NAND backup. If your ROM doesn't have this app installed, download from Marketplace. Open app and choose "Recovery". Once into your recovery use the volume buttons on the side to scroll up and down and power button to select to get to the option to backup. I have clockwork installed so my screen looks different, but you should be able to find the NAND backup option. This will take awhile so be patient.
Once done you can reboot and continue on as normal. This is an essential step (or using Rom Manager below). If you ever screw up something major or you try a new ROM and want to go back, this will allow you to restore easily and get back to a point where things worked fine. It would also be highly recommended to do one of these backups before doing something major that has potential to break things. Use best judgment here.
Rom Manager:
Even easier than the above is to use Rom Manager. Download it from the marketplace, run it, and let it update your recovery image for you. Once this is done go to the bottom of this app and choose "Backup Current ROM" This should do a full NAND backup. I would recommend buying this app for the other features it has, but it is up to you.
Titanium Backup (TB):
Once you have your NAND backup I would also recommend installing Titanium Backup from the Marketplace (I would also pay for the license because you get better performance and the dev deserves some green for this awesome app!). Once installed open it. The first time it will ask you to update Busybox. Let it and wait for this to download. When done it will ask you reboot app from the notification area. Do this and then wait for app to fully load, two messages should appear, the second one indicates it is fully loaded. Then hit menu and go to the batch section. Choose " Backup all user apps + system data".
This will backup everything on your phone for you to your SD card. This will take a while so go get some coffee and check back in. Do not close the app or turn off your phone, the screen can go blank and you can let it sit, but it will need time to run. I think when the screen turns off it puts an icon in notification that should be updating the progress of the batch. Once done, it should tell you in the notification area. For me it takes awhile with my 228 some elements I'm backing up. Your mileage will vary.
SMS/MMS
I recently came across a thread that mentions using Handy Backup for backing up SMS/MMS messages. I have not tried this app or used it so I don't have any directions to give on it. But I have had people ask and I have seen folks ask in other threads. So if TB doesn't give you enough, try this one too.
Backup to Computer:
I'm still looking for a better method for this one. I'm sure someone has something and if you do please let me know so I can update this section.
Currently I backup files and folders to my local NAS at home after major changes. Incremental changes I let TB handle. This is just a simple process of setting the SD card to storage and copy/paste. Works fine and I have only done this once so far after everything was set to my liking.
You might wonder why this important? Well if you are going to play around a lot with different ROMs and constantly read/writing info to your SD card, it is important because SD cards are not perfect. They can be corrupted and can fail from too much writing of info. It usually takes a lot of work to get one to the point of failure, but I managed to do it with my HTC Mogul so I can vouch that it can happen.
Important folders on SD card:
- /sdcard/clockwork/backup
This will get all backups performed by clockwork. If you grab the entire clockwork folder then you will get ROM downloads and such too. I don't really recommend this as it never takes more than 25 minutes for me to download any image. Plus with a secure NAND backup, you can always restore quickly.
- /sdcard/nandroid
This should backup the folder used by AmonRa recovery.
- /sdcard/TitaniumBackup
Folder used by TB for backing up of apps.
Of course throw in any other folders you deem important. What that is depends on you. Making a backup of everything else probably wont take long too. For me I rarely have more than 7gb of data on my card so backing up takes roughly 30-50 minutes.
All of this may seem like a lot of work, but once done you will have a robust system in place. And will allow you the opportunity to safely play!!
Restoring
Restoring is a simple process but can be time consuming. To speed things up you can pay for the full version of TB, which I highly recommend.
TB
Follow the directions below for what I do after flashing. If you have already read that and are ready to restore then do the following...
Open up TB and let if fully load, you will get two small popup messages. The second one means that TB has fully loaded the OS information. Then hit the menu key and choose batch. Scroll down and look for "Restore all apps with data". Run this batch to restore everything. Keep in mind if you backed up everything and are now changing ROMs that you might run into problems. I have yet to run across issues, but this is just an FYI. Also another reason to have a full NAND backup with Rom Manager. If you run into too many problems just restore with it and problem solved.
Restores and backups take awhile with TB, but are worth the wait. Once done with the full restore you can then do incremental backup and restores in the future.
Also don't forget to open up the apps after restoring and make sure the apps are setup how you want. Then double check with TB to make sure things are fully backed up, just click "Backup all new apps & newer versions". Once done with this reboot.
After a TB restore always reboot. After the reboot go into Rom Manager and NAND backup following the steps above in the backup section. This will ensure you have a full system backup with the settings you want.
Rom Manager
This one is pretty simple. Just open Rom Manager and choose "Manage and Restore Backups". Then choose your backup to restore. If you named the files by date and time you might have to do some guess work, but you should have a rough idea. Once you click the one you want just sit back and wait.
Flashing Tips and Problems
Watch Girls Gone Wild for help with this...
Many people have asked "Why flash custom ROM" or "What are the advantages"? Well I think one of the biggest reasons is performance gain from phone and apps. But for Evo users the number 1 reason should be better battery utilization. This can mean you see same amount of battery life, but with increased phone and app performance, or same performance, but longer battery life.
I think some people might be hesitant because it was one hell of a process rooting their device. Well to those people I say, you are over the mountain now. The hard part is done, flashing is relatively easy. I recommend doing it cause stock can cause some people minor issues and your are missing out on a lot of cool and useful customizations. And if you backup your phone as detailed above, you do not need to worry about losing anything.
Stock ROM with Root (back to defaults) or Completely Unroot:
To flash a stock ROM with root, download one from the wiki of ROMs. Then follow advice in below sections for flashing.
To unroot (This is the "I need to take my phone to Sprint" conundrum...) Follow the wiki link. Or go to HTC's website. Then go to the support section for the HTC Evo. Download the file from them and run it. You will be good to go. And if you followed the backup section above you do not have to worry about anything. Just re-root when you get your new phone or old phone back. And restore.
Also, I recommend taking out your SD card with all the root files on it. No need to bring this up or have to explain things any Sprint tech could easily see. Also if you used Unrevoked Forever you should follow this unroot guide here.
I Just Flashed with no Backups:
Below is what I did before I had Titanium Backup in place and after flashing a custom ROM...
Once booted right after flashing I make sure things look fine, fully sync to Google, then reboot. When I come back from that I turn on WiFi and go to Marketplace and Download section. Any apps I previously downloaded will be in that section waiting for me to download. Download them all at once, DO NOT leave that section before downloading everything, or you will lose that list and it will only show apps currently downloaded and installed.
Once done, open apps and customize to liking. Then download Rom Manager if you don't already have it and follow the above section. Once done with that follow the above section on Titanium Backup. Then enjoy your custom ROM.
Flashing in general:
ALWAYS make sure your battery is at least 50% full. The last thing you want is your phone to die on you in the middle of flashing.
Use Rom Manger and pay for the full version. It is a lot easier and can remove a lot of headaches and problems. If you really want to do it yourself you shouldn't have any problems, this is typically what I do and I haven't run any issues that couldn't be solved yet.
Follow the above backup guides before flashing another custom ROM. Save yourself time and trouble. Also I have read about people using NAND backups to sort of switch between different ROMs. In the short term that shouldn't be a problem, but long term that can make your SD card unstable. Make sure you follow the above section for backing up your SD card to computer.
If changing from one ROM to another it is best practice and almost always recommended to wipe data and dalvik cache. This also will alleviate many issues people run into. And if you follow my backup recommendations then it shouldn't be an issue to do either of these.
If not using Rom Manager, then put the zip of the ROM you want to flash on your SD card, and DO NOT unzip the zip file. Leave it on the root of your SD card as a zip file. Boot into recovery if you are not there already. Find the option to flash from SD card. Then choose the zip file or ROM you want to flash. Wait for everything to flash, then reboot using the option from the recovery menu. Wait for phone to boot. This can take a long time after flashing any new ROM so be patient.
Some ROM devs have other items you can add to their ROM. Follow their directions for flashing those items. Some devs want you to boot first than go back and flash, others allow for you to just start flashing right away with no waiting. Pay attention to the directions on your ROM thread. If you screw something up, try flashing the package again. If things look worse or it didn't work, re-flash your ROM or restore your backup and try again.
Otherwise, flash the ROM following directions above, flash the other packages and themes and items you want, and reboot. All should be well.
Once booted up follow guides above for backing up or restoring. Otherwise if you have problems look below before asking questions. If you can't find it here try searching before asking questions. If you still can't find it feel free to ask for help, but keep the question in the thread for your ROM you are flashing, or if you think it is a rooting issue, in the thread of the root process you followed.
Bootloop Issue:
This can be caused by a few things. For one, make sure you wipe data and dalvik cache before flashing a custom ROM. Even if the dev says it is not necessary do this before flashing a new ROM. It can help with these issues. The only exception here is if you are updating to a new version of the same ROM and the dev says there is no reason to wipe in between...
Also you can experience this if you are not fully rooted. Look toward the top of this guide for rooting advice.
Sometimes the ROM can take a while to boot after flashing a new ROM. Be sure you really do have a stuck boot or bootloop before doing a battery pull and troubleshooting. Give it some time to see if it fixes itself. If you are waiting over 30 minutes for something, you probably do have a legit issue.
Exclamation Point with Android Guy Screen
I got this when attempting to upgrade once. To get out of it, battery pull and put battery back in. Hold down "Volume Down Button" and then press power. KEEP HOLDING DOWN volume down button till white screen (Hboot) appears. Release volume down button. Wait for it scan. If it finds your PC file choose no and also no on reboot. NEXT CHANCE YOU GET remove, rename, or move the PC file from the root of your SD card. Choose "Recovery" from menu using volume buttons and power button to select. Once in recovery, choose flash from SD card and choose your ROM.
If you cannot find an image or do not have one, just go back and toggle USB. Then copy paste ROM to SD card. Keep in mind that you might need to wipe data and dalvik cache before flashing as mentioned above.
Another user commented this screen appeared when attempting to go into recovery from Quickboot app. This might mean the recovery image didn't install correctly, or could mean you do not have a recovery image flashed or installed. If this is the case, follow one of the guides in this wiki link to flash a recovery.
If you need to get out of this screen, just do a battery pull. Your ROM should boot up fine.
Battery Issues After Flashing:
Some have claimed issues with battery after flashing. To try recalibrating click here for Cyanogen's guide.
That's all for now!
I'm sure there is plenty more to add to this down the road, but for now this is all the dumping my brain can handle. Leave comments and suggestions and let's make this a strong guide with the right information to help those in need.

Very nice, hopefully you just saved someone a lot of heartache

Just added a section for un-rooting. Can someone please help me verify this is correct.

Thanks!
Awesome guide!
Thanks for the info in the Simple Root thread.
One question that was unanswered (and per your response I ask it here):
Are SMS/MMS info backed up using Nandriod or Titanuim??
I'm a little confused by which can do this.
Thanks again for the help.

ucf.elk said:
Awesome guide!
Thanks for the info in the Simple Root thread.
One question that was unanswered (and per your response I ask it here):
Are SMS/MMS info backed up using Nandriod or Titanuim??
I'm a little confused by which can do this.
Thanks again for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good question on SMS/MMS. I think I have noticed that when using Handcent SMS app for sending and receiving SMS/MMS messages they are somehow backedup. I think Handcent has a folder on the SD card.
Otherwise if you are using stock messaging app, I am not sure it TB backs that up or not. If you want to verify this for me and let me know your results I would be happy to update my guide.

webs05 said:
Very good question on SMS/MMS. I think I have noticed that when using Handcent SMS app for sending and receiving SMS/MMS messages they are somehow backedup. I think Handcent has a folder on the SD card.
Otherwise if you are using stock messaging app, I am not sure it TB backs that up or not. If you want to verify this for me and let me know your results I would be happy to update my guide.
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Click to collapse
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP

epmacman said:
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great info! Thanks epmacman and thanks webs05 for the great guide!

epmacman said:
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you using stock messaging app? Or a third party one from Marketplace?

