[Q] Noob questions galore ;) - Galaxy S II General

Hi guys,
First of all (in case you didn't realize it), I'm an android noob. This is my first Android phone (my employer tried to give me an iPhone, but caved when I told them I'd just stick it in my drawer and save it as an emergency phone) and I just rooted it
Now...I made a backup of it after rooting. This should get me back to stock if I need it, right? Should I copy it off the phone? I guess it will be removed if I have to wipe...?...
Also; will I retain my settings, sms/mms etc etc if I use a custom ROM? This is my main concern at the moment, as I want something more fancy and hopefully less energy consuming ROM.
Cheers!

tiwas said:
Hi guys,
First of all (in case you didn't realize it), I'm an android noob. This is my first Android phone (my employer tried to give me an iPhone, but caved when I told them I'd just stick it in my drawer and save it as an emergency phone) and I just rooted it
Now...I made a backup of it after rooting. This should get me back to stock if I need it, right? Should I copy it off the phone? I guess it will be removed if I have to wipe...?...
Also; will I retain my settings, sms/mms etc etc if I use a custom ROM? This is my main concern at the moment, as I want something more fancy and hopefully less energy consuming ROM.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there!
if you made the backup just after rooting, if you run that Backup (through CWM etc) it will revert the phone back to how it was at the time of the backup, so if you didnt have any settings,sms,Apps etc they will not show. you can copy the backup file if you wish to but i believe (not 100%) the backups are stored on External SD and as a result are not lost on a Factory Reset/Wipe
Some Custom ROMS (Litening ROM i use) allow you to flash with no loss of data, including all your apps, SMS and settings. Basically you have the exact same phone layout but with a Spiffy,fast,Fresh rom they are really easy to flash with ODIN, now im not sure if other Roms (Villain, Cognition, etc) retain the Data partition on flashing you would need to check out the specific Threads on the Android Development section of the forum
hope that helped !

Thanks - that was helpful I will look into the other ROMS and decide from there.
Do you know if any of the SGS2 ROMs have more themes available? I get bored easily, and it would be great to change the look and feel every now and then

well being that the phone is still relatively new and still not available for the North American market, the development for it is still small. However, the CM7 team are developing roms for it, and a lot of other custom roms are based off CM7, so there should be a good selection of roms in the near future. the sgs2 is one of, if not the most anticipated android device this year, so i'm sure rom selection wouldn't be a problem.

Thanks, guys
I just bought Titanium Backup after some recommendation in another thread. Is there anything I should be aware of, or any recommendations, when making a backup before trying out other ROMs?

tiwas said:
Thanks, guys
I just bought Titanium Backup after some recommendation in another thread. Is there anything I should be aware of, or any recommendations, when making a backup before trying out other ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whenever i do anything such as update/change my ROM, i do a Ti backup of all my apps (incase they go missing) then a CWM backup of my System which i can roll back to if i have any problems
Also, just to 2nd what p00kienrayray Said, the only ROMS i know of which support themes are MIUI and CM7 which should hopefully work fully soon

tiwas said:
Thanks, guys
I just bought Titanium Backup after some recommendation in another thread. Is there anything I should be aware of, or any recommendations, when making a backup before trying out other ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, there *definitely is* a recommendation, when making a backup before trying a rom which wipes your phone, check out the message I sent to TB developer..
"Hi, I bought titanium few days ago to help the transition from my Magic to the new Galaxy S2. I used to use My backup Pro but appreciated the apps freezing function of Titanium that could possibly help avoid the battery drain problem on the S2 due to the Samsung WiFi sharing bug.
I had quite a bad experience, though, regarding a hard reset I had to perform on the phone, which I previously backed up with Titanium: the default backup directory is /mnt/sdcard but that corresponds to the internal memory on the S2, while the external one is located in /mnt/sdcard/external_sd (if I am not wrong). That led to losing a week worth of photos (the one part I couldn't really get back, given that I had a week old backup made with SMS Backup & Restore + Call Log backup & Restore made on the Magic).
Ok, lesson learnt for me but may I suggest that the default directory can be automatically set to /mnt/sdcard/external_sd if the terminal is an S2, for future users not to be unsatisfied? Is it something that could be implemented in TB?
Thanks for listening,
*************
PS well, shame on Samsung as well for such a weird choice... I would have set /mnt/sdcard for the external one and /mnt/internal_sd for the internal one... and don't understand why the hard reset (performed through the *2737*3655# code - if I remember correctly) does reset the internal memory which if I am not wrong is a separate partition from the system."
CONFIGURE YOUR TB BACKUP DIR TO /mnt/sdcard/external_sd BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE
Not to mention that some apps like SMS Backup & Restore do not allow you to change the dir, therefore you have to manually move the backup results after you have finished

