Today, I have experienced a very "odd" problem. I have just found out that there is a folder called "storage" visible in my Internal Storage.
When I thought that, since it was visible, it did not contain much useful files (Only 2 xml files I found which would be in both internal and external storage) so I deleted that folder and everything in my SD Card and Internal Storage vanished.
I found out that the "storage" folder had a link to both storage devices but the weird thing is, why was that there and why is it visible? I could of sworn that I have never seen that before on my Xperia Z...
Can anyone else see their "storage" folder in the internal storage or is it just me?
ZeroInfinity said:
Today, I have experienced a very "odd" problem. I have just found out that there is a folder called "storage" visible in my Internal Storage.
When I thought that, since it was visible, it did not contain much useful files (Only 2 xml files I found which would be in both internal and external storage) so I deleted that folder and everything in my SD Card and Internal Storage vanished.
I found out that the "storage" folder had a link to both storage devices but the weird thing is, why was that there and why is it visible? I could of sworn that I have never seen that before on my Xperia Z...
Can anyone else see their "storage" folder in the internal storage or is it just me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi.
At root, i have sdcard and sdcard1 and storage. Inside storage folder i have sdcard0 and sdcard1. I have seen this before for long time ago.
CiscoX said:
Hi.
At root, i have sdcard and sdcard1 and storage. Inside storage folder i have sdcard0 and sdcard1. I have seen this before for long time ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but this is totally different from what I have experienced.
From Windows, Internal Storage would have a folder called "storage" with another folder called "01" inside the storage folder. So "Internal Storage/storage/01/" if it was read on a Windows PC. inside the storage folder, there is just 1 folder called "01", nothing else. inside "01" folder, there are ONLY 2 .xml files which are the same as the 2 .xml files you would have by default in the root of your Internal and External Storage.
In short- Internel Storage has a folder called storage, inside storage has a folder called 01, inside 01 there are only 2 .xml files. The strange thing is, if it were linked to Internal/External Storage, why only 2 .xml files are visible in the 01 folder?
EDIT: When I tried to delete the storage folder (At the time I did not know that it was linked) Windows loading bar for deleting files did not move so I had to cancel it. Once cancelled, everything in my external/internal storage was wiped off. Thankfully, I recovered most of my lost pictures with Recuva
Not sure but I think this folder came somehow from the recovery maybe a bug.
I hope you didn't lost important things.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda premium
ZeroInfinity said:
but this is totally different from what I have experienced.
From Windows, Internal Storage would have a folder called "storage" with another folder called "01" inside the storage folder. So "Internal Storage/storage/01/" if it was read on a Windows PC. inside the storage folder, there is just 1 folder called "01", nothing else. inside "01" folder, there are ONLY 2 .xml files which are the same as the 2 .xml files you would have by default in the root of your Internal and External Storage.
In short- Internel Storage has a folder called storage, inside storage has a folder called 01, inside 01 there are only 2 .xml files. The strange thing is, if it were linked to Internal/External Storage, why only 2 .xml files are visible in the 01 folder?
EDIT: When I tried to delete the storage folder (At the time I did not know that it was linked) Windows loading bar for deleting files did not move so I had to cancel it. Once cancelled, everything in my external/internal storage was wiped off. Thankfully, I recovered most of my lost pictures with Recuva
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is very strange. I remember when i did see this after i bought my phone i was thinking this must be an bug. Another thing, in root i also have a folder named: ext_card and it is the same as sdcard1 here. Sdcard1 is my microSD card i have, but why so many folder linked to the same folders.
At root i go to storage, inside i have folders: emulated, removable, sdcard0, sdcard1 usbdisk.
Inside emulated i have 0 and legacy. etc etc
All of them are linked and goes to the same internal card and external card,
gm007 said:
Not sure but I think this folder came somehow from the recovery maybe a bug.
I hope you didn't lost important things.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it really is a bug, we need to know what did actually cause this to happen.
And yeah, Recuva was really useful for me
CiscoX said:
Yes, this is very strange. I remember when i did see this after i bought my phone i was thinking this must be an bug. Another thing, in root i also have a folder named: ext_card and it is the same as sdcard1 here. Sdcard1 is my microSD card i have, but why so many folder linked to the same folders.
