Physical vs Emulated Storage, and is it backward compatible... - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi all / @linusdan,
I wondered if any kind soul could just briefly offer their knowledge please... I've been happily flashing roms to the i9100/i9100P, N7000 for some time now, and all has been great... :good:
However my dads phone went a little screwy the other day, and so I said I would re-do it. Upon looking at it, he had a couple of storage areas of 0MB (zero) MB's and nothing could download or write to the internal storage.
I've since STOCK rom'd it, returning to the original PIT files, and tried to reset it up again. (Storage is back to normal, all fully accessible again) I've been looking at the newer roms. However in TWRP, I notice I have a SDCard0 and SDCard1 (and that's without removal storage added yet).
So I think I may a Frankenstein build of storage at moment, so re-read Linusdan's instructions, and going to totally annihilate the filesystems and start again, following the instructions.
My question is this....
Once I have done this, and moved over to fully Emulated Storage. Will this work for older roms, say KitKat / Lollipop era, or do I have to prep for stock / physical storage again? Failure to do so, would I end up with double confused storage again??
Or would simply flashing an old rom, make use of the emulated storage??
Thanks, Lister

@listerofsmeg
These days I was wondering how to do this and looking for a way to reverse the conversion.
Maybe so, but so far I have not found how.
For now, the only way to use the old ROMs is to install the stock and TWRP without emulated storage.

Related

[Q] Gtab won't delete user data through nvflash/cwm

Hi all,
I searched long and hard for an answer to this one, but I can't make heads or tails of it. It started when I noticed that any apps I installed wouldn't stay through reboots, and any uninstalled apps came right back. So I tried reflashing Flashback 7.0 and 7.2, but the apps were still there. It does look like 7.2 installed correctly, although the apps were still there.
Then I tried flashing several different roms (TnT, Cyanogen, Vegantab, stock), but they wouldn't boot. Flashing back to Flashback allowed the tablet to boot, but the data was still there.
I tried manually formatting /data through cwm, but I got the lovely "Error formatting /data" message. Doing the normal cwm data wipe and repartition (4096,0 and 2048,0) didn't do anything either. I tried NVFlashing back to stock 4349, no good. I tried Flashback loaded with cwm 3.0.2.8 and the stock 1.2 recovery, but no avail. I blew away the partition table and nvflashed, no good. I tried pulling the battery, no good. I tried flashing the FORMAT utility, still stuck with this data. No matter what I do, it will only boot after installing Flashback 7, and then it retains the state it was in before going wonky.
The tablet works more-or-less for every app currently installed, apps load fine, all hardware appears to work fine, but once it's rebooted everything goes back to how it was when it went belly-up.
This has gotten the better of me, I'm hoping there's some nuance that you brilliant folk know of that I'm missing. Thank you for your time.
Both /data & /sdcard reside on the internal sd and are not touched by nvflash or by installing a new rom (all of which go on the internal nand (not sdcard). There are serveral ways to clear them. You can clear /data by doing a "factory/data reset" & repartitioning in CWM wll destroy/recreate both /data & /sdcard (so make sure you backup anything you want to save on /sdcard before you repartition). The standard repartition is 2048,0, but in some situations it is benefitial to repartition to 4096, 0 & then immediately repartition back to 2048,0.
After installing a new rom you should always do a factory/data reset, wipe cache & wipe dalvik to clear out data/installs from the prior rom.
Al
Thanks Al,
I forgot to mention, I've already repartitioned several different times, going up to 4096,0 then down to 2048,0 as I've seen recommended elsewhere. The wipe data/factory reset option also doesn't seem to be affecting the data staying put.
I remember a person with a similar situation. I believe rajeevvp had the person do some testng & it came out (in that case) to be a bad internal sd. He developed a way to use the external sdcard as the internal sd. I'll see if I can find the post or you can PM him.
Al
See this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1156200 and specifically post #44 Guide to swap internal and external SD card assignments on the ViewSonic gTablet for users with partly-functional internal SD cards.
Al
Looks like the same issue all around. Thank a million, here's to hoping it works.
Get me a dmesg output first.
Second, since you're on the 1.2 bootloader branch, don't flash the custom CWM zip file which is only for bl 1.1. Just skip that step (step 1). The rest of the steps are bootloader-independent. Step 1. is only for letting you make backups and restores using the external SD card instead of the internal one.
Third, I'd like to see the results of the test commands given in the thread that aabbondanza posted above.
Finally, for CWM 3.x and higher, I have another (and easier) technique that I think will work for backups and restores, but, I never tested as I didn't want to change bootloaders. Let me know if you're willing to be a guinea pig for testing this.
rajeevvp, the result of the test directory/file creation on /data and /sdcard were similar to the other poster, with the directories and files not being retained after unmount or reboot.
The results of the test commands are attached. Thanks again for all your help. Additionally, of course I'm willing to be a guinea pig for anything you've got in mind.
sktsswth said:
rajeevvp, the result of the test directory/file creation on /data and /sdcard were similar to the other poster, with the directories and files not being retained after unmount or reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the dmesg1.txt file I see that you have the non-standard internal SD card make that seems to cause this sort of problem:
<6>[ 10.001007] mmc2: new high speed SDHC card at address aaaa
<6>[ 10.007139] mmcblk3: mmc2:aaaa SE16G 14.8 GiB
<6>[ 10.011722] mmcblk3: p1 p2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can either return the tablet to VS or try my workaround hack along with a new CWM for 1.2-based bootloaders (soon).
Either way, I'd like to continue this discussion further in this thread.
rajeevvp said:
From the dmesg1.txt file I see that you have the non-standard internal SD card make that seems to cause this sort of problem:
You can either return the tablet to VS or try my workaround hack along with a new CWM for 1.2-based bootloaders (soon).
Either way, I'd like to continue this discussion further in this thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since some of these tablets are showing up with different internal sd cards than most of us, is it possible that when we are having these people nvflash back to stock, that the bct's config of these new chips would be different & we are causing the problem by flashing the incorrect bct back to the device? Would it be safer to modify our nvflashes to read & use the user's bct when nvflashing back to stock?

