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[Q] Nandroid Backup does not backup kernel?

I tried Prime 1.6r2 ROM (Was on Revolver 1.3) and did a CWM backup right before I flashed Prime and then decided to go back to revolver, I ran the restore and it appears that It did not restore the Kernel or the BOOT partition. I had to reflash the Revolver to get back. I have a Viewsonic G tablet and the CWM backup/restore does everything except SDCARD and RECOVERY partition. I thought that CWM backup/Restore for the Transformer would work the same. Is this normal?

brookfield said:
I tried Prime 1.6r2 ROM (Was on Revolver 1.3) and did a CWM backup right before I flashed Prime and then decided to go back to revolver, I ran the restore and it appears that It did not restore the Kernel or the BOOT partition. I had to reflash the Revolver to get back. I have a Viewsonic G tablet and the CWM backup/restore does everything except SDCARD and RECOVERY partition. I thought that CWM backup/Restore for the Transformer would work the same. Is this normal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know anything about Prime or Revolver, but I know that CWM should backup/restore a kernel (or boot.img). If it didn't, it would be chaos in kernel + userspace land, because /system/lib/modules must match the kernel, and it sounds like it's restoring /system/... no problem.
You should be able to figure this out by looking at the list of modules supplied with the kernel in Prime vs. Revolver, then go to root explorer, nav to /system/lib/modules, and see which it matches, then for example, try a 'modprobe {modulename}.ko (like .. cifs.ko) (e.g. modprobe cifs), and if you get a version conflict, you are , for some reason, messed up. Well:: I don't know if those ROM's supply modprobe, so use insmod if they don't. (you could easily do this from adb shell, or onboard from terminal emulator).
I would just use nvflash to backup and restore the kernel in case cwm is messed up on your box.
Just to add to what I mentioned:: I think that if you just try to restore a kernel (/boot) then you'll have the trouble I mentioned above as well, unless the builder decided to link all the 'module functionality' right into it.

Here is what happened. I was on Revolver 1.3 and Over-clocked to 1.504 via SetCPU and all was great. I then wanted to try Prime 1.6r2 and flashed it. When i ran SetCPU it only allowed me to go to 1000Mhz (No overclock! I realized that I would need to install a OC Kernel if I wanted to OC). I played with it for a while and decided to go back to Revolver 1.3. I had done a CWM Backup before I flashed Prime 1.6r2 and so I though that all I needed to do was do a CWM restore which I did. After re-boot, I ran SetCPU as I assmed I was back to Revolver 1.3 and it still did not allow any Over Clock. Strange?? I then re-flashed the Revolver Roms and I was able to Over clock again. When CWM backup is run, SYSTEM, DATA and CACHE area the only partitions I see being backed up (No boot) Since many of the ROM flash boot (Or at least they say they are) I assumed the CWM backup would also backup the Boot Image. I am not sure where "KERNEL"s are stored (I am guessing SYSTEM) so not sure why I am getting the results I am getting.
Update:
when back and read up on the CWM Recovery Backup/Restore and found this line on the first page...
Nandroid backups and restores don't touch the boot or recovery partitions.
So Mystery is solved Since it appears that flashing a Kernel is flashing the boot partition not the /System as I assumed.
Maybe nice to have an option CWM backup/restore to backup the /boot as well.

brookfield said:
Update:
when back and read up on the CWM Recovery Backup/Restore and found this line on the first page...
Nandroid backups and restores don't touch the boot or recovery partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's news to me and I also verified you're correct on my TF. I also looked back at my phone and it used to make 'recovery' and 'boot' backups as well as the other 3. I just guessed that it still did, but you're right. I haven't looked at advanced restore yet where I used to be able to restore any of those partitions, but it won't matter since they're not being backed up.
Since I got this TF a week ago or so, I've been using nvflash for the entire backups in addition to cwm now & then. In the days where cwm backed up everything, the restores worked fine and were much less hassle. Possibly , since cwm is open source, we could fix it to do the entire backup, (not really sure). You could use the little tutorial in the DEV section to use NVFLASH to extract from a 3.2 blob the kernel and package it as a boot.img file. This is either flash-able via nvflash or possibly even restorable by advanced CWM, not sure once again. Thanks for the info.

