Develop Bugs

Where to put files so a wipe won't delete them?

I've already rooted and unlocked my bootloader and I'm just about to load a custom ROM, however where do I put the files so when I wipe/factory reset they don't get deleted? Thanks.

Your files don't get deleted. Only data and apps on android partition
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Brett3rThanU said:
I've already rooted and unlocked my bootloader and I'm just about to load a custom ROM, however where do I put the files so when I wipe/factory reset they don't get deleted? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anywhere outside /system. i.e. place them on the part of your sd card where your pics, music, etc... live.

Really? That doesn't seem right for some reason...I just unlocked & rooted my girlfriends new Verizon Nexus but didn't put a ROM on it right then (which I should have done ), and during that process all of her photos and apps were deleted. I luckily had backed up photos, sms backups, etc. off of the device so I was able to transfer those back, but it was bone stock (like nothing on it at all) after that process. Is that "wipe" different than the "wipe data/factory reset" we have to do before going onto most of the ROMs for the Nexus?
Sorry about my ignorance...I'm an Epic 4g Touch owner so I'm well versed in it, but just starting to learn about the Verizon Nexus. Thanks a lot guys.

Unlocking the bootloader wipes it all; but a wipe data/factory reset from CWM doesn't touch your virtual sd card, i.e. photos, etc... remain. The OP is already unlocked, so he's "safe".

I will answer your specific question, "Where to put files so a wipe won't delete them?" If you want to be safe, on your computer or on anything external other than the phone. I only say this because the phone does not have an external sd card. Ill repeat what I said in another thread...we don't backup for the disasters we foresee but for the ones we don't.

Only the factory recovery wipes the /data/media ("/sdcard") partition. Any third-party community-built recovery (like ClockworkMod Recovery or TeamWin Recovery Project) will wipe everything except /data/media.
So, to answer your question, as long as the files are on your phone's pretend SD card (the default for user-created content and files you transfer to your phone), they won't be wiped when installing a custom ROM.

CMNein said:
Unlocking the bootloader wipes it all; but a wipe data/factory reset from CWM doesn't touch your virtual sd card, i.e. photos, etc... remain. The OP is already unlocked, so he's "safe".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
codesplice said:
Only the factory recovery wipes the /data/media ("/sdcard") partition. Any third-party community-built recovery (like ClockworkMod Recovery or TeamWin Recovery Project) will wipe everything except /data/media.
So, to answer your question, as long as the files are on your phone's pretend SD card (the default for user-created content and files you transfer to your phone), they won't be wiped when installing a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome - thank you both for your responses. That's actually a pretty cool little feature. I wish my phone could have apps retained after doing a "data/factory reset" wipe, which is such a good idea when going between ROMS.
I am stating that correctly, right? Apps, app data/caches, pretty much everything but system apps will be retained after a 3rd party data wipe? I just want to be sure, especially since it's not my device I'd be messing with Thanks

DutchDogg54 said:
I am stating that correctly, right? Apps, app data/caches, pretty much everything but system apps will be retained after a 3rd party data wipe? I just want to be sure, especially since it's not my device I'd be messing with Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I'm afraid not. Applications will be wiped, as they reside on /data/app. The only item not wiped is the /data/media partition. Plug your phone up to your computer - the files and folders that you see listed will remain after a full wipe. Everything else will be gone.
Though, to be technical, a "factory reset" wipe primarily wipes /data (except for /data/media) and /cache. You'll generally have to manually wipe (through recovery) /system.

codesplice said:
No, I'm afraid not. Applications will be wiped, as they reside on /data/app. The only item not wiped is the /data/media partition. Plug your phone up to your computer - the files and folders that you see listed will remain after a full wipe. Everything else will be gone.
Though, to be technical, a "factory reset" wipe primarily wipes /data (except for /data/media) and /cache. You'll generally have to manually wipe (through recovery) /system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that's what I was thinking...thought it was a little too good to be true. No biggie...that's what Titanium backup is for
So, just to play devils advocate...if I were to copy, for instance, the go sms backup file that's created when you backup files to the /data/media partition, theoretically that would be retained, correct? That's about the only thing that would be lost doing a 3rd party wipe that couldn't be TB restored...and when I talk about the go sms back up I would like to throw things like her circle launcher setup backup files, etc. in that ring...what do you think about that?

