Database Info

[Q] Some semi-newbish questions

Hi Folks,
I hope I'm not asking questions already covered, so apologies or redirects if I have. I just rooted my phone for the first time last night so I'm a little timid to take steps further without asking a few things.
1) I have both the Clockwork Recovery and Titanium Backup (free version), but TiBackup did its backup on the internal SD while CWR did it on the external SD. Is there a way to have TiBackup redirect the spot it saves its backups to?
2) People recommend Root Explorer to get rid of the bloatware that exists, but outside of paying for either that or TiBackup (that I don't terribly love), is there a free app that does the same thing, or preferably just does a freeze. I'm not concerned with paying for it, but since I'm new to this stuff, I'd rather not waste money on things that don't have longevity or more than just an experimental use if I don't have to.
Thanks for the help

shahp said:
Hi Folks,
I hope I'm not asking questions already covered, so apologies or redirects if I have. I just rooted my phone for the first time last night so I'm a little timid to take steps further without asking a few things.
1) I have both the Clockwork Recovery and Titanium Backup (free version), but TiBackup did its backup on the internal SD while CWR did it on the external SD. Is there a way to have TiBackup redirect the spot it saves its backups to?
2) People recommend Root Explorer to get rid of the bloatware that exists, but outside of paying for either that or TiBackup (that I don't terribly love), is there a free app that does the same thing, or preferably just does a freeze. I'm not concerned with paying for it, but since I'm new to this stuff, I'd rather not waste money on things that don't have longevity or more than just an experimental use if I don't have to.
Thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have paid Titanium backup, so i know on that you can change the location where the backup is used.
i bought root explorer and titanium back up in november 2010, and have used it on 3 different phones since. i too hate paying for software that i think may not work, but i have used these programs beyond their value, and was 200% satisfied with my purchase. dont hesistate, just buy them. once you root, these programs are priceless. i use root explorer for more than just root stuff, i dont use astro, or even the stock CM file explorer root explorer is just fine and even works without root (will work like astro).
there is an app called app admin that works to remove bloat. i find root explorer easier as it kinda identifys what certain programs are by icon, where app admin you need to know what it is before deleting. app admin tho you can check off multiple apps and delete them all at the same time, where root explorer is one by one, and you will need to do a battery pull after a removing certain apps such as wifi calling, so you may need more than one battery pull, where with app admin it should only make you do one battery pull.
so i say buy the 2 apps you mentioned, it cant hurt and as long as you are willing to stay with android, the value is priceless

shahp said:
Hi Folks,
I hope I'm not asking questions already covered, so apologies or redirects if I have. I just rooted my phone for the first time last night so I'm a little timid to take steps further without asking a few things.
1) I have both the Clockwork Recovery and Titanium Backup (free version), but TiBackup did its backup on the internal SD while CWR did it on the external SD. Is there a way to have TiBackup redirect the spot it saves its backups to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can change the backup location of TB in the preferences menu. Just look for "Backup folder location"
shahp said:
2) People recommend Root Explorer to get rid of the bloatware that exists, but outside of paying for either that or TiBackup (that I don't terribly love), is there a free app that does the same thing, or preferably just does a freeze. I'm not concerned with paying for it, but since I'm new to this stuff, I'd rather not waste money on things that don't have longevity or more than just an experimental use if I don't have to.
Thanks for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try using file expert, they now have a root setting in the settings menu, tho I have yet to get it to copy many files over at once without it crashing or stalling. Other then that, you could learn the ADB commands to do the same thing.

I use Super Manager. Its free. It'd look better without the weird color scheme but it works fine as a root explorer and lets you read/write to the system folder.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

McFroger3 said:
You can change the backup location of TB in the preferences menu. Just look for "Backup folder location"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. I tried redirecting to a new folder on the external SD and it asked whether or not I wanted to port things from the old directory to the new one, which I responded yes. But it didn't do it, and prompted to continue using the old one. Can I just delete the /TitaniumBackup folder that exists now, and have it make a fresh back up on the SD card?
Do I even need a TiBackup if i already have a CWR one on the SD card already? I'm still unsure if they back up the same data differently, or it's the same.
Thanks to everyone for the advice.