At root i go to storage, inside i have folders: emulated, removable, sdcard0, sdcard1 usbdisk.
Inside emulated i have 0 and legacy. etc etc
All of them are linked and goes to the same internal card and external card,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too many linked folders make it confusing, why would there be a linked folder visible in the Internal Storage though? this is what is really confusing me right now.
Need more reports if any one else has found this mysterious "storage" folder in their Internal Storage...
im not sure but if everyone with this folder are running 4.2.2 it is for the multiuser or multitasking feature of jellybean 4.2.2
skinsfanbdh said:
im not sure but if everyone with this folder are running 4.2.2 it is for the multiuser or multitasking feature of jellybean 4.2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange, this is the first time I have ever seen this. I only saw this folder today and I have been on custom roms based on stock xperia firmware android 4.2.2 for ages now... Why would it appear just today? I don't think multitasking will cause this to happen since it doesn't create any folders/files related to it (afaik).
I've had something like this happen where in emulated/0 (my main internal SD storage) there was another 0 folder that freaked out recoveries and such. I had the similar "can't delete from windows" thing, but using a in-recovery file manager I just deleted it, problem solved. tl;dr if you want to delete it and its causing problems delete it from recovery.
Sent from rooted carbon note 2, with the xda app.
shbaldw said:
I've had something like this happen where in emulated/0 (my main internal SD storage) there was another 0 folder that freaked out recoveries and such. I had the similar "can't delete from windows" thing, but using a in-recovery file manager I just deleted it, problem solved. tl;dr if you want to delete it and its causing problems delete it from recovery.
Sent from rooted carbon note 2, with the xda app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly what im talking about. lots of threads in the htc one forum about it and being this device was released with 4.1.2(like the htc one) and has recently been updated to 4.2.2(like the htc one) maybe its the same thing, not saying it is because i dont know. just sounds like the same thing
shbaldw said:
I've had something like this happen where in emulated/0 (my main internal SD storage) there was another 0 folder that freaked out recoveries and such. I had the similar "can't delete from windows" thing, but using a in-recovery file manager I just deleted it, problem solved. tl;dr if you want to delete it and its causing problems delete it from recovery.
Sent from rooted carbon note 2, with the xda app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows did not make any progress in deleting it, it was stuck on the Preparing to delete... window. Once I cancelled it because it took too long, everything from sd card/ internal storage was gone. All because of that storage folder inside my Internal Storage...
I know about the emulated/0 issue (From previous HTC One X Android 4.2.2 AOSP roms) but this seems to be completely different from it.
skinsfanbdh;44594029...and being this device was released with 4.1.2(like the htc one) and has recently been updated to 4.2.2(like the htc one)...[/QUOTE said:
hmm, I updated my phone from 4.1.2 to 4.2.2 prior to seeing this. This might be the cause. Anyone else have this happen?
Sent from rooted carbon note 2, with the xda app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
shbaldw said:
hmm, I updated my phone from 4.1.2 to 4.2.2 prior to seeing this. This might be the cause. Anyone else have this happen?
Sent from rooted carbon note 2, with the xda app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it has anything to do with an upgraded android version. Like I said before, I have been on Android 4.2.2 a long time now (Upgraded when the firmware first came out) and I have never seen this folder before. I have just seen it yesterday. Another strange thing is that after I attempted to delete the storage folder, Everything was gone INCLUDING that storage folder. I haven't seen the storage folder after that happened. I'm going to go flash another rom and full wipe to see if the storage folder pops up again.
EDIT: Right, no there is no more storage folder in Internal Storage after a full wipe and formatted everything! Very strange indeed...
Wierd storage folder symlink inside internal storage!
ZeroInfinity said:
I don't think it has anything to do with an upgraded android version. Like I said before, I have been on Android 4.2.2 a long time now (Upgraded when the firmware first came out) and I have never seen this folder before. I have just seen it yesterday. Another strange thing is that after I attempted to delete the storage folder, Everything was gone INCLUDING that storage folder. I haven't seen the storage folder after that happened. I'm going to go flash another rom and full wipe to see if the storage folder pops up again.
