Develop Bugs

ROM Change - Best way to keep the apps and files

Hi all,
I'm thinking about the change the ROM. What is the best way to keep all my apps and files? Can I just backup with Titanium Backup and restore it? I'm not sure if the SD card will be restored too through a factory reset.

I use MyBackup Pro - Paid app but does all the work for you in theory. Backs up everything. Quite cheap for a backup app.

And what's with the SD card? If I'm not completely wrong, I think the SD card is going to be deleted...

Maerki said:
And what's with the SD card? If I'm not completely wrong, I think the SD card is going to be deleted...
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Not unless you want it all to be deleted. When I flash a new ROM and wipe data, it doesn't delete the files on it, all my wallpapers are still in there and APK's I want to install.

I use titanium backup, a complete backup tool for root users which works really well

I use titanium, it works great even the free one
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Titanium Backup all the way mate.
There is a special partition layout that prevents the SD card (/dev/media) from being wiped. The only exception is if you flash a stock Google ROM - that will wipe the SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

my backup root is the way to go saves all apks and data as well as photos, txts, call log, and most settings only have to redo a couple things whenever i flash

also think about using a custom launcher to preserve your homescreen setups, most people are loving NOVA launcher available here in the forums and it allows you to backup all your home screens so that after you push your new rom you wont have to re-set up your shortcuts.

I use both Clockwork and TiBu. I have never flashed a ROM that alsoformats my card, but I suppose its possible.
However, I have not always had good luck with TiBu restoring all icons and widgets. Apps and data always come across fine, except in cases of dramatically different ROM versions, like jumping from Gingerbread to ICS where data like contacts can fail to transfer. No big deal because I just re-sync with Outlook.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk

For those using MyBackupPro, anyone have issues when backing up just data?
When I select data and use the default directory, /mnt/sdcard, I get "Error during backup:unable to open database file." Using version 3.0.6. I usually just tell it to backup SMS,MMS,Call Log.

Titanium backup synced to Dropbox

Issue with TiBu Update.zip

So I made an update.zip before I went from my 4.1 ROM to a 4.2 ROM. However whenever I try to flash my update.zip file it makes my phone not boot. Unfortunately I was stupid and didnt make any other backups. Is there a way to restore individual apps/data from the update.zip file?

Could have something to do with how titanium created the file.
Does the .zip only contain the tibackup app? Or others as well?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

It contains a large list of apps. When I created the zip I went through the long list of stuff and only backed up what I wanted (none of the red system stuff).
All in all its not a huge deal. Was mostly wanting my SMS/Call Logs/Wi-Fi
All the other stuff would be nice but can be redone

File and directory structure has changed in 4.2.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

najaboy said:
File and directory structure has changed in 4.2.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
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Yep I dont think thats the cause though as it also happens if I try going back to my 4.1 ROM (JBSourcery).
I went through my update.zip file and removed a bunch more stuff that I likely didnt need and it worked!!! Obviously I backed something up into the zip that was causing the issue. There was also some system apks/files in there that I am positive I didnt choose for the update.zip... not sure if it auto-adds some or if I just spaced out but so far so good!
EDIT: Well it kind of worked... I got some of the apps but some didnt show at all and it didnt restore my SMS messages

Just to update if anyone else runs into this...
As I said above I got it to work by manually editing the .zip file to remove some stuff that I didnt need but it didnt restore my SMS/Call logs or anything like that (Wi-Fi APs as well).
I then went into the .zip and removed all the SMS/Call Log/Wi-Fi lists and then put them in the TitaniumBackup folder on my phone (overwriting my old ones) so it will allow me to restore. I also tried removing all files from my .zip file except the SMS/Call Log/Wi-Fi stuff and will see if reflashing helps
It would be a really great addition to TiBu to have the ability to restore from your .zip file from within TiBu. I dont think it would be super hard to implement but I'm not a dev so thats just speculation.
I will update again later if my workaround does the trick.

Not sure if you've ever heard of it, but grab the app named "App2zip". It will do just that. You select apps that you want installed back on your ROM after flashing a new one. When finished hit the OK button and it will make a flashable zip of all the selected apps. It also keeps all user & system apps on separate pages so you don't accidentally backup a system app that might cause issues. Another good thing is that it works for 4.2! I used it to restore over 150 apps on Mmuzzy's first build after 4.2 dropped and everything restored properly. Just know it zips only the apps, no data. If you want your app data backed up use TiBu and restore data after you flash your ROM & apps zip.

i was able to restore my apps using the update.zip from tibu, it then restored data after i booted the OS. I had to mount /system before i flashed the update.zip because if i didn't mount it first, it wouldn't restore my apps at all. The only problem is my phone lagged like an SOB after restoring the data. I just use tibu to restore apps and data after i boot the phone, keeps the problems off my phone.

RoyJ said:
Not sure if you've ever heard of it, but grab the app named "App2zip". It will do just that. You select apps that you want installed back on your ROM after flashing a new one. When finished hit the OK button and it will make a flashable zip of all the selected apps. It also keeps all user & system apps on separate pages so you don't accidentally backup a system app that might cause issues. Another good thing is that it works for 4.2! I used it to restore over 150 apps on Mmuzzy's first build after 4.2 dropped and everything restored properly. Just know it zips only the apps, no data. If you want your app data backed up use TiBu and restore data after you flash your ROM & apps zip.
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Yep I have used App2Zip. TiBu has basically replicated that functionality.
So as is normally the case the problem here was my own stupidity.
I thought that by choosing the option to make an update.zip and then choosing all the programs I wanted it would make a current version backup of the apps I selected. However I think how it works is that it only makes the .zip file out of an existing backup. So I should have run a full TiBu backup before making my .zip. I verified this by going through the xml file with my text messages and verifying that it was old stuff.
So in the end it was my fault for not understanding how the program worked. I still think the ability to restore directly from the update.zip from within TiBu would be a welcome addition though.

File system help?

So, here's the deal. Last night I decided to flash one of the 4.2 ROMs to my VZW GNex. I tried doing a restore with TiBu, and afterwards Gmail and the Play Store kept force closing, so I ended up formatting cache, dalvic, and data, and installing the latest Cyanogenmod nightly. I realized that maybe my TiBu restore was wonky, so I'm just starting from scratch this time.
My question is this: Even though I'm back on 4.1.1 now, I have what looks like a second copy of my SD Card on my SD Card in the form of the 0 directory. What can I do about this? Can I delete the 0 folder? Where are the system files located now? I'm afraid that if I flash a 4.2 ROM again that I'll have 4 identical folders instead of 2, and I'll be out of memory.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

It should be possible to delete it yes.
Sent from my i9250

JuanOfMany said:
So, here's the deal. Last night I decided to flash one of the 4.2 ROMs to my VZW GNex. I tried doing a restore with TiBu, and afterwards Gmail and the Play Store kept force closing, so I ended up formatting cache, dalvic, and data, and installing the latest Cyanogenmod nightly. I realized that maybe my TiBu restore was wonky, so I'm just starting from scratch this time.
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wait, you went through all that because the play store and gmail were force closing? i hope that you first tried deleting the app data from the play store and gmail, and tried fixing_permissions first. usually there are easy ways to fix things instead of wasting time starting over from scratch. even deleting both apps and reinstalling them would be much easier.

upgrade to 4.2 using this guide and you will keep the old sdcard format.. no more"0" folders
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1999214

Well, I did try deleting the app data for Gmail, but I don't know how to fix permissions. I suppose I should look into that next time I have this problem.
Regarding the duplicate data, which set is being used? The set in the home directory? Or the data set in 0? I don't want to delete the wrong data, of course.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

JuanOfMany said:
Well, I did try deleting the app data for Gmail, but I don't know how to fix permissions. I suppose I should look into that next time I have this problem.
Regarding the duplicate data, which set is being used? The set in the home directory? Or the data set in 0? I don't want to delete the wrong data, of course.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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delete the "0" folder you shouldnt have any issues

The /0 folder? Seems like that's where all my data is now. Should I copy folders over to sdcard0 first? If I install another 4.2 based ROM, will I end up having a sdcard0/0/0 directory?
Wait.. Never mind. It seems that the /0 folder is missing now. I must have fixed it by accident or something.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Here is my situation I came from Android rom 4.1.2 then upgraded to 4.2(gave me problems) downgraded to 4.1.2 and I am having "0 file folder" I was wondering if I can move the files/folders that is currently in "0 folder" into the regular internal storage folder.
Here it is visually I currently have [Computer>Galaxy Nexus>Internal storage>0](folder with all my data)
can it be just [Computer>Galaxy Nexus>Internal storage](with all of the data moved from "0 folder")

Android 4.2.2 and nested 0 folders

I've installed Xylon 2.1.1 (based on AOSP 4.2.2) and recently did a factory reset. I noticed that all my stuff was now in a folder called something like /sdcard/0/0 rather than /sdcard/0 where it had previously been. After another reset it moved to sdcard/0/0/0. I searched for the issue and apparently it's a problem with the recovery. So I updated from an old version of CWM to the latest version of TWRP, and performed another reset. There are no more zero folders but the old ones are still there.
So my question is this: how do I fix this? Can I just copy all my old files and move them up a few levels to where they should be? Clean installs haven't solved the problem.

Funny I just posted in the nexus 7 form about this yesterday. This nesting is causing old files from old flashes to take up space and I can't delete them even with a full wipe
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

murso74 said:
Funny I just posted in the nexus 7 form about this yesterday. This nesting is causing old files from old flashes to take up space and I can't delete them even with a full wipe
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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I wouldn't really mind but it's giving Titanium Backup and Nandroid a lot of trouble.

