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Rooted, rom question

I was hoping someone could help me get things straight in my head before I proceed any further. Currently I am running stock w/root 1.47. The first thing I did was get titanium backup (donate version) and backup my apps and system data. This is where I am at a loss.
I want to be running a lean, fast phone with wifi tethering. Here are my questions:
I installed ROM manager, can this be used to test out different roms without rebooting into my recovery?
Is there a list of apps I can remove? I can use titanium backup to remove them (also, should I remove, pause, or delete?) Specifically I don't want things like sprint nascar, sprint zone, etc.
Will the roms remove my useless apps, or do I need to do it manually? Specifically I was thinking of installing baked snack.
Thanks

ROM manager has an option inside the app to boot you into recovery. No way around trying a new Rom other than going into recovery, wiping, and flashing.
Go to the android chef forum and search 'apps safe to remove' and it should turn up a thread that keeps a list of apps you can use.
Most custom roms, including baked snack, remove bloat apps (mostly Sprint apps)

Awesome, one more thing. I am trying to figure out what to backup using titanium backup. On my stock rom, lets say I have all the apps downloaded that I want to use. Do I want to exclude everything RED on titanium backup and just backup the green programs? When I flash to a new rom and go to titanium backup, if I backed up EVERYTHING and restore it, wouldn't it put the bloatware back on my phone?

[Q] nandroid restore: does it remove the custom rom and replace it with stock?

Might be a pretty basic qtn but heres the deal.
I took a nandriod backup of dk28 (no root) and then flashed it with nebula rom. Now since the rom was new, all my data/contacts/apps etc are gone obviously.. I am wondering if I did a restore of the nandroid restore, will it restore all that (ie sms/email/contacts/data/apps) or is it used to go back to stock rom only, ie it will remove my custom rom and put back the stock as it was pre flashing nebula?
All I need is a way to keep the custom rom but also restore my sms/email/apps etc.
Thanks!

hardrock121 said:
Might be a pretty basic qtn but heres the deal.
I took a nandriod backup of dk28 (no root) and then flashed it with nebula rom. Now since the rom was new, all my data/contacts/apps etc are gone obviously.. I am wondering if I did a restore of the nandroid restore, will it restore all that (ie sms/email/contacts/data/apps) or is it used to go back to stock rom only, ie it will remove my custom rom and put back the stock as it was pre flashing nebula?
All I need is a way to keep the custom rom but also restore my sms/email/apps etc.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will restore everything excatly how it was when you saved it. Including your Texts/Mail etc that were in your inbox at the time you saved. You are basically going back to the exact point where you saved. You can create backups for every rom you have, it is not just for putting your phone back to stock. I always back up stock first, so I can always go back if needed.

Thanks Heelfan71..I understand it puts back everything as it was .. but will I loose my custom rom after that is my question.

hardrock121 said:
Thanks Heelfan71..I understand it puts back everything as it was .. but will I loose my custom rom after that is my question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you restore your backup? Yes you will loose your custom rom, unless you make a backup of that too (this is what I do). So you can go back and forth between the 2 if needed. Is that what you were wondering?

basically i want to switch back and forth the roms but keep my data intact.. right now after flashing the new rom.. i have obviously lost all my sms/emails/apps etc.. is there a one click solution which will restore all my data on every new rom i install?
edit: Also , I did take a titanium backup before I flashed the new rom.. but i didnt do a complete (ALL) backup, since I couldnt find a option to backup all. I had to choose each service/app/etc to backup.. so I ended up backing up all the stuff that I understood..but restoring them hasnt restored my sms/email data yet.

Do an advanced restore->restore /data in cwm.
I've had pretty good luck keeping my contacts, apps, and settings this way. Some people see weird force close issues after restoring /data. Check it out and see if it works for you.

thaniks.. i ll give it a try .. i thought about it.. but wasnt sure what exactly it does.

did that .. now that removed the rom manager and spare parts.. not sure what else it did.. but it did bring everything sms/apps/emails back ..
i guess i can install rom manager from the market..

If you only restore data your custom rom will stay. It will only restore your apps and app data. If you are restoring data from a rom on the same file system, you should be fine.
In other words, flashing VIPERrom 4.0.3 EXT4, then backing up, then flashing Bonsai 1.1.4 on RFS, then restoring data is not a good idea.

@ryno502 makes sense....thats what i did and it did restore everything.. Thanks!
now i ve to find some good widgets and lockscreen changes..

Nandroid restore on Custom ROM
I own a Xperia Arc(LT 15i)..rooted,unlocked...
I have Cyanogenmod, stable version running on my phone now...
I had taken a nandroid backup using CWM Auto-installer...
But now I wanna know how can i restore my apps that i had with Stock ROM...i tried a advanced backup on /data alone but then, its not booting up if i do so...
Please help..

Xperia?
Your data is incompatible with CM. You will need to download apps again unless you have a Titanium Backup.
Sent from my PantechP4100 using xda premium

[Q] Rom backups and restore...