EDIT: Right, no there is no more storage folder in Internal Storage after a full wipe and formatted everything! Very strange indeed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this is a very old thread but I face the same issue in Android 5.1.1 now and I too deleted the folder named storage only to see that all the data from the sd card has vanished because of that. Any idea what caused this buggy symlink to be created?
All my data is now gone because I just deleted one folder inside my sdcard, and I didn't even think to backup anything since I didn't even dream that deleting a single folder will delete the parent folder! Again recuva was my friend but still I am not able to recover everything in internal storage, any suggestions on what to use to scan the internal storage?
anantharam said:
I know this is a very old thread but I face the same issue in Android 5.1.1 now and I too deleted the folder named storage only to see that all the data from the sd card has vanished because of that. Any idea what caused this buggy symlink to be created?
All my data is now gone because I just deleted one folder inside my sdcard, and I didn't even think to backup anything since I didn't even dream that deleting a single folder will delete the parent folder! Again recuva was my friend but still I am not able to recover everything in internal storage, any suggestions on what to use to scan the internal storage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you upgrade to newer firmware using a zip? That's a common bug when upgrading via zip.
The only proper way is to backup ur entire internal storage and flash a full ftf. Then you will not have the annoying symlink.
langeveld024 said:
Did you upgrade to newer firmware using a zip? That's a common bug when upgrading via zip.
The only proper way is to backup ur entire internal storage and flash a full ftf. Then you will not have the annoying symlink.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did do a factory reset before flashing a new firmware. Not sure what else I should do..
And as for the internal storage recovery, I followed these different guides but raw file using vhdtool and recuva did not give me any single file that was last present in my internal memory and even extundelete didn't return any single file that was in the internal storage, some of these tools return hundreds of text files and images that I had no idea was in my internal storage but none of them return me any of the hundreds of images and videos that I was sure were in my internal storage.
anantharam said:
I did do a factory reset before flashing a new firmware. Not sure what else I should do..
And as for the internal storage recovery, I followed these different guides but raw file using vhdtool and recuva did not give me any single file that was last present in my internal memory and even extundelete didn't return any single file that was in the internal storage, some of these tools return hundreds of text files and images that I had no idea was in my internal storage but none of them return me any of the hundreds of images and videos that I was sure were in my internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but if you factory reset on 4.4.2 (for example) and then flash 5.0.2 fw via zip in recovery, you will get the annoying folder symlink.
The only way to upgrade to lollipop is by flashing a full ftf (which will wipe internal sd) after that you won't have the annoying symlink.
But you flashed zip instead of ftf and discovered the folder symlink which seemed not harmful to delete so you deleted it. Right?
Then there's no chance in getting the data (photos etc) back.
I was the same situation as you, twice, I tried every possibility to recover my photos but it ended up with nothing. Everything was gone.
On a mechanical harddrive, when you wiped data, the data will only be gone when the wiped sectors are overwritten (e.g. format harddrive, which overwrite with empty buffer).
As long as the wiped data in those sectors are not overwritten, you'll be able to recover almost all - if not all - data you deleted.
On flash memory instead, (such as ssd drives and internal storage of our phone) deleted data is immediately deleted.
(that's also one of the reasons on Android, you never have to defragment the internal sd, same story for an ssd)
I'm sorry for u to say but I'm afraid you're unfortunately lost the photos and there's no way to get it back.
But my advice to you is:
Never upgrade between android versions (e.g. 4.4 > 5.0) using a zip installable.
Only use full factory images (ftf), they will wipe internal sd in order to get correct mappings so backup everything before flashing.
Once u on a firmware, an update to the same firmware is allowed (e.g. from one 5.0.2 rom to another 5.0.2 rom).
I hope it helps u in the future.
Regards
langeveld024 said:
Yes but if you factory reset on 4.4.2 (for example) and then flash 5.0.2 fw via zip in recovery, you will get the annoying folder symlink.
