Backup

tehpriest

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
366
Reaction score
0
Location
Wales. UK
I recently read that the Stone can be backed up to Google. I tried a forum search but that just threw up hundreds of threads about rooting. So. How do you do the backup and what can be backed up on a stock phone?
 

hookbill

Premium Member
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
19,368
Reaction score
9
Location
N.E. Ohio
I recently read that the Stone can be backed up to Google. I tried a forum search but that just threw up hundreds of threads about rooting. So. How do you do the backup and what can be backed up on a stock phone?

The Stone? Is this a ROM?:unsure:
 
OP
tehpriest

tehpriest

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
366
Reaction score
0
Location
Wales. UK
Milestone... As opposed to the Droid. Just shorthand but now it has become longhand so may as well have written it in full in the first place... :icon_eek:
 

LtKen

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
2,624
Reaction score
2
Haha, that makes so much more sense.

As far as backing up to Google, your options are limited. You can save pics to Picasa, and contacts to your Google account, but most backup solutions are with third party software. Lots of people use Titanium because it's free, but I like MyBackup Pro because it works automatically at 4am for me.

Does this help?
 
OP
tehpriest

tehpriest

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
366
Reaction score
0
Location
Wales. UK
Unfortunately no as they need a rooted phone and the Stone cannot be rooted.

Thanks anyway.
 

christim

Super Moderator
Rescue Squad
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
5,036
Reaction score
1
Location
New England
I recently read that the Stone can be backed up to Google. I tried a forum search but that just threw up hundreds of threads about rooting. So. How do you do the backup and what can be backed up on a stock phone?

What are you looking to backup? Via gmail your contacts can be backed up
android-sms - Project Hosting on Google Code will back up your text messages to gmail. I just searched and found this so I don't know how well it works.
You can use Astro to back up all your install apk files to your card. That makes it easier to reinstall them again if you need to. I had to replace my phone. It was a stock phone as I hadn't rooted ever yet. The new phone had most of my apps. It took longer to put my apps into folders on my desktop again than to go and download the couple of missing apps.

The Stone won't let you flash roms but you might still be able to root the phone. A stock phone lets you copy any data off of it. You need root to write back to the /system and other folders. Not much sense saving data if you can't get it back where you want it eh?:)

edit: to clarify, my understanding is the Milestone has a hardware flashed key that is used so only signed roms can be installed, as per a post by RinTinTigger over in Germany. Rooting your phone is the step you take so you can flash the rom. Sprecovery and some root features may be available to you, I don't know enough about that but someone else surely does.
 

LtKen

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
2,624
Reaction score
2
I was under the impression that you could root it, but you couldnt install 3rd party ROMs...
 

hookbill

Premium Member
Premium Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
19,368
Reaction score
9
Location
N.E. Ohio
See you learn something from almost every thread. I'll never ask what the Stone is again. Sorry about that.:blink:
 

christim

Super Moderator
Rescue Squad
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
5,036
Reaction score
1
Location
New England
I was under the impression that you could root it, but you couldnt install 3rd party ROMs...

Ahh good news then if I am brave enough LOL

So I have a couple of options now cheers.

Steps 1-8 in the first link in my signature.
I would start your own new thread again looking for others with "The Stone" who had done this prior to you. I'd want to know if an SBF (back to stock option) existed too or some other way to unroot your phone because I don't know the differences between The Stone and The Droid. I know they are close.
 

christim

Super Moderator
Rescue Squad
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
5,036
Reaction score
1
Location
New England
Is this the files you mean? (Note 2.1 official is there as well)

motorola_milestone:sbf [And Developers]

Hmm maybe I may not root then if it needs re-flashing back to stock so as not to void the warranty

If you root your phone it does indeed void your warranty. 8 steps to root. 6 steps to unroot (3rd link in my signature). If you're comfortable with those steps and understand what each of them do then you'll be better able to make a decision, but ask yourself why you would root. No faster cpu for you but you can customize your phone and play around with it to know it better.

Before rooting I had everything in place to go back to stock. Likewise I have all the files on my pc to do link 3 below. I've also walked all the way through them all and stopped just before the final button push. Plus I know many have used it and I've seen no problems with others doing so. You may also want to visit the theming section of this forum to see what you can do to customize the look of your phone while rooted.

And...you may not need to root to backup what you are looking to back up. You never mentioned what data you didn't want to lose.
 
OP
tehpriest

tehpriest

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
366
Reaction score
0
Location
Wales. UK
What I want to backup is the settings (email ect.) installed apps, free and paid for, data from the SD card and the way I have things laid out if that is possible. I have read a few threads where people have had to do factory resets due to bad apps or crashes and do not wan't to be in the position of having to start all over again from scratch, or if the SD gets corrupted I do not lose all my data.. I know I am lazy and it is half the fun but there you go. My previous handset had a PC program that backed everything up to a file on the PC and then you used the PC to restore if needed.
 

LtKen

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
2,624
Reaction score
2
You **should** be able to get SPRecovery on your phone and do a Nandroid backup. If your phone gets jacked, you can use it to restore to the way it was when you backed up.

I'm not sure what the process is for the Milestone to get SPRecovery working, but it looks like some people over at alldroid have been able to do it.
 

christim

Super Moderator
Rescue Squad
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
5,036
Reaction score
1
Location
New England
What I want to backup is the settings (email ect.) installed apps, free and paid for, data from the SD card and the way I have things laid out if that is possible. I have read a few threads where people have had to do factory resets due to bad apps or crashes and do not wan't to be in the position of having to start all over again from scratch, or if the SD gets corrupted I do not lose all my data.. I know I am lazy and it is half the fun but there you go. My previous handset had a PC program that backed everything up to a file on the PC and then you used the PC to restore if needed.

Data on the sdcard you can copy to your computer if you'd like. Any app you pay for is paid. Google knows this so even if you switch phones you still have access to it and don't have to pay for it again. Astro will back up all the install files to your card so you can easily reinstall them all again if need be.

The only thing you might have problems restoring, with a stock phone, is how things are layed out. Rooting will let you do that though.

Nandroid restore with sprecovery: If you root your phone you can install sprecovery. You can't flash new roms. If you back up your own current settings into a rom I don't know if it you can restore it. The Stone only will flash a signed rom and I don't know if what you back up, having originally been signed, will still be signed.

The test would be to root, install sprecovery, backup, then try to restore. If not then decide if you want to unroot or go from there.
 
Top