[Q] Restoring nandroid backup from one Galaxy to another? - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have been fortunate enough to come into possession of 2 galaxy s2's
Bit of a random question... Is it possible to restore a nandroid backup from one phone to another without any adverse effects? Or will this write over the EFS part and lose a unique IMEI number? And what will google think, will the restored phone lose it's unique "identity"?
Not really an urgent request. I'll probably just play it safe and use titanium backup to move apps across but I'd be interested to know if CWM backup would work.

b631nz said:
I have been fortunate enough to come into possession of 2 galaxy s2's
Bit of a random question... Is it possible to restore a nandroid backup from one phone to another without any adverse effects? Or will this write over the EFS part and lose a unique IMEI number? And what will google think, will the restored phone lose it's unique "identity"?
Not really an urgent request. I'll probably just play it safe and use titanium backup to move apps across but I'd be interested to know if CWM backup would work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this it may help
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728266

Related

Difference between nandroid backup & Titanium backup?

Hi everyone,
I'm pretty confused of the difference between a nandroid backup and Titanium backup.
My understanding is:
nandroid = kind of a restore point for the phone with all system, apps and user data.
Titanium backup = same thing, but with options to choose what to back up.
So why do you need 2 of the same thing if they both perform exactly the same thing? Eventually, we'll probably be using the backup to restore those datas in case we want to flash new ROMs.
Am I missing something here?
Thank you for the info!
emigre said:
Hi everyone,
I'm pretty confused of the difference between a nandroid backup and Titanium backup.
My understanding is:
nandroid = kind of a restore point for the phone with all system, apps and user data.
Titanium backup = same thing, but with options to choose what to back up.
So why do you need 2 of the same thing if they both perform exactly the same thing? Eventually, we'll probably be using the backup to restore those datas in case we want to flash new ROMs.
Am I missing something here?
Thank you for the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need two of the same thing. I haven't used titanium but nandroid is a, if you will, what-you-see-is-what-you-get backup....what I mean by this is it will back up your phone in the exact state it is...you can't choose to exclude this or that, etc. I prefer mybackup pro because the one time I used titanium I couldn't figure out what to do cuz the GUI was so scrub. That's just me tho.
Sent From My HTC Aria Using XDA App
I think the main difference is that nandroid will restore everything back the way it was through recovery. With Titanium Backup, you can backup your apps+data and restore them if you flash a new ROM. So like if you upgrade to the latest version of CM6 or Liberated, you can carry your apps over. If you restore the nandroid, it will restore the old ROM too.
Thanks for the response guys.
@blindfusion: I think you just pointed out the main difference there. I didn't think of it that way, the old ROM would also be flashed!
@zervic: Now I think I'll need to get my hands on a backup app. Will check out backup Pro!
Thanks again!
under nandroid/advanced restore, there's an option to restore data. not sure how it differs from titanium. i think titanium let's you pick the apps to back up. nandroid just backs up everything.
So does nandroid also give us the option to restore data (ie. Saved apps, datas, etc) under advanced without flashing the old ROM back in?
For example if i were to flash a newer ROM (FR007 for instance), then i'd be able to have access and restore ALL the backed up data in nandroid? And have a newer version of the OS?
Am i missing something here? I guess i just want to keep my aria light and avoid installing apps i absoloutely do not need. To keep it zippy and maintain precious internal memory.
Thanks again everyone!
Sent from my HTC Liberty using XDA App
that's how i've restored apps/data after updating rom.
Thanks for the confirmation Darren!
Just to confirm that means that if I use titanium backup, it can backup the exact same things as Nandroid backup but you can use it for your new ROM?
No titanium backs up app and their data only.nandroid is a full system image.
Sent from my Liberty using XDA App
androidlover123 said:
Just to confirm that means that if I use titanium backup, it can backup the exact same things as Nandroid backup but you can use it for your new ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Always make both before flashing a new ROM. If everything goes according to plan, run Titanium to restore all your apps into the new ROM. If something goes wrong, you can use Nandroid to restore your phone to pre-flash state.
Also, you should copy the Nandroid file to your computer. If your phone is ever lost or stolen and you get a new one, you can restore it to your old phone's image.
NANDroid backup is a complete image of your phone: the OS, apps, data, everything. So if you screw up your phone, like making it unbootable, or accidentally wiping it clean, you can restore the image and everything will be back to the way it was when you did the backup.
Titanium Backup is an app in your OS that backs up other apps, their data, and some system data / user settings. It's usually used, for example, for restoring apps and their data after a clean install, where you've wiped everything clean.
