Please!! This is normal on internal storage of SGS3? 'system data' - Galaxy S III Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I just installed a new rom formatting my phone, including the internal memory. It is normal to have a hidden folder called System Data? And this increase and decrease weight by installing or uninstalling apps??
I just see this with a playstore app called DiskUsage, because in Windows Explorer don't show this folder...this is very Annoying because Each time I have less storage space for each installed application ... is a bug in my phone only?
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Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

---

Factory reset and remove all apps .
Install no apps ever again and you have plenty of space .
jje

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Hello,
This is pretty normal.
The internal storage is not only the "storage" you can see in windows explorer when you connect your phone, but also of the following:
Code:
ls -l /dev/block/platform/dw_mmc/by-name/
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 BOOT -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p5
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 BOTA0 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 BOTA1 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 CACHE -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p8
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 EFS -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 HIDDEN -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p10
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 OTA -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p11
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 PARAM -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p4
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 RADIO -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 RECOVERY -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p6
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 SYSTEM -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p9
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 USERDATA -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p12
That means, that all of them are filling the internal storage.
And according to mount:
Code:
....
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /data ext4 ...
....
Every single App and Cache are located there, too.

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JJEgan said:
Factory reset and remove all apps .
Install no apps ever again and you have plenty of space .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That means it's normal? So always turn to fill that space to install applications?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

---

whitepaw said:
Hello,
This is pretty normal.
The internal storage is not only the "storage" you can see in windows explorer when you connect your phone, but also of the following:
Code:
ls -l /dev/block/platform/dw_mmc/by-name/
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 BOOT -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p5
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 BOTA0 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 BOTA1 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 CACHE -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p8
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 EFS -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 HIDDEN -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p10
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 OTA -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p11
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 PARAM -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p4
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 RADIO -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 RECOVERY -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p6
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 SYSTEM -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p9
lrwxrwxrwx root root 2013-04-09 16:26 USERDATA -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p12
That means, that all of them are filling the internal storage.
And according to mount:
Code:
....
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /data ext4 ...
....
Every single App and Cache are located there, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is normal xD thanks for your explain, There are ways to reduce the weight of that folder or partition? I have at most 20 applications installed and I think it exaggerated the size of this.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

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someone can answer me please?

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I'm not sure what exactly "System Data" is collecting.
On my phone System Data is 3GB (might be some zombie files in there which aren't used anymore).
It definitly is caused by apps you install.
The "System Data" part is not one explicit folder as far as I understand, but the collection of multiple folders.
Have you installed an android 4.2 ROM?
If yes:
I had a problem where my storage was nearly filled completly and I was not able to find where the data is.
I noticed, that after installing the 4.2 Leak, the MTP Mountpoint was moved to another folder inside the "normal" storage partition cause of the "emulated" multiuser support. (I don't have my phone connected right now, so the foldersmight be wrong) As far as I remember, the original /storage/sdcard was moved to /mnt/shell/legacy (which contained my previous sdcard files and a folder called "0") and the new /storage/emulated/legacy and /storage/emulated/0 (first and only user for mobilephone android 4.2) where linked to that folder "0".
That means the rest of the files in /mnt/shell/legacy where "hidden" and I was not able to find them via windows explorer and some android storage tools. After I moved the files from /mnt/shell/legacy to /mnt/shell/legacy/0/old via adb, I was able to detect them correctly and remove unwanted files for cleanup. However I'm not quiet sure if that folder counts, cause it is not part of /data.I tend to say, that it does not count.
If <4.2 or if the above is not the case:
I think 1GB isn't much. I might be wrong and maybe it's a good idea that someone else can share the "System Data" size of their diskusage result. I myself might not be digging deep enough into android filesystem management, but it depends on what "System Data" is showing. if it's really showing every little system data, then it contains the apps, the configurations, the databases, the recovery, the rom (which alone is around 500MB), the sounds, the wallpapers...etc.
I think it also depends on the device what data is shown here, you can't compare the result of your device with for example a HTC Device cause it might have a complete difference partition and mount table.
The best idea might be to connect the phone to the Computer, start an adb shell and get root (I hope your phone is rooted) by typing:
Code:
su
You might need to allow that on the phones screen.
Now type:
Code:
df -h
This will tell you which mountpoint takes how much space.
Example of another device:
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 3.0G 958.2M 2.1G 31% /data
I'm not sure about the output on android, but it should show the mountpoint (a folder without /dev)
If you can only see something with "/dev" it's not the mountpoint but the device itself. You can find the according mountpoint by typing "mount".
Maybe you can find your 1GB here.
Change into each directory you want to check (type: "cd /data" for example) for the size and execute:
Code:
du -sh *
and you will get a list of each folder and file in there including it's size (not only the folder size (which will be displayed with "ls -la" to 4KB (cause the folder itself isn't big), but also the files within that folder).
Now go on and dig deeper and deeper until you find the big files.
That's the best way in my opinion to "hunt" down big files.
If that does not help you, then maybe you can post the result of "df -h" and "mount" here.

