i9100 factory reset on its own. Personal files still intact - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Out of an unknown reason after I rebooted by Galaxy S II, it just did a factory reset on its own.
So my S2 was bugging about something about the calendar storage crashing and the dialogue box won't stop popping up again and again no matter how many times I press OK. It won't let me do a proper reset as the dialogue box is in the way so I took out the battery and put it back in.
So it was booting as normal (Samsung Galaxy bootscreen, then the Siyah boot animation*, then finally the oval Samsung animation). But instead of my usual lockscreen, it greeted me with a setup screen as if I did a factory reset, even if I didn't do any special commands or gestures or button combos. So after going through the setup, as well as the tutorials, the factory default everything is now set.
But it gets weird. Real weird.
So all of the apps I downloaded are gone (except for the root apps when I did a root on my device*, which is no surprise as these are now embedded in the firmware or something). BUT my files (including the ones NOT on the SD card) are still there, as well as other personal files. Yes, personal files are still in there but the apps and settings are gone. Shouldn't those be wiped out after a factory reset?
So what's not wiped out are my personal files (pictures, videos, docs, etc.), my Contacts--which are saved on the SIM card, and the root apps*.
Ok, now for the technical information
Samsung Galaxy S II i9100 (Int'l Unlocked) 16 GB
2 GB Transcend microSD
Stock Battery (1650 mAh)
OEM Android Firmware (4.1.2 JB w/ Touchwix UX) even after the factory reset
*ROOT information
Siyah Kernel S2-v6.0beta5
flashed with Odin 3.07
CWM v3.15
This is the guide I used to root my device. I followed it carefully bit by bit.
YouTube Title: " How to Root Samsung Galaxy S2 (i9100) Jelly Bean 4.1.2 with Siyah Kernel "
I simply need an answer how this happen, as well as any knowledgeable set of information. I have scoured the web and I have no concrete answer and I hope the experienced people here can give an answer. This is just so unusual and it never happen to me before.
Also I should also point out I am a noob and this is my first time posting . I have already watched the "You are a noob on xda-developers" video and read the written guide and I hope I followed everything. If I have any mistakes, please inform me I would gladly appreciate it!

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Same happened to me few times on stock jb.Didn't found any logical reasons for this.Everything at stock.

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Ok... A few things :
1. I'm sorry for your loss of all the apps. I don't know why that happened, although I have seen it happen before. Take the chance to install only the apps you need, and you should find an improvement with battery life and speed.
2. It's normal that all of your photos, videos etc didn't get deleted. A factory reset will reset all the apps and settings, but all data on the internal or external sd card will be intact. The i9100 has an internal sd card partition built in (11.5GB for the 16GB model) whatever is on that won't disappear in a factory reset
Thanks for reading the rules and posting with logical information, it's nice to read for a change
Edit: sorry for not quoting you.. Instead, @MixEcoSystem now you'll get a notification :good:
Sent from a galaxy far, far away

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Thank You very much But now I have a new problem
Hopper8 said:
Ok... A few things :
1. I'm sorry for your loss of all the apps. I don't know why that happened, although I have seen it happen before. Take the chance to install only the apps you need, and you should find an improvement with battery life and speed.
2. It's normal that all of your photos, videos etc didn't get deleted. A factory reset will reset all the apps and settings, but all data on the internal or external sd card will be intact. The i9100 has an internal sd card partition built in (11.5GB for the 16GB model) whatever is on that won't disappear in a factory reset
Thanks for reading the rules and posting with logical information, it's nice to read for a change
Edit: sorry for not quoting you.. Instead, @MixEcoSystem now you'll get a notification :good:
Sent from a galaxy far, far away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I havr most of my needed applicatoons are now installed, a notification occured. It is alerting me that I only have 200 MB free space of the 2 GB capacity of the system partition. Of coarse I just had a factory reset which should have cleared it in the first place. Before the unknown factory reset, I still had ~700 MB free space. Now I didn't even reinstall everything and it is already warning me. This is just weird.
Is there a way to check this system partition?
UPDATE: Now I can't install other new and large applications like evernote. Error 919 even if it downloaded 100%. Now I'm frustrated I have to go back to the restricted iOS of iPod touch 5th gen until we can fix this

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MixEcoSystem said:
Now I havr most of my needed applicatoons are now installed, a notification occured. It is alerting me that I only have 200 MB free space of the 2 GB capacity of the system partition. Of coarse I just had a factory reset which should have cleared it in the first place. Before the unknown factory reset, I still had ~700 MB free space. Now I didn't even reinstall everything and it is already warning me. This is just weird.
Is there a way to check this system partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's possible to see what's in there, use this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.levelokment.storageanalyser and go preferences - options - and tick both boxes there.
To be honest, it sounds like it's time for a system clean. If you've already flashed siyah kernel, you'll be fine to do it. I actually did it myself yesterday :good: here's a screenshot of my storage after I cleaned it yesterday. I had so much rubbish floating around yesterday. Much better now
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In my signature is a link, in that link is a download link to a 3 part firmware. If you flash that via Odin, it will wipe your system partition and then you'll be good to go.
Once that's wiped, then I would re-root (siyah kernel is as good as any to do that), then flash a custom ROM based on a stock ROM, say NeatROM, as long as you want something similar to what you're already on. To flash that ROM, flash the zip file from siyah kernel recovery. NeatROM is a bit lighter than a full stock ROM with some bloat removed, but has a lot more customisation options
Hope that helps
Sent from a galaxy far, far away

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data/lost+found consuming 1.32 GB (75%) is well...found
Hopper8 said:
Yes, it's possible to see what's in there, use this app: and go preferences - options - and tick both boxes there.
To be honest, it sounds like it's time for a system clean. If you've already flashed siyah kernel, you'll be fine to do it. I actually did it myself yesterday :good: here's a screenshot of my storage after I cleaned it yesterday. I had so much rubbish floating around yesterday. Much better now
In my signature is a link, in that link is a download link to a 3 part firmware. If you flash that via Odin, it will wipe your system partition and then you'll be good to go.
Once that's wiped, then I would re-root (siyah kernel is as good as any to do that), then flash a custom ROM based on a stock ROM, say NeatROM, as long as you want something similar to what you're already on. To flash that ROM, flash the zip file from siyah kernel recovery. NeatROM is a bit lighter than a full stock ROM with some bloat removed, but has a lot more customisation options
Hope that helps
Sent from a galaxy far, far away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After using storage analyzer and enabling it to access root, " lost+found " folder inside /data is using 75% of the system partition with the 2nd consumer to be dalvil-cache at only 160 MB. I think this is where all my apps went because of its name. Is this a recoverable thing and I could restore everything like before the reset occurred OR is it just "dump" that can only be safely erased?
Also thanks for the ROM recommendation :good: , but I think I'll stick with TouchWiz since I am kind of a fan of it despite its high memory use I might go for a KitKat build in the future
Note: I had to remove the links cause I haven't reached the 10 post requirement

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Neat ROM is touchwiz, its a stock custom rom, its touchwiz minus high memory use, the only way to use stock rom imo.

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MixEcoSystem said:
After using storage analyzer and enabling it to access root, " lost+found " folder inside /data is using 75% of the system partition with the 2nd consumer to be dalvil-cache at only 160 MB. I think this is where all my apps went because of its name. Is this a recoverable thing and I could restore everything like before the reset occurred OR is it just "dump" that can only be safely erased?
Also thanks for the ROM recommendation :good: , but I think I'll stick with TouchWiz since I am kind of a fan of it despite its high memory use I might go for a KitKat build in the future
Note: I had to remove the links cause I haven't reached the 10 post requirement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm. I've never seen that folder before... I really doubt you need it! But maybe try a quick google search before you delete it? If it was me... It would be gone already but then again, I have stuffed a few things up before. Best to be sure what you're doing before, not after you do it
And, as the guy above me said, NeatROM is touchwiz... Just without all the rubbish apps and a lot more customisation. Think of it as stock touchwiz on steroids but yes, I'm on kitkat now. I personally don't like touchwiz. Don't ask for ROM recommendations though, it's against forum rules. I merely suggested NeatROM as a way to get some extra space for your system partition :good:
Sent from a galaxy far, far away