Database Info

T-Mobile MyTouch 3G - Cyanogen 4.2.8 - Stuck Green MyTouch Screen

I followed the guide at http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php/Full_Update_Guide_-_MT3G/Magic_Firmware_to_CyanogenMod three times carefully and every single step appeared to work. On the final reboot it simply sits there on the MyTouch 3G green screen and doesn't go any further. I left the phone overnight so I know its not a time issue.
My SIM card requires a custom APN to access the internet so if the ROM is trying to do some internet access stuff at that point it will get stuck.
On IRC they asked for a logcat but while I have installed ADB on Vista so far I haven't been able to get it to work, "adb devices" is always blank. I'm going to try adb on linux.
Is there a "known good" version of cyanogen that will definitely work using this method that I should try? Anything else I can do to move past this green screen? Phone is not bricked recovery flasher works perfectly.
Phone: T-Mobile MyTouch 3g purchased outright in the US. Previously upgraded all the way up to 1.6.1 on T-Mobile before downgrading
Cyanogen: 4.2.8
Recovery: Recovery Flasher 1.4 + JF
Thanks very much for your help.

I updated to 4.2.8.1 and still no dice.
Here is the logcat:
http://pastebin.com/f73625a72
W/zipro ( 120): Size mismatch on inflated file (2435741 vs 2437468)
W/zipro ( 120): Size mismatch on inflated file (2435741 vs 2437468)
W/ResourceType( 120): Unable to get buffer of resource asset file
W/dalvikvm( 120): Exception Landroid/content/res/Resources$NotFoundException; thrown during Landroid/text/AutoText;.<clinit>
E/Zygote ( 120): Error preloading android.text.AutoText.
E/Zygote ( 120): java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError

The problem was a corrupt framework-res.apk file .
To fix:
1. Boot the phone (let it get stuck in its screen)
2. ./adb remount
3. ./adb push ~/download/system/framework/framework-res.apk /system/framework/framework-res.apk
(where this is a known good unzip'd copy of cyanogen)
I can't believe its working, so happy right now

idk what to do
so i did the same thing trying to load the cyanogen or whatever it is and i am getting the green screen now it wont even load or anything what do i need to do to fix this can you please help me i saw you posted a fix but that makes no sense to me.. can you give me a step by step

dudeusmc said:
so i did the same thing trying to load the cyanogen or whatever it is and i am getting the green screen now it wont even load or anything what do i need to do to fix this can you please help me i saw you posted a fix but that makes no sense to me.. can you give me a step by step
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly install the android SDK, you can get it here:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
There are lots of guides.
Then boot you phone and use adb logcat to look at what its doing with the green screen. See whether you appear to be having the same problem as me.
If it is the same problem, then the adb commands I posted should work for you.
If its not post your logcat output and maybe someone can help.

I just tried 4.2.11.1 and the problem file instead was:
/system/framework/framework.jar

SDK?
Sorry i do not know much about all this, that is probably my first problem lol.. what is an SDK?

dudeusmc said:
Sorry i do not know much about all this, that is probably my first problem lol.. what is an SDK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you are flashing the correct version for your phone. I accidentally flashed the 32A version on my 32B MyTouch and it froze at the screen. Since I am very good at trouble shooting I figured my problem out fast.

[HowTo] Remove boot sound from HTC Desire (rooted)

If, like me, you strongly dislike the HTC "Quietly brilliant" boot sound, here's how to disable it entirely:
Pre-requisites:
Put your phone into recovery
Get a working adb shell
Mount /system
Code:
mount /system
Move the sounds out of the way
Code:
mv /system/customize/resource/android_audio.mp3 /system/customize/resource/android_audio.mp3.nothanks
Code:
mv /system/media/android_audio.mp3 /system/media/android_audio.mp3.nothanks
I didn't really want to install an application to do "silent" the boot up, and was actually worried about the case (by Murphys law) that I drop my phone, the battery comes out, I insert it (forgetting it wasn't on silent) and the boot sound causes my death.
I Google'd for quite a while with no luck, but sorry if this has been posted somewhere. I especially didn't want to change ROMs just to remove the sound. I also noticed that in both locations, bootanimation.zip existed which contains the frame-by-frame sequence for the boot up screen.

