Database Info

Dead Cap.

Wondering if anyone can think of anything I can try before returning the phone this afternoon.
What happened:
Yesterday, I rebooted the phone because a prog had hung and wasn't responding to force quitting via Applications. When I tried to turn it on, it didn't respond -- zilch. I plugged it in and tried a few times to turn it on over the next hour with no luck. Finally it started to boot and hung at the ATT screen, but after sitting there for a min, horizontal lines appeared across the screen. Tried again over the next hours with the same result.
Left the battery out overnight. A few minutes ago, I tried it again and it actually got past the ATT screens, but after the Samsung logo sequence was done it hung on the blank screen. The phone is rooted and clockworkmoded, so I tried to boot into recovery to do a nandroid restore. No dice: I get an error about not being able to write/read to the sdcard.
So at the black screen, I can shell into the phone. Can't SU (seg fault). Can't get to the internal SD storage (which is all I really want at this pt. I took a bunch of awesome pics while surfing yesterday and want em).
It looks to me like there is some sort of corruption of the internal storage. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

From the looks of it your nand crapped out...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Yeah thats what I'm thinking.
This does highlight a flaw in the storage setup: having internal storage like the iphone is seriously awesome from the usability standpoint. But android is set up to assume that when you back up, it's to a removable card. So I have a Ti backup, but that doesnt help me if I can't get to it if the phone dies.
Seriously bummed. I've had a really crazy # of dead iphones (like 6 over two models -- its one of the reasons I finally switched) but the upside was that when it was switched out I was rocking all my stuff on the new phone within an hour. With this, I'm now starting from scratch.

FWIW: I got the phone working again by wiping user data and reformatting the internal storage. I'm guessing that there was something corrupted.
Here's the warning I'd offer though: Ti backups etc do you no good if they're on the same file system as the phone boots off of. I was backing up regularly, but since they were on the internal drive that did me no good. Unless I'm missing something, Ti doesn't allow you to choose a location (just a folder name) for backups.

if it lets you choose a folder name then choose sdcard/sd that is where the phone's linux mounts your external SD Card.
Also I keep my Titanium backups and Nandroids on my Computer for extra safety.

[Q] Swapping Captivates

I know the contacts, call and text logs, apps, app settings and data, etc. will all be wrong but can I swap Captivates with a friend by simply swapping SIM cards? i.e. our phone number and plan and data plans move to each others phone.
If so, can all that other stuff be Titanum Backed up to the external sd and then restored on the proper phone?

Yeah, it will work just fine. The only thing that will change is your IMEI, this will only be an issue if you try to file a warranty or insurance claim.

Both Captivate accounts are on the AT&T network so I'm supposing the IMEI is not an issue except as you say for warranty purposes and whos name is on the account for that particular phone IMEI.
What about doing the Titanium Backup on each phone to the SD card then after swapping the SD cards doing a restore to the phone? Will Titanium Backup complain that the backup file doesn't match the phone?

rscheller said:
I know the contacts, call and text logs, apps, app settings and data, etc. will all be wrong but can I swap Captivates with a friend by simply swapping SIM cards? i.e. our phone number and plan and data plans move to each others phone.
If so, can all that other stuff be Titanum Backed up to the external sd and then restored on the proper phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that it really matters, but why are you switching Captivates? What's the advantage of trading the same phone?

Well, they're not really the same phones since my friends phone is stock Eclair and mine is unofficial Froyo with root and lag fix.
My friend is very impressed with the speed of my phone compared to his but is afraid of bricking his phone and/or losing all his apps and data. So I thought rather than chance it with OS updates and such, maybe just a swap of SIM cards (and data and such) would let him try it for a few days to see if it's worth the chance.

If you have titanium backup folder on your external card no problem. I have 2 captivates that I swap back and forth ever so often and never have an issue with tibu restoring.

Since you are running different ROMs, do not back up and restore ANY system data with TiBu after the switch. I would just flash his phone for him. He will be able to restore all his apps and if he's using Google to sync he can easily get his data back. You're really complicating things by swapping phones.

