I have s-off and am permanently rooted. I am able to flash and run such roms as CM7.1 and RMK Gingersense from the original .zip file without a problem. However I have been unable to restore a single backup made with ClockworkMod Recovery.
For example, once I flash Gingersense I am unable to restore a backup to CM7.1. If I flash CM7.1 I am unable to restore a backup to Gingersense. In fact, I can't even successfully restore a previous backup of the same rom. I have reloaded CMR several times.
Every time I try to restore a backup, when I reboot I freeze on the white HTC screen. I have tried wiping everything before restoring, but that doesn't help.
It's a pain not being able to play with new roms and variations without being able to painlessly restore from a backup.
Any ideas?
bsteenson said:
I have s-off and am permanently rooted. I am able to flash and run such roms as CM7.1 and RMK Gingersense from the original .zip file without a problem. However I have been unable to restore a single backup made with ClockworkMod Recovery.
For example, once I flash Gingersense I am unable to restore a backup to CM7.1. If I flash CM7.1 I am unable to restore a backup to Gingersense. In fact, I can't even successfully restore a previous backup of the same rom. I have reloaded CMR several times.
Every time I try to restore a backup, when I reboot I freeze on the white HTC screen. I have tried wiping everything before restoring, but that doesn't help.
It's a pain not being able to play with new roms and variations without being able to painlessly restore from a backup.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are a couple of thoughts.
1 - Is your SD Card full? I had been flashing ROMs and doing back ups a lot recently. As I flashed a ROM to give it a try, I noticed that my back up went very quick. I thought nothing of it, but when I restored that back up, it did not work and caused problems. Looking into things, their was not enough room on the SD Card for the back up to complete all partitions, so it did what it could and finished. You may have several back ups that are incomplete.
2 - You are not waiting long enough for the phone to boot. I have had my phone stuck on the HTC screen for a minute or more before it finally starts the boot animation. If the HTC animation keeps starting over, you have a boot loop, but if it is just on the screen, it may just be taking longer to boot.
I hope this helps.
I had some similar issues at one point. I would try deleting the entire clockwork folder from your SD card and let it recreate when you go back into cwr. That's what worked for me. I believe it was due to some older files that were left behind from prior versions of cwr.
Sent from my ADR6350
Sounds like the same problem I had. Which was a bad SD card format. You can try to format your SD card via Windows and start all over. One thing to note is when you hook your phone up to your computer and mount it that you must use the safely remove device icon in the system tray. This will cause many problems for you if you don't. Trust me, I learned the hard way!
Thanks for suggestions, but I don't think we've got it yet.
Plenty of room for backups (more than 7 GB) on SD card. Have looked at backup files and am pretty sure they are complete. Backups take the usual amount of time, but I notice the failed restores go more quickly than full new installs.
Always use safely disconnect to disconnect from computer (rarely mount to computer anyway - files are usually sent to phone through Dropbox).
Suppose I can reformat SD card, but what a hassle to copy/paste everything back on.
Will try deleting CMR folder, but don't think there could be vestiges from previous versions since this is the first/only version installed since root.
Any other ideas from the incredibly bright and helpful people on this forum?
Have you tried reflashing recovery?
Sent from my Droid Incredible 2
ruvort said:
Have you tried reflashing recovery?
Sent from my Droid Incredible 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, even tried using an earlier version. No joy.
bsteenson said:
Suppose I can reformat SD card, but what a hassle to copy/paste everything back on.
Any other ideas from the incredibly bright and helpful people on this forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is your best solution. If it doesn't work then you might have a bad SD card. It is a hassle to format the card but if you want it to work then it's the best solution.
Just a follow-up for anyone who lands on this thread because they have a similar problem.
Following the advice of spizzo03, I completely deleted ClockworkMod Recovery -- the app, the paid license app and the folder on the SD card. I then reinstalled just the free app of CMR from the Market.
Testing by trying to restore one of my backups ... IT NOW WORKS. Goes through the entire restore process -- system, data, cache, etc. -- whereas before it used to stop while restoring system.
Thanks to all who offered suggestions.
bsteenson said:
Just a follow-up for anyone who lands on this thread because they have a similar problem.
Following the advice of spizzo03, I completely deleted ClockworkMod Recovery -- the app, the paid license app and the folder on the SD card. I then reinstalled just the free app of CMR from the Market.
Testing by trying to restore one of my backups ... IT NOW WORKS. Goes through the entire restore process -- system, data, cache, etc. -- whereas before it used to stop while restoring system.
