[Q] how to extract .apk from a nand backup? - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

is it possible to extract an .apk file from a nand backup made with Amon_Ra (1.8)?
i switched roms to MIUI and i can't find Volume Button Controller on the market. I've had it on my phone for months and I can't function without it. i've searched online and all i come up with is broken market links and links saying the app has been removed from the market.
it was a free app, that I have on a backup. just dont want to have to backup my current miui setup (in progress), to restore that one, to restore this one again, etc. plus i think knowing how to do this will be useful in the long term.
i'm on Windows XP so I'm restricted to that platform on terms of getting it to work. google search turned up an app called unyaffs but it looked like a linux thing
thanks!

backup what you are on. restore your nand of where you have the apk. and then use titanium backup to backup your app. Restore your latest nand and use titanium to restore the app.
Swyped from my cyanogenized and gingerbreaded EVO

You can also extract files directly from the img files. Install Cygwin with the default options and download unyaffs compiled for windows. Place unyaffs in your path for ease of access, copy the system.img file out of your nand backup and drop it into a folder that is easy to get to. Start Cygwin, cd to the folder the img file is stored, type unyaffs system.img. That will extract all the files from the system.img file. Most of what you need should be in the app folder. Some things will need stuff from the lib folder too, like swype.
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thanks for the info.
ended up going the route i didnt want to go. installing cygwin was taking forever!
but now i know for the future

Yeah, Cygwin can take a while if you are on a slow connection or get stuck on a slow mirror.

Related

nandroid emulator?

Is there an nandroid rom emulator for PC so I can view and mess with my backups without having to flash them? Or even just view them..
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Bump
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Just open them on your pc.... what else do you want to do?
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shortlived said:
Just open them on your pc.... what else do you want to do?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They aren't the kind of files that you can just double click.
The boot and recovery images can be split with splitboot or a hex editor for the mischevious. You can use unyaffs on the system image to extract it.
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4474956
I haven't tried to extract userdata.img, but my guess that it's similar to the system.img, but with slightly different headers.
In short, I don't think there is an easy way to check what is on a backup, but that also depends on your idea of easy. As much as I like flashing my NAND, I'd rather unpack an image than flash a backup just see what the tooth fairy left inside.
Going forward, the OP could make a manifest of all the files and save that with the backup. this might do the trick?
Code:
ls -aR /* > manifest2010-12-31.txt
Thanks a bunch. There was once an emulator made that showcased android 1.5 as if you had a phone screen on your desktop. You could even install apks on it and some worked.
It would be neat if someone took it a few steps further to load even custom test roms so you try.. say a sense rom to see if you even liked sense before flashing your phone.
That's the official Android emulator, it's included in the SDK. You can try running your own images on it, but I could never get them to boot properly.
To open the .img files found in a nandroid backup you have to unyaffs them. It pretty much extracts the files out of the .img
I've attached a copy of the tool, just extract it, put the .img file in the unyaffs folder, and drag and drop the .img file onto unyaffs.exe.
Hope that helps
EDIT: Make sure it's a copy of the .img so you should NOT remove the file itself from the backup folder.

Creating an unique update.zip

I switch roms constantly on my phone and the most annoying part of that is having to every time enter my gmail, facebook, twitter and other information that never changes... Is there anyway to make a FLASHABLE update.zip that I can just install after a rom flash? Out would even be better if I can put certain applications in there too. Like my Angry Birds, Rom Manager, and Titanium Backup. You know just the apps that no matter what rom I use I always have to reinstall. This would save me and whoever find themselves in this situation alot of time when it comes to experimenting with different Roms. Please help!
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I don't know about login information but you can make an update.zip with miscellaneous apps that you don't want to re-download. It's kind of a pain (personal opinion) to make an update.zip but here are some directions:
1. Create a folder, we'll call it "update".
2. Inside "update" make two new folders called "META-INF" (without the quotes and capitalized) and "data" (also without quotes).
3. Inside "META-INF" create a folder called "com".
4. Inside "com" create a folder called "google".
5. Inside "google" create a folder called "android".
6. Close the folders you have open and re-open "update".
7. Open "data" and create a folder called "app".
8. Add the .apk files you want to flash to "data/app".
9. I've attached a few files to the post, unzip "secFiles.zip" and put "CERT.RSA", "CERT.SF", and "MANIFEST.MF" into your "update/META-INF" folder.
10. Also attached is "script.zip". Unzip this and add the "updater-script" and "update-binary" to "update/META-INF/com/google/android".
11. Now that you have the folder structuring complete you can zip it all up. When you zip it, make sure you zip "data" and "META-INF" NOT "update". You will have errors if you zip "update"!
12. If you have ClockworkMod Recovery you do not need to sign it. If not then I recommend making a nandroid backup and copying it to your computer so that your WiMax (4G) keys are backed up, then switching to ClockworkMod Recovery.
13. Make a nandroid backup anyways! Don't come calling me if you're phone messes up. I do not believe there to be anything wrong in my directions but I can't afford to fix you're phone.
14. Flash away! Hopefully it worked. I'll try to elaborate if you're confused.
Thank you so Much! but thats just half the equation... Titanium Backup has a way to backup and restore the Accounts and Sync data which is what the goal is here... im thinking about finding a way to extract that and put it into a flashable zip. Im learning alot about the android structure and it might now be long until i unintentionally solve this myself
You could add Titanium Backup to your flashable zip and have it preinstalled as well as your backup wherever it belongs. (Sorry, don't use Titanium Backup)
Or another idea to try out, if you have Clockwork Recovery you can restore just the data partition. I'd be careful of doing it but if you're in the mood to experiment I think it might do what you're looking for. Note that you'll have to have a data.img nandroid backup of everything you want. If you manage to figure it out please share because I hate typing my ridiculously long passwords every time I flash a new rom.
you can make a flashable zip for titanium. from the app, press menu > more > create update.zip
this option gives you an option to create a signed zip file (you need a free app from the market called zip signer) that will install titanium as either a user or system file
It would be great to know how to create a update.zip of the titanium backups and that way, it would include +data
Anyone know how to do that?
Keri

[Q] Backup .apk files that are stored on an HTC Desire HD (rooted)

I have searched this forum and have not found an answer. I would like to know how to backup the .apk files that are stored on the phone memory, not the SD card. I have used ASTRO file manager but cannot locate the .apk files. I have already used Titanium Backup Pro but I have found that the .apk files are backed up a .tar.gz files. What I want to do is backup the .apk files as .apk files for future resoration or transport to another Android device. I have searched the phone and cannot loacte where the downloaded .apk's are being stored. Could someone out there please help point me in the right direction.
emelnick1 said:
I have searched this forum and have not found an answer. I would like to know how to backup the .apk files that are stored on the phone memory, not the SD card. I have used ASTRO file manager but cannot locate the .apk files. I have already used Titanium Backup Pro but I have found that the .apk files are backed up a .tar.gz files. What I want to do is backup the .apk files as .apk files for future resoration or transport to another Android device. I have searched the phone and cannot loacte where the downloaded .apk's are being stored. Could someone out there please help point me in the right direction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a couple of options. You can tell titanium backup not to use compression when backing up, or you can use 'Root Explorer' and navigate to /data/app where you will find all your user installed apps, be aware that the data for the apps, such as save games etc... is stored in /data/data.
Hope that this is of some help to you.
Tahnsk for your help
Doktaphex,
I tried turning compression off but titanium backup still created .tar files, not .apk files. Secon option of using root explorer worked just great.
Thanks for your help.
You can use Titanium backup, which will create compressed file, but you can decompress it on your PC and extract .apk file.
Method I use is with ASTRO. Go to menu-tools-backup programs, choose programs you want to backup and hit 'Backup' button. Then navigate to backup folder and there are your programs. But be aware, they will show market names whic are not always easy to determine which .apk is which program.
I use appmonster as it backs up when you install from any source, using an old version 1.9.0 as they changed the way it puts file names, nopw it does via market, on prior it was a readable name
I am using app saver, it works~
A simple option would be to install appInstaller (the one by Gregory House) from the market.
It's a lightweight app which backs up apk files to a folder on your sd card named app saver.
Noob here,
how can you locate or transfer a apk files? where are they exactly saved? how can you install/run them? what app should i use?
using a Huawei u8860 phone.
Thanks
mojo_ojoj said:
Noob here,
how can you locate or transfer a apk files? where are they exactly saved? how can you install/run them? what app should i use?
using a Huawei u8860 phone.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It all depends of the app...if is a system app or a market one. You have to use a file explorer such as file manager or ES explorer.
If the app you are looking for is a system on you need to be rooted.
Try apk extractor in the market its free, its what I use.
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[Q] Taking APKs out of a nand backup.

I backuped, full via CWM, is it possible to take out the APKs out of it?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1112906
As posted above. Use unyaffs to extract the system image.
Ephumuris.
Tank you both, all thouth I rather use Linux for this. I actually though it would be easier. Thank you any way
Can use unyaffs in Linux or Windows its actually very easy.
Ephumuris.
Just use Yaffs explorer apk for the Defy and you can explore your nandroid backup and extract apks to your sdcard.

So after my Xperia Play went insane, I made a CWM backup. How do I extract it?

While using TrueAncestor things were kinda great... then I went a little too delete-happy in my system folder and severely ruined something that sent my phone into a bootloop. Silly user error on my behalf, so I decided to suck it up and flash back to 2.3.4. Kinda nice being back on stock - it's all clean, functional, smooth and back to the battery life that's so good that I can't believe it's an Android phone.
I did make use of the backup function thinking it'd just spit what I had in my system out into a folder on my SD. I don't want to restore for obvious reasons, but I do have a lot of data locked in my gamesaves that I'd like to retrieve.
The files it generated are:
• data.yaffs2.img
• system.yaffs2.img
Any idea how to break into those? I used to do a lot of breaking into compressed media back in the PSP days, but that's so long ago I don't even remember what I used to break down isos, bins, imgs and such.
Download and install 7zip. You can right select on the nandroid and select "Extract to" or "Extract Here" to uncompress it.
Another option is within Titanium Backup you can select the menu from the main screen and select to restore files from a nandorid, but it would be a much faster process via the PC.
http://www.7-zip.org/download.html
Any luck TL?
WinRAR can't do anything with .yaffs files, but I'm pretty sure unyaffs is what you can use.
WinRAR cant uncompress the yaffs. I use 7zip and it works great. never had any issues
Here was a thread that helped me a while back. If 7zip doesn't work maybe this program will.HERE
Edit**Actually Im interested, did 7zip work with the extraction?
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