Encryption lollipop? - X 2014 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi there! I was wondering if anyone has been able to get encryption to work on lollipop? I'm running stock rooted lollipop on my purse edition and when I go to encrypt it shows the android/gear then screen goes black and stays that way.
Thanks in advance!
PS. not a noob with android adb/fastboot or root

Yeah I've got the same issue. I have no clue what's causing it. A few people on the Moto X subreddit mentioned that a factory reset made it possible, but that's not really a step I want to take just to gain encryption.

Not sure you may want it - big problems on the nexus 6,its bogging down the phone to the point of embarrassment. I know this isn't a nexus 6, but it's damn close! So be careful what you may want to enable!

npompei said:
Not sure you may want it - big problems on the nexus 6,its bogging down the phone to the point of embarrassment. I know this isn't a nexus 6, but it's damn close! So be careful what you may want to enable!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive heard that b4 and i would like to see some actual proof, maybe run a week with the encryption and a week without.

SurlyDuff said:
Yeah I've got the same issue. I have no clue what's causing it. A few people on the Moto X subreddit mentioned that a factory reset made it possible, but that's not really a step I want to take just to gain encryption.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okays ill make a backup and attempt tonight. will let know if fixed it. if not im going to downgrade to 4.4.4 and then upgrade to 5.0 and do a factory wipe to see if being rooted was the problem

Sigh, I realized after writing all this that I'm talking about kit kat, not lollipop. I'd assume that much is the same safe mode thing should still work, but not sure about the various directories I refer to when undoing encryption or app compatibilities.
--
I encountered this problem. There are multiple potential roadblocks. Mostly related to uncooperative background programs. The easiest thing to do is to boot into safe mode and then encrypt. That's what worked for me. If you still have a problem, have supersu remove the su binary and then try again in safe mode.
Just Google how to boot into safe mode.
---------- Post added at 02:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 AM ----------
Note that TWRP does not decrypt encrypted data partitions for our device. Also, you can't simply unencrypt.
I ended up undoing encryption because the phone was noticeably laggier. Thus process was not well documented anywhere and was painful.
How to undo encryption (need root, obviously. From my recollection, so there may be errors):
1) Make an onandroid. Since you're doing this after you've booted, the nandroid will have images of the unencrypted partitions. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.h3r3t1c.onnandbup
2) copy this to the appropriate place in the twrp folder, to prepare for your eventual nandroid restore. Example: /data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/TA44904H9S/2014-10-31--01-05-42/
3) copy the entire contents of your sdcard, including the nandroid you just made, to a computer or USB OTG (usb otg drive is easier). Twrp directory ownership and permission are screwed up, so make sure the nandroid copied over. You may have to explicitly navigate to /data/media/0 to make it copy (as opposed to /storage/emulated/0)
4) Use the following program to copy and eventually restore the timestamps: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.pogsoftwares.filetimestamp . If you don't do this, the grouping of your photos and videos in gallery will be messed up. There may be other files for which this is important, I'm not sure.
5) go to twrp, and at least do a factory reset and format/wipe sdcard (not 100% sure, I may have just wiped everything)
6) copy the saved contents of your SD card to /data/media/0. I don't recall if I used twrp file manager or qtadb for this.
7) the directory and file permission on sdcard will be ****ed. Run this script to fix that: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ur596dpgzw478qm/perm.sh?dl=0 . Google to figure out how to run scripts from twrp terminal. Don't try to do this later. When I tried to do it from within android it didn't work because the version of chown I had didn't support one of the switches in the script
8) reboot into android
9) use the timestamp program to fix the file timestamps on your sdcard. I never saved the timestamps ahead of time. The program can fix the photo timestamps based on exif and the video timestamps based on filenames. But it's just easier if you saved the timestamps ahead of time.
10) immediately reboot to twrp and restore just the data partition. If you don't do this, Gallery will never fix itself based on the fixed timestamps.
11) some app data on sdcard may still be screwed up. If a program is not working right, go the the relevant directory in /sdcard/android/data and delete it.
I'm sure there are errors somewhere in the guide, just pm me if there is a problem and I'll figure it out and fix this guide

i ended up downgrading to 4.4.4 then updated to 5.0 factory reset (from inside os), encrypted i see not decrease in speed, benchmarks are same as before, will keep updated. i am rooted again and have no warning boot loader image.

So after using it for about a week. It seems the more you use the device the more lag it produces. I like the security from it.. But its not worth this insane decrease in performance.

eavandy0797 said:
So after using it for about a week. It seems the more you use the device the more lag it produces. I like the security from it.. But its not worth this insane decrease in performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you downgrade to 4.4?
Thanks.

swears11 said:
How did you downgrade to 4.4?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i followed the directions from Motorola. https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/recovery-images
i used the Moto X(2nd Gen) Pure Edition:
KK-4.4.4-KXE21.187-42-41 TMO image

Related

[HOW-TO/INFO] Bell FAQ [9-25-2011]

