Develop Bugs

Backup the whole bits of data in the pda

Hi guys, there are so many roms created for the TD, Hail the chefs !!! and I would like to try some of them !
the problem is, my TD has gone productive for some months and if I flash another rom but I don't like it and want to go back to the latest state I need to do again the whole hassle (mitty or flash stock, flashing the good old rom, automated installation of programs, do settings, sync the data, restore messages from backup, and so on so forth...). for me this process will take at least 5 hours
i am just wondering if there is a tool to backup all data (rom, phone settings, installed programs, settings of all programs installed, pim, internal storage) in the phone. basically, the whole bits of data in the pda.
I believe with the existence of this tool there are many more people would like to try the new roms and find their best suited one

Super backup/restore

Does anyone know if it is possible to take an entire backup image of your HD rom so you can later restore from it? I guess this would be like making a ROM backup from your device that you could later burn back to the device as a restore.
It's common when screwing around with theme hacks to stuff manilla and then have to go back to reburning a rom and setting it back up again. I saaw there's tools that try to backup/restore settings but it would be nice to be able to restore from a complete device state (kind of like using Ghost to backup/restore a Windows desktop image).
From my very noob knowledge I'm wondering if you can use the rom tools to do something like this (tools for cooking the roms, the RUU tools used for loading the roms on the device and HSPL/SPL/USPL, etc)...?

nope, sorry mate, there are no noob tools around for backing up.
Only things like PPCPimbackup for backing up your contacts, calendar, text messages, custom folders, and more.
You could also use SASHIMI. It can be very difficult to use it, but if you only want programs installed and your email configured automagically, then it's quite easy. Just watch the first two demonstrations on youtube.
Seriously, only play with your phone if you know how to fix a broken one. Or make sure you have enough cash to just buy a new one

thanks - all good advice. although have to say the tutorials and advice here is ample for you to experiment in an educated way. great site.
so nobody is doing entire rom backups except for the top l33ts eh? I could understand why based on the fact these are not just mini pc's...whole different ball game
cheers

Sprite Backup???

telegraph0000 said:
Sprite Backup???
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Hey now that other product they do "SpriteClone" looks like it is exactly what I'm after;
http://www.spritesoftware.com/products/sprite-clone
...albeit it's $300 because it's designed for corporate/enterprise. Thanks for that link...wonder if anyone knows of a product like that designed for personal use?

SPB Backup is the best
I usually use it to restore all my files and unstalled softwares when changing the ROM
BUT
the new ROM should be of the same type as the older one, i.e., if you are on COM2 upgrading the ROM should be to a COM2 type too and so on

Thanks - SPB Backup looks like an affordable yet sturdy solution. I guess whatr you mean about matching ROM's is fine provided you are restoring to the same rom/hardware you backed up from?

Rom backup tool

I think it would be very useful to have available a tool which could dump to the sd card the rom that is currently on the phone, all settings, pim data, etc. and make so all you have to do is flash the rom and when its done, everything is as it was. Kind of like making restore points on your pc. Currently it seems people are using a combination of this to do that, that to do this, and there is a kinda steep learning curve for new users, and experienced users are still taking 1/2 hr to an hr to set everything up after flashing and it seems every chef has thier preferred autoinstall stuff cooked in. I would be willing to donate $50 to author of a working tool such as I have described but it would have to restore everything, just t29, flash the b/u rom and ur in business, and it would have to be noob friendly at least for the most part as this tool would be a preferred method for newer users. I think such a tool would make experimentation with apps and modifications, rom building/testing much safer and faster for people just to flash back to a stable rom all set up if something doesnt go right. I know theres some seriously smart people here at xda, hopefully some of you could look into creating a tool that would benifit many people, and hopefully more people would be willing to donate for such a tool.

huggs said:
I think it would be very useful to have available a tool which could dump to the sd card the rom that is currently on the phone, all settings, pim data, etc. and make so all you have to do is flash the rom and when its done, everything is as it was. Kind of like making restore points on your pc. Currently it seems people are using a combination of this to do that, that to do this, and there is a kinda steep learning curve for new users, and experienced users are still taking 1/2 hr to an hr to set everything up after flashing and it seems every chef has thier preferred autoinstall stuff cooked in. I would be willing to donate $50 to author of a working tool such as I have described but it would have to restore everything, just t29, flash the b/u rom and ur in business, and it would have to be noob friendly at least for the most part as this tool would be a preferred method for newer users. I think such a tool would make experimentation with apps and modifications, rom building/testing much safer and faster for people just to flash back to a stable rom all set up if something doesnt go right. I know theres some seriously smart people here at xda, hopefully some of you could look into creating a tool that would benifit many people, and hopefully more people would be willing to donate for such a tool.
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The problem is that when you backup program items, it also backs up the registry entries, and those entries may vary between ROMS. I use SPB Backup on my system, but ONLY restore to the same ROM version - to avoid this very issue.
The absolute safest way to flash a new ROM is to use activesync to backup your contacts, emails, and schedule (plus mobile shortcuts), and then flash. Then manually install each of your programs onto the phone. This ensures that your phone will be setup to match the OS. Then restore your contacts, etc, by using activesync again.
There are various solutions to get around this (I use XDA_UC myself), but that requires some reading and knowledge.

stevedebi said:
The problem is that when you backup program items, it also backs up the registry entries, and those entries may vary between ROMS. I use SPB Backup on my system, but ONLY restore to the same ROM version - to avoid this very issue.
The absolute safest way to flash a new ROM is to use activesync to backup your contacts, emails, and schedule (plus mobile shortcuts), and then flash. Then manually install each of your programs onto the phone. This ensures that your phone will be setup to match the OS. Then restore your contacts, etc, by using activesync again.
There are various solutions to get around this (I use XDA_UC myself), but that requires some reading and knowledge.
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Click to collapse
Right, I understand about reg entries not matching between roms, I'm saying to restore the same rom that was backed up. That way, if you installed a app, wanted to try a new rom, made some change or whatever that made the rom unusable, you could just restore that rom to the last stable configuration that you backed up. You could have the rom on your sd and have a stable rom to flash back to anytime, so you dont have to restore everything anytime you screw up your phone and must HR. Since I have had my TP2, I have had to HR many times, caused by messin with stuff trial and error style, I think it would be a nice safety net, to be able to flash back to something stable, all set up the way it was when the backup was made. Then alls you would have to do is get your rom all set up once, and remember to back it up.

huggs said:
Right, I understand about reg entries not matching between roms, I'm saying to restore the same rom that was backed up. That way, if you installed a app, wanted to try a new rom, made some change or whatever that made the rom unusable, you could just restore that rom to the last stable configuration that you backed up. You could have the rom on your sd and have a stable rom to flash back to anytime, so you dont have to restore everything anytime you screw up your phone and must HR. Since I have had my TP2, I have had to HR many times, caused by messin with stuff trial and error style, I think it would be a nice safety net, to be able to flash back to something stable, all set up the way it was when the backup was made. Then alls you would have to do is get your rom all set up once, and remember to back it up.
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Click to collapse
Oh, for THAT I recommend SPB Backup. It isn't free, but it does a good job. But it would not contain the flash contents, and all bets are off if you are attempting to overwrite a newer ROM. What I do is re-flash the ROM that matches the backup, and THEN restore the SPB backup file.

HTC Desire - New to android modding - help needed

Hey everyone,
I'm really new to android modding, and don't know much about all this. I'm good at modding but never been on android before. I went through the stickies and full desire guide etc threads, but its really getting confusing for me.
I've come to know some things: (correct if wrong)
1) You have some custom ROMs which you can flash after rooting the phone.
2) Most ROMs have pretty much everything working, but some things don't work on some ROMs (like camera for some)
3) Rooting voids warranty.
Seeing the vast amount of ROMs in the development section, I'm confused which one to look for. Can anyone suggest me which would be the best (stable and everything working) ROM for me? I basically need APP2SD or APP2SD+ (NOT the froyo one because its useless, I'm talking about the custom one) and minor tweaks like changing the homescreen etc.
Which would be the best suited ROM for above description? Basically, what criteria decide which ROM to put on the phone?
@Moderators, sorry if its the same old story. I'm really confused and so HAD to make a thread.

