I have been playing with my two G-Tablets for several months now and have learned a lot -- but the one thing I cannot figure out is what formatting and deleting mean.
I have rebuilt my tablets by almost every recovery process including nvflashing.
And to the best of my knowledge, I have not recovered/formatted/etc. yet that when I rebooted and reloaded there were still not files and programs, etc. on the device.
When they create petitions and format them and load them -- is this not destructive of the files already present? Is there a way to actual format partitions, etc. where the files are cleared out for new use??
I really would appreciate it if someone knowledgeable could explain this for me.
Rev
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If you want to use storage card to store internet temporary files, in order to avoid any lockup set history to 0 (zero) days. Hope this will help-
I disagree.
Tried it, went to YouTube (full version) and my phone froze just like always. I will switch back to files being stored on main device.
grizzley said:
I disagree.
Tried it, went to YouTube (full version) and my phone froze just like always. I will switch back to files being stored on main device.
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I don't know. It worked for me.
The problem boys and girls is not where the cache is stored it has to do with the .dll's used in the Kaiser ROM's. If you look way back to when cooking roms for Kaisers first started I made a rom with the proper .dll's ripped from a Hermes rom cooked in and cleared that issue up. I believe most cooks are now doing the same thing and using the older .dll's until HTC/M$ release a rom with corrected .dll's
When I first got my G-tab I was baffled by all the instructions and the literally thousands of posts in the forum. Even now, I haven't been able to find exactly how (or why) I should update my kernel. That said, I have TNT Lite running and I love my g-tab. Exploring the possible uses and utilities on it provides hours of fun. Now - here is my question. I stumbled on some instructions for installing the ROM and I have used those same instructions to install several patches to the Rom. I see all this commentary on Clockwork, side loading, etc. and I wonder if I am missing something. Today I just installed the .25 patch for TNT-Lite. I downloaded the rar file, unzipped it on my PC to get the Recovery folder and the update.zip file. I plugged the g-tab into the pc and switched it to usb mode. Then I moved the old recover folder and update.zip to a folder (cautious me) and put the new ones in the root. I disconnected the usb and started the g-tab in recovery mode (holding the power and volume+ key. It rebooted, applied the patch and I was done. That seems simple enough. It would seem that this would work for switching roms, applying patches and probably even upgrading the kernel (If I knew where it was and why I should do it). Am I missing something? Everything seems to work.
Sounds like you got the basics ok.
The real main reason to update the kernal as i see it is to add things like driver support for devices like gps and g3, so on, also minor fixs. If your not using your gtab for anything like this you maybe happy to stay stock. But if you like myself like to use your gtab to surf with g3 or as a sweet gps, then thats what the kernal updates allow. Im sure others can correct me if ive got anything wrong or add to what ive said.
You got the basic steps right, but installing ClockWorkMod Recovery has a lot of benefits.
First, built in backup and recovery will save your skin if the gTab get "cranky".
Second, installing ROMs and/or updates saves you a few steps. From "tar" files (TnT-lite), extract the update.zip file to a folder (I created a folder named "xda", just an example) and name it after the version of ROM/update.
CWM will flash "*.zip" file. This way you can keep multiple ROMs/updates on the card and switch between them.
CWM lets you clear cache, wipe Data partition, clear Dalvik-cache (use caution there), fix permissions and so much more! It is a great tool.
Sent from my gTablet-TnT-Lite-4.2.5 using TapatalkPro
So now we peel back another layer
OK so now the question of multiple roms comes up. I am not clear about the role of the rom - can I switch roms and keep all of my apps and data intact? I'm thinking like changing style sheets on a web page - presentation is different but the underlying data is still the same? Is it that easy?
And... if I am doing that perhaps I need to "clear cache" or "wipe data partition" but although I like to investigate new things I'm not willing to just walk up and push the big red button without knowing what it is for. So why would I "clear" or "wipe" things?
I get the impression that I could switch between ROMs just like switching between browsers on a pc - today Chrome, tomorrow, Firefox and never Internet Exploder... Is that correct? It took me quite a while to get the market working and it still doesn't work optimally but I'd hate to undo all the work I've done getting the g-tab humming along by switching roms. Can I?
So - anyone care to expound on the structure and how it all hooks together? What parts can be swapped out and what parts form the foundation? I'd hate to brick the little guy in my ignorance.
One final note if you know and you answer - where did YOU learn about this. Is there a book somewhere to read?
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
The Need for A Wiki
I'm in the same boat as enigma. I'm not even sure what ROM is an acronym for, though I think it means operating system. A wiki would be a big help for many people. I bet people would be glad to contribute.
Well, I don't know about Android book, especially about "hacking android book" , but this (and others) forum has plenty of reading material and guides. Not to mention people (a lot more knowledgeable and experienced than me) who will offer advice and lend a hand. And Google search comes in handy too.
Switching ROMs is almost like switching the OS, or a flavor of. Very much like switching between Linux distributions; the base OS is the same, but the overlay changes the user experience. Some things do change deep down inside, that's why is advisable to clear data.
Android, like Linux which it is based on, uses separate partitions for different parts of the OS, like boot, recovery, data, cache and user data. Plenty of write ups and discussions on the web on that.
So when flashing a ROM, you'll rewrite boot and system. Your user apps and data/preferences pertaining to those apps are stored in data partition, and since you are changing the 'OS', the apps need to be recompiled for it. Backup apps, like Titanium Backup, come extremely handy here: backup and restore apps AND appdata with a few clicks.
Backups are stored on sdcard, which is a lot like Linux /home directory, and do not get wiped during flash. Also the CWM (sometimes called Nandroid) backups are also stored there. A backup-of-the-backup is always a good habit (copy of /sdcard to your PC for safekeep).
This is just a quick rundown, hopefully that answered some of the questions.
There is a world of information available out there in "ether-world", Google is your friend.
[EDIT]:
Some links:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
http://lifehacker.com/#!5596108/how-to-choose-the-right-android-rom-for-you
and of course:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=841
(use the search on top of the screen)
Sent from my gTablet-TnT-Lite-4.2.5 using TapatalkPro
Doesn't my sticky on how to flash the roms help at all? I can try to make it clearer if you have suggestions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=892090
TeamSpeed said:
Doesn't my sticky on how to flash the roms help at all? I can try to make it clearer if you have suggestions.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=892090
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, your Sticky is as clear as Florida sky.
I just installed Thumb Keyboard on my gTab last night and I guess I got carried away getting used to it!
Yes, I have found some very good step by steps (reflashed to vegan after reading that one). Step by steps are great but I 'd like to understand why I'm doing it. The market fix...I can follow the steps and it works but why? I wish I had time to research all these things but there are so many forums,so many posts to read! The explanation that did surface in this thread was great though. Thanks. I'll keep asking questions. There are a lot of smart people out there!
After an unexpected Factory Reset, I am hoping to reclaim some now lost files. I found this guide :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gal...de-internal-memory-data-recovery-yes-t1994705
It sounds promising, but I dont know what "data block" i should use in the process ? Which is step 1...durp. Can I determine which block to use?
Just saying, im giving up. I tried several recovery methods/ programs, but nothing rendered the results I was hoping for. What surprised me however, is that the recoveries that did find files, all found OOOOLD pictures which are located on my google drive, taken from a different phone. I guess when i logged back into my phone, google syncs those files back on it?
I need to wipe two Android Phones that do not have the "encrypt" option. I am selling them very soon so this is important. One phone is running stock Gingerbread, the other is using a custom rom running ICS 4.04.
I attempted a secure wipe on the ICS phone by choosing every wipe option found in TWRP (dalvik, cache,etc), then I did 2 factory resets and flashed a NEW ROM after that. Guess what..? I used the free program "DiskDigger" on my PC and I found THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of recoverable files. FULL pictures, not just thumbnails; I found videos, I found zip files, I found voice recordings, I found music, and more!
There is no way in hell I can sell these phones until I know they are CLEAN of my information. What pisses me off is that with iPhone, it's as simple as pressing "Erase All Content And Settings". That takes maybe 5 minutes tops and it works on iPhone's as old as the iPhone 3GS! I thought custom flashing a new rom and wiping cache in TWRP would do the trick but NOPE.
Can anyone help me?
An update for you... I downloaded these two apps and ran them on both phones. Here are the results...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pinellascodeworks.securewipe&hl=en - Secure Wipe
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aiuspaktyn.secureeraser&hl=en - Secure Eraser
On the stock Gingerbread phone, 3 photos were found by DiskDigger and I was able to preview them and recover them. Recuva found 20 files, the same 3 pictures, plus some overwritten garbage. I ran both apps AGAIN and got the same results, those same 3 photos were still there, intact. So what I then did was click on the photos in Recuva and selected "Secure Overwrite Checked". I ran the scans a THIRD time, Recuva first. It found 15 different files, 11 ignored all labelled as "unrecoverable" or "very poor". Only one photo was from before was found, but there was no preview. I recovered it, but no photo program could open it, so it looks to be successfully overwritten and corrupted.
On the phone running custom ROM ICS: I ran DiskDigger and it found 0 files; Recuva found 3 files after secure wiping. One was in "poor state" and two were in "excellent" state - a .bin file and .M file. I overwrote these files in Recuva and ran the scans a second time. DiskDigger found nothing, Recuva found 3, 14 ignored, all were "unrecoverable".
So I have some peace of mind now. Before running these Secure erase programs, DiskDigger found 99% of the contents on the phone that was running custom ROM ICS. So wiping dalvik cache, other cache, multiple factory resets, and flashing a new ROM did NOTHING!
If anyone has suggestions on other recovery programs, I will do a third check to put my mind at ease.
Wow... very surprised that there is no discussion on this. Do people not care about about the security of their devices?
umirin said:
Wow... very surprised that there is no discussion on this. Do people not care about about the security of their devices?
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Click to collapse
General rule is basically no to sell your old devices and physically destroy them, if you care for privacy. A phone is no different to PC or any other piece of hardware here, so you're either aware of this and don't give/sell your stuff or don't care.
Destroying old equipment is pointless unless you are a career criminal avoiding the police or some other high profile person that a large organization with spend tones on resources on investigate.
Data breaches are far more likely from bad practices during ownership
Quality wipe apps with root access over writing old data multiple times is quite effective..
So I selected photo to delete and it somehow selected albums. So now Almost all my important pictures and videos are gone. I downloaded several apps and got back a good bit of pictures but I did not recover any videos. I read several pages about rooting the phone to actually get all the stuff back. Is this something that needs done? Also doesn't rooting wipe your phone so would that get rid of the deleted items? I am so devastated those pictures were my life and like an idiot I didn't back them up. Any ideas on how I can recover them?
Any ideas? I read an article saying you can root the phone and still recover deleted items but want to see what you guys think.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
If your files were stored internal there's a big chance that the rest might've got overwritten by other applications. On SD-Card you might be able to get more back but if you worked with it (meaning storing other files or probably even editing), it will most likely overwrite them.
Since every phone behaves different I can't say what you should use. I can only say what I read the most people suggesting.
They talk about the program recuva, which runs on your computer. After connecting your phone to your pc, they say you should run a 'deep scan'.
I never used it myself so I can't say if it works. You'd have to search how to use it.
(Program Link: Piriform - Recouva)
Rooting might also help in your favor, because those apps have more access to the storage and can perform actions normal apps can't do in there rather limited workspace.
But rooting also means writting/modifying data on your phone which could use the space where the remainings of your files are stored (deppends if they are internal or external/sd-card).
But from my expirence on pc, chances are very slim that you get all of your files back. I accidentally formatted my hard disk and after force stopping the process I only could restore about ~30% of my files (and most of them were corrupted).
You see formating or deleting doesn't actually delets stuff.
You could see all your stored files as a book and the index is that what you can see in your file manager. When you delete something it doesn't touches the file at first, it only deletes the entry in the index that a file was at that point in your storage and tells the system that place is free to use again. So apps will begin using that free space. After that it becomes almost imposible to get the file back.