No, this is not a thread about Titanium Backup, although that can come in handy.
Before using the Galaxy Nexus, moving to different ROMs was a complete breeze for me. Keep my SD card untouched, backup with Titanium Backup, flash ROM, restore with Titanium Backup, done.
However, I've found that it is an extremely irritating process on the GN, especially for those with a lot of games that need data on internal storage (Gameloft, EA, etc.).
Every time I install a new ROM without a complete wipe, all of my games inside the /sdcard/android/data folder prompt me to re-download, even though my internal storage is the same as it was before. Not only does this waste a **** ton of space, it's also time consuming.
What I figured out is the following: When your games install to the internal storage on the Galaxy Nexus, it installs to the /sdcard/Android/data folder, not /sdcard/android/data. The catch is that you will not be able to see sdcard/Android when you view it through your computer (damn you MTP).
The easy fix is to copy the files to your internal storage and then move it to /sdcard/Android/data using a file manager.
I haven't seen any posts related to this, so take it easy if it's been brought up and solved before. Hope this helps you out.
In Windows, we can format the whole hard drive and install a new fresh system. Can we do the same to our Samsung Galaxy S3 - fully format the HD clean and install ROM back?
I test out many JB ROMs, Kernels, & apps - now my phone is full of mess. My phone starts to have many problems, force closes and freezes.
My T-mo S3's IMEI was loss (w/o any backup) - so I injected IMEI back but the data kept trapped in EDGE and suffered constant low signal.
How can I restore my phone to the original condition without any previous traces or residual file?
Greatly appreciate for your help in advance.
Yes u can just use the Super wipe. To find it look into exquizt rom there is a dl for it. But make surebthat u back up everything u need or it will b all gone
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I come across his thread on SuperWipe - erase everything in Nand - sound intense: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1704758
What do I have to install if everything in NAND is gone? Kernel, ROM, Radio Modem... what else if crucial for reinstalling?
Thanks
Uhm, prolly flash a completely bloated stock firmware via ODIN.
What option do I have beside getting myself a bloated stock firmware? Can I just flash a JB AOKP & Modem? What else am I missing for a phone to properly function?
Thanks
Not sure if that super wipe is compatible with our phones, though. I'd format system/data/cache and wipe sdcard (internal) and just flash something else before I'd try something that hasn't been tested on our devices.
Thanks theexel. My phone has so many useless files all over the place - I want to do some house cleaning and get a fresh start. I have been doing "format system/data/cache and wipe sdcard (internal)" every time I flash. Just want to get back to once it was - everything is clean & well structured.
superlex said:
In Windows, we can format the whole hard drive and install a new fresh system. Can we do the same to our Samsung Galaxy S3 - fully format the HD clean and install ROM back?
I test out many JB ROMs, Kernels, & apps - now my phone is full of mess. My phone starts to have many problems, force closes and freezes.
My T-mo S3's IMEI was loss (w/o any backup) - so I injected IMEI back but the data kept trapped in EDGE and suffered constant low signal.
How can I restore my phone to the original condition without any previous traces or residual file?
Greatly appreciate for your help in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't really compare a windows partition to an android ROM. Windows stores everything, data, system files, etc on the same partition. Not only that, but when a Windows program installs itself, it copies files to system directories throughout the drive and to the registry.
When you uninstall a Windows program, it's very possible that not all of those files and registry entries are deleted, which is why the drive gets cluttered and needs "spring cleaning" every once in a while.
Android works differently. It has separate partitions for System files and Data files. If you don't manually mess with anything in the /system partition, then it should still be the same as what came with whatever ROM you most recently installed. Any apps or data on your phone is stored in the /data partition only.
If you think your phone needs to be started over from scratch, then the best thing to do is delete the /system partition and the /data partition and reinstall whatever ROM you want to use. The Kernel will automatically be erased and reinstalled whenever you install a new ROM. Anything beyond /system and /data is overkill because all the other stuff gets erased automatically anyway when you install a new ROM.
Good luck.
I have just flashed a new rom (CyanogenMod) after backing up everything through titanium backup (backup all user apps + system data).
Upon restoring all the user apps data, I realized that my storage space only has 1 GB left ( 8 GB before I flash the rom). I used the app DiskUsage to look into this problem and found out that system data is taking up 7 GB of space. I connected my phone to the computer and dig around the folder to see if I can find anything: nothing. I installed Astro File Manager and looked around as well, but I wasnt really sure what I'm supposed to be looking for.
I guess right now I just want to free up space on my phone (even though I dont need it at the moment) and I don't really care about the backups anymore. Does anyone know how/where I can delete the files from System data? I have tried emptying out my titanium backup folder, which helped a bit and got me 1-2 GB of space. But the 7 GB is still bothering me very much.
Any help would be appreciated.
