[SCRIPT/FIX] Internal sdcard permissions (/data/media/) - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

This should be applicable to any ROM on devices which share internal storage for applications and the internal "sdcard" (Note II, SGS3, probably others). Symptoms may include inability to take screenshots and other failures, and will usually show a "Permission denied" in logcat for files under /data/media/. The underlying problem is that permission is denied to the filesystem, even by the root user when the ROM is booted (this is strange and I still don't understand why). Running "Fix permissions" did not fix this issue for me (that script doesn't change any permissions on the sdcard).
When booted into recovery (ClockworkMod was tested in my case), root has the ability to reset the permissions properly. To fix the problem, connect with adb while booted in recovery and run the following commands to correct the permissions:
Code:
chown -R media_rw:media_rw /data/media/
find /data/media/ -type d -exec chmod 775 {} ';'
find /data/media/ -type f -exec chmod 664 {} ';'
UPDATE (Credit to @Quinny899) If that does not work, you may also want to reset the SELinux contexts for the media partition with this command:
Code:
restorecon -FR /data/media/
Hope this helps! :victory:

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I recently restored a Nandroid backup of my old Nexus 7 on a replacement Nexus 7. Most everything worked okay, but screenshots, deleting certain files and directories, and other basic operations weren't really working, and "Fix permissions" didn't help.
Running the commands here worked like a charm! I used TWRP and I have JellyBeer 4 on my Nexus 7. Thanks!

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skoshy,
I'm glad this helped you. JellyBeer is a fantastic ROM. Cheers!

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xak944 said:
skoshy,
I'm glad this helped you. JellyBeer is a fantastic ROM. Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I created a ZIP of this for people to flash in Recovery, ADB sideload or in an App like Fashify... Only to realize that XDA superstar @osm0sis had already done pretty much the same thing with his sdcard Fix Permissions Script Found here. His script uses pure edify whereas mine uses linux commands.. Both work but his Was First so I will only leave the link for his.
Cheers!

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Yeah it's kinda funny. I had that script posted up in the ADBsync thread back in February because I noticed things could start acting funny when I restored an entire sdcard backup to one of my devices. But hey, great minds think alike! Good work all around!
Thanks @TheByteSmasher for bringing another use for the zip to my attention! I didn't know those things had a tendency to go awry on their own as well!
Edit:
Here's the edify script equivalent of the above, plus the proper original perms for /data/media itself, and the special perms that CWM likes its subfolder to have (root + all). TWRP keeps its backups under the primary user subfolder (/data/media/0) and doesn't seem to care as much.
cwm-sdcard.Fix.Permissions.zip/META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script:
Code:
ui_print("");
ui_print("sdcard Fix Permissions Script");
ui_print("by osm0sis @ xda-developers");
show_progress(1.34, 0);
ui_print("");
ui_print("Mounting...");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/data");
set_progress(0.2);
ui_print("");
ui_print("Setting /data/media to media_rw and fixing...");
set_perm_recursive(1023, 1023, 0775, 0664, "/data/media");
set_perm(1023, 1023, 0770, "/data/media");
set_progress(0.8);
ui_print("");
ui_print("Setting /data/media/clockworkmod perms...");
set_perm_recursive(0, 0, 0775, 0777, "/data/media/clockworkmod");
set_progress(1.0);
ui_print("");
ui_print("Unmounting...");
unmount("/data");
set_progress(1.2);
ui_print("");
ui_print("Done!");
set_progress(1.34);
Available over in my Odds and Ends thread as TheByteSmasher mentioned before.

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Nice. Good to know this is a well known issue, I thought I was nearly alone (and it drove me up the wall for a while until I figured it out).
Does anyone know what is technically causing even the root user not to be able to write? I'm curious.

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Probably because even root apps only run root commands when they need to, so for simple stuff could run into the same issue. Just a guess, but makes sense.

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I'm not talking about root apps. When I had the issue I couldn't modify any files with a shell over adb as the root user. Write operations always resulted in 'permission denied' errors. Generally in Linux, the only way this can occur is with filesystem permissions (root user bypasses this), the immutable bit (not set), or if it's a read-only filesystem (didn't appear to be based on the output of 'mount').

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xak944 said:
I'm not talking about root apps. When I had the issue I couldn't modify any files with a shell over adb as the root user. Write operations always resulted in 'permission denied' errors. Generally in Linux, the only way this can occur is with filesystem permissions (root user bypasses this), the immutable bit (not set), or if it's a read-only filesystem (didn't appear to be based on the output of 'mount').
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Osm0sis actually states in the description of his zip, that when you use ADB push to put some stuff on the SD it can mess with the permissions... that's what did it for me.. but I guess a nandroid restore can cause it too depending on how it performs the action.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

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I'm ditching the idea of editing fix_permissions. The way they do all the system files is extremely intelligent and done on-the-fly based on the contents of certain system files to trace through. Adding something specifically for internal sdcards, even with the appropriate checks, would be a hack compared to all the really great work they've done to make the script device-nonspecific.

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Deleted

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1990mustafa said:
Deleted
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Could somebody point me in the direction of how to do this for the Note 3 SM-9005 please?
I have an internal SD permissions issue and the flashable zip doesn't work, I presume because the directories are located slightly differently.
Many thanks

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i m also stuck in same boat as none of scripts work for note 3... need some help / guidance here ..

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You saved me, i was playing with ubuntu touch and i forgot that symbolic links and chown always modify the original directory and twrp could not fix the permissions!

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Thank you! Works like a charm! :highfive:

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Following using this, I found that the internal SD wouldn't be mounted
Googling the logcat output's lines, I found this, specifically:
[email protected] said:
use for fixing access
su
restorecon -FR /data/media/0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked a dream, might be useful for anyone else

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Quinny899 said:
Following using this, I found that the internal SD wouldn't be mounted
Googling the logcat output's lines, I found this, specifically:
Worked a dream, might be useful for anyone else
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worked perfectly!

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Hey, big THANKS to everyone who contributed to this thread. I restored by SD a different way than I used to do it and had this issue. I figured it was a permissions issue but couldn't get the 'Fix Permissions' function in TWRP or ROM Manager to fix it (now I know why). This saved me, much appreciated!

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Quinny899 said:
Code:
su
restorecon -FR /data/media/0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh man, so it was SELinux causing these issues all along!? I wonder why my original fix worked then since it didn't reset the SELinux context... Oh well, good to know.

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Thanks @TheByteSmasher for leading me to the right solution
TheByteSmasher said:
Well, I created a ZIP of this for people to flash in Recovery, ADB sideload or in an App like Fashify... Only to realize that XDA superstar @osm0sis had already done pretty much the same thing with his sdcard Fix Permissions Script Found here. His script uses pure edify whereas mine uses linux commands.. Both work but his Was First so I will only leave the link for his.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again
osm0sis said:
osm0sis' Odds and Ends -- Misc./Batch Tools, Flashable Zips, Scripts, etc.
General Information
In a nutshell, I just wanted a single thread to gather links to some of my other, larger projects, but also serve as a spot I could put some smaller scripts and zips I've created that I don't think merrit their own separate threads. This is partially for my own sanity and will hopefully make it easier for others to find some things as well. A lot of the stuff here was developed with the GN or N7 (my devices) and Windows in mind, but could generally be applicable to most devices either out-of-the-box or with some slight modification. If you see something that inspires you, go ahead and mod it, just let me know and give me some credit somewhere. If anyone would like to know the specifics of what's in a particular script that I haven't already linked to more information on, just let me know and I'll post that in here as well. Thanks!
Misc./Batch Tools
AnyKernel 2.0 (many devices) - link
AnyKernel was a simple template for an update.zip that could apply any kernel to any ROM, regardless of ramdisk to reduce the chance of any issues arising from the custom kernel pairing. The drawback to this is that some kernels require modifications to the ramdisk to enable/set up kernel features, and in the old AnyKernel format there was no way to do this. AnyKernel 2.0 pushes the format even further by allowing kernel developers to modify the underlying ramdisk for kernel feature support easily using a number of included command methods along with properties and variables to customize the install experience.
Android Image Kitchen (many devices) - link
A collection of Windows/Android ports of the necessary Linux utilities for Android image (kernel+recovery) mod work, and my own automation script to unpack, edit and repack the ramdisk. Other guides/scripts exist but none of them are universal for target device, compression and/or developed for Windows/Android. Now also Linux builds to bring my improved featureset back to where it came from. Has been extremely useful for me in my messing around with kernel ramdisks.
ADB Screenshot (all devices) - attached
Take screenshots while in recovery. Useful for development of recovery apps or error reporting. Original method had lots of different threads around with the general method for various devices but I figured out a couple tricks required for getting it working on the Galaxy Nexus and then automated the process. Tested and confirmed working with both pixel formats of CWM and TWRP. More information in this GN Q&A FFmpeg thread. New method uses fb2png and should work on all devices.
ADBsync sdcard Backup (many devices) - attached
Backs up the entire sdcard so that you can have a complete snapshot of your device when you make periodic backups, and be able to restore things exactly as they were. Automates the sync process of Renate NST's great ADBsync utility which makes only newer files get pulled, significantly decreasing backup time for the sdcard compared to "adb pull". Original version posted in the old ADBsync thread. Defaults for devices with /data/media/ internal sdcards (Nexus devices, etc.), but is easily customizable to backup other mountpoints.
Flashable Zips
Nexus BootUnlocker script (GN, N4, N5, N7 '13, N10) - attached
I don't know about everyone else but sometimes I find I've rebooted into the bootloader only to realize I've forgotten to unlock it in segv11's excellent BootUnlocker App beforehand. Well, I decided to make a BootUnlocker Script for my Galaxy Nexus so I could just boot to recovery quickly, unlock, then adb reboot-bootloader (or use my Reboot To Bootloader script below) to get back without having to fully boot the OS to make the change. Also extremely useful in the case you aren't able to boot. As with the app there is no data loss like there would be with fastboot, allowing you to relock for safety. Originally posted in the GN EDIFY Scripting thread. Modified for the newer Nexus devices and combined into a single Nexus BootUnlocker zip with tamperbit reset support added using information from the BootUnlocker App Dev thread.
N7 BootUnlocker script (N7 '12) [creation guide] - link
The Nexus 7 2012 is a special case. Per-device encryption of an entire partition makes it impossible to support the N7 '12 in a simple root app, or flashable zip as above, however using my guide and included script you can now create a working BootUnlocker Script Zip for your specific device. As with the above scripts there is no data loss like there would be with fastboot, allowing you to relock for safety.
Flashify script (many devices) - attached
This script zip makes flashing boot.img (kernel), recovery.img, and radio.img/modem.img (baseband) files via recovery simple. Inspired by cgollner's powerful and visually stunning Flashify App, it aims to save the average user the hassle of repacking their own image zip, or using the command-line or fastboot to flash it. Place an appropriately named file in the same directory as the zip and flash away! Should work on all emmc devices with normal partition naming ("boot", "recovery" and "radio" or "modem") which accept Android standards-compliant images. Extremely handy when used with amarullz' brilliant AROMA Filemanager, and/or my Android Image Kitchen: Mobile Edition (linked above).
Kernel Emergency Reset script (many devices) - link
Basically a go-to cure-all for custom kernel users experiencing issues after an upgrade due to old settings left over in a kernel control app (eg. franco.Kernel updater, Trickster, etc.), or problematic init.d/userinit.d scripts. It's also useful if you just want to make sure you're running clean defaults without conflicts.
Reboot To Bootloader script (all devices) - attached
Those who prefer using CWM may have noticed a couple of things missing that the other popular custom recovery, TWRP, has built-in. One of these is a file explorer/manager, which is answered by amarullz' brilliant AROMA Filemanager. Another thing I found myself wanting is a way to reboot back to the bootloader once I'm in recovery, so I created this very very simple flashable zip script. (No longer required on CWM >=6.0.3.5). Note: Once in the bootloader, "Start" will boot you back to recovery. Not sure why, but it's not a big deal, just reboot normally from recovery at that point.
sdcard Fix Permissions script (many devices) - attached
A little flashable zip script to fix ownership and permissions of files and directories on the sdcard to what they would be if Android OS had put them there itself, since some apps can't access pushed files that have root.root as owner/group. This is useful when restoring to your sdcard backup, as with my ADBsync sdcard Backup batch script above, since generally, pushed files get root.root from adb shell and higher permissions than usual. Also a solution for a bug where sdcard files get lower permissions somehow, resulting in similar access problems. Currently written for devices with /data/media/ internal sdcards (Nexus devices, etc.), but could easily be modified for other mountpoints.
nano Terminal Editor v2.2.6 Installer (all devices) - attached
A simple installer to push bgcngm's great Android port of the nano editor binary to /system/xbin/ along with the required files in /system/etc/terminfo/. It can then be used from Terminal while booted from that point on. Each time you flash it also temporarily enables use in recovery by pushing a script to /sbin/nano with the required environment variables, so you can then trigger it from recovery shell or the console in amarullz' brilliant AROMA Filemanager. Makes it extremely easy and worry-free to tweak and mod on the go, knowing you can edit the faulty build.prop or init.d script if something goes wrong. This script could also be added to recovery to make the functionality permanent.
odex Script Installer (all devices) - attached
Based on the great work and binaries from this thread, a simple installer to push my odex script along with the required dexopt-wrapper and zip binaries to /system/xbin and set the appropriate permissions. Automates the procedure to odex any apk or jar from the commandline to potentially improve performance. Dalvik runtime only. Also uses cut from busybox.
Kernel init.d Support Injector (many devices) - attached
Following from great ideas by Captain_Throwback in my AnyKernel2 thread and using script from my Flashify script above, this AK2 zip will inject basic init.d bootscript support into any kernel ramdisk on any emmc device with normal partition naming and using the Android bootable image standard, without having to bloat a ramdisk using a busybox binary. This zip is also signed, so could potentially be used with stock recovery on a locked bootloader, but that depends on the stock recovery supporting grep, etc. for the zip script to perform the required file changes.
Dev Team init.d Pack Installer (all devices) [see "950iosettings, etc." below] - link
A simple installer I wrote to create the /system/etc/init.d/ directory, extract the latest init.d scripts as published by the "Franco's Dev Team" tuning collective (of which I'm a member), then set correct owner, group and permissions to the entire init.d directory. Link points to my Dev-Host since these may still be subject to change from time to time. If you are a developer and would like to include these tunables/scripts in your kernel or ROM please provide credit. A lot of time and effort has gone into this project and that's all we ask.
Credits & Thanks: All authors of any included binaries and libraries for their amazing work. Anyone who's helped me with these projects along the way.
Disclaimer: Naturally, you take all the responsibility for what happens to your device when you start messing around with things.
XDA:DevDB Information
osm0sis' Odds and Ends -- Misc./Batch Tools, Flashable Zips, Scripts, etc., Tool/Utility for the Android General
Contributors
osm0sis
Version Information
Status: Stable
Created 2013-11-13
Last Updated 2015-03-30
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