Develop Bugs

[Q] Wiping Internal SD Card?

When I start from scratch I really like to start from scratch, including wiping the Internal SD card.
I would suppose this would happen during a factory reset but to my surprise it leaves all that intact.
I tried to do using CWM and ACS but it is not straight forward and I actually choose format SDCARD and it wiped my EXTERNAL card, which sucks but is not really that big of a problem.
And in ACS it said it could not mount my sd card. Hmmm.
I just ODIN'd the stock EG30 ROM and my data is still there! Jeez they make it hard to get rid of.

OK. DUH. Well, kind of DUH. You would think a FACTORY RESET would wipe this info, but you have to go to Settings > Storage > Format USB Storage.
That is pretty poor naming convention. It is not connected to USB but they call it USB storage? Weird. Anyway, the answer is here for those who want it.

[Q] How to recover data after factory data reset?

After I upgraded my nexus OTA to 4.0.2, my nexus randomly turned off by itself. So I did the factory data reset, but I forgot to backup my phone. I need help recover my images from before

rennerwin said:
After I upgraded my nexus OTA to 4.0.2, my nexus randomly turned off by itself. So I did the factory data reset, but I forgot to backup my phone. I need help recover my images from before
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once it's gone, it's gone.

If you have a backup, restore it
If you don't, why the heck not? YOU'RE SCREWED.

Yeah unfortunately it's gone. Get Titanium Backup from the market and perform a backup. you can set it up to automatically backup any changes, i think.....I haven't tried that option yet. RomManager will backup your current rom if that interests you.

If you can find a way to mount mass storage (which as far as I know isn't possible yet) you can use any number of data recovery utilities to get your data back.
No removable SD card + no USB mass storage is kind of a major fail and my only regret about owning this device...

Data req after reset
DEAR ALL
I HAVE RESET MY MOBILE SAMSUNG GT-I9100 BEFORE DATA BACK AND XDA registration
CAN I RECOVER MY DATA PHOTOS AND VEDIOS
PLEASE HELP AND REPLY
THANKS

laxman.pol said:
DEAR ALL
I HAVE RESET MY MOBILE SAMSUNG GT-I9100 BEFORE DATA BACK AND XDA registration
CAN I RECOVER MY DATA PHOTOS AND VEDIOS
PLEASE HELP AND REPLY
THANKS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Caps isn't necessary friend, if they are on your virtual SD card they should still be there. If you've wiped the SD card you can't recover them.

ronnievathers said:
Factory reset will delete all data on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good job replying to a 22 month old thread.

you can recover data from android phone with android data recovery software, here's a good one: recover files from android phone
hope this helps.

Android Data Recovery can solve your problem of Samsung internal memory data loss easily and effectively. It allows you scan and preview your lost data from internal memory, as well as deleted files from SD card. Contacts, messages, pictures, and videos can be got back without any difficulties, just following the simple steps below. Now, read on and follow us, know how to recover lost data form Samsung internal memory with this magic program.

maybe a silly Q, little help

hey guys,
Im about to unlock my boot loader, im following the instructions from this thread.
Unlocking Your Bootloader
Words of warning - unlocking your boot loader will wipe your data partition
Things you have put on your internal memory will be fine but all of your apps etc will be gone.
my question is "Where is that internal memory?"
I did a factory reset twice and it erased all my pics, music every thing, weren't they in the internal memory?
Im sorry if its a weird question im confused and I dont want to go into recovery with no rom
thanks XDAs

I stand to be corrected, but the data partition is AKA "internal storage."
The "phone storage" is /sdcard.
So wiping data partition means apps and text messages disappear, but not music or video that would show up if you plugged into pc and used as mass storage

jam256 said:
I stand to be corrected, but the data partition is AKA "internal storage."
The "phone storage" is /sdcard.
So wiping data partition means apps and text messages disappear, but not music or video that would show up if you plugged into pc and used as mass storage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks m8
how do I know if my pics and music are in the SD card or internal? I use mass storage to put my files on the phone.
maybe this sounds stupid but how dose the factory reset erase my pics if there in the phone storage (SD)
thanks again

mr.dj26 said:
thanks m8
how do I know if my pics and music are in the SD card or internal? I use mass storage to put my files on the phone.
maybe this sounds stupid but how dose the factory reset erase my pics if there in the phone storage (SD)
thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They still always be on sd. As the phone stores all your pics videos etc on the sd partition. The internal 2gb memory is for apps.
I think when you factory reset it gives you an option to tick if you want to wrote your files or something
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA Premium App

Simply put, if it shows up on your mass storage, it wont be affected by factory reset

jam256 said:
Simply put, if it shows up on your mass storage, it wont be affected by factory reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks guys, i really appreciate your help.
another guy also had the same problem, after rebooting the phone, a black screen comes up and we had to make a factory reset and it erased every thing even the SD
Thank you both

[TIP] How to regain [possible a lot of] internal storage

I tried something tonight and I think discovered a great way to regain internal storage. I had about 1gb left internally and I couldn't figure our what was taking up so much data because it didnt seem like even my largest apps added up to what I was using. The steps reclaimed 7.5gb of space. Thats a lot of "unknown" data if you ask me.
WARNING: THIS WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR INTERNAL STORAGE. Make sure photos, music, downloads, etc. are backed up elsewhere first. (I.e. I had to go into this knowing I would lose all of my Spotify music.)
1) Make a titanium backup of everything just in case something goes wrong with step 2.
2) Reboot into recovery and make a nandroid backup that you SAVE TO EXTERNAL SD Card.
3) Wipe data. I know on TWRP it will show a red triangle and remind you you don't really have to do this. Go forth boldly knowing you have a nandroid.
4) restore your nandroid.
5) reboot and see how much more internal data you have now (share here if it worked.
If anyone smarter than me at android (who are many) and can offer additional input on this, please feel obliged. I can honestly say this worked for me and my phone works just perfectly (and looks thinner doing it )
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

I also apologize if this is the oldest trick in the book and I have only just discovered it. But, I know I'm no the only one still figuring out android.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

I think that wipe removes everything from your internal SD card.
And I could be wrong, but I don't think restoring a nandroid will restore EVERYTHING that was on your SD card. Like pictures, music, etc.
So I'd probably suggest backing up the entire SD card contents as well.
Or another option is to use SD Maid to wipe all your old, unused cache/etc. It's safer and won't remove anything you would have wanted to keep.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...en.sdm&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDNd
Here is the "Pro" version unlocker. I bought it and like it a lot for cleaning up ROM's of old junk.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...SwxLDEsImV1LnRoZWRhcmtlbi5zZG0udW5sb2NrZXIiXQ..

Dumb question: you need to save your nandroid to your EXTERNAL SD card for this to work right? Otherwise it will wipe your nandroid too?
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

sgp77 said:
Dumb question: you need to save your nandroid to your EXTERNAL SD card for this to work right? Otherwise it will wipe your nandroid too?
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most definitely. I'll add that to original post.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

CZ Eddie said:
I think that wipe removes everything from your internal SD card.
And I could be wrong, but I don't think restoring a nandroid will restore EVERYTHING that was on your SD card. Like pictures, music, etc.
So I'd probably suggest backing up the entire SD card contents as well.
Or another option is to use SD Maid to wipe all your old, unused cache/etc. It's safer and won't remove anything you would have wanted to keep.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...en.sdm&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDNd
Here is the "Pro" version unlocker. I bought it and like it a lot for cleaning up ROM's of old junk.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...SwxLDEsImV1LnRoZWRhcmtlbi5zZG0udW5sb2NrZXIiXQ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used SD Maid (Pro) and it does give some "relief" to storage. However, I've still not achieved nearly the results I have with this method. Also, you have to select each cleaning method one at a time and it can take a while to process results. It's definitely a great option for folks afraid to take this plunge
Thank you for pointing out about the pics and storage. I'll add a warning to rhe OP. I keep all that stuff on my external card (as most probably do), so I didn't think about it. The Downloads folder is something people might want to back up as well.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

