I did do a search under all of A500, which was related to this but did not get an exact answer.( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1085361&highlight=FAT32 )
I am considering buying the Iconia Tab A500. Trying to do as much research as possible, as my step #1 with any tablet would be rooting. I have been reading reviews and was very surprised to see this on a http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/acer-iconia-tab-a500/4864-3126_7-34644168-18.html?tag=userReviews;summaryList.
Where the guy says:
The Iconia works great with USB wireless mouse and keyboards, detects all flash drives or drives (formatted as FAT or FAT32 - limitation of Honeycomb)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This i very surprising to hear on a linux kernel and I would think this is very limiting.
Is this true even on a rooted machine?
Is this just a matter of fact with Honeycomb?
Please teach me of wise one(s)..
Thanks.
Honeycomb unrooted will support keyboards, mice, and FAT/FAT32 flash drives without a problem. You can also gain NTFS support by rooting.
Its a kernel limitation. With that, however, there are several roms and kernels in the development section that add ext4, hfs, ntfs support.
If this post was helpful, give thanks
I guess the two downfalls I see with FAT32
1) File size
2) Will file transfer from my linux box be in only one direction (from the linux box to the tab) because the tab cannot read the file structure of the other machine? (In my case I have a dual boot machine with 2 NTFS partitions, 1 ext4 and 1 swap)
YeeP said:
I guess the two downfalls I see with FAT32
1) File size
2) Will file transfer from my linux box be in only one direction (from the linux box to the tab) because the tab cannot read the file structure of the other machine? (In my case I have a dual boot machine with 2 NTFS partitions, 1 ext4 and 1 swap)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These guys talk back and forth between their Linux boxes and their tabs I believe.
I think you'll get a quicker response to your question there?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1158260
YeeP said:
I guess the two downfalls I see with FAT32
1) File size
2) Will file transfer from my linux box be in only one direction (from the linux box to the tab) because the tab cannot read the file structure of the other machine? (In my case I have a dual boot machine with 2 NTFS partitions, 1 ext4 and 1 swap)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you plug the tab to a computer (Linux or Windows, maybe Mac? not sure), your OS will mount what it sees. For me, my Win7 laptop mounts the internal SD card of the tab, and so does my Ubuntu box. When the card is mounted, I just copy files to it or from it by dragging and dropping. This is what I do with large fiels.
This is of course not practical for very large files, but for smaller files (like music albums, etc.) you of course have the option of using samba (SMB) or ftp/scp for moving files back and forth between your Linux box and the tab on your wlan. What I've done is that I mostly just copy stuff from my Linux box through samba, just share a folder, set it to copy. Sometimes I plug in the tab and transfer files over the cable. I have a pretty elaborate home network setup with bunch of stuff shared there, so it's usually easier for me to just copy things straight off of the network shares than to go unplugging usb drives from the server they're normally at and plugging them straight to the tab. So that's why I haven't really missed the option of mounting more other file systems, I just generally tend to use the tools (smb / ftp) that don't require actual mounting, just connecting.
Related
hi ....
as title
anyone else got this problem ?
my external HDD has 280gb of fat32 and 40gb of ntfs
Which partition is first? If the fat32 is first, I would expect it to automount. The tablet doesn't support NTFS out of the box. Search these forums for NTFSMOUNT. That will allow you to mount the ntfs partition. If your fat32 is not first, you may need to mount it manually.
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Euclid's Brother said:
Which partition is first? If the fat32 is first, I would expect it to automount. The tablet doesn't support NTFS out of the box. Search these forums for NTFSMOUNT. That will allow you to mount the ntfs partition. If your fat32 is not first, you may need to mount it manually.
Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the fat32 is first, then the ntfs
i tried ntfs mount, it wont show the device at all
iconia wont detect my hdd at all
actually does anyone here tried hdd with partitions ?
That's odd that it doesn't pick up the first partition. Even a drive that isn't split has partitions on it.
muqali said:
That's odd that it doesn't pick up the first partition. Even a drive that isn't split has partitions on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah.. thats it...
is my hdd not supported or what?
is there any compatibility hdd list for iconia ??
cause if i plug my 4gb thumb it will directly recognized ..
