Database Users

How do I navigate to the USB drive?

I had it at one time but because I'm an Android newbie, I have no idea where to look.
Using Astro or ES.

rorytmeadows said:
I had it at one time but because I'm an Android newbie, I have no idea where to look.
Using Astro or ES.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's ok, we all start somewhere right?
Load up astro hit home then up and your usb storage device is whatever is in usb_storage. Remember to give it a few secs to detect it and prepare the drive.
Your SD card (internal) is sdcard and your microsd is external_sd.
GL.
Hope this helps.

Neoprimal said:
It's ok, we all start somewhere right?
Load up astro hit home then up and your usb storage device is whatever is in usb_storage. Remember to give it a few secs to detect it and prepare the drive.
Your SD card (internal) is sdcard and your microsd is external_sd.
GL.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent! Thanks.

Is it possible to access the micro SD card through a computer? When exploring the acer drive after plugging it in you can see all the stuff on the internal memory but can't get to the external_sdcard folder.

at the moment i dont think this is possible but give it a few days and it might be a possibility.

tuffghost said:
Is it possible to access the micro SD card through a computer? When exploring the acer drive after plugging it in you can see all the stuff on the internal memory but can't get to the external_sdcard folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can purchase (I think it was a whole $1.50) an app called WiFi File Explorer. It sets your tablet with its own IP address from whatever source you are using for WiFi. Then you access your SD Card by entering in the IP address line in your browser. The app will give you the exact address line to enter into your browser.
Its like a virtual FTS server actually. Works like a charm. If you are worried about security, you can require a password.

Accessing external sd and usb drives
It is possible to access the SD and USB drives using a file manager such as Astro or Estrongs. The drives can be found in the main directory under subdirectory /mnt.
Hope this helps. I had the same problem at first.
Tam the Bam

tuffghost said:
Is it possible to access the micro SD card through a computer? When exploring the acer drive after plugging it in you can see all the stuff on the internal memory but can't get to the external_sdcard folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to Acer, that isn't possible right now. Not that I'm inclined to believe them, but the manual is pretty thorough and I decided to go through every page and it clearly states "Transferring files from a microSD card to your PC.
Remove the card from the tablet and use a card reader or USB adapter to access the card as an external storage device."
I'm REALLY hoping they address this in an update. I thought it was a Honeycomb limitation due to the Xoom but Asus has addressed it by looping it as a folder in the internal storage so I mean, Acer and Xoom should be able to do that as well. Unless there are unforeseen problems with doing that? /shrug.

USB and a camera
Thanks for starting this thread! I'm also a newb and I have Astro and ES installed (now).
I am trying to read images from my camera (Nikon D3). When I attach the USB and turn on the camera the A500 says scanning for media. But none shows up in the photo browser (I'm sure I need a better viewer and suggestions are welcome!). When using ES or Astro and navigating to the usb_storage directory it shows as empty.
For background, the D3 holds 2 CF cards with the 2nd typically used as overflow and both are 8GB. Each card normally just has a DCIM directory with photos in one or more directories below that.
Once I connected up the A500, on one of the cards 2 additional directories were created (the one without any images currently) called .android_secure and LOST.DIR. I can't see any of these directories on the A500 or any of the images (all .jpg). I plugged into my laptop for this info.
I am trying not to have to carry my laptop anymore so any suggestions, ideas or research resources would be appreciated.

I've run into a HUGE issue. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this.
The files on my USB flash drives begins to get erased/deleted if it is still connected to the tablet when the device is activated from hibernation mode. I don't know if the file explorer apps are causing this bug. I've used Linda File Manager and Astro and 3 different USB drives to test this. I've even restored my tablet to factory settings.

