Your Missing Pictures, Songs, etc. is due to ROM Manager

**dmmarck** · 08-17-2012, 03:45 PM

Since there are a few disparate threads and posts on this, I wanted to unify them so it's easier to find the info for newcomers

ROM Manager recently updated, and for some unholy reason, decided to drop a ".nomedia" file into your SDcard. This means any media contained within your SDcard does not show up anymore. Here's what you do.

FIrst, uninstall and delete ROM Manager from system/app.

Second, find any and all .nomedia files in your sdcard folder and delete them.

Third, clear the caches of any and all affected apps, such as Gallery, Media Storage, Play Music, etc. Update: you may need to clear data in the Media Storage app as well.

Fourth, reboot your device into recovery, wipe cache/dalvik.

Fifth, reboot and it should be fine.

Any and all other fixes should be listed in here as well.

Do not reinstall ROM Manager until this issue is fixed; even with the new update users are still finding the same issue, so I'd wait a few days.

**Johnly** · 08-17-2012, 03:48 PM

I wish people would just learn to use their recoveries and do everything themselves. There would be nothing to blame then if things go awry.

**imnotajedi** · 08-17-2012, 04:04 PM

I have Rom Manager but never use it. I could not find any .nonmedia files. Does this only affect you if you actually use RM? I did delete the app as well. Until recently I thought it was weird that I never use ROM manager. Then I realized that no one using it.

**dmmarck** · 08-17-2012, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by imnotajedi

I have Rom Manager but never use it. I could not find any .nonmedia files. Does this only affect you if you actually use RM? I did delete the app as well. Until recently I thought it was weird that I never use ROM manager. Then I realized that no one using it.

If you didn't update it recently you're probably unaffected. Do your pictures show up in the Gallery? If so, you're fine.

This is yet another example of why this app is not the greatest to use.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

**J T M** · 08-17-2012, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by dmmarck

Since there are a few disparate threads and posts on this, I wanted to unify them so it's easier to find the info for newcomers

ROM Manager recently updated, and for some unholy reason, decided to drop a ".nomedia" file into your SDcard. This means any media contained within your SDcard does not show up anymore. Here's what you do...

Thanks for this. I just ran into this issue, and after running through all of the steps you listed, things still weren't working correctly. What finally did the trick was clearing data from Media Storage in the app manager. Rebooted after that, and things are back to normal.

Any idea as to why the ROM Manager devs would do something like this? Was it an oversight or something?

**dmmarck** · 08-17-2012, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by J T M

Thanks for this. I just ran into this issue, and after running through all of steps you listed, things still weren't working correctly. What finally did the trick was clearing data from Media Storage in the app manager. Rebooted after that, and things are back to normal.

Any idea as to why the ROM Manager devs would do something like this? Was it an oversight or something?

Thank you! I updated the OP so folks know to clear data from the Media Storage thing as well.

Honestly? There's no reason why ROM Manager should have a .nomedia file unless Koush (the dev) is planning on putting it in its own folder. Why it populated in the SDcard is an egregious oversight IMHO, and very, very sloppy.

**Mellimel22** · 08-17-2012, 07:02 PM

OK Im having a similar problem my music is in my phone but won't show up wit the default player it Google music but will show up with power amp and i also can't find any no media files on my SD card what should I do??

Sent from my Nexus S 4g rockin jellybean using Tapatalk 2

**dmmarck** · 08-17-2012, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by Mellimel22

OK Im having a similar problem my music is in my phone but won't show up wit the default player it Google music but will show up with power amp and i also can't find any no media files on my SD card what should I do??

Sent from my Nexus S 4g rockin jellybean using Tapatalk 2

Try clearing cache and data in that and Media Storage then rebooting.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

**dmmarck** · 08-17-2012, 08:15 PM

FWIW, ROM Manager has updated on the Play Store so you guys should be A-OK.

(What's New ==> 5.0.1.4 talks about the fix)

**stacman.nexus** · 08-17-2012, 08:27 PM

Damn, and I bought the premium version because it was so highly recommended...

**dmmarck** · 08-17-2012, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by stacman.nexus

Damn, and I bought the premium version because it was so highly recommended...

