Database Users

TWRP and Format Data Option !! Doh !!

In my quest to clean my Internal SD card i did a Twrp Format Data. I once done loaded a custom rom.
Worked fine until reboot.
The phone hanhs at the Galaxy S4 boot screen. Whatever i put back, backups etc once i reboot the same story.
How can i fix this gents ??
Please help

Xetalx said:
In my quest to clean my Internal SD card i did a Twrp Format Data. I once done loaded a custom rom.
Worked fine until reboot.
The phone hanhs at the Galaxy S4 boot screen. Whatever i put back, backups etc once i reboot the same story.
How can i fix this gents ??
Please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try reflashing the ROM your on

hapticxchaos said:
try reflashing the ROM your on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did try a clean flash of my rom... Same thing it goes well until i reboot. Stalls on Samsug Galaxy S4 screen.
It feels like TWRP Format Data screwed up something... V 2.5.0.2
Xetalx

Try reflashing twrp.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda premium

hmm i would probably try restoring sans odin...should fix whatever partition issues your having

I had to restore from KIES...
Wouldnt boot again.
Go in stock recovery and
Format data / factory RESET the thing...
WTH I almost tought i lost it for a sec !!

Never format data. What you should have done is odin back to stock, then factory reset through stock recovery. Kies is hit or miss when it comes to recognizing the phone in that state. You got lucky. There are a few topics on how to fix the problem you had.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

I format /data every time I flash a new ROM and I experience fewer bugs because of it.
I just back up all my important files (data folder) to external SD and then restore after I install the new ROM. Works great for me. :good:

CZ Eddie said:
I format /data every time I flash a new ROM and I experience fewer bugs because of it.
I just back up all my important files (data folder) to external SD and then restore after I install the new ROM. Works great for me. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you use to format data ?
Stock ?
CMW ?
TWRP ?
Thanks
I prefer to format as well . But chances are that with the issues i got i wont do it again...

Xetalx said:
What do you use to format data ?
Stock ?
CMW ?
TWRP ?
Thanks
I prefer to format as well . But chances are that with the issues i got i wont do it again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm mostly on TWRP but I do it in CWM also.
At most, your issue (whatever it was) was due to user-error or a random system glitch.
At worst, you have to ODIN back to stock which only takes about ten minutes to do, five minutes to re-root and install TWRP and then you're good to go again.

Don't know if any further research has been done on this subject, but it's the only thread that came back with TWRP+format.
This same thing happened to me last week, I *think* it was my first internal format on my i337, was able to boot then fail.
Odin back to stock fixed issues.
Any thought why this happens? Any suggestions for best clean format approach besides an Odin? Flash CWM/Philz for the format then back to TWRP if desired?

I'm currently stuck in the same situation. Used TWRP to format /data to try and clean up the internal sdcard and now I'm bricked. Flashed 3 diff recoveries and about a billion roms, nothing works. Downloading a fresh odin flashable stock rom as we speak.
edit: so flashing stock rom via ODIN wasnt quite enough. I then had to enter stock recovery and do a factory reset. I noticed any time I tried to format /data the system would crash and reboot. The stock recovery was able to properly format data and now I'm back on a custom recovery/rom again.

Partition damage? Not sure whats wrong...

Hey all,
I have an S4 i337m model. I've installed a custom ROM that is essentially a rooted stock ROM (I do not remember the exact build/version of the ROM). I realize having this info would be useful, but at the moment, I cannot access this info.
While running this ROM, everything was fine. Last week Friday, I attempted to install FoxHound 1.6. Had to play around with the installation options, but I got FoxHound to work. However, I need to get back on my old ROM as I needed some files that were deleted during the FoxHound install. So I wiped my phone, and restored my nandroid backup of my rooted stock ROM. again, everything was fine. No issues.
Here is where the problem is; after restoring my rooted stock ROM, I could boot into the phone and access the files needed. However, when I reboot/shut down phone, upon restarting/powering up, my phone is stuck at the 'Samsung Galaxy S4' logo right after power on. So, I boot into recovery (the latest version of TWRP) and I navigate to 'file manager' to take a look at my storage/files. And this is where I believe the issue to be; I see virtually no files at all. I can see many folders/partitions, but there are virtually no files anywhere (i.e. the system and data partitions are empty). I am assuming this is the reason why my phone doesn't boot past the Samsung Galaxy S4 logo. Now, when this happens, I wipe my phone again and restore my working nandroid backup. Everything works fine. I can get back into Android without issues. Until I reboot/power off my phone. Then this happens all over again.
I believe I may have damaged(?) the partition(s). When I installed FoxHound, I also installed an option during installation titled 'EXT4'. I know linux uses ext2/3/4 partition tables. Did I damage my storage/partition by installing EXT4 from FoxHound? Do I need to repartition my phone via Odin PIT file or something similar? Am I totally wrong with my analysis? Any help/advise/insight would be very welcomed.
Thanks

