Database Users

Cannot delete file with question mark in it

Somehow an installation file became named PocketPuTTY_WM2k3_release_?007-02-28.zip I don't know how the question mark got there, but now it won't let me delete it. What do I do? Won't let me rename it, either. Total Commander doesn't work either.

Sounds like it is corrupt. Have you tried a soft reset?

wassup said:
Sounds like it is corrupt. Have you tried a soft reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you mean holding down the power button and restarting it, then yes.
When I try to rename it to remove the question mark, it says "A file name cannot contain any of the following characters: \/:*?"<>|"

Can anyone help me with this? The file is named PocketPuTTY_WM2k3_release_?007-02-28.zip

Hi endolith,
Is the file on the device or on the memory card, if it's on the memory card then copy everything onto your PC and format the card then copy it all back.
Just a thought.

dav3ywrx said:
Is the file on the device or on the memory card, if it's on the memory card then copy everything onto your PC and format the card then copy it all back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's on the device. I downloaded a thing that turns the device memory into a USB storage device, and I can access it in Linux and see the bytes, but can't mount it as a drive. I think it's not formatted with a normal file system.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=803050

[deleted double post]

That's a good idea to use WM5torage to try and delete it.
You could try deleting it with Total Commander for Pocket PC but if that fails it may be hard reset time. Perhaps that would be the best thing anyway as I had a problem similar to this on the MiniSD card and never trusted it again until I formatted it but it seems like a drastic measure just to remove one file.
Good luck.

dav3ywrx said:
You could try deleting it with Total Commander for Pocket PC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that too. I wonder if there's another file manager that can do lower-level things.
but if that fails it may be hard reset time. Perhaps that would be the best thing anyway as I had a problem similar to this on the MiniSD card and never trusted it again until I formatted it but it seems like a drastic measure just to remove one file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I can use WM5torage read/write and use a byte editor? Or maybe there's a low-level memory editor available for WM5.

Yes, indeed, if you can find something that will alter the file allocation table then perhaps you could replace the dodgy character in the file name, leave the hard reset as a last resort.

Use a MiniSD card reader or WM5Storage and use the MSDOS commandline interface to delete the file by using wildcards.
e.g., from start/run/cmd.exe
Code:
z: (or whatever drive your SD card is in)
cd "\directory name\with quotations\if you use spaces"
del PocketPutty*.zip

_Alex_ said:
Use a MiniSD card reader or WM5Storage and use the MSDOS commandline interface to delete the file by using wildcards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WM5torage doesn't seem to be able to turn the main memory into a drive, though. It creates 3 partitions, but none of them seem to be mountable.

Auto.exe and autorun.inf on sdcard

Since I have flashed a certain rom which I don't remember of, I keep having two files on my sd card (auto.exe and autorun.inf) I can't delete no matter what I try they always come back (format SD, delete via terminal, delete via antivir)...
Problem is that antivir tells me they contain trojans, does someone have information about that files ? Am I the only one with these files on my SD ?

I bet you are seeing them whenever you plug your phone into your pc and browse the sdcard. This is when the virus on your PC is creating the new files on your sdcard.
It was not the rom that caused the problem. Your pc is infected and as soon as you plug a drive in that has write access to it the virus writes those files to it to try and replicate itself. I bet if you plug a usb drive into your computer it will do the very same thing.
Install a decent antivirus package on your pc and/or a few of the many free antivirus scanners on the web.

Solve the problem
ElChouch said:
Since I have flashed a certain rom which I don't remember of, I keep having two files on my sd card (auto.exe and autorun.inf) I can't delete no matter what I try they always come back (format SD, delete via terminal, delete via antivir)...
Problem is that antivir tells me they contain trojans, does someone have information about that files ? Am I the only one with these files on my SD ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My brother has the same problem with a pendrive on a Mac, the solution is delete the files like root user, from a Linux or UNIX system works, I don't know how to do the same on Windows.

