Database Users

[Solved] Market Error "Invalid Package File"

I've been having this problem on and off for a while, mostly I believed it was related to something getting corrupted when I restored my apps to a new Rom with Titanium Backup.
I am happy to say, that after scouring the web for days, and trying a lot of wrong information, I finally figured out how to fix this.
It's real easy. All you need to do is remove any *.apk files located in the /cache directory on your phone (did not even need to remount- though I did it as root just in case).
I never did figure out why only some apps will have this problem or how the problem first comes about, but I have successfully done this twice and have since been able to install/update files that had this error before.
Update (3/3/11): OK - After scouring the Internet for over a month I finally figured it out. My info above was only part right. The problem is specifically with ROMs/Kernels that move the dalvik-cache to the /cache directory (HTC puts it in the /data dir).
In any case, when it's in /data, it is using app space, and therefore you usually run out of app space and know about it. However, because this is in /cache, you don't really know what you are using. As you load up on apps, your dalvik-cache grows, and since these apps need the .dex files in the cache, even if you clear your cache, it will just get re-created.
the /cache dir is also where the apps are temporarily stored while downloading from the market. So....
1. If you are getting immediate download fails, that means that your cache is so full that you don't even have space for the temp file.
2. If you get "Invalid Package" that likely means that there was not enough cache left to install the .dex files (the download is also taking up some of this space).
Unfortunately, the only way to fix this is to either remove some of your apps, or move your cache to your SD card.
HOWEVER, I found this great app on the market called Link2SD, that allows you to only move select apps to the SD card, and you can also move the dalvik-cache files associated with these apps.
see this thread for specifics: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10711328&postcount=1
it lets you select which apps to move. You will need to create a new partition on your card, though.
So far results have been great and I can finally update the 30+ apps that have been stuck for me for the last 2 months.
almost forgot, if you adb shell or use terminal emulator, you can type "df" to see how much space is left on all your mounts.

My phone has been doing the same thing with the whole package file is invalid bs. I tried to follow your instructions on going to the /cache folder. When I went to the folder, it was empty, so I wasn't able to remove any .apk files. So now what? How do I fix this?

If you use a File Managemet app like ASTRO, it will show the folder as empty because you need root access to see the dir. However, if you use Terminal Emulator or adb shell (as root) you will see that there are indeed other directories, and probably these orphaned .apk files.

Hi,
I'm also having the same issue with invalid package. I cleared the /cahch direcotry and still have the issue -- Is there something else i can try before wiping and starting over?
thanks
Rudey

It could also be caused by the .android_secure folder on your SD card. Clearing this folder and letting the market restore them solves issues a lot ofthe time.
As always use TiBackup or something to backup all your apps first too to be safe.

As the OP, I can tell you that I have, in fact, been unable to fix this problem.
Initially the suggestion I posted above worked, however a couple of days later is was no longer working again.
I have tried every trick on the web, including:
1. Removing SD card.
2. Deleting the above mentioned folder
3. clearing market cache
4. Clearing all caches in recovery
5. logging out and back in to google talk.
The only thing that fixes it is a complete factory reset.
I currently have a combination of 3 errors:
1. No download at all.
2. Download unsuccessful
3. Invalid Package
some apps will still update, but what is really weird is that I am even getting invalid package on new apps (so its not a corrupt app already installed on the phone).
One last thought. Once I am unable to update an app, even if I remove it, I can no longer restore the backup using Titanium.

oughta try reformating your SD card and let the phone reformat it too.

sgt. slaughter said:
oughta try reformating your SD card and let the phone reformat it too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't see why this is different than un-mounting the SD which should do the same thing and has been tried.

sw99 said:
don't see why this is different than un-mounting the SD which should do the same thing and has been tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
na actually reformating it will fully wipe everything on the SD and having the phone do it is best always as its always better to format with the device your using the disk on the most in general.

Found the problem, updated in OP.

sw99 said:
I've been having this problem on and off for a while, mostly I believed it was related to something getting corrupted when I restored my apps to a new Rom with Titanium Backup.
I am happy to say, that after scouring the web for days, and trying a lot of wrong information, I finally figured out how to fix this.
It's real easy. All you need to do is remove any *.apk files located in the /cache directory on your phone (did not even need to remount- though I did it as root just in case).
I never did figure out why only some apps will have this problem or how the problem first comes about, but I have successfully done this twice and have since been able to install/update files that had this error before.
Update (3/3/11): OK - After scouring the Internet for over a month I finally figured it out. My info above was only part right. The problem is specifically with ROMs/Kernels that move the dalvik-cache to the /cache directory (HTC puts it in the /data dir).
In any case, when it's in /data, it is using app space, and therefore you usually run out of app space and know about it. However, because this is in /cache, you don't really know what you are using. As you load up on apps, your dalvik-cache grows, and since these apps need the .dex files in the cache, even if you clear your cache, it will just get re-created.
the /cache dir is also where the apps are temporarily stored while downloading from the market. So....
1. If you are getting immediate download fails, that means that your cache is so full that you don't even have space for the temp file.
2. If you get "Invalid Package" that likely means that there was not enough cache left to install the .dex files (the download is also taking up some of this space).
Unfortunately, the only way to fix this is to either remove some of your apps, or move your cache to your SD card.
HOWEVER, I found this great app on the market called Link2SD, that allows you to only move select apps to the SD card, and you can also move the dalvik-cache files associated with these apps.
see this thread for specifics: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10711328&postcount=1
it lets you select which apps to move. You will need to create a new partition on your card, though.
So far results have been great and I can finally update the 30+ apps that have been stuck for me for the last 2 months.
almost forgot, if you adb shell or use terminal emulator, you can type "df" to see how much space is left on all your mounts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didnt solve my issue.. I had reformatted my phone and SD card and reinstalled my apps. It was working fine again but now its back to some apps update fine.. some get DOWNLOAD UNSUCCESSFUL and some get PACKAGE FILE INVALID.. any ideas.. Im on sprint lovers rom (latest)
It appears th LINK 2 SD needs a second partition that I dont have nor use with SPRINT LOVERS ROM and 2.2 .... am I missing something??

