Database Info

[GUIDE] Prep for App2SD and why do a "Wipe data / factory reset"

I put this short guide together because I tend to see a lot of confusion regarding what a "wipe data / factory reset" does to your phone.
These are the steps you should take before loading a new ROM:
1) Download your new ROM and relevant supporting or needed files like modem, alternate kernel, etc., and place them on your internal SD.
2) Backup your applications, settings, messages, etc., with a backup tool like Titanium Backup, image specific backup tool, etc.
3) Boot into recovery and run a “wipe data/factory reset"
4) Follow the developers ROM loading instructions.
When you perform a “wipe data/factory reset” the content of the following directories are deleted :
/data
/cache
/datadata
/sd-ext
/sdcard/.android_secure
Nothing else on your SD card (internal or external) outside of these directories is modified so it is safe to leave files outside of the above mentioned directories without fear of losing them. Your external SD card and SIM do not need to be removed. The goal here is load a new or updated ROM in as much a clean environment that you can. Files left behind in these, especially cache and davlik-cache can cause some of the strangest problems. The kind that nobody can really resolve.
/cache - This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and application components to make these, as implied, respond much faster as well as faster to retrieve / access.
/datadata – This directory contains the library, database, user specific configuration files as well as log files for its specific application installed in the /data directory.
/data directory is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially restores it to the way it was when you first booted it, or how it was after your last custom ROM install.
If your ROM uses an /sd-ext partition on your SD card for data storage your /data directory is mapped to /sd-ext and wiping the /sd-ext directory will result in losing your data.
/sd-ext is used for apps moved to your SD card. Your Android OS runs natively in an ext format while your SD card has a fat32 format, which is used typically for USB storage devices, Windows computers, etc.
The sd-ext partition is an additional partition on your SD card that acts as the /data partition when used with certain ROMs that have APP2SD or data2ext enabled. It is popularly used on devices that have little memory allotted to the /data partition. A misfortune that in my experience, Captivate does not partake in. Still, users who want to install more programs than the internal memory allows can take advantage of this partition and use it with a ROM supporting this feature.
The folder named .android_secure is where apps are stored when you perform the "move from phone to SDram/SD card" operation.
Consider this, Apps2SD uses the fat32 portion of your SD card, which is obviously limiting because it isn't Androids native file system. However, if you format your SD card, or partition a part of it as a ext file system, you can trick the phone into thinking it's part of the Android OS native environment. This will allow you to move applications, widgets, even cache and davlik cache over to it.
Disclaimer! I am not responsible for any damage you may cause to your phone or SD Card if you try to enable/use sd-ext.
To enable sd-ext in ClockWork Mod (ROM Manager):
Boot into CWM
Go to Advanced
Then to "Partition SD Card"
Choose an sd-ext size
Then choose a swap size, or not. Swap is just like windows' virtual memory. The system will use it when you're running low on RAM and use it as temporary RAM storage. This is where you'll probably see an increase in speed.
Just for fun I put sd-ext at 512MB and Swap at 64MB which is probably more than plenty for the swap. The swap will assist a little with memory and with the extra space I can move my apps over to it with a program like App2SD or in most custom ROMs nowadays just use the "move to USB" option in "Manage Applications". Titanium Backup will also move apps to SD for you and I'm sure you can find plenty more in the market.
You can also use a tool like Minitool Partition Wizard:
1. Open Minitool Partition Wizard
2. Delete Existing Partition from SDCard (Backup data first!!)
3. Create Fat32 Partition
Note: Set all partitions to PRIMARY (Steps 3 - 6)
4. Create EXT2 Partition (System) about 150MB-200MB depend on ROM
5. Create EXT2 Partition (Data) about 150MB-250MB
6. Create EXT2 Partition (Cache) about 50MB
Personally I don't see a need to do any of this on either of my Captivate phones though I have played with it on my DEV phone.
And since it does play a big role and needs to be cleared at times...
Davlik-Cache - dalvik cache is a program cache area for the program "Dalvik". Dalvik is a java based virtual machine that is the base for running your (.apk) programs. In order to make access times faster (there wasn't a JIT compiler installed by default until Android 2.2), the dalvik-cache is the result of dalvik doing a optimization of the running program/s. This optimization is kept so that it is then re-used every time you use your application/s. By default, davlik-cache is located in your /data partition.
No, I'm not looking for donations. Just trying to clarify things for some.

Great info, but a "guide" assists you in doing something, this is just straight info.

While I initially intended on writing it to guide flashers into the benefits of a wipe data / factory reset, and avoiding the myriad of strange issues experienced, I can see now where it can more construed as informational. Hmmm... maybe I'll add more to it or ask a mod to change the title topic for me.
Regardless, my hope is that some people get some benefit out of it otherwise I've only wasted my time.

Thanks, I've been wondering for a while what that actually did.

Great start for a guide that should clear the boards up a bit. I vote it to be stickied after adding a bit more info on backing up, partitioning the sd card, dalvik cache, etc.
I think it is important to explain that a reset should not be done after flashing a custom ROM because it deletes the Dev's settings/data/non-system apps. Instead flashers should either reset after flashing back to stock or before flashing a custom ROM over the current custom ROM.

Cozmo1 said:
I put this short guide together because I tend to see a lot of confusion regarding what a "wipe data / factory reset" does to your phone.
When you perform a “wipe data/factory reset” the content of the following directories are deleted :
/data
/cache
/datadata
/sd-ext
/sdcard/.android_secure
/cache - This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and application components to make these, as implied, respond much faster as well as faster to retrieve / access.
/datadata – This directory contains the library, database, user specific configuration files as well as log files for its specific application installed in the /data directory.
/data directory is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially restores it to the way it was when you first booted it, or how it was after your last custom ROM install.
If your ROM uses an /sd-ext partition on your SD card for data storage your /data directory is mapped to /sd-ext and wiping the /sd-ext directory will result in losing your data.
/sd-ext is used for apps moved to your SD card. Your Android OS runs natively in an ext format while your SD card has a fat32 format, which is used typically for USB storage devices, Windows computers, etc.
The folder named .android_secure is where apps are stored when you perform the "move from phone to SDram/SD card" operation.
Consider this, Apps2SD uses the fat32 portion of your SD card, which is obviously limiting because it isn't Androids native file system. However, if you format your SD card, or partition a part of it as a ext file system, you can trick the phone into thinking it's part of the Android OS native environment. This will allow you to move applications, widgets, even cache and davlik cache over to it.
Nothing else on your SD card (internal or external) is modified so it is safe to leave files outside of the above mentioned directories without fear of losing them.
If you plan on trying several different ROM's and/or updating your favorite ROM every time a new version is released you need to invest in an application like Titanium Backup or one that comes with your ROM if it's supplied with one. MIUI includes one that works extremely well. Performing a “wipe data/factory reset" after loading your new ROM and before booting into it should provide you with a smoother transition to your newly chosen or upgraded ROM. Having a standard backup and restoral process should help you enjoy it quicker too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is something I keep in a word file to help answer what you are also trying to answer. It is a bit shorter and simplified but it may help to polish your thread for us simpletons.
Dalvik cache is a place where the Android OS re-compiles the executable programs the first time to optimize them. It does this when you make a major change like replace the kernel/modem. Clearing the Dalvik cache will force Android OS to recompile the apps for the the new kernel/modem. This can take time on the first boot after clearing the Dalvik cache.
Also the main data Cache is used by the Android OS at run-time to write temporary files for specific reasons. You want to clear this out so it doesn't re-use the old cached data.
Manually clearing both caches allows the new kernel/modem to be installed in a "cleaner" environment. It's just preventative maintenance.

snowake said:
I think it is important to explain that a reset should not be done after flashing a custom ROM because it deletes the Dev's settings/data/non-system apps. Instead flashers should either reset after flashing back to stock or before flashing a custom ROM over the current custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This actually makes perfect sense to me. I have modified my OP because of your input. Thank you very much, snowake!

Cozmo1 said:
This actually makes perfect sense to me. I have modified my OP because of your input. Thank you very much, snowake!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do u have more info about "format your SD card, or partition a part of it as a ext file system" or how to do that.
i have read someone format part of the sdcard (class 10)to ext 2 or 4,to make the write n read faster.is that what you mean.can u guide me to the right direction.thank in advance.
? ? ? about this......(However, if you format your SD card, or partition a part of it as a ext file system, you can trick the phone into thinking it's part of the Android OS native environment. This will allow you to move applications, widgets, even cache and davlik cache over to it.)

Cozmo1 said:
This actually makes perfect sense to me. I have modified my OP because of your input. Thank you very much, snowake!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I struggled with all of this my first first few flashes.

xpakage said:
...Dalvik cache is a place where the Android OS re-compiles the executable programs the first time to optimize them.
...
Also the main data Cache is used by the Android OS at run-time to write temporary files for specific reasons.
Manually clearing both caches allows the new kernel/modem to be installed in a "cleaner" environment. It's just preventative maintenance.[/I]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is much more boiled down. I looked back at the "how to flash" threads and a couple good explanations on custom roms. None explain this that I found.
Cosmo, here are some more thoughts on misunderstandings I have had and seen posted. Like post above I pasted from my notes, so may be incorrect.
Bootloaders: Same for Froyo/Eclaire in both i897 and i9000 roms. GB requires new bootloaders, but i897 are apparently cross-compatible. However, issues seem to pop up on i9000 roms with GB i897 bootloaders. If flashing back to Froyo, use the full jf6 stock, not cezar's stock eclaire without bootloaders.
Using Tibu: If no useful data (i.e. Bookmarks on dolphin) then simply click data only when restoring user apps. Typically no issues when restoring user apps after switching Android versions. However, system apps should not be restored because of the rom customizations. Especially when switching to GB because it uses different directory structure. I do not seem to have issues when staying on same version and restoring foreground (user accessible) apps with data only or restoring green text color sys apps with Tibu as icon (i.e. Accounts).
Rom manager: really only need the app if flash to stock and need to flash rom directly from cwm. If so, then flash cwm (top button in menu) and choose phone. This places update.zip in /sd, which is opened after selecting "reinstall update" in stock recovery. Usually have to select it twice for it to work. This will replace ATT stock 2e recovery (blue text) with cwm 2.5 (froyo).
Voodoo color, lagfix, sound: must either be included in kernel. Lagfix simply allows user to format sd as ext4 (linux). Color balances display so less blue iodes are used and color is more realistic. Sound allows clearer sound through headphones through tweaks enabled in voodoo app. If sound is not in kernel then purchase voodoo pro in market and it will install it into the kernel (if rooted, even if stock).

Thanks for clearing that up!
- Aaron

Updated with more details.

Really, really useful. Had no idea partition options were available to this extent! Especially swap. By mini tool are you referring to Easus' program? I am definitely checking this out tonight. Thanks!

Great guide. In order to clear
/sdcard dir I master clear it after flashing to stock. Is there an alternate method besides deleting dirs myself?

snowake said:
Great guide. In order to clear
/sdcard dir I master clear it after flashing to stock. Is there an alternate method besides deleting dirs myself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is probably the safest way to do it within the phone itself. An alternate way would be to mount it to your computer:
In Windows right click the drive that was assigned to your internal SD card and then click on format. By default it'll most likely set you to Fat32 and if you click format it'll say its complete, but nothing will be deleted. Android being a Linux OS doesn't use fat. You can format it by choosing exFat, but by doing this...
!!!WARNING!!! be aware that you will lose everything on your internal SD card AND your external SD card.
Emphasis placed mainly for others that read this and might not know.
Safer and easier to do it within the phone.

snowake said:
Really, really useful. Had no idea partition options were available to this extent! Especially swap. By mini tool are you referring to Easus' program? I am definitely checking this out tonight. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one is from MiniTool, though I wouldn't be surprised if Easus owned them. I didn't investigate to confirm. You can get the free home edition of MiniTool Partition Wizard here.

Very nice infos. Deserves a sticky, although, probably in a different thread.
Some information on what "Master Clear" in Odin would also be helpful - I have never trusted my phone to 'truly' clear everything on the phone, I have found the Odin Master Clear option to be much more complete.
It is a bit odd, I do this with my PC every six months, I back everything up and format the drive and start over again (after running Spinrite on all the drives) - I do this on / around New Years and again over 4th of July weekend and I decided this past weekend to also do the same with my smart phones (4 Cappies) and tablets (Ipad and 2 Android tabs) this past weekend.
It gives me that sort of squeaky clean feeling and seems to make my devices run smoother. Maybe its all in my head, dunno *shrugs*.
One thing I can say however, I have not had a hard drive go bad on me since I started the Spinrite thing 10 years ago (I still have an 8 GB hdd in my desktop that is working!!).

Any decent update(r)-script will do this for you.
Sent from my Infuse 4G

littlewierdo said:
Very nice infos. Deserves a sticky, although, probably in a different thread.
Some information on what "Master Clear" in Odin would also be helpful - I have never trusted my phone to 'truly' clear everything on the phone, I have found the Odin Master Clear option to be much more complete.
It is a bit odd, I do this with my PC every six months, I back everything up and format the drive and start over again (after running Spinrite on all the drives) - I do this on / around New Years and again over 4th of July weekend and I decided this past weekend to also do the same with my smart phones (4 Cappies) and tablets (Ipad and 2 Android tabs) this past weekend.
It gives me that sort of squeaky clean feeling and seems to make my devices run smoother. Maybe its all in my head, dunno *shrugs*.
One thing I can say however, I have not had a hard drive go bad on me since I started the Spinrite thing 10 years ago (I still have an 8 GB hdd in my desktop that is working!!).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can run some tests on Odin's master clear to confirm what it does. Initially I would believe it does the same as a "wipe data / factory reset", but testing should let us know for sure. I'll test it this weekend. Maybe sooner.
Awesome to hear that I'm not the only advocate for SpinRite and I still use it a lot though not every 6 months like you do. It's definitely worth having and using.

MikeyMike01 said:
Any decent update(r)-script will do this for you.
Sent from my Infuse 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally 100% agree with you, MikeyMike01. Unfortunately, not all update scripts are created equally Asides from teaching people how to script themselves or parse through it, a task I do not have the time or patience to tackle, this it probably the easiest and best way to have users try to avoid the many and strange issues posted that possibly / most likely could've been avoided by using the tools at their disposal.
On a side note... I didn't notice you got yourself an Infuse 4G. Congrats! How do you like it? I've been out of contract for almost a year now and wouldn't mind upgrading (my wife is in contract), but I haven't seen anything really worth upgrading to or that does something I really need/want that the Captivate cannot, atm. I haven't looked up any specs and reviews on the Infuse yet tho.

900mb free but low on space. need help

Hello,
Just bought new SD-card. According to titanium backup theres 12mb free phone storage and 1gb ext4 partiton (982mb) free space, but still i get Low On space and cant install any apps. What should i do ?

MisterMonitor said:
Hello,
Just bought new SD-card. According to titanium backup theres 12mb free phone storage and 1gb ext4 partiton (982mb) free space, but still i get Low On space and cant install any apps. What should i do ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 12MB phone storage is what's killing you. In 'Manage Apps' under 'Settings', you can click on each individual app and send some of the larger ones to the SD card. You can also try clearing data for the Facebook app, which can hold a lot of data due to contact photos if you use it.
Just for curiosity's sake, what phone are you using?

Im using HTC Desire.
I understood that due to 12mb phone storage i get Low on space, but i made ext 1gb partition, so shouldnt now phone storage expand and became 12mb+1gb ?
All my apps are on sdcard, and no facebook app.
I made 1gb partition why its not helping ?

MisterMonitor said:
Im using HTC Desire.
I understood that due to 12mb phone storage i get Low on space, but i made ext 1gb partition, so shouldnt now phone storage expand and became 12mb+1gb ?
All my apps are on sdcard, and no facebook app.
I made 1gb partition why its not helping ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you don't have apps2sd installed, or that the ext4 partition isn't recognised properly. I remember it was particularly fussy about whether the ext4 part was the first partition in the table or not, I'm not sure if this is still the case
Sent from my HTC Vivid

With previous SD card, There's 12mb free internal storage and 134mb a2sd free, 238 a2sd occupied.
So i really dont understand now :/. This partition is working but not all space in a2sd are used (134mb) free , but also 238 a2sd occupied. So its working, so why i get Low on space :/ .
On new card I made 1gb partition and 0 occupied.
And i cant run restore in titanium backup, because it shows there's no space, but i adjusted to write everything to external storage in titanium backup settings.
Please help, because now i bought a new card and cant use it :/ .

I see what you're trying to do now
The phone will never show that you've added to phone storage, because you can't. Adding an SD partition won't increase your phone storage at all, it just gives you a place to put all your apps so they don't take up your actual phone storage.
There is something on your phone taking up the ~150MB phone storage. It may be contact photos, it may be SMSs/MMSs, it may be camera pictures and videos (if you haven't set the camera to save to SD by default). You've already moved your apps so it's not those. You need to go through all your apps and see how much each is individually using (in 'manage apps').
Pay particular attention to 'contacts storage', 'calendar storage' etc as they are usually the hogs in my experience, and you can't move them. If you sync your Facebook contacts with your phone, the photos and details can easily use over 200MB.

Thank you very much for helping me ).
I understood about memmory usage. Cleaned almost everything in phone memmory, but still 18mb left.
Its just a new SD card and so many problems. Now apps cant find root access, watahell ? My phone was always rooted .

Please someone help to fix problems, i want to use my new SD card.
1. Something happened to root. Titanium gets root rights. I BusyBox installer shows that my phone is rooted, but when i push install busybox it fails .
In titanium backup i press "Problems?" and it offers to updade superuser. I press Update superuser and imedietly get force close.
I really apreciate if someone help me :/ .

