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[Q] Do I need to wipe data if I'm upgrading the same ROM?

I am relatively new to flashing ROMs & kernels for Android. Currently I'm using MIUI 1.5.6 and would like to upgrade to the newest version of 1.5.13.
My question is, do I have to wipe data if I'm just upgrading to the same ROM or would wiping cahce & Dalvik cache be sufficient?
Before anyone flaming me I have searched the forum prior to posting and surprisingly didn't find anything useful as I thought this would be a frequently asked question.
Thanks in advance!

I never clear if i'm gonna do the same rom and it seems to work perfect. So I'd say dont it takes less time but if your worried do it. clearing that stuff wont really loose anything so its your choice really

I think you ALWAYS should do a backup, just in case something goes wrong.
You have the device at the Computer, you have the cable hooked up.
What would it take... about 5 minutes to do the backup up ??

oddball69 is right. You should always do a wipe.
Just to avoid problems

Most of the Devs will specify for each version if a full wipe is not required. If you can't find anything about it then do a full wipe.
If they directly say a wipe is not required then it's probably just some small fixes.

Thanks for all the responses.
I was going to do a backup for sure I just wanted to avoid having to wipe everything and then reinstalling and re-setting up all my apps which could be quite a pain

Depends on the ROMs used, usually the developers state if this is necessary.
It wont hurt if you try without wiping, if it makes problem just wipe and do it again.
What is there to loose?

What Did I Do Wrong?

Ok so I have Vahalla Final flashed through Odin as my first ROM on this phone. Everything has been great for a few days and I flashed the lighting tweak today with no issues. Just a little while ago I made a backup and flashed the Linda voices and the Ki3 modem bc I saw where the KJ6 didn't allow long text messages. When I flashed the modem some blue words popped up really zoomed in on another screen then it was done. The phone was laggy so i tried to delete everything and restore like I had done numerous times on old phone.
I did a factory reset then cache then tried to format system. These are all steps i used to successfully take on other phone. It won't let me format the system though. Says: "format_volume failed to mount "/system" error formatting system!"
Where did I go wrong? Am I supposed to do some more wacky things on this phone for a restore? Everything else on it seems to take 20 more steps

aburn95 said:
Ok so I have Vahalla Final flashed through Odin as my first ROM on this phone. Everything has been great for a few days and I flashed the lighting tweak today with no issues. Just a little while ago I made a backup and flashed the Linda voices and the Ki3 modem bc I saw where the KJ6 didn't allow long text messages. When I flashed the modem some blue words popped up really zoomed in on another screen then it was done. The phone was laggy so i tried to delete everything and restore like I had done numerous times on old phone.
I did a factory reset then cache then tried to format system. These are all steps i used to successfully take on other phone. It won't let me format the system though. Says: "format_volume failed to mount "/system" error formatting system!"
Where did I go wrong? Am I supposed to do some more wacky things on this phone for a restore? Everything else on it seems to take 20 more steps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CWM versions prior to those in bhndven's Slightly Modified Stock kernels have a problem with mounting/unmouting the /system partition in GB. I believe you can backup and restore user data, but nothing on the /system partition.
Flashing the KI3 modem shouldn't have had an effect like you're describing, though. I can't say I've had an issue like that at all or heard of people having that issue after flashing the modem.

stephen_w said:
CWM versions prior to those in bhndven's Slightly Modified Stock kernels have a problem with mounting/unmouting the /system partition in GB. I believe you can backup and restore user data, but nothing on the /system partition.
Flashing the KI3 modem shouldn't have had an effect like you're describing, though. I can't say I've had an issue like that at all or heard of people having that issue after flashing the modem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So everything should run fine after trying the actual restore of my backup even though i couldn't format the system? I have a backup but don't want to restore over data that wasn't deleted or whatever. If that's possible.

How the hell do i know which modem to use anyways? There's like 10 to choose from

Uh yeah I forget it tries to format system anyways when restoring... and it couldn't. So what do i do? Re-flash the GB starter pack way through Odin?

aburn95 said:
Uh yeah I forget it tries to format system anyways when restoring... and it couldn't. So what do i do? Re-flash the GB starter pack way through Odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for the modem, I'm using KI3 on mine. You already did a factory reset so you should be able to just re-flash Valhalla.

Trying now. Does Vahalla automatically change all the mounts that the other roms require changing before flashing?

aburn95 said:
Trying now. Does Vahalla automatically change all the mounts that the other roms require changing before flashing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure about that one. Definitely go check the original Valhalla post to make sure you don't have to set the mounts.

Guess you don't have too. I'm using it now. thanks for the help

aburn95 said:
Guess you don't have too. I'm using it now. thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries. Good luck

Hey I still have an issue. I reflashed Vahalla through CWM and it was fine at first all the way through setting everything up like it was before. Ran smooth. I went to the market this morning and checked for updates and Google Search, Maps and Superuser updated. Phone started acting really laggy again. Scrolls really slow, pulls up GO Launcher menu slowly, etc.
It seems to me that the re flash installed over the existing data that was left on the phone since i couldn't format my system.
My new question is, what's the best way to re do everything including formatting the system if I can't format through CWM? If I flash through Odin does that format everything? Or am I better of just going through the whole GB Starter Pack process again?? Or will that even work now since i've already done it?

aburn95 said:
Hey I still have an issue. I reflashed Vahalla through CWM and it was fine at first all the way through setting everything up like it was before. Ran smooth. I went to the market this morning and checked for updates and Google Search, Maps and Superuser updated. Phone started acting really laggy again. Scrolls really slow, pulls up GO Launcher menu slowly, etc.
It seems to me that the re flash installed over the existing data that was left on the phone since i couldn't format my system.
My new question is, what's the best way to re do everything including formatting the system if I can't format through CWM? If I flash through Odin does that format everything? Or am I better of just going through the whole GB Starter Pack process again?? Or will that even work now since i've already done it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you restore your previous apps are do fresh installs?

Restored w titanium..... ugh.. Flashing a new zip doesn't wipe anything right? Just installs over whats already there right?

aburn95 said:
Restored w titanium..... ugh.. Flashing a new zip doesn't wipe anything right? Just installs over whats already there right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flashed and "it was fine at first all the way through setting everything up"...
try reflashing as you did before. Do fresh installs on as much as you can ONE AT A TIME. And then restore ONE AT A TIME what you can't do fresh installs on. It sounds like one of your backups is not agreeing with the system. Install/Restore ONE AT A TIME and play with phone between each to see if you can determine which backup your system is not agreeing with.
Did that make sense??
EDIT: And make sure to wipe dalvik cache and cache partition before you reflash as is always recommended.

stephen_w said:
No worries. Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lumin30 said:
If you flashed and "it was fine at first all the way through setting everything up"...
try reflashing as you did before. Do fresh installs on as much as you can ONE AT A TIME. And then restore ONE AT A TIME what you can't do fresh installs on. It sounds like one of your backups is not agreeing with the system. Install/Restore ONE AT A TIME and play with phone between each to see if you can determine which on your system is not agreeing with.
Did that make sense??
EDIT: And make sure to wipe dalvik cache and cache partition before you reflash as is always recommended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it makes sense thanks. I will do this despite how impatient I am (see where that got me). I'm just got spoiled on another phone that was way way easier to work with. Weren't as many options to screw up either.
Any suggestions on how I can get my system to format for future reference?

I feel like it's Go Launcher for some reason. In cased you missed it though, I didn't start having lag issues until I flashed the Ki3 modem and linda voices one after another. I have a good backup but I can't format system to restore it.

aburn95 said:
Yeah it makes sense thanks. I will do this despite how impatient I am (see where that got me). I'm just got spoiled on another phone that was way way easier to work with. Weren't as many options to screw up either.
Any suggestions on how I can get my system to format for future reference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have never formatted my system nor read anybody wanting/needing to format their system. A factory reset is what people use to clean the gremlins along with wiping dalvik cache and cache partition. Bhundven has recommended flashing the same rom twice in a row I believe to help make sure all installs correctly (I think he was talking about bootloaders when he recommended that).
But a factory reset is what I think you are trying to accomplish with formatting your system.
---------- Post added at 01:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:04 PM ----------
aburn95 said:
I feel like it's Go Launcher for some reason. In cased you missed it though, I didn't start having lag issues until I flashed the Ki3 modem and linda voices one after another. I have a good backup but I can't format system to restore it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use GoLauncher on Vahalla Black with no problems. I think it has to do with your backup... not the app itself.