Hi folks... I'm fairly new to flashing ROM's (i know how to flash them and such) but I have a question about backups and restores of roms....I have searched and just dont see the exact wording im looking for.
Ok, So, I have clockwork, and rom manager and have done a backup of my rom.
Here is my question that isnt quite so clear to me.
When I flash a new rom, or say update one that I have where you have to wipe everything.... are these backups here to restore all of your programs and such to where you dont have to go back in and re-download everything when you have a new fresh rom installed.
Id love to try out a bunch of roms.. but I just hate having to go and re-download all of my programs each time I put a new one on... if that is how it has to be then so be it...
I just dont really know exactly what the backups im doing are for, or what they do.
Thanks for your help.

When I flash a new rom, or say update one that I have where you have to wipe everything.... are these backups here to restore all of your programs and such to where you dont have to go back in and re-download everything when you have a new fresh rom installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somewhat. A nandroid backup is a COMPLETE backup of your entire phone at the point you make the backup. All your apps, calls, texts, etc will be exactly like you made the backup. That's the beauty of nandroid backups, you can make one, try a new rom, and if you dont like it, restore your backup and there is no hassle re-installing apps and changing settings.
However, when you install a new rom, you have to wipe everything. So when flashing a new rom, you will not have anything, you will have to re-install your programs.

There are backup programs that will allow you to backup before a wipe and flash when installing a new ROM. You can then restore the user apps and data. You can also restore SOME system data but you have to be careful and it may be a trial and error process when restoring.
I use Titanium Backup. Some people also use MyBackup Root. I found that when I restored some of my apps with MyBackup they would Force Close when I tried to run them after a restore. That has not been the case with Titanium.
I have Titanium set to restore the apps to the original location. That way my apps restore to internal (DATA) or the the SD Card depending on where they were originally installed.
My process when I flash a new ROM:
- Backup all user apps + Data and System Data with Titanium.
- Nandroid Backup using Amon_RA
- Wipe System, Data, Dalvik and Cache
- Flash the ROM
- Reboot
- Create google account, etc.
- Install Titanium from the market.
- Restore user apps + data using titanium
You can also restore some system data. Depending on the ROM (and how different it was from the original) that can cause problems. If that happens go back to wipe and reflash the ROM again without restoring the system data.
I have had no problems restoring things like my SMS Messages and Call Logs. You can get into problems when you start restoring things like system settings or HTC Sense settings, etc.

Thank you both for the replies. This is exactly what i needed to know. I hope this thread helps others with similar questions.

There is one thing. CWM and ROM Manager have a history of not being reliable with backups.
Your best bet is to get Amon Ra and use that to make Nandroids.
4 I always have on my phone are my Stock/Rooted, my last ROM I was on, fully setup, my Current ROM, basic, before I restore and programs or apps/data, and my current ROM all setup.
If I flash a new ROM, I can just delete my older complete setup.

Rom updates

Hi all,
About to root and rom for the first time on any phone and I was wondering a few things.
First, after I install clockwork mod recovery, I can make a backup... Does this backup have the ability to restore all of my apps and data after I install a custom rom? Also, does it restore things like homescreen widgets, app settings etc as well?
Secondly, after I install the rom of my choice, how does updating it to a newer version work? Will updating to a newer version wipe my phone completely or is it like receiving a stock ota update in that it doesn't erase anything?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

1) The backups in clockworkmod are of your entire phone. Without a 3rd party app such as titanium you won't be able to restore specific pieces of it. IMO clockworkmod backups are meant to be used to restore your entire phone if something goes wrong. Titanium has a feature where you can restore specific stuff from the backups, but I would recommend creating backups via titanium rather than relying on what was done in clockworkmod. Personally, I backup everything with titanium then do a backup in clockworkmod before I flash a rom. App settings will restore, widgets do but many times you'll have to add them again because they restore with placeholders for whatever reason.
2) Updating a rom is dependent on the specific rom and often the version. Some roms you can just flash over what you're running, sometimes an update will be significant enough to require a wipe. Even if a rom doesn't require a wipe, I'd advise at least doing a backup.

Restoring system data (Titanium Backup)

I know it's not recommended to restore system data when flashing to a different rom, but what if I'm just upgrading to a newer version of the same rom (newest nightly build)?

09eric09 said:
I know it's not recommended to restore system data when flashing to a different rom, but what if I'm just upgrading to a newer version of the same rom (newest nightly build)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would depend on what's been changed...
Take a backup and try it. Be sure to restore data, not system apps.

I'm also using TB a lot and trying here and there new ROMs. As long as you restore "Data only" you shouldn't have any problems. At least I didn't until now. Restoring the APP that way - I wouldn't recommend. I got issues very often like unmotivated reboots or APP just stops working after a while and so on. I would recommend do use APP Backup & Restore in combination with TB. After installing a new version of a ROM (mostly I do full-wipe) you can select the Apps you want to restore and they are running the installation process ! (so not just a recover). When I'm done with that I use TB to restore Data only. Didn't have any issues until now with that way. Hope that helps.