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[Q] How to backup my software?

Hello. Currently, I am using RCMix S 2.7 and i thinking this is most stable and great rom for Desire S. I setup my mobile(applications, widgets, settings). However I would like to test new roms. How I can backup my customized software? I did backup in ClockworkMod Recovery and size of my software is 1.05Gb. Is this enough? How to make restore? Do i need to choose only restore or format something first?

Use Google sync for your Contacts and Calendar items (HTC Sync + M$ Outlook is also a good combination but you can use it only on Sense ROMs)
Download and install free Titanium Backup from the Market to backup your applications and settings (you can backup even your homescreen arrangement (all shortcuts and widgets) and restore them in one click. The backup itself is not taking too much space. My advice is when switching to ROM with different Sense/Kernel/Android version do not restore setting, it can mess up your new installation, restore just the apps and take the time to configure everything again.

I also test new roms all the time. My technique of back up is this.
1. contacs = back up using google. sync with your google account.
2. sms = i use 'kAmMa's BackupSMS'
3. Application = I only backup downloaded apps using Astro file manager.
For me titanium back up is a bit complicated.
to restore i always do this order
first use the filemanager in the rom - browse to backup folder and install astro file manager.
than use astro file manager and install all the other application that you back up
than setup google account and your contact will be downloaded automatically from internet.
than restore sms using the kamma's backupsms.
its done. I spend about 30 minutes for this. This is my way of doing things. If you like you can follow this way.

What You thinking about it:
How To: Backup or Restore via Nandroid
Nandroid allows you to create a complete system image of your device and stores it to the SD Card on your phone. Making one is very simple but there are a few prerequisites.
1. A rooted Android phone
2. A custom recovery that supports Nandroid (ie: Amon_RA, ClockworkMod, Etc.)
3. A MicroSD card that has enough space for a system image.
A complete image can range from 75-400 MB.
Please follow this link for instructions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki...r_via_Nandroid

Ok, I got your point. You want to preserve you current ROM in the way it is now in case that you would like to go back to it.
In this case before restoration you have to follow the same steps like in installation of a new ROM:
Wipe all (system, data, cache)
Restore

Thanks a lot!

amidabuddha said:
Ok, I got your point. You want to preserve you current ROM in the way it is now in case that you would like to go back to it.
In this case before restoration you have to follow the same steps like in installation of a new ROM:
Wipe all (system, data, cache)
Restore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just want to simply restore one of your previously taken Nandoird backups then there is no need to wipe anything in advance as the restore will overwrite all partitions.
While saying that every time that I've performed a restore for safety's sake I always then wipe cache and dalvik cache before booting the restored ROM.

[Help] CM7 / Titanium Backup

Can someone please help me with flashing a new CM nightly, (I am on build 167), and what I want to do is:
1. Flash it, obviously
2. Backup my current apps and settings
3. After flashing it, restore those apps/settings
4. So that after flashing a new build, I have everything set up as though I just updated stuff, no wipe.
Can someone supply a step-by-step guide on this process? Thanks!

jwei92 said:
Can someone please help me with flashing a new CM nightly, (I am on build 167), and what I want to do is:
1. Flash it, obviously
2. Backup my current apps and settings
3. After flashing it, restore those apps/settings
4. So that after flashing a new build, I have everything set up as though I just updated stuff, no wipe.
Can someone supply a step-by-step guide on this process? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its pretty easy, follow the instructions on the cyanogenmod forum for your device. Best way is through ROM Manager paid version. It'll let you download the latest CM7 nightly. Before flashing, use titanium backup to batch backup all user apps + data. No need to backup system data because you will not and should not restore system data after flashing to a new rom, it can lead to problems. Only restore user apps and their data.

