As stated in the title, does flashing a new ROM erase data on the built-in flash drive such as contacts, apps, appdata, music, videos, pictures etc?
I'm rather new to ROM flashing.
short answer: Yes with an If, long answer: No -- with a But...
When flashing a new ROM to an Android phone its a good idea to do as its creator has advised and wipe data/factory reset and wipe dalvik cache all via ClockworkMod recovery, that way there is no additional bloat ware or old system data to gum up the works,, anything stored on the phone (contacts/system data) is erased anything on the 'internal storage' (8GB or so on the XL) or memory card is spared, so anything backed up to there will be safe
Its worth making note that when first installing a ROM, most if not all work on A2SD/ADSD+/+ etc, this is where your given the option to store app data on the memory card, in devices where you can take out the memory card you will need to format it (via ClockWorkMod recovery) and sort out the size of your 'hidden' EX3/4 partition that app data is stored on. formating and partitioning yor memory card wipes everything on it so back it up to a PC before doing anything!
Additional Note: Since the XL has internal storage make sure you get everything you want off it first then when we have CWM working on the XL format the crap out of the internal storage and have fun!
DanTehMan01 said:
short answer: Yes with an If, long answer: No -- with a But...
When flashing a new ROM to an Android phone its a good idea to do as its creator has advised and wipe data/factory reset and wipe dalvik cache all via ClockworkMod recovery, that way there is no additional bloat ware or old system data to gum up the works,, anything stored on the phone (contacts/system data) is erased anything on the 'internal storage' (8GB or so on the XL) or memory card is spared, so anything backed up to there will be safe
Its worth making note that when first installing a ROM, most if not all work on A2SD/ADSD+/+ etc, this is where your given the option to store app data on the memory card, in devices where you can take out the memory card you will need to format it (via ClockWorkMod recovery) and sort out the size of your 'hidden' EX3/4 partition that app data is stored on. formating and partitioning yor memory card wipes everything on it so back it up to a PC before doing anything!
Additional Note: Since the XL has internal storage make sure you get everything you want off it first then when we have CWM working on the XL format the crap out of the internal storage and have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhhh I see. So if I want to flash a new ROM, I have to back up everything on my own then manually re-enter them.
Thanks for enlightening.
Pretty much yeh, always a good idea to manually do a backup every now and again,, once you have your ex3/4 partition apps data will be restored when you reinstal the app, also Titanium Backup w/root permissions on a fully ROMd device will restore data in the same way too (if you backup with root access the first time etc)
Related
Hi, apologies for my Noob questions.
I have been flashing various ICS Roms and kernels over the last few week - great fun etc. etc.
My SGS I9000 internal Sd/storage is getting pretty full with (probably useless data/folders/backups etc.) and I do not know what to safely delete....
I have started to get regular automatic reboots (3 or 4 per day) which I believe is related to these past installations...
Anyway, I would like to clean/format my phone so that I can start again.
How do I do this - what are the procedures
What will I lose?
What will I end up with - GB or ICS
What should I back up before hand?
Can I flash the latest ICS Rom or will I have go through the procedure of rooting the phone like I did when I was on GB?
Sorry for all these simple questions but I do not want to mess up my phone due to ignorance.
Thanks in advance for you help
Sorry, what is GB?
I recommend backup ur pics and music and do a sdxard and sd extrrnal back up (too have a clean phone).
Im using Cyanogen ICS 4.0.4 and works ok.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA
format
just go into cwm mode and go to advance now format dalvik cache, format system, format cache, format data........now reflash new rom.........ur problem will be shortout.
If u r a noob my friend... put a stable rom, the ics is a beta in i9000.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA
nikhilonlive said:
just go into cwm mode and go to advance now format dalvik cache, format system, format cache, format data........now reflash new rom.........ur problem will be shortout.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Nikhilonlive,
Will the formatting clear all the "redundant/useless" folders etc. on my internal SD so if I looked at it before reflashing the Rom it would look pretty clean.