hachamacha said:
That's news to me and I also verified you're correct on my TF. I also looked back at my phone and it used to make 'recovery' and 'boot' backups as well as the other 3. I just guessed that it still did, but you're right. I haven't looked at advanced restore yet where I used to be able to restore any of those partitions, but it won't matter since they're not being backed up.
Since I got this TF a week ago or so, I've been using nvflash for the entire backups in addition to cwm now & then. In the days where cwm backed up everything, the restores worked fine and were much less hassle. Possibly , since cwm is open source, we could fix it to do the entire backup, (not really sure). You could use the little tutorial in the DEV section to use NVFLASH to extract from a 3.2 blob the kernel and package it as a boot.img file. This is either flash-able via nvflash or possibly even restorable by advanced CWM, not sure once again. Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CWM .img files are in yaffs format, so they aren't the same as nvflash images. Google code has an unyaffs tool. There is also a mkyaffs2image tool. I haven't tried yaffing a directory and flashing it via CWM, but it sounds like it should work. There might be issues with persmissions, pids, and md5sums.
Nvflash images are more like dd dumps. Some of the partitions are actually ext3/4 file systems that you can mount. "file *" in the backup directory should provide 15 mins of entertainment. I usually mount them ro so that the journal doesn't get messed up.

I wonder if it is just an issue where the author of CWM for the transformer can just add the /boot to the list of partitons that are backed up. Is the /boot partition in a format that CWM cannot process and that it why it is skipped? I own a G-Tablet and it does backup the /boot. I will post to the CWM thread and ask what would be involved. My main issue is that so many people believe that this Nandroid backup is for everything and in the case of the Asus Transformer it is not! Most users would find using NVFlash as the backup method to be a PITA as you would have to attached to a PC configured for NVFlash feach time you wanted to backup and/or restore.
Update: I asked the question in the CWM thread. Will update when I hear anything.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Also, I don't that nvflash will restore the data partition. All the images that I have are blank!
sent from my cyanogen(mod) vision