[Q] How to save data before ROM upgrade

Hey guys,
so, I have already flashed my ROM from stock to something else. That was a year ago.
But this ROM got old, ICS is out, and I want it.
Is there a way to save all my data? I have some games, that have progress that I dont want to loose.
I have contacts that I dont want to loose. Messages and pictures that I still need.
What is the right procedure for me to upgrade ROM to newer one? I'm upgrading to Fallout v2 if that matters.
Thank you for answers
Regards, Anze

You need to read up about Nandroid backups that you take from recovery (cwm or 4ext) these are extremely useful if you wish to revert the device after you've flashed a new one rom as they take a snapshot of the devices partitions.
You should ensure that you take one of these before flashing a new rom.
I'd recommend that you sync your contacts with google (in the cloud) that way they'll always return to your device following a clean install
Otherwise the best application is titanium backup which enables you to make backups of your applications and there associated data, which is useful to reinstall your applications after a rom upgrade.

You may also wish to restore data with apps together selectively after flashing a new rom due to possible data incompatibilities with versions resulting in FC. If so, within TB you could try PREFERENCES > RESTORATION SETTINGS > MIGRATE SYSTEM DATA or leave out data only restoring the app.

[Q] Partially Restore CWM backup?

Hey Guys!
So I've been around the place for a while, usually passive. I rooted my phone a few months back, and left it at that coz i was too scared of bricking my new phone . But now getting tired of waiting for the official ICS (Not the buggy leak) has got me thinking of getting a custom Rom (cant decide between Victory or Romulus).
I've just installed CMW, and my phones backing up as we speak. My question is this, is it possible to restore a partial backup? Im hoping that once i get the custom rom up and running, i can restore my contacts, texts and apps onto my new rom. I know titanium backup can restore apps but i assume all that is gone once i format before installing the rom, right?
Thanks guys any help appreciated!

fire_fist_ace said:
Hey Guys!
So I've been around the place for a while, usually passive. I rooted my phone a few months back, and left it at that coz i was too scared of bricking my new phone . But now getting tired of waiting for the official ICS (Not the buggy leak) has got me thinking of getting a custom Rom (cant decide between Victory or Romulus).
I've just installed CMW, and my phones backing up as we speak. My question is this, is it possible to restore a partial backup? Im hoping that once i get the custom rom up and running, i can restore my contacts, texts and apps onto my new rom. I know titanium backup can restore apps but i assume all that is gone once i format before installing the rom, right?
Thanks guys any help appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you install any new ROM, you (usually) need to perform a full wipe through CWM including: wipe user data/factory reset, wipe cache, wipe Dalvik, then flash. Now, that will delete ALL of your stuff, contacts, texts, apps, etc. However, if you have access to WiFi, when your ROM flash has completed, you will be prompted to re-enter your Google account and, at which time, your contacts will re-populate (give it some time). Though, be sure you sync with Google's servers prior to your flash, so that any new contacts will be re-added once your account has been added after the flash. Also, if on WiFi, when your account has been entered, go to Google Play Store, and click the "my apps" button, and again after some time (depending on the number of apps you had) they too will re-populate. As far as texts, you could try a text backup app -not too familiar with this, as I don't ever have a need to save any texts- and you should be good. Word of warning: DO NOT use Titanium Backup to restore ANY application data, only the apps themselves. Also, another good alternative to TIB is App Backup & Restore. Hopefully, this clears up any doubts you have with your "stuff" and how to retrieve it after a flash...

Apex used capital letters in "do not restore app data" with good reason. Only a handful of times have I not followed those directions and every time I got weird fc's and an overall more unstable system. It's a shame there isn't a good way to do it but it only leads to heartache. Always keep a solid backup. I keep two. One original and another after a couple days on a new rom so that I'm able to experiment down the line.
I hope you have a good experience with your new system and learn a bit. It gets a little addicting.
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2

Apex_Strider said:
When you install any new ROM, you (usually) need to perform a full wipe through CWM including: wipe user data/factory reset, wipe cache, wipe Dalvik, then flash. Now, that will delete ALL of your stuff, contacts, texts, apps, etc. However, if you have access to WiFi, when your ROM flash has completed, you will be prompted to re-enter your Google account and, at which time, your contacts will re-populate (give it some time). Though, be sure you sync with Google's servers prior to your flash, so that any new contacts will be re-added once your account has been added after the flash. Also, if on WiFi, when your account has been entered, go to Google Play Store, and click the "my apps" button, and again after some time (depending on the number of apps you had) they too will re-populate. As far as texts, you could try a text backup app -not too familiar with this, as I don't ever have a need to save any texts- and you should be good. Word of warning: DO NOT use Titanium Backup to restore ANY application data, only the apps themselves. Also, another good alternative to TIB is App Backup & Restore. Hopefully, this clears up any doubts you have with your "stuff" and how to retrieve it after a flash...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, once i clear everything and flash, to get back my apps all i have to do is reinstall "App Backup and Restore" then I can restore any saved apps? Because looking at the play store, the list in my apps (Not Installed) is too long, and contains apps that i simply installed to try and immediately removed.
One more thing as well, well actually 2. I was watching a video by mastermind278 on youtube on how to install custom Roms. He installs a rom by selecting restore from cmw recovery, so my question is, does that restore method work for installing most Roms, say for example, the Romulus rom? And finally, are the separate mods installed in the same way?

fire_fist_ace said:
So, once i clear everything and flash, to get back my apps all i have to do is reinstall "App Backup and Restore" then I can restore any saved apps? Because looking at the play store, the list in my apps (Not Installed) is too long, and contains apps that i simply installed to try and immediately removed.
One more thing as well, well actually 2. I was watching a video by mastermind278 on youtube on how to install custom Roms. He installs a rom by selecting restore from cmw recovery, so my question is, does that restore method work for installing most Roms, say for example, the Romulus rom? And finally, are the separate mods installed in the same way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can 'manually' select which apps you'd like to restore from within this app, so if there are some you'd rather forgo restoring, you can pick and choose.
As far as the flashing method through CWM, you'll just have to read and understand each of the ROM's flashing methods, as some of the GB ROM installs are different (flash or CWM restore). All of which are detailed in the threads for these ROM's. Along with that, any mods you'd like, you'll just need to refer to the install instructions for each...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

[Q] Backup/Restore To New ROM

I'm not a big ROM tester and pretty much remain on stock. I do have root, custom recovery and unlocked bootloader on my GS3 (4.1.2 stock).
When you guys switch ROMs and a clean flash is required, what exactly are you all doing to backup and then restore your data?
Are you just backing up "all user apps" with Titanium and then immediately installing Titanium on the new ROM and restoring the backup?
What about system settings? You just run through those one at a time and set them to the way they were? What about custom contact ringtones and other customizations?
Sounds like a lot of work to me, but maybe I'm missing something.
Is there a better way to do this?

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm really trying to figure out how you guys are ok with doing a full wipe so frequently.

I am by no means a "constant ROM'er", but I have tried it a few times on a few different devices. Here is generally what I do:
1. Back up apps and data with Titanium Backup. I usually back these up to a folder on my external SD card just to be safe. Even though a factory reset shouldn't erase your backups on your internal memory, I just like to be safe.
2. After flashing a custom ROM I install TB as the very first app. ***HINT: If you have your phone setup to automatically restore apps thru Google, apps will automatically begin to download and install. This can slow down the whole process of restoring your apps and data. To keep this from happening, you can either disable the automatic restore OR don't sign in to google when you first set up the phone (that way google won't know which apps to begin to restore).
3. Run TB's restore apps & data BUT RESTORE SYSTEM APPS/DATA AT YOUR OWN RISK. In most cases from my own experiences and others, system apps and data do NOT restore well after flashing a new ROM.
Again, I am no expert and I simply follow the guides and advice of those much smarter and more experienced than I on these forums. Something I said above could be wrong so please correct me if anyone sees a fallacy.

I appreciate the reply. That's pretty much what I though. It's still a lot of work to tweak all the system settings back to the way they were. Ringtones, custom contact ringtones, various system settings, etc.