Database Users

Backup Desire, every bit of it?

Excuse me if this has been covered before, but is there a way to backup the device in a way, that if i root it, and then flash some ROM to it, and i mess up or just want to go back to my previous state?
I read something about nandroid? But in order for me to do that, i need root. Correct? so, what if i want to "unroot" my device? and is nandroid suitable for the Desire?

What does nandroid actually do? Does it back up everything?

nandroid makes images of all of the disk, so it's a full backup, but it's having issues restoring those backups to the Desire at the moment. And yes, you'll need to at least get to the recovery menu to run nandroid for now.
The only other route of which I know is just backing up apps and data, and you can use Titanium Backup for that (or MyBackup, I think). Without root, when you restore the apps, you won't be able to tell the Market you have these things installed, though. Doing that still requires you to fully reflash and do some setup, though. I don't think there's a cut-and-dry backup and full restore method at the moment. If there is, I'd certainly be interested...

I am also in the hunt for a good backup application. Dont mind paying as long as work as it should. But i dont think there is any backup application that can backup applications (most of them maybe just supported some limited apps).

kuailan said:
I am also in the hunt for a good backup application. Dont mind paying as long as work as it should. But i dont think there is any backup application that can backup applications (most of them maybe just supported some limited apps).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium Backup will back up everything that's on your phone except for apps installed by the system (and those it'll try and backup if you're rooted). It's worked flawlessly for me.

The Professor said:
Titanium Backup will back up everything that's on your phone except for apps installed by the system (and those it'll try and backup if you're rooted). It's worked flawlessly for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying Titanium now at the moment....just wondering I have seen a lot of application backup options/lists?? but where is the options to backup SMS, contacts, etc?? I find the UI is a little complex.

So is the best way of doing it.. Backup.. Copy folder to pc...
Then when i wanna restore.. Install titanium. copy license and folder back?

kuailan said:
I am trying Titanium now at the moment....just wondering I have seen a lot of application backup options/lists?? but where is the options to backup SMS, contacts, etc?? I find the UI is a little complex.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup only does apps.
Personally I use MyBackup, it backs up settings, sms, calender, home screens, settings e.t.c. as well as apps and keeps market links intact.
Well worth the money.

Ive got both now lol! have to wait till i install a new rom.. ill try mybackup first then

abc27 said:
Titanium backup only does apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, RLY?
Official Titanium Backup site says otherwise.
http://www.matrixrewriter.com/android/
Features of the Free version:
No time limit
Very fast app listing (~1 second for 300 apps)
Sort apps by name / last backup / backup frequency
Filter apps by name / type / status / Apps Organizer labels (also affects Batch operations)
Backup/restore regular apps + their settings
Backup/restore protected apps + their settings
Backup/restore system settings (incl. Wi-Fi AP list)
Restores the Market links when restoring apps
Zero-click background batch backup
Interactive batch restore
Many batch scenarios (eg: if more than N days since last backup, etc)
Zero-click app un-installer
Zero-click system app un-installer
Desktop widgets
Additional features of the Donate version:
Branding to your name
Multiple backups per app (history length can be chosen)
Zero-click background batch restore
Batch verification of all backups
Ultra fast HyperShell (much faster for almost everything)
Market Doctor can remake any broken Market links (only for apps that were backed up with the link in place)
App freezer can disable an app (and make it invisible) without un-installing it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just moved from one ROM to another smoothly with Titanium. I recommend it.

How to Backup you Desire before rooting it ?
Titanium requires Rooted phone ......
other Appli ?

You can try Sprite Backup but no application will work that well without root, sorry.

Is anybody test Sprite Backup?
I think MyBackup Pro and Titanium are similar when you have the system app active.

Hi
barring rooting the device and doing a nand backup/restore, I have used Sprite Backup in the past on my diamond (XDAndroid) successfully and it u could also use the application backup/restore with Astro (from the marketplace) and for txt msgs use sms backup -
http://github.com/jberkel/android-sms/tree/restore_backups - Backup/restore to gmail account

App Brain question

If I do a hard (factory) reset, can I use app brain to restore my apps, or will they all have gone when I log back in? Alternatively, does Astro's back up do that - I want to restore them from the market so that they'll update

al89nut said:
If I do a hard (factory) reset, can I use app brain to restore my apps, or will they all have gone when I log back in? Alternatively, does Astro's back up do that - I want to restore them from the market so that they'll update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you have to use titanium backup for this operation. Also my backup can do this for you.
You can find this application in the market, just install it, make backup and them you can restrore all app you want.

Titanium can do this for you, but your device will need to be rooted.

if you save your current list "Apps on the HTC Desire" then it should not be a problem
Remember that settings in programs will be lost...
Will recommend Titanium Backup!

best back up method

i am about to try another rom, so which back up method will restore the most info
looking at apps/ accounts/ contacts/ games saves etc etc
i have titainuim back up also have clockwork or is there a better back up method that will make my phone like it is now but on a new rom(where i will most likley have to do data/cache wipes before i install it)
thanks for any help

combat goofwing said:
i am about to try another rom, so which back up method will restore the most info
looking at apps/ accounts/ contacts/ games saves etc etc
i have titainuim back up also have clockwork or is there a better back up method that will make my phone like it is now but on a new rom(where i will most likley have to do data/cache wipes before i install it)
thanks for any help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
short answer, no. The problem is if you restore the system settings and the framework is significantly changed you will end up with multiple Force closes, titanium backup will allow you to restore your apps with data but avoid restoring system data if possible (it is possible to create a flashable zip of titanium to flash from recovery so it's installed when you boot your new ROM) also ADW can save your desktop configuration and restore it and I use SMS backup/restore to restore my SMS's, your contacts etc should be catered for by google which will also try and restore some other settings and your apps.
BTW: Do a NANDROID backup before installing your new ROM, this is a snapshot of your system state which can be used to restore it to it's current state should the new ROM not be to your taste

with a new rom, i suggest just installing everything afresh so there are no compaibility problems. I imagine with titanium backup you could restore savegames

ghostofcain said:
short answer, no. The problem is if you restore the system settings and the framework is significantly changed you will end up with multiple Force closes, titanium backup will allow you to restore your apps with data but avoid restoring system data if possible (it is possible to create a flashable zip of titanium to flash from recovery so it's installed when you boot your new ROM) also ADW can save your desktop configuration and restore it and I use SMS backup/restore to restore my SMS's, your contacts etc should be catered for by google which will also try and restore some other settings and your apps.
BTW: Do a NANDROID backup before installing your new ROM, this is a snapshot of your system state which can be used to restore it to it's current state should the new ROM not be to your taste
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whats nandroid?
so when people are flashing a rom every other day they are having to reinstall everything???

panyan said:
with a new rom, i suggest just installing everything afresh so there are no compaibility problems. I imagine with titanium backup you could restore savegames
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is what i want to do too. Install all apps from the market fresh, but use titanium to restore any data associated with the apps.
However im not sure which setting to use in titanium. When i click batch, there's 100 options. If i choose "Backup all system data", will this restore only the data like gamesaves etc?

combat goofwing said:
whats nandroid?
so when people are flashing a rom every other day they are having to reinstall everything???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as a rule if you are installing the same type of ROM ie aosp you don't have to wipe so everything should be retained, if swapping between different types of ROM ie aosp - sense then a wipe and subsequent reinstall is required
As for Nandroid its the backup option in recovery console and it takes a snapshot of the current ROM which if you where to restore would put your system back to its current state

How to save apps

How can I back up my apps and restore them on a fresh rom? I have titainium back up pro. But I tried to flash a new rom and the app was gone. Do I need to partisan my SD or move apps to the sd-ext?
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

With titanium backup you have to download the "pro version" which is only the key to unlock all the features of titanium backup. Find titanium backup on the market install it open it up and press the menu button-batch-and click backup all apps and data- then you flash a new rom- redownload titanium backup "some roms come with it" and titanium backup pro key "you don't have to buy it again" and then open titanium backup- click menu- tap batch- tap restore all apps and data- let it do its thing

Different Backup Methods

I was hoping to learn the differences between certain backup methods. The most common i saw is via recovery (in my case twrp), via titanium backup and another via adb command even without root which i saw in one of the threads here in xda.
First, in terms of "backup coverage" how do they compare to one another? Secondly, which among the three would most put ur phone back the way it was before u wipe or factory reset it
I hope you could input your opinions on this and suggestions.
Thanks in advance!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

A backup through recovery is a called a nandroid. This backs up everything on your phone including your ROM, kernel, apps, settings, etc. This will allow you to restore back to the previous state of your phone after doing a full wipe.
Titanium backup only backs up your apps and app data. This is useful when you want to switch ROMs and restore your apps in the new ROM.
Usually when switching ROMs I first use titanium backup, then I create a nandroid backup, and finally I flash the ROM. If I like the ROM I use titanium to restore the apps that I previously backed up, and if I don't like the ROM I restore my nandroid
Sent from my HTC Desire using xda app-developers app

Doing a backup with twrp, cwm or thru adb (nandroid backups) are basically image files of your phone at any given moment in time. If you restore one of these backups your restoring your phone to exactly how it was at that moment in time. Titanium backup and Helium backup just backup cached data at that particular moment in time. Using these apps will only restore the data you specified when you did the backup and nothing else. Say you borked an install of a ROM, Titanium backup would be of no use in getting your phone working again as it only has data and not a system image. You would need the images backed up by twrp to get the phone working again then you could use the titanium backups to restore any newer data saved if say you used an old twrp backup.

