Database Users

[Q] How do you properly transfer files while booted into android?

Hi as title says I want to know how to transfer files propelry while booted into android kernel.
For example when you plug in your phone vai USB and use as card reader I can easily transfer files to and from but the problem is that when I unplug and go to view these files on phone the file system hasn't updated and I cant locate them on card.
Ive tried the unmount feature aswell as a hot reboot but nothing. Only way I can seem to do it is to power off and then boot back into android.
Is there any easier way or procedure that I need to follow?

TheATHEiST said:
Hi as title says I want to know how to transfer files propelry while booted into android kernel.
For example when you plug in your phone vai USB and use as card reader I can easily transfer files to and from but the problem is that when I unplug and go to view these files on phone the file system hasn't updated and I cant locate them on card.
Ive tried the unmount feature aswell as a hot reboot but nothing. Only way I can seem to do it is to power off and then boot back into android.
Is there any easier way or procedure that I need to follow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
best bet is to load the files in winmo then boot into android

Dude that wasnt my question, obviously I can do that, thats not the point.
My question was the best way to transfer files while booted into android, if it possible then obviously booting into windows and back to android every time you want to move/access files isnt the "best" way and its inconvient.
I appreciate your reply but your answer was irelivant unless its the ONLY way which I doubt (well hope)
Does anybody have a solution?

As of now, the only good way to transfer files is indeed through WinMo (or with a MicroSD USB reader, with phone powered off or in WinMo). Most Android builds support USB Mass Storage, but I haven't heard of one that handles it perfectly (which isn't too surprising, considering Android runs -sort of- from the SD card).
So in short, no there is no other way at this moment that I know of.
Edit: There is a way: through WiFi! There are some applications available on the market that turn your phone into an FTP-server, I use Websharing (Lite) for this. They don't need an unmounted SD card, so they'll probably solve your problem.

StephanV said:
Edit: There is a way: through WiFi! There are some applications available on the market that turn your phone into an FTP-server, I use Websharing (Lite) for this. They don't need an unmounted SD card, so they'll probably solve your problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I was thinking more of teh same route, Ive been using drop box for the moment but FTP server would be much better.
I was hoping there would be a solution to been able to access teh files that have been sent via mass storage mode but this could be just as good.
thnx for suggestion.

This is not a quickfix, but I was frustrated with the same problem last night when I was trying to locate the files that I just transferred to the phone. I noticed that unmounting, and remounting doesn't refresh the folders in the system. But I managed to find the transferred files after unmounting the sd card, and then browsing to the root sd card path instead of the mounted partition.
So, instead of mnt/sdcard/ you should look for the files in /sdcard after unmounting the card. See if that works, at least it worked for me last night.

Use droid explorer

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] sd card will not mount when hooked up to computer

on my iconia when i plug into computer i only see a500 internal files i go to storage and see sd i click on that and cant see any files. i know they are there because they are my zips for updates.when i mount into card reader i see them that is the only way. in applications the sd card is detected it shows me how large and how much space left. the only rom i can see is the xoom rom. right now im using tahooney its a real pain to have to take out card to put update files on when i reboot into recovery it detects there because im able to install other roms. any help is appreciated

Unfortunately, it's by design and it's Google's fault. I use a memory stick to transfer files, personally. It's WAY faster.

thanks it was driving me nuts tring to figure that out do apps and pictures go to the sd card or do they also need to be transferred i saw the android secure folder when i mounted on laptop. also can you update roms thru a memory stick i guess will recovery read it

Bugs me as wall and I do believe this issue it what causes many on here to end up with currupt update.zip files.I know it takes longer but I use network to move files or take SD card out. This eliminates a step from moving the file. Pain but it is what it is.
File manage HD seems to be the fastest for me to access network shares.and even my private FTP that I have hosted by just host.
Good luck

I've said it before, I will say it again. Droid Explorer.

[Q] Ext SD issue: help!

Forgive me if there's a forum about this posted somewhere else on xda... I couldn't find one coz few other people seem to be having this issue.
My problem is that I can't write more than like 7mb to any of my 3 my ext SDs (on the phone or on a computer via usb) without the phone pretty much crashing & needing a reboot.
It never happened back when I used GB... And I've had the same issue on all three ICS ROMs I've tried (CM9, F4K r4 and DarkyROM v11).
Anybody had the same issue or an idea on how to solve this?