I would like to start with all the rubbish gone and only files/folders relating to latest Rom & my current Apps.
I hope that this makes sense...
Remember to install the gapps
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA
I did the following to fully clear my SGS:
Copied all important stuff e.g. Photos, Maps, preferred Rom to my external SD card - removed SD card for safety.
Back up SMS & Call log to gmail with "Backup to Gmail"
Then within Rom Control:
- Factory Data Reset/Reset Phone (tick erase SD Card) etc. etc.
- Within Storage - "erase SD card" (there will be nothing left on the SD card)
Put external SD card back into phone
Then in Recovery mode:
- Wipe data/factory reset
- Wipe cache partition
- (within Advanced) Wipe Dalvik cache
Install Rom
- Install zip from sdcard
- Choose zip from internal sdcard
- Infinitum-v2.1.zip (in my case)
- When installation is complete go back to "Reboot system now"
- Reboot system now
You should get the normal set up instructions to log into gmail etc.
- Apps should automatically install
- Restore SMS & Call log
- copy across maps etc. from external SD
This may be a little extreme but I wanted a very clean phone
My phone was clean, it only had data, apps & Maps that related to my latest Rom etc.
Stats after above:
Internal storage - Total Space = 1.85GB Apps etc. 281MB, Available Space 1.58GB
USB storage - Total Space = 5.63GB, Apps etc.264MB, Maps 1.286GB, Available Space 4.08GB
If I have done some unnecessary steps, please let me know.
Now with the release of many JB leaks for our Galaxy Note, more and more people are starting to flash custom ROMs into their devices. However, many don't do a proper clean-up / wipe of their devices before doing so, complaining about supposed "bugs" that in fact are not real bugs, but just incompatibilities with previous app data and config left from the previous ROM or improperly restored from backups (TB etc.).
So, after facing that myself with the first ROMs I flashed, reading a lot of tips from the senior members, and experimenting different approaches, I came up with a method that I always follow before flashing a new ROM, which gives me less or no issues at all.
Pros: you minimize the chance of having issues when flashing a new ROM.
Cons: you have to manually reinstall your apps (can be somewhat automated from Google Play) and reconfigure everything.
Pre-reqs: I'm assuming you have CWM installed and know how to use it, and are not a complete noob. If you don't, search the forums and read the guides. Read this guide fully and make sure you understand everything before proceeding.
IMPORTANT: ONLY wipe your device if you have a SAFE (BRICK-FREE) KERNEL. Check your kernel and search the forums. Don't proceed if you are not sure! I'm not responsible for any bricks, unexpected issues that can happen to you or personal data loss because you forgot to backup that! If you want to stay safe, don't want to experiment with your cell phone, it's critical you have it working everytime, stay with the official Samsung ROMs updates you get OTA and don't proceed with this how-to.
How-to:
1) Boot into recovery and perform a full backup (a.k.a. nandroid) to your internal or external SD card.
2) Reboot, and create backups of personal data needed from your apps in your internal or external SD card. For instance, I backup data from apps which are not cloud-based; they usually have a "backup" menu for that.
3) Plug your device into your computer, and copy everything you need from your internal and external SD cards (including the backups done in 1) and 2)). Don't forget your pictures and MP3 files.
4) Delete any apps and data from your external SD card. Leave it as clean as possible (it's OK to leave personal data such as MP3s, pictures etc.).
5) Copy the ROM you are about to flash to your EXTERNAL SD Card (don't copy to internal, because we are going to wipe it).
6) Boot into CWM Recovery and do the following wipes:
6.1) Wipe data / factory reset
6.2) Wipe cache partition
6.3) Advanced -> Wipe dalvik cache
6.4) Mounts and Storage -> Format /system
6.5) Mounts and Storage -> Format /preload
6.6) Mounts and Storage -> Format internal SD card (make sure you know if your internal SD card if /emmc or /sdcard; see below!)
7) Install Zip -> Flash ROM from your external SD card.
8) Wipe cache partition again.
9) Advanced -> Wipe dalvik cache again.
10) Reboot
11) Don't restore anything from Titanium Backup. Reinstall and reconfigure everything from Google Play. I never tried but I think that if you just restore user apps, it should work. Just never restore system apps and data. The backups you created in step 2) and copied to your computer in step 3) can be safely restored from within the apps themselves.
Now you may ask why we format the internal SD card. Many apps store their configuration and app data there, so this way we ensure no old data and config are there which may be incompatible with the new ROM. In fact it might not be that important, since it's only related to user apps, but I prefer to clean everything before flashing a new ROM.
How to find if your internal SD card is mounted on /emmc or /sdcard in CWM Recovery:
1) Boot into CWM Recovery.
2) Install Zip -> Choose zip from internal sdcard. In the top you can see where yours is mounted (/emmc or /sdcard).
3) This is the partition you should format in step 6.6. Pay attention to not format the external SD card, because the ROM zip file is there!
If you still have issues after flashing a new ROM, try to reflash it without any wipes (i.e. just do step 7 again).
Hope it can help people with their flashing!
Good job
Is it any better to just install user apps from google play and then restore just the data from TB?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app
allansy said:
Is it any better to just install user apps from google play and then restore just the data from TB?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No..the main purpose of the thread is to remove the incompatible app data and system data
Useful.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
dbolivar said:
How-to:
6.1) Wipe data / factory reset
6.2) Wipe cache partition
6.3) Advanced -> Wipe dalvik cache
6.4) Mounts and Storage -> Format /system
6.5) Mounts and Storage -> Format /preload
6.6) Mounts and Storage -> Format internal SD card (make sure you know if your internal SD card if /emmc or /sdcard; see below!)
7) Install Zip -> Flash ROM from your external SD card.
8) Wipe cache partition again.
9) Advanced -> Wipe dalvik cache again.
10) Reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6.2 ---> unnecessary, because factory reset wipes user data and cache
6.6 ---> how on earth does formatting internal SD card help flashing any Rom?
8) ---> unnecessary, because your cache is already wiped
9) ---> see above
6.2) True, thanks for pointing out.
6.6) Some apps, including ones that usually give strange issues between ROM flashes like SNote, leave data there which may cause incompatibilities with a different version. This incompatibility is just a guess; as I said in the original post, it may not be that necessary to format the internal SD card, but I prefer to make sure there is no old data at all floating around, and this recommendation can also be useful when people are going to sell their devices (many think that just a factory reset is enough).
8) and 9) Is it possible that a new ROM can come with stuff in cache and dalvik cache, say, from the developer testing/cooking environment? If it is, can be useful to clean it again after flashing. Otherwise, I agree, it can be skipped.
Yeah total clean scenario is best. In my opinion. So also SD, but never efs
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
I too do things that are not necessary, I have a ritual when doing a deep clean lol
It involves things like the above method, but i do it twice.. No harm in that is there !
azzledazzle said:
I too do things that are not necessary, I have a ritual when doing a deep clean lol
It involves things like the above method, but i do it twice.. No harm in that is there !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wel, better safe then sorry. Totally clean just feels right
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
Thank you very much. I will do this like you say.
I have CWM v6.0.1.2 and I don't have format/ preload. What can I do?
You can try to proceed without formatting it, or you can first flash a kernel with a more recent CWM. Always a safe kernel, of course. After flashing it, you can just select "reboot recovery" from your current CWM to boot into the new CWM. I'm not sure if the absence of /preload is due to an old CWM, or it's because you don't have a /preload partition. Anyway, trying a newer CWM won't harm.
i follow this guide , considering that i'm a noob it mean that is written really really clear. Thanks for all your job . i have a clean cooked rooted cell now.
error preload
Hello, I got error when formatting preload
it is said "make_extf4fs failed on/dev/block/mmcblk0p9
and when i'm trying to format/scard it pop up some type format
"deafult
"exfat
"fat
bla bla bla
so i choose default, am i right to choose it?
what should i do?
What device, what recovery, what rom?
dbolivar said:
flashing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey bro,
i forgot to do step 9
9) Advanced -> Wipe dalvik cache again.
Phone is working fine, but just curious. will it have any effect ? or will it cause any problem later ?
I AAlready Rooted My Phone HTC One but Wanted to know. If There is a possible Way to install a New Rom without Deleting My internal Pictures Videos & Music What are Some Options?
cornell said:
I AAlready Rooted My Phone HTC One but Wanted to know. If There is a possible Way to install a New Rom without Deleting My internal Pictures Videos & Music What are Some Options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best option I have found is to use the Superwipe Script. It does a full wipe and optimizes your system for a ROM flash. It does not touch your internal SD card.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1762712
cornell said:
I AAlready Rooted My Phone HTC One but Wanted to know. If There is a possible Way to install a New Rom without Deleting My internal Pictures Videos & Music What are Some Options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your pics,videos,music are not erased when you flash a rom
Yes, ...
what recovery are you using?
If its twrp
Wipe
This section is dedicated to wiping all standard partitions on your Android device. By default, TWRP offers you to perform a full factory reset upon hitting Wipe, since it’s the most common form of wipe operation that most users need in recovery. This will wipe all your user data from the phone, including your installed apps, cache, and dalvik cache. This will not effect the internal or SD card storage area of your phone, meaning your documents, downloads, pictures, music, videos and other files will stay safe.
If you would rather want to wipe EVERYTHING including the aforementioned data, tap ‘Format Data’. This will wipe all your apps, backups, downloads, pictures, videos and media, and will also remove encryption on your internal storage, if you have applied it, essentially leaving nothing but the operating system itself on the device, in a complete factory state.
If you want to be more specific about the partitions you want to wipe, hit ‘Advanced Wipe’ instead. You can then select one or more common partitions to wipe specifically, leaving the rest untouched. The partitions available for wiping include system (where your operating system is stored), data, cache, Dalvik cache, and usb-otg in case of our Nexus 4, but may (or may not) include other partitions as well. Just remember – if you are unsure of whether to wipe a partition or not, NEVER touch it, especially if it’s the system partition. If you are following instructions provided somewhere, wipe only the partitions that the instructions clearly specify to wipe, and leave the rest untouched. Otherwise, you might be stuck with a device with no operating system installed, or lose all your data stored on the device.
http://www.addictivetips.com/android/what-is-twrp-how-to-install-use-it-on-android-devices-guide/
boy did I come last to this party. You guys are quick!
OK other phone I had has external SD card. When I wiped data it wiped internal SD completely. Since turbo has no external SD, will it wipe completely or just Android file data and preserve other files on internal SD. If it does wipe internal SD completely how would you flash ROM? Thanks for any advice.
newbe1droidx said:
OK other phone I had has external SD card. When I wiped data it wiped internal SD completely. Since turbo has no external SD, will it wipe completely or just Android file data and preserve other files on internal SD. If it does wipe internal SD completely how would you flash ROM? Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That depends on what kind of wipe you do. If you do a factory reset in TWRP, it will not wipe your user data (downloads, music, everything else in /data/media/0 or /sdcard). However, if you select Format Data, or you pick Internal Storage in the advanced wipe menu, all of your user data will be wiped. Usually, a factory reset is all you need after flashing roms, so you don't have to worry about losing photos/music/etc.
Great thanks for the fast reply. OK other phone was sgs3. Sometimes when flashing and then running new ROM it seemed the settings stayed the same as previous ROM. Devs would have you format data for clean install. How would that work on this droid turbo?
I also wiped data and it wiped my internal storage. I thought maybe I had wiped internal storage accidentally or did something else wrong but this leads me to believe I didn't do anything wrong. Back to the previous version that worked for us? (I think it was 2.8.7)
Edit: I just read that choosing to format data will also format internal storage, but a factory reset which "wipes data" does not touch the internal storage. This is a little confusing if you aren't familiar with how everything is partitioned. Is internal storage actually on the data partition?
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
If I have the ROM and gapps on internal SD and format data I loose ROM and gapps right? Then how would you install ROM? Second if I delete Android file on internal SD would that make it a clean install? But other files would still remain. Just trying to understand so I don't brick or can't get ROM on. Thanks
SpyderPride said:
I also wiped data and it wiped my internal storage. I thought maybe I had wiped internal storage accidentally or did something else wrong but this leads me to believe I didn't do anything wrong. Back to the previous version that worked for us? (I think it was 2.8.7)
Edit: I just read that choosing to format data will also format internal storage, but a factory reset which "wipes data" does not touch the internal storage. This is a little confusing if you aren't familiar with how everything is partitioned. Is internal storage actually on the data partition?
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the internal storage is on the data partition. When you do a factory reset with TWRP and you read the script as it executes, it says something like "wiping /data without wiping /data/media." Doing the factory reset wipes everything on /data except /data/media, which is where your user data lives. So what gets wiped is all of the user apps and the data generated by the system apps, but your user data is preserved.
It makes sense that wiping data would wipe everything. I think having separate boxes for data and internal storage is to account for someone who might install an older version of android that is partitioned differently. I can't remember when the change happened, but at one point, the user data and app data were kept on separate partitions. I think that user data lived on /sdcard and apps lived on /data. That's why you see the /sdcard folder as a symlink when you go exploring with a root browser. It's symlinked to /data/media/0 to maintain backwards compatibility with older apps that are expecting /sdcard to exist.
Thanks st33v. My last phone had a /sdcard partition separate from /data so I think that is where the misperception came from. It also had /sdcard2, which was an actual SD card.
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Yep my thinking too. You guys are great! Cleared it up.
If you wipe all your files simply use twrp and connect it to the PC. You can drag the files over for flashing.
mrkhigh said:
If you wipe all your files simply use twrp and connect it to the PC. You can drag the files over for flashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome I was wondering if you could do that...
Hi Everybody,
since the Mi 9T Pro doesnt have a slot for SD-Cards, is it possible to create a partition where i can save all my Data like Images and videos?
Everytime i try a new ROM, i have to restore all the Data and it takes so long...
With my old Note 5 Pro i had everything on SD-Card, so there was no problem when i changed the system.
So, is it possible to create a partition on the phone where i can save those things and which is not getting touched when i install and test a new ROM?
Thanks and regards.
No you can't do that
use cloud storage if you want
You can change your rom without formatting internal storage. I've successfully flashed some miui and aosp roms, vendors and stock roms with twrp and miflash (going from one to another) without having to format internal storage, only data in twrp or save user data option in miflash
Maxissc said:
You can change your rom without formatting internal storage. I've successfully flashed some miui and aosp roms, vendors and stock roms with twrp and miflash (going from one to another) without having to format internal storage, only data in twrp or save user data option in miflash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Formatting is different from wiping.
And, formatting data erases both data and Internal memory, doesn't it
zgfg said:
Formatting is different from wiping.
And, formatting data erases both data and Internal memory, doesn't it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Internal storage is held in the data partition, so formatting the partition will erase internal storage. Wiping data, TWRP will keep internal storage but delete everything else.
That is new for me.
When i wipe "data", my Photos and Videos will not be earased?
When i wipe "internal storage", my photos and videos are deleted?
I can suggest to install this app if you need to wipe frequently
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kdrag0n.tipatch
App notes:
"Make TWRP include internal storage (photos, videos, downloads, etc) in backups!
WARNING: wiping Data WILL also wipe internal storage, contrary to normal behavior. You have been warned.
TWRP Data backups do not include Internal Storage, which is the emulated SD card that stores your photos, videos, downloads, and more. This means that in the event you transfer phones or completely wipe data, all of that is gone! Users must resort to error-prone manual backups instead."
Hoschie1983 said:
That is new for me.
When i wipe "data", my Photos and Videos will not be earased?
When i wipe "internal storage", my photos and videos are deleted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes