Related
If you are still wondering:
- What is the breakdown of that 32GB Xoom internal memory (how many parition, how much space for apps / files)?
- Why Google is using MTP instead of USB file transfer on Honeycomb?
Here is straight answer from Google developer:
MTP is a big improvement over USB mass storage — for devices with lots of internal memory, a manufacturer no longer needs to come up with some hard partition between the USB mass storage and internal storage. Instead, they are all in one partition, with MTP providing access to the directory of media files that would normally be available through USB mass storage.This means there is no longer a need for apps on SD card for such devices, because what used to be the “internal SD card” is in the same partition as where applications are stored. The storage on your device can be used for either applications or media, depending on what you want to put on it. You aren’t stuck with how much space the manufacturer decided to leave for the two areas.
Oh also this means that the media storage doesn’t need to be unmounted from Android when it is being access through the PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://phandroid.com/2011/02/27/mac-users-require-file-transfer-utility-for-android-3-0/
Finally, true APP2SD You now have 32GB to put all your apps!!!
Sounds like a good thing!
This is a great explanation. Thanks for posting.
There is no doubt that mtp has advantages over mass storage. On the other hand I miss the ability to attach it to any computer and access files. It is not a huge problem but does add a limitation that was not there before.
That saod it is nice being able to access files on my computer without losing access to the partition on the device.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
I only see a problem if you flash different roms and have to do full data wipes.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
jvs60 said:
I only see a problem if you flash different roms and have to do full data wipes.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure future versions of CWM will be set to ignore that one folder.. I hope. Otherwise nandroid backups will take forever.
I'm not sure in terms of security it is a huge improvement; unless there is an option to turn it on/off somewhere.
Previously I would have to plug an Android device in to my computer, turn the device on, enter my unlock code, and then specifically allow the computer access via the USB. This morning I just plugged my xoom in and, poof, access to all my stuff.
At least before someone had to take my sdcard out at put it in their computer manually
Does MTP have anything to do with file size limit? I've seen posted on this forum that you can't load video files larger than 4gb onto the Xoom because of FAT32, is that still the case?
This MTP also seems to hide a lot of file from being seen by a pc. I open folders with File manager on the Xoom and see more folders namely the android folder which has game save data and other odd ball files. When hooked to a pc its blank. With MTP it seems all your allowed to do is transfer music, video and pics.
Malcus1 said:
Does MTP have anything to do with file size limit? I've seen posted on this forum that you can't load video files larger than 4gb onto the Xoom because of FAT32, is that still the case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still haven't got around to testing (so many things to try out!), but in some of the video threads, I've been told XOOM uses EXT4 format not FAT32, and thus, should not have that 4GB limit. I've been re-encoding video files to meet XOOM's current playback limitations, and have been reducing them to sub 4GB anyway, so I haven't tested that for myself.
Hi,
I've done a search and haven't been able to find anything solid on this so I apologize if it's been covered. I've been using the Atrix for a few days now and I noticed that when I view click on the "Files" app (the default file viewer that comes with the Atrix) it comes up with a list of the following options:
Internal phone storage
SD card
Shared folders
Protected Content
This is different than previous Android phones I've used in that I get a file structure instead of options of where to look. That's fine; I can just click on one of those options to view the contents. However, I use a application at work to use my phone as a glorified picture frame. It's called Slideshow Bob and it does not recognize the external SD Card. This hasn't been an issue with prior Android devices, but from little I can glean from doing an online search, this does seem to be a limitation with some Motorola models. Again, I have had no problem accessing my pictures in Slideshow Bob from any of the Samsung Android devices I own and this is my first Motorola phone with this OS so I'm wondering if this is a bug that will be remedied or if they've basically limited file access from apps on this phone. I'm sure that's not the case with every app, but it certainly is for some. Anyone else have any issues or workarounds they'd like to share?
iirc, none of the currently released Samsung Android devices have built-in storage plus an expansion slot, which is why you've likely never seen the issue.
