Will wiping out device wipe out the content in /sdcard/ ?? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Hi,
Sorry for being a noob but i came from android phones with sdcards and this is the first time i had one without a sdcard card slot..
the main question is, if i wipe the device, will the content in the /sdcard folder that i transferred via MTP (photos, music, Nandroid backups, etc) be wipe out as well?
I am asking because I swear the i did a wipe yesterday and ALL the content in the phone is gone, including the things i put in the /sdcard folder...
just need to clarify or maybe i am crazy? Please help..

There is no SDcard. Its all one big partition. Doing a factory reset wipes the entire device. Yes your pictures and videos, too.

lordlad said:
Hi,
Sorry for being a noob but i came from android phones with sdcards and this is the first time i had one without a sdcard card slot..
the main question is, if i wipe the device, will the content in the /sdcard folder that i transferred via MTP (photos, music, Nandroid backups, etc) be wipe out as well?
I am asking because I swear the i did a wipe yesterday and ALL the content in the phone is gone, including the things i put in the /sdcard folder...
just need to clarify or maybe i am crazy? Please help..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the /sdcard folder actually points to /data/media. Doing a factory restore resets the /data partition, including the contents of /data/media. This means everything put in /sdcard will be erased.

That's stupid. Really stupid. I factory reset my phone all the time... Am I supposed to copy everything back over every time... Eh that would suck.
My transformer and G2x had internal memory and a factory reset from clockworkmod didn't touch the internal storage.
Nvbackups would copy everything though.
-sent from temp HTC Rezound waiting for Galaxy Nexus

player911 said:
That's stupid. Really stupid. I factory reset my phone all the time... Am I supposed to copy everything back over every time... Eh that would suck.
My transformer and G2x had internal memory and a factory reset from clockworkmod didn't touch the internal storage.
Nvbackups would copy everything though.
-sent from temp HTC Rezound waiting for Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instead of doing a factory reset, you could just delete everything in /data except for /data/media. That will achieve the same thing and leave your media data alone.

Wiping data and cache in CWM do NOT wipe my whole phone what are you guys talking about? The /sdcard is treated and mounted as if it were a physical SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

joshnichols189 said:
Wiping data and cache in CWM do NOT wipe my whole phone what are you guys talking about? The /sdcard is treated and mounted as if it were a physical SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmmmmmm.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

joshnichols189 said:
Wiping data and cache in CWM do NOT wipe my whole phone what are you guys talking about? The /sdcard is treated and mounted as if it were a physical SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah if you just wipe your data/cache via CWM it DOES NOT touch anything in your /sd card. However doing a factory reset via the settings menu while booted does!

RTContent said:
Yeah if you just wipe your data/cache via CWM it DOES NOT touch anything in your /sd card. However doing a factory reset via the settings menu while booted does!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok just to be clear, because people (me lol) get confused when people talk about the SD card when talking about the nexus. obviously there isnt one...so im assuming the partition that handles the media is what u refer to as the Sd card...virtual sd card. correct? and if i wipe data/cache via CWM it does NOT wipe my pictures, videos, etc...but if i factory reset under settings while booted...it WILL wipe EVERYTHING...i think i got it now if what i just said was correct...

v2.2v said:
ok just to be clear, because people (me lol) get confused when people talk about the SD card when talking about the nexus. obviously there isnt one...so im assuming the partition that handles the media is what u refer to as the Sd card...virtual sd card. correct? and if i wipe data/cache via CWM it does NOT wipe my pictures, videos, etc...but if i factory reset under settings while booted...it WILL wipe EVERYTHING...i think i got it now if what i just said was correct...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

joshnichols189 said:
Wiping data and cache in CWM do NOT wipe my whole phone what are you guys talking about? The /sdcard is treated and mounted as if it were a physical SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1.. all these people are thinking the phone doesn't have a "sdcard." There is a "sdcard" but its more like internal storage. Think of it as a computer,
- Older phones like the G1 rely on the SDCard fully... so this is like running a OS off a USB drive without internal storage (G1 has a little internal storage.. not enough to say that there is one)
- Phones such as Galaxy S1/S2 have a sdcard AND internal storage. What does this mean? It's like a internal hard drive with the ability for external storage (flash drive, sd cards).
Example: Galaxy S2 has 16GB internal storage and expandable storage.
Phones like the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, Galaxy Tab is like.... internal hard drives without the ability for expanded storage (unless you USB OTG a flash drive!). This is just a beyond misconception on the scene and this is what they meant by not having a sdcard.
When you do a factory reset, wipe cache, wipe dalvik... your /sdcard/ IS NOT TOUCHED unless you run a script that says otherwise!
/sdcard/ and all the other folders are treated as two separate partitions!