This is my attempt at a Bell FAQ, it is a work in progress.
Q. Why don't the instructions I found on how to do X not work?A. This is a development forum, sometimes things are written in shorthand assuming you know things you don't. At lot of things are specific to one carrier's phone or another. Sometimes things change and are now obsolete, something new was found, a better way of doing things, if you were not following it all along you are likely to be lost. Read between the lines, you are a human being with reasoning abilities, figure it out. ​Q. What should I do first?
A. Backup your phone. That means everything, especially your pds partition. Nandroid won't cut it and you have already modified your phone beyond the ability to get back if you can run it.
Ex. dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 of=/sdcard/backup/mmcblk0p3
Save your backup on your computer, create a zip of all the files, burn it off on cd/dvd, put it in a safety deposit box at your bank. Be prepared for bricking your phone. A lot of things mentioned in threads here are developed and tested for ATT phones, they may not work 100% on your phone.​Q. What is ADB?A. It stands for Android Debug Bridge or something like that. It is a program that runs on your computer that lets you talk to your phone using special commands. Your phone has to have adb enabled, it's a setting under application/development.
Ex. adb shell
This opens a linux shell connected to your phone. Linux is an operating system for computers, it is also used as the base for android phones.
Ex. adb install file.apk
Ex. adb push file /tmp
Ex. adb pull /tmp/file .​
Q. What is CWM recovery?A. Android phones come with a special boot configuration that allows for changes to the android system from a place outside the system. It is very corporate and does the job for official signed updates, but only Motorola and it's oems can sign the updates. Not much fun for us. CWM recovery is a replacement for the official recovery system that doesn't require signed updates.
You install CWM recovery using fastboot or moto-fastboot.​Q. What is unlocking the bootloader all about?A. It is the means of putting CWM recovery on your phone so you can install roms and other packages. It allows you to flash a partition with mods and have the phone not soft brick when you reboot. When the unlocked versions of the atrix bootloader were found it started a new round of mods. A lot of the threads prior to that are now obsolete.​Q. How do I unlock the bootloader?A. There is a huge thread already about this, see here.
WARNING: this is a permanent change to your phone.
Summary:
1. Download the archive
2. Extract the sbf inside, whatever it's called, that is the one to use.
3. Use linux sbf_flash or rsdlite from windows to install it.
3. fastboot oem unlock
4. Copy code fastboot spits out.
5. fastboot oem unlock code
6. fastboot reboot
You will see unlocked while booting and when you get into android you will have ~300MB of ram. This will need to be fixed. Also, you will lose all your data during the process, do a backup first.​Q. What is fastboot/moto-fastboot?A. It's a program to access the phone and do stuff, write phone partition images mostly. The stock one can only handle tiny system images, pretty useless for the Atrix, xda member eval- compiled the motorola version for us that can handle larger system images, do a search for moto-fastboot.
Ex. moto-fastboot flash recovery recovery.img.​Q. How do I fix the ram problem?A. I did up a CWM recovery zip to update the boot and recovery partitions to contain a kernel command line with the missing bit "[email protected]" added. See here.
There are other means of doing this, some boot images come prepackaged with the command line already embedded. There are ATT compiled kernels with a patch inside the kernel itself to do the same thing. You can search for those when you are ready to try things like custom ATT kernels on your phone.​Q. How do I root the phone?A. If you are unlocked and you have fastboot flashed a version of CWM recovery, it is trivial. By that I mean almost impossible for newbies to figure out.
It would go something like this:
1. Boot into CWM recovery.
2. use adb shell
3. adb push a su binary to the phone.
4. mount system as read write as /system
5. copy su binary to /system/bin
6. make sure it has the right permissions, 06755 mode , user root, group root.
7. unmount -l /system
8. when in android look on the market for Superuser.apk, install.
Every rooting method out there is all about putting su into /system/bin with 06755 permissions, most don't work anymore since Gingerbread. If you are looking for a simple, no brain involved solution, you are likely to get something working and also something else you didn't want like a replaced preinstall partition or an installed busybox with different functionality for some important system commands. (Busybox may be more up to date even, but if it doesn't do what is expected of the older version, it's still not good.)
Another way would be to create a CWM zip that simply puts the linux su binary in system with the correct permissions. Some info about creating your own can be found here. Doing this is more involved that just doing it manually, but it would be a good practice for getting into creating CWM updates.
Here is a link to a exploit someone did up to root the phone when running GB. Haven't tested it, and with an unlocked phone it is totally redundant, but it's nice that some found yet another security hole in the OS, seems similar in result to psneuter, so be sure to reboot the phone to fix the exploited system.
Seriously, if you are going to be reading or posting in the development section of xda for an android phone, take the 5 minutes to become familiar with adb and a few linux shell commands, it will save you hours of confusion and aggravation. If you fly blind trying things on your phone without understanding what you are doing you are eventually going to get into a place you can't get out of and need a new phone or REALLY have to struggle to understand things. You were warned. ​Q. How do I get back to stock?
A. You can't unless you have a backup of all your phone partitions and can update your radio and bootloader to be stock. Once you unlock your phone, it is recorded that you did so by blowing a physical fuse on the phone. This cannot be restored, you will need a new phone.
What does stock mean to you? When I bought my phone it had a certain radio, the bootloader couldn't be unlocked, the android system files had certain versions, etc. Beyond the android system there are 18 partitions that I know of on the phone, most phones do with 5-6. Every ota update or sbf files take the normal files and change them to something else, non android partitions get modified or replaced.
