Database Info

Infuse EFS Folder (Request for someone's backup)

Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett

Salmiery said:
Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an interesting request, Brett.
I thought the efs.rfs file contains one's phone imei number/network id etc.
idk for sure...
I thought using someone else's imei is kinda like "let me borrow your ss# so i can check the ss office to see if mine is working.
I didn't know if you found this link and tried it?
http://forum.samdroid.net/f28/complete-imei-restore-how-1817/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882039
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=953436
Fortunately for me, I had a efs backup on my hd.
I think I also saw scripts in Zeus and Doctor ROM that backs up efs also prior to flash..
good luck

I wasn't trying to steal anyone's IMEI.. I just have tried multiple techniques, but I have not tried the first link..
I've been having trouble getting a shell with adb, does it need to be in download mode?
I was trying to see if it were possible to copy someone's existing files, and use a hex editor to change things, but reading into it, the IMEI is not able to be edited easily without knowing the encyrption type.
I'm just frustrated and have been back and forth with both at&t and also samsung (Their support is a joke, no one I spoke with even knew what the EFS folder was..)
I will try this technique and will report back later when I get home from work tonight. I've been reading a lot of similar issues with the null/null IMEI in the infuses and the guy at the AT&T store said that this was the reason they stopped selling the phone in their store.
Thanks for the help, I'll let you know what happens.
-Brett

Goodluck.
From the tone of your post, I didn't suspect any malice...I had a gist of what you were trying to do.
From reading some of links, there may be some method of recovery.
I hope that you're able to get it back.

I posted one a while back. I think it was in the q&a section. I won't be at my computer for a couple of days or I'd upload it for ya. Try searching or scrolling thru there.
Edit: I just uploaded an EFS.zip, unzip and flash the included efs.tar thru Odin or heimdall.

I had the same problem but i fixed it through Odin. There is an option in odin where you can click on the side (sorry i just reformated the comp so i dont have odin installed) that says something about the EFS. Try that, it fixed it for me.

On a related note. I thought I read somewhere that typical backups such as tibu and nandroid do NOT back up the efs folder. Is this correct? Should we all be doing this manually to protect against corruption?

Try searching here or on market. I remember there was this app called "nitrality" something. This app backs up EFS that we can restore in case we mess it up.

diablo009 said:
Try searching here or on market. I remember there was this app called "nitrality" something. This app backs up EFS that we can restore in case we mess it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did try to dl that app and ran it. It didn't work for me. The app hung up the system until you fc it.
If you're versed in linux or Term emu, you can use script to back up your efs.
If you had flashed zeus or doctorz, there are scripts build in that backs up your efs.
if you had root explorer, you can find efs folder in your root. long press on the folder allows you to create zip or tar of this as well.

Any harm in just copy/paste the whole folder to external SD with root explorer? Then copy paste to windows over USB? Will permissions get messed up?
I think I've already backed it up but there have been a couple threads on this. Wonder if it should be part of superthread or a sticky...do this first :...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

rxnelson said:
Any harm in just copy/paste the whole folder to external SD with root explorer? Then copy paste to windows over USB? Will permissions get messed up?
I think I've already backed it up but there have been a couple threads on this. Wonder if it should be part of superthread or a sticky...do this first :...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem with copy/paste that I know of.
Being cautious, I have a zip, a tar, and the whole folder on my PC, USB and box.net.

Hypothetically,
I have access to another Infuse on the same family plan at that, if i were to copy the efs folder to mine what would that do?
I want to make sure not to have the same IMEI number on the network though, but this could save me a lot of hassle...
any thoughts?

Read the threads on the links I provided...you will get more understanding.

I have multiple times, but the first post that seemed like it would be the best fix, I have to get him to send me a fixed nv_data file and he seems to be unresponsive at the moment.
I think I'm going to root the 2nd infuse, back up her efs folder (MULTIPLE times lol) and fix it so it's generic and not an exact replica of hers..
Do you see any problems there? I'm definitely not an expert at all with this.

Salmiery said:
I have multiple times, but the first post that seemed like it would be the best fix, I have to get him to send me a fixed nv_data file and he seems to be unresponsive at the moment.
I think I'm going to root the 2nd infuse, back up her efs folder (MULTIPLE times lol) and fix it so it's generic and not an exact replica of hers..
Do you see any problems there? I'm definitely not an expert at all with this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to see what is on the root of a phone, you may need to root it.
Once rooted, you can look for the efs folder.
I haven't used z4root in a while on an unrooted phone, I don't know if this program will let you see the root folder or not. It's possible.
The efs on my phone shows several programs and folders.
One of the folder is /imei. I suppose this is where the unique id is located.
read the thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1372455
as you can see, the efs contains unique id...i'm not sure of even how to make up a different imei file from using someone else's efs folder.
if your phone boots up but does not connect, if you go to settings/about phone/status
does it list the imei?
if it does, are you able to use a script in terminal emulator to back it up?
if you can't find the script, you can try flashing doctor or zeus rom, they have scripts to back up your efs folder. then try locating it on your phone.
the other thought i had was for you to call your provider to see if they can give you your previous imei number.
I'm only reasoning from what I have read...these are new territory to me.

Right, I have rooted my phone and for whatever reason the EFS folder is completely empty... The folder is there, but completley empty.
I have the IMEI number, its on the back of the phone as well as AT&T gave it to me.
The fact that my entire folder is empty, and I hadn't backed anything up because I never flashed the kernel or rom makes me think that the android marketplace does have malicious code that simply says:
if(phone==rooted){
wipe efs foler
}
continuing to pull my hair out and attempt new things, if anyone has any ideas let me know.

Salmiery said:
continuing to pull my hair out and attempt new things, if anyone has any ideas let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out Post # 5, I just edited my post.

its not simply a folder its actually a partition, on Linux you can mount drives/partitions however you like so it can appear to be under another directory and be an entirely different device.
you can make a .rfs image from the dd command through adb or terminal emulator.
if it is corrupt you "may" be able to salvage it through options of the dd command.
I gotta look up the device path and whatnot but if there is anything on there, visable or not, you might be able to recover the unique files and paste them over the files from someone else's efs backup. if not I have heard but never tried it, but I heard that fromatting the partition will cause the system to generate a generic efs, but I don't know for sure.
edit: the device location is /dev/block/stl3
you can dump it to the SD card with
dd if=/dev/block/stl3 of=/sdcard/efs.rfs bs=4096
if there are bad blocks I think but not quite sure you can add noerror to the end
dd if=/dev/block/stl3 of=/sdcard/efs.rfs bs=4096 noerror
but if the information has actually been deleted unless it was overwritten it is mostly intact. it is not well known that delete doesn't actually delete the data, even after a format data can be recovered with the right program. if the dumps come up empty there is also dd_rescue and foremost but I don't know if those commands are available on android, but you may be able to loop mount the dump on a Linux box or in cygwin and try the ddrescue or foremost commands.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/learn-the-dd-command-362506/
hopefully you can recover something. and learn something along the way. this is also useful for recovering deleted files and securely deleting stuff you want gone for real.

i remember I lost my efs on my captivate. There are tools in the forum to get it back.

Salmiery said:
Hi guys,
One miraculous day, my efs folder became corrupt, when it just so happened to be the week after the hard drive on my computer took a dump! What a week this has been.. I was wondering if it is possible for someone to zip their EFS folder and send it to me to see if I can't get this phone to connect back to the network again. I honestly think there are applications on androids marketplace that will wipe things if you have superuser installed.. because it was like BAM, one morning I wake up and my efs folder was deleted the day after I had installed some new apps.
So my question is - Will someone send me a backup of their EFS? If that won't conflict with their phone of course -- I would send it back to Samsung, but their 3rd tier support has no idea what I'm talking about - they just hear root and think I'm a piece of trash.
Any help would be greatly appreciated - I have not seen anything about trying someone elses efs so I thought it could be a bit experimental as well.. Thanks
-Brett
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh, NO than you. My EFS folder has nothing to do with yours. Don't know how that would work...

[Q] CWM recovery filenames

This is a general CWM question but I could not find any place better to post on XDA, so excuse this if incorrect location.
I have flashed all the Skyrocket ICS roms in the past few days to see which I liked best. Before I flashed a new one, I would make a CWM backup of the current one. Wanting to easily be able to identify the files, I appended the rom name to the end of the CWM filenames after deleting all the characters after the date, which appeared to be a GMT time stamp. Now, when I try to restore any of those files, I get an MD5 checksum error. I am only assuming that this is due to changing the filename and not some other problem. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? TIA.

phoneturf said:
This is a general CWM question but I could not find any place better to post on XDA, so excuse this if incorrect location.
I have flashed all the Skyrocket ICS roms in the past few days to see which I liked best. Before I flashed a new one, I would make a CWM backup of the current one. Wanting to easily be able to identify the files, I appended the rom name to the end of the CWM filenames after deleting all the characters after the date, which appeared to be a GMT time stamp. Now, when I try to restore any of those files, I get an MD5 checksum error. I am only assuming that this is due to changing the filename and not some other problem. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? TIA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about the folder name? Because that shouldnt affect it. Inside the folder that is created for each backup, there are backup files which dont have any dates/times in the filename itself.

I vaguely remember reading about this, but I can't recall how it was resolved. Try updating your can to 5.5.0.4 Touch or 5.8.1.3 (?? something along those lines) and seeing if that resolves it. Outside if that I must ask the obvious, did u Google "md5 checksum error cwm"?

Are you using the same CWM version as you did when you backed up? If you didnt, then thats one reason. You have to stay on the same CWM version, many of these CWM versions floating around have different fixes in there.
One way around this is to go to Advanced Restore and restore all the IMG files from there.
Dixit

ihtfp69 said:
I figured I would post this fix here in case anyone else ran into this problem. This is assuming you did not change the folder names and let Clockworkmod create them. I haven't had it happen until today, but it's not a nice message to see when you are trying to do a restore.
Code:
Checking MD5 sums...
MD5 mismatch!
Do this to fix:
To fix this problem use the code below. Substitute the final folder name for the backup you need to fix.
Code:
adb shell
# cd /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/2010-06-29.20.22.53
# rm nandroid.md5
# md5sum *img > nandroid.md5
When that finishes, re-run the restore and everything should be fine.
NOTE: As rpearl stated, there could be something really wrong with your nandroid, so use this tutorial as a learning experience and not a fix-all. In my case, everything was fine after restoring. However, that may not always be the case. Do this with caution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use this method to potentially fix.

dixit said:
Are you using the same CWM version as you did when you backed up?
Dixit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct on most of them. I updated to CWM Touch for the last one, but it did not restore either. To check this out, I just did a backup and without changing the name did a restore and it worked fine. The thing that was odd in the backups that would not restore was that it immediately bombed out of the checksum each time as if it was checking the name itself first.

That is brilliant. I did not realize you could generate the MD5 from ADB and stick it right into the folder. Thanks!

The few times this md5 mis-match has happened to me was because (a) the backup was actually messed up (check folder size) probably due to corruption or (b) my SD card was out of space. I've always renamed my backup set similar to yours (I append the ROM name) and it never affects the restore.

bdbx18 said:
The few times this md5 mis-match has happened to me was because (a) the backup was actually messed up (check folder size) probably due to corruption or (b) my SD card was out of space. I've always renamed my backup set similar to yours (I append the ROM name) and it never affects the restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using touch or standard CWM? I wonder if this only happens in touch version. I will try this in the next few days.

