Ok I have just spent the better part of today going thru the wiki, Titan threads, search thru Titan threads, and just generally searching everywhere for a thread that describes how others are backing up their devices.
I have been tweaking my device for over a month now. Installing, uninstalling, hard-booting, and checking to see which programs I actually want to use on my device.
Now that I have it almost where I want it, I want to make sure that I back it up. I have saved all of the cab files that I have been using and I have also done several tweaks to the registry and EPST, but it seems as tho it would be a very tedious process to re-install those cab files/registry edits/and I dont have a clue how to backup the EPST.
My question is, without doing a kitchen/rom/oem, if there are any other users out there that are using other (free) backup options. The intent here is to re-install my phone back to this state in the event that I install/tweak something that trashes my devices.
If I missed a thread, kindly point me to it.
TIA
p.s. is there a way to get a list of all installed programs?
Hey man, I use Sprite back up 6.1 which isn't the very latest release I don't think. However this thing does what I need and worked without a hick up the last time I needed it. It restored settings,applicatins,contacts and all from the SD card....Keep in mind, you will only restore if you are still on the same Rom release,meaning you can not upgrade your Rom and try to restore your old settings to it I think it is logical. The latest release of Sprite has a work around that .Give it a shot.
What is your best registry tweak? I am not using many...
2cents
There are essentially 3 really good backup programs:
Sprite Backup
SPB Backup
Resco Backup
I have tried all 3. I like SPB the most (thats no knock on Resco or Sprite), just my preference. All 3 offer similar features for the most part.
One thing you need to note is that even though SPB (and I think both Resco and Sprite) offer a mode in which even when you upgrade a ROM, you can restore all your old programs and files, its not going to work 100% of the time. So if you do flash to newer ROM's, a lot of the time, your backup will not be able to correctly restore all your old settings, files & programs.
There's also dashwire, which is an online backup service (free). It doesn't back up apps, but what stands out to me is that it backs up text messages (and contacts, photos, videos, etc.). I haven't actually used it to restore anything yet, though.
cool thx guys that is exactly the info that I needed.
I was intending to flash to a newer rom and restore my programs. But apparently that is not the way to do it. I guess I will just have to manually install all the programs back onto the device.
@hbenz2008
My best registry tweak? There isnt just one.
Volume
Bluetooth
Camera
LEDs
SMS notification
Ringtones/keyboard slide sounds
GPS
Overclocking
But my favorite registry tweak is the one where it makes my screen blink really fast. When I activate the blinking screen in front of an ATM machine it causes the ATM machine to spit out free money! So awesome. Yeah, that one is my favorite.
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Hook me up with the ATM one man...lol.
SPB CLONE
GET FAMILIAR WITH SPB CLONE, GIVE IT A TRY..it's a must have for PPC tweakers
I tried a few backup programs, some where good and some actually screwed my phone up even more....then i looked up Spb Clone. It's a life saver when i f***up my phone
It's actaully ment to image the entire rom and restore it or deploy it on another phone. Useful for companies who need to quickly and easily prepare PPC for their employees.
WORK GREAT AS A BACKUP/RESTORE APP
very simply, can create a standard backup exe that can be launched from your SD or create an autostarting SD...can image both the internal memory and SD and PIMs
note: any changes/files you have made after the backup will be lost when u do a restore
setup all your apps/settings then image ur phone...then relax nothing can go wrong now(unless ur bricked your phone)
P.S. dont forget to also run PIMBACKUP once in a while
EDIT: I'm talking about Spb Clone NOT Spb Backup
That's all well and nice if you're reflashing the same rom. I would highly recommend not using it when switching between different roms.
gc14 said:
That's all well and nice if you're reflashing the same rom. I would highly recommend not using it when switching between different roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
of course not....DON'T restore a clone backup made from a different rom..unless u really dont like your phone
(people should know that by now)
I just posted this today, and thought you may be interested in seeing it. To back up my files, I us PPCPIMbackup. For the settings and programs see below:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2337892&postcount=17
"backup" apps are all junk....none of them work when upgrading to a new ROM....
my advise:
1. maintain a folder on your SD card with CABs of programs you consistently use
2. get AutoInstall, this app will allow you to install the above folder of CABs in one shot after an upgrade. It also allows you to copy files to specified locations, add/change registry entries, and run mortscripts.
