I've been wanting to ask this question forever, but havent and just dealt with it. Never experimented either.
When using TWRP to flash a new rom do i have to wipe my internal storage? Does that really ruin the flash? Again, never tried it id just rather ask. Its annoying to transfer my music and large files. Every time i flash a new rom i wipe everything and have to move the 12 gigs of files i enjoy using on my phone pretty often. So if i dont have to wipe them out every time that would be awesome to know.
Nope.
OcazPrime said:
I've been wanting to ask this question forever, but havent and just dealt with it. Never experimented either.
When using TWRP to flash a new rom do i have to wipe my internal storage? Does that really ruin the flash? Again, never tried it id just rather ask. Its annoying to transfer my music and large files. Every time i flash a new rom i wipe everything and have to move the 12 gigs of files i enjoy using on my phone pretty often. So if i dont have to wipe them out every time that would be awesome to know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never wiped my internal storage when flashing a new rom
sakumaxp said:
I've never wiped my internal storage when flashing a new rom
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Click to collapse
+1 never wiped my internal storage
It's definitely not needed to wipe internal storage, nor do I recommend so; at least not every time. Some folks like to wipe it once in a while, to get rid of extraneous folders and files created by some custom ROMs, old (no longer used) apps, etc. Some folks might even do it frequently, but that is just their obsessiveness. But it's definitely not a requirement to do so.
I've flashed dozens and dozens (maybe hundreds) of ROMs on various Android devices over the years. I've never once wiped internal storage when doing so, that I can recall.
Think about it, on this device the internal storage is the only place TWRP can create a backup (since there is no removable SD slot). So if you made a backup before flashing a ROM (which I highly recommend), then wiped internal storage (to flash the ROM) you would be wiping out the backup you just made. Sure, you can copy a TWRP backup to your computer, than move it back to the phone after you wipe. But that is just a lot of hoops to jump through for little reason, and really not how the TWRP backup/restore feature is intended to be used.
If you look at the TWRP wipe screen, the default wipe just consists of user data (apps and settings ... /media is not touched), cache and Dalvik. And it says right there on the screen that most of the time, this is the only wipe you will need. It says that for a reason. Some folks may choose to go above and beyond, but that is just their choice (again, not a requirement).
On the other hand, it is good to routinely backup any files on your internal storage (that are important to you) to an off-phone location like your computer or cloud. Just in case something gets wipe unintentionally. But you can for the most part, save yourself the steps of wiping internal data and moving those files back to your phone every time you flash a ROM.
Related
Right now I'm using CM 6.1.1 on my Nexus One. When I flashed CM for the first time I wiped my SD card right after I installed the ROM, so I really don't remember too much about what happened to my apps or anything like that. So, my question is, if I want to install CM 7, can I just wipe my phone with ROM manager right before installing it, and then not wipe my SD card afterwards? Will the apps, pictures, ect., that is on my SD card right now magically appear untouched on CM 7? I guess I'm just not sure how the SD card contents will be affected when flashing ROMs, and I'm not sure if after you flash a new ROM, the ROM can use all of the stuff that's on your SD card just like the ROM you had before did.. Does that kinda make sense? I feel dumb for asking all this. Also, when I save a backup of my ROM, the backup will just be a copy of all of my phone's internal memory and the operating system, right? And when I wipe my phone and install a new ROM, the new ROM just replaces all of my phone's old contents? So if I ever flashed my original ROM again, it'd bring back all of my phone's contents, system memory, operating system, apps installed on the phone, ect?
Thanks for taking the time to read my long, poorly written batch of questions Help would be very very appreciated!
SD card isn't touched when flashing ROMs.
You can restore your backup and it'll be all like it was.
If you use DT A2SD - things start being more complicated.
Yumunum said:
can I just wipe my phone with ROM manager right before installing it, and then not wipe my SD card afterwards?
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Click to collapse
Yes, you can leave your SD contents as is, they won't be touched.
Will the apps, pictures, ect., that is on my SD card right now magically appear untouched on CM 7?
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Click to collapse
Pictures, Music, Videos etc that are stored on the SD card will remain untouched by flashing a new ROM, however apps are a different story. Basically you've got two main types of Apps on SD cards. The first is froyos implementation which is basically used to free up space on the phone memory but will not survive a wipe or flashing a new ROM. The alternative is Dark Tremors A2SD which uses a dedicated partition on your SD card (Created through recovery) to store apps by tricking the system into thinking the folder on your SD card is actually on internal memory. Once a new ROM is installed over the current (Which obviously must use DT A2SD also) these apps should be available again with their settings etc remaining.
I guess I'm just not sure how the SD card contents will be affected when flashing ROMs, and I'm not sure if after you flash a new ROM, the ROM can use all of the stuff that's on your SD card just like the ROM you had before did
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, all data/media remains but apps require A2SD or its variants.
Also, when I save a backup of my ROM, the backup will just be a copy of all of my phone's internal memory and the operating system, right?
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Click to collapse
When you backup/nandroid you take a screenshot of sorts of your system. By default I think most recovery images save the boot, system, data and cache partitions when a backup is being made. Certain recoveries offer to backup other partitions such as sd-ext (Where A2SD stores the apps). Backups are designated by folders with a time stamp, I personally rename these to reflect the contents e.g. MM.v.20 tells me this is MicroMods v.20 of his GB ROM. Obviously yours will differ but I find this keeps things organised. Basically think of nandroid as the Android equivalent of Acronis true image or Norton Ghost for the PC. It lets you create any number of backups which will restore your device to the exact state at the moment of backup.
And when I wipe my phone and install a new ROM, the new ROM just replaces all of my phone's old contents?
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Click to collapse
A newly flashed ROM will basically restore your device to factory settings but on the new ROM. Once you've signed in to your Google account certain settings and content will be automatically downloaded e.g. Calendar appointments, Contacts. Other settings will not be restored e.g. Display brightness, alarms.
So if I ever flashed my original ROM again, it'd bring back all of my phone's contents, system memory, operating system, apps installed on the phone, ect?
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Click to collapse
Nope, again it would return to the factory settings. However you can restore nandroid backups you have made of your original ROM which would return the system exactly to its previous state.
Basically if you're on a stock ROM it won't have A2SD. If you wish to use A2SD from now on then find a ROM which uses it, partition your SD card appropriately (Plenty of guides around) and you'll have minimal problems moving from ROM to ROM. As for Nandroid you'll find that most ROM devs recommend wiping all data from the phone (Not SD card) before flashing their ROM. Otherwise files or settings from other ROMs can cause some undesired effects on your current one.
Good luck and get reading the Nexus wiki, it's very helpful for these types of questions
Note: For some reason I vaguely remember someone noting that Froyos A2SD can be used to move apps to another ROM or at least the base app itself (If not the individual setup/settings) but I can't seem to find any info after a quick Google and it never interested me enough to look into it further. Perhaps someone can clear this up?
Hollow.Droid said:
Note: For some reason I vaguely remember someone noting that Froyos A2SD can be used to move apps to another ROM or at least the base app itself (If not the individual setup/settings)
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I dont think thats true.. suppose it's formatted during a wipe.. titanium backup serves the purpose like a charm.. (with all the settings for the apps and the resumes for the games)
Sent from my Nexus One
I have a similar question to the OP. I use a 1GB EXT through DT's A2SD. If I wanted to flash a new ROM would the following be my step-checklist?
1 - Nand backup (just in case)
2 - Backup apps with Titanium
3 - wipe system data & cache
4 - flash new rom
5 - restore apps?
I'm just wondering what the procedure is to keep the apps in A2SD on a new flash without re-setting up.
Wiggz said:
I have a similar question to the OP. I use a 1GB EXT through DT's A2SD. If I wanted to flash a new ROM would the following be my step-checklist?
1 - Nand backup (just in case)
2 - Backup apps with Titanium
3 - wipe system data & cache
4 - flash new rom
5 - restore apps?
I'm just wondering what the procedure is to keep the apps in A2SD on a new flash without re-setting up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah that would be fine..
btw 1: if you upgrading a cm nightly, you need not wipe system n cache..
2: if you do a titanium backup before, then you can finish all the steps in the recovery in one go..
n I dint quite get what you are asking. but from what I know, apps 2 sd folder (ie android.secure) is erased in a wipe.. that isnt changing
Sent from my Nexus One
shreyas - thanks for your help.
I understand the A2SD (EXT) partition onthe sd will be wiped, but I'm assuming I would have to do nothing to get the new rom to see the ext and use it?
That's really my question. Would recovering my apps from Titanium push them back on the A2SD location or would I need to install A2SD again?
i don't think so..
I suppose that the pro version must support the direct a2sd.. but give it a try.. if it dosent work then you have do manually..
Sent from my Nexus One
Ok, long story short, I have 113MB of 'system data' in my /datadata folder (66% full), and I want it gone.
But I can't get rid of it... I've tried a full clean install, I've tried manually formatting /datadata from CWM, and I've also tried formatting boot, cache, data, datadata, and system from CWM followed by a fresh install (Kang 12/17).
My wife has the same phone and ROM and she only has 26% full in /datadata. I can't - for the life of me - figure out how to completely clean /datadata.
One thing I noticed in terminal emulator is that the data in /data and /datadata is about equal to what is listed in /system. However, formatting /system did not clear it out.
Please help as this is driving me insane!