shahp said:
Cool. I tried redirecting to a new folder on the external SD and it asked whether or not I wanted to port things from the old directory to the new one, which I responded yes. But it didn't do it, and prompted to continue using the old one. Can I just delete the /TitaniumBackup folder that exists now, and have it make a fresh back up on the SD card?
Do I even need a TiBackup if i already have a CWR one on the SD card already? I'm still unsure if they back up the same data differently, or it's the same.
Thanks to everyone for the advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium allows you to restore your apps across different ROM's and even different phones. CWM can only restore entire ROM's and is only really useful if a newly installed ROM or kernel cause a problem and you need to restore an old one through recovery. Titanium is an invaluable program and I recommended you purchase the paid version.

shahp said:
Cool. I tried redirecting to a new folder on the external SD and it asked whether or not I wanted to port things from the old directory to the new one, which I responded yes. But it didn't do it, and prompted to continue using the old one. Can I just delete the /TitaniumBackup folder that exists now, and have it make a fresh back up on the SD card?
Do I even need a TiBackup if i already have a CWR one on the SD card already? I'm still unsure if they back up the same data differently, or it's the same.
Thanks to everyone for the advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TB is only for apps+data, while Nandroid does a backup of the entire system.
Also with nandroids it creates .img files so you would not be able to get apps back and use on different roms like the previous poster. If you wish to start fresh, just delete current directory and point to the new one on the external SD card.

[Q] How to Backup my Data

I have been told I need to do a "Factory Data Reset" to a) clear out phantom crap-data from my built-in storage (now at 4% free space), and b) stop my phone from random double SMS posts.
I see several Market options for backup but none look very appealing nor do they guarantee to backup everything. Several require your phone to be rooted (mine isn't). Free apps don't backup everything and paid apps only back up the the SD Card but mine is nearly full.
Some on this forum say they can do it all by hand but I have no idea how.
Can't I just plug it into my laptop and move the files over?
This is my first Android phone and I would like to eventually ROOT the phone but I am not there yet. Perhaps this is the next step towards being comfortable doing that.

Some Market Apps, like MyBackup Pro, will back up to the "cloud" but at a price: MyBackup Pro comes with 50MB of free cloud storage, which you can upgrade to 250MB for $1 per month or 1GB for $2 per month.

ncmacasl said:
I have been told I need to do a "Factory Data Reset" to a) clear out phantom crap-data from my built-in storage (now at 4% free space), and b) stop my phone from random double SMS posts.
I see several Market options for backup but none look very appealing nor do they guarantee to backup everything. Free apps don't backup everything and paid apps only back up the the SD Card but mine is nearly full.
Some on this forum say they can do it all by hand but I have no idea how.
Can't I just plug it into my laptop and move the files over?
This is my first Android phone and I would like to eventually ROOT the phone but I am not there yet. Perhaps this is the next step towards being comfortable doing that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
titanium backup pro works very well

tylermaciaszek said:
titanium backup pro works very well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But doesn't that only work for ROOTED phones?

ncmacasl said:
But doesn't that only work for ROOTED phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats right sorry forgot you werent rooted
try this vv
http://free-mobile-messenger.com/2011/03/09/backup-everything-1-0-apk/

And that app only saves to the SD card. Mine is FULL

Where do you want to save it to? anywhere but the sdcard will be wiped in any sort of flashing, making it a useless backup. the only logical place to backup your data is your sdcard, and then copying that backup to your computer.

How do I safely move stuff off the SD Card to make more room for the backup?How much room will the backup take? Does the backup only backup the Phone storage or also the SD Storage? (FYI, I have Astro File Manager)

Backing up the sdcard would be an oxymoron, as trying to backup your sdcard to your sdcard would never work, that would be like trying to make 1 + something try to be less than 1. You can plug your phone in as a Mass Storage Device, which will use your phone essentially as a flash drive, and you can add or delete as you please. If you're worried about deleting something, copy it to your computer rather than deleting it outright. Backing up should take about 500 MB if you're using Nandroid, but you're not rooted, and I'm not familiar with the posted backup. Backing up without rooting is very difficult

sduvick said:
...Backing up without rooting is very difficult
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that is why I am posting. many of us non-root-ers want to be able to do this, and also, aren't you supposed to backup your system BEFORE you attempt to ROOT? How does everyone else do it??
OK So I Sideload everything from the SD Card to the laptop, then delete everything from the SD Card, then backup the phone storage stuff to the SD Card, then move THAT File/folder to the laptop.
Is that right??

Rooting is non-invasive, I've never backed up before rooting. Rooting just edits permissions on one file, which no non-rooted backup app can backup anyways.
If you wanted to backup that way, then yes, that would work, but if you're looking to backup before you root, I would say don't even bother, as it will not backup the phone system anyways, as no non-rooted app can do that.

If rooting is so "non-invasive" then why do you read so many warnings that if you don't do it **JUST RIGHT** you can totally BRICK your phone??

Also what do you mean by "not backup the phone system"?

Rooting can't brick your phone, flashing kernels and bootloaders can. The actual phone files, the operating system files, cannot be backed up by a non-rooted phone, as they are privileged. Rooting only installs the SuperUser.apk to manage super user rights, as well as changing the privileges on the system's super user binary so that you as a user can use it. all that to say, it's not a big deal to root, but what you do once you get root is what can cause issues. And if you brick yourself, no backup is going to help you, as by definition, bricking is beyond repair.

[Q] How to use Titanium Backup before flashing to a new rom?

Hi.
I want to flash anew.
I want to backup my apps.
I do not have an external SD card (i mean - i do, i just don't use it, it's in my drawer collecting dust).
I see that I can backup apps with Titanium.
But - once I will flash, these backups will all be wiped, will they not?
THANK YOU !

Why not just copy the titanium backup folder to your computer first? Flash your rom then once you get your phone running copy the folder back to your phone. Reinstall titanium backup and restore as needed. Titanium also comes with dropbox built in which can be pretty useful.
Sent from my LG-P999

e4e5nf3nc6 said:
Why not just copy the titanium backup folder to your computer first? Flash your rom then once you get your phone running copy the folder back to your phone. Reinstall titanium backup and restore as needed. Titanium also comes with dropbox built in which can be pretty useful.
Sent from my LG-P999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! Will do that! Thanks!

benyben123 said:
Hi.
I want to flash anew.
I want to backup my apps.
I do not have an external SD card (i mean - i do, i just don't use it, it's in my drawer collecting dust).
I see that I can backup apps with Titanium.
But - once I will flash, these backups will all be wiped, will they not?
THANK YOU !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only if you format your internal sd card I mean that's common sense get a clue
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

ZeroT| Demented said:
Only if you format your internal sd card I mean that's common sense get a clue
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I guess you are right....
Just didn't think of it since I thought I am suppose to format the SD card every time I flash. I also didn't know that TB saves its files to the SD card.
Thanks

ZeroT| Demented said:
Only if you format your internal sd card I mean that's common sense get a clue
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude what is your problem. Sometimes people don't know as much as you. This is why they come here and ask questions. They don't need to be ridiculed for not knowing how to do something. I wouldn't ridicule you for losing for instance some chess games against me. I would instead assume you haven't spent thousands of hours studying it and be fine with that instead of throwing it in your face. You have a problem. I've been coming to these forums for maybe 2 weeks and I've seen some negative or condescending thing from you over and over. Read the rules and adhere to them or kindly leave. That is all.
Sent from my LG-P999

e4e5nf3nc6 said:
Dude what is your problem. Sometimes people don't know as much as you. This is why they come here and ask questions. They don't need to be ridiculed for not knowing how to do something. I wouldn't ridicule you for losing for instance some chess games against me. I would instead assume you haven't spent thousands of hours studying it and be fine with that instead of throwing it in your face. You have a problem. I've been coming to these forums for maybe 2 weeks and I've seen some negative or condescending thing from you over and over. Read the rules and adhere to them or kindly leave. That is all.
Sent from my LG-P999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll school you in a game of chess!
If you got chesspresso installed lets play a game sometime.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

Not going to waste my time bud.
Sent from my LG-P999

Not to be rude but if you could beat me I would know who you are. I sort of make part of my living giving private lessons.
Sent from my LG-P999

ZeroT| Demented said:
Only if you format your internal sd card I mean that's common sense get a clue
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why are you always a ****? Get a clue and lose the damn attitude.
I swear you sound just like a guy that was banned with a very similar name.

e4e5nf3nc6 said:
Not going to waste my time bud.
Sent from my LG-P999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Ruy Lopez hah!
I keeeeeel you!
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

ZeroT| Demented said:
Only if you format your internal sd card I mean that's common sense get a clue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly, Your Rude, Secondly you don't have a clue because you are completely wrong and clearly cannot read.
The OP had clearly stated he did not have an SD Card (but COULD), so if you did a full backup to internal memory (because of no SD Card).
Then yes, if you flash (as most require format/wipe, cache, and dalvik) you would also wipe your backup. Those with devices with no SD Card support should take care to copy the backup files manually to another device for later use.
I was searching for the question of "How to use Titanium Backup before flashing to a new ROM?"
However my question remains unanswered...
I have a custom ROM already installed, with all my apps and configuration etc, I want to try a new ROM to test something, then revert back to the ROM I am using now,
Does Titanium Backup create a restore point image, that I can restore later, and as such carry on using my device where I had it at the point of backup?
If not an image, then is the functionality I am looking for available?
Many Thanks,
Robert Readman

I don't believe titanium offers the feature you are looking for. It does have a feature that creates a flashable zip to to flash all your apps backcto the phone...however this feature has never worked for me lol. I always have to restore my apps the old fashioned way with the batch options restore. Like you,I did not have a SD card when I first flashed my phone. To get around this issue I created a backup with cwm and moved it to my PC for safe keeping. DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID and transfer the backup to PC via USB cable....if you do this the md5 sum will become corrupt. I don't know why but nandroids are sensitive in the way they handled/moved across platforms. Download the free app from the market called Airdroid. It connects your phone to your PC through a wireless LAN connection. It takes a little longer to transfer the boot image since its a large file but its MUCH safer. When you do transfer the nandroid to your PC its very important to not change ANYTHING in the file, especially the name. Change nothing! Otherwise you will mess up the md5. If you do get aa corrupt md5 like I did there is a tutorial on this site somewhere that walks you through the process of fixing it but it was a pain in the a** so use airdroid lol. Hope this helped.
Ps- having a SD card makes like much easier in the world of flashing/android Modding. Even a small one is worth it. Best of luck
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium

Pain-N-Panic said:
DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID and transfer the backup to PC via USB cable....if you do this the md5 sum will become corrupt. I don't know why but nandroids are sensitive in the way they handled/moved across platforms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this Pain-N-Panic, I am not sure, but it maybe something to do with transferring in binary / ASCII modes, similar to an issue you come across with FTP, so it is very plausible as an issue but someone with more knowledge of this would need to comment.
My solution which should help, is to go into Terminal Emulator, and use tar to create an archive.
Example...
type 'pwd' (for present working directory), it should be root by default '/'
in my case, i have /sdcard/ as a symlink to /storage/primary/legacy/
so then type 'cd' (for change directory) to the location of your sd card storage.
then typing 'tar -cvf file.tar ./folder/' c for create, v for verbose, f for file, then the file to create, and the folder.
Search for use of tar online, if you require more information.
Code:
cd /sdcard/
tar -cvf TitaniumBackup.tar /sdcard/TitaniumBackup/
You can then transfer your TitaniumBackup.tar with all file ownership, permissions and even file / folder timestamps are stored, for restoring the folder later.

Factory reset Noob

Unrooted ,untouched TF101 with OTA ICS.
How can I do a factory reset and keep all my stuff ?
In storage I see my SD card is almost empty so all my photos and such and stored internally, How can I move them so they won't get lost ?
What about free and paid apps and all their stored information too ?

AKA_Rizzo said:
Unrooted ,untouched TF101 with OTA ICS.
How can I do a factory reset and keep all my stuff ?
In storage I see my SD card is almost empty so all my photos and such and stored internally, How can I move them so they won't get lost ?
What about free and paid apps and all their stored information too ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just move what you want to save (photos and such) to the external sd card or to a PC.
Your apps that you download from Market is link to your Google account so once you sign back in with the same account it will get restore.
Data will be lost
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Connect it to a computer and copy the files from the tf101 to pc

Use Asus App backup.

hapahopi said:
Use Asus App backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that should work, didn't think that as i never use it. I only use titanium backup.

Asus App Backup Fails on all
baseballfanz said:
Yeah that should work, didn't think that as i never use it. I only use titanium backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hapahopi said:
Use Asus App backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm kind of in the same boat, except I did try to use Asus App Backup, except that it fails on all. I'm trying to backup 23 installed apps, 167 MB total - well under the 600 MB limit. This is after the ICS update. Any suggestions as to why it won't work? Tried titanium (free version) but it seemed to be overkill for what I wanted to do. I don't have a ton of pictures or music, all that can be easily replaced. I'm more concerned about a few apps I've gotten from Amazon and a couple of other places (all legal), but may not be able to re-install.

Hate to have to revive this but i haven't been able to find an answer. Mine always freezes at 7% or 12% no matter if full or partial app list. I lost root for awhile with .21 update so couldn't use TB. I am now rerooted but trying to get Asus' stock app to work on their product as ridiculous as that may sound. Doesn't matter if I use internal or external sd card.
That brings up another issue that my tfp keeps losing recognition of my external sd card. Havent been able to find any help on this either.

Backup App That will Backup Data

Sorry the title doesn't really explain it to well. I'm looking for an app that I can use to backup my applications with their data, that i can then restore after flashing CM10 to. I've tried Titanium and one other whose name escapes me. They'll backup/restore from ICS to ICS, but not to JB (backups do not show listed). Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Dyerseve3160 said:
Sorry the title doesn't really explain it to well. I'm looking for an app that I can use to backup my applications with their data, that i can then restore after flashing CM10 to. I've tried Titanium and one other whose name escapes me. They'll backup/restore from ICS to ICS, but not to JB (backups do not show listed). Any suggestion would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium Backup has worked perfectly fine for me. Are you sure you're not doing something wrong?

aaronfuhrer said:
Titanium Backup has worked perfectly fine for me. Are you sure you're not doing something wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really sure what I could be doing wrong. I've run it as a batch job backing up all user apps, tried it with all user apps + system data. I've also made its own folder on my SD card and point backups to go there.
The bigger issue is the apps themselves get backed up, but none of the stored data with the apps do.. not sure if there's an option I need for that (guess it'd be cache?)

Dyerseve3160 said:
Not really sure what I could be doing wrong. I've run it as a batch job backing up all user apps, tried it with all user apps + system data. I've also made its own folder on my SD card and point backups to go there.
The bigger issue is the apps themselves get backed up, but none of the stored data with the apps do.. not sure if there's an option I need for that (guess it'd be cache?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out this guide if you haven't got it to work out yet.
If that doesn't work either, just say something and hopefully we'll figure out what's going on!

I use Ultimate Backup by Jrummy

I use mybackup pro
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Dyerseve3160 said:
Sorry the title doesn't really explain it to well. I'm looking for an app that I can use to backup my applications with their data, that i can then restore after flashing CM10 to. I've tried Titanium and one other whose name escapes me. They'll backup/restore from ICS to ICS, but not to JB (backups do not show listed). Any suggestion would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone yesterday in another thread said that Titanium backups are saved to the sd card for touchwiz roms and for AOSP roms Titanium Backups need to be saved to the internal sd card. Could that be the problem?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

I've used Titanium pro from ICS to JB with no issues. I don't do batch restores though, I'd prefer to re-download the app from google play then just restore the data. That way you have a clean install. I've had issues on other devices doing a batch restore. It's a little slower this way, but worth it to avoid FCs.

You have to remember that if you set the backup to the extSD then switch from ICS to JB the name of the extSD changes and you have to go into preferences and choose the backup location. That may solve the issue for you

I think the issue here is not fully understanding how titanium backup works. Whenever a full wipe is done/new rom installed and you reinstall titanium through the play store, it will show only the apps and data that are currently installed on that particular rom. Push the batch button, let it calculate scenarios, and your backed up apps and data will then appear along with the new rom's goodies. Hope that helps.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

mcp2009 said:
You have to remember that if you set the backup to the extSD then switch from ICS to JB the name of the extSD changes and you have to go into preferences and choose the backup location. That may solve the issue for you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.
I had the same problem as OP till I searched my phone for my titanium backup folder.
Sent from a strange blue box hurtling through time and space.

aaronfuhrer said:
Check out this guide if you haven't got it to work out yet.
If that doesn't work either, just say something and hopefully we'll figure out what's going on!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This worked perfectly. Thanks for the link to the guide.
Thanks everyone else for the suggestions.