NOTE: i find that it is best to copy both AutoInstall and your folders of CABs, regs, morts, etc. to main memory before you run AutoInstall. installing to memory from the SDcard can sometimes be buggy.
3. use PIMBackup to save your contacts
NOTE: you can save messages too with this app, but i like having a clean slate of SMS messages and i have read reports of old messages being resent after a restore
i will update this post with a link to the AutoInstall app i am referring to, since there are many that are similar, but one that i have found to be the most reliable. some may swear by UC, but i have found it to be awful since it only installs from card -> memory and i ALWAYS have 1 or 2 apps that don't install correctly like this.
EDIT:updated with link to AutoInstall
Fr3nZy said:
of course not....DON'T restore a clone backup made from a different rom..unless u really dont like your phone
(people should know that by now)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you would think...but i follow no2chem's releases and you would be amazed at how many "Senior Member"s b!tch about their SPBbackup not working with every new release.....i'm sure dcd probly gets alot of it too...
SPB backup will put most of your programs back but not all of them and the settings get all fouled up on some things, also any program that was linked to your today screen may or may not show up. I'm playing with it now jsut because No2chem is coming out with a new rom sometime tonight and I expect to put it on tomorrow sometime, but will probably jsut reinstall every program and start fresh.
Thanks guys. Lots of awesome help.
I just got my device where I want it and want to try some of the newer roms. And re-installing all of the cabs seems like an inevitable pain. But with all of these suggestions I should be able to save some of that effort. Thanks again.
+1 SPB backup .
I use a custom customization script for the programs, and exchange for the contacts, mail, and calendar. music stays on the card, it takes maybe 3 minutes of tweaks to get me back to "Im happy with it" level (buttons and today screen mostly)
Hmm. I use Sprite 6.2.2 (the latest I believe) and have been able to successfully restore a backup after a ROM change. It's actually worked amazingly well. What I like is that it can be scheduled to do an automatic backup at set intervals. I've got mine set up to do a backup every morning at 3 am, I've an 8gb microSD so I don't worry about running out of space. It's saved my bacon a couple of times and makes getting back up and running after reflashing very quick.
I use a custom customization script for the programs, and exchange for the contacts, mail, and calendar. music stays on the card, it takes maybe 3 minutes of tweaks to get me back to "Im happy with it" level (buttons and today screen mostly)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buttons and today screen can be set up using a prov xml or cabbed prov xml. UC does everything for me, don't have to manually do anything.
The SPB Clone
is a SW to clone stored data of the program and storage memory to another device having the IDENTICAL Rom.
Trying to clone from one N560 German version to an N560 English version failed.
SPB Clone is not flashing the ROM.
Therefore one cannot use it to make a backup of the complete content of the decice. As it doesn't touch the ROM it is possible to make a hard reset. I had to do this in order to use my miscloned N560 Eng.
I'm still looking for a simple way of backing up my WM5 Rom before I flash the NewPlow 6.0. Any good suggestions?
Related
I've looked everywhere to see where I can find a way to backup settings and files and cabs and such from my roms to make it easier to restore everything after updating roms, but I can't find a decent, easy to use program. I use the PIM program with nrg's roms but thats just contacts and the like. Bengalih got banned and the sashimi program got the boot too I guess. So my question is, does anyone know of a proper way to backup everything, or is there an actual cab or program to use?
psykotic24 said:
I've looked everywhere to see where I can find a way to backup settings and files and cabs and such from my roms to make it easier to restore everything after updating roms, but I can't find a decent, easy to use program. I use the PIM program with nrg's roms but thats just contacts and the like. Bengalih got banned and the sashimi program got the boot too I guess. So my question is, does anyone know of a proper way to backup everything, or is there an actual cab or program to use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe BigBadger explained this in the NRG ROM thread, but when you flash a new ROM the BEST practice is to reload all your apps, etc. from scratch. You can use a program like UC or sashimi to help automate the process, but there simply isnt' a program around that will backup everything EXCEPT all the components of the ROM, then put everything back in an new ROM.