Basically, Android was never designed to have more than one expansion slot, so that ends up being mounted in /mnt/sdcard (or /sdcard, with one symlinked to the other). Since there's no standard on where additional storage ends up being (and most programs assume there's no additional storage anyways), programs usually don't know where to look.
There is probably an option is Slideshow Bob of where to get the pictures, try /mnt/sdcard-ext/[folder name], where [folder name] is the name of the folder on the external sd card where the pictures are.
Sogarth said:
iirc, none of the currently released Samsung Android devices have built-in storage plus an expansion slot, which is why you've likely never seen the issue.
Basically, Android was never designed to have more than one expansion slot, so that ends up being mounted in /mnt/sdcard (or /sdcard, with one symlinked to the other). Since there's no standard on where additional storage ends up being (and most programs assume there's no additional storage anyways), programs usually don't know where to look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
My Samsung Captivate had 16GB of built-in memory and an SD expansion card slot which I filled with an additional 16GB card. In the android file manager I could access the expansion card by going into the ext_sd (or something like that) under the main sdcard directory. I could also see this folder in Slideshow Bob.
harolds said:
There is probably an option is Slideshow Bob of where to get the pictures, try /mnt/sdcard-ext/[folder name], where [folder name] is the name of the folder on the external sd card where the pictures are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
There is no such option. There is an option for the default folder, but it's a text field you have to type in, not a directory structure. I tried typing in the path to the external sd card, /sdcard-ext/MEDIA, directly (which ASTRO file manager shows exists), but the app says the directory does not exist. I really think Motorola is doing something to limit what apps can and cannot access for whatever reason. This has never been an issue with my Samsung Captivate or Galaxy Tab.
I think this actually has to do with the external sd card being mounted separate from the internal. In my previous devices the external card was seen as a directory on the internal sd card. With the Atrix it is an entirely separate item and some apps may not be able to access it as a result of having that different mounting. I don't have any other apps with which I need to navigate to a directory (other than various file managers) so I can't test how endemic this is. I imagine it might be an issue for apps that rely on a folder structure for data access such as music apps that are folder based instead of reading from what's in the media library.
I just tried another slideshow app. It is a problem, I think, with Slideshow Bob. It can't see any folders not on the internal sd card. In my Samsung devices the external card was viewed as a folder on the internal card and was, therefore, not a problem.
Apps having directory navigation problems on the Motorola Atrix
Kenny, I have the same problem with the PowerAmp app. My phone is also rooted and I have root explorer which shows me the music files exist. I can even play one file at a time with the power amp from explorer. But I get the same issue when I try to navigate to the music using poweramp. One more possibility is that the Atrix is running Android 2.2.1. Perhaps there is an issue with the upgrade. (I thing this "upgrade" is a disappointment compared to 2.2. I'd rather try Gingerbread.) AT&T has a 30 buyers remorse period and I've only had the Atrix for a week. I love the phone and I would hate to take it back but wtf? I'm just like the rest of you, I just want the damn thing to work!
p.s. My wife's Samsung Captivate never had this issue either.
Update: I found this issue in the Poweramp forum and I also spoke to an at&t support specialist and they verified what was said earlier about the problem is in the difference between the Atrix file system versus the Captivate. The Captivate mounts the external sd card as a folder inside the internal sd card while the Atrix has it mounted separately. The Poweramp administrators promise a fix in a week so I'm glad they are aware of the problem. This seems like an easy bug to fix. I will snoop around the market to see if an app can "trick" the Atrix file system to put the external sd in an internal sd folder. If anyone is aware of such an app, let us know.
The Atrix is promised the Gingerbread upgrade later this year. It has a new file system (ext4) which promises to be faster for phones like our Atrix or the Nexus. As I said, it seem an easy problem to fix, I'm sure this problem will be a thing of the past by then, I'm going to keep my Atrix and wait.
