Can't get contacts from earlier backup. Md5 sum errors keep me from backing up now.

[zenslug83]

Hey all,

So I was running Liberty 2.(latest update) on froyo for quite some time. The camera application stopped reading the SD card half of the time and it started to feel very buggy. I got tired of it and flashed into recovery and backed up everything. I thought I had a perfect backup but, I always go into titanium backup to take care of everything I would miss before flashing. Within TB I backed up all the applications I use all the time and my contacts/contacts storage. I also attempted to export the contacts to SD card but it wouldn't create the file for me which I assumed was liberty's fault. The only backup I have is in TB and it is still there even after my current woes and I want to get it functioning so I can take those contacts and sync them with google. Up until this little snafu I had never bothered; this is really stupid.....I know.

The fun begins here:
In the process of upgrading to gingerbread, which I did via SBF (version .602). It got stuck in a bootloop. No big, I just did a factory reset (in stock recovery mode) and then I had GB working just fine (then rooted and installed CWM, Recovery, and bootstrap). Main problem was when I went to restore my contacts, via TB, I only had the option for app or app/data. So I did app/data. This crashed my contacts, borked my text messaging, and made my dialer almost unusable. I decided to try and go back to where I was when I made the backup only to find that the backup hadn't been made.


WTF?


So I chose an earlier one. Bad choice: boot loops again. Thus, I had to flash back to GB, since my old ROM was froyo based and I had upgraded........

Except this time I used the linux boot CD(from here:Linux solution to your Windows/RSD lite problems) because my whole backup process hadn't worked. I could only enter recovery mode no matter which backup I chose. When I finally got back to GB, I rooted, then made a backup and it had an error with the MD5 sum right at the end. So when I went to restore it didn't work at all. This is still going on. I even tried to change the name of the backup using the CWM app, not just the recovery mode. Still no luck.


So, now I have GB running fine, rooted, with CWM and all I need to get going again. However, the nagging truth of my contacts, from the earlier ROM, remains. I am quite sure if I use the linux boot CD to go back to froyo, root, bootstrap, and ROM my way back into liberty; then I can use titanium to get my contacts back. It should work just fine if the contacts application version matches the Tit. backup's version. But I really want to make sure that backing up works before moving forward.

1. Is this assumption, the process of going back for contacts, correct?

2. How the hell can I backup my rooted GB if I keep getting md5 sum errors? (Probably my most significant problem.)

3. Titanium Backup doesn't export vcards, as far as I know, or have any other way to convert the contacts file from earlier into something I can use now does it?

4. Don't tell me about backing them up with google; I wouldn't be in this mess had I done that in the first place....and will now do so until forever.

5. I can't use appextractor, the backup that should have had my contacts was not to be found. (I am guessing this is because of Md5 errors)


The most important thing for me is to attempt to backup my current state of GB, which is a decent beginning point from here on out, and somehow get my contacts back through that over involved process I described afterwards. But if I can't and have to start from scratch to attempt the contact extraction then that is okay.

Any advice on the Md5 sum issue would really help me out.

Thanks a bunch folks.

[Ads]

[jeems]

As for the MD% sum and non working backups, how full is your SD card?

[zenslug83]

Its 13 GB and it's at 7 GB free. Deleted some backups that I knew I would never use but kept a couple just in case.

[jeems]

So that's certainly not it. Not sure why it wouldn't write the MD5 sum. I can offer some suggestions but can't answer all your questions:

1.) I think your assumptions are probably correct. You should also be able to restore your backup from froyo as well once you are back on froyo in case the tibu restore doesn't work for your contacts. I think, but I can't remember for sure, that I used mybackup root to copy contacts before I realized the google method was so much easier.

2.)Try updating/reinstalling CWM through ROM manager.

3.)no idea

4.) You probably should have... oh, nevermind

5.) there are probably other apps that can get data from backups. I know rom toolbox does at least for apps.

hope that helps.

[Goose306]

For MD5 errors, while I'm not sure of the cause, you can easily over-write the MD5 that's in a nandroid to a different one (one that matches your particular nandroid) - course, MD5's are there for a reason, so it may cause bootloops/etc. to do that. But its not too difficult to do that. Also, you're not trying to rename them with a space or special character right? That'll give you a bad MD5 message even if its fine. Alphanumeric characters only.

[zenslug83]

Ill try no space and no characters. Although I was sure I did that.

[zenslug83]

Alright its update time. For posterity and anyone who ends up with this particular problem. TIB does NOT back up contacts. Only a vcard export or backup sync with google/(your carrier) will do that.

Got into an earlier backup in my phone and salvaged 102 of 197 that I have lost. Hopefully its a lesson to anyone who searches for this particular issue.

The Md5 sum error finally went away, and before going back in time, I had two succesful backups ready to go with my GB the way I like it(one powering down into recovery mode and one booted directly into recovery). I followed the path I said I would and got to export some contacts. Now that I am back to GB rooted I went to go and restore a backup,. Wiped data and dalvik..........

MD5 sum mismatch.

Really? After all that? Damn you phone!!!!

Any ideas? Should I just rewrite the Md5 using the adb? Will this brick those backups?

I would really like to be able to back things up and flash till I can flash no more.

thanks again all

[Goose306]

Alright its update time. For posterity and anyone who ends up with this particular problem. TIB does NOT back up contacts. Only a vcard export or backup sync with google/(your carrier) will do that.

Got into an earlier backup in my phone and salvaged 102 of 197 that I have lost. Hopefully its a lesson to anyone who searches for this particular issue.

The Md5 sum error finally went away, and before going back in time, I had two succesful backups ready to go with my GB the way I like it(one powering down into recovery mode and one booted directly into recovery). I followed the path I said I would and got to export some contacts. Now that I am back to GB rooted I went to go and restore a backup,. Wiped data and dalvik..........

MD5 sum mismatch.

Really? After all that? Damn you phone!!!!

Any ideas? Should I just rewrite the Md5 using the adb? Will this brick those backups?

I would really like to be able to back things up and flash till I can flash no more.

thanks again all

Generally no it won't brick the backups assuming the MD5 is correct to begin with - its not changing any of the actual data restored, just the MD5 so you can bypass the security warning basically. But that security warning is there for a reason, so it may just be a bad backup, and allowing it to flash might cause issues if the backup IS bad, and you may have to SBF. So just be aware of that. If you were worried about it you could always just pull a copy to your PC or another folder on the SD before you redid the MD5.

Restoring system apps via TiBu is a real pain as it has to match what it was previously, sometimes exactly. So if you were an update behind or something it could still cause bricks even when your system version is correct. I had this happen the first time I went to GB from Froyo as well, and I didn't know about the vCard backup, and assumed my Google account was synced even though it wasn't. So, my Google account didn't have them and I didn't have a nandroid, though I did have a TiBu file. I learned the hard way (same as you) that you can't restore those. Even when I went back down to Froyo I still couldn't restore the app. Eventually I just went to a stock GB setup and had Verizon Backup restore them (the sales rep set it up when I got the phone and I forgot to take it off) so it had the majority of my contacts. After that was done I promptly made a vCard for permenant storage and immediately synced to Google. lol.

[zenslug83]

Well after reading up on the adb solution I have no idea where to start. I can't tell which sdk to go with.

So I used AFV to analyze the backup and it was the data file that had a bad md5. So I used mand5 to generate one. Of course I made a copy of the file before experimenting so this try was on that. This attempt didn't work; i tried the terminal emulator approach. That didn't work... so I'm stuck with an inability to load my backup of GB and I am afraid any backup in the future will develop md5 problems. I emailed the error to koush so ....i guess its waiting game unless anyone has any bright ideas.

[Goose306]

Well after reading up on the adb solution I have no idea where to start. I can't tell which sdk to go with.

So I used AFV to analyze the backup and it was the data file that had a bad md5. So I used mand5 to generate one. Of course I made a copy of the file before experimenting so this try was on that. This attempt didn't work; i tried the terminal emulator approach. That didn't work... so I'm stuck with an inability to load my backup of GB and I am afraid any backup in the future will develop md5 problems. I emailed the error to koush so ....i guess its waiting game unless anyone has any bright ideas.

You can manually just make a new md5 file and drop it in the backup using 7zip on a PC, that's how I do it. If you want help on that I can explain in more detail.

Sent from my Wiz Wiz MIUI!