Develop Bugs

Will wiping out device wipe out the content in /sdcard/ ??

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

Factory Reseting

Since this phone does not have an SD card, does this mean that anytime I want to try a new ROM or something and have to factory reset, that everything off my phone will be erased? Including pictures and ect? I cannot believe they didn't leave SD card support for this phone, really upset about that. It takes too long to transfer my 10gig+ data from my sdcard to this phone. I don't want to have to go through that constantly with this phone.

No the stuff on your phone will not be wiped. The whole "sdcard" thing is a misconception.
The phone itself has a internal storage.
Other phones such as Galaxy S2/S1... have a internal storage and external. Which is removable.

HerroMoto said:
Since this phone does not have an SD card, does this mean that anytime I want to try a new ROM or something and have to factory reset, that everything off my phone will be erased? Including pictures and ect? I cannot believe they didn't leave SD card support for this phone, really upset about that. It takes too long to transfer my 10gig+ data from my sdcard to this phone. I don't want to have to go through that constantly with this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, if you flash a new a new system image only, then I guess the stuff located in the userdata partition will not be erased...
zephiK said:
No the stuff on your phone will not be wiped. The whole "sdcard" thing is a misconception.
The phone itself has a internal storage.
Other phones such as Galaxy S2/S1... have a internal storage and external. Which is removable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... but if you flash the userdata partition, ALL of your data will be erased, because /sdcard is actually a link to /data/media

If it was me I would make a backup anyway for the sake of a few minutes before flashing any ROM.

Flashing a new rom does NOT erase your data, ie photos - downloads - music etc.

Vangelis13 said:
Flashing a new rom does NOT erase your data, ie photos - downloads - music etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried it? Try flashing one of the stock builds from Google found here and tell me if your data gets erased. I can tell you that mine did, but I make sure to make a backup of everything (like daleski75 said earlier) before flashing anything related to the data partition.

as far as I have seen the stock recovery will wipe the /sdcard partition. CWM recovery will not

fundo51 said:
as far as I have seen the stock recovery will wipe the /sdcard partition. CWM recovery will not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any way to flash a ROM or factory image in fastboot without wiping the SD card partition? I can only get my device to show up in fastboot, not ADB.

PolishPauL11 said:
Is there any way to flash a ROM or factory image in fastboot without wiping the SD card partition? I can only get my device to show up in fastboot, not ADB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Remove userdata.img from the Google images.
Honestly I would work on getting ADB to work properly. It will give you much more flexibility in these situations.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

i got the same prob i just rooted, im use to having a sd card so whats the answer if you flash in cwm do a wipe in cwm it wont erase the internal storage? because it sux reloading everything from the computer via usb

dre4402 said:
i got the same prob i just rooted, im use to having a sd card so whats the answer if you flash in cwm do a wipe in cwm it wont erase the internal storage? because it sux reloading everything from the computer via usb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it won't wipe the SD card partition unless you unlock the bootloader or flash the factory images in fastboot.

How to wipe internal storage?

So I have a lot of junk on the internal phone storage and want to wipe it
Last time I went and wiped the /data/ partition a lot of **** broke, but that was a different ROM/device/recovery all together so I have no idea what I'm doing now
That being said, My first guess is to issue a /data/ wipe because the SDcard is stored under /data/mnt or /data/media or something like that... or is it system? I know wiping system is bad for something
anyway, obviously dont know what to do so I'm asking... how do I wipe my internal storage? I tried re partitioning but that did nothing

^ This. I have a similar question. I'd like to a total wipe back to how I got it. (Well except my rom. I wan't to keep that)

I was thinking maybe a factory reset from the phone or fastboot erase <whatever the partition is called>
Not sure how to do it, but I've been poking around for an hour or so and cant find it :<

Should be able to Fastboot erase system.img boot.img and recovery.img and then Fastboot flash system stock-system.img etc..etc.. then relock and unlock the bootloader and then relock it once more.
Don't quote me on this... I'm not entirely sure... first Fastboot device ever so... take that with a grain of salt.
Sent from my sprint galaxy nexus

XFreeRollerX said:
So I have a lot of junk on the internal phone storage and want to wipe it
Last time I went and wiped the /data/ partition a lot of **** broke, but that was a different ROM/device/recovery all together so I have no idea what I'm doing now
That being said, My first guess is to issue a /data/ wipe because the SDcard is stored under /data/mnt or /data/media or something like that... or is it system? I know wiping system is bad for something
anyway, obviously dont know what to do so I'm asking... how do I wipe my internal storage? I tried re partitioning but that did nothing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly do you want to erase? The stuff on /sdcard? All app data? Both?

I believe the easiest way is to lock and unlock the boot loader. This wipes the internal storage on the device
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

fastboot erase userdata

Zepius said:
fastboot erase userdata
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. This is the easiest way.
Sent from my i9250

Can't you just go to backup and restore in settings and hit wipe?

Zepius said:
fastboot erase userdata
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright to clarify
I wanted to wipe /sdcard/ contents due to a lot of garbage. In particular, Google music had "cached" about 4GB of songs and wasn't using the cache on a new ROM
I also wanted to erase everything (full wipe) to install new ROM but that was different
I ended up trying
fastboot erase userdata
and had great success for what I wanted.
I did not feel that messing with the bootloader (locking it, etc) would help me at all as other's posted mixed results.
A factory reset from Android OS did not wipe the SD card
Using partitioning tools didn't work for obvious reasons
Nothing in CWM or ADB would erase (short of removing the /sdcard/ partition/mount under /data)

Is it true that formatting your internal SD card will brick your phone?

I have avoided formatting my internal SD card via clockworkmod since day one out of fear that I will brick my phone. I format it all the time when its connected to my PC....but I heard it shares some system partitions with the internal storage? .....and formatting via CWM will brick your partition map?
Is there any re-partition files available for the galaxy s3 if corruption ever did occur?
This area is something I dont know much about, so please bare with my classifications if they are inaccurate.
Thanks!

RealTic said:
I have avoided formatting my internal SD card via clockworkmod since day one out of fear that I will brick my phone. I format it all the time when its connected to my PC....but I heard it shares some system partitions with the internal storage? .....and formatting via CWM will brick your partition map?
Is there any re-partition files available for the galaxy s3 if corruption ever did occur?
This area is something I dont know much about, so please bare with my classifications if they are inaccurate.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you can, as long as you install a rom before rebooting. I think i did it before but I can't say I'm sure.

RealTic said:
I have avoided formatting my internal SD card via clockworkmod since day one out of fear that I will brick my phone. I format it all the time when its connected to my PC....but I heard it shares some system partitions with the internal storage? .....and formatting via CWM will brick your partition map?
Is there any re-partition files available for the galaxy s3 if corruption ever did occur?
This area is something I dont know much about, so please bare with my classifications if they are inaccurate.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done it before on CWM. I currently use TWRP though. Just load your ROM and anything else you need to flash on your extsd card. Format internal storage then flash your ROM of choice. I do this every time I flash a new ROM. I find it helps cut down on freezing and other issues.
As long as you flash a ROM after you wipe the internal storage your fine.
Sent from my Clean Bean v2.6 Galaxy S3

TheSocalGuy79 said:
I've done it before on CWM. I currently use TWRP though. Just load your ROM and anything else you need to flash on your extsd card. Format internal storage then flash your ROM of choice. I do this every time I flash a new ROM. I find it helps cut down on freezing and other issues.
As long as you flash a ROM after you wipe the internal storage your fine.
Sent from my Clean Bean v2.6 Galaxy S3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right. Formatting through recovery will not affect the boot or recovery partitions, so it's safe to do... but as SocalGuy79 said, just make sure you have the Rom zip you want to flash on your extSDCard.

I do that every time I install a new ROM. So no, it's perfectly safe, just make sure you flash a new ROM before you reboot lol.

Joe0113 said:
I do that every time I install a new ROM. So no, it's perfectly safe, just make sure you flash a new ROM before you reboot lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. I use TWRP 2.4.4, Format data usually too, I never backup and restore data for apps ever. And I very, very rarely ever have problems that others have with ROMs.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

TheSocalGuy79 said:
I've done it before on CWM. I currently use TWRP though. Just load your ROM and anything else you need to flash on your extsd card. Format internal storage then flash your ROM of choice. I do this every time I flash a new ROM. I find it helps cut down on freezing and other issues.
As long as you flash a ROM after you wipe the internal storage your fine.
Sent from my Clean Bean v2.6 Galaxy S3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done something really stupid here. I formatted my /system and /data & /data/media using CWM and the rom i had loaded for flashing on the internal storage is now gone. I do not have an external sd card. I tried using adb to sideload or push the file but in vain since /data/media folder is missing. Will this be fixed if I flash stock ROM using Odin.
I can still boot into CWM and download mode.

(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?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk