[Q] Questions about rooting/custom ROMS from a new user - T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII

Hi i have a t999 samsung s3 (not rooted). I am quite new to this whole rooting/development scene. I really want to try out 4.2.2.
Some questions i have are:
- After i root my phone and put a custom rom does it wipe my phone or does it leave all the data on (apps, personal settings and what not)? If yes, is there a way to backup everything and restore it after i have put on a custom rom so that everything i had is back to normal?
- Also which rom has good battery life? I have heard some roms are really good on the battery life compared to the stock version.
Thanks a lot for the help

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seifer699 said:
Hi i have a t999 samsung s3 (not rooted). I am quite new to this whole rooting/development scene. I really want to try out 4.2.2.
Some questions i have are:
- After i root my phone and put a custom rom does it wipe my phone or does it leave all the data on (apps, personal settings and what not)? If yes, is there a way to backup everything and restore it after i have put on a custom rom so that everything i had is back to normal?
- Also which rom has good battery life? I have heard some roms are really good on the battery life compared to the stock version.
Thanks a lot for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your data will be deleted. you can backup apps with AppMonster Free or Titanium Backup from Play Store.
a good and stable 4.2.2 rom is http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2176988

pluginre said:
your data will be deleted. you can backup apps with AppMonster Free or Titanium Backup from Play Store.
a good and stable 4.2.2 rom is http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2176988
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^This^
To add to that, battery.... Depends... On several factors including, but not limited to ROM, kernal, use, temp, this that, your pretty neighbor who's running out side. So, your best bet is to and see what will work better for you.
However, since you're new to this, there's somethings I want to say before you start:
-Make sure you have a T-Mobile phone before rooting and flashing using methods and ROMs here.
-Beware of possible lost IMEI when flashing. It's completely random. Go ahead and make a backup of your IMEI: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1801997
- If you go from a 4.2 ROM back to a 4.1, you could randomly break your GPS. If that happens: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2211690

So just wanted to add a couple of things more concise.
Yes you will lose your data when you originally root your phone, however there are benefits to rooting and data in the long run. I highly recommend purchasing titanium backup pro. This will allow you to always have backups of your apps and data stored on the phone. It also allows for cloud storage so lets say your sd card and phone suddenly get fried, no worries once you get your new phone and root it install titanium from the play store and then restore your data from cloud storage.
As far as battery life goes this is dependent on what ROM you choose and what kernel. If you aren't familiar with kernels the less techie way to describe them is they kind of dictate what speeds your phone will run at (this is a very one sided description). Some kernels are designed to be overclocked, so what that means is your going to get faster speeds, the downside to that is faster speeds mean more heat generating of your processor because it needs more energy. More energy means more battery usage, which means a faster dying battery. Some kernels on the other hand are designed to actually be underclocked, which means longer battery. Then there are even kernels that underclock when the phone is asleep and know to overclock when its running a game or something. Long story short on battery, it really depends.
And as far as you rooting your phone, take the time to learn about the process first. Watch multiple you tube videos from different methods. At this point the phone has been out long enough everything is scripted basically so you just pick the right choice and your phone gets rooted, but it is still imperative you familiarize yourself with the process. Words such as adb, recovery, terminal emulator, odin, your going to want to know. Finally if you have any questions ask. Some people will be like www.google.com, but most of us all remember we were there once and needed help also.

I rooted my s3 last weekend. Quite easy, first time I ever rooted. Currently running Wicked 9.1 absolutely love it
Once rooted, download Rom manager and titanium backup. Titanium saves all your data when you flash new Roms
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

thank you all for the insight
i ended up rooting my t999. but when i go into recovery i still see stock recovery not clockworkmod. does anyone know why this happens?
also in titanium backup which backup do i need to do so everything will be exactly the same when i restore after i flash custom rom?

I had that issue.
Download ROM manager from the playstore. Then download clockworkmod from it. Then from the app go into clockworkmod.
Once there, if I'm not mistaken, reboot. It'll ask you something and hit yes. Basically what's happening is when you try to activate CWM the phone isn't letting it register but this option will override that and you'll be good to go.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 03:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:40 PM ----------
For titanium, I back up all user apps and data. When you flash a new rom, only recover apps you've downloaded. Select one by one just to make sure you don't download any system apps.
System apps with a custom rom can brick your device.
When you download a new rom, always read the opening posts for instructions and make sure it's a rom meant for your device.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

seifer699 said:
thank you all for the insight
i ended up rooting my t999. but when i go into recovery i still see stock recovery not clockworkmod. does anyone know why this happens?
also in titanium backup which backup do i need to do so everything will be exactly the same when i restore after i flash custom rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A couple of quick questions.
1. What rooting method did you use. I ask this because I would refrain from using CWM. CWM used to be the standard, in fact I have always used it until rooting my s3 last week. A lot of the developers are now using TWM recovery. I don't know the reasons behind it or if it will matter but it seems like twm may be more friendly with the s3. One huge benefit of twm recovery is that it is touch screen by default which is a lot easier to use. To get the touchscreen version of CWM you either have to pay for it, or no how to flash it manually usinig adb (this will probably be somewhat confusing for you but there are step by step instructions for it).
2. As far as titanium back up goes. Ill give you a quick run down of how it functions. For starters the basic and simplest way to make a backup is press the menu sofkey, batch options, then under backup just click on 'run' to the left of backup all user apps. From here the defualt is all apps will be selected. if you want all your apps backuped just hit the green check mark at the top right. If there is an app you don't want just uncheck it then hit the check mark in the top right.
As far as recovery of apps goes do the same thing (menu, batch options) but this time go down to restore and restore all aps with data (or missing apps with data depending which option you need).
Now for system apps, I do not recommend you using the batch operations for saving system apps. The truth is you never really want to restore system apps onto a new ROM. There are certain system apps that usually can be restored onto a different ROM or os version such as bluetooth pairings, your sms messages, and wifi passwords. Even restoring these can cause problems so what you want to do is restore them individually, restart the phone, and then make sure everything is working as it should be. Send me a private message if you want and Ill go into detail how to go about doing this.