When you unlock your bootloader and it wipes, that deletes everything, including the sdcard folder.

yea i was about to say this is incorrect information, if you want to wipe everything i believe in the ARHD thread there is a wipe script to wipe everything, even data/media

azr3alazd3ycum said:
yea i was about to say this is incorrect information, if you want to wipe everything i believe in the ARHD thread there is a wipe script to wipe everything, even data/media
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Super wipe lite from the ARHD thread does not wipe the virtual SD card.
--- This script will erase and format your system and cache partition using EXT4 file-system ---
--- It will also wipe /data partition, but /data/media (virtual SD card) will be untouched ---
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

All your personal files that would be stored in SD Card in other devices which has one, are stored under /data partition, at /data/media/.
The /sdcard/ is just a link to /data/media.
There seems to be special handling in CWM recovery image for Galaxy Nexus when formatting /data partition as it will not touch /data/media. It's nice feature indeed, but you cannot now empty your /data/media content without manual work. But normally you don't even want to do that so it's fine.
It would be much more simple to just forget about the "virtual sd card" or /sdcard, since those are just, well, virtual and makes unnecessary confusion.
So our files are now stored like they would be under C:\Users\media. If you format C-drive, you'll lose your 'personal' files as well from media folder. The "virtual sdcard" /sdcard would be just a similar as Windows has as "Favorite" feature, just a shortcut to a certain folder location.

joshnichols189 said:
Super wipe lite from the ARHD thread does not wipe the virtual SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to the full one. Its not out for the nexus yet. He has it for the transformer however.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

hey guys,
found this thread searching for an answer, i'll go ahead and ask it right here as it fits the the topic:
what i want to do when installing another rom is to wipe (system) data, cache and Dalvik cache (and i do not want my private files on the sd card to be touched). it is clear to me that CWM does not touch the sdcard partition. BUT: since all the apps are installed onto the sdcard partition they won't be deleted, right?
i want all my apps to be gone and to have a completely fresh new system installed without ANY leftovers from apps or apps/data or anything else that got stored on the sdcard partition while using the previous rom. of course these apps would not be installed anymore when you boot up the new rom, but all their files and folders would still remain on the sdcard partition, right? i'm talking about all those files that the rom generates itself and stores on the sdcard partition. of course i want to keep all my music, downloads, pictures, etc. but i want everything else to be gone.
to my understanding cwm does not touch the sdcard partition which leaves all the app folders and other android-created-files and folders (that were automatically created when using the previous rom) untouched and i would have to manually look for all these files and delete all these remnants which is kind of annoying.
do you know what i mean?
thx and greetz,
v.

vercetti said:
hey guys,
found this thread searching for an answer, i'll go ahead and ask it right here as it fits the the topic:
what i want to do when installing another rom is to wipe (system) data, cache and Dalvik cache (and i do not want my private files on the sd card to be touched). it is clear to me that CWM does not touch the sdcard partition. BUT: since all the apps are installed onto the sdcard partition they won't be deleted, right?
i want all my apps to be gone and to have a completely fresh new system installed without ANY leftovers from apps or apps/data or anything else that got stored on the sdcard partition while using the previous rom. of course these apps would not be installed anymore when you boot up the new rom, but all their files and folders would still remain on the sdcard partition, right? i'm talking about all those files that the rom generates itself and stores on the sdcard partition. of course i want to keep all my music, downloads, pictures, etc. but i want everything else to be gone.
to my understanding cwm does not touch the sdcard partition which leaves all the app folders and other android-created-files and folders (that were automatically created when using the previous rom) untouched and i would have to manually look for all these files and delete all these remnants which is kind of annoying.
do you know what i mean?
thx and greetz,
v.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you clear all your data/cache when installing a new rom it will also wipe apps that have been installed on your sdcard. This does not include removing folders that apps may store additional data on the sdcard. If you want to remove these folders unfortunately you will need to do it manually.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Installed apps do not go in /data/media, but /data/app and /data/data. I dont think /data/cache exists, /data/dalvik-cache does.
Those are only erased if you do a wipe data/factory reset in cwm/twrp, and for the latter wipe dalvik cache.
sent from my i9250

Related

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.

what exactly gets wiped when i wipe data?