To the OP,
The program you linked to seems to be a variation of dark tremor's a2sd method (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715116). His lets you move data, cache, and/or dc to the ext partition, but doesn't (at least I don't believe it does) give you granular control over which apps remain in the standard location.
In my own use, I chose to move all user installed apps to sd, but dc remained on the internal memory (albeit, not in /data, but in the /cache partition). I figured this way, even if the sd card is missing, the phone will still boot. I won't have access to anything I installed, but whatever the rom came with will still be accessible.

Follow the instructions on that thread and create the second partition. You won't need more than 500mb. apps2sd or link2sd is the only way you can fix this problem unless you want to remove some of your apps.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

gpz1100 said:
To the OP,
The program you linked to seems to be a variation of dark tremor's a2sd method (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715116). His lets you move data, cache, and/or dc to the ext partition, but doesn't (at least I don't believe it does) give you granular control over which apps remain in the standard location.
In my own use, I chose to move all user installed apps to sd, but dc remained on the internal memory (albeit, not in /data, but in the /cache partition). I figured this way, even if the sd card is missing, the phone will still boot. I won't have access to anything I installed, but whatever the rom came with will still be accessible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's true, and I eventually went the app2sd route. However, I was trying to avoid that because of the slow speed of my sd card.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

sw99 said:
Yes that's true, and I eventually went the app2sd route. However, I was trying to avoid that because of the slow speed of my sd card.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure which app2sd method you're referring to, but keep the following in mind. I discovered this after my backup images failed to restore properly.
In the past, i'd be backing up boot, system, and data partitions. Obviously with dt's a2sd, I need to include the ext partition now. No problem. BUT, when restoring, i'd run into issues where my apps were present, but all settings were lost. After much confusion and head scratching, I tried wiping cache and dc AFTER the restore, but before the initial boot. The restore was a success now!
Apparently, with a2sd on the ext3, some remnants of cache or dc remain when backing up, even if cache is not selected. As part of any good restore, first thing is to always wipe, so now we end up with a hodge podge of files in the cache which I think causes the OS to revert all the settings back to default.
Just something to keep in mind.

i wanted to go back how my dhd was.. lots of problem.. i havent fix my radio problem yet and now this invaled package thing *face palm*

My phone is HTC G7, and I use data2sd to get 1.5G rom space, now there is still about 1.2G left, but I also met the "invalid package file" problem. I can't find any *.apk in /cache, (root, with "ls -a"). But if I uninstall some apps, I could install or update other apps successfully. I could not use Link2sd for I already have data2sd and I guess it's not a problem of insufficient space, because I still have enough rom space.
Do you have any new solutions?

supericexu said:
My phone is HTC G7, and I use data2sd to get 1.5G rom space, now there is still about 1.2G left, but I also met the "invalid package file" problem. I can't find any *.apk in /cache, (root, with "ls -a"). But if I uninstall some apps, I could install or update other apps successfully. I could not use Link2sd for I already have data2sd and I guess it's not a problem of insufficient space, because I still have enough rom space.
Do you have any new solutions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is not the apps, its the /cache running out of space. I suspect that the app you are using cannot move the dalvik-cache files (and is really just a shortcut to android's app2sd - which is not the same as darktremor or link2sd).
in terminal us df -k to see how much space you have on each mount to confirm that there is little space in cache.
If you really have that much space in your apps mount, then I would suggest moving the dalvik-cache back to its original location (search for instructions, as the only way I know how to do it is by installing darktremor's app2sd). If you are still having problems, you really are limited to either partitioning your SD card and using apps2sd or link2sd or removing apps.
hope this helps.

I have been having this issue for a couple of months now - with a bit of a twist. After wiping my dalvik-cache, my apps began to sucsessfully update - except for Google apps.
I have no idea why just those apps, but going into settings/Applications/Manage applications, and selecting each app, then clearing that apps cache, allowed those apps to sucessfully update also.
I am thankful I did not have to resort to the above fix.

