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Hi
I've done a bit of searching but can't find anything too specific to what I'm trying to do. Basically we have 10 Android tablets, and I want to make them all standardised e.g. have the same Apps on, configured in the same way (e.g. enterprise wireless network added).
Now the thing is if anyone messes around with them I want a really easy way to restore them to the original config which I've done.
One way I thought was to configure one fully, install Titanium Backup on it, do a full backup of apps/system data etc, and put the backup onto an SD card. Then I already have the base ROM on an SD card so if theres any problems, I can just flash the ROM over it again, install TB, and restore all the data. Would this be suitable to do to duplicate the data onto 10 tablets, and also restore the data if required?
The other thing I looked into was customising a ROM myself, don't want to do anything too tricky it'll just be a case of removing all the preinstalled crap I don't want, preloading the Apps we do want, and if possible preloading the wireless key and getting rid of the first boot initial set up wizard.
PS I've looked at installing CWM and doing whole image backups, but supposedly the tablet isnt supported (its an Ainol Novo 7 Elf 2)
Any advice would be great, hopefully theres some fairly straight forward way of managing this
Thanks
One of the reasons I integrated a full blown GNU/Linux on my devices, was the need to run full and automated backups. If you are looking into the possibility making a custom ROM, this might be a solution for you as well. I'm using BackuPC to run backups nightly, backing them up as any other GNU/Linux machine (using tar over ssh).
See the link in my signature for more information about this.
kuisma said:
One of the reasons I integrated a full blown GNU/Linux on my devices, was the need to run full and automated backups. If you are looking into the possibility making a custom ROM, this might be a solution for you as well. I'm using BackuPC to run backups nightly, backing them up as any other GNU/Linux machine (using tar over ssh).
See the link in my signature for more information about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Thanks for the reply, not too sure this would be the right option for us. I don't really need to take nightly backups, I just need to make a backup of a preconfigured image, and then put that image onto 10 other devices. Then I want to keep the original backup and have an easy way to restore it onto any devices which have been messed up. Sort of like image cloning for PCs, I want to prepare a base image, and then flash it over all the devices.
fro5tie said:
Hi
Thanks for the reply, not too sure this would be the right option for us. I don't really need to take nightly backups, I just need to make a backup of a preconfigured image, and then put that image onto 10 other devices. Then I want to keep the original backup and have an easy way to restore it onto any devices which have been messed up. Sort of like image cloning for PCs, I want to prepare a base image, and then flash it over all the devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I see. Compile the image to you likings (boot image and system partition), and then flash it using fastboot onto you devices.
Hi
Does anyone have any more thoughts on this?
I have experimented with Titanium Backup and this seems to work quite well. I have installed a ROM, and customised it e.g. installed the apps I need and configured the apps, wireless settings and home screens etc. Then I do a full apps + system backup in TB to my SD card.
Then the plan is, I can reflash the ROM onto the other device, install TB and then restore this backup. This saves my user state and wireless settings etc.
Only problems is when I flash the ROM, I have to go through all the initial set up again and also remove some preinstalled apps which I dont want. Any ways around this?
There must be something I'm missing. Why don't you install the device, walk through the setup, remove the bloatware you don't want and then dumps the disk partitions into images you flash the other devices with using fastboot? This way you'll get'em cloned, isn't it this you want..?
Of course there's still some tinkering needed once restored/cloned, such as giving them individual Google accounts etc, but you can easily fix this without re-running the setup wizard.
kuisma said:
There must be something I'm missing. Why don't you install the device, walk through the setup, remove the bloatware you don't want and then dumps the disk partitions into images you flash the other devices with using fastboot? This way you'll get'em cloned, isn't it this you want..?