Whenever new components are installed, they typically make a number of entries/adjustments to the Registry, plus place software where it expects things to be, and many programs put things in weird places.
Sorry, I don't think there's a single, backup program that can do what you want.
Like I said, UC or Sashimi can help with automating the load of your favorite apps, etc., but it will mean some programming on your part.
I have added a few apps to my phone but before I get into changing rom should I back up phone? Whats a good app to back up phone and what do you do..backup phone when its working before adding a bunch of apps then after its all done can you do another back up??
Let me know
I downloaded advanced config tools and did 3 different cache changes that were reccomended to speed it up or something..so I decided to do it and tweaked mine.. Should I not back up now b/c of doing that??
you can use sprite backup
For me, i always, loose all programs after reset, it cleans out old junk i no longer use. But in case i need some save files or backup files for some programs, yes i do a backup for those.
Other than that, you should backup your contacts, call logs, messages, if needed. Best program to do all the above is PIM Backup, its a wonderful free tool that does the job PERFECTLY.
EnergyROM always has PIM Backup in it, which btw is the best ROM out there. Every time i want to place a new EnergyROM, i first do a backup of what i need, then flash then run PIM Backup again and restore. All done in less than 3 minutes
Cheers mate
Closing thread guys,
There are plenty of applications out to the public on backing up your pda.
Also this is an area for rom development.
Peace,
Joshua
Hi!
I have the Energy rom on my TP.
I want to upgrade to the last rom avaliable all the time.
If i use a software like Resco Backup, is it possible to perform a full backup, flash a new rom and then restore my full settings and customizations and aply to the new rom??
thanks!
tntnt said:
Hi!
I have the Energy rom on my TP.
I want to upgrade to the last rom avaliable all the time.
If i use a software like Resco Backup, is it possible to perform a full backup, flash a new rom and then restore my full settings and customizations and aply to the new rom??
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can chose whatever backup software you want. Sprite offers a restore after ROM upgrade, so does SPB but be assured that in 8 out of 10 cases it will FAIL, your brand spanking new ROM will be messed up, sluggish, unresponsive.
The only way these backups DO work is a 1:1 restore. Let's say you back up, installed a theme, phone hangs or you don't like the theme and cannot convert back.
Hard reset SAME ROM --> Restore --> > Done.
Get accustomed to MyPhone, PIM copy, UC, Sashimi and other tricks because you wont be happy with the restore.
Catch phrase --> "Trust me!"
agree with tyguy...
PIM Backup, SASHIMI, and UC is very useful in backup/restore... I use them all
r04d5t3r said:
PIM Backup, SASHIMI, and UC is very useful in backup/restore... I use them all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are SOME things that will work that way. If you use Sprite Backup, you can decide which things to restore. If you avoid restoring the registry, you can still use it to restore selected items like PIM databases. I used Sprite Backup but it has become unusable and it seems the company has stopped responding to support requests. AFAIK, SPB doesn't offer the ability to select but I may be wrong.
I'm curious about one thing though. When using things like PIM Backup, what usually happens is once I sync, all PIM Info gets duplicated (Active Sync thinks the data restored via PIM Backup is something "new"). Does anyone know a way to fool Outlook/Active Sync to not behave that way?
If like me you have meetings and contacts in the thousands, using Outlook/Activesync to restore PIM info to the phone after flashing a new ROM takes a really long time...
