Develop Bugs

[Q] Ping_ files being generated on sdcard0 at each boot

Hi,
Hoping somebody can help.
Each time i boot my N7100 (stock 4.1.2 but rooted) , a file is generated in /storage/sdcard0 with the name format "Ping_1363794618802-20141". The numbers in the filename change for each new file generated. The files are 62 bytes in size and have a creation date and time to match that at actual system boot time. These files accumulate one after another each boot and don't appear to get automatically deleted.
I have opened a file using text view and the data (as below) is always the same except for the last set of numbers which always match the filename.
3.0.8:_ping:GT-N7100:unknown:4.1.2:1.2.3:English:1363794618802
I have uninstalled many apps trying to get to the bottom of this and just when i think i have removed the offending app, the Ping_ files start again.
Do any others have these files being created during each boot? I never noticed any of these files until a few days ago so it must be a recent thing, since 4.1.2. I can not go back to when they first appeared as i always install apps in one large batch meaning it is difficult for me to eliminate things unfortunately.
tia

DraconianGothic said:
Hi,
Hoping somebody can help.
Each time i boot my N7100 (stock 4.1.2 but rooted) , a file is generated in /storage/sdcard0 with the name format "Ping_1363794618802-20141". The numbers in the filename change for each new file generated. The files are 62 bytes in size and have a creation date and time to match that at actual system boot time. These files accumulate one after another each boot and don't appear to get automatically deleted.
I have opened a file using text view and the data (as below) is always the same except for the last set of numbers which always match the filename.
3.0.8:_ping:GT-N7100:unknown:4.1.2:1.2.3:English:1363794618802
I have uninstalled many apps trying to get to the bottom of this and just when i think i have removed the offending app, the Ping_ files start again.
Do any others have these files being created during each boot? I never noticed any of these files until a few days ago so it must be a recent thing, since 4.1.2. I can not go back to when they first appeared as i always install apps in one large batch meaning it is difficult for me to eliminate things unfortunately.
tia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i think i've worked this one out after removing/ reinstalling over 80 of my apps. The 'rogue' app appears to be the Argos app, a UK retail store. I did look through all apps on my phone to see if any version numbers matched the entry inside the Ping_ files (3.0.8:_ping:GT-N7100:unknown:4.1.2:1.2.3:English:1363794618802) but somehow missed the version number. The current version of the Argos app on the Google Play UK store is 1.2.3, which matches up. I have now recreated this issue a number of times with the same effect.
Of course, there might be other apps which work in the same way, creating multiple small 'Ping_' files each boot.

Any way to access temporary update don't files?

I am unable to update to any new build ATM because my memory is full of failed updates. My Temporary files for build updates is over 2gb and nothing I have tried can clear them out. I don't want to go through the trouble if rolling back or hard resetting, I just want the garbage gone!
I can't recall offhand which directory it was, but after enabling Full FileSystem Access and connecting to PC, I was able to locate were all of the temporary updates are stored. There were hundreds of folders in there with number and letter strings for names, so nothing is easily identifiable. And of course it wouldn't let me delete anything either.
Does anyone have any idea how to identify and delete these failed updates?

Hardreset.

augustinionut said:
Hardreset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I specifically stated i don't want to do that.. But I know, because this OS is full of holes that's probably the only solution.
Still though, there has to be away to delete the files. If we can replace in-use files like the notification icons on lock screen, we should be able to remove dead update files.

"I was able to locate were all of the temporary updates are stored."
Where?

titi66200 said:
"I was able to locate were all of the temporary updates are stored."
Where?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll look again and let you know. I'm pretty sure I saved a print screen of it on my laptop.

You need to enable Mass Storage with WP Internals.

I would love to know where they are stored, keep us updated

Sorry for the delay.. here is the screenshot of the directory i mentioned.

x_orange90_x said:
Sorry for the delay.. here is the screenshot of the directory i mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Delete all in this directory? This is needless files?

