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[Q] Ooops - Tab's funked. Help!

P6800 running Zeta
I was browsing facebook the other night when... shaboom - everything froze. No biggie I thought, I'll just do a little reset (I was getting a few FCs here and there anyway lately) and I'll be good to go...
NOPE. It started bootlooping at the initial Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 screen. I'm able to enter CWM recovery and even wipe the cache and flash ZIP files, but when I try to wipe data/factory reset, wipe the Dalvik cache or restore a Nandroid backupI get a System Error. It doesn't look good.
Is there a way to fix my seemingly funked /system without losing all my internal SD card data (where my Titanium backups reside) or to recover it before a full Odin flash?

Just tried again - it reboots and goes into a loop when I try to wipe data and dalvik, and when I try to restore a previous backup it gives me "Error while restoring /system!"
Any help greatly appreciated before it becomes a $600 door stop

Do you dare to wipe the system folder and follow by flashing another ROM?
Sent from my GT-P6800 using xda app-developers app

iena said:
Just tried again - it reboots and goes into a loop when I try to wipe data and dalvik, and when I try to restore a previous backup it gives me "Error while restoring /system!"
Any help greatly appreciated before it becomes a $600 door stop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok... try go long way... download old HC stock rom and install that... then try go to stock recovery in hc and wipe your data

Thread moved to Q & A section, post in the relevant section next time.

edan1979 said:
ok... try go long way... download old HC stock rom and install that... then try go to stock recovery in hc and wipe your data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean via Odin? Will I lose the data on my internal SD card by doing that? Is there any way of mounting the device in its current state as external storage on my PC to copy all data before a wipe?
ZhenMing: I'm not sure what you mean, but as I wrote above I am not able to wipe the system folder.

yes you will loose your data... i can give you another advice... but do this one carefully... the reason why your device cant wipe any /system or /data is because the corrupted partition... you need to check it... follow the guide in this thread...
USE ONLY PART 3... follow the guide start from this para to check your device...
Code:
Now we are going to use e2fsck to check our new partitions for errors, but not only, it also fixes some erros and it will even for example create lost & found in /data
So let's go, we'll begin with /system. If you're still in the (parted) shell, use ctrl+c and type "adb shell", then issue the following :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1862294

iena said:
Do you mean via Odin? Will I lose the data on my internal SD card by doing that? Is there any way of mounting the device in its current state as external storage on my PC to copy all data before a wipe?
ZhenMing: I'm not sure what you mean, but as I wrote above I am not able to wipe the system folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you can go into cwm, you can mount your storage and then connect to PC to copy all you want.

edan1979 said:
yes you will loose your data... i can give you another advice... but do this one carefully... the reason why your device cant wipe any /system or /data is because the corrupted partition... you need to check it... follow the guide in this thread...
USE ONLY PART 3... follow the guide start from this para to check your device...
Code:
Now we are going to use e2fsck to check our new partitions for errors, but not only, it also fixes some erros and it will even for example create lost & found in /data
So let's go, we'll begin with /system. If you're still in the (parted) shell, use ctrl+c and type "adb shell", then issue the following :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1862294
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But won't it downsize the int sd size, if OP tab still under warranty, better to get it fix by samsung for free and not lost any space.

Just reading the 1st post of the ZETA rom thread.
He says he is using stock Kernel.
He says every 5 lines, that you should full wipe...
without giving any sort of warning that it will eventually brick your device.

friedje said:
Since you can go into cwm, you can mount your storage and then connect to PC to copy all you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that one, but it won't mount unfortunately. The external will no problem, but when I try with the internal it just... well it does nothing. It's a bummer cause all my most recent backups are on the internal. Any other way of retrieving my data short of extracting the chip?
Giving it back to Samsung sounds like the best option, but I'm worried cause it has a custom ROM and it's rooted. Anyone has experience doing that?
Also I thought full wipes were good, but you're saying they eventually brick the device? How come? I thought having a custom recovery meant it would be virtually impossible to brick my device... and the weird thing is that it happened during normal usage, not while flashing.
Anyway, my priority is obviously to get my tab working again, but retrieving my internal data is second highest. Isn't there a flashable ZIP that would copy the contents of the internal SD into an external SD card? Surely this has happened to someone before me?
Thanks for all the answers, really appreciated!

bruce16878 said:
But won't it downsize the int sd size, if OP tab still under warranty, better to get it fix by samsung for free and not lost any space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope it wont... the 3rd stage on that thread command for just check and fix the corrupted partition... its like when we force boot windows... it will run on a little diagnostic software to check the drive... same concept.

Oh I see, Thanks for the explanation. Learn something new today.
Sent from my LT18i using xda app-developers app

friedje said:
Since you can go into cwm, you can mount your storage and then connect to PC to copy all you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
edan1979 said:
nope it wont... the 3rd stage on that thread command for just check and fix the corrupted partition... its like when we force boot windows... it will run on a little diagnostic software to check the drive... same concept.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha! Will try that one and post result - thanks!

how did your partition check go?
i'm annoyed that some partitions can be corrupted randomly even doing some mundane stuffs
even on stock ICS fw, i encountered DATA corruption by just deleting a contact
i guess you have softbrick..
here is what i did:
-flash stock Honeycomb firmware using Odin
-forced tablet into stock recovery mode
-wipe Cache/Data/Factory Reset
- reboot
when your tab is working again you could backup files from your internal EMMC and you could flash ROMS from there

JAYZE said:
how did your partition check go?
i'm annoyed that some partitions can be corrupted randomly even doing some mundane stuffs
even on stock ICS fw, i encountered DATA corruption by just deleting a contact
i guess you have softbrick..
here is what i did:
-flash stock Honeycomb firmware using Odin
-forced tablet into stock recovery mode
-wipe Cache/Data/Factory Reset
- reboot
when your tab is working again you could backup files from your internal EMMC and you could flash ROMS from there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. I haven't tried anything yet as I'm away till Weds, but I will then and let you know. So you're saying by flashing stock HC via Odin and wiping/resetting everything through stock recovery I won't lose my internal storage data?

that's what i experienced..but i could not guarantee that it will be the same for your device
i noticed that because old folder are not deleted when i rebooted, but i haven't checked if the system folders are cleared
to have a clean reflash i also format/sdcard on recovery..but don't do this on stocl ICS recovery since you might risk increasing the damage
try to format via odin the Honeycomb fw first [don't put PIT file neither enable Repartion, just normal flash]
then force it to enter recovery mode when it bootloops after reset
you might fix your device this way if it has softbrick
just resort to using PIT/repartition as your last option

Again I would not recommend repartition when tab still under warranty. Repartition the last resort only if the tab is without warranty after failing all other alternatives.

JAYZE said:
how did your partition check go?
i'm annoyed that some partitions can be corrupted randomly even doing some mundane stuffs
even on stock ICS fw, i encountered DATA corruption by just deleting a contact
i guess you have softbrick..
here is what i did:
-flash stock Honeycomb firmware using Odin
-forced tablet into stock recovery mode
-wipe Cache/Data/Factory Reset
- reboot
when your tab is working again you could backup files from your internal EMMC and you could flash ROMS from there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
After a full hangup, your stock hc is your first step out of the dark!
Best of luck

al128 said:
+1
After a full hangup, your stock hc is your first step out of the dark!
Best of luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I'm gonna do it. There are dozens of versions of HC for the 6800 though, can I just pick any or do I need to find out what it was running out of the box? Mine came from Singapore.

Is factory reset enough before selling your phone?

Is a factory reset enough when selling a phone? Many used phones on websites like craigslist.
I wonder how much these people care about data?
I have been able to retrieve data that is years old from hard drives with very simple programs. Most enthusiasts will tell you reformatting is not enough. A 3 pass method is what will do the trick.
But what about on a smartphone? Is there such a way to write over the storage with 0's ?
How many here believe a factory reset is enough?

no way
factory reset
format your sd card if any
And also full format your Internal card also...dats it.

I'd like to hear what others have to say. I really don't think that's a very secure method.

If you have a ClockworkMod recovery for your device, try flashing a custom rom + wipe the cache and Dalvik cache.
Sent from my Grand X Pro using xda premium

Stock ROM + erase all data = new phone :

RaZ0R4334 said:
Stock ROM + erase all data = new phone :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it isn't. Any data on the internal system can be recovered as it is not possible to carry out a multi write on it. There was a puritan around a while ago that claimed to do multi pass wipe of files but it disappeared about a year ago, can't even remember what it was called now.
Your average user won't be able to recover anything after a full wrote and reinstall - factory reset is no good - but a forensics expert can do so easily.

if the original soft it is better to delete yourself what you can do then wipe with recovery and check because it's important.