Lol. For downloading roms it's great.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

**CA1NE** · 08-17-2012, 09:09 PM

I actually didn't mind the touch recovery for cwm. Very smooth and easy navigation. If I hadn't had the problems with my backups and flashing new Roms I'd probably still be using it. But alas I can't change the past. That being said TWRP FTW!!!!!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

**dmmarck** · 08-17-2012, 09:10 PM

Originally Posted by CA1NE

I actually didn't mind the touch recovery for cwm. Very smooth and easy navigation. If I hadn't had the problems with my backups and flashing new Roms I'd probably still be using it. But alas I can't change the past. That being said TWRP FTW!!!!!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

I think the recovery is fine, it's just the app that has some conflicts.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

**CA1NE** · 08-17-2012, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by dmmarck

I think the recovery is fine, it's just the app that has some conflicts.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

I never used RM the app after my DINC. Always used just the recovery with the gnex. After my first JB Rom I couldn't flash another one or do a backup from that point on. Even after all those updates. Maybe my phone just didn't like the recovery not really sure what happened

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

**yodatom10** · 08-17-2012, 11:45 PM

Can we get this made into a blog post front page AC. I've answered this 5 times tonight getting sick of doing it. If we make it a blog post I think more people will see it and we can stop getting the same question over and over

Sent from my Jelly bean powered Galaxy Nexus

**chubb** · 08-18-2012, 12:04 AM

Originally Posted by CA1NE

I actually didn't mind the touch recovery for cwm. Very smooth and easy navigation. If I hadn't had the problems with my backups and flashing new Roms I'd probably still be using it. But alas I can't change the past. That being said TWRP FTW!!!!!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

Agree with you there. I had to completely redo my nexus the other week. Backups would bootloop and couldn't get anything to flash. Took two straight hours of trying different backups and ROMs to finally get one to work. Also didn't have access to a computer at the time, so that didn't help matters. Not 100% sure if it was RM, but gonna stay away from it from now on.

**Mellimel22** · 08-18-2012, 01:12 AM

Originally Posted by dmmarck

Try clearing cache and data in that and Media Storage then rebooting.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

I think I cleared the dalvik stuff and uninstalled ROM manager but could u explain what else to do because I'm having the same problems lol kinda new on THIS ISSUE

Sent from my Nexus S 4g rockin jellybean using Tapatalk 2

**braschlosan** · 08-18-2012, 08:20 AM

I'm cross posting here because this seems to be an active thread

In some instances Media Scanner will DELETE ALL THE PICTURES ON THE SD CARD
Here is an example google bug report on the issue

When a ".nomedia" file is added to a directory that has already been scanned by the media scanner, any jpg and gif files in that directory and all sub directories will be deleted.

I have lost a year of pictures because of this. Before you assume I am making a mistake realize that the SDcard is now connected directly to my laptop and a search of the entire drive (including subfolders) with the string *.jpg gives no results. I can post a screenshot if you like.

Rom Manager caused my pictures actually be deleted and I am using recovery tools that scan the free space to get them back

If any of you suffered as I did try this OPEN SOURCE recovery tool specifically made for recovering pictures from an SDcard -

Here is a screenshot of my current progress

edit: I just realized it also broke some of my applications that stored images on the sdcard that served as part of their menu system. SCREW YOU ROM MANAGER DEVS. I will never trust anything you publish from this day forward

**Droidintorrance** · 08-18-2012, 08:43 AM

Happy Saturday fellas...

So.. you think this is something else we all have to do from now on... or

Will this be a bug fix.. still don't know exactly.. what is going on here..

Problem with the ROM manager only right..?

I'll probably restore backup.. or try to uninstall RM before.. flashing again... right?

This will sure discourage people from rooting and I'll probably be holding off a bit.. too.. but mainly.. I'm just really happy with my current setup..

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

**yodatom10** · 08-18-2012, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by Droidintorrance

Happy Saturday fellas...

So.. you think this is something else we all have to do from now on... or

Will this be a bug fix.. still don't know exactly.. what is going on here..

Problem with the ROM manager only right..?

I'll probably restore backup.. or try to uninstall RM before.. flashing again... right?

This will sure discourage people from rooting and I'll probably be holding off a bit.. too.. but mainly.. I'm just really happy with my current setup..

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

ROM manager fixed the bug this should be an one time issue.