Files on SD card without restarting

Hi at all,
everytime I put files on the sd card, I have to reboot Android because without ES File Explorer won't show the new files I put on the memory card.
Even "Refresh" in ES File Explorer doesn't helo. Is there any other way?
Thanks!

Wifi sync is your friend

lamajstro said:
Hi at all,
everytime I put files on the sd card, I have to reboot Android because without ES File Explorer won't show the new files I put on the memory card.
Even "Refresh" in ES File Explorer doesn't helo. Is there any other way?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a well documented problem. I think it's to do with the way that android sees the SD card with booting from it but don't quote me on that. As far as I know, the best ways round it are:
1. Use dropbox. Free 2gb account and can be very useful.
2. FTP. This is my personal favourite. SwiFTP is a free FTP server for android and there are many free ftp clients for PC/Mac/Linux available. I use FileZilla (opensource ftp client).
3. I believe that if you unmount your SD card before copying files over, then remount however I don't find it particularly successful.
There are other ways like shared folders, email files etc but the top 2 above are the best for me. I use dropbox for small files and one-offs or if I'm copying a lot of stuff and don't want to reboot to winmo, then FTP.
It's also worth noting that if you are a windows user then winamp can sync music over wifi providing you install the winamp android client. However both winamp for windows and android are free.
Hope this helps..
enjoy

Ok, thank you. But that's bad.
The problem is not only that I want to put files through USB on it, it happens also when I use CurrentWidget for example that wants to create a log file on the sd card. Hmm...

I use MDJ Froyo HD 4.6, and there are practically no problems when using mass storage option... After unplugging the files are on the SD card... Only sometimes have to reboot, but not very often...

Why so complicated? Use "Multi Mount SD Card" (it´s free) to connect to PC and you will see new files without rebooting.

lamajstro said:
Ok, thank you. But that's bad.
The problem is not only that I want to put files through USB on it, it happens also when I use CurrentWidget for example that wants to create a log file on the sd card. Hmm...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're now saying that applications are unable to create files on the SD then there is something wrong with your card. I'd recommend copying everything off it and reformatting it (use disk management to format it, and use the largest cluster size available).

Some builds suffer from this problem and some don't.
Im using HD2ONE 0.3.6 and it's working fine. File explorer detects the new files after transferring via USB Cable
I love this build paired up with the CM6.1.1 Gingerbread Theme

kashifsiddique said:
Some builds suffer from this problem and some don't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard many people complain about not being able to see files after copying them across, but I've never heard anyone say that an app could not make a file on the sd card.

I am having the same exact problem. I was transferring files from this PC to my phone and everything was going fine (it refreshes right away after disconnect) then suddenly, my SD Card got corrupted and I was forced to reformat. I used the same ROM (Darkstone's SUPERAM FROYO) and after that, it won't sync anymore. I even tried removing it and using the HD2ONE (mentioned above) ROM and it was the same. I went home, copied everything from my SD backup from the other PC and same symptoms.
I thought I was missing a sync app or something but no. I looked into each of the folders I copied and most of them are blank.
I hope someone can save us!

I find it easiest and safest to just use ES Explorer to access the network shares and copy files wirelessly. The way our data.img is mounted, giving the pc full access to the sdcard is just not a good move. There was good reason when you connected to windows' sync software it disables your phone from accessing the card.
Even though the hd2one build seems to handle it correctly I almost never do it anymore unless it's for big files. It saves the wear and tear on the usb port anyway.

