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In my infinite buffoonery earlier today I deleted the entire camera pictures folder from my GSM Galaxy Nexus. I had last copied images from my phone in August and have lost all pictures since then :(

I've been looking around quite a bit to see if there's any way possible to recover those files. The two options that I've come across so far - using an Undelete app available in the Play store or using dd to take a block-level dump, both require the phone to be rooted. However my GNex is not and the official rooting process requires unlocking the bootloader which wipes the device. There was a thread on xda-developers that documented an exploit that could be used to root the GNex without unlocking the bootloader, however that exploit has been patched by Google.

Do any of you have any bright ideas on what I can do?

What's the nature of device wipe like that happens while rooting? Is recovery still possible after that making rooting still an option?

0cd
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  • Are you talking about files on internal memory -- or on SD card? – Izzy Dec 18 '12 at 11:03
  • Files on so-called SDCard. On Galaxy Nexus there's no SD card slot. The /sdcard points to a folder in the internal memory. If it were an SD card I could have mounted it directly on my computer and used an unerase utility :( – 0cd Dec 18 '12 at 11:20
  • Yepp, that's what I had in mind (direct mount) -- and what I've been afraid of ("emulated" sd card and no real one -- one reason why I'd never buy that). Sorry then: without root I see no chance. A complete Nandroid dump (equivalent to dd) could save you, but would require a custom recovery. I've heard there are ways to install ClockworkMod without rooting a device (which would enable you to use Nandroid), but I don't remember the source... – Izzy Dec 18 '12 at 11:31
  • Android Version 4.2.1. Baseband Version I9250XXLH1. Kernel Version 3.0.31-gd5a18e0 released Fri Nov 2 2012 11:02:59 PDT. Build Number JOP40D – 0cd Dec 18 '12 at 11:32
  • Ok, problematic setup... No rooting method available right now for that version. Reason: You need to "root" your phone to get to the raw data to perform a file scan on the transferred raw partition. – ce4 Dec 18 '12 at 11:40
  • Some advice: Leave your phone off (don't alter it's state). – ce4 Dec 18 '12 at 11:41
  • OK, maybe there's the option to downgrade to the latest version that offered the adb backup bug/root method (see here). Looking into this right now, not sure if you can downgrade via the recovery. – ce4 Dec 18 '12 at 11:47
  • Give me feedback if you're willing to try this. I.e., is your almost lost data worth the work? You need patience, luck and some linux skills. Ok, maybe it's possible, here's my idea: a) boot to the stock recovery and install an old vulnerable official build from google b) use the adb backup bug to gain root c) leech a disk dump of the data partition d) use file-carving recovery techniques to get your data back – ce4 Dec 18 '12 at 11:55
  • PS: adb unlock performs a wipe which itself triggers a 'secure erase' on the eMMC device (that's about the same as a secure wipe on an actual SSD). All data is instantly null'ed and gone forever. PPS: This is actually good for data security. (The same is very bad on almost all Samsungs, you can grab one's personal data very easily from those phones. And take over their google/facebook/whatever accounts and start to wreak havoc. Just to get a picture why it's actually a nice feature) – ce4 Dec 18 '12 at 12:06
  • I don't mind trying to downgrade the OS so that I can still use the root without bootloader unlock exploit. However is it really possible to do so? This post on the thread we are discussing seems to point that downgrade isn't possible. How this thread describes how to do the downgrade. Ironically both posts are by the same user. What do you think? – 0cd Dec 18 '12 at 23:48
  • Well, I'd say, try it. It'll tell you if downgrading is not allowed. There's no security hole open in your current version, so that's your only option (or putting your phone aside until one is found). Copy your phone data using ADB before (ADB backup, just in case you mess sth. up). Find & download an old Google factory image and try to install it using the builtin recovery. – ce4 Dec 19 '12 at 03:32
  • Installing the previous firmware would have also wiped the device so I just rooted the device (which wiped it) and then went ahead and followed this thread. The only files I retried were those created after the wipe during unlock. So now my files have been permanently lost and many lessons learnt. And the lessons learnt matter more than the pictures I lost. I'm moving on, thanks for all your help! – 0cd Dec 20 '12 at 01:29

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Sorry, but in you phone there not SD card, and internal flash blocks can be rewritten, when phone works (physical location of blocks are different from logical and phone record logs, change internal data, download updates).

It's available chance with destructive methods (read flash on programmer device), and much smaller with root you phone (read whole memory), because any change of phone state decrease chances.

Penguinolog
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