[GUIDE] Nexus 4 - Unlock & Root

[2defmouze]

The only reason I want to delete it is because on the stock ROM I had a few apps so it's quite a big back up, I want to restore my phone to factory defaults make a back up (small one I'm guessing) then flash a ROM and start loading apps etc is that right thinking or am I lost lol?

You can do that, personally I don't think it's necessary. Typically you make a backup before you wipe and flash a new ROM in case you don't like the ROM or something doesn't work right. Making one after the flash is a little redundant, IMO.

I am using es explorer and on there I didn't see SD/internal. My back up I saved with twrp is in SD/twrp. This is all new to me because my other phone had an SD card so when I did a wipe or something, none of my music or pics were deleted because they were on the card. There is no card here sorry for stupid questions.

That's the directory, you're just confusing the terminology. It's the sdcard directory, nevermind the slashes I used earlier, was just naming different terms for it

 

[corance]

If you plan to flash roms regularly, or on the go, you should have one. Otherwise, if something happens, you'll have to connect to the computer before you can fix it by, for isntance, restoring back to stock.



yeah the virtual sd is just a partition on the storage that acts like an external sdcard. your music should be on the virtual sd as it is, you shouldnt need to move it around. and nothing on the sd is wiped when flashing roms/deleting data - sd is only wiped when unlocking the bootloader (or if you manually wipe the sdcard in recovery, but it will warn you if you try to do that *at least on twrp).


@ 2def - no problem meng

OK when you flash a ROM you're supposed to wipe data and cache and all that... What exactly does that delete? I thought that was a clean slate, like new rom , no apps, etc.

 

[2defmouze]

OK when you flash a ROM you're supposed to wipe data and cache and all that... What exactly does that delete? I thought that was a clean slate, like new rom , no apps, etc.

It deletes the userdata partition without wiping the internal storage aka sdcard partition, thereby allowing you to flash something from there after the wipe as well as keep all your pics, music, etc that is stored in that area and not have to lose it all.

 

[AbuYazeedUK]

Thanks guys I'll see where I go from here, any ROMs you guys recommend or is it all personal preference? What's the most stable?

 

[corance]

It deletes the userdata partition without wiping the internal storage aka sdcard partition, thereby allowing you to flash something from there after the wipe as well as keep all your pics, music, etc that is stored in that area and not have to lose it all.

So what's the point of titanium backup if your pics, music, and apps aren't deleted?

 

[zero neck]

Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 4 - Unlock & Root

btw, when using ES file manager everything it shows you is on the SD card, unless you've gone into the settings and given the app root privileges so it shows you your system stuff. *i believe, anyway, it's been a while since i used ES.

as for stable roms, the only two i've tried for mako (got it yesterday) are aokp nightlies and cm10.1 nightlies. both are stable but are works in progress. 2def probably has a better handle on roms since he's had this phone forever.

aokp rules tho.

- - - Updated - - -

So what's the point of titanium backup if your pics, music, and apps aren't deleted?

your apps are deleted - titanium creates backups of them, and stores the backups on the sd card so you can restore them after flashing a rom.

 

[2defmouze]

Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 4 - Unlock & Root

So what's the point of titanium backup if your pics, music, and apps aren't deleted?

your apps are deleted - titanium creates backups of them, and stores the backups on the sd card so you can restore them after flashing a rom.

What Zero said. Your /data partition stores your user data, apps, as well as the sdcard stuff. The sdcard partition specifically is under /data/media and this part is not wiped by a custom recovery, while the rest is.

 

[corance]

Re: [GUIDE] Nexus 4 - Unlock & Root

What Zero said. Your /data partition stores your user data, apps, as well as the sdcard stuff. The sdcard partition specifically is under /data/media and this part is not wiped by a custom recovery, while the rest is.

OK this is all new to me coming from a phone with an sd card. I'm just assuming when I make a backup on twrp it saves it where it needs to go as well as titanium backup. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[CommanderBob22]

I'm having some trouble with rooting the phone,I've unlocked it and I typed in "fastboot-windows boot recovery.img" in the command prompt and keep receiving the message "cannot load recovery.img"

 

[AbuYazeedUK]

I'm back with a factory nandroid backup and flashed AOKP ROM with all my apps and 10gb space left sweet thanks for help guys :thumbup:

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[2defmouze]

I'm having some trouble with rooting the phone,I've unlocked it and I typed in "fastboot-windows boot recovery.img" in the command prompt and keep receiving the message "cannot load recovery.img"

Check that you renamed the file correctly. If windows kept the .img extension hidden you may have only needed to name it "recovery".

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[CommanderBob22]

Check that you renamed the file correctly. If windows kept the .img extension hidden you may have only needed to name it "recovery".

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Renaming it worked. Thank you so much for this guide!

 

[Evil Betty]

Sorry if this has been asked many times...So to make a Nandroid backup with the recovery not permanently flashed, I can go into the bootloader, plug my phone in, do the "fastboot boot recovery.img" then just proceed to the recovery option? Because right now I get the little dude with a red "!"

 

[2defmouze]

Sorry if this has been asked many times...So to make a Nandroid backup with the recovery not permanently flashed, I can go into the bootloader, plug my phone in, do the "fastboot boot recovery.img" then just proceed to the recovery option? Because right now I get the little dude with a red "!"

Yes, you're seeing stock recovery right now. Boot the custom one temporarily and do as you desire

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Evil Betty]

Yes, you're seeing stock recovery right now. Boot the custom one temporarily and do as you desire

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Ok sounds good. And thanks for putting together the guide. It's nice having all the files needed together in one place and it was very easy to follow.

 

[2defmouze]

Ok sounds good. And thanks for putting together the guide. It's nice having all the files needed together in one place and it was very easy to follow.

No problem, good to hear you got everything you need!

 

[corance]

Where can I put titanium backup so I don't lose it when I flash a ROM? I hate having to download it again to restore my backups. Also, is there a way to make the backup of my apps smaller? Like a zip or something so my backup isn't taking up 1 gig of space?

 

[2defmouze]

Where can I put titanium backup so I don't lose it when I flash a ROM? I hate having to download it again to restore my backups. Also, is there a way to make the backup of my apps smaller? Like a zip or something so my backup isn't taking up 1 gig of space?

You can create a zip within TiBu to flash after the ROM, so it will be installed when you boot up. Check the link in my signature to the TiBu guide I wrote

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Evil Betty]

Maybe shouldn't belong in this thread but hopefully someone can help. I downloaded AOKP and the Gapps packages from here ([ROM] [4.2.1] AOKP :: jb-mr1 :: build-1 :: mako - xda-developers) and flashed AOKP and then Gapps. Everything seems to be fine except the Google apps aren't there. Play Store, Gmail, and Messaging are there but that's about it. I tried doing it twice, wiping/factory reset each time and same thing. Any ideas? Is there any difference just downloading them manually from the play store?

 

[2defmouze]

Maybe shouldn't belong in this thread but hopefully someone can help. I downloaded AOKP and the Gapps packages from here ([ROM] [4.2.1] AOKP :: jb-mr1 :: build-1 :: mako - xda-developers) and flashed AOKP and then Gapps. Everything seems to be fine except the Google apps aren't there. Play Store, Gmail, and Messaging are there but that's about it. I tried doing it twice, wiping/factory reset each time and same thing. Any ideas? Is there any difference just downloading them manually from the play store?

The gapps packages don't include apps available in the Play Store, helps save space.. You can just download and install them from the Store

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2