[Q] First Time Flashing Rom - General Questions and Answers

Ok, I just want to cover all my bases and make sure everything is set for me.
I rooted my ATRIX, installed ROM manager pro and Titanium backup pro, backed up my apps and data with Titanium, and flashed clockworkmod with rom manager.
I have the Alien rom and the alien theme downloaded and put on my sdcard.
From what I understand I just click install rom in rom manager and it should all be good correct?
Thanks for any advice! I just want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly.

Jup thats one way to do it. And it is a good method!
So go ahead and flash it if you already haven't done it

Sounds good to me.

should would fine long as your phone likes cwm, i had a lil issues with it myself but i'm running a new rezound that doesn't have the best support with it yet, i switched to amon ra recovery as it seemed to have a lil more to offer and didn't give me a issue with the scripts some roms use, long as that phone is well supported by cwm you should be fine tho

Or you can just boot intoo clockworkmod recovery and select "install zip from sdcard" and point to the zipfile of the new rom. A wipe is usually necessary and also doable from the recovery.

scarbutt11 said:
Ok, I just want to cover all my bases and make sure everything is set for me.
I rooted my ATRIX, installed ROM manager pro and Titanium backup pro, backed up my apps and data with Titanium, and flashed clockworkmod with rom manager.
I have the Alien rom and the alien theme downloaded and put on my sdcard.
From what I understand I just click install rom in rom manager and it should all be good correct?
Thanks for any advice! I just want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, almost. You also need to unlock the bootloader before you can flash a ROM. You mentioned that you backed up your data using Titanium Backup, which is fine, but you should also create a backup in recovery. That way, if something goes wrong and you end up with a phone that won't get past the boot logo, you can simply boot into recovery and restore your phone to exactly how it was before. Just make sure you have at least 2GB of free space on your sd card so that it can perform a full backup. To perform a backup, turn off your phone, then right as you're turning it on again, hold the volume down button until "fastboot" shows up. Then press the down volume button until you see "Android Recovery." Now press up to enter recovery. From there, navigate to backup. I realize that this isn't necessary, but I soft-bricked my phone the first time I tried to flash a rom, and if I had done a proper backup, it would have saved me a lot of grief.
Hope this helped!

I would also make a Nandroid backup of the current system just in case. Nandroid backups never failed on me when needed. I do believe it is a good "go to" option if a restore backup is needed.
Just my two cents