The only way to upgrade to lollipop is by flashing a full ftf (which will wipe internal sd) after that you won't have the annoying symlink.
But you flashed zip instead of ftf and discovered the folder symlink which seemed not harmful to delete so you deleted it. Right?
Then there's no chance in getting the data (photos etc) back.
I was the same situation as you, twice, I tried every possibility to recover my photos but it ended up with nothing. Everything was gone.
On a mechanical harddrive, when you wiped data, the data will only be gone when the wiped sectors are overwritten (e.g. format harddrive, which overwrite with empty buffer).
As long as the wiped data in those sectors are not overwritten, you'll be able to recover almost all - if not all - data you deleted.
On flash memory instead, (such as ssd drives and internal storage of our phone) deleted data is immediately deleted.
(that's also one of the reasons on Android, you never have to defragment the internal sd, same story for an ssd)
I'm sorry for u to say but I'm afraid you're unfortunately lost the photos and there's no way to get it back.
But my advice to you is:
Never upgrade between android versions (e.g. 4.4 > 5.0) using a zip installable.
Only use full factory images (ftf), they will wipe internal sd in order to get correct mappings so backup everything before flashing.
Once u on a firmware, an update to the same firmware is allowed (e.g. from one 5.0.2 rom to another 5.0.2 rom).
I hope it helps u in the future.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for the detailed explanation, after wasting two whole days trying everything described anywhere in the internet for recovering data from internal storage, I have also learnt it the hard way that it won't be possible to recover my data. Anyways the good news is google photos had backed up most of my photos, so it would actually be the call recordings, whatsapp history and other documents that I would have to loose permanently.
langeveld024 said:
Never upgrade between android versions (e.g. 4.4 > 5.0) using a zip installable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for the upgrade issue, is this only for lollipop or any android version? I have never seen anything similar when I upgraded from 4.0 to 4.1 or 4.2 to 4.4 e.t.c. If I shouldn't use zip installable to upgrade android versions how else do I upgrade to kitkat or lollipop? I don't think there are any factory images published for lollipop for my phone since support for it ended long time ago.
ZeroInfinity said:
Today, I have experienced a very "odd" problem. I have just found out that there is a folder called "storage" visible in my Internal Storage.
When I thought that, since it was visible, it did not contain much useful files (Only 2 xml files I found which would be in both internal and external storage) so I deleted that folder and everything in my SD Card and Internal Storage vanished.
I found out that the "storage" folder had a link to both storage devices but the weird thing is, why was that there and why is it visible? I could of sworn that I have never seen that before on my Xperia Z...
Can anyone else see their "storage" folder in the internal storage or is it just me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am again reviving this old thread as today I deleted a folder named sdcard inside my oneplus 3's internal storage and lost everyrhing. Though I had never upgraded my phone using any zip file and always went with the OTA update
I also made a thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3/help/strange-t3537998
Related
So, I had my Raider for about a month before rooting and installing the rumraider beta BUT...my internal SD is showing very little free space, and all I can think of is that I used to have a few gb of vids & pics in one of the folder hide apps, and they were stored on the internal SD. All that ever showed in any explorer app was an empty folder, even though that's supposedly where the files were hidden. Anyway, I deleted the folder manually, just to see if 3gb or so would magically free up.. but that didn't happen. There are also a bunch of no longer installed apps' data folders kicking around I'm quite sure.. so the questions are:
(a) what does the format internal SD card option do in the raider's system menu..and will it wipe out anything important to the function of my phone?
(b) is it safe and/or advisable to manually browse & delete unnecessary folders?
(c) if I've already used SD Maid and see no real noticeable difference in free space, are there any other apps which might do a better job?
..I have only a few dozen apps installed since flashing the rumraider rom, but the phones internal storage was pretty full beforehand.. I just assumed that the whole wipe process prior to (and during, if I read the progress right) the flash would clear all that data out. Its got 16gb internal storage in total.. partitioned, true.. but still.. i have almost nothing free. I find that odd.