In the Downloads folder i believe, yes. However they can't simply be deleted, it does not allow it. I'm taking an educated guess that this is where the update files are stored, as it's a similar directly to where the PC stores Windows Updates.

ive managed to delete the temporary files and clear up every bit of space they took up. im going to post a guide for this, so check it out if you need help.

android.process.media keeps stopping - so annoying

Dear all,
I have been using RMN5 for a while and this is the most f**cking annoying error in this phone (or MIUI's error - i got it in my LG F180L running MIUI7 a long time ago and it happened too)
Every time i connected the phone to PC, i got this problem, I've followed the tips on XDA about disable media storage and download (force stop only in RMN5) and reboot, ok it fixed for a while, but not for long, next time i connect, it happen AGAIN.
I'm so tired of this sh*t and want to get rid of it.
Please, somebody please show me the way.
Thank you

Don't disable those apps instead go to the app settings media storage and download and clear both cache and data, hopes this will solve the problem and move this post to question and answer thread. It belongs there.

you disabled critical system app and complained why you get error messages

This is the Android Media Scanner, looking for files to index on your storage.
Some options are:
Try creating a file called '.nomedia' in every folder, and the problem should dissapear. In that case you may have a corrupted file somewhere, so try to delete the .nomedia file in some of the suspected folders to see if the problem comes back (or google something like 'android.process.media .nomedia' for a better explanation or solution.
You can also enable debuggind (via developer options), to inspect the problem with adb logcat, or to install a logcat related app from Play Store, in case the dump that should appear at the time of the error contains some hint.

rgawenda said:
This is the Android Media Scanner, looking for files to index on your storage.
Some options are:
Try creating a file called '.nomedia' in every folder, and the problem should dissapear. In that case you may have a corrupted file somewhere, so try to delete the .nomedia file in some of the suspected folders to see if the problem comes back (or google something like 'android.process.media .nomedia' for a better explanation or solution.
You can also enable debuggind (via developer options), to inspect the problem with adb logcat, or to install a logcat related app from Play Store, in case the dump that should appear at the time of the error contains some hint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having this issue after updating my Samsung GT-N8013 to lineageos 16.0. When you say to put a .nomedia file in every folder, do you litterally mean every single folder on both the tablet and sd card or a certain level of folder?

tcfulmer said:
I'm having this issue after updating my Samsung GT-N8013 to lineageos 16.0. When you say to put a .nomedia file in every folder, do you litterally mean every single folder on both the tablet and sd card or a certain level of folder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The .nomedia flag file will stop the scan in the directory it's placed and all of the directories contained in it.

I ended up reinstalling the the OS 16.0 rom for my Samsung N8013. It took a total of running the installation 3 times but it finally became stable.

Note 10+ storage problem

Hi,I have a note 10+ and I had 2 huge folders of music. I connect it with PC and deleted one of the folder, then I got the error that device not responding. I removed the cable, checked the first folder was gone, then I deleted the second folder using solid explorer. But my mobile is still showing the same storage as before. I tried looking with SD Maid and few other memory analyzing apps to see what is taking place. The app "disk usage" showing 95.6gb is taken by system data, but I cannot figure out which folder I should look for.. I also tried clearing system cache from recovery menu.. but nothing is working.
anyone have any suggestions other than resetting the device?
The device is not rooted btw.
thanks

Enable show root storage under settings/other in solid explorer and check if you can spot redundant music folders and if it then allows you to delete it.

I ran into the same issue. Since I updated to Android 10, the storage space was not available after deleting a file or a folder. The only work around was to reset the phone and activate the trashcan everywhere. Then each time you delete a file or a folder, you go to your trashcan and you empty it. Problem solved for me. I guess this is a bug within Android 10 as I have the same issue on both my Note 9 512Gb and my Note10+ 512Gb (both Exynos). Hope it helps!

I think that this issue is generated by the new way of the file management, I read here in XDA before android 10 release, that files generated by an app would only be accessible by that particular app, the author of the article was very worried about this, , because although this supposedly makes the device more secure, it generates other problems, as the one exposed here, I blocked updates because of this very reason, the convoluted new file management

Do you have file guardian from galaxy labs? That's where i found my deleted stuff which still took space. I got back almost 80gb after deleting all of it.

deejhay14 said:
Do you have file guardian from galaxy labs? That's where i found my deleted stuff which still took space. I got back almost 80gb after deleting all of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed I use it. I found 3gb inside this folder. Mostly app updates! Thanks for your info

I downloaded file guardian from sammobile, installed but cannot find the icon to run it from. It shows up in system/apps/file guardian but of course it can’t be run from there. Where was your icon hiding?
Kind regards.

g0tch said:
I downloaded file guardian from sammobile, installed but cannot find the icon to run it from. It shows up in system/apps/file guardian but of course it can’t be run from there. Where was your icon hiding?
Kind regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
File Guardian is part of Galaxy Labs. You will find the icon under Galaxy Labs app.