DutchDogg54 said:
Yeah, that's what I was thinking...thought it was a little too good to be true. No biggie...that's what Titanium backup is for
So, just to play devils advocate...if I were to copy, for instance, the go sms backup file that's created when you backup files to the /data/media partition, theoretically that would be retained, correct? That's about the only thing that would be lost doing a 3rd party wipe that couldn't be TB restored...and when I talk about the go sms back up I would like to throw things like her circle launcher setup backup files, etc. in that ring...what do you think about that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of apps (I can't speak specifically for those, unfortunately) actually keep their user-created backup files in a directory on /data/media, so those would be safe. I know that Nova Launcher, Titanium Backup, Tasker, and some others do that.

The SD card does not get wiped between rom flashes using Cwm. Only the first boot loader unlock does everything get wiped.
So all my files and pics on my SD card stay in tact when I wipe in Cwm or flash a new rom.

Hi all,
I have a similar question.. I'm wanting to know where I can safely put the ROM zip because I want to wipe the sdcard0 partitiion
If I put it in /data/media I should be able to select it from there in CWM recovery right?

lamenting said:
Hi all,
I have a similar question.. I'm wanting to know where I can safely put the ROM zip because I want to wipe the sdcard0 partitiion
If I put it in /data/media I should be able to select it from there in CWM recovery right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after wiping sdcard partition, just use adb to push files to sdcard.

kyokeun1234 said:
after wiping sdcard partition, just use adb to push files to sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I rebooted into recovery, formatted the sdcard.
Now when I try to push the file in adb, it's not showing up.
Tried pushing to both /storage/sdcard0 and /sdcard but they're not showing up when i ls into them from shell. In fact I can't acces /sdcard at all, but /storage/sdcard0 is empty.
I can't mount /sdcard in CWM either.
Help!

lamenting said:
So I rebooted into recovery, formatted the sdcard.
Now when I try to push the file in adb, it's not showing up.
Tried pushing to both /storage/sdcard0 and /sdcard but they're not showing up when i ls into them from shell. In fact I can't acces /sdcard at all, but /storage/sdcard0 is empty.
I can't mount /sdcard in CWM either.
Help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try /data/media, as that is where the "sdcard" data actually resides. The other locations are just links that point here
You may need to use the recovery option to mount /data.

codesplice said:
Try /data/media, as that is where the "sdcard" data actually resides. The other locations are just links that point here
You may need to use the recovery option to mount /data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
I ended up flashing back to stock and then flashed a new ROM and it seems to be working OK.
In the future, though, what should I have done different to avoid not being able to access /sdcard?

lamenting said:
Thanks!
I ended up flashing back to stock and then flashed a new ROM and it seems to be working OK.
In the future, though, what should I have done different to avoid not being able to access /sdcard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd just try accessing it via /data/media instead. The other links may not be created before the system actually boots.

Interesting Experience with CWM Recover 6.0.2.3

I was wondering whether anyone has experienced the following:
I was on Team Sonic-Free GS3 v.3.0.0. Everything was setup the way i wanted it. I booted into Recovery and created a Restore point.
Right after, I did the following:
- Wipe Data/Factory Reset
- Wipe Cache partition
- Wipe Dalvik Cache
- Format /System
- Format /Data
- Format /Cache
I installed the latest Nightly from Cyanogenmod 10 (12.26). Initially I used an older version of gapps-jb but immediately flashed the correct one. Everything went fine. The system loaded and nothing seemed wrong. After some messing around I noticed it was a big sluggish on my phone. So I decided to restore the phone back to its original setting.
When I went to backup/restore and hit the Restore option, it told me that I had no recovery points! :crying::crying: At this point I started freaking out.
I tried to see if I could flash from the SDCard and I noticed one thing. This was in order to get to the main folder of the SDCard i needed to enter a folder named "0". All the files were there including my CMW recover file. Although it was on the card the recovery option was unable to see it.
After this I decided to do the following. I clean swiped again and installed the Free GS3 version i had on the SDCard already. I booted into the system and saw that the folder "0" was there but also in the main directory there were still folders. In the main portion of the card i loaded my copy of the recovery.
I went back into recovery and and tried again. The restore file was there! :good::good: I was able to recovery my original setup. Unfortunately, all of my pictures and music were still located within the newly created "0" folder. I just copied those back.
Can anyone explain why this happened? I'm very curious!
I do apologize if this has been answered before. I have done a search and have only found scenarios for the SDcard is not seen as mounted. (also dont know if the icons mean anything for the post)
*Update - Folder "0" cannot be deleted. Root explorer says "failed" and Windows Explorer says "Cannot delete 0: THe storage is write-protected". Any ideas on this also?

solidhound said:
I was wondering whether anyone has experienced the following:
I was on Team Sonic-Free GS3 v.3.0.0. Everything was setup the way i wanted it. I booted into Recovery and created a Restore point.
Right after, I did the following:
- Wipe Data/Factory Reset
- Wipe Cache partition
- Wipe Dalvik Cache
- Format /System
- Format /Data
- Format /Cache
I installed the latest Nightly from Cyanogenmod 10 (12.26). Initially I used an older version of gapps-jb but immediately flashed the correct one. Everything went fine. The system loaded and nothing seemed wrong. After some messing around I noticed it was a big sluggish on my phone. So I decided to restore the phone back to its original setting.
When I went to backup/restore and hit the Restore option, it told me that I had no recovery points! :crying::crying: At this point I started freaking out.
I tried to see if I could flash from the SDCard and I noticed one thing. This was in order to get to the main folder of the SDCard i needed to enter a folder named "0". All the files were there including my CMW recover file. Although it was on the card the recovery option was unable to see it.
After this I decided to do the following. I clean swiped again and installed the Free GS3 version i had on the SDCard already. I booted into the system and saw that the folder "0" was there but also in the main directory there were still folders. In the main portion of the card i loaded my copy of the recovery.
I went back into recovery and and tried again. The restore file was there! :good::good: I was able to recovery my original setup. Unfortunately, all of my pictures and music were still located within the newly created "0" folder. I just copied those back.
Can anyone explain why this happened? I'm very curious!
I do apologize if this has been answered before. I have done a search and have only found scenarios for the SDcard is not seen as mounted. (also dont know if the icons mean anything for the post)
*Update - Folder "0" cannot be deleted. Root explorer says "failed" and Windows Explorer says "Cannot delete 0: THe storage is write-protected". Any ideas on this also?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was it registering a different recovery version when you flashed CM10 from the FreeGS? If so that would be why it didn't register the backup that you made. (I had this issue or similar to on my Touch) flashed a different rom that used CVM 5.something.. and original was a newer version. Caused me some issues. As for the folder being write protected. Try using root explorer, mount as R/W and then try to delete from there. Just ensure you have everything out of it you want tho.

milky1112 said:
Was it registering a different recovery version when you flashed CM10 from the FreeGS? If so that would be why it didn't register the backup that you made. (I had this issue or similar to on my Touch) flashed a different rom that used CVM 5.something.. and original was a newer version. Caused me some issues. As for the folder being write protected. Try using root explorer, mount as R/W and then try to delete from there. Just ensure you have everything out of it you want tho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey milky1112.
Thanks for reading and providing your input!
I actually used the sames recovery when creating and trying to restore. That's the odd part. I did recently flash the newer version within the old recovery. Do you think that may have been it? Although the new one was used to create a nandroid and restore it.
I just tried deleting using Root Explorer and the same result. It's not a big deal since its only 69mb but it's quite annoying knowing I can't.
thanks again!

solidhound said:
hey milky1112.
Thanks for reading and providing your input!
I actually used the sames recovery when creating and trying to restore. That's the odd part. I did recently flash the newer version within the old recovery. Do you think that may have been it? Although the new one was used to create a nandroid and restore it.
I just tried deleting using Root Explorer and the same result. It's not a big deal since its only 69mb but it's quite annoying knowing I can't.
thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is very possible, still odd that it will not let you delete even with R/W permissions set. But as long as everything is working.. Then i wouldn't fuss too much

The new rom you installed is on 4.2 not 4.1 which is probably what you had originally. The new 4.2 releases by Google move everything into the O folder its part of the new Android set up to dual boot devices. If the recovery is not set up to correct for this your phone will not recognize where the files have been moved to. In my understanding only TWRP is corrected to do this, we'll at least in the Gnex it is. Anyone on Cwm has had issues with this. The fix is to copy and paste your files back into its original location. You can not delete O folder it is an essential part now of your system and it's where it will reference everything from and originals must remain.
Transmitted with a portable device using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

edfunkycold said:
The new rom you installed is on 4.2 not 4.1 which is probably what you had originally. The new 4.2 releases by Google move everything into the O folder its part of the new Android set up to dual boot devices. If the recovery is not set up to correct for this your phone will not recognize where the files have been moved to. In my understanding only TWRP is corrected to do this, we'll at least in the Gnex it is. Anyone on Cwm has had issues with this. The fix is to copy and paste your files back into its original location. You can not delete O folder it is an essential part now of your system and it's where it will reference everything from and originals must remain.
Transmitted with a portable device using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clarification Ed. I've been on TPR for a while so haven't flashed any 4.2 roms.

