How to completely remove data from your phone's internal memory? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have OPTIMUS 2x and if I plan to sell it, I want to remove my personal data from it. I know that external SD cards can be formatted with different (repeating format and data overwriting techniques) but my phone has internal 16gb which has some personal data in it. I can format it but the data will still be there? How can I completely remove my data without effecting the system data.
I have a custom rom installed and cwm as well. rooted

Restart in CWM and Wipe data/cache/dalvik, and under mounts menu you can mount and format the internal sdcard (though it's name depends on which phone/rom you have, from what I understand)

I dont think its a complete format that way, is it? :/

Why do you need to be so secure ? I'm pretty sure whoever buys your phone isn't go through the long process of trying to recover your data ? :S
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

umm.. okay just used to do it while selling my HDDs etc.

Related

Hard Reset - Resets Internal Memory? Really?

All,
I just performed a Hard Reset afterI bricked my SGT using Supercharger and to my surprise all the data from internal storage was erased too. How stupid is that?
Samsung could have been smarter and prevented that.
Well thats what a hard reset is, otherwise its called a soft reset.....
This isnt something new
DT3CH said:
Well thats what a hard reset is, otherwise its called a soft reset.....
This isnt something new
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not talking about the ROM memory, of course it is cleared and the ROM is reloaded, how stupid do you think I am?
I was talking about the memory that you use for storing data. I had my Music and apks on the Tab's \sdcard and all is gone after a hard reset - this is total stupidity on Samsung's side.
Szadzik said:
I am not talking about the ROM memory, of course it is cleared and the ROM is reloaded, how stupid do you think I am?
I was talking about the memory that you use for storing data. I had my Music and apks on the Tab's \sdcard and all is gone after a hard reset - this is total stupidity on Samsung's side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well ya since it only has 1 internal card for storage, what do you expect, on a phone its not as much of an issue since you generally have an external SD card too....
Its the same as formatting a partition on your computer, so same thinking applies, back up your data elsewhere
Ya. Wouldn't you use the hard reset function to wipe the device before giving it away or sending it in for repair or something. I would expect that so that data didn't get into someone else's hands.
Not to mention when you choose factory data reset it tells you that it will erase all data including accounts, music, etc...
The main thing here is that Honeycomb devices does not have a real fat32 formatted sdcard partition. The sdcard is emulated from a part of the /data partition that is in ext4 if i understand correct.
This is also why it mounts as a MTP device instead of a drive in Windows.
I was also suprised the first time i did a factory reset, i was used to my old Galaxy S phone and there the sdcard was never wiped with a factory reset.
/qsec
qsec said:
The main thing here is that Honeycomb devices does not have a real fat32 formatted sdcard partition. The sdcard is emulated from a part of the /data partition that is in ext4 if i understand correct.
This is also why it mounts as a MTP device instead of a drive in Windows.
I was also suprised the first time i did a factory reset, i was used to my old Galaxy S phone and there the sdcard was never wiped with a factory reset.
/qsec
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what Iwas thinking as previously memory was never cleared on my Android devices, just the ROM. This is totally stupid. Now I have to carry a card reader and an SD card with my stuff so that if I have to do a hard reset on the go I can restore it from the card - stupid again. Some will say use dropbox, and I will say: Have you ever tried downloading 200MB when roaming? DO you have a wallet that fat?
I'm pretty sure that in cwm recovery the "sdcard" won't be erased when doing a factory reset. Only the stock recovery will delete your "sdcard". I too had to wipe after flashing some mod and my /sdcard wasn't touched when I remember correctly.
gokpog said:
I'm pretty sure that in cwm recovery the "sdcard" won't be erased when doing a factory reset. Only the stock recovery will delete your "sdcard". I too had to wipe after flashing some mod and my /sdcard wasn't touched when I remember correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I have to try that.
qsec said:
The main thing here is that Honeycomb devices does not have a real fat32 formatted sdcard partition. The sdcard is emulated from a part of the /data partition that is in ext4 if i understand correct.
This is also why it mounts as a MTP device instead of a drive in Windows.
I was also suprised the first time i did a factory reset, i was used to my old Galaxy S phone and there the sdcard was never wiped with a factory reset.
/qsec
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhhh anytime Ive done a hard reset on my SGS, it wipes the internal card....
Yes for my understanding the stock recovery will erase everything instead of using the cwm recovery.this would never touch your sdcard. Regards
Relaxxer
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

how do you do a full wipe without losing CWM or root?