I changed the name of one of the backups I created with CWM touch and it restored fine using touch. I suppose my earlier problem may have been trying to restore a backup created with old CWM using touch version.

well since you are on the subject cwm touch im making a nanadroid backup of my current ics rom right now as i speak. i started about an hour ago and its still on the backing up data part. when i used the older version to make backups i dont remember it taking this long. have any of you had cwm touch take well its been a little over an hour now? i do have more apps on my phone now than i did the last time i made a backup would that matter? should i just jerk the battery out and go back to the older version of cwm i was using? thanks ahead of time for any advice / help you may give i would appreciate it. im trying to backup this rom cause i want to flash a different modem cause the ics modem form the leak is crap and need a backup in case it dont work..

garydv2002 said:
well since you are on the subject cwm touch im making a nanadroid backup of my current ics rom right now as i speak. i started about an hour ago and its still on the backing up data part. when i used the older version to make backups i dont remember it taking this long. have any of you had cwm touch take well its been a little over an hour now? i do have more apps on my phone now than i did the last time i made a backup would that matter? should i just jerk the battery out and go back to the older version of cwm i was using? thanks ahead of time for any advice / help you may give i would appreciate it. im trying to backup this rom cause i want to flash a different modem cause the ics modem form the leak is crap and need a backup in case it dont work..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are using sk8erwitskil version of the CWM touch (ClockworkMod TOUCH 5.5.0.4 v3.5) then most likely you didnt follow one of the directions on the front page. This is a known issue. Here it is again. You need to create that file on the location you backing upto.
For CWM to recognize the .hidenandroidprogress file you need to boot into CWM and go to mounts and storage>>mount /sdcard then go back to backup & restore and make a restore and it should work everytime (as long as you do the steps in that order and you have the .hidenandroidprogress file in /sdcard/clockworkmod & /sdcard/external_sd/clockworkmod folders)
There is a known bug in ClockworkMod 5.5.0.4 that long file names can POSSIBLY cause backups to hang. There is a solution/workaround:
•boot into recovery
•try to make a backup (no matter if it passes or fails proceed to next step)
•either through terminal emulator or through adb run the following command EXACTLY:
Code:
touch /sdcard/clockworkmod/.hidenandroidprogress
•if you are backing up to external sdcard then run the following:
Code:
touch /sdcard/external_sd/clockworkmod/.hidenandroidprogress

im using 5.8.1.3 hercules that i got from the dev section. is this a known issue with it to?

garydv2002 said:
im using 5.8.1.3 hercules that i got from the dev section. is this a known issue with it to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure, I used that for awhile but then went back to the other touch and Ive had those two files still in my directories.
I would go ahead and create those two files (one for internal SD and one for external SD if you got one you are using that is) and try it again. Make sure you call that file exactly the way it is, or copy/paste the code identically if you do it through ADB.
Dixit

garydv2002 said:
im using 5.8.1.3 hercules that i got from the dev section. is this a known issue with it to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use that one, takes less than 5 minutes on my class 10 sd.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Well the crazy thing is after sitting there over an hour waiting I finally took out the battery and even though it never said complete all the files are there but I still don't trust that it made a good backup so I deleted those files tried putting in the code above and it still would not work so I flashed back to version 5.0.2.0 thats not touch and it made a perfect backup in under 2 minutes. Might be one of those it just ain't gonna work right on this specific phone thing or it could be the little green gremlins at it again lol... who knows.. I'll just wait for new version of touch to come along and try it. It won't be long till a newer greater version comes along as fast as technology is going today.. thanks for the help. I'm learning more and more each day from you guys on xda.....
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA

Not sure if this is the cause of the issue but for nandroid backups you can't make a folder name with spaces otherwise you will get an md5 sum error. Try renaming the folder with underscores instead of spaces