Kenny, you might want to check your app's web site to see if they have a fix in the making.
The Atrix being my first android phone im still learning things every day and I have had similar issues with the sd card and storage partitions. while checking out different files and what not I stumbled upon this default.prop file which contains the following..
#
# ADDITIONAL_DEFAULT_PROPERTIES
#
ro.secure=1
ro.allow.mock.location=0
ro.debuggable=0
persist.service.adb.enable=0
EXTERNAL_STORAGE_MOUNT=/mnt/sdcard
I was wondering if any one with more android experience is familiar with creating and editing prop files for certain activities could confirm if we switch the last line to sdcard-ext if this would now read or set our external sd card to be the sd card that the system and most apps read and write to. I haven't tested it myself but being familiar with different registry edits in winmo and windows im thinking this will work.. anyone agree or have some information they can share?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
hi, i've just got my iconia and I am also new on the Android world. A couple of things I've noticed about the external SD card that maybe somebody could help me to understand.
1.- when I hook my tablet to my windows 7 laptop, I get to see the internal memory on the win explorer but not the external card, so is this normal or do I have to look for more updated drivers on my PC?
2.- with the external SD card on I get to see my files on an android file manager and I get to open any file individually by getting the "select app for opening this file", but this is time consuming so I am wondering if my stock lumiread, gallery, multimedia player have the current limitation of only reading the content from the internal memory. If so, what free alternatives do I have to replace stock apps?
A couple of answers
First, if you install File Manager HD, you won't need to tether your Iconia to your laptop any more. In the app, open the 'menu' and touch 'LAN Connections'. Your Windows PC will show up as an IP address. Make sure to change the IP Address to a computer name (long press, rename) so that next time File Manager won't have to search for it every time. You will be able to transfer anything on the tab to the 'Public' folder on the PC, and vice versa. Depending on what folders are shared on the PC, you will be able to access more on the PC.
I keep my music on my external SD card in a folder named 'My Music'. The stock music/multimedia players found them with no problem.
I haven't tried moving any books for Lumiread to the external SD card, so all I can suggest is to look at the file structure and duplicate it on the ext SD card, copy a book into it (a new one, or move an existing one) and see if it finds it. I don't see anything within the app to set search/storage directories, but maybe it will scan everything like the music apps do.
Have fun with you new Tab. The more you play with it the more you will understand Honeycomb and it won't seem so foreign to you. It does pretty much everything every other OS does, just a little different way.
Kp
Thanks Ken, I downloaded FMHD and will try it soon. I also though about reproducing the lumiread folder on the ext sd card but no luck, so probably a future update on the app will fix that. I tried this as well copying the pictures folder (and also renaming it as 'My Pictures') but the stock gallery just won't see the image files, is there any chance you could see if you get the same results? I have not tried yet on the music stock app. Again, thanks for your help, it is great to find nice people on the web with similar tech passions as I do
Hello Ken, like that app. Wondering if it would be an easy way to tether to my HTC Evo? Thanks in advance for you thoughts.
Bob
Get Quickpic
sensei22 said:
Thanks Ken, I downloaded FMHD and will try it soon. I also though about reproducing the lumiread folder on the ext sd card but no luck, so probably a future update on the app will fix that. I tried this as well copying the pictures folder (and also renaming it as 'My Pictures') but the stock gallery just won't see the image files, is there any chance you could see if you get the same results? I have not tried yet on the music stock app. Again, thanks for your help, it is great to find nice people on the web with similar tech passions as I do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Quickpic from the Market (free) since it lets you choose which drives/directories to scan.
Here is what you do.
1. Create the My Pics directory on the External SD card with File Manager HD, put a few pics in it.
2. After installing Quickpic, start the app. It will display everything it finds on the internal SD Card.
3. Touch the Menu button from the main screen.
4. Choose SETTINGS-INCLUDED FOLDERS-ADD
5. Tap the double dots at the top of the list, it will display all the memory devices attached.
6. Tap EXTERNAL_SD. All directories on the card will be displayed. Press OK.
Now press the 'back' button and you will see your pics that are anywhere on the External SD card.
All I did to get the A500 music player to find the music on the External SD card was run the NemoPlayer app and open the music. Once I did that the regular music app found them, too.
Have fun!
Evo
pov1 said:
Hello Ken, like that app. Wondering if it would be an easy way to tether to my HTC Evo? Thanks in advance for you thoughts.
Bob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't quote me on this, but I don't think so. From what I have seen and heard so far it is only connecting to Windows shares. I don't have an Android phone to test with, so can't swear to it, but I know it doesn't see an iPhone, so likely won't see a Mac either.
Anyone else been able to connect to anything but a Windows share? Let us know if you have, and what app you used please.
I am trying to understand the folder structure on the TF.
I have a 16GB micros SD card and I want all data type files to be saved there e.g. photos, downloads, music etc.
There is a folder at the top level called /SDCARD and I had assumed that this was the MicroSD card and all this sort of data is being stored in sub folder from there.
I have now realised that the MicroSD card is actually accessed from /Removable/MicroSD and that the TF has not stored anything on it. I have just moved my music and video to there.
Can I move all the other SDCARD subfolders to /Removable/MicroSD and then delete the SDCARD folder?
I can't see the point of having a folder called SDCARD it is very misleading.
Thanks for any help.
This is your internal storage. I'm not sure why it is displayed this way, maybe that will become standard in Gingerbread?
You cannot 'delete' the SDCARD folder. It is a mount point for the remainder of your internal storage (16GB or 32GB)
As bizarre as it seems when compared to a phone, this actually makes more sense. My Droid X has 6.5GB of the 8GB internal memory put aside for the /data partition. Despite having the phone for a full year and having a ton of apps installed, /data still has 5GB free. That's 5GB of storage I do not have access to, so it's effectively wasted.
On the ASUS (and others HC tabs?) that space exists as a virtual device /dev/fuse and is mounted as /mnt/sdcard. A symbolic link exists /sdcard which points to the mount point. The net result is, you have the majority of free space on the internal memory available to you. If you didn't, there'd be no incentive to buy the 32GB version over the 16GB version.
It is called /sdcard to maintain the illusion within the OS. This space, like it or not, is your primary storage. It makes your actual sdcard more of a transient storage location, great for just music, movies, etc., that you do not necessarily want to keep on the device long term. This is a great advantage as you can keep multiple sdcards with different content and not worry about messing up the core OS storage needs.
Be aware that the OS and apps expect to find certain data in /sdcard and moving the folders to your 'external' card will only force these apps and processes to recreate the folders in /sdcard. Also some apps will have lost some of their data and may not operate as expected or will act as when they were first installed (games will redownload supporting data, for example)
Sent from my rooted ASUS Transformer running PRIME 1.4
jhanford said:
You cannot 'delete' the SDCARD folder. It is a mount point for the remainder of your internal storage (16GB or 32GB)
As bizarre as it seems when compared to a phone, this actually makes more sense. My Droid X has 6.5GB of the 8GB internal memory put aside for the /data partition. Despite having the phone for a full year and having a ton of apps installed, /data still has 5GB free. That's 5GB of storage I do not have access to, so it's effectively wasted.
On the ASUS (and others HC tabs?) that space exists as a virtual device /dev/fuse and is mounted as /mnt/sdcard. A symbolic link exists /sdcard which points to the mount point. The net result is, you have the majority of free space on the internal memory available to you. If you didn't, there'd be no incentive to buy the 32GB version over the 16GB version.
It is called /sdcard to maintain the illusion within the OS. This space, like it or not, is your primary storage. It makes your actual sdcard more of a transient storage location, great for just music, movies, etc., that you do not necessarily want to keep on the device long term. This is a great advantage as you can keep multiple sdcards with different content and not worry about messing up the core OS storage needs.