Additional info
Baseband: I337MVLUAMG1
Build number: JDQ39.I337MVLUAMG1
ROM: Rooted stock ROM 4.2.2 (with some bloatware removed)
While my phone was in the it's 'logo stuck' state, I entered into TWRP and selected the Wipe option, then Format Data. I must select 'Format Data' in order for my phone to work on it's next boot. Manually formatting System, Data, etc... will not allow my phone to boot up at next boot. And, my phone will only work on the next boot. If I power off/restart phone, it will get stuck at the logo again. So my phone is only good for 1 boot up after a wipe.
And, after I restore a working backup and boot into the phone, everything works until next power down/reboot. Once I power down/reboot phone, I must go into recovery since it will not boot into Android. When I get into TWRP, I see that my Internal Storage has 0MB free and I am unable to see any files. I can see folders/partitions, but there is nothing in any folder/partition. My external SD card shows nothing as well. My external SD card however is unaffected as all the data is still there once I get into Android and look around.
Also, I just restored a backup I had before I was having this issue. After restoring and rebooting, the same thing happens. I get stuck at the 'Samsung Galaxy S4' logo.
So I'm guessing there is some partition troubles here. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm scratching my head as to the cause of this problem.

It could be some hardware issues too. I'd Odin back to stock and see if the problem persists. If it does its hardware.

jd1639 said:
It could be some hardware issues too. I'd Odin back to stock and see if the problem persists. If it does its hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the same thing. I'm downloading the stock ROM now and will give it a try.
One other thing I noticed during my last restore/fix attempt... After I perform a wipe -> Format Data (from TWRP), I notice that it reverts to my rooted stock ROM without me restoring anything. So, after I do a full wipe/format, and reboot my phone immediately after the full wipe/format, my phone will boot into the rooted stock ROM. I thought that wiping/formatting via TWRP totally cleans the internal storage of all data. So how can I be booting into any ROM after a wipe?
Unless I'm mistaken in my thinking and the full wipe/format option in TWRP just reverts back to the stock ROM I had installed prior to installing further custom ROMs?

If you wipe system and data there shouldn't be any rom it would boot. Don't try that though unless you have a nandroid because it shouldn't boot
What version of twrp ate you using?

Do not format data in twrp.

jd1639 said:
If you wipe system and data there shouldn't be any rom it would boot. Don't try that though unless you have a nandroid because it shouldn't boot
What version of twrp ate you using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear ya... I have several nandroid backups. All work (minus this 'stuck at logo' issue I am having). I am using the newest TWRP version 2.6. It's very strange... after I perform a full wipe, I am able to boot into my rooted stock ROM that I flashed shortly after acquiring the phone. This was a bit over a month ago now. I do not know how this is possible.
xBeerdroiDx said:
Do not format data in twrp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not?
_____________________________________________________________________
**Should I try using CWM instead?

Talabis said:
I hear ya... I have several nandroid backups. All work (minus this 'stuck at logo' issue I am having). I am using the newest TWRP version 2.6. It's very strange... after I perform a full wipe, I am able to boot into my rooted stock ROM that I flashed shortly after acquiring the phone. This was a bit over a month ago now. I do not know how this is possible.
Why not?
_____________________________________________________________________
**Should I try using CWM instead?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use twrp 2.5.0.2 or cwm. The newer twrp has issues.

jd1639 said:
Use twrp 2.5.0.2 or cwm. The newer twrp has issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is TWRP 2.5.0.0 ok to use?

Ok... It's really starting to look like my partition table has been damaged. Every time I flash a new ROM or restore a nandroid backup successfully, and then restart my phone, I get stuck at the S4 logo. Upon starting recovery, my internal storage reads 0MB free. It seems like my partition table is becoming corrupt after a reboot, or it has already been corrupted.
I tried flashing the stock ROM for my phone (I337MVLUAMDJ_I337MOYAAMDJ_I337MVLUAMDJ_HOME.tar is the one I used), but that didn't help at all. After installing this stock ROM, and I go into stock recovery, I get an error: E:failed to mount /data (invalid argument).
This really is looking like a partition problem. Is there some way to re-partition my phone? I remember a PIT file was used to partition my old Galaxy S i9000. Is there a PIT file for the S4 i337m?
I would also like to try CWM but I am having a hard time finding a ODIN flashable version.

I wouldn't mess with a pit file and I haven't seen one anyway. It's sounding more and more like your memory is bad. I'd keep it stock and see if you can get an exchange on the phone under warranty.

Further investigation has lead me to the culprit... sorta. It's my /data partition that is screwing everything up. If I format /data and then reboot, I can get into my phone. But if I reboot again, then my /data partition becomes corrupt and my phone hangs at the S4 logo. And then if I go into recovery, I can see that my internal storage is at 0MB free.
However, after formatting/restoring /data partition and rebooting into android successfully, everything works fine. If I reboot from this point and enter recovery, I am still able to see my /data partition and files. At this point, everything seems to be fine. Once I reboot out of recovery and let the phone boot into Android, I get stuck at the S4 logo and my /data partition screws up/becomes corrupt. It looks like my /data partition is only becoming corrupt after the 1st successful boot into Android. If I enter recovery after the 1st successful android load, I am still able to see all files and partitions. It is only trying to load android after the 1st boot that my /data partition becomes corrupt. Very strange...
So, I can always boot into my phone as long as I format my /data partition prior to loading Android. Anyone experience this before? Any ideas? I realize my memory may be damaged, but I'm leaving that as a last resort possibility since my phone was working fine up until I started installing FoxHound with the EXT4 option as well as installing 1 or 2 of the kernel's FoxHound provides. Namely Adam kernel is the one I tried.

All good... I think/hope
Well, I think I got the problem solved. After toying with this thing all day. It seems like TWRP 2.6 was the problem in some sense. Looks like TWRP 2.6 does not format the /data partition correctly. I had to get restore/install a working ROM, boot into my phone and install ClockworkMod Recovery via ROM Manager. I then used CWM to format /data. Once I did this, and loaded back into my phone, and went through the setup process since /data was formatted, everything was working fine. I just rebooted 5 times and shut down twice and my phone booted back up into android without issue.
So as one user in this thread had mentioned, formatting /data with TWRP 2.6 was the problem.
Hope this helps others avoid a similar issue.
Thanks everyone for all the help. It pointed me in the right direction.

Glad you got it fixed.

I'll be giving these steps a try, having somewhat of the same problem!

i've been having this exact same problem but with TWRP 2.5.0.2 since July. Its been driving me insane and I have not been able to find any one else having this issue until now. I think i might finally try CWM instead as a last measure before I finally give up!

Try TWRP 2.6.3.1 version. It works pretty well even though it's unofficial http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2262996
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Tried doing Lollipop update, broken filesystem.

Hello. I tried doing the 5.0 update to my tablet using the factory images. It failed on sending /system and now the whole tablet isn't working. I loaded Philz, to wipe the whole tablet, and it errors mounting /data and /system when attempting to wipe. I have tried wiping everything in every way, and nothing. I cannot get anything to flash on the tablet. Any help?

Yoyodude1124 said:
Hello. I tried doing the 5.0 update to my tablet using the factory images. It failed on sending /system and now the whole tablet isn't working. I loaded Philz, to wipe the whole tablet, and it errors mounting /data and /system when attempting to wipe. I have tried wiping everything in every way, and nothing. I cannot get anything to flash on the tablet. Any help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya man, its the same with me . Hope someone, reply's with a solution for it.

Maybe try with latrst version of twrp instead of Philz.

Flash TWRP
Wipe
Advanced wipe
Select system
Repair or change file system
Repair
Let it do its thing, then flash your ROM.
Send your thanks to @Paramesh96. He gave me this advice on my thread. Still haven't been able to flash factory images. But I can get my tablet up & running again with this guide

I could do this, but I have no way of moving a zip file to the tablet.

Yoyodude1124 said:
I could do this, but I have no way of moving a zip file to the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed TWRP, went through the process, rebooted to bootloader, reflashed TWRP, reboot to recovery & mtp was enabled to access the sdcard

Fix freeze , lags etc.

Hello people my phone getting old i think 1.5 year so far my phone started to freeze having lags getting too hot while browsing. And bootloops started without flashing anything. First bootloop happened 2 weeks ago. Today happened again twice i wiped dalvik cache and everything is fine how can i fix it? I thought rom cause it i flashed stock firmware rooted it and removed bloatware. Still happens lags,freeze,getting too hot and bootloop. Is it lollipop update? I never had this issues with kitkat. How can fix this and keep my alive?

