[Q] Internal memory even worse after reflashing - Desire Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So I posted this question and I did not get a helpful reply so I am trying again because the problem is even worse.
Basically, I rooted with unrEVOked over a year ago and I have flashed several ROMs, always doing a factory reset andwiping the dalvik cache with Clockworkmod.
I tried Leedroid, AuTrax, Ginervillain, Cyanogen then Oxygen. Perhaps another. When using Cyanogen I noticed I had very little internal memory (about 19Mb) even though all apps were on the SD card. I switched to Oxygen and nothing changed.
NOW I have done a factory reset, wiped dalvik, and reflashed Oxygen and I only have about 800Kb of internal memory.
I thought a factory reset would make my phone go back to pristine condition (albeit rooted) and I could start over from the beginning if I'd totally mucked something up and bricked or crippled it--but wipingand relashing has just made the problem worse!
Is there any solution here?

Youre doing the factory reset via recovery?
If thats not working, try formatting /data via recovery

S-off then change your hboot?!
Are you 100% sure apps2sd is working properly?

use a custom mtd or use one of the hboots at alpharev.nl

Yeah if you want more space you can always S-OFF and then flash a different SPL (hboot).
Also before you flash a new ROM remember to go to mounts and storage and format boot, data, system, cache.

rootSU said:
Youre doing the factory reset via recovery?
If thats not working, try formatting /data via recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm doing "wipe data/factory reset" from the green ClockworkMod menu. And "Wipe Dalvik Cache" from the "Advanced" menu beneath that.
Can you tell me in fairly simple terms what formatting /data is likely to accomplish? I'm up for it if there's a logical reason, certainly. But since every wipe&reflash chews up the little remaining memory I don't want to just be trying every option in the menu until SOMETHING works because at the rate it is losing internal memory I only have 1-2 more wipe-reflashes until it's a brick.

bortak said:
Yeah if you want more space you can always S-OFF and then flash a different SPL (hboot).
Also before you flash a new ROM remember to go to mounts and storage and format boot, data, system, cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, I'll try this (formatting boot, data, system, cache) but is there a simple explanation for why this is necessary and will fix the problem? I was pretty sure every rooting-flashing guide I'd read said only data wipe/factory reset (and sometimes dalvik cache) was necessary.
An explanation suitable for a noob like me, but a little more detailed than "it's a deeper, better wipe"
Thanks!!!

if you don't do it, sometimes it's possible that some of the data and crap from the past ROM gets left over and just uses space.

k.p. said:
NOW I have done a factory reset, wiped dalvik, and reflashed Oxygen and I only have about 800Kb of internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U get only 800 kb after reflash only the rom or even after restoring ur apps?
(maybe a stupid question, but i always prefer to make clarify everything)

andQlimax said:
U get only 800 kb after reflash only the rom or even after restoring ur apps?
(maybe a stupid question, but i always prefer to make clarify everything)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I did a factory reset, wiped the dalvik cache, flashed Oxygen and had 800kb of internal memory before doing anything else (and a barely functioning phone that couldn't even receive a text message but would sendone).

bortak said:
if you don't do it, sometimes it's possible that some of the data and crap from the past ROM gets left over and just uses space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, that's what I figured it would do (and what I figured the problem was, since memory decreased with succesive flashes). So format data, boot, system, and cache but NOT sd-ext (I don't think there's a format /boot option).
In any particular order? And before or after "wipe data/factory reset"?

doesn't matter in what ordered. you only format sd-ext if you have an EXXT3/4 on your sd-card

k.p. said:
Can you tell me in fairly simple terms what formatting /data is likely to accomplish? I'm up for it if there's a logical reason, certainly. But since every wipe&reflash chews up the little remaining memory I don't want to just be trying every option in the menu until SOMETHING works because at the rate it is losing internal memory I only have 1-2 more wipe-reflashes until it's a brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a really simple explanation, which means that it will not be technically accurate, but will give you an idea.
When you delete a file, its not really deleted. It is there until something else overwrites it.
What actually happens is the reference to that file is removed from the File system (be that EXT, FAT, NTFS etc etc). The File system is basically table, or even an address book. The operating system uses this table to locate files that are there (when you request the file is opened etc). But also to locate spaces where new files can be written to.
When the next file is written, it will find a place via the file system that is empty and write to the location. This is usually when a past file is overwritten, although not neccessarily by the next new file.
Even when you do a factory reset, this is still the case. The files are still there, but the file system's "table" is cleared, making it appear empty, therefore able to accept new files.
It could be there is a corruption or failure of the file system where these entries are not properly being removed.
A format also will not delete these files. This is how anyone with a little bit of knowledge can recover some or all of your data after you format your Hard drive, SD card etc etc. What it will do though, is format the drive with a new file system, which will be clean and hopefully free of corruption.
Of course, the cause may be something else but it always a good idea to rule it out.

