Database Develop

[Q] How to wipe Data partition after it's been encrypted?

Hey guys,
My work switched to Google Apps for their email so i wanted to test it out on my phone. Doing so required them to encrypt my phone. What this appears to have done is encrypt the data partition. So now when i go into (TWRP) recovery and try to do a backup / wipe / or anything else, it says it is "Unable to mount /sdcard" I'm unable to do a factory reset of any kind so i'm essentially stuck on this rom (ARHD) until i can figure out how to wipe data and get the /sdcard to be not encrypted. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm imagining that with the modified recovery not being able to access the data partition that i'm going to have to do some adb type stuff?
Please help! I want to keep flashing new roms!

Anyone??

I think you can't decrypt your data partition...
Did you try to wipe your data partition with the latest TWRP?

Guich said:
I think you can't decrypt your data partition...
Did you try to wipe your data partition with the latest TWRP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the thing, the recovery can't mount /sdcard so wiping isn't an option from recovery

jrun said:
That's the thing, the recovery can't mount /sdcard so wiping isn't an option from recovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi! Only TWRP recovery can solve your issue just do this...
Boot to TWRP recovery->Wipe
From there there are 2 options the left is the advance wipe and on the right is Format Data
Just select the format data button and it should reformat the whole data partition.
1st one would prompt so many errors and reformat then reformat it again 1 time and it should fully reformat your phone.
In theory it should reformat data partition even when encrypted but just in case it fails and I won't be able to go back to this thread just boot in bootloader and type
"fastboot erase userdata"

Well none of that works. TWRP doesn't support decryption yet for this device.

sevenalive said:
Well none of that works. TWRP doesn't support decryption yet for this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I instructed basically doesn't decrypt the partition. It reformats it.

Riyal said:
What I instructed basically doesn't decrypt the partition. It reformats it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you instructed, it doesn't work. Only way I got it to work. Flash the stock recovery. Boot into system. Take off the encryption, phone reboots and removes the encryption, data is formatted. Then flash TWRP again.

I basically ran into this exact problem. I was hoping that I'd still be able to back up the encrypted device, but forget about it. What a pain in the ass.
Someone should make add something to the guides about how encrypting your device makes nandroid backups impossible.

Can't mount /system in twrp 2.8.3.0

I updated my twrp from 2.7.1 to 2.8.3.0. I haven't flashed a rom in a while, so I don't know for sure that it was working on the old one but I did install CM11 using 2.7.1. Now with 2.8.3 when I go into recovery and wipe is says it worked, but in red there is the error: "E: unable to mount /system".
I tried to repair it with twrp, using format /system as ext4, then wipe and it seems to work and mount correctly, but if I restart, into recovery the /system no longer mounts and gives the same error if I try to wipe it. When I select repair, it says the partition is 0mb. When I format as ext4 it then shows as the correct size (~1.8GB).
So bottom line is that when I try to flash a new rom, it gets stuck at the formating /system step. I think the problem is with twrp but I'm not sure. Any ideas what to do?
I have a T-mobile HTC one M7. It was CM11, but everything is wiped. TWRP 2.8.3. S-off unlocked bootloader.
Thanks!

modman21 said:
I updated my twrp from 2.7.1 to 2.8.3.0. I haven't flashed a rom in a while, so I don't know for sure that it was working on the old one but I did install CM11 using 2.7.1. Now with 2.8.3 when I go into recovery and wipe is says it worked, but in red there is the error: "E: unable to mount /system".
I tried to repair it with twrp, using format /system as ext4, then wipe and it seems to work and mount correctly, but if I restart, into recovery the /system no longer mounts and gives the same error if I try to wipe it. When I select repair, it says the partition is 0mb. When I format as ext4 it then shows as the correct size (~1.8GB).
So bottom line is that when I try to flash a new rom, it gets stuck at the formating /system step. I think the problem is with twrp but I'm not sure. Any ideas what to do?
I have a T-mobile HTC one M7. It was CM11, but everything is wiped. TWRP 2.8.3. S-off unlocked bootloader.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first of all the most reliable version of TWRP recovery is stil 2.6.3.3 or 2.6.3.4, most of the users on here would agree with me on that, newer is not always better.
Also, have you tried the format data option, select wipe then format data button, be warned though, this will wipe everything including your sdcard (internal) if this option works you will then have to sideload or push a rom to your device before you can flash.

Seanie280672 said:
first of all the most reliable version of TWRP recovery is stil 2.6.3.3 or 2.6.3.4, most of the users on here would agree with me on that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree 100% but CM11 require at least 2.7.0.8 to be flashed (block:by-name) and recommended version of twrp to flash CM11 is 2.7.1.2 http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_m7
If not flashing a rom like CM11 still recommend using 2.6.3.3/.4 even if there are newer version.