Hi and welcome. A couple of points I can help you with:
There are loads of roms to choose from, I am using this rom atm:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=768703
Everything on this particular rom works fine and is very fast and stable. I generally find if roms have several revisions then are are generally very good. i.e. are having continuous support and developement.
As for rooting voiding warranty? Well this is no longer an issue as rooting can easily be reversed )
Hope this helps
LEWY

thehrushi said:
Hey everyone,
I'm really new to android modding, and don't know much about all this. I'm good at modding but never been on android before. I went through the stickies and full desire guide etc threads, but its really getting confusing for me.
I've come to know some things: (correct if wrong)
1) You have some custom ROMs which you can flash after rooting the phone.
2) Most ROMs have pretty much everything working, but some things don't work on some ROMs (like camera for some)
3) Rooting voids warranty.
Seeing the vast amount of ROMs in the development section, I'm confused which one to look for. Can anyone suggest me which would be the best (stable and everything working) ROM for me? I basically need APP2SD or APP2SD+ (NOT the froyo one because its useless, I'm talking about the custom one) and minor tweaks like changing the homescreen etc.
Which would be the best suited ROM for above description? Basically, what criteria decide which ROM to put on the phone?
@Moderators, sorry if its the same old story. I'm really confused and so HAD to make a thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do indeed need to Root the device before flashing, the only ROM that don't have 'things working' is the Desire HD ROM. I am not sure if that has been fixed or not yet though. All the other AOSP and Sense based Desire ROMs have everything working just fine. Rooting will void your warranty but it's super easy to reverse so there is nothing to worry about.
The most popular ROMs by far seem to be the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMs (Non-Sense ROMs), all of them will have APP2SD built into them, the Sense ROMs also have APP2SD built into them.
LeeDrOiD is by far the most popular Sense based ROM, RCMixHD is the Desire HD based ROM, which I think still doesn't have the camera working.
And by far the most popular Desire ROM overall is the ASOP Cyanogen based DeFrost.
To get the most out of APP2SD you will need to download ROM Manager and create an EXT3 partition on your SD card so the ROM will place all of the Froyo compatable apps into the partion and not your internal memory.

Being brand new to the desire, I've flashed every Rom available in the last 2 weeks.
Leedroid is a very good sense Rom. I prefer having a Rom with sense right now because this is my first HTC.
Right now I'm running the Aurax sense Rom, solely because it has its own setCPU built in.
The hd roms didn't impress me that much, not yet at least, with a little more time they will be awesome though.
The MIUI roms are also amazingly pretty, if you don't mind the iPhone feel. My only problem with it though, and I've been told this hardly happens, my battery life was pathetic.
At the end of the day though, apart from the hardware, it is android and all the available apps that make our phone so great.
All the custom roms do add a lot of speed to the phone though, you have to do a quadrant after you flash so that you can see how awesome the Rom makes your phone run. They also add additional functionality compared to the stock Rom.
Honestly, I can't see why anyone would keep any Android device stock when there are such amazing roms around. At the end of the day its all down to your own preferences and what functions you like. You'll love any Rom you flash.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Thanks for such amazing replies. Meanwhile, I've also been through many ROMs and their descriptions. The terminologies are kinda new for me, but I can understand many things now....
The only thing I care about right now is App2SD because I found FroYo's move to SD doesn't help much. Also second thing is that I'm not having MY desire yet, its my friend's device m gonna try out everything on! So I'd be taking some extra care!
One big relief is that rooting is reversible. That'd be cool.
What are the odds of bricking your phone while flashing or applying mods?

thehrushi said:
Thanks for such amazing replies. Meanwhile, I've also been through many ROMs and their descriptions. The terminologies are kinda new for me, but I can understand many things now....
The only thing I care about right now is App2SD because I found FroYo's move to SD doesn't help much. Also second thing is that I'm not having MY desire yet, its my friend's device m gonna try out everything on! So I'd be taking some extra care!
One big relief is that rooting is reversible. That'd be cool.
What are the odds of bricking your phone while flashing or applying mods?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is honestly impossible to brick a desire. I bricked my MOTO backflip, there was no coming back from that. With the desire I flashed something that didn't work, but pressing volume down and power gets you right into the hbooot menu, from there just mount as usb and copy over a new Rom to flash.
The one thing you need to remember, when flashing new roms the first boot takes a while, never pull the battery thinking there's nothing happening, that will destroy your phone and there's no coming back from that.
Before every Rom you flash make sure to do a factory reset in the recovery menu, that ensures that the new Rom will work to its full capability and minimizes the chances of experiencing problems.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

thehrushi said:
What are the odds of bricking your phone while flashing or applying mods?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can brick your device flashing Radios, but you can always send it back to HTC, pay them an extortionate amount and they will revive it for you. But overall, the chances are slim to none in my experience.
Just make sure, after rooting, you make a Nandroid backup of the OS. Then you can do whatever you like to the phone and it will be reversable.
I keep a Nandroid of my DeFrost ROM, and one of my PaysROM, and I have one of my MoDaCo R8, you can switch between them just using Recovery, as the mood takes you, absolutely everything will be exactly as it was everytime you load the backup back onto the phone, I just wipe the cache, Dalvik Cache, factory reset the ROM then reinstall whichever ROM I want to use (DeFrost, PaysROM etc etc) from the SD card and then backup from the Nandroid.

Depending on the age of your desire, you shouldn't need to flash a radio though. I've never needed to flash a radio, but that's because my desire came with the latest radio, thankfully it still has the amoled screen.
If you do need to replace the radio and somehow brick it, if its still under warranty HTC will replace it for you because there is no way that they can prove you bricked the device.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Kalavere said:
Just make sure, after rooting, you make a Nandroid backup of the OS. Then you can do whatever you like to the phone and it will be reversable.
I keep a Nandroid of my DeFrost ROM, and one of my PaysROM, and I have one of my MoDaCo R8, you can switch between them just using Recovery, as the mood takes you, absolutely everything will be exactly as it was everytime you load the backup back onto the phone, I just wipe the cache, Dalvik Cache, factory reset the ROM then reinstall whichever ROM I want to use (DeFrost, PaysROM etc etc) from the SD card and then backup from the Nandroid.
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Click to collapse
Wow that means you install a ROM, make settings you want, put in your data (phonebook etc) and then take a full backup. Switching between them is as easy as restoring a backup!
Is that right?
Initially, I'd be trying out ROMs, and would stick to the one which suits me best. I just can't wait before my desire arrives this monthend!!

thehrushi said:
Wow that means you install a ROM, make settings you want, put in your data (phonebook etc) and then take a full backup. Switching between them is as easy as restoring a backup!
Is that right?
Initially, I'd be trying out ROMs, and would stick to the one which suits me best. I just can't wait before my desire arrives this monthend!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It saves everything, app data, messages, settings, the lot. Although when switching ROMs I still factory reset, wipe the caches and reinstall the ROM I want to use before loading the backup of that specific ROM. I am not sure things will go so smoothly if you just reload the backups without factory resetting and reinstalling the ROM first, but it won't hurt to try.

Kalavere said:
It saves everything, app data, messages, settings, the lot. Although when switching ROMs I still factory reset, wipe the caches and reinstall the ROM I want to use before loading the backup of that specific ROM. I am not sure things will go so smoothly if you just reload the backups without factory resetting and reinstalling the ROM first, but it won't hurt to try.
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Click to collapse
Exactly!

A way to change roms without having to install everything again

ok so i know you can backup your apps through titanium or rom toolbox or something else but what i want to know is there a nandroid like backup that backups everything but the rom...so i can freely switch the rom as i like and then tap 1 thing and have all my apps, data, settings, lock screen / background photos, etc etc back in place. basically what i want to accomplish is to be able to swap roms...is that something that is out there or at least an idea that is the works / maybe something someone would see and have the motive/skill set to make for us. i believe it would be an amazing tool. just go into cwm and not have to wipe data or anything else, just select new rom and the cwm would take care of everything, deleting the rom you have installed and replacing it with the new rom.
any information would be greatly appreciated.

Unless the rom you're running has an update based on the same build and all its features on the update are compatible with your current rom, what you're asking is not possible, every rom or software our devs make made by compiling files and scripts, that take tame to decompile then put back together to make things work properly if not close to it unless you read, if you read the installation suggested methods and it says DO A FULL WIPE, in order to have a successful installation, unless you want a 500$ paperweight, keep on dreaming on your cool idea
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

It would be a nice idea and make things a lot easier, but as suprakarma said it's unfortunately not possible. This is probably the biggest reason I don't flash custom ROM's. It's fast to wipe, format and install a new ROM. But then takes time reinstalling and setting up everything again, just like if you were to get a brand new phone.
If I have time on a weekend or am bored then I have given it a try in the past, but with 2 kids and always being on the go it's just not an option to play around with my settings so I just stick with stock. Everything works, everything is set the way I like and I don't have to keep wiping/installing and reconfiguring everything again.
I am missing out on a lot of great ROM's though and would love to give some a try even if for a couple days. Just not in the cards at the moment. Peace.

thank you i didnt think it was possible but was just thinking that it would be cool, like when you go to install a new rom, it would do a backup of your info/data on to your sd card then do a full wipe, install the new rom and then insert your info/data so everything is the way it was (when i say info/data i mean like photos, music, contacts, texts, wifi passwords, apps, so basically combine titanium with cwm and have it all run together in nice move)

suprakarma said:
Unless the rom you're running has an update based on the same build and all its features on the update are compatible with your current rom, what you're asking is not possible, every rom or software our devs make made by compiling files and scripts, that take tame to decompile then put back together to make things work properly if not close to it unless you read, if you read the installation suggested methods and it says DO A FULL WIPE, in order to have a successful installation, unless you want a 500$ paperweight, keep on dreaming on your cool idea
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Click to collapse
I actually don't really agree with this post. First of all, I don't think you can create a paperweight by restoring a /data partition.. this just sounds like fear-mongering (I often try doing an advanced restore of /data just in case - It often causes problems, but sometimes it works perfectly and everything is as it was before I flashed).
I think the OP has a great idea, and I think it is entirely possible. In all honesty though.. although I am a software developer, I am not an android dev, so I could just be talking tripe.
We all know that some apps can be restored along with their data across roms and even across roms with a different Android OS. The problem is that there is some data that is not. What we need is a mechanism (perhaps an app) that will identify and 'export' metadata for the system data that is potentially not compatible. Of course, it wouldn't be able to export passwords for accounts etc, but those could be easily re-entered during an "import" of this metadata and could in fact perform all the manual installation and data entry (usually done by the end-user) in an automatic way.
Theoretically, data content shouldn't need to be changed, just the way its stored/read/written, so it might just need to get reformatted with each new rom (there may be exceptions of course).
Practically speaking, this is a beast of a project, and may not be feasible for any dev to undertake. It will likely cause more grief to end-users than anything until all the bugs are worked out (which may be never) and will be difficult to maintain across many devices.
Just wanted to point out that it could be possible in thoery. I would love to hear arguments to the contrary though (love to learn!)

As long as new devices keep on merging they become less development Friendly, and in order for this to be possible, every ROM would need to be equal, meaning no room for development choices, and this feature would need to be on a specially made recovery, what this idea means is to disclosure a nandroid backup, leaving only what is needed for the new ROM, this may have been plausible on gingerbread, and there are much more rom development in progress for developers in order to make what we have to work properly if not close to it instead of working on a project like this, therefore, at least for our device is not possible and there are many threads of users bricking their devices by not following instructions, whipping correctly, not reading etc and I stand for my statements without meaning to flame
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2