Thank you very much bortak and rootSU. I surmised generally that the problem was repeated flashing leaving debris and knew there had to be some solution to clean it up instead of going beyond simple root-and-flash. I very much wanted to fix it in one go instead of having another failed attempt and even less memory to work with for a fix. And thank you very much for taking the time for that explanation--I am now a little wiser and it let me know this wasn't an ill-informed "hail mary pass".
For anyone who finds this searching in the future, I formatted boot, system, data and cache and then did a factory reset. Rebooting got me stuck on the bootloader screen. I went back into recovery and flashed Oxygen. Now I have a working Desire with Oxygen and 109MB free on the internal memory.

Related

[Q] How do I format the internal storage and flash with cwm

I've had a bit of a nightmare tonight, I rooted and cwm my nexus within the first hour of ownership and flashed modaco pauls rom however after a couple of days of messing around I found myself wondering how to format the internal storage but still be able to flash via cwm. Have poked around I've found you are able to push the rom via adb while in cmw so again no problem except selecting "wipe" from ics doesnt really format the partition the storage, while when the phone is running and plugged into the computer you seem to have a fresh storage area however the free space is still taking into account of old files. And when I went back to cwm it clearly still showed the old deleted files which seems strange. The only way i was able to clear everything was via the storage menu with ics deleting folders one at a time ?!
So my question is......
Which is the best way to format the internal storage area and once completed am i able to push my rom onto the phone and flash correctly?
Same problem here.
Even with wiping and formatting data, cache, system, dalvik cache and even a factory reset from the running Android, I still have old data from non-present apps in my app list.
Download the Super Wipe script from the Android Revolution HD thread, flash it in CWM and voila - completely formatted phone (bar the user data like pictures, music, etc)
Simplest way is to re-lock and re-unlock back the bootloader
Proyoyo said:
Simplest way is to re-lock and re-unlock back the bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will this has any effect on rom / root?
GBIC said:
Same problem here.
Even with wiping and formatting data, cache, system, dalvik cache and even a factory reset from the running Android, I still have old data from non-present apps in my app list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Grab the Nexus Toolkit in the development section. It will do everything you are looking for plus more.

Quick question on wiping data & "SD"

Will wiping the phone in CWM delete files on the "SD" space of the phone? I've read it is all apart of the same partition, so I wanted to make sure before awkwardly deleting the ROM I am about to install..
I have wiped tons of times in CWR and it hasn't touched the /sd yet. All my files are safe and sound.
Sent from my GNex
Grims said:
Will wiping the phone in CWM delete files on the "SD" space of the phone? I've read it is all apart of the same partition, so I wanted to make sure before awkwardly deleting the ROM I am about to install..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it clears *all* internal storage.
So...which is it?
Maybe I misunderstood but are you talking about wiping /data and /cache? Because when I do this it does NOT wipe the /sd but does wipe all other user data, just like on every other android phone I have had.
Sent from my GNex
Grims said:
So...which is it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wipe data/factory reset on CWM wipes your WHOLE phone, including "SD" card. I advise you to use the Super Wipe Lite script from the Android Revolution ROM, get it here. This will do a complete wipe, except SD card.
A bit of more info, in case you're interested: the SD card is the folder /data/media mounted as /sdcard. When you wipe in CWM, the data folder is emptied as well.
EDIT: i havent actually tried to do a normal full wipe from CWM, im stating the above just from reading other reports here. Maybe the last version from CWM has fixed this, i dont know
EDIT2: You can wipe cache and dalvik as usual from CWM without any problems.
flakz0r said:
Wipe data/factory reset on CWM wipes your WHOLE phone, including "SD" card. I advise you to use the Super Wipe Lite script from the Android Revolution ROM, get it here. This will do a complete wipe, except SD card.
A bit of more info, in case you're interested: the SD card is the folder /data/media mounted as /sdcard. When you wipe in CWM, the data folder is emptied as well.
EDIT: i havent actually tried to do a normal full wipe from CWM, im stating the above just from reading other reports here. Maybe the last version from CWM has fixed this, i dont know
EDIT2: You can wipe cache and dalvik as usual from CWM without any problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured that was how it was setup, but didn't know if CWM had any logic built into it to filter out the folder. I'll take a look at the script, thanks.
The built-in factory reset in Android will also wipe everything.
I did data,cache,dalvik wipe and formatted system going from 4.0.2 to 4.0.3.
I did NOT lose my SD card
The default wipe in ICS clears *all* internal memory. The default Factory Reset feature of CWM does the exact same thing. I've done it twice and it wiped fully both times.
Very interesting direct contradictions going on in here..
Wiping data in CWM DOES NOT WIPE THE VIRTUAL SDCARD. People need to stop saying it does.. it is all one partition but the virtual SD card is not wiped when you wipe data in cwm.. Factory resets in settings will wipe your virtual SD card but cwm WILL NOT.
Edit: sorry I had a long night, but I will leave the caps so people actually read it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
It is quite troubling to read how many people are saying that wiping in CWM will erase the SD card.
It 100% DOES NOT. I have wiped in CWM dozens of times already. I can not say the same for Factory Reset in Android...but in CWM wiping data DOES NOT wipe your SD.

[Q] [HELP ME] restore formatted sdcard partition

There might already be an answer for my question, but unfortunately i could not find anything...
i made a biiiig mistake some minutes ago. i wanted to install a new rom on my phone, so i did a factory reset and wanted to format /system. unfortunately i chose to format /sdcard instead! i recognized it, when cwm wrote "formatting /sdcard", not a second before, when i had to confirm my choice. ((
i did not make a backup of internal storeage before, so all my data (including the photos from my kids!!!) got lost. i immediately pulled out the battery, to maybe have a chance to get my data back. if needed, i could still boot into android, because i did not wipe /system like i wanted to...
is there a way to get my data back (at least the photos)??? PLEASE HELP!!!
PStephan88 said:
There might already be an answer for my question, but unfortunately i could not find anything...
i made a biiiig mistake some minutes ago. i wanted to install a new rom on my phone, so i did a factory reset and wanted to format /system. unfortunately i chose to format /sdcard instead! i recognized it, when cwm wrote "formatting /sdcard", not a second before, when i had to confirm my choice. ((
i did not make a backup of internal storeage before, so all my data (including the photos from my kids!!!) got lost. i immediately pulled out the battery, to maybe have a chance to get my data back. if needed, i could still boot into android, because i did not wipe /system like i wanted to...
is there a way to get my data back (at least the photos)??? PLEASE HELP!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have root, try this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fahrbot.apps.undelete&hl=en
Edit: cancel that. Only FAT is supported.
PStephan88 said:
There might already be an answer for my question, but unfortunately i could not find anything...
i made a biiiig mistake some minutes ago. i wanted to install a new rom on my phone, so i did a factory reset and wanted to format /system. unfortunately i chose to format /sdcard instead! i recognized it, when cwm wrote "formatting /sdcard", not a second before, when i had to confirm my choice. ((
i did not make a backup of internal storeage before, so all my data (including the photos from my kids!!!) got lost. i immediately pulled out the battery, to maybe have a chance to get my data back. if needed, i could still boot into android, because i did not wipe /system like i wanted to...
is there a way to get my data back (at least the photos)??? PLEASE HELP!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no there is not.
all data recovery options require the partition to be mounted. since there is no sdcard, you cannot mount it.

completely wipe the phone?

Just wondering, as i'm probably selling my Galaxy S3 soon... what's the easiest way to completely wipe everything off the phone? Pictures, apps, documents.... everything? Will re-install a custom ROM after wiping.... just want to make sure all personal data is off the phone.
elementaldragon said:
Just wondering, as i'm probably selling my Galaxy S3 soon... what's the easiest way to completely wipe everything off the phone? Pictures, apps, documents.... everything? Will re-install a custom ROM after wiping.... just want to make sure all personal data is off the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I imagine using twrp would be the best way. Not sure if there is another alternative. Maybe odin.
First before wiping system you may want to wipe internal storage (after backing up your internal storage to your computer or something first of course). Then boot up your current system and transfer a rom you want to install to your internal storage. Then reboot to twrp and wipe system, factory reset, cache and dalvik. Then install a rom fresh and then it should be ready to go. This is what I do after selling a device, before shipping to a customer.
.... wouldn't copying a custom ROM to the internal storage BEFORE wiping System and everything also erase the custom ROM i just transferred to the device?
And i mean wiping EVERYTHING. basically as if the phone was just taken out of the box, and unlocked, rooted, and custom ROM installed. No left over files whatsoever. Don't think wiping just System does that, does it? Wouldn't i do the "Wipe Internal Storage" or something like that? Think that's about what i did on my Motorola Atrix when i sold that.
* edit looking into the wiping system part to see exactly what it erases.
Wiping system, factory reset, cache and dalvik should erase everything except storage. You could wipe internal storage after you freshly install a ROM. But hopefully there are no errors, because you will have no files on storage if something had went wrong during installation. I would also have a ROM file on an external sdcard that you could plug in if you needed to.
You will probably want to leave one ROM file on the device for the person you are selling it to, just incase.
Sent from my Nexus 5
stelv said:
* edit looking into the wiping system part to see exactly what it erases.
Wiping system, factory reset, cache and dalvik should erase everything except storage. You could wipe internal storage after you freshly install a ROM. But hopefully there are no errors, because you will have no files on storage if something had went wrong during installation. I would also have a ROM file on an external sdcard that you could plug in if you needed to.
You will probably want to leave one ROM file on the device for the person you are selling it to, just incase.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I am selling it with the 8GB Micro-SD card anyway, since i've got no use for it with the Nexus 5. And i believe that's what i did with the Atrix. Wiped storage/system/factory reset/cache. Pretty much everything that made sense to wipe.... and just kept the ROM on the SD card out of the phone, just to make sure i didn't accidentally wipe that somehow.
And i'll probably just do what i usually end up doing for stuff like this. Wipe everything, install the ROM and make sure it boots, and just shut it off when it comes to the initial setup screen.
Here are some useful links
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1823906
http://teamw.in/whattowipe
Sent from my Nexus 5

