Help What happens if i Format the Internal SD?

[CrazySte]

QUESTION: if i do a "FORMAT INTERNAL SD" will i lose also the Operating System or only all the Stuff that has been installed afterwards?


HI EVERYBODY,
i was just going around the various settings, and i noticed that there is an Option to Format the Internal SD Card.

Since soon there should be an available UpDate to Froyo 2.2.1 i was thinking that it might have not been a bad idea to just Format the Internal SD and do also a Factory Reset prior to the UpGrade.

What i don't understand is: if i Format the Internal SD, will it delete also the Operating System and make my Phone totally unfunctional, or the Operating System won't be touched because it's in the Firmware?

WHAT ABOUT MY APPS?
I know that they will all be deleted, but once i log in to my Google Account, will it automatically Re-Install what i had before or will i have to manually re-install them One by One?

I don't have that many, so it should not be a big deal, it was just out of curiosity.
Thank's for any info
REGARDS

 

[JiMMaR]

Galaxy S got 2 internal memories (total of 8GB)
2GB ROM
6GB "internal memory"

formatting internal memory will only format the 6GB, also why do you want to delete everything and factory reset before an update ? it's your choice anyway

about the apps .. am not exactly sure about that .. for me they didn't reinstall
but on my dad's nexus one , they get auto downloaded and installed

you can use titanium backup from the market (needs root) to backup your apps with their settings .. pretty handy if you play games and don't want to lose your progress [sometimes doesn't work on some games though]

Edit: forgot to mention that for the 16GB models
2GB ROM
14GB "internal memory"

 

[mattuhh]

I am not 100% sure on weather it will delete the operation system but I was told before it wont, and that it works just like the factory reset, again not 100% sure on that.
You will have to re-install all the apps manually yourself (at least I had to when I updated to 2.2 and did a factory reset) after you log back in, any you have purchased will still be purchased on your account.

 

[snapper.fishes]

Galaxy S got 2 internal memories (total of 8GB)
2GB ROM
6GB "internal memory"

formatting internal memory will only format the 6GB, also why do you want to delete everything and factory reset before an update ? it's your choice anyway

about the apps .. am not exactly sure about that .. for me they didn't reinstall
but on my dad's nexus one , they get auto downloaded and installed

you can use titanium backup from the market (needs root) to backup your apps with their settings .. pretty handy if you play games and don't want to lose your progress [sometimes doesn't work on some games though]

Some models have 16 gb internal memory.

 

[CrazySte]

Galaxy S got 2 internal memories (total of 8GB)
2GB ROM
6GB "internal memory"

formatting internal memory will only format the 6GB, also why do you want to delete everything and factory reset before an update ? it's your choice anyway

about the apps .. am not exactly sure about that .. for me they didn't reinstall
but on my dad's nexus one , they get auto downloaded and installed

you can use titanium backup from the market (needs root) to backup your apps with their settings .. pretty handy if you play games and don't want to lose your progress [sometimes doesn't work on some games though]

HELLO,
the idea was that i wanted to have a well clean system before installing the new OS and re-installing the Programs without having to Install them and uninstall various programs to test them until i found the one i liked.

You see: i am totally new in this Android World, i got this Phone for about 2 Weeks and i have been installing quite few apps, not a bunch, but those that i really need, just to be clear: NO Games at all, but several tools.

Since of each program there are many versions sometimes i installed one that seemed good, then i didn't like it so i uninstalled it and installed another one, others seemed good at the beginning, then after few days i realized that they were not too good and i uninstalled them to install a different and so on.

No i think i found what i like, BUT, really, i think that the Memory is all messed up and considering that there is not a Defrag Option on these Phones, i thought that re-installing everything from scratch would have helped to solve that Lag problem that sometimes comes in the picture.
And i wanted to use the excuse of installing a new Firmware to do so.

What do you think?
REGARDS

 

[JiMMaR]

Some models have 16 gb internal memory.

oops , I forgot to mention that
in those models
2GB ROM
14GB internal memory

HELLO,
the idea was that i wanted to have a well clean system before installing the new OS and re-installing the Programs without having to Install them and uninstall various programs to test them until i found the one i liked.

You see: i am totally new in this Android World, i got this Phone for about 2 Weeks and i have been installing quite few apps, not a bunch, but those that i really need, just to be clear: NO Games at all, but several tools.

Since of each program there are many versions sometimes i installed one that seemed good, then i didn't like it so i uninstalled it and installed another one, others seemed good at the beginning, then after few days i realized that they were not too good and i uninstalled them to install a different and so on.

No i think i found what i like, BUT, really, i think that the Memory is all messed up and considering that there is not a Defrag Option on these Phones, i thought that re-installing everything from scratch would have helped to solve that Lag problem that sometimes comes in the picture.
And i wanted to use the excuse of installing a new Firmware to do so.