Hello everyone,
after more then 2 years with my trusted N1 i finally had to move to a new phone because i broke the screen of my old one.
having the GN now for allmost a week, and within the first few hours of owning the device it got 3 OTA updates and is now at 4.1.1. i am quite happy with it but 2 days ago i startet messing around wiht it. so i ulocked the boodloader and rooted and got myself franco kernel on the GN.
as expected everything worked fine.
today i wantet to give some 3th party roms a try. i tried installing MIUI and euroskanks cm10. both with rom manager.
but on each of them i got in a bootloop after flashing, just showing the franco kernel boot animation.
i flashed both roms without wiping the data (just the cache)
i suspect that is my problem.
i am a little bit scared about the wipe data option for flashing new roms. on my N1 it worked fine since all my files on the sd card where not touched and i could get started allmost immediantly.
unlocking the bootloader of the GN wiped everything out off my phone and i had to copy it all back from a backup.
if i choose wipe data will that also (again) wipe my complete device or just the "OS part" and leave my data alone?
if it wipes everything how do i avoid having to make a backup of my data and restore it afterwards after each and every rom i flash?
i have noted the mnt/sdcard folder on my GN that (apparently) just links back to the root of the memory. what is the puropse of this folder? just to be compatible with "old" apps that insist on writing files to the SD-card or something else?
thanks for the info
no data from sdcard gets removed.
its basically a "NON REMOVABLE sdcard"... think of it that way.
patlabor said:
Hello everyone,
if i choose wipe data will that also(again) wipe my complete device or just the "OS part" and leave my data alone?
if it wipes everything how do i avoid having to make a backup of my data and restore it afterwards after each and every rom i flash?
i have noted the mnt/sdcard folder on my GN that (apparently) just links back to the root of the memory. what is the puropse of this folder? just to be compatible with "old" apps that insist on writing files to the SD-card or something else?
thanks for the info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. It will wipe your "OS part" + apps. Will leave data in "sdcard" alone. Factory Wipe clears the virtual "sdcard"
2. Can't be avoided, I use Wugfresh's toolkit to make app backups a breeze. Takes a little more time than it used to when I had my OG Droid with a EXT partition but hey, at least you'll always have a current backup of your apps.
3. Yes. It'd actually be less obvious it's still called /sdcard/ if you weren't rooted and poking around . I believe JB switches this to sdcard0 now to account for devices that have external sdcards to be mounted as /sdcard1 and so on.
Ok, I guess I get it.
Just one more thing to make sure.
It looks like all my files are in the root of my phone and mnt/sdcard has just one folder but with the same files as the folder with the same name in my root.
When I wipe data now will it keep everything or just the files in my mnt/sdcard folder?
patlabor said:
Ok, I guess I get it.
Just one more thing to make sure.
It looks like all my files are in the root of my phone and mnt/sdcard has just one folder but with the same files as the folder with the same name in my root.
When I wipe data now will it keep everything or just the files in my mnt/sdcard folder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Custom recovery (AKA not CWM or TWRP or whatever you're using) will wipe your SD card. Just remember that.
All the custom recoveries wipe /data/ while keeping /data/media/ (your sd card).
Nothing on your "SDcard" will be lost.
I'm in the same situation as the original poster and would like a "definitive" answer. CWM has both a factory reset and a format /data option (in a separate submenu). Which preserve the content of the virtual sdcard ? Which is the raccomended way to try out a JB rom? I have 10+ Gb of data in the sdcard and i would like to avoid moving everything forth and back via MTP protocol...
Thanks
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
IF you are using CWM recovery, "wiping data" will erase the entire userdata partition EXCLUDING /sdcard. This means that everything under /data (except /data/media which = /sdcard) will be erased. This includes all apps you have installed in /data, and most data for those apps.
IF you are using a stock recovery, "wiping data" or "factory reset, will wipe the entire userdata partition, including /sdcard.
Wiping data or factory restore/reset/whatever does NOT touch the system partition or return the device to "factory condition". So if you have installed apps in /system or have root, the will still be there.

