[GUIDE] How to extract, create or edit android adb backups

maeckesz said:

Hey guys,
i did a full backup with this tool:
https://xdaforums.com/android/software-hacking/tool-twrp-backup-restore-tool-pc-t3572241
I thought it is only a CMD "script" for excecuting adb commands.
I saved the backup file to my PC, but the recovery fails.
There might be something wrong with my system partition.
Now i am trying to extract the full backup, but it seems to be a different file format.
the header is not the same as usual for adb-backups.
look at the debug info:
java -jar abe.jar -debug info "backup file"
Strong AES encryption not allowed
Magic: TWRP twstreamheader 5áíF





TWRP twfilename ñ? þ
é-í/data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/d63f4797/2014-10-17--15-11-03_KOT49H.N900TUVUCNB4/
system.ext4.win



TWRP t
wdatablock DÝíº





ì¼\?Û¶(¾hIén$éî??î►é♫éF?♫◄♂I¥¤»A→ i??îN)?7↨º÷v{ö9
gßû¿÷½ÿûÝ7÷▲ëûÆ?1Ç∟=A▬«±?+ä¿·±±q±ñrs?çUûõÉÆÆÃaçààaãáææä?Îcgãæb?xþ7óuÕÜ\\??))!Î
??®ÿjÞ¿←ÿ¿´q³QªÉj°¸??º9[»z?↨;k7Oa7G←sSW#g↨/↨Ws{#♂k;s↨6?ÿÓ∟ÿ¿ö_ÙXÿÿàÿàýWÿç☻Oî
ÿf¾®Úÿpÿ¿Ò¿¸?????♂ Kk↨▬c'ÛÿÒ=?:Ùx¸¸þ]üçåáááåf¿Ò?0?ÿ↨ÿÿw´ÿ↨ÿÿg·ÿÓþÏÎÅËÍÅÉö?þ☼ÿ/å
☻?¹Þc¯Á?ϯBØÂé´??¸?çøV²??öEÓ>%??'¢?T&â?¬Û?*·Jdîã?Û0é5¯4?ÊÓ¬cN©►ß°¥Pkëp?1Ü←Kwð(
?*L¡®@↓ÊÅÍx↓Ú©u?M∟F∟↨»??20h??_ÐÒ_n?®©§-hg?³gòdú,ù¬~æì|ºûÞ?▲z ãY> rpËý?öx¯
?Ôì?∟?58H|ØûùæTʸî²ÒÒ ?TÍÆ
Version: Ù←-ÓÙoÞ<è?FîíÏ5Ö]oÞÞÞÖ¯´??Ï4)!Ì?!ìS½¯?£Á↑+←Ö☼⌂|vf*ÊÉÉihhè±3?þ☻?◄?N'È←
+«¡ª→È?-E?õ*ýFB:☻?þ*rNfy9??HÃ?7?∟∟jGqÂ>_Û::ô??mlm-ûS
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.jarinjarloader.JarRsrcLoader.main(JarRsrcLoa
der.java:58)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.NumberFormatException: For inpu
t string: "Ù←-ÓÙoÞ<è?FîíÏ5Ö]oÞÞÞÖ¯´??Ï4)!Ì?!ìS½¯?£Á↑+←Ö☼⌂|vf*ÊÉÉihhè±3?þ☻?◄?N'
È←+«¡ª→È?-E?õ*ýFB:☻?þ*rNfy9??HÃ?7?∟∟jGqÂ>_Û::ô??mlm-ûS"
at org.nick.abe.AndroidBackup.infoBackup(AndroidBackup.java:260)
at org.nick.abe.Main.main(Main.java:103)
... 5 more
Caused by: java.lang.NumberFormatException: For input string: "Ù←-ÓÙoÞ<è?FîíÏ5Ö]
oÞÞÞÖ¯´??Ï4)!Ì?!ìS½¯?£Á↑+←Ö☼⌂|vf*ÊÉÉihhè±3?þ☻?◄?N'È←+«¡ª→È?-E?õ*ýFB:☻?þ*rNfy9?
?HÃ?7?∟∟jGqÂ>_Û::ô??mlm-ûS"
at java.lang.NumberFormatException.forInputString(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Integer.parseInt(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Integer.parseInt(Unknown Source)
at org.nick.abe.AndroidBackup.infoBackup(AndroidBackup.java:121)
... 6 more

i cant extract this file with abe.jar.

thanks for your help

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

maeckesz said:

Hey guys,
i did a full backup with this tool:
https://xdaforums.com/android/software-hacking/tool-twrp-backup-restore-tool-pc-t3572241
I thought it is only a CMD "script" for excecuting adb commands.
I saved the backup file to my PC, but the recovery fails.
There might be something wrong with my system partition.
Now i am trying to extract the full backup, but it seems to be a different file format.
the header is not the same as usual for adb-backups.
look at the debug info:
java -jar abe.jar -debug info "backup file"
Strong AES encryption not allowed
Magic: TWRP twstreamheader 5áíF





TWRP twfilename ñ? þ
é-í/data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/d63f4797/2014-10-17--15-11-03_KOT49H.N900TUVUCNB4/
system.ext4.win



TWRP t
wdatablock DÝíº





ì¼\?Û¶(¾hIén$éî??î►é♫éF?♫◄♂I¥¤»A→ i??îN)?7↨º÷v{ö9
gßû¿÷½ÿûÝ7÷▲ëûÆ?1Ç∟=A▬«±?+ä¿·±±q±ñrs?çUûõÉÆÆÃaçààaãáææä?Îcgãæb?xþ7óuÕÜ\\??))!Î
??®ÿjÞ¿←ÿ¿´q³QªÉj°¸??º9[»z?↨;k7Oa7G←sSW#g↨/↨Ws{#♂k;s↨6?ÿÓ∟ÿ¿ö_ÙXÿÿàÿàýWÿç☻Oî
ÿf¾®Úÿpÿ¿Ò¿¸?????♂ Kk↨▬c'ÛÿÒ=?:Ùx¸¸þ]üçåáááåf¿Ò?0?ÿ↨ÿÿw´ÿ↨ÿÿg·ÿÓþÏÎÅËÍÅÉö?þ☼ÿ/å
☻?¹Þc¯Á?ϯBØÂé´??¸?çøV²??öEÓ>%??'¢?T&â?¬Û?*·Jdîã?Û0é5¯4?ÊÓ¬cN©►ß°¥Pkëp?1Ü←Kwð(
?*L¡®@↓ÊÅÍx↓Ú©u?M∟F∟↨»??20h??_ÐÒ_n?®©§-hg?³gòdú,ù¬~æì|ºûÞ?▲z ãY> rpËý?öx¯
?Ôì?∟?58H|ØûùæTʸî²ÒÒ ?TÍÆ
Version: Ù←-ÓÙoÞ<è?FîíÏ5Ö]oÞÞÞÖ¯´??Ï4)!Ì?!ìS½¯?£Á↑+←Ö☼⌂|vf*ÊÉÉihhè±3?þ☻?◄?N'È←
+«¡ª→È?-E?õ*ýFB:☻?þ*rNfy9??HÃ?7?∟∟jGqÂ>_Û::ô??mlm-ûS
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.jarinjarloader.JarRsrcLoader.main(JarRsrcLoa
der.java:58)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.NumberFormatException: For inpu
t string: "Ù←-ÓÙoÞ<è?FîíÏ5Ö]oÞÞÞÖ¯´??Ï4)!Ì?!ìS½¯?£Á↑+←Ö☼⌂|vf*ÊÉÉihhè±3?þ☻?◄?N'
È←+«¡ª→È?-E?õ*ýFB:☻?þ*rNfy9??HÃ?7?∟∟jGqÂ>_Û::ô??mlm-ûS"
at org.nick.abe.AndroidBackup.infoBackup(AndroidBackup.java:260)
at org.nick.abe.Main.main(Main.java:103)
... 5 more
Caused by: java.lang.NumberFormatException: For input string: "Ù←-ÓÙoÞ<è?FîíÏ5Ö]
oÞÞÞÖ¯´??Ï4)!Ì?!ìS½¯?£Á↑+←Ö☼⌂|vf*ÊÉÉihhè±3?þ☻?◄?N'È←+«¡ª→È?-E?õ*ýFB:☻?þ*rNfy9?
?HÃ?7?∟∟jGqÂ>_Û::ô??mlm-ûS"
at java.lang.NumberFormatException.forInputString(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Integer.parseInt(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Integer.parseInt(Unknown Source)
at org.nick.abe.AndroidBackup.infoBackup(AndroidBackup.java:121)
... 6 more

i cant extract this file with abe.jar.

thanks for your help

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anonxlg said:

i'm getting the same type of error when i'm trying to unpack my .ab
also having trouble restoring my .ab file

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scottocs said:

Is there any other way to extract these android backup files that are backed up from Oreo?

