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[Q] Bare Minimum Files

As I'm sure most of us have been, with all the ICS Roms being posted as of the last couple of days, I've been a Flashaholic trying all these different Roms and so on and so on. Well, my question is...
I feel my Internal SD Card is getting full of folders that are becoming obsolete/redundant, so does anyone know what are the "Bare Minimum Folders" required to run correctly. IOW, I want to delete everything but the "True System Folders". I'm hoping that by getting rid of everything, it'll free up space, and speed the system up as a whole because it's not having to search a huge Index for where it's trying to pull info from to operate.
I personally feel like I can delete everything from there, with the obvious exceptions being the Files included in the Rom.. but once again, that's just my "Noob-ness".. lol..
As always any help would be greatly appreciated, and I would also like to thank anyone for their assistance in this matter in advance.

What I usually do to clean up is to go to storage in settings on the phone, and format usb storage. This keeps only the necessary stuff for system and gets rid of all of the extra stuff. I keep all of my files like music, etc on the ext. sd card, so it doesn't get wiped.
Sent from my HTC_Flyer_P512_NA using Tapatalk 2

So after doing this do you have to go into recovery and re-flash the Rom? or will it automatically create the folders as you open the Apps?

sledgeharvy said:
So after doing this do you have to go into recovery and re-flash the Rom? or will it automatically create the folders as you open the Apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to clarify, I'm talking about doing this in the rom and not in recovery. You won't have to reflash the rom, and apps will create what they need as you run them.
Sent from my HTC_Flyer_P512_NA using Tapatalk 2

Oh, okay, I was originally talking about as your phone is running, go into Settings/Storage, and Format from there, but I didn't see that option. Lol..
So overall, I can delete anything I want to on the larger 13.03Gb and the smaller 1.85Gb internal sd card I can not delete anything from there because it's reserved for Apps and System Files/Folders.

sledgeharvy said:
Oh, okay, I was originally talking about as your phone is running, go into Settings/Storage, and Format from there, but I didn't see that option. Lol..
So overall, I can delete anything I want to on the larger 13.03Gb and the smaller 1.85Gb internal sd card I can not delete anything from there because it's reserved for Apps and System Files/Folders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty much, but there are a few files that stay if you go the settings/storage/format route, so I do that to get rid of junk in the 13.03 GB partition. But you are right, you mainly don't want to delete stuff on the smaller internal partition, unless you know what you are deleting.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

Miscellaneous files?

I still havent seen an answer for this issue, but I have over 6GB of Miscellaneous Files in Setting->Storage. nothing in there shows that much info, so I know its from loading different ROMs. I have no idea how to get rid of these files. I've been looking all around CWM for something to clear, but I'm not too confident about messing with that.
Does anyone have an idea of how to clear up this stuff?

Do you have a few nandroid backups? Those will register there. If you're using TWRP, there's a TWRP folder and you can remove them or archive them off. Clockwork is the same, I just don't remember offhand where it stores them.
If this isn't it, you can install busybox, and then either adb shell, or use a terminal emulator on the phone and run `du /mnt/sdcard -hl -d 1` you can then drill down to the directories which are the biggest offenders. Changing the 1 to another number increases the depth that it reports.

Coop9 said:
Do you have a few nandroid backups? Those will register there. If you're using TWRP, there's a TWRP folder and you can remove them or archive them off. Clockwork is the same, I just don't remember offhand where it stores them.
If this isn't it, you can install busybox, and then either adb shell, or use a terminal emulator on the phone and run `du /mnt/sdcard -hl -d 1` you can then drill down to the directories which are the biggest offenders. Changing the 1 to another number increases the depth that it reports.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay. I finally managed to get this started. I went through terminal emulator and found that the /sdcard is only 7.6GB while the number in the main settings says over 10. /android has 2GB from some games, but I can't find anything showing where the 6GB of miscellaneous file is at. Even cwm is only 1.7GB from the one backup I have.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

I've been fiddling with this for the last day or so and found that under miscellaneous file, System Memory now shows up as taking 3.67 GB of data. I've been looking everywhere to see where that much info could be, but I'm kinda stuck now.
I now know where that extra space has gone, but I have no idea how to free it up.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Galaxy S4 Miscellaneous Files: what and where are they?
So I'm getting a warning that the internal SD is out of memory, I've moved all movable apps to external SD, photos, music too.
Rooted and have TWIP as recovery *BUT* before I install a custom ROM, I want a backup *BUT* there's no room as the backup wants to use internal SD (not external)
Somehow Miscellaneous Files show over 8GB but in My Files it only shows about 200MB addressable (erasable). I deleted all Dropbox files and saved 200MB.
Where the heck are the other 7.8GB of files? How can I see them please?
Thanks in advance.

greenja said:
So I'm getting a warning that the internal SD is out of memory, I've moved all movable apps to external SD, photos, music too.
Rooted and have TWIP as recovery *BUT* before I install a custom ROM, I want a backup *BUT* there's no room as the backup wants to use internal SD (not external)
Somehow Miscellaneous Files show over 8GB but in My Files it only shows about 200MB addressable (erasable). I deleted all Dropbox files and saved 200MB.
Where the heck are the other 7.8GB of files? How can I see them please?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the same boat with no solution

I fixed it
jinan said:
I am in the same boat with no solution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
backup *everything* and reformat *internal* SD card
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=44217580#post44217580
hope it helps

greenja said:
backup *everything* and reformat *internal* SD card
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=44217580#post44217580
hope it helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this but didn't solve the problem for me. However, I did find a solution which worked for me. I used CWM, went in to the >Backup and Restore>Delete> and chose to delete all backups in the internal SD. Solved my problem

jinan said:
I did this but didn't solve the problem for me. However, I did find a solution which worked for me. I used CWM, went in to the >Backup and Restore>Delete> and chose to delete all backups in the internal SD. Solved my problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW!!!!
i am so happy i found your tip. finally i managed to clean the mysterious 9Gb in my storage.
thank you very much!!!