Questions about Internal Memory

Okay, I'm not quite fully understanding the internal memory on the S3. I used to own the OGEvo (as I've stated several times) and it didn't have 'usable' internal memory like the S3 does. For instance if I were to flash a new ROM (wiping data, cache, dalvik) then everything internally would be wiped. For the S3 I think it's a little different right? http://forum.xda-developers.com/images/smilies/confused.gif As we all know it's 12GB of free usable internal memory where I can put vids, pics, and music (and other crap) there for immediate access w/o having to use my SD card. My question is that when you flash a new ROM (wiping data, cache, dalvik) is the 4GB that's (apparently off limits) the only thing that gets touched? the reason why I ask is because I decided to move a large chunk of files from my SD card to my internal memory so I could use the SD card for something else. I just want to know that all my stuff internally won't be erased (even though I have back ups of most of it anyway, it's just bothersome if I would have to re-sync everything again)
When u wipe data in cwm it doesn't touch your files on your internal memory (SD card). It only wipes your ROMs data. Its like a factory reset. So all your files are safe.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
musclehead84 said:
When u wipe data in cwm it doesn't touch your files on your internal memory (SD card). It only wipes your ROMs data. Its like a factory reset. So all your files are safe.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I needed that verification, lol
yes its your /data folder
18th.abn said:
yes its your /data folder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're saying it would erase my music, videos, and pictures if stored on internal memory and I did a factory reset to flash a new rom??
mstrmscn said:
So you're saying it would erase my music, videos, and pictures if stored on internal memory and I did a factory reset to flash a new rom??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. Flashing a new rom deletes files in /system. Wiping data deletes files in /data. Files in your "internal memory card" are in /sdcard so its fine. You can flash all you want.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SIII on MetroPCS!

where're the ROM zips stored?

Hi everyone...
I am looking at buying an LG e975, which is supposed to be 32GB and no SD card, and I was taking a look at forums to see how active is the ROM development.
I have no experience with phones with no SD, usually with SD, you copy the zip files to SD card and you install them in Recovery...
so.. how is this done with no SD card?... actually... for storing docs, pics, music... does the phone have a separate partition of that internal memory designated for personal data? similar to having an SD?... does wiping Data, Cache, formatting system affect the internal memory where you have your files stored?
I am pretty much curious on how the whole ROM flashing, backing up and restoring of Apps (I use Titanium backup) is done with no SD card.
Thank you!.
atmos929 said:
Hi everyone...
I am looking at buying an LG e975, which is supposed to be 32GB and no SD card, and I was taking a look at forums to see how active is the ROM development.
I have no experience with phones with no SD, usually with SD, you copy the zip files to SD card and you install them in Recovery...
so.. how is this done with no SD card?... actually... for storing docs, pics, music... does the phone have a separate partition of that internal memory designated for personal data? similar to having an SD?... does wiping Data, Cache, formatting system affect the internal memory where you have your files stored?
I am pretty much curious on how the whole ROM flashing, backing up and restoring of Apps (I use Titanium backup) is done with no SD card.
Thank you!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This section is not for the e975. It's for the Sprint LG-LS970. Sorry .
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
Your sdcard is just a directory in your data media folder. It basically works the same as a physical sdcard. EXCEPT you cannot mount it in recovery, so if you wipe it while in recovery you'll have to adb push any files you plan on flashing.
Factory Reset in TWRP wipes /Data, /Cache, and /Dalvik. This does not include your Internal Storage ("sdcard"). It's usually all that is necessary before flashing a new ROM, as a /System wipe is almost always performed by the ROM you're flashing.
However, if you select the Data check box in the Advanced Menu, this will also wipe your Internal Storage ("sdcard"). This is because your sdcard is actually just a /Media folder inside of /Data (meaning /data/media).
Check this out:
http://teamw.in/datamedia
jonahly said:
This section is not for the e975. It's for the Sprint LG-LS970. Sorry .
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my question wasn't related to a particular model but to how the whole ROM flashing and storing backups is done when no SD slot is available... I chose this forum as I did not find one for e975 and they both have same specs.
spackmanbr said:
Your sdcard is just a directory in your data media folder. It basically works the same as a physical sdcard. EXCEPT you cannot mount it in recovery, so if you wipe it while in recovery you'll have to adb push any files you plan on flashing.
Factory Reset in TWRP wipes /Data, /Cache, and /Dalvik. This does not include your Internal Storage ("sdcard"). It's usually all that is necessary before flashing a new ROM, as a /System wipe is almost always performed by the ROM you're flashing.
However, if you select the Data check box in the Advanced Menu, this will also wipe your Internal Storage ("sdcard"). This is because your sdcard is actually just a /Media folder inside of /Data (meaning /data/media).
Check this out:
http://teamw.in/datamedia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aaaaaaannd this is what I was looking for... thank you very much. .
No problem. Glad I could help.