[Q] HOXL Data Recovery

Hi fellow xda-members,
I recently wiped my One XL 32GB with the HBOOT Factory Reset,
didnt know that it wipes the internal storage aswell...
Needless to say that I work with the phone and the data is priceless...
I already tried to pipe the whole mmcblk0 via netcat, which worked fine.
All but the FAT 25GB partition are getting recognised via testdisk.
Did 2 dd's, so I got 2 raw-images of mmcblk0 and mmcblk0p36.
None of the recovery tools (Recuva, testdisk, @active, pc inspector recovery, etc.) did find any files.
The Partition wasnt formatted and also wasnt mounted yet, there should be no changes made from android since the wipe.
If I open the mmcblk0p36 via hex editor, its complete null.
The mmcblk0 image has random data all over the whole area,
but also mostly null (estimated 80-90% null). The internal memory was almost full,
about 22/25GB, so there are 3 options:
1.:The HBOOT Factory Reset doesnt delete just the FAT, but also nulls the whole data. (Which would be weird, because the reset took 3-5 seconds, I doubt it can null 25gigs in 5 seconds ;D)
2.:The chip has a kind of "fast-wipe" option, which makes it possible to null 25gb in 5 seconds, never seen this before, but who knows
3.:The data wasnt nulled, but dd doesnt read 1:1, which would be also weird.
Is there any app/commandline tool for android to directly check
whats on the specific part of the internal storage?
Or are there ways to access the memory directly to get
a exact image of the internal storage for recovery other than "dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0"?
If none of the above, is there a chip-recovery expert that can recover the files with jtag/advanced hardware?
Thanks for all replys
criestr

Was the phone modified? If so, the factory reset in the bootloader doesn't just wipe the data, but it completely corrupts it, that's probably why you're getting no data show up with the recovery tools you're using.
Sent from my Evita

timmaaa said:
Was the phone modified? If so, the factory reset in the bootloader doesn't just wipe the data, but it completely corrupts it, that's probably why you're getting no data show up with the recovery tools you're using.
Sent from my Evita
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the phone is rooted and s-off'ed,
I personally didnt change the partition alignment,
but updated the hboot from somewhat 1.09 to 2.18 a few days before.
Has the layout been changed in the past?
And, if the data was really corrupted, what to do about?
Is there any chance to recover the files?
thanks
criestr

criestr said:
Yes, the phone is rooted and s-off'ed,
I personally didnt change the partition alignment,
but updated the hboot from somewhat 1.09 to 2.18 a few days before.
Has the layout been changed in the past?
And, if the data was really corrupted, what to do about?
Is there any chance to recover the files?
thanks
criestr
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see how the partition alignment is relevant, but no I don't believe it's changed. I don't think you're going to have much luck in recovering your data, if all those recovery tools aren't yielding any positive results.

timmaaa said:
I don't see how the partition alignment is relevant, but no I don't believe it's changed. I don't think you're going to have much luck in recovering your data, if all those recovery tools aren't yielding any positive results.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the partition alignment has changed, the hboot factory reset could possibly null more/less/other/the wrong ranges of memory while wiping.
I have new results:
I've checked the fresh raw dumps with a hex editor, finding out the range of mmcblk0p36, the internal sdcard only contains nulls.
Thats why every recovery tool doesnt gather any file.
I know that dd copys every bit 1:1, so I am out of luck with dd.
Does someone have experience with jtag raw data recovery?
Is there a way to gather other/deeper data with jtag?
Thanks
criestr

[Q] Nexus 5 Data recovery?

I rooted my nexus 5 and installed new ROM. Can i recover my data back which was on stock ROM??
PS: I have formatted and installed like 7-8 ROMS after stock ROM so there have been 8 wipes on NEXUS 5!

Ashutosh1313 said:
I rooted my nexus 5 and installed new ROM. Can i recover my data back which was on stock ROM??
PS: I have formatted and installed like 7-8 ROMS after stock ROM so there have been 8 wipes on NEXUS 5!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No if you didn't backup your data before wiping and flashing a new rom.

Ashutosh1313 said:
I rooted my nexus 5 and installed new ROM. Can i recover my data back which was on stock ROM??
PS: I have formatted and installed like 7-8 ROMS after stock ROM so there have been 8 wipes on NEXUS 5!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck. It is minutely possible by taking an image of the data partition, converting it using simg2img and mounting it as raw on Linux, then running data recovery tools... But its a very involved process and if you have written over the blocks already, then the data is gone... So quick answer, not now, no. If you have an old nandroid, possibly

rootSU said:
Good luck. It is minutely possible by taking an image of the data partition, converting it using simg2img and mounting it as raw on Linux, then running data recovery tools... But its a very involved process and if you have written over the blocks already, then the data is gone... So quick answer, not now, no. If you have an old nandroid, possibly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for replying sir! I was actually reading your thread.
And yes I have written over the new data every time i booted into new rom. So to be precise I have formatted and written over the data more than 7-8 times.
SO please tell me how are the chances of me getting the file from Stock rom back?
PS: The files were 3 video files each around 400 mb & I dont have nand backup
Waiting for your reply sir