Thanks for the information. About to start this whole process soon so this really helped Just a quick question though, do classes of the sd card matter? Have a class 2 card atm but about to buy a 16gig class 6 and figured I should do everything then.

Reanimatedshad0w said:
Thanks for the information. About to start this whole process soon so this really helped Just a quick question though, do classes of the sd card matter? Have a class 2 card atm but about to buy a 16gig class 6 and figured I should do everything then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, a higher class makes a big difference in speed. Make sure you wipe the new SD card from within the Evo before doing anything.

Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.

elr0y said:
Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should wipe. the backup will save everything you had on the respective rom

Yes awesome guide thanks, just what I was looking for. Stupid question but when I do a "Backup Current ROM" in ROM Manager, does this also back up texts, apps, games etc?
Thanks again webs

elr0y said:
Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To switch ROM by restoring nand backups all you should have to do is go into recovery and restore the one you want. If you wanted to be safe you could wipe first. As far as flashing that rom before nand backup no. There would be no point of that. The nand backup restores ALL, everything that was on that phone previously. It is a full backup.

huzvi88 said:
Yes awesome guide thanks, just what I was looking for. Stupid question but when I do a "Backup Current ROM" in ROM Manager, does this also back up texts, apps, games etc?
Thanks again webs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it should backup everything. Upon restore your phone should look and act just as it was when you created that backup. The backup system in Rom Manager boots the phone to recovery and does a nand backup for you.

webs05 said:
Yes, it should backup everything. Upon restore your phone should look and act just as it was when you created that backup. The backup system in Rom Manager boots the phone to recovery and does a nand backup for you.
Click to expand...
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Haha that was my next question. Thanks really appreciate it!

huzvi88 said:
Haha that was my next question. Thanks really appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your welcome, and the same goes to everyone else.

I'm an idiot i think and just bricked my phone.
I used revoke website to root my phone I did not do a nand unlock. I then installed rom manager because I wanted to backup the current stock rom. I used the option to flash in something from rom manager and then back up. after that my phone restarted and all I see is a picture of a phone with and exclamation point. am I bricked? anything I can do? sorry I'm a noob.
-U

usctrunks said:
I'm an idiot i think and just bricked my phone.
I used revoke website to root my phone I did not do a nand unlock. I then installed rom manager because I wanted to backup the current stock rom. I used the option to flash in something from rom manager and then back up. after that my phone restarted and all I see is a picture of a phone with and exclamation point. am I bricked? anything I can do? sorry I'm a noob.
-U
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol! You are fine. Fortunately HTC makes their phone tough to brick.
You are at that screen because you only did part 1 of Unrevoked's system. They have released part 2. Follow that and you should be good to go. Post questions on their threads. Good luck.

lol thanks

[ROM]FRF91 AOSP Fission - Beta II

RC 1 can now be found HERE

Here is a mirror
How to get back to stock if you are having issues:
1. You will need to flash a sbf, you can find guides here for Windows and here for Linux.
2. Reboot recovery by pressing X on the keyboard and turning it on
3. Press the search key so a menu pops up
4. Navigate to wipe data with the volume keys. Select with the camera button.
5. Then navigate to reboot with the volume keys and select with the camera key.
You are back to stock and you can root!
The File Manager was included in this rom so you are able to install the Bootstrap application so you can restore a back up or flash a different rom. Wipe your data after this.