[Solved!] Difficulty updating to 1.63.531.2 without setting up from scratch

Initial phone stats: DS Mod 1.55.531.3, hboot 1.45.0013, s-on/unlocked via HTC unlocker.
I'm trying to update my own phone to 1.63.531.2 via the PG59IMG.zip file found here, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17424340&postcount=24 , but I'm running into problems applying this update and keeping it after restoring a Nandroid backup. It would be a huge amount of work to set up my phone from square one, and I'd like to avoid the process if at all possible.
The steps I've followed (twice, now, with no joy) are the following:
* apply the update through the PG59IMG.zip
* flash CWM 5.0.2.7
* flash Superuser
* restore most recent Nandroid backup
* flash 1.63.531.2 boot image (for wi-fi fix)
And this puts me back at my starting point, with the 1.63.531.2 update not applied.
I know I'm going about this the wrong way, but I can't figure out the correct method to make this work. The fact that I flashed the DS Mod 1.55.531.3 ROM back after unlocking might have something to do with this, however, I just can't nail down why. Really could some help to make this work.
TIA for any suggestions --
--
KingCheetah

hey, real quick, after flashing the 1.63.531.2 update, instead of restoring your full nandoid of 1.55.531.3, go to 'advanced restore', choose that nandroid, and choose only 'restore data'. that will put all your apps and data onto the new update, rather than flashing you all the way back to what you had before.
you could also backup and restore your data with an app called Mybackup Root, or some people use Titanium Backup. I personally like using the advanced data restore in CWM, or else Mybackup.

Yogi, I thought your suggestion would be a smoking gun. However, I'm having the same problem as described in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=25431819#post25431819
Might you have any suggestions for addressing the md5 problem? I'm coming up empty...
Thanks for your help --
--
KingChetah

yeah, come to think of it, I've had that problem before as well. did you try what xmc suggested? also, perhaps try the Modaco 4.0.0.9 version of CWM to do the advanced data restore... if my memory serves me, I have had more success overall with that version. unfortunately that's about all I got!
the other sugestion would be to flash your full nandroid, then use Mybackup Root to back everything up. then after updating, DL the app again and restore.
good luck and keep us posted!

yogi2010 said:
yeah, come to think of it, I've had that problem before as well. did you try what xmc suggested?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and for the backup I want to restore, all the md5s are the same between the files and what is listed in the nandroid.md5 file. So, the method XMC suggested really doesn't do anything.
yogi2010 said:
also, perhaps try the Modaco 4.0.0.9 version of CWM to do the advanced data restore... if my memory serves me, I have had more success overall with that version. unfortunately that's about all I got!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, okay, I'll give that a try. Weird that CWM 5.0.2.7 has this problem. Also frustrating.
yogi2010 said:
the other sugestion would be to flash your full nandroid, then use Mybackup Root to back everything up. then after updating, DL the app again and restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll keep this as the last resort, because I'd rather not have to download an app for just this purpose. Nandroid backups have served me fine so far. Call me a minimalist.
I'll try Modaco and see what happens. Thanks much for the idea to try.
--
King Cheetah

Sadness
Using Modaco didn't work. Although the Advanced Restore sees the file and appears to run successfully, it says it can't find a data.img file and an Android.img file, so it doesn't restore the info.
So, I guess it's down to trying Mybackup Root and see what happens. Getting tired of redoing this process over and over.
Why can't things "just work" in these situations?
--
KingCheetah

check the other thread....problems with restoring backup
---------- Post added at 05:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:08 PM ----------
or actually...just flash the data.img through fastboot....its ten times easier
but the data.img in the same directory as adb and fastboot....then run the two commands with your phone in the bootloader
fastboot erase data
fastboot flash data data.img

xmc wildchild22 said:
or actually...just flash the data.img through fastboot....its ten times easier
but the data.img in the same directory as adb and fastboot....then run the two commands with your phone in the bootloader
fastboot erase data
fastboot flash data data.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with this is the file "data.img" doesn't exist in a Nandroid backup. As I stated in my previous message, the Advanced Restore process tossed up a message that the file didn't exist (which is correct).
The files within a given Nandroid backup folder are the following:
.android_secure.vfat.tar
boot.img
cache.ext4.tar
data.ext4.tar
nandroid.md5
recovery.img
system.ext4.tar
From the Advanced Restore problem thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1624319):
xmc wildchild22 said:
then take the system.img from the 1.63 update and put in replace of the nandroids one....then redo the md5 checksum for the system.img like i had showed before
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love to try this, but since the 1.63 update is a PM59IMG.zip, I can't open it with a zip file manager--it throws up a "central directory not found" error. Unless there's another program besides 7zip that's needed to handle this type of zip file...
Edit: I just realized that, as you can see from the file list above, a Nandroid backup also doesn't have a "system.img" file--it has a "system.ext4.tar," but not "system.img." So being able to pull anything from a PM59IMG.zip file is a moot point at this juncture.
Banging one's head against the keyboard does little constructive good, but it's really tempting at this point --
--
KingCheetah

just try opening it with a plain windows explorer

xmc wildchild22 said:
just try opening it with a plain windows explorer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using the "Explore" option from the right-click context menu in Windows Explorer gives the following error: "The Compressed (zipped) Folder is invalid or corrupted." (Since archive files on my laptop are associated with 7zip, this is the only method by which I can access Win XP's native archive file handling.)
This has been the case with all PM59IMG.zip files--they don't register as normal zip files.
Thanks for the suggestion, though --
--
KingCheetah

hmm...maybe tht zip is corrupted because it works for me....DL this --> http://tinyw.in/Mzg2

Nope, not corrupted because it works just fine to update my phone to 1.63 (as stated before, I've done this twice now). Also, that's the exact same source from whence I downloaded my copy of the file. The PM59MG.zip for 1.55.531.3 gives exactly the same error, and I used that without difficulty as well.

KingCheetah said:
Nope, not corrupted because it works just fine to update my phone to 1.63 (as stated before, I've done this twice now). Also, that's the exact same source from whence I downloaded my copy of the file. The PM59MG.zip for 1.55.531.3 gives exactly the same error, and I used that without difficulty as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use winrar to open the PG59IMG.zip files - that's what I used to make all the custom ones with, and also what I used to open the leaked ones we started from.
You won't be able to edit existing leaked ones, because they are locked and have an HTC signature.
Sent from a digital distance.

Thanks for the pointer, Blue, and I'll keep this in mind. But as I added to my previous post (#8), I realized that a Nandroid backup doesn't have a "system.img" file--it has a "system.ext4.tar," but not "system.img." So being able to pull anything from a PM59IMG.zip file is a moot point at this juncture.
I think I'm going to have to wait for a 1.63 ROM that can be installed through CWM rather than the PM59IMG.zip method. The DS Mod 1.55.531.3 worked well for me, and all apps/data were just there after I flashed it. Maybe I just got lucky with the process I followed previously, who knows? (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1508406&page=4 post #39)
At any rate, I've got a truly mean headache from working on this all day. Time for a break with a bit of ice on ye old cervical vertebrae.
Thanks again for chiming in --
--
KingCheetah

No prob, didn't read through and shot from the hip on the last post I saw, out at dinner and skimming the forums on smoke breaks
Sent from a digital distance.

does anyone know the deal with the implementation of tar backups? I think that came into play at some point, and I wonder if that has anything to do with anything.
I just checked a backup I made with the Modaco CWM, and the files in it are all .img files, including data. and I know for a fact I have done backups and advanced data restores with that recovery. it would be a hassle, but if you get re-energized you might make the backup and do the restore with Modaco. definitely would be a hassle if it didn't work, but you could also make a backup with Mybackup, and have that ready too, as well as probably have a data.img to try and flash thru fastboot like xmc suggested.
anyway, hopefully we'll get this all sorted out. take it easy!

well .tar are used ever since cwm started working with ext4....maybe imgs are only ext3 or lower or its just inefficient

On that note, I did use the modaco 4.0.0.9 recovery to make the nandroids I pulled the system images from to get the bases from which I de-odexed, and when finished I uploaded to my host and they are the de-odexed bases I posted in dev.
I am pretty sure I went with modaco recovery for that because cwm 5.0.2.7 output tar files and it just saved a step in the process.
If you are working with the .tar files then jump on linux to unarchive them if that's what you are trying to do.
I just ran the deodex process using windows, because the first working deodex tool I found was a windows tool.
Generally I use modaco .9 for nandroids I want to work with in windows, and cwm 5 for nandroids I want to work with in linux.
We're probably leaving the restaurant soon, if we split up I'll actually read back through the thread when I get home and see if I have anything else to add.
Sent from a digital distance.

Yogi, you're brilliant!
yogi2010 said:
I just checked a backup I made with the Modaco CWM, and the files in it are all .img files, including data. and I know for a fact I have done backups and advanced data restores with that recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[facepalm] Of course! This is why my Advanced Restore attempt with Modaco failed--because I used the CWM 5.0.2.7 backup, which did not have the files Modaco would have referenced. Duh! I wasn't even thinking along the lines of a file type mismatch between the two recoveries. Baka baka baka...
yogi2010 said:
it would be a hassle, but if you get re-energized you might make the backup and do the restore with Modaco. definitely would be a hassle if it didn't work, but you could also make a backup with Mybackup, and have that ready too, as well as probably have a data.img to try and flash thru fastboot like xmc suggested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At this point, not a hassle, but the best chance to accomplish this thing with a minimum of fuss and bother. I'll give this a shot right after a bit 'o java. Thank you, Yogi, for highlighting something that should have been obvious to me when Modaco gave the error message that "data.img" didn't exist. Oy!
However, this still leaves unanswered the question of why CWM 5.0.2.7 is tossing up the md5 mismatch error when one tries to use Advance Restore, and that files aren't seen by CWM via Advance Restore until one accesses regular Restore. Paperskye is having the exact same problem in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1624319 . Should this be brought to the attention of the CWM devs? It really seems like a rather show-stopping error for CWM...unless Advanced Restore isn't really used with 5.0.2.7 and the MT4GS. There just doesn't seem to be a good reason for the observed behavior.
Many thanks for your encouragement. I'll report back with results on the next try with Modaco --
--
KingCheetah

It's a beautiful thing!
Using Modaco for my backup prior to the update, then Advanced Restore of data afterward = perfect restore of my phone environment with 1.63 on board. Done with as little fuss as I was hoping to encounter. Yogi, you get the prize. The only thing I had to manually put back was my custom boot animation, but that's trivial.
I think I'll just leave Modaco on as my recovery for now, since AR is functional with it and CWM 5.0.2.7 is not. Makes me wonder, from just an everyday backup standpoint, is there any real advantage of CWM over Modaco? I wish there was more information on how the recovery module functions on the CWM website--I'd like to read up on it for educational purposes. Guess I'll do a Google to find more.
So ridiculously happy right now. In a stew of things going wrong, at least something went right.
Big rumbling purr of gratitude --
--
KingCheetah

[Q] TWRP / CWR Time Is Incorrect + Wrong File Size

I have noticed that when I boot into a custom recovery, the time is off. AFAIK, there is no way to change it in CWR / TWRP manually, as it reads it from somewhere else. The time on my phone when booted normally is correct
Also, my recovery file sizes seem very small, usually less than 20MB. MTP error or something bigger going on?
Thanks.

impass3093 said:
I have noticed that when I boot into a custom recovery, the time is off. AFAIK, there is no way to change it in CWR / TWRP manually, as it reads it from somewhere else. The time on my phone when booted normally is correct
Also, my recovery file sizes seem very small, usually less than 20MB. MTP error or something bigger going on?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if your using CWR you should have a folder called "blobs" that's where 98% of the data is going to be stored for backups. Whatever you do, do NOT mess with that folder.

Looks like TWRP sizes are now correct. I updated to the latest 2.3.1 and no more problems. However, the time is still off. My backup folder names are always in the 1970's lol

impass3093 said:
Looks like TWRP sizes are now correct. I updated to the latest 2.3.1 and no more problems. However, the time is still off. My backup folder names are always in the 1970's lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can rename your backups just hefore uou start the process
iSheep... iSheep... Meowww that's Apple

impass3093 said:
Looks like TWRP sizes are now correct. I updated to the latest 2.3.1 and no more problems. However, the time is still off. My backup folder names are always in the 1970's lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using TWRP since day one and they have always been correct. 2-2.5 gigs. Other poster is correct. The rest on CWM is in blobs and it will grow exponentially also. If on CWM delete backups from CWM and not file manager or the data will be forever banned to the blob folder. Will then have to delete all backups to regain your sd card space.
Edit: Sorry Never didn't want to back up to see who posted. I was on a roll (rant).

prdog1 said:
I have been using TWRP since day one and they have always been correct. 2-2.5 gigs. Other poster is correct. The rest on CWM is in blobs and it will grow exponentially also. If on CWM delete backups from CWM and not file manager or the data will be forever banned to the blob folder. Will then have to delete all backups to regain your sd card space.
Edit: Sorry Never didn't want to back up to see who posted. I was on a roll (rant).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its all good Just means we both want this guy to have the right information

impass3093 said:
Looks like TWRP sizes are now correct. I updated to the latest 2.3.1 and no more problems. However, the time is still off. My backup folder names are always in the 1970's lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 1970s thing is a bug with the RTC. I've seen some people suggest it may be fixed in the JB update, but I dont know enough about it personally to say either way. For now, there is nothing you can do about it.

[Q] Help with RebelROM

After carefully reading several guides, I thought I was ready to try flashing a ROM. Wrong.
I have the Samsung Exhibit II. I tried to flash RebelROM 3.0.9 via CWM, but when it booted up, I had no notification window, and if I try to download an app, it kicks me out to the lock screen.
So I thought I would just go back to the backup I made. Nope. Apparently the backup got glitched up somehow. When I try it says "MD5 mismatch".
Then I thought I would try a different ROM, but I don't have an micro SD card, and I can't enable USB storage without the notification bar.
Does anyone have a solution? I've tried everything I can think of, but I'm very new to Android. I have a micro SD card on the way, so I should be able to install a different ROM from that in a couple days, but I'd like to have a functional phone before then.
Thanks in advance!

Make sure you didn't change the name of the folder for the backup with the md5 mismatch. If you didn't, see here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=714114

This is probably the most noobish thing you've heard all day, but where do I type the code from the post you linked me to?
Also, thanks for the reply.

That's on your computer. You connect your phone to you computer via USB cable, and run the commands through adb. If you don't know what adb & fastboot are, you need to download the Android SDK. They're included there.

OK, got it working, and I get as far as getting into my backup folder, but when I try to proceed, it says "No such file or directory". I must have really messed something up. Any other ideas?
EDIT: I'm positive that I left the backup on the default options.

If you changed the name of the backup folder (I used to do this routinely, to help me identify which backups were from which ROMs), you should change them back. Also, make sure you're not just copy/pasting from the other thread! The line that says
Code:
# cd /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/[B]2010-06-29.20.22.53[/B]
should be adjusted to match the name of the backup you're trying to restore. Pay particular attention to the bolded folder name.

I never changed the name, and the folder name I used was right. I checked the contents of the backup folder, and I have boot.img, recovery.img, system.ex4.dup and data.ext4.dup. That doesn't seem right, so I think I'm going to have to give up on the backup. Luckily, I made a secondary backup with TitaniumBackup, so I think all I should have to do is install a stock ROM and download Titanium to restore my data.
Is there any way I'd be able to move a file from my PC to my phone via adb? Or should I do something else entirely?
Again, thanks so much for your help.