Related

[Q] n00b rooting help please

Was wanting some more help with rooting my Evo for the first time. I know there are a lot of guides for n00bs out there but this stuff moves too fast and they are out of date.
Anyways, my phone is stock:
-Android 2.2
-Software number 3.29.651.5
-PRI version 1.77_003
-PRL version 60671
My intention was to use Unrevoked 3.21 but I read through ALOT of information from different sites and am thoroughly confused. Since my phone has all the recent OTA updates can it be rooted with this? And if so, I most definitely need to not take the Sprint OTA updates and wait for the "rooted" versions correct?
I like the Sense UI (but never used any others) and am happy with the phone the way it is. My hope is being able to use the hotspot feature and remove the bloatware from the phone.
Can anyone walk me through some of this (specific to my need)? As said before, I know there are already some n00b walkthroughs out there but most are too dated and some things apply and some don't which makes it very confusing.
Unrevoked 3.21 is the way to go. I just used it to root my replacement evo and it worked beautifully. Here is the thread for it, just read it and follow the relatively easy instructions and you won't have any issues.
Great.....thanks. This one is the most current I have seen.
I have read that if I take this route the phone could still be flashed back to a stock state in case warranty service (by Sprint) is needed. Am I still correct in assuming this?
Absolutely. It is very easy to unroot and return your phone to stock.
I'm going through the process now. However, my phone has rebooted and unrevoked3 has been sitting doing nothing for awhile. It still says:
Waiting for root...(safe to restart if this doesn't work)
Recovery image: ClockworkMod Recovery
This has been on there for around 5 min now. Do I re-run unrevoked at this point? Do I need to do anything with my phone? What happens if I re-run it and same thing happens?
Thanks.
That happened to me the first time I did it. It worked fine the second. You're ok to run it again.
Nice....it was a success the second time. Thanks.
Now all I have to do is find out what to do from here! lol
You can find info on anything that you might want to do by searching the forums here at xda and by using google. I recommend reading up as much as you can before you start deleting or flashing anything.
The best piece of advice I can give you is to do a nandroid backup before you modify ANYTHING on your phone. That means do one right now so if by chance you screw something up, you can always restore it and be back to where you started. If you don't know what a nandroid is or how to do one, use the search feature here or once again, google.
Good luck and welcome to the xda community
Sorry to jump in on the post but metalhead has been so helpful to how I would like to root. I have searched for nandroid, nandriod backup, and back up nand. None of theme gave a clear path for tutorial. If you could lead me in the right direction I think that this should be made a sticky.
Thanks in advance.
mainstang said:
Sorry to jump in on the post but metalhead has been so helpful to how I would like to root. I have searched for nandroid, nandriod backup, and back up nand. None of theme gave a clear path for tutorial. If you could lead me in the right direction I think that this should be made a sticky.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know what recovery you flashed? regardless, there are two ways to go about it. 1. turn your phone completely. hold Power and VOL - until the boot menu appears, use volume to move the selection and power to select. pick recovery. nandroid backup.
2. get Rom Manager(market). it has a one-touch button to reboot into recovery. easy peasy.
each recovery is different. Whether you have RA or Clockwork or some other third thing, you will get the same result, you just have to go about it differently.
good luck!!
I'm back post root! However, have some questions that I haven't been able to find answers to.
1) Am I OK to take my phone out of USB debug mode, or does it need to stay like that?
2) Can I re-install HTC sync and will it work with all ROMS?
3) I downloaded ROM Manager and Titanium Backup (both paid). When flashing a new ROM, all settings are gone as well as apps from the market. Is there a way to restore a rom without having to go back and re-download ROM Manager from the market then use it to restore? It takes to darn long to reboot the phone into recovery and restore that way.
Also with Titanium Backup, since it just backs up apps what is the point of doing a backup with it? If a complete image is saved by whichever backup you do, all apps in that image will be restored as well. When would anyone ever need to restore just the apps from before with the same rom?
4) Can I do a batch flash with a custom ROM and a custom theme? Or should I do the ROM first then the theme? I wouldn't think the theme can be applied until the ROM is flashed first. I'm not sure if ROM Manager will do this in a specific order.
Thanks.
CCallahan said:
I'm back post root! However, have some questions that I haven't been able to find answers to.
1) Am I OK to take my phone out of USB debug mode, or does it need to stay like that?
2) Can I re-install HTC sync and will it work with all ROMS?
3) I downloaded ROM Manager and Titanium Backup (both paid). When flashing a new ROM, all settings are gone as well as apps from the market. Is there a way to restore a rom without having to go back and re-download ROM Manager from the market then use it to restore? It takes to darn long to reboot the phone into recovery and restore that way.
Also with Titanium Backup, since it just backs up apps what is the point of doing a backup with it? If a complete image is saved by whichever backup you do, all apps in that image will be restored as well. When would anyone ever need to restore just the apps from before with the same rom?
4) Can I do a batch flash with a custom ROM and a custom theme? Or should I do the ROM first then the theme? I wouldn't think the theme can be applied until the ROM is flashed first. I'm not sure if ROM Manager will do this in a specific order.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) i would leave it enabled. it doesn't hurt anything and there are a lot of programs and modifications that use it.
2) in the half dozen roms i've tried, HTC sync does work. i am curious though. what are you using it for?
3) i'm not 100% clear on what you want, but i'll try my best. if all you're wanting to do is restore to a previous rom(for instance, if you flashed a rom to test it out and hate it) as long as you did a nandroid backup BEFORE flashing the rom, you can restore with all your settings and apps in place.
with TB i back up with it in such a way that it preserves all my settings and apps(including PLACEMENT of the apps on my docks and home screens) This is very useful. i'm not really sure why you don't see the significance in TitaniumBackup. it would be an absolute PAIN to restore all your apps from the market. or even better, REMEMBER which apps you had installed after a flash.
4) i would ALWAYS flash a rom first, reboot, check it out to make sure it loads properly. i know it takes a while but it's better to wait, then to try and flash everything at once and frag your phone. it's your phone of course, so do as you wish, but my advice is to flash the rom, reboot, then flash your theme.
good luck!!
Good stuff to know.....thanks.
In response to #2........I'm using HTC sync to sync my contacts/calendar between the phone and Outlook. I do not like using Google apps for this and HTC makes it easy to sync with this program.
In response to #3......You did answer my question. Just wanted to know if there was a faster way to recover (maybe a trick through ROM Manager) that I didn't know about.
To explain more about my Titanium Backup question......now that i think about it I guess if a custom ROM is flashed, one can re-download Titanium and restore all apps/locations on the new ROM setup, which would make things incredibly easier than downloading/placing/sizing apps individually. But, will it also restore widgets with the size/screen placement as well?
CCallahan said:
But, will it also restore widgets with the size/screen placement as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yessir, it did for me

[Q] What to do after rooting?