Hello,
I have also problems navigating the usb drive.As mentioned above I found the dir but it shows (Directory empty).Im using a 8gb transcend flash drive.On 128mb flash drive there is no problem viewing and accesing the files.Any other have the same problem or solution?
I change the file system from NTFS to FAT32 and it works now(such a stupid user Ive become)

micro SD. Not showing in file manager [SOLVED]

As the title says. I've put the microsd card of my htc g2/z in the iconia and its working. Though i cant seem to find it anywhere in my file managers. (Music app shows ext. Sd content) tried es and file manager for honeycomb. I want to transfer music and video's over to internal sd. Since acer does not have usb drivers for mac, this is kind off my only option. Right?
SOLVED:
1.
Micro SD card slot shows up under: /mnt/external_SD.
So in your file explorer you have to go to root, and then mnt.
2. There are no mac drivers for the acer A500. You can try http://www.android.com/filetransfer/
Though, that program seems to crash alot!
3.
Transfer your files from mac to A500 using USB sticks, SD cards, FTP servers (loads in market).
USB stick can be found: mnt/external_USB

huppelkutje said:
Since acer does not have usb drivers for mac, this is kind off my only option. Right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it isn't your only option, you install this: http://www.android.com/filetransfer/.
Regards,
Dave

I will check it out. Thanks alot!
**edit**
Android file transfer keeps crashing as soon as i connect the tab. Tried reboot, but still crashing.
Any other solutions? I've tried FTP and such apps. They work, but ofcourse not as fast as usb connection.
and why is my micro sd card not showing in file explorers?

if you're using es strogs file manager than you first need to go to root (click on the left most icon on top) than go to /mnt than /external_sd <-- that's your micro sd card than simply copy and paste your files from there to your internal storage.

shock2sys said:
if you're using es strogs file manager than you first need to go to root (click on the left most icon on top) than go to /mnt than /external_sd <-- that's your micro sd card than simply copy and paste your files from there to your internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. This makes copying my music alot easier.

Dual File Manager works too. When you start it, just hit the Android back button and you'll see "external_sd"
Sucks that it doesn't mount on my PC though.

huppelkutje said:
Thanks. This makes copying my music alot easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Winamp on the desktop and the A500. It syncs music from my desktop machine to my tablet automatically whenever my tablet connects to my home wifi.

just put the card in and power down/on the device.

as mentioned, power down fully, not just On/off until the screen blanks. Found out the hard way, lazy person that I am.
Odd thing I've found though is that when connecting my Acer tab to my Acer .... err ... laptop ... feels so incestuous .... is that the mSD card appears as simply "SDCARD" while it's external_SD from the device itself. Ah the sweet smell of O/S kludges in the morning

qhinton said:
just put the card in and power down/on the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to power off > back on. Just put the sd card in and voila! It worked right away. Just could not find the sd card in ES file. But now I know it's under mnt/external_SD/

actually I wouldn't call it solved, its kind of an annoyance if anything else. Titanium Backup for one won't see it, I thought honeycomb was going to mnt internal as essc (or something like that) and the external sd as sdcard?
You can soft link it (now that we have root) but that won't carry across a reboot for now.
any how still loving this thing!

[Q] Question re: USB Disk drive

OK, I just downloaded and installed the 3.1 update, running stock OS.
CONFIG
I have a 32GB A500 which I assume is main memory / SSD. I also added a 32GB micro SDHC chip in it, and for testing, an 8GB thumb drive in the large USB port. They all show up in system Settings,
When I have had the A500 connected via the mini-USB port, the memory / SSD shows up, but not the sdhc card, and not a thumb drive if i plug that in (when I look at it as an extended drive)
Some applications can see memory / SSD, and the micro SDHC chip. For example, ES File Explorer has a tab which cycles between the memory / SSD file system, and that on the SHDC chip. It doesn't include USB storage.
QUESTION
First, I'd like to confirm that something (anything) can read the USB file system.
Next, I am looking for a utility that would allow me to see all three file systems: main/SSD, SDHC, and USB, and move things back and forth between them, and to/from my PC as well. Recommendations?

As far as I know there is nothing that will allow you to read the 'external' drives from PC. This was supposed to be fixed in 3.1 (just another thing borked..), so go figure when or IF it'll ever be available.
Incidentally, my 2.2 Archos 101 did all that perfectly, but the new android versions won't, funny eh?

