Wiping clears /sdcard directory?

mach330

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since this phone doesn't have an SD card, but there is a folder called /sdcard. I store all my roms there. But if you wipe to install a new rom, does that directory also get wiped? Or does it treat /sdcard as if it was an external sd card. I just want to know before i wipe.
 

smokiedabong

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If you wipe from the system, settings>security>wipe it'll wipe everything. If you wipe from ClokworkMod bootloader it'll keep the sdcard folder intact .
 

prime

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I imagine that folder is actually a mounted partition, wiping *shouldn't* wipe the sdcard partition unless designed to do so.
 

9wire

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I can see a folder labeled "SD" when looking at them on the PC but can't see it on the phone with astro. Want to make sure I have my pics and music protected.

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mach330

mach330

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If you wipe from the system, settings>security>wipe it'll wipe everything. If you wipe from ClokworkMod bootloader it'll keep the sdcard folder intact .

that's good. i always wipe from clockwork mod. I saw the partition portion on rom manager so I wasn't sure if it was already done or if I had to do it from there.
 

smokiedabong

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Also unlocking the device will wipe all your data, so if you have pictures and things on your phone and plan to unlock the device make a backup cause you'll lose everything.
 
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BayouFlyFisher

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Smoke got it right. If you do a Factory Date Reset from the settings menu on the phone, it will wipe everything - including your sdcard!! If you do the same from Clockwork Recovery your sdcard will be safe.
 

chemist109

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I imagine that folder is actually a mounted partition, wiping *shouldn't* wipe the sdcard partition unless designed to do so.

The GNex storage is all one big partition. That's why you can't mount /sdcard as removable storage anymore. They did this to prevent the situation of X gigabytes of free space available for applications while you're completely out of space for data. This also means that they don't have to unmount a partition and possibly prevent some apps from working while you're transferring files. It's explained very well in this Reddit thread by Google engineer Dan Morril:

Whoa, whoa. ICS doesn't support USB mass storage? : Android
 

prime

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The GNex storage is all one big partition. That's why you can't mount /sdcard as removable storage anymore. They did this to prevent the situation of X gigabytes of free space available for applications while you're completely out of space for data. This also means that they don't have to unmount a partition and possibly prevent some apps from working while you're transferring files. It's explained very well in this Reddit thread by Google engineer Dan Morril:

Whoa, whoa. ICS doesn't support USB mass storage? : Android

Seems separate partitions work fine in my opinion.

You don't have to unmount storage to enable mass storage, check the application dual mount SD widget for an example.
 
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melfunn

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Wow. To me the possibility of wiping data through previous accepted android actions is crazy.

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