Andrew
Read this, it may help. I suspect its what's causing your problems.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2158466
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Hi All,
Hopefully this should be a very quick question. I'm loading CM onto my phone, and this is the first ROM I've ever used. I've loaded CWM, made a backup, and I'm about ready to go and load CW on. I've noticed though that out of the 5 or so gig the phone comes with for internal memory, about 4gb is used up. Is this just the system and the back up and apps?? It seems quite a lot. Will CM fill this up further? Will I encounter any issues?
I hope thats all clear, but excuse me for being a beginner.
EDIT: This is now even more relevant now CM is flashed. I've just looked in the file viewer, and there's still all the folders etc from the old samsung, and amazonmp3 etc etc. I thought the "wipe data/factory reset" in CWM would have cleared all this.....
Many thanks for looking.
floateruk said:
Hi All,
Hopefully this should be a very quick question. I'm loading CM onto my phone, and this is the first ROM I've ever used. I've loaded CWM, made a backup, and I'm about ready to go and load CW on. I've noticed though that out of the 5 or so gig the phone comes with for internal memory, about 4gb is used up. Is this just the system and the back up and apps?? It seems quite a lot. Will CM fill this up further? Will I encounter any issues?
I hope thats all clear, but excuse me for being a beginner.
EDIT: This is now even more relevant now CM is flashed. I've just looked in the file viewer, and there's still all the folders etc from the old samsung, and amazonmp3 etc etc. I thought the "wipe data/factory reset" in CWM would have cleared all this.....
Many thanks for looking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset only wipes the data partition. For the first time installing a custom ROM, and especially going from stock to cm for the first time, you should wipe the system partition which can be done from cwm.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
Want to know how to boost your devices performance and battery life? See my thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2495269
iKlutz said:
Factory reset only wipes the data partition. For the first time installing a custom ROM, and especially going from stock to cm for the first time, you should wipe the system partition which can be done from cwm.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
Want to know how to boost your devices performance and battery life? See my thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2495269
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi again.
So I finally got round to trying to get this sorted.... and I'm failing. I've booted into CWM, rerun the "wipe/data factory reset", rerun the "wipe cache" then went into "mounts and storage" and did a format of the system partition, but it still hasn't cleared any of the data.
Am I doing something incorrectly? I didn't want to play around with it too much, in case i bork it all. Any help would be massively appreciated.
Also, I'm a bit concerned about what formatting the system partition will do. Does it just clear the rom already on there, and I can then flash Cyanogenmod back on from my sd card?
Thanks
floateruk said:
Hi again.
So I finally got round to trying to get this sorted.... and I'm failing. I've booted into CWM, rerun the "wipe/data factory reset", rerun the "wipe cache" then went into "mounts and storage" and did a format of the system partition, but it still hasn't cleared any of the data.
Am I doing something incorrectly? I didn't want to play around with it too much, in case i bork it all. Any help would be massively appreciated.
Also, I'm a bit concerned about what formatting the system partition will do. Does it just clear the rom already on there, and I can then flash Cyanogenmod back on from my sd card?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Formatting system partition wipes the currently installed rom / system apps.
How do you know that it is not wiping the data? If you do a system format and your rom still boots then it isn't working properly.
It could be a problem with the version of recovery (cwm / twrp) that you're using. It can't hurt to update it, which could be the case here.
Good luck. Let me know how it goes.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
iKlutz said:
Formatting system partition wipes the currently installed rom / system apps.
How do you know that it is not wiping the data? If you do a system format and your rom still boots then it isn't working properly.
It could be a problem with the version of recovery (cwm / twrp) that you're using. It can't hurt to update it, which could be the case here.
Good luck. Let me know how it goes.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for coming back so quickly!
So if you see the attached, this is what I'm looking at. The phone has 5.5gb internal memory, of which, looking at the below, I'm using about 1.5gb, BUT I only have 1gb left to use, and I get warnings about lack of memory.... So there's 3gb being used for.... I don't know.
When I first put cyanogen on, I noticed that the file structure from stock was still there (i.e. all the folder my old apps made). I expected when I put CM on that it would wipe everything, including all of those folders.
You can try an app called es file explorer, it has a feature that fully scans the contents of the internal SD card.
It should show a list of all the folders from the old stock data folders. You can multi select and delete what you want.
Another option which is more efficient, is to make a full backup of all the internal data in your PC. Then fully format the internal SD card via cwm and transfer which contents you need back from the PC such as photos and music. Asides from photos, music and other media items, most of those internal SD contents aren't needed as Android uses these folders for app data etc.
Always make back ups.
Your welcome.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
iKlutz said:
You can try an app called es file explorer, it has a feature that fully scans the contents of the internal SD card.
It should show a list of all the folders from the old stock data folders. You can multi select and delete what you want.
Another option which is more efficient, is to make a full backup of all the internal data in your PC. Then fully format the internal SD card via cwm and transfer which contents you need back from the PC such as photos and music. Asides from photos, music and other media items, most of those internal SD contents aren't needed as Android uses these folders for app data etc.
Always make back ups.
