[Q] Clean slate? - SOLVED - Galaxy S 4 Mini Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Ok, this might sound like a noob question but before deleting any files on the internal storage I want to make sure to not delete the wrong ones
I flash roms almost on a weekly basis, try tons of apps which all leave files on my internal storage so now when I look at it I see lots of garbage that I'm pretty sure I can delete - so here is my question:
When flashing a new rom I wipe data and cache and after that can I safely delete every folder on the internal storage? I guess that the only ones that I should keep are:
- clockworkmod
- data
- DCIM
- android
Or is there a way to wipe the phone without losing root? (I just don't want to go through the hassle of rooting again..)
Thanks

Seek and you shall find. :good:
Simply go into Mounts and Storage in the Recovery menu and select "format /data and /data/media (/sdcard)" - that does the trick. It deletes everything on the internal memory but leaves the external SD card untouched --> success!
Use with caution though: before this always do a nandroid backup to the external SD and above all don't do all of this if you are not sure about what you are doing

i usually
i) wipe data/factory reset
ii) wipe dalvik cache
iii) format /system
And always after this there are so many unused and uneccesary directories & files left in my internal sd card.
So you propose that after also runningformat /data and /data/media (/sdcard) everything in internal sdcard is deleted?
the thing is that most probably i have the ROM file and gapps etc in internal sdcard in order to flash the phone.if i run this and if i understood correctly that it deletes everything, then it will also delete those ROM files right?
so please clarify this if you can or propose the best way i guess other aditional steps (that im missing out) in order to have the cleanest possible phone.

Related

Will wiping out device wipe out the content in /sdcard/ ??

Hi,
Sorry for being a noob but i came from android phones with sdcards and this is the first time i had one without a sdcard card slot..
the main question is, if i wipe the device, will the content in the /sdcard folder that i transferred via MTP (photos, music, Nandroid backups, etc) be wipe out as well?
I am asking because I swear the i did a wipe yesterday and ALL the content in the phone is gone, including the things i put in the /sdcard folder...
just need to clarify or maybe i am crazy? Please help..
There is no SDcard. Its all one big partition. Doing a factory reset wipes the entire device. Yes your pictures and videos, too.
lordlad said:
Hi,
Sorry for being a noob but i came from android phones with sdcards and this is the first time i had one without a sdcard card slot..
the main question is, if i wipe the device, will the content in the /sdcard folder that i transferred via MTP (photos, music, Nandroid backups, etc) be wipe out as well?
I am asking because I swear the i did a wipe yesterday and ALL the content in the phone is gone, including the things i put in the /sdcard folder...
just need to clarify or maybe i am crazy? Please help..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the /sdcard folder actually points to /data/media. Doing a factory restore resets the /data partition, including the contents of /data/media. This means everything put in /sdcard will be erased.
That's stupid. Really stupid. I factory reset my phone all the time... Am I supposed to copy everything back over every time... Eh that would suck.
My transformer and G2x had internal memory and a factory reset from clockworkmod didn't touch the internal storage.
Nvbackups would copy everything though.
-sent from temp HTC Rezound waiting for Galaxy Nexus
player911 said:
That's stupid. Really stupid. I factory reset my phone all the time... Am I supposed to copy everything back over every time... Eh that would suck.
My transformer and G2x had internal memory and a factory reset from clockworkmod didn't touch the internal storage.
Nvbackups would copy everything though.
-sent from temp HTC Rezound waiting for Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instead of doing a factory reset, you could just delete everything in /data except for /data/media. That will achieve the same thing and leave your media data alone.
Wiping data and cache in CWM do NOT wipe my whole phone what are you guys talking about? The /sdcard is treated and mounted as if it were a physical SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
joshnichols189 said:
Wiping data and cache in CWM do NOT wipe my whole phone what are you guys talking about? The /sdcard is treated and mounted as if it were a physical SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmmmmmm.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
joshnichols189 said:
Wiping data and cache in CWM do NOT wipe my whole phone what are you guys talking about? The /sdcard is treated and mounted as if it were a physical SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah if you just wipe your data/cache via CWM it DOES NOT touch anything in your /sd card. However doing a factory reset via the settings menu while booted does!
RTContent said:
Yeah if you just wipe your data/cache via CWM it DOES NOT touch anything in your /sd card. However doing a factory reset via the settings menu while booted does!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok just to be clear, because people (me lol) get confused when people talk about the SD card when talking about the nexus. obviously there isnt one...so im assuming the partition that handles the media is what u refer to as the Sd card...virtual sd card. correct? and if i wipe data/cache via CWM it does NOT wipe my pictures, videos, etc...but if i factory reset under settings while booted...it WILL wipe EVERYTHING...i think i got it now if what i just said was correct...
v2.2v said:
ok just to be clear, because people (me lol) get confused when people talk about the SD card when talking about the nexus. obviously there isnt one...so im assuming the partition that handles the media is what u refer to as the Sd card...virtual sd card. correct? and if i wipe data/cache via CWM it does NOT wipe my pictures, videos, etc...but if i factory reset under settings while booted...it WILL wipe EVERYTHING...i think i got it now if what i just said was correct...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got it
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
joshnichols189 said:
Wiping data and cache in CWM do NOT wipe my whole phone what are you guys talking about? The /sdcard is treated and mounted as if it were a physical SD card.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1.. all these people are thinking the phone doesn't have a "sdcard." There is a "sdcard" but its more like internal storage. Think of it as a computer,
- Older phones like the G1 rely on the SDCard fully... so this is like running a OS off a USB drive without internal storage (G1 has a little internal storage.. not enough to say that there is one)
- Phones such as Galaxy S1/S2 have a sdcard AND internal storage. What does this mean? It's like a internal hard drive with the ability for external storage (flash drive, sd cards).
Example: Galaxy S2 has 16GB internal storage and expandable storage.
Phones like the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, Galaxy Tab is like.... internal hard drives without the ability for expanded storage (unless you USB OTG a flash drive!). This is just a beyond misconception on the scene and this is what they meant by not having a sdcard.
When you do a factory reset, wipe cache, wipe dalvik... your /sdcard/ IS NOT TOUCHED unless you run a script that says otherwise!
/sdcard/ and all the other folders are treated as two separate partitions!
When you unlock your bootloader and it wipes, that deletes everything, including the sdcard folder.
yea i was about to say this is incorrect information, if you want to wipe everything i believe in the ARHD thread there is a wipe script to wipe everything, even data/media
azr3alazd3ycum said:
yea i was about to say this is incorrect information, if you want to wipe everything i believe in the ARHD thread there is a wipe script to wipe everything, even data/media
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Super wipe lite from the ARHD thread does not wipe the virtual SD card.
--- This script will erase and format your system and cache partition using EXT4 file-system ---
--- It will also wipe /data partition, but /data/media (virtual SD card) will be untouched ---
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All your personal files that would be stored in SD Card in other devices which has one, are stored under /data partition, at /data/media/.
The /sdcard/ is just a link to /data/media.
There seems to be special handling in CWM recovery image for Galaxy Nexus when formatting /data partition as it will not touch /data/media. It's nice feature indeed, but you cannot now empty your /data/media content without manual work. But normally you don't even want to do that so it's fine.
It would be much more simple to just forget about the "virtual sd card" or /sdcard, since those are just, well, virtual and makes unnecessary confusion.
So our files are now stored like they would be under C:\Users\media. If you format C-drive, you'll lose your 'personal' files as well from media folder. The "virtual sdcard" /sdcard would be just a similar as Windows has as "Favorite" feature, just a shortcut to a certain folder location.
joshnichols189 said:
Super wipe lite from the ARHD thread does not wipe the virtual SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was referring to the full one. Its not out for the nexus yet. He has it for the transformer however.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
hey guys,
found this thread searching for an answer, i'll go ahead and ask it right here as it fits the the topic:
what i want to do when installing another rom is to wipe (system) data, cache and Dalvik cache (and i do not want my private files on the sd card to be touched). it is clear to me that CWM does not touch the sdcard partition. BUT: since all the apps are installed onto the sdcard partition they won't be deleted, right?
i want all my apps to be gone and to have a completely fresh new system installed without ANY leftovers from apps or apps/data or anything else that got stored on the sdcard partition while using the previous rom. of course these apps would not be installed anymore when you boot up the new rom, but all their files and folders would still remain on the sdcard partition, right? i'm talking about all those files that the rom generates itself and stores on the sdcard partition. of course i want to keep all my music, downloads, pictures, etc. but i want everything else to be gone.
to my understanding cwm does not touch the sdcard partition which leaves all the app folders and other android-created-files and folders (that were automatically created when using the previous rom) untouched and i would have to manually look for all these files and delete all these remnants which is kind of annoying.
do you know what i mean?
thx and greetz,
v.
vercetti said:
hey guys,
found this thread searching for an answer, i'll go ahead and ask it right here as it fits the the topic:
what i want to do when installing another rom is to wipe (system) data, cache and Dalvik cache (and i do not want my private files on the sd card to be touched). it is clear to me that CWM does not touch the sdcard partition. BUT: since all the apps are installed onto the sdcard partition they won't be deleted, right?
i want all my apps to be gone and to have a completely fresh new system installed without ANY leftovers from apps or apps/data or anything else that got stored on the sdcard partition while using the previous rom. of course these apps would not be installed anymore when you boot up the new rom, but all their files and folders would still remain on the sdcard partition, right? i'm talking about all those files that the rom generates itself and stores on the sdcard partition. of course i want to keep all my music, downloads, pictures, etc. but i want everything else to be gone.
to my understanding cwm does not touch the sdcard partition which leaves all the app folders and other android-created-files and folders (that were automatically created when using the previous rom) untouched and i would have to manually look for all these files and delete all these remnants which is kind of annoying.
do you know what i mean?
thx and greetz,
v.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you clear all your data/cache when installing a new rom it will also wipe apps that have been installed on your sdcard. This does not include removing folders that apps may store additional data on the sdcard. If you want to remove these folders unfortunately you will need to do it manually.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Installed apps do not go in /data/media, but /data/app and /data/data. I dont think /data/cache exists, /data/dalvik-cache does.
Those are only erased if you do a wipe data/factory reset in cwm/twrp, and for the latter wipe dalvik cache.
sent from my i9250