Thanks to all who offered suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another one here. I was having issues as well restoring backups and simply wiping the sdcard's clockworkmod folder was enough for me.
OK, so I'm used to phones with external SD cards where backing up was very easy. With the GN its a pain in the ass. After flashing a rom and factory resetting it, CWM can not find my back ups. I can see them with root explorer on the "sdcard" but CWM doesn't. I tried dragging them to /data/media/, but cwm doesn't see them.
I saved the back up to my pc before resetting as well. Where can I put it so CWM sees it?
I have the same problem with Titanium Back up. I backed up all apps and data, but after the wipe they were gone. I saved the back up on my PC but now I don't see a titanium backup folder to drag them too.
I realize this question has been asked before but all my research points me to dead ends.
Any help would be appreciated.
edit: was able to to drag an old backup to CWM, tried to restore and it failed. Phone is now stuck at Google logo :/. Factory resetting it again did not help.
update your CWM.
Zepius said:
update your CWM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter, I flashed back to stock and rerooted. How can I avoid this in the future. It seems that if I wipe data I lose my back ups. How can I save my back ups in the future?
Zepius said:
update your CWM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.....
If you just put your backup in data/media/ then CWM might not see it. Mine are in data/media/clockworkmod/backup/
This is why I use TWRP now.
I've had a bad CWM backup/restore operation fail. I think the dev of CWM is losing the ball and TWRP is starting to become the better recovery solution now.
deleted
akira02rex said:
This is why I use TWRP now.
I've had a bad CWM backup/restore operation fail. I think the dev of CWM is losing the ball and TWRP is starting to become the better recovery solution now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never once had any errors or failed operations or issues of any kind since using CWM Recovery. Even with my old phone (which was not technically CWM, but based on it). Its hard for me to blame CWM and say that those issues are NOT user error.
If you go from a 4.1.X ROM to a 4.2.X ROM then you will have this problem because it changes the file structure that android uses. Same would occur on TWR. You just need to move the files to the correct location after the fact.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
pyroemaniac said:
If you go from a 4.1.X ROM to a 4.2.X ROM then you will have this problem because it changes the file structure that android uses. Same would occur on TWR. You just need to move the files to the correct location after the fact.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem is that I tried moving the backup from the old location to the new. When I tried to restore, it failed and never was able to boot past the google logo. I had to unroot and flash back to stock. A great feature that I wish CWM had would be to direct it to where we keep the backup and just restore from there. Since the change from 4.1 to 4.2 I have read many people having similar issues.
Do you have cwm making a md5 for your backup? If not hat is the only time I've had trouble restoring. I've switched from 4.2 to 4.1 and vice versa multiple times without problems.
Also are you using cwm touch or non touch?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Also, like others have said, make sure you are using the latest CWM. You can easily get it by downloading ROM manager and selecting "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery". It will also tell you what version you have and what version is the latest.
Thanks for the help. I'm also having problems with titanium back up. I copied the backup folder before the wipe, I dragged the files back to the titanium back up folder but TB doesn't recognize the back ups.
spillner said:
Thanks for the help. I'm also having problems with titanium back up. I copied the backup folder before the wipe, I dragged the files back to the titanium back up folder but TB doesn't recognize the back ups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Titanium Backup, select menu then preferences. Scroll down and select backup folder location. Tap the "detect" button then whole device. It should find it.
Also I'd grab a cheap otg adapter... And a 32gig min flash drive to backup to. I have mine run overnight (otg w/charging port) it's basically like having external just deciding when you need it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
pyroemaniac said:
If you go from a 4.1.X ROM to a 4.2.X ROM then you will have this problem because it changes the file structure that android uses. Same would occur on TWR. You just need to move the files to the correct location after the fact.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
an up to date version of CWM or TWRP will 'move' (actually rename with the new path) your file system for you so you don't have to do it manually - that's why peeps keep on telling you to update your recovery...
help!
spillner said:
Problem is that I tried moving the backup from the old location to the new. When I tried to restore, it failed and never was able to boot past the google logo. I had to unroot and flash back to stock. A great feature that I wish CWM had would be to direct it to where we keep the backup and just restore from there. Since the change from 4.1 to 4.2 I have read many people having similar issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same exact problem. When I try to move the backup to the main sdcard directory (a 3 gig file) it fails halfway through. No matter if I use adb push or windows/mtp to copy/paste the file.
Any ideas? Please help, I just want to restore my old rom with all my data. I dont care about 4.2 if I dont have my data.