[EP4P][Stock][CWM]EP4P Full and Debloated + Power Menu Mod

I posted this elsewhere, but in the spirit of sharing I figured it might be of some use to folks if I posted it here as well. I decided I would take a crack at doing something more productive than uber-long overly detailed how-to posts (like here for example), so I sat down and attempted to figure out how to make the latest EP4P leak into a CWM-flashable form (thanks to hoppermi for putting the idea in my head).
I AM IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS (GOOD OR BAD) AS A RESULT OF FLASHING OR ATTEMPTING TO FLASH WHAT IS POSTED HERE! As an additional disclaimer - this is an early attempt at utilizing things I just recently learned. It has worked for me and a few others that were kind enough to try, but as always YMMV.
This is all pulled from either the full factory stock unrooted .tar file or the debloated .tar file, both of which I downloaded from here. I then pulled out the system and kernel stuffs, deodexed and zipaligned (the stock unrooted one, as the debloated one was already deodexed), added in/changed busybox (from here), and added in superuser/su (the latter just for the stock unrooted). I also added back in the Task Manager to the debloated version (a number of folks requested it). Truth be told, all of this was done just to see if I could do it. Now that it's done (and I have successfully used both of these to get to EP4P from stock unrooted EE4), I figured I would share them.
BEFORE flashing, MAKE SURE voodoo lagfix is completely disabled (i.e. /data, /dbdata, /cache, and /system all need to be rfs, NOT ext4). You will also need to have CWM (version 4.0.1.4 can be found here) already on your phone, and I would strongly recommend doing a data wipe/factory reset within CWM before flashing as well (that's what I've been doing at least and I have had no problems).
Installation instructions:
- Download file and place on sdcard
- Boot into CWM recovery
- Wipe data/factory reset (Recommended)
- Install the .zip you put on your sdcard
NOTES:
Flashing this should not do anything to the CWM recovery you used to flash (i.e. your recovery won't be overwritten by stock kernel/recovery). That being said, I have encountered an occasional odd issue with CWM after flashing that seems to require adb to resolve. The issue may stem from the stock kernel, or perhaps how one enters into CWM - but I'm just guessing at this point, and it likely is something completely different. Regardless, it happens from time to time...
The issue is that after flashing and then booting into recovery, I occasionally get a "can't mount /sdcard" error. Apparently that in itself is a known issue, and it is listed as such in the CWM recovery thread - which incidentally contains the 4.0.1.4 CWM version I have been using.
The fix requires you to perform the following commands using ADB:
Code:
adb shell
umount /sdcard
rm -f /sdcard
mkdir /sdcard
exit
If you do not have ADB installed and you are having the "can't mount /sdcard" error after flashing - I think I have a workaround for you (thanks bL33d for the suggestion). Download the ADBsdcardFix.zip here - then extract the folder (should be fine to extract it to your desktop) and attach your phone to the computer via USB (I did this while the phone was already in CWM). Open the newly-extracted ADB folder, and then double-click on the CWMsdcardFix.bat - something should pop up on the screen for a brief second, which is completely normal. After double-clicking the .bat file, on the phone go to mounts and storage, then select mount /sdcard - and it now should work!
Either approach here (adb code or the stuff in ADBsdcardFix.zip) has worked every time I have needed it, although again in my experience I have not been able to cull the rhyme or reason out of when that need will present itself.
For those who dabble in ADB, I noticed that adb shell seems to work "differently" on these CWM versions of the EP4P leak. Normally entering adb shell would lead to a # prompt, but with both versions here it stayed as $ - however, if you then enter su it goes to the # prompt. This also means you have to exit twice to leave shell - once for su, and once for shell. Not sure what to make of that, but I figured I would let folks know just in case.
These DO NOT include the EP4P modems - you will have to ODIN those separately if you want them. You can get just the modem update from here - its near the bottom of that post.
Please let me know if there are any problems/issues.
---CWM STOCK FILES---
BLOATED EP4P DEODEXED ZIPALIGNED ROOTED CWM .ZIP
md5: ACBBBB43C3499AC7F732756D12878C57
DEBLOATED EP4P DEODEXED ROOTED CWM .ZIP
md5: 1D12D7D269D51F65798C967A9C516B88
---ADD-ON MODS---
POWER MENU MOD
md5: C1F8E3DDD23982F62F0AF313F59A03D6
When you flash this file in CWM, the end result is 2 extra options on your power menu - Recovery and Download.
NOTE: This particular file is meant to be flashed over UNTHEMED DEODEXED STOCK EP4P - while it has worked on themed EP4Ps and Humble, you WILL see some changes in (themed) appearance. ALSO - it would follow that if flashing this over a theme messes with the theme... flashing a theme AFTER flashing this WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS. If a problem does occur, note that flashing this creates a backup (with .bak extension) of the three files it modifies, so you can always go back in and manually change back (or you can just flash this file to revert those three files back to stock). You have been warned...
That being said, there are now options for EP4P themes that include this mod. I highly recommend checking out Black and Blue or Black and Red!
---MISCELLANEOUS---
- READ DESCRIPTION ABOVE FOR HOW AND WHY TO USE THE FILE BELOW -
--- DO NOT FLASH IN CWM!! ---
ADBsdcardFix.zip
md5: 5A362D2AB8BD5D7878AC1835A4AD558E

Thanks was looking for some information about this the other day. This is the detail/links I needed.

blueis300 said:
Thanks was looking for some information about this the other day. This is the detail/links I needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to help. And if you end up checking out any of the files - feedback is welcome!

Wow this is great thanks
Sent from DROID CHARGE 4G-LTE

OP updated - now includes link for power menu mod that adds recovery and download options.

Working splendid over here. I do have one request (if you didn't already do it)
Make it possible turn off the dumbass "battery full" notification. A patch would be lovely.

KingWaffle said:
Working splendid over here. I do have one request (if you didn't already do it)
Make it possible turn off the dumbass "battery full" notification. A patch would be lovely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure I figured out how to do this (haven't tested it yet though), but this will again have the same issues as the power mod itself in regards to theme stuffs - many themes utilize SystemUI.apk (where I believe the edits need to happen), so if you are on a theme flashing such a battery-full-disabling mod will "untheme" whatever was originally themed in that .apk, and if you theme after flashing it you will lose the disabled "battery full" notification mod (unless whatever you flashed over it has it as well of course). I'll play around with it and post something if it works.

I prefer stable over pretty, so I typically don't theme. Same reason I switched back from Humble.

dwitherell said:
I posted this elsewhere, but in the spirit of sharing I figured it might be of some use to folks if I posted it here as well. I decided I would take a crack at doing something more productive than uber-long overly detailed how-to posts (like here for example), so I sat down and attempted to figure out how to make the latest EP4P leak into a CWM-flashable form (thanks to hoppermi for putting the idea in my head).
I AM IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS (GOOD OR BAD) AS A RESULT OF FLASHING OR ATTEMPTING TO FLASH WHAT IS POSTED HERE! As an additional disclaimer - this is an early attempt at utilizing things I just recently learned. It has worked for me and a few others that were kind enough to try, but as always YMMV.
This is all pulled from either the full factory stock unrooted .tar file or the debloated .tar file, both of which I downloaded from here. I then pulled out the system and kernel stuffs, deodexed and zipaligned (the stock unrooted one, as the debloated one was already deodexed), added in/changed busybox (from here), and added in superuser/su (the latter just for the stock unrooted). I also added back in the Task Manager to the debloated version (a number of folks requested it). Truth be told, all of this was done just to see if I could do it. Now that it's done (and I have successfully used both of these to get to EP4P from stock unrooted EE4), I figured I would share them.
BEFORE flashing, MAKE SURE voodoo lagfix is completely disabled (i.e. /data, /dbdata, /cache, and /system all need to be rfs, NOT ext4). You will also need to have CWM (version 4.0.1.4 can be found here) already on your phone, and I would strongly recommend doing a data wipe/factory reset within CWM before flashing as well (that's what I've been doing at least and I have had no problems).
Installation instructions:
- Download file and place on sdcard
- Boot into CWM recovery
- Wipe data/factory reset (Recommended)
- Install the .zip you put on your sdcard
NOTES:
Flashing this should not do anything to the CWM recovery you used to flash (i.e. your recovery won't be overwritten by stock kernel/recovery). That being said, I have encountered an occasional odd issue with CWM after flashing that seems to require adb to resolve. The issue may stem from the stock kernel, or perhaps how one enters into CWM - but I'm just guessing at this point, and it likely is something completely different. Regardless, it happens from time to time...
The issue is that after flashing and then booting into recovery, I occasionally get a "can't mount /sdcard" error. Apparently that in itself is a known issue, and it is listed as such in the CWM recovery thread - which incidentally contains the 4.0.1.4 CWM version I have been using.
The fix requires you to perform the following commands using ADB:
Code:
adb shell
umount /sdcard
rm -f /sdcard
mkdir /sdcard
exit
If you do not have ADB installed and you are having the "can't mount /sdcard" error after flashing - I think I have a workaround for you (thanks bL33d for the suggestion). Download the ADBsdcardFix.zip here - then extract the folder (should be fine to extract it to your desktop) and attach your phone to the computer via USB (I did this while the phone was already in CWM). Open the newly-extracted ADB folder, and then double-click on the CWMsdcardFix.bat - something should pop up on the screen for a brief second, which is completely normal. After double-clicking the .bat file, on the phone go to mounts and storage, then select mount /sdcard - and it now should work!
Either approach here (adb code or the stuff in ADBsdcardFix.zip) has worked every time I have needed it, although again in my experience I have not been able to cull the rhyme or reason out of when that need will present itself.
For those who dabble in ADB, I noticed that adb shell seems to work "differently" on these CWM versions of the EP4P leak. Normally entering adb shell would lead to a # prompt, but with both versions here it stayed as $ - however, if you then enter su it goes to the # prompt. This also means you have to exit twice to leave shell - once for su, and once for shell. Not sure what to make of that, but I figured I would let folks know just in case.
These DO NOT include the EP4P modems - you will have to ODIN those separately if you want them. You can get just the modem update from here - its near the bottom of that post.
Please let me know if there are any problems/issues.
---CWM STOCK FILES---
BLOATED EP4P DEODEXED ZIPALIGNED ROOTED CWM .ZIP
md5: ACBBBB43C3499AC7F732756D12878C57
DEBLOATED EP4P DEODEXED ROOTED CWM .ZIP
md5: 1D12D7D269D51F65798C967A9C516B88
---ADD-ON MODS---
POWER MENU MOD
md5: C1F8E3DDD23982F62F0AF313F59A03D6
When you flash this file in CWM, the end result is 2 extra options on your power menu - Recovery and Download.
NOTE: This particular file is meant to be flashed over UNTHEMED DEODEXED STOCK EP4P - while it has worked on themed EP4Ps and Humble, you WILL see some changes in (themed) appearance. ALSO - it would follow that if flashing this over a theme messes with the theme... flashing a theme AFTER flashing this WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS. If a problem does occur, note that flashing this creates a backup (with .bak extension) of the three files it modifies, so you can always go back in and manually change back (or you can just flash this file to revert those three files back to stock). You have been warned...
That being said, there are now options for EP4P themes that include this mod. I highly recommend checking out Black and Blue or Black and Red!
---MISCELLANEOUS---
- READ DESCRIPTION ABOVE FOR HOW AND WHY TO USE THE FILE BELOW -
--- DO NOT FLASH IN CWM!! ---
ADBsdcardFix.zip
md5: 5A362D2AB8BD5D7878AC1835A4AD558E
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see that you theme. I was looking to depoop this phone on ep4. I was looking for a look closer to stock colors maybe like tw4 on Samsung Galaxy s2. Not necesserly the icons and all that just the colors and the pull down bar and gingerbread green battery icons, but fully depooped like this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=13672499&postcount=2
That would be amazing if you could help me out. Me and my friend tried to full around with some things but the phone just boot looped. I'm running stock rooted ep4 is that right or should I get the deodexed one? Thanks in advance.

KingWaffle said:
Working splendid over here. I do have one request (if you didn't already do it)
Make it possible turn off the dumbass "battery full" notification. A patch would be lovely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok - I think I have it figured out. I'll post an update to the OP with a link when I've finished testing it. I also figured out how to disable the low battery warnings - if interested.
trigun123478 said:
I see that you theme. I was looking to depoop this phone on ep4. I was looking for a look closer to stock colors maybe like tw4 on Samsung Galaxy s2. Not necesserly the icons and all that just the colors and the pull down bar and gingerbread green battery icons, but fully depooped like this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=13672499&postcount=2
That would be amazing if you could help me out. Me and my friend tried to full around with some things but the phone just boot looped. I'm running stock rooted ep4 is that right or should I get the deodexed one? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually do not theme (at least not yet), so I am afraid I am of limited use here, at least with my current skill set. I do know that typically you want to use deodexed files when making a theme, so I would likely start there.

Great post, thanks! Can anyone confirm the color scheme? I really hope it's not poop again..

Sleek69 said:
Great post, thanks! Can anyone confirm the color scheme? I really hope it's not poop again..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol - it's stock, so unfortunately it very much is poop again.

Is there an updated market apk or zip that can be installed on the EP4P stock deodexed 2.3.6?
It's been awhile and no uodate from original market.
I tried searching but couldn't find an appropriate thread on this from my phone.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using xda premium

[Q] My CWM 3.x.x.x backup doesn't work : SGS2

Hi,
I checked through many threads to see if anyone had a similar problem but couldn't find anything unfortunately.
Background :
I was running a Lite'ning ROM on my Samsung Galaxy S2. You're probably familiar with this ROM, but for those who aren't it gets flashed with ODIN and comes rooted and pre-installed with CWM.
I forget which version of Lite'ning ROM it was, but I am fairly certain it was pre-1.5 as the bundled CWM was definitely version 3.x.x.x (later versions I found had 4.x.x.x and 5.x.x.x).
I wanted to try a version of GalnetMIUI for something a bit different and hadn't changed ROMs in quite some time, so I booted into CWM 3.x.x.x (maybe 3.0.0.2?) and did a backup to the internal SD. This came in at around 1.4 GB and comprised of 4 files :
cache.img
data.img
nandroid.md5
system.img
I copied these to my PC too, just in case they somehow got erased from my phone.
Once I'd done this, I then copied the new ROM .zip file (latest version of GalnetMIUI) to the root of the internal SD, booted the phone into CWM, wiped user data and Dalvik cache, then proceeded to install it.
The problem :
I can't get my apps or data back. I was under the false impression that my Google account was automatically backing this up for me, and would restore everything once logged in as it had in the past (factory resets etc.). So once this didn't happen, I tried using CWM to revert back to how things were before installing the new ROM but although the restore appears to work I end up with issues.
I've tried a number of different ROMs and they either get stuck in 'boot loops' or a black screen after running through the restore procedure. I've tried restoring just data via the 'Advanced' option but this doesn't help.
I was under the impression that I'd be able to fully restore the ROM backup if I needed to, and have the phone running exactly how it was prior to messing around. It would seem this is not the case.
In desperation I tried flashing every Lite'ning ROM from version 1.0 to 4.2, restoring my backup each time but as mentioned I always get boot issues.
Have I lost my data? I hope not, as I had 'To Do' lists and all sorts of things that would cause problems if they were not retrievable. I realise this is a lack of knowledge and foresight on my part. I'm thinking now that I should have run Titanium Backup prior to this, and not assumed that CWM was going to provide a complete solution.
Hope all this makes sense and if any of you have the time to read through and offer advice it would be greatly appreciated. I am currently running a very pretty and slick GalnetMIUI without any of my data!
Thanks in advance.

download cwm 2.5.x.x its better

[email protected] said:
download cwm 2.5.x.x its better
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that, I'll give it a go tonight after work. Am I right in thinking that if it doesn't work I can extract the individual files and insert them manually to get my app data back?

OK, so after hours of searching I'm still no wiser as to how to install CWM 2.5.1.2
I found a zip file that was apparently version 2.5.1.2 but when I tried to install it from inside CWM 5.0.2.6 (included with GalnetMIUI) it sometimes gives an error, sometimes it reboots CWM and sometimes it simply says it has successfully installed (it lies). No matter what it says or does, it doesn't seem to actually replace version 5.0.2.6 with the older one and every time I do the three-finger boot it loads up the latest version like nothing changed.
I'm just so lost. All I want to do is restore my old backup, get my data back and move on. Please someone help me before I go insane from all this research!
[EDIT] In case any more information is needed, my exact procedure for installing version 2.5.1.2 of CWM went like this :
Download 2.5.1.2 zip file
Copy zip file to root folder on internal SD
Boot into CWM 5.0.2.6
Select "install zip from sdcard"
Select "choose zip from sdcard"
Navigate to 2.5.1.2 zip file, select and confirm

Can anyone help me at all?
In particular I'd like to know how I can downgrade to CWM 2.5.1.2 or similar in order to give [email protected]'s suggestion a go.
Failing that, if anyone has any suggestions whatsoever about how I can get my backup data restored it would be greatly appreciated. After spending some time with MIUI - in particular the Galnet ICS build - I have nothing but praise, but I really have to get my data back!

You should be able to downgrade through ROM manager. Go to "All Clockwork Mod Recoveries" and just flash one that is not 5.x.x. Any backup not made with version 5 will not work with the new version So if you can flash one that is version 2, 3 or 4 you should be good to go. If that doesn't work you can fastboot flash it. There are guides on how to do that.

Wait.....did you mount /system before installing the CWM zip ?
Sent from my GT-S5830 using XDA App

Sorry for the delayed reply, for some reason I didn't get an email notification that my thread had been updated.
lowandbehold said:
You should be able to downgrade through ROM manager. Go to "All Clockwork Mod Recoveries" and just flash one that is not 5.x.x. Any backup not made with version 5 will not work with the new version So if you can flash one that is version 2, 3 or 4 you should be good to go. If that doesn't work you can fastboot flash it. There are guides on how to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For some reason, when I select "All ClockworkMod Recoveries" the only two options are 4.0.1.4 and v4.0.1.4. I'll have to look into "fastboot" flashing as I've never heard of that.
By the way, if I boot into CWM via ROM Manager the version that loads is 4.0.1.5, but if I perform the three-button combo when switching my device on I get version 5.0.2.6.
EmoBoiix3 said:
Wait.....did you mount /system before installing the CWM zip ?
Sent from my GT-S5830 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't, is that something I should try?
Edit - Just tried this and at first it rebooted CWM and the version number hadn't changed. Doing this again yielded me the following error with no change in version number :
Code:
E:Error in /sdcard/CM V 2.5.1.2_update.zip
(Status 0)
Installation aborted.

I found out that I can extract the contents of my backed up .img files using unyaffs.exe.
Unless I'm doing something wrong, it would appear that my backup is corrupt somehow. When trying to extract data.img, it processes for a while and does bring back a lot of files but I also get the following :
Code:
read image file
: Bad file descriptor
read image file
: Bad file descriptor
data.img is around 1.2GB but the files I extract only amount to around 190MB.
It would appear that I don't have my contacts database in there which is annoying as for some reason there were quite a few that didn't get synced to Google's servers.

[Q] Corrupted recovery in Uniporn

First, my apologies for 1) starting a new thread regarding a question that's been asked many times, and 2) making this so long. But I've tried all the possible solutions I could find, so far to no avail.
I've been running Emancipation, and decided to upgrade to Uniporn when b38 was released. No problem running the aroma installer, and no surprises after the installation when reboot hung at Samsung logo. But when I rebooted into recovery, the screen was distorted and most illegible.
I quickly found Nunhugger's instructions to Odin ICS Recovery. Not so easy on a Mac though. I tracked down the Mac port of Odin, but couldn't get it to recognize the phone. Eventually, I figured out how to install the Mac version of Heimdall, and used that to flash the zImage file extracted from the infuseICSrecovery.tar file. The Heimdall flash appeared to be successful, but it didn't fix the Recovery corruption.
I could still click through Recovery (though couldn't see what I was selecting) and was eventually able to choose to to reflash Uniporn through trial-and-error counting the number of various combinations of clicks. But got an error that the file was corrupted (don't remember exact wording of error message).
Of course I had backed everything up in recovery before trying all this, so I tried to recover from there. Uh oh, same error message. Nandroid files were corrupted, too.
Eventually, I was able to return to Emancipation after copying the file to my external card, and installing from there. Recovery was back to normal, and everything appeared to be working normally.
Confident that I hadn't bricked my phone, I tried installing Uniporn again. Again recovery was in its messed-up state. Since aroma wouldn't work at all in the corrupted recovery, I've been sticking with the non-aroma Uniporn installer. Working from my external card, I finally got it installed successfully. Yay!
Recovery is mostly usable now but still not right. Here are some things I've tried already based on answers I found in the Uniporn dev thread: 1) Flashed zImage file extracted from Nunhugger's infuseICSrecovery.tar file with Heimdall on Mac; 2) Flashed Entropy's UniKernelZip from Recovery; 3) Flashed boot.img file extracted from UnikernelZip.zip with SGS Kernel Flasher; 4) Flashed zImage file extracted from Nunhugger's infuseICSrecovery.tar file with SGS Kernel Flasher; 5) Upgraded to Uniporn b39; 6) Repeated steps 2 through 4 while running b39.
Here is a piece of information that may be relevant: While running Emancipation, I often got an error message that my sd card was unexpectedly removed. Or an error message that it was blank or in an unsupported format. Thinking that the problem was with my external sd, I would shut down, pop open the battery and sd card, clean the contacts, put everything back together and reboot. Everything would work for a while until I got one of those messages again. Thinking it may be a software issue was one of my main reasons to upgrade to Uniporn. Except that I later realized that it must be the INTERNAL sd card that was unexpectedly unmounting, since the phone wouldn't run apps from the sd card and apps are on the internal card not the external. Maybe hardware problems after all? Maybe that's why installers and nandroid restore wouldn't run from internal card?
Attached images are 1) colorful snow that flashes on the screen for a half-second or so between Samsung logo and Uniporn startup animation; 2) What recovery currently looks like. Recovery was less legible actually before flashing Entropy's kernel, and returns to less legible version after flashing infuseICSrecovery.
Does anyone have any ideas at all how to fix this? Thanks for your help!

Msg, relay done...
Sent from my SGH-I717, Black Star.

Flash GB bootloaders.... Use caution.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium

Your issue is bootloaders and I do not think more. This will get rid of the distortion on recovery, but I cannot speak for possible sd corruption or bad flash issues that happen. Lets fix the color distortion first.
Assuming you can use Odin, go here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1613523
and read the directions. Download this for Odin or find the one for Mac you used if that is what you are doing:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/16149362/Odin3 v1.7.zip
then go to the FAQ in that thread and look at #1. There is a tar file for you to download and put in the pda slot. Do it and flash the file.
When all is done with SUCCESS, reboot your phone and come back and report any further issues. Recovery should be readable.
BTW, ICS recovery is to help when stuckin a bootloop from flashing and ICS rom. It fixes nothing else, including the distortion.

Sideload twrp backup?

So ive searched for an answer to this but couldnt find it with google/xda.
I tried to install a custom rom.
My first rom install attempt ever on android
It failed with a signal 11 error
So after lots of trouble shooting trying any "fix" I could find suggested.
I read wiping before a rom install was required.
So I made a twrp backup, placed it on my pc, this is where I messed up and nobody in the countless threads I read said
I deleted the twrp backup on device
Then wiped with twrp, following the era proper directions for device allegedly.
Which was wipe everything but internal storage, also read to format in the many topics I perused.
Then found everything was wiped, including /sdcard, and system/OS
WELL I STILL GOT SIGNAL 11 on rom flash attempt via sideload, since the zip got erased on sd.
I did manage to flash a rom, but wouldnt you know it, its a rom that cant connect to pc through usb.
If I try to push the twrp backup folder, it just says error in cmd while in sideload
Anybody know the proper way to do that? Or is it just a case of murphys law getting a right good laugh at my devices expense.
I did read I could use a micro usb to external storage to mount, but I lack that.
I need to restore twrp because I think I need to pull the vendor directory off device to try to overcome the signal 11 error.
Anyway any advice is appreciated and hopefully can serve others in the future.
Thanks and cheers

Re-flash Stock ROM.

Well I dont think the device in question has a stock rom. Or I cant find one at first glance.
I had to roll back the version to unlock bootloader and root.
But that .bin wouldnt help I think.. hmm
Back to the drawing board I guess.
Perks of a decade old device.

Apparently androidmtk.com has stock roms available, but is that site safe to use?
Sorry for my noobiness.
Edit: actually that bin is the stock firmware apparently. I hope at least.
Will try and report back.
Thanks jwoegerbauer
Edit2: that worked flashing the bin. Was able to mount on pc and add the backup back up.
Did have a stumble as without making a backup there wasnt a backups folder. I tried to manually create one, but twrp couldnt see the folder I made.
Not sure if it was the naming. I tried "Backups" but twrp created "BACKUPS"
I just backed up efs since it was smallest to get twrp to make it.
Cool. Now I can backup vendor for rom comparison. Was overstressed for half the day about it, but the solution was simple and right there in front of me.
Thanks again Jwoegerbauer

what do you mean "it's a rom that can't connect to pc through usb"?
what do you mean "was able to mount on pc"?
you have backup of old ROM on pc. what do you want to do with?

No worries alecxs
Yeah I was able to sideload a custom rom but that rom had broken/missing usb drivers so mtp on pc failed.
That was before I knew I had the stock rom.
I needed stock rom to be able to restore with twrp in order to pull vendor folder off original device.
(I need vendor folder to try to fix that broken custom rom)
Just me being a noob. Sorry again.

you're welcome. just asking for clarity.
you have answered one question, so let me give you hint on guesswork.
you can connect device with usb-debugging from developer options. adb is the recommended way to transfer files. MTP is a faulty implemented Microsoft protocol I wouldn't use for large amount of data (for small files is okay).
Android devices cannot mounted since Android 5.0.1 Lollipop as UMS has been dropped in favour of MTP. /sdcard is no longer separate FAT partition but emulated storage in /data/media.
Bear in mind TWRP backup does not include /data/media so one have to backup pictures manually. this can be done from adb.
Code:
adb pull -a /sdcard
For the same reason you will lose /sdcard every time you format /data.
If you're interested to restore backup to different ROM, you cannot use TWRP. backup of /data can only restored to the exact same ROM.
For restoring backup to different ROM use Migrate.
[APP][ROOT][5.0+][1st Nov 2020] Migrate - custom ROM migration tool
Jumping from one custom ROM to another can be a challenging task. So I decided to make an app to simplify the process. Introducing Migrate! Migrate-GPE (v4.0) is on Google Play It was temporarily suspended. Read more here...
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