Any solution if not rooted?
I've just started to get this error when trying to update the Google+ app. The error is only happening with Google+, every other app I update/install works fine.
I haven't rooted my device, and I'm hoping there's a way to fix the issue without rooting?
Device: Nexus One
Rom: Stock Android
Version: 2.3.4
Although I couldn't see anything in the cache directories, I checked in /system/app and couldn't find any package that looked like it would be Google+.

[Q] Different partition sizes in CM7 SD installer

Hi. Did my usual +3 hours googling but came empty handed.
Could size-agnostic CM7 SD installer script be modified so that /Data partition is set to 2Gb instead of 1Gb? I know that I can always do the "move to SD" routine but Android keeps bugging me that I`m out of space even when I have 170Mb free on /data. And also moving apps back and forth from internal to SD somehow wrecked my system process. As a result I now have constant rebooting of the launcher as my only Android experience. Uninstalling recent apps did not work. Neither did freeing up space on SD and denying root to all apps that previously asked for it.

zuzka said:
Hi. Did my usual +3 hours googling but came empty handed.
Could size-agnostic CM7 SD installer script be modified so that /Data partition is set to 2Gb instead of 1Gb? I know that I can always do the "move to SD" routine but Android keeps bugging me that I`m out of space even when I have 170Mb free on /data. And also moving apps back and forth from internal to SD somehow wrecked my system process. As a result I now have constant rebooting of the launcher as my only Android experience. Uninstalling recent apps did not work. Neither did freeing up space on SD and denying root to all apps that previously asked for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are willing to start from scratch you can burn the image again to the SD, but don't put any zips in it. Boot and let the script create the new partitions. Then put the card back in the PC and use Mini-Tool Partition Manager to shrink partition 4 (sdcard) and grow partition 3 (data) That program will handle the ext partition (3) as long as there is no data written to it yet. You can get that program free on the internet. Do a Titianium backup of your apps and data and restore later.
Edit: Now after thinking about it, you may be able to doctor your existing card. Partition 4 is fat so you can shrink it with data in it. Take the space off the front. Then I think the program will let you grow partition 3 into the empty space even with data already in it. It is just trying to move it with data does the program balk. Windows does not know how to read ext. Of course if you are running linux, just use gparted to do everything.

Yes, you could do that or you could use a program like easeus partition manager and move the partitions around after the first boot of the card.
Edit (while typing): It looks like you might be talking about an internal installation in which case you don't need to use size agnostic SD installer. Just repartition the internal the way you want it (there are threads for this) then flash your CM7.
Edit 2: beat out by leapinlar while editing 1
JP

Thanks for the idea of repartitioning prior to installing CM7. I`ll also try to repartition SD the way it is now- with data. I was concerned that /data partition is unmountable under Ubuntu when /boot and /system can be read without problems.
Hi again. I`ve managed to srink /sdcard partition under Windows and sort of grow /data partition under Ubuntu LiveCD (gparted froze right after doing its magic).
Boot loop on my Nook stopped as free space on /data increased from 175Mb to 1.2Gb. So I guess I wont be doing a fresh install at the moment.
Question is, exactly how much free space does CM7 need on /data partition? In a real world?
(at ~200Mb it starts bugging me about free space but overall Android stays stable)

zuzka said:
Question is, exactly how much free space does CM7 need on /data partition? In a real world?
(at ~200Mb it starts bugging me about free space but overall Android stays stable)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Original Nook Color had 1GB for data. B&N upped it to 5GB on the new Nook Colors. I personally would make it 2GB unless you are going to be adding some really big apps.
Sent from my Nook Color running ICS and Tapatalk

what is A2S for and how to use it???

I've just installed the Paranoid-Jellybean 1.99
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1793180
on my EU HTC HD2
I can't anderstand what sd the idea behind program S2E, it seems its purpose is to move apps to SD but when used it this way then all newly installed Widgets disappeared What's more even without launching S2E in Settings thare are options to move individual apps to SD (not for all in fact)

it isn't talking about the normal fat partition on the sd card, you must have an EXT partition created before using the app.
What it does, is take the ext partition on the sd card and makes the system think that it is internal memory, thus giving you more 'internal' memory for apps and data and such like.
This isn't the same as choosing 'move to sd ' in the settings - apps options, as this moves the app to the FAT (windows) partition of the sd card. Some apps wont work when 'moved to sd', however they WILL work from the ext partition, because android thinks its internal.
So, if you haven't already got an ext partition, back up the contents of your current sd card (it will get wiped) then reboot into cwm, choose 'advanced - partition sd card' and choose a partition size. (512 or 1024 is usually plenty) then restart android and try the app again.
Any apps that you have already 'moved to sd', go move them back to internal, and the system should automatically move them from the FAT partition to the EXT partition.

Tahnk you for your explanation. Also I must apologize I confused the names of the programs - in fact its S2E rather than A2S (the previous post have written from memory). However probabely this s2e serves the same purpose, as it has such relevant commands:
Applications - Location: /data/app
Private apps - Location: /data/app-private
...
and so on, until:
Dalvik cache - Moving from /data to /sd-ext
So, I've chosen the first option and got displayed:
Application
Moving from /data to /sd-ext
Reboot is required!
and rebooted the phone, but the result was disappointing - several apps dissappeared including all Widgets!
Of course I've had ext3 partition previously set.
What was wrong?
Other question please: exactly WHAT is worth moving to SD Ext partition, Dalvik cache too?

yea they do the same/similar things - namely move parts of the system to the ext partition, and create symbolic links so that the system doesnt notice they've moved.
You seem to be moving your entire data folder to the ext, which i believe has an impact on boot performance, since the data partition wont be mounted straight away, and android needs it during boot.
I don't know a great deal about the various app2sd scripts, but the ones i've used normally only move the /data/app/ (your user installed apps folder) and the dalvik cache to the sd-ext partition.

samsamuel said:
yea they do the same/similar things - namely move parts of the system to the ext partition, and create symbolic links so that the system doesnt notice they've moved.
You seem to be moving your entire data folder to the ext, which i believe has an impact on boot performance, since the data partition wont be mounted straight away, and android needs it during boot.
I don't know a great deal about the various app2sd scripts, but the ones i've used normally only move the /data/app/ (your user installed apps folder) and the dalvik cache to the sd-ext partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So won't it exert excessive load on SD card which could lead to some sort of instability or other issues?

ioy said:
So won't it exert excessive load on SD card which could lead to some sort of instability or other issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
better than exerting load on the nand and increasing the chances of bad blocks, right?

samsamuel said:
better than exerting load on the nand and increasing the chances of bad blocks, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
theoretically YES but then does it also apply for the whole Android ROM itself (please compare the neighbouring discussion "is NAND Android better than SD and why?")

ioy said:
(please compare
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no thanks, i have far more interesting things to do. i couldn't care less if there's excess load, though i'm pretty sure there isn't, since i've been running an ext partition for several months and no problems.

Have you understood me well? I've asked about the problem probably NAND ROMs themselves wear NAND memory too so would it be safer (for the device) to use SD ROMs (which write only on SD memory all the time)? How do you think, could it be the case?

i think if it were of any real benefit, people would be talking about it, but no one does. I guess its down to you, if YOU think it will help, then do it. If you don't, don't!
I guess battery drain would be teh real deal maker/breaker. I havent used sd android, but i believe it to be (in general terms) a little less stable, more prone to slowdowns, and harder on teh battery. But thats all anecdotal evidence, as i said, ive never booted sd android.
(edit - i must say, in humour, not meaning offence, that between this thread and your other thread, you sound like a guy who just bought a sports car and wants to cycle to work to save wear and tear on teh car )

[REF] S3 Storage (Data Loss Recovery / Prevention / Info)

Note from the Author -
I am moving on to the N5 now and ditching my S3. I will continue to maintain this thread, however - please do PM me if you think that something needs to be changed or updated in this thread as I doubt I will be answering questions within the thread as much. Please don't PM support questions to me. Only PM updates that need to be made in the thread.
It's been a blast!
Regards
Dan
S3 Storage (Data Loss Recovery / Prevention / Info)
This thread is intended to give you an overview of some of the Storage of the S3 from a Data Loss and recovery perspective. It is not intended to cover USB sticks or mods to Swap / Mount other storage. It is solely to cover day-to-day data concerns and give a background to how these things work
Please note, if you have recently swapped between Android 4.1 and 4.2 and cannot find your sdcard data, you need to read [Info] Flashed 4.2? Can't find your /sdcard data?
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Before we get started...
Here are a couple of threads you should get familiar with before posting on XDA.
Forum Rules - use Search before posting
Post Questions or Support queries in Q&A, NOT General
Backround of Android storage (Pre-S3)
Firstly, I think we need to understand how Android worked historically as this will help us to understand how the S3 works now.
A legacy android device, lets pretend the HTC desire on Android 2.2 as this was a standard configuration at the time. It had 2 major partitions (and several minor ones which are irrelevant to this topic). It has the /system partition and the /data partition. These were partitions of the internal NAND flash memory.
/system is where the Android operating system lives. The user could not delete or change anything in here (unless you were rooted). All the software that came with the phone was installed in the /system partition
/data is where all the userdata goes. Whenever you installed an app from the market, it installed to /data/app and it put all it's important data into /data/data. Also any system settings you changed (Wallpaper, ringtones etc) all were stored in /data/data. When you did a factory reset, it wiped /data and everything in it.
Of course, having these 2 partitions was not enough for everyday use. There was no where to store your music, photos, documents etc. /data is just for app data and settings. So this is where /sdcard comes in
/sdcard is the Android mount point for the External SD card in this legacy android device. This means that when you inserted a Micro SD card, Android used /sdcard as it's internal reference to where the card's storage is. The /sdcard was a necessity before you could take photos. Over time, bigger apps started to put other data here. For example, a GPS / Map application would store its apk (application package) in /data/app and store your personal configuration settings in /data/data but it may download and store offline maps somewhere on the /sdcard. In older devices, the internal Memory (NAND Flash) was usually too small to allow much data on it. Many users would have to root to get more storage space or keep uninstalling apps to keep the "low on space" warnings at bay
How the S3 is different
Well, the S3 is substantially different. There are of course SOME similarities. For example, the S3 still has internal NAND Flash Memory. This is often referred to as the eMMC (Embedded MultiMedia Card) - which still contains the /system and /data partitions, used in exactly the same way.
The main difference is /sdcard. The S3 is designed specifically so using an external micro sd card is NOT a necessity. It has a larger NAND Flash internal memory (eMMC) so it can also have an "internal SD card". This is where people start to get confused. The entire internal memory is an eMMC which is essentially an internal SD card, however a partition of that internal memory is /sdcard.
OK, I know - let me explain. /sdcard is a mount point that Android uses to know where to store /sdcard data. But on the S3, instead of storing it on a required external sd card, it points to an internal memory partition. Now here is the clever bit. The /sdcard actually points to /data/media (or /data/media/0 in Android 4.2 onwards). So you continue to have your /data partition, but within /data you have:
/data/app
/data/data
/data/media
The clever thing is that the file system that android uses for /system and /data is a Linux file system called Extended FS. In our case, we use the Ext 4 file system. This is important to understand because these file systems do not work with Windows so an external SD card would usually be Fat 32 file system, or exFAT so we could plug it into our windows computers and read the contents. What Samsung have had to do is use the FUSE file system to allow /sdcard (or /data/media) to exist as a FAT file system within the EXT 4 file system. Clever stuff. But it has it's pro's and cons...
You lost me at file system
All electronic systems that have an operating system and store data use a file system. Think of it in it's simplest form. Imagine a school text book. It has lots of chapters about different things. It has a "Table of Contents" in the first few pages, telling you where each chapter in the book is so if you want to know what page chapter 13 is on, you look in the contents and find the page and go straight there - The alternative is looking through each page individually to find the chapter. Not a quick process.
Well data storage works the same. When you put a file on a hard drive, sdcard, USB stick (or whatever) it is written to a specific location. When it is written to this location, the location is added to the file system. So when you put word.doc onto the drive, The file system is informed of the (very complicated) location of the file. When you tell Windows, Android (or whatever) that you want to open word.doc, the operating system consults the File system and goes to retrieve the data from its true and real (yet very complicated) location on the drive.
There are many file system types still in use today. Usually they are operating system specific. For example, Ext 4 is a Linux file system (and Android by Proxy as it is Linux kernel based) and Windows cannot read Ext file systems. Similarly, exFAT is a Microsoft file system (also used for sdcards on the S3) and cannot be used (easily) on Linux machines. Since most everyday users of the S3 are Windows users, you can see now hopefully why it was important for Sasmung to use "magic" and implement FUSE to allow an exFAT file system to be used for /sdcard, within the Ext 4 partition of /data
Did I REALLY need to know ALL that?
You know what? Probably not but it may go some way to help understand the limitations we will cover later on.
A bit more info for the S3
Obviously, the internal memory supplied with the S3 may not be enough for all users so they added the ability to add expanded memory in the form of the Micro SD card. Android uses the Mount point of /extSdCard now, instead of /sdcard like it used for legacy devices - because /sdcard is already in use elsewhere.
One thing many of you have probably noticed is that with the S3, there is no option to mount the /sdcard or /extSdCard as USB Mass storage on your computer. You must use MTP or PTP.
PTP - Photo Transfer Protocol. When you connect your S3 to your computer using PTP, Your computer sees it as a camera. It will show photos on your "camera" and will set about implementing the default camera options (such as suggesting you import your photos) etc. It won't show documents or other media necessarily.
MTP - Media Transfer Protocol. When you connect your S3 to your computer, it will be seen as a media player. This should allow you full access to all the files on there, including word documents and the such like.
One of the reasons for this is that because /sdcard points to something using the FUSE file system and is not a true partition, it would be difficult to allow it to be used as USB Mass Storage. It may or may not be possible but the biggest advantage of using MTP / PTP is that the computer and the S3 can both access the internal memory at the same time. With USB Mass Storage (UMS) this is quite awkward and can result in errors.
Deleting data
This is partially why we needed to understand a little about file systems. So I could explain to you how data is handled when it is deleted.
As I explained earlier, when you write a file to memory, a corresponding entry is written to the file system to advise the OS where the data is. Sure, you may think you are writing the file to /sdcard/documents/work directory on the internal memory, but in reality these directories or folders do not actually exist at a memory hardware level. The data is written to a block and the file system is informed where that block is, how big the file is, what directory it should appear in to the OS etc. When a file is written the memory, the OS see's the available space go down and the used space go up. All this information comes from the file system.
When you delete the file, the actual data is NOT deleted. It remains where it is on the memory. The block is not overwritten. When the OS is told by the user to delete the file, the File system entry is deleted. This changes the free/used space as the file system is no longer accounting for the data, however the truth is the data still exists. When the next request to write a file to the memory comes from the OS, the file system will think the block where the old data was is empty and will overwrite it.
It is this difference between the file system and reality that allows data to be recovered by external software. if you do not write any data to the memory, external software can scan the memory for data whilst bypassing the file system all together. Ff course the window is small. You only have a very limited time to recover data before the file system allows the data to be overwritten with a new entry.
This is not just true of a deleted file. Even formatting the memory (which is actually just re-creating a new, blank file system) leaves all the data in tact behind-the-scenes and can all still be recovered until you start writing data to the memory. Cool huh?
Wow, all this time I've been stressing, is it really that simple?
Awwww snap! You got me. No it is not that simple. All this PC software, example: Piriform recuva only works on a computer drive. In windows, imagine this is anything with a Drive Letter. C: drive etc.
The only way to get a drive letter on your sdcard is to use USB Mass Storage mode, which as previously discussed - is not possible on your S3 (unless you are rooted, you can mount USB mass storage in custom recovery or use a UMS app from Play). The alternative is to use a card reader on your PC and put the sdcard in it.
There are also apps like Undelete for root users - which again, you guessed it - requires root. So if you're not rooted, it's simplest to use a card reader which can be bought for peanuts.
It's worth mentioning, NONE OF THE ABOVE will work with /sdcard on internal memory. It is not possible to get your data back once deleted from internal memory. Once gone, it's gone forever. You can only restore from /extSdCard (removable, external SDcard)
Phone won't boot, can I get my data back from internal memory?
Let's start by saying, it depends why your phone won't boot. If it's an SDS (Sudden Death Syndrome) type issue, where your internal eMMC (NAND FLash memory) has failed, then no. However, if you believe this is not the case then you can get your /sdcard data using adb BUT you need a custom recovery to be flashed via Odin before you do this. Read [REF] Understanding the basics before rooting your S3
However, if out of curiosity - you do still want to get your data off, using adb , read below:
Pre requisite is having adb "installed" on your windows PC. Download THIS file and follow the instructions in the readme.
You need to observe the following. For android 4.1.x and earlier, /data/media for android 4.2.x and newer, /data/media/0 - I will assume 4.2.2 for this guide,.
1) Boot into recovery, connect usb and go to "mounts and storage". Toggle the "mount data" options to mount these partitions. Tip, when mounted, the option then becomes "unmount data"
2) Open "cmd" in Windows and type the below code, which will copy all your data to a folder called sdcard on your windows desktop
Code:
adb pull /data/media/0/ c:\users\rootsu\desktop\sdcard
Also note, this assumes you have windows vista or newer. Also, it assumes your windows username is rootsu.
That's it, simple.
Display and Digitiser won't work, can I get my data back from internal memory?
You can use adb and a custom recovery to pull data from your /sdcard or even app data from /data/data
Pre requisite is having adb "installed" on your windows PC. Download THIS file and follow the instructions in the readme.
You need to observe the following. For android 4.1.x and earlier, /data/media for android 4.2.x and newer, /data/media/0 - I will assume 4.2.2 for this guide,.
1) Boot into recovery, connect usb and go to "mounts and storage". Toggle the "mount data" options to mount these partitions. Tip, when mounted, the option then becomes "unmount data"
2) Open "cmd" in Windows and type the below code, which will copy all your data to a folder called sdcard on your windows desktop
Code:
adb pull /data/media/0/ c:\users\rootsu\desktop\sdcard
Other things you may want to pull.....
Code:
adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db c:\users\rootsu\desktop\sdcard
Code:
adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db c:\users\rootsu\desktop\sdcard
Also note, this assumes you have windows vista or newer. Also, it assumes your windows username is rootsu.
That's it, simple.
Data corruption
When data becomes corrupt, there's really not a lot you can do. The file system knows where the data is already. If it's corrupt, you're stuck. Most common causes of corruption are:
1) Dirty unmount of /sdcard. SD card pulled out whilst it is being written to / phone shuts off whilst being written to. SOMETIMES - Plugging the card into a card reader in windows, Windows will ask to fix it and MAY fix it.
2) Fake SD card. This is really the MOST common. Get a card reader ans use:
h2testw.exe for windows to test your card in a card reader. Set it to read the full size of the card, which will take hours but well worth it.
If you get a result like this:
Code:
Warning: Only 63995 of 63996 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
3.8 GByte OK (8072512 sectors)
58.6 GByte DATA LOST (122989248 sectors)
Details:2 MByte overwritten (4096 sectors)
...Then you have a fake card, that is really 4 GB. I'll explain this.
Commonly, fake cards are reprogrammed to "think" they are high capacity cards, such as 32 GB or 64 GB to defraud buyers out of money. This is common on eBay (Never buy cards from eBay).
When these cards are formatted, the file system also thinks it is this fake capacity. Normally, when a card is full, the file system will report to the OS there is no more space and this prevents additional writes to the card. However, in the case where the card is 4GB and the File system thinks it is 64 GB, the tricked file system doesn't know the card is full. The file system keeps allowing data to be written to the card, over writing the existing data but without replacing the file system entries. The file system thinks data that has been overwritten hasn't been overwritten so when you try to open one of these files, it is essentially "corrupt" or non-existent.
Preventing data loss
Time to wise up guys. It is possible to recover data off your removable media, but internal memory - very unlikely. No apps on your PC or Android will help with deleted data. So you need to backup.
Dropbox - Use dropbox to automatically upload your photos to online storage.
Foldersync - Use FolderSync to upload important sdcard files to your dropbox account, or better yet - got a computer thats always on at home? Set foldersync to schedule a sync over wifi whilst you're asleep.
Other info
Interesting tidbits

Quite an exhaustive reference guide you got here rootSU thanks this will sure come handy for all of us :good:

Cheers

Thank you very much for taking the time to write this. It's a non academic approach to a sum of keywords and all of them are explained in such a manner that it would be almost impossible to misunderstand

Nice!
Nice post!
There are a few other interesting tidbits of info that might be worth mentioning:
- eMMC has an internal micro-controller that runs very specific firmware (and SDS was mainly caused by a bug in that firmware)
- eMMC (just like SSD) has specific writing/erasing limits and commands to deal with that - as a very general idea it can write about 4k at a time but can only erase in much larger blocks - like 64k (at least, but a 16GB model could have a much bigger block); normally on the same erase-size block there is very special list maintained, and based on that list wear leveling is implemented;
- all flash-based memory AGES - there is only a limited amount of erase/writes cycles possible before a point where the info is no longer reliably-stored; in some models that value can be incredibly small! to avoid writing more to some regions than other a mechanism call wear leveling is implemented; that one can have a big impact on both speed and reliability (but really don't expect it to create miracles)
- since it is very important for the speed and reliability of the flash memory to return unused blocks to this internal lists there are special TRIM commands that informs the firmware that the block can be garbage-collected; with an OS that supports TRIM, when a file is erased the blocks are also TRIMmed; this is one extra level that makes recovery basically impossible under normal circumstances
- this does not really mean that things are completely impossible to recover, just that you might need to spend so much on it that recovery would be impractical for any item worth less than 100000 US$ to 1 million US$
EDIT
- also just as with SSD it is not a bad idea to keep a good percentage of the flash memory free - IMHO at least 4GB for 16GB models, 6-8GB for 32GB models - that will improve performance since fragmentation (CLARIFICATION - free-space fragmentation) will grow much slower
- unfortunately there is no program for eMMC similar to smartctl (or any other SMART-data reading program) on normal SATA/IDE/SCSI disks - there seem to be some proprietary commands that are somehow similar but those are generally undocumented.

xclub_101 said:
Nice post!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've put a link to your post in post 1. Where as it's not strictly relevant to my point, it is interesting stuff....
Fragmentation isn't an issue on ssd's. Its an issue on hdd because the head must physically move to another area of the Platter to get the data. That's the slow down. Defrag of a hdd moves all the used blocks (data) together so the actuator doesn't need to move much.
Performance degrades over time on ssds because every write, if data already exists must be erased too. But this hasn't really been an issue so much since TRIM became widely available.
-----------------------
Sent via tapatalk.
I do NOT reply to support queries over PM. Please keep support queries to the Q&A section, so that others may benefit

rootSU said:
...
Fragmentation isn't an issue on ssd's.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you.
Also sorry for the misunderstanding with my contraction - what I wanted to say was free space fragmentation - that one does matter a lot on solid-state memory because of the garbage collection and some controllers have been famous for having a huge drop in performance with little free space - I will try to also correct that post.

xclub_101 said:
Sorry, I used a misleading contraction - what I wanted to say was free space fragmentation - that one does matter a lot on solid-state memory because of the garbage collection and some controllers have been famous for having a huge drop in performance with little free space - I will try to also correct that post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, it's true about Garbage collection, but TRIM *should* handle this nicely as should "over provisioning" although probably, some cheap SSD's may not over provision.
EDIT> Actually (sorry everyone for off topic) if you're interested in SSD's, these articles are a "fun" read... (I put fun in speech marks as it depends how geeky you are )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_(computing)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2038...-ssds-what-makes-these-speedy-drives-hum.html

Update to post 1:
Note from the Author -
I am moving on to the N5 now and ditching my S3. I will continue to maintain this thread, however - please do PM me if you think that something needs to be changed or updated in this thread as I doubt I will be answering questions within the thread as much. Please don't PM support questions to me. Only PM updates that need to be made in the thread.
It's been a blast!
Regards
Dan

Awesome bits of info. This is the game changer. I learned a whole lot just by reading here in XDA. I've only been using Android for a few weeks but thanks to XDA, I've already rooted, installed a bunch of apps and kept my OCD in check.

my device memory has corrupted and when i start recovery mode i get "E: faild to mount /cash (invalid argument) "

SM-T580: Issue with Card Card setup (Link2SD and Titanium access)

Edit: Title should read "SD Card" (how to edit that?)
I have root and I am trying to get Link2SD to work. I have created the FAT32 (primary) and EXT4 (primary) partitions but I keep getting a mount script error ("unable to mount") (Also tried EXT2)
I am doing the same thing as I have done on several other devices and it is not working on the samsung.
Also, I am having issues with getting Titanium Backup to wrtie to the SD card too. I tried the Kitkit SD card patch but it failed.
I know the SD card works so I am thinking it is a wonky Samsung thing?
Thoughts or advice
Edit: Pulling SD card, re-inserting and rebooting and then Link2SD reports that the 2nd partition is not accessible during boot (and suggests quick boot to fix which it does not). Samsung says the FAT32 is fine but the EXT is "corrupt" but I have confirmed on two other devices it is fine.
So this seems to be some sort of access thing. Maybe related to the removal of encryption patch as part of the TWRP install?
Edit2: cat /sys/block/mmcblk2/device/type gives back "no such file or directory"; (whereas mmcblk1 gives SD)
Total commander shows sd-card (which is internal /storage/emulated/0), sd-card(2) "/data/sdext2"), and USB (SD FAT32 as /storage/BDB2-8960)

Got TB fixed anyway. Backup one file (on device internal location), move the directory to external SD card, then TB decided it is was OK to include that location under settings so select new location.
Now need Link2SD. Could this be a mount script write issue? Encryption issue (I removed it from internal via a scripted)?
Runings Mounts2SD, installed scripts, reboot but it says External is "not mounted". Link2SD still fails with those scripts installed.

chemie99 said:
Got TB fixed anyway. Backup one file (on device internal location), move the directory to external SD card, then TB decided it is was OK to include that location under settings so select new location.
Now need Link2SD. Could this be a mount script write issue? Encryption issue (I removed it from internal via a scripted)?
Runings Mounts2SD, installed scripts, reboot but it says External is "not mounted". Link2SD still fails with those scripts installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link2SD never worked for me either no matter what I did. Apps2SD works flawlessly. Links data, apk, obb files and everything without any issues on ext4 format.

moxalis said:
Link2SD never worked for me either no matter what I did. Apps2SD works flawlessly. Links data, apk, obb files and everything without any issues on ext4 format.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried installed Apps2SD but it never asked for root and decided half the apps could not be moved. I figured it was just offering the usual stock "move apps" which moves marginal amount.
Samsung says that the EXT partition is corrupt but Aparted says it is fine. EXT2, and EXT4 created in either Minitool or Aparted are simply not read.
Mount2SD adds scripts to mount but the partition remains unmounted after reboots.
What format does Samsung want?

chemie99 said:
I tried installed Apps2SD but it never asked for root and decided half the apps could not be moved. I figured it was just offering the usual stock "move apps" which moves marginal amount.
Samsung says that the EXT partition is corrupt but Aparted says it is fine. EXT2, and EXT4 created in either Minitool or Aparted are simply not read.
Mount2SD adds scripts to mount but the partition remains unmounted after reboots.
What format does Samsung want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung reads the partition as corrupt but Apps2SD is using it just fine. You should delete any mount scripts and re-create them through the Apps2SD application.

moxalis said:
Samsung reads the partition as corrupt but Apps2SD is using it just fine. You should delete any mount scripts and re-create them through the Apps2SD application.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I manually delete the mount scripts?

chemie99 said:
How do I manually delete the mount scripts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is the option "Delete mount scripts" in the Apps2SD app. Check their FAQ page for any questions, it's pretty helpful.

Hello! I was having just the exact same problem with my T580.
I just loged in to say how I fixed it:
Open SuperSU app -> Settings.
Check "Enable su during boot"
Uncheck "Mount namespace separation".
After a reboot, Link2SD detected the 2nd partition!
EDIT: Now I fin another issue. If I try to link Obb, it says my device is using "sdcardfs". It offers to install fuse insted to fix it, but after rebooting I still getting the same message.
What could I do?

otamaglimmer said:
Hello! I was having just the exact same problem with my T580.
I just loged in to say how I fixed it:
Open SuperSU app -> Settings.
Check "Enable su during boot"
Uncheck "Mount namespace separation".
After a reboot, Link2SD detected the 2nd partition!
EDIT: Now I fin another issue. If I try to link Obb, it says my device is using "sdcardfs". It offers to install fuse insted to fix it, but after rebooting I still getting the same message.
What could I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems Link2SD does not like Marshmallow so I switched to Apps2SD (which also suggests what you did). It would not create the partition itself but took windows EXT4 and after a bunch of config, worked. The issue I now have is that Samsung still thinks the card is corrupt (which it isnt); any EXT partition and it says that. So on any reboot it greets me with a system notification of a corrupt card (which I want to get rid of but so far can't)..
I did try adoptable using a scripts from this site (didn't work) and the Apps2SD option. Seem to work on device but windows only saw the device memory so would not copy anything when it reported full.

took another kick at the cat today; installed Apps2SD, created mount scripts, but now, for reasons unknown, it no longer reports the SD as corrupt on boot (although it does say that partition is corrupt from the storage setting menu. Weird. No idea why it is no longer doing this. I will say the reinstall was funny. I had to delete and recreate the mount scripts several times (all said it worked) to actually get apps to move without disappearing. perhpas I ended up with a different mount script method in all the trying