[Q] Is '/sdcard' contents deleted when I wipe before flashing a new ROM?

Hi all,
I am currently running Ir8 ROM meaning I did not need to wipe before I flashed it over the stock ROM.
I would like to give the CM9 nightly kang a go. I was just about to wipe before I flashed the new ROM when it occurred to me that all my files, pictures, nandroid's etc are stored in the virtual /sdcard on Galaxy Nexus.
With my Nexus One all my files were on the physical SDcard meaning they were unaffected by any kind of wipe including a full factory reset.
Could someone explain how this works with the Galaxy Nexus, do I need to back up all my files and nandroid's etc onto my PC every time I need to perform a wipe before installing a ROM to avoid FC's etc, or is the virtual /sdcard on a seperate partition, I'm a little confused??
Many thanks in advance for any help
You would be well served to perform backups of the internel sd card in the unfortunate event of a wipe.
CWM has been written to not format the device partition mounted to /data which has the virtual sd. It instead just removes all files/directories outside of /data/media.
You are safe to perform a data wipe from CWM without losing data in the virtual sd.
silow said:
You would be well served to perform backups of the internel sd card in the unfortunate event of a wipe.
CWM has been written to not format the device partition mounted to /data which has the virtual sd. It instead just removes all files/directories outside of /data/media.
You are safe to perform a data wipe from CWM without losing data in the virtual sd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks for your quick reply, that is very helpful. I will of course follow your advice and back everything up before proceeding to be on the safe side!

