I have only linux machines and I'd like to make a backup of my mobile. How to do it, if a simple 'adb backup' doesn't work? On the android the Developer Options and USB Debugging are enabled. The adb backup -shared starts, download about 1-1.5GB from the mobile's sd card which contains about 10-15GB, and stops working. There is no error message, but the backup file is corrupt. If I try to use adb backup with other options, then the backup length is 0 or 41 bytes. How can I backup my device? (Samsung's SmartSwitch doesn't work with wine :( )
1 Answer
Try using dd (need root access). First, look in the /dev/block/ (maybe /dev/block/platform) for a subdirectory called by-name. cd into the directory and type ls -l.
This will give you a list of the partitions names and locations. Once you have the location of the partition you want to back up, insert an SD card and type dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p23 of="/storage/ext-sd-card-path/userdata.dd" (or whatever applicable at if.
If you ever want to restore it, switch the of and if. (OF=Output File, IF=Input File):
dd if="/storage/extsd/userdata.dd" if="/dev/block/mmcblk0p23"
NOTE: Double check you have the correct partition number in the mmcblk path otherwise you may override another partition and brick your device!
Another alternative is to install a custom recovery. However, for both the above and just stated methods require root, and I am unaware of any non-root backup programs that work.
Also, I am not POSITIVE, but I think you need root access to use adb backup (as it uses the Android's internal bu command).