I have some solutions for getting close to stock, do a search for Gobstopper. There is one for Bell 2.2.2 and Bell 2.3.4, use one or the other. These attempt a full back to stock operation, that means the radio and bootloader will be stock, recovery will be stock as well. (All the partitions that are on the phone are written over with the ones that were on my phone when I bought it, with the exception of partitions 3 (pds), 15 (cache), 16 (data), and 18 (userdata or internal memory), factory reset clears cache and data, you don't want pds touched or internal memory.) Unlocked will no longer be displayed when you boot and you will no longer have CWM recovery installed. You will need to install the unlocked bootloader again and fastboot flash recovery again if stock is not what you wanted. (Your pds partition is not involved in this operation, so if you made changes to it, either directly or indirectly via a sbf this will not restore it, your pds partition contains individual phone information.)
More about sbf format here.​Q. What does the pds partition taste like?A. It's not really fit to eat. Now you know.
It is mmcblk0p3, a partition on your phone, it is mounted as /pds when android boots and contains a bunch of folders and files that nobody really understands fully but Motorola. Having a look at some of the files you will see things like your network physical address, bluetooth physical address. You will find threads where the display is all arsed up, cpu running at half speed, touch screen not working right, etc, all due to something going wrong with /pds. It is best to back it up and not mess with it. Restore it in an emergency. Maybe one day everything in there will be figured out, take a stab at it yourself.
See this thread by edgan for how to back up your pds partition.
See this thread by KeRmiT80 about attempting to fix your pds partition. Good motivation to see previous link.
​Q. I lost network data access after flashing X.
A. Check your APN list, if it's not a Bell firmware you are using, it probably doesn't have Bell's APN list. Scratch that, you don't know what that is or how to check it.
It stands for Access Point Name and a big list of them is stored on your phone in one big file (/system/etc/apns-conf.xml), each firmware has it's own version of it. Your phone will get two numbers from your carrier's phone network to do a look up in this list to figure out what configuration to use. So say it gets mcc 302, mcn 610, it will check the phone and look up 302, 610 in the file and read what it says there and use that config to try to connect. Now, another thing is that the phone knows what the home network is by these two numbers, embedded somewhere in the system. A foreign, non Bell carrier won't have Bell's numbers in there so your phone will think it's roaming. If you have roaming disabled, guess what, no data connection. Your carrier should be smart enough not to charge you for roaming, never had a problem with that, but you never know.
Here are the apn settings you can enter manually for your phone, see Bell's support link.
​Q. How do I get webtop over HDMI to work?
A. There are several threads on getting this to work on ATT phones and others, they are specific to the firmware being run on the phone. They involve copying two deodexed files to your system/app folder and replacing the ones already there. You will also need to clear your dalvik cache to get the new code recognized. They are DockService.apk and PortalApp.apk. If you are not deodexed then you also have to remove the .odex files for both.
Here is one thread for Gingerbread, in the zip there is one for ORFR that will get you to viewing the webtop on Bell GB, but applications don't load.
Here is another thread for Froyo that works, see the Bell specific bit in the OP. This does not work from Bell Gingerbread.​ To be continued...
Hoping the Mods sticky this
A link should be attached to the wiki as well. I will try to when I get home if it isn't done already.
shouldn't this be in general? or q&a?
Magnetox said:
shouldn't this be in general? or q&a?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably both. Most things referenced are in development.
Cheers!
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium
y2whisper said:
Hoping the Mods sticky this
A link should be attached to the wiki as well. I will try to when I get home if it isn't done already.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 this should be a sticky on either or both general or development...
cheers for this...this thread is going to help me with my youtube viewers BIG TIME!!
Very nice!
Keep it up NFHimself!
NFHimself said:
This is my attempt at a Bell FAQ, it is a work in progress.
Q. How do I root the phone?A. If you are unlocked and you have fastboot flashed a version of CWM recovery, it is trivial. By that I mean almost impossible for newbies to figure out.
It would go something like this:
1. Boot into CWM recovery.
2. use adb shell
3. adb push a su binary to the phone.
4. mount system as read write as /system
5. copy su binary to /system/bin
6. make sure it has the right permissions, 06755 mode , user root, group root.
7. unmount -l /system
8. when in android look on the market for Superuser.apk, install.
Every rooting method out there is all about putting su into /system/bin with 06755 permissions, most don't work anymore since Gingerbread. If you are looking for a simple, no brain involved solution, you are likely to get something working and also something else you didn't want like a replaced preinstall partition or an installed busybox with different functionality for some important system commands. (Busybox may be more up to date even, but if it doesn't do what is expected of the older version, it's still not good.)​ To be continued...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used this method to root the stock Bell Gingerbread ROM. Works on an Atrix too. It's a quick download and easy for those people who may not be comfortable with the adb command line.
http://www.psouza4.com/Bionic/
thx
useful for newbies
but can you put some more details about returning to stock and explain the pds partition in details plz?
papakilo10 said:
I used this method to root the stock Bell Gingerbread ROM. Works on an Atrix too. It's a quick download and easy for those people who may not be comfortable with the adb command line.
http://www.psouza4.com/Bionic/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had a look at the script in that one, should be fine, doesn't install a busybox or anything like that. I don't care for Superuser.apk in /system/app myself, but it won't harm anything having it there.
Cheers!
ytwytw said:
thx
useful for newbies
but can you put some more details about returning to stock and explain the pds partition in details plz?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I added a few things, anything in particular you wanted?
I am trying to avoid step by step tutorials or spoon feeding everything, so people who are lazy/careless will have to attempt to think for themselves. It just leads to more questions, more laziness, and bricked phones, and I don't have the time these days.
Cheers!