[Q] Safe to wipe sdcard partition

I'm new to the Android world, but having played around with my new HTC One X over recent days I'm ready to unlock the bootloader and install Mike1986's custom ROM.
Due to my incessant tinkering I feel the urge to completely wipe the phone, all settings, all data... everything... before flashing the firmware.
The bit I'm confused about is how can I erase the contents of the internal sdcard when there's probably system apps on the phone accessing config files on it?
I assume I need to go to Settings -> Storage -> Phone Storage -> Erase phone storage to completely wipe the internal sdcard partition? If not, I guess I can just mount it and erase all files using computer before copying over the relevant zip files for the flashing process?
Not sure how this will affect any running apps though - or do I need to go to Settings -> Apps and kill off any non-critical running apps before wiping the sdcard partition?
Thanks
Pete
pete_n said:
I'm new to the Android world, but having played around with my new HTC One X over recent days I'm ready to unlock the bootloader and install Mike1986's custom ROM.
Due to my incessant tinkering I feel the urge to completely wipe the phone, all settings, all data... everything... before flashing the firmware.
The bit I'm confused about is how can I erase the contents of the internal sdcard when there's probably system apps on the phone accessing config files on it?
I assume I need to go to Settings -> Storage -> Phone Storage -> Erase phone storage to completely wipe the internal sdcard partition? If not, I guess I can just mount it and erase all files using computer before copying over the relevant zip files for the flashing process?
Not sure how this will affect any running apps though - or do I need to go to Settings -> Apps and kill off any non-critical running apps before wiping the sdcard partition?
Thanks
Pete
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mount it first, format the internal sd card then do a factory reset/install custom rom on the phone. The device will automatically replace any system app data that is required back onto the sd card.
Thanks for the confirmation.
Did as you suggested, plus following the various other guides on this forum, and successfully flashed mike1986's ROM.
As you said, everything was recreated automatically on the sdcard.
Thanks again for the info
pete_n said:
Thanks for the confirmation.
Did as you suggested, plus following the various other guides on this forum, and successfully flashed mike1986's ROM.
As you said, everything was recreated automatically on the sdcard.
Thanks again for the info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries - dont forget to use the Thanks button!

where're the ROM zips stored?

Hi everyone...
I am looking at buying an LG e975, which is supposed to be 32GB and no SD card, and I was taking a look at forums to see how active is the ROM development.
I have no experience with phones with no SD, usually with SD, you copy the zip files to SD card and you install them in Recovery...
so.. how is this done with no SD card?... actually... for storing docs, pics, music... does the phone have a separate partition of that internal memory designated for personal data? similar to having an SD?... does wiping Data, Cache, formatting system affect the internal memory where you have your files stored?
I am pretty much curious on how the whole ROM flashing, backing up and restoring of Apps (I use Titanium backup) is done with no SD card.
Thank you!.
atmos929 said:
Hi everyone...
I am looking at buying an LG e975, which is supposed to be 32GB and no SD card, and I was taking a look at forums to see how active is the ROM development.
I have no experience with phones with no SD, usually with SD, you copy the zip files to SD card and you install them in Recovery...
so.. how is this done with no SD card?... actually... for storing docs, pics, music... does the phone have a separate partition of that internal memory designated for personal data? similar to having an SD?... does wiping Data, Cache, formatting system affect the internal memory where you have your files stored?
I am pretty much curious on how the whole ROM flashing, backing up and restoring of Apps (I use Titanium backup) is done with no SD card.
Thank you!.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This section is not for the e975. It's for the Sprint LG-LS970. Sorry .
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
Your sdcard is just a directory in your data media folder. It basically works the same as a physical sdcard. EXCEPT you cannot mount it in recovery, so if you wipe it while in recovery you'll have to adb push any files you plan on flashing.
Factory Reset in TWRP wipes /Data, /Cache, and /Dalvik. This does not include your Internal Storage ("sdcard"). It's usually all that is necessary before flashing a new ROM, as a /System wipe is almost always performed by the ROM you're flashing.
However, if you select the Data check box in the Advanced Menu, this will also wipe your Internal Storage ("sdcard"). This is because your sdcard is actually just a /Media folder inside of /Data (meaning /data/media).
Check this out:
http://teamw.in/datamedia
jonahly said:
This section is not for the e975. It's for the Sprint LG-LS970. Sorry .
Sent from my LG-LS970 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my question wasn't related to a particular model but to how the whole ROM flashing and storing backups is done when no SD slot is available... I chose this forum as I did not find one for e975 and they both have same specs.
spackmanbr said:
Your sdcard is just a directory in your data media folder. It basically works the same as a physical sdcard. EXCEPT you cannot mount it in recovery, so if you wipe it while in recovery you'll have to adb push any files you plan on flashing.
Factory Reset in TWRP wipes /Data, /Cache, and /Dalvik. This does not include your Internal Storage ("sdcard"). It's usually all that is necessary before flashing a new ROM, as a /System wipe is almost always performed by the ROM you're flashing.
However, if you select the Data check box in the Advanced Menu, this will also wipe your Internal Storage ("sdcard"). This is because your sdcard is actually just a /Media folder inside of /Data (meaning /data/media).
Check this out:
http://teamw.in/datamedia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
aaaaaaannd this is what I was looking for... thank you very much. .
No problem. Glad I could help.

Unsure how to properly wipe without wiping internal storage

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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.

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