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How do you COMPLETELY wipe a Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000?

I am looking for a definitive way to COMPLETELY wipe a Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000. I mean the equivalent of doing a full factory restore on a PC. I've noticed that no matter how many times I flash or factory reset that there are still remnants that remain. Files like the license for Titanium Backup, or just miscellaneous files. Is there a way to completely wipe the SD card clean first, then do a fresh flash? I really would like to know that the SD card is completely clean since I've flashed 3-5 different versions of firmware and not one has been stable. I just want a real fresh slate.
Please advise.
Thanks.

setting>privacy>factory data reset. thats what i do...im assuming its a clean sweep.
If you have an sd card you have to reformat that as well.

wfhowell said:
setting>privacy>factory data reset. thats what i do...im assuming its a clean sweep.
If you have an sd card you have to reformat that as well.
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This will not format internal SD. After "factory data reset" you'll need at least to format this one as well.

Sounds like the OP wants to return the phone

Ha, ha. Not even! This is the best phone I've owned to date when it's working properly. I am tired though of it crashing on me. I'll notice I'm not getting calls or email, then I check it and the phone has shut off. I'm also tired of flashing it every week, and spending days trying to get it back to the state I like it. (I wish there were better cloning apps that saved ALL of the settings including how you have the home screens set up, and all system preferences. It sucks having to reconfigure 10 email accounts, among other things.) I'm thinking if I can wipe it and start totally fresh it will help.

Glad to hear that, that's the spirit!
it just that recently we've been getting quite a few anti SGS fans in the mix, and many people are returning their phones.

Yeah, I have no intention of sending back my SGS. The good far outweighs the short list of negative items; those only being lack of flash and a poor battery life.
I just want a stable system! I'm going to keep searching for a fix.

out of the box i performed a full wipe by doing this *2767*3855# (this code applies to all samsung models i think). HTH.

antz88c said:
out of the box i performed a full wipe by doing this *2767*3855# (this code applies to all samsung models i think). Hth.
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thank you sir.

Is there a difference between these three ways of reseting?

odin
best way is odin
do the full odin re-partition with pit
then flash the 3 files.
but you will still need to go into recovery and format the internal sd as pictures will still be safe on the internal sd.

What if you mount the phone as a storage device and "rm -rf" the sd-card(s) ?
Windows users could use cygwin...
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

You may try rebooting your phone and while rebooting holding volume up, home, and power until you enter the factory menu mode. From there select "Format internal SD". That may be what you're looking for?

TMW597 said:
I am looking for a definitive way to COMPLETELY wipe a Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000. I mean the equivalent of doing a full factory restore on a PC. I've noticed that no matter how many times I flash or factory reset that there are still remnants that remain. Files like the license for Titanium Backup, or just miscellaneous files. Is there a way to completely wipe the SD card clean first, then do a fresh flash? I really would like to know that the SD card is completely clean since I've flashed 3-5 different versions of firmware and not one has been stable. I just want a real fresh slate.
Please advise.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
m8 op...this is wat i did may b it will help u.i did the aboue mentioned code.....thts the hard reset.i did tht wiv my sd card in it.so for the sd card i used my pc to format it,,,so now installed the stock firmware and went in the recovery mode ,,ok there i did a data wipe, and a cache wipe ****..ok then reboot and pluged my sd then i did a factory rest to check things wer right.....dammmmmm i lov this phone it never bricks.flash it more than 20 times now.(beware to check the download mode works)i don care for tht too cause u can switch it in down mode by connecting the 4,5 pin thts a simple jitttttttt.and hope this helps cheeeeeeerrrrrzzzzzz.

Actually the easies way to wipe data off the phone is to do the following:
settings\Sd card and phone storage\Format sd card
Hope that this helps!