Orangley said:
Hello people my phone getting old i think 1.5 year so far my phone started to freeze having lags getting too hot while browsing. And bootloops started without flashing anything. First bootloop happened 2 weeks ago. Today happened again twice i wiped dalvik cache and everything is fine how can i fix it? I thought rom cause it i flashed stock firmware rooted it and removed bloatware. Still happens lags,freeze,getting too hot and bootloop. Is it lollipop update? I never had this issues with kitkat. How can fix this and keep my alive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try a full factory reset. Be careful as this will wipe your internal storage.

GDReaper said:
Try a full factory reset. Be careful as this will wipe your internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your answer but I did it after flash stock rom via odin. Wiped data / factory reset , cache partition , mounted cache , system , data , wiped dalvik cache..

Wiping data does not equal a factory reset. Wiping data does just that, wipes user installed apps. But generally leaves the internal storage alone.
A factory reset returns the phone to the settings it came out of the factory with, including a clean internal storage(If you have the stock rom). I heard that changing roms and just wiping data, dalvik and cache will still leave behind some files.
But it could also be untrue.

GDReaper said:
Wiping data does not equal a factory reset. Wiping data does just that, wipes user installed apps. But generally leaves the internal storage alone.
A factory reset returns the phone to the settings it came out of the factory with, including a clean internal storage(If you have the stock rom). I heard that changing roms and just wiping data, dalvik and cache will still leave behind some files.
But it could also be untrue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing stock rom is same with factory reset i think clears everything.

I don't know. Haven't flashed stock on this device yet.
But don't most guys recommend doing a wipe before going back to stock?

I dont know i'll try that when i have free time. I did research some guys saying lollipop causing these problems. I'll try wipe before flash stock rom again , if issues keep happen i'll use lates 4.4.2 custom rom. Thank you for your answers i'll report back.

Real reset
This method will wipe everything, including operating system and efs files. Before you do this:
you must root
Download twrp recovery
Install the recovery using the app from the play store
Boot into recovery mode and have twrp backup everything
save your backup to an SD card and the computer (can't hurt to have two backups)
Doing the above will preserve your phone important data like your imei and efs
in case something goes wrong.
NOW
after you have backed everything up use twrp recovery to wipe data. Have twrp wipe everything except for your SD card (don't won't to lose the backup)
After everything has been obliterated have twrp boot you into download mode.
Download Odin from XDA preferably 3.09 (most stable release) and then grab an official stock firmware from a trusted source. The latest stock firmware should be at least 4.4.2
If you have carriers other than t-mobile you will also need to find a PIT file for partitioning.
When you have all of this open up Odin with your phone connected in download mode and make sure repartitioning, clear efs and nand-erase is checked along with the defaults.
Select pda button and choose your firmware (unzipped tar.md5 format.) Then select repartitioning PIT file button and direct to where you have the PIT file downloaded.
now click start (be sure that the Com port is recognized by Odin: will be highlighted in blue or yellow.)
This will take a while depending on your computer.
when it finishes your phone should reboot with a fresh os and filesystem. If you get stuck in a bootloop reboot into recovery mode and do a wipe data and wipe cache. Reboot and your phone should be good as new.
IMPORTANT!!! It is vital you keep your TWRP backups for as long as you have your phone if you lose them and something goes wrong while flashing your phone you will lose important things such as IMEI baseband which will prevent you from connecting to your network and Sim card recognition.

Thank you so much i'll try this now.

AndroidInitiate said:
This method will wipe everything, including operating system and efs files. Before you do this:
you must root
Download twrp recovery
Install the recovery using the app from the play store
Boot into recovery mode and have twrp backup everything
save your backup to an SD card and the computer (can't hurt to have two backups)
Doing the above will preserve your phone important data like your imei and efs
in case something goes wrong.
NOW
after you have backed everything up use twrp recovery to wipe data. Have twrp wipe everything except for your SD card (don't won't to lose the backup)
After everything has been obliterated have twrp boot you into download mode.
Download Odin from XDA preferably 3.09 (most stable release) and then grab an official stock firmware from a trusted source. The latest stock firmware should be at least 4.4.2
If you have carriers other than t-mobile you will also need to find a PIT file for partitioning.
When you have all of this open up Odin with your phone connected in download mode and make sure repartitioning, clear efs and nand-erase is checked along with the defaults.
Select pda button and choose your firmware (unzipped tar.md5 format.) Then select repartitioning PIT file button and direct to where you have it downloaded.
now click start (be sure that the Com port is recognized by Odin: will be highlighted in blue or yellow.)
This will take a while depending on your computer.
when it finishes your phone should reboot with a fresh os and filesystem. If you get stuck in a bootloop reboot into recovery mode and do a wipe data and wipe cache. Reboot and your phone should be good as new.
IMPORTANT!!! It is vital you keep your TWRP backups for as long as you have your phone if you lose them and something goes wrong while flashing your phone you will lose important things such as IMEI baseband which will prevent you from connecting to your network and Sim card recognition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin freeze everytime i put twrp tar.md5 file cant i use philz touch which i use for long time?

