How do I back up my system without already having rooted it?

[apchar]

I have a MID9742-8. I want google play so I've got to root the thing. I've read enough horror stories to know I need to back up the system first. But all the messages I've seen so far and software like nandroid require that I already have root access. Kinda defeats the purpose. So how do I back-up the system without already having rooted it?
Thanks

 

[Traveller]

You don't. Root is mandatory to get the boot and recovery partitions when doing the system dump. Rooting isn't the source of the problems you've read about so go ahead, root, and do the system dump.

 

[Frederuco]

You can back up your apps and data with MyBackup (free for 30 days or something).

You cannot back up the entire system without root.

 

[apchar]

You don't. Root is mandatory to get the boot and recovery partitions when doing the system dump. Rooting isn't the source of the problems you've read about so go ahead, root, and do the system dump.

OK Traveller. I see you have the same device & I'm assuming you rooted it. I've been perusing the forums on 3 different boards & what rooting method works depends on who you ask. What did you do? Someone somewhere said the MID9742-8 has 2 different touchscreen drivers depending on when it was made and it matters when rooting. Do you know how I can determine which I've got and which you've got?
Thanks

 

[Traveller]

You assume correctly.

The actual rooting process is relatively painless, and the Development Index in Generation 3 Development includes all the tools you need to root. But once you root and make your system dump (highly recommended!) you have a choice:

• Install a pre-rooted ROM using Livesuite.
• Install Clockworkmod recovery then flash a custom ROM.
• My choice (keep reading).

I will tell you right now, I do NOT recommend using the Livesuite method to get a custom ROM on the device as the chances are very good that you will end up with a tablet that will not work properly. Even worse, there's no way to determine which variant you have without putting a ROM on it. This is why the system dump is so important, because you can go back to stock using that if necessary.

Now, you wanted to know what I did? Here's the answer.

1. Rooted my tablet.
2. Did a system dump.
3. Installed Clockworkmod Recovery.
4. Performed a nandroid backup.
5. Installed the Google apps using a flashable zip from Goo.im Downloads - Browsing gapps .
6. Booted and set things up just the way I wanted them, but did NOT set up my Google account on the tablet. This included adding my modified build.prop, the missing XML files in \system\etc\permissions, and my modified framework-res.apk.
7. Went into CWM and did a second nandroid backup.
8. Rebooted, set up my Google account and added all the apps I wanted on the tablet.
9. Went into CWM again and did a third nandroid backup.
10. Rebooted and used the tablet normally from that point.

The TL;DR version is this: I rooted, installed CWM, but did NOT install a custom ROM at all. I customized the stock ROM instead. It's the only way to be certain all the drivers are correct.

 

[apchar]

OK. I downloaded your package CobyADB.zip, unzipped it, fired up a console, plugged in my coby to the USB, and ran root_restore.bat. It said
* daemon not running. Starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *

And that's it. It just sits there. The menu I see in the bat file never comes up. After a few minutes I hit ctrl-C and tried again. This time I get "Waiting for Kyros..." and that's all.
Did I do something wrong??

 

[littlerobbie1966]

please help . i have a flytouch v11 . when i trun it on all that come up is . emergency call . how do i get it to work , ie get that of . am going mad here .lol. someone please help . thanks

 

[Traveller]

OK. I downloaded your package CobyADB.zip, unzipped it, fired up a console, plugged in my coby to the USB, and ran root_restore.bat. It said
* daemon not running. Starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *

And that's it. It just sits there. The menu I see in the bat file never comes up. After a few minutes I hit ctrl-C and tried again. This time I get "Waiting for Kyros..." and that's all.
Did I do something wrong??

Yep. You didn't install the driver. If running Windows, connect the tablet then go into Device Manager. Look for an Android device and change the driver to Android ADB interface.

 

[Traveller]

please help . i have a flytouch v11 . when i trun it on all that come up is . emergency call . how do i get it to work , ie get that of . am going mad here .lol. someone please help . thanks

You might want to ask on the Flytouch forums. This forum is for Coby's current line of tablets.

 

[apchar]

Yep. You didn't install the driver. If running Windows, connect the tablet then go into Device Manager. Look for an Android device and change the driver to Android ADB interface.