My Cruzer USB drive has a cdfs and fat32 partitiin, the main (fat32) partition is fine but won't show the cdfs volume.
I suspect the mount scripts are written for single volume drives or primary partition only.
Could it be that it's a Dynamic drive instead of a Basic Drive? When you connect it to windows and look at the drive partition, it should say in the left border of the drive. Not sure if Android can read a Dynamic drive. Worth a check..
Vereynn said:
My Cruzer USB drive has a cdfs and fat32 partitiin, the main (fat32) partition is fine but won't show the cdfs volume.
I suspect the mount scripts are written for single volume drives or primary partition only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vereynn, I'm assuming it's a U3 Sandisk Cruzer. They make an app(Sandisk does) that removes U3 from it. U3 is notoriously insecure and they dropped support for it anyway. If you want it or need help finding it I can point you in that direction. Only thing I could think of is maybe the Iconia doesn't support GPT partitions, only MBR/MSDOS style. Why a 320GB USB drive would have that I don't know though, unless you specifically set it up like that with parted or something.
Euclid's Brother said:
Could it be that it's a Dynamic drive instead of a Basic Drive? When you connect it to windows and look at the drive partition, it should say in the left border of the drive. Not sure if Android can read a Dynamic drive. Worth a check..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am using MAC OSX
how can i check ?
I'm pretty sure OS X doesn't support dynamic drives, so I doubt he has one.
muqali said:
Vereynn, I'm assuming it's a U3 Sandisk Cruzer. They make an app(Sandisk does) that removes U3 from it. U3 is notoriously insecure and they dropped support for it anyway. If you want it or need help finding it I can point you in that direction. Only thing I could think of is maybe the Iconia doesn't support GPT partitions, only MBR/MSDOS style. Why a 320GB USB drive would have that I don't know though, unless you specifically set it up like that with parted or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, it's a U3 device. I don't actually use it for much, I got one of the Costco 4packs a while back and they all just sit around my desk now, but it's the only external drive I have with multiple volumes on it for testing So thanks but no real reason for killing the U3 "CD" partition, it's heading for a landfill eventually
My normal go-to USB stick is a 16GB Toshiba with a single FAT32 volume.
One of these days I'll put one of my HP laptop drives back into its DIY external case and see what the Iconia thinks about it. 3 partitions I think (one for BIOS, one NTFS for normal use and a FAT32 for recovery images)
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.
I have portable hard disk which doesn't get detected on my stock a500 if I format it as ntfs. I was thinking why should I use ntfs if I can use ext3 on my acer a500 and windows 7.
My problem with fat32 is that I can't copy files larger the 8gb.
Can anyone help me get started by answering below quetions.
How do I format my hard drive to ext3?
Will iconia a500 can read the drive natively?
How to enable windows 7 to read and write to ext3?
If you're running 3.2 it should, had no problem on mine...
There are apps out there that will format to ext3, Easius partition manager is a free one, but windows does NOT recognise the linux file structure. There might be apps that allow it to be read but since I don't need I haven't looked....
Just remember that its fairly easy to format to ext3 but might be harder trying to format back to fat32 or ntfs....
thanks for your quick reply. I will search for available software for windows 7.
The software exists for Windows 7 but it isn't the most glamorous. I used an app called ext2explore. My AV on windoze sees it as a virus but it isn't. It works with ext3 and ext4 formatted hard drives too.
If your tab is rooted you can install drivemount from the market. It allows your tab to read NTFS files, as well there are custom ROMS that allow it too. That might actually be easier than getting Windoze to read your ext partitions.
You are rite hardslog. After Googling and finding softwares that would not enable me to work the way I want I finaly came to the conclusion it's best to leave it as is. I think it's bit simpler to root it and get ntfs mount, then trying to get windows 7 to recognize ext3.
Thanks for the reply.
soul_0830 said:
You are rite hardslog. After Googling and finding softwares that would not enable me to work the way I want I finaly came to the conclusion it's best to leave it as is. I think it's bit simpler to root it and get ntfs mount, then trying to get windows 7 to recognize ext3.
Thanks for the reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anytime! Or you could format your Windoze computer and put something like Ubuntu on it!
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.
