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I've had a bit of a nightmare tonight, I rooted and cwm my nexus within the first hour of ownership and flashed modaco pauls rom however after a couple of days of messing around I found myself wondering how to format the internal storage but still be able to flash via cwm. Have poked around I've found you are able to push the rom via adb while in cmw so again no problem except selecting "wipe" from ics doesnt really format the partition the storage, while when the phone is running and plugged into the computer you seem to have a fresh storage area however the free space is still taking into account of old files. And when I went back to cwm it clearly still showed the old deleted files which seems strange. The only way i was able to clear everything was via the storage menu with ics deleting folders one at a time ?!
So my question is......
Which is the best way to format the internal storage area and once completed am i able to push my rom onto the phone and flash correctly?
Same problem here.
Even with wiping and formatting data, cache, system, dalvik cache and even a factory reset from the running Android, I still have old data from non-present apps in my app list.
Download the Super Wipe script from the Android Revolution HD thread, flash it in CWM and voila - completely formatted phone (bar the user data like pictures, music, etc)
Simplest way is to re-lock and re-unlock back the bootloader
Proyoyo said:
Simplest way is to re-lock and re-unlock back the bootloader
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Click to collapse
Will this has any effect on rom / root?
GBIC said:
Same problem here.
Even with wiping and formatting data, cache, system, dalvik cache and even a factory reset from the running Android, I still have old data from non-present apps in my app list.
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Click to collapse
Grab the Nexus Toolkit in the development section. It will do everything you are looking for plus more.
Just wondering, as i'm probably selling my Galaxy S3 soon... what's the easiest way to completely wipe everything off the phone? Pictures, apps, documents.... everything? Will re-install a custom ROM after wiping.... just want to make sure all personal data is off the phone.
elementaldragon said:
Just wondering, as i'm probably selling my Galaxy S3 soon... what's the easiest way to completely wipe everything off the phone? Pictures, apps, documents.... everything? Will re-install a custom ROM after wiping.... just want to make sure all personal data is off the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I imagine using twrp would be the best way. Not sure if there is another alternative. Maybe odin.
First before wiping system you may want to wipe internal storage (after backing up your internal storage to your computer or something first of course). Then boot up your current system and transfer a rom you want to install to your internal storage. Then reboot to twrp and wipe system, factory reset, cache and dalvik. Then install a rom fresh and then it should be ready to go. This is what I do after selling a device, before shipping to a customer.
.... wouldn't copying a custom ROM to the internal storage BEFORE wiping System and everything also erase the custom ROM i just transferred to the device?
And i mean wiping EVERYTHING. basically as if the phone was just taken out of the box, and unlocked, rooted, and custom ROM installed. No left over files whatsoever. Don't think wiping just System does that, does it? Wouldn't i do the "Wipe Internal Storage" or something like that? Think that's about what i did on my Motorola Atrix when i sold that.
* edit looking into the wiping system part to see exactly what it erases.
Wiping system, factory reset, cache and dalvik should erase everything except storage. You could wipe internal storage after you freshly install a ROM. But hopefully there are no errors, because you will have no files on storage if something had went wrong during installation. I would also have a ROM file on an external sdcard that you could plug in if you needed to.
You will probably want to leave one ROM file on the device for the person you are selling it to, just incase.
Sent from my Nexus 5
stelv said:
* edit looking into the wiping system part to see exactly what it erases.
Wiping system, factory reset, cache and dalvik should erase everything except storage. You could wipe internal storage after you freshly install a ROM. But hopefully there are no errors, because you will have no files on storage if something had went wrong during installation. I would also have a ROM file on an external sdcard that you could plug in if you needed to.
You will probably want to leave one ROM file on the device for the person you are selling it to, just incase.
Sent from my Nexus 5
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Click to collapse
Well, I am selling it with the 8GB Micro-SD card anyway, since i've got no use for it with the Nexus 5. And i believe that's what i did with the Atrix. Wiped storage/system/factory reset/cache. Pretty much everything that made sense to wipe.... and just kept the ROM on the SD card out of the phone, just to make sure i didn't accidentally wipe that somehow.
And i'll probably just do what i usually end up doing for stuff like this. Wipe everything, install the ROM and make sure it boots, and just shut it off when it comes to the initial setup screen.