Your welcome.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I have got ES File explorer. I couldn't find a "scan" but I've gone through all the folder on my device and I can see the following:
/storage - 3.83gb
/mnt - 2.11gb
/sdcard - 893mb
A lot of this seems to be duplicated though.... The stuff on mnt seems to be a shortcut to whats in sdcard, and all that in storage seems to be in the other two. I don't technically think it's all duplicated, but different ways to get to the same stuff, which makes me very nervous about deleting any of it....
Just got a liitle program to give a break down. See attached.
Surely my system data shouldn't be that big?
I recommend you make a full back up in your PC and format the SD card and transfer the contents of your current SD folder back. I've done it before on different devices, I do it on first root / cm install coming from stock because of all the old obsolete data. Apps like clean master won't removing it because it's marked as important for stock users. It shouldn't be a problem.
Note:
Having different links to the data partition is normal. It's purpose is compatibility.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 AM ----------
It's possible that's reserved for the system. Mine is similar. You can still use it if you convert user apps into system ones.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
iKlutz said:
I recommend you make a full back up in your PC and format the SD card and transfer the contents of your current SD folder back. I've done it before on different devices, I do it on first root / cm install coming from stock because of all the old obsolete data. Apps like clean master won't removing it because it's marked as important for stock users. It shouldn't be a problem.
Note:
Having different links to the data partition is normal. It's purpose is compatibility.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 AM ----------
It's possible that's reserved for the system. Mine is similar. You can still use it if you convert user apps into system ones.
Sent from the dark side of the moon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just found this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2083107
It's something to do with backups. I'm gonna read through that thread and see if I can find out what I can/can't delete without bricking the phone.
Massively appreciate your time and repsonses on this iKlutz. Just out of interest, did you do a backup when you installed a rom? Have you found that the backup is this big??
Use ES file explorer or other file manager with root explorer capabilities.
Go to /data/media
You should see:
0
clockworkmod
legacy
obb
In clockworkmod folder I've found a backup (2.0GB) that was made by mistake to internal sotrage, since I allways do backup in CWM Recovery to external SD.
Deleted and 2.0GB were gained.
luisbraz said:
Use ES file explorer or other file manager with root explorer capabilities.
Go to /data/media
You should see:
0
clockworkmod
legacy
obb
In clockworkmod folder I've found a backup (2.0GB) that was made by mistake to internal sotrage, since I allways do backup in CWM Recovery to external SD.
Deleted and 2.0GB were gained.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm. Data/Media is empty.... I might delete the back up from CWM. If the worst happens, I can always flash from the external SD card can't i? Do I "need" that back up of the device when it was stock?
floateruk said:
Hmmm. Data/Media is empty.... I might delete the back up from CWM. If the worst happens, I can always flash from the external SD card can't i? Do I "need" that back up of the device when it was stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not delete.
Copy the folder(s) that you have in the "backup" to the external SD card to the "backup" folder in the "clockworkmod" folder.
Then, you can delete the backup folder located in "data/media/clockworkmod/".
I allways save the backup of the stock ROM's.
To restore in CWM recovery, simply choose "restore from external SD card". And to backup, choose "backup to external SD card", or it will backup to the internal memory.
floateruk said:
Hmmm. Data/Media is empty.... I might delete the back up from CWM. If the worst happens, I can always flash from the external SD card can't i? Do I "need" that back up of the device when it was stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you solve the issue?
luisbraz said:
Did you solve the issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.... I don't really know what to do with it.
I've got an s3 mini with Cyanogen and CWM and the system data portion is only 54mb.
I might go into CWM and start deleting things. If I delete the backup I made of my stock phone when I first rooted and added CWM, I can't see too many issues.... I can always flash a stock ROM again can't I?
floateruk said:
No.... I don't really know what to do with it.
I've got an s3 mini with Cyanogen and CWM and the system data portion is only 54mb.
I might go into CWM and start deleting things. If I delete the backup I made of my stock phone when I first rooted and added CWM, I can't see too many issues.... I can always flash a stock ROM again can't I?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, using Odin you can flash stock ROM again.
Next time do the backups in CWM to the external SD card!
Here's my situation... I've had the 32GB 2013 N7 nearly since it's launch. I've rooted it and unrooted it numerous times to update it to the latest OS versions. I've never done a full system restore all the time I've had it. Nor have I installed a custom ROM.
I noticed the other day that a whole 7GB is being consumed by "System data" in the DiskUsage app. This seems overly excessive, right?
I'm currently not rooted, so I can't look into what's taking up all the space, but I might root it if that might be the quickest solution. I'd also REALLY like to keep from doing a system restore, as I don't want to reconfigure everything, but if that's the only solution, then so be it.
So, any ideas? Thanks!
Here's a screenshot:
http://i.imgur.com/3QLS0pv.jpg
I don't know what that apps saying I'd delete it. You sure that's not your free space left as it says?
The system partition is only 1gig so it's not possible to be using 7. Look at Settings > Storage. Delete **** with Solid Explorer to free up space.
If you think it is your system you can flash the system.img and it won't wipe anything but also won't fix your problem.. not sure you have one.