edfunkycold said:
The new rom you installed is on 4.2 not 4.1 which is probably what you had originally. The new 4.2 releases by Google move everything into the O folder its part of the new Android set up to dual boot devices. If the recovery is not set up to correct for this your phone will not recognize where the files have been moved to. In my understanding only TWRP is corrected to do this, we'll at least in the Gnex it is. Anyone on Cwm has had issues with this. The fix is to copy and paste your files back into its original location. You can not delete O folder it is an essential part now of your system and it's where it will reference everything from and originals must remain.
Transmitted with a portable device using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey edfunkycold,
thanks a ton for the response and clarification! i was thinking about swapping recoveries but i already reverted back to the original nandroid image i had at that point.
and you are correct. i was on 4.1 and not 4.2. i didn't know such changes were made but its great to see dual boot is coming up.
i will make sure to THANK both responses once i reach 10 posts. i'm trying hard to participate in these forums but haven't had time until recently.

need help with flashing a 4.2.2 rom from tw..

basically whats happening is im currently on fre3 rom and i want to try out liquid, but when i flash liquid my internal sd is wiped? everything from downloaded items, backups from titanium, to my twrp backups and anything in the internal sd is gone
now i suspect it has something to do with the way 4.2.2 roms deal with the users and that whole 0 folder thing, but my question is, is there any way to keep the contents of my sd card so liquid will see it?
because when i pop it into my pc, theyre gone gone, its not like they were overlooked (happened when i tried another rom)
any ideas?

therenegadenail said:
basically whats happening is im currently on fre3 rom and i want to try out liquid, but when i flash liquid my internal sd is wiped? everything from downloaded items, backups from titanium, to my twrp backups and anything in the internal sd is gone
now i suspect it has something to do with the way 4.2.2 roms deal with the users and that whole 0 folder thing, but my question is, is there any way to keep the contents of my sd card so liquid will see it?
because when i pop it into my pc, theyre gone gone, its not like they were overlooked (happened when i tried another rom)
any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No matter what, when you wipe your phone, it wipes internal memory....... At least I'm pretty sure..

Joe0113 said:
No matter what, when you wipe your phone, it wipes internal memory....... At least I'm pretty sure..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea but to an extent no? i mean i always am able to restore things from titanium with no issue, also it erases twrp backups? thats never happened before
also i cannot delete that 0 folder at all, in phone or plug to computer, theres a folder in it, anbech? and in that theres a backup file? an sh file? it wont let me delete it at all

therenegadenail said:
yea but to an extent no? i mean i always am able to restore things from titanium with no issue, also it erases twrp backups? thats never happened before
also i cannot delete that 0 folder at all, in phone or plug to computer, theres a folder in it, anbech? and in that theres a backup file? an sh file? it wont let me delete it at all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download ES File Explorer and you can delete it. Just make sure you don't delete important folders/files.

Joe0113 said:
Download ES File Explorer and you can delete it. Just make sure you don't delete important folders/files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have es file explorer, and it still wont let me
if i restore back to my tw rom which is 4.1.2 the 0 folder is there, and its the only folder in there, and every time i try, it says i cant

Joe0113 said:
No matter what, when you wipe your phone, it wipes internal memory....... At least I'm pretty sure..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not true. I've been installing custom ROMs for a long time and I've never had this. If you're restoring a 4.1.2 ROM (like FRE) and all your files are gone then you may have accidentally wiped your internal memory somehow. You are correct in saying that when you flash a 4.2.2 ROM, a new directory gets created called "0" but when flashing back to a 4.1.1 your old files should reappear, only with a new directory called "0.". The best way to avoid this problem all together is, whenever flashing from a 4.1.2 to a 4.2.2 ROM, before doing so copy all the contents of your internal SD card to your desktop (or external storage if you have the space), then when doing your wipes (just b4 flashing your new ROM), wipe your internal memory. Once you're all booted into your new ROM, go back to where ever you copied your internal SD card and copy them back to your internal SD directory. Again you only need to do this when going from a 4.1.x ROM to a 4.2.x ROM (or vice versa).
Good luck!
Hello my name is George and I'm a flashoholic.
EDIT: BTW, for future reference you should put your twrp backups on external.

External sd card doesnt get wiped when the upgrade from 4.1.1 to 4.2.2 as i have my backups stored on internal but should move them to external sd .
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

Where did my files go after flashing?

Hey all,
Was bored and needed to update my phone with a new rom so I did some scouting about and found Beanstalk. Now this rom is awesome but previously I was on CleanRom which is also an awesome rom.
When changing from Clean to Bean I used TWRP and wiped Cache, Dalvik and Factory reset. I never wiped system (I know I should have).
Now after doing so, I lost all data files (images, videos, music, etc). I would like to retrieve those. Upon looking through the root directory, I could not find them.
So, any ideas? I'm stumped but I am not giving up. Storage details says I have 10gb, available 2.5gb+. Now where did the 7gb+ go? Also my 6gb for my system as it is a 16gb N7105.
If more info is needed just ask. List all you need to know. I am gunna do some other things that does not involve wiping the device.

If you open up explorer and check the internal sd. You should be able to see a file labelled "0" check in that folder.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

bushako said:
If you open up explorer and check the internal sd. You should be able to see a file labelled "0" check in that folder.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its note there mate, I've already checked.

SwannyBhoy said:
Hey all,
Was bored and needed to update my phone with a new rom so I did some scouting about and found Beanstalk. Now this rom is awesome but previously I was on CleanRom which is also an awesome rom.
When changing from Clean to Bean I used TWRP and wiped Cache, Dalvik and Factory reset. I never wiped system (I know I should have).
Now after doing so, I lost all data files (images, videos, music, etc). I would like to retrieve those. Upon looking through the root directory, I could not find them.
So, any ideas? I'm stumped but I am not giving up. Storage details says I have 10gb, available 2.5gb+. Now where did the 7gb+ go? Also my 6gb for my system as it is a 16gb N7105.
If more info is needed just ask. List all you need to know. I am gunna do some other things that does not involve wiping the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A factory reset will wipe all data on internal memory.
GT N7105 with XDA Premium......that is all......

bearusa said:
A factory reset will wipe all data on internal memory.
GT N7105 with XDA Premium......that is all......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset doesn't wipes internal memory.
Maybe twrp setting was set to /media(not sure which folder it is) directory for internal memory so it wiped the internal memory too
〽 ???✌ ?? ????Ⓜ?

There's plenty of apps on playstore that can do a full search for internal memory and show the largest files. I think a good one would be Memory Maid.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app

Hello all
Thanks for the feedback.
So what I have done is flashed a new kernel and recovery which is called Devil. I got this for the dual boot feature and within flashing a rom as I noticed a folder called legacy. This folder contains my previous content. All music folders etc.
So I rebooted went onto a few root explorers and could not find it!
I've enabled root and show hidden files and folders. Went to the root of the phone and checked each folder and all folders within and still cant find it.
Recovery shows: /sdcard/0/legacy - Old
Root explorer: /sdcard - New
Root also has another folder storage, with 4 folders; emulated, sdcard0, sdcard1, usbdisk0.
Emulated has 2 folders; 0 and legacy. Both display the new files.
Sdcard0 shows new files.
Sdcard1 shows microSD(Need more disk space for roms)
Usbdisk0 has no files.
This is a mind game. I think the rom created a new system within the old system files and it can't access out but the recovery can.
I have tried mounting the phone to the Pc via recovery but it won't pick up.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium

Hello all,
Thanks again for the support!
I resolved the issue. The issue was, AOKP based roms create a new file system for the System. It created it within /sdcard/0/legacy.
When I flashed a Sammy based rom and checked the file manager I was able to see all.
So for all who are coming from Sammy to AOKP, please be careful and back up all SDCard contents, regardless if advised it will not affect Internal storage. This is the first time this has happened since G1 days.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium[/QUOTE]

mannyvinny said:
Factory reset doesn't wipes internal memory.
Maybe twrp setting was set to /media(not sure which folder it is) directory for internal memory so it wiped the internal memory too
〽 ???✌ ?? ????Ⓜ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think so becuase I've recently installed the CM on my device, did a factory reset with the CWM recovery but both the internal and external memory (SD) wheren't touched at all, all the files and folders remains where they was.
So it's normal, right?

Yes mate.. when doing the 3 wipes it doesn't touch internal storage. Its only when you wipe either internal storage or /sdcard.
I had to format my sdcard and wipe all data after I transfered it to the PC. This fixed the file system issue but changing from aokp to sammy will do it again and again. Bit annoying. But hey, its always good doing a clean up.
All i had on my phone were a load of pics and vids by camera and 3 albums. All of this would take no more than 2gb.
Camera was 600mb. So where did 5gb go to? So there is a lot of crap from rom changing, ALOT.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

NOOB Q About Memory

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?
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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!