What do you think?
REGARDS

yeah , I did that too once
the problem is , even after removing apps , some still keep their files in your phone
go for it then , format internal SD then restore to factory would get you a clean phone
I did format the internal SD once , but I did it from windows, mounted and formatted .. but formatting from phone would be safer

oh and also it'd help to go into recovery mode (while phone is off , volume up + home + power button, keep holding till galaxy S logo appears , then release) and wipe everything you can

 

[CrazySte]

yeah , I did that too once
the problem is , even after removing apps , some still keep their files in your phone
go for it then , format internal SD then restore to factory would get you a clean phone
I did format the internal SD once , but I did it from windows, mounted and formatted .. but formatting from phone would be safer

oh and also it'd help to go into recovery mode (while phone is off , volume up + home + power button, keep holding till galaxy S logo appears , then release) and wipe everything you can

THANK YOU
for all the Infos, now that i know that is Safe to Format the Phone, i will do that and also a Factory Reset prior to ding the Update to Froyo 2.2.1 as soon as it will be available in the United States.

Interesting what yous aid about the Recovery Mode... what will i be able to wipe out from there that a Format wouldn't?

Thank's again
CIAO

 

[JiMMaR]

THANK YOU
for all the Infos, now that i know that is Safe to Format the Phone, i will do that and also a Factory Reset prior to ding the Update to Froyo 2.2.1 as soon as it will be available in the United States.

Interesting what yous aid about the Recovery Mode... what will i be able to wipe out from there that a Format wouldn't?

Thank's again
CIAO

you can do the following from recovery mode
- factory reset (reset to firmware default)
- wipe cache
- wipe dalvic cache (needs clockworkmod recovery I think)
- reset battery usage data (needs clockworkmod recovery)

maybe I missed some other stuff though

 

[LateNiteMike]

Well, you guys seem to be 'in the know' regarding a lot of these details. The reason I'm chiming in here is because from what I've been reading in recent posts...it's starting to look as if this 2.2.1 firmware update is worthwhile and I'm seriously considering doing it.
I say worthwhile because I'm just a regular SGS user. Mine is the International Version (unbranded) and even though I've got a lot of apps.....the device is 'box stock'. Up until now I've been sitting back and just reading posts....it seems updates have been showing up but they didn't seem to really make much of an impact on the problem areas such as GPS and such. It seems as if this 2.2.1 might be the answer I've been looking for and worth committing to.
Up until now I've put off doing anything like this because of all the HASSLES so many people have been reporting when dealing with Kies and other issues.
I've seen positive comments regarding Odin but it's not from Samsung.
Yeah, I know...Kies IS from Samsung...and from all that I've read....it's crap.
What I'm trying to find out is: What is the best (current) and safest method to do a firmware upgrade to 2.2.1?
Can someone give me a step by step proven method of doing this...without me having to worry about 'bricking' my phone?
I'm in China right now....and taking care of getting any kind of 'technical' work done is damn near impossible due to many reasons. So, I need to know that I can do this successfully the first time.
I've got "OnTheFly" Backup app. Will this keep my apps for reloading after doing this firmware upgrade?
Should I use Kies?
Should I use Odin?
What are the foolproof steps for successfully completing this firmware upgrade?
Any suggestions? Tips? Things to be aware of when doing something like this?

Any kind-hearted techies out there willing to provide a plan to do this? If so, THANKS in advance.

 

[mattuhh]

Well, you guys seem to be 'in the know' regarding a lot of these details. The reason I'm chiming in here is because from what I've been reading in recent posts...it's starting to look as if this 2.2.1 firmware update is worthwhile and I'm seriously considering doing it.

It is definitely worth doing it, I did it and my phone was alot faster and it wasn't even a "clean" install, just upgrade.
I decided to format my internal sd card and factory reset today to see if it made a difference, and it made it even faster!
The only "safe" way to do it (as far as warranty etc goes) is via kies, but I don't know if 2.2.1 has been released where you are yet?

 

[LateNiteMike]

It is definitely worth doing it, I did it and my phone was alot faster and it wasn't even a "clean" install, just upgrade.
I decided to format my internal sd card and factory reset today to see if it made a difference, and it made it even faster!
The only "safe" way to do it (as far as warranty etc goes) is via kies, but I don't know if 2.2.1 has been released where you are yet?

Thanks for the feedback.
I purchased my International version SGS while I was living in Thailand. I'm now in Xian China. I guess both areas would be included in the Asia region for upgrades.
Have you had much of a problem using Kies as most users seem to be having?
What's the URL for downloading Kies and the correct firmware version I'll need,....any idea?

 

[mattuhh]

Thanks for the feedback.
I purchased my International version SGS while I was living in Thailand. I'm now in Xian China. I guess both areas would be included in the Asia region for upgrades.
Have you had much of a problem using Kies as most users seem to be having?
What's the URL for downloading Kies and the correct firmware version I'll need,....any idea?

I think they would be included in that area yeah, not 100% sure though.
I couldnt use kies for ages, and one day I worked out that if I unmount and remove the external sd card, it connects straight away every time. (works on my friends unbranded sgs too)
I downloaded kies from the samsung website. it should automatically give you the correct version of android that you need/is available in your area.