I have moved the files and deleted the 0 folders. You shouldn't have a problem.

eqjunkie829 said:
I have moved the files and deleted the 0 folders. You shouldn't have a problem.
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That's promising. Also this is kind of off-topic but can I restore a backup I made in CWM with TWRP?

bnenenenen said:
That's promising. Also this is kind of off-topic but can I restore a backup I made in CWM with TWRP?
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No.

063_XOBX said:
No.
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Oh... why not?

bnenenenen said:
Oh... why not?
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TWRP and CWM use completely different, totally incompatible archives.
Here is a way to restore to original sdcard layout.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1999214

UPDATE: I ended up finding my files - device/mnt/shell/emulated.....how the hell did they get there?
Rather than create a new thread, I'll post my issue in here. I have a verizon galaxy nexus. I was using a 4.1.2 rom, and flashed ParanoidAndroid 3.6. Usually, I would have one of those /0/ folders on my internal storage, and I could access my old files by going to the root of the storage. I don't have the ability to do that anymore. Using ES File Explorer, I have two folders on the Device level; sdcard, and storage. sdcard has the the list of folders on my sdcard, such as alarms, camera, download, etc. These were created when my rom was flashed. Storage has emulated, and sdcard0. Emulated has 0 and legacy folders. Both of these folders contain the same files as the sdcard folder. the sdcard0 folder contains the same files as the previous mentioned folders.
How can I go in and see my files that were on my sdcard prior to flashing my 4.2 rom? Is there some what via ADB I can look through my file structure? I know the files are still there, as I had about 23GB free space prior to flashing my rom, and now I have about 21GB free.

Is there another way to backup apps and their data?

Okay I'm really in need of a response from who knows the mechanic of backing up
I've two questions
1. I've noticed that u can actually flash apps with a zip file. So if I put my personal apps into the rom folder after extracting them and recompress, is it possible that my apps will also get flashed along w the rom?
2. I've also noticed when u do a factory reset in the recovery, it only deletes cache and data. If I copy the data folder to my sdcard and paste to the orig directory after factory reset, is it possible that the data will get restored?
I'm not just curious. I think if this is possible, it'll be much dependable
Thnx
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

christianyu said:
Okay I'm really in need of a response from who knows the mechanic of backing up
I've two questions
1. I've noticed that u can actually flash apps with a zip file. So if I put my personal apps into the rom folder after extracting them and recompress, is it possible that my apps will also get flashed along w the rom?
2. I've also noticed when u do a factory reset in the recovery, it only deletes cache and data. If I copy the data folder to my sdcard and paste to the orig directory after factory reset, is it possible that the data will get restored?
I'm not just curious. I think if this is possible, it'll be much dependable
Thnx
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
1. Yes, put the app's APK under /data/app in your zip package (although I do think that you need to modify the updater-script a bit to make it actually flash the apps).
2. Depending on how you do it - you MUST keep ALL the files' and folders' permissions untouched (which is nearly impossible since there are just WAY too many of them), or when you simply copy back, the permissions will be messed up and you'll face continuous FCs. Better use apps like Titanium Backup or, if you're brave enough, try restoring only the /data partition from an existing nandroid backup.
Sent from Samsung Galaxy Nexus @ CM11

1. How do I modify the updater script?
2. Is it possible to restore only part of the nandroid backup?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

Titanium Backup is the best way. The way you are doing it sounds like a lot of unnecessary work.

look for an app called zipme from author jrummy on the play store

I wrote some code a long while back that allows you to pack/encrypt and unpack/unencrypt your own android backups so that you can do your own partial backups and restores.
See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1730309
However, for the past 18 months, I have just used BackupPC to back up my android devices. BackupPC is a linux-based backup that allowd for automated backups with all types of options for incrementals & fulls. The backup files are pooled so that you can backup every day while requiring minimal extra space since only new files add to the poo size. It can use several different transport systems for the backup ranging from rsync to rsyncd to tar to ftp etc.
I use rsync (over ssh) since it is fast -- only the deltas need to be transported across the network when files change.
Basically, all you need to do is install ssh + rsync, modify the server side config file and then you get automatic backups at your own pre-determined frequency over wifi whenever your device is connected to the wifi network.
Now BackupPC is probably overkill for just backing up a droid -- since it is typically used to backup whole networks of linux, Mac, Windows, etc. pc's. But since I already use it to backup all my home computers, it was a cinch to modify the config file to also backup my droid devices.
I verified that it worked when my Gnexus broke and I was able to flash the replacement device which restored not just my apps and data but also all my settings.

jsgraphicart said:
Titanium Backup is the best way. The way you are doing it sounds like a lot of unnecessary work.
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I agree. The play store has a bunch of other ones too but I would go with Titanium.

hsypsufan said:
I agree. The play store has a bunch of other ones too but I would go with Titanium.
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I am using EaseBackup and I find it very good. Helium is another option but I found it buggy.