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Root reformat sd card when flashing new rom

cquinn

cquinn

Well-Known Member
I've noticed that there is a lot of leftover junk on my sd card from previous roms. should i be formatting my sd card with each new rom?
 
I've been noticing this as well. When flashing different ROMs I've ended up with double ringtones and such. Been wondering if backing up pictures, music, nandroids, etc. then format and put the stuff back on after the new ROM would screw anything up with nandroids later. Inquiring minds would like to know...
 
There is rarely a need to wipe the card when switching ROMs. Wiping data in recovery doesn't wipe the card. You'd need to specifically wipe the card if you ever wanted to. The only reason to do that is:

1) You suspect something on the card is causing a conflict (not all that likely)
2) You are going to create an ext partition and reformat it
 
Havoc, that probably happened because you flashed some ROMs that automatically put some ringtones on the sdcard in /sdcard/media/audio/ringtones/, or you already had them there, and it put some of the same ones in the system. Either way, there's no need to wipe the whole card just for that.
 
akazabam said:
Havoc, that probably happened because you flashed some ROMs that automatically put some ringtones on the sdcard in /sdcard/media/audio/ringtones/, or you already had them there, and it put some of the same ones in the system. Either way, there's no need to wipe the whole card just for that.
Click to expand...

Ya that happened with Mik's. I just went in and deleted it to fix the issue, no biggie. I was just curious if the people flashing all the time, were wiping when things got real cluttered. I've tried 4 ROM's this week and have accumulated a decent amount of extras. So far it hasn't caused me an issue though.
 
Thats all good advice.
On occasion, i back up all of my important files that i want to keep on my computer, and then format the card. Then i put everything i kept back.
There is a lottt of build up here and there, and its nice to just get rid of it all and start clean :)
Just my .02
 
I've found that most sdcard clutter comes from apps, not ROMs. ROMs typically copy over things like removed apps, removed ringtones, etc. etc. Most of those junk folders are from apps you've installed. When you uninstall an app, if it created a directory on the card, it never gets removed. Your best bet is to maybe do some cleaning here and there, but don't bother wiping the card unless you need to. If nothing else, you should be careful about what you remove. Some of that stuff might actually be important.
 
I've read about the possibility of a corrupted file on the SD card being the culprit for bad battery life. I guess the phones keeps trying ot read it and eats power. I wiped mine while also downgrading roms to fix my battery life. It worked, but I'm not sure if wiping the card or the older rom did the trick
 
Yeah, it can happen, but it's not the norm, and doesn't warrant wiping your card all the time. It's impossible to say what fixed your battery problem without known what ROM you went to/from and what radio versions you have/had, plus other important information.
 
Here is a little side note i just want to mention:
When wiping my card, i dont just do it at random and pull off my pictures and videos and thats it.. Im really careful about making sure i pull off important things and leave only the garbage to disappear in the format. And i only do it when it gets ridiculously cluttered..
 
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