Powergeek2017 said:
File Guardian is part of Galaxy Labs. You will find the icon under Galaxy Labs app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks, I didn't know that. Labs now installed and File Guardian is there. Thanks for your help!
Best Regards,

All my music and pictures on my Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite is randomly removed all the time, how can I solve this?

I've a Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite, but all my music and pictures get randomly removed all the time and then I need to download them again.
I don't remove them myself for clarity.
I guess the cleaner app removes it but there is no option to add them to exceptions and there is also no option to turn off auto clean.
This is a very annoying problem and I'm tired to download all my music and pictures over and over again so how can I solve this?

Googole said:
I've a Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite, but all my music and pictures get randomly removed all the time and then I need to download them again.
I don't remove them myself for clarity.
I guess the cleaner app removes it but there is no option to add them to exceptions and there is also no option to turn off auto clean.
This is a very annoying problem and I'm tired to download all my music and pictures over and over again so how can I solve this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe your device has something like "storage manager" active?
Go into settings and then storage, see if you find something suspicious.

Uninstall or disable cleaning app... you really need to play with your device more.
That cleaner app sounds more like malware

blackhawk said:
Uninstall or disable cleaning app... you really need to play with your device more.
That cleaner app sounds more like malware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found out that Cleaner is useless and is just a waste of space so I removed it.
I hope my problem is solved.

User699 said:
Maybe your device has something like "storage manager" active?
Go into settings and then storage, see if you find something suspicious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've made a screenshot of the Storage page.
Screenshot_2021-04-19-11-09-51-509_com.miui.securitycenter.jpg
drive.google.com
I don't know if it is suspicious but Other is 8,61GB

Removing Cleaner didn't solve my problem.
I download my music from Google Drive and all music downloaded from there is gone now.
The songs that I didn't download from Google Drive aren't removed.
The most of the pictures are removed too, but some didn't.

Googole said:
Removing Cleaner didn't solve my problem.
I download my music from Google Drive and all music downloaded from there is gone now.
The songs that I didn't download from Google Drive aren't removed.
The most of the pictures are removed too, but some didn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well If so, have a look at gdrives settings.
Also: Are gdrive files in another folder than those not being removed?

Could be malware... you know odd behavior.
The OS or an app may have been corrupted.
A factory reset be a good idea at this point.
Self destructing files aren't normal.
Is it just Google stuff that's vaporizing?
If so maybe deleting/recreating your Google account might solve it.
I'm leaning towards a full nuke of that OS though.
I don't trust Google with any of my data management other than Gmail. I backup and load everything from the SD card, flash stick and hdds.

blackhawk said:
Could be malware... you know odd behavior.
The OS or an app may have been corrupted.
A factory reset be a good idea at this point.
Self destructing files aren't normal.
Is it just Google stuff that's vaporizing?
If so maybe deleting/recreating your Google account might solve it.
I'm leaning towards a full nuke of that OS though.
I don't trust Google with any of my data management other than Gmail. I backup and load everything from the SD card, flash stick and hdds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, could be malware.
A malware checking app would be a first step. If you can run adb on your computer you can check for modifications made on the file system (as you operate as "shell" instead of "root" (unless you are rooted) you won't be able to read everything. Actually you'll get "access denied" very often. But if you find system directories/files with another date then the 'standard recovery date' this could be a sign for malicous activity)