Here are some useful links
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1823906
http://teamw.in/whattowipe
Sent from my Nexus 5
Hello! I've only been working with Android for a good year but the only devices I've used have had SD cards so I've only ever backup'd, and flashed via an SD Card.
I understand I must either get an OTG cable or push through ADB to get the files on my device after wiping through TWRP right? I've already unlocked the bootloader, flashed TWRP, and rooted through CF.
Is there anywhere I can move the ROM files too in the phone's internal storage that'll stay there after wiping my System, Data and Cache through TWRP so I can select them to flash right afterwards?
Thanks for helping me, I understand it's a noob question!)
Br4nd3n said:
Hello! I've only been working with Android for a good year but the only devices I've used have had SD cards so I've only ever backup'd, and flashed via an SD Card.
I understand I must either get an OTG cable or push through ADB to get the files on my device after wiping through TWRP right? I've already unlocked the bootloader, flashed TWRP, and rooted through CF.
Is there anywhere I can move the ROM files too in the phone's internal storage that'll stay there after wiping my System, Data and Cache through TWRP so I can select them to flash right afterwards?
Thanks for helping me, I understand it's a noob question!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wiping data will not wipe your data/sdcard, so you can download the files normally (directly on the device using a web browser, or USB MTP, etc).
Yes, custom recovery is specifically setup not to wipe your internal storage.
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
SwoRNLeaDejZ said:
Yes, custom recovery is specifically setup not to wipe your internal storage.
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
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Awesome. So put the files into my SDCard or any internal folder and it should work?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Br4nd3n said:
Awesome. So put the files into my SDCard or any internal folder and it should work?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Click to collapse
Anywhere on your SD card is safe.
arkolbus said:
Anywhere on your SD card is safe.
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SD card? Nexus 7?
douger1957 said:
SD card? Nexus 7?
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The internal "sdcard" directory
arkolbus said:
The internal "sdcard" directory
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Ah.
CM's File Manager calls it "internal storage" as does Android. ES File Explorer calls it "SD card." You say "tomato" and I say "tamato..."
At any rate, a factory reset will indeed wipe the internal storage/sd card. The ROM the OP is trying to flash will no longer be there. Ask me how I know this.
For what it's worth, here's how I do it.
1) Back up that which I can't reload. Pictures automatically upload to Dropbox for me. Music I can always resync. Your mileage may vary.
2) Factory reset. If I'm feeling lazy or the ROM developer says it's OK, I'll wipe just the cache and dalvik, then flash away. Feeling lazy usually means more work in the end, so I try to avoid that option.
3) Reboot. Once the setup wizard runs... I do not sign on to Google so that it won't try to restore my apps and settings... I mount the internal storage and transfer the ROM zip to the device. I do not download anything directly to my device, but rather my desktop. First off, I trust the internet connection more, second, I can run the thing past my antivirus before I load it on my device. I then transfer it to the root directory of the device.
4) Boot into recovery and wipe the cache, dalvik and system. I then flash the ROM. If there are other files that need to be flashed before the first boot, I do so one at a time. When I'm done, I'll wipe the cache and dalvik one more time, then boot into the system and run the wizard.
When I first got into Android with the Droid Incredible, I was a flashaholic. It'd be nothing to flash three or four times a week. I quickly learned what worked and what didn't. Knocking on wood, I've never come close to bricking a device and usually don't invite trouble by sticking religiously to my routine. That's not to say that I never got a tightening feeling in my nether regions when a device seemed to hang on the splash screen a bit too long.
ROM development is far more sophisticated now than in those days. With both the Rezound and now the S4, I've pretty much hung with one developer and his product and don't flash nearly as much, especially since the ROMs of today are far more stable. But the basic procedure remains the same. The above procedure is modified from my phones past and present, since the Nexus is the first device I've owned that did not have an external SD card, which isn't wiped on a factory reset. I also don't do a nandroid backup with the Nexus, since it's a fairly simple matter to reload a factory image using Wug's Toolbox. That's how I recovered from doing a factory reset and a system wipe on the Nexus... which also involved some tension in the posterior.
douger1957 said:
Ah.
CM's File Manager calls it "internal storage" as does Android. ES File Explorer calls it "SD card." You say "tomato" and I say "tamato..."
