Help Deleted Media Store data now Playlists not saving & 3RD party camera applications delayed

[Noremon]

1. Samsung
2. S5
3. KitKat
4. I deleted the Media Storage application data to fix a large .Thumbnails file and now the default Music application isn't saving my created playlists to a file in the Playlists folder. And my preferred low battery 3RD party camera application [HD Camera ULTRA] is taking ages to be responsive for taking pictures now. Clearing it's cache doesn't help.
5. Not rooted

I noticed I had a superfluously huge .thumbnails file in my internal DCIM folder. It claimed to be taking-up 6GB, I know it wasn't really but it was around 600MB. I would delete and it would reappear. Now I have a 16GB device so every little space is key. I looked online for similar problems and it was suggested I delete my Media Storage and rebuild it. I did so and things were running much smoother and the .Thumbnail file stuck around 300MB. But I went to remake some playlists and noticed that they weren't saving to the Playlists folder (I didn't back them up originally because they are basically just of folders). They were working fine in Music, but nothing added to the internal storage folder. I searched with ES and My Files and see that an empty file is created for a playlist, but it's not a playlist file and claims to be created in 1969. I tried deleting the Music data but no dice.

Also I use a 3RD party camera application when my battery is low and it is taking several minutes to become able to take pictures now when opened. It seems to be able to take front facing pictures faster but will give a "you need to insert a SD card" type error if I try to take a front facing picture before it is ready (another 3RD party camera application gives a "failed to save" error if it isn't ready). If I select it as the camera to use for an application (like to take Swarm picture) and loading it has done is reset.

I have tried the application Media Re Scan several times to reload my Media Storage and it seemed to work for a day for the camera application even opening it with an application but today it's back to taking awhile.

I tried redeleting the Media Storage and leaving it a few hours to rebuild naturally instead of via Media Re Scan but it hasn't fixed me issues. It also didn't delete my custom ringtone contact settings this time either. I powered off the device after deleting the Media Storage application data the 2ND time and removed the battery for awhile to make sure it was fully powered down and then merely turned the device on and left it for hours.

I would like to fix this without a factory reset because I have no idea how to back-up the Bookmarks and such in the default Samsung Browser. I've cleared the data before and the Samsung Account sync did nothing despite claiming to be backing them up daily. And my custom suggestive text is horrible to rebuild. Also I worry about my S Health data. I also have 2 years left on my warranty so rooting isn't an option, especially since I play "The Battle Cats".

Thank-you if you can help!

 

[Noremon]

1. Samsung
2. S5
3. KitKat
4. I deleted the Media Store application data to fix a large .Thumbnails file and now the default Music application isn't saving my created playlists to a file in the Playlists folder. And my preferred low battery 3RD party camera application [HD Camera ULTRA] is taking ages to be responsive for taking pictures now. Clearing it's cache doesn't help.
5. Not rooted

I noticed I had a superfluously huge .thumbnails file in my internal DCIM folder. It claimed to be taking-up 6GB, I know it wasn't really but it was around 600MB. I would delete and it would reappear. Now I have a 16GB device so every little space is key. I looked online for similar problems and it was suggested I delete my Media Store and rebuild it. I did so and things were running much smoother and the .Thumbnail file stuck around 300MB. But I went to remake some playlists and noticed that they weren't saving to the Playlists folder (I didn't back them up originally because they are basically just of folders). They were working fine in Music, but nothing added to the internal storage folder. I searched with ES and My Files and see that an empty file is created for a playlist, but it's not a playlist file and claims to be created in 1969. I tried deleting the Music data but no dice.

Also I use a 3RD party camera application when my battery is low and it is taking several minutes to become able to take pictures now when opened. It seems to be able to take front facing pictures faster but will give a "you need to insert a SD card" type error if I try to take a front facing picture before it is ready (another 3RD party camera application gives a "failed to save" error if it isn't ready). If I select it as the camera to use for an application (like to take Swarm picture) and loading it has done is reset.

