My phone "reset" itself, what should I do?

[Android Central Question]

My phone has completely reset itself (kind of).

I have a Moto E (1st Gen) and it was having some trouble rebooting after it powered off because of a low battery. It kept hanging on the "M" startup screen so I held down the power button and eventually it turned on properly again.

However, after it booted up the layout, app preferences, and default apps have all been reset.

The MicroSD card I use is also acting up. I can view pictures stored on it on my phone but nothing else, the apps I have on it won't show up. When I put it in my computer I can see them in a .android_secure folder with ".asec" files, and in the Android > "data" folder.

My Google account(s) and wifi settings were still intact and third party apps on my phone's storage are still there. Although, when I load them it acts as if it's my first time using it...

I think the preinstalled apps have also reset themselves.

How do I get my phone back to the way it was before?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! I'd guess the SD card failed or is failing. When you say there are apps on it, do you mean that you went to Settings>Apps and used the Move to SD function for a number of apps? If so, then a glitch with the SD card might make all of those apps crash as well.

If you go to Settings>Apps and select an app you had moved to SD, do you see an option to Move to Phone?

 

[throwaway239834707]

Thank you for responding! Yes, I used the 'move to SD' function.

If you go to Settings>Apps and select an app you had moved to SD, do you see an option to Move to Phone?

No, after this happened it said 'No apps' on the SD card.

 

[B. Diddy]

Try using chkdsk to look for any bad sectors on the card: http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...guide-using-chkdsk-fix-corrupted-sd-card.html. Backup as much of the card as you can first, in case it fails further.

If chkdsk doesn't do anything, you may just have to start again with a new card.

 

[throwaway239834707]

Thank you for the advice... I ran a "chkdsk" and it found no issues.

So will my apps come back if I buy a new microSD and transfer the data over?

I have no idea why I can see the ".asec" on my computer but can't open them on my phone..

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm not sure, but my guess is that the apps won't come back, since the link between the apps on the phone storage and the app data on the SD card has been broken. But it's worth a try -- SD cards are pretty cheap these days.

The .android_secure folder you mentioned is probably a protected system directory, which you can't access on the phone unless you're rooted. If the computer actually lists the files, it probably still can't open them because of the directory's status.

 

[jrgood1948]

My phone reset itself forgot google password

 

[mustang7757]

My phone reset itself forgot google password

Go to your Google account and recover it .

 

[Mike Dee]

I'm not sure, but my guess is that the apps won't come back, since the link between the apps on the phone storage and the app data on the SD card has been broken. But it's worth a try -- SD cards are pretty cheap these days.

The .android_secure folder you mentioned is probably a protected system directory, which you can't access on the phone unless you're rooted. If the computer actually lists the files, it probably still can't open them because of the directory's status.

Correct, the phone will not recognize those apps on the card