Thanks! It worked perfectly.

Nice guide.
For anyone wanting to change the boot animation, see this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=672339
I've changed mine to the Nexus One boot animation. Sweet

Great! it worked, cheers.

jayshah said:
and the boot sound causes my death.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a 6 weeks old daughter, after rooting my desire i had a quietly brilliant loop lol, never ran so fast out of the room before
Thanks for the tweak.

No root Needed! Juste install "Silent Boot" on the Market!
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-antweb-silentboot-BnqC.aspx

Dj!pOner said:
No root Needed! Juste install "Silent Boot" on the Market!
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-antweb-silentboot-BnqC.aspx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read the OP properly, you'd have realised why I didn't want to install an application for this purpose.
"Silent Boot mutes your Phone on shutdown to keep it silent on boot.
Restores previous volume settings after startup."
You drop the phone. The battery comes out. You need to boot the phone silently or you forget until its too late. Epic fail.

Hi,
this is something that I would like to do, but even the command "working adb shell" throws me.
I have rooted my phone ok, so is it a simple process that I can do, or should I avoid it?
Is there an idiots guide to starting out?
TIA

put it in recovery via the pushfiles, then in windows open a command (cmd.exe). Navigate to the android-sdk folder (if not installed download it), then cd tools, then adb.exe I think. I am a noob to... Plz correct if this is wrong

ShugM said:
Hi,
this is something that I would like to do, but even the command "working adb shell" throws me.
I have rooted my phone ok, so is it a simple process that I can do, or should I avoid it?
Is there an idiots guide to starting out?
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All you have to do is:
- Put your phone into recovery
- Push the files as normal so you can get the menu screen where you can make nandroid backups etc etc (Google for now to get here and/or see MoDaCo).
Now type "adb shell" at a terminal (modify if you are using Windows), just get a # prompt basically.
Then copy/paste the commands.

failed on 'system/customize/resources/android_audio.mp3' - No such file or directory

not sure if that is exactly what you typed, but there's no 's' on the end of resource in the path

jondalar said:
failed on 'system/customize/resources/android_audio.mp3' - No such file or directory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You made two mistakes.
There is a / at the beginning (doesn't matter if your cwd is /, but better to have it just in case).
The final 's' in resources being the main error.

jayshah said:
You made two mistakes.
There is a / at the beginning (doesn't matter if your cwd is /, but better to have it just in case).
The final 's' in resources being the main error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh-huh... hmmm yup; the 's' in resources was the bingo here. I checked everything and I did write point on everything as it should be .. well except the 's'. Where did it come from, the 's'...
...'xcept now there's a - Read-only file system error. For crying out loud!

jondalar said:
Uh-huh... hmmm yup; the 's' in resources was the bingo here. I checked everything and I did write point on everything as it should be .. well except the 's'. Where did it come from, the 's'...
...'xcept now there's a - Read-only file system error. For crying out loud!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you running this command while the phone is running?
As it's in /system, your phone has to be in recovery mode setup with the pushfiles. So you have the nandroid menu (for example).

jayshah said:
Are you running this command while the phone is running?
As it's in /system, your phone has to be in recovery mode setup with the pushfiles. So you have the nandroid menu (for example).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Omg, I'm a complete and utter idiot. Please disregard all my previous posts!
and thanks for all help and the patience. Worked flawlesly!

Thank you all
I found one of the down sides to apps2sd is that the silent boot app didn't seem to work any more - not sure why but i'm guessing that the sd card is dismounted before the app gets the chance to silence the phone on shutdown, maybe?
Anyway, after much reading and re-reading these instructions i finally found the courage to try using them and finally my phone is booting silently again. VERY happy

Hi,
Done Thanks very much.
My only concern is the intro video is very slow now - causing the entire phone to start up slower....
any ideas?

actually it's a lot easier, and no root needed ;-)
Code:
adb shell cp /system/media/bootanimation.zip /data/local/
This copies the standard boot animation to the location where custom animations can be put. This silences the animation, as the mp3 is not copied to the same location.