They are talking about this in ARHD thread.
Seems a updater script problem.
Read here and below!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57985309&postcount=84878
My 2 cents

Fain11 said:
They are talking about this in ARHD thread.
Seems a updater script problem.
Read here and below!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57985309&postcount=84878
My 2 cents
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link. I tried to find similar threads, but couldn't. They are having the same problem but with a different rom (I was trying to flash Sky Dragon android L). The solution on that thread was to use TWRP 2.6.3.3, but some people reported having no problems with 2.8.3. The install instructions for Sky Dragon say use the latest twrp but doesn't specify a version. I guess I could try TWRP 2.6.3.3 but I'm not sure if it will work since CM requires 2.7.1.
The other solution was to mount the partition manually before flashing using the terminal in recovery. This command was suggested:
Code:
run_program("/sbin/umount", "/system");
Haven't tried any of these solution myself. After 3 hours and wiping my entire data partition by accident, I USB-OTG copied my nandroid backup to my phone and did a complete recovery. Luckily the restore process didn't care about mounting /system. I may try this again with manual mounting, but likely I will wait for a twrp update. I'm not sure if twrp 2.6 supports usb-otg so it will be a pain in the ass if I wipe /data again by accident.
Random side note for anyone googling this, if you accidently wipe all the data from your sdcard and have to copy the nandroid backup for twrp, the the restore function won't recognize the files unless they are in exactly the right directory. The best way to get this is to copy the entire TWRP directory when saving your backup in the first place so you can just copy it back. If you didn't do that then just run a nandroid backup of the blank sdcard and it will recreate the folder structure for you. Then you copy the files into the correct folder.

alray said:
Agree 100% but CM11 require at least 2.7.0.8 to be flashed (block:by-name) and recommended version of twrp to flash CM11 is 2.7.1.2 http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_m7
If not flashing a rom like CM11 still recommend using 2.6.3.3/.4 even if there are newer version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly this. I do not know the exact reason CM needs 2.7.1 so therefore I don't know if Sky Dragon needs it as well. The instructions just say use the latest twrp.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2400161

Seanie280672 said:
first of all the most reliable version of TWRP recovery is stil 2.6.3.3 or 2.6.3.4, most of the users on here would agree with me on that, newer is not always better.
Also, have you tried the format data option, select wipe then format data button, be warned though, this will wipe everything including your sdcard (internal) if this option works you will then have to sideload or push a rom to your device before you can flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did wipe my entire data partition (by accident), but I did not try to format it as ext4. I did format /system to ext4 (so now the partition was displaying correctly as ~1.8gb). The used the twrp repair, then wipe It seemed to work, but if I restarted right then, without even trying to flash the rom, the /system would not mount on reboot to recovery and would show as 0mb. I used all reasonable combinations and permutations of the wipe, repair and format functions on system, nothing worked.
I finally copied my nandroid backup via usb-otg and recovered back to cm11.

TWRP 3.1.0

I recently updated my TWRP to the latest and official version of 3.1.0, but now after updating it i am facing a new bug.
Whenever i wipe cache and dalvik cache it say's in the end "Unable to mount Storage"
Someone please help

You have some partitions encrypted.
Decrypt your phone and try again.
Some ROM have encryption activated, initially.

Testerofroms said:
You have some partitions encrypted.
Decrypt your phone and try again.
Some ROM have encryption activated, initially.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you please tell me how to decrypt? I am using RR rom 7.1.1 official

Prayas29 said:
Could you please tell me how to decrypt? I am using RR rom 7.1.1 official
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmmh it seems, that you can not.
please go there and read:
http://forum.le.com/us/index.php?threads/issue-whit-leeco-update.2383/
In addition you should also google for "android encrypt" or perhaps for "android 7 encrypt" ?
This feature exists already since Android 5...

Testerofroms said:
Mmmh it seems, that you can not.
please go there and read:
http://forum.le.com/us/index.php?threads/issue-whit-leeco-update.2383/
In addition you should also google for "android encrypt" or perhaps for "android 7 encrypt" ?
This feature exists already since Android 5...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even though it says unable to mount storage i am able to see all the files in my storage and access them

Prayas29 said:
Even though it says unable to mount storage i am able to see all the files in my storage and access them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please read this thread:
Indian stock ROM LeMax2 EUI 5.8 15s
/data is encrypted with a factory password
-> no way to make it accessable for TWRP.
so you need to copy the content and after that, you need to wipe this partition

Testerofroms said:
Please read this thread:
Indian stock ROM LeMax2 EUI 5.8 15s
/data is encrypted with a factory password
-> no way to make it accessable for TWRP.
so you need to copy the content and after that, you need to wipe this partition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had done that earlier when i flashed TWRP for the first time and after that nothing like this showed. I am seeing this again after updating it again to 3.1.0.
So i will have to factory reset it again to make itwork properly?
And do i have to do it every time i update my TWRP?