---

whitepaw said:
I'm not sure what exactly "System Data" is collecting.
On my phone System Data is 3GB (might be some zombie files in there which aren't used anymore).
It definitly is caused by apps you install.
The "System Data" part is not one explicit folder as far as I understand, but the collection of multiple folders.
Have you installed an android 4.2 ROM?
If yes:
I had a problem where my storage was nearly filled completly and I was not able to find where the data is.
I noticed, that after installing the 4.2 Leak, the MTP Mountpoint was moved to another folder inside the "normal" storage partition cause of the "emulated" multiuser support. (I don't have my phone connected right now, so the foldersmight be wrong) As far as I remember, the original /storage/sdcard was moved to /mnt/shell/legacy (which contained my previous sdcard files and a folder called "0") and the new /storage/emulated/legacy and /storage/emulated/0 (first and only user for mobilephone android 4.2) where linked to that folder "0".
That means the rest of the files in /mnt/shell/legacy where "hidden" and I was not able to find them via windows explorer and some android storage tools. After I moved the files from /mnt/shell/legacy to /mnt/shell/legacy/0/old via adb, I was able to detect them correctly and remove unwanted files for cleanup. However I'm not quiet sure if that folder counts, cause it is not part of /data.I tend to say, that it does not count.
If <4.2 or if the above is not the case:
I think 1GB isn't much. I might be wrong and maybe it's a good idea that someone else can share the "System Data" size of their diskusage result. I myself might not be digging deep enough into android filesystem management, but it depends on what "System Data" is showing. if it's really showing every little system data, then it contains the apps, the configurations, the databases, the recovery, the rom (which alone is around 500MB), the sounds, the wallpapers...etc.
I think it also depends on the device what data is shown here, you can't compare the result of your device with for example a HTC Device cause it might have a complete difference partition and mount table.
The best idea might be to connect the phone to the Computer, start an adb shell and get root (I hope your phone is rooted) by typing:
Code:
su
You might need to allow that on the phones screen.
Now type:
Code:
df -h
This will tell you which mountpoint takes how much space.
Example of another device:
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 3.0G 958.2M 2.1G 31% /data
I'm not sure about the output on android, but it should show the mountpoint (a folder without /dev)
If you can only see something with "/dev" it's not the mountpoint but the device itself. You can find the according mountpoint by typing "mount".
Maybe you can find your 1GB here.
Change into each directory you want to check (type: "cd /data" for example) for the size and execute:
Code:
du -sh *
and you will get a list of each folder and file in there including it's size (not only the folder size (which will be displayed with "ls -la" to 4KB (cause the folder itself isn't big), but also the files within that folder).
Now go on and dig deeper and deeper until you find the big files.
That's the best way in my opinion to "hunt" down big files.
If that does not help you, then maybe you can post the result of "df -h" and "mount" here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are the best! simply the best!! thanks for your support!, i install a new rom (Based on android 4.1), making a'' full'' factory wipe, the system data folder space was reduced to approximately 500MB, here I leave the command catches you explained, (i never update my phone to android 4.2)
Then, you also have this folder or partition? (as comets, would be nice if someone could pass a screenshot of System Data folder space with DiskUsage)

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Never touched it, a hundred apps installed. Using _null Rom.

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Striatum_bdr said:
Never touched it, a hundred apps installed. Using _null Rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! but, the directory is different, in the application DiskUsage, if I use the first option at first (sd card space) the size of the System Data folder is very small, but if you use the path /storage/sdcard0 (with root) is where this System Data folder that greatly increases its size...
could you post a screenshot of your / storage/sdcard0 please?

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Any? Please, upload a screenshot of your phone in DiskUsage ^^/
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

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Do not bump a thread before 24 hours has passed. Next time I will report you.
Why does this even matter? There are hidden partitions. Oh well. Use your phone and move on with life.

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b-eock said:
Do not bump a thread before 24 hours has passed. Next time I will report you.
Why does this even matter? There are hidden partitions. Oh well. Use your phone and move on with life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
24hs after, bump... any?

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Bumps mean that no one is interested.
Actually you're right, but you're wrong.
Size is not the same (much bigger in the second case) but you're wrong (the folder didn't increase, as the free disk space is the same).
It just means you're not seeing the same thing. And you can't do anything for that, as it's part of jelly bean filesystem design.
You can try to play a little with terminal emulator to understand why.

---

I would like to bring this back up. All my pictures, Titanium Backups, etc are on this internal card, but I cannot find them. I flashed a ROM and did a factory reset, but for some reason it only backed up some old files in the 0 folder in my internal storage. That folder was actually one level down from the root-below the card's default storage spot, so not sure how it happened. When the OS loaded up and I saw everything was gone, I had a tiny heart attack. Couldn't find it with Solid Explorer, but saw that there was only 3GB of space left on the internal card, and this was a clean flash with literally no apps installed or data on the internal storage card. I knew my data must be somewhere on it! I installed Disk Usage and sure enough, there was a huge amount of data in a System folder. Can anyone help figure out how to access this data? I know the stuff is there, just not sure how to get to it.

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Read the sdcard on 4.2 link in my signature
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

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rootSU said:
Read the sdcard on 4.2 link in my signature
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, but I don't see how this applies for me? I don't have the 0 folder now, there's nothing in the data/media folder, & all my data is in some hidden System folder, where I cannot access it via file manager. It's like some blocked off partition. Do you have some way I can find/get into that data?

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you need to read it once again. your data is in /data/media

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Glebun said:
you need to read it once again. your data is in /data/media
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right...I had accidentally denied Solid Explorer root privileges earlier, and didn't realize it wasn't going into the root folder, I am in there now, thank you so much!
Quick question, once I get my stuff out of there, can I delete that folder without causing any system harm?

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tlogank said:
You are right...I had accidentally denied Solid Explorer root privileges earlier, and didn't realize it wasn't going into the root folder, I am in there now, thank you so much!
Quick question, once I get my stuff out of there, can I delete that folder without causing any system harm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, you can't. your internal SD right now is /data/media/0, so deleting /data/media will delete the sdcard. you can remove the contents, but don't touch the 0 folder