Backup and Rooting.

[JayJ]

Okay I'm going to backtrack a little here...

Don't think of rooting a true hacking, it's not. You are simply replacing the su binary for custom su binary thus giving you administrative rights at the root level which is something we all have in Windows.

EDIT: CBers, what kind of backup are you wanting? You can back up an Android device, there are apps that allow the back up of apps, contacts that aren't synced and on Android phones you can back up SMS messages and Call logs etc but you cannot back up system data and app data because of the lack of root level adminastrative rights.

[LenB]

Am quite relieved that CBers appears to be as apprehensive as I am about this 'rooting' business. However, other people are being successful with rooting, so it is probably not as fraught with problems as one would assume.
I note from the 'Settings' page that there is a section called 'Backup & reset'. For the average user, will this be all they will ever need to get back the information they may have lost?

[S.Prime]

I think everyone is apprehensive about their first attempt at rooting. I even practiced on a spare phone before I had the courage to attempt it on my personal device, but after experiencing my first rooted Android device, I have never looked back and do not own any Android device that is not rooted. That said, I would estimate that only 5-7% of Android devices are rooted, so those of us who choose root are certainly in the minority.

[CBers]

Okay I'm going to backtrack a little here...

Don't think of rooting a true hacking, it's not. You are simply replacing the su binary for custom su binary thus giving you administrative rights at the root level which is something we all have in Windows.

EDIT: CBers, what kind of backup are you wanting? You can back up an Android device, there are apps that allow the back up of apps, contacts that aren't synced and on Android phones you can back up SMS messages and Call logs etc but you cannot back up system data and app data because of the lack of root level adminastrative rights.

Just the ability to do a backup on a regular basis in case of a worst-case scenario where the tab;let is broke beyond recovery (rare I know), so that I can quickly restore the backup to a new device.

Might just try rooting my Nexus 7 when I have a chance, but it opens a new can of worms about which ROM to install, how to choose it, and how to know that it hasn't got viruses in etc.

Diving into the XDA forums is quite formidable, as there are so many users, threads and ROMs mentioned.

In the "Step by Step Guide to Rooting The Nexus 7 Tablet", there is mention of CWM - what is this ?? And also TWRP again, what is this, but it doesn't seem to have been updated for a few months - has development on this stopped ??

If I do decide to root my nexus, how will I get Android OS updates, or do I have to wait for a ROM to be updated by (non-official) developers ??

There seems to be so many BETA versions of ROMs and apps that you need to run alongside them, it seems very flakey to the average user.

Don't get me wrong, as I have used hacks on OS's in the past, so not adverse to doing it, but Android is still fairly new to me, and the OS's I have used have been intact from the manufacturer and then hacked to use, as opposed to installed a hacked OS as in Android.

Sorry for all of these questions, but hopefully it might help others.

[JayJ]

CBers, have a read of this. It should answer most of your questions.
As for custom ROM's, custom ROM's in the Android world are built from source, this is known as cooking and the dev a chief. I've have never heard of a ROM with a virus but that's not to it's never happened or never will.
You don't have to flash a custom ROM if you've rooted, some just root for the ability to have adminastrative rights at root level and be able to backup with a custom recovery, hack, mod and tweak their device. It's your device so your choice.

[CBers]

Thanks JayJ for that link - I think I must have read that 50 times myself.

Anyway, an update : I've rooted my Nexus 7 

It took 30 minutes, but I was double-reading each line and double-checking each step.

It was a breeze using WUGFRESH's toolkit.

It's all worked, so now I need to find out what's different and start re-installing all of my apps etc.

Two questions though.

1) Will I still be notified if there is an update to the current ROM installed ??
2) I used the "Custom Recovery" option when rooting (mainly due to S. Prime's edit of 04/08) - what has this opened/limted ??

      

[birdastrompgman]

LenB, Yes, the N7's Cloud backup should save your apps list along with passwords and cache settings.  Since it's integrated with Google Play, gmail, etc., all your Google data should be recoverable.  I doubt that your Amazon Kindle books will be backed up this way.  When you re-install the apps (manually), you'll get all your Google data back.  But you won't get your shortcuts back, and you'll have to setup your widgets all over again.

The dedicated backup apps try to save additional data, like phone address/contact lists, and they let you batch process backups and recovery.  Unfortunately, unless you're rooted, they probably can't (I've never used them) backup/recover shortcuts and widget setups, either.  Go to the Google Play store and search for backup to see what's available for unrooted users.

I rooted mine without problems.  The people who'll have problems, IMHO, are those who aren't familiar enough with computers to know how to find/load device drivers and/or understand computer terminology.

[JayJ]

Thanks JayJ for that link - I think I must have read that 50 times myself.

Anyway, an update : I've rooted my Nexus 7 

It took 30 minutes, but I was double-reading each line and double-checking each step.

It was a breeze using WUGFRESH's toolkit.

It's all worked, so now I need to find out what's different and start re-installing all of my apps etc.

Two questions though.

1) Will I still be notified if there is an update to the current ROM installed ??
2) I used the "Custom Recovery" option when rooting (mainly due to S. Prime's edit of 04/08) - what has this opened/limted ??

      

Glad it went well mate, didn't think it wouldn't mind you.

You won't see any physical changes, they're all at root levelbut if you install apps like Titanium which will allow you to backup your apps and their data and apps like Root Explorer, you can see root level or "/" level files.
Another app I love is Adfree, does what it says on the tin.

1. Yes you'll still get OS updates or Android iteration updates.

2. What recovery did you select? CWM (ClockworkMod) or TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project)?

I am unaware of any limitations custom recovery installation brings, it's more a case of what a custom recovery brings you which is the ability to backup the whole system and flash images and files.
A backup know as a nandroid backup copies the whole of your system files, you do a nandroid backup and then restore using that backup and your device will be identical to how it was when the backup was performed from email accounts to app data to widgets ogn your homescreen...
A custom recovery also allows you to flash images such as the boot image through a zip file, such zips could also be complete ROM's, a kernel or system files to tweak the performance or look of your device.

Hope that helps.

LenB, Yes, the N7's Cloud backup should save your apps list along with passwords and cache settings.  Since it's integrated with Google Play, gmail, etc., all your Google data should be recoverable.  I doubt that your Amazon Kindle books will be backed up this way.  When you re-install the apps (manually), you'll get all your Google data back.  But you won't get your shortcuts back, and you'll have to setup your widgets all over again.

The dedicated backup apps try to save additional data, like phone address/contact lists, and they let you batch process backups and recovery.  Unfortunately, unless you're rooted, they probably can't (I've never used them) backup/recover shortcuts and widget setups, either.  Go to the Google Play store and search for backup to see what's available for unrooted users.

I rooted mine without problems.  The people who'll have problems, IMHO, are those who aren't familiar enough with computers to know how to find/load device drivers and/or understand computer terminology.

I agree with the part about Backup and restore in settings, this backs up your Google account, web passwords, Wi-Fi set ups including keyphrases etc. Google Backup & restore doesn't just remember you app list, if you Factory reset your device it will reinstall your app automatically for you.
It does backup apps installed from Google Play but obviously not their data. How are books store on a device, if it's cloud based then you'll only need to install the app and sync. If they're saved to the internal memory then they should also still be there unless wiped/cleared/deleted by the user. I use comiXology app on both my N7 and S2, if I flash a custom ROM or uninstall the app and reinstall my comics are still save on the in internal memory.

As for your comment about the people that are going to have trouble rooting are those without or with little PC experience, I disagree because that's me...
I have very limited PC knowledge compared to what I know about Android (which is less than I'd like to), I'm 38 yo and did a little basic work on PC's whilst at school in the 80's and earlier 90's, made some bad life choices and never owned my first PC until about 5 yes ago.
What I'm trying to say is my PC knowledge is very limited but I have successfully rooted three Android devices and learnt computer terminology along the way, I think the key thing here is research and that's what most of us so before jumping in.

[CBers]

Two questions though.

1) Will I still be notified if there is an update to the current ROM installed ??
2) I used the "Custom Recovery" option when rooting (mainly due to S. Prime's edit of 04/08) - what has this opened/limted ??

1. Yes you'll still get OS updates or Android iteration updates.

2. What recovery did you select? CWM (ClockworkMod) or TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project)?
[/quote]

1. OK, cool.
2. Not sure - when I selected flash, I ticked "And also flash: Customer Recovery" (see here)

What did I flash, the stock OS but unlocked ??

So do I need a Custom Recovery then, such as CWM (ClockworkMod) or TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project) ??

Installed GooManager to get TWRP, after watching the (23 minute) video and TWRP is now installed.

I used latest version of WUGFRESH's Toolkit, v1.5.3.

I am unaware of any limitations custom recovery installation brings, it's more a case of what a custom recovery brings you which is the ability to backup the whole system and flash images and files.
A backup know as a nandroid backup copies the whole of your system files, you do a nandroid backup and then restore using that backup and your device will be identical to how it was when the backup was performed from email accounts to app data to widgets ogn your homescreen...
A custom recovery also allows you to flash images such as the boot image through a zip file, such zips could also be complete ROM's, a kernel or system files to tweak the performance or look of your device.

Hope that helps.

OK, I have installed TITANIUM backup and performed a backup - is this the best ??

What about root keeper - does it need to be on all the time, or only during an OTA update ??

By the way, I now have everything back as it was pre-root, so all in all, about 2 hours start to finish 

[S.Prime]

Simply install Rootkeeper and you will be prompted to protect your system when you open the program the first time and it creates a "SU"  backup and you are done. Then if you ever lose root due to an OTA update, you can restore root with OTA Rootkeeper. The app does not run continuous, so you do not have to be concerned with that.

[CBers]

Thanks S.Prime.

Expect loads more questions post-rooting 

PS. Why do I not get notifications via email (or TapaTalk) about updates to this and other threads I've commented in.

I have INSTANT NOTIFICATION set on my profile, but nothing received today.

I can't see a SUBSCRIBE TO THIS THREAD on this page anywhere.

TIA.

[bjs229]

Glad to see you got it done CB!
I never installed Root keeper. What is the temp unroot button for?

[CBers]

Thanks bjs229.

Finally succumbed to the dark side.

All seems OK at the moment, but and seems a bit faster but that might just be the placebo effect.

I think temp unroot allows for OTA updates?

[S.Prime]

The temporary un-install option is designed to save the SU file. The OTA can be written to remove root if it is detected, but with the temporary un-install option, you hide root from the OTA. Generally this occurs in the mobile industry when the provider wants to block the usage of root, but with the tools that Google has provided for full system recovery and the easy access to rooting tools, I do not see this as a problem. I continue to use OTA RootKeeper more out of habit and paranoia than necessity at this point.

[bjs229]

The temporary un-install option is designed to save the SU file. The OTA can be written to remove root if it is detected, but with the temporary un-install option, you hide root from the OTA. Generally this occurs in the mobile industry when the provider wants to block the usage of root, but with the tools that Google has provided for full system recovery and the easy access to rooting tools, I do not see this as a problem. I continue to use OTA RootKeeper more out of habit and paranoia than necessity at this point.

Thanks