Assuming he has the proper drivers installed, what if he went micro usb connected to pc and thumb drive in tablet. He could read/transfer files from thumb to tablet and have the pc read/transfer to/from the tablet. If that makes sense or helps.

Get a file explorer and go to the mnt directory. the internal, external and usb storage are all there.

I guess I'd be happy with an answer to the first question below, happier with an answer to the second:
1. Is there any app, running on the tablet, which will allow me to see the file system on a USB thumbdrive? Which one. It's odd to me that I can see the drive, apparently properly formed, in the tablet "system settings" app, but (so far) haven't seen how to get at it myself, and haven't found an app which access it either.
2. Is there an application, running on the PC, or an app running on the tablet, which let's me see the file systems on tablet, tablet's sdhc chip, thumb drive and PC storage in a unified way, so I can move things around without unplugging stuff? That is harder, but one of those networked file access utilities might do it.

GCurry said:
I guess I'd be happy with an answer to the first question below, happier with an answer to the second:
1. Is there any app, running on the tablet, which will allow me to see the file system on a USB thumbdrive? Which one. It's odd to me that I can see the drive, apparently properly formed, in the tablet "system settings" app, but (so far) haven't seen how to get at it myself, and haven't found an app which access it either.
2. Is there an application, running on the PC, or an app running on the tablet, which let's me see the file systems on tablet, tablet's sdhc chip, thumb drive and PC storage in a unified way, so I can move things around without unplugging stuff? That is harder, but one of those networked file access utilities might do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I use Root Explorer and I can see the USB Storage in the MNT directory in the root of the device.
2) from the PC, adb i assume, but i've never done this. For network, try Samba server - https://market.android.com/details?id=com.funkyfresh.samba&feature=search_result.

GCurry said:
I guess I'd be happy with an answer to the first question below, happier with an answer to the second:
1. Is there any app, running on the tablet, which will allow me to see the file system on a USB thumbdrive? Which one. It's odd to me that I can see the drive, apparently properly formed, in the tablet "system settings" app, but (so far) haven't seen how to get at it myself, and haven't found an app which access it either.
2. Is there an application, running on the PC, or an app running on the tablet, which let's me see the file systems on tablet, tablet's sdhc chip, thumb drive and PC storage in a unified way, so I can move things around without unplugging stuff? That is harder, but one of those networked file access utilities might do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To answer the first one, no, there is no application to read the external data drives.
As for the second, to transfer files between these, you need to get a file explorer like Root Explorer. The multimedia apps have the ability to access the external data drives so if you want to store music and/or movies on them, you do not have to use up your internal memory.
Hope that answered your question.

Does 3.1 add ntfs support??....if not can I make it support without rooting my tab??
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App

Root explorer works great, so does File Manager HD

GCurry said:
OK, I just downloaded and installed the 3.1 update, running stock OS.
QUESTION
First, I'd like to confirm that something (anything) can read the USB file system.
Next, I am looking for a utility that would allow me to see all three file systems: main/SSD, SDHC, and USB, and move things back and forth between them, and to/from my PC as well. Recommendations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Astro, in Astro I see them all. Home, Up and you'll see all the storage areas.
Astro will allow you to move things back and forth between SD, USB and Internal storage.
Nothing that I know of, will allow you to directly view your USB or MicroSD using your PC, by directly I mean through the microusb connection.
There's an app called Wifi File Explorer Pro which may allow you to see them on the PC however I'm not certain as I never used it extensively and may be more trouble than it's worth as you'll have to open a port in your router for it to work properly.
Hope this helps.