EDIT:
I FIXED IT! This is how I did it. I had backed up my SD card (including clockwork backups) to my computer using adb pull. So I used clockworkmod recovery to format the SD card and /data/media. Then I started up the phone. I used windows to copy the backups to the phone. Now when I went to clockwork and tried to use the restore backup, it worked correctly. I'm now back to my old phone
I have a solution
spillner said:
OK, so I'm used to phones with external SD cards where backing up was very easy. With the GN its a pain in the ass. After flashing a rom and factory resetting it, CWM can not find my back ups. I can see them with root explorer on the "sdcard" but CWM doesn't. I tried dragging them to /data/media/, but cwm doesn't see them.
I saved the back up to my pc before resetting as well. Where can I put it so CWM sees it?
I have the same problem with Titanium Back up. I backed up all apps and data, but after the wipe they were gone. I saved the back up on my PC but now I don't see a titanium backup folder to drag them too.
I realize this question has been asked before but all my research points me to dead ends.
Any help would be appreciated.
edit: was able to to drag an old backup to CWM, tried to restore and it failed. Phone is now stuck at Google logo :/. Factory resetting it again did not help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to solve this problem. Check my post (above this) and the edit! Goodluck!
Reviving this thread
I am reviving this thread because I would like to know if there is any way to preserve CWM backups and Titanium Backup files when wiping data for a new ROM install.
Is it possible to create a symlink using terminal and link to a static directory which could be protected from wiping data? This is granted the shell permits symlinks.
Thoughts?
Hey guys,
After flashing to 4.2.2 and then reverting back to 4.2.1, my file structure is completely screwed up. If I do a wipe, will I be left with a clean file system and my base custom ROM and updated radio?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
llcooljayce said:
Hey guys,
After flashing to 4.2.2 and then reverting back to 4.2.1, my file structure is completely screwed up. If I do a wipe, will I be left with a clean file system and my base custom ROM and updated radio?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay I'm not super familiar with the S3 yet because I just got it last week, but I'll give you a generic answer. First if you have a backup you should be in really good shape. Basically wipe everything in recovery (system, cache, and davlik). I always do it three times because this was the standard since the g1 just to be safe. Then after that you should be able to just revert back to your backup on 4.2.1. As far as the radio goes if you installed a custom (unless things are different with the S3) you have to reflash the original radio you were using. The radio should have nothing to do with it messing up the file system though. Finally after you revert back make sure you do not restore system data with titanium, only apps If you restore any system data you risk conflicts happening. There are a couple of exceptions to this like bluetooth pairings, but I would do these one at a time if you really want to restore them via titanium. If your file structure is still screwy after that, post back here exactly what is screwy.
spursrchamps2007 said:
Okay I'm not super familiar with the S3 yet because I just got it last week, but I'll give you a generic answer. First if you have a backup you should be in really good shape. Basically wipe everything in recovery (system, cache, and davlik). I always do it three times because this was the standard since the g1 just to be safe. Then after that you should be able to just revert back to your backup on 4.2.1. As far as the radio goes if you installed a custom (unless things are different with the S3) you have to reflash the original radio you were using. The radio should have nothing to do with it messing up the file system though. Finally after you revert back make sure you do not restore system data with titanium, only apps If you restore any system data you risk conflicts happening. There are a couple of exceptions to this like bluetooth pairings, but I would do these one at a time if you really want to restore them via titanium. If your file structure is still screwy after that, post back here exactly what is screwy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be careful wiping since it might wipe the backup data. Done it before and could not restore because it was deleted. Make sure all backups are in the external SD card.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I actually want to erase all my files and file structure. Will the format even erase the content on SD?
I keep running out of file space and it's because of the 0 folder (created because of 4.2.2 and the introduction of separate log ins)
I basically want to start over but don't want to go through getting root or flashing my ROM)
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
Make a backup of the contents of your sdcard.
Go into /data/media, and delete the "0", "legacy", and "obb" folders (back them up first). No reason to format anything. You can't see these from your computer. Needs to be done from the phone.
/data/media/0
/data/media/legacy
/data/media/obb (may not exist)
What you are left with is an intact 4.1.x file structure with no redundancy.
I'm freaking out and need some help. I recently rooted my S3 and everything went smoothly. I was running stock android 4.1.2 I think (multi-window feature) with root. Wanted to flash the cyanogemon 10.1 rom. I got titanium back up,backed up eveything. Flashed it. Seemed to be working normally but as I tried to restore my apps and things from the titanium back up it went all wrong. "Unfortunately,Email has stopped,the process android,process media has stopped. Also says process.acore has stopped and process.gapps has stopped pop up that is constant. I freaked out and tried to go back to normal and now I'm screwed.
I tried recovery and it tells me I dont have a OS on my phone. I than decided to Unroot the phone and start from a fresh stock android but it seemed like it worked 50%. I see the background and it shows me the set up google account for the phone but the pop up messages haven't stopped.If I go into the normal recovery and wipe data/factory reset will it solve the issue? And if it will should I choose to wipe cache partition first before doing so?
Which recovery do you have? Also I never backup system apps such as email, because they change when going from 1 rom to the next. No OS means you wiped system, without having another ROM saved on your sd card. If your computer still sees the internal and external memory and your custom recovery is still working, you should be able to save a new rom, do a full wipe-system, data, cache, dalvik cache. Then flash rom you already saved to your memory. I take it you didn't do a Android backup after you rooted and flashed custom recovery?
sent from somewhere
Miguelcoo1 said:
I'm freaking out and need some help. I recently rooted my S3 and everything went smoothly. I was running stock android 4.1.2 I think (multi-window feature) with root. Wanted to flash the cyanogemon 10.1 rom. I got titanium back up,backed up eveything. Flashed it. Seemed to be working normally but as I tried to restore my apps and things from the titanium back up it went all wrong. "Unfortunately,Email has stopped,the process android,process media has stopped. Also says process.acore has stopped and process.gapps has stopped pop up that is constant. I freaked out and tried to go back to normal and now I'm screwed.
I tried recovery and it tells me I dont have a OS on my phone. I than decided to Unroot the phone and start from a fresh stock android but it seemed like it worked 50%. I see the background and it shows me the set up google account for the phone but the pop up messages haven't stopped.If I go into the normal recovery and wipe data/factory reset will it solve the issue? And if it will should I choose to wipe cache partition first before doing so?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, first I'll describe what you did and how that (most likely) messed up your phone. Then I'll describe what you can do to fix it.
Problem
It seems like your original flash of CM10.1 went smoothly. It must have been something to do with your Titanium Backup (TiBu) restores. More than likely, you tried to restore too much. In TiBu, the different apps have different colors: Red, Yellow, Green, and White. In the menu, you can see the following Legend:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
White: User Application. These are apps that you installed from the Play Store or sideloaded by directly installing an apk. These are safe to restore.
Red: System Application. These are system files that heavily rely on which Android version (4.1.x vs. 4.2.x) and whether you're on TW or AOSP. I always try to avoid restoring these backups (even when just upgrading to a newer version of the same Rom). Some people will say that you can restore the Data only for these, but my motto is: caution will help prevent mistakes (ground-shaking, I know).
Green: System Service with Useful Data: These are system apps that have useful information (such as User Accounts, etc.). I treat these the same as Red Backups, but am a bit more likely to restore the data of them (green means go, right?).
Yellow: These backups are system data that can be restored as an xml file. These are inherently safer than the red and green ones, and I say restore away (I always restore my Call Log, Messages, and Wi-Fi Access Points).
The reason you were getting FCs was restoring a red or green backup. This can sometimes work, but has a lot of potential for issues when switching between TW and AOSP Roms. Most likely something in your /system folder is messed up due to restoring an app. Even when you flash a new Rom, it just overwrites items in your System folder, it doesn't wipe /System. So whatever is wrong in your /System folder is still there, regardless of what you flash.
Ok, now that we've identified what's wrong with your phone, we can now help solve it!
Solution/Fixes
Are you able to get into a custom Recovery? If not, you need to use Odin and follow The Rooting Guide to get back to a custom recovery (I recommend TWRP, but CWM is just as good).
Next, you want to download a Rom and put it on your device. I'd recommend (just for now), to get Freeza's stock TW Rom.
Now, before you try to flash this Rom, you'll have to wipe. In order to get rid of the FCs, you'll have to at least wipe System. I'd recommend a full wipe of your Internal SD Card (after backing up anything you want to save), but it's not technically necessary. Afterwards, you can wipe data and cache/dalvik cache.
Then you can flash your Rom. It seems like you know how to do this, but in case you don't, I have previously posted directions over here.
