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I used to have a WinMo device that I would flash new roms to a couple times a month. I had a procedure down to backup contacts, SMS, and CallLogs with some other info. Then after, the flash i would restore the SMS, contacts, and Call logs and an auto installer (Sashimi) would redo all my settings (email, registry, etc) and then install a couple apps I used regularly. I used this method because the ROMs would change the software on the device around and I didn't trust a standard app backup since it might restore old files onto a newer build app.
I know with Android, there's a ton of apps (Titanium, sprint, etc) to do backups but some seem more purpose built than others. Plus, the contacts get backed up on google, so they don't matter much.
Does anyone have a good method that they use to backup the data and restore between ROM changes on Android similar to the above?
Titanium backup is pretty much the gold standard for Android
It will back up ALL of your apps, their data, and your system data but you want to be careful about restoring system data. If you restore everything you're likely to get boot loops from something being incompatible, just be selective about what system data you restore and maybe only restore one thing at a time the first couple times so you can get a feel for what restores well and what doesnt.
Conversly I have had almost no problems batch restoring all my apps and their data. The only real problem you are likely to have is with apps that check to see if it's a restored copy or an install from the original apk. None of gameloft's games can be restored, for example. That has been my experience, hope it helps.
nebenezer pretty much got it, I'll just add a couple points
Invest in the donate version of Titanium. It automates the re-install process of apps. Otherwise, you will have to physically press Install, and then OK once an app is finished installing, for every app.
System settings items in green (includes SMS messages, call log, etc) are pretty much safe to backup/restore when switching ROMs, you just have to make sure you are switching between like ROMs.
For example:
2.2 Sense-based ROM <----> 2.2 Sense-based ROM - Ok
CyanogenMOD AOSP <----> 2.2 Sense-based ROM - Bad
Any 2.2 ROM <----> Any 2.1 ROM - Bad
Sense AOSP-lite ROM <----> 2.2 Sense-based ROM - You can probably get away with a few settings, but if you try to restore HTC Browser settings/bookmarks to AOSP browser, etc, or vice versa, it will likely cause issues.
That just goes for settings, as far as user apps, those are pretty much safe to restore to/from any ROM.
I did a lot of reading before I did this to be sure I wouldn't lose anything. Here's the step by step for others, since I was unable to find it all in one place. This is for the MT4G/Glacier, no idea if the process is similar on other phones. You should probably still read, but I couldn't find any of this all in one place:
If you flash, here's what you need:
- Rooted phone (if you need to root, search for the gfree method, it's the easiest)
- ROM Manager from the Market. Get the premium version.
- TitaniumBackup from the Market.
- Sync turned on for your contacts and calendars in your google account.
1. Go into TitaniumBackup, set the option to store the settings on the SDCard. Go into Backup/Restore, hit menu, and run the batch to do a full backup of system and user apps/data.
2. Go into ROM Manager. At the top, click the option to install ClockworkRecovery. Make sure it installs version 3.0.0.5. Then click the option to reboot into recovery mode. In recovery, make a ROM backup of your existing ROM. It will store on the SD card. Reboot back into the OS.
3. Go back into ROM Manager, scroll down to Download ROM's. You should see CM7 Nightlies in there. Download the latest build. It will ask you if you want to also download the GAPPS package, grab that also. When it's done, it will ask you what you want to do... just cancel. Go to reboot in recovery mode.
4. In recovery:
- Wipe/Factory Reset
- Clear cache partition
- Advanced -> clear Dalvik cache
- On main screen, install ZIP from SD
- Navigate to sdcard->clockworkmod->downloads->teamdouche and select the CM7 zip for your phone that was downloaded
- When that is done, install another zip from sd, go into the goo.inside.me directory and install GAPPS zip
- Reboot phone from main menu
5. Enter your gmail creds that you used for your primary account from before
6. Cancel the additional downloads thing when it pops up, this will pop up again later after you enable wireless
7. Go into ROM Manager, Select the Fix Permissions option, reboot (wifi won't work unless you do this)
8. Enable wifi and join to your network
9. Eventually you will get the popup again. Select the stuff that you want installed.
It will pull down all of your apps from the market and install them. If you want to restore user data for the apps, you can go into titanium and click on the app, and restore it with the data. Don't do this until it's done updating from the market. Do NOT restore system level stuff. You will cause problems if you restore system level stuff from 2.2 or earlier on 2.3.x.
You should also install SetCPU from the market, set to start on boot, set conservative mode, and create a screen off profile that limits to 368mhz/conservative. In advanced, leave the defaults, except change the cpu up threshold to 75, and the scaling percent to 11 or 12. Massive battery improvements. You can overclock with this also, mine is only overclocked to around 1100mhz. Some people are running 1800mhz. I heard smartass mode instead of conservative is also good, but haven't tried it.
Keep in mind that if you have an HTC phone with the Sense Framework, you won't have that anymore. So if you liked the Sense dialer (which I did), you can't get it. The stock dialer is functional, but not the best. DialerOne and Dialer2 look the most interesting, but they still aren't as good. If you have CSipSimple installed, remove it. CM7 has SIP built into it, and CSipSimple confuses the phone when trying to make calls. If you liked the Sense clock widget, you can get a replacement, search for Beautiful Widgets on the market. The built in camera app is not Sense either, but does all the same things. The Gallery is awesome, best gallery I've ever seen (stacks that you can pull apart and flip through, very cool).
If GPS doesn't work, download GPS Status from the market and use it to clear the A-GPS data and cache. It's the only app that can do it. It's free.
Also, if you want to go back to your previous ROM, you can flash back with the ROM Manager backup that you made. The only thing is, you'll have to downgrade the clockwork recovery bootloader to 2.5.1.2 first. You can do this by flashing a zip from your SD card. The zip is available somewhere on these forums. I don't have a link, but you can find it by searching a bit. The 3.0.0.5 version cannot flash a Froyo or earlier ROM for some reason. I'm not going back, so I haven't done this.
My TitaniumBackup realized somehow that I installed fresh, and it automatically restored my apps and data. It did NOT on my friend's phone. But, he has the free version and I have the paid one. If it doesn't restore your app settings, you can manually go in and do it. One thing that I've never been able to restore is Good corporate email. It restores, but it won't send or receive. If anyone has ideas on this, post them.
Note that I flashed with build 35, and it's been rock solid. Your mileage may vary. If you already have the software noted above, the whole process only takes about 5-10 mins.
Edit: Recovery 3.0.0.6 was released, and works with 2.2 and 2.3. So you wouldn't have to downgrade the recovery to go back a version. As of this edit, you can grab it here if it's not showing up in ROM Manager yet: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=952433
Something to add... if you are using ADW or LPP do a backup if those also. I find that if you install it fresh from the market and not TB then press restore settings in their preferences it will load all the custom icons and custom dock. It saves alot of time. Nice writup for the peeps that need the pointers for a fresh and fast install of a nightly
FYI, Titanium backup works great at restoring apps. I would be weary of restoring data between android versions however, because some of the data will be of a different type and could cause lots of issues. Thats the reason for the full data wipe before flashing in the first place.
option94 said:
FYI, Titanium backup works great at restoring apps. I would be weary of restoring data between android versions however, because some of the data will be of a different type and could cause lots of issues. Thats the reason for the full data wipe before flashing in the first place.
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I thought that was mostly because of system. The apps themselves still store their data in sqlite databases, and their schema should not change between versions of the actual OS. I might be wrong.
app data is fine, system data is what causes issues. I should have been more specific.
option94 said:
app data is fine, system data is what causes issues. I should have been more specific.
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The only system stuff I install is the accounts back up, email data, wifi access points, and account and sync settings. I usually dont have a problem installing this kind of stuff. I had a few problems in the past restoring some system stuff and it made things not work, a lot of force closes. etc.. I would open up say the sound settings in settings and it would never open it would fc 100% of the time. You know I bet a lot of the issues people have with stuff not working when other's have no problems are due to bad restores. I have not once in any of the builds(since 26 when I started flashing CM 7) had an issue with wifi or gps(knock on wood)
option94 said:
FYI, Titanium backup works great at restoring apps. I would be weary of restoring data between android versions however, because some of the data will be of a different type and could cause lots of issues. Thats the reason for the full data wipe before flashing in the first place.
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But the market automatically downloads all your apps for you. last time i did a full wipe i only used TB to restore data only, since the apps had been installed automatically from market.
You can use My Backup Pro to back up your SMS and MMS, plus bookmarks and a few other things. Very useful if you want to wipe and save your text.
speoples20 said:
You can use My Backup Pro to back up your SMS and MMS, plus bookmarks and a few other things. Very useful if you want to wipe and save your text.
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Checkout sms backup+
It backs up all texts to your gmail account automatically.
speoples20 said:
You can use My Backup Pro to back up your SMS and MMS, plus bookmarks and a few other things. Very useful if you want to wipe and save your text.
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You can also use My Backup Root (free in market) It is the same as My Backup pro but it is free.
Ok so I just barely rooted and flashed cm7 #40 to my glacier. Everthing is great. I love the rom. I just need help on 2 things. First, how do I get my contacts to sync back to my phone? I had done a factory reset twice before and they always synced back after I logged in my gmail account but not this time. I did sync my gmail before rooting and flashing and I also backed everything up with titanium backup but nothing. Second, when I first flashed the cm7 #40 rom I liked how when I locked the screen it shut off like if you were turning off a tv. I don't know what I did that it does not do it anymore. If anyone knows hows to fix my 2 problems I greatly appriciate it. Thanx.
EDIT: I figured out how to get the screen off animation back but I still have problems getting my contacts to push back to my phone. If anyone knows how to get them to sync it would be helpful.
EDIT#2: Figured out how to get contacts back. Was not able to sync them but just went to the tmo website, wrote them down and re-added them to my phone.
issues after upgrade to gb
I have rooted and upgraded to cm7. I have followed all directions, however, i do not have android market or any google apps reinstalled on the phone. Something got messed up during the upgrade, anyone got any ideas how i can install android market back on my phone? This is a big issue for me, i can not even get back into my titanium backup. How do i recover it from sd card? PLEASE HELP!!!! Stressing big time over this!! Also, when i try to set up my account to sync the contacts its asking for a domain name, i assume its for gmail, how do i find it? Any examples or ideas? I lost a grip of contacts, over 200! Please help!!! Thank you!
RusRap said:
I have rooted and upgraded to cm7. I have followed all directions, however, i do not have android market or any google apps reinstalled on the phone. Something got messed up during the upgrade, anyone got any ideas how i can install android market back on my phone? This is a big issue for me, i can not even get back into my titanium backup. How do i recover it from sd card? PLEASE HELP!!!! Stressing big time over this!! Also, when i try to set up my account to sync the contacts its asking for a domain name, i assume its for gmail, how do i find it? Any examples or ideas? I lost a grip of contacts, over 200! Please help!!! Thank you!
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Did you install the GAPPS zip that came with the rom? if you didn't, do. Its the google apps file. That will load the market and apps.
coupetastic-droid said:
Ok so I just barely rooted and flashed cm7 #40 to my glacier. Everthing is great. I love the rom. I just need help on 2 things. First, how do I get my contacts to sync back to my phone? I had done a factory reset twice before and they always synced back after I logged in my gmail account but not this time. I did sync my gmail before rooting and flashing and I also backed everything up with titanium backup but nothing. Second, when I first flashed the cm7 #40 rom I liked how when I locked the screen it shut off like if you were turning off a tv. I don't know what I did that it does not do it anymore. If anyone knows hows to fix my 2 problems I greatly appriciate it. Thanx.
