yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Epic 4G General] mouseglider:
I should add that one of the reason I nandroid so often, is that if I do it every 3 to 4 months (on my wife's epic because she travels) when she gets back, I have a ton of updates to catch up on - mine of course is always up to date. :D
[Epic 4G General] KennyG123:
Haha! Same with me and my GFs...she never updates! So if your sd card crashes you will seriously need this tutorial since all your nandroids are there.
[Epic 4G General] jmuru:
Awesome info. Thanks for sharing!
[Epic 4G General] mouseglider:
I am so paranoid about sd crashes and corruption because I have had my share when upgrading to the next bigger card (had a 2,4,8,16, and now 32gb in each epic) that I sync my epic cards to my PC on two separate drives for both my wife and myself (my PC has three physical (not virtual)l hard drives C, D, E) every 3 to 4 weeks. So for her, I am pretty safe except for those long updates in between her trips home. I feel pretty safe in case I do something stupid, which I do from time to time. :D

I actually tried to convince her to get an iPhone, because I think there would be less updates than Android, but she won't give up the physical KB. Not that I don't like updates, but I set her epic to be a 98% clone of mine, so we each have a lot of apps and each app is eventually updated and often! :(
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
NITDH.......you don't want that!........(nandroid-in-the-dog-house)....lol
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
.........arrival of the backup evangelists!

........a hi-5 to the Mods for Sticky'ing this: thanks guys!....... props to kennyglass123 + xopher.hunter for suggesting it to 'em.............nothing more stressful than going down that gopher hole attempting to recover data, it's no picnic!...........so am hopeful that we can salvage some valuable data + find ways to hinder that inevitable moment when the sd card reads 0%.............as they say, there's many more ways than 1 to skin a grape, or in this case, a corrupt microSD Card.
[Epic 4G General] ugothakd:
There is an undelete beta app on the market. Check it out.

Also, check out testdisk for when the partition table is fried.

Also, recuva. Pretty awesome, by the makers of ccleaner.

sent from my always aosp epic
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
Gr8 backup regimen..........'best practices' worthy.........given the 1,000 cumulative hrs leading to your perfect setup, worth all the special handling to keep devices singing!
[Epic 4G General] Furok23:
props on the recovery
[Epic 4G General] quick99si:
Mine took a dump today but it may be a total failure. I just got home and this is what the preliminary tests show. I would appreciate any input.

chkdsk

The type of the file system is RAW.

CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

testdisk

Capacity incorrectly showed at 8225kb/8032kb (16gb card)

Analyze feature reports a Partition Rear Error

As a sidenote, the TitaniumBackup sync-to-Dropbox feature has probably saved my butt as far as apps/data goes. I highly suggest using it to protect against dead cards.
[Epic 4G General] HanMan5000:
Sadly SD cards and USB sticks are very unreliable when it comes to data. They are easily damage and anything slight can cause them to be corrupted.

This is a great guide, glad you were able to restore your data!
[Epic 4G General] mouseglider:
Yup, I have a spare twin identical card Lexar 32gb class 10 waiting in the wings as a backup.

I use a program that can transfer and/or sync in many different ways my card to my PC, which I do every three or four weeks. It is called FolderMatch v3.44. I am sure there is a newer version out, but the one I have does the job

I simply plug my USB cable into my PC and the other end into my epic and simply choose synchronize, then chose make left folder (my PC) to be the same as the right folder (my epic) - depending on how many files you are syncing determines the speed of the sync. Works good for me! :D
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
ZAR has an 'unformat' option for Raw File Systems, you may want to explore if there is data remaining in your SD Card that you may want to recover (there's a brief tutorial posted on their website) ........ here's a glimpse:

"Unformat is the process of data recovery from a storage device (which can be a hard drive, a camera memory card, an USB pen drive) that was formatted.

The step-by-step tutorial below describes the procedure to recover data when the drive was accidentally formatted and you want to unformat the drive Windows reports "raw filesystem", or the drive is "not formatted" <end quote>

The above makes reference to a specific type of recovery (accidental format of a drive, as an example), but the application will recover from a number of file types + systems............worth checking it out.