Isn't datadata based on your apps? Like dalvik? I think ur wife just has less apps.
mbc663 said:
Isn't datadata based on your apps? Like dalvik? I think ur wife just has less apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought so to, but even with no apps (nothing but what comes with the ROM) I have 3x what she has... and she has what comes with the ROM plus all her other apps.
If it does have to do exclusively with the apps, I'm more than willing to do everything step by step to figure out which app(s) cause my issue, but in order to do that I need to be able to clear the folder of everything except what true system data is necessary and start from square 1.
/datadata is apps settings and data. A little more info might help...
b-eock said:
/datadata is apps settings and data. A little more info might help...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of info do you need, and I'll try and supply it. I'm trying to do a clean install so that all of those app settings and data are starting from scratch. Factory resets didn't do it, formatting the folders through CWM didn't do it...
I must be missing something... but I can't figure out what it is.
Some basic background:
Most recently on the 12/17 Kang (CM7.2 RC0) with the glitch v13 (2.6.35.13) kernel and Gapps 08/28
For the just completed testing I only flashed Gapps (08/28) and the 12/17 Kang so I could see if anything I did worked on clearing /datadata.
Other than that, the only modification I've done to my phone is the modem is KG3 i9000.
Have u tried Titanium Backup Pro app ??
4-2ndtwin said:
Have u tried Titanium Backup Pro app ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't... I have the free version currently. Would the pro version do all of this stuff?
The free version should do for deleting data and removing apps.
Sent by XDA Premium App
I'll go out out on a limb here but try backing up your sd card and formatting it?
mbc663 said:
I'll go out out on a limb here but try backing up your sd card and formatting it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had thought of that too... once formatted and I reinstall the ROM and stuff, is it easy enough to just copy those folders back on the phone? That was the one thing I was worried about... and thus I hadn't tried yet.
Formatting always makes me nervous
Are you encountering any issues with it being that full? Or is this just to satisfy your ocd?
theyurtingyeti said:
I had thought of that too... once formatted and I reinstall the ROM and stuff, is it easy enough to just copy those folders back on the phone? That was the one thing I was worried about... and thus I hadn't tried yet.
Formatting always makes me nervous
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As simple as dragging and dropping files. Also nice to start fresh every once in a while to clear out junk from old apps.
I'm getting ready to format my SDcard and start all over... but if I format my SD card, I'll no longer have my ROM zips there to flash. I put the ROMs on my external SD card (emmc), but in CWM I can't mount emmc to make sure they are there to flash when I format my SDCard...
How do I get my ROM flashed again once I format my SD card?
EDIT:
Doing more research it appears that I should be able to format my SD card w/o losing my ROM as long as I leave my boot and system folders alone.
So, if I format /data, /datadata, and /sdcard I should be able to reboot and see if it worked
studacris said:
Are you encountering any issues with it being that full? Or is this just to satisfy your ocd?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am encountering issues with it being that full. I have like 70 apps with approx 38MB of data taken up... combined with the large amount of 'system data' in the /datadata partition I'm running into the issues when that folder gets to 90% capacity.
It's at the point that I can't install new apps that save any data at all or I will have to constantly shuffle which apps can save their data. Doing research I found that the 172MB cap shouldn't be an issue unless you are hording apps... I have a small number of apps with a small amount of data, so things should be better
Thanks for all the suggestions...
But so far nothing has worked.
I formatted the SD card along with data and datadata and rebooted the phone.
My /datadata folder was still listed at 66% full. So formatting nearly everything still couldn't clear this folder.
I'm still boggled why the other captivate started with 8MB system data and I start with 113MB, both on a clean install...
Perhaps my only hope is to clear stuff out again and flash ICS and hope that something is different enough that this 'problem' goes away...
An additional thought
Would I be able to delete the /datadata folder through Root Explorer, reboot into recovery and reflash the ROM?
I would assume the ROM will repartition the phone correctly. System data can't exist in a folder that doesn't exist - right?
Ok too many Custom ROMS out there and too many choices to make. But every ROM is optimized for different BB, other for V20l,other for m,q,o etc.
Everytime you need to change BB using smartflash, your Internal SD gets erased. So, you need to take the looooong backup way of your data (for me 3GB) before u do the flash.
Is there any way to flash BB without erasing anything or just the standard wipe (/system, /cache, /data)?
You may not like this answer.
To flash a baseband without losing your (internal) SD-card contents, you just... flash it.
I've seen many people claim it erases your internal SD, I think that stems from a post over at Modaco which states it. It is not true, unless our devices magically behave differently.
If you flash an entire ROM, using the .bin file, then yes, it overwrites the internal SD. Flashing only the .fls-file, it does not. (It does erase /data however, so you need to backup anyway.)
Yes it's very fast.. Backup in cwm, flash your bb, reboot in recovery and restore: 10 minutes job. And your internal SD is untouched.
But you know, I changed only three times my BB, in 10 months, even if I have flashed many roms, and I'm not sure I should really had to, because each time I had no problem before flashing...
My best advice is to flash the ROM you want, use your phone, and change BB only if you have real problems after a few days.
BB is 'only' a low level driver sets for radio chips, it's not a magical hidden malicious wizard.
So I know when flashing roms sometimes it will erase the SD Card, Okay well I forgot about 5 pictures I had taken and was like oh well, so when I went to go load all my stuff back on it, My SD card is empty but it says 6GB is being used, which is about right what it was but there are NO files on it... Where are the files??? Using Root explorer and show hidden stuff on the computer still dont know where the files are at....
did you flash a 4.2 rom?
I wanted to try out cm mod. Then went back to stock 4.2.2 I don't care if I lost some stuff. But its Stikl there but I can't see it.
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
i know that your suppose to wipe before flashing a 4.2 rom.
the file system is in a different spot so it leaves the old system there.
I do not know how to get back the free space beside formating and reflashing the system.
xile6 said:
i know that your suppose to wipe before flashing a 4.2 rom.
the file system is in a different spot so it leaves the old system there.
I do not know how to get back the free space beside formating and reflashing the system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive already formatted system and it still shows stuff stored there.
Not to sure then.
Only had the phone for a week so haven't gotten use to the file system yet.
I just know it's set up different from other phones.
I had the same experience also... what I did was I went to CWM recovery and format /sdcard and I did wipe user data/factory reset...
This was happened when I flashed 4.2.2 onto 4.1.2 without wiping anything....
transfer everything from your sdcard to your computer then format sdcard in cwm and transfer your files back and they should be in the right place
Ive got the same problem. Stock rom never rooted, "OTHER" in storage taking up 6.7GB.
I have looked at clearing junk files with CLEAN MASTER app but my cache files only takes up 33mb.
Did anyone look what "OTHER" in storage was when they got their brand new phone? Does Sense 5 really takes up over 6GB?
EDIT:
A few people confirmed that the phone have about 26GB of space out of 32GB brand new, so yeah Sense 5 DOES take about 6GB of space!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2265598
Hi guys, I'm thinking about flashing Resurrection Remix on my OP3T.
Since I have about 6gb of music & pictures, I'd like to make a Nandroid backup of them, then flash RR, GApps and then the pictures and music.
So my question: Is it possible to take a nandroid backup (or similar backups using TWRP) of only selected folders, since copying to my PC takes much longer.
Thanks!
Pictures and music are typically saved on the internal storage, which doesn't get backed up by a nandroid. The internal storage is untouched during a ROM flash, and the pictures and music should remain. Internal storage would only be affected, if you specifically go into the TWRP "Advanced" Wipe options, and select to wipe internal storage. So just make sure you don't do that (the default wipe is normally all that is needed - cache, Dalvik and user data). Remember that TWRP backups are also saved on the internal storage, so it would be crazy for storage to be wiped as default during a ROM flash (you wouldn't have a way to retain any nandroids).
I would still suggest backing up your pics and music to your PC (just connect the phone, and copy and paste the files) before flashing a ROM; as things don't always go as they should, and it's always good to backup anything important to you, to an "off phone" location. Some folks may think this is a bit paranoid, but better safe than sorry, and IMO it's worth taking the extra few minutes.
redpoint73 said:
Pictures and music are typically saved on the internal storage, which doesn't get backed up by a nandroid. The internal storage is untouched during a ROM flash, and the pictures and music should remain. Internal storage would only be affected, if you specifically go into the TWRP "Advanced" Wipe options, and select to wipe internal storage. So just make sure you don't do that (the default wipe is normally all that is needed - cache, Dalvik and user data). Remember that TWRP backups are also saved on the internal storage, so it would be crazy for storage to be wiped as default during a ROM flash (you wouldn't have a way to retain any nandroids).
I would still suggest backing up your pics and music to your PC (just connect the phone, and copy and paste the files) before flashing a ROM; as things don't always go as they should, and it's always good to backup anything important to you, to an "off phone" location. Some folks may think this is a bit paranoid, but better safe than sorry, and IMO it's worth taking the extra few minutes.
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Click to collapse
Ok thank you very much! Sometimes thinking over problems solves them really fast *facepalm*
t-to4st said:
Ok thank you very much! Sometimes thinking over problems solves them really fast *facepalm*
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Click to collapse
No worries. It's confusing to think about. I once saw a person post that nandroids include internal storage, and since that is where nandroids are saved, you actually get nandroids within nandroids. I had to respond that it doesn't work that way!