I had that "problem" too, but for me it was easy to solve. Here is the whole procedure:
So, i want some files to put on my sdcard, i plug in the usb cable and select the option "use as a storage", dont check the "use allways" or "dont ask again" (or whatever this is called on your machine). Now the computer "see" the phone and i put my files on it. In this moment i cant browse the sdcard on my hd2, because its reserved for windows now, (thats why currentwidget cant write onto it, same if you have a wallpaper in some "wallpaper" folder on sd).
Now, when i am done, usually i unplug the usb cable for some seconds and then i plug it in again and choose the option "charge only" and the sdcard gets mounted in android like it should and all my new imported files are visible.
Its the same on WinMo, if you choose there the "HDD" option, you cant browse the sdcard on the mobile. Only if you choose "use active sync"(slower) you are able to browse the sdcard.
cheers
ps: the quickest way for me now is to use wifi and shared folders

[q] guys need help!!!! Plz reply fast

i am using the sd version of the AmeriCanAndroid AOSP HD2 GB2.3.5 CM7 and i cannot copy the files through usb ie it gets copied and then when i disconnect the copied files are not visible .......and sometimes they even get deleted ...So plz tell how can i get over this ????

You could transfer the files via Dropbox, the link below in my signature will get us both extra storage space.

welll i can copy but they r not visible or getting deleted ......

Are you copying the files to the sdcard? And what app are you using to browse for them once you have transfered? Root Explorer is the best file explorer imo.

sidduhtc said:
welll i can copy but they r not visible or getting deleted ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try SD card mount from market
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

tried tht but no use

sidduhtc said:
i am using the sd version of the AmeriCanAndroid AOSP HD2 GB2.3.5 CM7 and i cannot copy the files through usb ie it gets copied and then when i disconnect the copied files are not visible .......and sometimes they even get deleted ...So plz tell how can i get over this ????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you removing the usb device safely?

Usually if you copy files to the SD on android they will not be visible until you restart the device. You can make the media files visible using some apps, but other files will only appear after you restart.
Apparently, when copying files using My phone explorer, the app seems to make android update it's information and thus files you copy using My phone explorer will appear when you finish.
I have tested this with most sense builds, but not with Amercian Android.

Dr.Move said:
Usually if you copy files to the SD on android they will not be visible until you restart the device. You can make the media files visible using some apps, but other files will only appear after you restart.
Apparently, when copying files using My phone explorer, the app seems to make android update it's information and thus files you copy using My phone explorer will appear when you finish.
I have tested this with most sense builds, but not with Amercian Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is false.
When you copy anything to Android's SDCard via USB/WiFi, the device immediately sees the files.
When you copy media files (pics/music/movie), the device sees the files, but the Media Service might not have indexed the files yet, so media apps relying on the Media Service will not show them (Music app f.e.)
IF you're copying files to the SD card via USB, safely removing the device from your computer, and they still do not show up on Android's File explorer, then i would check your SD card for errors...
P.S. Tested on HTC Kaiser running froyo/gingerbread, HTC Diamond running Froyo/Gingerbread, HTC HD2 Running gingerbread, HTC Desire running Gingerbread, HTC DesireHD running froyo/gingerbread. Multiple SDcards raging from 1gb to 16, class 2 to 10.

With americanandroid on SD, Theres a problem with usb files transfer (check FAQ'S on thread), u can do: reboot to wimo, copy files and boot android, files will be there, OR use the program for windows described in the FAQ (guess its Androidmanager) OR.. Use NAND Rom... ;-)
Hope it helps
Enviado desde mi HTC HD2

daedric said:
This is false.
When you copy anything to Android's SDCard via USB/WiFi, the device immediately sees the files.
When you copy media files (pics/music/movie), the device sees the files, but the Media Service might not have indexed the files yet, so media apps relying on the Media Service will not show them (Music app f.e.)
IF you're copying files to the SD card via USB, safely removing the device from your computer, and they still do not show up on Android's File explorer, then i would check your SD card for errors...
P.S. Tested on HTC Kaiser running froyo/gingerbread, HTC Diamond running Froyo/Gingerbread, HTC HD2 Running gingerbread, HTC Desire running Gingerbread, HTC DesireHD running froyo/gingerbread. Multiple SDcards raging from 1gb to 16, class 2 to 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like that you tested it on multiple devices, but they're all running Android form device memory if I'm correct, right? you're not running SD Android. anyway I tagged a long and scanned my SD for errors and nothing was there. Using wifi and bluetooth makes android recognize the files, and yes media files have to be reloaded.
however, when copying non-media files through USB on several build I've tried before (can't remember which because I've tried almost every SD build out there) the phone will not see them even using a file browser, but they would appear on the PC. Resetting the device would make them appear. My only explanation to that was that certain builds would create some kind of "image" of the files on SD at the time, and would show you that image when you request the files. So if you add files using a way that doesn't update that image (here copying through USB) they wouldn't appear until the next start.

try samba filesharing from market.
you can copy files via wifi without usb.

