Root Formatting as much as possible without losing root and installing new OS after

elfere · Dec 21, 2017

I have all my OS and gapps on my sd card ready to be flashed.

My internal card is bleeding memory (es exploer can only find 4 out of the 11 used gigs) so i want to delete as much as possible before flashing a new OS

so, given that TWRP gives me 6 different things i can delete/format, which ones should i click?
I'd like to keep root -

installing Resurrection mod for your information.

Hadron · Dec 21, 2017

If you are going to change ROM keeping root is irrelevant. It's the ROM that is rooted, and the new one (pre-rooted in the case of almost all custom ROMs) will replace that completely.

If you want to be able to use it as a phone after the wipe and without flashing a new ROM first then erasing cache and data, aka a "factory reset", is the limit.

But are you certain there's a problem? Is it space in the virtual sdcard you can't account for or internal storage full stop? The system storage menu will tell you about usage in the entire internal storage, and include all system partitions in that, and on an S5 they'll come to at least 7GB. ES (generally regarded as a privacy risk BTW) won't show those, and if you actually look at usage of /sdcard then you will not see any of that by definition (because these are not part of that virtual volume). If you can show us the actual usage you are basing this worry on, rather than just the amount you can't account for, we will be better able to judge whether there is really anything abnormal.

Of course if you want to install Resurrection anyway, then just go ahead. Take a backup from twrp first (in case of any problems), and back up all important data using your favourite backup tool (app/data backups have a different purpose from recovery backups), and make sure both backups are on removable SD rather than internal. Then reset (data and cache) and install the ROM.

elfere · Dec 21, 2017

That was very informative. thank you for your time.

this is the second phone i've gotten to this point with (where i feel i can extend its life via a new rom)

1: what's a good non ES alternative? (i'll install it on ressurection rom) ((if you only answer one more question make it this one please

))

2: most apps are already on the SD card anyway - will they 'just work' with a new OS or do i need to back em up anyway?

3: Thanks for answering about which to delete - Data - but, there were other options (and now i'm kinda curious why i'd ever need to use them? developer purposes I imagine?)

edit 1:
4: yes i absolutely want to keep it as a phone after! i didn't even know there was a way to **** it up bad enough that, that was a possibility. (well... i suppose it could brick - which is always an inherit danger)

edit 2
is there a problem?
1 major battery drainage on both batteries. might be age - but i'm assuming some kinda software issue.
2missed calls all the time - probably my network issues - but - wtf - i'll try anything.
3. i'm hanging around 9.5/11 gigs at all time. which... i suppose isen't much more then the amounts you specified. but... really i remember there being 'more' about a year ago...
4. freezes on things it never did 4 months ago (loading FB pages via chrome) lag on keyboard loading - general slowness.
5. new year. new OS.

its time to reinstall something else anyway - i usually have a 1 year rule (which i break all the time) for reinstalling OS's on my PC's and phones. (its easier then removing all the clutter manually i find)

I wanted to get as close as possible to fresh as possible - there won't be a 'next time'. in a year or 2's time it'll be time to replace the phone. - - - then it'll get passed down to my 8 year old. who'll probably complain about all the same stuff I am now (random freezes mostly).

edit3

wow you're really popular here! i'm honored to have had your attention. even after 7 years on this site i've only posted 16 things. mostly all i do is read and follow other peoples directions.

many many thanks !!

Hadron · Dec 22, 2017

For file managers the ones I use most are X-Plore, Solid Explorer and Root Explorer (the last is an ambiguous name, so I use the Speed Software one. They also do a non-root version just called Explorer). These all have different interfaces (especially X-Plore, the other 2 are more conventional).

No, I'm afraid that apps on SD will still need to be backed-up and restored, or else reinstalled. The problem is that moving apps to SD only actually moves part of the app (and actually even if it didn't after a reset the phone wouldn't know the apps were there so would think they were not installed). In fact a reset will wipe the bits of the apps that are on SD as well.

The other wipe options? I don't have one of my rooted devices with me to check the TWRP menu, but they will be things like wiping system (i.e. deleting your ROM), possibly an external SD partition (which people who use tools like Link2SD to move apps will have), possibly boot (the partition the kernel lives in). The first and last of those are really just for making sure you have a clean start before flashing a ROM - not necessary in my experience and opinion (most ROM install scripts will format these partitions before installing anyway), but there in case. The one in the middle would be part of wiping apps for someone who had that setup.

OK, when I said "do you want to it to work as a phone afterward" I meant "after wiping but before flashing a new ROM", not "ever"

. If you were to wipe system or boot the phone would be useless until you flashed another ROM. We do actually get that: people play with a custom recovery, decide to wipe everything clean, and then turn up here saying "I pressed all of the erase buttons and now my phone just boots into recovery". Of course you can recover from this by reflashing the ROM - TWRP doesn't allow you to do anything truly terminal (you need to mess up the bootloader to do that, which TWRP won't touch).

Good luck

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Root Formatting as much as possible without losing root and installing new OS after

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