Miami_Son said:
Since you are running different ROMs, do not back up and restore ANY system data with TiBu after the switch. I would just flash his phone for him. He will be able to restore all his apps and if he's using Google to sync he can easily get his data back. You're really complicating things by swapping phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Just flash his phone to the official Froyo rom for him (after backing up everything that can be backed up and restored from 2.1 to 2.2), if it messes up, he can always go get another phone from AT&T as a warranty replacement... Rooting and the Lagfix isn't very risky so he really has nothing to worry about there, most of the big issues come with installing custom roms/recoveries...

Fixing "android.process.media" Errors

Phone: HTC Inspire 4G
OS: Android 2.3.3
ROM: CyanogenMod 7
Through trail and error, running into many "android.process.media" errors, I was finally able to clean it all up and the errors are now gone!
This error seems to stem from a few factors. 1) Google Apps being downloaded by the phone once logged in and 2) running backup/restore programs (Titanium Backup). It seems that the OS has issues with identifying certain things, so when the phone is downloading them automatically, and while at the same time you're using an app restore method too, the kernels get messed up causing the errors to start. It corrupts the Media Card in the process of reinstalling apps manually when the phone on your Google account is already downloading them too. Only thing to do is let your Google account (market place) restore your apps first. Once done, install other apps. My best bet was to have a clean, reformatted MicroSD card and a fresh install of CM 7. No other way to do it.
This can also be avoided by unticking the box that asks if you want Google to reinstall your apps. Only shows up on a fresh install of CM7.
Now, because the MicroSD Card will be re-formatted, this is a great time to know that your phone won't lose the OS since its internally in the phones memory, but you will lose your contacts and other data again, but easily comes back one you sync your phone to Google Contacts. So anything you have on your SD Card, Back it up externally (preferably pictures, video, etc) But I will exercise a thought to anyone who keeps getting these "android.process.media" errors. Reinstall CyanogenMod 7 (CM7) and clean out Data and Cache, no backup. If you back up both, the CM7 backup will cause errors. A fresh install is preferred.
Sure you might have to sit there reinstalling everything and working your way around stuff, but a clean phone with fresh installs is better than a phone giving you errors. Took me a total of 5 hours to get this right.
Once you have things right, no error messages, back up your ROM and hold on to it.
Since doing this, My phones battery lasts 7-9 hours with no bloatware (carrier apps).
I am only sharing my solution to this problem. So if you are not sure on what to do and/or have bricked your phone, then I am not responsible.
Also, if you believe you might have corrupted your MicroSD Card, I would highly recommend buying the following tools: 1) Kodak SD Card Reader and 2) MicroSD Card Adapter. Cost: $22 at Radioshack. Worth having around because when I thought my SD Card was dead, this little tool was able to restore it and reformat it, especially when I couldn't reformat it from the phone or connected to the PC. Its probably because it piggybacks off the adapter. Worth the money.

[Q] Titanium Backup mishap?

Hi all, been lurking for a while (mostly in the SGS3 Verizon forums though to keep updated on ROMs) and I'm not proud of this being my first post but I have a quick question that I couldn't find a definitive answer to. I got a replacement S3 in the mail today from Verizon as I had problems charging my old phone. Before switching over, I ran a normal batch backup in TiBu and then unrooted/factory reset my old phone so I could send it back tomorrow under warranty. I then rooted my replacement and after installing Titanium Backup again, went to restore all my apps. However, none were to be found.
I'm assuming this is because the backups were made in the internal storage of my old phone and not in the extSD card where I automatically assumed they were. So my question is, is there any way I can retrieve these backups now to restore all my apps/messages/etc. or are they lost forever? For now I'm going with I got screwed and I'm gonna have to reinstall everything the old-fashioned way and deal with the lost SMSs. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you and I truly am sorry if this was posted before or is in the wrong section (mods, feel free to move it if it is). The closest things I found were guides for using TiBu that suggested exporting the backups to the extSD card before switching phones which is why I feel like I'm in trouble.
tl;dr: Got a replacement phone, didn't export TiBu backups to extSD card, unrooted old phone. Is there any way I can get my backups back?

Samsung Galaxy S7 Boot loop

Well, this is rather vexing.
I've been hard at work trying to backup / transfer data from my extremely old Samsung Galaxy S5 that seems to be coming to the end of it's useful lifespan. The S7 was next, but aside from running out of internal storage, I thought I still had time on that one (I wasn't experiencing a lot of slowdown or any crashes).
I went out for a couple hours (taking my newer phone), and when I came back, I saw my S7 on the insert the pin code screen. When I put the correct pin code in, the "unlocked padlock" stays on the screen for ages, before the phone restarts and I am shown the pin screen again (if I insert the wrong pin, it says so, so I am sure that I am not inserting the wrong pin).
So for the first time in my life, I am dealing with a spontaneous boot loop. This device has never been rooted, had a custom recovery installed or even the bootloader unlocked (it's the Exynos version, so presumably it would have been possible, but I decided that I wanted *one* unrooted device just in case, and given Knox, I decided that this was the device that will remain unmodded).
Anyway, that's for the story, but the question is, is there anything that I can try before the nuclear option (factory reset etc.).
Fortunately most of the photos are on the MicroSD. There are perhaps two or three apps that I would have liked to backup (they did not have a convenient built-in backup system) but I am just wondering if there is anything I might be able to do at this point? For instance, would wiping the cache be an option? Or is there anything I might be able to do with adb?
(Note: The device is running on Android 7)
Thanks.

Don't set security passwords for device access as you are the one most likely to be locked out.
If the boot loop wasn't caused by a hardware failure it's likely a app you loaded. Launchers and power management apps are prime candidates. Leave at least a couple gb of headroom on internal storage.
A factory reset is the easiest solution. Be careful what you load next time... take out the trash.
Use the SD card as a data drive, all critical data and everything you need for a reload goes here. No apps. Only apps, and the temporary download folder go on the internal memory.
The DCIM folder can be set to the SD card as well, but there can only be one DCIM folder and don't change its name. If a second backup folder is used on the SD card instead do not name it DCIM.
ApkExport can be used to make installable copies of apps for transfering them and added the data drive as well, no Playstore needed.
Do not use Kies or SmartSwitch when going between different type devices or OS versions. It can cause issues.
Cut/paste critical data, verify the data is readable and all there. Don't trust Kies or SmartSwitch with critical data.
Never clone data drives.
Never encrypt data drives.
Regularly redundantly backup the SD card data drive to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.

Thanks for the reply.
1. No app was recently installed (past couple of weeks)
2. Hardware failure? Maybe, but it is rather out of the blue. Phone has not displayed any unusual behaviour, it hasn't been taken out of the house for a week or so (it is really in the process of getting retired). And I would like to ascertain it.
3. I am aware I can just nuke the whole thing with a factory reset, but before taking that easy option and effectively lose some data I'd like to retrieve if possible, I would like to other options.
And rather than tips on what I should've done or can do next time (much of which I am already doing), I am looking for advice on anything I might be able to try -before- nuking the whole thing.
For instance, could the log-files (there are quite a few of them) provide hint in what went wrong? Any option of re-installing the OS without wiping the data partition? Since I am on a fairly old version of Android I may also have the option of doing a minor update. That kind of things. I am thinking that there might also be the possibility that the system files somehow got corrupted and perhaps a re-install or system update might be worth trying.
I am basically looking for options that will not, for the time being erase the data partition. If it comes down to it in the end, then fine, but that is the last option not the first.

It sounds like it got spontaneously corrupted. Perhaps a flash memory cell failure. If so it may or may not be "self healing" with a factory reset or a reflash.
If you have ADB access you may be able to fix it.
Otherwise your options are limited to what's on the boot menu.
Try doing a hard reboot (simulates pulling battery).
If you try booting it a bunch of times it may go into go safe mode. I've seen that behavior in Android 9.
That's extent of my skills, sorry.
The reason why I posted how to prevent data lose is because sometimes that's all you can do.
Internal memory data I consider expendable, the SD card data... potentially expendable.