Try rooting again. If you're S-OFF already, SuperOneClick will make mincemeat of your Desire in one click (link in my signature)
As soon as something goes wrong with root, you need to have another try at it. If you get an error, post it here and I will help if I can

[Q] Sure Glad I Bought A 32GB Nexus 5 Instead of 16GB

I am amazed at how little free space I have remaining on my 32GB N5. It shows 26.8GB total space, and I realize some is used for overhead.
Running stock rom and really not that many additional apps, and no pictures, movies, or music on the phone, I am at around 8GB free space remaining.
The phone’s storage tab reports:
Total Space: 26.08 GB
Available: 8.00 GB
Apps: 1.69 GB
Pictures & Videos: 1.19MB
Audio: 304KB
Downloads: 1.8MB
Cached Data: 44.09MB
Misc: 2.96GB
When I look in Misc, 2.43GB of the 2.96 is TWRP nandroid backups, 538MB is TI Backups, the rest is insignificant. Adding up all of what is shows as used totals about 3GB. Add the 8GB available, you have 11GB. So what happened to the other 15GB?
I have installed a utility to help me analyze space usage, and it shows the biggest space user is TWRP, with 2.4GB in backups. Those are important to have and I don’t begrudge the space, but man, this is supposed to be a 32GB phone.
One problem with disk space analyzers is that they tend to look for large files, but you can have 10,000 small files that will occupy more total space than a few large ones.
Those of you who are running relatively stock, how much free storage space do you have on your 32GB Nexus 5?

michaelnel said:
I am amazed at how little free space I have remaining on my 32GB N5. It shows 26.8GB total space, and I realize some is used for overhead.
Running stock rom and really not that many additional apps, and no pictures, movies, or music on the phone, I am at around 8GB free space remaining.
The phone’s storage tab reports:
Total Space: 26.08 GB
Available: 8.00 GB
Apps: 1.69 GB
Pictures & Videos: 1.19MB
Audio: 304KB
Downloads: 1.8MB
Cached Data: 44.09MB
Misc: 2.96GB
When I look in Misc, 2.43GB of the 2.96 is TWRP nandroid backups, 538MB is TI Backups, the rest is insignificant. Adding up all of what is shows as used totals about 3GB. Add the 8GB available, you have 11GB. So what happened to the other 15GB?
I have installed a utility to help me analyze space usage, and it shows the biggest space user is TWRP, with 2.4GB in backups. Those are important to have and I don’t begrudge the space, but man, this is supposed to be a 32GB phone.
One problem with disk space analyzers is that they tend to look for large files, but you can have 10,000 small files that will occupy more total space than a few large ones.
Those of you who are running relatively stock, how much free storage space do you have on your 32GB Nexus 5?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problems with storage here. I'm on stock with custom kernel, 1 nandroid backup. I have about 16.5GBs left, where about 8GB is my music and the other 2-3 are my apps and the nandroid backups.

Here's mine... 32GB rooted running stock rom..

Thanks. I thought this was abnormal. Not sure how to go about finding that 15GB.

When I went to 4.4.2 I loaded 4.4 fresh and the side loaded 4.4.2.. Not saying you should do that.. But it will reset all the space on the phone
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

Thanks for the help, folks. I whacked it all the way back to stock, and installed the factory 4.4.2 image, then unlocked, installed twrp and supersu, and I am back in business with tons of free space. I have all my apps installed and now it shows over 23GB available.
I still have no idea where that 15GB went, but I figured whacking it was easier than troubleshooting it.

michaelnel said:
Thanks for the help, folks. I whacked it all the way back to stock, and installed the factory 4.4.2 image, then unlocked, installed twrp and supersu, and I am back in business with tons of free space. I have all my apps installed and now it shows over 23GB available.
I still have no idea where that 15GB went, but I figured whacking it was easier than troubleshooting it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "missing space" in the mass storage window is all the stuff on the /mnt/shell/emulated/ folder, outside of the /0/ (sdcard) directory.
For example, Nandroid Backups are stored there normally (at least CWM stores them on /mnt/shell/emulated/clockworkmod/ so they don't get wiped with the data on /0/). If you got your backups inside the /0/ folder you're in danger...
Check with the "diskUsage" app, on the root section, "mnt/shell/emulated" and you'll see what do you have there using your space (/obb/ is a symlink to /0/Android/obb/ and isn't using any space there really),

RusherDude said:
The "missing space" in the mass storage window is all the stuff on the /mnt/shell/emulated/ folder, outside of the /0/ (sdcard) directory.
For example, Nandroid Backups are stored there normally (at least CWM stores them on /mnt/shell/emulated/clockworkmod/ so they don't get wiped with the data on /0/). If you got your backups inside the /0/ folder you're in danger...
Check with the "diskUsage" app, on the root section, "mnt/shell/emulated" and you'll see what do you have there using your space (/obb/ is a symlink to /0/Android/obb/ and isn't using any space there really),
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks much. That diskUsage app is very cool, much better than the one I paid for.

nandroid backup create a new file each time you back up, so if you back up alot, you will found that the back up size is huge, just delete some old dated back up and keep the lastest one is ok
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

RusherDude said:
For example, Nandroid Backups are stored there normally (at least CWM stores them on /mnt/shell/emulated/clockworkmod/ so they don't get wiped with the data on /0/). If you got your backups inside the /0/ folder you're in danger...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where as this is the common lost space issue, its not so they don't get wiped. Its just easier to leave them there than detect if you're on a /0 device and dynamically set it. Twrp and philz do though.
Custom recoveries don't wipe /0 anyway - they run rm -Rf with an exclusion on 0.
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rootSU said:
Where as this is the common lost space issue, its not so they don't get wiped. Its just easier to leave them there than detect if you're on a /0 device and dynamically set it. Twrp and philz do though.
Custom recoveries don't wipe /0 anyway - they run rm -Rf with an exclusion on 0.
-----------------------
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I do NOT reply to support queries over PM. Please keep support queries to the Q&A section, so that others may benefit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying that CWM and so started saving backups out of "/sdcard" (now /0/), and now when you wipe on them they wipe everything (including their backups that are outside of /0/) but /0/?
It has no sense. They'd have failed big time if so...

RusherDude said:
Are you saying that CWM and so started saving backups out of "/sdcard" (now /0/), and now when you wipe on them they wipe everything (including their backups that are outside of /0/) but /0/?
It has no sense. They'd have failed big time if so...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.
I'm saying in the CWM source code for FUSE devices, /sdcard is mounted to /data/media - which was fine until android 4.2 which brought multi-user support. So even though other recoveries have moved with the times and updated their mount point to be /data/media/0, CWM simply didn't bother changing. It's not because they're "protecting from wipe" (in fact CWM doesn't wipe /sdcard anyway, only stock recovery does that), it's just they never updated it. That's why the backups are "outside" of /sdcard. No other reason.
Having backups outside of /sdcard has it's downfalls too. You cannot easily copy data from /sdcard to computer. Or copy a backup back to the device that can be restored.

rootSU said:
No.
I'm saying in the CWM source code for FUSE devices, /sdcard is mounted to /data/media - which was fine until android 4.2 which brought multi-user support. So even though other recoveries have moved with the times and updated their mount point to be /data/media/0, CWM simply didn't bother changing. It's not because they're "protecting from wipe" (in fact CWM doesn't wipe /sdcard anyway, only stock recovery does that), it's just they never updated it. That's why the backups are "outside" of /sdcard. No other reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then okay, they didn't even bother to update, but as a result, the backups folder is outside the /0/ media mount point, and so, any application that wipes the real /sdcard mount point (/0) like the stock recovery as you say, won't wipe them.
Thanks for the explanation tho. I don't understand why they didn't even move a finger, but as a result the backups are more protected if you keep changing stuff and you like cleaning /sdcard (real /0 ) without touching the outside /mnt/shell/emulated folder (which contains vital data like said backups or the copy of the EFS folder usually).
rootSU said:
Having backups outside of /sdcard has it's downfalls too. You cannot easily copy data from /sdcard to computer. Or copy a backup back to the device that can be restored.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can recover/push them easilly with adb tho.

RusherDude said:
Then okay, they didn't even bother to update, but as a result, the backups folder is outside the /0/ media mount point, and so, any application that wipes the real /sdcard mount point (/0) like the stock recovery as you say, won't wipe them.
Thanks for the explanation tho. I don't understand why they didn't even move a finger, but as a result the backups are more protected if you keep changing stuff and you like cleaning /sdcard (real /0 ) without touching the outside /mnt/shell/emulated folder (which contains vital data like said backups or the copy of the EFS folder usually).
You can recover/push them easilly with adb tho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
adb just isn't as convenient. But yes they are more protected but not by design. But also it has a problem in that your storage menu doesn't show true breakdown of space being used.

rootSU said:
adb just isn't as convenient. But yes they are more protected but not by design. But also it has a problem in that your storage menu doesn't show true breakdown of space being used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. but that drawback is minor. I would opt for a simple solution: Some root variation of the used space. Either:
a) A mod that makes the storage option to include all the stuff on /data/media/ including everything outside /0 .
b) Using another program that shows the real usage.
I don't really think that nandroid backups are "user data" per se, since this is as vital as the system itself for the user. Its logical to have it protected somehow :fingers-crossed:.

Its protected by the user not being an idiot. If they are an idiot, losing their backup is karma
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Un-Partition via TWRP

I just finished installing the latest ROM (YOG4PAS1N0) from here:
[ROM][YOG4PAS1N0] Cyanogen OS 12.1 [Rooted][TWRP flashable][NEW OTA]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/development/rom-cyanogen-os-12-1-t3186593/page10
and it works amazing!!! No issues so far...while I was doing it I decided to use TWRP 2.8.6.0 to do a back up. I know that the following is a very "old school" way of backing my data but what I used to do is just save all the files in the exact same way my OPO is shown via the windows file system, and so I used to cut and copy .....place in a folder and done.... I have every single picture I have EVER taken since I owned a camera phone in 2007 but thats besides the point,,,I backup up my data via TWRP and I noticed that it created a 10GB partition. I am ok with it cause I keep a pretty clean phone...I have 10 apps at most and some pictures and videos.
I was wondering in the interest of recuperating that 10GB is there a way to unpartition it? my back up is 2.67 GB large and as you guessed it, I saved it on my PC....so I could do with out it on my phone. BY the way I didn't do a system or data wipe when I installed the ROM...flash and dalvik and cache wipe....I figured if I screwed up, I could do a FULL FORMAT and copy paste the files I wanted. But the update worked flawlessly ..except for the 10GB "missing"....
This is not an emergency, I can live without the 10GB I was just curious.........I have 54GB out of which I am only using 9GB...plenty left
Thanks for any help and for taking the time and reading this...
I did search for the answer but most users have other partition issues such as not loading or not finding it....I also google TWRP partitions and I got a lot of "how to use it" stuff...but nothing on how to "un partition"

seco007 said:
I just finished installing the latest ROM (YOG4PAS1N0) from here:
[ROM][YOG4PAS1N0] Cyanogen OS 12.1 [Rooted][TWRP flashable][NEW OTA]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/development/rom-cyanogen-os-12-1-t3186593/page10
and it works amazing!!! No issues so far...while I was doing it I decided to use TWRP 2.8.6.0 to do a back up. I know that the following is a very "old school" way of backing my data but what I used to do is just save all the files in the exact same way my OPO is shown via the windows file system, and so I used to cut and copy .....place in a folder and done.... I have every single picture I have EVER taken since I owned a camera phone in 2007 but thats besides the point,,,I backup up my data via TWRP and I noticed that it created a 10GB partition. I am ok with it cause I keep a pretty clean phone...I have 10 apps at most and some pictures and videos.
I was wondering in the interest of recuperating that 10GB is there a way to unpartition it? my back up is 2.67 GB large and as you guessed it, I saved it on my PC....so I could do with out it on my phone. BY the way I didn't do a system or data wipe when I installed the ROM...flash and dalvik and cache wipe....I figured if I screwed up, I could do a FULL FORMAT and copy paste the files I wanted. But the update worked flawlessly ..except for the 10GB "missing"....
This is not an emergency, I can live without the 10GB I was just curious.........I have 54GB out of which I am only using 9GB...plenty left
Thanks for any help and for taking the time and reading this...
I did search for the answer but most users have other partition issues such as not loading or not finding it....I also google TWRP partitions and I got a lot of "how to use it" stuff...but nothing on how to "un partition"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean when you say it created a 10gb partition? TWRP doesn't create a partition when it makes a backup so I'm confused as to what you mean by that.

seco007 said:
I just finished installing the latest ROM (YOG4PAS1N0) from here:
[ROM][YOG4PAS1N0] Cyanogen OS 12.1 [Rooted][TWRP flashable][NEW OTA]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/development/rom-cyanogen-os-12-1-t3186593/page10
and it works amazing!!! No issues so far...while I was doing it I decided to use TWRP 2.8.6.0 to do a back up. I know that the following is a very "old school" way of backing my data but what I used to do is just save all the files in the exact same way my OPO is shown via the windows file system, and so I used to cut and copy .....place in a folder and done.... I have every single picture I have EVER taken since I owned a camera phone in 2007 but thats besides the point,,,I backup up my data via TWRP and I noticed that it created a 10GB partition. I am ok with it cause I keep a pretty clean phone...I have 10 apps at most and some pictures and videos.
I was wondering in the interest of recuperating that 10GB is there a way to unpartition it? my back up is 2.67 GB large and as you guessed it, I saved it on my PC....so I could do with out it on my phone. BY the way I didn't do a system or data wipe when I installed the ROM...flash and dalvik and cache wipe....I figured if I screwed up, I could do a FULL FORMAT and copy paste the files I wanted. But the update worked flawlessly ..except for the 10GB "missing"....
This is not an emergency, I can live without the 10GB I was just curious.........I have 54GB out of which I am only using 9GB...plenty left
Thanks for any help and for taking the time and reading this...
I did search for the answer but most users have other partition issues such as not loading or not finding it....I also google TWRP partitions and I got a lot of "how to use it" stuff...but nothing on how to "un partition"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no 10GB partition. When a device says that there is 64 GB of storage, a bit of it is lost in formatting. It does not mean that when you plug in your phone you will get 64GB of storage. Additionally, there are several partitions, including data and system that are not visible to the user without root (or in recovery). These partitions also take up space on your phone (adding up to around 10GB of lost space), and are not visible when you plug in your phone. This is why your phone only shows 54 out of 64GB in the storage menu in settings, mine does as well. If you did have a 10GB partition on your phone, your phone would show 44GB when plugged in. I believe you can make the system partitions smaller, but its not recommended. This is simply off my memory so if I misunderstood the question or said anything wrong please be welcome to correct me.

