yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
Are you on Verizon or at&t - locked bootloaders!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] waywardfrantz:
we're in the T-Mobile forums
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] xda23:
When I back up a ROM using twrp recovery what do I all need to back up.Boot, recovery,system,data,cache,and efs.Do I back them all up or just certain ones? Please help. Thanks!!!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] waywardfrantz:
Since I keep getting advice to do what I"ve already done, here's my original post

Please use the following thread to Odin to stock: http://xdaforums.com/show....php?t=2465764

I've restored to stock and then tried to flash this and I get nothing. Done every combination of stock/chainfire/twrp that I can come up with and get a little android with a red square and 6 options. I went into stock and tried the TWRP and ROM control apps which both said that they installed twrp, and even tried CWM and neither works. WTF is going on. Also did root checker and I do have root.

In case that didn't get through, I've used odin to go back to stock and then tried to work my way up to a custom rom. included every possible combination of using CF-autoroot and not, using TWRM recovery.img and not, used tools on phone that are supposed to install root, used factory resets.

Still every time I try to boot into recovery (or an app tries to boot into recovery) I either get the dead android with a red triangle and a few options, or a boot loop. If I use a tool like ROM manager on my phone it says that I have TWRM and CWM installed, but it can't boot into either.

If you have anything original to recommend please do but I have read through a dozen threads and have tried the obvious things in the first line of every post like factory resetting and reverting to stock. Right now I have it running stock but the bloatware is intolerable and I have to get to something else (been trying KK v1.1)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
Yeah - I realize that - but it wouldn't be the first time, that someone with a different device - posted in the wrong forum.

Only other thing that comes to mind - Possibly a bad download of the TWRP img.tar. From your last post - I'm gonna guess that you already tried a fresh download of the correct bootloader version of TWRP.... Just in case it was a bad download?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
I am guessing that you are booting android right after flashing. This will overwrite any recovery with stock recovery.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
First backup: system, data, cache, efs and modem

subsequent backups: system, data and cache
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] iZack187:
I would like to apologize for I am about to ask a pretty noobish question, but I cannot find the answer anywhere...

-What exactly is the purpose of using rm -rf instead of format?

I don't quite understand the different. In my head, a format will wipe all data, then re create the basic android folders, where a rm -rf will simply wipe without re creating anything... if that's the case then why not always use rm -rf since a new Rom installation will automatically create those needed folders?

-also...as a subsequent question...What is anybody's opinion of that script called GS2RomNuke http://xdaforums.com/galaxy-s2/development-derivatives/cwm-util-hawkers-wipe-scripts-s2-gt-t2100558 ?

I've used it successfully right before installing a new Rom but again...I'm not sure what it's "nuking" more than a regular data wiping or a rm -rf command...

(I come from a Windows background and Android is my first and only source to Linux...)

Thank you,
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] waywardfrantz:
Interesting, what order should I use then? Maybe I missed one.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] waywardfrantz:
Tried it with a fresh stock install (prior to first boot), it starts to boot into it, says "NOT SEANDROID ENFORCING" and thinks for a while, then goes dark and vibrates once. Then it vibrates again and boots into android.

That is the closest I've gotten though.

CF-Autoroot also gets part way

I get a red android with an eye patch, it runs some scripts (one of which says restoring stock recovery) and then reboots. Then when I try and run recovery I get an android dead with a red triangle on his chest.

Android system recovery <3e>

k0t49h.n900tuvucnb4

Hand full of functions from there, "apply update from external storage" sounded nice but it wouldn't work with twrp.

It's got a factory reset though.

I tried to flash it over to twrp from there (I had already tried from a clean stock install, unsuccessfully), and the red android went away, but it just vibrated twice and rebooted.

I also tried pulling the battery inbetween beeps on the restart, no luck.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Selecting rm -rf is necessary for some devices who don't like being formatted with traditional methods. This will delete directories and files on the filesystem without recreating the filesystem itself.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
CF Autoroot will restore stock recovery after it roots your system partition. This is why you see stock recovery after flashing it. It sounds like you have a bad download or are using the wrong file. Since you are using nb4 please use the 2.7.x 4.4 version of TWRP.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] DAGr8:
[MENTION=4463239]waywardfrantz[/MENTION] please post your exact steps from the exact model number +firmware you start with (settings about phone)Odin version u use firmware you flash twrp filename you use where you placed in Odin what was checked etc etc. Be as detailed as possible as your problem is surely just that.. A detail .
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] xda23:
So then when I back up a rom to save it like when doing a nanadroid back up I just back up system,data,cache,efs and modemn that's all I need to back up and then when I want to just hit restore to restore that back up? Thanks In advance!!! :)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
Bigbiff listed what to backup for the FIRST backup - For subsequent backups - System, Data and Boot ;)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Only restore efs/modem if absolutely necessary. Otherwise restore system. cache, data and boot.