Bugs
Bugs go here

Sweet, i am so excited for this. Gonna install it as soon as I get a chance, downloading now. I can't wait to see if you guys figure out custom kernels
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

I'm real curious to hear what you guys found that will allow custom kernels on this phone. I already read over what birdman and nenolod were trying and it seems they threw in the towel. I read some other posts on droidforums about initiating essentially a second boot second to trick the phone into loading a custom kernel, but nothing more on that topic. Really curious to see how you might be able to implement this

Nice work guys. I will probably give this a try this weekend.
I too would like to hear your theory on how to get a new kernel on the phone. Not in a hurry to see it happen, but just curious to hear the underlying theory.
Though, I do understand if you are waiting to get it released before sharing. Just don't forget to let the community know when/if you get it worked out. It will open a lot of doors for some of these rom cookers around here, and rom cookers of the future.

and just installed it, sans computer intervention (thank god nothing went wrong or I'd be SOL for 5 hours lol, im at work)
mounted, wiped cache/data, remounted, installed, remounted, and wiped cache/data again just to be safe
now I'm waiting for it to restore all my apps and stuff so I can get everything reconfigured and have a glorious blur free phone! thank you so much devs, this is fantastic

Hey guys, awesome ROM! Very stable so far!
One thing I noticed: The "Car Home" application shows up in Android Market, but the update fails when attempting to apply it. Not sure what the cause of this is just yet. If I can glean more information from my own testing, will let you know.
Thanks again for the work you've put into this!
- Andy

AndyRoss said:
Hey guys, awesome ROM! Very stable so far!
One thing I noticed: The "Car Home" application shows up in Android Market, but the update fails when attempting to apply it. Not sure what the cause of this is just yet. If I can glean more information from my own testing, will let you know.
Thanks again for the work you've put into this!
- Andy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure why that happens, but if you really want the new one from market, you can just remove it from /system/app and then it will install fine from market. I have had that issue with other apps before. Honestly, with a lot of these apps in the market now, there really isn't much need to include them in the rom.

Seems to work pretty well. Got stuck in a boot loop because I didn't wipe my data, so I rebooted recovery and wiped it. Problem solved.
The only problem I'm having is that I can't get Backup Assistant to work, so I can't restore my phone numbers.
I downloaded the stock app rar, and tried doing an ADB install for BackupAssistanceClient and BuaContactAdapter, but I get "Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_DEXOPT]".
I tried copying over BuaContactAdapter.apk and BackupAssistanceClient.apk manually (to /system/app) and setting permissions, but that doesn't seem to do anything.
Any ideas?

Phoible said:
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Export your contacts from the verizon website and then take that file and import it into gmail and sync your contatcs with gmail. Then, it doesn't matter which rom you install you'll have your contacts.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

Phoible said:
Seems to work pretty well. Got stuck in a boot loop because I didn't wipe my data, so I rebooted recovery and wiped it. Problem solved.
The only problem I'm having is that I can't get Backup Assistant to work, so I can't restore my phone numbers.
I downloaded the stock app rar, and tried doing an ADB install for BackupAssistanceClient and BuaContactAdapter, but I get "Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_DEXOPT]".
I tried copying over BuaContactAdapter.apk and BackupAssistanceClient.apk manually (to /system/app) and setting permissions, but that doesn't seem to do anything.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what I did with another ROM. Go to VZW with your pc. Navigate to contacts. Export contact list as Outlook CSV. Go to your gmail acct and import the CSV. Sync phone contacts to gmail. Important to do the outlook export though. Regular CSV doesn't populate gmail contacts properly.

Just a quick question. If and when we flash this, are we still rooted? If so, can I just install bootstrap and reboot recovery and restore? Or do i have to do the whole root process again like if it was an original phone from store?

one thing with the bootloader i remember when i first got my eris was people on the fourms would keep emailing htc for the bootloader keys because it was hard to crack and htc gave them up ... maybe if we flood moto with emails and stuff they'll loosen up like htc

DL'ing now. If you guys want another mirror let me know.

When I get a phone call the sliders are messed up

RMcCall said:
When I get a phone call the sliders are messed up
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Click to collapse
x2 with this. If I'm not mistaken you already knew about that in the alpha build thread...but just saying.
also, still not getting the touchscreen dialer on the activation page.

Coderedpl said:
Just a quick question. If and when we flash this, are we still rooted? If so, can I just install bootstrap and reboot recovery and restore? Or do i have to do the whole root process again like if it was an original phone from store?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it comes with root. No, you do not want to restore. Restoring will bring you back to the backup you created. This rom comes with Superuser.apk (root) no need to re-root.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App

I seem to remember the alpha thread saying not to flash themes over this....but don't think it was mentioned this go round....still the case? (assume so). Figured it was worth noting in the first post if that's the case.
Also....I just installed this, and am also stuck unable to get it programmed.
First time it started the music and then got a failed message. Since then I don't even get the music, and after 20 seconds or so I just get a "Please enter the # you're calling about" message and if entered, it just tries to transfer me to cust service.

one. said:
I seem to remember the alpha thread saying not to flash themes over this....but don't think it was mentioned this go round....still the case? (assume so). Figured it was worth noting in the first post if that's the case.
Also....I just installed this, and am also stuck unable to get it programmed.
First time it started the music and then got a failed message. Since then I don't even get the music, and after 20 seconds or so I just get a "Please enter the # you're calling about" message and if entered, it just tries to transfer me to cust service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried *22899 send? Should go straight into programing the phone

Which backup tool to choose?

Hi there! I've been reading (a lot) around here the last months and that's been really helpfull. Went from stock GB on my locked XPS through just about all ROM's available for XPS to CM10 now. Thanks XDA, thanks all!
Still a real lot to learn. One of the things that really keeps me wondering is which method (besides a Nandroid) I shld use for backing up. Google takes care of my contacts and settings automatically. But what is the best tool to backup and restore my apps (question 1)? I've used Astro, Go Backup and several others I can't even remember. And if I use one, do I still need Gapps all the time or is that doing a double job (question 2)?
My last question: I understand doing an upgrade of your custom rom you don't need to swipe, so your data stays. But if you do need to, when can you do a data restore after installing a new ROM (question 3)?

1. For backing up and restoring apps, I use Titanium Backup and I think most people would swear by it ( it's worth the donate for the extra features ). For sms though, GoSMS's backup feature is the best working one for me.
2. I'm pretty sure you still need to flash Gapps, but I'm not sure. Been off Cyan for a while. Besides, I think flashing Gapps is faster than restoring through most backup apps.
3. It depends on the rom and you should read the ROM's thread, but I always wipe between updates just in case ( I have an SGSII ). If you mean restore data by Titanium or another app, I think after letting the phone sit for 10 minutes on initial new ROM boot, you can start restoring apps. If you mean selectively restoring just data through nandroid though, I'm not sure if that should even be done, or how exactly to minimize issues.
Hope that helps.

DIMENSIONAL said:
1. For backing up and restoring apps, I use Titanium Backup and I think most people would swear by it ( it's worth the donate for the extra features ). For sms though, GoSMS's backup feature is the best working one for me.
2. I'm pretty sure you still need to flash Gapps, but I'm not sure. Been off Cyan for a while. Besides, I think flashing Gapps is faster than restoring through most backup apps.
3. It depends on the rom and you should read the ROM's thread, but I always wipe between updates just in case ( I have an SGSII ). If you mean restore data by Titanium or another app, I think after letting the phone sit for 10 minutes on initial new ROM boot, you can start restoring apps. If you mean selectively restoring just data through nandroid though, I'm not sure if that should even be done, or how exactly to minimize issues.
Hope that helps.
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Click to collapse
tx DIMENSIONAL!
Late night yesterday I ran into this app here on fxp: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1859261 Maybe that might become (be) handy? Not for me yet, due to problems with XPS for this app at the moment
2. Gapps.... Gapps is faster for sure. But not off course not exactly the things you want.... But there's something out to make your own zip.file with all your apps and/or other data and system files in it I think. Stopped reading when it got to complicated for me to try without much feedback at that moment. Sorry I forgot to mark the thread. Lost it for now.
3. I did this data restore thing once after reading a tip in a thread for a particular ROM here somewhere.

VincentKnife said:
tx DIMENSIONAL!
Late night yesterday I ran into this app here on fxp: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1859261 Maybe that might become (be) handy? Not for me yet, due to problems with XPS for this app at the moment
2. Gapps.... Gapps is faster for sure. But not off course not exactly the things you want.... But there's something out to make your own zip.file with all your apps and/or other data and system files in it I think. Stopped reading when it got to complicated for me to try without much feedback at that moment. Sorry I forgot to mark the thread. Lost it for now.
3. I did this data restore thing once after reading a tip in a thread for a particular ROM here somewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
edit: installed titanium backup; needs a lot of reading agai,n but looks great! tx again!

Another vote for titanium & the pro key here. I prefer"appextractor“ from the play store for my sms/mms restore & I also use the contact restore feature, since it also takes care of my call log (both of these features use data from nandroid), since I have given up on using titanium to restore sms & get the time accurate.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

Restoring a Nandroid...how can I optimize?

My understanding of backing up a nandroid is that it creates an exact backup of your phone, as is, which can then easily be restored.
As advised, I have been trying out a couple of different ROMs to see which is best for me and with the advice of many of you, Ive mostly figured that process out.
But where I am struggling is figuring out how to optimize my use of Nandroids to streamline this. Heres the specific issue:
I flashed a ROM and then set everything up. I created my desktop screens, shortcuts to key contacts and apps, widgets, etc. Loaded pictures into my photo app, labeled favorites...usual stuff.
I then created a backup.
When I went to restore this backup, I ran into a bunch of issues. For example, the contact shortcuts were still in my launcher (Apex), but if I click on them they either pull up an incorrect contact or say "no such contact exists". So in the end, I need to go through and create all of these shortcuts again from scratch. Similar experience when I open the photo app (JustPictures) where all of the favorite labeled pictures are now gone. Other examples include apps that were on the device, but now no longer appear.
None of this is hard to fix, but it is very time consuming and makes it hard to use backup/recovery as a way to seamlessly flash and move between configured ROMs.
Am I doing something wrong? Any advice on how to optimize this so I can make this process manageable and not a barrier to trying something new but easily reverting when necessary?

You must he doing something wrong. I have never had any issues restoring a backup. And have never seen anyone else post about such things. You need to explain every step you took. It literally should be as simple as rebooting into recovery, clicking "Backup", let it do its thing, flash some other ROM, go play around with it, dislike it, refrain from posting in the ROM thread something like "tried out this ROM but didn't like it so I'm restoring a backup," reboot back into recovery, select "Restore", choose your backup, let it do its thing, and BOOM, back to the way it was.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda app-developers app

If you're not "wiping clean" system,data,cache , before restoring backups , do it ... or you'll face the problems you mentioned ... Actually you should never install or restore anything without formatting all those 3 areas..
Use also a good recovery , sk8witski 14.6 latest one ...

mahanddeem said:
If you're not "wiping clean" system,data,cache , before restoring backups , do it ... or you'll face the problems you mentioned ... Actually you should never install or restore anything without formatting all those 3 areas..
Use also a good recovery , sk8witski 14.6 latest one ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I went back and tried re-doing this step and it helped.
A related question: I use Apex Launcher and have a desktop customized with shortcuts to most used apps and contacts.
When I am flashing a NEW ROM (not restoring) - what is the best way to restore the desktop and shortcuts without having to manually redo it for each new ROM I try? This is definitely the biggest barrier for me in testing new ROMs as it takes a lot of work to redo each time and, without redoing it, its hard to simulate the same usage and experience when I move to something new.
If I just restore Apex with Titanium after flashing, often all the links/shortcuts/widgets are broken and need to be redone. Is there an order with which I need to reload/restore things? Is there a better way to backup and restore Apex settings so that they will come back and properly link to the underlying contacts and apps on a new ROM?
Thoughts?

Isn't there an option within the Apex settings to save your current configuration, or backup data, or something like that? Check there and try that.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda app-developers app

Yes now I see that. I had been backing up via Titanium and restoring Apex using "restore App + Data".
I will play around with those, see what works or doesnt and report back in case its helpful to others.
Thanks.