So..I'm pretty noobish at all this, after doing my research I've finally rooted my phone wanting to mess with setCPU, flashing roms, and getting custom themes and boot animations, unfortunately i spent all my time figuring out how to simply root and nothing beyond..
i'd be grateful if anyone could post threads or just help in general with the above topics
Become a flashaholic like the rest of us. BTW once start you can't stop.
Best advice I can give is to read, read, read and then read some more. Trust me the answers to your questions are in the 1000000s of pages.
Myn's ROM is very good. But I like Caulkins ROM the best with netarchy's 4.2.1 kernel. You don't want to use setCPU with 4.2.1 its not needed.
Just my 2 cents.
And then for some real fun start playing with the CM 6.1 RC1. That's were the fun really begins.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
R1pTheJacka said:
So..I'm pretty noobish at all this, after doing my research I've finally rooted my phone wanting to mess with setCPU, flashing roms, and getting custom themes and boot animations, unfortunately i spent all my time figuring out how to simply root and nothing beyond..
i'd be grateful if anyone could post threads or just help in general with the above topics
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first thing I did was to start flashing custom ROMS. In the early EVO days, there weren't many choices. Now, there are tons of good options out there, so get to flashin'! You'll also get lots of good ideas hanging out in the themes and mods forum. Stroll around in the "post your screens" thread and you'll be blown away by what some folks have accomplished.
Just my thoughts, of course, I suspect you'll get lots of other suggestions.
yea unfortunately lots of these terms are like a foreign langauge to me =\
after looking up the process of installing roms i see lots of people are saying do a nandroid back up and then copying the rom, radio/WIMAX/PRI/NV updates and kernel
the definitions/translations for that?
Different parts of your phone have their own embedded software that can and doses get upgraded. For example, when you get a major update from Sprint, either OTA (over the air) or donwloaded to your PC and run from there, it not only updates your operating system (Android) and all the other little apps, but frequently your cell receiver/transmitter (radio or baseband), 4G receiver/transmitter (WiMAX) get their own software updates as well. Custom ROM creators frequently exclude these from their packages, so you have to update them separately.
Nandroid is a backup functionality you have once the phone is rooted. It is available through RECOVERY. So if you boot your phone into the BOOTLOADER by holding down the VOL DOWN and powering up, you should be able to choose RECOVERY by using VOL UP and VOL DOWN keyes as arrows, and POWER button as SELECT (or ENTER). Once in RECOVERY mode, there are several options, including backup/restore. The backup IS the nandroid backup everyone mentions. It creates an image of your phone's current setup. If you mess things up later on and the phone system is damages, you can recover by restoring this image to your phone.
Hope this helps.
R1pTheJacka said:
So..I'm pretty noobish at all this, after doing my research I've finally rooted my phone wanting to mess with setCPU, flashing roms, and getting custom themes and boot animations, unfortunately i spent all my time figuring out how to simply root and nothing beyond..
i'd be grateful if anyone could post threads or just help in general with the above topics
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my first time quoting and I am pretty noobish myself...I don't know these terms either even though I spent all that time trying to root...I still haven't found out how to use a custom rom or boot, I'm a little clueless even after reading for quite awhile. :/
Sent from HTC EVO 4G via xda app
jacoballen22 said:
This is my first time quoting and I am pretty noobish myself...I don't know these terms either even though I spent all that time trying to root...I still haven't found out how to use a custom rom or boot, I'm a little clueless even after reading for quite awhile. :/
Sent from HTC EVO 4G via xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using a custom ROM (or kernel) or boot animation is done through "flashing." Flashing is done via Recovery which can be accessed by the steps listed in a post above. I use the Amon Ra recovery and there are directions how to isntall this elsewhere on the site. I copy the ROM (or kernel or boot anim) to the root of my SD Card, boot into recovery, nandroid backup, wipe caches, wipe data, then I can specify an option to boot from zip on sdcard. (don't remember if it's high-level menu item or not) Anyway, find a Recovery you like (Clockwork or Amon Ra) and there will be specific directions on everything you can do on that Recovery's thread.
This is really a condensed version and there's way better and more thorough advice in Development and Q & A forums in stickies. I highly recommend reading those.
Did you know that you can change the whole look of the phone just by changing the system font? And it's real easy too
Sent from my blah blah blah blah
I know how to get to recovery but I don't know which one I have..and wiping data and cache does what exactly (I've wiped my battery stats before because someone said it helps your battery life)
Sent from HTC EVO 4G via xda app
jacoballen22 said:
I know how to get to recovery but I don't know which one I have..and wiping data and cache does what exactly (I've wiped my battery stats before because someone said it helps your battery life)
Sent from HTC EVO 4G via xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're using rom manager, it will tell you at the top what recovery is currently installed.
Hopefully you didn't "just" wipe battery stats - there's a process;
It should be done as follows (copied/summarized from the cyanogen wiki found here);
Battery recalibration
1. Charge the phone to full battery; let it keep charging until the battery says it is fully charged. Do not just wait until the light is green, it isn't always fully charged, causing a lot of inaccuracies. (You can check by going to: Settings -> About Phone -> Status -> Battery Level = Full.)
2. Wipe battery stats with Amon_Ra or ClockworkMod recoveries.
NOTE: To have the most accurate of battery stats, reboot the phone immediately after wiping the battery stats and wait for it to boot completely to the desktop. Once your entire boot is done and you have full access to the phone, go ahead and pull the charger and continue with this troubleshooter.
1. Do not charge the phone until after draining the battery completely, resulting in it automatically shutting off.
2. Recharge the phone completely and then use as you normally would.
I am surprised that no one has posted this yet.
Keep in mind, this is reference to the HTC Dream/G1 which is one of, if not the first offered Android Phone. This article explains what root is, how it was established and definition of terms. I hope this helps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=513061
This is the informative link, which can answer a lot of questions. Just keep in mind the commands/button combos and such are different on the EVO, but in all respects is the same animal.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=543081
And then finally, the wiki with all of the answers for the HTC Subsonic/EVO
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Supersonic&useskin=vector
6uPMAH said:
Different parts of your phone have their own embedded software that can and doses get upgraded. For example, when you get a major update from Sprint, either OTA (over the air) or donwloaded to your PC and run from there, it not only updates your operating system (Android) and all the other little apps, but frequently your cell receiver/transmitter (radio or baseband), 4G receiver/transmitter (WiMAX) get their own software updates as well. Custom ROM creators frequently exclude these from their packages, so you have to update them separately.
Nandroid is a backup functionality you have once the phone is rooted. It is available through RECOVERY. So if you boot your phone into the BOOTLOADER by holding down the VOL DOWN and powering up, you should be able to choose RECOVERY by using VOL UP and VOL DOWN keyes as arrows, and POWER button as SELECT (or ENTER). Once in RECOVERY mode, there are several options, including backup/restore. The backup IS the nandroid backup everyone mentions. It creates an image of your phone's current setup. If you mess things up later on and the phone system is damages, you can recover by restoring this image to your phone.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so the primary point of the nandroid backup is to have the ability to go back to the stock ROM if i choose or even if something screw up while installing a new ROM?
Brutal-Force said:
I am surprised that no one has posted this yet.
Keep in mind, this is reference to the HTC Dream/G1 which is one of, if not the first offered Android Phone. This article explains what root is, how it was established and definition of terms. I hope this helps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=513061
This is the informative link, which can answer a lot of questions. Just keep in mind the commands/button combos and such are different on the EVO, but in all respects is the same animal.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=543081
And then finally, the wiki with all of the answers for the HTC Subsonic/EVO
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Supersonic&useskin=vector
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good looks! the terms are IMO the most important thing to get a hold of
R1pTheJacka said:
so the primary point of the nandroid backup is to have the ability to go back to the stock ROM if i choose or even if something screw up while installing a new ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is Nandroid back up the same that Titanium pro back up does?
fachadick said:
Did you know that you can change the whole look of the phone just by changing the system font? And it's real easy too
Sent from my blah blah blah blah
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you do this?
fachadick said:
If you're using rom manager, it will tell you at the top what recovery is currently installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 2.5.0.1. Is this the recovery that you would have to reboot in if something goes wrong and what does the numbers mean?
TIA!
phillip623 said:
Is Nandroid back up the same that Titanium pro back up does?
How do you do this?
I have 2.5.0.1. Is this the recovery that you would have to reboot in if something goes wrong and what does the numbers mean?
TIA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid isn't the same thing as titanium, think of nandroid as an image, sort of like a disk image or a windows restore point. Once restored, it will take you back to exactly where you were at the time of the backup.
The numbers that you see in Rom Manager represent the recovery version. You currently have clockworkmod version 2.5.0.1 installed.