I finally registered for the forum, just to say: my GOD, that was a complicated process just to turn off an annoying sound!!
Step 1: Make a gold card (at least 17 steps)
Step 18: Root your phone (around 10 steps; ironically, probably the simplest bit!)
Step 29: Open command prompt and navigate to rooting folder on pc
Step 30: Turn on phone, holding down back button
...
Step 38: Rename the second (backup?!) mp3 file
Step 39: Reboot phone.
OR
Step 1: Live in a universe where phone manufacturers realise that not everyone wants to wince when they turn their phone on.
Step 2: Go to the settings and turn off the startup animation.

FixFlash - Flash Verify and Repair Tool by SavvyX4 (Updated 9/9/10)

FixFlash - Flash Verify and Repair Tool by SavvyX4
I was always running into problems getting my Hero CDMA to boot custom ROMs. After eventually getting frustrated enough with what seemed like inexplicable errors, I finally determined that on my phone, I would occasionally end up with corrupt files after the flash process was done. If I was lucky, it would be an unimportant file or two that would end up corrupt, but sometimes it would be a critical framework, which is why I was having trouble booting.
Enter FixFlash, a shell script that runs on the phone after flashing a new ROM image from recovery. FixFlash will verify the integrity of the files copied to the phone during the flash process and in the event of a problem, automatically make a fresh copy of the corrupt file in an effort to resolve the problem.
I developed this tool because of my own problems, but I think that I may be able to help some other people who's phones are giving them them same sorts of problems that mine does me. I am open to any suggestions on improvements, and welcome any feedback!
FixFlash is very easy to use, and only requires that you do the following:
1. Copy FixFlash.sh to the root of your sdcard
2. Extract the zip of the ROM you want to flash to your phone on your computer. This is necessary for the verification process.
3. Copy both the original .zip file and the extracted folder of the .zip to the root of your sdcard
4. Boot into recovery and follow your normal flash procedure.
5. Once the flash has finished, but before doing anything else in Recovery, run this command from your computer's terminal/command prompt:
adb shell sh /sdcard/FixFlash.sh
You should see output in your terminal/command prompt indicating if there were any corrupted files encountered, and whether or not they were repaired. The whole process is fairly quick, and should only take a minute or so, depending on your sdcard speed.
6. Reboot your phone and enjoy!
At this point you can remove the extracted copy of the zip from your sdcard, its job is done!
** Updated Script available ** Download from link below and replace existing copies with that file to update.
Sep 9 2010 - 1.1 - Fixed problem with files like AVRCP.kl showing as bad because of case change of filename between phone and zip
More information (including full changelog) is available here:
http://notepad.cc/fixflash
Direct Download Link:
http://db.tt/GPssIoe
If you have any problems with FixFlash PLEASE post your recovery.log to PasteBin along with a description of the issue so that I may look into whatever is causing the problem. Thanks!

SavvyX4 said:
I was always running into problems getting my Hero CDMA to boot custom ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have always wondered what people might be doing wrong, because I have *never* had an issue booting a known good ROM.
Perhaps the internet connection or SD card is to blame?

Hmm, this is a very good idea. Maybe it will be incorporated into future CyanogenMOD builds?

x99percent said:
I have always wondered what people might be doing wrong, because I have *never* had an issue booting a known good ROM.
Perhaps the internet connection or SD card is to blame?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always verify hashes on downloaded ROMs, and as the files are extracted to the sdcard they are verified by Recovery. The problem is that they aren't verified after they are copied to the phone's internal storage, which is where with my phone I'm seeing corruption. I have been dealing with this problem for a long time, and tried numerous different combinations before finally catching a break with a flash that corrupted one of the frameworks that gets called immediately when booting. that narrowed down the number of files to check manually and once I found a bad hash on my phone's internal storage, I knew for sure what was wrong and set about automating a workaround.

