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[Q] What does nandroid backup contain?

Before people start coming in to flame me for using the search button, please let me clarify that i have looked into several threads on xda and none of them provided me with a clear cut answer of what i wanted to know.
I understand first of all is that nandroid backup is a complete image of what is on the phone which should include stuff like settings, sms, call logs, data etc. What i have not found, however, if they keep other files that are lying around in the phone. For example, most of my Nexus S consists of videos and music (7-10GB) and in separate folders that are not tied to any apps in particular. Hence, if they are included in nandroid backup i would not have sufficient storage to do so (reminder that Nexus S has 16 GB)
I have "accidentally" posted on the galaxy S forum of xda and someone pointed out that it backs up apps and data from the internal SD. As far as i know this is slightly different with Nexus S because i observed that most apps are already installed in the "external" SD portion of the data.
Overall, i'm just a little confused. Can anyone clarify this?

It is just apps and data. The sd card is i believe split so that it doesnt touch your music, videos, and images. It just takes care of the main system stuff like apps and settings. Hoped i helped
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App

But aren't most apps on the nexus S installed on the sd card section of the storage? At least they are under Settings->Application settings->Manage applications->USB Storage
For example my Gameloft games would be almost 1 GB in size so would that be backed up as well. I will end up with gigantic nandroid backups.

A nAnroid backup includes
.android_source - apps2sd information/apps stored on /sdcard
boot - boot image
cache - cache files stored on /cache
data - apps, dalvik other stuff on /data
recovery - recovery image
system - system apps, frameworks modules etc on /system
nadroid.md5 - md5 information
nandroids do not include anything on the /sdcard other than .android_source.

how to do it? by using CWM?? am i wrong or correct??

ciwek90 said:
how to do it? by using CWM?? am i wrong or correct??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct.
Flash ClockworkMod.
(You might have to rename /etc/install-recovery.sh to get it to stick.)
Boot into fastboot (volumeUp+ power).
Recovery - Backup and Restore - Backup.

Maximilian Mary said:
Correct.
Flash ClockworkMod.
(You might have to rename /etc/install-recovery.sh to get it to stick.)
Boot into fastboot (volumeUp+ power).
Recovery - Backup and Restore - Backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! but if i want to flash custom rom and i do backup first then i flash new custom rom, so i can get back all my apps by restoring nandroid backup is it? or nandroid backup is only for when things went wrong? i confuse...

ciwek90 said:
Awesome! but if i want to flash custom rom and i do backup first then i flash new custom rom, so i can get back all my apps by restoring nandroid backup is it? or nandroid backup is only for when things went wrong? i confuse...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid is basically all or nothing. There is an advanced restore which can restore only the partitions you want (like system or data), but it probably won't play nicely with a custom rom. Your best best is to use titanium backup for user apps & data, and perhaps some select system data like texts, bookmarks, and wifi settings. Check out the batch backup/restore options for user apps & data.

ciwek90 said:
Awesome! but if i want to flash custom rom and i do backup first then i flash new custom rom, so i can get back all my apps by restoring nandroid backup is it? or nandroid backup is only for when things went wrong? i confuse...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid backup backs up everything including the rom... so NO you can't restore apps with it.
To just save apks/apps you use eg Titanium Backup.

NOW i know it! Thank you so much @Maximilian Mary and @rentaric for helping me!
Nandroid = for backup/restore previous rom
Titanium = for backup/restore data & apps
Thanks again!

rentaric said:
Nandroid backup backs up everything including the rom... so NO you can't restore apps with it.
To just save apks/apps you use eg Titanium Backup.
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Click to collapse
Bro, does nandroid backup include the IMEI also?

heyimCHOLO said:
Bro, does nandroid backup include the IMEI also?
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Click to collapse
Some recoveries have this option buy many don't, just boot to your recovery and see if it is listed as an option, if not, then no

Your apps will still be on your sd card because your just restoring your operating system that you had with all of it settings it will show all of your apps you had but if you deleted it from the sd card when you try opening it it would say app not installed. Nandroid backup saves everything in settings and operating system apps will be on sd card. Some apps can be included in nandroid it just depends where they are located when back up is saved.