Any file manager can access /mnt/external_sd and /mnt/usb_storage.
Drive mount or USB mount all can mount ntfs drives. Must be rooted.
Can only access internal memory front PC. End of story until google/Acer fixes it.
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk

Euclid's Brother said:
Any file manager can access /mnt/external_sd and /mnt/usb_storage.
Drive mount or USB mount all can mount ntfs drives. Must be rooted.
Can only access internal memory front PC. End of story until google/Acer fixes it.
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on 3.1 ota and I wanted to root it for ntfs support.....but don't want to void my warranty.....(weather here is too humid so generally all electronic devices don't work or something or the other happens to them)...so I will unroot later to claim my warranty.....what else can I do with root.....(no custom roms..).......
Sent from my XT720 using XDA App

1. Is there any app, running on the tablet, which will allow me to see the file system on a USB thumbdrive? Which one. It's odd to me that I can see the drive, apparently properly formed, in the tablet "system settings" app, but (so far) haven't seen how to get at it myself, and haven't found an app which access it either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any file system application (ASTRO, Root Explorer) can access all storage devices in your system. The location for the storage devices is /mnt.
Note that the /mnt/sdcard directory is actually a FUSE mount of /data/local
The directories related to storage are:
/mnt/sdcard - a FUSE image of /data/local. This is internal storage.
/mnt/external_sd - The microSD card. Must be FAT32.
/mnt/usb_drive - A USB drive of some sorts...can be a thumb drive or a hard drive. Not sure about 3.1, but 3.0.1 needed this drive to be FAT32.
2. Is there an application, running on the PC, or an app running on the tablet, which let's me see the file systems on tablet, tablet's sdhc chip, thumb drive and PC storage in a unified way, so I can move things around without unplugging stuff? That is harder, but one of those networked file access utilities might do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answer...other than ADB, no (until Acer fixes that). When you mount your tablet to your PC, you are connecting to a FUSE partition, which is an image of /data/local. You can transfer files between /data/local (via FUSE partition) and your PC. Unfortunately, because you are accessing a FUSE partition, you are restricted to only /data/local (so you can't get to /mnt). ADB is a known exception (as it uses USB Debugging to access the tablet), but that isn't graphical at all (all command line, which means it is a lot of typing).

op mentioned ES file explorer
Use it myself - as I really like the interface and the LAN access works great for me.
You can see all your storage devices from es explorer
/mnt/sdcard = internal memory
/mnt/external_sd = microsd card
/mnt/USB_drive = USB based storage device
If you want to mount ntfs you need to root.

[Q] External SD carc

OK Ive looked and tried but no luck. Is there a way to move or install user apps on the external SD card. I can store pictures , movies and other files on to it but cant move the apps using Titanium or any other Apps 2 sd program. IM RUNNING OUT OF ROOM!!!!!!!

scubabear1 said:
OK Ive looked and tried but no luck. Is there a way to move or install user apps on the external SD card. I can store pictures , movies and other files on to it but cant move the apps using Titanium or any other Apps 2 sd program. IM RUNNING OUT OF ROOM!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't you repartition with CWM and make the partition 4GB instead of 2? Not sure on this particular tablet though.

I have a 32gb micro sd installed i want to move all the installed apps to it
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

You could try manually moving them over and making a symbolic link where they were originally. A pain but if its a proof of concept then an app can be made to do it.
From what I've surmized Acer (and perhaps all tablet makers) changed the name and/or file structure from that of normal android phones. App2sd expects to have the old file system. I'm not sure how app2sd works internally but the sym link thing would be a guess of top of my head.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

yes your right but i dont have the skills to do it ill have to wait for the app if one ever is developed
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

AWTrost said:
You could try manually moving them over and making a symbolic link where they were originally. A pain but if its a proof of concept then an app can be made to do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for different reasons, I'd like to learn how to create symbolic links to folders. I'd like to place one in my /sdcard folder in order to point to /external_sd, this way I'll see the external sd directly when I browse the tablet with my PC, like it's possible with the virtuous_galaxy rom..
can U help?
TIA

