[Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] zolCeastus:
In short, i deleted my photos by accident, and deeply desire to recover them.

Data Recovery programs wont work on my Google Nexus 4, for a combination of reasons. Namely, because it is not a usb mass storage device, it is internal memory, and because the phone has not ever been rooted. If it is possible to recover the photos without rooting the phone, this would be favorable. But i doubt this is possible.

Is there a way to root my phone without causing a "factory wipe/reset"? Perhaps by avoiding unlocking the bootloader?I am not even 100% sure if this can be achieved on 4.4.2. as of now. I am continuing to investigate, but if anyone has the know-how, please let me know.

this forum here, suggests something that might work, but at the end of the forum, it suggests that 4.4.2 is still impossible to root without wiping.

-There are methods of scanning the phone after it has been rooted, but i can't find the right kind of rooting i need.

-There are methods of copying the phone's hard drive -bit-by-bit- to my PC in .RAW format, and then converting this into something that can be mounted like a real drive, which could be scanned and from which photos could be recovered., but this method requires a rooted phone as well

-there is a possibility of trying to mount the phone on a linux OS, and then scan it possibly. but i don't know if this is impossible.

i am reading the basics in the meantime.

LG Google Nexus 4, 4.4.2

Build:KOT49H

kernel:

3.4.0-perf-g2cae413

android-build@vpbs1.mtv.corp.google.com #1

wed Nov20 14:54:28 PST 2013

Desktop PC: Windows 7 Professional 64bit, service pack 1.

Laptop: mac...

you can read more about things i have tried and my other concerns, in greater detail below.

LOTS OF METHODS, LITTLE CLARITY

I just came back from visiting some dear friends in china and purchased an upgraded version of dropbox. Before I uploaded my photos, I accidentally deleted my entire album.

What is the safest and surest attempt for recovery?

1. i need to avoid installing anything on my phone as much as possible - (lest it overwrite the empty areas where the "deleted" photos reside.)

2. i need to keep my phone off as much as humanly possible (lest it overwrite the empty areas where the "deleted" photos reside.)

3. almost without saying - id like to avoid bricking my phone, (lest it destroy my "deleted" photos)

SOFTWARE RECOVERY SECTION

All known software recovery programs won't find any data on my phone because either they are made for scanning mountable drives, USB mass storage devices, or some simply cannot scan the device unless i root my phone (although I am not sure if rooting is directly correlated with successful scanning, or if rooting the phone simply allows me to carry on with other necessary steps prior to "successful scanning"- like allowing me to installing apps that allow me to mount the internal memory as a scannable drive). Enabling USB Debugging, or enabling/disabling MTP is not the same as enabling USB mass storage mode. Seeing the Nexus 4 as "portable Device" under my computer does not mean it is a mounted drive that i can scan with a recover program. No matter what, nothing seems to work with the Google Nexus 4 as it is now.

***I first tried installing the driver's through the ANDROID SDK, by unzipping the contents from the downloaded zip file and by double clicking the .exe file. Double-clicking the .exe file resulted in a cmd dos-style window popping up and immediately disappearing. Perhaps i needed to put the extracted folder on "C:\"?

REGARDLES....later, I have used WugFresh Nexus Root Toolkit v1.8.2 for ensuring proper driver installation for my phone. I have only used this software to install drivers. It walks you through bad-driver uninstallation/clean up, it retrieves the latest drivers, installs them, and then tests their workability for you and lets you know if the drivers were successfully installed.

I have not used Wug's toolkit to root or hack my phone... yet....

Below is a list of software I have used on my Windows machine and my mac. These simply will not work with the phone as it is right now.

Remo

TenorShare

Bycloud android data recovery

Android Data Recovery

Dr. Fone

Recuva

- i havent tried disk digger. but it requires a rooted phone.

SO simple methods will simply not work? Please correct me if I am wrong.

BIT BY BIT CLONE METHOD

This

seems to be the most tedious (but thorough) method for actually preparing something that can be truly scanned for photo-recovery. This method seems to create a bit-by-bit copy of the phone to my computer, which can be converted and mounted and then scanned.

However,

it

requires rooting. Not to mention, it recommends non-destructive rooting. Which leads me to the next section ...

ROOTING section (and its problems)

In the fruitless sections listed above, it always seems to lead towards rooting as a requirement. Most people say you should root your phone when you first get it, because, i suppose rooting is "synonymous" with a wipe/reset. I believe this reset happens as a result of the bootloader being unlocked. According to MY limited understanding, this unlocking process essentially causes a "factory reset" which wipes the phone, and then catastrophically overwrites the precious space where the deleted photos currently reside. this is unacceptable. I imagine, this "reset" is for security reasons.

Most people seem to suggest that you make a back up before you root. This isn't helpful for my situation because we are talking about retrieving deleted data. I cannot make a back-up of deleted data.

Is it really possible to

root without wiping

the Google Nexus 4?

Is it even profitable to consider rooting a viable option? I don't imagine myself enjoying a rooted phone as much as others on this forum. I would hate to be creating a black hole for malicious software to breed. i am only concerned with data retrieval for this one time in my life. Is rooting the only viable option? If i root, won't that make the previously mentioned software-scanning section (e.g.,

Dr. fone

), more viable than the

BIT-BY-BIT

section tedious and pointless by comparison?

All in all, I think it most likely that i will need to root my phone and do the bit by bit copy. If a rooting-first-step is the final conclusion, then I am looking for clear and careful advice for my specific phone on how to root it without jeopardizing the deleted photos (e.g., avoiding a "factory reset" from unlocking the bootloader, or perhaps avoiding unlocking the bootloader altogether) and how to hopefully carry on from there. I don't even know if avoiding "unlocking the bootloader" will virtually guarantee a

non-destructive root method

Rooting gets crazy because it leads to necessary installations of SuperUser, busybox, kernels, roms, etc... There are so many unfamiliar vague terms for a beginner like me and it is taking tons of time to break through. I am uninterested in keeping my phone rooted, or maintaining a lifestyle with a rooted phone. if we can move expeditiously from point A to B and then back, (get in, get the photos, and get out,) that would be the most awesome plan.

LINUX METHOD?

is there another way to get to the deleted photos?

.

I do not know if 'mounting' the phone is akin to 'mounting' a scannable drive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw2MKGIgyF4

maybe this is another wild goose chase?

IN SUMMARY

1. It would be helpful if there was a root-free photo-recovery software solution that actually works (this is unlikely to be in existence) with an unrooted nexus 4

2. It would be helpful if it is possible to root without destroying my chances of recovering my deleted photos, with the goal of allowing recovery software access (deeper access) to my phone, i.e.

disk digger

or if necessary... a

bit-by-bit copy

to my PC.

3. it would be interesting if the nexus 4 can be magically mounted and scanned on the linux operating system

4. It would be MOST HELPFUL if there was a clear consensus on what direction to take, because there is a lot of misinformation out there. One wrong step and i could end up shooting myself in the foot twice (if i inadvertently reset my phone), or three times (if i brick my phone).

5. can the phone be put back to normal (i.e. unroot) after rooting? or does this require that i make a full backup of the phone in its current state? ( i tried using WUGS toolkit to backup my media, but it wont do it unless i unlock the bootloader... back to that problem again :( )

I'm sorry for sounding like an idiot. I have been at this for a more than a few hours. I sincerely appreciate any help and consideration towards this specific situation in advance, and the hope that this forum has already offered me.