Related

nandroid on multiple devices?

Think this may be my first post...thanks to all the devs out there for making things happen! Consider myself an above average user, though I don't really have the knowledge to code a ROM (though I'm sure I could tackle it if I put my mind to it). I just very good at following instructions and can reasonably trouble shoot if things go wrong.
Tried doing a search for this & came up a little blank...could have been I didn't know exactly what to search for. In any case, my question is about nandroid backups. Currently on a CDMA Hero "with Google" rooted & running RegawMOD v2.0.1...PRI 1.70_003...PRL 60663...RA-heroc-v1.6.2 recovery. My wife's phone (for all intents & purposes) is exactly the same, however, I'm the technical one here and have spent a lot of time tweaking my phone. Once I get my phone exactly how I want it, could I flash my nandroid to her Hero to save time in tweaking hers? Or is the nandroid backup tied to one unique piece of hardware/phone #/google log-in?
Im pretty sure that's how droid users share roms, via nandroid.
u can do it, i have done it...a while back the first week i had my hero i bricked it, but i had a nandroid backup. After i got a new phone i rooted it and restored with a nandroid backup worked perfect.
Thanks...and just one more question. I was actually doing a Google search on this one & couldn't find one concrete, concise, answer. In the recovery image, I have 3 different backup choices (Nand, Nand+ext, BART). It's my understanding that Nandroid vs. BART is essentially 2 different ways of doing the same thing...with the ext portion being useful if you are using a2sd (which I'm not using yet). The first choice of Nand backup should make a snapshot of my entire system (ROM, apps, settings, etc...everything on the phone itself, not installed to SD), right?
Ultimately, what I'm trying to accomplish is making a snapshot of my entire phone, mirroring it onto my wife's and then doing some minor tweaks to make it her's (i.e. change the google log-in to her's).
*edit*
n/m, found it in the root cheatsheet. Nand = onboard system, Nand+ext = onboard system + a2sd.
Still not exactly sure what the benefit of BART is, though.
yeah your correct, bart is just a alternative....personally i always use nandroid. Just use nandroid, make a nandroid backup then mount your sd to your computer. Open the nandroid folder, then you will see something like HT.... folder open it. Then you will see all your different nandroids, copy the one of your choice to your desktop. Mount your wife's go to the same place paste the folder there. Boot into recovery home+power nandroid restore tada you done go in change the settings you need to (gmail account)
Does nandroid backup also restore the PRI and PRL or does it leave that untouched?
dkaile said:
Does nandroid backup also restore the PRI and PRL or does it leave that untouched?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should leave it untouched. Though it has a chance to change your pri. I dont know much about it. As long as you flash the most current roms we have know, it will leave it untouched.

[Q] switching between android roms

I did search. honestly. so im pretty sure that many people are annoyed when they see a new version of their current rom show, thus having to upgrade again loosing all their setting, apps, etc. personally, i've tried using titanium backup from mdeejay's rEVOlution 2.0 to 2.2 but it said that my apps could not be restored. so what would be the best way to painlessly switch android roms? sorry if a similar thread exists, but i'm pretty sure it doesn't..
1. this Thread should be in the "HD2 Android Q&A" Sub-Forum
2. There are many post's out there! Look into the build-threads!
(but i'm in a good mood) so...
3. ...here is my answer:
a) Data.img:
you can copy your old Data.img file into the new rom (Android-Folder) before
booting it. But use with caution, maybe the settings in the data.img are
incompatible with your new rom. (in that case - delete it and use the orig. data.img)
b) Titanium Backup:
- be sure that your Backup is the made with the same TB Version like the
one you trying to restore with.
(restoring from V 2.x.x to V 3.x.x does not work for me.)
- Use the Busy-Box offered by TB (Problems?-button) to prevent error's
- And be careful with restoring the settings! Maybe they are not compatible!
4. I suggest to rename the old rom folder to "Android_old" and
leaving it on the SD-Card for a while.
In case of problems you can rename your folders "Android">"Android_new"
and "Android_old">"Android". So you have the Option to play around with
Backup-settings and creating new one's.
Good luck!
first of all, thanks for the promt response. and secondly, i've already tried everything you've mentioned! when i used my old data.img, android booted normally. however, i had none of my apps, nor my settings. and i double checked my titanium version. it's the same as the one in the new rom. oh, and i started this thread because none of the given solutions would solve my silly little problem....
This sound's more like a problem with the revolution-build.
I don't had a problem like this with other Mdeejay-builds
(never testet revolution) and Mattc-builds
My data.img from a desire-build had worked in desire-hd-build.
But i'd switched back to the original Data.img to prevent possible failure.
Normally moving app's with TB works fine, settings are more
problematic.
But you have a very special problem.
Sorry, i cant't help .
I suggest to ask your question in revolution-thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=790374
You don't have to restore the app with tb, maybe try downloading the apps then restoring the data separately
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
You cant realy save anything but your apps. The builds can be different enough between versions that a clean install is the only way to guarantee that you have success. I keep Titanium back up apk on my card and the folder it makes as well. I dont loose my apps and only use it to back up and restore apps. You need to re-do all other settings as they can carry issues from one build to another. Some things will back up, others wont, its part of the trade off. When you change builds, most of the time its so different, its like changing phones, you just cant transfer everything.
-------------------------------------
Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App

[Q] Best Out... ?

I bought a Desire Z about two weeks before the 1.72.405.2 OTA update came along, and I allowed it to update (Yeah I know, this was after all my first Android device).
Anyway, lately my phones been running slowly and apps force closing, so I've decided to downgrade it and root it (psneuter method), and try some different ROM's.
What I was wondering is, what would be the best way without root, to backup as much of my data as possible, apps, sms, files, and also if possible a backup that I can use in case I scew it up, so I can get it back to the way it is now.
I have a copy of:-
RUU_Vision_HTC_WWE_1.34.405.5_Radio_12.28b.60.140e_26.03.02.26_M_release_155556_signed
which I believe is the stock ROM for this device, but as far as I know if it goes wrong I'll be unable to flash this as the update won't allow me to flash an earlier version..
Would I be able to mount and then backup the whole phone using adb or any other method.
I've been reading about it for a while now, and while I have lots of bits of information, I've been unable to find a good solution.
Thanks,
...John...
j0hn0n1 said:
I bought a Desire Z about two weeks before the 1.72.405.2 OTA update came along, and I allowed it to update (Yeah I know, this was after all my first Android device).
What I was wondering is, what would be the best way without root, to backup as much of my data as possible, apps, sms, files, and also if possible a backup that I can use in case I scew it up, so I can get it back to the way it is now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without root, a good app to backup your other apps is astro file manager, its available free from the market, you just have to hit menu, tools and it'll back up all the apps on your sd card, in terms of files, just make sure their all on your sd card and they'll be fine
Not sure how to back up SmS but i know their are apps out their, a point you may have forgotten is to make sure you back up your contacts as they all get wiped and I made this mistake, the easiest way to do that is to make sure your contacts sync up with your google account so after rooting, you can just sync them back,
Hope i helped!
Use google to remember what apps you've downloaded from market. Once associated, when you flash a new rom, google will automatically redownload all your associated apps. For sms, i suggest you download GoSMS and use their internal backup feature. It will save to sd and be visible to your stock sms app as well on restore.
Sent from my AOSP Virtuous Desire Z using XDA App
Ya but too many times google starts restoring apps that I uninstalled months ago. Great idea but bad implementation imo.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
Sorry I haven't replied, was in work all day yesterday.
I have Astro File Manager, but I hadn't even considered it, thanks. I have my contacts sync'd with Google, so it seems that as long as I backup my files and sms everything else should be done automatically anyway.
Go SMS seems worth getting anyway, as the bog standard Android messages app is seriously dull. I'll give it a try.
I had wondered about Google Market restoring apps, but I thought it would only reinstall apps that were installed at the last sync.
If you install an app and it screws up your phone, and do a factory reset then Google will just reinstall the app that caused all the problems in the first place.
Definitely a good idea, but needs more work.
Anyway, thanks for all the info, I'll give it try tonight, when I get back from work.
...John...
I find SMS Backup & Restore to be the best app for this purpose and I wouldn't recommend the backup feature from the market, as you said it is likely to give problems.
Without root though, the backup choices are somewhat limited for apps and such.
I've been using Super Manager by gpc. It works pretty good, plus offers a ton of other features that can be used with or without root.
I've backed up what I could, although it's typical that as soon as it's all gone I realised things that I should have wrote down (I had been using the wallet/pocket app and although I backed up all my apps, I'm guesing it won't have backed up any of the passwords, logins, bank details, etc).
Anyway, I've downgraded and successfully rooted my phone (through gfree), I have CID: 11111111 and S-Off, but I haven't installed and ROM's yet as I read somewhere that you are supposed to wipe everything between ROM's, am I wiping the Davlik cache or doing a factory reset (I mean won't the factory reset just reset my stock ROM back to it's original condition).
I'm also wondering about finding custom ROMs, on my dell streak I had installed ROM Manager and could get a list of any that were available.
I first installed ROM Manager and used it to flash recovery, but this time I've installed CWM first, so would it be safe to install ROM Manager now, will it want to flash a recovery over the one I have already.
Or is it not advisable to use ROM Manager, as I have previously heard of a few problems it may cause.
Thanks ...John...
Rom manager shouldn't give any problems, but for custom roms it's best to take a look at the development forum. If you don't like that you can still use the list in rommanager, it might be just me who prefers downloading roms to my pc first.
But before you install any of them I recommend you make a nandroid backup from recovery just to be safe.
I think the issues were that some people, not all, found problems flashing some of the gingerbread roms via Rom manager. Better to save the Rom to SD and then flash it via CWM.
Right I've done a nandroid backup, and I've saved one to another mSD card which I can keep somewhere just in case (probably a bit over cautious, but...).
I thought that by saving apps to an sd card, they would run from the sd when I restarted my phone, even the ones that I had moved previously with the application manager in settings are not seen.
Still reinstalling the ones I want isn't really that bad.
Seriously, somebody needs to sort out the Markets app backups feature, when I was setting up the phone at first, I specifically chose to not automatically sync with Google and that I would do it manually when needed. Then I went in to the market to get a file manager and the download failed, it was only when I looked at what was going on I realised it was already downloading and reinstalling 96 apps. I looked around for a 'cancel all' option and there isn't any, so I had to cancel them all one by one and then uninstall the ones that had managed to install.
A simple checklist to select the apps you want would be great, oh, and a cancel all button would be a bonus.
Anyway, things are not as much fun when they're too easy.
Thanks ...John...

[Q] Keeping data (sms/mms, contacts, call log, ect.) between switching ROMs?

Hello all. I have a question about how I can backup/restore my sms, call logs, contacts, without use of google 'cloud' (I never put these info's online)?
Here's my scenario:
I recently learned how to switch my ROM from SD to NAND. Luckily the ROM I chose long ago just experimenting was AmeriCanAndroid on SD, which happened to have a NAND counterpart so using Titanium Backup I was able to completely backup and restore everything with no problem/no quirks.
I now want to change my NAND ROM from AmeriCanAndroid to RUNNYMEDE 0.82.401.1 - Android 2.3.5 - Sense 3.5 (because I have a heartOn for sense).
I got the hang of using CWM recovery, and changing the cache and data sizes, but the hurting started when I got into the ROM and used Titanium to restore the backup I made in AmeriCan to use in this new one. I now keep getting Force Close errors.
I'll make another post about that, but what I specifically would like to know is how I can backup that info and restore it, across roms, no matter what? Is there a sure fire way for that?
DemonLoader said:
I specifically would like to know is how I can backup that info and restore it, across roms, no matter what? Is there a sure fire way for that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really, with NAND, you almost always (95%) have to wipe all data and system info, like formatting your computer to put a new OS on it (Win -> Linux). The only thing I can tell you is I personally use MyBackup Pro, has not once EVER given me an issue, and I have had it since the G1 days .
I have heard what your using, Titanium Backup is good too, so if you purchased it or are fine with free version, just keep using that. Backup your apps/data, flash new ROM, login to google, download titanium backup, and restore it all. It should work with no problems, NAND is NAND, a ROM is a ROM, they all run the same. SD backups will not work with NAND I dont believe.
Dont be afraid to experiment (follow ALL directions), backing up is the easy part, restoring is fairly easy, but the ROMS are all different and are very nice, THANKS TO THE GREAT DEVELOPERS!!!

Deodex an existing ROM?

Hi folks,
I think I know the answer to this already but I'm asking anyway just in case... is it possible to deodex a device as-is? Meaning, if I have stock EI22 installed, can it be deodexed in place?
I'd like to be able to run K0nane's CIQ remover script but its only for deodexed ROMs and I'm real happy with the stability & config of my phone now so flashing a new ROM and setting everything up again is an idea that doesn't thrill me.
Thanks,
Frank
No. Use a back up app to save system settings and apps, and flash the desired rom.
fzammetti said:
Hi folks,
I think I know the answer to this already but I'm asking anyway just in case... is it possible to deodex a device as-is? Meaning, if I have stock EI22 installed, can it be deodexed in place?
I'd like to be able to run K0nane's CIQ remover script but its only for deodexed ROMs and I'm real happy with the stability & config of my phone now so flashing a new ROM and setting everything up again is an idea that doesn't thrill me.
Thanks,
Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can flash the stock deodexed rom found in the development forum
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
Then do an advanced restore of /data and everything will be just how you had it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Could you please explain that last part, doing an advanced restore of /data? How would you do that? (I'm new.)
I'm with the original poster -- flashing a ROM and then having to reinstall apps and set up everything again isn't exactly the most appealing thing. And if I want to change ROMs for any reason, I'd have to do it all again (right?). If there is some relatively quick and easy way to restore things to make that process easier, I'd like to know more about it. So far, it seems like using Titanium Backup or the like is what most people suggest, but if there's another option, it would be good to know it as well. Thanks.
If you're rooted and have clockworkMod installed as your custom recovery you can copy and "image" of the phone system and data drives. (System and data are on separate partitions, like a c:\> and d:\> drives on a computer. You can use clockworkMod to just restore the data image back to the data partition and it will be just like you had it. Icons on your home screen, your place in angry birds, alarms, vol. Settings. It is a wonderful thing to have, even if you just want stock.
Thanks for the info. I did recently root my phone and have the ACS recovery installed, so I should be able to do this if needed/wanted. Not to sidetrack the original thread too much, but are there any particular pros or cons to this method? It seems a bit easier, but would there be reasons to prefer something like Titanium Backup over this type of data restore? I'm not very familiar with these sorts of things (this is my first time rooting), so I'm trying to make sure I understand the options and what they do. Thanks.
In the case the OP states it would be nearly identical roms so there should be little to no conflict with a data restore. I've been moveing my data. Like this from froyo EC05 thru all the leaks and now to offical GB. But if I didn't want to stay on a leaked GB and I wanted to move to a froyo rom or back to stock I would use my titanium to move a few apps at a time bec,ause the data in gb is a little differnt and might not migrate proper.

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