[HOWTO] restoring settings and apps using titanium backup

(btw, this is NOT my tutorial. this is from a thread from team whiskey's board saved through teh google cache. i am doing a straight copy and paste from that thread. if you have any questions, sorry i can't help you. it was last updated Nov 18, 2010. all i did was add links, otherwise this is unchanged.)

I have seen a lot of questions regarding proper backup techniques and restore techniques when getting ready to flash a new ROM. I know a lot of people see a full wipe update as unnecessary and cumbersome due to data loss, let me tell you though, a full wipe update is the most efficient and least problematic solution for ROM revisions.

This tutorial will help show you that it is indeed quite easy to backup and restore your system (and a lot less time consuming than you may think) prior to and following a new ROM installation.

Step 1 - Pre-requisites:
These are steps or apps that are going to be required to follow this tutorial to it's fullest.

1 - Rom Manager:


2 - Titanium Backup:


3 - Titanium Backup Pro License (unlocking the full featured, much faster version of the program):


Recommended way to go pro!
If you are like me and are unable to purchase the Pro license from the market, or want a streamlined way to have the pro version unlocked every time you flash, visit this site: http://matrixrewriter.com/android/ and select "Just the license $5.99" in the drop down box and follow the directions. You will receive an email from the developer that contains your license file with instructions on how to use it. The upside to this method, and the reason I recommend doing it this way is that when you load a new ROM, you only have to download Titanium backup and it automatically recognizes your pro status. In the case of Team Whiskey ROM's that include Titanium Backup, you have no additional steps to unlock pro, saving you time! Trust me, the Pro version is well worth the 6 bucks!

4 - LauncherPro:

This isn't a requirement per-se. However, using LauncherPro as your launcher creates an easy way to restore your launcher just the way it was before a wipe. LauncherPro is highly customizable and if you take the time to learn it, you will likely come to prefer it. If however you prefer a different launcher you will need to restore your launcher manually.

5 - Backup your contacts to Google: NOTE: Use the same Gmail account you use to log in to the Market with for this step.
This process is actually quite simple and saves some hassle later. You should not have to do this more than once as long as you save new contacts to your Google account. If you already use Google for your contact's you can skip this step.

A: On your phone, open your contacts list.
B: Press Menu > Import/Export > Export to SD card > Ok (Be sure and have an external sd card installed as it will place the file there)
C: Transfer the .vcf file created in step B to your PC
D: Login to your gmail account @ http://www.gmail.com
E: On the left hand side of the screen there is a link labeled: "Contacts", click it.
F: At the top of the screen there is a pull down menu labeled: "More actions", click it and select "import"
G: Click on the "Browse..." button and navigate to where you placed the .vcf file on your PC and select it.
H: Click "Import".

That's it. You have now backed up your contacts to Google's servers. When adding future contacts simply make sure and select Google as your "Save contact to" location to keep this list up to date.

Step 2 - The Backup Plan:
You have seen the Tweet stating that the new Kernel you want to try is almost ready, you saw on the forums that the new ROM is being uploaded and will be ready shortly, you gotta get ready for it!

1 - Create a nandroid backup of your entire system as it is now:
This step isn't really used in restoring your system after a wipe, but it is still essential in case you ever want to revert back to your old setup exactly as it was before the wipe. Please note that this WILL NOT back up your kernel, however, everything else is backed up with this process.

A: Open Rom Manager on your phone.
B: Ensure that you have the Latest Recovery flashed by looking at the top item on the main menu.
C: Click "Backup Current Rom"
D: Rename the file to whatever you like so you can know what the backup is later.
E: Press Ok. (If you are prompted for SU permission, say yes.)
F: Your phone will reboot into Recovery, if it boots into stock recovery (Blue text), press "Reinstall Packages" and the backup should start.
G: Leave your phone alone until the backup completes, interrupting it during this process could brick your phone.
H: When the backup completes your phone will reboot.

That's it. You now have a complete backup of your current system (excluding kernel) stored on your internal sdcard which can be used for restoration if you decide you want to revert back.

2 - Backup your apps and system data via Titanium Backup:
I backup all system data and user apps/data due to some system data being "safe" to restore and can be very convenient should you delete something you shouldn't have.

A: Open Titanium Backup
B: Press Menu > Batch.
C: Press "RUN" next to Backup all user apps + system data (4th item down).
D: Leave the default settings and press "Run the batch operation" at the top of the screen.
E: Allow the backup to run it's course, when it is done, Titanium Backup will go back to the main menu and will notify you that "Batch backup finished" in the notification bar.

Easy as that. All your system data and personal apps/data are now backed up and stored on your phone's internal sd card.

3 - Backup your LauncherPro settings and layout:

A: Press Menu > Preferences > Backup homescreen & settings > Yes
B: It will back everything up and than pop up "Success!" informing you of completion.

Now your Launcher layout and preferences are stored on your internal sd card.

4 - Backup your internal sd card to your pc:
This step is not required, nor do I recommend performing this step before every flash, but it is an important step to do every once in awhile. This will ensure that if you happen to have a mishap during flashing that wipes your internal sd card, you have a backup of your backups!