*edit* as another example, 'accidental format of a drive' can also refer to split-second decisions we make when we guickly hit 'reformat sd card' on our device the very first time we ever encounter a 'corrupted external card / reformat?' type of message........in the moment, life goes on + it's only later that we begin to think of the lost data..................however, chances are pretty good that the data is recoverable (files are still inside the 'reformatted' sd card, only unreadable, ie RAW).
[Epic 4G General] rocket321:
Check out Microsoft's "Sync Toy" as an easy way to synchronize your SD card to a backup folder on your PC.

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=15155

Its free, Windows only.
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
rocket321: thnx 4 that!.........pretty simple interface, this, + fast........have been testing out a new ROM [eraLegendary] and have been doing nandroids every step of the way, + keeping notes, and have finally kissed goodbye a bevy of these bad boyz in order to make room in the SD Card (for the next gen of nandroids!) ............ as every version of the ROM is a bit different than the last (newer kernels, + oc/uv activity, for starters), having the ability to go to a special archive of solid backups (ie, performed a 'data only' restore several nites ago from an earlier nandroid) has been a gr8 asset.............also, have observed a few devices lose their ability to connect via microUSB cable (yeah, this will happen incrementally to some of us) so this is somewhat of a concern..............perhaps a cloud sync solution may partially alleviate this problem, any thoughts?
[Epic 4G General] carm0033:
Sorry if this is a dumb question but can't you just select all the contents of the card when its plugged in to your PC and copy/paste them to a new folder, and then if need be, copy it back to a new card? Wouldn't the phone read everything as it did before with the old card? I had a 32gb sandisk that mysteriously crapped out on me a few weeks ago, can't wait to give this fix a try, thanks for posting it!
[Epic 4G General] KennyG123:
Yes. This thread is for if the computer reads it as an error also.
[Epic 4G General] quick99si:
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, my card had a physical failure and not one related to a corrupted file system or partition table. None of the dozen or so utilities managed to read any contents or FS info. My last resort was to reformat in Windows and try a recovery then, but my fear was confirmed when it wouldn't even format: it's unrecoverable without transplanting the memory chip in the same card (bad controller).

I have a spare 16gb card but the data is worth a lot more than the hardware on which it is stored :(
[Epic 4G General] ninj0r:
Thanks for the tips!
[Epic 4G General] quick99si:
For what it's worth, my experience with the damaged SD card caused me to ditch the Epic in favor of a device with internal memory. I've always suspected that the heat from overclocking shortened the life of my 16gb external card (temps reaching 52C/125F), but the 6-months of use the card still seemed way too short even though it was a less-than-quality card.

The iPhone 4s wasn't for me so I traded it for an Epic Touch (got a lot of money on top as well) which uses another 16gb card only for nandroid backups and XDA files.

Now, what is the most elegant solution of automatically synchronizing to box.net or dropbox?
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
"Now, what is the most elegant solution of automatically synchronizing to box.net or dropbox?"

I have been syncing my nandroid folder on my pc to Windows SkyDrive using WindowsLiveMesh.................it's free + I can not imagine ever running out of space (last I checked you are allowed to sync up to 200 folders, 50GB apiece w/ this service)..............first it was 5GB, then 25GB..........now?

The first time you sync is pretty slow, but that's ok as you are free to continue doing whatever you need to w/ your computer: synchronization takes place in the background..............a folder w/ several nandroids --447mb, approx-- took a little over an hour the very first time I ran the synchronization........thereafter, the sync made changes on either end (edits, deletions, additions) and went much faster.

A good strategy would be to run SyncToy > select nandroid folder > send to Skydrive from pc.......................then you have a 3-way storage solution of your tar backup (nandroid) + 100% access wherever you are, under whatever circumstances..........+ yes, there are now android apps that let you synchronize to your SkyDrive or other cloud storage (ie, box.net's interface is very user friendly).

