When to Nandroid B/U ???

[PanchoPlanet]

Looked at similar threads but could not find answer...
Rooted last weekend, is there a b/u already in CWM recovery ?? or do I have to go to CWM
and do a manual b/u ? Have herd to do a b/u before installing new Roms or flashing themes, but never herd of just doing a b/u just to on the safe side, the way you would your laptop. Lets say I download an app market/non market and it takes a crap in my phone and all of a sudden I'm getting f/c, boot loops or no boot, at this point would it be safe to say that because I did a b/u, I can go into CWM and restore from there....? VS not having done a b/u as I am at present !
Yes I'm new at this, hope its not a stupid question.

 

[JayWill]

There are never stupid questions, just stupid answers.

To perform a Nandroid backup, you have to boot into CWM and navigate to Backup/Restore on the menu. You can backup whenever you want of course, but I probably wouldn't do it when you just install Apps. Applications can easily be cleared and uninstalled, and rarely if ever cause boot problems like a ROM can.

But as a general rule, it's a good idea to do a Nandroid backup anytime you flash a ROM or Theme, or to a lesser extent a Kernel. A Nandroid backup is essentially an image of your existing system. So if anything goes wrong, or you simply don't like something about what you just flashed, you can easily boot back into CWM and restore your system to its exact state at the time of the backup. Backups are sorted by date, so you can even go back to an older one if you want.

 

[PanchoPlanet]

That was a good answer JayWill72. You made very simple to understand.
Thanks again,

.... Live long and prosper ...

 

[IAmSixNine]

I agree with JayWill72. Anytime i did a major (what ever) to my device i would do a Nandroid BU before i did it. Unless the ROM i was currently using was not stable. Then once i had stuff set up on a new ROM i would back that up as well. This would give me a good starting point in case i start to mess with stuff.

I have not gotten around to rooting my Epic Touch but once i do i can start the back ups all over again.

 

[DataHawg]

I've learned a lot from JayWill too. I'll add this to his advice. I have at least 2 Nandroids of every ROM I ever used saved on my PC and backup drive. It's a good idea to keep them well labeled, organized, and documented so you remember the setups you liked and the ones you didnt. Always save your original backup so you can use it to go back to stock if you need to and from there you know you can root again the same way you did before. If you ever do go back to stock, keep in mind that Over the Air updates from the manufacturers have been known to break your ability to root.
Nandroid backups take up a lot if space so be careful about leaving too many on your phone. This is the first Android phone I have owned that I haven't rooted yet. I probably will someday, but for now it just works and I'm getting used to not messing with it.

 

[JayWill]

I've learned a lot from JayWill too.

Awww thanks, that means a lot. I'm constantly learning myself. There are definitely people out there that know far more than I do. I just have a knack for clearly putting what I know into words.

One more thing I thought of that I can add, regarding applications. While backups really aren't needed for normal Apps you may download from that market, always do a backup if you plan to mess around in your system folder, and possibly uninstall some system apps. Uninstall the wrong system app and you can break your entire ROM. You definitely want a backup image on your sd card in that case.

 

[DataHawg]

I like to give credit where credit is due. Sometimes I get lost in the devs lingo and it helps to have things explained in more simple terms.