At any rate, a factory reset will indeed wipe the internal storage/sd card. The ROM the OP is trying to flash will no longer be there. Ask me how I know this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
douger: the OP was referring to a factory reset/wipe in TWRP, which does *not* wipe the internal storage. I flash frequently on my Nex7 and LG G2, neither have external SD cards, both have TWRP, and I have never lost my data using this method. If you load TWRP and click [Wipe], the exact text is:
Factory Reset
Wipes Data, Cache, and Dalvik
(not including internal storage)
arkolbus said:
douger: the OP was referring to a factory reset/wipe in TWRP, which does *not* wipe the internal storage. I flash frequently on my Nex7 and LG G2, neither have external SD cards, both have TWRP, and I have never lost my data using this method. If you load TWRP and click [Wipe], the exact text is:
Factory Reset
Wipes Data, Cache, and Dalvik
(not including internal storage)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It did indeed blow out my internal storage when I first tried it. When I went to flash, there was nothing in internal storage. None of the usually folders, most certainly not the .zip I was looking for, nothing. Enter tension. :cyclops:
Perhaps the next time I'll try again. It'll save a few steps. I'll have Wug's Toolbox open just in case. :highfive:
In edit: I just looked. In TWRP version 2.7.0.0, I must have hit the "format data" button and didn't catch it. You sir are exactly correct.
douger1957 said:
It did indeed blow out my internal storage when I first tried it. When I went to flash, there was nothing in internal storage. None of the usually folders, most certainly not the .zip I was looking for, nothing. Enter tension. :cyclops:
Perhaps the next time I'll try again. It'll save a few steps. I'll have Wug's Toolbox open just in case. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP wipe blew out your internal storage, or was it some other process? Your link pointed to a T-mo "master reset", which I'm sure isn't referring to a custom recovery. Unlocking the bootloader on my G2 completely trashed my internal storage, but I was expecting this. IIRC, Nexus devices have been more unlock-friendly, but loading a factory image will wipe everything, including internal sd.
Helpful hint for everyone (esp. the paranoid): get a cheap USB OTG to USB-A (female) adapter, and have a flash drive handy. Newer versions of TWRP can mount USB OTG, so it's a nice plan B if you can't get past recovery. They're cheap (<$5), small, and come in handy pretty often.
Yeah the N7 official TWRP definitely does not wipe internal storage. It says right in TWRP "wiping data without wiping /media" which means without wiping internal storage.
If your TWRP is wiping the internal you should make sure it isn't a modified version and TeamWin official.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
To clarify, wipe data/factory reset wipes your internal storage (/data) but misses /data/media which is your 'sdcard', call it what you like
Assuming a custom recovery, I cannot speak for stock
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
matt4321 said:
To clarify, wipe data/factory reset wipes your internal storage (/data) but misses /data/media which is your 'sdcard', call it what you like
Assuming a custom recovery, I cannot speak for stock
Sent from my Nexus 7 2013 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
Yes but your sdcard is to most and many your internal storage... What is factory reset wiping if it avoids everything you have on your sdcard, including files copied to the root of your internal storage?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Hello all,
Sorry for this semi-noob question. I have had many android phones and rooted all of them but this is my first Nexus device. I've unlocked my bootloader and have TWRP installed and I'm ready to install a ROM. Unfortunately I am unsure of how I can do a full wipe without wiping my internal storage too.
On every other phone I have had, I would go to advanced wipe and then wipe system, data, cache and dalvik cache but I just did that and it wiped my internal storage :/
I had to flash the stock system image through ADB because ADB sideload wasn't working. Now I'm afraid to wipe system again before trying again because I feel like it will wipe my internal storage again. How can I wipe system properly before installing a new ROM?
Thanks!
Now the interesting question here is: What is internal storage?
You seem to think it is the entire emmc, including your system, cache and data partitions but that is not how that term is used.
As far as I have been able to figure this out "Internal Storage" in Android refers to the entire /data partition which in itself again is divided into a user accessible part where your photos, videos, files are stored ( /data/media and mounted as /sdcard/0 ) and the rest of the /data partition which is used for apps you install and their data. That part is not accessible to the user unless you have root.
Now, for 99% of all wipe operations all you need to do when installing a new rom is to wipe the data partition of all user installed apps and their data, dalvik and cache - also called a 'clean install'.
Any rom installer worth a damn will format /system before installing a new rom, so wiping /system is redundant.
TWRP made this very easy: Enter the Wipe menu and swipe the button. Default is to wipe /data (without wiping /data/media), cache and Dalvik. Flash the rom - done.
berndblb said:
Now the interesting question here is: What is internal storage?
You seem to think it is the entire emmc, including your system, cache and data partitions but that is not how that term is used.
As far as I have been able to figure this out "Internal Storage" in Android refers to the entire /data partition which in itself again is divided into a user accessible part where your photos, videos, files are stored ( /data/media and mounted as /sdcard/0 ) and the rest of the /data partition which is used for apps you install and their data. That part is not accessible to the user unless you have root.
Now, for 99% of all wipe operations all you need to do when installing a new rom is to wipe the data partition of all user installed apps and their data, dalvik and cache - also called a 'clean install'.
Any rom installer worth a damn will format /system before installing a new rom, so wiping /system is redundant.
TWRP made this very easy: Enter the Wipe menu and swipe the button. Default is to wipe /data (without wiping /data/media), cache and Dalvik. Flash the rom - done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Internal Storage" as I used the term refers to just the user accessible part of the data partition where (as you said) photos, files, etc are stored. On previous versions of TWRP for phones I have had, you could wipe system, date, cache, etc and it would always leave internal storage intact. Ergo, after wiping, you could navigate to your downloads folder and find the ROM you wanted to flash. The issue I had was that I wiped "system" using TWRP and it wiped my "internal storage", meaning my downloads and photos and everything - leaving me with no ROM to flash.
You answered my question perfectly toward the end with this
Any rom installer worth a damn will format /system before installing a new rom, so wiping /system is redundant.
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Click to collapse
I come from a series of phones where this was not standard behavior for ROM installers, so failing to wipe system would lead to a dirty flash and almost assuredly cause issues. Thanks for the input, I will just do a data wipe from now on.
You shouldn't count on roms wiping system automatically.
A well established rom like pure Nexus for instance does not wipe system at flashing, leaving it up to the user to clean or dirty flash.
Always read and follow the installation instructions that come with the rom and you should have little problems. If there aren't any instructions, stay away from the rom is my advice, especially of you are a new user.
As to your question: go to the wipe menu in twrp. Then do an advanced wipe. Check every box except internal storage and wipe. Then proceed to flash your rom.
peltus said:
You shouldn't count on roms wiping system automatically.
A well established rom like pure Nexus for instance does not wipe system at flashing, leaving it up to the user to clean or dirty flash.
Always read and follow the installation instructions that come with the rom and you should have little problems. If there aren't any instructions, stay away from the rom is my advice, especially of you are a new user.
As to your question: go to the wipe menu in twrp. Then do an advanced wipe. Check every box except internal storage and wipe. Then proceed to flash your rom.
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Thanks, I'm not a new user by any stretch, just new to the Nexus 5x.
As to your question: go to the wipe menu in twrp. Then do an advanced wipe. Check every box except internal storage and wipe. Then proceed to flash your rom.
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Click to collapse
This is exactly what I did when it wiped the ROM file (and all photos/sms backups) from my internal storage. That's how I have always wiped before flashing a new ROM in TWRP and this is the first time it ever wiped my internal storage, hence my question. I think I'll just stick to ROM installers that perform a system wipe. I plan on running the odex stock based ROM I just installed for a while anyway.
The_mamba said:
Thanks, I'm not a new user by any stretch, just new to the Nexus 5x.
This is exactly what I did when it wiped the ROM file (and all photos/sms backups) from my internal storage. That's how I have always wiped before flashing a new ROM in TWRP and this is the first time it ever wiped my internal storage, hence my question. I think I'll just stick to ROM installers that perform a system wipe. I plan on running the odex stock based ROM I just installed for a while anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for assuming you're a newby. Last time i wiped that way in twrp (June 2016) it left my SD card alone. Maybe you checked the wrong box?
peltus said:
Sorry for assuming you're a newby. Last time i wiped that way in twrp (June 2016) it left my SD card alone. Maybe you checked the wrong box?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries, I appreciate the help either way. I suppose it's possible I checked the wrong box but I am very diligent about that because I have REALLY screwed myself over with that in the past. I accidentally wiped internal storage once or twice on my HTC One and had to RUU back to stock, losing everything including root. Luckily recovery is quicker and easier on the 5x (and the phone is brand new so it had no pictures on it).
I'm afraid to try it again even with a nandroid since the recovery files or stored on internal storage so wiping that would leave me SOL too. Like I said, I'll probably just ride on this ROM until the Nougat or so and then make a full cloud backup before trying a full wipe again.