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scottocs said:

It doesn't seem to be working with an APK I extracted while using Oreo. It worked before I upgraded.

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dknight178 said:

Hi all,

Does anyone have a copy of the star.exe for cygwin x86_x64? Can you share it? Badly need the file. Thanks!

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dknight178 said:

Hi,
Unfortunately I can't find a copy of the star.exe. The files in schily website were in .gz and .bz2 and I can't install them.

Do you have one? The link posted is already down

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Click to collapse

dknight178 said:

Hi,
Unfortunately I can't find a copy of the star.exe. The files in schily website were in .gz and .bz2 and I can't install them.

Do you have one? The link posted is already down

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Click to collapse

dknight178 said:

I tried it already but it didn't work.

I have pax but filename was long.

Would you have a copy of "star.exe"?

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pongolo said:

I made an ADB backup via TWRP of each partition (boot, system, data, cache) individually direct to my PC prior to flashing a new ROM. After flashing the new ROM, I realized I forgot to backup texts and wifi netwroks via Titanium Backup. I tried to restore each partition so I could go back and copy the texts and wifi networks but it didn't work. TWRP reported no OS installed and it didn't boot either. I did update the bootloader after I created the backup and am not sure if that's why it's failing.

I used ABE to try to extract one of the files (cache) to see if it works and got the following below. How do I get around the invalid Magic error?

Code:

Invlaid Magic: TWRP    twstreamheader                \        ù?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    TWRP    twfilename                     ¬|?/data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/XXXXXXXXXX/2018-06-30--19-27-08_lineage_shamu-userdebug_712_NJH47F_f0e1ca23/cache.ext4.win                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               TWRP    twdatablock     D?íº                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    /recovery/                                                                                          0040770 0001750 0003721 00000000072 00056161501 0012253 x                                                                                                    ustar   system                          cache                                                                                                                                                                                                                  58 RHT.security.selinux=u:object_r:cache_recovery_file:s0
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
        at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
        at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
        at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.jarinjarloader.JarRsrcLoader.main(JarRsrcLoader.java:58)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Invalid Magic TWRP    twstreamheader                \      ù?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    TWRP    twfilename                     ¬|?/data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/XXXXXXXXXX/2018-06-30--19-27-08_lineage_shamu-userdebug_712_NJH47F_f0e1ca23/cache.ext4.win                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               TWRP    twdatablock     D?íº                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    /recovery/                                                                                          0040770 0001750 0003721 00000000072 00056161501 0012253 x                                                                                                    ustar   system                          cache                                                                                                                                                                                                                  58 RHT.security.selinux=u:object_r:cache_recovery_file:s0
        at org.nick.abe.AndroidBackup.extractAsTar(AndroidBackup.java:516)
        at org.nick.abe.Main.main(Main.java:142)
        ... 5 more
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Invalid Magic TWRP    twstreamheader                \  ù?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    TWRP    twfilename                     ¬|?/data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/XXXXXXXXXX/2018-06-30--19-27-08_lineage_shamu-userdebug_712_NJH47F_f0e1ca23/cache.ext4.win                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               TWRP    twdatablock     D?íº                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    /recovery/                                                                                          0040770 0001750 0003721 00000000072 00056161501 0012253 x                                                                                                    ustar   system                          cache                                                                                                                                                                                                                  58 RHT.security.selinux=u:object_r:cache_recovery_file:s0
        at org.nick.abe.AndroidBackup.extractAsTar(AndroidBackup.java:337)
        ... 6 more

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pongolo said:

Can you explain what needs to done with the ext4 browser? I've used it in the past but am not sure what I need to do with it.

Thanks

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pongolo said:

In the data.ab file I have the following files/folders (opened via 7zip):

Code:

magisk (size 55)
magisk (size 16)
stock_boot_5c5a74390e2e4102433966e8ce7e1f0b1abb6368.img.gz  (size 55)
stock_boot_5c5a74390e2e4102433966e8ce7e1f0b1abb6368.img.gz (size 9098457)

Opening the second stock_boot file, I have the following inside:

Code:

stock_boot_5c5a74390e2e4102433966e8ce7e1f0b1abb6368.img (size 1431655765)

I tried to open that file and get the following error from 7zip (it will not open):

Code:

Data error : stock_boot_5c5a74390e2e4102433966e8ce7e1f0b1abb6368.img

Thanks for the help.

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