Backup boot for all backups too.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
Bigbiff - Just curious - Why would you include Cache in a Restore - Doesn't cache get rebuilt anyway?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
I was having issues when I didn't restore cache sometimes with the default 4.3 rom. Not sure if Sammy was storing something there, but if I didn't restore my Odin created cache, I wasn't able to unlock properly.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
OK - Thanks... I've never restored cache - and haven't had any problems... Maybe I've just been lucky.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Han Solo 1:
This is probably a noob question, but I'm on a stock, rooted T-Mobile Note 3 (SM-N900T), 4.3, Build Number is JSS15J.N900TUVUBM17.

Do I need to flash the 4.3 file, and not touch 4.4? (I want to update to 4.4 once I'm able to flash ROMS via TWRP).

Can I flash via Odin and not lose root?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] 954wrecker:
Correct on the twrp version for your current setup. Once you update officially to 4.4 through Odin you will need to flash the 4.4 twrp.

sent from my note 3
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Han Solo 1:
Got it, thanks.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] waywardfrantz:
got it to work, looks like goo manager was flashing the wrong rom, must have somehow missed it at home too.

thanks for all the help
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Have you flashed the nb4 image through Odin with the full firmware image?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] waywardfrantz:
Yeah odin was only able to go to stock for me, the recovery stuff didn't work.

But I was able to get recovery once I booted into stock. Got "rom flasher" or some such from play store, downloaded the proper twrp for 4.4 and flashed it. Worked fine, now im working on getting the rom I want.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] anhqn91:
Was just wondering if anyone got error restoring backups? I'm on 4.4 BL and TWRP 2.7 for hltetmo. Back up and flash roms fine but when try to restore, got error.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Please post /tmp/recovery.log so we can see what the error is. We cannot assume what the issue is without logs.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
I get a Failed message when I do a back up. Never got this before only last night twice. The backups are in the Twrp/backup folder and seem to be complete. I haven't tried to restore one of them yet. Will try tonight and if they dont work will post a log.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
So now if I restore or fully wipe and install a new rom I get this....on the restore the data is corrupt and tried Philz and same thing. WTF noone else is seeing this?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
I think that I've seen this message before - a while ago... I just clicked on "I'm feeling lucky" - From what I remember - it worked out Ok... But it IS weird!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
Ok so no ill effects from it I guess? Got me worried since my backups are corrupted. I thought the two were related.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
No ill effects from what I remember - but try to make a reliable nandroid - I keep one on the internal memory & a couple on my external sd card & a couple on my pc.. Belt and suspenders security - lol
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
Well I tried a fresh clean indtall of Tweaked rom and srock rom and I get that message every time I reboot now. I have a feeling my data partition was corrupted somehow and ill probably have to odin back to stock to fix. Im just guessing so I could be way off.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
Odin back to stock - Is always a pain - BUT - It's a great tool that Samsung Devices have!

When you've flashed back to stock - Use Odin to Flash TWRP img.tar - Download the custom rom of your choice - Flash it with TWRP - you can skip the whole rooting process ;)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Sounds like you are restoring /data from a different /system rom install.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
Is there a way I can fix it if that is whats happening? Its just so strange 2.7 has been working flawlessly for me since you released it. It just started doing this recently when I ran a backup of my current rom in hopes of flashing another.

---------- Post added at 02:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:04 PM ----------

Could it have something to do with this....

This was posted in Philz recovery thread. Sorry ill get the link if it helps.

Problem restoring data:

Sorry, seems something wrong with new libtar affecting many ROMs

I am digging into it
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
Update....After completely setting up my rom and after multiple reboots and dalvik wipes in the process the message has disappeared. Havent seen any ill effects yet. Iam a bit worried about my next back up and restore though. Will try tonight.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] LillieBennett:
Titanium backup has offered to replace the id for me in this situation. But if you get a problem with an app just reset it's data.

SM-N900V DE
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
What do you mean by libtar? We use an old library we ported over from 10 years ago to TWRP.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
Sorry biff I got that post from philz recovery seems people had the same issue as me. Nevermind just disregard please.

Tweakedkat ,Flatkat and Leankat
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] fliparsenal:
Hey guys I've been out of the rooting and flashing game or a while. I have an unlocked T-mo and rooted (de la vega method). I've found a ROM (4.4) I like and I've yet to flash a recovery. I'm on stock touchwiz 4.3. How would I go about flashing this and a rom?

Thanks!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] force70:
Ive always installed twrp via odin.

As far as flashing roms goes..make sure its compatible with your 4.3 bootloader and then the usual.

Nandroid first!