Clean Data folder
DaemonAshra said:
I still havent seen an answer for this issue, but I have over 6GB of Miscellaneous Files in Setting->Storage. nothing in there shows that much info, so I know its from loading different ROMs. I have no idea how to get rid of these files. I've been looking all around CWM for something to clear, but I'm not too confident about messing with that.
Does anyone have an idea of how to clear up this stuff?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes its kinda simple, at least it worked for me. Don't forget to thank me
Download ES Explorer
and go into the /data/media folder.
the troublesome files are there. Careful what you delete tho. For myself I had old remnants from another ROM and the entire rom zip file.
Don't forget the thanx button.

A lot of that is cached data for apps. If you use apps like gmusic, it caches music files to the device and that cache folder will grow. Root access will allow you to clear all your data es, including hidden files and that size will drop.

Adjetey Boye said:
Yes its kinda simple, at least it worked for me.
Download ES Explorer
and go into the /data/media folder.
the troublesome files are there. Careful what you delete tho. For myself I had old remnants from another ROM and the entire rom zip file.
Don't forget the thanx button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's nothing in that folder.
So not that simple.

If you're rooted, get Cache Cleaner NG and let it wipe all that unnecessary data. I run it weekly.
With roms like gummy, you can click on Misc and see which app has all the data... It's likely something like Vine (it had a huuuuuuuge cache) or another app like gmusic.

beepea206 said:
If you're rooted, get Cache Cleaner NG and let it wipe all that unnecessary data. I run it weekly.
With roms like gummy, you can click on Misc and see which app has all the data... It's likely something like Vine (it had a huuuuuuuge cache) or another app like gmusic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sir (or madam).
I need you to fully understand exactly how amazing of a person you are. I don't know where the data was or what ate it all, but this app got it all back and you are awesome for recommending it.

Adjetey Boye said:
Yes its kinda simple, at least it worked for me.
Download ES Explorer
and go into the /data/media folder.
the troublesome files are there. Careful what you delete tho. For myself I had old remnants from another ROM and the entire rom zip file.
Don't forget the thanx button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked for me, I have deleted the folder /data/media entirely。
Tks very much.

I recently ran into a similar issue with my rooted nook tablet. It was killing my sd cards. When I put the sd cards in my laptop, I erased all partitions and that fixed them.
I used to be a moderator in a forum that helped people with car trouble. I have accumulated some good karma. please help me

Eastsun said:
It worked for me, I have deleted the folder /data/media entirely。
Tks very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
glad to be of help

Adjetey Boye said:
Yes its kinda simple, at least it worked for me. Don't forget to thank me
Download ES Explorer
and go into the /data/media folder.
the troublesome files are there. Careful what you delete tho. For myself I had old remnants from another ROM and the entire rom zip file.
Don't forget the thanx button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Six and a half years later on XIAOMI redmi note 8T I habe finally found 6GB of data in orangenfox folder that I dont need ( for miui ota ). Thank you.

Titan backup doesn't see ext SD card.

I have titan backup pro and it doesn't see my 32gig ext SD card. Any suggestions?
Sent from my Paranoid Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk.

It does, but not how you'd think. What are you trying to do? Use your external as titaniums storage?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

Yes so I don't have to move the backups it makes before wiping and flashing. Forgive me still learning the android system.
Sent from my Paranoid Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk.

You actually do not need to store them on the external sd. Titanium stores the backups by default on the root directory of the internal sd card (memory) and are safe from being wiped when wiping data/resetting to flash a rom. People do choose to change that location to the external for swapping backup to a different phone and for extra security in case of a brick or some other issue that could arise, but it is not required to do for general flashing of different roms.
If you do want to change the location, go into preferences and select storage location, the back button will navigate to different locations available. Choose external sd and make your batch backup..that's it. If you already made a backup on your internal before switching to external, you'll need to use a file explorer (I like ES, but others are just fine too) to move the entire Titanium folder to the external card. Then go back into preferences and be sure to select the titanium folder you just moved as the backup location.

annoyingduck said:
You actually do not need to store them on the external sd. Titanium stores the backups by default on the root directory of the internal sd card (memory) and are safe from being wiped when wiping data/resetting to flash a rom. People do choose to change that location to the external for swapping backup to a different phone and for extra security in case of a brick or some other issue that could arise, but it is not required to do for general flashing of different roms.
If you do want to change the location, go into preferences and select storage location, the back button will navigate to different locations available. Choose external sd and make your batch backup..that's it. If you already made a backup on your internal before switching to external, you'll need to use a file explorer (I like ES, but others are just fine too) to move the entire Titanium folder to the external card. Then go back into preferences and be sure to select the titanium folder you just moved as the backup location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NONONO DO NOT DO THIS!!!
Well you can if you don't then move your backups to your ext or a computer.
I believe TWRP wipes the WHOLE internal card when doing a factory reset as the Samsung Recovery does. ClockworkMod I believe is the only one that doesn't.
You probably need to format your 32gb ext to Fat32 instead of exFat that it comes with. See HERE It doesn't hurt to do this either way, unless you plan on putting files that are larger than 4gb each onto your card.