Related

Problem with rom manager

I hit the back up rom button in rom manager and it went to the htc screen. Its the screen that you see when you first turn on the phone. Its still on that screen for 10 mins now should I pull the battery or wait another 10 min? I have a thunderbolt btw. any advice greatly appreciated. thx
Did you flash ClockwordMod Recovery through ROM Manager before trying to make a backup? Pull the battery and reboot. If you didn't flash CWM then you need to do that. It's the first option at the top of the menu in ROM Manager.
I just had this happen couple days ago. Seems like Recovery went wonky. Pull battery & when you boot get back into Rom Manager > Menu > Clear Download Cache > Then go into Menu > Setting > Check Erase Recovery ... Hit Flash ClockworkMod Recovery and it will download and reinstall recovery.
I think a battery pull is in order. Did you go to backup and restore > backup? I have never had an issue when it comes to backing up my current rom/setup in cwm so I dont know what the issue could be.
feedhead said:
I just had this happen couple days ago. Seems like Recovery went wonky. Pull battery & when you boot get back into Rom Manager > Menu > Clear Download Cache > Then go into Menu > Setting > Check Erase Recovery ... Hit Flash ClockworkMod Recovery and it will download and reinstall recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just did that. Should I hit backup current Rom again? Maybe I should leave it alone. I don't want to damage the phone. I did back up my rom when i first rooted the phone with rom manager but i couldn't find it in the sd card and I couldn't see it under manage and restore backups. this is so discouraging. Oh one thing I should mention. I didn't update to the lastest version of rom manager. Could that be the problem?
newbaysie said:
I just did that. Should I hit backup current Rom again? Maybe I should leave it alone. I don't want to damage the phone. I did back up my rom when i first rooted the phone with rom manager but i couldn't find it in the sd card and I couldn't see it under manage and restore backups. this is so discouraging. Oh one thing I should mention. I didn't update to the lastest version of rom manager. Could that be the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would definitely update to the latest version of ROM Manager and flash the latest recovery (should be 3.0.2.5 if it's not already.) There were issues with the previous version of CWR.
Absolutely update to latest version of Rom Manager then certainly try to run a backup.
newbaysie said:
I just did that. Should I hit backup current Rom again? Maybe I should leave it alone. I don't want to damage the phone. I did back up my rom when i first rooted the phone with rom manager but i couldn't find it in the sd card and I couldn't see it under manage and restore backups. this is so discouraging. Oh one thing I should mention. I didn't update to the lastest version of rom manager. Could that be the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Making a backup isn't going to damage the phone. You should always make a backup before flashing anything (ROMs, themes, kernels, radios). That way you have something stable to revert to incase what you flash ****s up your phone.
Your backups will be on the SD card under clockworkmod/backup.
Update ROM Manager, flash CWM and try making a backup.
newbaysie said:
I just did that. Should I hit backup current Rom again? Maybe I should leave it alone. I don't want to damage the phone. I did back up my rom when i first rooted the phone with rom manager but i couldn't find it in the sd card and I couldn't see it under manage and restore backups. this is so discouraging. Oh one thing I should mention. I didn't update to the lastest version of rom manager. Could that be the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you click manage and restore backups and select "restore" it should be there. If not, you can back up your current rom through Recovery, think it says "backup current" or similar.
Another option to try is a full uninstall. Then redownload Rom Manager.
Ok I updated to the latest version and backing up my rom right now. Its seems to be working. Thanks everyone for your help. I'm a noob at this. What is the difference if I back up with the app titanium backup vs rom manager? It seems everybody that rooted their phone have these apps. I always thought they both have similar functions.
I had the same problem. I just turned off fastboot and everything worked fine.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Use Clockwork... ROM Mangler always causes issue. What's true in life?? Cut out the middle man and go straight to the source. Uninstall Rom Mangler/Download Quickboot/Get your ROMS from here and leave the heavy work to Clockwork. My opinion.
___
Sent frommy HTC ThunderBolt 4G LTE.
newbaysie said:
... i couldn't find it in the sd card and I couldn't see it under manage and restore backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what to say about it not being under "Manage and Restore Backups," but it should be on your SD card under /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup.
newbaysie said:
What is the difference if I back up with the app titanium backup vs rom manager? It seems everybody that rooted their phone have these apps. I always thought they both have similar functions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium Backup can back up all of your apps, data, and settings, but not your ROM (operating system), so TB can restore all of that stuff regardless of the ROM you're using (for the most part).
ROM Manager/ClockworkMod backups (aka Nandroid backups) take a full image of your phone (apps, data, settings, ROM, messages, etc) in one simple operation, so that when you restore that backup, your phone will be ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL to the way it was when you took the backup.
Personally, I do a nandroid backup right before flashing a new ROM, and again after I get all of my settings the way I like them. That way, I have a restore point in case I completely eff up my phone. I do a Titanium Backup of my apps and settings right before switching to a different ROM (anytime that I have to clear the phone's cache for a ROM install), so that once the new ROM is installed, I can get my phone back up and running the way I like it faster. So, yes, they do a lot of the same things, but have very different uses. Hopefully that made sense! It did in my head, but that doesn't always translate well, lol!
TheStick13 said:
Not sure what to say about it not being under "Manage and Restore Backups," but it should be on your SD card under /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup.
Titanium Backup can back up all of your apps, data, and settings, but not your ROM (operating system), so TB can restore all of that stuff regardless of the ROM you're using (for the most part).
ROM Manager/ClockworkMod backups (aka Nandroid backups) take a full image of your phone (apps, data, settings, ROM, messages, etc) in one simple operation, so that when you restore that backup, your phone will be ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL to the way it was when you took the backup.
Personally, I do a nandroid backup right before flashing a new ROM, and again after I get all of my settings the way I like them. That way, I have a restore point in case I completely eff up my phone. I do a Titanium Backup of my apps and settings right before switching to a different ROM (anytime that I have to clear the phone's cache for a ROM install), so that once the new ROM is installed, I can get my phone back up and running the way I like it faster. So, yes, they do a lot of the same things, but have very different uses. Hopefully that made sense! It did in my head, but that doesn't always translate well, lol!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This makes alot of sense. Oh the reason the backup file is not on the sdcard was the first backup was never backup. I just assumed it backup when I hit "backup current rom" Thank god I didn't flash my rom. If something went wrong I have nothing to go back to. Thanks for the info it was very helpful.