It's been spelled out above, and elsewhere through the forums, but I'm bored and I want to clean up this post anyway (I tried that new 8whatever keyboard again - still hate it. And before I cleaned it up, this post was three paragraphs of broken english), so here are some basic steps spelled out on what to do immediately after rooting, along with some terms.
The first thing you want to do once rooted is go into rom manager, and towards the bottom, hit the option that says "Flash Alternate Recovery". Once you do this, you'll notice at the top where it used to say Current Recovery: ClockworkMod 2.5.0.1 it will now say Current Recovery: Ra Recovery 1.8.0.
Now close out Rom Manager, and turn off the phone. Turn it back on while pressing down on the volume. The screen with the skateboarding Andy's will show up - this is the hboot screen. Among other things, this screen will tell you the version of hboot you're running, and whether you're S-ON or S-OFF. There may be a few different options listed here, but we're only interested in the one that says Recovery.
Select Recovery. The phone will reboot, and you should end up on a screen with green text. At the top it will say Android System Recovery, and all the way at the bottom, it will say Build : RA-evo-v1.8.0 From here select Backup/Restore. There are a few options, but note the two important ones - Nand backup, and Nand restore. Select Nand backup. It will ask if you're sure, so say yes. It will take awhile and the bottom of the screen will fill with dots. When it's done select Return then Reboot System Now. Congratulations, You just performed your first Nand Backup using Amon Ra recovery.
When you can, mount your phone as a drive, and go into folder inside the nandroid folder on your sdcard. You'll see a folder with today's date. Copy it somewhere safe on your computer. If you're interested, you can look in that folder and note the wimax.img file - this is where you're backing up the infamous RSA Keys (I'm not explaining what that is here, just know that you REALLY want to have this backed up, and kept somewhere safe). once the copying is done, unmount as a drive, and disconnect from your computer. Congratulations, now it's playtime.
Use either Titaniaum Backup or MyBackup Pro to back up all of your apps and data. Mybackup Pro will also backup call logs and text messages and things like that - I'm pretty sure Titanium does also, but I'm not sure. Your contacts should be backed up to google for easy restoration later.
Head over to the dev section and find a ROM that appeals to you. You can go with completely stock rooted if you want (which is essentially where you are now, but stock rooted would have the latest OTA updates when they come out), or stock with some tweaks to Sense, or non Sense at all (the most popular of these is CM, which rebuilds Froyo from the ground up.) Sense refers the stock launcher called Rosie, as well as some buried functionality in the phone - for example the mail, calendar, and dialer apps look and act different between Fresh and CM roms. Sense is a UI developed by HTC to go over what is commonly referred to as vanilla android/AOSP. AOSP stands for Android Open Source Project and is what google released on the n1, CM is an AOSP rom. Also, you're looking for a Deodexed rom (as opposed to odexed) so you can theme it later if you want.
Once you find a rom you like, download it to the root of your sd card (you may want to download it on your computer and move it to your sdcard). Refer to the above to get back into recovery, but this time instead of selecting Backup/Restore, select Wipe. Select Wipe data/factory Reset and let it do its things, then select Wipe cache, and let it do it's thing, then select Wipe Dalvic-cache, and let it do it's thing. What you've just done is erased all of the personal and superfluous data that was in the phone - you want to make sure that when you load the new rom, you're loading it on an empty slate, and that there's nothing of your old data left that could possibly corrupt something in the new rom. Some people say to wipe all of those options 2 or even 3 times each - I don't buy that though. Also, don't worry about the other wipe options you had there. Not needed now.
So once you've wiped, hit return, and select Flash zip from sdcard. It will pull up a list of .zip files found on the root of your sdcard. select the rom you just downloaded, and let it install. This may take a while. Don't freak. Once it's done, select Reboot system now. This will take a while too, maybe even a few minutes. Don't freak. Once it eventually boots up, restore all of your stuff with either Titanium or MyBackup Pro. Congratulations, You just flashed your first rom.
Now head over to the themes and apps section. Find a theme that interests you. Make sure its compatible with your rom (either sense or cm) and download it. Flash this the same way you flashed your rom, but you may or may not need to wipe first. Always refer to the op of those threads for specific instructions.
Finally and most importantly - head over to the thread in my sig and find a new font you like. All the cool kids are doing it. When you find one you like, copy it to your sdcard and flash it the same way you've been flashing everything else. You don't need to wipe anything for those though.
Tips;
1: never forget to wipe. As a rule, when flashing roms, you'll be wiping what people refer to as all three - that means wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, and wipe dalvic cache. When flashing kernels or themes, you'll generally just be wiping cache and dalvic cache. Again though, always refer to the instructions in the op in which you found whatever it is your flashing.
2: if you'll be flashing both themes and roms, and possibly kernels, never flash in the same recovery session. So rom first, full reboot, then kernel, full reboot, then theme, full reboot. In that order, wiping and rewiping as needed.
3: give you're rom at least a few days before you give up on it, most need time to settle into your phone so to speak, and need a few battery cycles to get to peak performance, which brings up to
4: You should wipe your battery stats whenever you flash a new rom. Remember you saw that option under Wipe back in recovery? Well now you get to use it. I posed the link and process above in the thread.
5: At this point most people use Amon Ra instead of clockworkmod because there seems to be uncertainty as to weather or not clockworkmod correctly wipes. ONLY Amon Ra backs up the wimax.img, clockwork does not.
6: rom manager is a graphical front end for clockworkmod. A lot of people still use it to flash, becasue it's so easy to use, it can be used to download roms directly in the app, and doesn't require the zip file to be on the root of the sdcard - it van be anywhere on the card. Don't forget though, you can download the rom through the app if you want, but still switch to amon ra to flash it.
7: you cannot restore a nand backup you make with amon ra with clockwork, and you cannot restore a nand backup you make with clockwork with amonra.
8: on the off chance you need to change your hboot version for any reason, you can only restore nand backups with the same hboot version that they were backed up with. NOTE, were talking about hboot here, not recovery.
Damn, that was a lot of of text. Sorry about that.
i would recommend reading this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=790427
i have only been in the android world for about 3 months now, and was able to root and flash custom roms with ease within a few weeks of getting my evo. its really not hard at all once you understand the process.
as far as what rom to flash, that depends on the user. different rom have different features. if i were you, i would recommend reading the specs on each rom before flashing. some may have features missing, such as 4G, full camera support and such. And usually all that info is provided in the thread along with the rom. so, pay attention to that.
as for me, the goal for rooting was to do certain things that was only possible with root. such as, Nandroid backup, ShootMe, Wifi Tether and to disable some of the Sprint apps. so, i am using a stocked rooted rom. it is what it says. the same stock rom as the factory but rooted.
a lot of ppl use various custom roms to get better battery life. battery life on stock roms have improved quiet a bit lately. at least in the past 3 months, i have noticed a big improvement. hope this helps answer some questions.
and remember to always do a nandroid backup. i also use My Backup Pro to backup my Call Logs, SMS & MMS.
few questions about flashing ROMs..
1. i still have to backup all my contacts,apps,etc, i have titanium backup pro and if i back them all up how do i get them back once the new ROM is flashed?
2. I know im supposed to do a nandroid backup but do i need those special recovery images first? (AmonRA/Clockwork)
3. What's the purpose of ROM M...anager in all of this?
ok, so titanium pro will backup everything, even how your homescreen is set up.
the nandroid is for if there is a problem, or if you want to go back. ALWAYS HAVE AT LEAST ONE BACKUP MADE WITH AMON AT ALL TIMES OR YOU COULD PERMANENTLY LOSE 4G (FOREVER, NO FIX EVER)
rom manager can control clockwork recovery while booted up in a touch screen interface. it removes the need to use the annoying volume keys. doesnt work with amon.
i would highly reccomend amon to you. it is just that much better, but doesnt work with rom manager. volume keys arent that hard anyways. use amon.
ONCE AGAIN, ALWAYS HAVE AT LEAST ONE AMON BAKCUP AT ALL TIMES, AND ALWAYS BACKUP BEFORE DOING ANYTHING EVEN SLIGHTLY CONSIDERED MODDING. SERIOUSLY, TAKE 4 MINUTES OUT OF YOUR DAY TO WATCH DOTS APPEAR, AND SAVE YOURSELF 200 DOLLARS OR HOURS OF SETTING STUFF BACK UP. SERIOUSLY. DO IT.
Thanks for the detailed and informative post! This should be in the question and answer thread. I'm finally able to change my font and onto ROMS. I'll reply back once I'm on a normal keyboard.
R1pTheJacka said:
few questions about flashing ROMs..
1. i still have to backup all my contacts,apps,etc, i have titanium backup pro and if i back them all up how do i get them back once the new ROM is flashed?
2. I know im supposed to do a nandroid backup but do i need those special recovery images first? (AmonRA/Clockwork)
3. What's the purpose of ROM M...anager in all of this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. all your contacts are backup-ed on your google account. when you sign on to the google account after you flash a new rom, the contacts will be automatically downloaded to the phone. so, no further work needed to be done there. i use My Backup Pro to backup my SMS/MMS and Call logs. I think it is very similar to Titanium. Basically you use the program to backup the stuff you need onto your SD Card. Then, once you have flashed your new rom, you install Titanium or the My Backup Pro and use the Restore feature to restore what you need. As far as Apps go, I found that it was better to use App Brain, since that keeps a log of all the apps install on the phone, its usually a breeze to re-install all of them through that.
2. Amon RA & Clockwork perform the same function. you use either to flash custom roms, perform nandroid backups, etc. so, once you root your phone, you will need to install one of these.
3. ROM Manager.. does what the name says it does. you can change the rom on your phone using that utility app. But i think the Amon Ra/Clockwork Recovery method is the preferred way of changing out roms.