Ext SD issues
Can you be a little more specific? Which ROM are you currently using? What are you trying to do? Are you installing apps, transferring data to SD ... ? Where are trying to store stuff? Which directory? My Galaxy S external SD is named emmc in File Explorer.
Galaxy S: RemICS-UX v1.3beta
Galaxy Note: ICS 4.0.3

Oct-Al said:
Can you be a little more specific? Which ROM are you currently using? What are you trying to do? Are you installing apps, transferring data to SD ... ? Where are trying to store stuff? Which directory? My Galaxy S external SD is named emmc in File Explorer.
Galaxy S: RemICS-UX v1.3beta
Galaxy Note: ICS 4.0.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently using DarkyRom v11 (Black Edition) with Semaphore ICS 1.2.5s Kernel.
I am simply trying to transfer files (Mostly media files: jpeg, png, mp4, mp3) from mnt/sdcard/media to mnt/emmc.
The transfer progress bar just hangs and the phone becomes unresponsive to the point where I need to reboot. Reading data off the card works 100% fine.
The memory card does work if I remove it and connect it to a computer via a card reader / SD slot.
I was wondering if it wasn't a hardware fault on the phone (seeing as not many other people running ICS on their i9000s have the same problem), but then someone I know picked up the exact same issue when he flashed CM9 on his sgs.

Ext SD problems
If you are having /datadata problems try here for starters: 'http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1541942' (CM7/9). There is a summary of cause and cure, along with further references for you to follow.
Initially I had problems understanding the file structure of my rooted phone. Using FtpCafe I tried to download large map files into sdcard/external_sd/. Big mistake, as I quickly ran out of space. Moving those files to emmc/ sorted my problem. Go to Settings->Storage to quickly check how things stand re internal and external storage.
Galaxy S: RemICS-UX v1.3beta
Galaxy Note: ICS 4.0.3
EDIT:
Sorry for the above, but have only just got your update. Like you, I had trouble transferring files on the phone (about 1GB), but put it down to memory problems and the limitations of the phone. Much safer to connect to the computer in USB connection mode and move the files around from there. In my own case, I had my files backed up to the cloud and the computer; so I simply deleted the unwanted files and downloaded directly to the external sd card from backup.

Oct-Al said:
If you are having /datadata problems try here for starters: 'http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1541942' (CM7/9). There is a summary of cause and cure, along with further references for you to follow.
Initially I had problems understanding the file structure of my rooted phone. Using FtpCafe I tried to download large map files into sdcard/external_sd/. Big mistake, as I quickly ran out of space. Moving those files to emmc/ sorted my problem. Go to Settings->Storage to quickly check how things stand re internal and external storage.
Galaxy S: RemICS-UX v1.3beta
Galaxy Note: ICS 4.0.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that script is for the low storage notification... an issue I had months back but fixed.... Don't think it's relevant for my current problem.
Running out of space on my internal storage is exactly why I want to be able to move files to my emmc... But that's what's not working, The phone won't let me copy to emmc.
Thanks for trying to help

dan73b said:
Yeah, that script is for the low storage notification... an issue I had months back but fixed.... Don't think it's relevant for my current problem.
Running out of space on my internal storage is exactly why I want to be able to move files to my emmc... But that's what's not working, The phone won't let me copy to emmc.
Thanks for trying to help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to use https://play.google.com/store/search?q=move+to+Sd+card&c=apps
or menu > settings> applications> storage use > application you want to move to SD card
you cannot cut and paste from internal phone
But to move from one SD card to another, just connect usb, once usb icon appears on task bar
open your notifications drawer > touch usb connected > touch connect storage to PC
you can now open both SD card in your PC and transfer anything you want to any SD card

xsenman said:
you need to use https://play.google.com/store/search?q=move+to+Sd+card&c=apps
or menu > settings> applications> storage use > application you want to move to SD card
you cannot cut and paste from internal phone
But to move from one SD card to another, just connect usb, once usb icon appears on task bar
open your notifications drawer > touch usb connected > touch connect storage to PC
you can now open both SD card in your PC and transfer anything you want to any SD card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know how to transfer files via usb but like I said earlier, the phone crashes when I do that too.