A: Connect your phone to your PC.
B: Pull down your notification bar and press the "USB connected" notification to mount your phones internal/external sd cards to your PC.
C: Create a folder anywhere you choose and name it whatever you like.
D: Select all the files stored on your internal sd card and copy them to the folder on your PC.
E: Un-mount the phone from your PC.

You have now backed up all your important apps/data and are ready to flash that ROM!

Step 3 - The Restoration:
You got your hands on that new ROM, you flashed it, and are now looking at a barren wasteland of a phone with none of your apps or customization. No worries, you have a plan! (This section is for after you have flashed the ROM and have waited the customary 15 minutes after first boot and than re-booted).

1 - Log in to your Google Account:
The easiest way to do this step is to simply log in to your Market app.

A: Open Android Market
B: Follow the on screen instructions to log in to your Google account.
C: After finishing the log in, allow your phone to sit for around 5 minutes to sync data. During this time, your phone is downloading and updating your contact list among other things.
D: After the waiting period, reboot your phone.
E: Your contact list is now populated with all your contacts, you may want to enter the Contacts app and select: Menu > More > Display Options to set only Google contacts or whatever you like.

Part 1 Complete.

2 - Restore with Titanium Backup:

Part A - Restoring User Apps/data:
A: Open Titanium Backup
B: Press Menu > Batch
C: Scroll down a little until you see the "RUN" in blue.
D: Press the "RUN" button next to: "Restore missing apps with data" (DO NOT RESTORE SYSTEM DATA)
E: All user apps will be selected by default, if you do not wish to include some apps in the restore, un-check them from the list.
D: Press "Run the batch operation" at the top of the screen.
F: Allow the process to complete, at which point you will back at the main screen, immediately proceed to part B:

Part B - Restoring Select System Data:
This step is optional and can create some issues if done incorrectly. (Even if done correctly, it can sometimes cause issues.)

A: From the main screen of Titanium Backup press the button labeled: Backup/Restore at the top of the screen.
B: You will see a list of all the User Apps, System Apps, and System Data that are currently present on your phone. (The bottom of the list will have grayed out and striked items that are representative of data/apps that Titanium has backups of, but are not currently installed on the phone)
C: You will see different colors: RED - System App or Data (You Never want to restore these items); WHITE - User App/Data (These are almost always fine to restore, since they are not system dependent); GREEN - System data that is relatively safe to restore. I cannot say whether all the "Green" items are safe, but the Items I restore after a wipe are:
[BOOKMARKS]Browser - This will restore your bookmarks in the web browser.
[CALENDAR]Calendar Storage - This will restore your calendar appointments if they aren't saved to your Google Calendar.
[USER DICT] - This will restore the user learned words stored in your keyboards.
[SMS/MMS/APN]Dialar Storage & [SMS/MMS PREFS]Messaging - These will restore your messaging settings and conversations.
Wi-Fi Access Points - This will restore your "memorized" Wi-Fi access points, including password and log in credentials.
D: Feel free to play around with these and restore what "green" items you wish. But do so with caution and I recommend doing one at a time to ensure that you don't run into issues. Once you know what one's play nice, it will be a breeze to go through them in the future and restore the ones you want.
E:Restore an item by short pressing it. It will pop up a menu, and you select "Restore".
F: Reboot your phone!

Part 2 Complete.

3 - Restore LauncherPro:

A: From the Home screen press Menu > Preferences > Restore backup > Yes
B: Wait for it to finish.

Part 3 Complete.

At this point, your system should be almost exactly as it was before you flashed your new ROM. There are only a handful of things to do now.

4 - Restore system settings that can't be backed up:

Navigate to the Settings menu and restore any custom settings you may use, some of these settings may be: (I will give examples based on what I usually set, you will know what settings you want to set)
- Wireless and network > Mobile Networks > Network Mode
- Call Settings > All Calls > Call status tones
- Sound > Volume of Media, System, Notification, Ringer
- Sound > Voice and Notification Ringtone
- Sound > Feedback Settings
- Display > Font Style
- Display > Screen timeout

Once done with those minor settings, you're set! This is not an all encompassing tutorial for every program or setting out there, but it should have you back up and running in a system that is close to 100% exactly how you were before the wipe and in very little time (especially once you have some practice!). Hope you find this helpful and if you have any suggestions that or information you think I should add, please feel free to post it or shoot me a PM! (I will be adding pictures for some of these steps at a later date)

Whoa old thread with old but useful info. However, there are a couple easier ways to do things.


1.
can't you just backup your contacts to google by simply going to contacts > menu > merge with google?

2.
another way to backup user apps with data in case you don't have TB pro is using mybackup root.
it only shows user apps so that makes things a tad easier.

mybackup roots also saves your sms and mms, but it has been glitchy lately because i can't delete those conversations that i restored... not sure why.. it worked before so I say avoid doing that option for now.

3.
they also have the option to backup and restore homescreen for your stock launcher (TW). if you use a different launchers, those usually have that option built in. ICS launchers definitely have those.

4.
MBR also backups settings, but of course only do this if the ROMs are on the same builds.