You might try using this simple method which I first posted in another thread and regarding a different subject. It might do what you want.
For anyone who wants to see the contents of their sd card on their PC and be able to copy/transfer files from one to the other, why not give this a try, it is very simple and works for my A500.
Before you start you need your A500 to be rooted and you need "USB Mount All version 1.3" from the Market cost $1.99
(1) Have your PC switched on, don't connect your A500 yet but switch the A500 on.
(2) Run USB Mount All and you will see your sd card as a "Device" named "ext_sdcard".
(3) Press the tab "Mount" next to your ext_sdcard. You will see two messages "Mount has been granted Superuser permission" and "Device successfully mounted".
(4) Press the "Menu" tab in the top Right hand corner of the screen, this opens a small box entitled "Settings". Press on "Settings" and you get 3 options, make certain all 3 options are ticked, ticking them if they are not. (The important thing is to have "Mount on Bootup" ticked"). Press the Back Arrow twice to get back to Home Page or where ever you started from.
(5) Re-boot the A500 and after it is back running connect it to your PC using mini usb connector.
(6) Now check your PC and open Windows Explorer, you will find under your A500 Device most of the folder/directories that are in /mnt/sdcard (which isn't all that relevent to this) BUT importantly you will find a folder/directory entitled "ext_sdcard" which for those of you who noticed is the exact name that "USB Mount All" called your sd card.
(7) Now use Windows Explorer to copy and paste whatever you want into the "ext_sdcard" folder.
(8) Please note that when you start to copy files you will get up a warning box stating "Do you want to copy XXXXX to your device?". You are given 2 choices (1) No skip this file or (2) Yes.
(9) Put a tick in the box at the bottom Left and click on "Yes".
(10) When finished safely disconnect your A500 from your PC and re-boot your A500.
(11) After re-boot go back into "USB Mount All", chose top Right menu and settings box and remove the tick from the 3rd option "Mount on Bootup". Each time you are going to copy, move or delete files first of all put the tick back in the 3rd box and when you're done take it out.
Your Done. If you use any File Explorer to look at /mnt/external_sd you will see all the files residing on your sd card including those you've just copied.

Moved as not development, please read the rules and post in the correct section ONLY.

Tutorial: how to use a nfts microsd in your p6800

I confirm it!
1 format your mocro sd on nfts using wimdows 7
2 insert the card in your 7.7 and dont care of the tablet says that the card is invalid
3 launc mount drive that is free on android market
4 unchek device filtering
5 select the last bottom drive that is the only one nfts drive avaiable
6 tap the upper right button, the one that have the icon of a drive
7 now you should see in the right colum your drive with a bar thar rapresents the free space, if you cant see this, reselect the nfts drive on the left colum and retap the mount drive icon (upper right) until you can see the drive mounted on the right colum.
8 when your drive is mounted you can find the drive folder with a root enable file manager like honeycom fm hd, the folder is under the system folder named mnt
Tht is all it works fine amd you cam close the app drive mount, the tablet comtinue to recognize the nfts micro sd wothout the app running. Now i can put my hd movies larger than 4 gb inside my micro sd and play them with my 7.7
The only problem is that tje sistem apps are setted to save thinks in mnt/externaldevice, so if you want save you movies or photos taked with the 7.7 camera inside your microsd you cant do it, you have to move them from your tablet memory to your microsd nfts using a file manager, but this is a little problem nothing of big
If any brave user is able to tweak the camera app to save the moviesnor photo inside the path mnt/nftsdrive please do it, after this all is perfect. Thanks

thanks!
btw, it's called NTFS, not nfts

Yes you are right, i do ever this mistake xD

Do you need to root your tab ?

Yes root is needed

Thanks.
I got it to work.
But there is a problem.
How can I transfer a 6 GB file to my 64 GB SD card using usb cable connected from my desktop to the Tab 7.7 ?
Currently I have to take out my SD card from my tab and using an adapter to transfer the movie to it (from my desktop to the SD card).
This is a tedious process and I don't want to keep taking the SD card in and out of my tab. I want to transfer my big movie file straight from my PC to the tab when it is connected via USB cable.
Currently, when I connect the tab to my desktop, I only see the internal storage of the tab and not the external NFTS sd card.

yes i know, this is a big problem, but unfortunatly i am unable to solve it, becouse the sd is mounted in a different place,in the origins the card id in mnt/externalstorage, but with the app drive mount tha parh is different..

Raziel_Sicily said:
yes i know, this is a big problem, but unfortunatly i am unable to solve it, becouse the sd is mounted in a different place,in the origins the card id in mnt/externalstorage, but with the app drive mount tha parh is different..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
perhaps softlinking the path may help?

it can help, but how to do this?