'lil help? LOL!
bproulx said:
So, I had my Raider for about a month before rooting and installing the rumraider beta BUT...my internal SD is showing very little free space, and all I can think of is that I used to have a few gb of vids & pics in one of the folder hide apps, and they were stored on the internal SD. All that ever showed in any explorer app was an empty folder, even though that's supposedly where the files were hidden. Anyway, I deleted the folder manually, just to see if 3gb or so would magically free up.. but that didn't happen. There are also a bunch of no longer installed apps' data folders kicking around I'm quite sure.. so the questions are:
(a) what does the format internal SD card option do in the raider's system menu..and will it wipe out anything important to the function of my phone?
(b) is it safe and/or advisable to manually browse & delete unnecessary folders?
(c) if I've already used SD Maid and see no real noticeable difference in free space, are there any other apps which might do a better job?
..I have only a few dozen apps installed since flashing the rumraider rom, but the phones internal storage was pretty full beforehand.. I just assumed that the whole wipe process prior to (and during, if I read the progress right) the flash would clear all that data out. Its got 16gb internal storage in total.. partitioned, true.. but still.. i have almost nothing free. I find that odd.
'lil help? LOL!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 using holiraider
your internal sd is only 9.48gb(ish). on that, you can delete anything you want. whether any apps use any of the data in there is dependent on the apps you have installed. there is nothing there that is */required/* for your rom to function correctly
after backing up all your pictures/music/titanium backup files/clockworkmod backups/etc to your computer or all on an external card, you can safely format the internal sd. the system will recreate any files/folders it needs.
personally, i would just back EVERYTHING on the internal sd up to my computer, format the internal sd from the system menu, and if anything doesnt work properly after that, you always have the files handy.
I have a 32gb sd card so i backup the internal to sdcard2 into a ".No Media" folder. I hate duplicating images.. But this way i always have a back up with me since i like to flash roms while im at work (to impatient to wait till im home).
Hi,
I am using latest JB FW, Timin8r rom. I was on stock kernel.
Last night i rebooted my phone and got the grey triangle. I left the phone over night and it was OK in the morning.
However, I got a message that internal storage was 75% full and a popup appeared asking me to transfer data to my ext card. However, all options said 1 file and 0% and the transfer button was greyed out so i pressed cancel
An hour ago I flashed the new stock kernel with recovery and thats when i noticed that my file structure had changed, Inow have
ext-card
sdcard
sdcard1
(Sdcard 1 is actually the ext-card)
However, from the sdcard (Internal storage) I have lost all the folders from Android to Notifications (Listed in alphabetical order). What is left is only a few MB but storage on the phone reports that there is 10Gb still in use. So I think the data is still there just not visible in root explorer or on the PC when I mount phone.
I am going to leave the phone alone whilst I am at work as it may need to settle, but has anyone else got any ideas?
Hay man, I have a similar issue, though not as bad, I rebooted and got the gray triangle, I waited and shows low storage. Curious why, I looked in explorer it showed the same storage folders you have.
Sdcard
Sdcard1
Ext-sdcard
Though the only problem is sdcard and ext-sdcard both show the contents of what my ext-sdcard actually shows which is strange. Seems to have duplicated itself in another folder...
I might try and delete one and see what happens.
As for your problem, you could try and flash a stock ICS to reset the file structure?
Sent from my LT30p using xda premium
The ext-card has not been dupicated its just two seperate paths to get to the same place.
My main concern is the missing folders in the sdcard (Internal) They still appear to be there as there is a discrepency of 10 gb between what is reported to being used and what I can actuall see.
These include my recovery backups and lots of photos so I dont want to format yet.
I have a copy of some backups on my pc at home so when i get home I can restore and check.
Same issue
Hello there,
did you manage to find your lost stuff? I experience the same problem on my T. I can't see my vids & photos since I transferred them vie that notificiation ( after the jelly bean update) however I didn' make any bacups :/ Would be happy to be able to save my data.
Have a nice day
Araxay said:
Hello there,
did you manage to find your lost stuff? I experience the same problem on my T. I can't see my vids & photos since I transferred them vie that notificiation ( after the jelly bean update) however I didn' make any bacups :/ Would be happy to be able to save my data.
