How do you people move between ROMs (or versions) without too much hassle?

[EverNap]

I love the whole idea of being able to use different ROMs, but it always takes me way too long to set up everything again after moving to a different ROM.

I know Helium, Titanium Backup etc. exist, but how do you use them? I've backed up stuff using Helium, but it saves the files locally, and I have to transfer it to the computer, lest I have to format my phone. I know it has cloud save too, but didn't try it yet.
I've tried Nandroid backup, but that saves a backup locally too. Can I just copy that file/folder to my computer and transfer it back if I ever need to restore?

I'm just trying to find out what methods you people use to move between ROMs easily. Thanks.

I'm currently using ARHD 40.3 but will jump to ViperOne once they have a 4.4 version out.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I love the whole idea of being able to use different ROMs, but it always takes me way too long to set up everything again after moving to a different ROM.

I know Helium, Titanium Backup etc. exist, but how do you use them? I've backed up stuff using Helium, but it saves the files locally, and I have to transfer it to the computer, lest I have to format my phone. I know it has cloud save too, but didn't try it yet.
I've tried Nandroid backup, but that saves a backup locally too. Can I just copy that file/folder to my computer and transfer it back if I ever need to restore?

I'm just trying to find out what methods you people use to move between ROMs easily. Thanks.

I'm currently using ARHD 40.3 but will jump to ViperOne once they have a 4.4 version out.

All my phones have always had SD cards to save backup info to, so I've never had to worry about transferring back and forth. Still though, most custom recoveries won't touch the /mnt/sdcard partition when doing a wipe unless you specify to, so you should be able to install different ROMs (even with a full 'factory reset' data wipe) and still have access to your backup files. (You may to check first). Nandroid backups should be safe to delete during ROM installs as well.

With Nandroids, the one thing to watch out for is that they are VERY large files that can consume your storage if you're not careful. I generally take a backup before installing a ROM, but then delete the backup after a week or so once I'm sure I won't need to revert back. But yeah, you should be able to simply copy those backups to computer if you wanted to keep them longer and don't have the storage space to keep them on the phone (though data corruption in transfer is always possible).

One thing I've done to help speed up the ROM install process is using Nova Launcher, which makes it much easier to backup and restore my homescreen/launcher settings. Many 3rd party launchers have this capability, but most builtin OEM launchers do not.

 

[rayndog3]

I've been bouncing around between all the roms, and yes, it sucks to have to keep setting it up. usually if I really like a rom I'm using I will just to a backup of it, then reinstall it later. Viperone is probably one of my favorite roms, renovate rom is right behind. right now I'm on the sinful google play edition rom. Liking this too.

 

[EverNap]

I've been bouncing around between all the roms, and yes, it sucks to have to keep setting it up. usually if I really like a rom I'm using I will just to a backup of it, then reinstall it later. Viperone is probably one of my favorite roms, renovate rom is right behind. right now I'm on the sinful google play edition rom. Liking this too.

Yeah. I liked ViperOne a lot too. I haven't tried any other ones except ARHD. I did want a Sense ROM because I didn't wanna lose the camera and gallery features. I'll try to do what you mentioned - Backup my favorite ROM and reinstall later if needed.

All my phones have always had SD cards to save backup info to, so I've never had to worry about transferring back and forth. Still though, most custom recoveries won't touch the /mnt/sdcard partition when doing a wipe unless you specify to, so you should be able to install different ROMs (even with a full 'factory reset' data wipe) and still have access to your backup files. (You may to check first). Nandroid backups should be safe to delete during ROM installs as well.

With Nandroids, the one thing to watch out for is that they are VERY large files that can consume your storage if you're not careful. I generally take a backup before installing a ROM, but then delete the backup after a week or so once I'm sure I won't need to revert back. But yeah, you should be able to simply copy those backups to computer if you wanted to keep them longer and don't have the storage space to keep them on the phone (though data corruption in transfer is always possible).

One thing I've done to help speed up the ROM install process is using Nova Launcher, which makes it much easier to backup and restore my homescreen/launcher settings. Many 3rd party launchers have this capability, but most builtin OEM launchers do not.

Thank you for the reply.
Yeah, I realized that the Nandroid backups are huge. I'll try your method of having a backup of my previous ROM until I'm confident that the new ROM works fine. Also, yes, the recoveries don't delete the virtual sdcard data, but I kinda messed up my ARHD 40.2 installation and made my HTC One a brick, so I essentially formatted all my phone's data to get it back up and running (relock bootloader -> stock kernel -> stock OS -> Unlock bootloader -> custom kernel -> custom ROM).

Thanks for the info about Nova launcher. I'll try it out. I've always just used HTC Backup, and it did fairly well. It reinstalls most (except the paid ones maybe?) of your apps and restores ringtones, wallpapers and homescreen layout. I just have to go through the process of signing into every app (like SMS verification on Whatsapp, Viber etc) and Google services.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Also, yes, the recoveries don't delete the virtual sdcard data, but I kinda messed up my ARHD 40.2 installation and made my HTC One a brick, so I essentially formatted all my phone's data to get it back up and running (relock bootloader -> stock kernel -> stock OS -> Unlock bootloader -> custom kernel -> custom ROM).

Ah...well that is where saving to SD card does come in handy...too bad almost no phones use it anymore. I guess in cases like that it may not be a bad idea to save a copy of your backups to the PC.