Unsure how to properly wipe without wiping internal storage

Hello all,
Sorry for this semi-noob question. I have had many android phones and rooted all of them but this is my first Nexus device. I've unlocked my bootloader and have TWRP installed and I'm ready to install a ROM. Unfortunately I am unsure of how I can do a full wipe without wiping my internal storage too.
On every other phone I have had, I would go to advanced wipe and then wipe system, data, cache and dalvik cache but I just did that and it wiped my internal storage :/
I had to flash the stock system image through ADB because ADB sideload wasn't working. Now I'm afraid to wipe system again before trying again because I feel like it will wipe my internal storage again. How can I wipe system properly before installing a new ROM?
Thanks!
Now the interesting question here is: What is internal storage?
You seem to think it is the entire emmc, including your system, cache and data partitions but that is not how that term is used.
As far as I have been able to figure this out "Internal Storage" in Android refers to the entire /data partition which in itself again is divided into a user accessible part where your photos, videos, files are stored ( /data/media and mounted as /sdcard/0 ) and the rest of the /data partition which is used for apps you install and their data. That part is not accessible to the user unless you have root.
Now, for 99% of all wipe operations all you need to do when installing a new rom is to wipe the data partition of all user installed apps and their data, dalvik and cache - also called a 'clean install'.
Any rom installer worth a damn will format /system before installing a new rom, so wiping /system is redundant.
TWRP made this very easy: Enter the Wipe menu and swipe the button. Default is to wipe /data (without wiping /data/media), cache and Dalvik. Flash the rom - done.
berndblb said:
Now the interesting question here is: What is internal storage?
You seem to think it is the entire emmc, including your system, cache and data partitions but that is not how that term is used.
As far as I have been able to figure this out "Internal Storage" in Android refers to the entire /data partition which in itself again is divided into a user accessible part where your photos, videos, files are stored ( /data/media and mounted as /sdcard/0 ) and the rest of the /data partition which is used for apps you install and their data. That part is not accessible to the user unless you have root.
Now, for 99% of all wipe operations all you need to do when installing a new rom is to wipe the data partition of all user installed apps and their data, dalvik and cache - also called a 'clean install'.
Any rom installer worth a damn will format /system before installing a new rom, so wiping /system is redundant.
TWRP made this very easy: Enter the Wipe menu and swipe the button. Default is to wipe /data (without wiping /data/media), cache and Dalvik. Flash the rom - done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Internal Storage" as I used the term refers to just the user accessible part of the data partition where (as you said) photos, files, etc are stored. On previous versions of TWRP for phones I have had, you could wipe system, date, cache, etc and it would always leave internal storage intact. Ergo, after wiping, you could navigate to your downloads folder and find the ROM you wanted to flash. The issue I had was that I wiped "system" using TWRP and it wiped my "internal storage", meaning my downloads and photos and everything - leaving me with no ROM to flash.
You answered my question perfectly toward the end with this
Any rom installer worth a damn will format /system before installing a new rom, so wiping /system is redundant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I come from a series of phones where this was not standard behavior for ROM installers, so failing to wipe system would lead to a dirty flash and almost assuredly cause issues. Thanks for the input, I will just do a data wipe from now on.
You shouldn't count on roms wiping system automatically.
A well established rom like pure Nexus for instance does not wipe system at flashing, leaving it up to the user to clean or dirty flash.
Always read and follow the installation instructions that come with the rom and you should have little problems. If there aren't any instructions, stay away from the rom is my advice, especially of you are a new user.
As to your question: go to the wipe menu in twrp. Then do an advanced wipe. Check every box except internal storage and wipe. Then proceed to flash your rom.
peltus said:
You shouldn't count on roms wiping system automatically.
A well established rom like pure Nexus for instance does not wipe system at flashing, leaving it up to the user to clean or dirty flash.
Always read and follow the installation instructions that come with the rom and you should have little problems. If there aren't any instructions, stay away from the rom is my advice, especially of you are a new user.
As to your question: go to the wipe menu in twrp. Then do an advanced wipe. Check every box except internal storage and wipe. Then proceed to flash your rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'm not a new user by any stretch, just new to the Nexus 5x.
As to your question: go to the wipe menu in twrp. Then do an advanced wipe. Check every box except internal storage and wipe. Then proceed to flash your rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what I did when it wiped the ROM file (and all photos/sms backups) from my internal storage. That's how I have always wiped before flashing a new ROM in TWRP and this is the first time it ever wiped my internal storage, hence my question. I think I'll just stick to ROM installers that perform a system wipe. I plan on running the odex stock based ROM I just installed for a while anyway.
The_mamba said:
Thanks, I'm not a new user by any stretch, just new to the Nexus 5x.
This is exactly what I did when it wiped the ROM file (and all photos/sms backups) from my internal storage. That's how I have always wiped before flashing a new ROM in TWRP and this is the first time it ever wiped my internal storage, hence my question. I think I'll just stick to ROM installers that perform a system wipe. I plan on running the odex stock based ROM I just installed for a while anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for assuming you're a newby. Last time i wiped that way in twrp (June 2016) it left my SD card alone. Maybe you checked the wrong box?
peltus said:
Sorry for assuming you're a newby. Last time i wiped that way in twrp (June 2016) it left my SD card alone. Maybe you checked the wrong box?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries, I appreciate the help either way. I suppose it's possible I checked the wrong box but I am very diligent about that because I have REALLY screwed myself over with that in the past. I accidentally wiped internal storage once or twice on my HTC One and had to RUU back to stock, losing everything including root. Luckily recovery is quicker and easier on the 5x (and the phone is brand new so it had no pictures on it).
I'm afraid to try it again even with a nandroid since the recovery files or stored on internal storage so wiping that would leave me SOL too. Like I said, I'll probably just ride on this ROM until the Nougat or so and then make a full cloud backup before trying a full wipe again.
Wiping system did not erase your files. /system is read only, so you nor your apps can store anything there.
I respectfully disagree with @peltus. In those parts of XDA where I "grew up" a dirty flash is a rom flash without wiping data. And I would be grateful for a link to a rom where the installation script does not involve formatting or wiping /system.
I could be wrong but I believe TWRP's wipe of data is without data/media.
Internal Storage wipes the entire data partition.
One if these days with more time I'll give it a try
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
BONUS: What is a data/media device?
https://twrp.me/faq/datamedia.html
The relevant part:
Since /data/media is part of /data, we pretty much never actually format the data partition. Formatting data, of course, also removes the media folder that contains the internal sdcard. When you choose a factory reset [or wipe data], instead of formatting, we use rm -rf commands to remove all the folders except for the media folder so that we can remove all of your apps and settings while leaving your "sdcard" intact. In TWRP we also have a wipe internal storage option that rm -rf's the media folder and a "Format Data" option that formats to recreate the entire file system in case something goes completely wrong or to remove device encryption.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[ ] - added by me.

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