I don't use twrp, I use cwm with zero titanium issues on internal card. I find it unlikely that twrp would wipe the entire root directory bank of files because that would also wipe its own file including backups made. I'd like some verification on this, though I don't not use twrp, nor have seen any reference to not using the default location in any of titaniums guides.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 12:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 AM ----------
Quick note: I hate speculation. Please someone else chime in on some verification so that the op is getting accurate correct information.
My directions above ARE 100% correct if using cwm as your recovery. Titanium makes no mention or warning that you should change titaniums built in default storage location based on various recovery options. But again, I do not have any intimate knowledge of the workings of twrp, but certainly want to know so that my help is verifiable and accurate in the future.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

annoyingduck said:
I don't use twrp, I use cwm with zero titanium issues on internal card. I find it unlikely that twrp would wipe the entire root directory bank of files because that would also wipe its own file including backups made. I'd like some verification on this, though I don't not use twrp, nor have seen any reference to not using the default location in any of titaniums guides.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, if TWRP CANNOT wipe the internal card cuz of it's own files, then how the hell does the stock version do the same thing???
DUH!!! recovery is on a DIFFERENT partition! Know your phone!

Let's put this into basics. Do you know for a fact that twrp will erase a titanium backup stored in the default titanium storage location on the internal card, or do you need to change the storage location to external when using twrp recovery risk losing the backups?
All I got from you is telling the op to not use titaniums default location based on a speculation you had on twrps possibility to wipe it without any definitive info to back it.
My cwm based info is un-arguably accurate. So let's not confuse the original op's question here, and be sure your not rewriting the book on titanium.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

First make sure your SD Card is formatted correctly (as FAT32, not NTFS)
Then make sure your TB is actually backing up to that drive. Meaning, go into a file explorer and make sure that the Titanium files are there.
If those don't work, try using a different Recovery.

Annoyingduck thank you for always answering my questions.
I would gladly read any info I could on the android system. I admit I don't "know" my phone. I haven't been able to find info to get intimate knowledge of my phone. I just assumed the entire phone was wiped when I told it to in recovery. I can see where the storage drive can get rather cluttered over time then. Is there a way to do a full wipe to kinda clean things up in the future?
I'm going to have to buy the book android for dummies.
My mem card is stock 32gigs sandisk class 10. Straight out the package. The phone reads it. File manager sees it. Idk if I would need files greater than 4gigs. Didn't realize there was issues with the 32. Thought it was just the 64. That's why I got the 32 and not the 64.
Sent from my Paranoid Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk.

That's what these forums are for, and hopefully getting the RIGHT info!
Your correct, the 32 should have no issues, the problems come along with the 64's. My SanDisk 32 class ten has no problems with files over 4 gig. Appreciate the support!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

annoyingduck said:
Let's put this into basics. Do you know for a fact that twrp will erase a titanium backup stored in the default titanium storage location on the internal card, or do you need to change the storage location to external when using twrp recovery risk losing the backups?
All I got from you is telling the op to not use titaniums default location based on a speculation you had on twrps possibility to wipe it without any definitive info to back it.
My cwm based info is un-arguably accurate. So let's not confuse the original op's question here, and be sure your not rewriting the book on titanium.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know for a fact that TWRP will wipe everything or not... I was meaning that the OP should copy his backups to his ext manually or to a computer JUST IN CASE. I thought I had read that the TWRP Factory reset/wipe did the same thing as the Stock's Factory Reset/wipe(Which erases ALL app data from the internal SD including TB's backups!
JB_orchidguy said:
Annoyingduck thank you for always answering my questions.
I would gladly read any info I could on the android system. I admit I don't "know" my phone. I haven't been able to find info to get intimate knowledge of my phone. I just assumed the entire phone was wiped when I told it to in recovery. I can see where the storage drive can get rather cluttered over time then. Is there a way to do a full wipe to kinda clean things up in the future?
I'm going to have to buy the book android for dummies.
My mem card is stock 32gigs sandisk class 10. Straight out the package. The phone reads it. File manager sees it. Idk if I would need files greater than 4gigs. Didn't realize there was issues with the 32. Thought it was just the 64. That's why I got the 32 and not the 64.
Sent from my Paranoid Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@OP: The problem with the 64gb cards that I was referring to is their format. I know for a fact that 64gb cards are exFAT. I "think" that 32gb cards are doing the same thing. I dunno for sure. The problem with these cards is that the phone will read them, any file explorer will read them, but Recovery's have an issue reading them. Along with AOSP ROM's from what I've been told(I dunno for sure because I've always fixed my cards before going to AOSP).
If you dont see yourself using any files over 4gb(which usually are just bluray rips) then you might as well just format your card to FAT32 just to be safe. Go to and follow the GUI option of this THREAD. This is how I did my card and it's caused me no problems. Like I said the only downfall to formatting it this way won't allow you to use files that are over 4gb in size.
Now, there has been other problems with 64gb cards as far as stability. This is all speculative since I have not experienced it first hand, but I guess a lot of people were having their cards fail period. Meaning they were un-readable in any format on any device. Like I said, I have not experienced this.