I wiped caches, did factory reset, tired to format system again with no luck and accidentally restarted before re-flashing Vahalla. Which, I guess I didn't really need to do anyways if it's an App causing the issue. I guess the factory reset would be enough. Smooth again so i will try some fresh reinstalls now. Thanks for the noob patience

lumin30 said:
I have never formatted my system nor read anybody wanting/needing to format their system. A factory reset is what people use to clean the gremlins along with wiping dalvik cache and cache partition. Bhundven has recommended flashing the same rom twice in a row I believe to help make sure all installs correctly (I think he was talking about bootloaders when he recommended that).
But a factory reset is what I think you are trying to accomplish with formatting your system.
---------- Post added at 01:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:04 PM ----------
I use GoLauncher on Vahalla Black with no problems. I think it has to do with your backup... not the app itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok cool. In another phones forum a system wipe is actually suggested a lot. I think... I did it every time on the G2x before installing any new roms or backups. I wasn't doing it at first but started after someone suggested it. But yeah I think the factoy reset is enough. Seems to be enough so far.

aburn95 said:
I wiped caches, did factory reset, tired to format system again with no luck and accidentally restarted before re-flashing Vahalla. Which, I guess I didn't really need to do anyways if it's an App causing the issue. I guess the factory reset would be enough. Smooth again so i will try some fresh reinstalls now. Thanks for the noob patience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am a noob too. No worries. Vahalla Black is solid. Backups are tricky. Fresh installs are the way to go.

Jelly Bean ROMs caught on boot animation

Sorry, I'm new and I understand this is where I have to post. I hope that's right. I've looked everywhere and none of the other posters' responses have helped me.
I have a p7510 which for the moment is rooted stock. I've used other ROMs: AOKP, CM9, CleanROM. They all work fine but recently I tried CM10 and eventually another AOSP JB ROM because I was desperate to exhaust every option. I know about wiping cache, Dalvik and data and formatting system so that's not the issue. I've also switched recoveries and recovery versions, reflashed stock and rerooted, tried again and again between wipes-- I even started to wonder if maybe I just wasn't patient enough but I waited over an hour with no results. Whats the deal here?

I've got the same freakin' problem on my Wildfire S w/ CM9 alpha 7-rom. Bootscreen for over an hour. Cleared cache, installed rom and then gapps with CWM. Starting to wonder if it's the hboot or something.
An answear for what we noobes (maybe just speaking for myself ) is doing wrong, would be fine :good:
(Would have posted this in the developers thread, but i got >10 posts on XDA...)

kailehu said:
Sorry, I'm new and I understand this is where I have to post. I hope that's right. I've looked everywhere and none of the other posters' responses have helped me.
I have a p7510 which for the moment is rooted stock. I've used other ROMs: AOKP, CM9, CleanROM. They all work fine but recently I tried CM10 and eventually another AOSP JB ROM because I was desperate to exhaust every option. I know about wiping cache, Dalvik and data and formatting system so that's not the issue. I've also switched recoveries and recovery versions, reflashed stock and rerooted, tried again and again between wipes-- I even started to wonder if maybe I just wasn't patient enough but I waited over an hour with no results. Whats the deal here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
o-l-a-v said:
I've got the same freakin' problem on my Wildfire S w/ CM9 alpha 7-rom. Bootscreen for over an hour. Cleared cache, installed rom and then gapps with CWM. Starting to wonder if it's the hboot or something.
An answear for what we noobes (maybe just speaking for myself ) is doing wrong, would be fine :good:
(Would have posted this in the developers thread, but i got >10 posts on XDA...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you do the following? In order and full:
Make a backup
Format data
Format system
Format cache
Format dalvik cache
Factory Reset
Install ROM .zip file
Install the latest (unless otherwise specificed) gapps .zip
, but as you stated, you've supposedly done all of that. The only other thing I can think of is that the ROM might be corrupt and cause a bootloop. Look at the dev thread to see if others are experiencing the same issue. Also i'd recommend TWRP instead of CWM.

I've got the same freakin' problem on my Wildfire S w/ CM9 alpha 7-rom. Bootscreen for over an hour. Cleared cache, installed rom and then gapps with CWM. Starting to wonder if it's the hboot or something.*An answear for what we noobes (maybe just speaking for myself ) is doing wrong, would be fine*(Would have posted this in the developers thread, but i got >10 posts on XDA...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry to hear that but I'm also glad it's not just me, and wouldn't be a huge stretch to call me a newb.
Did you do the following? In order and full:
Make a backup
Format data
Format system
Format cache
Format dalvik cache
Factory Reset
Install ROM .zip file
Install the latest (unless otherwise specificed) gapps .zip
, but as you stated, you've supposedly done all of that. The only other thing I can think of is that the ROM might be corrupt and cause a bootloop. Look at the dev thread to see if others are experiencing the same issue. Also i'd recommend TWRP instead of CWM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I've tried both recoveries already. I've gone through each step every time and I've never done it that specific order consciously, but I feel like I must have just by chance in all the times I've tried this. I'll try again though exactly like you listed and see what happens. Thanks.

No dice. I'd like to give more info than that but I don't know what else to try.

[Q] NS4G: How to start from scratch? And other questions...

Had a bit of trouble trying to do this last night, which resulted in a few hours lost sleep. I went formatting everything in CWM and realized after the fact, I also formatted the internal SD card. Luckily ADB worked in transferring the zip (learn something new every day).
Anyway, after all said and done, all my apps were still on the phone. This is after formatting and new ROM...
How can I truly start from scratch to make sure this new ROM is 100% fresh and free of any unnecessary apps from previous ROMs?
Also, what would be the best current radio and link to said radio?
TIA
EDIT: I had just realized the issue with Factory Reset/Wipe Data. This one I had forgot to mention as I could never use it as all options said no and the menu was not scrollable. Just decided to try and use the volume buttons and sure enough there was more to scoll to.
That said, would the following be a proper procedure to follow;
Wipe Data/Factory reset
Wipe Cache
Format: System, Data, Cache, Boot
Wipe: Dalvik then Fix Permissions
Install order: Rom first, Gapps second, Kernel last
Reboot
???

nimrod.sixty9 said:
Had a bit of trouble trying to do this last night, which resulted in a few hours lost sleep. I went formatting everything in CWM and realized after the fact, I also formatted the internal SD card. Luckily ADB worked in transferring the zip (learn something new every day).
Anyway, after all said and done, all my apps were still on the phone. This is after formatting and new ROM...
How can I truly start from scratch to make sure this new ROM is 100% fresh and free of any unnecessary apps from previous ROMs?
Also, what would be the best current radio and link to said radio?
TIA
EDIT: I had just realized the issue with Factory Reset/Wipe Data. This one I had forgot to mention as I could never use it as all options said no and the menu was not scrollable. Just decided to try and use the volume buttons and sure enough there was more to scoll to.
That said, would the following be a proper procedure to follow;
Wipe Data/Factory reset
Wipe Cache
Format: System, Data, Cache, Boot
Wipe: Dalvik then Fix Permissions
Install order: Rom first, Gapps second, Kernel last
Reboot
???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The method I follow is
1. Wipe Data/Factory Reset (this takes away all your downloaded apps?
2. Wipe system/cache/dalvik (this wipes everything else)
3. Flash ROM, Gapps, Kernel
The thing with android is, even if there are some files left over from the previous ROM, they'll get overwritten with the ones from my new ROM, taking them away regardless. The reason you wipe everything to make sure there aren't any files that won't get overwritten. So basically, wipe everything and flash, and you'll have a fresh new ROM also you don't need to fix permissions after you wipe everything because they'll be no permissions to fix! Lol
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

