[Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy Nexus

[Cyber Warrior]

INDEX OF THIS THREAD
Post #1: Backing Up & Restoring ROM's/Nandroid >> You're Here <<
Post #2: Installing/Flashing ROMs, Kernels, Themes & MODs >> Click Here <<
Post #3: List of ROMs/Kernels/Themes/Mods >> Click Here <<
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Market Link: ROM Manager (free)
Market Link: ROM Manager (premium)
In order to use ROM Manager, you must be rooted.​

GETTING STARTED
Go to the Market and Download ROM Manager > -Once installed, open ROM Manager
Flash ClockworkMod Recovery: This only needs to be done once when first installing the app or whenever an update is available.

Next reboot your phone

BACKUP
Create a Nandroid and backup your current ROM:

What is a Nandroid Backup? Nandroid is a set of tools that will enable anyone who has root on their Android device to make FULL system backups, in case something goes wrong or you want to try out that new experimental ROM/theme. It will return your phone back to the condition it was in when you made the backup.

There are two ways of doing this:
From ClockworkMod Recovery OR From ROM Managers "Backup Current ROM" option.
What's the difference? None really, both ways will create a nandroid backup. It's always good to manually learn what goes on in recovery and not rely on an app to do everything for you. One plus of using the "Backup Current ROM" option is, you get to rename the backup file right away if you like to (there's no need to use a file manager app to find the backup and rename it). One negative is if you ever use the "Manage and Restore Backups" option and you need to restore a backup, there's no option for wiping the caches (supposedly you don't need to when restoring a backup but it's better to be safe then sorry and not have to worry about something going wrong). Another reason would be if you are ever not able to get into ROM Manager and you physically have to boot the phone into recovery. So, for that reason + others that I will mention later in the Installing ROMs section... This tutorial will show you manually how to do things in recovery.

Note: use volume up and down buttons to scroll up and down the menu list and the power button to make selections.​

The backup may take up to 10-15 minutes.​

Now that you have installed CWM Recovery and performed a full system backup, you are ready to install/flash Android themes, kernels, tweaks and custom ROMs. Proceed to next post: Install ROMs/Kernels/Themes with ROM Manager ​

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RESTORE
Restore a Nandroid Backup

Repeat steps 1-3 from Backing Up

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Install ROMs/Kernels/Themes/Mods with ROM Manager

INSTALL
As mentioned above, another reason I'm using ClockworkMod Recovery and not ROM Manager's "Install from SD Card" option is: ROM Manager may not always be there for you and is also known to cause problems at times when flashing. You can use the "Install ROM from SD Card" option but I still recommend learning how to use ClockworkMod Recovery also.

*** Please make sure you backup your existing ROM before going any further ***​

Search through the list of ROMs, Kernels, Themes, etc.. and find what you would like to flash/install.
Download the file of your choice and leave the folder zipped.

Note: You only need to wipe the User Data when flashing ROMs. If you're just flashing Themes, Kernels or MODs... then skip steps 3 & 4 and only wipe the Cache Partition and the Dalvik Cache. (instructions below)

Once both caches are wiped, proceed to flashing a new ROM/Theme/Kernel/etc..
If you're flashing a ROM... don't forget to flash GApps after the ROM:
-install from sd card (ABCD ROM)
-install from sd card (GApps/Google Apps)
-reboot phone

Your phone will now load up with the new ROM/Mod/Theme/Kernel.
_________ __________________________________________________________​

Common F&Q:
Do I need to wipe the data when flashing themes, kernels, mods? No, only when flashing between different ROMS. Just wipe the cache partition & dalvik cache.
Do I need to wipe the data when upgrading to a newer version of the same ROM? You could most likely get away with not wiping the data going from ROM ABC v1.2.3 to ROM ABC v1.2.4 without a problem, but it's better to be safe then sorry.
I can't access ROM Manager, How do I get back into recovery mode? Power off your phone. Once the phone is turned off, Hold volume down + volume up + the power button at the same time until the phone starts up in Fast Boot. Use the volume keys to choose Recovery and press the power button to select it. The phone will boot you into ClockworkMod Recovery the same way ROM Manager would have. You can now access your backups or whatever else you need to get to.

 

[Cyber Warrior]

List of ROMs/Kernels/Themes/Mods available for the Galaxy Nexus

Click here to see what's available:
COMING SOON...

 

[davidnc]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

Another easy to follow guide

 

[Cory Streater]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

Outstanding work!

 

[Iceman0803]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

Nice Work!

 

[NotJustAPhone]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

Thanks Cyber Warrior. Your guide to ROM backups and flashing for the Thunderbolt got me started back when I was learning how to use my-then spiffy new Android phone. Now, many ROMS and nine months later, glad to see you're helping out the folks over here in the Galaxy Nexus section.

 

[tntdroid]

You are a animal and a awesome asset to Android central. Thank you for all that you do .

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[revickulous2001]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

Once again, this is one of the best guides I've ever read. It's super easy to follow. If only every Android guide was as well-written, bricked devices would be a thing of the past.

 

[Upstreammiami]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

when is your book coming out hu ? lol

 

[octo996]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

When I got to the part to set up a nandriod backup, upon restarting the phone I get a screen where it shows the green dude fall over than a red X appear over him.

Any idea what I did wrong?

I had followed the steps before it.

 

[davidnc]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

When I got to the part to set up a nandriod backup, upon restarting the phone I get a screen where it shows the green dude fall over than a red X appear over him.

Any idea what I did wrong?

I had followed the steps before it.

Yup,,,, follow the steps in the quote below by tntdroid ,and you should be all set .Its the part in bold text that I think you overlooked

First step open from manager and select flash clockwork. Select the lte nexus and it will install. Then you need to overwrite the stock recovery. Go in the system with root explorer go into system and find the recovery-from.boot.p and change the name by adding .bak to it so you can get it back if needed. Then go back into rom manager and click reboot recovery. All set.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[octo996]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

I did what you said, but I have the same problem, even after doing the rename.

 

[JakeChance]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

I've had an interesting problem with buttons changing functionality in CWM Recovery on past phones. The basic problem is I can use vol up and down to scroll up and down. Power will selected the highlighted item. However, sometimes after selecting an item power will all of a sudden stop working. Instead of selecting my choice, it makes the menu disappear and the screen only shows the CWM logo. Pressing power again brings the menu back but all I can do is scroll through it. On past phones it wasn't too big a problem as I had the capacitive buttons, of which some would also double as selector. When I experience this issue on my Nexus, I had to pull the battery.

Anyone know the cause and/or solution?

 

[octo996]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

Yup,,,, follow the steps in the quote below by tntdroid ,and you should be all set .Its the part in bold text that I think you overlooked

Question: about recovery-from.boot.p

On my phone it is recovery-from-boot.p

Does this matter or make a difference?

 

[davidnc]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

Question: about recovery-from.boot.p

On my phone it is recovery-from-boot.p

Does this matter or make a difference?

I dont know why it shows a (-) instead of a (.) between those words,maybe someone else will knows more can say if you should change the (-) to a (.) .

I guess you still changed that to recovery-from-boot.p to recovery-from-boot.p.bak ? and it didnt work?

While mine shows recovery-from.boot.p and since changed is recovery-from.boot.p.bak

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

[INFO]As mentioned.. If youre booting into Recovery and get the green robot laying on his back with a red exclamation point... its because you only had temp recovery from ROM Manager and when you rebooted the phone... the stock recovery flashed back over it. If this happens to you... pull the battery and restart the phone. Download Root Explorer from the market. Open the app... on the top right of the screen you will see Mount R/W in a greyed out box. Press the box to change it to Mount R/O. Scroll down to "system" and rename the file "recovery-from.boot.p" to "recovery-from.boot.p.bak" by long pressing on it. Once its renamed... Change the Mount R/O box back to Mount R/W. After go back into ROM Manager and flash Recovery again... now the next time you reboot the phone... it will not get overwritten by the stock recovery.

[/INFO]

 

[robznexus]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

thanks for the guide, newbie here. successfully rooted my nexus and it has superuser and rom manager. just flashed clockwork mod recovery but the version is 5.5.0.2? and also trying to do it manually however when i get to step 3 for creating an nandroid, my phone switches off to the grey google loader and just freezes. i then have to remove the battery... what am i doing wrong? :s

 

[double007seven]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

This may be a noob question but the OG Droid that I had before had a 16gb removable sd card - my new galaxy nexus does not have a removable card.

If I install a custom rom and wipe dalvik cache, clear all user data, wipe cache partition, etc... will I also lose my nandroid backup since all the data on the nexus resides on internal memory? Or will I not have an issue?

The reason I ask is because I lost some photos and videos when I unlocked the bootloader on my phone and I don't want to go through that again.

Thanks!

 

[Honky Kong 64]

Re: [Guide] How To Backup, Restore & Install ROMs on The Galaxy N

I'm trying to do a nand restore but CMW isn't seeing my backup files in either the app or actual recovery. I've never seen this before and don't know how to resolve it. After step 4 of the restore tutorial it just says 'cannot locate file' or something. Any ideas?