Cannot Manually Add files to internal Storage SD Card, but Apps can be transfered

I'm having a rather unique problem with my the Micro SD card I installed.
I can format it as internal storage and it won't pop up for file managers or my computer.
This means I can't manually move files to it all.
Despite that when it's internal storage I can move apps to it and it adds new apps to it by default.
I could go to move all and move everything it can on, but it's a fairly slow SD card so I'm hoping to mainly put music, videos and any pictures on there.
I worry about it moving the apps that I want to keep in internal storage for speed over.
Does anyone know how I could fix this?
EDIT:
I didn't manage to figure out how to add files manually while it was internal storage through either internal file managers or through the computer.
But I did manage to find the SD card while it was portable.
The trick is to use the built in file explorer on the phone and copy a small file onto the SD card.
With there being something other than just Android files on the SD card it can then be discovered by the computer.
This mainly solves my problem as I plan to use it primarily for storage of music and game files, with the emulators being on the phone itself.

I had this issue a few days ago. You have 2 options to format, (1) as a internal storage and only your phone can read this and other option (2)to use on others devices. Using the second option I managed to transfer files to my microSD like it used to be.
While using the first option I was able only to transfer apps to it through the system.
I hope it helps

I'm using one, but I'm not even able to find it with File Manager?
Is that normal for Internal Storage?
I expected there to at least be a folder in the normal phone space called SD card or something?
Is there no way to manually move music there when it's internal storage?
Also I tried changing it to be portable but my computer still couldn't see it.
File manager could actually see it and open it but I couldn't copy paste anything to it.
So I turned it back to internal as I can at least move apps to it successfully at the moment.

Rajvir8 said:
I'm using one, but I'm not even able to find it with File Manager?
Is that normal for Internal Storage?
I expected there to at least be a folder in the normal phone space called SD card or something?
Is there no way to manually move music there when it's internal storage?
Also I tried changing it to be portable but my computer still couldn't see it.
File manager could actually see it and open it but I couldn't copy paste anything to it.
So I turned it back to internal as I can at least move apps to it successfully at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I tried as Internal Storage any File Manager found my SDcard too... Thats why I'm using as portable.
After that, i could see this.
Maybe you're missing something like changing the USB connection from Charging to File transfering.
Did you checked this?

Yes it can see the rest of my phone and move files, so I've made sure to change it to file transferring.
When you used internal storage file managers failed to find your SD card as well?
dennismac said:
When I tried as Internal Storage any File Manager found my SDcard too... Thats why I'm using as portable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here your saying that you could find it and that's why you swapped over?
I assume you forgot to say it failed to show up separately and that's why you changed to portable.

Rajvir8 said:
Yes it can see the rest of my phone and move files, so I've made sure to change it to file transferring.
When you used internal storage file managers failed to find your SD card as well?
Here your saying that you could find it and that's why you swapped over?
I assume you forgot to say it failed to show up separately and that's why you changed to portable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry! Yes, I failed to find my SD card too, thats why i changed to portable.
Im assuming this is a normal behavior, my last Android phone was a Galaxy S2 and I stopped following Android changes for the lasts 4/5 years. But idk why you can't see it even in portable mode... That should work as worked for me.
Hope someone help you more than I did!

dennismac said:
Sorry! Yes, I failed to find my SD card too, thats why i changed to portable.
Im assuming this is a normal behavior, my last Android phone was a Galaxy S2 and I stopped following Android changes for the lasts 4/5 years. But idk why you can't see it even in portable mode... That should work as worked for me.
Hope someone help you more than I did!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for trying to help.
I think I might have figured out part of the problem, the file explorer I normally use doesn't have permission to add anything to the SD card. I'm not sure how I would go about giving it permission though.
But when I use the system built in I was able to copy paste some music onto it.
With a file on the SD Card my computer was able to locate it as well, and I can now copy and paste to the SD card using my computer.
So with your help I was able to figure out how to get portable working.
It is a bit disappointing that there isn't a way to manually add files while it is an internal storage though.
So again while your solution didn't directly work, it made me think and find a solution to my problem even if it's not the one I wanted.