I can confirm that newest version of SPB Backup never worked for me on EnergyROMs. I could not connect to gsm network even on a same ROM. Sprite Backup works like a charm, but only on the same ROM. It is good just if you are installing something you never know what happens. So it could work just like some restore points in windows. As the guys here said, best method is to learn UC customizations, Sashimi, but i have to say, it is not that easy, for some people...
i work with SPB Backup with ROMeOS and it worked perfektly even on different ROM Versions. I tried to restore a backup made with SPB Backup under ROMeOS WWE and restored it under GENY GER Version, worked without Problems after changing some names/pathes in the registry (Speicherkarte => Storage Card etc) depending on the language. Not working links like Total Commander werent in the installation of GENY in the main memory; they run after installing TC in the windows directory; for me the Speed was absolutely ok, but i dunno, how fast it would be if you work with UC. I restored all my BUs since ROMeOS since version 1.4 until ver 2, but then i decided to install everything new, what took 2 weeks of braincooking but i got 50 MB more free RAM. Of course its better to install everything new, but if its a complex program & settingsstructure, with a lot of tweaks, colored task bars and so on it is much easier & faster to restore a BU...
SPB has the opportunity to choose which parts of BU you want to restore ... from complete restore (with ROM Upgrade mode/ phone Changing mode) over all or single databases to even single files, if i remember right...
Greetz
Boris
P.S.: i only worked with WM 6.1 ROMs
If I'm in the right mood I'll start a new thread under the general Raphael section because I think this does belong here to the ROM dev. section.
Just in a nutshell:
Sprite has and had major problems if the basic SYS changes dramatically (WinMo 6.1 to 6.5 or 6.5 to 6.5.3) thus I stopped using it BUT it has a nice but not really great working "Restore after ROM change feature".
My basic tricks are:
PIM Backup with SPB
Sync with MyPhone
XML changes (like program paths etc.) with Adv.Config
Install with Sashimi
Copy with Total Commander (programs, Opera settings and bookmarks).
Username and personal data either manual input or Sashimi.
This worked since WinMo 5.0 with no issues and it takes me ~ 30 minutes after a flash to be back 99.9%. I do have to install a few things manually
Don't have much time now so I'll post the link to the "How To" later today.
You can actually do a lot with just pimbackup. The custom option is pretty cool-it allows you to backup and restore custom files, much like sashimi does, except that once you set it up, it will do the backup for you instead of having to do it manually. If you uncheck the 'binary' option, you basically just get a zip file with a directory of all the files you selected for backup.
There's a lot that can go wrong using sprite or a similar app. Even if you don't restore registry settings, you might insert something into the startup folder that screws up your phone (it's easier than you'd think, lol). A week or so ago, I decided to try running a task manager at startup (IT Task, which is really cool), and for whatever reason, when you put a shortcut for it in the startup folder, you have major problems booting up the phone. After about 10 tries, I got lucky and the phone booted up, so I didn't have to do a hard reset (which I wasn't fully prepared for).
You're probably ok restoring with sprite if you stick to the same rom-line, but it could certainly be a mess if one chef stores apps in \program files but the new chef has them all in rom (in \windows). Then you'll end up with two copies of everything, which is a waste. It may work, but it's a lousy way to go.
right, i know i'm gonna get hammered for this, but its gone midnight, and all this android stuff may as well be in Swahili to me.
my wife has a Hero and shes having the (seemingly) common problem of not getting text messages (at all, or getting them late)
so from the searches we have done, orange will only swap the phone out. instead of that i thought it might be a good idea to install the latest orange update.
so basically, what do i need to do??
i'm assuming its just backup her data and install the rom, but can someone please confirm that for me.
shes got no interest (at the moment) in installing a custom rom, so i'm hoping i dont need to do all the fun stuff to do with rooting it and Amon Ra.
for backing her data up, whats the best software to use (and is it free?)
cheers
Search the market, there are loads of free backup programs on there. Mybackup is a goodone with a 30day trial.