SavvyX4 said:
... once I found a bad hash on my phone's internal storage, I knew for sure what was wrong and set about automating a workaround.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it fair to say that, in your case, this workaround is a software fix for a hardware problem?

x99percent said:
Is it fair to say that, in your case, this workaround is a software fix for a hardware problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would agree, this would certainly qualify as a software fix for a hardware problem.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

mrinehart93 said:
Hmm, this is a very good idea. Maybe it will be incorporated into future CyanogenMOD builds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even better, this should be incorporated into Clockwork & Amon RA!

I would agree, having the recovery automatically verify the flashed files in a similar manner to what I've done with this script would be ideal. Even though I believe that FixFlash is easy to use, not having to do anything other than a normal flash would be easier and possibly save people who may not be aware of a lurking issue with their phones a lot of grief.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

Savvy, you should contact Koush and have him add this into ClockwordMOD... you would help SO many people out with this. Quick question just so I can learn something: How does the script know how to repair the framework files? I mean how can it tell what ROM it is, and know the correct file to repair?

I am using the recovery.log that is generated during the flash process to figure out which files belong where. Inside the zip for the rom the files are in the same directory structure so it ended up only requiring some minor work to get it to locate everything. And the same log identifies what is being flashed which is how it knows which directory to work with.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

SavvyX4 said:
I am using the recovery.log that is generated during the flash process to figure out which files belong where. Inside the zip for the rom the files are in the same directory structure so it ended up only requiring some minor work to get it to locate everything. And the same log identifies what is being flashed which is how it knows which directory to work with.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is really nice Savy, good work. I hope I never have to use u'r script tho, lol (in a completely non-offensive way)
But, if that day ever comes, I have to say, it's great to know that someone like u'r self has been able to locate and work around the issue.

SavvyX4,any way i wiil try........
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hey Savvyx
man please you have any other method for repair without adb??
my desire bricked lost adb, lost root, radio, completely stock again but with usb bricked and sd card but sd working now but my usb is over, do you have any idea what i have to do to restore my usb??
thanks

this works on all android devices or just Hero?

I only have my Hero to test it on but I don't know of any reason why it wouldn't work on any phone. I'm not doing anything specific to the device.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

marken said:
hey Savvyx
man please you have any other method for repair without adb??
my desire bricked lost adb, lost root, radio, completely stock again but with usb bricked and sd card but sd working now but my usb is over, do you have any idea what i have to do to restore my usb??
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately what I've put together here completely relies on having access to a shell with all the utilities that come with it. If you've lost your root and can't get adb to work then this tool isn't what you need.
I have heard of people who have been having trouble with adb getting it back by turning off usb debugging, rebooting their phone and then turning usb debugging back on but I don't know if that would help you with all the troubles you described.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

Worked like a charm Savvy!!! It found two bad files nd replaced them no problem. Hey will this work on any type of flashable zip for example if u want to flash a new kernel or theme could i extract the zip to the sd card flash thru recovery nd then run FixFlash to verify the it flashed correctly? This is awesome bro!!! Should definitely be incorporated into both Clockwork and Amon Ra recoveries!

SavvyX4 said:
I only have my Hero to test it on but I don't know of any reason why it wouldn't work on any phone. I'm not doing anything specific to the device.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok imma test it tonight my G1. I've been having problems loading 90% of the roms, already tried pretty much everything so i'll give this a try. Will post my results later.

Yup, should definitely work with any flashable zip file.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