Of course there's still some tinkering needed once restored/cloned, such as giving them individual Google accounts etc, but you can easily fix this without re-running the setup wizard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Yes that's what I want to do! How would I go about dumping the disk into an image and then flashing?
fro5tie said:
Hi
Yes that's what I want to do! How would I go about dumping the disk into an image and then flashing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are several methods. Some boot loaders (such as nvflash for tegra based devices) can actually read back the disk partitions to a computer via the USB port. You can also on the tablet read the raw mtd device with busybox/dd. I assume you've unlocked the bootloader and gain root access to the device, since this is a requirement for flashing them as well. A third alternative is using busybox/tar, and then recreate the filesystem image using mkyaffs (or if ext3/ext4 even easier, just loopback mount an image on you linux maching to unpack the tar archive to). Once you got the images (system and userdata partitions), you flash the devices with "fastboot flash system system.img" and "fastboot flash userdata data.img". I don't believe you'll need to tamper with the other partitions.
kuisma said:
There are several methods. Some boot loaders (such as nvflash for tegra based devices) can actually read back the disk partitions to a computer via the USB port. You can also on the tablet read the raw mtd device with busybox/dd. I assume you've unlocked the bootloader and gain root access to the device, since this is a requirement for flashing them as well. A third alternative is using busybox/tar, and then recreate the filesystem image using mkyaffs (or if ext3/ext4 even easier, just loopback mount an image on you linux maching to unpack the tar archive to). Once you got the images (system and userdata partitions), you flash the devices with "fastboot flash system system.img" and "fastboot flash userdata data.img". I don't believe you'll need to tamper with the other partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Thanks for the quick reply, much appreciated.
Unfortunately you've lost me a bit here!
Yes the device is rooted, I dont have a linux machine though.
Any chance you'd be able to provide some more specific instructions? The device is a chinese tablet from manufacturer Ainol, the model is a Novo 7 Elf 2. Unfortunately there isn't much discussion on these online so specific help is hard to find!
fro5tie said:
Any chance you'd be able to provide some more specific instructions? The device is a chinese tablet from manufacturer Ainol, the model is a Novo 7 Elf 2. Unfortunately there isn't much discussion on these online so specific help is hard to find!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can provide you specific answers to specific questions, but I have no experience of the tablet in question, so you'll have to do some digging yourself first. Make sure it supports fastboot, investigate what the proprietary bootloader is capable of, see how/if you can obtain an original image etc.
One maybe easier solution, especially if you plan to restore the tablets on a regular basis, is to only make a new boot image to reflash the devices with. The only modification done is that you change the /init.rc script to mount /data and /system from the SDcard instead of from the internal nand disk device.
Once this is done, you'll power up and run the installation wizard and everything on your master tablet. Then power it down, and clone the SDcard. This SDcard now contains everything, so you'll simply restore a device by replacing its SDcard with a copy of this master card. I guess it's easier to clone a SDcard than reflashing several internal partitions. Easier to make the master as well - you don't need to dd or tar them, they are already in "image" format. If you can get hold of the original firmware, this should be quite easy without the need to preserving data from the device itself.
fro5tie said:
Any chance you'd be able to provide some more specific instructions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Issue the commands "cat /proc/mtd" and "mount" on your device at command prompt (e.g. via "adb shell" or the "ConnectBot" terminal app). This shows you if the device allows you to copy the boot image from it. Paste in the output into this thread. If you believe the "clone the tablet via the SDcard" is a good solution for you, the process is in short terms something as below;
Copy the boot image to the sdcard:
# dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd2ro of=/mnt/sdcard/boot.img bs=2048 (device dependent of contents of /proc/mtd)
Remove the sdcard, insert into a computer, split the boot image info kernel + initramfs. Read http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack%2C_Edit%2C_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images for instructions about how to work with the boot.img file. I really recommend a GNU/Linux environment for this.
Then edit /init.rc replacing the "mount yaffs2 [email protected] /system" with "mount ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /system" for system and data (use p3 for data partition, the device name may be different on your tablet, see mount output).
Create an SDcard with three partitions: #1 vfat (standard), #2 and #3 ext3. Insert into you device and boot it up again.
# mount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /root
# cd /system
# tar cf - . | (cd /root ; tar xf - )
# umount /root
# mount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /root
# cd /data
# tar cf - . | (cd /root ; tar xf - )
# umount /root
This copies your partitions to the SDcard. Shutdown the tablet again.
Make a new boot.img using the instructions in the link above, using the edited init.rc script.
Now you can non-destrutive give this a try.
Place you tablet in fastboot mode (often vol-up (or vol-down) during power on).
$ fastboot devices
This vill verify the tablet is in fastboot mode. It should be listed. Then:
$ fastboot boot boot.img
Note here, only BOOT the tablet, do NOT use the "flash" keyword. This in case of the image isn't working, you'll just have to restart you tablet, and no harm's done.
Look around. Do a "mount" command. Everything works? Mount shows /data and /system from sdcard? Perfect. Now you can reflash it. Shutdown and flash:
$ fastboot flash boot boot.img
Now the device will use /data and /system from the SDcard every time. Customize your device, and then clone your SDcard and try it in tablet #2 you'll booting with your new boot.img and the cloned SDcard. Verify that #tablet #2 is a perfect clone of tablet #1. It is? Now you can flash the boot,img into all your tablets.
--------------------
But don't forget, there may be other solutions as well, maybe more suitable. This you'll have to investigate yourself.
And the usual disclaimer - you can probably not follow above by the letter. There sure is some obstacle you'll have to overcome, something non-standard, etc.
Also keep the original boot.img file for safekeeping in the case you want to restore the device's boot image some day.
Wow! Thanks for the info! This is really helpful, I need to set aside a bit of time to work through this and have a look. Thanks again its really appreciated, I'll be back with info once I've had chance to give it a go!
I certainly can't offer more detailed info than the fellow from Sweden who seems to really know his stuff...but what about making a nandroid backup of your fully configured reference tablet (I'm assuming all tablets are rooted). Ensure all your tabs have CWM recovery and copy your nandroid file to each one.
If any of your fleet get 'corrupted' you can simply restore the original, fully configured ROM.
In fact that sounds too obvious..likely I missed something about your scenario which precludes this option from consideration!
Good luck mate.
tweeny80 said:
I certainly can't offer more detailed info than the fellow from Sweden who seems to really know his stuff...but what about making a nandroid backup of your fully configured reference tablet (I'm assuming all tablets are rooted). Ensure all your tabs have CWM recovery and copy your nandroid file to each one.
If any of your fleet get 'corrupted' you can simply restore the original, fully configured ROM.
In fact that sounds too obvious..likely I missed something about your scenario which precludes this option from consideration!
Good luck mate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Yes that was my first thought as well, tablets are rooted yes but there is no CWM for the tablet. Its an obscure Chinese branded tablet.
Unless there is another way to do nandroid backups?
hmm tricky situation. Catch 22 ! From what I know, your best bet is to backup all possible things through Titanium Backup given that you don't have the use of Nandroid backups. You can include wifi settings, messages etc but it's modular & not systemic.
I did a quick google search with no luck - time to upgrade your fleet dude :-0
Best of luck.
Hi all.
I've just installed some app that broke down my S3 stock OS.
The OS was rooted, and I gave the crappy app superuser access...
It was supposed to change the DPI setting, but now it's boot-looping over the Samsung logo.
Now I'd like to recover my data, photos and stuff...
CWM Recovery 5.5.0.4 is installed.
I can start a backup, but it won't complete since I don't have a large enough SD card at hand (it's a 32 GB SGS3 with a bunch of large videos...).
I don't care about the movies, just the photos, but there's no option for a selective backup...
I also tried updating CWM to a more recent release with Odin (downloaded .img and tar'ed it...), but it won't go further than SetupConnection.
I've not tried a factory reset of anything else yet...
Is there a way I can still recover my data, or should I just get over it and try to flash the whole thing back with Odin?
Thanks for your help.
Adb backup?
maybe reinstalling the ROM can fix it ?
The other thing you can try is adb pull /build prop, edit LCD density back to 320 and adb push it back
Thanks for your answers.
adb looks like the way to go, but I never managed to get it working on my computers.
"adb devices" won't list any, "adb shell" returns "error: device not found".
USB debugging was enabled in the OS.
Is the phone supposed to be in recovery mode or download mode? None works... (Also tried with the OS running before it started crashing)
Is there a setup guide somewhere?
Actually, working with Android on Windows (XP x64) has been a total nightmare so far.
On my main computer, Device Manager loops forever on device detection / driver installation, and successive driver installation/uninstallation/reinstallation mangled WMP10 completely (and since it's tied to Windows, I can't reinstall it).
On other computers, driver installation went fine, I hardly managed to copy movies to the phone through MTP / WMP, and never managed to copy anything back.
I only ever managed to move files over wifi, but that's at wifi speed, not USB2 speed...
And now that I gave Kies a try (stayed away from it so far), it keeps eating 100% CPU whenever I run it.
I had that adb problem then I installed android command centre, and bam, it worked! Will try and find link for you....brb
Finally managed to run adb on the computer with Kies installed.
I'll look into this.
Here go
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=36671130
Can't use adb pull/push anymore: in a previous attempt to reduce the nandroid backup size, I formated the system and cache partitions.
Then I managed to run a full backup with CWM Recovery, but can't find my files in there.
The backup files only contains application data, but the sdcard folder is totally missing.
Well, it appears the problem indeed was in build.prop.
My backup has 2 files: build.prop.bak and buid.prop.temp.
.bak has the old density, .temp has the new value.
Somehow the app failed to rename build.prop.temp to build.prop, and made the system unbootable.
adb backup won't work either: it's waiting for a confirmation on the phone, and doesn't seem to work in recovery mode.
Now browsing /data/media with adb shell !
I had to mount /data manually (in recovery), I guess the same is true for a recovery backup, and that's why I couldn't find my files.
Think I'll manage to get it all back now.
Thanks a lot slaphead20.
I was just about to wipe away all these family pictures!
Nico57m said:
Now browsing /data/media with adb shell !
I had to mount /data manually (in recovery), I guess the same is true for a recovery backup, and that's why I couldn't find my files.
Think I'll manage to get it all back now.
Thanks a lot slaphead20.
I was just about to wipe away all these family pictures!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI TWRP will not wipe ur sd when u do factory reset
but ur problem not with data its with system and u can fix it simply by reflashing the u r using without any wipe
Please read forum rules before posting
Questions and help issues go in Q&A
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Hi,
Very noob with a very noob questions
I read a lot about backups etc... Some have to be rooted first...
I'm used with my Windows computers to make a genuine unstarted system image (Ghost, now Acronis)
When I have a new computer, I take out the main HDD and make an image or boot with an Acronis boot disk and make an genuine image, can I do something similar with Android devices?
Is EFS the system image or just the system files, restoring an EFS backup is enough to make a device bootable again without Root?
Windows PC suitable for this? ADB I guess...
Perhaps it's not possible because I haven't see any topic about making an genuine image before first start of an new device or restoring a factory image... Every time Root is involved
Thank you to make me a little wiser Sorry for my poor english
You probably want an adb backup or a nandroid backup.
Hi GermainZ,
Thanks for the tip, I'll look for both alternatives, probably ADB I guess...
Will the backup be bootable or the simple fact to recopy all the files is sufficient to boot the device? Windows uses a boot sector, is there something equivalent in Android?
Thanks
cbx6 said:
Hi GermainZ,
Thanks for the tip, I'll look for both alternatives, probably ADB I guess...
Will the backup be bootable or the simple fact to recopy all the files is sufficient to boot the device? Windows uses a boot sector, is there something equivalent in Android?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The backup can be restored from your recovery (nandroid backup) or using adb (for adb backups.) You can't directly boot from it, not really.
For the boot sector, I'm not sure what that is for Windows. The bootloader, maybe? Android has that too, of course.
of course the bootloader I lost my brain I think
Is the bootloader a part of the firmware or is it copiable as a file, I'll find it out
On a Windows HDD it's a track (boot sector) but UEfI bios modifies the game now
So a full Android system restore is firmware + backup I guess
Not sure my question in subject is clear, so here's the thing...
I have dual-boot tablet with Android 5.0.1 and Windows 10 installed, and the model is Onda V80 Plus (32GB), if that matters at all.
I'm really having hard time rooting this device using standard methods (even with much of background knowledge and experience), so I was about to take a different route.
I installed Paragon ExtFS windows app which gives me read/write access to /system and /data android partitions (which have ext4 filesystem).
I was wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to gain root access in Android just by copying some files and changing some permissions or whatever from within Windows OS?
Basically, for those not familiar with ExtFS app, I can assign a drive letter to /system and /data partitions, and do whatever I want with them just like with any other drive or volume.
I'm aware that modifying ext4 partitions can render my Android OS unbootable, but I have a backup and would like to try it anyway as this is my last option.
When I look into SuperSU.zip file (which I always flashed through CWM/TWRP recovery to gain root access), I see many files which some lengthy script is copying all around, so I stopped after analyzing about hundred lines of code lol.
I really didn't find any method like this on the internet, so I wonder if that's even possible, and if it is, how would I go about it?
Thanks everyone.
Burs said:
Not sure my question in subject is clear, so here's the thing...
I have dual-boot tablet with Android 5.0.1 and Windows 10 installed, and the model is Onda V80 Plus (32GB), if that matters at all.
I'm really having hard time rooting this device using standard methods (even with much of background knowledge and experience), so I was about to take a different route.
I installed Paragon ExtFS windows app which gives me read/write access to /system and /data android partitions (which have ext4 filesystem).
I was wondering if anyone knows if it's possible to gain root access in Android just by copying some files and changing some permissions or whatever from within Windows OS?
Basically, for those not familiar with ExtFS app, I can assign a drive letter to /system and /data partitions, and do whatever I want with them just like with any other drive or volume.
I'm aware that modifying ext4 partitions can render my Android OS unbootable, but I have a backup and would like to try it anyway as this is my last option.
When I look into SuperSU.zip file (which I always flashed through CWM/TWRP recovery to gain root access), I see many files which some lengthy script is copying all around, so I stopped after analyzing about hundred lines of code lol.
I really didn't find any method like this on the internet, so I wonder if that's even possible, and if it is, how would I go about it?
Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root needs a custom kernel. Not something you are gonna do with a Windows setup the way you have it. Also you will most likely not find anything as that is most likely not an official version of Android as Google doesn't allow dual booting.
Thanks for a reply. But I don't see what does custom kernel have to do with what I try to achieve? If I could, in my Windows environment, replicate the modifications that script inside SuperSU zip does to /system partition, I should gain root access, right? In theory that is, since I'm aware lots of things can go wrong. I was hoping someone could explain a bit what SuperSU script is doing when run inside custom recovery, so I try to do the same thing. Again, if it's possible, and if it's worth the time spent. But I have time, and I'm always willing to learn something new.
Burs said:
Thanks for a reply. But I don't see what does custom kernel have to do with what I try to achieve? If I could, in my Windows environment, replicate the modifications that script inside SuperSU zip does to /system partition, I should gain root access, right? In theory that is, since I'm aware lots of things can go wrong. I was hoping someone could explain a bit what SuperSU script is doing when run inside custom recovery, so I try to do the same thing. Again, if it's possible, and if it's worth the time spent. But I have time, and I'm always willing to learn something new.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what su is doing is pulls the kernel and patches it. root access is defined in the kernel. what itnis doing in system is flashimg just the apk
Ok, I see. So if I ask someone who rooted the same model successfully to send me patched kernel, I could easily flash it in fastboot mode (my bootloader is unlocked). So only thing left to do would be to copy apk inside /system/app, and cross my fingers? I'll post my findings if I manage to do something worth writing about. Thanks.
I have same problem with you. I can't root my Onda V80 plus. I unlock bootloader, flash recovery for my device. Then, i put it into recovery mode and install supersu.zip over recovery. When i reboot this onda, it has stopped in onda logo.
bahuy2003 said:
I have same problem with you. I can't root my Onda V80 plus. I unlock bootloader, flash recovery for my device. Then, i put it into recovery mode and install supersu.zip over recovery. When i reboot this onda, it has stopped in onda logo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to root my Onda few days after my last post, but forgot to post my findings, sorry. I didn't used any of my hacker's skills lol, but I researched a bit more and found out what I was missing. The same issue is with you, so you have to disable verity before flashing recovery by typing in these commands:
Code:
adb root
adb remount
adb disable-verity
adb reboot
After rebooting install supersu.zip, and the next boot won't hang on Onda logo anymore. Hope this helps you.
btw, note that not just any adb version has verity command line switch. You have to download newer adb version!
Thank you! I trie a lots times, but i can't make successfully!
Basic root procedure would be: unlock BL -> disable verity -> flash (temp) recovery -> install SuperSU
Here are the links containing all the files neccessary for rooting Onda V80 Plus: Mega | MediaFire
Note the ReadMe.txt inside archive. It contains list of adb/fastboot commands needed to be executed in order to successfully root the device.
Thank you very much! I download your file and root successfully my Onda V80 plus! It works well for me.
Hi, few day ago I made a videos with a modded version of Google Camera 8.1,
the first one was not saved properly and was in .pending????????.mp4 state, and I erased it by mistake,
because it was first time, I was using this tool, and I didn't knew that it is a temporary file.
I tried to recover, using many tools, but I was unable to recover it, so I decided to Root my phone using Magisk,
I made some mistake and testing some FastBoot command I relocked my Unlocked phone.
I had to Unlock again by using "miflash_unlock.exe", with advertising that all my data’s will be deleted.
After I managed to patch my phone, he restarted (I don’t installed any previous apps prom store, to avoid my video to wiped by new data,
and I tried with Ult Data, Dr Phone to recover the file, but Root access was not accepted.
Then I tested lot of android tool, nothing worked, after searching a lot I found this page :
https://drfone.wondershare.com/android-recovery/phone-memory-data-recovery.html
And I tried but some command didn’t work, since I didn't have FDISK, FTPPUT on my phone file system,
after some other search I found this ancient page (2014) who seemed to be the source,
https://sudonull.com/post/108208-Recovering-data-from-internal-memory-on-Android-for-dummies
and after installing BusyBox Pro,
I managed to get missing Linux tools.
I tried the command, all worked fine,
but now I’m unable to access this one :
Code:
ftpput -v -u sally -p able -P 40 192.168.1.4 sde55.raw /cache/myfifo
because my FileZilla does not get any information.
And I receive this message :
Code:
can't connect to remote host (192.168.1.4): Connection timed out
The article is old and that guy was using U.S.B. MoDem on CyanogenMod 11.
I use Magisk pro rooting and I do not know what tool I should use to get U.S.B. link with FileZilla Server to get proper connection.
I tried many things, changing protocols, P.T.P., M.T.P., and I do not know what to do,
so I thought may be here, someone with experience could point me to a tool to use in Android 12 / 11 with my Magisk and link to FileZilla Server,
to get image of internal memory back‑up‑ed ?
Thank you in advance.
No one knows how to ?
Someone knows an other methodic to extract partition totally & perfectly ?
forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide_making_dump-files_out_of_android_device_partitions/