Or you could use a card reader......

dropbox is great for transferring files wirelessly too

Dr.Move said:
I like that you tested it on multiple devices, but they're all running Android form device memory if I'm correct, right? you're not running SD Android. anyway I tagged a long and scanned my SD for errors and nothing was there. Using wifi and bluetooth makes android recognize the files, and yes media files have to be reloaded.
however, when copying non-media files through USB on several build I've tried before (can't remember which because I've tried almost every SD build out there) the phone will not see them even using a file browser, but they would appear on the PC. Resetting the device would make them appear. My only explanation to that was that certain builds would create some kind of "image" of the files on SD at the time, and would show you that image when you request the files. So if you add files using a way that doesn't update that image (here copying through USB) they wouldn't appear until the next start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC Kaiser run android from sdcard (either SD partitions or image files on the main partition) long before there was nand.
I understand what you're saying, but i cannot accept it. It makes no sense.
Let's see, Android requires a minimum of 2 partitions, one for data, one for system. Those might be a SD card partition (in this cases), or 2 files on the SD card mounted using loop.
IF, you're using the second option, you cannot access the sdcard on the computer (it must be unmounted from android to appear on the computer, you probably noticed that it's impossible to access the sdcard when it's connected via USB as mass storage.)
So, you're probably using SD card partitions. Am i right?

it might be permission issue...

daedric said:
HTC Kaiser run android from sdcard (either SD partitions or image files on the main partition) long before there was nand.
I understand what you're saying, but i cannot accept it. It makes no sense.
Let's see, Android requires a minimum of 2 partitions, one for data, one for system. Those might be a SD card partition (in this cases), or 2 files on the SD card mounted using loop.
IF, you're using the second option, you cannot access the sdcard on the computer (it must be unmounted from android to appear on the computer, you probably noticed that it's impossible to access the sdcard when it's connected via USB as mass storage.)
So, you're probably using SD card partitions. Am i right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry didn't notice the Kaiser on that list. I don't use SD partitions, too lazy to do so, and I don't unmount the SD, had my share of troubles doing so in the past, I used apps like Dualmount SD and such, media files would appear after I force android to rescan media, but other file types would appear after I restart the device. So I came up with the best possible explanation. However, when I copy files with My phone explorer they always show up, whether media or not, could be the new build I'm trying, or could be that I'm doing something I didn't in the past, who knows.

Yikes! I removed the "storage" folder in storage/emulated/0/. Help!

Great. Now my entire virtual SD Card has been wiped! Don't delete the storage directory in the root of your virtual SD Card (/storage/emulated/0/) or (/storage/emulated/legacy/). Watch out!
Now, I'm wondering if I can somehow gain access to the files if I recreate this folder. From what I remember, there were a number of nested folders within this "storage" directory.
Can someone give me the dir structure of your "storage" folder? Thanks!!
EDIT: This is how I did it. See post 6. Stay away from your "storage" folder while browsing your phones sd card over MTP at the computer!!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=44519212&postcount=6

I'm not sure if this is what you are asking for. If it is, then yay! If it isn't, please ignore.
/storage/emulated/0/
/storage/emulated/legacy/
/storage/sdcard0/

OneChaos said:
I'm not sure if this is what you are asking for. If it is, then yay! If it isn't, please ignore.
/storage/emulated/0/
/storage/emulated/legacy/
/storage/sdcard0/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks for that, but I'm pretty sure there was a folder called "storage" in /storage/emulated/0/ (or the same location /storage/emulated/legacy/).
So, what I'm looking for is what the folders are in *that* folder. And it should look something like the following:
/storage/emulated/0/storage/...... <---------- these are the folders I'm missing, and there most likely is a symlink in there. I think if I can just recreate that folder structure and recreate the right symlink there, then I might be able to get my photos back.
Thanks.