encrypted phone and lost cwm?!

i knew this would be a possibility after encrypting the phone so i made a nandroid beforehand. now, when i tried to make nandroid it just states it cant back up system and errors out with "cant mount /data" . is there a way to do a nandroid within the android OS?

dz2k said:
i knew this would be a possibility after encrypting the phone so i made a nandroid beforehand. now, when i tried to make nandroid it just states it cant back up system and errors out with "cant mount /data" . is there a way to do a nandroid within the android OS?
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Click to collapse
Since the phone boots into CWM and not Android, it cannot read the encrypted data on the phone. I am not aware of any way you can do a nandroid with an encrypted phone. If you are looking to just protect personal data, is encrypting JUST the SDCARD an option that might work for you?

mjb32803 said:
If you are looking to just protect personal data, is encrypting JUST the SDCARD an option that might work for you?
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Click to collapse
I would think you'd have to keep an unencrypted external SDCARD to back up to though in this case. If the internal is encrypted i doubt that CWM would be able to use it as a backup source
I believe to date the only option is to unencrypt before going into CWM to do your backup. The other option (not a full backup I know) would be to see if an app such as Titanium backup which can also back up system apps will fit your need.

CWM and nandroid are separate from the OS. The /sdcard partition is encrypted by the OS, and as such, only the OS can access it, including for backup purposes.

i didnt encrypt the external sd card as it only gave the option to encrypt new data. i already had lots of media files on it and its not a big deal. im glad i made a nandroid before encrypting the phone! i want the encryption of the OS more so than anything..lol. not that i have much to hide but still..

ill continue using titanium backup for apps i get. thanks all!
update: online nandroid on the market has given nandroids a life again!

[Q] PLEASE Help

Hello everyone, for starters im a complete newb at rooting phones and have never before tonight so please excuse my ignorance. I just rooted my phone which went fine, downloaded titanium backup and backed up everything, and then moved a zip of m1 cm10 and gapps onto my ext sd card. then i followed a video on how to install these. i was running clockwork recovery and did a factory reset/clear. in the video, the next screen had an option for "choose zip from sd", all mine had was something like update from external so i clicked that and it brought up my sd card files, including the cm10 and gapps files. i clicked on them (i tried each more than once) and they both stgarted to install then said failed. Im literally here freaking out because none of the apps i downloaded to restore my stuff are on my phone anymore, and when i downloaded them from the play store they said i had not backed anything up. somebody please help me, im legitimately having a nervous breakdown because i lost everything and dont know what to do.

Ok first things first. What was the fail error that CWM produced? I dont understand what you mean by none of the apps you downloaded to restore your stuff are on the phone anymore. Where did they go? If you didnt delete them they should still be there. Did you boot up after the failed attempt, and are now at a factory state OS? Perhaps titanium isnt pointed to the correct location of the backups you made. Please provide more info.
Edit: Ok I misunderstood a point. The apps I take it are gone from the factory reset, but I still dont understand why the backup data cant be restored.

Sounds like CWM didn't flash. That sounds like stock recovery. Flash factory image via Odin, reroot, and reinstall CWM. Download an app called EZ Recovery from the market and follow the instructions. You will be fine.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

Just a side note as far as using CWM goes:
I've noticed that with CWM, the backup file sizes are way too small. Hence a possible corrupted backup folder. TWRP seems to work better with our device as far as backups go.
It's always a good idea to check the size of a backup afterwards before proceeding with any risky procedures like low level flashing. Luckily there is always ODIN.
With my device backup sizes range between 2.0GB and 2.34GB.

tekrhino said:
Just a side note as far as using CWM goes:
I've noticed that with CWM, the backup file sizes are way too small. Hence a possible corrupted backup folder. TWRP seems to work better with our device as far as backups go.
It's always a good idea to check the size of a backup afterwards before proceeding with any risky procedures like low level flashing. Luckily there is always ODIN.
With my device backup sizes range between 2.0GB and 2.34GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've got to remember that CWM backs up differently now. It backs up data separately in blobs in a different folder. So your backups in clockwork are naturally smaller. Also, I've heard nothing but bad things with TWRP on this device. I'd stay away from it and stick with non touch CWM.