I also suggest backing up your EFS partition

In recovery/wipe: factory reset..in advanced:wipe cache, data, dalvik, system.

Install rom and reboot.

All good.

Sent from my G2,Note 3 or S4
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] fliparsenal:
Thanks man!

As for EFS backup... this fine?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] RMXO:
What am I doing wrong? This is my first time pasting a recovery.log @ paste.tinyw.in and I get "The main field must have a value" error message.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Try attaching it to your post as an attachment here.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] RMXO:
ok, here you go. Thank you for taking the time in looking at and let me know if I need to provide more info. Last night I stocked back to ODIN and install v2.7.0.0 but it still fails when doing a nandroid.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Try clearing dalvik cache in TWRP before backing up.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] RMXO:
I usually wipe cache/dalvik, repair permission then backup and it usually works but this time it doesn't. im gonna try wipe cache/dalvik and no repair permission when i get home.

EDIT:

I just wiped cache/dalvik only and still fail during back up. If my partitions were messed up or corrupted I wouldn't be able to boot properly right?

So is there anything else I can try out? It's driving me crazy that I can't do a nandroid and TWRP is the only recovery I like using and prefer not to use any other recoveries.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Tunasty:
[MENTION=2638973]bigbiff[/MENTION], have you experienced any issues when making a nandroid backup? Sometimes it says failed

Note 3 is poppin!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] RMXO:
You should provide a recovery.log and hopefully BB will know whats going on. Sadly, i still can't use TWRP to do nandroids & had to switch to Philz to do nandroids.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Dunno, I make them all the time. Problems detail and log please.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Tunasty:
Yeah I'll post a log whenever I make a backup. :)

Note 3 is poppin!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] RMXO:
opps wrong thread.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
Me too. I dont have time tonight but tomorrow ill go back to twrp and grab a log.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] USBhost:
Same there
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Can you upload recovery.log so I can see the issue?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] USBhost:
OK I will do it if I get the problem again

I only got that problem with backing up system
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
I'm just wondering - If there's any fundamental reason - Why people from Tmo etc - Can NOT just use the hlte version?

I'm with Rogers - And have been running "Sprint" & "Tmo" Roms - I have used the hltcan version of TWRP - BUT I have had ZERO issues with the hlte version of TWRP - Flashing - Backups & perhaps most importantly - Restoring.

The version of TWRP I'm using is hlte 2.7.0.3

FWIW
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
n900t is slightly different then sm-n900w8 it seems.

Has anyone else had the system backup issues? I have a potential fix and need someone to test.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] USBhost:
Me me

---------- Post added at 05:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:04 PM ----------

I can test it
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Don't pay attention to the version, but please see if this solves your system issue: http://techerrata.com/bigbiff/openrecovery-twrp-2.7.0.0-hltetmo-4.4.img.tar
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] USBhost:
It works thank you vary much for the fix!!

---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:27 PM ----------

So what was the problem?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
It has been reported on other devices and fixed for a while. The issue was that TWRP was counting the target to symbolic links as full size and messing up the size reporting when generating the tar.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Tunasty:
Can you make a flashable zip instead of doing it through Odin? Thanks for the fix bro!

Note 3 is poppin!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Uploading it now to the usual places.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Tunasty:
Thanks man!

Note 3 is poppin!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
Bigbiff - It's not a big deal - I did a nandroid last night and this morning - I saved the backups to the external sd card - the date as you can see from the screen shot - is incorrect - I did take recovery logs - but in both cases - the logs were Zero bytes.

I'm NOT asking you to do anything - it's essentially just an FYI.

TWRP version hlte 2.7.0.3

SlimKat Rom (if that makes any difference)

You can also see in the screen shot - That the date "issue" is not always occurring.

Again - Just an FYI in case you come across this issue elsewhere ;)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] cam30era:
Out of curiosity, where did you find 2.7.0.3?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
Right here ;)

http://techerrata.com/browse/twrp2/hlte
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] cam30era:
Is that the International version? How does it differ from hltetmo? Will it run on our device?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
I'm with Rogers - My device is the SM-N900W8.

I posed the same question in this thread a couple of days ago.

I'd defer to bigbiff's advice - but You could always try the hlte version - AGAIN - unless bigbiff says otherwise.

The hardware is exactly the same - as far as I know - I've been running Tmo & Sprint (unified) Roms on the 4.3 bootloader with the NB7 Modem - Occasionally - I've had to change the APN settings - but for me - That's been it.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] cam30era:
Thanks. I didn't know that.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] tobiasunruh:
Can some explain why twrp won't let me back up my data folder? It wouldn't let me on the previous version so I updated to the latest and I still have the problem.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Frank Westlake:
By the look of the size of your data partition I'd guess that it is corrupt. Notice any problems yet? You should probably wipe everything, reload the firmware, then restore a previous backup.

Frank
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Can you try flashing http://techerrata.com/bigbiff/openrecovery-twrp-2.7.0.1-hltetmo-4.4.img.tar to see if it fixes your data size in TWRP? Also please upload /tmp/recovery.log.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] tobiasunruh:
I had to wipe my internal SD to fix it. Will a log still help?

Come to think of it I have been having issues with installing apps. The play store has been giving me an error code of - 24 on some but not all apps. Titanium backup is also hanging when installing certain apps. Do you guys think I can fix a corrupt partition?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
Regarding your error 24 - Have a look at this thread - it solved the error 24 that I was getting on one app.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2733038
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Frank Westlake:
That might be sufficient if you are lucky enough to catch it before the corruption has spread, but you can never know with certainty. Corrupt files corrupt memory where other files are loaded to and saved from. Corruption causes numbers to be erroneous, and those numbers often happen to be memory addresses and file pointers. These erroneous addresses and pointers cause data to be read from and written to the wrong locations, causing both the correct and incorrect locations to be wrong -- corrupt. I still recommend wiping everything and only restore a backup if you are certain that it was made before any irregularities began.

Frank
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
Awesome post. That is exactly what happened to me on 2.7. Had to wipe to resolve.

Tweaked N III
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] tobiasunruh:
Wipe what exactly?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
We are using stat() to get the size of all files in /data minue /data/media.

Then we compute the size by dividing 1024 twice to get MB from total bytes.

The only way I can think of this issue would be caused by some sparse file that got written or corrupted on /data.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Frank Westlake:
It isn't your fault. The system is corrupt and is reporting inaccurate file sizes -- that is normal for a corrupt system. There is nothing that TWRP can do about it.

Frank
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] sshafranko:
I odined back to stock.

Tweaked N III
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] Admiral2145:
I had this happen also... Odin to stock factory reset then the internal storage was good... Twrp couldn't wipe the internal for some reason.. It happen after a random reboot
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Fwiw twrp 2.7.0.1 for 4.4 image works on the new ne6 bootloader.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] RMXO:
Yeap, works beautifully but my settings reset everytime I boot into recovery, I'm on the latest. Previous version didn't lose my settings.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Try removing external snd internal .twrps file under TWRP directory and reboot recovery. Set twrp up and see if settings are permanent.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] stevetrooper:
I installed 2.7.0.1 and now my Data for backup shows an enormous number as well. I am not having any problems installing apps or using Titanium backup. Any ideas?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
[MENTION=2638973]bigbiff[/MENTION] - This is interesting - I'm running TWRP version hlte 2.7.0.3 - 4.3 bootloader version - SlimKat Rom.

I did a nandroid and it took less than ~ 40 seconds... I checked the size of the backup - and it was around 500 Meg +-?

Previous backups have been over 2 Gig..

I took a recovery log - but it contained 0 bytes?

I had tried to restore a backup from my internal sd card a few days ago - but it failed - I just thought it was a bad backup - and didn't think anything more of it.

I've been using the same TWRP build for some time - And I've only seen / noticed this today.

TWRP is working flawlessly when flashing Roms etc - And the Backups say "successful" upon completion...

Any suggestions or ideas?

Thanks

***EDIT***

I don't know if I was just really tired - but I think that System was NOT checked off in TWRP - Did a couple of Nandroids this morning - One on the internal and one on the external sd card - Both were complete backups - So all is well... Other than being slightly embarrassed ?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] djtheraven:
I can't backup my data anymore. .. I've tried 2701 and 2700... I'm on 4.4.2... it just says failed but it will backup everything else. .. any ideas?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Can you do a du -sh / in TWRP terminal and paste the results?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
hah, 1.5 gigabyte system 500 meg data?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
After the failed operation, pull /tmp/recovery.log and upload the log here.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] RMXO:
I checked both of my internal and external storage and didn't see it in either location. I also did a search but came up empty. I don't have TWRP in my internal storage. I always change backup folder to Micro SDcard if recovery resets. The next time I boot into recovery I change the location to internal then reboot back into recovery so TWRP is created. Weird thing is I usually see the folder in both locations. I wonder if this is the cause.

-Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] djtheraven:
I don't know where that log is I can't find it... and the TWRP folders says access denied and I can't delete it
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
Can you post /tmp/recovery.log to see if we can see errors?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] bigbiff:
It's in ramdisk and only available in TWRP using adb. Or you can go to advanced and copy the log to /sdcard with a button. Check my sig.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 3] shaggyskunk:
I'm gonna guess yes ;)

But I tried to restore a "good" backup this morning - Sat on the boot logo forever..... Ended up doing another factory reset and full wipe.... ?