beneath-a-burning-turtle said:
The method I follow is
1. Wipe Data/Factory Reset (this takes away all your downloaded apps?
2. Wipe system/cache/dalvik (this wipes everything else)
3. Flash ROM, Gapps, Kernel
The thing with android is, even if there are some files left over from the previous ROM, they'll get overwritten with the ones from my new ROM, taking them away regardless. The reason you wipe everything to make sure there aren't any files that won't get overwritten. So basically, wipe everything and flash, and you'll have a fresh new ROM also you don't need to fix permissions after you wipe everything because they'll be no permissions to fix! Lol
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, good sir! Now running nice and clean!
Still need that newest radio if ya know it.

nimrod.sixty9 said:
Thank you, good sir! Now running nice and clean!
Still need that newest radio if ya know it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know it offhand but its probably somewhere on the development forums. I just noticed I said "my new rom" in my original post, I meant "the new rom" just in case you were a little confused (probably not but that would've annoyed me if I didn't address it)
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

beneath-a-burning-turtle said:
I don't know it offhand but its probably somewhere on the development forums. I just noticed I said "my new rom" in my original post, I meant "the new rom" just in case you were a little confused (probably not but that would've annoyed me if I didn't address it)
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Newest radio I can find is from last year. Maybe that the newest. I know for certain signal and data is a million times better. However, I still have no 4g
And Im having an issue I ned to report about the ROM but XDA wont let me post... :crying:

"Can't Connect to Camera" on AOSP only

As the title states, I can't get my camera to run on any AOSP ROMs. Camera works fine as soon as I switch to something TW based, but breaks as soon as I load anything AOSP.
I've searched everywhere I can think for this issue and have tried solutions that have worked for others but with no success. I've tried flashing back to stock unrooted, then rooting and starting all over again. I've tried copying cameradata files from TW based to AOSP (in several variations). I've tried reflashing (and I've done nothing but clean flashes each time I'm flashing anything). If it matters, my normal method is to wipe data/factory reset, then clear cache and dalvik, then install ROM + gapps, and then reboot.
I'm using CWM touch recovery v6.0.2.3, firmware VRBMF1 (and one or two others), and have tried leankernel in addition to stock kernels.
It may be worth mentioning that this is a refurbished device and I used Casual's One Click Root, whereas previously (Jan 2013) I rooted the long way and had no issues with anything really.

I had this problem for months. I did a clean install and it fix the problem. Try doing that and it might work for you too.

What do you mean by clean install?

Gigatrig said:
What do you mean by clean install?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's probably meaning to wipe everything in CWM. Data, system, sdcard, etc. Pretty much everything and you'll probably fix your problem. Maybe even flashing latest firmware again wouldn't hurt.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

kude87 said:
He's probably meaning to wipe everything in CWM. Data, system, sdcard, etc. Pretty much everything and you'll probably fix your problem. Maybe even flashing latest firmware again wouldn't hurt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean in the "mounts and storage" menu? Use format /system... /data... /sdcard? I think that's what you mean, but I've not had to use those before, so I wanna make sure.
Thanks
:laugh:

Gigatrig said:
As the title states, I can't get my camera to run on any AOSP ROMs. Camera works fine as soon as I switch to something TW based, but breaks as soon as I load anything AOSP.
I've searched everywhere I can think for this issue and have tried solutions that have worked for others but with no success. I've tried flashing back to stock unrooted, then rooting and starting all over again. I've tried copying cameradata files from TW based to AOSP (in several variations). I've tried reflashing (and I've done nothing but clean flashes each time I'm flashing anything). If it matters, my normal method is to wipe data/factory reset, then clear cache and dalvik, then install ROM + gapps, and then reboot.
I'm using CWM touch recovery v6.0.2.3, firmware VRBMF1 (and one or two others), and have tried leankernel in addition to stock kernels.
It may be worth mentioning that this is a refurbished device and I used Casual's One Click Root, whereas previously (Jan 2013) I rooted the long way and had no issues with anything really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem with my phone, I made a thread a little while ago with what I did. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2492304 ask any questions you have on there I want to improve it as this was a very frustrating and time consuming fix for me.