[Q] Need help with a Titanium backup for restore

Hi!
I did search and was hoping to find a 'Titanium Backup' section within XDA all I saw where threads in various sections. So if there is one and I should be posting there just let me know!
I will explain my situation;
I'm have a Nexus 5 that is unlocked and rooted. Within Google's update last night I had to reboot my phone and all of a sudden com.android.ui force closes and nothing worked. I wasn't able to tap on any app, app draw, dock .. nothing.
Here's where my ignorance comes to play. Could I have restored my phone from a backup which was only 3 days old without having to wipe it?
Yeah, I wiped the phone, re-rooted and let all the Google apps update and I'm bringing down my Titanium backup from the cloud to the device to restore my apps from it.
So could I have done this in a better way? If there is the next time I'll do it!
And is there some definitive guide on Titanium Backup? I followed a YouTube tut and it appeared to be have captured what I needed but I feel that there's more to it! I just feel I should be using that app to backup more than just my apps + data.
Hope you can help!
Thanks!
Dave

MrBiggzz said:
Hi!
I did search and was hoping to find a 'Titanium Backup' section within XDA all I saw where threads in various sections. So if there is one and I should be posting there just let me know!
I will explain my situation;
I'm have a Nexus 5 that is unlocked and rooted. Within Google's update last night I had to reboot my phone and all of a sudden com.android.ui force closes and nothing worked. I wasn't able to tap on any app, app draw, dock .. nothing.
Here's where my ignorance comes to play. Could I have restored my phone from a backup which was only 3 days old without having to wipe it?
Yeah, I wiped the phone, re-rooted and let all the Google apps update and I'm bringing down my Titanium backup from the cloud to the device to restore my apps from it.
So could I have done this in a better way? If there is the next time I'll do it!
And is there some definitive guide on Titanium Backup? I followed a YouTube tut and it appeared to be have captured what I needed but I feel that there's more to it! I just feel I should be using that app to backup more than just my apps + data.
Hope you can help!
Thanks!
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Dave,
Unfortunately I would suggest to do first a wipe cache/dalvik cache before trying a factory reset.
Restoring apps system with Titanium is not really recommended (become worst than before). I tried and had many force close on system ui during the test.
regards,
P.

pfloc said:
Hi Dave,
Unfortunately I would suggest to do first a wipe cache/dalvik cache before trying a factory reset.
Restoring apps system with Titanium is not really recommended (become worst than before). I tried and had many force close on system ui during the test.
regards,
P.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm bit past that point. I wasn't restoring system app .. just user apps + data. That's one thing that I caught on to when I was learning about backup up was things NOT to backup and system apps where one!
Somebody in the G+ Xposed community told me to wipe cache was well. And my reply was the same that if the UI has force closed and nothing is responsive then how can I do this?
You'll have to pardon my ignorance as this is the first time I've encountered a problem like this. I've been pretty blessed so far! =)

MrBiggzz said:
And my reply was the same that if the UI has force closed and nothing is responsive then how can I do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does the Nexus 5 comes which a standard recovery where you can do it ... otherwise install a custom recovery.
but if you could access to titanium application with the constant popup, it has a option to clean cache.
good luck

pfloc said:
does the Nexus 5 comes which a standard recovery where you can do it ... otherwise install a custom recovery.
but if you could access to titanium application with the constant popup, it has a option to clean cache.
good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The other source I'd tapped told me since I have a custom recovery that I able to wipe cache and dalvik cache as well. This person has had the same issue.
So ... I learned something new today! =)

Hope you will get a full functional phone after that

also don't backup/restore system app files/ ie messaging> call log etc between different versions or different types of android

digijedi007 said:
also don't backup/restore system app files/ ie messaging> call log etc between different versions or different types of android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I said that third post down! =)
Only thing was I was expecting to be able to restore from the cloud. Instead I had to copy everything from the cloud back down to the phone.
Phone works though.
But in my case I was told to get into recovery which I had done but after that had no idea what to do. Wiping and restoring was a bit premature.