[Resolved] Files erased from internal storage after factory data reset? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

I just recently sold a Galaxy Nexus to a Kijiji buyer. I quickly did a factory data reset before meeting him, assuming that the reset would remove all my files like it said it would do in the settings. However, I've become paranoid that the reset never deleted the internal storage files, so all my photos, music, and other files could still be on that phone. I feel extremely stupid for asking this question, and a downright n00b, but I just want to make sure or confirm that those files got deleted. Thanks.

Amartier said:
I just recently sold a Galaxy Nexus to a Kijiji buyer. I quickly did a factory data reset before meeting him, assuming that the reset would remove all my files like it said it would do in the settings. However, I've become paranoid that the reset never deleted the internal storage files, so all my photos, music, and other files could still be on that phone. I feel extremely stupid for asking this question, and a downright n00b, but I just want to make sure or confirm that those files got deleted. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were 100% stock recovery and all.. then yes it deletes all the internal data. Sdcard and all, you should be just fine. Now go to sleep.. everything is going to be all right.

ÜBER™ said:
If you were 100% stock recovery and all.. then yes it deletes all the internal data. Sdcard and all, you should be just fine. Now go to sleep.. everything is going to be all right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, yakju 4.0.4, stock recovery, kernel... etc. Thanks, puts my mind a ease, hahaha.

Related

[Q] E4GT FI27 Boot Loop

If I'm posting this in the wrong place I apologize in advance. I'm also a bit freaked out since my phone seems to be kaput right now, but I have faith this is fixable. I need some of you professionals to give me your advice on how to go about fixing this.
Okay here we go...
I have in the past rooted my phone without any major issues by just reading this awesome site. I recently used "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_NoData" to root my phone using the one click method and everything was working fine. I realize now that I should have backed up all of my user data on the phone prior to updating to ICS from Gingerbread.
So, I think I made a newbie mistake by actually using Titanium Backup Pro (updated to latest version) to restore 1 file called wallpaper from the date 03/2012 (March 2012) which was when my phone was using Gingerbread 2.3.4 I think. I remember hitting the restore button and getting an option to restore only the data, so I chose this and a notification said, "Reboot phone for changes to take effect". Once the phone rebooted I unlock the screen and see the wallpaper I had from earlier this year. Now, I think the main problem is that I'm now using Ice Cream Sandwhich 4.0.4 and restoring the wallpaper from Gingerbread 2.3.4 has caused some underlying issues which is causing my phone to constantly reboot.
I went to the Sprint store and explained the issue and the Sprint representative said my phone needed to be reset because it seems to be glitching out. I informed him that I had files on my phone that I wanted to try to backup to my computer before I completely wipe the phone. Now, I'm home and I'm trying to get my phone to pop up in Windows 7 x64. I keep getting USB connection errors while connecting my phone to my PC because the phone keeps constantly rebooting while the drivers are trying to install then as soon as the phone reboots the driver installation fails.
USB Device Not Recognized
SAMSUNG Mobile MTP Device failed installation
So I've tried uninstalling Samsung Kies and the USB drivers and then re-installing them and rebooting. Still no joy because my phone keeps constantly rebooting. It is never going to complete installing because the phone is completely unstable at this point in time. Further research led me to updating the MTP from Microsoft. After installing this I rebooted. Problem is I'm still getting connection issues while trying to connect my Epic 4G Touch to my PC because the drivers are not able to install because of the constant reboots, even though they were installed previously. This is how I was able to root my phone to begin with.
So basically what I'm trying to do is backup my files on my phone to my computer (which it now may be too late) before I just completely reflash a fresh ROM (Full Restore on FI27) and start over from scratch.
I had the idea of actually reapplying "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_NoData" to hopefully reset the kernel so I could backup my phone to my computer. This hasn't resulted in any changes whatsoever either. I'm completely stumped and would really appreciate some wisdom here.
I hope all of this makes sense and I hope someone out there is nice enough to take a little time to point me in the right direction.
I have just placed the phone in download mode with the idea of re-downloading "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Kernel" and USB drivers have been installed successfully.
Nice to see this thread is getting some views, but no one has any advice to give me?
What files on your phone do you need?
I just got the Phone to show up in Windows Explorer by plugging in the USB cable right when the Yellow 4G came up and I was browsing the phone and I noticed the SD Card was not showing up, but before long the phone rebooted and I'm still trying to access the phone but the damn thing keeps rebooting constantly.
I'm just trying to backup photos I don't have backed up anywhere else. Other than that I'm hoping I can do a full restore using "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore" and that will at least get my phone back to operating normally right?
Just go into the recovery menu and do a factory reset. It won't format your SD card.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
m4xwellmurd3r thanks for the advice.
I got impatient and went ahead and flashed "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore" and my phone is back to operating normally. My SD card is still intact as well! What is really surprising is the fact that the pictures that were on my phone are still there. I don't understand, I obviously did something wrong. Also no longer having USB connection issues so that is a big relief as well!
Of course all the applications I had installed are no longer present, but why are my pictures still intact after using a Rooted Restore.
I want to completely wipe my phone and then create a backup with Titanium Backup and call it Stock_Version#. Then after I root the phone and get everything setup the way I like it I want to create another backup called something else. Is this the correct way to go about doing this?
Because none of your storage gets wiped by factory resets. Resets only affect the rom portion of your phone not storage. Glad you got it working
By the way rooted restore already wiped everything on your phone and rooted it so you're good to go
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
m4xwellmurd3r said:
Because none of your storage gets wiped by factory resets. Resets only affect the rom portion of your phone not storage. Glad you got it working
By the way rooted restore already wiped everything on your phone and rooted it so you're good to go
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Okay, so I shouldn't see any empty folders for apps I no longer use?
I swear everytime I start looking at the folders in my phone I see things I don't recognize and it just bothers me. This is one reason I wanted to reset my phone and start over fresh.
Also is there a good tutorial for using Titanium Backup?
Any folders made on the SD card and internal storage will remain since factory resets won't touch the data, even if the app is gone
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
So when you install an app just to test it out then you un-install it remnants of that app are still left behind. This I have to say I don't like. There has to be a better way to keep the file structure free from accumulating garbage. Is there a better way or not?
Ci2e said:
So when you install an app just to test it out then you un-install it remnants of that app are still left behind. This I have to say I don't like. There has to be a better way to keep the file structure free from accumulating garbage. Is there a better way or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could always delete the /data contents for the APK but not if it's in android.secure.... you won't know what is what in there.
@garwynn - What is the difference between SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, and SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore_v2.exe?
Also I want to completely reset my phone now that I have everything backed up to my PC that I care about. So do I need to do a factory reset on the phone and then flash one of the files above?
The plan is to get a fresh start and use Titanium Backup like I should have been doing from the start!
Ci2e said:
@garwynn - What is the difference between SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, and SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore_v2.exe?
Also I want to completely reset my phone now that I have everything backed up to my PC that I care about. So do I need to do a factory reset on the phone and then flash one of the files above?
The plan is to get a fresh start and use Titanium Backup like I should have been doing from the start!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copied from the v2 thread.
garwynn said:
...What's the difference? Flash order.
Normally our one clicks don't have the same order as Sextape's leak.
Version #2 is a test of using the same order and so far so good for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's great I can't find that thread at all, can you give me some linkage?
MoHoGalore can you answer my second question?
Ci2e said:
That's great I can't find that thread at all, can you give me some linkage?
MoHoGalore can you answer my second question?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click the tiny arrow beside Garwynn's name in the quote I posted. It'll take you to that thread i copied it from.
No, you do not need to factory reset when you use an Odin one click.
I just got done using an Odin One Click -> SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, all my data was left intact. Are you sure you know what you're talking about?
Ci2e said:
I just got done using an Odin One Click -> SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, all my data was left intact. Are you sure you know what you're talking about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. So your google account settings remained? You didn't have to setup anything?? If that's the case, either it was the no data version or it didn't flash.
And if you're taking about formatting the usb storage, like blues said in the other thread you asked, it doesn't format it.
But feel free to get other opinions.
:edit: And the only way I'd ever suggest to "factory reset" from the privacy menu, would be to use a gb build. But don't take my word for it, read the brick bug thread.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
I'm just getting confused here I think your right. So basically if I do a factory reset via the settings menu, that will reset everything but keep the same model FI27. Then all I'll need to do is reflash the SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, right?
Ci2e said:
I'm just getting confused here I think your right. So basically if I do a factory reset via the settings menu, that will reset everything but keep the same model FI27. Then all I'll need to do is reflash the SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore.exe, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my edit above. I'll never suggest using that option with an ics build at this time.
Now, having said that, i have done it but with the brick bug, that choice is yours.
What i try to do is just format the drives (both internal and external) when connected to my laptop then power off, then use a one click.
Safe method - use a gb one click, factory reset via privacy option in settings and format usb, then use the fi27 one click.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
Okay tell me I understand this correctly.
Format both internal/external drives via settings > privacy > Factory data reset (this does not touch the SD Card, right?) while USB cable connected.
Power off phone and boot into download mode, then flash a "Stock Gingerbread Rom" (matching the model #, will it still be FI27 or not?) then at this point if I'm still on FI27 all I'll need to do is reflash "SPH-D710_FI27_CL1127689_Rooted_Restore" to regain root.
If after doing a factory reset and flashing a stock gingerbread rom I may have to wait for updates to be pushed to my phone, or not?