mustbepbs said:
You've got to remember that CWM backs up differently now. It backs up data separately in blobs in a different folder. So your backups in clockwork are naturally smaller. Also, I've heard nothing but bad things with TWRP on this device. I'd stay away from it and stick with non touch CWM.
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Click to collapse
This!

apacseven said:
Ok first things first. What was the fail error that CWM produced? I dont understand what you mean by none of the apps you downloaded to restore your stuff are on the phone anymore. Where did they go? If you didnt delete them they should still be there. Did you boot up after the failed attempt, and are now at a factory state OS? Perhaps titanium isnt pointed to the correct location of the backups you made. Please provide more info.
Edit: Ok I misunderstood a point. The apps I take it are gone from the factory reset, but I still dont understand why the backup data cant be restored.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I open titanium backup and try to restore, it tells me no backups have been performed. Before trying to flash cm10, I moved the backup to my external sdcard and it is still there, yet I still can't restore it and when I try to do something with the files on my card it says no application can perform this task. Ive gotten my contacts back through tha app I backed them up on so I'm at a loss for why tb Isnt working.

levibernhardt said:
When I open titanium backup and try to restore, it tells me no backups have been performed. Before trying to flash cm10, I moved the backup to my external sdcard and it is still there, yet I still can't restore it and when I try to do something with the files on my card it says no application can perform this task. Ive gotten my contacts back through tha app I backed them up on so I'm at a loss for why tb Isnt working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Launch titanium and hit menu/preferences. From there you can change the backup location to wherever you moved it to and it should see them.
Also for your contacts... If you are planning on flashing roms do yourself a favor a migrate your contacts off your phone and on to Google. That way you just log back in to your Google account after a re flash and they are all resynced. Plus you can access them from anywhere at contacts.Google.com
Sent from here using this

Relentless D said:
Launch titanium and hit menu/preferences. From there you can change the backup location to wherever you moved it to and it should see them.
Also for your contacts... If you are planning on flashing roms do yourself a favor a migrate your contacts off your phone and on to Google. That way you just log back in to your Google account after a re flash and they are all resynced. Plus you can access them from anywhere at contacts.Google.com
Sent from here using this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did this ^ in titanium and the files show up, but it still says there is nothing to restore.
Also, could someone tell me/point me to a good method of flashing M1 cm10 onto a us cellular gs3?

mustbepbs said:
You've got to remember that CWM backs up differently now. It backs up data separately in blobs in a different folder. So your backups in clockwork are naturally smaller. Also, I've heard nothing but bad things with TWRP on this device. I'd stay away from it and stick with non touch CWM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100%, the non-touch version of CWM works perfectly. I could care less about touch/non-touch/color of the app etc. ALL I care about is the capability to do a sucessful restore & CWM has never failed me for that.
I did a restore from it last night & it worked perfectly. The ONLY thing I have ever had to do after a CWM restore is clear data in GMAIL to get it to send.

Restore pictures, videos, data - Nexus 5 - Android 6.0.1

Hi everybody,
I have made a back factory setting to handle a battery issue. Thinking have realized correctly my backup, I have done this manipulation. After I have restored my backup, I have seen that all my pictures were not on my phone (or in the DCIM folder).
I have rooted my phone and tried some recovery applications (like Jihosoft, ...) without any success.
I have explored a lot of websites and seen many comments saying that this operation is not possible.
Do you think is it possible to restore my data? If yes, Do you know an application or PC's software doing this recovery for Android
6.0.1 Marshmallow?
Thank in advance.

As far as i know once you format partition everything on it is gone and you can not retrieve enything.
Backups in recovery dont backup your data such as pictures,videos, music... they only backup your apps and respective app data.

