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[Q] How do I backup before surgery?

I am planning to remove ATT junk from my Captivate phone. I have rooted it already. But I want to create a full backup before I start major surgery work on it because I am still testing the phone and within 30days period.
If I find it not a good experience, I may want to return it. And all I want to do at the time is restore from this backup, unroot and return.
Is there a way to achieve this easily on Captivate? Coming from G1, which was easy to hack into. In fact I even wrote a script for it at some point of time.
Also, there are tonnes of ROMs on this forum. Which one is considered the most stable 2.2 ROM?

Rom manager
Flash clockwork
Backup
Your good to go

mcord11758 said:
Rom manager
Flash clockwork
Backup
Your good to go
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would mean that I need to undo more stuff (remove recovery and rom manager) if I want to return. I heard something about a temporary recovery from Koush which goes away with a reboot. Does that have a backup built into it? Or are u talking about the same thing?

dl this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=464425&d=1292362952
Place on internal sd
Boot recovery using 3 button
ReInstall packages
Repeat
Backup and restore
Backup all

mcord11758 said:
dl this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=464425&d=1292362952
Place on internal sd
Boot recovery using 3 button
ReInstall packages
Repeat
Backup and restore
Backup all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what is that?...:-D

devsk said:
what is that?...:-D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update.zip that gives you clockwork recovery. Do not need to be rooted to use this. Can backup and flash roms

Everything always sems so easy when your already know what you're talking about. But to Idiots and newbies its all strange phrases with no links attached and unknown abbreviations tha only frustrate I wish people would just explaiin just wtf it is they are talking about.
That link for clock work recovery does work and when you press the backup button in Rom manager, The phone will reboot in to recovery mode where you will then select the option to reinstall packages. Then you will be taken to a menu in which you can select to "back up and Restore" your current "Rom"(Stock, unrooted, rooted whatver), just select it and wait a few minutes and then you are backed up!
THen just select reboot.
"Man i didn't realize it how complicated it really is just to make something simple for someone to understand" - a lazy/smart person

Also Rom Manager in the market is great if you are rooted, Makes getting clockwork easy and flashing a breeze Great program, but if you are flashing kernels beware you must backup your kernel separately from your rom because Rom Manager doesn't recognize .zip files by certain kernel flashers SGS kernel Im Prety sure of that I'll hope someone corrects me on that or edit When i find out.
"Just Sayin"

If you've rooted and flashed on a G1 then you should be good. It's not that hard.

matmanchu5 said:
Also Rom Manager in the market is great if you are rooted, Makes getting clockwork easy and flashing a breeze Great program, but if you are flashing kernels beware you must backup your kernel separately from your rom because Rom Manager doesn't recognize .zip files by certain kernel flashers SGS kernel Im Prety sure of that I'll hope someone corrects me on that or edit When i find out.
"Just Sayin"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rom manager is a good tool for people getting started, all it is though is a user interface for clockwork recovery. Once you learn how to use clockwork rom manager is relatively useless. Especially when on roms with custom recovery.
You are correct rom manager does not backup kernel or modem. You can not restore a backup of stock over a custom rom without flashing stock kernel and modem

matmanchu5 said:
Everything always sems so easy when your already know what you're talking about. But to Idiots and newbies its all strange phrases with no links attached and unknown abbreviations tha only frustrate I wish people would just explaiin just wtf it is they are talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amen, brother!

Possibly soft bricked.