[Q] Installed applications are hidden

Hello,
I got my Desire HD a few weeks ago, it was locked on Three UK and I rooted and sim unlocked it to use it in Italy where I live.
I was playing with the application manager and noticed that there are a few apps that are installed on the phone (some Three UK apps, Bejeweled and so on) that are not showing at all in the apps list. They are in the installed applications of the application manager, but I can't do anything with them as all the controls for these apps are gray (not selectable). Anyone has any idea about what is happening?
I was also thinking to flash a stock ROM to get rid of all that unusable stuff and speed up the phone a bit (the Three splash screen makes boot crazy long), but I want to be sure I can go back to this ROM, if needed. I have a backup made with ClockworkMod, is it all I need or should I save something else first?
What stock ROM would be better for me to flash?
I am currently with OS build 1.37.771.3 and Radio 12.28b.60.140eU_26.03.02.26_M
Thanks in advance for the help!
No advice at all?
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
My guess is that those apps are part of the ROM and so you will not easily be able to remove them.
You could try using something like Titanium Backup to see if that will remove them but unlikely.
"What ROM should I use" is a question that should be banned from this site. It is up to you what ROM you like the most. I, along with others can only tell you what ROM works best for them. Pick one, try it. Don't like it then choose another.
Mr_JMM said:
My guess is that those apps are part of the ROM and so you will not easily be able to remove them.
You could try using something like Titanium Backup to see if that will remove them but unlikely.
"What ROM should I use" is a question that should be banned from this site. It is up to you what ROM you like the most. I, along with others can only tell you what ROM works best for them. Pick one, try it. Don't like it then choose another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I think I explained myself the wrong way
I didn't want somebody to tell me what ROM is better as I know it really depends on personal preferences, that's the reason why there are so many different ones, right? What I meant is: what is the latest stock ROM that allows me to root the phone using Visionary+? Do I have to worry about OTA updates or can I just download and apply them?
For now I just want to have a "clean" phone, custom roms and further playing will come in the future
And, the second part of the question is if a system backup done using ClockworkMod is sufficient to get back to what I have now, if ever needed, or I do need to backup something else first.
Thanks!
I'm afraid I can't recall the latest version that will still work using Visionary+ The last time I researched it was 1.32 I believe but don't hold me to that. If you have a look at the Android Development forum the Visionary threads will tell you.
If you use CWM Recovery to do a (NAND) backup of the current ROM then that is all you will need to do. THat will back up ROM, settings, apps, messages etc. Everything.
Mr_JMM said:
I'm afraid I can't recall the latest version that will still work using Visionary+ The last time I researched it was 1.32 I believe but don't hold me to that. If you have a look at the Android Development forum the Visionary threads will tell you.
If you use CWM Recovery to do a (NAND) backup of the current ROM then that is all you will need to do. THat will back up ROM, settings, apps, messages etc. Everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would I need to somehow backup Radio too? Or CWM backup saves it as well?