The two options are fundamentally different, but do have some overlap.
I've never got nandroid backup to work for me personally. Always comes up, "backup not found".
Sent from my Liberty using XDA Premium App
glad i read this thread. it clear up a lot of questions i have.
the only other question i want to ask is what is difference between ClockWorkMod and Nandroid backup?
I heard CWM is an Nandroid backup so does this mean Nandroid backup is a general term for system back up ? or is it an actual program?
silentsigma said:
glad i read this thread. it clear up a lot of questions i have.
the only other question i want to ask is what is difference between ClockWorkMod and Nandroid backup?
I heard CWM is an Nandroid backup so does this mean Nandroid backup is a general term for system back up ? or is it an actual program?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You heard wrong about ClockworkMod. ClockworkMod is a recovery. Nandroid backup is not an actual program, but a backup of your entire system which can be done through ClockworkMod (it's an option).
thanks. that answer all of my backup questions.
Thread moved to Q&A
Theonew said:
You heard wrong about ClockworkMod. ClockworkMod is a recovery. Nandroid backup is not an actual program, but a backup of your entire system which can be done through ClockworkMod (it's an option).
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Click to collapse
Sorry still unclear for me, so if i have CWM i will go to recovery and there i can performe the backup right?
that copies the nandroid to my Sd card? and that image is flasheable image? is that correct? sorry if any of those is a stupid question :S
Edit: Nevermind, i found a guide here that is good for newbies like me, but thanks anyway
Sorry for necro'ing this thread, but at least it's better than making a new one!
From what I've read in this thread, I understand a bit better about the difference.
I've also read that it's important to save nandroid back up on PC in case you lose your phone.
Therein lies my next 2 questions.
1. If I want to use a nandroid backup on the replacement, it should be exactly the same phone, otherwise there might be a problem with the compatibility of the ROM stored in the nandroid and the phone. Right?
2. If I want to use a titanium backup on the replacement, I can use it on any phone, except I should not restore the SYSTEM apps. Right?
If (2) is correct, then we should also keep a titanium backup on the PC?
Part of my reason is also, I plan to switch from Desire HD to SGS3 and I hope to keep both pretty similar with slightly different interface. I plan to root my SGS3 and use titanium to restore some things from my DHD to SGS3. Using a nandroid on the new SGS3 will be a FATAL mistake right?
I know this is not a DHD forum, but the technicalities are the same, so I hope it's no offense asking these questions here!
---------- Post added at 01:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:48 PM ----------
Oops forgot to add!
I'm using 4ext instead of CWM. In a brief reading, I've found that 4ext has it's own backup which is not nandroid. But backing up from 4ext is the same as doing a nandroid backup? In which case, every "nandroid" in the earlier post can just be replaced with "4ext backup" accordingly.
If this is a stupid question, just scold me, I'm still learning and asking as I'm reading. Just trying not to create new threads.
ferns_mccanus said:
Sorry for necro'ing this thread, but at least it's better than making a new one!
From what I've read in this thread, I understand a bit better about the difference.
I've also read that it's important to save nandroid back up on PC in case you lose your phone.
Therein lies my next 2 questions.
1. If I want to use a nandroid backup on the replacement, it should be exactly the same phone, otherwise there might be a problem with the compatibility of the ROM stored in the nandroid and the phone. Right?
2. If I want to use a titanium backup on the replacement, I can use it on any phone, except I should not restore the SYSTEM apps. Right?
If (2) is correct, then we should also keep a titanium backup on the PC?
Part of my reason is also, I plan to switch from Desire HD to SGS3 and I hope to keep both pretty similar with slightly different interface. I plan to root my SGS3 and use titanium to restore some things from my DHD to SGS3. Using a nandroid on the new SGS3 will be a FATAL mistake right?
I know this is not a DHD forum, but the technicalities are the same, so I hope it's no offense asking these questions here!
---------- Post added at 01:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:48 PM ----------
Oops forgot to add!
I'm using 4ext instead of CWM. In a brief reading, I've found that 4ext has it's own backup which is not nandroid. But backing up from 4ext is the same as doing a nandroid backup? In which case, every "nandroid" in the earlier post can just be replaced with "4ext backup" accordingly.
If this is a stupid question, just scold me, I'm still learning and asking as I'm reading. Just trying not to create new threads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Correct. Its highly likely that there will be issues (device won't boot) on almost every occasion.
2. Yes. You may also want to exclude "app data," since it may cause a bootloop or system instability (on some occasions). You could keep a Tb backup if you wish.
It won't be a fatal mistake, but the device will just not boot up (soft-brick). You would have to boot into recovery mode a restore/flash a rom made for the device.
Yes, that's correct.

[Q] Does CWM backup the /efs folder?

So I was reading about backing up your /efs folder and I was wondering if backing up your device with CWM through recovery, will that also back up /efs folder?
Thanks!
i dont now this but you can just copy the efs folder and paste it at your computer.its so easy
If you want you can download nitrality apply from market, which can automatically do a backup for ya
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
just copy the files might not be enough, permissions and ownershiop etc is lost. Look in this thread for info how to backup /efs
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068193
I'm wondering the same thing... Does CWM backup the /efs folder?
No. There are apps that can do same (Hellcat's kTool being one), and some kernels automatically make an EFS backup by default (Siyah for example).
Edit to add - For clarity, CWM will not make a separate backup of the EFS. As it essentially makes an image of the phone, obviously the EFS details will be included (everything is included), but I doubt you can extract the EFS folders/files on their own from a CWM backup. If there is a way, I'd certainly like to know how to do it Would be handy to know, even if I do backup EFS whenever I do a backup as a matter of course.
So as long as I've made backups using CWM and then suddenly my efs folder gets corrupted, a simple CWM restore would repair the efs?
On the other hand... in theory (I would never try this) wouldn't that mean that if I did a CWM restore on a different SII that phone's IMEI would change?
Brgds... /Tubgirl
Hmmmmm....Basically when you restore a CWM backup, you go back to whatever state your phone was in at the time you made the backup.
Now, if you borked your EFS, and if you restored a CWM backup, would this fix this EFS issue. In theory & based on the CWM backup being an 'image', you'd reckon yes it would.
In practice, I'm not about to delete my efs folders & try it out tho
So far as the IMEI is concerned, no, I don't believe it would. Reason I say this is because I know people who have taken a CWM backup of a phone they've had to return for replacement. Got the replacement phone, and restored the CWM backup on the new phone; essentially cloned the old one. And that hasn't messed with the new phone's IMEI.
At the end of the day, people who don't make EFS backups are insane IMHO (you probably guessed that from my sig). Given it takes literally 20 seconds to make an EFS backup with kTool, and another minute to transfer a copy over to a PC, there's no excuse for not making a backup.
Edit to add - Interesting questions/thread BTW I know who could answer these questions definitively for us. Odia. He's the EFS king on here. Can sometimes (often ?) recover IMEI's when there are no EFS folders/files to work with. How ? Who knows. Voodoo maybe ?
Ok, I'm no expert by any means and please correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a complete efs backup include imei?
The reason I'm asking is because suddenly my phone can't make/receive phone calls with my current carrier (other carriers still work). I restored a previously made CWM backup but it didn't help. Today I read about efs and what it contains so I started to wonder if maybe that's where the problem lie. I've only made CWM and Titanium backups so far because I had no knowledge about efs.
Brgds... /Tubgirl
Easiest way to tell if it's an IMEI issue is to check the IMEI. If you have your actual IMEI in settings/about phone, that obviously isn't the problem (whatever you do, don't post your IMEI on XDA. Ever), if you have the generic IMEI 004999010640000, then you've got a problem.
If you do have the generic IMEI, then we can look at options to possibly rectify it (sometimes possible, sometimes not).
If your IMEI is fine, the problem lies elsewhere & you're worrying about nothing There are a million things that could cause the problem you described.
However, no excuse for not making an EFS backup nowish if your IMEI is OK & keeping one copy on your external SD card & another copy on your PC (and even another copy on a external drive if you're really paranoid).