Hope this helps!
joeyhdownsouth said:
So you never had a custom recovery, like CWM or TWRP? Also I never backup system apps such as email, because they change when going from 1 rom to the next.
sent from somewhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did have a Custom Recovery. I believe it was TWRP. I think all this happened was because when it occured I might of went into the recovery and accidently wiped system. I know that the phone didn't have OS on it and was blank. It just stayed on the Samsung boot screen. About 20 minutes ago I tried to unroot the phone and start with stock android. I didn't have much important stuff on my phone so I don't mind. The problem is when I did that it seemed to work. Only to find out that the pop-ups still exist and are constantly popping up where I cant do anything.
I would it worked seeing as though I can go into my stock recovery mode. Could it be possible to just wipe everything there and factory reset it or would it brick the phone? Also if I can just factory reset it through the stock recovery should I wipe the cache partition first?
topherk said:
Ok, first I'll describe what you did and how that (most likely) messed up your phone. Then I'll describe what you can do to fix it.
Problem
It seems like your original flash of CM10.1 went smoothly. It must have been something to do with your Titanium Backup (TiBu) restores. More than likely, you tried to restore too much. In TiBu, the different apps have different colors: Red, Yellow, Green, and White. In the menu, you can see the following Legend:
White: User Application. These are apps that you installed from the Play Store or sideloaded by directly installing an apk. These are safe to restore.
Red: System Application. These are system files that heavily rely on which Android version (4.1.x vs. 4.2.x) and whether you're on TW or AOSP. I always try to avoid restoring these backups (even when just upgrading to a newer version of the same Rom). Some people will say that you can restore the Data only for these, but my motto is: caution will help prevent mistakes (ground-shaking, I know).
Green: System Service with Useful Data: These are system apps that have useful information (such as User Accounts, etc.). I treat these the same as Red Backups, but am a bit more likely to restore the data of them (green means go, right?).
Yellow: These backups are system data that can be restored as an xml file. These are inherently safer than the red and green ones, and I say restore away (I always restore my Call Log, Messages, and Wi-Fi Access Points).
The reason you were getting FCs was restoring a red or green backup. This can sometimes work, but has a lot of potential for issues when switching between TW and AOSP Roms. Most likely something in your /system folder is messed up due to restoring an app. Even when you flash a new Rom, it just overwrites items in your System folder, it doesn't wipe /System. So whatever is wrong in your /System folder is still there, regardless of what you flash.
Ok, now that we've identified what's wrong with your phone, we can now help solve it!
Solution/Fixes
Are you able to get into a custom Recovery? If not, you need to use Odin and follow The Rooting Guide to get back to a custom recovery (I recommend TWRP, but CWM is just as good).
Next, you want to download a Rom and put it on your device. I'd recommend (just for now), to get Freeza's stock TW Rom.
Now, before you try to flash this Rom, you'll have to wipe. In order to get rid of the FCs, you'll have to at least wipe System. I'd recommend a full wipe of your Internal SD Card (after backing up anything you want to save), but it's not technically necessary. Afterwards, you can wipe data and cache/dalvik cache.
Then you can flash your Rom. It seems like you know how to do this, but in case you don't, I have previously posted directions over here.
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well as of right I believe I just unrooted the phone and went back to stock android because when I try and go into recovery mode, it gives me the normal stock recovery. I thought it would work but needless to say the applications pop-ups saying it stopped working is still happening. I can see the google account set up but cant do anything because of the pop-ups and also theres a I icnon with a no symbol around it on the top left corner (dont know what that means). Is it possible to factory reset and wipe the data from this stock recovery? And if so should I wipe cache partition first?
Also thanks for the help. My head hurts trying to figure out how to fix this...It just seems like everything I try and do makes it worse or the same.
Miguelcoo1 said:
I did have a Custom Recovery. I believe it was TWRP. I think all this happened was because when it occured I might of went into the recovery and accidently wiped system. I know that the phone didn't have OS on it and was blank. It just stayed on the Samsung boot screen. About 20 minutes ago I tried to unroot the phone and start with stock android. I didn't have much important stuff on my phone so I don't mind. The problem is when I did that it seemed to work. Only to find out that the pop-ups still exist and are constantly popping up where I cant do anything.
I would it worked seeing as though I can go into my stock recovery mode. Could it be possible to just wipe everything there and factory reset it or would it brick the phone? Also if I can just factory reset it through the stock recovery should I wipe the cache partition first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not gonna work because you wiped system, and now you have stock recovery. I would follow topherk's post above this one. Very well written.
sent from somewhere
Miguelcoo1 said:
Well as of right I believe I just unrooted the phone and went back to stock android because when I try and go into recovery mode, it gives me the normal stock recovery. I thought it would work but needless to say the applications pop-ups saying it stopped working is still happening. I can see the google account set up but cant do anything because of the pop-ups and also theres a I icnon with a no symbol around it on the top left corner (dont know what that means). Is it possible to factory reset and wipe the data from this stock recovery? And if so should I wipe cache partition first?
Also thanks for the help. My head hurts trying to figure out how to fix this...It just seems like everything I try and do makes it worse or the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're doing well, don't get too frustrated.
Stock recovery is relatively limited and it won't be able to wipe what you need to wipe. When you do a factory reset in Stock (or custom) recoveries, you are just wiping the /data folder. Since we've identified that it's most likely an issue with /System, a Factory Reset won't do any good.
Your best bet it to get a Custom Recovery again through the Rooting Guide. That guide is really well-written and has pictures so it's easier to follow.
After you have CWM and TWRP, it's real easy to wipe everything (in TWRP 2.5.0.0, you just wipe internal sd card and you're good to go). Or you can do a comprehensive wipe by wiping /System, /Data, Cache and Dalvik Cache. Then you can flash a Rom (again, I'd recommend Freeza's). After you get Freeza's Rom up and running, I'd make a Nandroid Backup immediately (in a Custom Recovery). This will be the backup that you can return to whenever something doesn't flash well.
topherk said:
You're doing well, don't get too frustrated.
Stock recovery is relatively limited and it won't be able to wipe what you need to wipe. When you do a factory reset in Stock (or custom) recoveries, you are just wiping the /data folder. Since we've identified that it's most likely an issue with /System, a Factory Reset won't do any good.
Your best bet it to get a Custom Recovery again through the Rooting Guide. That guide is really well-written and has pictures so it's easier to follow.
After you have CWM and TWRP, it's real easy to wipe everything (in TWRP 2.5.0.0, you just wipe internal sd card and you're good to go). Or you can do a comprehensive wipe by wiping /System, /Data, Cache and Dalvik Cache. Then you can flash a Rom (again, I'd recommend Freeza's). After you get Freeza's Rom up and running, I'd make a Nandroid Backup immediately (in a Custom Recovery). This will be the backup that you can return to whenever something doesn't flash well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all the help. I'm downloading the GS3 Root Kit Zip so I can follow your instructions. I'm going to try and bring my phone back to life. I'll update when hopefully its fixed lol.
topherk said:
You're doing well, don't get too frustrated.
Stock recovery is relatively limited and it won't be able to wipe what you need to wipe. When you do a factory reset in Stock (or custom) recoveries, you are just wiping the /data folder. Since we've identified that it's most likely an issue with /System, a Factory Reset won't do any good.
Your best bet it to get a Custom Recovery again through the Rooting Guide. That guide is really well-written and has pictures so it's easier to follow.
After you have CWM and TWRP, it's real easy to wipe everything (in TWRP 2.5.0.0, you just wipe internal sd card and you're good to go). Or you can do a comprehensive wipe by wiping /System, /Data, Cache and Dalvik Cache. Then you can flash a Rom (again, I'd recommend Freeza's). After you get Freeza's Rom up and running, I'd make a Nandroid Backup immediately (in a Custom Recovery). This will be the backup that you can return to whenever something doesn't flash well.
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Well I did everything but flash the rom. My question is in the link you gave me to flash Freeza's rom which one do I download, The first one on the top?
Miguelcoo1 said:
Well I did everything but flash the rom. My question is in the link you gave me to flash Freeza's rom which one do I download, The first one on the top?
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I knew this question was going to pop up... I should've put it in my original post.
You're probably going to want to flash the Deodex MD4 one:
DeOdex:
Sprint Touchwiz Jelly Bean 4.1.2 L710VPBMD4
MD5: 77262D9D6CF1A6AF30A8981A95A75D57
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I find that a lot of mods require DeOdex Roms, so in case you decide to flash one in the future, it'll help to have it. And the main negative of DeOdex is a slightly longer start-up time, so I recommend people use DeOdex.
topherk said:
I knew this question was going to pop up... I should've put it in my original post.
You're probably going to want to flash the Deodex MD4 one:
I find that a lot of mods require DeOdex Roms, so in case you decide to flash one in the future, it'll help to have it. And the main negative of DeOdex is a slightly longer start-up time, so I recommend people use DeOdex.
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Ok, I'm downloading the massive zip file on my desktop and waiting for it to be finished. My question is how am I going to transfer the zip file into the sdcard? Could it be just as simple as putting the phone in download mode and connect to my computer to transfer the file? Also I wanted to know once I Flash the rom and Custom Recovery which would be TWRP to Backup does it back up everything or is there only a few things I do need to back up. I ask because as of right now my phone is shut off and doesn't have a OS on it. Just waiting on the zip file to finally flash the rom and back it up.
I also wanted to ask you about something I been thinking about. When all this mess happened because I backed up files I wasnt suppose to back up with titanium back up, the backup file still exist on my sdcard. Is it possible for me to delete everything other than just the apps and it will work fine? I ask because I'm planning on getting the Cyan 10.1 rom again because I loved it (for the few minutes it ran fine). Or should I just not do it and start fresh? Would it be possible to use those app back up files when I install titanium back up again?
Miguelcoo1 said:
Ok, I'm downloading the massive zip file on my desktop and waiting for it to be finished. My question is how am I going to transfer the zip file into the sdcard? Could it be just as simple as putting the phone in download mode and connect to my computer to transfer the file? Also I wanted to know once I Flash the rom and Custom Recovery which would be TWRP to Backup does it back up everything or is there only a few things I do need to back up. I ask because as of right now my phone is shut off and doesn't have a OS on it. Just waiting on the zip file to finally flash the rom and back it up.
I also wanted to ask you about something I been thinking about. When all this mess happened because I backed up files I wasnt suppose to back up with titanium back up, the backup file still exist on my sdcard. Is it possible for me to delete everything other than just the apps and it will work fine? I ask because I'm planning on getting the Cyan 10.1 rom again because I loved it (for the few minutes it ran fine). Or should I just not do it and start fresh? Would it be possible to use those app back up files when I install titanium back up again?
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Ok, so from what I can tell, you've already wiped your internal memory. Since you can't load up into the Rom to copy the files, there are a couple of ways to get them on your phone:
Manual Copy: Take the external Micro SD card out and pop it into an adapter and insert it into your computer to copy the file (I've done this once or twice).
Recovery Mounting as USB: If you have TWRP 2.4.1.0 or 2.5.0.0, there should be an option which allows you to mount the phone as a usb mass storage. It should be in the mount menu.
ADB Copy: Connect the phone to the computer and boot the phone into download mode. You can then use adb to copy the file over to the phone. I'm personally not very good with adb, but there are good guides on here with how to do this. (Guide 1) (Guide 2)
Once you get a Rom up and running on your phone, you won't have to do these, but since it wasn't working before, this is the way to do it.
topherk said:
Ok, so from what I can tell, you've already wiped your internal memory. Since you can't load up into the Rom to copy the files, there are a couple of ways to get them on your phone:
Manual Copy: Take the external Micro SD card out and pop it into an adapter and insert it into your computer to copy the file (I've done this once or twice).
Recovery Mounting as USB: If you have TWRP 2.4.1.0 or 2.5.0.0, there should be an option which allows you to mount the phone as a usb mass storage. It should be in the mount menu.
ADB Copy: Connect the phone to the computer and boot the phone into download mode. You can then use adb to copy the file over to the phone. I'm personally not very good with adb, but there are good guides on here with how to do this. (Guide 1) (Guide 2)
Once you get a Rom up and running on your phone, you won't have to do these, but since it wasn't working before, this is the way to do it.
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Ok, the phone is back and running good. I just flashed and its working great...Again, Thanks a lot. Thanks for being so patient with me lol. It's been a all day affair for me wit this. I just Backed up the Rom in the TWRP recovery mode and just backed up /System /Data /Boot. I also compressed it and put it on my external SD. Now that I got that out the way, I wanted to verify if my thought on using the back up files (apps only) from the last titanium backup (which messed up my phone) to maybe try and restore them to get the phone to how it was and wont lose my apps/games? Can this be done or would it be difficult to know the differences between a app and other files?
When I backup in twrp, I typically choose everything. The recovery and cache are typically so small it doesn't matter.
In terms of titanium backups, I'd say it's safe to restore any user apps, but no system apps, not even the green ones.
Glad to hear everything worked for you!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
topherk said:
When I backup in twrp, I typically choose everything. The recovery and cache are typically so small it doesn't matter.
In terms of titanium backups, I'd say it's safe to restore any user apps, but no system apps, not even the green ones.
Glad to hear everything worked for you!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
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Believe me you saved me from disaster. I was going nuts trying to find a way to fix it. Glad you saw my thread and your patience to help. I'm thinking about backing up the rom again after updating all the normal stock apps but before I try and get my apps that I downloaded from the play store. I do have one quick question, The TWRP backup also backs up the apps that you have right?
I have one last question. If my backup file (titanium) is on my external SD how can I tell which apps I can restore when I download titanium back up again? Is there even a way to know?
Yeah, it's better to have a nandroid backup of your set-up phone. It makes a restore much more palatable.
In terms of TiBu, it should find your restore folder. If not, you can manually set it from the settings.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
topherk said:
Yeah, it's better to have a nandroid backup of your set-up phone. It makes a restore much more palatable.
In terms of TiBu, it should find your restore folder. If not, you can manually set it from the settings.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
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I now learned to always have a nandroid backup to make life so much easier lol. My only concern with TiBu finding the restore folder on my External SD, I'm concerned that all this might happen again. So from what you told me just restore the user apps only..Nothing more? Thank you man, your a life saver.
No problem man, I enjoy helping people and it deepens my understanding of my own phone.
TiBu shouldn't restore your apps unless you tell it to. I always restore one app at a time, so I know exactly what I'm restoring. I have my TiBu to automatically backup my phone daily at 3am. It backs up everything, system and user apps. I just make sure that I only restore user apps when I flash a new Rom.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
topherk said:
No problem man, I enjoy helping people and it deepens my understanding of my own phone.
TiBu shouldn't restore your apps unless you tell it to. I always restore one app at a time, so I know exactly what I'm restoring. I have my TiBu to automatically backup my phone daily at 3am. It backs up everything, system and user apps. I just make sure that I only restore user apps when I flash a new Rom.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
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Sorry to bother you again but I just saw something that seems pretty fishy. I been practically on Wifi since I flashed the phone and now everything works. The issue i'm seeing though is that the signal bars are good with reception yet the 3g symbol isnt showing up. I tried to make a call and it seems like it works but I can't go on the internet. It just gives me the webpage not available screen. I dont think I have a data connection..Any ideas?
Update profile and prl.
Transmitted with a portable device using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2
Hi,
im sure this is a simple thing that i have missed but please help.
I was running PA 3.99, have made a backup using TWRP.
I have then wiped the phone, installed the new PA & GApp and rebooted. All is fine, I now have a clean fresh install of the latest PA.
Now what I wanted or at least thought was correct to do was restore using TWRP.... now this is my first mistake as all his does is restore it back to 3.99! DOH
So i then try again but with out wiping the system part. This time i keep 4+ but get stuck on a bootloader.
Basically all i am trying to do is restore my data IE all my exchange accounts and contacts etc which I thought would be done with the data part of TWRP.
All apps have re-installed with the help of google+ so is there a way to get the missing data back at all?
Thanks
TWRP restores should not be done unless you want to restore the whole thing.
You have contradicting information, and clearly a lack of understanding the partition/folder structure layout of Android. The rom flash automatically WIPES system because /SYSTEM is where the ROM is stored. /DATA is where your data, apps, appdata, etc are stored. You should use Titanium Backup for backing up your apps/contacts (contacts should be synced with Google and not require backing up or restoring), call logs, mms/sms, etc.
I personally updated a galaxy nexus maguro, and 2 grouper (nexus 7 2012 wifi) from 3.99 to 4.0 with the OTA app, without wiping anything. From your 3.99 you should be able to do nothing more than install the new rom (gapps is even optional as the script keeps those installed anyway) and boot. dont wipe or restore anything. If that fails you should use the Titanium backup method instead.
ugh. duplicate post
Thanks. Yes I am still learning the whole process and obviously became confused. I will make sure from now on I use titanium backup properly. I thought team win was all I needed for backing up.
Thanks again.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
foxguard said:
.. I thought team win was all I needed for backing up.
Thanks again.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
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For backing up app data, No. However in truth it is never a bad idea to keep a clean working backup image of an existing ROM in case all hell breaks loose on your device and need a copy of a previous image that you know works.
Needless to say it's preferable that you keep a copy this image some where other than on the storage partition of the device itself, like perhaps on your Google Drive space.
Cheers.
ArclightX said:
For backing up app data, No. However in truth it is never a bad idea to keep a clean working backup image of an existing ROM in case all hell breaks loose on your device and need a copy of a previous image that you know works.
Needless to say it's preferable that you keep a copy this image some where other than on the storage partition of the device itself, like perhaps on your Google Drive space.
Cheers.
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Cheers mate