[HOW TO] How to Flash a New ROM & Install all APPS in 10 Minutes …

How would you feel if you could make a Nandroid backup, wipe your device clean, flash a new ROM, restore all your personal apps (with settings, SMS messages, and call log intact), all in about 10 minutes?
Too good to be true? After all, you probably remember what they say about things that sound too good to be true. Normally you shouldn’t believe it. In this case, though, it’s real, and it works! Many people in the DIET ICS ROM thread have already tried it, with amazing success.
As always, there’s a caveat. You perform the following procedures at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any damage, frustration, anger, sadness, or suicides that may result from your decision to implement this process.
CAUTION: This method of data recovery will work under a wide variety of situations; however, you must consider the following:
1) When going from a stock or stock-based ROM to another stock or stock-based ROM, this method should work very well. It doesn’t matter if it’s the same ROM as long as both are based on a stock ROM.
2) When going from a stock or stock-based ROM to an AOSP-based ROM, such as CM or AOKP, this method may/will not work. Similarly, when going from an AOSP-based ROM to a stock or stock-based ROM, this method may/will not work.
Use common sense, and always follow instructions provided by the ROM Developer.
This method also removes any concern as to whether or not you need to wipe because the process involves doing a full wipe, which only adds about 30 seconds to the procedure.
Here we go …
1. Boot into Recovery
2. Make a Nandroid backup
3. Wipe data/factory reset
4. Wipe cache partition
5. Wipe Dalvik Cache
6. Flash ROM
7. DO NOT REBOOT – STAY IN RECOVERY
8. Select backup and restore
9. Select advanced restore
10. Select the Nandroid backup you made above
11. Select Restore data
12. Select Yes – Restore data
13. WAIT!
14. REBOOT
If all goes according to plan, you will arrive at your home screen with all apps in place, and with all settings intact, including stored text messages, and your call log.
Shockingly easy, isn’t it? After all, it is ALWAYS suggested that you do a Nandroid before you flash any new ROM, so this procedure will ALWAYS have you completely up-to-date.
Okay, you can hit the thanks button now.
Peter
(formerly PeterHTC)
PeterGuru said:
How would you feel if you could make a Nandroid backup, wipe your device clean, flash a new ROM, restore all your personal apps (with settings, SMS messages, and call log intact), all in about 10 minutes?
Too good to be true? After all, you probably remember what they say about things that sound too good to be true. Normally you shouldn’t believe it. In this case, though, it’s real, and it works! Many people in the DIET ICS ROM thread have already tried it, with amazing success.
As always, there’s a caveat. You perform the following procedures at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any damage, frustration, anger, sadness, or suicides that may result from your decision to implement this process.
This method works “perfectly” if you’re upgrading an existing ROM. However, I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work equally well even if you’re coming from another ROM. Either way, use common sense, and always follow instructions provided by the ROM Developer.
This method also removes any concern whether or not you need to wipe because the process involves doing a full wipe, which only adds about 30 seconds to the procedure.
Here we go …
1.Boot into Recovery
2.Make a Nandroid backup
3.Wipe data/factory reset
4.Wipe cache partition
5.Wipe Dalvik Cache
6.Flash ROM
7.DO NOT REBOOT – STAY IN RECOVERY
8.Select backup and restore
9.Select advanced restore
10.Select the Nandroid backup you made above
11.Select Restore data
12.Select Yes – Restore data
13.WAIT!
14.REBOOT
If all goes according to plan, you will arrive at your home screen with all apps in place, and with all settings intact, including stored text messages, and your call log.
Shockingly easy, isn’t it? After all, it is ALWAYS suggested that you do a Nandroid before you flash any new ROM, so this procedure will ALWAYS have you completely up-to-date.
Okay, you can hit the thanks button now.
Peter
(formerly PeterHTC)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to see you here from the one x. I'm glad to be back on Sammy. One x just had too many bugs for me and no memory card was a deal breaker.
This tutorial seems legit, I'm just concerned that doing this could overwrite mods the rom developer implements and cause issues. Any response to that concern?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Usually use Titanium Backup myself, so I can selectively select which apps to restore with data. If you're going from a stock based ROM( stock modified ) to AOSP ( CM, AOKP, or any of their kangs ) then I don't think I'd recommend this shotgun method of restoring. However Stock -> Stock this is very fast and shouldn't cause any issues.
About mods, not sure, most mods are going to be in /system so those should be fine, however anything themed will be overwritten I believe. ( CWM wipes and restores, not an additive restore correct? )
I completely agree ...
RubenRybnik said:
Usually use Titanium Backup myself, so I can selectively select which apps to restore with data. If you're going from a stock based ROM( stock modified ) to AOSP ( CM, AOKP, or any of their kangs ) then I don't think I'd recommend this shotgun method of restoring. However Stock -> Stock this is very fast and shouldn't cause any issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Titanium has the advantage of allowing you to selectively restore apps, etc.
RubenRybnik said:
About mods, not sure, most mods are going to be in /system so those should be fine, however anything themed will be overwritten I believe. ( CWM wipes and restores, not an additive restore correct? )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree. If you're sticking with a stock-based ROM, or up-dating almost ANY existing ROM, then this method should work just fine; however, like you said, I would not recommend it if going from stock to AOSP, or vice versa.
I would also agree concerning the mods, which are almost always in /system, and aren't the theme files anywhere BUT in the data folder? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Peter
Same here ...
lessthanzach said:
Good to see you here from the one x. I'm glad to be back on Sammy. One x just had too many bugs for me and no memory card was a deal breaker.
This tutorial seems legit, I'm just concerned that doing this could overwrite mods the rom developer implements and cause issues. Any response to that concern?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would have to agree. I had far too many little glitches with my ONE X and ONE XL that were just too annoying. So far I could not be happier with the S3.
Peter
Good tip, Peter. I never knew about that one and it will come in handy for me!
Am I the only one who also formats /system in Recovery?
thank you for this! im jumping from stock to diet ics and this tip helped a lot.
im also coming from about a months use of HTC One X. its only been one day with this sg3 and i already prefer it over the htc one x.
Is ROM Manager still advisable or did Koush move on and it is an abandoned project like some of the reviews suggest in the Google Play store? I used to use this to flash and manage my NANDROID's and it was super easy.
P8TRIOT said:
Is ROM Manager still advisable or did Koush move on and it is an abandoned project like some of the reviews suggest in the Google Play store? I used to use this to flash and manage my NANDROID's and it was super easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just used his Rom manager to flash the AT&T recovery and it works great.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
PeterGuru said:
How would you feel if you could make a Nandroid backup, wipe your device clean, flash a new ROM, restore all your personal apps (with settings, SMS messages, and call log intact), all in about 10 minutes?
Too good to be true? After all, you probably remember what they say about things that sound too good to be true. Normally you shouldn’t believe it. In this case, though, it’s real, and it works! Many people in the DIET ICS ROM thread have already tried it, with amazing success.
As always, there’s a caveat. You perform the following procedures at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any damage, frustration, anger, sadness, or suicides that may result from your decision to implement this process.
This method works “perfectly” if you’re upgrading an existing ROM. However, I can’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work equally well even if you’re coming from another ROM. Either way, use common sense, and always follow instructions provided by the ROM Developer.
This method also removes any concern whether or not you need to wipe because the process involves doing a full wipe, which only adds about 30 seconds to the procedure.
Here we go …
1. Boot into Recovery
2. Make a Nandroid backup
3. Wipe data/factory reset
4. Wipe cache partition
5. Wipe Dalvik Cache
6. Flash ROM
7. DO NOT REBOOT – STAY IN RECOVERY
8. Select backup and restore
9. Select advanced restore
10. Select the Nandroid backup you made above
11. Select Restore data
12. Select Yes – Restore data
13. WAIT!
14. REBOOT
If all goes according to plan, you will arrive at your home screen with all apps in place, and with all settings intact, including stored text messages, and your call log.
Shockingly easy, isn’t it? After all, it is ALWAYS suggested that you do a Nandroid before you flash any new ROM, so this procedure will ALWAYS have you completely up-to-date.
Okay, you can hit the thanks button now.
Peter
(formerly PeterHTC)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I had my old Droid X2 (MB870), this is the method I used all the time, and it was very simple and straightforward, if I am understanding you correctly, this method is conditional in that you have to be coming from an existing flashed ROM? So for instance I just rooted yesterday through Odin but am still on stock, this method wouldn't work for me? It would be awesome if this could be utilized universally for what ever (rooted state), is this in fact the case or what exactly is the specific condition if any?
I will be adding a cautionary note to the first post ...
P8TRIOT said:
When I had my old Droid X2 (MB870), this is the method I used all the time, and it was very simple and straightforward, if I am understanding you correctly, this method is conditional in that you have to be coming from an existing flashed ROM? So for instance I just rooted yesterday through Odin but am still on stock, this method wouldn't work for me? It would be awesome if this could be utilized universally for what ever (rooted state), is this in fact the case or what exactly is the specific condition if any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although this will work under many different circumstances, there are a few very important restrictions, which I will add to the first post in a few minutes.
Peter
Not to with this but there is a software update be AT&T if installed will it take away root?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Carrier up-dates may be disabled ...
dahlem said:
Not to with this but there is a software update be AT&T if installed will it take away root?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I would like someone to confirm this, it is my belief that, if you root your device, then software up-dates from the carrier no longer work.
Peter
This works fine with ApOcAlYpSe 7_10_12 ROM
This method I can confirm works perfectly with the ApOcAlYpSe 7_10_12 ROM by smartguy044. I installed the Rom and restored everything from a previous stock setup that I did a nandroid of right before flashing. From start to finish the whole process took me less than the 10min as advertised. Just thought I would share just in case anyone was on the fence or concerned about using this with the ApOcAlYpSe 7_10_12 ROM.
Thank you for the confirmation ...
hkeyman said:
This method I can confirm works perfectly with the ApOcAlYpSe 7_10_12 ROM by smartguy044. I installed the Rom and restored everything from a previous stock setup that I did a nandroid of right before flashing. From start to finish the whole process took me less than the 10min as advertised. Just thought I would share just in case anyone was on the fence or concerned about using this with the ApOcAlYpSe 7_10_12 ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the confirmation.
I hope this helps those who are afraid to flash new ROMs because the entire process (from Nandroid to installing all apps and re-establishing settings), can take hours. I never really trusted Titanium, even though many do, so before hearing about this method, it would take me anywhere from 2-6 hours to get my device back to exactly how I want it, with all settings re-established. Flashing and installing apps wasn't the issue, which took me less than an hour. It's opening every single app and adjusting the settings that often took hours.
Peter
You really don't have to worry about restoring data if you flash a ROM that doesn't format the data partition. I have found that some/most don't wipe data. So you can just flash the ROM and reboot and go on your way. Of course do make a backup just in case.
I use TiBu 100% of the time. Never had it not work.
wgarrido said:
You really don't have to worry about restoring data if you flash a ROM that doesn't format the data partition. I have found that some/most don't wipe data. So you can just flash the ROM and reboot and go on your way. Of course do make a backup just in case.
I use TiBu 100% of the time. Never had it not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct in your suggestion "If" the Rom installed does not wipe or format the data. This is obviously a alternate, fast method for restoration of user data if needed in a pinch or just as a normal way of getting your configuration and apps back to the way you had them configured previously (either stock or on another similar installed ROM).
I am not sure what you meant by you use TiBu and not have it work? When restoring from TiBu you should always just restore missings Apps with Data and avoid anything System related as it would most likely overwrite anything that a ROM customization may have just installed and will cause issues whether minor or even serious. I would suggest only messing with system restore items if you absolutely know what you are doing. That aside I agree with Peter as TiBu as good as a backup as it is, its time consuming...but its another precautionary backup method needed as a just in case.
hkeyman said:
You are correct in your suggestion "If" the Rom installed does not wipe or format the data. This is obviously a alternate, fast method for restoration of user data if needed in a pinch or just as a normal way of getting your configuration and apps back to the way you had them configured previously (either stock or on another similar installed ROM).
I am not sure what you meant by you use TiBu and not have it work? When restoring from TiBu you should always just restore missings Apps with Data and avoid anything System related as it would most likely overwrite anything that a ROM customization may have just installed and will cause issues whether minor or even serious. I would suggest only messing with system restore items if you absolutely know what you are doing. That aside I agree with Peter as TiBu as good as a backup as it is, its time consuming...but its another precautionary backup method needed as a just in case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just saying that TiBu hasn't lost data or anything. I know about restoring system data. I have gotten away with restoring some of it in the past.
PeterGuru said:
Although I would like someone to confirm this, it is my belief that, if you root your device, then software up-dates from the carrier no longer work.
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OTA's should work with root as long as you are on stock and haven't altered your build.prop. On that note, I haven't heard anything about a Rogers update?
I haven't heard anything from Rogers, either ...
David Dee said:
OTA's should work with root as long as you are on stock and haven't altered your build.prop. On that note, I haven't heard anything about a Rogers update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't heard anything from Rogers regarding an up-date, either.
And thank you for answering the OTA question.
Peter