Same problem in wiping Galaxy Tab
Hello,
I am also completely unable to wipe it properly. downloaded apps (like amazon shopper) remain and function even after formatting internal SD storage, and wiping it like 10 times.
Very disappointing.
Any suggestions more than welcome.
Thanks.

as mentioned above.
boot into recovery > mounts and storage > format system / cache / data / datadata/ sd card.
also do a factory reset, then wipe the dalvik cache.
flash rom thru odin with all 3 files and PIT
that will leave phone completely EMPTY

i thought the factory reset in the CWM should be fine

azzledazzle said:
as mentioned above.
boot into recovery > mounts and storage > format system / cache / data / datadata/ sd card.
also do a factory reset, then wipe the dalvik cache.
flash rom thru odin with all 3 files and PIT
that will leave phone completely EMPTY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done that with the phone and its really empty cause it wont even start haha so what do i do now? how can i install somethin on it?

Personally I copy everything from my internal sd card on my pc into a samsung folder with that days date.
Then I then delete everything off the internal sd card.
From there I boot into recovery & format sd card. Then I do a factory reset, clear cache, clear dalvik cache and thats it. Everything gone. Now at least if I discover there is something I need missing I have it ready on my pc.
This saved me when I flashed an ICS Rom & lost my IMEI number. There it was sitting on my pc ready to go.
If you have flashed with Odin using the 3 files & the pit file with re-partition checked I've found that I often end up with the phone not starting. Usually a 2nd flash with the 3 files without the PIT file and re-partition unchecked and my phone is then fine.

[Q] Cleaning up the system?

I have flashed a bunch of different ROMs lately. I always wipe cache, dalvik and do a factory reset but maybe it may no longer be enough. Currently, my phone is rooted with Cocore and CWM. I am thinking about going to CM11. Last time I tried that, I noticed some stuff during setup was overlooked because it already seemed to be there. So I think some bits and pieces are left in the phone. Therefore, I want to "scrub" it before trying another ROM (thinking CM11 this time). I know the CM kernel comes with it.
questions:
1) Can I just mount and reformat system, data, cache and preload to clear everything out before flashing a new ROM?
2) Will the kernel be protected (in this case is CoCore) after reformating or should I worry about it?
3) When I flash the original stock 4.1.2 from Odin, does it completely reformat everything when it loads onto the system?

corvus.corax said:
I have flashed a bunch of different ROMs lately. I always wipe cache, dalvik and do a factory reset but maybe it may no longer be enough. Currently, my phone is rooted with Cocore and CWM. I am thinking about going to CM11. Last time I tried that, I noticed some stuff during setup was overlooked because it already seemed to be there. So I think some bits and pieces are left in the phone. Therefore, I want to "scrub" it before trying another ROM (thinking CM11 this time). I know the CM kernel comes with it.
questions:
1) Can I just mount and reformat system, data, cache and preload to clear everything out before flashing a new ROM?
2) Will the kernel be protected (in this case is CoCore) after reformating or should I worry about it?
3) When I flash the original stock 4.1.2 from Odin, does it completely reformat everything when it loads onto the system?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some information are stored on internal SD memory. Maybe it was there. Try to delete it. Backup SD to PC, format it - do factory reset and see if it is happening again.

shut_down said:
Some information are stored on internal SD memory. Maybe it was there. Try to delete it. Backup SD to PC, format it - do factory reset and see if it is happening again.
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Click to collapse
If I backup the internal SD card to the PC and then restore after a reformat, won't the offending bits come back again?

corvus.corax said:
If I backup the internal SD card to the PC and then restore after a reformat, won't the offending bits come back again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not tell you to restore it. Keep it on PC, in case you need some of data from there. Maybe you erase some picture that you need or something like that. And not to blame me later. :fingers-crossed:

Custom recovery lost?

Hey guys so i backed up my v20b stock software via cwm and thought that it was going to be stored in some kind of internal storage forever (like cwm itself), but now i realised that after i done factory reset it is probably gone ) Is there a way to create a recovery file for cwm to restore to v20b?Or could i use some elses file?