I haven't used dropbox or box.net for this yet.........................as w/ most cloud solutions, am wary of security issues (see web backstory about security faults w/ dropbox + others)....................but then again, even tho the cloud is not the safest place to store data (yet), it may be a perfect place to park a handy nandroid in the event you should ever need to beam it down (+ restore your bonked device back to classic epic gold...............w/out a pc.)
[Epic 4G General] quick99si:
Good advice, thank you for that. I will look into Skydrive as a potential solution going forward. I am a bit attached to Dropbox because of the excellent Windows client and Titanium Backup's built-in sync capability.

However, think I would prefer a no-PC setup, storing backups on the phone's SD card and synchronizing them to cloud storage with >2GB of space.

My Dropbox account has 3GB (1.5GB of Titanium Backup files)

Box.net account has 50gb (this is how to get it for free)

Titanium Media Sync is pretty interesting.. it can sync any file or directory via several protocols, including FTP. Hmm, maybe I can trigger automatic backups when I come home and connect to WiFi usig Tasker?
[Epic 4G General] 49ml:
Wow, this is very useful, should be stickied, thanks (:
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
Folder Sync > Dropbox = nandroid │ cloud

Edit *As this thread is concerned w/ 'Damaged SD Cards + Data Recovery,' am taking the liberty, here, of advancing the notion of a Best Practices prevention regimen that should include crisis preparedness: am hoping the XDA community can benefit from a dialog that engages procedures + fixes that anticipate the realistic prospect of future Data Loss/Corruption (with quick recovery scenarios that have been elaborated upon + set-up in advance).......to this end + continuing fr very recent posts on this thread (w/ thanks to all who have participated), here's an easy non-PC Nandroid-to-Cloud sync procedure........ remember, you can limit this procedure to a single nandroid file from your microSD Card, so that once this is set up, all future synchronizations between your device + the cloud would be fast + efficient:*

As I have been using SkyDrive for awhile now, it's become a simple place to synchronize changes to my system w/ quick and easy steps........it's automatic pilot for me..................should I ever require my data, I can access several storage solutions: cloud / pc / 4GB jump drive / microSD Card on the device.

The idea is having your device synced to these storage locations for the fastest recovery possible, simply having the option to retrieve a nandroid -or other file- from the cloud (or else from: pc / 4GB jump drive / mSD) quickly + efficiently......as well as, direct from the cloud to the EPIC without a pc if a situation arises requiring that.

As a test for this prospect, I found the simplest + most effective way to push a nandroid to the cloud (w/out a pc) was using an app called Folder Sync Lite (free from android mkt) + to synchronize this w/ Dropbox:............I selected a recent file stored in the backup folder of CWM5, named it 'NANDROID_December2011' (455 mb)...input settings on Folder Sync (3g, 4g), created a Folderpair (w/ Dropbox as download location) + selected 'sync now'.........................2 hours later, the sync was complete: nandroid from sd card > Folder Sync > dropbox ....... using the EPIC only, no pc.

Will wait for the right opportunity to reverse this back fr the cloud to the device, am imagining this should also take at least an hour............but under certain circumstances, this could be a great option...........worth exploring.
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
quick99si: thanks 4 this post, lots to think about especially in terms of how this can be of benefit to the xda community..................am in total agreement w/ you about 'synchronizing to the cloud storage with >2GB of space'..........as the files for transfer get larger, so does the sync time and the stress on the device (especially as a daily regimen)............a 145MB file takes about 40 mins approx to synchronize.........going forward, this means you'd be able to download this file to your device from the cloud, and flash it straight from recovery for a full system restore w/ about 60% battery life.......... I can think of several potential scenarios where this device saving solution could come in pretty handy.
[Epic 4G General] quick99si:
I to agree that FolderSync is the best app. I tried 3 others for about a week, and this one is my favorite by far considering the protocols supported, cloud service integration, ease of use, etc.. It also works with Tasker if you're into full scriptable control in addition to its own scheduling.

It works great with Dropbox, but the 2-3gb storage limit is limiting if you have a lot of apps backed up in TitaniumBackup, clockworkmod, and SD card files.

Conversely, box.net's 100mb file limit isn't so good for nandroid backups. 50gb would be great for full SD backups (internal and external), which is what brought me to this thread to begin with. The 100mb limit is strange because my buddy has stored movies on his box.net account using webOS, approaching 1gb in filesize.

From here, I'll be looking into a paid box.net membership, using my own FTP servers, or some sort of file splitting on the mobile device and automated sync using Tasker.

Thanks for all the input everyone.
[Epic 4G General] quick99si:
Damn.. dropbox app is insisting on a 180mb limit :/
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
haha, it read your post about your buddy + box.net, lol

That is strange, looking back + seeing the volume of past synchronizations, it's been pretty irregular for me (1.25GB in one instance, nope, that was Skydrive, the entire SD Card 4 that one) ...........but 455 (approx) quite a few times on dropbox (these have been 'test' nandroids purposely smaller-scaled for ER scenario 'testing').

bet we can find 2.5 to 3GB caps on filesize, that'd be great.
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
skydrive api out for android

update: microsoft rolled out an android app for Skydrive earlier today (windowsphone + iOS only) allowing android devices to sync w/ Skydrive........................it may be too soon just yet, but as the Skydrive api is now open to android development, soon we may be able to synchronize our devices w/ Skydrive cloud storage for large-scale backups (ie, entire SD Card content) direct from the Epic..................so far only a handful of android apps are already out there: ie, handyscan + skyfolio......as a reference, here's a piece that posted earlier today on xda:

http://www.xda-developers.com/windo...ows-phone-apps-now-have-full-skydrive-access/
[Epic 4G General] quick99si:
Quick update, if anyone cares... FolderSync has been working great. I also took over my friend's Box.net account (50GB storage, 1GB file size limits) and now regularly sync my entire SD card and some internal files as well.

Interestingly, his account is the same type as mine, except I was limited to 50GB/100MB after using the build.prop edit to open it on my ET4G. With a 100MB file size limit, it's not just as functional as 1GB (for roms, nandroids etc)
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
quick99si: that's great that you now have access to your friend's 50GB (lifetime?) storage with 1GB file size limit to boot..................you're set!

I had read elsewhere here on XDA that the Box.net offer for the 50GB will be ending at the end of this week (12/31)?...................was noting the hyperlink on your post#30 on this thread: 'how to get it (50GB) for free'........ and was wondering (to clarify fr your statement "after using the build-prop edit....."), if you temporarily change your build.prop --then change back, after registered-- would this still limit you to 100MB file size per sync?

.................also, was curious to know: have you had occasion to download any of your uploaded files back to your device direct from Box.net....................the reason I ask is that I have been attempting this w/ several other devices and several different file sizes as I am seeking to find an ideal file size that can be both reliable and effective time-wise for reasonably frequent use.........have not performed any of these 'tests' using Box.net yet.

Thanks for the update!.........your practical knowledge is always a welcome sight on these shores!
[Epic 4G General] brando1995:
this helped me a lot thank you.
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
.............no worries brando, glad to see that things worked out for you!
[Epic 4G General] Ruedii:
Better yet, load up RIP Linux, use one of the Recovery image copiers to copy the image, than work on that. This way you don't further damage the card.

RIP Linux is a boot CD, and it's pretty hardcore, but it is far more powerful than anything you will find on the consumer commercial market. If you can find your way around a ADB shell, as BASH is pretty similar to busybox from the command prompt standpoint.

After you use a rescue utility to make a raw copy of the image, you can then do the work on a copy of that image without risking damaging the data on the original.

After you get the data off, you can then test the card using a write-mode format with a multi-pass write-read bad-block test. (Linux mkfs is capable of this as is Windows) You may just have some errors in the filesystem, and the card itself is fine. In which case it will pass this test.

Additionally usually the first set of blocks go bad well before others in a flash chip. Thus after the first batch is bad, you can mark them as such, and use it as something else. Worst case, you have to repartition it to move the FAT forward a few sectors, as FAT32 doesn't allow you to use a partition with one of the first handful of sectors bad.

Rarely will the partitioning table go bad on a flash disk due to the fact that it is rarely written to, and repetitive writing is usually what causes bad spots on flash memory.

I highly recommend buying the best flash cards you can when buying a Micro-SD card for a phone. They take a lot of abuse, with excessive write cycles, often in non-ideal temperatures.
[Epic 4G General] DroidApprentice:
Lately I've been getting USB transfer write timeouts and "reboots" of the memory card while using my music program. Is this a sign of potential trouble with the card or could my ROM/kernel be at fault?
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
Yes (and Yes). Try and get a good quality class10 card. This will ease the flow of data by increasing read/write times, and pre-empt potential corruption issues that are giving you early warning signs with erratic behaviour...........as Ruedii stated in last post, these msd cards will take a very hard load in their lifespan + often you see language on the packaging to the effect '100% Heat Proof.' (lol, do not know if manufacturer's benchmarks approximate anything close to the average custom modded users here on xda ;) )

To be on the safe side: (1) create a folder on your PC; then mount your device with microUSB cable, allowing device drivers to be detected by PC; next, open the external device d: and copy entire contents of your mSD Card (not the folder itself) to your new folder and back out of the PC, unmounting the USB Mass Storage, then unplugging the device from your comp.........(2) take your 'new' microSD Card + mount it to the included reader, then to the PC, allowing for reader drivers to be detected by PC; next, transfer all of the copied data from your folder directly into your mSD Card (no need to format if brand new)........unmount mSD Card from PC; (3) place your new mSD Card into your device (remember to remove battery first).......finally, place battery back into your device + boot to system.

If your microUSB cable gives you any problems whatsoever, just place old mSD card into reader + mount into slot on PC + copy files that way instead.

Let us know how this goes.
[Epic 4G General] DroidApprentice:
Thanks for the detailed reply. I'm of course familiar with the ease of swapping data from one card to another, I just need to find a good one. But this never used to happen when I was on Froyo rooted stock, only with this new GB/kernel combo.
[Epic 4G General] sonarchist:
Interesting stuff! Can not tell from your post what all you're running, but judging from this past whirlwind weekend (for me at least: with ODIN, EL30, ODIN+++, CWM+++.....a few hours w/ EL30 PURE Stock as well --the full ROM, NOT the modem-only--.....then back to MTD World + CM7_N26 w/ data only advance restore from N15 nandroid) I can only say what you already know: firmware updates can introduce BOTH good and bad change ....................and this can show up anywhere, including your mSD card when loading apps + other data.

After you protect your data, why not try a clean install: ODIN to EC05, EI22 from OTA (sort of unavoidable), then full EL30 update (from either, 1. OTA; or 2. ODIN custom recovery, flash root, + then flash EL30.zip)............once all is settled try running your music program again, hopefully your data is able to comfortably make the transition; assuming all is well, you can then use the wonderful 'stock-app-removal-tool' from SDX to safely park the bloatware elsewhere (do not freeze, do not delete).

My few hours with stock EL30 were of some benefit to me, if even as a means of checking in with the official OS update and the opportunity to explore the advertised 'good' aspect of this change from android 2.3.5 to android version 2.3.6.

Again, pls let us know how this goes for you.

*edit: if for any reason you are having probs getting cwm recovery to stick, try toadlife's EL30_stock_CleanKernel, or else, bbelos' Stock EL30 ROM ............ these are basically two different rooted-stock approaches (BML/RFS)......AND this one from wtogami: [RECOVERY][BML][MTD]CWM BML from Sd Card, No Flash http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=21793717&postcount=1 ........pretty awesome stuff!

*edit: emphasis = bold
[Epic 4G General] DroidApprentice:
Also edit to add: I should clarify that my SD card reboot/reconnect issue only happens when transferring music to the card via cable and my music program on Windows, and ONLY when transferring in the 700MB or more range.

As for your continuing helpful detailed advice, thanks but nandroids and SD backups will have to be my insurance policy until some custom EL30 BML ROMs arrive. I am very conservative with what I do on my phone. Stability is prized above performance. This one issue doesn't warrant a phone wipe, at least not yet. (Hope those aren't famous last words.)

ETA: ran this app https://market.android.com/details?id=air.com.anotherflexdev.sdcardtester.SDCardTester and besides confirming a class 2 write speed (the included Samsung card) it also confirmed an OK write @ 300 MB. I can run some more tests with bigger files but that may not prove anything.