(Q)Flashing roms/kernals without SD? - Noob Question

Hello! I've only been working with Android for a good year but the only devices I've used have had SD cards so I've only ever backup'd, and flashed via an SD Card.
I understand I must either get an OTG cable or push through ADB to get the files on my device after wiping through TWRP right? I've already unlocked the bootloader, flashed TWRP, and rooted through CF.
Is there anywhere I can move the ROM files too in the phone's internal storage that'll stay there after wiping my System, Data and Cache through TWRP so I can select them to flash right afterwards?
Thanks for helping me, I understand it's a noob question!)
Br4nd3n said:
Hello! I've only been working with Android for a good year but the only devices I've used have had SD cards so I've only ever backup'd, and flashed via an SD Card.
I understand I must either get an OTG cable or push through ADB to get the files on my device after wiping through TWRP right? I've already unlocked the bootloader, flashed TWRP, and rooted through CF.
Is there anywhere I can move the ROM files too in the phone's internal storage that'll stay there after wiping my System, Data and Cache through TWRP so I can select them to flash right afterwards?
Thanks for helping me, I understand it's a noob question!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wiping data will not wipe your data/sdcard, so you can download the files normally (directly on the device using a web browser, or USB MTP, etc).
Yes, custom recovery is specifically setup not to wipe your internal storage.
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
SwoRNLeaDejZ said:
Yes, custom recovery is specifically setup not to wipe your internal storage.
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. So put the files into my SDCard or any internal folder and it should work?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Br4nd3n said:
Awesome. So put the files into my SDCard or any internal folder and it should work?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anywhere on your SD card is safe.
arkolbus said:
Anywhere on your SD card is safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SD card? Nexus 7?
douger1957 said:
SD card? Nexus 7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The internal "sdcard" directory
arkolbus said:
The internal "sdcard" directory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah.
CM's File Manager calls it "internal storage" as does Android. ES File Explorer calls it "SD card." You say "tomato" and I say "tamato..."
At any rate, a factory reset will indeed wipe the internal storage/sd card. The ROM the OP is trying to flash will no longer be there. Ask me how I know this.
For what it's worth, here's how I do it.
1) Back up that which I can't reload. Pictures automatically upload to Dropbox for me. Music I can always resync. Your mileage may vary.
2) Factory reset. If I'm feeling lazy or the ROM developer says it's OK, I'll wipe just the cache and dalvik, then flash away. Feeling lazy usually means more work in the end, so I try to avoid that option.
3) Reboot. Once the setup wizard runs... I do not sign on to Google so that it won't try to restore my apps and settings... I mount the internal storage and transfer the ROM zip to the device. I do not download anything directly to my device, but rather my desktop. First off, I trust the internet connection more, second, I can run the thing past my antivirus before I load it on my device. I then transfer it to the root directory of the device.
4) Boot into recovery and wipe the cache, dalvik and system. I then flash the ROM. If there are other files that need to be flashed before the first boot, I do so one at a time. When I'm done, I'll wipe the cache and dalvik one more time, then boot into the system and run the wizard.
When I first got into Android with the Droid Incredible, I was a flashaholic. It'd be nothing to flash three or four times a week. I quickly learned what worked and what didn't. Knocking on wood, I've never come close to bricking a device and usually don't invite trouble by sticking religiously to my routine. That's not to say that I never got a tightening feeling in my nether regions when a device seemed to hang on the splash screen a bit too long.