I have been flashing ROMs for a while, but noticed that even a full factory data wipe/reset in recovery still leaves a ton of crap left over from the previous program installations? I know there are settings in mounts and storage but I have only used format system before.
I want to really clean my phones internal memory without losing CWM or root.
Can someone please help?
I ran a few searches but could not find anything this specific?
Thanks.
Format sdcard, shouldn't lose root or recovery but will lose all data on phone
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
bfranklin1986 said:
Format sdcard, shouldn't lose root or recovery but will lose all data on phone
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. So from recovery, mounts and storage? Format SD?
Below is a copy/paste from one of the guides in my signature:
IF you are real serious, mount to your PC and move all contents of your internal/external cards on your pc.
*especially important if formatting both cards (see below)
If you want a REALLY CLEAN install (get rid of ALL the folders on your SD Cards) you could go to Menu > Settings and unmount and format both internal and external.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Proper reset

Long story short bought a galaxy note off craigslist met up at best buy to swap phones check numbers and so on and reset phones
Went home wiped again rooted and flashed cm10 just noticed all his pics are still on here (some with sensitive info drivers license checks vin numbers).
Rather then call the guy and get him paranoid what would be the best way to wipe this completely clear
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
format of the SD card, and the internal EMMC partition...
Format the External card to FAT32 on your PC with the adapter....unless it's yours and you know it's clean....otherwise...scrub it..
Once the external is clean or replaced...(your call) then move any files you wish to keep from the internal card to the fresh external..
Then boot into your recovery, under advanced options, and format the EMMC partition..(note, not all recoveries will do this, but the latest CWM or TWRP will work)
Once the EMMC is clean, reboot the device, and the rom will populate only the files it needs to run, and all of his internal garbage will be gone..
(note: this will not remove app data stored within any apps, but the standard data wipe should handle that)
DISCLAIMER: this method "WILL" wipe all data from the internal space of the device.....proceed at your own risk....(low)
the rom will remain the same....So "SAVE" anything you want to keep before doing this..
After the EMMC format, you can move back anything you saved prior to wiping/formatting of the EMMC space....g
gregsarg said:
format of the SD card, and the internal EMMC partition...
Format the External card to FAT32 on your PC with the adapter....unless it's yours and you know it's clean....otherwise...scrub it..
Once the external is clean or replaced...(your call) then move any files you wish to keep from the internal card to the fresh external..
Then boot into your recovery, under advanced options, and format the EMMC partition..(note, not all recoveries will do this, but the latest CWM or TWRP will work)
Once the EMMC is clean, reboot the device, and the rom will populate only the files it needs to run, and all of his internal garbage will be gone..
(note: this will not remove app data stored within any apps, but the standard data wipe should handle that)
DISCLAIMER: this method "WILL" wipe all data from the internal space of the device.....proceed at your own risk....(low)
the rom will remain the same....So "SAVE" anything you want to keep before doing this..
After the EMMC format, you can move back anything you saved prior to wiping/formatting of the EMMC space....g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything is on the internal memory
Understood ....
Format the internal storage and your good ....g
I'd keep all that info in case you want to fake your death one day
johnrippa said:
I'd keep all that info in case you want to fake your death one day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Noted.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
Currently the older version of clockwork mod doesnt support this feature 5.8.4.8 and TWRP doesnt work for the note any other suggestion??
Can you not format the sd card and internal memory using a menu in the settings for CM10? I am not familiar with CM10 but there should be no need to use recovery to do this. The stock ToucWiz ROM can.
Agoattamer said:
Can you not format the sd card and internal memory using a menu in the settings for CM10? I am not familiar with CM10 but there should be no need to use recovery to do this. The stock ToucWiz ROM can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually CM10 was all buggy just went back to ICS not fimiliar with Touchwiz will try to look through the menus of touchwiz and see what i find
Go menu button/settings/storage. There you can format both. Simple as that.

How do I format (as in delete EVERYTHING) my internal storage?

I have to much junk and empty folders on the phone. I tried format through CWM, format system, cache, data, emmc...everything is still there. I want to clean (as in new) my internal storage.
Does "factory reset" does that, or is it just for deleting any 'personal' data (pics, files) etc?
Thanks.
Wipe data/factory reset only wipes the data partition. What you want is to format the internal sdcard. Go to Settings | Storage and select "Format SD card."
creepyncrawly said:
Wipe data/factory reset only wipes the data partition. What you want is to format the internal sdcard. Go to Settings | Storage and select "Format SD card."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks.
Will I then be able to boot into recovery, or CWM will no longer be there and I'll have to use ODIN?
Also, am I losing ROOT when doing that?
No. No. No.
You can format the root files from CWM recovery. You said you tried that and it didn't do what you want.
Formating the internal sdcard will remove all your personal files from the phone, including pictures and any other files and directories you have created. If that's not what you want to do, then don't format the internal sdcard.
Formating the internal sdcard will not touch the system, kernel, data partition or any other root files. You will not lose root. So yes you will be able to boot into cwm recovery, or even into whatever system you have installed after formating the internal sdcard.
sbi1 said:
Thanks.
Will I then be able to boot into recovery, or CWM will no longer be there and I'll have to use ODIN?
Also, am I losing ROOT when doing that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Common sense, make a backup (meaning copy and save your personal info to somewhere else first, you can delete them later if you really don't need them).
Also, adding to what creepy has said, be sure "SD card" is your internal storage, not external uSD.
I suggest you removing the external uSD card first, just in case.
The reason I said so because with CwMR and Task's AOKP, format SD card is formatting the external uSD card, while "format /emmc" will be do the internal one.
Just precaution.
Thank you both.
Yes, I already 'discovered' that formatting SD Card in CWM formats the external ...luckily I didn't have anything important there.
I still don't get it though. Looks like we are talking about two different things.
I have my internal storage fully backed up. I want to wipe it clean, as in a PC Format. Is there a way to do that, or can I simply remove empty folders in file explorer? Too much junk has been collected there in a year and a half of many custom roms and different apps that I tried and removed.
sbi1 said:
Thank you both.
Yes, I already 'discovered' that formatting SD Card in CWM formats the external ...luckily I didn't have anything important there.
I still don't get it though. Looks like we are talking about two different things.
I have my internal storage fully backed up. I want to wipe it clean, as in a PC Format. Is there a way to do that, or can I simply remove empty folders in file explorer? Too much junk has been collected there in a year and a half of many custom roms and different apps that I tried and removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Refer to 2nd post. Your internal storage has 2 partitions. One is where all the system data is, and the other is where all the personal data is (where apps install to). If you do what's written in the 2nd post, it will completely wipe clean the personal partition.
dsmboost said:
Refer to 2nd post. Your internal storage has 2 partitions. One is where all the system data is, and the other is where all the personal data is (where apps install to). If you do what's written in the 2nd post, it will completely wipe clean the personal partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will I still be able to access CWM and install custom rom from Ext SD?
sbi1 said:
Will I still be able to access CWM and install custom rom from Ext SD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, formatting internal sd card (doesn't matter which partition) does not touch either of those.

[Q] Safely formatting internal storage

After some 2+ years of constantly changing ROMs, I've noticed that my i9100 shows more often than not the message of "your storage is getting full" or whatever it says. It does not work by clearing apps' data or even removing some of them because it ends up showing the warning soon. Also, factory reset has proved not to do much, since it just does a data wipe.
So I have decided to proceed with a format by entering Recovery > Mounts & storage > Format sdcard.
I just want to check first wether I will be able, after the format has finished, to flash CyanogenMod back from the same recovery (having placed it in the external SD card, which I understand is not formatted together with the internal storage) and have it working all ok, or the format will disable me from doing something else.
So my questions are:
That 'format sdcard' option in the Recovery means the internal storage, right?
The external SD card (the actual physical one) is not affected by the format, right?
Will I be able to flash CyanogenMod back again from the same Recovery after the format?
In case yes, any reboot in between the format and the flashing would brick my phone?
Help is much appreciated! :laugh:
jago84 said:
After some 2+ years of constantly changing ROMs, I've noticed that my i9100 shows more often than not the message of "your storage is getting full" or whatever it says. It does not work by clearing apps' data or even removing some of them because it ends up showing the warning soon. Also, factory reset has proved not to do much, since it just does a data wipe.
So I have decided to proceed with a format by entering Recovery > Mounts & storage > Format sdcard.
I just want to check first wether I will be able, after the format has finished, to flash CyanogenMod back from the same recovery (having placed it in the external SD card, which I understand is not formatted together with the internal storage) and have it working all ok, or the format will disable me from doing something else.
So my questions are:
That 'format sdcard' option in the Recovery means the internal storage, right?
The external SD card (the actual physical one) is not affected by the format, right?
Will I be able to flash CyanogenMod back again from the same Recovery after the format?
In case yes, any reboot in between the format and the flashing would brick my phone?
Help is much appreciated! :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well as i had flashed a lot of Roms too, maybe i can help you...i'll try!
after formatting sdcard, u wont lose ROM. u will just format your sdcard(12 gb i think).
1) i think the "format sdcard" option is supposed to mean the internal storage. but in some roms that i flashed, sometimes the sdcard mean the external sdcard and EMMC means the internal sdcard...so first take a look. go to install zip and select install from internal sdcard or external sdcard and look up in the screen, if it shows that u are in /sdcard or in /emmc, so u can know what sdcard are u really going to format
2) if u select to format the internal sdcard, it will only format the internal sdcard. nothing else.
3)well, as i said in the beginning, you won't lose rom in the format...u just formated sdcard, the rom and its stuff are still there, in the device storage(not sdcard or external sdcard, but in a card that is only for system/phone stuff(its like the phone has 2 cards. one u can use and send stuff(12gb) and the other one is for system files(2gb))
4) i think it would not brick it, since u just formated the sdcard, the rom is still on your phone but in the device storage, like i said above.
the ROM files arent stored in internal sdcard or external sdcard(those u can send files by usb), they are stored in the storage of the device that is only for system files. so if u do a format it wont affect Rom or Recovery.
hope it helped a little...cheers
Short notice from my side: I doubt formatting your sdcard will help to solve your original problem (low memory). This message appears if the /data space (those 2GB where all the system settings and application data are stored) is almost used completely. The easiest way to clean up this data is a system reset (which will make you loose all your data) or you need to look whether there are applications occupying much data there and remove these apps / tell them to store their data on /sdcard (if this is possible) or to selectively remove some log files / temp data. But in this you should be very careful, because removing the wrong data might cause strange system behaviour.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
AndDiSa said:
Short notice from my side: I doubt formatting your sdcard will help to solve your original problem (low memory). This message appears if the /data space (those 2GB where all the system settings and application data are stored) is almost used completely. The easiest way to clean up this data is a system reset (which will make you loose all your data) or you need to look whether there are applications occupying much data there and remove these apps / tell them to store their data on /sdcard (if this is possible) or to selectively remove some log files / temp data. But in this you should be very careful, because removing the wrong data might cause strange system behaviour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that is not quite the problem I am faceing now. I explain myself: when I get that "storage almost full" message, if I check on Settings > Storage, the Internal Storage section (1,97 GB in total) shows an availability of only 205 MB and the bar is half full (see attached). First incoherence. I try to update any small app such as, for example, Bitcoin Wallet (1.3 MB) and it says it can't be updated because there is not enough space. Incoherent with the bar shown. Also, if I navigate to /data, it shows there is an amount of 2.31 GB inside that directory (incoherent with the amount shown by the Storage Manager. Other data folders, such as the one in /sdcard/data or the one in /data/data, are always smaller (3 MB and 425 MB respectively, also don't match any of the figures shown by the Storage Manager).
Some ROM installs ago, I remember I was able to install around 190 apps and no problem at all, and now I'm 160 and have to keep removing apps when I want to install more.
That's why I think my problem is not related to data, or fixed by a data wipe or factory reset. I understand there are too many files inside that are just lost from ROM to ROM, and not even the system know where do they belong to. It is running everything but fluent. I don't even remember what Project Butter is :silly:
RonDelonge182 said:
well as i had flashed a lot of Roms too, maybe i can help you...i'll try!
after formatting sdcard, u wont lose ROM. u will just format your sdcard(12 gb i think).
1) i think the "format sdcard" option is supposed to mean the internal storage. but in some roms that i flashed, sometimes the sdcard mean the external sdcard and EMMC means the internal sdcard...so first take a look. go to install zip and select install from internal sdcard or external sdcard and look up in the screen, if it shows that u are in /sdcard or in /emmc, so u can know what sdcard are u really going to format
2) if u select to format the internal sdcard, it will only format the internal sdcard. nothing else.
3)well, as i said in the beginning, you won't lose rom in the format...u just formated sdcard, the rom and its stuff are still there, in the device storage(not sdcard or external sdcard, but in a card that is only for system/phone stuff(its like the phone has 2 cards. one u can use and send stuff(12gb) and the other one is for system files(2gb))
4) i think it would not brick it, since u just formated the sdcard, the rom is still on your phone but in the device storage, like i said above.
the ROM files arent stored in internal sdcard or external sdcard(those u can send files by usb), they are stored in the storage of the device that is only for system files. so if u do a format it wont affect Rom or Recovery.
hope it helped a little...cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help, dude! Much appreciated.
Anyway, I feel that, if formatting sdcard does not wipe everything, maybe then what I need is to go Recovery > Mounts and storage > format /system, format /data, etc. All of them except for the actual physical sdcard (wether it is /emmc or /sdcard) and the directory in which the recovery "lives".
So I have new questions now:
If I formatted /system, would the phone be bricked or the Recovery would still allow me to install a CM ROM stored in the sd card?
Is there any of the directories shown in Recovery > Mounts and Storage that represents the actual Recovery partition/space?
There's no recovery partition you can format.
You can format system, preload, and data partition.
But flash a ROM right after.
There are flashable scripts (ROM wipe or ROM nuke) you can use. It does all the formats and wipes, and even back up some of your folders.
Envoyé depuis mon Nexus 10 avec Tapatalk
jago84 said:
I think that is not quite the problem I am faceing now. I explain myself: when I get that "storage almost full" message, if I check on Settings > Storage, the Internal Storage section (1,97 GB in total) shows an availability of only 205 MB and the bar is half full (see attached).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a known bug, that Android's performance is decreasing very much as soon as there is less than 10% free on /data. Additionally I wouldn't trust the graphics you see, because especially if you have man small files, the space occupied on "disk" is much higher than the file size. If they are only adding the file size of the files stored there this will be misleading. As far as I know the block size is 4kb, so each file takes at least 4kb of the memory. You can try to move some apps to /sdcard, but this works only to an external one, so you can free some space. Otherwise have a look on /data/system/dropbox or /data/system/usagestats if you can find some files which can be removed.
jago84 said:
Thanks for your help, dude! Much appreciated.
Anyway, I feel that, if formatting sdcard does not wipe everything, maybe then what I need is to go Recovery > Mounts and storage > format /system, format /data, etc. All of them except for the actual physical sdcard (wether it is /emmc or /sdcard) and the directory in which the recovery "lives".
So I have new questions now:
If I formatted /system, would the phone be bricked or the Recovery would still allow me to install a CM ROM stored in the sd card?
Is there any of the directories shown in Recovery > Mounts and Storage that represents the actual Recovery partition/space?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, as Sergeileduc said, u can't format Recovery. so answering your questions:
1) yes, you would still be able to flash any other Rom, since formatting /system does not affect recovery. Wiping this partition will remove Android from the device without rendering it unbootable, and you will still be able to put the phone into recovery or bootloader mode to install a new ROM.
2) i dont think so...u can't format recovery...
hope it helped you...cheers!
well the 4rth question is no it wouldent brick your phone it will just hang at the galaxy s logo p.s thanks for helpin me on the other fourm
Just to add my own experience.....
Some months ago, my phone was suffering from poor performance (I was running CM10.1 at the time)
I decided to do a full format to totally "pristine" wipe my phone and start fresh. I copied a fresh version of the rom and gapps to my removable micro SD card and rebooted into CWM. I formatted cache, dalvic, preload, emmc and sd.....then just to be certain, I factory reset too.....
After that and while still in CWM, I flashed the rom and gapps and rebooted without issue......I believe this is what you want to do, so to answer your question. ...yes it is safe and possible to do this.....my phone is proof of that.....
Sent from my Rooted, De bloated Stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and Tapatalk 2....
keithross39 said:
Just to add my own experience.....
Some months ago, my phone was suffering from poor performance (I was running CM10.1 at the time)
I decided to do a full format to totally "pristine" wipe my phone and start fresh. I copied a fresh version of the rom and gapps to my removable micro SD card and rebooted into CWM. I formatted cache, dalvic, preload, emmc and sd.....then just to be certain, I factory reset too.....
After that and while still in CWM, I flashed the rom and gapps and rebooted without issue......I believe this is what you want to do, so to answer your question. ...yes it is safe and possible to do this.....my phone is proof of that.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Great feedback.
Just to complete my question, did you notice a significant performance improvement after the wipe-and-reinstall process?
It seemed to help a bit, but not as much as I'd anticipated. ..
Sent from my Rooted, De bloated Stock JB powered S2 via PhilZ kernel and Tapatalk 2....

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