User699 said:
True, could be malware.
A malware checking app would be a first step. If you can run adb on your computer you can check for modifications made on the file system (as you operate as "shell" instead of "root" (unless you are rooted) you won't be able to read everything. Actually you'll get "access denied" very often. But if you find system directories/files with another date then the 'standard recovery date' this could be a sign for malicous activity)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's another possibility, a malware jpeg.
I ran into two in the last 15 years, one a year ago on my N10+. Downloaded from a site into the download folder it corrupted many files in that folder. Some only had damage to the file name and were easily repairable, some were not.
Deleted all I couldn't repair or was in doubt about especially the tainted jpeg.
If that jpeg would have been moved to another folder the same thing would have happened.
The only way to stop this type of malware is to find the infected jpeg. It may not show up on many or any virus/malware scans. I found this one because I noticed the damage immediately after viewing it in downloads. If one one these gets in your database they are little nightmare. One reason I keep downloads in the Download folder for examination, especially jpegs, are these little nasties.
Not real common but they're out there.

blackhawk said:
Could be malware... you know odd behavior.
The OS or an app may have been corrupted.
A factory reset be a good idea at this point.
Self destructing files aren't normal.
Is it just Google stuff that's vaporizing?
If so maybe deleting/recreating your Google account might solve it.
I'm leaning towards a full nuke of that OS though.
I don't trust Google with any of my data management other than Gmail. I backup and load everything from the SD card, flash stick and hdds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done a factory reset earlier but it didn't solve the issue.
All music and the most of the pictures downloaded from Google Drive are removed all the time.

User699 said:
True, could be malware.
A malware checking app would be a first step. If you can run adb on your computer you can check for modifications made on the file system (as you operate as "shell" instead of "root" (unless you are rooted) you won't be able to read everything. Actually you'll get "access denied" very often. But if you find system directories/files with another date then the 'standard recovery date' this could be a sign for malicous activity)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll check for malware and I'll let you know what the results are.

blackhawk said:
There's another possibility, a malware jpeg.
I ran into two in the last 15 years, one a year ago on my N10+. Downloaded from a site into the download folder it corrupted many files in that folder. Some only had damage to the file name and were easily repairable, some were not.
Deleted all I couldn't repair or was in doubt about especially the tainted jpeg.
If that jpeg would have been moved to another folder the same thing would have happened.
The only way to stop this type of malware is to find the infected jpeg. It may not show up on many or any virus/malware scans. I found this one because I noticed the damage immediately after viewing it in downloads. If one one these gets in your database they are little nightmare. One reason I keep downloads in the Download folder for examination, especially jpegs, are these little nasties.
Not real common but they're out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All my pictures are in the .jpg format

Create a folder in the root directory (not in any other folder) of your storage
In this folder create another two folders - one for music & one for pictures
Move all pictures & music to these folders
This will eliminate sync from apps deleting anything as they shouldn't have access to these folders
If they are still being deleted after this then the user is telling an app to delete them (intentionality or unintentionally)

TheFixItMan said:
Create a folder in the root directory (not in any other folder) of your storage
In this folder create another two folders - one for music & one for pictures
Move all pictures & music to these folders
This will eliminate sync from apps deleting anything as they shouldn't have access to these folders
If they are still being deleted after this then the user is telling an app to delete them (intentionality or unintentionally)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your suggestion, I'll try it and let you know what the result it.

I've downloaded MalwareBytes, scanned my phone but it didn't find any malware @blackhawk

Googole said:
I've downloaded MalwareBytes, scanned my phone but it didn't find any malware @blackhawk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you said you did a factory data reset there must be an app somewhere which is responsible for that.
I would check Google Drive – I don't even have a google account so I can't check it, but maybe GDrive is deleting files automatically.
Is it ONLY GDrive files being deleted?

User699 said:
Well If so, have a look at gdrives settings.
Also: Are gdrive files in another folder than those not being removed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've looked at the Gdrive settings, but I couldn't find anything related to the problem.
The Gdrive files are on Google Drive and those not being removed and removed are in my internal storage.

User699 said:
Since you said you did a factory data reset there must be an app somewhere which is responsible for that.
I would check Google Drive – I don't even have a google account so I can't check it, but maybe GDrive is deleting files automatically.
Is it ONLY GDrive files being deleted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've checked the Google Drive settings but I couldn't find anything related to the problem.
Only files downloaded from Gdrive are deleted.
Files downloaded from other places aren't deleted.

Googole said:
I've checked the Google Drive settings but I couldn't find anything related to the problem.
Only files downloaded from Gdrive are deleted.
Files downloaded from other places aren't deleted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And GDrive downloads them into Downloads folder?
If not you could try to move these things into another folder and see whether they will be deleted again or not.