The only listing is for "Coby MID9742 USB Device" under Disk drives. It's listed twice. The current drivers for each are C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\disk.sys & C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\PartMgr.sys.
Where do I find the driver to the Android ADB interface? I dont see any .sys files in the CobyADB zip file or in the development index thread.
Why is it listed twice?
BTW, when I plug my coby in a screen comes up on the device with a "Turn on USB storage" button. Should I?

 

[Traveller]

You're looking for .sys files when you should be looking at the pair of .dll files in the root of the zip, where ADB.exe is located. Those are your drivers.

And no...you don't turn the storage on. You do have to make sure your USB Debugging is enabled on the tablet.

 

[apchar]

When I turned on "USB Debugging" on the coby a new device titled "Android" appeared under "Other Devices" in the Device Manager. I was encouraged... It didn't last. It asked me to install the drivers. I directed it to my CobyADB directory but apparently it didn't see what it wanted because the dll files weren't listed & the OK button wouldn't light up. I tried copying the 2 dll files to c:\windows\system32\drivers and highlighted that directory but it still wouldn't recognize those 2 files (or anything else). So I moved them to system32 and, although the OK button was enabled, it still couldn't find them.
So I did something stupid.
I couldn't figure out what to do with those dll files (I've never manually installed a windows driver) I googled "install adb driver" and got what looked like a step-by-step guide on theunlockr,com. Following their directions I installed the Android SDK including the platform tools and google usb driver package. Then in the platform tools directory, I typed adb devices. It gave me the same message about the daemon but didn't list my device under "List of Devices attached". Following their instructions I installed something called PDANet. Just the installation of this should install the drivers. What it did was remove Android from "Other Devices" and add an Android phone device. Now my PC thinks my tablet is a phone. I unstalled PDANet and the Android Phone device but every time I plug my tablet in it revives the phone device. But it's not all bad news. adb devices now lists what I assume is my tablet
List of devices attached
20080411 device
I hope 'device' is just generic for all things android.
Looking in the device manager the drivers it's using right now for this device are
c:\windows\system32\drivers\WinUSB.sys
c:\windows\system32\WdfCoInstaller01007.dll
c:\windows\system32\WinUSBCoInstaller.dll

I assume it's those last 2 files that need to be replaced with your AdbWinApi.dll & AdbWinUsbApi.dll but how do I do that?

I appreciate your patience traveller. If you can help me through this quagmire I'll compile it into sticky-worthy step-by-step how-to for noobs like me and you'll never have to answer this question again. At least for the MID9742.

 

[Traveller]

Well, in that regard I may have steered you slightly off target in that you shouldn't be pointing the drivers to the ADB directory. The fact you had an Android device show up in other devices is a good sign. Now you need to do the following:

1. Right click the Android Device in Other Devices and select "Update Driver Software".
2. Click on "Browse my computer for updated software".
3. Click "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".
4. Select "Show All Devices".
5. Scroll down to "Google INC" and select "Android Bootloader Interface" and click OK.
6. Windows may throw up a warning about the driver not being compatible. Click OK anyway.

The driver will install and you will know if it's properly installed because the device will change names on the Device Manager. If Android Bootloader Interface for some reason isn't correct, Android ADB Interface should also work. Oh, and for the record, this process applies to all Generation 3 tablets and quite possibly every Android device ever made. In other words, this is the absolute rock bottom basics of the rooting process.

 

[apchar]

There is no longer an Android device under 'other devices.' It was replaced by Android Phone -> Android ADB Interface and if I uninstall it it just reinstalls itself. It also wont let me alter it. When I

right-click on Android ADB Interface
select Update Driver
choose "Install from a specific location" -> Next
choose "Don't search. I will choose the driver to install." -> Next

The only device listed is the Android ADB Interface. Clicking Next just re-installs the old drivers. I can't change the device or the drivers associated with it.

Uninstalling the Android Phone -> Android ADB Interface doesn't help. The next time I plug my coby in it just revives both and insists on the old drivers.

I need to get back to where I was: with Android listed under "Other Devices" & no mention of an Android Phone or ADB Interface. That PDANet did something permanent. I went through the registry eliminating all things PDANet. That didn't help. BTW, if it matters, I'm using Windows XP SP3.

 

[Traveller]

You'll have to do a system restore to a point prior to your install of PDA.net then try again.