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.
Related
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)
OK, to get to this message, I had to read a warning about getting banned if not a developer thread.
Well, this is. Sort of.
I posted a question in the general forum and commented on the same subject in the Q&A forum. I think I know my answer but I would like to know why this problem exists.
I just got my tablet Friday evening. I figured it all out and was able to use external storage on drives and USB sticks. When I try to connect my phone as a disk drive, no files.
I am assuming that access to these files is for lack of root access, which I am not going to get because I immediately let it update to 3.2.
So, could someone tell me if lack of root is the answer and why? The phone does instantly show up as a disk drive on XP and Windows 7.
Thanks, and moderators, please don't kick me out.
Did you try mounting your phone, if you can? And yes root it would be easier with the usb mount app, or just use an app like es file explorer that can go into the root section without root then go to mnt and in one of those files should be your phone files, because i have an env touch and i use usb mass storage and it shows up on my iconia
Thanks. Yes, I did see the folder MNT but it did not show up. Using my usual file explorers, I can see the internal storage and the SD card. The next entry is the USB STORAGE where I find no files when the phone is connected.
If I connect an external drive or usb memory device, I can access all the files. When I connect the phone as a drive I see that nothing is there.
When I connect these same devices to my home pc running Win 7 and laptop with XP, they all connect the same way.
There is something in the OS that is not letting my tablet file system see my phone file system.
Thanks for the reply, I'll keep my eye on this thread.
I'm having the same problem, i can import photos or videos from the phone when the phone is on mtp mode (media transfer protocol) but when in file transfer mode (msc) nothing shows up in the mnt folder or in drive mount app. i'm running taboonay 2.2 with villain kernel. It works fine with external hdd ntfs or fat. When connecting the phone to my computer i had to install a driver from windows update and it shows as an xperia arc, do i also need a driver in my tablet? Has anyone already connected and android phone to an android tablet in mass storage mode?
Sent from my A501 using XDA App
Not sure Root has anything to do with it. I'm rooted on both phone and tab , and have no access to the files on my phone. When in "disk drive" mode, all it does is "charge".
I'm looking to mount my Galaxy Nexus to my Nexus 7, but when I go about it like I would a usb stick stickmount doesn't see the sd card. My USB OTG host cable works perfectly with my 64gb SanDisk Cruzer thumb drive, but it is NTFS formatted to get around the 4gb file size limit. I can read files, copy files off of it, and stream files from the stick just fine but I am unable to write to the stick. I'd like to be able to get rid of NANDROID backups, playstation games, other large files, etc without having to connect to a computer.
1. What format is the "SD card" on the Galaxy Nexus? Is it ext3/ext4 which stickmount can't read?
2. If there is a better way to make an NTFS formatted writable stick I'm all ears...
3. Maybe I should just get a smaller separate stick that's FAT32 and thus writable...
Nokia?
thirtynation said:
I'm looking to mount my Galaxy Nexus to my Nexus 7, but when I go about it like I would a usb stick stickmount doesn't see the sd card. My USB OTG host cable works perfectly with my 64gb SanDisk Cruzer thumb drive, but it is NTFS formatted to get around the 4gb file size limit. I can read files, copy files off of it, and stream files from the stick just fine but I am unable to write to the stick. I'd like to be able to get rid of NANDROID backups, playstation games, other large files, etc without having to connect to a computer.
1. What format is the "SD card" on the Galaxy Nexus? Is it ext3/ext4 which stickmount can't read?
2. If there is a better way to make an NTFS formatted writable stick I'm all ears...
3. Maybe I should just get a smaller separate stick that's FAT32 and thus writable...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't seen that done with Android devices just yet... maybe it's possible, but I haven't heard of it. I know that Nokia phones can hook up as external storage to the N8 (saw a video on YouTube) but that's as far as I know.
Also, to write files to an NTFS volume on Android, it seems that you need to add the "fuse.ko" to your kernel (in /system/lib/modules) I tried doing this with the Nexus 7 ToolKit, but I wasn't about to insmod it (make it run) since the fuse.ko I has was apparently for a different version of Android??? I've literally spent about 10 hours "searching" on xda and all over the internet. It seems (oddly) that everyone in the Android community is content with a measly 32GB total limit, and 4GB file size limit. *(facepalm)*
This won't work. Android, with 3.0, stopped exporting storage via SD card, because of reasons[1]. If at all, you can have a vendor modify Android as to export your plug-in SD card, but not the internal storage.
Currently, Galaxy Nexus etc. offer their files via the 'MTP' protocol when plugged in, and there's no support to act as an MTP client AFAIK (since Linux support for MTP sucks balls).
[1]: since a separate storage for /data, /system etc. was considered uncool, as it made you dependent on a predefined partition size (remember 256MB 'internal storage' phones and Android Market "uninstalled due to low disk space"?), newer phones, and especially the Nexus line, features a single storage container.
The USB mass storage interface works like plugging in a hard drive into your system: it gives you block-level access, and this is usually synonymous with "exclusive" access, as it results in destroyed or confused file systems if two independent systems try to mount the file system on a storage device.
Problem is that Android still needs to be able to actually run, so it can't give you block level access to the internal storage. The only way that would be feasible is to turn off your phone completely and have the bootloader give you USB mass storage access, which is counterproductive.
Thus the need for something like MTP (which was already around for a while) was born, which gives you the ability to make it look like a file system, but actually work on a client/server basis like FTP.
tl;dr: no usb mass storage ("usb stick mode") with galaxy nexus. ever.
Can't check at the moment, but can't you mount the SD card from CWM recovery on the Nexus in USB Mode rather than MTP?
What we need is a file manager that can use MTP. I'm also interested in hooking my Gnex up to my 7. There must be something out there that can do this.
Bluetooth file transfer.
or
Connect to the same wifi and share.
Very new to this, and am loving my shield tv so far.
I have a 16gb version with a 500gb external usb3 hdd attached. All working no problem.
However, when I access the hdd via my pc it will not let me create new, or delete folders.
The Shield shows up on the network, and when I click it, it shows the "internal" storage as a folder and my 500gb as a folder.
I can create new and delete folders on the "internal" drive no worries.
But, on the external, when i try to create a new folder a pop up tells me
"This is no longer located in \\SHIELD. Verify the item's location and try again.
Or when I try to delete a folder I get a message
"you require permission from S-1-1-0 to make changes to this folder"
what i am trying to do is add ROMS to my library on the external hdd from my pc without having to always unplug and plug the hdd into the pc.
Solved
I think I have found the solution.
I will put my ROMS in a folder in the NVIDIA_SHIELD folder.
UPDATE: A user on the Geforce forums HERE discovered this.
Now, although you still can not write to the root of external storage devices without an app being granted permission, you can write to a new folder that will be created on your drive called /NVIDIA_SHIELD. All apps will have full permissions in this folder including Kodi/SPMC and over SMB.
NOTE: If you are accessing your Shield from a PC, a external drive my appear as having root access. However, in reality it is only access to the NVIDIA_SHIELD folder. If you think that you are in the root of the external storage and are able to write to it over SMB then you need to check with a file browser on your Shield since the files will have most likely been written to the NVIDIA_SHIELD folder and not the root of the drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had the AFTV 3 for a couple of months but only just tried hooking up a usb flash drive. I tried through the OTG + ethernet usb hub and I tried it with just a OTG cable. It doesn't mount the usb drive.
I'm sure I have it hooked up right. I formatted Fat 32 (even though it should do that automatically). It's getting power because the light on the Flash drive turns on.
I'm wondering if the update I got on May 15th removed the USB storage option?
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
The Fire TV 3 has never mounted USB drives in a way that all apps can access files on the drive. Your only option is to use an app that can mount the drive itself. Two such apps are ES File Explorer and Total Commander with a mounting addon. Once those apps mount the drive, you'll then be able to select a file and choose a different app to open the file. Some more info here: http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-fire...rives-keyboards-mice-flirc-ethernet-hubs-etc/
AFTVnews.com said:
The Fire TV 3 has never mounted USB drives in a way that all apps can access files on the drive. Your only option is to use an app that can mount the drive itself. Two such apps are ES File Explorer and Total Commander with a mounting addon. Once those apps mount the drive, you'll then be able to select a file and choose a different app to open the file. Some more info here: http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-fire...rives-keyboards-mice-flirc-ethernet-hubs-etc/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Elias!
I should've read the full article.
For now is there still no way to mount usb drive permanently?
Looks like Gen 3 is more protected then older versions, but maybe we can execute commands like "mount" in some way? (just my naive guess)
mntlzr said:
For now is there still no way to mount usb drive permanently?
Looks like Gen 3 is more protected then older versions, but maybe we can execute commands like "mount" in some way? (just my naive guess)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly not, a Fire TV 3 is only suitable for "paying" apps (Prime, Netflix, etc.), and is much more limited than its predecessors (similar to Apple TV). That's why neither the 3-series nor the Cube is an option for me. I don't like closed systems!
Why is a NAS not an option?