Your backup is in the internal memory, unless you format or wipe it specifically factory reset will not erase it.
In development section there are a few roms based on official v20b ou can flash thhose if you can't find your backup

Rudjgaard said:
Your backup is in the internal memory, unless you format or wipe it specifically factory reset will not erase it.
In development section there are a few roms based on official v20b ou can flash thhose if you can't find your backup
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Click to collapse
i had 2 backups on stock and i didn't delete any of them, just did the factory reset once. When i go to recovery mode CWM doesn't find any backups on internal storage...So where did they go?

Mount usb storage from recovery and check the cwm folder they should be in there unless you did "wipe data"

did you install any 4.2.2+ rom? if you did, your cwm is reading the "wrong" folder for backups. it's reading under data/media/0/whatevercwmbackupfolderis, instead of data/media/whatevercwmbackupfolderis

Go into custom recovery and select "Restore Back-up". It will work. I had the same problem .

Yeah, i also did wipe data/cache/dalvik/(as you do) before installing 4.4.2 , no backups in data/media/cwm, so i guess my backups are gone?

No, wipe data doesn't wipe internal storage, if formats everything except data/media which is where backups are
You must specifically select "format internal storage" to loose your backups
Is other stuff you had on internal sd still present?

they have to be there, unless you formatted internal sd. try searching around more with file browsers, sorry i cant be of more help

Rudjgaard said:
No, wipe data doesn't wipe internal storage, if formats everything except data/media which is where backups are
You must specifically select "format internal storage" to loose your backups
Is other stuff you had on internal sd still present?
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Click to collapse
no, but i do factory reset every time. Rom manager doesn't find anything, as well as cwm in recovery mode. Searched every CWM,DATA,BACKUP folder, nothing there.
i searched with ES file explorer with root access (i even created a new backup to be 100% sure root access is on, the new backup appeared in data/media). Btw, how much internal storage is there after factory reset? Because with Beanstalk i get 11,8 of 12,2, i was sure those 400mb where my software backups....

Deleted internal storage in TWRP. Need Help.

I deleted the internal storage on my phone in twrp. What can I do to get everything back?

I think you're boned. Unless there is a way to pull the deleted data using software on a PC.

Fastboot factory IMG. Or use rom tool kit to flash a factory image. There is an option in twrp to connect to the PC where you can transfer files. You could always load a rom that way and flash a zip through twrp

As said above, you can still install a ROM. Or flash a factory image etc. But the data (pictures, videos, music etc) is gone. It was formatted and not likely able to be recovered. I assumed that's what you meant, when you asked to "Get everything back"?

My sad sad self went and did this. Still in TWRP. I've mounted system, data, and cache. I see the Nexus 6 in Windows 7 and see Internal Storage; it's empty. I cannot create new folders or copy files (ROMs, GApps, zips, etc) into Internal Storage without getting "The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected." I cannot for the life of me find another way to push files to the phone.. Any help is greatly appreciated!
- b
EDIT: Is it still possible for me to follow Mr. Hoax's Tut through bootloader? (I'm really nervous to try and reboot into BL) It says I don't have an OS (obviously) when I get to the confirm reboot of TWRP...

boruko said:
My sad sad self went and did this. Still in TWRP. I've mounted system, data, and cache. I see the Nexus 6 in Windows 7 and see Internal Storage; it's empty. I cannot create new folders or copy files (ROMs, GApps, zips, etc) into Internal Storage without getting "The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected." I cannot for the life of me find another way to push files to the phone.. Any help is greatly appreciated!
- b
EDIT: Is it still possible for me to follow Mr. Hoax's Tut through bootloader? (I'm really nervous to try and reboot into BL) It says I don't have an OS (obviously) when I get to the confirm reboot of TWRP...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try formatting user data first

simms22 said:
try formatting user data first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're referring to TWRP, correct? Wipe->Format Data? I have done this but am unsure how to proceed... I still cannot seem to get files to copy onto Internal Storage...
EDIT: I got a ROM, GApps and SU to stick to Storage!!! Gonna try to install now.
SUCCESSSSSSSSSS!!!! WOOOOOO! Totally gonna try to update to 5.1 again haha Thank you thank you thank you @simms22!