Wiping system did not erase your files. /system is read only, so you nor your apps can store anything there.
I respectfully disagree with @peltus. In those parts of XDA where I "grew up" a dirty flash is a rom flash without wiping data. And I would be grateful for a link to a rom where the installation script does not involve formatting or wiping /system.
I could be wrong but I believe TWRP's wipe of data is without data/media.
Internal Storage wipes the entire data partition.
One if these days with more time I'll give it a try
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
BONUS: What is a data/media device?
https://twrp.me/faq/datamedia.html
The relevant part:
Since /data/media is part of /data, we pretty much never actually format the data partition. Formatting data, of course, also removes the media folder that contains the internal sdcard. When you choose a factory reset [or wipe data], instead of formatting, we use rm -rf commands to remove all the folders except for the media folder so that we can remove all of your apps and settings while leaving your "sdcard" intact. In TWRP we also have a wipe internal storage option that rm -rf's the media folder and a "Format Data" option that formats to recreate the entire file system in case something goes completely wrong or to remove device encryption.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[ ] - added by me.
I have rooted phones for years and am currently on a debloated Verizon LG v30 vs99630c rom. In all these years, all of my "clean" wipes have constituted of a factory reset and/or a cache, dalvik, system and data wipe. I have never done an internal storage wipe of my phone. I am wondering exactly what happens if I do an internal storage wipe either by itself or with the clean wipe. Does that wipe my external SD card (should I remove it before wiping?) Does it do anything to my sim card (I have never removed it)?
Would I have an operating system (vs99630c?) on my phone or in twrp to install? Would I still be rooted? I would like to start with a clean phone with zero on it (except the debloated rom).
Or is a factory reset and my Google sign on the same thing? I did do a clean factory reset yesterday, but not an internal storage wipe, but would kind of like to, as long as I still have my Verizon phone and root.
All of this would need to be done only on my phone and in twrp, NOT connected to a computer.
Thx, for any help, advice, answers and suggestions.
Please make them, if any, in a dummies sort of way.
Frank
gimpy1 said:
I have rooted phones for years and am currently on a debloated Verizon LG v30 vs99630c rom. In all these years, all of my "clean" wipes have constituted of a factory reset and/or a cache, dalvik, system and data wipe. I have never done an internal storage wipe of my phone. I am wondering exactly what happens if I do an internal storage wipe either by itself or with the clean wipe. Does that wipe my external SD card (should I remove it before wiping?) Does it do anything to my sim card (I have never removed it)?
Would I have an operating system (vs99630c?) on my phone or in twrp to install? Would I still be rooted? I would like to start with a clean phone with zero on it (except the debloated rom).
Or is a factory reset and my Google sign on the same thing? I did do a clean factory reset yesterday, but not an internal storage wipe, but would kind of like to, as long as I still have my Verizon phone and root.
All of this would need to be done only on my phone and in twrp, NOT connected to a computer.
Thx, for any help, advice, answers and suggestions.
Please make them, if any, in a dummies sort of way.
Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look at WTF Section 6, Step 7a, 7f, 7g. Yes it's written for installing TWRP, but those three steps are what you're asking about. See attached screenshot.
7a is factory reset. You've done that several times.
7f is where you reformat your internal memory, where you type YES. (Then, Step 7g is just reloading TWRP from within TWRP, to refresh it.)
BUT, you do NOTwant to wipe out your OS. That's a step too far. Some people have done that. And in those cases they had to reinstall their OS through a zip file, as well as disable checker and disable encryption. They did this, either by dragging files over from PC (while still in TWRP, like a flash drive) OR by already having those files on microSD card. microSD card is not touched, either thorough proper data reformat or by accidentally destroying the Android OS.
If you completely wipe internal memory the wrong way, then you will need those three files on a microSD card -- or by connecting to a PC to drag them over -- so you can reinstall them.
But if you do it the right way, then you will not need those files. You will still have your OS but just with reformatted data. Which is a more thorough than normal factory reset. That's why factory reset is 7a, but reformatting data is 7f.
When you install TWRP, you have to do them both. Your TWRP is already installed, you're just going to revisit those two steps to have a very clean phone.
NOTE:. after doing this you will still need to re-flash Magisk, of course. So best to have that on microSD card, also!
Good luck!