HOW to keep the internal memory content when reseting? - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

HAllo,
i come from HTC HD2 and it had an external SD Card. Reseting the Phone was no problem because all my data on the SD Card will not be deleted.
On the Nexus 4 is different.
How can i keep my saved data (APK, backups, documents) on the internal memory (emulated SD card) when i reset the phone? is there any way to do that?
Thanx in advance
WBR
Siemens Lover

Anything on the virtual SDcard won't be touched in a normal factory reset. Apks and their data will though, because they're not on the SDcard to begin with.
It's just like a normal phone, except when manually formatting the entire data partition, or when unlocking the bootloader

See guide stickied at top of this forum or in my signature.
There are methods for backing up and restoring your data on a device.
But as far as once you've flashed a custom recovery...
Custom recoveries will ignore /data/media/
This is your "sdcard."
So they still wipe /data/ but keep your "sdcard" directories intact.
This is NOT true for the stock recovery, mind you.

Related

Flashing, Backups, SD Card data question

I tried a search but couldn't "hit the nail on the head". I have a rooted N7, stock rom, TWRP recovery, and SuperSU. I am using ROM Toolbox Pro for App and Nandroid Backup. I know this saves the app/nandroid files to the internal "sd card". My concern is when I unlocked my N7 it wiped completely my sd data and all. How safe is the SD Card data on the N7? Lets just say I screwed something up and had to reset to factory or flash a new ROM, will the SD Card data still be on the device? or was it only the unlocking that does a complete wipe?
I am backing up my ROM Toolbox backups with FolderSync to my Google Drive for extra redundancy. Just curious if I tried a new ROM or did a factory reset would my backup data from the SD card still be there? I don't think the toolbox backs up app data that is stored on the sd card correct? Also, does Nandroid only backup system/ROM information? the file is a lot smaller than expected (I have my 16GB nearly maxed out with only 2GB free, hence the OTG storage)
Ok I guess that's a jumble of a few questions blurred together, hope it's intelligible enough I'm mainly wondering how safe is my data on the "SD Card" during a flash/factory reset.
Also what is the difference between the following, are they all the same, just different paths?
/storage/sdcard0
mount/sdcard
/sdcard
No one knows?
Is there another forum, group, or website I should post this inquiry?

[Q] understanding what is wiped and best method to transferring data

Im familiar with flashing new roms and have done so a few times, i just want to get familiar with keeping my data on my phone.
is the externalsd card folder on my phones internal memory wiped when i format data/factory reset and format cache?
what is the best method for keeping all my pictures I have taken and downloads folder. (are these in extsd folder?)
I currently use Helium to backup SMS/Wifi settings/home screen/dictionary.
Also, does my google account backup what apps i have, can they be restored properly when going through the new setup wizard screens after flashing my new rom? or will i need to manually reinstall all apps?
Does titanium backup, able to backup my pictures taken/screenshots/downloads?
callum_88 said:
Im familiar with flashing new roms and have done so a few times, i just want to get familiar with keeping my data on my phone.
is the externalsd card folder on my phones internal memory wiped when i format data/factory reset and format cache?
what is the best method for keeping all my pictures I have taken and downloads folder. (are these in extsd folder?)
I currently use Helium to backup SMS/Wifi settings/home screen/dictionary.
Also, does my google account backup what apps i have, can they be restored properly when going through the new setup wizard screens after flashing my new rom? or will i need to manually reinstall all apps?
Does titanium backup, able to backup my pictures taken/screenshots/downloads?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
1.is the external sd card folder on my phones internal memory wiped when i format data/factory reset and format cache?
Everything on the internal storage gets wiped with a factory reset.
The external sd card is not affected.
2.what is the best method for keeping all my pictures I have taken and downloads folder. (are these in extsd folder?)
Direct the phones settings to store your photos on the external sd card.
Downloads should be moved with a file explorer.
3.Also, does my google account backup what apps i have, can they be restored properly when going through the new setup wizard screens after flashing my new rom? or will i need to manually reinstall all apps?
As long as you ticked Google to back up your apps , they should re-install themselves.
4.Does titanium backup, able to backup my pictures taken/screenshots/downloads?
No.
Manually transfer them to the external sd card with a file explorer.