I definitely would like to know more, especially about whether twrp does a full format. And just so I know, for cwm to erase root files, you would have to choose the format system option as opposed to wipe data/factory reset (which does not erase those files)?
Thanks man for the clarification
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

TWRP does not wipe /data/media which is the default save location for titanium, this location is the main directory of your internal storage. I have used TWRP on my SGS3 and my transformer prime and it has never erased this directory when doing a factory reset.
Sent from my Unlocked Rooted SGS3

Wish that was posted many posts ago...... Would have saved some headaches!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

[Q] Clean install of a ROM

Hello all,
I would like to reflash CROMi-X and the MAX kernel but this time I want to do it as cleanly as possible. What are the steps to do this. I see it referenced all over that it is best to do a clean install but I can't find out exactly how to do it.
Sorry if this is a stupid question or if it is detailed somewhere that I could not find it but I want a good procedure that I can use whenever flashing new ROMS and kernels to be sure there is nothing hanging around that would cause variability in the install.
Thanks in advance for any help
Jeff

gixxer340 said:
Hello all,
I would like to reflash CROMi-X and the MAX kernel but this time I want to do it as cleanly as possible. What are the steps to do this. I see it referenced all over that it is best to do a clean install but I can't find out exactly how to do it.
Sorry if this is a stupid question or if it is detailed somewhere that I could not find it but I want a good procedure that I can use whenever flashing new ROMS and kernels to be sure there is nothing hanging around that would cause variability in the install.
Thanks in advance for any help
Jeff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on which recovery you have installed -- the most often recommended sequence seems to be "wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, wipe Dalvik cache, reinstall". Obviously, you may need to remove some apps' data folders from /sdcard by hand.
The opinions are divided as far as wiping the caches is concerned -- some do, some don't.

MartyHulskemper said:
Depends on which recovery you have installed -- the most often recommended sequence seems to be "wipe data/factory reset, wipe cache, wipe Dalvik cache, reinstall". Obviously, you may need to remove some apps' data folders from /sdcard by hand.
The opinions are divided as far as wiping the caches is concerned -- some do, some don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have TWRP 2.5 installed. Is the above the process for TWRP
Thanks
Jeff

gixxer340 said:
I have TWRP 2.5 installed. Is the above the process for TWRP
Thanks
Jeff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In TWRP select 'Wipe > Advanced' and then select everything except the external microSD. That'll give you a nice and clean installation.
Just make sure you have the Rom you want to flash afterwards on that microSD, not on the internal where it may get wiped
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD

[Q=berndblb;43602193]In TWRP MI lect 'Wipe > Advanced' and then select everything except the external microSD. That'll give you a nice and clean installation.
Just make sure you have the Rom you want to flash afterwards on that microSD, not on the internal where it may get wiped
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD[/QUOTE]
I dont seem to be able to see my microSD card from TWRP. It is formatted as ntfs, I wonder if that is the issue. What should it be formatted as?
Thanks
Jeff

gixxer340 said:
[Q=berndblb;43602193]In TWRP MI lect 'Wipe > Advanced' and then select everything except the external microSD. That'll give you a nice and clean installation.
Just make sure you have the Rom you want to flash afterwards on that microSD, not on the internal where it may get wiped
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont seem to be able to see my microSD card from TWRP. It is formatted as ntfs, I wonder if that is the issue. What should it be formatted as?
Thanks
Jeff[/QUOTE]
Yeah, it has to be FAT32. Actually exFAT seems to work too. Just tried it, and TWRP sees the nandroid on a 8gb exFAT fine. Didn't try to restore though...
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

berndblb said:
I dont seem to be able to see my microSD card from TWRP. It is formatted as ntfs, I wonder if that is the issue. What should it be formatted as?
Thanks
Jeff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it has to be FAT32. Actually exFAT seems to work too. Just tried it, and TWRP sees the nandroid on a 8gb exFAT fine. Didn't try to restore though...
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2[/QUOTE]
Reformatting exFAT right now. Hopefully that will work.
Thanks again,
Jeff

berndblb said:
In TWRP select 'Wipe > Advanced' and then select everything except the external microSD. That'll give you a nice and clean installation.
Just make sure you have the Rom you want to flash afterwards on that microSD, not on the internal where it may get wiped
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, without hijacking this thread - i've installed Cromix and everything is running great, but i can still see folders and files i had created when my 700 was stock. Am i doing something wrong here? I would have thought that wiping everything except for the microsd card would have given me a blank slate to start with but it seems there is a fair amount of data left over after the ROM flash.
Actually as i'm typing this i've just had a thought, is it a case that the documents, pics, wallpapers etc are on a separate partition (for want of a better definition) and they're just visible after the installation?
thanks,
sean

2Droidswalking said:
Hi, without hijacking this thread - i've installed Cromix and everything is running great, but i can still see folders and files i had created when my 700 was stock. Am i doing something wrong here? I would have thought that wiping everything except for the microsd card would have given me a blank slate to start with but it seems there is a fair amount of data left over after the ROM flash.
Actually as i'm typing this i've just had a thought, is it a case that the documents, pics, wallpapers etc are on a separate partition (for want of a better definition) and they're just visible after the installation?
thanks,
sean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have noticed that problems a while back when I am using TWRP 2.5.0.0. Therefore, I always prefer to use Format instead of Wipe.