Hi guys,
I'm getting tired of not being able to transfer files from my Nexus 7 [rooted] to a USB flash drive. I have Nexus Media Importer software installed, but it will only allow me to transfer files from the FlashDrive to the Tablet but not the other way...it's just plain dumb.
I usually download stuff via torrent to my Tablet and then distribute it to my friends, but when the files are over 4gb, bluetooth is way to slow and forget about the PC option, I don't have any PC to use...so don't tell me to transfer to a PC and then to the flash drive...
Any ideas?
EDIT: Also tried Stick Mount y USB Host Controller :/ NO LUCK!
Perhaps dumb questions, but since you didn't mention these details, everybody who reads your post is forced to guess.
1) Did you check the mount points (in each case) to see whether they were read-write (rw) or read-only (ro) ?
2) Should we assume that the USB stick only has a single partition, and that it is formatted in a FAT32 fashion? Or something else? What device/OS did you use to format the USB key to begin with?
If you are using any file system excepting FATx, the kernel you are using is also important - and you also failed to mention that.
BTW, I have successfully written large-ish files TO a FAT32 USB key on a OTG cable mounted via StickMount with a lightly-rooted stock N7 (essentially a stock ROM and stock kernel). "Large-ish" in this case is about 2.5 GB. (FAT filesystems are not capable of writing individual files larger than 4GB)
cheers
bftb0 said:
Perhaps dumb questions, but since you didn't mention these details, everybody who reads your post is forced to guess.
1) Did you check the mount points (in each case) to see whether they were read-write (rw) or read-only (ro) ?
2) Should we assume that the USB stick only has a single partition, and that it is formatted in a FAT32 fashion? Or something else? What device/OS did you use to format the USB key to begin with?
If you are using any file system excepting FATx, the kernel you are using is also important - and you also failed to mention that.
BTW, I have successfully written large-ish files TO a FAT32 USB key on a OTG cable mounted via StickMount with a lightly-rooted stock N7 (essentially a stock ROM and stock kernel). "Large-ish" in this case is about 2.5 GB. (FAT filesystems are not capable of writing individual files larger than 4GB)
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No dumb questions at all, I just started this thread really quick because I am at work and can't be 'on the internet' for too long.
1) I just checked and Nexus Media Importer says 'read only', I haven't seen that :/ (that's dumb)
2) The owner of the USB Stick tells me he formatted it with Windows 7 but never changed the format, it's FAT32 since he bought it. The file I attempt to transfer is 4.1Gb...
About the kernel and ROM, both stock and ROOTED.
The owner of the USB Stick tells me that he recently used it to boot Win7 and install it on a friend's PC and maybe that's why it is on 'read only'. I've checked for the usual 'lock' switch but it doesn't have one...so that must be why. Don't you think?
Also, I could never use StickMount..it just times out attempting to mount :/
EDIT: One more thing, I downloaded 'USB Host Controller' (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1468531). I attempted to mount at /mnt/sdext and many other points but none of them worked...I'm using ES file explorer to look for the mount point but it doesn't exist.
Nanopane said:
1) I just checked and Nexus Media Importer says 'read only', I haven't seen that :/ (that's dumb)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the name of the app includes the word "importer". That seems to imply only one direction, but I've never used the app so I don't know.
Nanopane said:
2) The file I attempt to transfer is 4.1Gb...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No matter how you mount a FAT32 filesystem, you will not be able to write a file to it which is greater than 4,294,967,295 bytes in length (2^32 - 1).
Apparently there is something called "exFAT" that is intended for large flash devices, but it seems to be not ready for prime time with Android yet. (Search titles here on XDA for "exFAT"). Also, the Wikipedia page for exFAT says that it is patent-encumbered. That's a deal-breaker for Android I suspect.
Nanopane said:
The owner of the USB Stick tells me that he recently used it to boot Win7 and install it on a friend's PC and maybe that's why it is on 'read only'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hard to say. Re-format it in windows and try again.
Thanks a lot Mr!
I'm gonna use some other app just to try to get it done, with a 'smaller' file. And regarding the USB Stick, let's just leave that behind...I can mount NTFS systems and give my friend the files in a Ext-HDD
Luckily there is always another option