Orangley said:
Odin freeze everytime i put twrp tar.md5 file cant i use philz touch which i use for long time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is that another custom recovery?
If so then yes just make sure you have all of your system files and most importantly your efs backed up.
Run odin as administrator if that doesnt work, try using another version of Odin.

AndroidInitiate said:
Is that another custom recovery?
If so then yes just make sure you have all of your system files and most importantly your efs backed up.
Run odin as administrator if that doesnt work, try using another version of Odin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesnt work another versions both twrp and odin. I'll keep my custom recovery and try it.

Orangley said:
Doesnt work another versions both twrp and odin. I'll keep my custom recovery and try it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What carrier are you using, model number of the phone, etc.
Have you backed everything up? And can you flash the custom recovery through Odin if it fails?
Try it without wiping efs first just to be safe
Look here for your device you will be able to find standalone flash able versions of twrp that should work through odin.
http://twrp.me/Devices/

Using i9500. And i did what you said and works fine thank you! Mods close thread please.

Brick? Or Is this a Bootloop? Expertise needed. Video provided. H918

So I'm manning up and saying that I did indeed screw up this phone, but to what extent is unknown to me.
Didn't make any backups or anything. Can this phone be saved?
I can get to the fastboot screen and I can also get to TWRP... but that's it. Otherwise it stays at the T-Mobile white screen.
Video of what my phone is capable of at this point: https://youtu.be/PNEB2ijgRSI

Chocl8Surprise said:
So I'm manning up and saying that I did indeed screw up this phone, but to what extent is unknown to me.
Didn't make any backups or anything. Can this phone be saved?
I can get to the fastboot screen and I can also get to TWRP... but that's it. Otherwise it stays at the T-Mobile white screen.
Video of what my phone is capable of at this point: https://youtu.be/PNEB2ijgRSI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lets cover the basic questions. Have you wiped cache and dalvik cache? have you wiped data? have you factory reset? have you flashed a rom (as in .zip file compatible with twrp)? did you flash a rom not meant for your phone?
Truth to be told. this does not look like bootloop nor brick. if it were brick, i dont think it would even pass from the first screen. Maybe some of your system files got corrupt. Reflashing the stock rom should solve the issue.

jinkerz9430 said:
Lets cover the basic questions. Have you wiped cache and dalvik cache? have you wiped data? have you factory reset? have you flashed a rom (as in .zip file compatible with twrp)? did you flash a rom not meant for your phone?
Truth to be told. this does not look like bootloop nor brick. if it were brick, i dont think it would even pass from the first screen. Maybe some of your system files got corrupt. Reflashing the stock rom should solve the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've wiped everything TWRP lets me wipe (Dalvik/ART Cache, System,Data, Internal Storage, Cache, Micro SD Card, USB OTG). When I do the factory reset it tells me "No OS Installed" but I'm sure I picked the stock one.
I'm thinking you're right about the files getting corrupt (or maybe I accidentally deleted something important ). I actually wouldn't mind reflashing the stock rom, but I think the one I have is corrupt or I'm flashing it wrong, orrr I'm following an outdated guide.

Copy a rom for your version. H918. Or download Alpha rom for h918 then flash it through recovery. But don't forget to format only, "format data", internal storage then flash the rom. You should be good to go. I am here to help

princedede said:
Copy a rom for your version. H918. Or download Alpha rom for h918 then flash it through recovery. But don't forget to format only, "format data", internal storage then flash the rom. You should be good to go. I am here to help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks, flashed (Discontinued) Alpha Omega Rom zip through TWRP and I got the phone working again. However, I can't download the T-Mobile security update... not sure if I even need it though. Everything else seems to be in working order.

Chocl8Surprise said:
Hey, thanks, flashed (Discontinued) Alpha Omega Rom zip through TWRP and I got the phone working again. However, I can't download the T-Mobile security update... not sure if I even need it though. Everything else seems to be in working order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No u can't and u shouldn't if not it might cause an issue. Alpha rom is a stock rooted and tweaked rom. No need to update. Only the dev can do that. Just keep using it that way.