I did search, but in all honesty Im not really sure what Im looking for. Yesterday I rooted with the Ace Hack. Then today I was looking through Rom Manager, and I downloaded cyanogenmod, and when it finished it wanted to load it, so I let it. Ive done two backups prior to this. Now when I turn it on the white HTC screen comes up, then it goes to the cyanogenmod 7 screen, skateboarding android with a ring around him and a loading arrow. And thats all it does, over and over. Is there a way to boot to the backups? A certain button combonation I should be using? Specific terms I should search for? Please, at least, point me in the right direction.

slipmagt said:
I did search, but in all honesty Im not really sure what Im looking for. Yesterday I rooted with the Ace Hack. Then today I was looking through Rom Manager, and I downloaded cyanogenmod, and when it finished it wanted to load it, so I let it. Ive done two backups prior to this. Now when I turn it on the white HTC screen comes up, then it goes to the cyanogenmod 7 screen, skateboarding android with a ring around him and a loading arrow. And thats all it does, over and over. Is there a way to boot to the backups? A certain button combonation I should be using? Specific terms I should search for? Please, at least, point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll need to do a complete wipe to install CM over an existing sense build. Sense stores the dalvik on the data partition and CM7 stores it on the cache partition. If you don't do a full wipe, then the dalvik never gets set up properly.
You should still be able to get into cwm recovery via hboot. Make sure phone is off (pull battery if necessary). Hold VOL-DOWN button while pressing power for about a second. You should end up in the HBOOT screen. Select recovery and press power. Hopefully CWM recovery will boot up and you can just do a "Wipe data/Factory Reset" and be good.

I had just found out how to boot to recovery seconds before I checked the thread again. Instead I went to backup and recover, and restored from a backup, and it didnt work. So I am trying what you suggested, I really appreciate you giving me all the steps required.
I may have told it to not delete the dalvik when it wanted to start up cyanogenmod.

So what is the best way to download roms and switch between them?

slipmagt said:
So what is the best way to download roms and switch between them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 suggestion...ditch rom manager. I've had issues before where it messed up my downloads. Not everyone has this issue I will say, but I would try not using it. All the devs update their threads here on xda with the latest versions in their threads. Download them from the site, boot into recovery,back up your current rom, and flash away!
I got your 10 char right here

cwhitney24 said:
1 suggestion...ditch rom manager. I've had issues before where it messed up my downloads. Not everyone has this issue I will say, but I would try not using it. All the devs update their threads here on xda with the latest versions in their threads. Download them from the site, boot into recovery,back up your current rom, and flash away!
I got your 10 char right here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I've never used RomManager with the Inspire, but I had nothing but problems with it on my Aria.

It gone. How do you switch between roms then?

slipmagt said:
It gone. How do you switch between roms then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said above...use the threads to find the roms. Download them and flash them in recovery. ALWAYS create a back up so you can flash back to your back ups if you want. All that can be done in recovery.
If you do not know how to do this then my thoughts on why rom manager exists are true. Search the threads and learn how to do all the fun stuff without rom manager and without needing someone to hold your hand. (Wasn't being mean just a figure of speech)
I got your 10 char right here

[Q] Rooted but CMW not working

Hello, i've got a prob. I have rooted my Tab 7.0plus and have installed SU, titanium backup and and Rom Manager (Full Version)
I can back up my through Titanium fine but I just cant get CWM to work as it should. If I choose Backup existing Rom, it asks for confirmation then the phone shuts down but instead of going ito recovery it just reboots.
Same thing happens if I choose reboot into recovery.
I can't get into recovery by pressing and holding power and vol- either
Any ideas? I am a Novice so please be gentle.
Cheers

what variant of GT+ do you have?

Root != CWM
You need to actually install CWM. Read the Development thread on it, and spend some time searching, because if you don't and post a dumb question in gary's thread, he WILL bust out the flamethrower. Just spend a day or two reading through threads and Googling before posting or flashing anything and you should be fine.
Also - Don't use ROM Manager, it causes problems on many devices. ROM Manager != CWM.

I followed the instructions to the letter! I know I have root su grants permissions but there is no way to get into recovery. I cant back up or restore what other recovery would you experts suggest? wi-fi 62100

Which instructions did you follow? link?
How do you know you have 'su' permissions? Have you installed the 'superuser' application from the market? Does it work?
"Backup from existing ROM" is _NOT_ an option from within CWM Recovery. It's an option from within "ROM Manager" (which is an application by CWM.) CWM Recovery is a completely different boot mode of the tablet.
Please don't use ROM Manager on this tablet. It won't work and the results might be interesting.
If you don't want to fiddle with volume up/down and power buttons to get into recovery, I'd suggest a nice little app in the android market called "Quick Boot." It also requires the tablet is rooted (and superuser is installed), but will let you reboot directly into recovery.
After you've booted into recovery, the screen will be black with text on it. It won't be the "tablet experience" you might be used to. The banner might include something like "CWM-based Recovery." If so, you are really in CWM Recovery. If it says something like "Android system recovery (3e)", you don't have CWM Recovery installed.
Now, I'm going to try and be friendly here. That's something hard for me. Just ask around and people will tell you that all devs are Divas or something. (I prefer to think of myself as more sarcastic than diva.. but whatever.)
Advice:
Don't install CWM Recovery (or ROM Manager) on your tablet. You aren't ready. That isn't insulting - but it's honest. You don't go sky diving before you learn how to wear a parachute. Search for topics like "ODIN" so you know how to restore your tablet if you screw things up or you want to get back to a factory state for some reason. Even ask around here for links to threads that give a good intro to "ODIN", "Recovery" and other android "hacking" topics.
(Surely someone has typed up a good thread on that stuff somewhere for some device... haven't they? I realize that a search would be too broad to get any reasonably usable results.)
After you feel comfortable with destroying your tablet and bringing it back from the dead, check the thread in my signature titled "CWM-based Recovery for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus GT-P6210"
Take care
Gary

Thanks Gary but i'm afraid it's knackered. I just got a black screen and it wont boot or go into recovery or anything. It's a shame though it took me ages to save up for it.

Now is the time to go into ODIN... You can probably get the device into download mode and reflash it...
Good luck
Gary

Thanks mate, fixed it. you saved my bacon!

nixey55 said:
Thanks mate, fixed it. you saved my bacon!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had nothing whatsoever to do with your bacon.

[Q] How safe is flashing alternate firmwares?

This is probably a silly question, but I hope some more experienced Android experimenters can help ease my mind. I'm an Android noob, but I do know enough to follow instructions and I've successfully installed aorth's CWM Recovery and made a backup. (If I understand correctly, this is called a Nandroid backup and represents a complete backup of the system. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
Now my Tab boots into CWM Recovery when I hold the volume-up key. It sees my backup when I select the "restore" option. All that looks as I would expect it to.
My question is: How safe is it to play around with flashing other firmwares, for example CyanogenMod 10? Will I always be able to get back to where I am now simply by booting into recovery and restoring? Or is it still possible for something to go so horribly wrong that that won't work? On a scale of 1 - 100, how high are the chances of being able to recover no matter what?
(BTW, I do have a copy of the backup on my PC, so if it got wiped from the Tab I would still be able to get it onto the external sd card.)

I am not a developer by any means. But I love to tinker. My rules are. Read everything. I have never been unable to restore a backup if somthing seems to have gone wrong. These guys are not out to mess up your device. Once you understand the terminology and flash a few it will bring new enjoyment to device. Go for it.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using xda premium

Most directions "how to root" seem to be from 2012...

On July 20th 2013, I bought a new Verizon Galaxy S3 i535 (no contract due to I need unlimited data). As a 50 year old guy, I admit that I never rooted before. I decided to do some research on the web which also included this XDA site. By the way, this is the best site!!
As someone who never rooted, I found multiple different ways of rooting which caused great confusion. Some told me to download Odin, while some did not. Some told me to download a superSU or something like that, while other directions did not, and so on and on......
But what really concerns me is that most of the directions were written back in 2012. Should this be a concern?
I don't want to seem like a retard or impose, but would someone do a video skype with me and walk me thru rooting my phone for the very first time? Perhaps during that skype session I could ask a few questions? I would pre download all files so that the session would not take too long.
Any volunteers?
Respectfully,
Bryan

All you need to Do is visit this link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=42791826
Those are the most straight forward directions you can find. And it will Root, unlock your bootloader, and install a custom recovery.

thank you for the reply. this is yet another way off rooting. why does this not use Odin? will this method allow me to undo or fix something if something goes bad?

BKSinAZ said:
thank you for the reply. this is yet another way off rooting. why does this not use Odin? will this method allow me to undo or fix something if something goes bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't use Odin because it doesn't need to. The one click solution includes all the tools needed to make the necessary changes to your phone.
If something goes wrong, then you would use Odin to go back to stock no matter what root /unlock method you used. This is because Odin has the lowest level access to your phone, and can rescue it as long as you can boot into download mode.
As long as you don't flash files intended for other phones (including s3s from other carriers) your phone should be safe.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and Help issues go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
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Friendly Neighborhood Moderator

funnyperson1 said:
It doesn't use Odin because it doesn't need to. The one click solution includes all the tools needed to make the necessary changes to your phone.
If something goes wrong, then you would use Odin to go back to stock no matter what root /unlock method you used. This is because Odin has the lowest level access to your phone, and can rescue it as long as you can boot into download mode.
As long as you don't flash files intended for other phones (including s3s from other carriers) your phone should be safe.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok... here is one of my last questions before I begin the root process....
Do I need to make a backup of my stock phone? There are no pictures or music, but do I need to make a backup in anyway first so if things go bad I can return to stock?

BKSinAZ said:
Ok... here is one of my last questions before I begin the root process....
Do I need to make a backup of my stock phone? There are no pictures or music, but do I need to make a backup in anyway first so if things go bad I can return to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to pop in here and help out. Once you do the casual root process, it will also install a recovery for you. You can make a nandroid backup with your recovery and just keep that somewhere safe. There are also directions on how to recover and return your phone to Verizon here. Hope that answers your question.

BKSinAZ said:
Ok... here is one of my last questions before I begin the root process....
Do I need to make a backup of my stock phone? There are no pictures or music, but do I need to make a backup in anyway first so if things go bad I can return to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as I said above, as long as you can reach download mode on your phone you can always Odin back to stock. If you somehow break download mode, then your phone is pretty much bricked without sending it out to someone with a JTAG programmer. The risk of that happenning though is minimal unless you flash a ROM intended for a different device (such as the international i9300 S3).

funnyperson1 said:
No, as I said above, as long as you can reach download mode on your phone you can always Odin back to stock. If you somehow break download mode, then your phone is pretty much bricked without sending it out to someone with a JTAG programmer. The risk of that happenning though is minimal unless you flash a ROM intended for a different device (such as the international i9300 S3).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK... did exactly what you and the directions stated. Upon the phone booting up, there is a 'padlock' and the option to swipe. When I swipe, I am not as the home screen that I am accustomed to. I am in the Team Win Recovery Project" with the only option to 'select zip to install" and 6 buttons to press (install, backup, mount, advanced, wipe, restore, settings, reboot)
This was an unexpected step and was wondering what to do next?.... or did I mess things up?

BKSinAZ said:
OK... did exactly what you and the directions stated. Upon the phone booting up, there is a 'padlock' and the option to swipe. When I swipe, I am not as the home screen that I am accustomed to. I am in the Team Win Recovery Project" with the only option to 'select zip to install" and 6 buttons to press (install, backup, mount, advanced, wipe, restore, settings, reboot)
This was an unexpected step and was wondering what to do next?.... or did I mess things up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you were successful in rooting and unlocking your phone's bootloader. The program you are seeing (TWRP recovery) allows you to flash roms/mods (install), backup your phone, wipe and restore your phone. However, this shouldn't be what you see on bootup unless you pressed volume up while booting. Your stock ROM may have been wiped during the root process.
I suggest you dive into the world of Custom ROMs with CleanROM which is basically a de-bloated and tweaked version of the stock ROM.
Download the file from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1832070
Use your PC to put it on a microSD card. In TWRP recovery, perform a Factory Reset (from the Wipe Menu), then navigate to the external_sdcard and install CleanROM (from install menu). Wipe caches and reboot once installation is finished. You should boot straight into CleanROM.

funnyperson1 said:
It sounds like you were successful in rooting and unlocking your phone's bootloader. The program you are seeing (TWRP recovery) allows you to flash roms/mods (install), backup your phone, wipe and restore your phone. However, this shouldn't be what you see on bootup unless you pressed volume up while booting. Your stock ROM may have been wiped during the root process.
I suggest you dive into the world of Custom ROMs with CleanROM which is basically a de-bloated and tweaked version of the stock ROM.
Download the file from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1832070
Use your PC to put it on a microSD card. In TWRP recovery, perform a Factory Reset (from the Wipe Menu), then navigate to the external_sdcard and install CleanROM (from install menu). Wipe caches and reboot once installation is finished. You should boot straight into CleanROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that when I went into the backup area and made a backup (a backup of what, I do not know because I am totally new to this) and after the backup the phone rebooted to the normal home screen with all the normal icons. I even just received a phone call so I guess all is good.
I don't know what to do now that my phone is rooted. My goal was just to uninstall unwanted programs etc, So when I get the courage, I will use the CLEANROM.
Question.... do I now have to constantly update my existing root or Cleanrom once installed? Do I now avoid Verizon or Samsung updates?

BKSinAZ said:
OK... did exactly what you and the directions stated. Upon the phone booting up, there is a 'padlock' and the option to swipe. When I swipe, I am not as the home screen that I am accustomed to. I am in the Team Win Recovery Project" with the only option to 'select zip to install" and 6 buttons to press (install, backup, mount, advanced, wipe, restore, settings, reboot)
This was an unexpected step and was wondering what to do next?.... or did I mess things up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're not ready to flash roms just touch reboot and you'll be back to your stock jellybean. In regards to the padlock, I also got that after using CASUAL and underneath the padlock it says custom. I haven't gotten a definitive answer about that but the general consensus is that it's nothing to worry about. I suppose it's just Verizon letting you know that they detected changes to your phone.
Do yourself a favor and read for days and days before you start flashing roms. You'll find the answers here and YouTube.

BKSinAZ said:
It seems that when I went into the backup area and made a backup (a backup of what, I do not know because I am totally new to this) and after the backup the phone rebooted to the normal home screen with all the normal icons. I even just received a phone call so I guess all is good.
I don't know what to do now that my phone is rooted. My goal was just to uninstall unwanted programs etc, So when I get the courage, I will use the CLEANROM.
Question.... do I now have to constantly update my existing root or Cleanrom once installed? Do I now avoid Verizon or Samsung updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great. The backup you made is what is called a "nandroid" backup. By default it includes the Android System, your apps, and associated application data and settings. This is great because it basically includes everything you need to restore your phone to it's previous state. So if you were to flash a custom ROM and ended up not liking it you could always restore this backup and it would restore your phone to how it is now.
Being rooted allows you to install and use applications from the Play store that require root. There are tons of them. The one I use most often is called Titanium Backup. It's primary purpose it to backup and restore your data and applications on an individual basis. I use it mostly to save my text messages and game save data between ROM flashes. It also allows you to uninstall, wipe data, and freeze (disable) any application on your phone.
Right now since you are still running stock rooted, you want to avoid installing any official updates, otherwise you may have to re-root. Beanstown may have disabled system updates through the rooting method, but I am not sure. If a new update is released, keep your eyes on the forums here, someone will create a flashable zip of the new firmware that maintains root/unlocked bootloader, you can then flash that in TWRP. Also once you flash a custom ROM like CleanROM, they removed the Samsung Firmware updater most likely so you don't have to worry about it.