Maybe by transfering from your desktop to the tab using Samba through your local network (ie wifi instead of USB) and a SAMBA app on the GTAB ?

Raziel_Sicily said:
retap the mount drive icon (upper right) until you can see the drive mounted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya,it's kind of tricky here.Let's why I failed mount ntfs card before...
Cuz, I give up after few trys..
Did it again today,and I successed in mounting ntfs card.

jcm0 said:
Maybe by transfering from your desktop to the tab using Samba through your local network (ie wifi instead of USB) and a SAMBA app on the GTAB ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i know this method, but this is only wifi , it is more slow than usb. To do this just install astromanager and configure a spb network with the ip of your computer, after this share a folder from your pc and then you can copy files from your pc to your tab microsd via wifi

I've just made an app to mount NTFS sdcard.
It allows you to use it like normal FAT32 sdcards,
working with Stock camera app or MTP file transfer.
Could anyone try this?
I'm going to put this to android market
and I've already purchased a developer account,
but it seems to take some time to be able to upload my app...
My English is not good, I know
If there are any weird wording, let me know.
** alpha version **
** only for root users **
** only for Galaxy Tab 7.7 ... for now **
This app is to mount SD Card using NTFS.
/mnt/sdcard/extStorages/SdCard is the root of sdcard.
Auto-mount when the Android OS starts.
Or you can mount/unmount it manually.
** Not Bug **
- If you don't do "Safely Remove Hardware"
when you take your sdcard from PC,
it takes some time to mount it.
** Confirmed Issues **
- Only NTFS sdcard use assumed.
This app may prevent using FAT sdcard.
- Once unmounted, even after you mount again manually,
Android OS don't detect the sdcard.
You can access it with file managers or other apps,
but stock camera and settings app don't.
(Let me know if you know any solutions for this.)
- At the first attempt to mount (and get permission for su),
Android OS could fail to detect the sdcard.
It may be caused by delay of Superuser asking if it's ok or not.
- No error handling
** Disclaimer **
I am not responsible for any damage caused to your device or data or feeling.
It is recommended to backup your precious data.

Perfect app!! it works fine.
For this point
- Once unmounted, even after you mount again manually,Android OS don't detect the sdcard.You can access it with file managers or other apps,but stock camera and settings app don't.(Let me know if you know any solutions for this.)
It is not enought to restart the device in order to let android and camera/gallery to recognize the ntfs card ? This will solve the problem?

Raziel_Sicily said:
Perfect app!! it works fine.
For this point
- Once unmounted, even after you mount again manually,Android OS don't detect the sdcard.You can access it with file managers or other apps,but stock camera and settings app don't.(Let me know if you know any solutions for this.)
It is not enought to restart the device in order to let android and camera/gallery to recognize the ntfs card ? This will solve the problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
Of course, after rebooting the device,
sdcard can be mounted and Android OS detect it as usual.
It seems initial booting and inserting sdcard trigger detecting process,
but I don't know how to let the os to do it by my app.

dont worry your app is awesome as it is it is not a big problem to reset for make it functional after the unmount, just specify it when you sell in android market. Thanks so much for the app

Pretty great app to bad i left my 7.7 at home once i get home this will be the first thing i try. Btw any plan for galaxy note ver too?
Thanks alot

kwanying said:
Pretty great app to bad i left my 7.7 at home once i get home this will be the first thing i try. Btw any plan for galaxy note ver too?
Thanks alot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's possible to improve this app to work on galaxy note,
I don't have one though.
All I need is sdcard's mount point ( "/mnt/sdcard/external_sd" ? maybe ) and
device name which is like "/dev/block/mmcblkxxx".
If you can get these info, please pm me.
Thanks.

Thanks for awesome apk~
If you have any plan put it on the market, plz let us know.
We will support it!!

please hurry up if you want to gain money, becouse the huawei media pad woth ics of my girls can read ntfs micro sd, i think that with the ics update the p6800 will read the ntfs from defoult.