How to format the internal memory without bricking the phone.

Hi
I wasn't able to find a thread for deleting and formatting for dummies.
I have lots of junk in my internal phone memory, including a TWRP recovery that I can't delete. I tried with many explorers, I made many resets, I wiped everything and formatted the memory in recovery (TWRP and CWM). Even the option "delete backup" in CWM showed success, but after reboot it was still there.
What I have to format? What precautions I have to take?
this is with twrp, i know you tried that. but it has good info on internal layout
main thing is remove ext card and have bu of internal and a nandroid on sdcard and pc
at work can't research further atm

How to decrypt android marshmellow formated sdcard

i was on twrp 2.8.7.0 and installed http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/i9505-orig-develop/rom-kushan-cm-marshmallow-rom-t3258489. then formatted my sd card as internal storage. today i wanted to update to the latest build of kushan rom, but in twrp my sd card was listed as 0 mb and i couldnt enter it. so i decided to flash latest cwm trough rom manager. after flashing cwm my internal sdcard was wiped(not by me-automaticly) and now marshmellow tells me that te sd card is not supportet...please format.....
i think that as the cwm wiped my sd card "the unique? encrpytion key?" got lost and therefor i cant axcess the sd card. im i right?
if yes i hope the encryption key is not unique and i can recover the files on the sd card
k2828 said:
i was on twrp 2.8.7.0 and installed http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/i9505-orig-develop/rom-kushan-cm-marshmallow-rom-t3258489. then formatted my sd card as internal storage. today i wanted to update to the latest build of kushan rom, but in twrp my sd card was listed as 0 mb and i couldnt enter it. so i decided to flash latest cwm trough rom manager. after flashing cwm my internal sdcard was wiped(not by me-automaticly) and now marshmellow tells me that te sd card is not supportet...please format.....
i think that as the cwm wiped my sd card "the unique? encrpytion key?" got lost and therefor i cant axcess the sd card. im i right?
if yes i hope the encryption key is not unique and i can recover the files on the sd card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated many many times. The only recovery you can use is TWRP. Your sdcard shows 0 mb because it became part of your internal storage. So reflash TWRP and try again.
after flashing cwm i did nothing but booting once the rom and notice that everything was wipped and then flash twrp.
the result is i cant axcess my sdcard as the rom sais that the sdcard needs to prepared.
so my question is, can i recover the data on the sd card?
Not if you're at the point where the card needs to be prepared. What you should have done if you wanted to decrypt the MicroSD, is pulled the data off both card and internal storage, then gone into Settings > Storage & USB and converted the card to portable storage.
One thing. With CWM running, did you have any nandroid backups? If you did, you likely will have to reinstall CWM to free up the internal storage reserved for the nandroid backups. CWM by default allocates space for its nandroid backups that cannot be touched by the system or TWRP. Once you do that, you can then reinstall TWRP.
OK THX. I just created a image of the SD card.maybe in the future there will be a toop to decrypt such SD cards. For the future:
Is the SD card lost everytime i update the Rom build?
Is the SD card lost Ehen i change the Rom to another Android 6 Rom?
What do i have to do when updating to a Newer build oft the same rom,vor change to another Android 6 rom? Pull everything from bouth cards? Really? Thats a pain in the ass even with a uhs 1 SD card.
Whats the best way for backing up the data, so i can cop them back without trouble? Maybe ADB?
Whats about changin the recovery? Thats a nogo i think and whats about updating twrp?
What is a absolut nogo? What i ahouldnt do to f*** up the card again?
So many questions, but I'm going to answer just the last two, as their answer covers every other question in your post.
What is an absolute no go? What shouldn't I do to f*** up the card again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answer to this is so easy it's astounding. The answer is to not combine the card with the internal storage. Here's why. If you switch ROMs regularly in order to try them out, every single time you combine the storage the card has to be prepared for use, which means all data on it gets wiped. If you do a clean install of your current ROM and combine the storage, all data on the card is wiped. The reason the card gets wiped is because Android 6.x creates a virtual volume which spans both internal storage and the MicroSD. In order to ensure the data is secure Android encrypts the volume. This encryption is part of the reason Google throws up a warning to restore the card if you pull it out of the device.
By not combining the storage, you avoid the encryption problems, but you do have to deal with the issue of apps not seeing the MicroSD card. Unless an app with this issue is no longer being updated, this problem will resolve itself. Developers have to adapt to the new setup.
The encryption also impacts performance, though on my tests with it I didn't notice anything. The one thing it will do is impact the ability to perform backups. In my tests, the encryption prevented TWRP from doing anything useful, meaning no ability to install flashable zips or updated TWRP recovery images from the storage and no ability to do nandroid backups. TWRP could see the directory structure of the combined storage but could not see any files within the folders to install. Nandroid backups instantly failed with an "out of storage" error, even though I had some 15GB of space available on the MicroSD. TWRP's developers will need to adapt to this and custom ROM developers will have to recommend that users not combine storage.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
So many questions, but I'm going to answer just the last two, as their answer covers every other question in your post.
The answer to this is so easy it's astounding. The answer is to not combine the card with the internal storage. Here's why. If you switch ROMs regularly in order to try them out, every single time you combine the storage the card has to be prepared for use, which means all data on it gets wiped. If you do a clean install of your current ROM and combine the storage, all data on the card is wiped. The reason the card gets wiped is because Android 6.x creates a virtual volume which spans both internal storage and the MicroSD. In order to ensure the data is secure Android encrypts the volume. This encryption is part of the reason Google throws up a warning to restore the card if you pull it out of the device.
By not combining the storage, you avoid the encryption problems, but you do have to deal with the issue of apps not seeing the MicroSD card. Unless an app with this issue is no longer being updated, this problem will resolve itself. Developers have to adapt to the new setup.
The encryption also impacts performance, though on my tests with it I didn't notice anything. The one thing it will do is impact the ability to perform backups. In my tests, the encryption prevented TWRP from doing anything useful, meaning no ability to install flashable zips or updated TWRP recovery images from the storage and no ability to do nandroid backups. TWRP could see the directory structure of the combined storage but could not see any files within the folders to install. Nandroid backups instantly failed with an "out of storage" error, even though I had some 15GB of space available on the MicroSD. TWRP's developers will need to adapt to this and custom ROM developers will have to recommend that users not combine storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx for your very detailed answere. but whats about when i am using i.e. kushan rom build 07.12.2015 and i update to kushan rom build 11.12.2015. will the sd card have to be prepared to use also? and what about when i update twrp to a marshmellow support twrp. di i need prepare the sd card then again?
TWRP could see the directory structure of the combined storage but could not see any files within the folders to install. Nandroid backups instantly failed with an "out of storage" error, even though I had some 15GB of space available on the MicroSD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the point where my trouble began. as so as the sd card is prepared as internal you cant even see files of the real internal storage. flashing zips you can still do with adb sideload. another question could we backup the internal flash inlcuding prepared sd card with this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1818321
?
If yes, is there also a way to restore the backup made?
To make things crystal clear, once the card is set for portable storage you will not have to reconfigure the card again unless you choose to combine the storage. Upgrading a ROM to a newer version will generate a message in the notification bar that you have to prepare the card, but you simply select the portable storage option and the notification goes away. Upgrading TWRP doesn't require doing anything to storage.
Should you choose to combine storage, upgrading a ROM may cost you whatever is on both the internal storage and microSD. Upgrading TWRP with combined storage would require you to flash it using Odin, because you wouldn't be able to copy the TWRP image to the device storage.
Backing up the internal storage doesn't require anything more than a copy operation from the S4 to the PC, so no special tools should be required. That applies regardless of whether the storage is combined or separate. However, for best results with TWRP, the storage should not be combined.
Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I've the same issue.
I flashed a new rom without getting the decryption code or backing anything up(No NANDs, no sd backup). Is there still currently no way to retrieve the files that are encrypted on this SD?
I've done exactly the same, I'm hoping theres a way to decrypt it.
k2828 said:
i was on twrp 2.8.7.0 and installed http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/i9505-orig-develop/rom-kushan-cm-marshmallow-rom-t3258489. then formatted my sd card as internal storage. today i wanted to update to the latest build of kushan rom, but in twrp my sd card was listed as 0 mb and i couldnt enter it. so i decided to flash latest cwm trough rom manager. after flashing cwm my internal sdcard was wiped(not by me-automaticly) and now marshmellow tells me that te sd card is not supportet...please format.....
i think that as the cwm wiped my sd card "the unique? encrpytion key?" got lost and therefor i cant axcess the sd card. im i right?
if yes i hope the encryption key is not unique and i can recover the files on the sd card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you found solution to decrypt the Sdcard.
I was facing this problem for almost 1 year I need only sdcard not data in it but I am unable to format it due to encryption but any device able to read the data and copy from that.
Even I can play Music out that SD card
Unless you're immortal, you're not decrypting the MicroSD card via brute force. Currently, the amount of time required to find the decryption key is longer than the current age of the universe.
If looking to simply format an existing card, use SDFormatter from http://www.sdcard.org.

TWRP Format Data

Hi all sorry for asking a dumb question, but would "format data" button inside TWRP's Wipe section (the button above factory reset) also delete a TWRP backup?
the_hatrix said:
Hi all sorry for asking a dumb question, but would "format data" button inside TWRP's Wipe section (the button above factory reset) also delete a TWRP backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your twrp backup in microsd card then it will not delete.
"Format data" will delete ( system/data/cache/dalvic cache/internal storage)
If you are planning to clean your device to install new clean rom then Make a backup of current rom and all your data in microsd card/usb drive before you do this.
So if the backup was in the internal sd it would have been deleted then right?
the_hatrix said:
So if the backup was in the internal sd it would have been deleted then right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it will be deleted
Go to my files and copy entire TWRP folder from internal storage to microsd card if you need your backup.
Thanks!
Format data
Trex888 said:
If your twrp backup in microsd card then it will not delete.
"Format data" will delete ( system/data/cache/dalvic cache/internal storage)
If you are planning to clean your device to install new clean rom then Make a backup of current rom and all your data in microsd card/usb drive before you do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, please can I recover files from internal sd after Format data ? I wanted to root my phone to recover files with disk digger and I followed a thread including Format data to root android phone and now I'm trying to recover all my lost files. If you have any advise please let me know if I have a chance .
Thank you !
infostar said:
Hi, please can I recover files from internal sd after Format data ? I wanted to root my phone to recover files with disk digger and I followed a thread including Format data to root android phone and now I'm trying to recover all my lost files. If you have any advise please let me know if I have a chance .
Thank you !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After FORMAT DATA there is nothing there to recover.
Everything has gone, sorry.
Only if you had made a TWRP backup, stored in the external sdcard, then you could restore it and get your DATA files back.
But in that case also, your personal files(pictures, music etc) are not included in this back up.
Only APPS data, meaning files that make apps working, are restored this way.
ALL your personal data, are stored in the internal storage.
If you have performed a DATA format, nothing is there anymore.
infostar said:
Format data
Hi, please can I recover files from internal sd after Format data ? I wanted to root my phone to recover files with disk digger and I followed a thread including Format data to root android phone and now I'm trying to recover all my lost files. If you have any advise please let me know if I have a chance .
Thank you !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you can recover data if it was not overwritten, even if it was deleted. You can use special software.
Which options do we need to select to backup existing ROM? And to do a recover in case of device failure.
Boot? System? System Image? Vendor? Vendor Image?
Maybe a dumb question but: If you format data, can you boot in current rom?
Treeager said:
Maybe a dumb question but: If you format data, can you boot in current rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you can't lol. Format data wipes everything on the storage of the device. You better install a rom after wiping everything or you will get stuck in bootloader / bootloops.
In some a/b slot devices, if you don't have a rom installed, your custom recovery is also wiped because it usually resides on the boot.img.

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