ROM development is far more sophisticated now than in those days. With both the Rezound and now the S4, I've pretty much hung with one developer and his product and don't flash nearly as much, especially since the ROMs of today are far more stable. But the basic procedure remains the same. The above procedure is modified from my phones past and present, since the Nexus is the first device I've owned that did not have an external SD card, which isn't wiped on a factory reset. I also don't do a nandroid backup with the Nexus, since it's a fairly simple matter to reload a factory image using Wug's Toolbox. That's how I recovered from doing a factory reset and a system wipe on the Nexus... which also involved some tension in the posterior.
douger1957 said:
Ah.
CM's File Manager calls it "internal storage" as does Android. ES File Explorer calls it "SD card." You say "tomato" and I say "tamato..."
At any rate, a factory reset will indeed wipe the internal storage/sd card. The ROM the OP is trying to flash will no longer be there. Ask me how I know this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
douger: the OP was referring to a factory reset/wipe in TWRP, which does *not* wipe the internal storage. I flash frequently on my Nex7 and LG G2, neither have external SD cards, both have TWRP, and I have never lost my data using this method. If you load TWRP and click [Wipe], the exact text is:
Factory Reset
Wipes Data, Cache, and Dalvik
(not including internal storage)​
arkolbus said:
douger: the OP was referring to a factory reset/wipe in TWRP, which does *not* wipe the internal storage. I flash frequently on my Nex7 and LG G2, neither have external SD cards, both have TWRP, and I have never lost my data using this method. If you load TWRP and click [Wipe], the exact text is:
Factory Reset
Wipes Data, Cache, and Dalvik
(not including internal storage)​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It did indeed blow out my internal storage when I first tried it. When I went to flash, there was nothing in internal storage. None of the usually folders, most certainly not the .zip I was looking for, nothing. Enter tension. :cyclops:
Perhaps the next time I'll try again. It'll save a few steps. I'll have Wug's Toolbox open just in case. :highfive:
In edit: I just looked. In TWRP version 2.7.0.0, I must have hit the "format data" button and didn't catch it. You sir are exactly correct.
douger1957 said:
It did indeed blow out my internal storage when I first tried it. When I went to flash, there was nothing in internal storage. None of the usually folders, most certainly not the .zip I was looking for, nothing. Enter tension. :cyclops:
Perhaps the next time I'll try again. It'll save a few steps. I'll have Wug's Toolbox open just in case. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP wipe blew out your internal storage, or was it some other process? Your link pointed to a T-mo "master reset", which I'm sure isn't referring to a custom recovery. Unlocking the bootloader on my G2 completely trashed my internal storage, but I was expecting this. IIRC, Nexus devices have been more unlock-friendly, but loading a factory image will wipe everything, including internal sd.
Helpful hint for everyone (esp. the paranoid): get a cheap USB OTG to USB-A (female) adapter, and have a flash drive handy. Newer versions of TWRP can mount USB OTG, so it's a nice plan B if you can't get past recovery. They're cheap (<$5), small, and come in handy pretty often.
Yeah the N7 official TWRP definitely does not wipe internal storage. It says right in TWRP "wiping data without wiping /media" which means without wiping internal storage.
If your TWRP is wiping the internal you should make sure it isn't a modified version and TeamWin official.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
To clarify, wipe data/factory reset wipes your internal storage (/data) but misses /data/media which is your 'sdcard', call it what you like
Assuming a custom recovery, I cannot speak for stock
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
matt4321 said:
To clarify, wipe data/factory reset wipes your internal storage (/data) but misses /data/media which is your 'sdcard', call it what you like
Assuming a custom recovery, I cannot speak for stock
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but your sdcard is to most and many your internal storage... What is factory reset wiping if it avoids everything you have on your sdcard, including files copied to the root of your internal storage?
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