You're saying there is a "storage" folder in /storage/emulated/0 or /storage/emulated/legacy? Mine only comes with these 2 directory, and /storage/sdcard0 is a link to legacy.
Now you still have that 2 directory but can't find any of your files inside?

You deleted the storage when hooked up on your PC yes ?.
The storage folder your referring to only shows when browsing your folders via your PC so you could try recreating it via your PC again but I seriously think its gone mate. I accidentally deleted this folder too once but I always have regular backups on my pc.
NeXuS⁴

slymobi said:
You deleted the storage when hooked up on your PC yes ?.
The storage folder your referring to only shows when browsing your folders via your PC so you could try recreating it via your PC again but I seriously think its gone mate. I accidentally deleted this folder too once but I always have regular backups on my pc.
NeXuS⁴
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes!!! Thanks for this post! I was indeed cleaning up my "sd card" from the PC (over MTP). And, I noticed a storage folder at the root of the SD card. In fact, it's there right now! If I browse the contents of the SD card on the PC, there is a storage folder there with only an empty "emulated" folder in it. I've never noticed it there before, so I just deleted it. Suddenly, I couldn't access anything else on the sd card from the PC. I thought, that's weird. Sure enough, everything just vanished!!
WORD TO THE WISE: Stay away from that "storage" folder at the root of your SD Card when browsing its contents over MTP!!!!!!!!

why not just do a factory image flash? userdata.img should contain all the folders and locations you need to restore it properly.

hp420 said:
why not just do a factory image flash? userdata.img should contain all the folders and locations you need to restore it properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, there ins't a problem anymore. I just thought that the "missing" symlinks had something to do with my wiped sd card. But, it turns out that the missing symlinks aren't shown in the default CM file browser, only in other file browsers. They were there all along.
The kernel of the story has been solved as I now know how I wiped my sd card.

floepie said:
Great. Now my entire virtual SD Card has been wiped! Don't delete the storage directory in the root of your virtual SD Card (/storage/emulated/0/) or (/storage/emulated/legacy/). Watch out!
Now, I'm wondering if I can somehow gain access to the files if I recreate this folder. From what I remember, there were a number of nested folders within this "storage" directory.
Can someone give me the dir structure of your "storage" folder? Thanks!!
EDIT: This is how I did it. See post 6. Stay away from your "storage" folder while browsing your phones sd card over MTP at the computer!!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=44519212&postcount=6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no way to get the files back, I deleted it once when connected to PC because I didn't recognized the folder and it was empty, so I deleted it. Then I tried for a week in every forum to found an answer, but there is none.

reflashing your current rom or any other rom would have brought everything back to how it should be. a deleted my whole system once, then just relashed my current rom at the time, and all came back.

Galaxo60 said:
There is no way to get the files back, I deleted it once when connected to PC because I didn't recognized the folder and it was empty, so I deleted it. Then I tried for a week in every forum to found an answer, but there is none.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I got most, if not all my photos back. There is a great link which shows you how to transfer your entire userdata partition to your hard drive and search for recoverable files. Alternatively, you can also use the app diskdigger and send your pics to your PC using coreFTP or other FTP server. Both methods recovered about the same number of photos. So, yeah, a reasonably good ending.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994705

simms22 said:
reflashing your current rom or any other rom would have brought everything back to how it should be. a deleted my whole system once, then just relashed my current rom at the time, and all came back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not in my case. That's the first thing I did. I thought, it's just a symlink, right? Well, not really. It's not really a symlink on a different partition. Again, it is only created during an active MTP session and ONLY visible on the PC. And, as soon as you wipe these seemingly empty folders, all references to the files are lost, as the system begins to slowly re-populate the space, which is really at /data/media/0.