Xmaster8 said:
As far as i know once you format partition everything on it is gone and you can not retrieve enything.
Backups in recovery dont backup your data such as pictures,videos, music... they only backup your apps and respective app data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi tks for you response!
I'm afraid to that, but I red that you could use your recuva PC which seems powerful if you can mont your Partition. I have
not try that yet.

chrisd78 said:
Hi tks for you response!
I'm afraid to that, but I red that you could use your recuva PC which seems powerful if you can mont your Partition. I have
not try that yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a long shot. As you said you already restored backup which means you already wrote data on the partition.
Those data recovery programs work 100% when you delete/format partition and you try to recover deleted files before anything is written on that formated partition. In your case even if you manage to pull something out it will probably be corrupted files.

Xmaster8 said:
It is a long shot. As you said you already restored backup which means you already wrote data on the partition.
Those data recovery programs work 100% when you delete/format partition and you try to recover deleted files before anything is written on that formated partition. In your case even if you manage to pull something out it will probably be corrupted files.
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Click to collapse
Yes, I am agree with you. My phone is used currently and I have received some new data wrote on the "old one" in my partition. My hope to retrieve these data is low now maybe null...

This is the value of using Google+, Dropbox, Amazon Prime, etc. photo syncing, etc. At least photos can be restored. Other files ... not so much.
Not sure what kind of backup YOU did but my CWM backups grab the entire /data partition, photos included.

ChromeJob said:
This is the value of using Google+, Dropbox, Amazon Prime, etc. photo syncing, etc. At least photos can be restored. Other files ... not so much.
Not sure what kind of backup YOU did but my CWM backups grab the entire /data partition, photos included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I could at least restore photos I would be a lucky man!

Stuck in recovery after rom update

Hello,
I just updated the rom Evolution X 11 on my Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro after using an older version for about half a year.
Now my phone does not boot anymore, its stuck in recovery (TWRP). Also all data seems to be encrypted and TWRP is not asking for a password.
Is there a way to get my phone to boot again or at least backup my data before I do a full wipe?

You should always do a full twrp backup before messing with roms.
The best solution would be to backup the "Data" and "Internal Storage" partitions. Data contains all apps, their appdata and settings, while internal storage contains all of your own files (photos, videos etc.). After you back these up, wipe your phone (system, data, cache, dalvik) and flash the version of evolution x you were using previously. Now restore data and internal storage and your device should be back to normal.
If you get a bootloop while booting after restoring data and internal storage, then wipe the device again and this time flash evolution x, but only restore internal storage. This way, it should boot and you will be able to recover your files, though your apps will be gone.
If you only restore internal storage then it will no doubt boot up and you will have access to your files, but since you'll have already backed up the important stuff (data + internal storage), you might as well try restoring data as well, as there is no harm, and if the phone boots correctly after restoring both partitions, your phone will be as it was before your updated your rom.
This happened a while back to me with my J5, the issue was that I made a full TWRP backup, then began to test other roms. After I was done, I tried to restore my backup, but it would constantly fail. I sat down for a while, confused and sad about how my TWRP backup had failed me. I tried every solution I could think of, eventually this solution I've mentioned in the above paragraph came to my mind. Thank god for putting it into my mind, otherwise I would've lost a lot of stuff (mainly whatsapp chats which werent backed up, and a lot of apps which I took the time to pain-stakingly configure in the best way for my device).
Anyways, enough of my story, hope this helps you out! If it does, message back here and let us know, and also mark my post as the solution if it was able to help you, so that anyone else who stumbles upon this thread can be saved too!
Cheers!

PhotonIce said:
You should always do a full twrp backup before messing with roms.
The best solution would be to backup the "Data" and "Internal Storage" partitions. Data contains all apps, their appdata and settings, while internal storage contains all of your own files (photos, videos etc.). After you back these up, wipe your phone (system, data, cache, dalvik) and flash the version of evolution x you were using previously. Now restore data and internal storage and your device should be back to normal.
If you get a bootloop while booting after restoring data and internal storage, then wipe the device again and this time flash evolution x, but only restore internal storage. This way, it should boot and you will be able to recover your files, though your apps will be gone.
If you only restore internal storage then it will no doubt boot up and you will have access to your files, but since you'll have already backed up the important stuff (data + internal storage), you might as well try restoring data as well, as there is no harm, and if the phone boots correctly after restoring both partitions, your phone will be as it was before your updated your rom.
This happened a while back to me with my J5, the issue was that I made a full TWRP backup, then began to test other roms. After I was done, I tried to restore my backup, but it would constantly fail. I sat down for a while, confused and sad about how my TWRP backup had failed me. I tried every solution I could think of, eventually this solution I've mentioned in the above paragraph came to my mind. Thank god for putting it into my mind, otherwise I would've lost a lot of stuff (mainly whatsapp chats which werent backed up, and a lot of apps which I took the time to pain-stakingly configure in the best way for my device).
Anyways, enough of my story, hope this helps you out! If it does, message back here and let us know, and also mark my post as the solution if it was able to help you, so that anyone else who stumbles upon this thread can be saved too!
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your help but backing up the data and internal storage doesnt seem possible right now because all the data is encrypted in TWRP...

If you can't backup anything, then wipe system, cache and dalvik, and flash the version of evolutionx you were previously using. Then boot, it should be fine. If it wont boot (give it some time, it will take the time of a fresh install), then this time wipe system+data+cache+dalvik, then flash whichever rom you like and you'll be able to access the files.
You can also try using platform tools and fastboot or adb ( i dont remember exactly which one) to copy the filess from your phone onto your pc.
Sorry if this doesn't apply to your situation, I've never used a phone which has been encrypted, as such I have no experience with them.

PhotonIce said:
If you can't backup anything, then wipe system, cache and dalvik, and flash the version of evolutionx you were previously using. Then boot, it should be fine. If it wont boot (give it some time, it will take the time of a fresh install), then this time wipe system+data+cache+dalvik, then flash whichever rom you like and you'll be able to access the files.
You can also try using platform tools and fastboot or adb ( i dont remember exactly which one) to copy the filess from your phone onto your pc.
Sorry if this doesn't apply to your situation, I've never used a phone which has been encrypted, as such I have no experience with them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds like a good idea. I found the old version on my PC.
Now I just need a way to install it... because twrp cant read the file. I tried with adb sideload but that results in an error for some reason. Flashing Magisk for example with adb sideload is possible.
Edit: Got it to work by using a tool called "Large Address Aware". Now waiting for the results...

PhotonIce said:
If you can't backup anything, then wipe system, cache and dalvik, and flash the version of evolutionx you were previously using. Then boot, it should be fine. If it wont boot (give it some time, it will take the time of a fresh install), then this time wipe system+data+cache+dalvik, then flash whichever rom you like and you'll be able to access the files.
You can also try using platform tools and fastboot or adb ( i dont remember exactly which one) to copy the filess from your phone onto your pc.
Sorry if this doesn't apply to your situation, I've never used a phone which has been encrypted, as such I have no experience with them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This did not help unfortunately... Im still in the same recovery-bootloop and my data is still encrypted.

It's probably still bootlooping as the data partition got modified when you flashed the newer version of evolutionx, and now it will not work with the old one. You can try wiping system+data+cach+dalvik and then flashing any rom of your choice. This will give you access to your internal storage (photos, media etc), but it will remove your apps and their settings. Whatsapp images are stored in the internal storage so you won't need to worry about those.
Again, this is risky, as it may not work (I don't know much about encryption), or you might still not be able to access your files after flashing the new rom. Proceed at your own risk.

PhotonIce said:
It's probably still bootlooping as the data partition got modified when you flashed the newer version of evolutionx, and now it will not work with the old one. You can try wiping system+data+cach+dalvik and then flashing any rom of your choice. This will give you access to your internal storage (photos, media etc), but it will remove your apps and their settings. Whatsapp images are stored in the internal storage so you won't need to worry about those.
Again, this is risky, as it may not work (I don't know much about encryption), or you might still not be able to access your files after flashing the new rom. Proceed at your own risk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for still helping me out but I already did a full reset yesterday. I did not lose much except for the time setting it all up again.
I still dont really get the point of encrypting all your data if you cant decrypt it even if you know the password...