Sent from my Jelly bean powered Galaxy Nexus

**dmmarck** · 08-18-2012, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by yodatom10

Can we get this made into a blog post front page AC. I've answered this 5 times tonight getting sick of doing it. If we make it a blog post I think more people will see it and we can stop getting the same question over and over

Sent from my Jelly bean powered Galaxy Nexus

The purpose of this post was so that they would see the missing stuff in the title, see the cause, and click. If you find other posts--simply copy and paste this URL there (I saw you did in at least one already, so thanks!) and be done with it

. I'll try to take make my way over to others as well, but unfortunately, this doesn't affect just us--but anything that has ROM Manager.

Originally Posted by Mellimel22

I think I cleared the dalvik stuff and uninstalled ROM manager but could u explain what else to do because I'm having the same problems lol kinda new on THIS ISSUE

Sent from my Nexus S 4g rockin jellybean using Tapatalk 2

No worries! Use a file manager--like Root Explorer--and start hunting for ".nomedia" files on the root of your SDcard (the main SDcard folder). What that file does is, well, it hides the media! Generally placing a "." before anything will make it hidden, but obviously you don't want that with your media or you would have done it purposely. So go around, delete those files on the root of your SDcard, then start clearing the individual application's cache (and data)--particularly Media Storage, which acts as a "hub" for your media on your device.

Once that is done, reboot the device and you should have your stuff back. If you still see further affected apps, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do a fresh, clean install of a rom.

Originally Posted by braschlosan

I'm cross posting here because this seems to be an active thread

In some instances Media Scanner will DELETE ALL THE PICTURES ON THE SD CARD
Here is an example google bug report on the issue

I have lost a year of pictures because of this. Before you assume I am making a mistake realize that the SDcard is now connected directly to my laptop and a search of the entire drive (including subfolders) with the string *.jpg gives no results. I can post a screenshot if you like.

Rom Manager caused my pictures actually be deleted and I am using recovery tools that scan the free space to get them back

If any of you suffered as I did try this OPEN SOURCE recovery tool specifically made for recovering pictures from an SDcard -

Here is a screenshot of my current progress

edit: I just realized it also broke some of my applications that stored images on the sdcard that served as part of their menu system. SCREW YOU ROM MANAGER DEVS. I will never trust anything you publish from this day forward

Honestly, you need to contact the devs so that they're aware of you and possibly others who have been affected in such a manner. I hope you get your files back and I appreciate your contributions here!

Originally Posted by Droidintorrance

Happy Saturday fellas...

So.. you think this is something else we all have to do from now on... or

Will this be a bug fix.. still don't know exactly.. what is going on here..

Problem with the ROM manager only right..?

I'll probably restore backup.. or try to uninstall RM before.. flashing again... right?

This will sure discourage people from rooting and I'll probably be holding off a bit.. too.. but mainly.. I'm just really happy with my current setup..

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

No, it's not a rom issue, unless you count it being installed automatically with CM10, but rather, it's a ROM Manager issue. There was an update issued that was supposed to fix it. If I were you, just go in there, delete what I said to delete, follow my steps, and then see what happens. If you're OK from that point don't worry about it. Hell, if you're OK now, don't worry about it. If nothing else works, try a clean flash of a ROM.

I hope it doesn't dissuade you or any one else. It's not flashing that's the cause here, just a very, very wonky update that set some things in motion.

**cyberdalek** · 08-18-2012, 09:35 AM

I have now tried it a second time and found out that you don't have to delete the .nomedia files just uninstall the ROM Manager user app (or updates) and clear media data and reboot. Media should return in less than a half an hour.

The only reason I bring this up everywhere is because I couldn't find the .nomedia files and still had the issue with my gallery. I believe that I did not look properly for them but for others who can't find them try my method. It's much less involved.

**dmmarck** · 08-18-2012, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Xfanatic

I have now tried it a second time and found out that you don't have to delete the .nomedia files just uninstall the ROM Manager user app (or updates) and clear media data and reboot. Media should return in less than a half an hour.

The only reason I bring this up everywhere is because I couldn't find the .nomedia files and still had the issue with my gallery. I believe that I did not look properly for them but for others who can't find them try my method. It's much less involved.

Thanks, I appreciate that. I presume when you uninstall completely it'll take its associated files with it, which makes sense

. The ".nomedia" file removal may be better for those who want to keep ROM Manager but without that side effect.