Help understanding storage partitions - Google Pixel Questions & Answers

I've always used Samsung devices (last device was GS5) so I'm trying to understand the internal partitions on newer versions of android. I don't mean the dual slot stuff either.. just the normal partitions like /system
So with my GS5 of I went into TWRP and factory reset. That wiped all user data from the phone. Apps, settings, downloads, pics, etc..
It seems that's not how it works anymore. Just looking for a basic layout of the folder structure and what is stored on each partition
Where is my user data stored? Are my downloaded apps, settings, pics, downloads (everything I put on the phone) stored in one partition? If so where
When I factory reset in recovery what partitions is that wiping
At this point the only thing I know is /system which is where the actual OS itself is stored.
Any explanation would be appreciated!!

aholeinthewor1d said:
I've always used Samsung devices (last device was GS5) so I'm trying to understand the internal partitions on newer versions of android. I don't mean the dual slot stuff either.. just the normal partitions like /system
So with my GS5 of I went into TWRP and factory reset. That wiped all user data from the phone. Apps, settings, downloads, pics, etc..
It seems that's not how it works anymore. Just looking for a basic layout of the folder structure and what is stored on each partition
Where is my user data stored? Are my downloaded apps, settings, pics, downloads (everything I put on the phone) stored in one partition? If so where
When I factory reset in recovery what partitions is that wiping
At this point the only thing I know is /system which is where the actual OS itself is stored.
Any explanation would be appreciated!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/data
/data/app
/data/user
/data/media...
You can see all these folders and what they contain via something like Root Explorer. Then install an app or modify its settings, you'll easily see its date/time properties get changed.
Or you can use ES Explorer, every time a new folder gets created, ES notifies you. After a while, it gets annoying but it's good to be able to observe in the beginning.

Related

Optimizing folder structure?

I reset my twrp rooted note 10.1 back to factory, cleared dalvik and internal storage, flash a new ROM yet it stil maintains the old folder structure from my previous ROM. I want as little as possible in my folder structure. I'm afraid if I delete certain folders (eg TWRP) it will render my tablet useless as I might not even be able to boot into TWRP.
Factory reset says it wipes "data" (does this mean internal storage?) and when I clear internal storage too I still have pictures etc. from my old ROM, why?
I have a .face and .thumbnails folder that I'm not even seeing in the file manager on the system. Is it safe to delete these?
How do I clean the clutter? I would really appreciate if this is demystified a little.

[Q] How to access System, Data, Cache, etc.

Hello! I don't speak english, sorry. But I have a trouble. Can I mount System, Data folders to my PC for recover files on it?
I execute Format Data, Format System in 4ext recovery and lose my Contacts. I know that contact's database placed in some file on System or Data partition. How to recover it?
P. S.: I have not install any firmware after formatting partitions to prevent damage my data...
Please, Help me!
You can use adb to access any files on those partitions, but as you've formatted the data partition, those files will not exist anymore.
If you could "mount" the partitions, they would now be empty. I don't think there's any way to recover the data unless you have a backup somewhere (Google account?).
If there is a way, it's not a question of mounting the partitions, but actually using data recovery techniques on the phone's internal memory.
Does anybody know if that's possible / feasible?
Edit: don't you have a nandroid backup you could restore from?
that:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994705
might be possible solution, or a base (direction) do dig further...
I recently have been recovering, stupidly formated drive too,
got the data back (most of it anyway )
but the tree (folder structure )
was irrevertably gone, and part of a file names as well,
so, when you calm down, after getting data back,
you realise there is still a gigantic work ahead,
with bitting through thousands of files with names like:
< _ibc.so or _ops.png >, and guessing which belongs to what....
...but, if one strongly sets ones mind on accomplishing the task,
it is possible....
Edit: the link above, is just a beginning of the journey,
oft, one has to gather bits of several tutorials and [HOW TO]`s
and that is what i also, stongly recommend to do,
its because, these things are often non official- hundred percent
novice proof hardened methods,
each of them, had worked for somebody,
but there is no guarantees- that particular method`ll work for you...
Success:good:

Restored nandroid, what's with the sdcard?

Hey guys,
a nandroid backup is a really convenient method to backup your complete phone and restore everything or partially data. All partitions (/system, /data, /cache) were being backed up.
But what happens with the sdcard?
Before I flash/install a new rom, I always format my sdcard with my PC, hence I make sure, that it’s clean and has no remains from older roms.
On first boot, the android system creates a lot of folders contaning data, which both are modified during the daily use. For example the folder “DCIM” contains all the taken pictures and videos.
But what’s about these?
- .android_secure
- .dta
- .estrong
- and especially “Android” and subfolders
What happens, if I make a full nandroid of my phone, format my sdcard, so that all the folders and data, which were created while using the rom, were deleted. After that I restore the complete backup and boot up the phone.
My question is, how the restored system will react, if it notices, that these folders and their contents were not available?
- will they be recreated?
- does the system not boot
- after booting it will show some error messages?
- something else?
Thanks in advance!
@@RON
Hi
Greeting
Nandroid only backups phone memory
It does not backup sdcard
And their is no need to format sd card everytime before flashing Rom (i haven't formated my sd card even once ) every thing works f9
Even if u remove all the file from sdcard which u mentaion then the phone recreate these file againg and causes no problem
Basically a Rom has to do nothing with the sdcard the phone runs completely even without sdcard . Sd card is just an expansion of memory to phones
And you do whatever with it , it does not affect the way your Rom runs
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Z715e using xda premium
@@RON said:
Hey guys,
a nandroid backup is a really convenient method to backup your complete phone and restore everything or partially data. All partitions (/system, /data, /cache) were being backed up.
But what happens with the sdcard?
Before I flash/install a new rom, I always format my sdcard with my PC, hence I make sure, that it’s clean and has no remains from older roms.
On first boot, the android system creates a lot of folders contaning data, which both are modified during the daily use. For example the folder “DCIM” contains all the taken pictures and videos.
But what’s about these?
- .android_secure
- .dta
- .estrong
- and especially “Android” and subfolders
What happens, if I make a full nandroid of my phone, format my sdcard, so that all the folders and data, which were created while using the rom, were deleted. After that I restore the complete backup and boot up the phone.
My question is, how the restored system will react, if it notices, that these folders and their contents were not available?
- will they be recreated?
- does the system not boot
- after booting it will show some error messages?
- something else?
Thanks in advance!
@@RON
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When making a nandroid backup, system, data, boot and cache partitions are saved. Also, the android_secure from the SDcard is saved. As for the other folders, they are not kept. EStrongs is the guys who make ES File Explorer, and I believe this folder has something to do with the app. I don't know about the other folders, but they are not required for running the ROM. If they are missing, they will be recreated.
I believe I answered some of your questions above, but I'll answer the rest here:
-As I said, the restore won't create the folders, but the ROM might create them. At least one of the folders you listed is of an app, and there are many more apps that create folders on your SDCard, that's just cache or some data, which is not a problem to restore.
-The system will boot. That's the idea of a nandroid backup (if those folders were required, they would have been backed up)
-It will not show error messages, it will resume just like when you made the backuo.
-Something Else? You name it. There is no need to format your SDCard every time you flash a ROM, as usually it doesn't create problems. It can get a bit messy, but besides that, it's fine to keep it the way it is.
astar26 said:
When making a nandroid backup, system, data, boot and cache partitions are saved. Also, the android_secure from the SDcard is saved. As for the other folders, they are not kept. EStrongs is the guys who make ES File Explorer, and I believe this folder has something to do with the app. I don't know about the other folders, but they are not required for running the ROM. If they are missing, they will be recreated.
I believe I answered some of your questions above, but I'll answer the rest here:
-As I said, the restore won't create the folders, but the ROM might create them. At least one of the folders you listed is of an app, and there are many more apps that create folders on your SDCard, that's just cache or some data, which is not a problem to restore.
-The system will boot. That's the idea of a nandroid backup (if those folders were required, they would have been backed up)
-It will not show error messages, it will resume just like when you made the backuo.
-Something Else? You name it. There is no need to format your SDCard every time you flash a ROM, as usually it doesn't create problems. It can get a bit messy, but besides that, it's fine to keep it the way it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, you're right!
I clicked through the folders on my sdcard and the most directories are named "cache" etc. Only some exceptions for e.g. whatsapp message database or downloaded maps for htc locations ...etc.
So it seems, that the android system and the installed apps create folders for their use. If a nandroid will be created, the last mentioned folder should be backed up, too ... but manually. Thus the first mentioned folders (.data ...) are unnecessary.
You said, that there is no need to format the sdcard everytime a new rom will be flashed. I think it is, because every new rom deserves a clean sdcard, which has no remains from older roms. So the rom can expand themself and have a great feeling
No joke, in my opinion it will be the better way, if there are no possible complications with older existing files.
@@RON said:
Yeah, you're right!
I clicked through the folders on my sdcard and the most directories are named "cache" etc. Only some exceptions for e.g. whatsapp message database or downloaded maps for htc locations ...etc.
So it seems, that the android system and the installed apps create folders for their use. If a nandroid will be created, the last mentioned folder should be backed up, too ... but manually. Thus the first mentioned folders (.data ...) are unnecessary.
You said, that there is no need to format the sdcard everytime a new rom will be flashed. I think it is, because every new rom deserves a clean sdcard, which has no remains from older roms. So the rom can expand themself and have a great feeling
No joke, in my opinion it will be the better way, if there are no possible complications with older existing files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What needs to be cleaned is cleaned when you wipe the phone. Anyway, formatting the SDCard is your choice. Files of apps that are not installed just won't be used. I like your idea of starting fresh, but it's quite a hassle to format and rearrange the SD every time I flash a ROM.
It's nice to have it clean without many directories (Imust say that I managed to reach such a situation with my own documents, with directories I created myself and have no idea what they are for. But I guess that's what you get when you don't clean your "room" for a couple of years.

How to do a COMPLETE TWRP backup / restore to duplicate a system 1:1?

Hi all,
I may be just too wrong-headed at the moment to find out the correct process for duplicating the entire system of a Huawei P9 to another Huawei P9.
(both are identical models and both have Android 7.0 installed, so partition layout should also be the same).
I thought, I'd create a complete TWRP Nandroid backup of the main device (TWRP lets me choose Boot, Data, Vendor, System for backup) and restore all that on the other one. Failed: Some apps behave strangely, lost their data and settings. "Google Play services are not available". And I have an extra home screen with some app icons I did not have on the original system. Also, root is missing on the target system. Other effects might be there that I didn't see yet.
Okay, after some investigation I found out that TWRP does not include /data/media in its backups, which could at least explain some of these effects.
So I re-restored the backup and then additionally copied /data/media from the main phone using TWRP's file manager and via USBOTG drive over to the other phone. I checked that the files were there. OK. Reboot, but still, the same effects as before.
Of course, I also moved the microSD card from the main phone to the other one (there, a lot of data is placed, that some apps may use, but a missing card should not even explain one of the above mentioned effects anyway).
Please, could you advise me what I have to do to copy really the entire phone's content 1:1 over to the other phone, so I can continue to use that other phone in place of the first one?
TWRP claims that it makes that possible. But so far, it doesn't seem to me like it does.
But then, maybe I'm just missing something.
Thanks a lot!

How To recover my photos from my rooted android

Hi i recently made a backup with wondershare mobile trans and it created a .BAK file of 30gb and it is corrupted i don't know why, I can't read videos and photos (if you know any way to access the data in it even if it is corrupted please tell me), i tried extracting it with winrar but it only extracts 6gb of some photos , the rest is corrupted it can't finish extraction.
I flashed a new rom and orange fox recovery , i have root access , i installed disk digger with full root access but it can't find any photo (not a single one) in my internal storage , is there any way to recover my photos from internal storage ?
I flashed my phone before knowing The backup file .BAK was corrupted
If you flash a ROM then Android's internal storage memory - who is surprised ? - gets completely overwritten, means previously stored data have been lost.
jwoegerbauer said:
If you flash a ROM then Android's internal storage memory - who is surprised ? - gets completely overwritten, means previously stored data have been lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I formatted internal storage before flashing the new rom
Steps to recover your deleted data from your rooted Android device-
1. Connect Your Android device.
2. Launch Android Data Recovery software on computer and choose 'Data Recovery'
3. Choose file types to Scan
4. Preview and restore lost data from Android phone.
Stop using your phone to prevent new files from overwriting lost data. Then try to use data recovery software to detect the photos from internal storage. If it can be detected, recovery is simple.
jwoegerbauer said:
If you flash a ROM then Android's internal storage memory - who is surprised ? - gets completely overwritten, means previously stored data have been lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to think it's a lost cause especially if the drive is zeroed out when you flashed.
Don't know but...
This wouldn't surprise me as it's a wise precaution to ensure a clean flash/load.
Even if not overwritten the file structure is lost as that was certainly overwritten when you flashed it. All you will find at best is completely random disjointed files.
The images will have no metadata ie time stamp etc. If you have hundreds, thousands of random images just forgetting about them becomes the less frustrating option many times. There's no way to index them except by memory, one at a time.
Been there, done that

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