I have been running 2.1.2 and decided to encrypt it. Now I want to decrypt it and went in cwm to factory restore but it can't mount sd. Am I stuck or can I restore with adb by following the brick/full stock restore directions? If it can't mount then will it able to restore back to original? Not sure what I can do. Any help will be appreciated.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I thought I read somewhere that you have to flash back to stock. When you mount your SD from within the encrypted filesystem, are the files encrypted? In either case, I would back up your SD contents to a computer, then use fastboot or whatever base level stuff to get back to stock.
I wonder if "Factory data reset" inside of Android would do the trick...
They are decrypted when you turn on the phone. If only it was that easy with the factory restore option in settings. Lol. I guess I will just have to flash back to stock. Wasn't sure if I could restore to stock if the phone is encrypted. I'm not at my computer so I couldn't try. Thanks for the reply!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
If you have the connection/patients/dropbox space, you could use dropsync to sync your sd card up to your dropbox account. That's what I do for live backups...
Is there a way to make a folder or does a folder already exist that will not be deleted when you wipe data to flash a new rom? I want to flash a new rom but do not want to lose my music and pictures and have to re-transfer them from my computer. Any help is appreciated
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
happymfeet said:
Is there a way to make a folder or does a folder already exist that will not be deleted when you wipe data to flash a new rom? I want to flash a new rom but do not want to lose my music and pictures and have to re-transfer them from my computer. Any help is appreciated
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a rom doesn't wipe your sdcard.
Unlocking the bootloader wipes your sdcard.
Just flash the rom, you will lose apps and user data but pictures, music etc. That are on the sdcard are safe.
nodstuff said:
Flashing a rom doesn't wipe your sdcard.
Unlocking the bootloader wipes your sdcard.
Just flash the rom, you will lose apps and user data but pictures, music etc. That are on the sdcard are safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm assuming its a virtual SD card of some sort?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Ya pretty much.
Its the sdcard partition of the total 16/32gb total.
The rest is split into recovery, system, boot, cache and data.
Flashing a rom overwrites those, not the sdcard partition.
Just make sure to do a full wipe in cwm before you flash a rom.
Yeah, it's not really an SD card but a special partition of the internal storage that gets treated like an SD card. If you have the stock recovery, a factory reset will erase the SD-like partition; ClockworkMod Recovery will not erase it.
If you do unlock your bootloader (via the fastboot oem unlock route), everything on your phone will be wiped - SD card data included - but that is really the only time you have to worry about losing SD card data.
Thanks for all your answers I understand now. Next up flashing AOKP!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
nodstuff said:
[snip]
Flashing a rom overwrites those, not the sdcard partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
codesplice said:
Yeah, it's not really an SD card but a special partition of the internal storage that gets treated like an SD card. If you have the stock recovery, a factory reset will erase the SD-like partition; ClockworkMod Recovery will not erase it.
If you do unlock your bootloader (via the fastboot oem unlock route), everything on your phone will be wiped - SD card data included - but that is really the only time you have to worry about losing SD card data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You guys forgot to mention that /sdcard is actually just a symlink to /data/media, so if you wipe or flash the data partition in fastboot (or flash a stock ROM) it will erase /sdcard.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Hey guys I have been trying back up my data so can flash a new ROM but titanium backup will only back up to my phone not my SD card so when I wipe through cwm I'm going to lose my backups can anybody please help with this
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
Go to preferences and change backup folder location. Click "detect"/search entire device and navigate to your sd card.
Not sure about cwm, but twrp won't format your internal sd storage unless you specifically target it. I always wipe data, system, and cache prior to flashing a new rom. I leave the sd partition alone unless I want to clear it for whatever reason.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anywhere on your SD card is safe.
arkolbus said:
Anywhere on your SD card is safe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SD card? Nexus 7?
douger1957 said:
SD card? Nexus 7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The internal "sdcard" directory
arkolbus said:
The internal "sdcard" directory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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
Click to expand...
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
Only this morning I'm getting the error, e: unable to create folder/external SD etc etc. failed to make backup folder. Up until this time all backups have gone without any problems. The three backups I already have gone from the TWRP folder when I view it with a file manager. All my other files are there for pictures,sat Nav etc.
I am using Skydragon 4.2 with TWRP 2.8.1.0. I have tried to reinstall TWRP with flashily but the problem is still there.
What can I do to be able to get my backup working again?
Cheers
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Have you try take out the external sd and put it to PC and use windows explorer to browse it ? (Assuming you PC is Windows)
I'm afraid that you may have corrupted external sdcard... try to fix it windows
Thanks for the suggestion,I'll do that as soon as I get home. All the other data is fine on there as far as I can see.
Is it just a case of letting windows scan and repair the card or do a full format of it after taking all the data from it first?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
potsykate said:
Thanks for the suggestion,I'll do that as soon as I get home. All the other data is fine on there as far as I can see.
Is it just a case of letting windows scan and repair the card or do a full format of it after taking all the data from it first?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other data is there when they are on good block.
Let windows scan and repair then after make a full format after taking all the data.
Can I do that through TWRP itself as I'm out of the house. I've copied the data I want to keep to the internal memory so far. I can see the option in memory settings to format the card, would that be good enough or must it be fine through the computer?
You could also try a different recovery like phils or clockworkmod recovery. My M8 is on skydragon's newer rom. Im useing clockworkmod recovery and it backups and restore works fine.
I never format external sdcard with TWRP .. not sure what will the Allocation Unit Size will be ... you need at least 32 kilobytes.
It's best to use PC ... scan first. If windows can fix it ... then you can try to make TWRP backup without format.
Your problem looks like external sdcard problem but maybe other thing too.
Anyway ... it's up to you. You can do it thru TWRP too.