f41lbl0g said:
There is no 10GB partition. When a device says that there is 64 GB of storage, a bit of it is lost in formatting. It does not mean that when you plug in your phone you will get 64GB of storage. Additionally, there are several partitions, including data and system that are not visible to the user without root (or in recovery). These partitions also take up space on your phone (adding up to around 10GB of lost space), and are not visible when you plug in your phone. This is why your phone only shows 54 out of 64GB in the storage menu in settings, mine does as well. If you did have a 10GB partition on your phone, your phone would show 44GB when plugged in. I believe you can make the system partitions smaller, but its not recommended. This is simply off my memory so if I misunderstood the question or said anything wrong please be welcome to correct me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured it was a 10GB partition because I was 10GB short (64GB out of the box vs 54GB) what I have, even though I now that OS and apps take up space. So what is the actual partition size that is created when TWRP creates a back up? The size of said back up? ....my mistake...
your explanation cleared it up. If I remove the back up from my phone will I recover that HDD space? or is it already saved for future back ups?

seco007 said:
I figured it was a 10GB partition because I was 10GB short (64GB out of the box vs 54GB) what I have, even though I now that OS and apps take up space. So what is the actual partition size that is created when TWRP creates a back up? The size of said back up? ....my mistake...
your explanation cleared it up. If I remove the back up from my phone will I recover that HDD space? or is it already saved for future back ups?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your backups are created on the visible portion of the data partition, in a folder called TWRP. No partition is created during a backup. You will not gain more than the available space on your phone by deleting the backup.

seco007 said:
I figured it was a 10GB partition because I was 10GB short (64GB out of the box vs 54GB) what I have, even though I now that OS and apps take up space. So what is the actual partition size that is created when TWRP creates a back up? The size of said back up? ....my mistake...
your explanation cleared it up. If I remove the back up from my phone will I recover that HDD space? or is it already saved for future back ups?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP doesn't create a partition, it simply creates a folder in your internal storage to place your backups in. That folder will only ever be the size of your backup(s). The moment you delete/move a backup you have that space free again, they're just like any other file that consumes space on a drive (it only consumes space while it's actually there).

f41lbl0g said:
Your backups are created on the visible portion of the data partition, in a folder called TWRP. No partition is created during a backup. You will not gain more than the available space on your phone by deleting the backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok So it works like any other file / folder...erase and you have the HDD space again....Thanks for clearing that up

system is using a lot of storage

UPDATE : I MANAGED TO FIX THE PROBLEM​The way is to clean format the system via twrp (switch to ext2 and switch to ext4) or something similar, the storage partition will restore to its original state
Hello everybody, recently I decided to check the storage allocation and saw that system is using a large portion of my storage space
Any suggestions ?

Maybe with root you can debloat some useless apps.

eddieleon7pc said:
Hello everybody, recently I decided to check the storage allocation and saw that system is using a large portion of my storage space
Any suggestions ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a bit strange.
I'm pretty sure, though, that stock apps aren't included here, maybe only core system apps. Because I have disabled a lot of pre-installed apps and the system storage space didn't change that much, only App storage. Mine is currently at 10.26GB, and I'm pretty sure it's been like that out of the box as well, maybe a bit less.
And my cache sits around 500MB.
Either way, go to your settings-apps and disable what you don't use. After that use some sort of a cleaning app, like Clean Master and run it. Just make sure you uninstall it after you're done.
If none of that helps, I'd do a complete format and clean flash via FlashTool, or use xperia companion to repair the software.
40GB for system storage seems a bit extreme. Maybe I'm just not that heavy user, but I don't see how the user can even affect the system storage, apart from cache. Even when updating OTA, I'm pretty sure those downloaded packages get deleted afterwards.
For most of the useless stock apps, you don't need root to disable them, it is not the same as completely removing them while rooted, but it will still free up some storage space and prevent them from running in the background.

Atrax2010 said:
"I'd do a complete format and clean flash via FlashTool, or use xperia companion to repair the software...."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brother. I already did that. Nothing changes. The only way is root it and remove ( not only disable ) the apps using titanium backup ( or some program like that ). Don't forget to make a backup from them before remove the apps.
But, i think that this process don't result in alot free space. Maybe when android compile the apk in cache the result naturaly takes this space. I have a 64gb XZ and this issue really annoying me too. If i discovery something i share with you.