[Q] RomManager issues with N1: soft-bricking when creating backup

Hello all,
I have successfully installed CM7 on my Nexus One. However, I have the following problem with CWM: if I ask it to make a backup from within the recovery or from RomManager, CWM (3.0.0.5, latest version available apparently for Nexus One) makes the backup, but after restarting, I am stuck on the CM7 splashscreen: I see the blue Android on his skateboard and the arrow goes around in circles (left it going for 15 minutes just to be sure).
Also, on a sidenote, when I made the initial nandroid backup in CWM from my stock Froyo, after the backup was done I had to go in RomManager and "fix permissions", because all my resident apps kept crashing with "forced close" errors. No idea where that came from. Restoring that backup did the same thing as well. I did not investigate that issue any more though as I was on my way to a CM7 upgrade anyways.
So I now have a perfectly good install of CM7 running, but I am scared of doing a CWM backup. This is far from an ideal situation, and I would love to be able to resolve this
Thanks for any help
Anyone? I really am quite upset with this situation
Use this instead?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611829
Thanks, I will try it... though I have to admit I am nervous at the idea of having to again reinstall everything. Crossing my fingers!
yannack said:
Thanks, I will try it... though I have to admit I am nervous at the idea of having to again reinstall everything. Crossing my fingers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh oh? It is just a custom recovery, no need to reinstall everything. You only flash the recovery and do the backup you cannot now with the broken CWM. (For my phone, there are even flashable zip files so you can switch b/w CWM and AmonRA "on the fly" via flash zip from recovery, not sure there are some for N1, try to search. )
Actually, the current problem I have is that after performing a backup, my phone doesn't boot anymore. The only solution I have at that point is to re-flash a complete ROM (flashing the backup doesn't work either), thus losing everything.
In short: making a backup means I then have to format and said backup is unworkable...
Which is why I am nervous at the idea of trying to make such a backup.
On a sidenote, RomManager is indeed able to flash both CWM and RA recoveries for N1 directly, which is quite nice indeed.
yannack said:
Actually, the current problem I have is that after performing a backup, my phone doesn't boot anymore. The only solution I have at that point is to re-flash a complete ROM (flashing the backup doesn't work either), thus losing everything.
In short: making a backup means I then have to format and said backup is unworkable...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still do not understand why all this. Just flash a working recovery from fastboot (should press power and trackball IIRC on your phone). (And obviously do not use CWM to perform backups when it bricks your phone.)
On another note, flashing removery via ROM Manager resulted in bricked phones for many users, would avoid it personally.

[Q] nandroid to zip...

Is there a way to convert a nandroid backup into a flashable zip file? I would like to have the possibility of returning to my rooted rom if ever I decide in the mean time to go back to stock rom and don't like it.
The question has been asked a few times but has never, to my knowledge, received a clear answer.
NoUseToRush said:
Is there a way to convert a nandroid backup into a flashable zip file? I would like to have the possibility of returning to my rooted rom if ever I decide in the mean time to go back to stock rom and don't like it.
The question has been asked a few times but has never, to my knowledge, received a clear answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A nandroid back up takes a snap shot of your entire OS. All of the /system files, all of the /data files. All the apps in their current state. I mean EVERYTHING is store in the nandroid back up. When you preform that there is a "backup/restore" option in the Clockwork ROM recovery image. You would just select "restore" then select the back up you want to store. I will advise you not to change the name of the file as the MD5SUMs will not match and it will not be able to load it. It's a flash-able .zip my nature. but it will verify it's own MD5SUM prior to flashing it.
which brings me to this point.
but to restore you nandroid you need to be a) rooted b)have clockwork installed.
Yup, you can do it, but you need a few things:
1) system.img and boot.img to flash
2) you'll also need a non-stock recovery, so if you return to stock, just go back to a rooted stock system, and keep the non-stock/cwm recovery so that you can apply the zip. This begs neidlinger's point above about just restoring your backup via recovery.
3) if you want to really cross your eyes and dot your tees, then you should also get the EBT partition from the stock firmware so that you can update the bootloader. Most people are fine using what ever old bootloader they had when they rooted, but I think it can cause bootloops with certain combinations.
So yes it can be done, but it's more an exercise in android-fu. You'll have to search around and take apart a few zips to figure it out.
what about this (just to see if I understand the approach): I make a cwm recovery of my present non-stock rom and I somehow manage to go back to a stock rom. If I miss my custom rom, I root , install cwm recovery and restore the backup stored on my external sd card...How is that?
NoUseToRush said:
what about this (just to see if I understand the approach): I make a cwm recovery of my present non-stock rom and I somehow manage to go back to a stock rom. If I miss my custom rom, I root , install cwm recovery and restore the backup stored on my external sd card...How is that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct
You are on a custom OS, you make a nandroid backup Via CRW (ClockWork Recovery) (it will store to the SDcard)
you go back to OE not rooted OS with stock recovery.
you don't like it, it's slow or ugly, what ever.
you re-root. Reinstall CWR
you wipe the device
select "backup/restore"
Then restore
and it will restore the Nandroid completely.
you boot the device to the exact point in which you left it.

[Q] Need reassurance about backup process

Hi. I've been using a ROM for the last little while (SlimICS), and I like it, more or less. There's a feature in another ROM (ParanoidAndroid, per-app density), that I'd really like to try out, but this ROM also has a lot of features I don't want (tablet mode) and doubt I would like. I use TWRP as my recovery...if I use TWRP to make a backup of System, Data, Boot, Recovery, .android_secure, and EFS, will I be able to flash this other ROM, then restore the backup to go back to my old ROM after I play with the new one a bit? Will the backup of these items bring me back to exactly how it was before, if I do a Wipe Cache/Dalvik Cache/Factory Reset?
Sorry if these questions are answered elsewhere, I'm just trying to make sure that my limited understanding of all this isn't incorrect, in my specific situation.
If you make a backup through recovery, when you restore, it'll be exactly where you left off, settings and all, when you shut the phone down.
When backing up in Recovery, you are backing up the OS and apps. This is called a nandroid. This does not backup anything on the sdcard.
Yesterday, I flashed a different kernel version on my NS. Before flashing, I did a nandroid backup using Reovery. Unfortunately, the kernel failed to load properly and I was stuck in a boot loop. I restored my backup I have done previously, and my phone was back where it was, few minutes before. It is very easy to do and backups/restores and verified using MD5 checksum.
Keep in mind that some apps put stuff on the sdcard. So if you flash your phone to a new ROM, upgrade apps and then go back to another ROM, it is possible that some apps won't work anymore. I've never seen this happen but this is a possibility.

Backup & restore rom

hi everyone,
i have just rooted my lava iris 454(ICS 4.0.4). i am very happy with my engineering (thanks to those members who helped me).
now before going to try custom ROM's i want to make a back up of company provided ROM.
SO, somebody please give me step by step instructions :
1) how can i backup my ROM.
2) After installing custom ROM how can i restore my backup ROM.
please somebody help me. i will be grateful.
aakashing said:
hi everyone,
i have just rooted my lava iris 454(ICS 4.0.4). i am very happy with my engineering (thanks to those members who helped me).
now before going to try custom ROM's i want to make a back up of company provided ROM.
SO, somebody please give me step by step instructions :
1) how can i backup my ROM.
2) After installing custom ROM how can i restore my backup ROM.
please somebody help me. i will be grateful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install ROM Manager from PlayStore and use Clockworkmod to backup your ROM. Or you could also backup your rom by entering your device's recovery. You can trigger it by pressing a specific combination (Volume Up, Volume Down or both alternatively - depends on your device) of buttons while the device is switching on.
You can find elaborate explanations here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1587607
Hope I helped.
In a nutshell, what you are looking for is called a making nandroid backup. There are many programs which can accomplish this. My favorite is 4EXT recovery, which you can download from the play store. It does require you have root to install 4EXT! After you have a program such as 4EXT or ClockworkMod which can make nandroid backups, then you can save them and restore them in the future. This is how you can return your phone to the exact way it was when you make the backup.
thank you for advising me 4EXT recovery and ROM Manager.
What about titanium backup?
i made a backup(i hope so) by Titanium backup, by selecting the option "Backup all user apps and system data".
my questions are:
1) is that enough for back up?
2) how can i restore it after installing a new rom?
3) in between the process of installing if my phone become dead or blank how it will possible to access titanium backup?
oh its so much complicated. plz any developer help me.
thanks in advance.
installed ROM Manager Premium v5.0.2.7
if select
1) "Flash CWM Recovery"
asks to confirm ph model-> select iris 454 -> says "it does not have an official supported CWM yet. Have u installed a cwm based recovery manually?" -> if i select "yes," 2 option comes for confirm version cmw 2.x and cmw 3.x -> after selecting one of those nothing happen.
2) Backup current ROM
displays "new backup name..." -> if i click OK the system reboot. -> in reboot process an android symbol comes and suddenly it lay down like a wounded man. -> system hangs ->only removing battery makes it solve.
Yes, that's enough backup. You have backed up all your system data and applications. So you can restore your phone's last known working state.
After installing a new ROM, you can download Titanium Backup from PlayStore and use it to restore everything.
Note: Some ROM's don't have PlayStore available in their package in which case you'd have to download the gapps package separately and flash it too while flashing the ROM.
You cannot use Titanium Backup if your phone doesn't come alive. You'd have to restore the stock ROM or flash some other known-to-be-working ROM. You can then restore your stuff.
Sent from my LiveWithWalkman
I've never used a nandroid backup, I usually do a backup with go backup (sms,phone log,wifi passwords and apps with preferences) which is an easy and intuitive app. If something fails i have a tested rom which i flash before do anything else.
Why it's better to do a nandroid backup and not just this??
Voldizard said:
Yes, that's enough backup. You have backed up all your system data and applications. So you can restore your phone's last known working state.
After installing a new ROM, you can download Titanium Backup from PlayStore and use it to restore everything.
Note: Some ROM's don't have PlayStore available in their package in which case you'd have to download the gapps package separately and flash it too while flashing the ROM.
You cannot use Titanium Backup if your phone doesn't come alive. You'd have to restore the stock ROM or flash some other known-to-be-working ROM. You can then restore your stuff.
Sent from my LiveWithWalkman
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thnx dear.
titanium backup is enough for me.
but now what about" if your phone doesn't come alive"? how should i restore the stock ROM if it is unavailable?
can i make stock rom or make a back up of stock rom? how?
Sewrizer said:
this means that your device is not supported by CWM recovery so there is not much to do, unless your stock recovery can perform the same tasks as CWM. for instance sgs2 recovery mode only allows you to install zip and to wipe cache and factory reset.
On the other hand there is a risky method you may try but i am not sure whether it would work. Install odin on your PC or mobile odin on your device and look for a kernel which has CWM recovery in it. THIS IS A RISKY OPERATION SO THINK BEFORE YOU DO THIS. I'm saying this because i bricked my sgs2 and the only way i could make it work was to restore, but again, you need CWM to restore. good luck.
hit thanks if i helped or reply/ send me a PM if you need further details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"for instance sgs2 recovery mode only allows you to install zip and to wipe cache and factory reset"
unable to understand this.
i want to try with other rom (because custom rom unavailable for my device); if it fails how should i make alive my phone?
is it possible to recover the company provided rom?
plz response.
thanks in adv.
aakashing said:
thnx dear.
titanium backup is enough for me.
but now what about" if your phone doesn't come alive"? how should i restore the stock ROM if it is unavailable?
can i make stock rom or make a back up of stock rom? how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find the entire procedure for backing up your Stock ROM here: http://androidadvices.com/backup-stock-rom-clockworkmod-rom-manager/
In order to restore Stock ROM, turn off your phone, boot your phone into recovery and use the restore option in the screen you see.
Sewrizer said:
Can you put your phone in recovery mode? I if so, take a picture of it and post it in a reply.
Sent from Area 51 using my Samsung Galaxy i9100p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when i press power+ vol down key in booting time it displays Factory mode.
Under this heading the sub menus come like this (i dont know whether it is recovery mode or not.)
Full test
Item test
Test Report
Clear eMMC
Version
Reboot
is it enough info? otherwise ill shoot a photo.
plz make some way-out bro.
it sounds like you need to flash a custom recovery on your thing first
tsomclovin said:
it sounds like you need to flash a custom recovery on your thing first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whats that man?
whats d process?
i badly need to solve that.
thanks in advance.

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