Be aware that the OS and apps expect to find certain data in /sdcard and moving the folders to your 'external' card will only force these apps and processes to recreate the folders in /sdcard. Also some apps will have lost some of their data and may not operate as expected or will act as when they were first installed (games will redownload supporting data, for example)
Sent from my rooted ASUS Transformer running PRIME 1.4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After reading your explanation, it makes better sense to me. I was a bit annoyed, but I see how this could work to my favor. Using just the actual SD cards for movies, music, ect.
Moving data - Video
Sorry, I find what is said here a little disconcerting.
Why have SD cards and USB devices attached (eg. USB Flash drives, hard drives) when the data flow only goes one way, "in", and not out.
If I want to edit a video, the files are too large to email.
I can't find a way to move the video to an external device.
All one can do, as far as I can tell, is to upload the unedited video to YouTube.
Once there initially one get an error message saying that the file type is not recognized. It is...eventually, but only after it's fully processed. This is really confusing to the user. You'd think Google would give Android users a processing message rather than something that makes you think there is no way to view and share your video other than your tablet.
I couldn't find a way to tag a video either.
The default seemed to be "entertainment."
The options for sharing video are much to limited.
The only site you can upload a video to is YouTube.
I'd love to be able to put it on another site (e.g. a personal/corporate website).
I sure wish there were a way of off-loading and storing a folder generated from the Tablet to an external device, especially one with external ports like the Transformer.
If anyone knows of an app to do two way data flows, I'd sure like to know about it because my SHDC card and USB Flash drives look so lonely with nothing to do.
[email protected] said:
Sorry, I find what is said here a little disconcerting.
Why have SD cards and USB devices attached (eg. USB Flash drives, hard drives) when the data flow only goes one way, "in", and not out.
If I want to edit a video, the files are too large to email.
I can't find a way to move the video to an external device.
All one can do, as far as I can tell, is to upload the unedited video to YouTube.
Once there initially one get an error message saying that the file type is not recognized. It is...eventually, but only after it's fully processed. This is really confusing to the user. You'd think Google would give Android users a processing message rather than something that makes you think there is no way to view and share your video other than your tablet.
I couldn't find a way to tag a video either.
The default seemed to be "entertainment."
The options for sharing video are much to limited.
The only site you can upload a video to is YouTube.
I'd love to be able to put it on another site (e.g. a personal/corporate website).
I sure wish there were a way of off-loading and storing a folder generated from the Tablet to an external device, especially one with external ports like the Transformer.
If anyone knows of an app to do two way data flows, I'd sure like to know about it because my SHDC card and USB Flash drives look so lonely with nothing to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is nothing stopping you from copy files from the internal storage to an external sdcard. From the built-in file manager you can select a folder using the check boxes to the left of it, and then click the Copy or Cut button at the top of the screen, then navigate up until you see "Removable". Tap that and then "MicroSD" and then you can tap "Paste" at the top of the screen to copy or move to the new location.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App
Drive letters or some kind of unique ID from the root would be favorable. I know it's meant to adapt to Android, but last time I checked, Honeycomb was a separat version of the OS. It's unfortunate that it has to fool both the user and itself to be effective.
moo99 said:
Drive letters or some kind of unique ID from the root would be favorable. I know it's meant to adapt to Android, but last time I checked, Honeycomb was a separat version of the OS. It's unfortunate that it has to fool both the user and itself to be effective.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It still maintains the overall Adroid/Linux filesystem structure, there are no lettered drives in *NIX.