I just used the IMEI example to question whether efs is included in CWM backups or not. My IMEI is just fine but since I'm so reluctant to send my phone in for repair I'm just grasping for straws here Thought maybe my problem was related to efs since I suspect it's not included in CWM backups. Anyway... since I never made a "real" efs backup my question is pure academic. I'm afraid my phone needs to be sent to a service center. System restore didn't resolve my problems either but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't resolve efs problems either.
Brgds... Tubgirl
Did a bit of digging & found this. It would appear EFS is not backed up in a Nandroid backup after all despite it being somewhat of an 'image'. So I guess that answers both our question.
No, system restore more than likely won't solve EFS issues. Normally the only way to fix it short of having Samsung do it is Odia/whatever method he uses (which he won't divulge; and fair enough. I'm sure it's highly technical).
If you need to send your phone in for warranty service, do a format cache, data, system, & sd card in CWM. Then flash a stock rom in Odin, then use a jig to reset the flash counter.
Obviously once you root a phone and/or run non-stock firmware on it you void your warranty and should have no expectation of warranty service, but many people have been able to get same by doing the above. But in saying that, there have been people on here who have followed these steps & been 'found out' in any event.
Unless it's a case of actual damage to the phone caused by use or whatever, if it's a hardware fault, you might be able to get away with it.
WHich method do you use to backup your efs?
I use Siyah kernel which automatically makes an EFS backup & dumps it in the /data/.Siyah folder. There are also apps which enable you to make a backup, I've used kTool in the past & there are others (names of which escape me; search on here/Google Play).
I'd recommend kTool (search for it on here/Google Play) as it isn't kernel or rom dependent, it backs up EFS to /sdcard/efs.img & also allows you to verify the backup. You can then transfer a copy onto PC, external drive or whatever in case the worst ever happens. Quick, easy & no fuss.
Thanks a bunch... I'll search for it.
No probs
Tubgirl said:
Thanks a bunch... I'll search for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw this thread was about CMWbackups, and have a quetion about it. decided it's better to ash here than start a whole new thread
The CMW backups; does it backup EVERYTING?
So if i forexample have some movies on my external SD card, and then takes an CMW backup..... Next i delete everyting on this SDcard, and then flash the CMW image,,,,, will my movies then be back at my SD card? Will they be back at any other place at the phone? or will they be totally gone?
Nikolaiim said:
I saw this thread was about CMWbackups, and have a quetion about it. decided it's better to ash here than start a whole new thread
The CMW backups; does it backup EVERYTING?
No as said it does not back up EFS .
It takes an image of the firmware OS and applications on the internal sd card .
So if i forexample have some movies on my external SD card, and then takes an CMW backup..... Next i delete everyting on this SDcard, and then flash the CMW image,,,,, will my movies then be back at my SD card? Will they be back at any other place at the phone? or will they be totally gone
Gone Gone Gone .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i have a siyah backup of my esf (a tar.gz and a img.gz) what do i have to do to restore my esf folder?
Search for/read the kTool thread on here.

[Q] Clone one phone to a new one. Nandroid bacup?

I'm getting my second G2. What is the easiest way to make the second one a copy of the first one? Nandroid restore to the second one after rooting it?
Or will this fail because of wrong imei or other identities on the second one?
If so, does anyone have a solution for an easy way to make a clone?
why not make a backup of your efs-folder, recover the nandroid backup and AFTER this recover the efs?
i think it aould work...
i think restoring a cwm backup should work.
rauschkugl said:
i think restoring a cwm backup should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, that's faster and one less step, but i think it's safer to have a backup from the efs

[Q] restore nand backup from another phone

Hi all !
if i restore nand backup from another phone on my phone + restore my orgininal EFS folder does it mean my phone will work perfectly without any surprise ????
thanks a lot
dahikino
totally not recommended. you could be coming from different android version, or even if same version, different manufacturers may have different setup.
if you feel adventurous, you can try just reinstalling the "data" portion though, that is where your installed apps are placed. but be warned it also contains some previous system settings which may not be compatible with sgs3.
better alternative is to install Titanium backup, it has function to read from nandroid backups so you can pick and choose what you want to extract from there.
First of all this is the wrong section to post this, go to the q&a section instead.
If the other phone was not the same exact model of phone then DO NOT restore the nandroid. Like the other commenter mentioned you can use titanium backup to save and restore apps or even use it to extract the apps from the nandroid.
Hi all,
I remember my first Froyo rom on my GS1 was provided as a nandroid package..
Questions go in the Q/A section
Fyi, nandroid doesn't touch the EFS partition or the bootloaders, or radio, just the system, data, cache and boot (kernel) partitions.
You *can* restore another person's nandroid onto your phone, but its really not a good idea (someone shipped roms as nandroids for a bit...), and you shouldn't need to touch the EFS unless something goes wrong, and a rom should never touch the EFS.
Edit: As people above say, don't restore a nandroid from another model of phone onto your device, if you want to move data from phone to phone like that use titanium backup or the like.
i want to copy a nand backup from a S3 orange 16GB onto my phone S3 SFR 32GB, because i have no solution for a "NO SMS,NO CALL BUT INTERNET WORKING" problem
changing rom, modem,etc.. etc... so many things without solved it
thanks
dahikino
dahikino said:
i want to copy a nand backup from a S3 orange 16GB onto my phone S3 SFR 32GB, because i have no solution for a "NO SMS,NO CALL BUT INTERNET WORKING" problem
changing rom, modem,etc.. etc... so many things without solved it
thanks
dahikino
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well in that case at your risk by Nand i hope you mean a CWM Nandroid recovery .
Its often best to have the same version of recovery to restore backup if first attempt fails ..
Be far simpler to flash a stock SGS3 Orange rom via Odin .
jje.

phone may be replaced, need to backup for the new one

my phone crashed during a billiard game and now the screen shattered, it's fine cause i have warranty but i don't know if they'll change the screen or replace the phone so i need to know everything is backed up.
i have a backup with titanium, and cmw and i know they both save the backup in the sdcard but does they can restore the information to a new phone? i just need to put the sdcard in the new one and titanium will restore the information?
second question, i have a lot of reminders in the "notes" widget that i can not remember, can i run the phone in a virtual machine in the computer even just once to see what i wrote there? i really need those notes.
thank you very much, sorry on my English and all have a good day and a great weekend
Yes. You should be able to restore your CWM backup to your new phone. You won't need your Ti backup as the CWM backup is a 'snapshot' of your phone at the time you took the backup.
the thing is the CMW backup is a bit old, can i restore the TI in a new phone?
what about getting the notes back?(i need them before the phone will be fixed)
OK. Think about what a CWM backup is & what happens when you restore one.
When you restore a CWM backup your phone (all of it; app settings, etc) will be restored exactly as they were when you took the backup.
The Ti Backup might restore OK to a different phone, never heard of anyone on here trying it, so you're only going to find that out when you try it.
As long as the version of CWM you use to do the restore isn't too far away from the version you used to take the backup, it should restore OK. If it doesn't, you might have to flash a kernel with the same CWM version you used to make the backup (to make a certainty of the restore working).\\
You can use ADB to pull stuff off a phone with a broken screen. Lots of tutorials about same on here/elsewhere (search).
dvirginz said:
the thing is the CMW backup is a bit old, can i restore the TI in a new phone?
what about getting the notes back?(i need them before the phone will be fixed)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you very much, new question, can i somehow backup (a cmw backup) the phone without the screen?
do you know in which folder the notes widget and the info of what i wrote is in the sdcard?
i've opened the phone on the coputer, but no folder contains the info for the notes widget, where the phone contains it?
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/7629/13531407120489.png
ty
edit:someone knows something like that to the S2? it will help me a lot with backing up and reading the notes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeHaszOMi0
i managed to get the notes via kies but can't open them, someone know a way to open .smm files in the pc? can't find nothing on google

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