Back things up (to SD card), update the ROM by pluggin into the PC and clicking on the .exe you downloaded from the HTC site.
Restore data by redownloading the previously chosen backup software and choosing restore.
'sprite backup' is good, you can find it on the market
i use it when i switch roms, it backs up call logs, contacts, sms/ mms, bookmarks, settings etc...
http://www.spritesoftware.com/products/android
Before anyone is tempted to write a 'use the search feature' post, let me explain my situation. I am on a business vacation of sorts, and have limited time to figure this out. I've done some searching for the past few minutes and haven't solved it, only have time to post this question, and will be very grateful if someone can post a reply with details on how to fix this, or if I'm out of luck.
I woke up this morning, and on my daily podcast update with BeyondPod, my Atrix froze completely, forcing a battery pull. All previous Beyond updates have been over Wifi, this is the first it attempted over data. Since it writes downloading podcast to sdcard, (sd card -ext) my card became corrupted with the battery pull. I don't have my micro-sd card adapter to put it into my netbook and see if I can save any data.
Titanium BackUp shows 0 backups, so it was storing to sdcard, but it is paid version and I set up all my dropbox information so it could sync to dropbox. When I opened the program on my Atrix with all my banking passwords, Remote Desktop passwords, for my computer at home, it says I don't have a database, so that was on my sdcard. Now I need to restore that file from Titanium Backup so I can get my passwords. I'm stumped as how to restore from my dropbox syncing. I manually go to dropbox website and I don't see any files that appear to be a Titanium backup. Was there an extra step in Titanium I wasn't aware of, to force a dropbox sync? If anyone has restored from dropbox with Titanium and could help me out here....I need some help bad. I suppose if I'm out of luck for this whole trip too...a confirmation would be nice so I can give up.
Thanks for anyone's time helping me out.
As a last resort, I suppose I can go by an adapter and try to recover to netbook. sdcards are formatted fat32? I think I have a ntfs recovery program, but could buy a different format option if I need to. Or suggestions on a free program to recover fat32?
the files themselves should be in your DropBox folder so worst case i imagine would you to pull it manually from there. I don't use this feature with TB so I can't say for sure.
I'm pretty sure you have to actually click the "Sync to dropbox" button in TI before it will upload to dropbox... so if you didn't do that, your best bet is to buy a reader.
Thanks for the quick reply.
That's what I thought also, but I don't see any Titanium BackUp folders, or files in my dropbox. There must have been another step after setting up TB to sync to dropbox. I just assumed it was creating copies of all my backups into dropbox. There must either be a manual separate sync needed after to get them to dropbox, or maybe it makes one big .zip file of everything and this exceeded my dropbox size limit. I have 3GB free right now. I guess, whatever the case, they aren't there which is pretty disappointing as that was the whole point of using TB. I'm heading to a Best Buy around the corner to pick up an micro sdcard adapter. Hopefully I will be able to rescue at least my passwords database so it won't be a total waste of time here.
beatphreek said:
I'm pretty sure you have to actually click the "Sync to dropbox" button in TI before it will upload to dropbox... so if you didn't do that, your best bet is to buy a reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the confirmation...off to do it now.
You do have to sync to dropbox, then if you lose your Ti backup on your phone, you can download the dropbox backup to the Ti folder on your phone, and restore from there.
If you didn't sync, you are SOL!
Note below "Sync to Dropbox now!"
<edit> Removed pic cos' I just noticed my email address on the screenshot, and I have no time to blank it out right now.
<edit 2 LOL> Blanked off my email address and added screenshot again!
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That button has never appeared on my screen. I just entered my dropbox info, chose sync 'everything' and that's the last I thought about that. At what point do you get that button to appear for you?
I got a reader, and download about 10 different recovery programs and none would even recognize the card to even start a recovery process.
I do have a bunch of .gz files on my netbook hard drive along with matching .properties files. They are dated from a month ago...I think it might be some sort of folder syncing I was trying to set up They sort of seem like backups, but they don't have anything indicating they are from Titanium BackUp. I would assume it would at least name the files something to indicate they backups...or does it just add a .gz to the end of them?
What's everyone using for their backups here? Titanium? Anyone know of a programs that creates a backup into one restorable backup file? That's what I'm used to, having a single file I can transfer to dropbox or a flash drive. While I know titanium is obviously a good program...I guess I'm not damn smart enough to use it...as this is the 2nd time I've needed a backup from it...and it's a no go. Yes, before you yell, I know it was user error, as the program obviously does work...just frustrating for me is all...I'm sure we've all been there.
I did make a CWM recovery backup a while back...does that save any app data...or strictly firmware.
I don't remember that button not being there for me. Sorry I can't help on that front. Maybe someone else who has a clean install of Ti can say if it was there initially after install.
Also, it's not that you are not smart enough............you just don't know how to use it. It's very easy when you learn how it works.
Try this to start:
Titanium Backup Wiki
I totally misunderstood what Titanium Backup does. I never really investigated it much since I saw it in so many posts as the best backup app for your phone. I assumed it was making a backup of my phone, so if anything happened I could restore it. That's not it's function at all. It merely copies the .apk files of the apps themselves...and then the corresponding data to each app. While I suppose this is useful...it's by no means a full backup. You lose everything else.
Just have to be more carfeul and figure out another method.
JVogler said:
I totally misunderstood what Titanium Backup does. I never really investigated it much since I saw it in so many posts as the best backup app for your phone. I assumed it was making a backup of my phone, so if anything happened I could restore it. That's not it's function at all. It merely copies the .apk files of the apps themselves...and then the corresponding data to each app. While I suppose this is useful...it's by no means a full backup. You lose everything else.
Just have to be more carfeul and figure out another method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats why we have a real CWM on other phones. nandroid makes a complete system backup
Pirateghost said:
thats why we have a real CWM on other phones. nandroid makes a complete system backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tenfars CWM does do nandroid!
Sent from WinBorg 4G via XDA premium app
CaelanT said:
Tenfars CWM does do nandroid!
Sent from WinBorg 4G via XDA premium app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've posted this question about 5 times in various places but haven't gotten a definitive answer. Is a nandroid backup done with CWM just the OS or firmware? Or does that also include files/documents/pics etc.?
I have a nandroid backup...but judging by the size of it...it doesn't include that.
So as I am set up now...I would have to regularly do nandroid backups to save my current device setup. Then seperately upload that somewhere secure. Then do a Titanium BackUp to backup my apps/data. Manually upload folder somewhere secure...as dropbox sync was pretty crazy (see below). And try and figure out exactly all the rest of the files and sync them to either remote server, or desktop, or something. This is the only way I'm seeing a true backup. Seems like I must be missing something, and there is an easier way?
I did a complete re-install of Titanium, and got the sync to dropbox button. But it took forever connect to Wifi...and instead of uploading a zipped archive or something it uploaded about 400 or 500 seperate small files. Which made all my computers go crazy and bog down. I have 3 computers synced to dropbox...they all imediately kept announcing a new file added to dropbox every single second for over 30 minutes until I finally just cancelled the upload. It bogged down my netbook to point it froze.
I haven't tried to do a nandroid after installing apps. I use it after clean sbf flash, updating, and rooting before I start to theme, install apps, etc. so I can get a clean start easier if I want to try something else.
Maybe someone else has an answer about all your apps and files. I can only assume you will have a complete backup of everything, but not verify that to be true.
Lookout security will backup photos as well as contacts. I too just wiped out my whole system. and I have lost a lot of data. I wish I knew Lookout would backup photos prior to this day. A nandroid after installing apps does keep everything(apps, data, photos etc.). But if you format system in the recovery menu, it wipes EVERYTHING, so nandroid backups go away too.