I know that, bru. Calling it , I dont know, "Internal" instead of "SD Card" would make a little sense considering there are two separate ports for SD Cards on there. Writing an alias isnt that complicated
Hi everyone,
I got the latest Moto X as soon as it went public because I loved the idea of Vanilla Android with SD support. I got the 16 GB version and a 64 GB SD. Ever since I got it, the phone has been bugging me about the storage and today I finally gave in. Until today I kept my photos, music and podcasts on my SD card but the internal memory was constantly full and I couldn't install new apps. So I thought formatting the SD card under Android 6 would make it one with the internal storage. It didn't. It made it worse. I can move apps to the SD card but I can't force photos and other media to be saved there. I was hoping for internal-SD continuity and I got a total lack of control. So now I can't receive SMS and I keep having "storage is running out" notification while I still have 60 GB free on my SD card.
What's your take on this? Thanks!
Since this is about SD cards, I'm having another problem to state if OP doesn't mind. On my Moto X, when using exploring (using file explorer) the original sd card I've used for years, many folders do not show up. The same happens to a video player (RockPlayer), where it doesn't show many folders I have on my card (it did when used on my previous Atrix 2). However, when I go to "Storage & USB" and select the card, everything is normal. That means, only when viewing the sd card via "Storage & USB", all folders appear.
However, applications and games (besides gallery) will assume the first situation, where those folders remain invisible. Does anyone know what the problem actually is?
Edit: After checking, it seems that my /sdcard folder is the same as /storage/emulated/0.
Thank you.
MoCML said:
Since this is about SD cards, I'm having another problem to state if OP doesn't mind. On my Moto X, when using exploring (using file explorer) the original sd card I've used for years, many folders do not show up. The same happens to a video player (RockPlayer), where it doesn't show many folders I have on my card (it did when used on my previous Atrix 2). However, when I go to "Storage & USB" and select the card, everything is normal. That means, only when viewing the sd card via "Storage & USB", all folders appear.
However, applications and games (besides gallery) will assume the first situation, where those folders remain invisible. Does anyone know what the problem actually is?
Edit: After checking, it seems that my /sdcard folder is the same as /storage/emulated/0.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like my sdcard folder is now C601-8353 under Storage folder, along with Emulated and Self folders.
domi_niku said:
Hi everyone,
I got the latest Moto X as soon as it went public because I loved the idea of Vanilla Android with SD support. I got the 16 GB version and a 64 GB SD. Ever since I got it, the phone has been bugging me about the storage and today I finally gave in. Until today I kept my photos, music and podcasts on my SD card but the internal memory was constantly full and I couldn't install new apps. So I thought formatting the SD card under Android 6 would make it one with the internal storage. It didn't. It made it worse. I can move apps to the SD card but I can't force photos and other media to be saved there. I was hoping for internal-SD continuity and I got a total lack of control. So now I can't receive SMS and I keep having "storage is running out" notification while I still have 60 GB free on my SD card.
What's your take on this? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried using OpenCamera instead? It's free, open source, AND lets you choose where to store the pics. IMHO the picture quality is better too.
You could also move the pics to the card manually after you take them...
TXJim said:
Have you tried using OpenCamera instead? It's free, open source, AND lets you choose where to store the pics. IMHO the picture quality is better too.
You could also move the pics to the card manually after you take them...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great call, thanks for the tip.
I haven't had any problems saving photos or other media to my SD card with adoptable storage. This is something you should be able to specify in preferences whether you are using adoptable storage or not. If this doesn't work with some apps just use a file manager to move the files to the SD card.
Sometimes when I move apps to my SD Card, I would get similar messages about being out of space, even though this wasn't the case. Deleting the cache on SD card seemed to fix the problem. There can also be a problem if your SD card is too slow. However, you would probably get an alert if that was the case.
My advise erase it all internal and sd card start from a blank state the phone should give you the option to mount the sd as internal I don't like how it is implemented so I chose not to use it.
For some strange reason my phone will not read my SD card I have it formatted to internal stage and now it says searching for SD card. I'm so mad I've searched all over with no solution, I'm about to get a new phone and scrap this one, sorry I'm just very upset and I had to vent, of anyone knows of this type of issue please share.
Sent from my SM-G935T using XDA-Developers mobile app