Well, i have the same problem now.. unable to copy anything to the internal storage.
TWRP is opening fine though.. what should i do??

Mystique_Myth said:
Well, i have the same problem now.. unable to copy anything to the internal storage.
TWRP is opening fine though.. what should i do??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
simms22 said:
try formatting user data first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks!
This thread and this trick
try formatting user data first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Saved my...
Nexus 6
Tip: it will not allow to format user data right after deletion!
You will need to restart recovery and only after that it will format the user data!

TWRP 3 for droid turbo

OK other phone I had has external SD card. When I wiped data it wiped internal SD completely. Since turbo has no external SD, will it wipe completely or just Android file data and preserve other files on internal SD. If it does wipe internal SD completely how would you flash ROM? Thanks for any advice.

newbe1droidx said:
OK other phone I had has external SD card. When I wiped data it wiped internal SD completely. Since turbo has no external SD, will it wipe completely or just Android file data and preserve other files on internal SD. If it does wipe internal SD completely how would you flash ROM? Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That depends on what kind of wipe you do. If you do a factory reset in TWRP, it will not wipe your user data (downloads, music, everything else in /data/media/0 or /sdcard). However, if you select Format Data, or you pick Internal Storage in the advanced wipe menu, all of your user data will be wiped. Usually, a factory reset is all you need after flashing roms, so you don't have to worry about losing photos/music/etc.

Great thanks for the fast reply. OK other phone was sgs3. Sometimes when flashing and then running new ROM it seemed the settings stayed the same as previous ROM. Devs would have you format data for clean install. How would that work on this droid turbo?

I also wiped data and it wiped my internal storage. I thought maybe I had wiped internal storage accidentally or did something else wrong but this leads me to believe I didn't do anything wrong. Back to the previous version that worked for us? (I think it was 2.8.7)
Edit: I just read that choosing to format data will also format internal storage, but a factory reset which "wipes data" does not touch the internal storage. This is a little confusing if you aren't familiar with how everything is partitioned. Is internal storage actually on the data partition?
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

If I have the ROM and gapps on internal SD and format data I loose ROM and gapps right? Then how would you install ROM? Second if I delete Android file on internal SD would that make it a clean install? But other files would still remain. Just trying to understand so I don't brick or can't get ROM on. Thanks

SpyderPride said:
I also wiped data and it wiped my internal storage. I thought maybe I had wiped internal storage accidentally or did something else wrong but this leads me to believe I didn't do anything wrong. Back to the previous version that worked for us? (I think it was 2.8.7)
Edit: I just read that choosing to format data will also format internal storage, but a factory reset which "wipes data" does not touch the internal storage. This is a little confusing if you aren't familiar with how everything is partitioned. Is internal storage actually on the data partition?
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the internal storage is on the data partition. When you do a factory reset with TWRP and you read the script as it executes, it says something like "wiping /data without wiping /data/media." Doing the factory reset wipes everything on /data except /data/media, which is where your user data lives. So what gets wiped is all of the user apps and the data generated by the system apps, but your user data is preserved.
It makes sense that wiping data would wipe everything. I think having separate boxes for data and internal storage is to account for someone who might install an older version of android that is partitioned differently. I can't remember when the change happened, but at one point, the user data and app data were kept on separate partitions. I think that user data lived on /sdcard and apps lived on /data. That's why you see the /sdcard folder as a symlink when you go exploring with a root browser. It's symlinked to /data/media/0 to maintain backwards compatibility with older apps that are expecting /sdcard to exist.

Thanks st33v. My last phone had a /sdcard partition separate from /data so I think that is where the misperception came from. It also had /sdcard2, which was an actual SD card.
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Yep my thinking too. You guys are great! Cleared it up.

If you wipe all your files simply use twrp and connect it to the PC. You can drag the files over for flashing.

mrkhigh said:
If you wipe all your files simply use twrp and connect it to the PC. You can drag the files over for flashing.
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Awesome I was wondering if you could do that...