And also what all should i wipe?
Should i wipe my whole phone storage?

Prayas29 said:
And also what all should i wipe?
Should i wipe my whole phone storage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wipe /date and /cache
---------- Post added at 17:49 ---------- Previous post was at 17:46 ----------
Prayas29 said:
I had done that earlier when i flashed TWRP for the first time and after that nothing like this showed. I am seeing this again after updating it again to 3.1.0.
So i will have to factory reset it again to make itwork properly?
And do i have to do it every time i update my TWRP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the stock boot is always checking of /data is encrypted or not.
if /data is not encrypted, it will start encrypting while booting.
decrypt key is not known.

Testerofroms said:
wipe /date and /cache
---------- Post added at 17:49 ---------- Previous post was at 17:46 ----------
the stock boot is always checking of /data is encrypted or not.
if /data is not encrypted, it will start encrypting while booting.
decrypt key is not known.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the help but one more question is that will this happen again if i dont update my TWRP? Or only while updating it encrypts the data?
Sorry for all the noob questions. I am not so techy guy so these things are new to me

Prayas29 said:
Thanks for the help but one more question is that will this happen again if i dont update my TWRP? Or only while updating it encrypts the data?
Sorry for all the noob questions. I am not so techy guy so these things are new to me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will never have access to /data with TWRP,
if you can not provide the correct password.
This password is set by the manufacturer and not public yet.
If you boot the system you will have access to /data.
If you boot the TWRP you will not have access to /data.
This is not related to any update..

Testerofroms said:
You will never have access to /data with TWRP,
if you can not provide the correct password.
This password is set by the manufacturer and not public yet.
If you boot the system you will have access to /data.
If you boot the TWRP you will not have access to /data.
This is not related to any update..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But i used to wipe my cache and do flash ROMs earlier and it never said unable to mount storage. It started doing this recently

Prayas29 said:
But i used to wipe my cache and do flash ROMs earlier and it never said unable to mount storage. It started doing this recently
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe me or read the other threads regarding default encrypting Android versions..
/cache is cache
/data is all your userdata and apps
/system is the os
/boot is bootloader
/recovery is the TWRP
there are more mountpoints, you can see them if you click on mount in TWRP.
I wrote /data encrypted and you wrote /cache wiping.

Testerofroms said:
Believe me or read the other threads regarding default encrypting Android versions..
/cache is cache
/data is all your userdata and apps
/system is the os
/boot is bootloader
/recovery is the TWRP
I wrote /data and you wrote /cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude i meant that how suddenly it happened on its own i used to wipe cache and other stuff but never it has shown the unable to mount storage error thats what i meant i believe you i just want answers

Prayas29 said:
Dude i meant that how suddenly it happened on its own i used to wipe cache and other stuff but never it has shown the unable to mount storage error thats what i meant i believe you i just want answers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also it doesn't ask for any password or anything just says unable to mount storage at the end while wiping cache and dalvik cache. I havn't flashed anything since some time soo can't tell if flashing ROM will work or will it show some error.
But a few months ago NO error was displaying and everything was fine

Prayas29 said:
Also it doesn't ask for any password or anything just says unable to mount storage at the end while wiping cache and dalvik cache. I havn't flashed anything since some time soo can't tell if flashing ROM will work or will it show some error.
But a few months ago NO error was displaying and everything was fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You think, it's perhaps related to TWRP version?
Well then you can boot the version before or another version w/o flashing...
Guide to start TWRP remotely
enable OEM unlocking in developer settings
boot into fastboot mode (power and Volume down)
fastboot boot twrp.img
TWRP chinese version
You need to switch the language away from chinese.
Other TWRP versions are listed here
http://www.hackleaks.in/2017/01/all-about-leeco-le-2-x522-x526-x527.html

Many errors when wiping cache partition in TWRP

Hello,
As stated in the titled I have tried to root my OP 3T and it horribly wrong. First I got the error message telling me it couldn't mount my /system partition. I googled how to fix it and discovered that I had to wipe the partition as it might be corrupt. Just to be sure that it was indeed corrupt. The size was stated as 2913MB but the used space was stated as 1728265MB. I therefor wiped it and tried to boot. Now I couldn't boot into Oxygen OS...The only thing i can boot into was fastboot and recovery. I then tried to install the LineageOS and it worked. I can finally boot to a OS. However when going in the recovery again and wiping the cache I get a slew of errors. Almost all of them are "Error opening: '/data/local/nhsystem/kali-armhf/dev/xxxx' (Not a directory)". There is also one other error: "Unable to mount storage"
How do I fix this?

uptivuptiz said:
First I got the error message telling me it couldn't mount my /system partition.
I therefor wiped it and tried to boot. Now I couldn't boot into Oxygen OS...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
System partition is the OS. So from that fact, it should now be obvious that wiping system (and therefore wiping the OS) will result in not being able to boot to OS.
Not being able to mount system is a little odd. What version TWRP? Current version is typically recommended (currently 3.2.3-1).
You can try in TWRP Wipe section, the "Format data" button. This will often fix corruption issues with data partition (format is not the same as wipe), although I'm not sure how the system partition was affected.

redpoint73 said:
System partition is the OS. So from that fact, it should now be obvious that wiping system (and therefore wiping the OS) will result in not being able to boot to OS.
Not being able to mount system is a little odd. What version TWRP? Current version is typically recommended (currently 3.2.3-1).
You can try in TWRP Wipe section, the "Format data" button. This will often fix corruption issues with data partition (format is not the same as wipe), although I'm not sure how the system partition was affected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using TWRP 3.2.3-1. I tried to format with the "Format data". It seems that I still can't install the OxygenOS. Also the error "Error opening: '/data/local/nhsystem/kali-armhf/dev/xxxx' (Not a directory)" still accurs.
I'm still able to install and run LineageOS.

uptivuptiz said:
I'm using TWRP 3.2.3-1. I tried to format with the "Format data". It seems that I still can't install the OxygenOS. Also the error "Error opening: '/data/local/nhsystem/kali-armhf/dev/xxxx' (Not a directory)" still accurs.
I'm still able to install and run LineageOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Formatting with 3.2.3-1 will remove the encryption footer. It's basically the only build of TWRP you DO NOT want to use! 3.2.3-10 is the latest but that won't reinstate your encryption footer. My advice is this. Flash TWRP 3.2.3-0, format at least /system, /data and /cache from the Wipe/Advanced screen and then Wipe everything for good measure.
Make sure you are in front of your PC when you do this. Back up everything to PC first as formatting will delete everything from Internal Storage. Make sure you have all your Install zips ready to go on your PC. Whn you're done formatting and wiping you can copy the install zips back to Internal Storage and flash OOS full Zip (or Custom ROM).

Dirk said:
Formatting with 3.2.3-1 will remove the encryption footer. It's basically the only build of TWRP you DO NOT want to use! 3.2.3-10 is the latest but that won't reinstate your encryption footer. My advice is this. Flash TWRP 3.2.3-0, format at least /system, /data and /cache from the Wipe/Advanced screen and then Wipe everything for good measure.
Make sure you are in front of your PC when you do this. Back up everything to PC first as formatting will delete everything from Internal Storage. Make sure you have all your Install zips ready to go on your PC. Whn you're done formatting and wiping you can copy the install zips back to Internal Storage and flash OOS full Zip (or Custom ROM).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I will try that when i get time tomorrow. There will come an update.

uptivuptiz said:
Thanks! I will try that when i get time tomorrow. There will come an update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know.
Remember to reboot Recovery once you have 3.2.3-0 installed so that your format operations are carried out with that version.

Dirk said:
Let me know.
Remember to reboot Recovery once you have 3.2.3-0 installed so that your format operations are carried out with that version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have now downgraded TWRP to version 3.2.3-0 and wiped everything. I didn't backup as I don't have anything on there because it's not my main device. After wiping I tried installing OOS again and this time I get the same "Error opening: '/data/local/nhsystem/kali-armhf/dev/xxxx' (Not a directory)" error and now it cant mount the /system partiton again

uptivuptiz said:
I have now downgraded TWRP to version 3.2.3-0 and wiped everything. I didn't backup as I don't have anything on there because it's not my main device. After wiping I tried installing OOS again and this time I get the same "Error opening: '/data/local/nhsystem/kali-armhf/dev/xxxx' (Not a directory)" error and now it cant mount the /system partiton again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not just wiping, You're formatting. Select each of the partitions (Cache/Data/System) and format in each case. (I recommend EXT4 for Data)