EDIT: I figured out how to get the screen off animation back but I still have problems getting my contacts to push back to my phone. If anyone knows how to get them to sync it would be helpful.
EDIT#2: Figured out how to get contacts back. Was not able to sync them but just went to the tmo website, wrote them down and re-added them to my phone.
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howd you get the animations back?
mbernusg said:
howd you get the animations back?
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wiped, re-flashed the rom and re-boot. it was the only way i was able to get the animation back.
I'm curious if there's a way to batch-restore data only in Titanium Backup? Only way I can see is to do it app by app.
Likewise, any way to batch-backup data only?
Hello, i have a problem with the restore of my apps after flashing a custom rom (Leedroid, of course). I’m running Leedroid 2.5.0. I make a backup of my apps trough Titanium. Then I flash rom and restore all my apps with Titanium. Everything seems to be ok but when I try to restore my desk applications, contact list, accounts …. From Titanium, I have several problems such as Contact applications which get a Force Close error. HTC logo appears when I quit an application and come back to Home…
What do I make wrong?
A lot of system applications do not work with data restores as the formats mights be incompatible between ROMS. This is especially true when changing from Sense to Nonsense ROMS but it seems that this is not the case with you.
Fortunately, the contact list is usually backed up to your email account, and should be restored by a sync, so there is no need to use Ti for it. I think its best to enter the account information manually and then restore the other system apps one by one, checking for FCs each time.
I'm not sure by what exactly you mean by desk applications but to this day I have not successfully restored the entire home screen configuration (esp widgets) between installation of launchers and this goes for Rosie, ADW and Go.
if it helps MIUI rom has its own backup function and i feel its much more reliable.
do0b said:
if it helps MIUI rom has its own backup function and i feel its much more reliable.
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+1 But don't backup your contact list. Already backuped with your google account
I would REALLY appreciate some help with this please, because after 10 reflashes, I still can't find the problem. I've been trying to flash the Darkside Evolution ROM ( latest T-Mobile version ) on my phone. Everything seems to work fine, until I start restoring my text messages, at which point, all hell breaks lose. My stock messaging app just brings up a black screen and eventually FCs, Google Play keeps FCing as well, and occasionally, no keys typed in any of my keyboard apps show up in the fields selected. Reboots don't help.
Here's how I've been flashing ( running CWM 5.0.2.7 non-touch ): 1. flash darkside super wipe. 2. flash ROM. 3. flash darkside cache-wipe. 4. let system sit 10 minutes before toying with it. I've also tried flashing the cache-wipe after the 10 minute system sit, but I still have issues.
Here's what I've tried, with no success:
1. Searching the forums for any possible solution, but to no avail.
2. Mainly use GoSMS to backup & restore texts, but also tried SMS Backup & Restore and GoBackup instead, with same results, if not worse.
3. Re-ODINed to stock, rooted and flashed CWM again .
4. Checked MD5 checksum of all files I've said I've used; all are verified as correct.
5. Tried Settings->Applications, and deleting cache / data for troubled apps. Only fixes issue with Google Play.
5. Tried different ROMs ( Juggernaut v5.0 and Darkside Digital Warfare v2.7-( my somewhat stable DD until now) months ago, and Infamous 2.6-(worked after a couple of tries, but missing features I need) and Darkside Evolution v7 the past few days ).
TL;DR - Restoring SMS breaks any Rom I flash. Help please?
Could someone help, pretty please?
...I'm sorry if I sound pushy or agitated, but I spent about 20 hours just this past week, wiping, flashing, and restoring, over and over again with quite a few different ROMs to no avail, and unfortunately I'm not exaggerating. I'm tech savvy, but I know anyone can make stupid mistakes, and I would just REALLY appreciate it if someone could help me finally get to the bottom of this; it's been the bane of my rooting life. I can get on an IM app if that would make it easier.
I used to use Titanium Backup to restore sms & mms. But now I use Go Backup and hadn't had any issues. Every time I've used SMS Backup. I would get issues of the app freezing. I'm using TWRP for my recovery. I know some Dev's say not to use it but I haven't had one issue with it at all.
When you do restore your SMS & MMS are you rebooting your device right after?
Beefvvl said:
I used to use Titanium Backup to restore sms & mms. But now I use Go Backup and hadn't had any issues. Every time I've used SMS Backup. I would get issues of the app freezing. I'm using TWRP for my recovery. I know some Dev's say not to use it but I haven't had one issue with it at all.
When you do restore your SMS & MMS are you rebooting your device right after?
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Thanks for the reply. I've mostly used GoSMS Backup, but I've tried SMS Backup & Restore, Go Backup, and TiBu ( with "Migrate System Data" checked ) this week, but all of them cause random issues. I've been hesitant about using TWRP because a lot of people don't recommend it, but I don't mind giving that a shot if it won't brick my phone. Is there anything I should know about using it?
And sometimes I reboot right after an SMS/MMS restore, and sometimes I try to access the messages before rebooting. With TiBu, I always reboot first now. Either way, I still have issues.
I'm also on DarksideEvolution.3.v7, and have used SMS Backup and Restore without any issues. Also used SMS Backup+ without issues. I've restored anywhere from 400-800 +/- messages. How many text messages are you trying to restore? My only thought, was if your backup has thousands of messages, it may cause a memory issue that causes the hang ups.
I'm trying to restore about 12,000 text messages...
I was able to get DarksideEvolution3v7 completely working once, except that my GPS wasn't working, so I was going to wait until TDJ releases an update with a GPS fix until I try Darkside again. I haven't used SMS Backup+ because I don't want to use cloud services, and SMS Backup & Restore is one of the best working ones right now. I just tried GoBackup again, and after about 65%, it force closed with some kind of unknown exception error, and no texts showed even after a reboot.
That's your issue. Had it happen to me awhile back. Had to do some manipulation to get it to work. I forget the details exactly unfortunately. However, I do recall it was related to The max limiter in the messaging app and had to go with handcent, adjusted max sms settings higher prior to SMS refresh. Then had some issues with mMs which is the part I forget
Tb has the xml backup feature now, that might help since the backup file is smaller, so maybe memory isn't such an issue
I was afraid it might be something like that. I've had issues with previous phones restoring texts when I start hitting around 10k messages, but nothing this severe, and I figured that our SGSII's processing power should be able to handle it. I've been making sure that under the stock messaging settings, "Delete Old Messages" is always unchecked, but I'm not sure if that's what the max limiter is.
And do you know if there's anything special that I have to do to activate that TiBu feature? I saw it in my changelog when I updated, but I wasn't sure.
Ok, Im running shiny 4.2.2 (stock based rom), I just recently flash this one and I remember the Rom I was running before had a direct dial feature in the phone settings along with all the other advanced settings. Now this is what I've been doing for the past 2 days, downloading every Rom I could think of that I ran on a desktop, extracting the system/apps and installing Contacts.apk, ContactsProviders.apk and Phone.apk of course being on a stock based rom some worked some didn't. I know that RootBox has a mms.apk that has a direct dial feature built into the settings, so I'm thinking maybe it was rootbox that had that same thing in the phone settings, but when I try and install those 3 apk's that I need I get force closes everywhere ( android.process.acore) most of all and I have to resore a nandroid. Does anyone have any instight on what I could do or if it's even possible to get it to work with shiny rom?
The original contacts app
I had kind of the same problem. That error is shown when you don't have any app which can handle contacts and hence it takes down the whole package down including messaging, calling, etc. I tried the same extracting and attempting to install. It doesn't happen. The only thing that worked for me was titanium backup. I had the contacts backup there. I restored it with it data and things are A-okay.