[Q] Any changes to the sdcard files will not take

editi guess sdcard is incorrect/confusing for my situation, it's the entire system up to root folders is stuck in a read-only type state.
I didn't really see anything that fits my current problem (sorry if there is an answer somewhere buried in here)
So to start off with info, I installed Android on the TP back in February for my fiancée just for the basics of email, videoplayer, comic reader, internet browsing. Nothing too extravagant, just something with more to offer than webos.
I never did any updates on it because it worked perfectly fine for what it was being used on.
I've changed out the video selection many times as she watches through the shows with no problems.
Now I go to change the files and I delete them, add the new stuff, all seems fine. Then I unmount it and everything I deleted is back and everything I added is gone. I've uninstalled apps and they come back, I've done updates to apps and they revert back to before the update.
I've gone into CMW and done the wipes and even formatted sdcard, cache, etc. Nothing works. Even mounting USB in CWM to add files gives the same result of them disappearing right after it is unmounted.
I've tried ACMEUnistaller but it doesn't work. I saw something flash by the screen about something failing, but it goes too fast to even really see what it's about.
Sorry this is so long. I appreciate any insight!
Kernel
2.6.35-palm-tenderloin
[email protected]ost #12
CyanogenMod version:
9.0.0-RC0-Touchpad-alpha2
Build Date
Mon, Feb 20 13:59:21 CST 2012
Build Number
IML74K
plasticsoldier said:
I didn't really see anything that fits my current problem (sorry if there is an answer somewhere buried in here)
So to start off with info, I installed Android on the TP back in February for my fiancée just for the basics of email, videoplayer, comic reader, internet browsing. Nothing too extravagant, just something with more to offer than webos.
I never did any updates on it because it worked perfectly fine for what it was being used on.
I've changed out the video selection many times as she watches through the shows with no problems.
Now I go to change the files and I delete them, add the new stuff, all seems fine. Then I unmount it and everything I deleted is back and everything I added is gone. I've uninstalled apps and they come back, I've done updates to apps and they revert back to before the update.
I've gone into CMW and done the wipes and even formatted sdcard, cache, etc. Nothing works. Even mounting USB in CWM to add files gives the same result of them disappearing right after it is unmounted.
I've tried ACMEUnistaller but it doesn't work. I saw something flash by the screen about something failing, but it goes too fast to even really see what it's about.
Sorry this is so long. I appreciate any insight!
Kernel
2.6.35-palm-tenderloin
[email protected] #12
CyanogenMod version:
9.0.0-RC0-Touchpad-alpha2
Build Date
Mon, Feb 20 13:59:21 CST 2012
Build Number
IML74K
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've run across this 3 times with TPs I work on....
1st one had to be sent back to HP because somehow internal memory was damaged and got locked in some some of read only mode
2nd one I saw, I went into webOS, installed the internalz app, mounted the TP to the computer, then added and erased some files and from then on all was good in both webOS and Android
3rd and 4th (same customer) had to be sent in to HP
Now let me mention I live in Costa Rica so all these have been exposed to several scans at airport security checkpoints. I mention this because I haven't seen anything close to a read only problem with the TPs in the USA
Sent from my aokp_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2
thank you so much for the info. Unfortunately Internalz didn't want to help the items stay deleted either. The stuck in read-only type mode is very weird.
I'm pretty sure I am 3 weeks out of the 1-year warranty on it, plus I am unable to remove android from it to even trick them that it just doesn't work.
I guess I'll try webos doctor and see if that can get it going.
edit: webos doctor not working, even with the closing it at 8-12% tricks and doing the lvm.static..... stuff... 'cause it of course doesn't see to actually delete anything... i'll have to double check tomorrow when i bought it, pretty sure it's over the year and since it turns on and has android kinda screwed
plasticsoldier said:
thank you so much for the info. Unfortunately Internalz didn't want to help the items stay deleted either. The stuck in read-only type mode is very weird.
I'm pretty sure I am 3 weeks out of the 1-year warranty on it, plus I am unable to remove android from it to even trick them that it just doesn't work.
I guess I'll try webos doctor and see if that can get it going.
edit: webos doctor not working, even with the closing it at 8-12% tricks and doing the lvm.static..... stuff... 'cause it of course doesn't see to actually delete anything... i'll have to double check tomorrow when i bought it, pretty sure it's over the year and since it turns on and has android kinda screwed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest trying to restore down to WebOS 3.0. In that procedure you literally wipe EVERYTHING on the internal partitions in novaterm and start from absolute scratch. Therefore, if it a software issue you could solve the problem. However, if it is a hardware issue, you'd be kinda screwed.
Yeah, none of the methods I've ended up finding about this problem or other bricked problems are working at all.
i checked at work when i bought it, which of course the 11th was the year mark... but I do have android installed so even if i can get any chance of them honouring it so close they'll probably be like "oh you have android, that'll be $$$ for us to do anything. thanks!"
So I guess I now I have a paperweight with some features.
cdzo72 said:
I've run across this 3 times with TPs I work on....
1st one had to be sent back to HP because somehow internal memory was damaged and got locked in some some of read only mode
2nd one I saw, I went into webOS, installed the internalz app, mounted the TP to the computer, then added and erased some files and from then on all was good in both webOS and Android
3rd and 4th (same customer) had to be sent in to HP
Now let me mention I live in Costa Rica so all these have been exposed to several scans at airport security checkpoints. I mention this because I haven't seen anything close to a read only problem with the TPs in the USA
Sent from my aokp_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you got the tablets back had they been fixed or were they refurbs ? Did HP say anything about Android still being on it?
There is a thread in the General forum about how to restore and downgrade. Have you tried that thread ? It is usually a great way to try and get that last restore before sending it back to HP.
73 de VE6AY
Sent from my HP Touchpad, running the latest CM9 nightly, from the XDA Premium App
how are you adding and deleting files when in android? which version of android do you have installed? have you tried different rom versions? have you tried moving and/or deleting files over adb? are you using windows or linux on your computer that youre connecting the touchpad to? it doesnt make sense that the sdcard would be set to read only. is it only certain folders that you cant modify the contents of, or is it the entire sdcard? are you able to modify contents of folders in the / directory of the device using root file explorer or es file explorer in android? have you run "fix permissions"? Also, running webosdoctor wont wipe the sdcard contents or format the sdcard in any way. its going to change the data in the webos partition and may change some data in the /boot directory.
sstar said:
When you got the tablets back had they been fixed or were they refurbs ? Did HP say anything about Android still being on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They had been fixed but the owners sent them off and had to pay for the whole thing because they had Android on them. When I got my hands on them again I just reinstalled Android. HP charged a little over a hundred dollars for the fix
Sent from my aokp_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2
cdzo72 said:
They had been fixed but the owners sent them off and had to pay for the whole thing because they had Android on them. When I got my hands on them again I just reinstalled Android. HP charged a little over a hundred dollars for the fix
Sent from my aokp_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answer, this would tend to suggest that the problem is software based corrupted or otherwise. I am trying to find a program that will allow me to read/format the Android partition on my windows computer and will let you know if come up with anything.
Regards
i guess i should change the title slightly.. it's not sdcard, but basically the entire touchpad contents. go to root and delete whatever i want and it doesn't matter. connect it and format with windows and it doesn't actually matter.
haxin said:
how are you adding and deleting files when in android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've added and deleted just by using mtp. i've also deleted the files on the android side with the video player (vplayer) i've installed es file explorer (which after restart is gone) and deleted with that. i've also gone into webos and installed internalz pro and deleted files that way, which it then seems to work until i of course do anything related to restarting.
some of the files i've put on, i've had it recognize briefly. so for the video file, start it, then it gets really choppy/glitchy playing it. so stop it, go back into the vplayer and it's back to the old stuff
which version of android do you have installed? have you tried different rom versions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
android version 4.0.3. nothing else will install. if i add files while in android, when i boot into cwm they are gone. if i mount usb in cwm and add them they stay briefly but when i try to flash them they fail.
have you tried moving and/or deleting files over adb? are you using windows or linux on your computer that youre connecting the touchpad to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have not tried adb yet, just not as familiar using it properly, i will give it a try though.
i am using windows 7 on my laptop currently. i do have a pc upstairs that i barely use that has vista, but i don't know how that would make a difference to the touchpad
it doesnt make sense that the sdcard would be set to read only. is it only certain folders that you cant modify the contents of, or is it the entire sdcard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah as i put above i guess saying sdcard was a bit confusing/misleading (my bad, sorry!), i didn't really know what else to call it at the time or how to explain myself properly at first.
are you able to modify contents of folders in the / directory of the device using root file explorer or es file explorer in android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i can move/delete/modify anything which has absolutely no effect to the device. i've used es file explorer and gone up to root and deleted everything and the system runs fine. says the system is empty with lots of free space (its the 32gb model) but restart or even go into recovery and everything is once again there.
have you run "fix permissions"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've run it a few times. just acts likes it's working and then says done. i've even gone into the mounts and storage in cwm and formatted sdcard/cache/data/system. does nothing at all in the end of things
Also, running webosdoctor wont wipe the sdcard contents or format the sdcard in any way. its going to change the data in the webos partition and may change some data in the /boot directory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it was just something to try to get somewhere right. it never gets past 12%. always fails to reboot.
I am currently letting the battery drain and see if it dying and then being charged will do anything. probably not. but who knows. i talked to a "tech" on the chat support (i never mentioned android) who told me that having preware installed in webos causing it to become corrupt and they "don't knowledge of preware installed devices" exact words. no idea what that means haha don't have knowledge, don't acknowledge...
anyhow. i've not quite given up. i just don't really see it turning out any differently from the previous times. i do appreciate all the feedback and help very much though
ok so heres what I would try. First try flashing a new fresh rom. download one that you want to your computer like cm9 nightly or aokp or whatever you feel like. then boot into CWM recovery connect the touchpad to the computer via usb. then connect to the touchpad with adb. I'm not sure how to do this in windows because it's been so long since I've done it on a windows box, I always use linux.
adb has alot of options, you can move files to and from the device, you can uninstall or install app packages, and more. this way you can adb push the rom .zip to the touchpad's sdcard while youre in cwm recovery. this way you dont have to reboot the touchpad and risk having the file disappear, you can just go to 'install zip from sdcard' and then 'choose zip from sdcard' in cwm recovery after you adb push the rom, you should see it in the folder you pushed it to on the sdcard.
If you arent familiar with how to use adb from the command line or the terminal this might not make alot of sense and i dont know how better to explain it than that. Also yes windows 7 vs windows vista does make a difference there are issues with novacom installing properly, that's why you would have problems running acmeuninstaller or acmeinstaller2. if you look around you should find some videos or how to's that can probably explain it better. Hope this helps.
http://www.webos-internals.org/wiki/Novacom_with_Windows_7
http://forums.webosnation.com/webos-internals/295881-webos-doctor-12-issue-fixed-5.html
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426244 is the thread I was talking about - it allows you to access the hard root of the device, repartition it, and start again from scratch. It is what I was suggesting last night, from my tablet when I didn't have the link handy.
ve6ay said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1426244 is the thread I was talking about - it allows you to access the hard root of the device, repartition it, and start again from scratch. It is what I was suggesting last night, from my tablet when I didn't have the link handy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably the best suggestion yet given that everything else has been tried.
Good luck.
****EDIT****
Before you attempt the step above I have just noticed a difference between between cwm and. TWRP2.2 which I have installed on my Touchpad via goo manager. If I open recovery via goo manager and then select wipe it gives me 4 options cache, davlik, factory reset AND system which i think says will remove your rom . I don't see the forth option available with the regular cwm/clockwork. Just a thought.
All the best with whatever you try next.
sstar said:
Probably the best suggestion yet given that everything else has been tried.
Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this would work, however you have to fix you novacom/novaterm issues on your windows machine before you'll be able to do any of this. the reason acmeuninstaller, acmeinstaller2 arent working is likely because youre on a windows7 64bit box and Palm-sdk, the novacomd.exe, noverm.exe, and javaruntime apps and drivers arent setup right. just make sure you have the proper javaupdates on your computer then you can install preware in webos, preware has some nice tools that will delete the entire android install partitions, one is called 'remove android' and the other is called 'tailor' you run them from within webos. after you do that then in webos you should do a full device reset. you'll find it in the "info" tab under settings in webos. this will delete and reformat the whole /media ,(aka sdcard) partition. so you will lose all the files you have stored on both webos and android. that format will take a long time probably like 30 min or more. after thats done. reboot the hp and run webosdoctor. now i know for sure this will work because ive done it on mine. remember to put the touchpad in developer mode in webos first to install preware. you can do that by typing webos20090606 into the webos search bar and hitting enter. I'll put links from my box.com accou t to everything you need.
https://www.box.com/s/479acdb6ef9c99fc7b92
https://www.box.com/s/1aed4722990aad251570
edit: also I'm not sure if youre on the 16gig 32gig or 64gig pad, the webosdoctor that i linked is for 32gig wifi only US version. if thats not what you have then youll need to get the doctor for for specific touchpad. or you could create a webosmetadoctor but thats a whole nother project.
i have the 32gb version. i assume US and Canadian aren't gonna make a difference
i've tried all those threads. any novacom/novaterm stuff doesn't work, the files won't delete so when trying to recreate they just error saying it already exists.
if the devices is on in androind the adb can find the device although the "Serial" has a bunch of ???? at the end of it. when i go to cwm adb cannot find the device.
in cwm i can mount and add files that way and go back to install zip sdcard but get:
Code:
--Installing /sdcard/aokp_tenderloin_milestone-4.zip
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
E: Can't open /sdcard/aokp_tenderloin_milestone-4.zip
(bad)
Installation aborted
used "remove android" in webos, but then nothing is different after the fact as usual. 'tailor' doesn't seem to exist anymore in preware at least that i can find
not sure if there is anything else I can do at this point
plasticsoldier said:
i have the 32gb version. i assume US and Canadian aren't gonna make a difference
i've tried all those threads. any novacom/novaterm stuff doesn't work, the files won't delete so when trying to recreate they just error saying it already exists.
if the devices is on in androind the adb can find the device although the "Serial" has a bunch of ???? at the end of it. when i go to cwm adb cannot find the device.
in cwm i can mount and add files that way and go back to install zip sdcard but get:
Code:
--Installing /sdcard/aokp_tenderloin_milestone-4.zip
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
E: Can't open /sdcard/aokp_tenderloin_milestone-4.zip
(bad)
Installation aborted
used "remove android" in webos, but then nothing is different after the fact as usual. 'tailor' doesn't seem to exist anymore in preware at least that i can find
not sure if there is anything else I can do at this point
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok no one will be able to help you fix this issue unless you give complete details of the problems. when you say " novacom/novaterm stuff doesn't work" we cant really help specific error details is what i need. I dont mind helping you fix this but you have to be a little more specific on exactly what,where, and how youre installing and running and mounting apps and directories.
your problem IS fixable but you need to slow down and really do things exactly step by step.
Ok so back to ./adb. now when you boot in to CWM recovery on he touchpad DONT do anything in CWM just plug it into the computer. do not mount it as a usb storage and dont mount or unmount the sd partition LEAVE IT.
you can then use ./adb from the command line or terminal on the computer to move the files to the touchpad' or install apk's uninstall apk's you name it. This will require that you know some linux terminal commands. for example to move a new rom zip to the internal sd card or into any other folder you can use ./adb push command to run a root shell on the android device itself you can use ./adb shell and then change folder and file properties from readonly to rw. this can all be done while the touchpad is patiently waitng in CWM recovery. this way when youre done installing or uninstalling apps from the device and moving flash zips to it, you can disconnect the .adb connection with ./adb disconnect or just type exit from the terminal till it closes. unplug it then you will be able to pick up the touchpad and install zip from the sdcard, keep in mind you dont want to choose 'apply u[date from sdcard' you want to use the 'install zip from sdcard option' you can read up more on how adb works. it is probally the most important part of hacking android.
with that being said. novaterm is the palm webos version of .adb. this is why when you boot into webos recovery to do things like acmeinstaller and acmeuninstaller2 the novaterm novacom and novacomd apps have to be installed correctly on the computer or else you wont be going anywhere fast. some screenshot examples of how it should appear below.
https://www.box.com/s/432e63a83215f00eea6a
https://www.box.com/s/970bc29542a05f98f036
https://www.box.com/s/63c0f656e8354f7f2d6a
https://www.box.com/s/cbe3266467ae8e3ebabe
https://www.box.com/s/005e56a61a178dd17fa4 some better resolution images.
Plasticsoldier said
used "remove android" in webos, but then nothing is different after the fact as usual. 'tailor' doesn't seem to exist anymore in preware at least that i can find
not sure if there is anything else I can do at this point
Yes there is
Firstly tailor does exist, it is a beta and the facility to dl must be enabled.
Read this and scroll down to Enabling beta test feeds and follow the instructions , when you get as far as using the Linux command you CAN copy and paste thank God.
http://en.m.webos-internals.org/wiki/Testing_Feeds?wasRedirected=true . After that reboot into Webos and launch preware. Go into managed feeds as per the instructions in the link above and install Tailor. Reboot again and the app will work. It looks very good actually.
But before attempting to actually use Tailor please read the article I have posted below it is only 7 pages long but will explain how to use Taylor properly as it is a powerful tool.
http://forums.webosnation.com/webos...partition-filesystem-editor-beta-testing.html
I have done all of this , this morning so if you have any problems pm me or ask in this thread.
I sincerely hope that this helps, it should be the answer to your problems.
@haxin: sorry, wasn't trying to be unhelpful when everyone is being helpful to me. I shall be more detailed in future responses. I think i was getting frustrated and had had a busy exhausting day so it didn't help me come across clearly/properly.
OK, so I had preware installed already, so I removed it, went into developer mode, used the linux commands, reinstalled preware, added Tailor.
(i've done this a few times, because I didn't remove the cable after doing the linux commands for preware, then i accidentally hit the wrong buttons and it connected to 'usb drive' mode and wouldn't connect on the pc side and got stuck on the "ow disconnected me properly next time" screen).
So it gives me the following options
USB (media)
Android (system)
Android (cache)
Android (data)
Unused Space
the 'usb media' starts mounted and will mount again if unmounted. If I use 'check filesystem' it'll pass. So then I try 'delete partition' which pretends to delete, then it takes me to the unused partition which is still at 16mb. so i try to use "check filesystem' again and it fails. try repair and it fails as well
I've tried mounting the android parts just to see, they just sit there processing that they are trying to mount. trying to delete or anything else fails as well.
and now after trying things, any of the 'cards' will try to open and just sit there grey. and with my usb cable not plugged in it still is giving me the option to enter usb drive mode. and with this i have to restart and go through the steps again of adding Tailor which is getting tedious.
I restarted, went through the motions to get back to Tailor. trying out resizing just to see how that goes. So far 15%. not sure what will happen when done, but we will see.
This is getting long, so i'll end this part and update on anything and also try to familiarize myself with adb a tad more

[Q] Unlocking / Rooting Nexus 7 without having to Wipe it

Hello Everyone,
So I have had a Nexus 7 for about a few months now and I love it! I have done some research and I am getting mixed answers.
My question is: Is it possible to Unlock a Nexus 7 without having to wipe the data.
Thanks so much in advance.
No.
The tablet can now be rooted without unlocking the boot loader, however.
There is a third method for re-locking & unlocking without touching the data - but it requires at least one prior unlock which does destroy all data.
bftb0 said:
No.
The tablet can now be rooted without unlocking the boot loader, however.
There is a third method for re-locking & unlocking without touching the data - but it requires at least one prior unlock which does destroy all data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am checking this out now.
Just wanted to say thanks ahead of time
@handy
If you were asking about this because you were contemplating rooting, please be advised about the importance of making full nandroid backups. Perversely, the rooting guides fail to mention how important this is... especially if you are averse to wiping the tablet.
The reason? If you are rooted and you wedge your O/S somehow with a "mod gone bad", the only means of rescue will be unlocking the boot loader (to be able to use the advanced capabilities of fastboot), which wipes the tablet.
The way to do this with a locked bootloader is to flash a custom recovery to the recovery partition (from a root shell command line) after you have rooted.
That way if something goes wrong with booting the regular OS, you have a custom recovery to fall back on - and hopefully you used it to create a Nandroid backup before modding your lightly rooted stock ROM.
good luck
I agree with @bftb0
Just make it clear, I't possible to root without wipping. But you are still locked. Not possible to Unlock without wipping yet. If your data and OS is important for you (not for me) you must keep a backup first. Don't rely on the words I'll be successfully rooted with my OS and data anything can go wrong at any moment.
I just want to thank you all very very much!
I was successful using the method linked in the original post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2233852
I have been researching for ways to root my Nexus 7 without having to unlock it since unlocking would mean losing all my data and the sole purpose of wanting to root my nexus 7 was to gain access to good backup programs and methods like titanium backup and full bit by bit NAND backups. Which I am still not sure I can use full bit by bit nand yet but hey this is a start in the right direction. And I didn't lose any data doing this.
Thanks so much and I will keep in touch with how it goes.
HandyAndyXDA said:
I just want to thank you all very very much!
I was successful using the method linked in the original post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2233852
I have been researching for ways to root my Nexus 7 without having to unlock it since unlocking would mean losing all my data and the sole purpose of wanting to root my nexus 7 was to gain access to good backup programs and methods like titanium backup and full bit by bit NAND backups. Which I am still not sure I can use full bit by bit nand yet but hey this is a start in the right direction. And I didn't lose any data doing this.
Thanks so much and I will keep in touch with how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get started on installing a custom recovery (either CWM or TWRP) immediately so that you can make a Nandroid backup.
And then get a copy of that off the tablet for safe keeping.
Note (here I am reading between the lines of your post) that on the N7, Nandroid backups exclude /data/media !! - Basically, everything that you see in "/sdcard" is NOT BACKED UP by Nandroid.
You need a full Nandroid backup in the event of some kind of disaster (rooting experiment or mod gone wrong), but you also do need to backup stuff you feel is worth keeping from your /sdcard. You can use MTP for that if you want.
good luck and be careful.
Thanks for the backup tips! I was not aware that it won't backup sdcard directory.
Not to get off the thread topic because the whole purpose of rooting for me was to gain the best backup possible and being able to use USB flash drives now is nice too.
Anyway, I would like to know what you recommend for backup and how it works / how to use it. I would love to have something that works like acronis. I am really interested in making a bit by bit image that I can store on my desktop or flash drive that I can recover from.
I am researching on my own but I'd love to get input from you guys if you don't mind.
PS: Thanks again! You have been great help!
And now that I see the thanks button, everyone of you is getting a thanks!:good:
Forget my last question asking about backup. That would go in another thread anyway and besides I ventured into using TWRP that I installed using GooManager and its just awesome. Thanks again everyone and be well.
HandyAndyXDA said:
Forget my last question asking about backup. That would go in another thread anyway and besides I ventured into using TWRP that I installed using GooManager and its just awesome. Thanks again everyone and be well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP does exactly what you want with backups
Unfortunately TWRP does not backup everything! Luckily I didn't do a hard factory reset when I was testing it out so I didn't lose any data.
It seems to me that TWRP does not backup internal storage. On another note these android directory names and aliases are really making me crazy lol.
I would really like to be able to recover from a hard factory reset including all data on the nexus 7. Is there any way possible to do this with TWRP or anything else?
Thanks so much.
HandyAndyXDA said:
Unfortunately TWRP does not backup everything! Luckily I didn't do a hard factory reset when I was testing it out so I didn't lose any data.
It seems to me that TWRP does not backup internal storage. On another note these android directory names and aliases are really making me crazy lol.
I would really like to be able to recover from a hard factory reset including all data on the nexus 7. Is there any way possible to do this with TWRP or anything else?
Thanks so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so, if TWRP were to back up the internal storage, where would it store that backup? It wouldnt be able to store a backup of itself ON itself...
if you want a backup of the internal storage, just copy it to a usb thumb drive over OTG or to your computer, nandroids are not meant to back up 'sdcard' storage and never have been
want to recover from a complete loss of everything?
make TWRP backup
copy /sdcard contents to USB OTG or computer, your TWRP is on that directory so you would be copying EVERYTHING
Pirateghost said:
so, if TWRP were to back up the internal storage, where would it store that backup? It wouldnt be able to store a backup of itself ON itself...
if you want a backup of the internal storage, just copy it to a usb thumb drive over OTG or to your computer, nandroids are not meant to back up 'sdcard' storage and never have been
want to recover from a complete loss of everything?
make TWRP backup
copy /sdcard contents to USB OTG or computer, your TWRP is on that directory so you would be copying EVERYTHING
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks and sorry I didn't mention that I was backing up using TWRP to a usb flash drive all along. I am having trouble copying /sdcard now for 2 reasons:
1) Sometimes its called "Storage", sometimes its a directory within others, sometimes its called "internal".......I am just not sure what the actual directory is anymore.
2) I have tried copying as much as i could manually to my desktop via usb. but does windows see all that i need to copy and each time i select all and copy it, windows explorer lags and eventually crashes lol.
As of now I am trying to copy one fold at a time to windows. .....no I don't know what I am doing. Just getting frustrated so I am trying to copy it all on my own as well as useing TWRP lol
since MTP came about copying using windows explorer or any file browser, just plain sucks.
you have a couple of options here,
1. Use AIRDroid and copy it over your wifi
2. Use ADB and simply do 'adb pull /data/media C:\path\to\your\backup\folder
personally i prefer adb, i make regular backups of my phone and tablet and keep them on USB thumbdrive or sdcard on my laptop
Pirateghost said:
since MTP came about copying using windows explorer or any file browser, just plain sucks.
you have a couple of options here,
1. Use AIRDroid and copy it over your wifi
2. Use ADB and simply do 'adb pull /data/media C:\path\to\your\backup\folder
personally i prefer adb, i make regular backups of my phone and tablet and keep them on USB thumbdrive or sdcard on my laptop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already tried Airdroid which was working great until about 20 minutes later when it just stopped. Guess its just too much for airdroid too.
Yeah MTP isnt great lol.
And thanks again, I will give the adb method a try.
HandyAndyXDA said:
Already tried Airdroid which was working great until about 20 minutes later when it just stopped. Guess its just too much for airdroid too.
Yeah MTP isnt great lol.
And thanks again, I will give the adb method a try.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, one more thing:
Am I correct in saying that all that Windows sees is the total internal storage? In other words every file that I can explore using Windows is what TWRP doesn't backup?
I got the adb command line tool. I have it running, but how do i direct it to the nexus? I mean there is no drive letter for the tablet.
Sorry to be a pest.
HandyAndyXDA said:
Oh, one more thing:
Am I correct in saying that all that Windows sees is the total internal storage? In other words every file that I can explore using Windows is what TWRP doesn't backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. Pretty sure.
HandyAndyXDA said:
I got the adb command line tool. I have it running, but how do i direct it to the nexus? I mean there is no drive letter for the tablet.
Sorry to be a pest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look at the command that i posted. You don't use a drive letter.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Pirateghost said:
Yeah. Pretty sure.
Look at the command that i posted. You don't use a drive letter.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that exact command aside from changing the save destination and no luck.
I don't know what I am doing wrong lol
HandyAndyXDA said:
Oh, one more thing:
Am I correct in saying that all that Windows sees is the total internal storage? In other words every file that I can explore using Windows is what TWRP doesn't backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not been able to convince myself that the MTP implementation is deterministic, although in theory it is impossible for it not to be. (Translation: I don't trust it at all)
"adb pull" will work best when the remote shell automatically acquires root privileges, but that requires a modified boot image (the /default.prop file in the boot ramdisk) for rooted-stock ROMs, but this shouldn't be needed for "adb pull /sdcard/" - it is needed for pulling files from other areas of /data, or /system, etc though.
You previously mentioned "bit for bit", and that won't happen for adb or MTP as all timestamps, ownership, and file mode info will be lost when files are transferred to a Windows filesystem. The latter two are not particularly important for /sdcard, and I suppose that a lot of people won't care too much about timestamps either. You might feel differently though.
Actually attempting to do something closer to "bit-for-bit" brings it's own set of problems. You could use a (busybox version of) "tar" program in either the recovery or the OS, but you probably need to write the output to a mounted NTFS filesystem because of large-file ( > 2Gb) limitations of FAT filesystems. That's a non-starter with a stock kernel (for the regular OS, anyway) and it is my impression that TWRP's kernel isn't mounting NTFS in rw mode yet (I don't know about CWM)
To date when I've needed to wipe the tablet and restore it I've just used Nandroid backup/restore plus adb pull/push for /sdcard. (I wish adb was faster - it seems to be 3x-5x slower than MTP)
I suppose there are other alternatives (network mounting of CIFS shares using compatible kernels, etc) but I haven't tried them so far.
good luck

/sdcard problems after upgrading Android

I'm seeing a few posts and qquestions about this with the latest Lollipop release being upon us.
There are several issues here and I wanted to write a quick note aboyut them both for you
1) You cannot SEE your /sdcard data after updating to lollipop
Cause:
Some strange difference between L and KK, where /storage/emulated and /data/media are not "alligned"
Fix:
Open a terminal emulator application and enter the following 2 line command (Press enter after each line)
Code:
su
restorecon -FR /data/media/0
Reboot
2) You have lost permissions to /sdcard
Cause:
You restored all your sdcard data using adb push or MTP whilst booted into recovery. IT screws up your permissions. These methods are fine for single files or backups that you waant to flash or restore, but as soon as you start pushing folders, this issue will be seen
Fix:
In a root explorer app, browse to /data/media/0 and locate your Download folder. Set the permissions for all on Download to read / write (Long press the Download folder > permissions)
Download and flash THIS ZIP from the thread below.
[TOOLS][ZIPS][SCRIPTS] osm0sis' Odds and Ends [Multiple Devices/Platforms] (by @osm0sis)
You can also download the zip to a computer and adb push it / MTP via recovery
3) 32 GB device shows the storage of 16 GB version
Cause:
Unknown. This has actually been happening since the Nexus 5 was released
Fix:
Wipe cache and data
4) TWRP backups are missing
Cause:
This is really unknown. We're not even sure that this can be fixed. Some say its a TWRP bug but that cannot be proven.
Sometimes backup folder is empty....
Fix:
Multiple things you can try. Some have to use restorecon command but usually that has to be done after every backup.
Others have just flashed the factory images
Some of us have never had issues so its hard to call it a bug, but there is definitely something funky going on here.
Other times, backups shows as an unknown file type, 0bytes in size. I haven't a specific fix as I have had no feedback from anyone who has fixed it. You could try deleting that unknown file then running the fix above.
Also, please update to TWRP 2.8.3.0
5) All I see in /sdcard is 0 folder
Cause:
Well known issue on /data/media/0 devices - which is the location of the /sdcard. Unsure of the cause on Nexus 5 though
Fix:
/sdcard is in /data/media/0. If you see a 0 folder in /sdcard, you're actually seeing /data/media/0/0.
To fix, just move /data/media/0/0/* to /data/media/0
I updated without a problem. Be sure to update to latest SDK and to wipe sdcard, eg. clean install.
Sent from Pure Nexus 5
alen1901 said:
I updated without a problem. Be sure to update to latest SDK and to wipe sdcard, eg. clean install.
Sent from Pure Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, the first issue is fine if you wipe your /sdcard.
The second one is caused by restoring your sdcard afterwards
I have used always Mixplorer and now after flashing 5.0 I cant see nothing under /root. Why so? Something with root permissions? everything else is ok. ( I want to modify build.prop a little )
do I need use some other file explorer?
restorecon -FR /data/media/0 fixed a problem I had with a bad TWRP folder on my Nexus 10 - many thanks!
rootSU said:
Yep, the first issue is fine if you wipe your /sdcard.
The second one is caused by restoring your sdcard afterwards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I restored everything except data and android folders back to sdcard, i even restored obb files and no problems at all. It is the best practice for users to restore only their data, not the ones android creates itself. Im sure most people just selects everything and transfer to pc/stick, then copy everything back.
Sent from Pure Nexus 5
Thanks dude. I wish I had this information this morning - would've saved me a lot of sweat.
I'm facing some serious issues today with this.
At first I encountered the issue when installing the flashable update. The OP suggested to execute few command lines in a terminal emulator, but it would only have worked if you rooted your device with cfroot. So I tried to re-root with cfroot with no luck: it kept saying already unlocked. At this point in the settings said I had 3/3 free gigs of storage. Out of desperation I tried to flash every single part of the stock image via fastboot, and re-do the procedure with cfroot and all. However after doing all of that I ended up with 12/12 free gigs, which is what I'm left with right now. I also tried to fix the permissions either with the root explorer app and by flashing the the provided fix, but nothing has happened. No traces of either Titanium backups or whatever files I had before on my storage, it's basically like a new phone with a blank 12 gb storage (keep in mind I have the 32 gb version). I really don't know what to do at this point anymore. Have I by any mean flashed the partitions of a 16 gb variant or something? Will I ever be able to get my storage back? Any help wuld be much appreciated.
Update: apparently I also flashed userdata so my phone believed to be a 16 gb unit. A data wipe fixed it. Obviously my storage is gone but that's my bad, I'll be more careful before udating next time.
vnvman said:
I'm facing some serious issues today with this.
At first I encountered the issue when installing the flashable update. The OP suggested to execute few command lines in a terminal emulator, but it would only have worked if you rooted your device with cfroot. So I tried to re-root with cfroot with no luck: it kept saying already unlocked. At this point in the settings said I had 3/3 free gigs of storage. Out of desperation I tried to flash every single part of the stock image via fastboot, and re-do the procedure with cfroot and all. However after doing all of that I ended up with 12/12 free gigs, which is what I'm left with right now. I also tried to fix the permissions either with the root explorer app and by flashing the the provided fix, but nothing has happened. No traces of either Titanium backups or whatever files I had before on my storage, it's basically like a new phone with a blank 12 gb storage (keep in mind I have the 32 gb version). I really don't know what to do at this point anymore. Have I by any mean flashed the partitions of a 16 gb variant or something? Will I ever be able to get my storage back? Any help wuld be much appreciated.
Update: apparently I also flashed userdata so my phone believed to be a 16 gb unit. A data wipe fixed it. Obviously my storage is gone but that's my bad, I'll be more careful before udating next time.
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Click to collapse
Yeah that's a different but common issue.
Thank you, rootSU. This fixed my issue.
So I have tried the fixes and all of my files are still in sdcard/0 and not just sdcard... Any help I can't figure this out?
rizhqrd said:
So I have tried the fixes and all of my files are still in sdcard/0 and not just sdcard... Any help I can't figure this out?
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Click to collapse
Move them manually.
Tried the first solution as it seems to be my issue, but it doesn't seem to work. Any ideas?
tomp100 said:
Tried the first solution as it seems to be my issue, but it doesn't seem to work. Any ideas?
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Click to collapse
Please explain your issue.
Hey thanks for this post. I've been through this issue like 3 times and keep forgetting about restorecon.
On that note, I was getting the following output:
~ # restorecon -FR /data/media/0/
restorecon: invalid option -- F
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Click to collapse
The fix appears to work without the "F" flag. Do you know why this is not a valid flag?
According to a general rundown of restorecon, the "F" flag does the following:
-F
Force reset of context to match file_context for customizable files, and the default file context, changing the user, role, range portion as well as the type.
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RVDigital said:
Hey thanks for this post. I've been through this issue like 3 times and keep forgetting about restorecon.
On that note, I was getting the following output:
The fix appears to work without the "F" flag. Do you know why this is not a valid flag?
According to a general rundown of restorecon, the "F" flag does the following:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure but glancing at the Dev preview thread, some had success with this:
restorecon -r /data/media/0/*
Tried both, all that happened is that /sdcard is now blank. /data/media/0 still lists all of the files, but /sdcard itself is empty or unlinked or something. I unfortunately don't know which of the two steps did it.
Quick question, I'm currently on slimkat and plan on clean flashing tonight via bigxies ROM. With this method of fixing the SD card, I won't lose all my data as far as downloads, pictures, etc.?
rootSU said:
Please explain your issue.
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Click to collapse
Essentially, the phone doesn't think it has an SD card. When i click on SD card in root browser, it is empty. Items that were on the SD card in 4.4.4 are now located in data/media/0/0 , and I am unable to move these items to SD. Also, if I try to dowload sonething off the internet, I get a "no SD card" message.
I can confirm that my issues were caused by importing my backed up /SDCard/ data via an "adb push" while in recovery.
If doing the same while the phone is booted into system, permissions are set appropriately and no further action is required.
Thanks again for this post!

De-Bloater: fix mistake without TWRP in Android recovery possible?

Hi,
I am in a bit of trouble I have a Motorola Edge 20 (2022) and I was playing with De-Bloater under Magisk. It worked really fine until I pushed the limit of how many Motorola apps i can remove. The last one was the wrong one, I think it was Motorola settings storage (provider) or so. Now the phone won't boot anymore and I was stupid enough not to back up the photos I made in the last three days.
I don't have TWRP on the phone (it's not available yet), so the Android recovery has to do. I saw that I can mount /system, but I don't know how to modify or even read it after mounting it. The internet is full of instructions of how to mount it and always mentions that you can then modify anything on it, but nowhere does it explain exactly HOW to do that
adb shell/push/pull just says "unable to... : closed"
The second option seems to adb sideload some zip. But what zip would I have to flash to disable the De-Bloater without factory resetting everything?
thanks
whoohoo! I jst discovered Safe Mode. Immediate problem thereby solved However, I am still interested in the first part of my question: how to use the mounted /system in Recovery Mode?
michael-brade said:
whoohoo! I jst discovered Safe Mode. Immediate problem thereby solved However, I am still interested in the first part of my question: how to use the mounted /system in Recovery Mode?
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Click to collapse
with stock recovery, youre unlikely to win as /data is decrypted (usually) and /system is largely unmountable and writeable (at least easily)
the usual prescription if you cant get into safe mode is:
Code:
adb wait-for-device shell magisk --remove-modules
from the bible (read on for TWRP ways which are 100% easier):
Magisk - Installation and troubleshooting:Magisk and MagiskHide Installation and Troubleshooting guide
didgeridoohan.com
which obviously removes all modules, even us experienced folks fond ourselves using the magical key combo to get into safe mode on occasion because we flew too close to the sun doping something in magisk
ironically debloating wasnt one of those times for me, i gave a log of what i debloated to the author of one debloater modules recently when he released a new version of his module and he was like "and it still boots?"...the list of debloated packages was at 135, and i could remove even more...
Thanks, good to know. But even adb wasn't able to connect anymore, Android got stuck even earlier.
However, I don't really mind if /system is read-only, I am more interested in how to (even theoretically) use the stock recovery. There is no manual and nobody said anything so far. So once you clicked "mount /system", what to do?
Lenovo (owner of Moto) has a online 'rescue' site that u can go to with your phone connected to the PC and it'll flash your Moto back to stock...prolly won't retain ur data, but it saved my a$$ a few times with my old twrp-less A/B slotted Moto G7. Can't recall the exact url but am sure u can dig it up with google.
Zaxx32 said:
Lenovo (owner of Moto) has a online 'rescue' site that u can go to with your phone connected to the PC and it'll flash your Moto back to stock...prolly won't retain ur data, but it saved my a$$ a few times with my old twrp-less A/B slotted Moto G7. Can't recall the exact url but am sure u can dig it up with google.
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Hmm... but I can already do that without their help using fastboot. No need for the Android recovery.
Isn't it strange that there is a function we don't know how to use or how it works?

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