Dirk said:
You're not just wiping, You're formatting. Select each of the partitions (Cache/Data/System) and format in each case. (I recommend EXT4 for Data)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. I tried to format all the partitions with EXT4 and tried to install OOS again with a adb sideload. This didn't work and I got an error "adb sideload cannot read 'OnePlus3TOxygen.zip'". So I tried installing it with a OTG adapter and a USB inside TWRP and it worked. OOS is running and working! Thanks for the help
Now I'm just curios as to why I can't sideload...

uptivuptiz said:
Ok. I tried to format all the partitions with EXT4 and tried to install OOS again with a adb sideload. This didn't work and I got an error "adb sideload cannot read 'OnePlus3TOxygen.zip'". So I tried installing it with a OTG adapter and a USB inside TWRP and it worked. OOS is running and working! Thanks for the help
Now I'm just curios as to why I can't sideload...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few possibilities:
1) OnePlus3TOxygen.zip of course isn't the name of the file as downloaded, so i assume you renamed it to something more sensible before trying to sideload? Do you have 'Hide Extensions of known filetypes' selected in Windows Explorer? Could it be that what you ended up with was 'OnePlus3TOxygen.zip.zip', which of course wouldn't work if you were trying to sideload 'OnePlus3TOxygen.zip'?
2) You didn't move your download to your platform-tools folder in adb?
3) You didn't open a CMD window in your platform-tools folder?
Anyway, good that you're back on your feet.

Dirk said:
A few possibilities:
1) OnePlus3TOxygen.zip of course isn't the name of the file as downloaded, so i assume you renamed it to something more sensible before trying to sideload? Do you have 'Hide Extensions of known filetypes' selected in Windows Explorer? Could it be that what you ended up with was 'OnePlus3TOxygen.zip.zip', which of course wouldn't work if you were trying to sideload 'OnePlus3TOxygen.zip'?
2) You didn't move your download to your platform-tools folder in adb?
3) You didn't open a CMD window in your platform-tools folder?
Anyway, good that you're back on your feet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what I did:
Moved the zip file to the platform-tools folder.
Kept the stock name of the zip file.
opened CMD window in platform-tools folder.
I still get the error.

uptivuptiz said:
Here's what I did:
Moved the zip file to the platform-tools folder.
Kept the stock name of the zip file.
opened CMD window in platform-tools folder.
I still get the error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You wouldn't be the first. It's a common issue. You know you can just move the zip to Internal Storage and flash it with TWRP? The Recovery is MTP enabled. Useful to know for future reference. :good:

Best place to ask TWRP questions for Note 9... here or elsewhere?

Getting the following errors when trying to do a full backup on my rooted Exynos Note 9:
"Could not mount /data and unable to find crypto footer."
"Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument)"
"Unable to recreate /data/media folder."
"Unable to mount storage"
"Backup failed. Cleaning Backup Folder."
Please see old thread if you want to see screenshots. Old thread was asking how to update TWRP.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...-3-2-3-0-backup-failing-exynos-note-t4179227/
Edit: I have Magisk Manager installed, too, if that matters

You're trying to back it up on sdcard or internal?

SD card

Did you get the same error if you try to backup into internal storage?

Rosli59564 said:
Did you get the same error if you try to backup into internal storage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same errors when I try internal storage.
(FWIW, when I click "Select Storage", it tells me that the Micro SD card has ~9700 MB free, whereas the Internal Storage shows 0 MB free.)

Better backup everything manually. Then format data from recovery. Or flash official fw, then reflash twrp to try again.

Rosli59564 said:
Better backup everything manually. Then format data from recovery. Or flash official fw, then reflash twrp to try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
Any tips on best software to back up everything manually? Short of making a list...?

Swift backup can backup apps, messages and call logs. Titanium backup is outdated.
Don't forget to backup other files such as pictures into sdcard or pc.

Rosli59564 said:
Swift backup can backup apps, messages and call logs. Titanium backup is outdated.
Don't forget to backup other files such as pictures into sdcard or pc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip on Titanium; I've been using it for years... should have guessed it was outdated.

Rosli59564 said:
Better backup everything manually. Then format data from recovery. Or flash official fw, then reflash twrp to try again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Formatted data from recovery; same error.
Going to try do flash official fw then reflash twrp again, but I'm not sure what difference that will make.
1) Do you think it has anything to do with it being an international version (SM-N960F)?
2) Or because I used Magisk to root it?
3) Should I have wiped data, cache, and/or Dalvik after upgrading TWRP? Can I do those things at *any* point without losing anything?

I'm not really sure what went wrong, so that's just my suggestion. Prior to flash official fw better to ask in corsicanu's offical note 9 trwp thread. Maybe somebody has an idea with the error you're facing.