do nandroid backups work properly? - AT&T, Rogers, Bell, Telus Samsung Galaxy S III

i've been trying out new CM10.1 nightlies and nothing has worked as well as 3/17, so i keep reflashing my 3/17 nandroid backup. however, ive noticed that after 1 or two times of doing that, the phone battery has sucked and my data connection is acting funky.
when restoring from nandroid, does it basically wipe the phone and restore it exactly back to how it was, or do files from frequent flashing and trials of other nightlies still stick around?
if so it is the latter, would i benefit from moving my backup to my external SD card, doing a total wipe of the phone 100%, and reflashing the nandroid backup?

At the very least you should wipe cache,dalvic, and factory reset, which you could've learned from a simple search.

When you dirty flash rom updates and backups, you begin to run into these small bugs. Layering your software like this will add up. It's safe to keep a copy of your backup on your sd card, yes. If you perform a full wipe (wipe data, cache, dalvik, and system) you will be removing the OS entirely and allowing for a completely clean install. That's what I recommend. Since you are not formatting/wiping data, you will not lose any.

TeknoGodz said:
At the very least you should wipe cache,dalvic, and factory reset, which you could've learned from a simple search.
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yes. i know. that was already done. i was asking about something more in depth. thanks for nothing.

xBeerdroiDx said:
When you dirty flash rom updates and backups, you begin to run into these small bugs. Layering your software like this will add up. It's safe to keep a copy of your backup on your sd card, yes. If you perform a full wipe (wipe data, cache, dalvik, and system) you will be removing the OS entirely and allowing for a completely clean install. That's what I recommend. Since you are not formatting/wiping data, you will not lose any.
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much appreciated. i did a full system wipe 100% and just restored from the nandroid fresh (it had worked before all teh crazy flashing.).
thanks!

Just to add to this thread, a Nandroid does not capture everything.
Such as, if you have maps saved to your internal SD card from a navigation app, those maps are not picked up as part of the nandroid.
I make a habit of copying my internal SD card contents onto my computer and then restoring them after restoring a Nandroid.

Related

Quick question on wiping data & "SD"

Will wiping the phone in CWM delete files on the "SD" space of the phone? I've read it is all apart of the same partition, so I wanted to make sure before awkwardly deleting the ROM I am about to install..
I have wiped tons of times in CWR and it hasn't touched the /sd yet. All my files are safe and sound.
Sent from my GNex
Grims said:
Will wiping the phone in CWM delete files on the "SD" space of the phone? I've read it is all apart of the same partition, so I wanted to make sure before awkwardly deleting the ROM I am about to install..
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Yes, it clears *all* internal storage.
So...which is it?
Maybe I misunderstood but are you talking about wiping /data and /cache? Because when I do this it does NOT wipe the /sd but does wipe all other user data, just like on every other android phone I have had.
Sent from my GNex
Grims said:
So...which is it?
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Click to collapse
Wipe data/factory reset on CWM wipes your WHOLE phone, including "SD" card. I advise you to use the Super Wipe Lite script from the Android Revolution ROM, get it here. This will do a complete wipe, except SD card.
A bit of more info, in case you're interested: the SD card is the folder /data/media mounted as /sdcard. When you wipe in CWM, the data folder is emptied as well.
EDIT: i havent actually tried to do a normal full wipe from CWM, im stating the above just from reading other reports here. Maybe the last version from CWM has fixed this, i dont know
EDIT2: You can wipe cache and dalvik as usual from CWM without any problems.
flakz0r said:
Wipe data/factory reset on CWM wipes your WHOLE phone, including "SD" card. I advise you to use the Super Wipe Lite script from the Android Revolution ROM, get it here. This will do a complete wipe, except SD card.
A bit of more info, in case you're interested: the SD card is the folder /data/media mounted as /sdcard. When you wipe in CWM, the data folder is emptied as well.
EDIT: i havent actually tried to do a normal full wipe from CWM, im stating the above just from reading other reports here. Maybe the last version from CWM has fixed this, i dont know
EDIT2: You can wipe cache and dalvik as usual from CWM without any problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured that was how it was setup, but didn't know if CWM had any logic built into it to filter out the folder. I'll take a look at the script, thanks.
The built-in factory reset in Android will also wipe everything.
I did data,cache,dalvik wipe and formatted system going from 4.0.2 to 4.0.3.
I did NOT lose my SD card
The default wipe in ICS clears *all* internal memory. The default Factory Reset feature of CWM does the exact same thing. I've done it twice and it wiped fully both times.
Very interesting direct contradictions going on in here..
Wiping data in CWM DOES NOT WIPE THE VIRTUAL SDCARD. People need to stop saying it does.. it is all one partition but the virtual SD card is not wiped when you wipe data in cwm.. Factory resets in settings will wipe your virtual SD card but cwm WILL NOT.
Edit: sorry I had a long night, but I will leave the caps so people actually read it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
It is quite troubling to read how many people are saying that wiping in CWM will erase the SD card.
It 100% DOES NOT. I have wiped in CWM dozens of times already. I can not say the same for Factory Reset in Android...but in CWM wiping data DOES NOT wipe your SD.

When wiping data, will I lose "SD Card" data?

Will wiping the data (before ROM flash) also wipe the "SD Card" data? I know on other phones, that have a physical SD card, when you wipe data the SD data remains. But, with the Nexus having a virtual SD card, I didn't know what would happen.
In essence, I'm thinking Titanium Backup is useless unless you pull the backup data from the phone before flashing a new ROM, because the backed up data would be deleted with a data wipe for new ROM flash.
cmcfalls said:
Will wiping the data (before ROM flash) also wipe the "SD Card" data? I know on other phones, that have a physical SD card, when you wipe data the SD data remains. But, with the Nexus having a virtual SD card, I didn't know what would happen.
In essence, I'm thinking Titanium Backup is useless unless you pull the backup data from the phone before flashing a new ROM, because the backed up data would be deleted with a data wipe for new ROM flash.
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The "sd card" data remains. Nothing is messed with in that portion of memory. TiBu works great.
strongergravity said:
The "sd card" data remains. Nothing is messed with in that portion of memory. TiBu works great.
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Thanks! I wondered what would happen with a data wipe.
If you flash a stock ROM via fastboot it WILL WIPE THE "SDCARD". EVERYTHING.
Basically:
Stock recovery data wipe/factory reset = SDcard wiped
Custom recovery data wipe/factory reset = SDcard untouched
So if you haven't rooted/CWM'd your phone yet, don't put anything big and important on the SDcard. If you have put stuff on your card just make a backup of it on your PC and then do the unlock/recovery install procedure. Then you'll be set. Titanium Backup will be back to working just like it does on any other phone once you have a custom recovery installed. No worrying about the SDcard getting wiped.
you'll definitely want to install a custom recovery if you're going to be wiping anything. Id highly recommend the clockwork touch recovery. The standard one is really a pain to use as the navigation is odd and its hard to select what you want.
^ I wonder as well, but I proceed without thinking about sdcard. Lucky enough our great dev took care of that. Btw, I didn't have time to see the recovery since when I got it I flash CWM immediately.
The answer is here for TWRP
the answer
Kiwyxda said:
The answer is here for TWRP
the answer
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This thread had been dead for 8 months...

[Q] General Rooting Question

Since there is no sd card, when you flash a ROM and have to wipe data, do you lose all the stuff like music, pictures, and ringtones? If so, what do you guys use to make this not a pain. I can't imagine recompliling all the folders from what you have backed up on your computer is the best way. I have titanium backup, but isnt that really just for restoring your apps and contacts, not so much for things like music and ringtones etc.?
Also, does the CWM backup/recovery work with this phone? I come from a droid charge and the restore never really worked on that phone.
its been answered a ton of times
your data in /sdcard/ (also known as /data/media/ ) is left alone when you wipe data/cache in cwm/twrp
restore works fine.
Your virtual SD card isn't wiped, so your photos and music are preserved. If you want a little extra assurance though, just back it all up to a Dropbox account. That way you always have access to it if something does go wrong during a wipe.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
What he says!
I have clockwork mod touch installed. For a fresh clean install, I wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache and then install the zip from sdcard (the new ROM is itself stored on the sdcard).
Zepius said:
its been answered a ton of times
your data in /sdcard/ (also known as /data/media/ ) is left alone when you wipe data/cache in cwm/twrp
restore works fine.
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Click to collapse
DZYR said:
What he says!
I have clockwork mod touch installed. For a fresh clean install, I wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache and then install the zip from sdcard (the new ROM is itself stored on the sdcard).
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Click to collapse
In the sd card, the images, ringtones, data files will remain untouched also with a full wipe.
DZYR said:
What he says!
I have clockwork mod touch installed. For a fresh clean install, I wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache and then install the zip from sdcard (the new ROM is itself stored on the sdcard).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be aware that wiping data/factory reset also wipes cache. And the need to wipe caches when flashing roms is a myth. They're hash signed by the rom at flash, different roms have different signatures, thus android will always be forced to rebuild them after a new rom has been flashed.
Sent from my i9250

[Q] Weird!

Hey everyone.
Well, I'm getting back into rooting devices and changing roms etc... So, last night I refreshed myself (it's been a few years) and decided to flash Chameleon OS. With that said, I backed up some OS data by using My Backup. I also did a Nandroid backup, wiped my SD card (full of junk), and performed a system reset, cache wipe, and Dalvik cache wipe. Afterwhich, Chameleon installed fine; however, my SD card now has ALL of the junk back on it again. I still see old references to pictures, apps, and db files. As a result Chameleon, is not running at its best. Can someone tell me how/why my data was restored to my SD card?
Also, the backup I created using My Backup is no longer on my SD card. I re-downloaded to app after flashing Chameleon and attempted to perform a restore of my APN data...needless to say, My Backup reported that it could not find the backup on my SD card. Presumably due to the restoration of the old junk back to my SD card????
Can someone shed on light on this??
Thanks.
Jordan
jaykel941 said:
Hey everyone.
Well, I'm getting back into rooting devices and changing roms etc... So, last night I refreshed myself (it's been a few years) and decided to flash Chameleon OS. With that said, I backed up some OS data by using My Backup. I also did a Nandroid backup, wiped my SD card (full of junk), and performed a system reset, cache wipe, and Dalvik cache wipe. Afterwhich, Chameleon installed fine; however, my SD card now has ALL of the junk back on it again. I still see old references to pictures, apps, and db files. As a result Chameleon, is not running at its best. Can someone tell me how/why my data was restored to my SD card?
Also, the backup I created using My Backup is no longer on my SD card. I re-downloaded to app after flashing Chameleon and attempted to perform a restore of my APN data...needless to say, My Backup reported that it could not find the backup on my SD card. Presumably due to the restoration of the old junk back to my SD card????
Can someone shed on light on this??
Thanks.
Jordan
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Click to collapse
seems like nandroid backup wasnt backing up anything when it was saying it did lol. delete and install the apk again just to make sure it wont do it in the future

completely wipe the phone?

Just wondering, as i'm probably selling my Galaxy S3 soon... what's the easiest way to completely wipe everything off the phone? Pictures, apps, documents.... everything? Will re-install a custom ROM after wiping.... just want to make sure all personal data is off the phone.
elementaldragon said:
Just wondering, as i'm probably selling my Galaxy S3 soon... what's the easiest way to completely wipe everything off the phone? Pictures, apps, documents.... everything? Will re-install a custom ROM after wiping.... just want to make sure all personal data is off the phone.
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Click to collapse
I imagine using twrp would be the best way. Not sure if there is another alternative. Maybe odin.
First before wiping system you may want to wipe internal storage (after backing up your internal storage to your computer or something first of course). Then boot up your current system and transfer a rom you want to install to your internal storage. Then reboot to twrp and wipe system, factory reset, cache and dalvik. Then install a rom fresh and then it should be ready to go. This is what I do after selling a device, before shipping to a customer.
.... wouldn't copying a custom ROM to the internal storage BEFORE wiping System and everything also erase the custom ROM i just transferred to the device?
And i mean wiping EVERYTHING. basically as if the phone was just taken out of the box, and unlocked, rooted, and custom ROM installed. No left over files whatsoever. Don't think wiping just System does that, does it? Wouldn't i do the "Wipe Internal Storage" or something like that? Think that's about what i did on my Motorola Atrix when i sold that.
* edit looking into the wiping system part to see exactly what it erases.
Wiping system, factory reset, cache and dalvik should erase everything except storage. You could wipe internal storage after you freshly install a ROM. But hopefully there are no errors, because you will have no files on storage if something had went wrong during installation. I would also have a ROM file on an external sdcard that you could plug in if you needed to.
You will probably want to leave one ROM file on the device for the person you are selling it to, just incase.
Sent from my Nexus 5
stelv said:
* edit looking into the wiping system part to see exactly what it erases.
Wiping system, factory reset, cache and dalvik should erase everything except storage. You could wipe internal storage after you freshly install a ROM. But hopefully there are no errors, because you will have no files on storage if something had went wrong during installation. I would also have a ROM file on an external sdcard that you could plug in if you needed to.
You will probably want to leave one ROM file on the device for the person you are selling it to, just incase.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I am selling it with the 8GB Micro-SD card anyway, since i've got no use for it with the Nexus 5. And i believe that's what i did with the Atrix. Wiped storage/system/factory reset/cache. Pretty much everything that made sense to wipe.... and just kept the ROM on the SD card out of the phone, just to make sure i didn't accidentally wipe that somehow.
And i'll probably just do what i usually end up doing for stuff like this. Wipe everything, install the ROM and make sure it boots, and just shut it off when it comes to the initial setup screen.
Here are some useful links
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1823906
http://teamw.in/whattowipe
Sent from my Nexus 5

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