2Droidswalking said:
Hi, without hijacking this thread - i've installed Cromix and everything is running great, but i can still see folders and files i had created when my 700 was stock. Am i doing something wrong here? I would have thought that wiping everything except for the microsd card would have given me a blank slate to start with but it seems there is a fair amount of data left over after the ROM flash.
Actually as i'm typing this i've just had a thought, is it a case that the documents, pics, wallpapers etc are on a separate partition (for want of a better definition) and they're just visible after the installation?
thanks,
sean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you wipe or factory reset in TWRP, it erases everything except the /data/media folder, and that is where your data lives.... You have to manually erase those files if you want to get rid of them.
Interestingly, you'll find symlinks to the contents of /data/media in 4!! locations:
/sdcard
/storage/sdcard0
/storage /emulated/0
/storage /emulated /legacy
This crazy structure is due to the multi user support in JB 4.2. I still have a hard time to get my head around it....
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD

berndblb said:
If you wipe or factory reset in TWRP, it erases everything except the /data/media folder, and that is where your data lives.... You have to manually erase those files if you want to get rid of them.
Interestingly, you'll find symlinks to the contents of /data/media in 4!! locations:
/sdcard
/storage/sdcard0
/storage /emulated/0
/storage /emulated /legacy
This crazy structure is due to the multi user support in JB 4.2. I still have a hard time to get my head around it....
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good: Thanks, it is good to know.

berndblb said:
If you wipe or factory reset in TWRP, it erases everything except the /data/media folder, and that is where your data lives.... You have to manually erase those files if you want to get rid of them.
Interestingly, you'll find symlinks to the contents of /data/media in 4!! locations:
/sdcard
/storage/sdcard0
/storage /emulated/0
/storage /emulated /legacy
This crazy structure is due to the multi user support in JB 4.2. I still have a hard time to get my head around it....
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How incredibly bizarre....but interesting nonetheless. 23 years in IT and it's time to start learning again. I kept going back to Settings>About and could see that the ROM was flashed, but the sight of the old files was making me think 'maybe it just reinstalled over the top of the stock ROM without deleting any data'....sort of like when windoze does a repair and keeps the data. Now that i understand user data is stored in a separate place away from the ROM itself, it makes it easier to upgrade and mess around. Backups are important, but it's nice to know you don't have to constantly relocate data and files when you're doing an upgrade.
Thanks for the info.....these forums are an absolute boon for people willing to ask questions and i'm amazed at the knowledge base that's been accumulated and is being shared - for the first time in a long time, tech toys are fun again. Now to choose a Kernel!!!!

The rom gets flashed to it's own partition: /system/...
If you watch the script when flashing CromiX, the installer formats the system partition automatically before flashing the rom. So you did not install over the old rom. The Data partition is different.
I'm now backing up data/media and then I will use the "Format Data" option in TWRP. Wanna know what exactly happens
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

Just an update...i haven't changed kernels at all and i'm not going to be. This thing is faster and more stable than i could have wished for. Since the ROM was flashed i've stopped messing around with it and it just runs like a dream. It never reboots unless i tell it to, doesn't hang when i have multiple apps open and the battery life is fantastic.
Thanks for the advice berndblb :good:

2Droidswalking said:
Just an update...i haven't changed kernels at all and i'm not going to be. This thing is faster and more stable than i could have wished for. Since the ROM was flashed i've stopped messing around with it and it just runs like a dream. It never reboots unless i tell it to, doesn't hang when i have multiple apps open and the battery life is fantastic.
Thanks for the advice berndblb :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:GOOD:
Glad I could help.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD

[SOLVED] Completely format system data cache partitions[making all zeroes]

I know the obvious ans would be to use 4ext superwipe.
What I want is like re-writing those partitions with all memory locations set to zeroes. The 4ext full wipe only works like quick format in windows desktop.
Any ideas how to do it?
____________________
Solved. See post 17 for details.

pushpann said:
I know the obvious ans would be to use 4ext superwipe.
What I want is like re-writing those partitions with all memory locations set to zeroes. The 4ext full wipe only works like quick format in windows desktop.
Any ideas how to do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had to search a bit, but found an article that explains how to do this. It links to 3 apps (havn't tested myself, just remember there's no going back), from the description the first one only works on SD card, the second one might (it does not mention which partitions it formats), and the last one seems to be removed.
I did not read the whole article, but I suggest you do that before doing anything.
Good luck.

pushpann said:
I know the obvious ans would be to use 4ext superwipe.
What I want is like re-writing those partitions with all memory locations set to zeroes. The 4ext full wipe only works like quick format in windows desktop.
Any ideas how to do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
A RUU will reset everything back to stock, and fix any partition issues.
Is that what you are after?

malybru said:
Hi,
A RUU will reset everything back to stock, and fix any partition issues.
Is that what you are after?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As he said, he wants it to be completely formatted, meaning no data can be recovered, which is like a hard full wipe - no way to restore.
RUU does format the data partition, but it only removes records of files, and the data itself is still available and possible to read (until new files will be written over it).

No! I dont want to get involved with RUU stuff.. I just want to completely wipe my phone.. Like complete formatting of the USB drives. All system and data partitions set to zeroes.
In simple words, if you do quick formating on pendrives, you can restore (some or all data before format, depends on what you've put on the drive after format ) using some Data Recovery tools.
What i believe is that recovery just wipes the memory addresses, without putting zeroes on all the memory locations. have been googling for this for almost a week, haven't got any clue yet!

pushpann said:
I know the obvious ans would be to use 4ext superwipe.
What I want is like re-writing those partitions with all memory locations set to zeroes. The 4ext full wipe only works like quick format in windows desktop.
Any ideas how to do it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would do it this way (this is something I came up with, and if it screws up anything, you are responsible) :
Write a script that reformat your nand rom and then dumps (creates) a huge file containing zeroes. Then reformat using 4ext and repartition.
I am curious, why exactly do you want to do this? The lack of results from Google would suggest that this is not something people would normally do.
JAM THAT THANKS BUTTON.
Happy to help.

I assume you're not going to use the phone after?
If you aren't going to use the phone after, one word. Sledgehammer.
If you are keeping the phone; create a file on the partition filled with rubbish (linux has a command for this). Make sure it fills the entire partition and then run mkfs.ext4 /dev/block/partition. Repeat a dozen times or create a script to do it for you.
It's easier than erasing the whole NAND disk and partitioning it. Mainly because you'll wipe the recovery partition and create an expensive paperweight. Which brings me back to sledgehammer.
Sent from my HTC

pushpann said:
No! I dont want to get involved with RUU stuff.. I just want to completely wipe my phone.. Like complete formatting of the USB drives. All system and data partitions set to zeroes.
In simple words, if you do quick formating on pendrives, you can restore (some or all data before format, depends on what you've put on the drive after format ) using some Data Recovery tools.
What i believe is that recovery just wipes the memory addresses, without putting zeroes on all the memory locations. have been googling for this for almost a week, haven't got any clue yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my first commented I linked to an article which gives two ways to wipe your phone (set to zeroes and all). Here are the two apps:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kovit.p.forevergone
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.ethz.infsyssec.sddroid
Try those to see if they format the Data partition.

Far_SighT said:
I would do it this way (this is something I came up with, and if it screws up anything, you are responsible) :
Write a script that reformat your nand rom and then dumps (creates) a huge file containing zeroes. Then reformat using 4ext and repartition.
I am curious, why exactly do you want to do this? The lack of results from Google would suggest that this is not something people would normally do.
JAM THAT THANKS BUTTON.
Happy to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.. My phone has become very laggy.. No matter what ROM flash, what firmware I flash.
DennisBold said:
I assume you're not going to use the phone after?
If you aren't going to use the phone after, one word. Sledgehammer.
If you are keeping the phone; create a file on the partition filled with rubbish (linux has a command for this). Make sure it fills the entire partition and then run mkfs.ext4 /dev/block/partition. Repeat a dozen times or create a script to do it for you.
It's easier than erasing the whole NAND disk and partitioning it. Mainly because you'll wipe the recovery partition and create an expensive paperweight. Which brings me back to sledgehammer.
Sent from my HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By hearing what you say, i kinda feel little scared to do these steps. Anyway thanks for the suggestion..
astar26 said:
On my first commented I linked to an article which gives two ways to wipe your phone (set to zeroes and all). Here are the two apps:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kovit.p.forevergone
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.ethz.infsyssec.sddroid
Try those to see if they format the Data partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those apps dont work.. By internal data they mean internal sdcard not system or data partition.
BTW just saw this app called lagfix. It says it will discard the unused blocks, but doesnot work on my phone.. Has anyone tried it? For me it's saying trim on system,data and cache not supported! DAMN

DennisBold said:
I assume you're not going to use the phone after?
If you aren't going to use the phone after, one word. Sledgehammer.
If you are keeping the phone; create a file on the partition filled with rubbish (linux has a command for this). Make sure it fills the entire partition and then run mkfs.ext4 /dev/block/partition. Repeat a dozen times or create a script to do it for you.
It's easier than erasing the whole NAND disk and partitioning it. Mainly because you'll wipe the recovery partition and create an expensive paperweight. Which brings me back to sledgehammer.
Sent from my HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I had similar thoughts. I was going for repartition becasue then the whole of nandroid can be wiped in one go.
To clean the phone, sledgehammer / mowing the device with a car (or both, one after the other) are the best methods.
Here's one more idea. Create a pseudo nandroid backup with all of your nandroid partitions(/system /data /cache etc) filled with garbage/zeroes. Then restore that. And bam, the nandroid is hard formatted (after a quick format of course).
Like always, it's your phone. I am not responsible for anything that you do to it.
JAM THAT THANKS BUTTON.
Happy to Help.

pushpann said:
Hmm.. My phone has become very laggy.. No matter what ROM flash, what firmware I flash.
By hearing what you say, i kinda feel little scared to do these steps. Anyway thanks for the suggestion..
Those apps dont work.. By internal data they mean internal sdcard not system or data partition.
BTW just saw this app called lagfix. It says it will discard the unused blocks, but doesnot work on my phone.. Has anyone tried it? For me it's saying trim on system,data and cache not supported! DAMN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried it yesterday, it's meant for certain devices that did not use the TRIM command like they should (Many Nexus 7 tablets were slowed down by this issue), but it seems the Sensation does not need it (or at least our kernels do not support the command).
What seems as the only way to do so is to create many blank files and delete them (like many already said). you can create a large file and copy it a few times to the Data partition, which will fill it, and then delete it. using a normal file manager will work (or you can use "adb push" command to push the file a couple of times).

Far_SighT said:
Yeah, I had similar thoughts. I was going for repartition becasue then the whole of nandroid can be wiped in one go.
To clean the phone, sledgehammer / mowing the device with a car (or both, one after the other) are the best methods.
Here's one more idea. Create a pseudo nandroid backup with all of your nandroid partitions(/system /data /cache etc) filled with garbage/zeroes. Then restore that. And bam, the nandroid is hard formatted (after a quick format of course).
Like always, it's your phone. I am not responsible for anything that you do to it.
JAM THAT THANKS BUTTON.
Happy to Help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sure it does complete format while restoring nandroid? BTW i still am not sure how to fill system and data partitions with zeroes or garbage! Anyway thanks for the heads up

pushpann said:
You sure it does complete format while restoring nandroid? BTW i still am not sure how to fill system and data partitions with zeroes or garbage! Anyway thanks for the heads up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldn't have to worry about formatting empty space. No one ever, except possibly computer forensics is going to want information from an empty phone. They have access to browsing history from Google, call records from your mobile provider and ban access details from your banks. They wouldn't need your phone. There are things that make it hard for the average person. Including mounting the NAND disk in a way that it can be opened like a normal disk drive, and then running the tools to restore data. If someone really wanted data it's possible but they will not go through all that for 500MB of bank details, porn or whatever people do with phones these days. If you're trying to hinder the police because you did something wrong, then you should just stop.
Theoretically it can be done through an android device but cross compiling tools to recover data is long and tedious to do. There is nothing so important that someone would spend hours creating tools for an Android device to restore data that may already be irrevocably gone. Not to mention the learning curve for new software. If you are worried, burn the device and buy something new. That is the general rule for sensitive data. Make sure it's gone before you move on.
It's safe to click "Format all partitions" and then erase your SD card and give your phone away.
If it helps, install Android on top. Choose something big. Most of your application data is stored on your SDCard FYI.
Lastly, if it's lag you are trying to fix. Go backwards with Android not forwards. JellyBean demands more than ICS and ICS demands more than GingerBread. Having the latest OS doesn't work for everyone. For example, Windows 8.1 doesn't work for me because there's no fastboot support without huge editing of system drivers. The same is true in Android. GingerBread stability may be more important than ICS or JB features, or JellyBean features may be more important. However don't expect lag free 4.2 or 4.3, our devices may work with it, but they were never intended to go above 4.1(Ville C2 updates stop there too I think) due to hardware limitations. Others may argue differently, but you should question the effort they're (including me) putting in with kernel and device tree upgrades. It's amazing work nonetheless but it basically shouldn't have to be done if the device were supported. Buy a new device if you want the latest and greatest. My Sensation has become a trophy for me to the amazing things you can do with one of HTCs first dual core phones. I don't expect it to work without some kinks and bugs or even fatal flaws but I still respect it for having running Sense 3.0 to 5.0 (yes I've tried it).
Sorry for the rant. I'm a little bit grumpy, but hope it helps explains why you can mostly erase and install a new version of android then throw the device away and be relatively safe.
There's probably going to be someone who reads all of this and thinks I'm crazy, to that guy or girl. Thanks for reading all of it!
Sent from my HTC

DennisBold said:
You shouldn't have to worry about formatting empty space. No one ever, except possibly computer forensics is going to want information from an empty phone. They have access to browsing history from Google, call records from your mobile provider and ban access details from your banks. They wouldn't need your phone. There are things that make it hard for the average person. Including mounting the NAND disk in a way that it can be opened like a normal disk drive, and then running the tools to restore data. If someone really wanted data it's possible but they will not go through all that for 500MB of bank details, porn or whatever people do with phones these days. If you're trying to hinder the police because you did something wrong, then you should just stop.
Theoretically it can be done through an android device but cross compiling tools to recover data is long and tedious to do. There is nothing so important that someone would spend hours creating tools for an Android device to restore data that may already be irrevocably gone. Not to mention the learning curve for new software. If you are worried, burn the device and buy something new. That is the general rule for sensitive data. Make sure it's gone before you move on.
It's safe to click "Format all partitions" and then erase your SD card and give your phone away.
If it helps, install Android on top. Choose something big. Most of your application data is stored on your SDCard FYI.
Lastly, if it's lag you are trying to fix. Go backwards with Android not forwards. JellyBean demands more than ICS and ICS demands more than GingerBread. Having the latest OS doesn't work for everyone. For example, Windows 8.1 doesn't work for me because there's no fastboot support without huge editing of system drivers. The same is true in Android. GingerBread stability may be more important than ICS or JB features, or JellyBean features may be more important. However don't expect lag free 4.2 or 4.3, our devices may work with it, but they were never intended to go above 4.1(Ville C2 updates stop there too I think) due to hardware limitations. Others may argue differently, but you should question the effort they're (including me) putting in with kernel and device tree upgrades. It's amazing work nonetheless but it basically shouldn't have to be done if the device were supported. Buy a new device if you want the latest and greatest. My Sensation has become a trophy for me to the amazing things you can do with one of HTCs first dual core phones. I don't expect it to work without some kinks and bugs or even fatal flaws but I still respect it for having running Sense 3.0 to 5.0 (yes I've tried it).
Sorry for the rant. I'm a little bit grumpy, but hope it helps explains why you can mostly erase and install a new version of android then throw the device away and be relatively safe.
There's probably going to be someone who reads all of this and thinks I'm crazy, to that guy or girl. Thanks for reading all of it!
Sent from my HTC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont wanna sell my phone and I know that my data isnt that valueable that anyone will try to read my data with hard efforts. My sensation used to perform awesome 2-3 months back, and now that I must have quick formatted my system and data partitions more than 1500 times, i think a full wipe may do some help for those nag n lag issues.
And about going back to GB? Man, Everyone feels GB is sad after using ICS/JB. If my phone doesnot stop lagging every second after I format these partitions, i think its time for a new phone!
Anyway thanks for such a detailed reply

pushpann said:
I dont wanna sell my phone and I know that my data isnt that valueable that anyone will try to read my data with hard efforts. My sensation used to perform awesome 2-3 months back, and now that I must have quick formatted my system and data partitions more than 1500 times, i think a full wipe may do some help for those nag n lag issues.
And about going back to GB? Man, Everyone feels GB is sad after using ICS/JB. If my phone doesnot stop lagging every second after I format these partitions, i think its time for a new phone!
Anyway thanks for such a detailed reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lag isn't from formatting. You can try ARHD ICS if you want. Or probably Sense 4+ with 4.1.2 but anything above that might not work out great.
Sent from my HTC

pushpann said:
I dont wanna sell my phone and I know that my data isnt that valueable that anyone will try to read my data with hard efforts. My sensation used to perform awesome 2-3 months back, and now that I must have quick formatted my system and data partitions more than 1500 times, i think a full wipe may do some help for those nag n lag issues.
And about going back to GB? Man, Everyone feels GB is sad after using ICS/JB. If my phone doesnot stop lagging every second after I format these partitions, i think its time for a new phone!
Anyway thanks for such a detailed reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How old is your Sensation? I could well be that your nand is dying. In that case, repartition your phone and make /system and /data from parts seldom used (like /cache).
If you want data security, full encryption will keep noobs away.

Thanks for the replies guys!
Today i actually did the zeroing of the partitions with Nandroid method.. I download an app called dummy file creator and it created dummy files(files with zeroes all over it. after searching in internet it seemed legit method of fully zeroing out the memory locations) in data partition untill it ran out of memory. Then i copied those files to system partition too manually till it also became full(I had to do this manually because the app didnt support creating dummy files in system partition) and made nandroid of data and system separately then did almost a dozen time 4ext format and restoring the nandroid. Finally i formatted all the partitions and installed Codename Lungo ROM(CM10.1).
HELL YEAH! it feels FASTer. Not sure if its gonna last long.

pushpann said:
Thanks for the replies guys!
Today i actually did the zeroing of the partitions with Nandroid method.. I download an app called dummy file creator and it created dummy files(files with zeroes all over it. after searching in internet it seemed legit method of fully zeroing out the memory locations) in data partition untill it ran out of memory. Then i copied those files to system partition too manually till it also became full(I had to do this manually because the app didnt support creating dummy files in system partition) and made nandroid of data and system separately then did almost a dozen time 4ext format and restoring the nandroid. Finally i formatted all the partitions and installed Codename Lungo ROM(CM10.1).
HELL YEAH! it feels FASTer. Not sure if its gonna last long.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just found something and wanted to add - for future reference - Android Tuner seems to be able to make the TRIM operation on all partitions on our sensation, in a much easier way.

pushpann said:
Thanks for the replies guys!
Today i actually did the zeroing of the partitions with Nandroid method.. I download an app called dummy file creator and it created dummy files(files with zeroes all over it. after searching in internet it seemed legit method of fully zeroing out the memory locations) in data partition untill it ran out of memory. Then i copied those files to system partition too manually till it also became full(I had to do this manually because the app didnt support creating dummy files in system partition) and made nandroid of data and system separately then did almost a dozen time 4ext format and restoring the nandroid. Finally i formatted all the partitions and installed Codename Lungo ROM(CM10.1).
HELL YEAH! it feels FASTer. Not sure if its gonna last long.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you guide me? i want to do that but i'm noob . how did you do that? pls help me

BSHD666 said:
Can you guide me? i want to do that but i'm noob . how did you do that? pls help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hehe you found it:good: