Being a newbie that is learning A LOT, my most recent question is:
If I have flashed a BYOR (midnight rom) then added the apk files that I wanted, is there a way of saving my modified ROM so that if I try something else and need to flash back, I can without reloading all of the apps from the zip files?
Make a backup in CWM before wiping, then restore it later when you want to switch back. That's all you can do as far as I know.
notmyepic said:
Being a newbie that is learning A LOT, my most recent question is:
If I have flashed a BYOR (midnight rom) then added the apk files that I wanted, is there a way of saving my modified ROM so that if I try something else and need to flash back, I can without reloading all of the apps from the zip files?
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1st download Titanium Backup and save all your files on your and window information email etc etc . u hit menu then BATCH then back up all files and data ......
CWM ... got to restore n backup then select back up and let it work ..........
now after u check out the other Rom u go back into CWM .... RESTORE UR OLD FILE .... then download TITANIUM BACKUP and restore everything or just choose what you want NOTE: YOU CAN DO TITANIUM w the ROm IF U CHOOSE TO KEEP IT
Also, you can take applications from say the midNight v5 upgrade zip(use 7zip to open the zip file) navigate to system/app folder. Copy the apks from the upgrade zip to the same folder in the BYOR zip file; same for files in system/lib.
You can repeat that step for other apps you like from the midNight Extras folder.
If you ever have to flash fresh; then you'll have a rom zip pre-built with your apps and you wont have to flash each zip.
Absolutely utilize the backup in CWM .. that can save you butt ... before any theme, kernel or ROM install. That way if you hit a boot loop or freeze .. simply boot to recovery and restore your phone back to before that flash attempt.
Thanks everyone. When I get a chance I may try something different
I would download and install 7zip. make a backup copy of your midnight 5.0 byor zip incase you mess something up but not likely. right click on one of the rom zips and 7zip open archive. in that archive you opened there should be an sd card folder. open that and extract the midnight extras folder to your desktop (drag it to the desktop). open that archive up again and navigate to system/app. go into your midnight extras folder and copy all the apk's you want on your phone and paste them in the system/app folder. After this any time you flash this zip you will have all the apps you put in the system/apps folder and wont have to flash multiple zips for apps. this can be done for themes, boot animations, shutdown animations, fonts, pretty much anything you can flash as long as you know where to put them. ps always backup before flashing
I thought I read somewhere installing zip file with CWM, it needed the apk and another file (believe it was meta file)
Is this the case, or is the zip files with meta also for something bigger than just apks?
Related
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!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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
guys how can i put a bunch of applications in a zip folder a flash it by recovery.Ive tried putting 3 apps in a zip folder and flshing it via recovery but it says failed..
I tried that a while ago on the g1 with mixed results.
You have to put them in the data/app/ folder the same way they appear on your phone. If you are feeling ambitious, you can also grab the corresponding folder in data/data. You'll have to look for the java package name, not the app name. Lastly, you have to adjust the updater-script in META-INF/com/google/android/ to mount and flash the data folder, not system and then clean out the extra cruft.
You might have to resign the zip or just toggle sig checks.
Other options include using recovery to restore the data partition, but this will be everything, not just your 3 favorite apps. Alternatively, you could write a script that runs from your PC while your phone is in recovery and use the "adb install" command. I think there are also apps that do that for you, such as Titanium backup.
Gee one thanks for the reply but can you plz reexplain "If you are feeling ambitious, you can also grab the corresponding folder in data/data. You'll have to look for the java package name, not the app name. Lastly, you have to adjust the updater-script in META-INF/com/google/android/ to mount and flash the data folder, not system and then clean out the extra cruft.
You might have to resign the zip or just toggle sig checks."
Your phone stores the app in data/app/some.java.name.here so if you use flash those files, your apps will be installed. The app itself stores settings, history, etc in data/data/some.java.name.here If you flash the corresponding folder in data/data, you'll also get all your settings and won't have to bother setting it all up from scratch.
If you use adb or a file explorer to poke around in your data/data and data/app folders, you'll see what I mean.
In order to get the zip to flash, you have to include "instructions" that tell the recovery what to do with the zip. Unzip one of the flashable roms and look in the META-INF/com/google/android folder. There should be two files there. You want to edit the updater-script so that it flashes your data. Most likely, it is set up to flash a custom rom to your system folder. You'll have to do some editing and some trial and error to figure it out, but if you are just flashing the data partition, most of the commands in updater-script will be superfluous.
Lastly, and this the part that everyone hates (second only to adding adb to your path), you either have to sign the zip with jarsigner, signapk, or something similar, or turn off signature checking in your recovery. Signing the zip is essentially adding a digital signature so that your phone knows that the zip is intact. Clockworkmod recovery will let you toggle the signature checks in one of the options- poke around and get familiar with your recovery. It's probably in there somewhere.
I think Titanium backup will let you freeze/unfreeze apps- you might want to consider it.
Thanks
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Did this work? Like to buy a beer for someone who wants to upload a zip with a file explorer all for a project I have that has no play store or file explorer on it. Thank you
Hi,
I need to install HTC's Locations app on any custom ROM (ie: MyOneV or CM9/CM10)
So any1 can help me with this ?
(i tried it though, by moving these files (from MyOneV5.0FX Removed apks) htclocation.apk,locationpicker.apk,locatiooninstaller.apk in System/app folder bt it didn't worked)
When you move those files to system app manually, you need to put right permission rw-r--r-- then reboot.
Or the simplest way is, open the Removed_Apks_RC5.x.zip with 7-zip (not extract), delete all apks that you don't need and leave those location files in zip.
Then flash the zip in recovery.
And these files will not work on a CM rom.
ckpv5 said:
When you move those files to system app manually, you need to put right permission rw-r--r-- then reboot.
Or the simplest way is, open the Removed_Apks_RC5.x.zip with 7-zip (not extract), delete all apks that you don't need and leave those location files in zip.
Then flash the zip in recovery.
And these files will not work on a CM rom.
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:good:
Thankz
I tried that too, by removing all apks from zip keeping the said three files & flash it in recovery, still it doesn't appeared in apps!
Though i'll try again may b missed something or some file..
I just tried it, it works.
Your filename looks different, attached here the files from the Removed_Apks_RC5.x.zip, I named it to location.zip. Flash in recovery.
It Worked: Thanx
Anyway to reinstall it? Like can someone send me the apk pretty please or teach me how to extract it from the ROM in the zip file?
kirbymaster101 said:
Anyway to reinstall it? Like can someone send me the apk pretty please or teach me how to extract it from the ROM in the zip file?
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MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP FIRST OR YOU ARE A NOOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Download rootbrowser lite from the market. Now if you have the cm zip on your phone, navigate to it, open it, go to system, then go to app and find gallery2.apk. Click on it and rootbrowser will give you 2 options, click extract. This will extract just the apk to /storage/sdcard/0/extracted (its a folder now). Great now to add it to whatever rom you are running right now:
If you are trying to install the camera app on any touchwiz based rom it will fail, don't try, it will fail. If you are installing it on another AOSP follow the following directions:
1. With rootbrowser go to /system/app in the root directory of your phone. Then find your gallery2.apk and copy it and paste it somewhere on your sdcard (not in the extracted folder though) where you can find it in case something goes wrong.
2. After storing your old camera apk somewhere safe, go to the extracted folder on your sdcard and copy the gallery2.apk you extracted from cm.
3. Paste the cm gallery2.apk in the system/app root folder on your phone. It should ask if you want to overwrite a file (it will be overwriting your old gallery2.apk) just hit yes.
4. Reboot and hope for the best.
5. If it doesn't work try either clearing dalvic cache, cache or fixing permissions from your recovery
6. If all else still fails it means that the cm camera simply won't work with the rom you are using. This is why you made a backup. Simply find where you put your backup apk and copy it back to system/app folder and overwrite the cm one.
Once again you should have made an nandroid backup from your recovery before doing this so worst comes to worst you can always restore to that if you screw up.
If I have helped, please slap that thanks button
In TWRP, when you flash a rom you are pointing it to a .zip file, or bootloader or modem or whatever. Great, but when I create a backup of my rom in TWRP it doesnt make a flashable .zip it just makes 4 .win files. If I then go into TWRP and select restore it asks for the location of the .zip and if I go to that location obviously there is none to be found. Do I just use like winrar or 7zip and make it a .zip or what? I dont understand this and I better because If I ever need it Im screwed.
TWRP backups are not zip files. You point it to where TWRP created the backup folder.