Restoring deleted files after factory reset - Nexus 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi, I'm asking on behalf of my friend.
He did a factory reset on his Nexus 7 without knowing that it would lead to the deletion of his personal documents stored on the device.
I understand that all user apps + personal files are stored on a single partition. As I understand, it's impossible to mount it via usb mass storage and restore files using pc programs designed for the task.
Do you think there is anything he can do to restore the formatted partition files? At least partly. I guess it has done just a quick format and that the majority of the files are still there.
Thanks guys.

libetz said:
Hi, I'm asking on behalf of my friend.
He did a factory reset on his Nexus 7 without knowing that it would lead to the deletion of his personal documents stored on the device.
I understand that all user apps + personal files are stored on a single partition. As I understand, it's impossible to mount it via usb mass storage and restore files using pc programs designed for the task.
Do you think there is anything he can do to restore the formatted partition files? At least partly. I guess it has done just a quick format and that the majority of the files are still there.
Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try this http://www.anysoftwaretools.com/how-to/recover-android-data.html

Thanks. I have told my friend to try that out.

Related

Important and Read RE: MTP in recovery aka data/media

This is completely pulled off of my other thread in the HOX+ section
our device is a data/media device which is why usb mount don't work
here's a link that explains it all
http://teamw.in/DataMedia
and part of the convo with dees_troy is below
<Dees_Troy> Nope, it will *never* work on a data/media device
<Dees_Troy> read and learn: http://teamw.in/DataMedia
<WinBot> [Link] http://tinyw.in/lstO :: What is a data media device? | TeamWin
<Dees_Troy> definitely worth understanding
<Dees_Troy> at some point we're going to try to kang in MTP for recovery
<Lloir> so for now then it's sideload or from inside the rom
<Dees_Troy> or adb push
<Lloir> aye
<Dees_Troy> or gtfo
<*****> so cant mount usb storage with newer devices...hmm one x did guess this is where confusion at least on my part came to be
<Lloir> lmao Dees_Troy
<Dees_Troy> one x wasn't a data media device
YOU MUST either transfer the rom\boot\porn\audio\mods while the phone is on or use adb push or even sideload when in recovery, THIS IS THE ONLY way
IF you want to read without clicking the link i'll whack it up in #2
What is a data media device?
I'm writing this page because there seems to be a lot of confusion about how many of the newer Android devices work. Starting in Honeycomb 3.0 with the Xoom, Google changed the way that they handled storage. Instead of having a "data" partition with your apps and a separate "sdcard" partition for storage, Google started giving you a single, very large data partition. Inside /data is a folder at /data/media that contains all of the contents of what you think of as your internal sdcard.
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, 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.
When you're booted to Android, Android fuses the media folder to /sdcard and emulates a FAT files system that doesn't have permissions for legacy apps. We don't currently have fuse in recovery, so we just add an extra mount command to mount /data/media to /sdcard so in recovery you still have to worry about permissions on /sdcard.
Because the "internal sdcard" is not a true FAT file system, you can't mount it via USB storage. Well, that's not technically true, but the vast majority of people use Windows computers and Windows doesn't recognize ext4. If we were to allow you to mount the data partition via USB storage, Windows would claim that the device wasn't formatted and offer to format it for you, which, as you can imagine, would be a disaster. The whole ext4 setup is another reason that Android switched to using MTP for transferring files. Most of these devices don't have the necessary kernel configuration to even support USB storage mode, so it's not very easy to enable USB storage if we even wanted to try. Unfortunately at this time, MTP isn't available in recovery, so if you have no other option, you will have to use adb to push and pull files to/from your device.
As a special note, if you choose to do a factory reset from your ROM, even if the ROM says that it will wipe everything including the internal storage, well, that's not what TWRP will do. A stock AOSP recovery would format data including the "sdcard" but TWRP will use its regular factory reset setup that leaves the internal storage intact.
There are a couple of nice gains with using this setup vs the old data + FAT storage partition. With /data/media you, as the user get more control over how you use your storage. If you have a ton of apps, then that's no problem since you have a huge data partition to work with. If you don't have a lot of apps, you get more room to use for storing things like movies. Further, ext4 doesn't suffer from the 4GB file size limit that FAT has, so you can have a large, high-def movie on your device if you like. I'm sure another motivating factor was to get Android away from using FAT which is a Microsoft creation. Performance on ext4 in Android is also probably better than FAT. As a downside, data media devices tend to store a lot more app data in the "data" section and so backups on these devices tend to be larger.
Thank you for this post. I had been a bit curious about this. I have Evo LTE. But I also Boughy a family member a GNex that I have to maintain. I know that my Evo, I can plug into windows, and when I select USB transfer (not in recovery), it mounts my internal storage (not ext_SD) , and it shows as removable drive in windows. But,....when I plug in GNex, it shows up as GNex , not removable drive H. I always wondered a bit about what this all means.
Thanks for the info. :thumbup:
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Thanks for the useful post.
If I make a nandroid backup for the whole device, will it exclude the /data/media folder? Because on my old phone the nandroid backup doesn't include /sdcard.
romitkin said:
Thanks for the useful post.
If I make a nandroid backup for the whole device, will it exclude the /data/media folder? Because on my old phone the nandroid backup doesn't include /sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it does, we are past the point where that causes issues.
Everyone just needs to get used to the data/media thing. And learn how to use adb side load
I predict a whole bunch of "bricks" due to people not informing themselves on how the phone works and how to use adb
Sent from my One X using Tapatalk 2
A little bit from my side as well I hope someone will find this helpful. Virtual SD card on Android
Can't you use USB Host if you got recovery installed as well? I think I've read that somewhere...
mike1986. said:
A little bit from my side as well I hope someone will find this helpful. Virtual SD card on Android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link broken, here is the correct URL:
http://android-revolution-hd.blogspot.com/2013/03/virtual-sd-card-on-android.html
Oh and bump for anyone new to the idea of a "data/media" device. You're not in Kansas anymore.
NxNW said:
Link broken, here is the correct URL:
http://android-revolution-hd.blogspot.com/2013/03/virtual-sd-card-on-android.html
Oh and bump for anyone new to the idea of a "data/media" device. You're not in Kansas anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lloir, thanks for sharing and good explanation. MTP makes sense and on my One, this way file transfers are simple and fast. However there are two things I dislike about MTP right now:
When you copy files to the device, on some file types it throws a warning that the device might not be able to read the file. This interrupts the file transfer and I have to confirm I want to copy the file to the device. On an older MP3 player I have, I could deactivate this by editing a device capabilities XML file. On the One, I did not find such a file. Perhaps an option in the MTP deamon?
When I am transferring files, I can't browse through other folders at the same time. It says the device is busy.
Is there a way to solve those two issues or "is it what it is"?
Lloir said:
Windows would claim that the device wasn't formatted and offer to format it for you, which, as you can imagine, would be a disaster
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that on a device. Windows offered to format and I did it. Man that was not good! 2 hours later after manually restoring the partition values I was OK and the most amazing thing all my data was there perfect and untouched :silly: :highfive:
Thanks for that great explanation. Been having some issues with windows and android. Nothing big just had to sideload my ROM and killed my "sdcard" at least now I know why

Factory reset

Can i do factory reset without losing my Photos and musi from device storage?
Depends on how u want 2 save them. Google photos. Or google drive is easiest for multi types of files .
Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app
Nagielrlz said:
Can i do factory reset without losing my Photos and musi from device storage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Move them to the extSDCard and then put a file called .nomedia (the . is important) in the folders. Just create a txt file and name it .nomedia then copy it across to both folders.
The .nomedia prevents media scans listing everything twice.
Then whenever you change ROM's, or reset, just copy those folders back to intSDCard. (Device)
Nagielrlz said:
Can i do factory reset without losing my Photos and musi from device storage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are playing around with roms, my suggestion is buy sdcard, 32-64GB depend on ur usage. Move all the music/movie/picture to sdcard.
So you can easily wipe all and flash the rom you want anytime without data lost. Only need to reinstall apps.
On my opinion, reinstalls all apps are better than using backup, cause sometime backup causing some bugs.

OP2 Internal Memory Formated... Need a recovery Option

Hello,
I was freeing up some space on my OP2 device as it was about 52GB Full of 54GB,
i deleted all not used and temp folders, i also found folder named sdcard and storage in same.
I opened them and both were empty, i deleted them as well and as i did that i got a error that it can not be deleted.
Then i just found that whole data on my cell is deleted, all the files and folders are wiped and those two as well.
Now i am asking that is their any way to recover my data, i.e all images, videos, pdf &docx files etc..
As this device can not be connected as a mass storage so that i can use any software on my pc to do so.
i have tried Disk Digger Pro version as well, but unfortunately no success.
Please guys please help me out to come out of this issue. All suggestions and solutions are welcome.
You can also share any paid add as i can buy it to recover my data, but i really need a helping solution.
Thanks in advance.
shubhamalive said:
Hello,
I was freeing up some space on my OP2 device as it was about 52GB Full of 54GB,
i deleted all not used and temp folders, i also found folder named sdcard and storage in same.
I opened them and both were empty, i deleted them as well and as i did that i got a error that it can not be deleted.
Then i just found that whole data on my cell is deleted, all the files and folders are wiped and those two as well.
Now i am asking that is their any way to recover my data, i.e all images, videos, pdf &docx files etc..
As this device can not be connected as a mass storage so that i can use any software on my pc to do so.
i have tried Disk Digger Pro version as well, but unfortunately no success.
Please guys please help me out to come out of this issue. All suggestions and solutions are welcome.
You can also share any paid add as i can buy it to recover my data, but i really need a helping solution.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's normal that all your documents, photos, messages, ets, have been deleted, as /sdcard is...your sdcard. And, well, no, I don't think there is any recovery options...
As long as your internal "sdcard" storage is not encrypted you should be able to just factory restore the phone back to full functionality. After that you should be able to connect phone as usb storage device to your PC and use standard undelete software to undelete your files, because factory restore doesn't actually format your internal storage, it only deletes the file index (FAT).
pitrus- said:
As long as your internal "sdcard" storage is not encrypted you should be able to just factory restore the phone back to full functionality. After that you should be able to connect phone as usb storage device to your PC and use standard undelete software to undelete your files, because factory restore doesn't actually format your internal storage, it only deletes the file index (FAT).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, but if he used the wipe function in TWRP, which use mkfs.ext4 (if I remember), do you think there is still a possibility for him to recover his data?
I'm not sure about it. But then again, I'd say that and testdisk/photorec is his last chance of restoring at least photos.
If this doesn't work, I'm afraid anything will work at all..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-nexus/general/guide-internal-memory-data-recovery-yes-t1994705
Sorry i guess no luck unless you see a recovery partition

Data Recovery from S4 GT-I9506 Andriod 4.3

I need help to recover data (photo, contacts, WhatsApp chats) from my Un-Rooted GT-I9506 running Android 4.3. Due to some error the data was not synced for about 6 months.
Any help as the steps that I need to follow is greatly appreciated
The what's app chats should re-appear if you reinstall what's app and sign in on another phone.
So the phone won't boot at all into the rom? If not, you could install twrp using Odin, boot into twrp, mount the data partition, and copy the data to your computer. Before any of this will work, you need to make sure that the phone is seen by your windows computer.
audit13 said:
The what's app chats should re-appear if you reinstall what's app and sign in on another phone.
So the phone won't boot at all into the rom? If not, you could install twrp using Odin, boot into twrp, mount the data partition, and copy the data to your computer. Before any of this will work, you need to make sure that the phone is seen by your windows computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you audit13 for your help.
My GT-I9506 is working perfectly fine so I should be able to install TWRP.
However I made a mistake and loaded the TWRP ment S4-I337M. I got the usual Green OK message in ODIN. However when I pressed Volume Up & Power I was getting the usual Samsung Default Recovery Options.
Then I realized my mistake and loaded TWRP_3.0.2.0_ks01lte_20160508.tar.md5
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...recovery-twrp-2-8-1-0-touch-recovery-t2942159
I got thw Green Successful Message in ODIN. But when I press Volume Down & Power I get the following message:
Recover Booting
Wet Warranty Bit: Recovery.
And the Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9506 in the Black Screen logo
The phone is stuck in the above screen
Phone is working fine (I am able to use the phone and to go to Download Mode).
What should I do?
Re-flash TWRP. I recommend re-flashing TWRP. I like and still use 2.87.
https://twrp.me/devices/samsunggalaxys4ltea.html
Open Odin, uncheck auto reboot, flash TWRP and, when you see the word "reset" in the status window, remove USB cable, remove battery, replace battery, use button combination to boot into TWRP.
audit13 said:
Re-flash TWRP. I recommend re-flashing TWRP. I like and still use 2.87.
https://twrp.me/devices/samsunggalaxys4ltea.html
Open Odin, uncheck auto reboot, flash TWRP and, when you see the word "reset" in the status window, remove USB cable, remove battery, replace battery, use button combination to boot into TWRP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Re-flashing with 2.87 worked. TWRP is working, Thank you very much.
When you have time can you please point me to link that have step by step instructions to recover the data?
Boot into twrp, connect phone to computer, open file explorer and look for your data. If you don't see anything in the data partition, you may have to try using a data recovery program. Try a program like recuva.
audit13 said:
Boot into twrp, connect phone to computer, open file explorer and look for your data. If you don't see anything in the data partition, you may have to try using a data recovery program. Try a program like recuva.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your help. The files were deleted so I could not find them. I have downloaded Recuva.
What is the Optimal way to recover All deleted files using Recuva?
I did a search and this what I found and I not sure how to do it:
back up the entire internal memory partition to your computer as a single, massive .RAW file,
convert the .RAW file output to a VHD,
mount the VHD as a disk in Disk Manager,
scan the attached VHD volume for files that have been deleted and recover them,
Sorry, I have never use recuva on a phone or non-volatile memory. only mechanical drives.
audit13 said:
Sorry, I have never use recuva on a phone or non-volatile memory. only mechanical drives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I boot GT-9506 into TWRP and mount the internal storage as USB my PC is not detecting the phone internal storage. Even Recuva or HDD Raw Copy Tool is not detecting the phone internal storage.
Any suggestions?
Does TWRP's file manager see any of your data files?
How was the data lost?
- Did you delete it manually?
- Did your format the device?
If so, then it's IMPOSSIBLE to get your data back. That's because Google enabled TRIM in Android 4.3+, so data you deleted is really gone.
If you are stubborn like most of the users and still want to waste lot's of time trying to recover the data then this is the thread you are searching for.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...de-internal-memory-data-recovery-yes-t1994705
TWRP File Manager seems to show all folders example: boot, cache, data, dev, ect, external_sd, license, preload, proc, recovery, res, root, sbin, sdcard, sideload, spersu, system, tem, twres, usbstorage, charger, default.prop .......
When I go into the data folder I see a lot of sub folders including app folder, app-asec, app-lib, app-private, audio, backup, mcmnfc .......
What I go into app folder I see some app files such as "com.whatsapp-34.apk, com.viber.voip6.apk
I am mainly trying to recover deleted Whatsapp & Viber chat, calls history
Lennyz1988 said:
How was the data lost?
- Did you delete it manually?
- Did your format the device?
If so, then it's IMPOSSIBLE to get your data back. That's because Google enabled TRIM in Android 4.3+, so data you deleted is really gone.
If you are stubborn like most of the users and still want to waste lot's of time trying to recover the data then this is the thread you are searching for.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...de-internal-memory-data-recovery-yes-t1994705
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The data was deleted manually but it was not formatted nor a factory reset done.
Yes I did see that 100 page long thread. But as mentioned in this tread my internal storage is NOT detected by Recuva or raw HDD copy utility.
I need the deleted data very badly. So I am willing to jump through any loops
utsc said:
The data was deleted manually but it was not formatted nor a factory reset done.
Yes I did see that 100 page long thread. But as mentioned in this tread my internal storage is NOT detected by Recuva or raw HDD copy utility.
I need the deleted data very badly. So I am willing to jump through any loops
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you deleted the data manually then you cannot get it back. There are no loops to jump through.
Android 4.3+ has Trim enabled. The TRIM function effectively nulls out the space where deleted files were stored, making the data completely unrecoverable.
Lennyz1988 said:
If you deleted the data manually then you cannot get it back. There are no loops to jump through.
Android 4.3+ has Trim enabled. The TRIM function effectively nulls out the space where deleted files were stored, making the data completely unrecoverable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not too sure about that because I used a software called Dr Fone and was able to recover some of the deleted files.

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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