I have tried the application Media Re Scan several times to reload my Media Store and it seemed to work for a day for the camera application even opening it with an application but today it's back to taking awhile.

I tried redeleting the Media Store and leaving it a few hours to rebuild naturally instead of via Media Re Scan but it hasn't fixed me issues. It also didn't delete my custom ringtone contact settings this time either. I powered off the device after deleting the Media Store application data the 2ND time and removed the battery for awhile to make sure it was fully powered down and then merely turned the device on and left it for hours.

I would like to fix this without a factory reset because I have no idea how to back-up the Bookmarks and such in the default Samsung Browser. I've cleared the data before and the Samsung Account sync did nothing despite claiming to be backing them up daily. And my custom suggestive text is horrible to rebuild. Also I worry about my S Health data. I also have 2 years left on my warranty so rooting isn't an option, especially since I play "The Battle Cats".

Thank-you if you can help!

Well I tried redeleting the Media Store application data. It seemed to delete my custom ringtone contact settings this time but it didn't help the playlist problem. So I stopped Music, deleted its data and then redeleted the Media Store data again. No dice and the ringtone data was back.

 

[Bg260]

Are you rooted? How were you able to delete the Media Store?

You should start backing up your data now. I'm sensing a factory reset in the near future.

 

[Noremon]

Are you rooted? How were you able to delete the Media Store?


You should start backing up your data now. I'm sensing a factory reset in the near future.

Media Storage the application, I am not rooted.

I wouldn't mind if I knew how to 100% back-up the Samsung browser & my suggestive text.

 

[Bg260]

Ok ,first thing, in the Samsung browser go to bookmarks, select all, select share, if you have email, choose that as sharing option and send to yourself. Bookmarks saved.

 

[Bg260]

OK, next part is a little more technical.With your file explorer, (I used ES on unrooted device) navigate to device /system/media/audio. What do you see?

 

[Bg260]

Something quick you can try, unmount and then remount your sdcard. This can be done in the setting menu under storage.

 

[Noremon]

I'm not given an option to share Bookmarks.

And all that's in Audio is a Facebook notification tone.

I unmounted my SD card and remounted it, no dice. I actually tried earlier starting my device without it in it.

 

[Bg260]

Are you sure it was in the System partition "/" that you looked in media? Not your sdcard? And I was afraid sharing wouldn't be an option in kit-kat. Should be backed up to Samsung account, though. This is starting to sound like maybe a virus or something. The large thumbnails file is definitely suspicious

 

[Noremon]

There has never really been anything in that folder but that since I installed Facebook.

I previously cleared my Internet data almost a year ago and only like 5 Bookmarks restored. I'll have to do it manually probably. I'm honestly also anxious about a bit more than just the Bookmarks in the browser though.

The Suggestive Text, S Health, and the Internet are about all I worry about. I regularly back-up application data with Helium and have my .APKs saved. Most everything else like Google Docs are stored on my Google Account. My storage list for my Samsung Account shows S Planner is taking-up nothing, but I expect it's just such a small amount (hopefully Kies has it backed-up too) since about 90% of the storage is 1MB. My SMS & Contacts are showing as backed-up by Samsung & Super Backup.

 

[Bg260]

Well, first, that is still not the correct directory. I am speaking of the root directory. If you swipe from the left in ES to open open touch Local. "/" will be one of the choices.

Also here is a link to an older version of ES. I think the new one stinks. https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ay8xr8j24ggjm2/ES File Explorer_4.0.5.apk?dl=0

Pretty much running out of ideas. If you want full functionality back it will be with a factory reset, and if that doesn't work we can flash it back to stock. The other choice is you maybe finding some third party apps that will meet your needs better,

 

[Noremon]

 

[Bg260]

OK, those are all of your system sounds and ringtones. Were there files inside? Like nameofsound.ogg.

