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Root Just flashed Amon RA...quick question

MizzouBrent

Android Expert
Feb 13, 2011
2,852
2,518
Olathe, KS
When I go to do a nandroid backup, it give me a list of selectable items. What do I need to select? It defaults to a few things, but wimax is not one of them. I figured that's a no-brainer that I need to make sure to select...is there anything else? I figured that he would probably default the important stuff, but I just want to make 100% sure that I catch everything I would need for a restore if I need to down the road.

I'm using the new version...2.3 by the way.

My options are (the ones with an X are marked by default):
[x]boot
[x]system
[x]data
cache
recovery
wimax
sd-ext
.android_secure

It says that sd-ext and .android_secure backups require lots of SD card space...not sure if they're essential.
 
Hey, yeah that was confusing for me at first too. I always back up boot-system-data-recovery-wimax and android_secure. I'm not sure what backing up recovery does but I know you only have to back up sd-ext if you have partitioned your sd card.
Android_secure is all the apps that you have put on your sd card in the normal way. So if you don't back that up your ROM will still restore but you won't have those apps.
 
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you absolutely need boot and system for a bootable backup. You, of course, need data if you want it to be useable. So, in addition to those, three you will want .android_secure, if, and only if, you use froyo apps2sd (the "normal" way) AND you intend to *remove* any of those apps. I say that, because if you remove any apps from there, then restore your nandroid backup, you'll end up with the app showing up in manage applications, but unusable. You're better off backing up .android_secure if you use froyo apps2sd, just to be safe. As was already stated, only backup sd-ext if you have partitioned the sdcard, and use a2sd. Now with 2.3, it will just skip it instead of erroring out if you accidentally select it when you shouldn't have.

Beyond that, I always select wimax, but if you're trying to save space, make maybe one or two backups that include it, then don't bother after that. Just make sure to remember which backups have it included, and keep them safe. Recovery is pointless, as you need recovery to restore a backup. If you lose recovery, you're not going to restore it through nandroid, so I don't see the point. Cache is not necessary either, but if you don't include it, make sure to wipe cache before restoring a backup. The restore process *probably* wipes cache for you, but I'm not sure. Be safe, and wipe it yourself.

The reason these are selectable is to help you save space. If you don't *need* a particular partition, don't back it up, and the whole backup will be smaller. It's a matter of trade-off, and how complete you want your backup to be.
 
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If you used unrevoked, and didn't switch recovery on purpose, then you have Clockwork 2.6.0.1, which will backup all it needs to without prompting you to choose which partitions you want. You can go to /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/(name_of_backup)/ using any file explorer to see img files for each partition it backed up (data, system, boot, etc.). It will include wimax, automatically, as well. Unless something has changed, it will also include .android_secure, automatically. Some people wonder why Clockwork nandroid backups are bigger than RA backups, by default. That's why.
 
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Awesome, thanks for the help guys. I did basically everything except sd-ext, just to be safe. I guess as long as I leave it in the Nandroid folder on my SD card I will be fine? I'm going to back up a copy on my laptop.

Leave it in the nandroid directory on your sdcard if you want to be able to quickly restore that backup. Always leave at least one there. You can move the rest to your computer, if you like. Just make sure you copy the entire directory for the backup, and don't mess with the contents. Also, remember that if you do this, you'll need to copy the whole thing back over when you need to restore it. That can be a pain if you're doing it to fix something, which is why you should always keep at least one on the phone.
 
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If you used unrevoked, and didn't switch recovery on purpose, then you have Clockwork 2.6.0.1, which will backup all it needs to without prompting you to choose which partitions you want. You can go to /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/(name_of_backup)/ using any file explorer to see img files for each partition it backed up (data, system, boot, etc.). It will include wimax, automatically, as well. Unless something has changed, it will also include .android_secure, automatically. Some people wonder why Clockwork nandroid backups are bigger than RA backups, by default. That's why.
Yes to everything except the version of Clockwork that was flashed was 3.0.0.5 (I think the 5 is the right number...it wasn't 2.6.0.1.

But now I decided to switch over to Amon. I wasn't having any issues with Clockwork, but everyone seems to agree that Amon is superior and I finally feel comfortable flashing it over.
 
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Yes to everything except the version of Clockwork that was flashed was 3.0.0.5 (I think the 5 is the right number...it wasn't 2.6.0.1.

But now I decided to switch over to Amon. I wasn't having any issues with Clockwork, but everyone seems to agree that Amon is superior and I finally feel comfortable flashing it over.

Got it. You must have used a slightly older version of unrevoked. Not a huge deal. Amon RA is a great recovery option, so if you haven't gotten too attached to Clockwork, you might as well switch. Just understand that nandroid backups made in CW are not compatible with those made in RA, and vice versa. So, once you have flashed RA, you need to go make another nandroid backup.
 
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Got it. You must have used a slightly older version of unrevoked. Not a huge deal. Amon RA is a great recovery option, so if you haven't gotten too attached to Clockwork, you might as well switch. Just understand that nandroid backups made in CW are not compatible with those made in RA, and vice versa. So, once you have flashed RA, you need to go make another nandroid backup.
Yeah that was the first thing I did so I am set. My HTC stock nandroid backup is saved on clockwork but I guess it doesn't matter because I'll probably never go back to it again anyway. The one I backed up was kings ultra froyo which has been great. Using the CM 7 gingerbread with wimax right now though.
 
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