Galaxo60 said:
There is no way to get the files back, I deleted it once when connected to PC because I didn't recognized the folder and it was empty, so I deleted it. Then I tried for a week in every forum to found an answer, but there is none.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it wouldn't bring your files back, but it would restructure your storage partition properly so you could start from scratch, rather than recreating all the folders manually.

hp420 said:
I know it wouldn't bring your files back, but it would restructure your storage partition properly so you could start from scratch, rather than recreating all the folders manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
? No one is doing anything manually. Did you intend to reply to me? The missing symlinks referred to earlier have nothing to do with it, as I discovered and reported a few posts ago. Again, there is a "storage" folder at the root of the SD card only visible at the PC when connected over the MTP protocol. When this folder is deleted, all is lost immediately, even by re-flashing a ROM. Hope that helps someone to avoid deleting it and consequently all their virtual sd card files.

floepie said:
Oh, there ins't a problem anymore. I just thought that the "missing" symlinks had something to do with my wiped sd card. But, it turns out that the missing symlinks aren't shown in the default CM file browser, only in other file browsers. They were there all along.
The kernel of the story has been solved as I now know how I wiped my sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey how did you do it? Which third party file browser did you use? I have done the same thing..

Check /data/media/ those folders are just linked to /data/media/ anyways. All your stuff should be there unless if you deleted the entire data partition
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

ninad911 said:
Hey how did you do it? Which third party file browser did you use? I have done the same thing..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that if you are browsing the SD card contents from your computer (while the phone is connected), a folder appears there that otherwise is NOT present while browsing the card's contents from the phone, while the phone is NOT connected. I forgot which folder it is, but I believe it is called sdcard0 or some such at the root of the SD card. I have no idea why it appears, but if you delete it, you have deleted the entire contents of your SD card. And, yes, you have lost everything unless you are able to acquire a special tool to recover the contents, but if you have done so, don't do anything with your phone, as those contents will be overwritten by new files.
In so doing, I had originally thought that there were symlinks that were also deleted, but that wasn't the case. The symlinks were still present as viewable by ES File Explorer, but not with CM's file explorer. In any case, all my files were still lost, but I was indeed able to recover the majority.
Edit. I used Diskdigger in the Play store. And it worked pretty well. The other option is linked in this thread above.

floepie said:
Great. Now my entire virtual SD Card has been wiped! Don't delete the storage directory in the root of your virtual SD Card (/storage/emulated/0/) or (/storage/emulated/legacy/). Watch out!
Now, I'm wondering if I can somehow gain access to the files if I recreate this folder. From what I remember, there were a number of nested folders within this "storage" directory.
Can someone give me the dir structure of your "storage" folder? Thanks!!
EDIT: This is how I did it. See post 6. Stay away from your "storage" folder while browsing your phones sd card over MTP at the computer!!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=44519212&postcount=6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, were you able to recover the data on your phone after deleting that folder? Please let me know and also check your inbox please! Need your help

Aditya Srinidhi said:
Hey, were you able to recover the data on your phone after deleting that folder? Please let me know and also check your inbox please! Need your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. First, either turn your phone off or do VERY little with it, as those files could be overwritten.
I had surprisingly good success with Diskdigger. It was able to recover most of my photos, although some were a bit "damaged", as in only half of the photo showing, and some other oddities. But, at least it was better than nothing. You will need root access for this sort of thing.

floepie said:
Yes. First, either turn your phone off or do VERY little with it, as those files could be overwritten.
I had surprisingly good success with Diskdigger. It was able to recover most of my photos, although some were a bit "damaged", as in only half of the photo showing, and some other oddities. But, at least it was better than nothing. You will need root access for this sort of thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot!!! Im using disk digger and I already see a lot of my images turning up
Just one other doubt, if I were to use the link to guide which you posted which allows to mount the VHD as a USB storage, does that allow me to recover other files too?