 

[Bg260]

Just figured it out. The files you deleted were the Application files that you had transferred to the SDcard. Go into App Manager to SDcard tab. If any apps are still showing on sdcard, move them back to internal storage. Uninstall and reinstall these Apps. Then transfer them back to sdcard if you want to. By deleting that file the way that you did, the applications weren't made aware. They were still looking for the non-existent data........I think.....hope.

 

[Noremon]

Yeah, ringtones are all there.

Music is a system application and the camera application was installed internally.

Here is a post like the one I found on these forums and why I deleted the Media Storage data:
{ https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-delete-thumbnails-data-from-my-DCIM-folder-in-Android }

 

[Bg260]

Music app >force stop>wipe data>wipe cache
Media App " " "
Reboot

 

[Bg260]

You have tried just about everything. Like I said, we can fix this in a jiffy. I know you don't want to reset but it is a tried and true method. Following online tutorials comes with that risk. You can try this app. No root required. It is frequently recommended in this forum.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup&hl=en

The problem is, you might back up and restore the corrupted data that is causing the problem.

 

[Noremon]

I mentioned above that I regularly use Helium to back-up application data. It doesn't work for Internet though and the custom dictionary back-up did not actually restore my Suggestive Text when I tried last. I likely will factory reset in the upcoming days, but I need to back-up my bookmarks manually just in case Samsung fails again. I might also install S Health on Bluestacks 2 to see if my data is actually synced. It's going to take time and I'm still recovering from a chest infection so I am tired so it will take longer for me to do. Who knows, Rogers (the carrier my device's firmware version is from, though I am on TELUS) could have altered something to make that online suggestion fail? And nothing I can do. Anyway I just hate how pointless I feel over this so with hope the factory reset sorts it.

How to prevent it from updating the firmware when I reset it though? Do I take my SIM card out and turn my wireless router off? But what if it wants me to enter my Samsung Account details first?

 

[Noremon]

Any answer? You throw around flashing it if a factory reset doesn't work but haven't answered about preventing an update. I have a regional stock Samsung firmware so the disable auto-update option is available in about device. But I'm worried about leaving my SIM card in until.I select it. But do I need my SIM card in for the factory reset and to access my device after. Like will I need to set-up my Samsung Account before I will be able to access the menus or such?

 

[Bg260]

I have reset and flashed my S4 numerous times. I have never removed the SIM. That might causes more problems than it is worth. As far as preventing OTA upgrades, it shouldn't upgrade until you give it permission. Could you download this app from the Playstore and post a picture of the firmware page?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vndnguyen.phoneinfo

 

[Noremon]

I know it's Rogers but my SIM is TELUS

 

[Bg260]

Wow, you are two updates behind. You should be on Marshmallow. If you want to stay on KitKat..... you are eventually going to run into more problems.

 

[Bg260]

I guess all I can say is that you tinkered with your phone a little to much and it got messed up a bit. For most of us a factory reset is a no brainer. You also are two updates behind and without root and a custom ROM (if available) your phone is becoming obsolete. I think you probably know what the options are. I can't make these decisions for you. Ultimately it is your device.. It is up to you to decide.

 

[Bg260]

If you need help finding firmware. I can help you with that.
Also installing the latest firmware via Kies is the best way to upgrade.

http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-G900W8/

 

[Noremon]

Look, I do not want to update. If you are shocked I am 2 OS updates behind you didn't read my initial post where I state my OS.

I plan to factory reset after work tomorrow, I have spent time manually backing-up my bookmarks and anything I can. This is my first time doing this and I would prefer answers to my questions as I am very high anxiety over this instead of criticism. I am very aware of the more limited lifespan still using Android K, but it's what I want. I will eventually be getting a pablet with Marshmallow on it, but KitKat is what I want to remain on this device. I am aware of how to update if I wished to do so on this device.

I am worried about an OTA update if I have my data SIM card in until I turn-off the setting for auto-update.