natefish said:
I tried something tonight and I think discovered a great way to regain internal storage. I had about 1gb left internally and I couldn't figure our what was taking up so much data because it didnt seem like even my largest apps added up to what I was using. The steps reclaimed 7.5gb of space. Thats a lot of "unknown" data if you ask me.
WARNING: THIS WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR INTERNAL STORAGE. Make sure photos, music, downloads, etc. are backed up elsewhere first. (I.e. I had to go into this knowing I would lose all of my Spotify music.)
1) Make a titanium backup of everything just in case something goes wrong with step 2.
2) Reboot into recovery and make a nandroid backup that you SAVE TO EXTERNAL SD Card.
3) Wipe data. I know on TWRP it will show a red triangle and remind you you don't really have to do this. Go forth boldly knowing you have a nandroid.
4) restore your nandroid.
5) reboot and see how much more internal data you have now (share here if it worked.
If anyone smarter than me at android (who are many) and can offer additional input on this, please feel obliged. I can honestly say this worked for me and my phone works just perfectly (and looks thinner doing it )
Sent from my SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So just so you know, what you have done here is delete all of your data. Titanium backup only backs up the actual APK and installer data. Any larger games like ones from gameloft and allot of others will now need to download their resources again so once you play those games the space will be taken up again.

whoamanwtf said:
So just so you know, what you have done here is delete all of your data. Titanium backup only backs up the actual APK and installer data. Any larger games like ones from gameloft and allot of others will now need to download their resources again so once you play those games the space will be taken up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a valid point, to an extent. I did not have any games like that installed when I did this and went from 1gb free to 8.5. I gave up playing games like that on my phone because 1) I have an iPad and 2) 16gb is not enough room for that stuff. There is an app (think it's called GL to SD) that will put the extra data those games download onto your external sd card. The biggest thing I lost is Spotify, but I don't mind resyncing that app if it means I just made a heck of a lot more room for more music.
I'm not a developer and I'm not an expert at Android by any means. I do know, however, that my phone runs perfectly fine after this experiment. I think all OS's do this memory cluttering to an extent. I know Windows does and I remember my iPhone doing it as well. I used to restore once in a while just for this reason. So, I don't pretend to know all the reasons, but I can speak from multiple experiences.

whoamanwtf said:
So just so you know, what you have done here is delete all of your data. Titanium backup only backs up the actual APK and installer data. Any larger games like ones from gameloft and allot of others will now need to download their resources again so once you play those games the space will be taken up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The paid version of Titanium is very powerful. There are settings you can adjust. An odd game I enjoy is paradise Island. I have moved it from an HD2 to a pos gb G2x and on to the GS3. You need a large sdsc card.

Just wanted to confirm that I had the same issue and used a similar process to regain my internal storage. In my case, I had deleted a large amount of files (~7gb's) and never gained the space back in available internal storage.. So I went into recovery (I'm using TWRP) and wiped internal storage, system, data, cache.. Then just installed a fresh rom (stored on my ext sd), bingo, everything seems to be perfect again.

+1 for titanium pro, this helps me keep my storage in check

Or, you download Disk Usage from the app store, run it and delete the largest folders which are typically TWRP or CWM backups....thus saving all of your other data.
And everyone that does this will gain back all of their storage, because they will be completely wiping their internal storage.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

I think I figured out one of the problems
Facebook and google both "sync" their galleries with my phone. thus putting upto 9 gigs of pictures onto my internal storage, without anyway of removing them (so it seems???) I can't disable them in the gallery, and I can't find their physical existence in "my files"
Is there anyway to remove them if they've accidentally synced??
although currently it's too late as I just did a wipe to my phone, deselecting those options I figured I would pose the question and hopefully give someone some food for thought.
EDIT: I also assume this is the same with any other account based app that syncs large file directories. (maybe twitter?)

Internal memory folders changed after J.B Kies update?

Hi I have been dealing with this problem for awhile now and still haven't been able to find a fix (without rooting). After I updated JB from Kies when it came out my internal and memory card folders are completely different? Also it says I only have 11.95GB total in my internal memory. The internal memory folder says :sdcard0. And my memory card folder is: extSdCard? I'm not rooted. Does anyone know how to get the folders back to the regular names ext sd ect? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

RPK925 said:
Hi I have been dealing with this problem for awhile now and still haven't been able to find a fix (without rooting). After I updated JB from Kies when it came out my internal and memory card folders are completely different? Also it says I only have 11.95GB total in my internal memory. The internal memory folder says :sdcard0. And my memory card folder is: extSdCard? I'm not rooted. Does anyone know how to get the folders back to the regular names ext sd ect? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is how it they are formatted now. It's not a mistake or anything being messed up. I guess I'm just used the internal being sdcard0 and ex sd card being extsdcard. I don't use myfiles much. I use root explorer and it can displays it as storage and then inside that folder is extsdcard and sdcard. Or there is a fodler just called sdcard for the internal in the root of the file system.
What problem is it creating, other than just being different than you are used to ?

hednik said:
That is how it they are formatted now. It's not a mistake or anything being messed up. I guess I'm just used the internal being sdcard0 and ex sd card being extsdcard. I don't use myfiles much. I use root explorer and it can displays it as storage and then inside that folder is extsdcard and sdcard. Or there is a fodler just called sdcard for the internal in the root of the file system.
What problem is it creating, other than just being different than you are used to ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yhea, i'm having some trouble too. After the update my extCard is totally mess-up. The folders with the pictures and songs are not recognized, and the Gallery doesn't show hundreds of pictures, but i see if i use a file manager. I've synced all my songs so far, but with the pictures is a mess: seems also the format is not recognized anymore and with Kies i'm not seeing a way for put the pictures in the new folder named "Photo". It's really frustrating.

hednik said:
That is how it they are formatted now. It's not a mistake or anything being messed up. I guess I'm just used the internal being sdcard0 and ex sd card being extsdcard. I don't use myfiles much. I use root explorer and it can displays it as storage and then inside that folder is extsdcard and sdcard. Or there is a fodler just called sdcard for the internal in the root of the file system.
What problem is it creating, other than just being different than you are used to ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cannot use the Apps2sd app anymore. And basically I would just like to be like before the update.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

i'll try not to rant too hard but Kies and OTA firmware updates are a joke. you are essentially dirty flashing one rom over another with no real clearing of caches, no resetting, no way for all the programs to regroup, rebuild and run on the system hardware/software properly. the thing about dirty flashing is, it sticks well with some devices but generally not with many others. you'll see these types of issues many times among the avid flashers and those that must have the latest release of a developers rom.
i would recommend backing everything up, booting into stock recovery, wiping data/factory reset and wiping cache. if you decide to perform another update via kies in the future, i would do this procedure before AND after the update.
yes, you have to start over when you perform these sorts of actions but you have to ask yourself, are you happy with how your device is performing now (before the update)? is it worth starting over? (it might be if you're going to run on the updated OS for a year or so) and how well do you want it to perform after you install the update?
cheers
EDIT: i just assume everyone accesses recovery and download mode so i didnt post the button combo. recovery is: Volume Up + Home + Power. release just the power button when you get a vibrate.

RPK925 said:
Also it says I only have 11.95GB total in my internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is normal for a 16GB SGS3. 16GB is advertised but actual formatted available space is less. 11.95GB is right on par. This is the case for just about all devices that have memory that is writable, including hard drives on a computer.
RPK925 said:
I cannot use the Apps2sd app anymore. And basically I would just like to be like before the update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any particular reason why you are using Apps2sd? $10 to $20 will land you an external memory card with huge amounts of space (32GB at least). This is plenty to store music, photos, and other misc. files. And even with a ton of apps installed to internal, you still should have ample space left over. There is just no good reason to use Apps2sd on this phone as it has so much internal memory. If this is just to keep you from losing data, then I would suggest rooting and using an app such as Titanium Backup as it makes it super easy to restore apps and the corresponding data after anything that requires a factory reset.
simonMac777 said:
Yhea, i'm having some trouble too. After the update my extCard is totally mess-up. The folders with the pictures and songs are not recognized, and the Gallery doesn't show hundreds of pictures, but i see if i use a file manager. I've synced all my songs so far, but with the pictures is a mess: seems also the format is not recognized anymore and with Kies i'm not seeing a way for put the pictures in the new folder named "Photo". It's really frustrating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated by xBeerDroidx, factory reset from stock recovery. You will have to re-setup your device but it will be a one time frustration for now until the next update.

As stated by xBeerDroidx, factory reset from stock recovery. You will have to re-setup your device but it will be a one time frustration for now until the next update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually i did.
After the update, without factory reset, everything was (almost) fine… except a strange malfunction of the Gps (lock signal lost after a while) and sporadic reboot without reason. For the Gps I’ve found here the solution (NV Rebuild), but for the reboot… I wasn’t sure about it. So I decided for a factory reset. After that my ext card, with the ICS paths, was not recognized. So bucked up everything, format the ext card and let Kies sync my files and create all the folders needed from JB: Camera Photo Video for pictures, and media for the music. Now I’m let’s say 90% ready to go… I’m curios to test especially the Gps.