whoah! thanks guys! I was supposed to quote you but since both of you really helped me understand it now, this thanks goes to the both of you.
I've hit the thanks button on both you guys.
Thank you very much for explaining this.
One last thing, when using a Titanium backup ( im using the pro version), how do i backup to make sure I cover all that needs to be backed up? There are a lot of options im not sure which to select and what to do. I hope you could enlighten me on this one as well.
Thanks again in advance!

vinz_bangiz said:
whoah! thanks guys! I was supposed to quote you but since both of you really helped me understand it now, this thanks goes to the both of you.
I've hit the thanks button on both you guys.
Thank you very much for explaining this.
One last thing, when using a Titanium backup ( im using the pro version), how do i backup to make sure I cover all that needs to be backed up? There are a lot of options im not sure which to select and what to do. I hope you could enlighten me on this one as well.
Thanks again in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the pro version u can run a batch backup of all apps.
To do this open the app, press the menu button in the top tight corner, and select Batch.
Then choose Backup all user apps. From there you can select/deselect apps. When you are done choosing the apps that you would like to backup, click on the green check mark in the top right corner to start the backup.

vinz_bangiz said:
whoah! thanks guys! I was supposed to quote you but since both of you really helped me understand it now, this thanks goes to the both of you.
I've hit the thanks button on both you guys.
Thank you very much for explaining this.
One last thing, when using a Titanium backup ( im using the pro version), how do i backup to make sure I cover all that needs to be backed up? There are a lot of options im not sure which to select and what to do. I hope you could enlighten me on this one as well.
Thanks again in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I stopped using Titanium and switched to Helium a while back and can't really remember how Ti works exactly. I do know you should never restore system apps data just user apps data so I don't even bother backing up systems apps. I think with Ti I would just do an initial backup of all user data and apps and then periodically do a backup of newer user data and apps, or something to that effect in the menu. I do like Helium better as its interface is better, never could figure out how to backup or restore sms, call logs and the dictionary using Ti. Helium is much more straight forward and simpler (not as many options) and it does backups on a set schedule to my box account. I'm sure you can do all that with Ti too it was just not a very clean app.

thanks again for the replies..
@ chromium96
i think it is the same as clicking the box with check icon beside the menu, it brings me to the page the same as where you are leading me to but in just one click. Though im not so sure if it is really the same one.
I did a backup now but made a user app + system data.
kzoodroid mentioned not to backup system. Should I really not backup the system? Im quite confused with the terminologies of TI coz it says backup "user apps". Does this only refer to the apps and not the settings or data in my phone? does the backup "system data" refer to the settings and other data on my phone? if I choose only backup "user apps", would this only backup the apps and nothing else?
@ kzoodroid
could you explain further why I should never backup systems apps?
Lastly, is Helium really better than TI? or it depends on user preference?
Thanks again!

there are 2 kind of apps stored in your phone, system apps, only accesible with root privilege, and user apps,
system apps are phone, browser,wallpapers, etc, this are the basic apps to make your phone to work
user apps are all the stuff you, the user, install on your phone
the first one can be found, via file managers on /system/app
user app in /data or in sdcard for apps can use this option
the user app back-up, via Tb or others create a back-up of /data and apps you choose to install
restoring a system app via Tb is dangerous cause if you've switched rom the /system/app can be different, so restoring can cause trouble or misbehavior on your phone
/system/app back.up can be used only if you, before deleting a system app, want to have a copy to restore in future, but only if you still on the same rom

stremax said:
there are 2 kind of apps stored in your phone, system apps, only accesible with root privilege, and user apps,
system apps are phone, browser,wallpapers, etc, this are the basic apps to make your phone to work
user apps are all the stuff you, the user, install on your phone
the first one can be found, via file managers on /system/app
user app in /data or in sdcard for apps can use this option
the user app back-up, via Tb or others create a back-up of /data and apps you choose to install
restoring a system app via Tb is dangerous cause if you've switched rom the /system/app can be different, so restoring can cause trouble or misbehavior on your phone
/system/app back.up can be used only if you, before deleting a system app, want to have a copy to restore in future, but only if you still on the same rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply! kinda getting an idea what you mean.. if I backup the system also, then i put a new rom and it may be different from my current roms system so it might mess it up. so just backup user app and restore this after installing new rom then it would be ok and back to how it was before i installed a new rom? Do i understand it right?

vinz_bangiz said:
Thanks for the reply! kinda getting an idea what you mean.. if I backup the system also, then i put a new rom and it may be different from my current roms system so it might mess it up. so just backup user app and restore this after installing new rom then it would be ok and back to how it was before i installed a new rom? Do i understand it right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
right man,
only back-up user apps and data, if you like you can also back-up call log and messages, I usually do this, so when I flash a new rom I usually restore apps +apps data, messages and call log via Tb

vinz_bangiz said:
another via adb command even without root which i saw in one of the threads here in xda.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found the ADB backup doesn't work as well as the other methods. I found some apps didn't seem to get backed up, and at least one didn't work after restoring (though this could be because I used Titanium Backup to restore the app from the ADB backup file).