[Q] [HELP] Steps in clearing ALL data in GNex before selling or giving to another per

Hi Guys,
Good day to all of you who will read this. I would just like to ask for your help on how to make sure that ALL personal and sensitive information will be deleted from the GNex before selling or giving the phone away.
I know that we can restore the factory settings of the phone either from settings menu or from CWM. However, I have read in the web before that there are still some data left when doing this if you are a rooted user. From what I have read, a person bought a phone from the gray market and he/she was able to extract the data of the previous owner. I would like to avoid that if possible.
So if there are ways to avoid this, please do advise me how. Thank you in advance for your replies/answers. Cheers.
Wipe data option in twrp is one option or reflash a stock ROM is another
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Thanks for the reply. Yup, I'm planning to unroot and apply the stock ROM for my GNex before letting it go. I was just wondering if it will really clear EVERYTHING. I really want to avoid accidentally sharing any of my personal data.
The internal memory remains.
So yu need to format internal storage option in TWRP as well. Then just unroot ane install latest image from google! Your phone is ready to be sold!
Install complete package from Google. There is nothing more that you need to do. If you use the flash-all.bat from Google images it will wipe entire device. There is nothing to 'unroot' at that point.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

ROM switching on the HTC One?

Couldn't find a thread on this and this may be a COMPLETE noob question...
I've never dealt with a phone that couldn't hold an SD card and I'm hoping to get the HTC One soon. I root/switch roms on all my phones.
I was just wondering, since the HTC One doesn't hold an SD card, what happens when I flash a ROM?
Usually, if I am correct, wiping data removes everything on the phones internal storage, and since the HTC One doesn't have external storage, will everything (songs, pictures, etc) be erased upon ROM switch?
I'm just baffled if it's all erased upon switching. Sorry for noob question, as I stated, I don't deal with phones with no external storage, so thanks XDA.
jakichan77 said:
Couldn't find a thread on this and this may be a COMPLETE noob question...
I've never dealt with a phone that couldn't hold an SD card and I'm hoping to get the HTC One soon. I root/switch roms on all my phones.
I was just wondering, since the HTC One doesn't hold an SD card, what happens when I flash a ROM?
Usually, if I am correct, wiping data removes everything on the phones internal storage, and since the HTC One doesn't have external storage, will everything (songs, pictures, etc) be erased upon ROM switch?
I'm just baffled if it's all erased upon switching. Sorry for noob question, as I stated, I don't deal with phones with no external storage, so thanks XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IIRC there's a virtual SD card where certain things dont get wiped (I think titanium backup accesses this)
crazyg0od33 said:
IIRC there's a virtual SD card where certain things dont get wiped (I think titanium backup accesses this)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you happen to know of it's accessible via computer or a file manager app? (or custom recoveries?)
jakichan77 said:
Do you happen to know of it's accessible via computer or a file manager app? (or custom recoveries?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its nothing different from dealing with a standard SD card. When you wipe you're wiping data (not internal storage but app data) cache and possibly dalvik and system. None if which will end up wiping your saved files on SD card unless you select wipe internal storage. Just to note HTC or Verizon blocked us from unlocking bootkoaders right now so no go on that except for a few that did it day one.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using xda app-developers app
jakichan77 said:
Couldn't find a thread on this and this may be a COMPLETE noob question...
I've never dealt with a phone that couldn't hold an SD card and I'm hoping to get the HTC One soon. I root/switch roms on all my phones.
I was just wondering, since the HTC One doesn't hold an SD card, what happens when I flash a ROM?
Usually, if I am correct, wiping data removes everything on the phones internal storage, and since the HTC One doesn't have external storage, will everything (songs, pictures, etc) be erased upon ROM switch?
I'm just baffled if it's all erased upon switching. Sorry for noob question, as I stated, I don't deal with phones with no external storage, so thanks XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Recoveries differentiate between internal storage and the virtual "/sdcard", so that won't be wiped.
Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Tapatalk 4
just don't accidentally hit erase internal like I did!
you'll be stuck in recovery/bootloader with nothing to flash, no nandroids nothing
took forever to fix my horrible mistake.
been trying like hell to find an easy way to switch the menu order in TWRP. there is no reason why the internal wipe is right above system wipe.
alphabetical or not, it's set up for failure.
Learn from my misfortune!
eventually I was able to adb devices in fastboot to and it read my device, and eventually was able to get the phone mounted in recovery to adb push a rom.zip to flash.
nothing fun!
andybones said:
there is no reason why the internal wipe is right above system wipe.
alphabetical or not, it's set up for failure.
Learn from my misfortune!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cannot possible count the amount of times i hit that button and was half a swipe away from erasing my internal on my S3... The flow goes against us all.
Thanks guys, swayed my opinion toward the One in the right direction. I'll be sure to watch the HTC one development until an S-OFF method becomes available. I think we remember the Rezounds S-OFF o.0
Where there's a will there's a way. I'll also try not to lose my data on the internal SD card, probably back up my photos every so often. Thanks again.
jakichan77 said:
Thanks guys, swayed my opinion toward the One in the right direction. I'll be sure to watch the HTC one development until an S-OFF method becomes available. I think we remember the Rezounds S-OFF o.0
Where there's a will there's a way. I'll also try not to lose my data on the internal SD card, probably back up my photos every so often. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's just hope we have the support we had for the Rezound, I truly hope someone will help bring this phone to life and give it the justice it deserves! S-OFF, and the DEV claims his much deserved bounty.
There is one wrinkle with these HTC internal sdcard partitions that people need to be aware of. If you select factory reset in bootloader rather than recovery, the whole thing can become corrupted so that you lose all your data. Everything. I've seen people do this and then panic thinking they've bricked their phones. It's fixable, but you have to reformat externally using your computer.
Wiping in recovery preserves the /sdcard partition. So as a general rule, wipe ONLY in recovery, NEVER in bootloader.
iElvis said:
There is one wrinkle with these HTC internal sdcard partitions that people need to be aware of. If you select factory reset in bootloader rather than recovery, the whole thing can become corrupted so that you lose all your data. Everything. I've seen people do this and then panic thinking they've bricked their phones. It's fixable, but you have to reformat externally using your computer.
Wiping in recovery preserves the /sdcard partition. So as a general rule, wipe ONLY in recovery, NEVER in bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How would one then completely factory reset their phone like you were allowed to on the Rezound? Just install the default ROM in H-Boot? (Well, not ROM, but I think you get what I'm saying, the P9H-blah.zip).
jakichan77 said:
How would one then completely factory reset their phone like you were allowed to on the Rezound? Just install the default ROM in H-Boot? (Well, not ROM, but I think you get what I'm saying, the P9H-blah.zip).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset inside Sense will wipe all user data.

Reboot stuck on PA3+ screen

Hi all,
I've recently rooted my Galaxy S3 with CWM, but couldn't do the Paranoid Android upgrade due to CWM being an old version or something like this.
I downloaded ROM Manager and upgraded CWM. Then went to recovery mode and installed Paranoid Android 3+.
Upon restart, the screen remains locked forever on the PA3+ initial screen.
Any urgent help would be really appreciated.
Thanks.
Try twrp, factory reset before flash.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Pirateghost said:
Try twrp, factory reset before flash.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for your reply.
Can you pls explain in some more details as I'm a beginner? To note that I cannot use the phone, so I guess the things I have to do should be done with a pc I guess... or in recovery mode maybe?
Shall I try recovery mode and do a factory reset, and in that case will I lose data?
Well this should actually be handled in the thread where you got PA, in case there are certain things that the gs3 requires, but when going from one ROM to another, you are supposed to factory reset from within recovery. Yes you lose your apps and data, not sdcard stuff like pictures, etc. This is why we all use titanium backup or helium to backup our apps.
Twrp is usually preferred over cwm these days.
Again you need to read in your device section about the proper way of handling things because your device is different from mine.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Pirateghost said:
Well this should actually be handled in the thread where you got PA, in case there are certain things that the gs3 requires, but when going from one ROM to another, you are supposed to factory reset from within recovery. Yes you lose your apps and data, not sdcard stuff like pictures, etc. This is why we all use titanium backup or helium to backup our apps.
Twrp is usually preferred over cwm these days.
Again you need to read in your device section about the proper way of handling things because your device is different from mine.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I did a backup with Titanium, but not sure if I saved it on the internal drive or on the external sd card, and I can't access the phone to check were... but if I remember well it saved in the titanium folder which be default I think saves on the internal drive. Unfortunately neither the pc nor Kies won't recognise the phone...
Do you know with a factory reset if i loose my contacts also?
thealley said:
Actually I did a backup with Titanium, but not sure if I saved it on the internal drive or on the external sd card, and I can't access the phone to check were... but if I remember well it saved in the titanium folder which be default I think saves on the internal drive. Unfortunately neither the pc nor Kies won't recognise the phone...
Do you know with a factory reset if i loose my contacts also?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldn't matter where your titanium backup is located. A factory reset in recovery should not wipe your SD card. Internal or external. Again I really cannot stress enough that this post belongs in your device section to get the people that know your device best. Your device is not officially supported by the PA team and this is a general ROM flashing issue not an issue with PA ROM
Your contacts should be backed up to Google unless you changed that.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Pirateghost said:
It shouldn't matter where your titanium backup is located. A factory reset in recovery should not wipe your SD card. Internal or external. Again I really cannot stress enough that this post belongs in your device section to get the people that know your device best. Your device is not officially supported by the PA team and this is a general ROM flashing issue not an issue with PA ROM
Your contacts should be backed up to Google unless you changed that.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I understand your concern and have taken your advice to post also in my device's forum. Thanks for your precious help, really appreciate.

Recover storage after format?

not sure how or why, but my n7 soft bricked during a reboot. i wasn't able to get into recovery at all even after reflashing twrp. i am unlocked/rooted so i flashed stock images which worked as the tablet was able to boot. however, it unfortunately wiped my storage. is there any way to recover that data? i've been unable to find anything that has been able to scan it for deleted files. im most concerned about my titanium backups. thanks for any recommendations.
redbeard1083 said:
not sure how or why, but my n7 soft bricked during a reboot. i wasn't able to get into recovery at all even after reflashing twrp. i am unlocked/rooted so i flashed stock images which worked as the tablet was able to boot. however, it unfortunately wiped my storage. is there any way to recover that data? i've been unable to find anything that has been able to scan it for deleted files. im most concerned about my titanium backups. thanks for any recommendations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May wanna give this post a read: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=47623410. It's very well written and explains how storage works on Nexus devices.
If it's too long, and you don't feel like reading... Bottom line, I'm afraid you're out of luck. Sorry for your loss. This is why I always keep copies of my nandroid and TiBu backups off the device in case this happens. Also, I have Dropbox and Google+ backup all my pics and vids to the cloud since I've already fallen victim to losing them once before.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
that sucks! i do greatly appreciate your taking the time to respond though. better luck next time, right?
redbeard1083 said:
that sucks! i do greatly appreciate your taking the time to respond though. better luck next time, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For sure. I still remember that feeling in the pit of my stomach when I realized I had just accidentally deleted the camera folder on my GNex. That's why I went total overkill and have both Dropbox and Google+ backup all my pics and videos. I swore, "Never again!"

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