Have a nice day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had them backed up so I just formatted the card. sorry i cant be more help
Before I upgraded from a 4.1 to a 4.2 based rom, I copied all my files from my sd card and then flashed the Rom. Then I formatted my phone's storage so I wouldn't have that weird 2 sd card file system going and so that I could see all my old files which I pasted back onto my phone. When I boot into cwm, and want to install a .zip, I see a couple folders such as the cwm folder and venom folder and legacy folder, and I find that my sd cards files are not under root and I have to go to /0. If I go into a file explorer such as we file explorer, I can't see any files under the the place where those several folders are. Any ideas?
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Noticing same thing...
I've just been searching these threads for the exact same issue. Wondering if it would be possible to take a nandroid, erase system and everything and either restore or reload my room from scratch to fix this? My phone says it's running low on memory while it still shows almost 10gb free when attached to my computer. I assume this is the problem...
BJodrey said:
I've just been searching these threads for the exact same issue. Wondering if it would be possible to take a nandroid, erase system and everything and either restore or reload my room from scratch to fix this? My phone says it's running low on memory while it still shows almost 10gb free when attached to my computer. I assume this is the problem...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, ive tried to format my phones internal storage but the problem is still there. Though it does free up a lot of space when I do it. I think it says it is low memory because there are duplicate files of everything on your sd card
Today when trying to free up some space on my HTC One (S-OFF, rooted, latest FW, etc), with the phone connected to the computer I cut and pasted the 'storage' folder into a folder on my computer. After this, most of my internal storage folders were gone, most notably all my Camera pictures. I looked in the folder that was copied to the computer and these folders aren't present. I also tried to do an adb pull from the root directory and the missing files weren't there either.
Looking at my phone storage, it says i have 20GB used by 'Other', which gives me hope that these files are still somewhere on the device. I did a search in a few applications looking for jpg files or any lost files but didn't come up with anything.
Has anyone else encountered this or have any idea if these files are still somewhere on the device? I know it was a stupid thing to do and didn't have a cloud backup set
Could you see the photos before you cut and pasted? What you've described doesn't sound like it should have caused your photos to disappear, but an upgrade would.
On a 4.1 ROM, the sdcard points to /data/media. On a 4.2 and beyond ROM, the sdcard points to /data/media/0. I would have a look in /data/media.
Hi guys
I'd like to erase my sd card. In the last time i've flashed several roms. Now, i have in system storage two part, one is emulated where is a 0 map with all file i have, end the other one is sdcard0, and there are also all files. Because i have only 5G free space, i want to erase one of them. I want to copy the necessary files to my pc, and the whole sd erase, after then copy back the folder i need. Can i do so? Don't will i erase my rom too?
thanks
mohab216 said:
I'd like to erase my sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, do you have a real SD card? If so, you don't have the same phone as 99% of people in the HTC One subforum, because the HTC One has no SD card. But in short, nothing you can delete as non-root will hurt your ROM. If you're using a file manager and deleting stuff, you're pretty safe. You can get into more trouble with factory resets or "wipes".
fenstre said:
First of all, do you have a real SD card? If so, you don't have the same phone as 99% of people in the HTC One subforum, because the HTC One has no SD card. But in short, nothing you can delete as non-root will hurt your ROM. If you're using a file manager and deleting stuff, you're pretty safe. You can get into more trouble with factory resets or "wipes".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tnaks. It is of course a virtual sd card
You can format it via CWM/TWRP recovery. Back up first, format and put back what you need.
No it won't erase your Rom or wipe. If u use twrp, be sure you uncheck all marks except SDcard (think it's the bottom one)
Note that if you "format internal storage" in CWM, it *will* wipe all your app data. I don't think you want that.
There are "fake" folders on Android 4. The real folders you should have are:
/data/media/0
/data/media/obb (optional)
/data/media/legacy (this is empty on my phone)
You should have no other folders in /data/media. If you see other folders and delete them, it will probably solve your problem. If you don't, your problem may have a more complicated solution.