[Q] Advice on backup and rooting

First post and I have to say great forum here and lots of great information!!
I am a long time unix / linux user and work in the technology product development and I have been researching for about a week after updating to official ICS over Kies for information on backuping up my phone and rooting.
I had considered rooting before but never had a good reason really until I loaded the official ICS update and had to reset to get it working, losing all my apps / data. Kies was not cooperating so I did not get a good backup and it would not keep my app settings any way. This is when I found out that my old Blackberry and even iPhone had much more complete backup solutions that non-rooted Android. I have totally recovered the other devices without losing anything in the past so I thought Android would be a snap as well.
Any way to the point now. After searching I have found great work done by the members and I feel pretty comfortable proceeding to root my stock ICS and getting Titanium to do a full backup. I will fix my keyboard and few other things while at it.
My questions are:
1. When the next official release comes from ATT / Samsung will I have to reflash to the stock boot.img (found in another thread) to be able to get the upgrade and then root my phone again?
2. Once rooted, is it better to just come back here and get the updated ROM and flash manually?
3. Is the best way to achieve the complete backup solution I am looking for?
I am pretty happy with the stock ROMs but I want to be able to get a good and full backup going forward since it takes so long to reinstall everything. I could even live with the bloatware if I was confident I could completely restore at anytime.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Roy
Titanium is good for backing up apps and data. If you want a complete back up, you'll want to make a nandroid backup with CWMR. As for the ROM part, it all depends on if you're happy with what you get stock or if you like customized things. I'm sick right now or I would go into detail.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
Shawn said:
Titanium is good for backing up apps and data. If you want a complete back up, you'll want to make a nandroid backup with CWMR. As for the ROM part, it all depends on if you're happy with what you get stock or if you like customized things. I'm sick right now or I would go into detail.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Shawn. I saw a reference to nandroid but did not realize it was part of CWMR. Can I assume if I get CWMR loaded I will be able to backup my current apps / settings or will that just set me up for the next time? I have been sort of assuming once I get CWMR loaded and get root that I may lose my current settings.
Appreciate the reply especially while sick! Hope you feel better soon.
VideoRoy said:
Thanks Shawn. I saw a reference to nandroid but did not realize it was part of CWMR. Can I assume if I get CWMR loaded I will be able to backup my current apps / settings or will that just set me up for the next time? I have been sort of assuming once I get CWMR loaded and get root that I may lose my current settings.
Appreciate the reply especially while sick! Hope you feel better soon.
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A nandroid backup is more like an image backup of the flash, so you would have to restore the whole thing to get back any files you may have lost. It's mostly for backing up prior to flashing a new ROM, so if you don't like it you can go back to what you had easily.
If you want to back up pictures and things like that you should be able to plug the phone into a computer and mount the flash as a drive (I've done this on my Linux and Windows systems many times). Then you can copy the files you want to save to your computer, or copy a new ROM to the phone so you can flash it with CWMR.
You're welcome. Nandroid backups are for when your phone bootloops or is "bricked" or if you want to restore to something previous. For me, I use Titanium to backup all app data before flashing something and then make a Nandroid with CWMR. In my opinion its a good idea to use both so you're safe from any problems down the road.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
Shawn said:
You're welcome. Nandroid backups are for when your phone bootloops or is "bricked" or if you want to restore to something previous. For me, I use Titanium to backup all app data before flashing something and then make a Nandroid with CWMR. In my opinion its a good idea to use both so you're safe from any problems down the road.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
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mvi57 and Shawn,
Thanks guys, got it now. I will probably do both types of backups as well.
I think I understand the system a little better now. The recovery partition probably does not affect the bootloader or ROM so if I just replace it with CWMR I still boot the same and will not lose my current data. I am guessing the next official ROM will probably load fine but I would probably just have to root the phone again.
Thanks for putting up with the noob questions. I have not done embedded development before but some of the guys on team have so I have some terminology i need to get used to.
VideoRoy said:
mvi57 and Shawn,
Thanks guys, got it now. I will probably do both types of backups as well.
I think I understand the system a little better now. The recovery partition probably does not affect the bootloader or ROM so if I just replace it with CWMR I still boot the same and will not lose my current data. I am guessing the next official ROM will probably load fine but I would probably just have to root the phone again.
Thanks for putting up with the noob questions. I have not done embedded development before but some of the guys on team have so I have some terminology i need to get used to.
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Click to collapse
You will need to root again once you update. Replacing stock recovery with CWMR will not make you lose any data.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
VideoRoy said:
First post and I have to say great forum here and lots of great information!!
I am a long time unix / linux user and work in the technology product development and I have been researching for about a week after updating to official ICS over Kies for information on backuping up my phone and rooting.
I had considered rooting before but never had a good reason really until I loaded the official ICS update and had to reset to get it working, losing all my apps / data. Kies was not cooperating so I did not get a good backup and it would not keep my app settings any way.
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It's a hard lesson to learn that there were relatively easy solutions to avoid it :/ I as a fellow long time Linux user, I'm suprised!. I myself can not stand not having root access when I need it. I luckily have had Titanium Backup for quite some time now and it IS a life saver for many of your apps and settings! It's a must! I too had the issue of not being able to update via kies and assumed it was because my device was rooted, so in my frustrated lack of sleep mood I had going, I said meh all and grabbed easily accessible data off the memory and flashed the ICS from sammobile.com if i remember right. I've since flashed NardRom as well and am having some signal/sms issues. That being said, MAKE SURE you do a nandroid backup and don't get all anxious and overzealous like I did. If I am not mistaken and understand correctly, sometimes when flashing roms you may overwrite various signal related files like the modem or wireless? With a nandroid backup you can simply restore from that like nothing ever happened! Just follow directions to the T. I've yet to brick my SGH-i927 but I've bricked our captivates a few times
ZeroHour064 said:
It's a hard lesson to learn that there were relatively easy solutions to avoid it :/ I as a fellow long time Linux user, I'm suprised!. I myself can not stand not having root access when I need it. I luckily have had Titanium Backup for quite some time now and it IS a life saver for many of your apps and settings! It's a must! I too had the issue of not being able to update via kies and assumed it was because my device was rooted, so in my frustrated lack of sleep mood I had going, I said meh all and grabbed easily accessible data off the memory and flashed the ICS from sammobile.com if i remember right. I've since flashed NardRom as well and am having some signal/sms issues. That being said, MAKE SURE you do a nandroid backup and don't get all anxious and overzealous like I did. If I am not mistaken and understand correctly, sometimes when flashing roms you may overwrite various signal related files like the modem or wireless? With a nandroid backup you can simply restore from that like nothing ever happened! Just follow directions to the T. I've yet to brick my SGH-i927 but I've bricked our captivates a few times
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I am with you all the way.
I have installed CWMR now and completed a nandroid backup. After tracking down the backup I copied to my laptop for safe keeping. Also installed the keyboard fix only and it worked fine. Later tonight I will give root a try with Titanium.
BTW I was having SMS issues with the stock ICS. No alerts and basic funky things. I have loaded Go SMS Pro and am happier not only fixing the app issues but giving me Group text mode so I am not an outcast with the rest of my iPhone family
Thanks for helping me get going here.
ICS has a bunch of issues, including the bad notifications.
sent from my captivate glide running ICS (NardROM 0.4 Rooted)
As others have posted. I back up all my information per app via Titanium backup and every few months I make a new Nandroid backup. This gives me the best of both worlds. A full backup that I can get back to via Nandroid backup and little backups from Titanium backup if I choose to uninstall and re-install an individual app later on in the future.
Just a few other tips from my recent experiences. Since the problems I was having with NardROM... an entire night with no text msgs from my ole lady got me pretty worried and I learned it was issues with my flash or the rom with my phone so I wiped it out and went back to the stock ICS. I also flashed the keyboard fix and have noticed no problems. I did flash the tether fix too but it's not working for me at the moment so I'll play with it later. I'm also using my regular Captivate as a secondary phone/toy using google voice and wireless so if I'm not getting anything on one # during testing or usage I will notice it and get it on the other phone.
Also, as a long time GOSMS user I like to try out the various features but I must warn you stay away from, or have a backup plan on top of it, if you purchase the 180-day premium features and utilize the local backup. I'm not fond of having things backed up to a cloud so like you I back up all my phone stuff to my server and desktops at home but running raid 5 (paranoid much?). The problem I had is when I restored all my text from the cloud after a flash and noticed the new local backup feature in a GOSMS update I thought hey i can do away with the cloud and use this right!? Wrong. I deleted the cloud backup without double checking and on this last flash, attempted to restore roughly 20k+ messages from the Gosms local backup feature and it errored out or froze the phone EVERY time I tried. Frantically searching through everything I had, I learned that Titanium Backup does do a backup typically of the related data, I beleive the listed backup is SMS/APN/MMS or something similar. You have to enable writing to /system in Titanium's settings. There's a howto on xda I beleive and google searches on restoring it. Another thing, if you have numerous backups and are playing around and i.e. have just flashed, installed Titaniumbackup and want to backup something before you restore it from an older version, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CHANGED MAX # of BACKUPS FIRST, otherwise you have just overwritten your previous backup :crying:
*Correction* I'm using jayjayjoker2's debloated ICS 4.0.4 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1843001
ZeroHour064 said:
Just a few other tips from my recent experiences. Since the problems I was having with NardROM... an entire night with no text msgs from my ole lady got me pretty worried and I learned it was issues with my flash or the rom with my phone so I wiped it out and went back to the stock ICS. I also flashed the keyboard fix and have noticed no problems. I did flash the tether fix too but it's not working for me at the moment so I'll play with it later. I'm also using my regular Captivate as a secondary phone/toy using google voice and wireless so if I'm not getting anything on one # during testing or usage I will notice it and get it on the other phone.
Also, as a long time GOSMS user I like to try out the various features but I must warn you stay away from, or have a backup plan on top of it, if you purchase the 180-day premium features and utilize the local backup. I'm not fond of having things backed up to a cloud so like you I back up all my phone stuff to my server and desktops at home but running raid 5 (paranoid much?). The problem I had is when I restored all my text from the cloud after a flash and noticed the new local backup feature in a GOSMS update I thought hey i can do away with the cloud and use this right!? Wrong. I deleted the cloud backup without double checking and on this last flash, attempted to restore roughly 20k+ messages from the Gosms local backup feature and it errored out or froze the phone EVERY time I tried. Frantically searching through everything I had, I learned that Titanium Backup does do a backup typically of the related data, I beleive the listed backup is SMS/APN/MMS or something similar. You have to enable writing to /system in Titanium's settings. There's a howto on xda I beleive and google searches on restoring it. Another thing, if you have numerous backups and are playing around and i.e. have just flashed, installed Titaniumbackup and want to backup something before you restore it from an older version, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CHANGED MAX # of BACKUPS FIRST, otherwise you have just overwritten your previous backup :crying:
*Correction* I'm using jayjayjoker2's debloated ICS 4.0.4 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1843001
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Great information thanks!!
The backups I am most worried about are all the system settings, app settings and data mostly. I am probably older than most folks here and I do not really text much except family and a few co-workers. I honestly never worried about backing up my SMS / MMS but I will check on my APNs because I had that problem on a Blackberry once. Email is where I store most important stuff and talk about paranoid I have multiple copies of my emails on different computers on different operating systems. 20 years working in storage will do that to you
I believe that if Google or Samsung even came up with a backup solution that did what Blackberry or Apple could do it would solve a lot and I probably would not even be working on this. Blackberry saved my bacon more than once with the complete backup they do in their clunky software and last year when my daughters iPhone would no longer power off, I was able to use iTunes to do a complete backup and she was up and running on a new phone in 15 mins exactly where she left off.
Thanks for the advice!

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