[Q] SeraphimSlim 1.5 questions (Please be gentle)

Given I cannot post into the dev forum and following the instructions/reasons why(under 10 posts, post in Q&A forum etc) I am doing as stated.
First Thing:
This rom is fantastic, wanted to give props to the dev who created this.
Now one or two questions:
1.) I noticed when clicking on "about phone" the baseband version is showing as "unknown". Everything works though(calls, internet, wifi etc). Should I be concerned about this? I did the jump from Gingerbread after wiping delvik, cache, and data.
2.) I had to re-install this rom after my initial attempt as I thought I did something wrong, but I was getting the SDCard error(no SD card or cannot find SD Card) when in camera or using Root Explorer/ES Explorer. Turns out unlike GB and Touchwiz the \SDCard path isn't the main directory anymore, but the \emmc directory is. I take it this is due to the stock ICS implementation(AOSP/AOKP?).
3.) I do not have an SD card yet(just got the phone last week) but it was a little confusing having two (2) storages called "Internal Storage". My first mistake was clicking the checkbox in settings -> storage to use Internal Storage(which uses the 2GB partition reserved for the OS). I wiped and reloaded after that and moved my apps to the other "Internal Storage"(10+GB). Was it my doing that they are both called Internal Storage? Can I "change" that for label it myself in a better way?
Again, great rom, and I've been lurking for quite some time just a few things I needed to understand. Mods, I am truly sorry if this in anyway violates any rules(i hope i followed them correctly) and I did try searching but a wide array of different answers or part answers came up.
Answers:
1) You shouldn't be concerned at all.
2) The ROM is based off of the unofficial CM9 so its going to have bugs in it. And currently, that is a known bug. Rebooting the device usually does the trick tho.
3) not really sure what you're trying to ask here. sorry.
Hope this helped alleviate some of your doubts. Good luck and continue to read and learn!
Thanks for the response babymatteo!
For number 2, I actually did try rebooting, still got the errors, but have since fixed it(still using the \emmc directory).
Number 3, I guess I am asking if its normal for the storage partitions to be called the same thing?(I can't remember if it was under GingerBread or any other ICS rom i installed. Basically the Galaxy note came with 16gb(more like 12GB) of internal space, 2GB was reserved for system use and the remainder for apps/storage. Both are called Internal Storage and it kind of confused me when snooping around settings. Just want to know if I can rename a storage label/partition(if I should call it that)?

[CLOSED]Format data/media (sdcard internal memory)

I apologize if this has been answered somewhere else here before. I have been searching for days and have not found the full answers to my questions anywhere.
Recently I updated my GT-P7510 CM9 to an experimental CM10 from by pershoot. After getting it up and running I was looking at my internal storage usage and numbers didn't seem to add up (must have done a dirty flash at some point in the past to cause this). My internal storage in root explorer showed 8.93gb in use and 28.01 total storage. I copied everything to a USB drive to back it up and noticed there was only 7.45gb actually on the internal storage. I have seen this problem before on my S2, and I always just reformat the internal SD card (emmc) to regain the missing space. However, since the tab does not have a micro SD slot, I have no way of wiping the internal sdcard (data/media) without wiping out the rom too from how I understand it. Somebody correct me if I am wrong...
So, does anybody know of a way to successfully wipe/format the sdcard (data/media directory) in CWM or other method that will not wipe out the rom and send the device straight to cwm with no way to install a new rom? Or do I have to revert back to stock to accomplish the format of sdcard like I have read for a few other similar situations? Everything works fine (CM10 & CM9 both run awesome), I just want that extra 1.48gb of missing/phantom storage back. And, without mass storage mode, I cannot perform a disk check in win7. This has really got me frustrated to find a solution without having to start over. I wish this tab had a micro SD slot!
Currently I am running CM9 nightlies (7-31) for p4wifi (gt-p7510). My cwm recovery is version 6.0.1.0. Any help is greatly appreciated, and I do apologize if this has been covered before. Thanks in advance to those of you smarter than I.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I seemed to have figured this one out and now feel pretty stupid for not digging a bit further before asking.
After I decided to go ahead with the sdcard format using CWM, I noticed that the space was still being used somewhere. After I started to dig a bit, I noticed that all of my apps still worked after the format. Basically, the extra space is being consumed by the /data/app folder housing all user apps. CWM must be designed to ignore this directory when formatting the internal sdcard which is why there was still some storage being used.
I feel like an ubernoob for asking this, but my S2's internal sdcard is not mapped to data/media, so I had to learn a bit better about how this thing works I suppose. Anyways, I hope this information can be useful to someone out there having similar questions.
bkress said:
I apologize if this has been answered somewhere else here before. I have been searching for days and have not found the full answers to my questions anywhere.
Recently I updated my GT-P7510 CM9 to an experimental CM10 from by pershoot. After getting it up and running I was looking at my internal storage usage and numbers didn't seem to add up (must have done a dirty flash at some point in the past to cause this). My internal storage in root explorer showed 8.93gb in use and 28.01 total storage. I copied everything to a USB drive to back it up and noticed there was only 7.45gb actually on the internal storage. I have seen this problem before on my S2, and I always just reformat the internal SD card (emmc) to regain the missing space. However, since the tab does not have a micro SD slot, I have no way of wiping the internal sdcard (data/media) without wiping out the rom too from how I understand it. Somebody correct me if I am wrong...
So, does anybody know of a way to successfully wipe/format the sdcard (data/media directory) in CWM or other method that will not wipe out the rom and send the device straight to cwm with no way to install a new rom? Or do I have to revert back to stock to accomplish the format of sdcard like I have read for a few other similar situations? Everything works fine (CM10 & CM9 both run awesome), I just want that extra 1.48gb of missing/phantom storage back. And, without mass storage mode, I cannot perform a disk check in win7. This has really got me frustrated to find a solution without having to start over. I wish this tab had a micro SD slot!
Currently I am running CM9 nightlies (7-31) for p4wifi (gt-p7510). My cwm recovery is version 6.0.1.0. Any help is greatly appreciated, and I do apologize if this has been covered before. Thanks in advance to those of you smarter than I.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1804824 Here's a topic about same problem,could say,U'll finde in replays all the information u need!
Vinchenzo13 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1804824 Here's a topic about same problem,could say,U'll finde in replays all the information u need!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although that is a similar problem, I asked if there is a way to fix it without going that route? I appreciate your reply, but I already knew it could be resolved by going back to stock (2nd paragraph of my post).
bkress said:
Although that is a similar problem, I asked if there is a way to fix it without going that route? I appreciate your reply, but I already knew it could be resolved by going back to stock (2nd paragraph of my post).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ow sorry didnt notice few words,i think u could just flash a cwm via odin wich can wipe/reset all data if im not mistaking,
I'll chek this out is there any cwm'ds who can do that,coz i rememba reading one forum where guy was complaining that he did wipe and everything was formated!
Vinchenzo13 said:
Ow sorry didnt notice few words,i think u could just flash a cwm via odin wich can wipe/reset all data if im not mistaking,
I'll chek this out is there any cwm'ds who can do that,coz i rememba reading one forum where guy was complaining that he did wipe and everything was formated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can accomplish a full format of the internal sdcard on my galaxy s2 without it affecting the rom in any way whatsoever and it is running cwm 6.0.1.0 also. From how I understand it, the partitions are set up differently on the s2 and this device. The s2 has a separate partition for the internal sdcard making it possible to format via cwm. On this device, the sdcard is part of the data partition meaning wiping it will leave you with no rom installed and no storage on the sdcard. I think all versions of cwm can wipe the slate clean, it is just a matter of everything else being wiped clean also. But, if you are aware of a cwm that let's me accomplish this, I would love to find it. Thanks again.
galaxy s2
bkress said:
I can accomplish a full format of the internal sdcard on my galaxy s2 without it affecting the rom in any way whatsoever and it is running cwm 6.0.1.0 also. From how I understand it, the partitions are set up differently on the s2 and this device. The s2 has a separate partition for the internal sdcard making it possible to format via cwm. On this device, the sdcard is part of the data partition meaning wiping it will leave you with no rom installed and no storage on the sdcard. I think all versions of cwm can wipe the slate clean, it is just a matter of everything else being wiped clean also. But, if you are aware of a cwm that let's me accomplish this, I would love to find it. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue .. I was manually formatted using my windows 7 laptop.. flash back to old stock samsung firmware.. still 4.11 GB internal USb storage instead of 11.8 GB.. Any help please..
I think it's possible with adb shell (the android sdk for Windows)
Have you seen that : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1003645
Sent with my GT-P7500 CM10

[Q] Internal SD card appears to have died

Hi All
I have searched the forums for an answer to this, to no avail. Its not an easy problem to search, but apologies if this has been previously discussed..
After some years of owning and flashing various android phones I have suddenly come completely unstuck. I am not sure what has happened, but I suspect that my internal storage has died. No matter what Rom I load (including returning to stock flashed via Odin) I cannot see the phone's internal storage (i.e. the memory that used to appear as "internal USB" or similar). Instead, the "SD card" is being emulated under the folder "0" in the phone's main storage... I am unsure what is happening here.
This happened after flashing the latest version of Omega Rom (v44). Everything went completely fine as usual, I have no idea why this happened. When I rebooted the Rom had installed but internal storage was missing as described above. For some reason the AOKP elements of the Rom are not present, but the system does seem to work.
I have inserted an external SD card to see if the phone would just use that. No effect. It still appears to be "emulating" the external SD card.
I am not sure where to go from here. I can accept that my internal storage is dead. However, as described above inserting an external SD card still doesn't seem to allow the phone to work normally. It is still trying to emulate the SD card in the phone memory, even on a stock rom. On custom roms this seems to stop the AOKP element from working and I end up with some kind of half way house of custom rom and stock Samsung stuff... its bizarre!
Any help or even just thoughts as to what is going on here greatly appreciated.
I remember that in CM roms there is an issue with the 0 folder thing, but not familiar with it. Maybe someone with more experience could recommend you some action steps.
In case you could always try a full wipe (mega wipe) as it includes your sd card (internal) and leaves nothing on the phone. This will enable you to start from scratch (have a flashable rom on your external SD though).

[Q]Can you format your internal Storage wrong?

Hey Guys,
after 3 years of lerking and searching my problems in XDA, this is my first Thread and I hope i put it in the right forum.
After all these years of flashing I always had minor issues with custom roms but I lived with it because I thought it is simply a part of Custom Roms. But now with Android 4.4.x I found a big barrier which I can't handle alone and ask for your help.
Now to my Issues:
I wanted a completly wipe. So I took this thread:
[GUIDE] Android deep clean-up / wipe
Now at the Part for formating your internal Storage, I only had storage/sdcard0 and /storage/sdcard1. I took the sdcard0, then I got to choose which format I want to use. At first I used ext4, installed the ROM (Beanstalk 4.4.4007 with PA G-apps).
At first everthing looked fine. The ROM booted with no issues. But After all this the first thing I wanted to check, how my storage looks now. So I tooked the Beanstalk Explorer App and boom!
First Issue, the app crashed.
Yeah great so I downloaded ES Explorer and looked up my storage. Now on the sdcard0 are only two folders: 'clockworkmod' and 'lost+found'. I think this doesn't look right?
Then Second Issue:
I wanted to try the camera but it don't work. The gallery tells me that there is no external storage. I have in my mind that camera problems are a thing but I believe it has something to do with my internal Storage.
So I tried again the deep wipe and this time I used default as format which I guess is FAT32 because it wasn't a option.
That are now my main Problems, I have some other issues too but I think before I go further I think I have to get my internal Storage right to continue asking questions.
I hope I didn't do so bad as a newbie with my question.
many, many thanks for reading, and i hope someone has an answer for me.
AETeK

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