Thanks for this great utility. Evo owner here and just wanted to give my input.
Just flashed a new ROM and ran FixFlash. Here's my output.
Code:
E:\aEVO\android-sdk-windows\tools>adb shell sh /sdcard/FixFlash.sh
* daemon not running. starting it now *
* daemon started successfully *
FixFlash - Flash Verify and Repair Tool by SavvyX4
Gathering verification data...
Mounting phone file systems...
Extracting file information from flash log...
Verifying file integrity...
Hash mismatches detected: 13
Bad files...
/system/app/EPST.apk
/system/app/HTC_IME.apk
/system/app/IQRD.apk
/system/app/PCSCII.apk
/system/app/RSS.apk
/system/customize/CID/cidProfile1.xml
/system/customize/CID/cidProfile2.xml
/system/customize/CID/default.xml
/system/customize/COMMON.xml
/system/customize/MNS/default.xml
/system/etc/TPA2018.csv
/system/etc/WPDB.zip
/system/usr/keylayout/AVRCP.kl
Replacing bad files...
Verifying replacement file integrity...
All hash mismatches repaired!
So, it definitely does work for other phones. I then immediately Wiped Data/Cache/Dalvik, Flashed the same ROM again, and then ran FixFlash again.
Lo and behold, different results (meaning that FixFlash is a very valuable tool, and should definitely be used after flashing any ROM or .zip for that matter.) In my eye, it is a must use tool now.
Code:
E:\aEVO\android-sdk-windows\tools>adb shell sh /sdcard/FixFlash.sh
FixFlash - Flash Verify and Repair Tool by SavvyX4
Gathering verification data...
Mounting phone file systems...
Extracting file information from flash log...
Verifying file integrity...
Hash mismatches detected: 26
Bad files...
/system/app/EPST.apk
/system/app/HTC_IME.apk
/system/app/IQRD.apk
/system/app/PCSCII.apk
/system/app/RSS.apk
/system/customize/CID/cidProfile1.xml
/system/customize/CID/cidProfile2.xml
/system/customize/CID/default.xml
/system/customize/COMMON.xml
/system/customize/MNS/default.xml
/system/etc/TPA2018.csv
/system/etc/WPDB.zip
/system/usr/keylayout/AVRCP.kl
/system/app/EPST.apk
/system/app/HTC_IME.apk
/system/app/IQRD.apk
/system/app/PCSCII.apk
/system/app/RSS.apk
/system/customize/CID/cidProfile1.xml
/system/customize/CID/cidProfile2.xml
/system/customize/CID/default.xml
/system/customize/COMMON.xml
/system/customize/MNS/default.xml
/system/etc/TPA2018.csv
/system/etc/WPDB.zip
/system/usr/keylayout/AVRCP.kl
Replacing bad files...

[DISCUSSION] rishabh.raj37's Guide on How To Port Different ROMS to Your Device

I tried to port a couple of ROMs from GSII and from Nexus S to our device using the following thread
But I'm always getting a status 7 error while flashing it.
This error is related to the updater script and I tried few changes here and there but without success.
Used Adam's CM10 as base and in the updater script the following lines seemed extra from the others ROMs' updater scripts.
package_extract_file("system/bin/backuptool.sh", "/tmp/backuptool.sh");
package_extract_file("system/bin/backuptool.functions", "/tmp/backuptool.functions");
set_perm(0, 0, 0777, "/tmp/backuptool.sh");
set_perm(0, 0, 0644, "/tmp/backuptool.functions");
run_program("/tmp/backuptool.sh", "backup");
tried with and without these lines and still got status 7 error.
The original thread is filled with questions for their own devices and hardly any useful answer from the author.
I'm guessing many of you would have tried this guide before and so wanted to discuss here within ourselves.
I could have PMed our great devs here, but thy are all busy in "actual dev" work and so do not want to disturb them.
They might post here when they have time.
So guys, please give suggestions and your hiccups when you tried this method. Let us try to "port" some ROMs

Take a look to the recovery log

Just replace the update script from CM 10 and try it should work...

Grarak said:
Take a look to the recovery log
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
umm.. i should have thought this. thanks Garak.
mj.vikram said:
Just replace the update script from CM 10 and try it should work...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, let me try the original update script from our cm10 build.
as soon as i get the mobile back from my dad.

All the Best Buddy :good:, Waiting for some Good ROM from you ....

I do not have my Galaxy R with me and so am trying this method on GNex for now to see if im able to boot the ported ROM.
I left the updater-script untouched and the CWM flash went through without the status 7 error.
but gets stuck after boot animation forever and never moves ahead.
In what way I should go about troubleshooting this issue, I mean what kind of log would help for this "stuck in boot anim issue"

sarun_biotech said:
I do not have my Galaxy R with me and so am trying this method on GNex for now to see if im able to boot the ported ROM.
I left the updater-script untouched and the CWM flash went through without the status 7 error.
but gets stuck after boot animation forever and never moves ahead.
In what way I should go about troubleshooting this issue, I mean what kind of log would help for this "stuck in boot anim issue"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copy the libandroid_runtime.so, libandroid_servers.so and libmedia_jni.so from Ported ROM to Base ROM and see if solves the issue. Try taking a adb logcat to check what's causing the issue.

selva.simple said:
Copy the libandroid_runtime.so, libandroid_servers.so and libmedia_jni.so from Ported ROM to Base ROM and see if solves the issue. Try taking a adb logcat to check what's causing the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes. did that too Selva. still stuck at boot anim.
actually, when should i take the logcat. coz, during the boot anim phase, i cant connect using adb from pc and if i restore to old rom, the logcat is only for the new one.
correct me if im worng.
EDIT : connected to usb in cwm mode and i was able to run adb commands. but after the flash and reboot, the command always says waiting for device. even during the boot anim time.

sarun_biotech said:
yes. did that too Selva. still stuck at boot anim.
actually, when should i take the logcat. coz, during the boot anim phase, i cant connect using adb from pc and if i restore to old rom, the logcat is only for the new one.
correct me if im worng.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Switch off ur mobile...connect to pc...give adb logcat..it will wait for the device to show up...now switch on ur pc..it will rec ur device and start preparing the logcat....now chk the log

You cannot normally get an adb connection from a device that hasn't even booted up, because from ICS (or HC), this method was changed. Fortunately, this can be bypassed quite easily. Unpack the boot.img with Adi_Pat's tools or dsixda's kitchen, find 'service adbd' in init.rc and remove the option 'disabled'. You will get adb connection.
Regarding replacing native binaries and libraries: Always know what you do! Native code not supportes by our CPU will just spam the logcat with SIGILL errors.
Sent from my CM10-powered GT-I9103

selva.simple said:
Switch off ur mobile...connect to pc...give adb logcat..it will wait for the device to show up...now switch on ur pc..it will rec ur device and start preparing the logcat....now chk the log
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
didnt work out bro.
Adam77Root said:
You cannot normally get an adb connection from a device that hasn't even booted up, because from ICS (or HC), this method was changed. Fortunately, this can be bypassed quite easily. Unpack the boot.img with Adi_Pat's tools or dsixda's kitchen, find 'service adbd' in init.rc and remove the option 'disabled'. You will get adb connection.
Regarding replacing native binaries and libraries: Always know what you do! Native code not supportes by our CPU will just spam the logcat with SIGILL errors.
Sent from my CM10-powered GT-I9103
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks Adam. will try tmrw. and thanks for the heads up regdng libs. will study more.

Backing Up to External SD Using TWRP Command Line and No Display

I've spent the last couple days searching around to fix this problem, not only on XDA and Google, but in TWRP's Issues and code on GitHub; all to no avail. So here it is:
I have a device with a broken display. The only way I can initiate commands on it are with the power, volume, and home buttons, and with adb. I've installed TWRP on it, and I'm able to boot into it. I'm trying to back up everything on the device I can to a 32GB external SD card in the device's SD card slot. But when I keep getting the following result:
Code:
~ # twrp backup SDBOM
Setting backup options:
System
Data
Boot
Compression is on
Digest Generation is off
Updating partition details...
...done
* Total number of partitions to back up: 3
* Total size of all data: 7976MB
* Available space: 496MB
Not enough free space on storage.
Backup Failed
Done processing script file
The External SD Card has more than enough space for the backup (several times over, in fact), so clearly TWRP is attempting to save the backup to the device's internal storage. It seems, from testing I've done on an identical device with a working display, that twrp backup in the command line saves to the Storage last selected in the graphical version, but since my device's display is broken I can't select the External SD Card as the storage for the backup.
Since I have no display, I also can't do adb backup --twrp, since that requires confirmation on the screen.
Is there any way to select the storage for twrp backup fully through the terminal? For example, is there an environment variable I can set, or something I can pass twrp backup?
I figure this is an easy one to answer, and that it's something really, obviously, simple (so much so that I'll have to hang my head and never show my face here again!). But for the life of me, I can't find it.

Same thing here. In my case I have a working display but my kernel does not allow any touchscreen operations when in recovery so I can see TWRP but not input anything. So the command line is my only way to use TWRP but like you I cannot switch to creating backups to my external SD card.
It seems funny there is no solution to this since having touch screen problems with TWRP seems to be a common issue so how do all those folks with no touch recoveries do their backups?

check to which folder mount yours external SD
and set var "tw_storage_path" with "twrp set"
example "twrp set tw_storage_path /external_sd"
you can find this var in android_bootable_recovery/openrecoveryscript.cpp
also
you can change backup folder
example "twrp set tw_backups_folder /external_sd/all"
can find it in android_bootable_recovery/variables.h

OrBitRo said:
check to which folder mount yours external SD
and set var "tw_storage_path" with "twrp set"
example "twrp set tw_storage_path /external_sd"
you can find this var in android_bootable_recovery/openrecoveryscript.cpp
also
you can change backup folder
example "twrp set tw_backups_folder /external_sd/all"
can find it in android_bootable_recovery/variables.h
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Click to collapse
Hello and thank you very much for helping on this issue.
I gave up on this long ago but it is still of great interest to me since I am still using the same phone and TWRP backup would be welcome. But since so much time has passed since I unpacked the recovery, I am a bit rusty at it. I am an old programmer but my android knowledge is limited, still I did succeed to make the sdcard visible to the recovery (cant remember how but I think I changed its block name in recovery.fstab then for some other reason also had to un-repack) so I can handle such things if I am guided a bit.
So your help is very welcome and also reignited my interest to solve this issue. Problem is I cannot find the "android_bootable_recovery/openrecoveryscript.cpp" script in the unpacked recovery or the phone's file system. I am sure I am missing something silly but googling around did not help me either.
Could you possibly guide me into finding those scripts so I can edit the aforementioned variables?
Thank you very much for your attention and help.
Chris.

cfrantzol said:
(cant remember how but I think I changed its block name in recovery.fstab then for some other reason also had to un-repack) so I can handle such things if I am guided a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice hack too!
cfrantzol said:
Problem is I cannot find the "android_bootable_recovery/openrecoveryscript.cpp" script in the unpacked recovery or the phone's file system. I am sure I am missing something silly but googling around did not help me either.
Could you possibly guide me into finding those scripts so I can edit the aforementioned variables?
Thank you very much for your attention and help.
Chris.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it (i have same problem like yours after 6 hours mess in adb and googling ) in sources of twrp on github github.com/omnirom/android_bootable_recovery
And also about factory reset (to whom it may concern) github.com/omnirom/android_bootable_recovery/issues/146

OrBitRo said:
Nice hack too!
I find it (i have same problem like yours after 6 hours mess in adb and googling ) in sources of twrp on github github.com/omnirom/android_bootable_recovery
And also about factory reset (to whom it may concern) github.com/omnirom/android_bootable_recovery/issues/146
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Click to collapse
Hi again.
Okay now I understand, I will download from there and check what I can come up with. I already feel that this will involve some compiling and I wonder how that is going to affect my custom TWRP (which I found at twrp builder). I will step into it and see.
Thanks a lot for your prompt help, I really appreciate.

cfrantzol said:
I already feel that this will involve some compiling and
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry if i misunderstand you but why compiling? You dont need it. You can change this vars from adb terminal. Boot device into TWRP connect USB to PC run adb shell and you can change vars in shell via commands like this: 'twrp set tw_storage_path /external_sd' and so on.

OrBitRo said:
Sorry if i misunderstand you but why compiling? You dont need it. You can change this vars from adb terminal. Boot device into TWRP connect USB to PC run adb shell and you can change vars in shell via commands like this: 'twrp set tw_storage_path /external_sd' and so on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops, I thought I had to change the variable in the source files and then compile the recovery from scratch. This is now great news I will check it tonight.
Thank you again!
EDIT: For anyone who has the same problem I confirm that I checked it and the method above works fine! Kudos to you OrBitRo!