Ashutosh1313 said:
Thank you very much for replying sir! I was actually reading your thread.
And yes I have written over the new data every time i booted into new rom. So to be precise I have formatted and written over the data more than 7-8 times.
SO please tell me how are the chances of me getting the file from Stock rom back?
PS: The files were 3 video files each around 400 mb
Waiting for your reply sir
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Formatting isn't a problem. It doesn't delete the data.
Your memory is broken into blocks (Now This isn't accurate, but lets pretend it is...) so it starts at block 1 and ends at block 100...
You save a video to sdcard and its the first data stored there, it goes to block 1.. The next data goes to 2 etc.
When you format, the entires in the file system are removed, but the data remains, until you overwrite data. Since the file system is empty, after a wipe, the data starts from block 1 again, overwritting the previous data in block one.
Once this happens, its gone forever. So your chance is small....
The only chance you can save data is for example, before wipe, used 8GB memory. After wipe only used 4 GB data.. The last blocks of your previous data set (4 GB) MAY be recoverable.
See attached for visual representation

rootSU said:
Formatting isn't a problem. It doesn't delete the data.
Your memory is broken into blocks (Now This isn't accurate, but lets pretend it is...) so it starts at block 1 and ends at block 100...
You save a video to sdcard and its the first data stored there, it goes to block 1.. The next data goes to 2 etc.
When you format, the entires in the file system are removed, but the data remains, until you overwrite data. Since the file system is empty, after a wipe, the data starts from block 1 again, overwritting the previous data in block one.
Once this happens, its gone forever. So your chance is small....
The only chance you can save data is for example, before wipe, used 8GB memory. After wipe only used 4 GB data.. The last blocks of your previous data set (4 GB) MAY be recoverable.
See attached for visual representation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you again! That was really nice explanation
I have filled up the storage up to the last bit after every new ROM installation.[ Hardly kept 100-150 MB free space]
So its not possible for me to restore the videos as they were 400+MB right??
Anyways Thank you very much for replying.
Cheers!

Ashutosh1313 said:
Thank you again! That was really nice explanation
I have filled up the storage up to the last bit after every new ROM installation.[ Hardly kept 100-150 MB free space]
So its not possible for me to restore the videos as they were 400+MB right??
Anyways Thank you very much for replying.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, not possible

Galaxy s4 internal memory problem.

I am using galaxy s4 gt i9500. The internal memory available for the 16gb variant is about 8 gb, out of which i have hardly used 1 gb. I don't know where the rest of the memory has gone. Is it possible to format or something(except the factory reset; it didn't help) like we can format the sd card. Any help is appreciated!
Thanks a lot!

daksh.mehta235 said:
I am using galaxy s4 gt i9500. The internal memory available for the 16gb variant is about 8 gb, out of which i have hardly used 1 gb. I don't know where the rest of the memory has gone. Is it possible to format or something(except the factory reset; it didn't help) like we can format the sd card. Any help is appreciated!
Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A large amont of the space is your rom im guessing around 3-5gb then u have probly another 2-3gb for ur stock apps then anything u install after that. They say 16/32/64 or 128 on the box but thats never the room u get software always takes up a large portion. Luckily ur device has a sd card slot i believe so u can use that to expande ur storge for a relatively cheap price.
If you need more room on the device you can always root and install custom software or uninstall apps with titanium backup but be careful read the guides in your device forum and follow them properly.

Root your phone and install link2sd.this will solve your storage problem.

First of all your rom will take a lot, second of all your apps and your old apps data incase you used a custom recovery to factory reset, and third of all Cashe it self could reach up to 1 gb.

MrHollywood said:
First of all your rom will take a lot, second of all your apps and your old apps data incase you used a custom recovery to factory reset, and third of all Cashe it self could reach up to 1 gb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand that the rom may take a large amount of memory but i dont think so that it can take upto 7-8 gb. I have cleared all the cache so it cannot be cache either. I think i may have used custom recovery to factory reset. But when i use file manager to view my internal the total is around only 400 mb including all the folders (like android, dcim, etc)
Btw, I'm running cm12.1. Do you think reverting back to my stock rom would help?
Please help as this is really irritating because most of my apps crash due to low memory.
Thanks.

daksh.mehta235 said:
I understand that the rom may take a large amount of memory but i dont think so that it can take upto 7-8 gb. I have cleared all the cache so it cannot be cache either. I think i may have used custom recovery to factory reset. But when i use file manager to view my internal the total is around only 400 mb including all the folders (like android, dcim, etc)
Btw, I'm running cm12.1. Do you think reverting back to my stock rom would help?
Please help as this is really irritating because most of my apps crash due to low memory.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup the issue is that you used a costume recovery to factory reset, I had that issue as well with my note 3 until I realized that all apps data were installed but I didn't see them even on file manager, so I just downloaded a stock firmware and did a stock factory reset and then everything was good as new!

MrHollywood said:
Yup the issue is that you used a costume recovery to factory reset, I had that issue as well with my note 3 until I realized that all apps data were installed but I didn't see them even on file manager, so I just downloaded a stock firmware and did a stock factory reset and then everything was good as new!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try this and let you know. Thanks a lot!

daksh.mehta235 said:
Will try this and let you know. Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pleasure! Best of luck.