Kit Kat 4.4 and external SD cards - Galaxy Note 10.1 General

I have read and I like the new restrictions on "external SD card" use. It will prevent a lot of apps from leaving crapola all over your device.
It does not restrict your use of data etc. It just keeps you organized. If you want to uninstall an app and still keep its data, you can simply move the data to a new folder.

mangurian said:
I have read and I like the new restrictions on "external SD card" use. It will prevent a lot of apps from leaving crapola all over your device.
It does not restrict your use of data etc. It just keeps you organized. If you want to uninstall an app and still keep its data, you can simply move the data to a new folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must be stock and unrooted....Kit Kat is a major pain in the rear to root users..

jauger said:
You must be stock and unrooted....Kit Kat is a major pain in the rear to root users..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True - I only root my devices when they are out-dated.
I don't think the 8013 has reached that point yet.
I am still happy with its performance.

But what I am understanding is apps are corralled to their own folders. This implies to me that some I rely on will cease to work. Example:
I use folder sync to keep lecture notes synced between my 10.1 and S4. By my read of KitKat, folder sync will be prohibited from writing to the lecture notes folder.
What about photos? Different apps to adjust photos depending on what I want to do.
And what about ES File Explorer. Won't it become useless?
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk

jauger said:
You must be stock and unrooted....Kit Kat is a major pain in the rear to root users..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry if I may be asking the obvious, but in what way is KitKat a pain for root users?

starbuckk said:
But what I am understanding is apps are corralled to their own folders. This implies to me that some I rely on will cease to work. Example:
I use folder sync to keep lecture notes synced between my 10.1 and S4. By my read of KitKat, folder sync will be prohibited from writing to the lecture notes folder.
What about photos? Different apps to adjust photos depending on what I want to do.
And what about ES File Explorer. Won't it become useless?
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We don't have all the answers, but I'd bet dollars to donuts there will, at least, be work-arounds" for any on these problems.

mangurian said:
We don't have all the answers, but I'd bet dollars to donuts there will, at least, be work-arounds" for any on these problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There aren't. I've had KitKat since weeks after release (S4 GPe). I've been in touch with many developers and made them aware of the issue before it went mainstream. Bottom line, here's the limitation in the simplest of terms.
-An app can read any file on the MicroSD Card.
-An app can only modify contents within a self contained subfolder
So, file managers won't work if stock and unrooted (read only, no writing). FolderSync doesn't work. ES doesn't work (it will tell you that it created/deleted/modified the folder, but then when you refresh, the change never happened).
A good example of how this works would be with a bare bones gallery application. If you store your photos in a random folder within the SD card, the Gallery app can view them. However, if you try to delete a picture, it will only remove from the gallery and remain on the SD card. After a device reboot, it will reappear in the gallery (this also happens with Google Photos and the stock Gallery app).
Another way to do this would be for the gallery app to copy all photos to the gallery subfolder and ignore photos outside of this folder. And if you remove the app? Photos are gone (except what was at the original location). But, this just causes duplication issues.
Lastly, applications can be given permission to read/write to VERY specific ContentProviders and folders. So eventually, you'll have a shared folder called "Pictures" that any gallery application can modify as needed. However, this function is, again, for very specific usage and still prevents file managing apps from doing what they're intended to do.

jaykresge said:
There aren't. I've had KitKat since weeks after release (S4 GPe). I've been in touch with many developers and made them aware of the issue before it went mainstream. Bottom line, here's the limitation in the simplest of terms.
-An app can read any file on the MicroSD Card.
-An app can only modify contents within a self contained subfolder
So, file managers won't work if stock and unrooted (read only, no writing). FolderSync doesn't work. ES doesn't work (it will tell you that it created/deleted/modified the folder, but then when you refresh, the change never happened).
A good example of how this works would be with a bare bones gallery application. If you store your photos in a random folder within the SD card, the Gallery app can view them. However, if you try to delete a picture, it will only remove from the gallery and remain on the SD card. After a device reboot, it will reappear in the gallery (this also happens with Google Photos and the stock Gallery app).
Another way to do this would be for the gallery app to copy all photos to the gallery subfolder and ignore photos outside of this folder. And if you remove the app? Photos are gone (except what was at the original location). But, this just causes duplication issues.
Lastly, applications can be given permission to read/write to VERY specific ContentProviders and folders. So eventually, you'll have a shared folder called "Pictures" that any gallery application can modify as needed. However, this function is, again, for very specific usage and still prevents file managing apps from doing what they're intended to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like the android team need to add some sort of "firewall" implementation, for apps users WANT their old ability back and still provide their users with this security for the majority of their other apps, it doesnt have to be all or nothing, .......make the most secured option as default, for basic users, while giving the power users the option to "fine tune" it, i.e. the "firewall" analogy

jaykresge said:
There aren't. I've had KitKat since weeks after release (S4 GPe). I've been in touch with many developers and made them aware of the issue before it went mainstream. Bottom line, here's the limitation in the simplest of terms.
-An app can read any file on the MicroSD Card.
-An app can only modify contents within a self contained subfolder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to be clear, if I write an app and want to write (not modify) to an external SD card I must write to the self contained folder.
Is that correct?

mangurian said:
I have read and I like the new restrictions on "external SD card" use. It will prevent a lot of apps from leaving crapola all over your device.
It does not restrict your use of data etc. It just keeps you organized. If you want to uninstall an app and still keep its data, you can simply move the data to a new folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see how you think it doesn't restrict a user's data but keeps the card organised, when I have all my data (a LOT of work PDFs and docs, plus some photos), all nicely filed away and synchronised with my NAS, and other tablets; and now I cannot do this. I cannot organise my content at all (actually I am struggling even to put it on the SD card, except by taking it out out plugging it into a USB adapter into my PC). Until now, I have never had any apps leave crapola on my SD card. I used to be able to save lecture recordings direct to a nice "recordings" file on the SD card. Now it has to put it somewhere obscure (android/data/.somthingrandomthatisapaintofind).

It seems this works on some apps and not on others. For example foldersync doesn't seem to be able to write to the external sd card anymore, nor does X-plore, however, Es file Explorer seems to be fine about it, and happily writes files to the sdcard?! So if ES can do it, why can't the others?

jenacadabra said:
I don't see how you think it doesn't restrict a user's data but keeps the card organised, when I have all my data (a LOT of work PDFs and docs, plus some photos), all nicely filed away and synchronised with my NAS, and other tablets; and now I cannot do this. I cannot organise my content at all (actually I am struggling even to put it on the SD card, except by taking it out out plugging it into a USB adapter into my PC). Until now, I have never had any apps leave crapola on my SD card. I used to be able to save lecture recordings direct to a nice "recordings" file on the SD card. Now it has to put it somewhere obscure (android/data/.somthingrandomthatisapaintofind).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on kitkat for over month now and I don't know what is big buzz about. I did not notice any different behavior from my external card. I can read and write whatever I want using pc explorer. Es works fine. Stock my files is fine too. So can somebody explain problem litte more please?
Type from KitKat bar.

norbarb said:
I'm on kitkat for over month now and I don't know what is big buzz about. I did not notice any different behavior from my external card. I can read and write whatever I want using pc explorer. Es works fine. Stock my files is fine too. So can somebody explain problem litte more please?
Type from KitKat bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see - you are just using the USB cable I assume. The functionality I have lost is to:
a) wirelessly synchronise multiple pdf/document files in multiple folders and multiple subfolders, whether edited on the Note or on PC (or both).
b) Used a file management app to organise files & folders on my home network between my PC and external SD card. It was even able to wirelessly copy my work direct from the NAS.
None of the apps I used stored any files on my SD card and because they have taken away my access to my SD card I cannot sync my files properly. I realise I could just plug the cable in, but that is not practicable when I am editing 100s of documents in 100s of different subfolders a day - an automatic sync is fantastic. Android is strongly geared towards the "leisure" side of the market and I am going to have to take another look at Windows tablets if they don't fix this (except I would miss the S Pen!)

The_mitch said:
It seems this works on some apps and not on others. For example foldersync doesn't seem to be able to write to the external sd card anymore, nor does X-plore, however, Es file Explorer seems to be fine about it, and happily writes files to the sdcard?! So if ES can do it, why can't the others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What device are you using that can write to SD using ES? I have the Galaxy S4 GPe (i9505G) and ES cannot do anything with the SD Card.

Have you updated ES? I heard they upated to fix it.
As I understand there is something called storage access framework that is supposed to be the replacement for direct file access.
I haven't seen kitkat. FolderSync is my biggest concern.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk

jaykresge said:
What device are you using that can write to SD using ES? I have the Galaxy S4 GPe (i9505G) and ES cannot do anything with the SD Card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on a Samsung galaxy note 3, with kitkat 4.4.2 and ES file Explorer 3.1.1

Yes, thanks to a post somewhere on XDA I am now using ES file manager, which as you say, will work with the ExtSD on Kitkat (though I still prefer Astro myself).
I still can't sync my content though which is the bigger problem. I used to use SyncMe. A fantastically easy to set up App that would seamlessly sync content across multiple devices (still works fine on my Note 8). I can't find anything to replace this at present.
Sent from my GT-N5100 using xda app-developers app

The_mitch said:
I'm on a Samsung galaxy note 3, with kitkat 4.4.2 and ES file Explorer 3.1.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What ROM are you using? Are you on stock 4.4.2 OTA without root?

jaykresge said:
What ROM are you using? Are you on stock 4.4.2 OTA without root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, stock unrooted Samsung kitkat 4.2.2

The_mitch said:
Yes, stock unrooted Samsung kitkat 4.2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my device, ES 3.1.1 allows me to create a folder but I cannot edit or delete the folder. I cannot create, edit, or delete files. If I delete folders, they will initially disappear, but will not actually delete. They reappear upon a refresh.

Related

[Q] Limited access to external SD Card by some apps

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

[Q] external sd card general questions

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.

"IndexService" issue solved..(Quick battery drain & endless or error index process)

"IndexService" issue solved..(Quick battery drain & endless or error index process)
"IndexService" issue cause drain your battery very very quickly... Especially, if your sd card loaded with a lot of big pdf files...
If you dont want to index your "files" go to "s search" settings through menu softkey (long press for open s search then enter menu) and uncheck files... and voila.. your pdf's and another user files not index anymore..
Actually, i really want all of my files content index by note3.. This is very very useful for my pdf library.. But for my situation; several pdf's (some of them are big textbook's, thousands of page) cause never ending indexing process and it's ruin battery life terribly..
If someone find a REAL solution beside of mine, please tell us...
Reason4444 said:
"IndexService" issue cause drain your battery very very quickly... Especially, if your sd card loaded with a lot of big pdf files...
If you dont want to index your "files" go to "s search" settings through menu softkey (long press for open s search then enter menu) and uncheck files... and voila.. your pdf's and another user files not index anymore..
Actually, i really want all of my files content index by note3.. This is very very useful for my pdf library.. But for my situation; several pdf's (some of them are big textbook's, thousands of page) cause never ending indexing process and it's ruin battery life terribly..
If someone find a REAL solution beside of mine, please tell us...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an easy solution. Create a folder for your pdfs, drop a .nomedia file in the root of that folder, and put all of your pdfs you dont want indexed in there.
I found that the indexservice process is taking more cpu and time when I have more number of pdf files i my memory card.
So, right now either you can put less number of pdf files on your device to avoid the lag or just wait till the indexing completes.
After the indexing completes, the device works as wonderfully as it was working before inserting my memory card.
Hope I helped...Cheer!!!
Or you can just kill it in settings/apps/active...
It shuts up untill you reboot.
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
I really hope samsung pushes out an update about it. Even after indexing is done whenever I try to do something quickly it seems it will FC because of the indexer. can't really play any games on it as well because of it.
ShadowLea said:
Or you can just kill it in settings/apps/active...
It shuts up untill you reboot.
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wat you mean, i don't have root, wat i need to kill ?
WandersonGD said:
Wat you mean, i don't have root, wat i need to kill ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have root either. Just go to settings > general > application manager > running, tap .com.samsung.android.strokesearch:service. (down near the bottom) Hit 'Stop' and then 'yes'.
Now it stays away until you reboot, at which point you need to do this again. Bit tedious, but it's quicker than rooting.
Screenshot attached.
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
Easy way to root ant fix this issue
You can fix this issue very easily.
1. Root your phone in under 1 minute at towelroot.com
2. download a freezing app (I paid for a really good one, $6 for titanium backup pro)
3. freeze the offending service.
I didn't know how to do any of these things an hour ago. A quick google question for any you need to learn will give you easy answers.
towelroot is insanely easy. be sure your settings allow non play store apps to be installed; go to towelroot.com; click on the red symbol thing to download the apk; run the apk and you are rooted. done.
I have most recent OS and updates as of the date of this post, sprint Note 3 with 4.4.2 and cnc5 baseband/build number
NOT SOLVEDSamsung Galaxy Tab Pro battery still drains with yesterday's KK update
Reason4444 said:
"IndexService" issue cause drain your battery very very quickly... Especially, if your sd card loaded with a lot of big pdf files...
If you dont want to index your "files" go to "s search" settings through menu softkey (long press for open s search then enter menu) and uncheck files... and voila.. your pdf's and another user files not index anymore..
Actually, i really want all of my files content index by note3.. This is very very useful for my pdf library.. But for my situation; several pdf's (some of them are big textbook's, thousands of page) cause never ending indexing process and it's ruin battery life terribly..
If someone find a REAL solution beside of mine, please tell us...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean by 'files' and 's search'. Do you mean that you have to uncheck each .pdf file in some way? What if we have thousands of them?
Or do you mean something else?
Someone else suggested putting all the .pdf files in a separate subdirectory and adding a .nomedia file. This hides ALL the .pdf files from every app that might search for them including the ones you use to read .pdf files.
We called Samsung this morning. Three levels, no help. They did NOT even understand the problem. "Do a factory reset." Did that, major nuisance, especially losing all the bookmarks in the .pdf files. No solution, it just started indexing again. It says it will take 5 hours to index and there are only 4 hours of battery left. If you plug it into the charger the Galaxy Tab shuts down after half an hour.
I was thinking of replacing my BLU phone (which has serious Play Store/storage problems) with a Samsung, but now I'm not so sure.
Bev999 said:
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean by 'files' and 's search'. Do you mean that you have to uncheck each .pdf file in some way? What if we have thousands of them?
Or do you mean something else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lomg press the menu softkey to bring up S Finder. Hit the menu softkey again, go to settings > Select Search Category. Uncheck everything. That's it.
Someone else suggested putting all the .pdf files in a separate subdirectory and adding a .nomedia file. This hides ALL the .pdf files from every app that might search for them including the ones you use to read .pdf files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've suggested that in several boards. It's what works for me. Frankly it's best to put one in every directory that you don't actively require the mediafiles from. (actively being ringtones and music.)
So any folder with documents, books, comics, navigation maps, magazines, films... You can launch all from the file explorers. (the maps don't need to be seen at all by mediascanners.) nomedia files apply to subdirectories as well, so one in each directory will suffice. You can copy one from the Android folder.
I've got one folder with 30GB worth of PDF files.
I do occasionally get an indexservice wakelock, but that's always because it hangs on a corrupt file, not the pdfs.
We called Samsung this morning. Three levels, no help. They did NOT even understand the problem. "Do a factory reset." Did that, major nuisance, especially losing all the bookmarks in the .pdf files. No solution, it just started indexing again. It says it will take 5 hours to index and there are only 4 hours of battery left. If you plug it into the charger the Galaxy Tab shuts down after half an hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory resets don't solve these things. Customer support employees are hired for their affinity with service, not their technical and product knowledge. They usually don't know much at all.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2
ShadowLea said:
Lomg press the menu softkey to bring up S Finder. Hit the menu softkey again, go to settings > Select Search Category. Uncheck everything. That's it.
I've suggested that in several boards. It's what works for me. Frankly it's best to put one in every directory that you don't actively require the mediafiles from. (actively being ringtones and music.)
So any folder with documents, books, comics, navigation maps, magazines, films... You can launch all from the file explorers. (the maps don't need to be seen at all by mediascanners.) nomedia files apply to subdirectories as well, so one in each directory will suffice. You can copy one from the Android folder.
I've got one folder with 30GB worth of PDF files.
I do occasionally get an indexservice wakelock, but that's always because it hangs on a corrupt file, not the pdfs.
Factory resets don't solve these things. Customer support employees are hired for their affinity with service, not their technical and product knowledge. They usually don't know much at all.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro SM-T520 running android 4.4.2 just updated today. We also have a 12.2 Note, and I assumed things were similar. Maybe not. He just followed your instructions. Indexing is still running in the background. It won't stop. I'm reluctant to reboot, but will if it's necessary. Is it?
I don't understand how the .nomedia thing works for you and not for us. He uses ES File Explorer and EBookDroid and neither could see the files in the subdirectory containing the .nomedia file.
I would have assumed that if you persist you can find someone in the 'help' department who at least understands the problem. Apparently not.
This is extremely discouraging
Bev999 said:
We have a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro SM-T520 running android 4.4.2 just updated today. We also have a 12.2 Note, and I assumed things were similar. Maybe not. He just followed your instructions. Indexing is still running in the background. It won't stop. I'm reluctant to reboot, but will if it's necessary. Is it?
I don't understand how the .nomedia thing works for you and not for us. He uses ES File Explorer and EBookDroid and neither could see the files in the subdirectory containing the .nomedia file.
I would have assumed that if you persist you can find someone in the 'help' department who at least understands the problem. Apparently not.
This is extremely discouraging
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got a NotePro 12.2 too. Strange how it doesn't work on yours...
Is ES File Explorer not seeing the .nomedia files or is the folder suddenly empty?
Did he reboot after placing the files and changing the settings? Indexingservice will always run for a few minutes after a reboot.
Alright, have him hook the sdcard to a pc (preferably with a cardreader) and let explorer search it for 0kb files. It depends on your system language, in english you can search for 'size:empty'. You can also click the advanced search options and select size.
Any file it finds that isn't a nomedia file or a playlist, delete (or move to the pc.)
Then do the same with the tablet itself. (this will take a while, mtp is agonisingly slow.)
Surely at some point this must begin to make sense.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2
ShadowLea said:
Lomg press the menu softkey to bring up S Finder. Hit the menu softkey again, go to settings > Select Search Category. Uncheck everything. That's it.
I've suggested that in several boards. It's what works for me. Frankly it's best to put one in every directory that you don't actively require the mediafiles from. (actively being ringtones and music.)
So any folder with documents, books, comics, navigation maps, magazines, films... You can launch all from the file explorers. (the maps don't need to be seen at all by mediascanners.) nomedia files apply to subdirectories as well, so one in each directory will suffice. You can copy one from the Android folder.
I've got one folder with 30GB worth of PDF files.
I do occasionally get an indexservice wakelock, but that's always because it hangs on a corrupt file, not the pdfs.
Factory resets don't solve these things. Customer support employees are hired for their affinity with service, not their technical and product knowledge. They usually don't know much at all.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ShadowLea said:
I've got a NotePro 12.2 too. Strange how it doesn't work on yours...
Is ES File Explorer not seeing the .nomedia files or is the folder suddenly empty?
Did he reboot after placing the files and changing the settings? Indexingservice will always run for a few minutes after a reboot.
Alright, have him hook the sdcard to a pc (preferably with a cardreader) and let explorer search it for 0kb files. It depends on your system language, in english you can search for 'size:empty'. You can also click the advanced search options and select size.
Any file it finds that isn't a nomedia file or a playlist, delete (or move to the pc.)
Then do the same with the tablet itself. (this will take a while, mtp is agonisingly slow.)
Surely at some point this must begin to make sense.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 12.2 Note hasn't been updated yet. Has yours? Fear and trepidation...
There were no 0-lenth files when he read the card on the computer. Sizes of the files seemed not-abnormal and he spot checked a few, which were OK. BTW, we're using linux, not windows.
Possible misunderstanding: Previously he created a subdirectory called .nomedia and put all the pdf files in it. The subdirectory itself was invisible to ES file explorer etc.. He's now putting all the pdf and epub files in /sdcard1/pdf and adding a 0-length file called .nomedia to the subdirectory.
The index service is running and the damn thing is warming up. He's plugging it into the charger and going to bed (he keeps odd hours.) More whenever.
Google doesn't seem to be willing to offer much help unless you own a Nexus -- they just tell you to contact your manufacturer. Given that they sell android to the manufacturers, presumably at a profit, this seems at the very least cheesy and certainly not in keeping with the "Do no evil" mantra. How can the manufacturers possibly be expected to cope with the inner workings of how the OS itself operates?
Skynet baby steps...
Bev999 said:
The 12.2 Note hasn't been updated yet. Has yours? Fear and trepidation...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Still on P905XXUANC3/P905XXUANA7/P905DBTANC3. (It's the LTE edition) I don't update a device unless the update improves something.
There were no 0-lenth files when he read the card on the computer. Sizes of the files seemed not-abnormal and he spot checked a few, which were OK. BTW, we're using linux, not windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah. I don't know the search string for Linux, sadly. But if the entire card was free of them, at least that's not the cause. (It usually is).
Possible misunderstanding: Previously he created a subdirectory called .nomedia and put all the pdf files in it. The subdirectory itself was invisible to ES file explorer etc.. He's now putting all the pdf and epub files in /sdcard1/pdf and adding a 0-length file called .nomedia to the subdirectory.
The index service is running and the damn thing is warming up. He's plugging it into the charger and going to bed (he keeps odd hours.) More whenever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah. Folders with a . as the first symbol are hidden folders. They're still scanned by indexingservice, just not shown. (ES has an option in settings > Display to enable them) I usually just copy the .nomedia file from SDcard/Android and past it in the folder where I need it.
Basically it should be Sdcard(or sdcard1)/pdf, with in it the .nomedia file followed by all the pdfs. You can sort the pdf's into folders inside /pdf, because the nomedia file in /pdf excludes the folders in it as well.
Google doesn't seem to be willing to offer much help unless you own a Nexus -- they just tell you to contact your manufacturer. Given that they sell android to the manufacturers, presumably at a profit, this seems at the very least cheesy and certainly not in keeping with the "Do no evil" mantra. How can the manufacturers possibly be expected to cope with the inner workings of how the OS itself operates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue doesn't exist on a Nexus because they don't have MicroSD slots. Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG and the others add the MicroSD slot and support themselves, and thus Google says is it their problem to solve. Makes sense, in a twisted sort of way.
Skynet baby steps...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always thought that was EA Games...
ShadowLea said:
Nope. Still on P905XXUANC3/P905XXUANA7/P905DBTANC3. (It's the LTE edition) I don't update a device unless the update improves something.
Ah. I don't know the search string for Linux, sadly. But if the entire card was free of them, at least that's not the cause. (It usually is).
Ah. Folders with a . as the first symbol are hidden folders. They're still scanned by indexingservice, just not shown. (ES has an option in settings > Display to enable them) I usually just copy the .nomedia file from SDcard/Android and past it in the folder where I need it.
Basically it should be Sdcard(or sdcard1)/pdf, with in it the .nomedia file followed by all the pdfs. You can sort the pdf's into folders inside /pdf, because the nomedia file in /pdf excludes the folders in it as well.
The issue doesn't exist on a Nexus because they don't have MicroSD slots. Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG and the others add the MicroSD slot and support themselves, and thus Google says is it their problem to solve. Makes sense, in a twisted sort of way.
I always thought that was EA Games...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another kernel update -- same one, but from the Samsung guy at Best Buy. The sfind thing is consuming as much battery as the screen. No way to stop it. Samsung apparently doesn't give a ****. Not happy here. One more trip across the street to see if the Samsung guy can locate some internal Samsung person who may be able to help. Yeah, right...
I just cleared cache with help of Titanium backup and problem was solved.
I have to mention I am rooted.
Bev999 said:
Another kernel update -- same one, but from the Samsung guy at Best Buy. The sfind thing is consuming as much battery as the screen. No way to stop it. Samsung apparently doesn't give a ****. Not happy here. One more trip across the street to see if the Samsung guy can locate some internal Samsung person who may be able to help. Yeah, right...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm.. You can try to go to settings > Applications > All > S Finder and force stop, clear data and cache; perhaps that has an effect. Also, delete any search widget.
It's so much not that Samsung doesn't care. It's more that the service employees are all monumental idiots. :silly:
ShadowLea said:
Nope. Still on P905XXUANC3/P905XXUANA7/P905DBTANC3. (It's the LTE edition) I don't update a device unless the update improves something.
Ah. I don't know the search string for Linux, sadly. But if the entire card was free of them, at least that's not the cause. (It usually is).
Ah. Folders with a . as the first symbol are hidden folders. They're still scanned by indexingservice, just not shown. (ES has an option in settings > Display to enable them) I usually just copy the .nomedia file from SDcard/Android and past it in the folder where I need it.
Basically it should be Sdcard(or sdcard1)/pdf, with in it the .nomedia file followed by all the pdfs. You can sort the pdf's into folders inside /pdf, because the nomedia file in /pdf excludes the folders in it as well.
The issue doesn't exist on a Nexus because they don't have MicroSD slots. Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG and the others add the MicroSD slot and support themselves, and thus Google says is it their problem to solve. Makes sense, in a twisted sort of way.
I always thought that was EA Games...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ShadowLea said:
Hm.. You can try to go to settings > Applications > All > S Finder and force stop, clear data and cache; perhaps that has an effect. Also, delete any search widget.
It's so much not that Samsung doesn't care. It's more that the service employees are all monumental idiots. :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BTDT, except he doesn't want to clear data/cache on the off-chance that it will delete his laboriously-recreated bookmarks in the books he's reading. It would be nice if apps would tell you exactly what they're going to delete/clear/empty.
I had a vague hope that the Samsung guy would perhaps know somebody in Samsung engineering, thereby bypassing the useless helpdroids.
http://futuremaza.com/download/91853/microsoft-tech-support-1235
Choose your size. It's a keeper.
Clearing Data/Cache on S Finder affects only the data gathered by S Finder. S Finder is nothing more than a search app. So it only clears the indexed search data.
The bookmarks made in the books he is reading are stored in the data of the reader app he is using or the files themselves. S Finder can't touch those.
I always prefer this one
I have a Note 4 and was having the same issue. The culprit in my case was the SD Card. I first used a Samsung Class 10, 64GB. "Index" was killing my battery. I formatted the card inside the phone, but it was no use. Then I exchanged the card for Sandisk Ultra 64GB, which I believe is in the same Class. Magically, "INedex" issue stopped and then I got very good battery Life! Result is: Samsung Card was not compatible with Samsung phone... Who can understand these things happenning..?!

[Q] KitKat SD card simple questions...

Okay, looking at KitKat for both my Note 10.1 and my Note 2.
I want all the updates and potential performance benefits, the only thing I'm concerned about are the SD card permission changes. I've read through various threads but still can't quite get it settled in my head. I'm not rooted on either and know that is an option but, in the meantime...
I like having my sd cards organised as I want, managed via ES explorer, directories for music, books, videos, documents etc.
I use Moon reader for my books, Poweramp for my music, Beyondpod for my podcasts.
ES file explorer to copy files between card and dropbox etc.
I like to be able to open and edit text documents from a number of apps.
I sometimes copy ebooks from my dropbox to the books folder on either device. Same thing with music and text documents if I want a local copy.
My Note 10.1 is 16GB so I use the move to sd card option for lots of apps.
What am I going to lose...?
Thanks.
If you have Root, install this app and you should be able to write to your SD card
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...utm_source=42matters.com&utm_medium=WidgetWeb
kempas said:
Okay, looking at KitKat for both my Note 10.1 and my Note 2.
I want all the updates and potential performance benefits, the only thing I'm concerned about are the SD card permission changes. I've read through various threads but still can't quite get it settled in my head. I'm not rooted on either and know that is an option but, in the meantime...
I like having my sd cards organised as I want, managed via ES explorer, directories for music, books, videos, documents etc.
I use Moon reader for my books, Poweramp for my music, Beyondpod for my podcasts.
ES file explorer to copy files between card and dropbox etc.
I like to be able to open and edit text documents from a number of apps.
I sometimes copy ebooks from my dropbox to the books folder on either device. Same thing with music and text documents if I want a local copy.
My Note 10.1 is 16GB so I use the move to sd card option for lots of apps.
What am I going to lose...?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ESFileExplorer for one. You'll have to use Samsung's My Files instead because it has universal permissions. You'll be able to open files stored by specific apps in other apps (EG: open a document created and stored on external SD by Hancom in Polaris) but you'll have to save it somewhere else because the second app won't have write permissions for a file/folder created by another app. Apps still have access to the external SD but now it's on a 1:1 basis. For example, if you have an SD folder called "Documents" that you centralized all your documents in (no matter where they were created) every app can see it and open files in it. But they can't save to it because they don't have write permissions. So Hancom can only save external SD files in a folder it created.
Google's always hated external SD and now they've made using it so cumbersome people won't want to. They say it's for security but if any app can open and read SD files and still copy or save them elsewhere what makes that more secure? Maybe I'm missing something.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
toyanucci said:
[YouTube Video Here]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great video tutorial for those who've rooted. There's really two external SD card conversations, one for those willing to root and another for those who can't or won't. Sadly, the latter group is stuck with discussing new ways to do things involving external storage that used to work on 4.3.
BarryH_GEG said:
Great video tutorial for those who've rooted. There's really two external SD card conversations, one for those willing to root and another for those who can't or won't. Sadly, the latter group is stuck with discussing new ways to do things involving external storage that used to work on 4.3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think because of the SD Card issues I might be tempted to root although I will have to first see how it affects me whenever I do get 4.4.
Sent from Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition via Tapatalk.
Geordie Affy said:
I think because of the SD Card issues I might be tempted to root although I will have to first see how it affects me whenever I do get 4.4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll lose KNOX, screw up DRM-protected content to varying degrees, and give up access to Samsung Hub content and AllShare Cast. You can install Xposed which can trick some apps in to thinking a rooted device isn't but installing it and configuring it is a project unto itself. Not trying to sell you for or against but it's not as pain free as some folks make it out to be. Before SELinux enforcing and KNOX you could root, tweak, run TriangleAway, and unroot and you'd be as good as stock. Life's not that simple anymore. Also, If you resell your tablet it can also affect its resale value and not disclosing its altered status qualifies it for a return under eBay's buyer protection program should the buyer file a claim. I use KNOX so rooting's not an option for me.
All root breaks is Samsungs gimmicky crap no one uses anyway. There are better things out there that all work with root just fine.
GldRush98 said:
All root breaks is Samsungs gimmicky crap no one uses anyway. There are better things out there that all work with root just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speak for yourself. Comments like yours leave neophytes with a false sense of security and then they post "why can't I _____ after rooting?" I'm not saying root is good, bad, or indifferent. But there are people that use that "gimmicky crap" and they should know before hand that they'll potentially lose it if they root. Even if you think the alternatives are better.
I have never used Samsung Hub nor Allsharcast and I dont intend on re-selling anyways and also never use knox.
I think I'm going to start researching how to root and the rest of the stuff and might do it regardless as I'm sick of certain restrictions (main reason I left apple years ago). But at the min don't have time to spend on researching so will have to wait. I purchased extra warrenty from the store I bought it from so woste ccase I will get them to fix it if after i trip knkx I need something fixed.
Sent from Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition via Tapatalk.
Thanks all, may well have to root then. Although just got a Samsung dvr/bluray combo today and that allows remote connections via allsharecast so if that works as I hope them may have to stick on JB...
I assume app move to sd card is still possible?

Stock 5.0.2 laggy - removed SD card and it's fixed

My note 3 has been quite laggy over the last month or so. A bit of googling, and I found a post saying that removing the SD card will help with wake lag. My wake lag has never been a big issue, it's mostly switching between apps and loading things on chrome.
Any idea why removing the SD card would fix the lag? Should I buy a new SD card?
It's a class 10 32gb lexar SD card if that matters, it's over a year old and has been through a few different phones.
Sounds like nonsense! While opening stuffs from SD card might take some time in comparison with opening something from phone's memory itself, but that shouldn't matter when the card is not in use. You can still just use the phone without the card to see whether there is any difference or not.
ithehappy said:
Sounds like nonsense! While opening stuffs from SD card might take some time in comparison with opening something from phone's memory itself, but that shouldn't matter when the card is not in use. You can still just use the phone without the card to see whether there is any difference or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it sounds odd, but it seems to be true. I have the s pen set to open an action memo when I remove the pen. It went from 5s to almost instant.
And if you search on google, you'll see a number of threads about wake lag and removing the sd card improved it.
Hmm, don't know what to make of it. Probably Samsung is right by claiming external cards do make a phone run slower! I don't have one installed anyway.
What app are you using to set Action memo on S Pen remove? Note buddy?
ithehappy said:
Hmm, don't know what to make of it. Probably Samsung is right by claiming external cards do make a phone run slower! I don't have one installed anyway.
What app are you using to set Action memo on S Pen remove? Note buddy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's in the s pen settings, under detachment options. No 3rd party app needed.
The SDcard doesn't make the phone slower. Mediascanner/Indexingservice does. There is a very simple solution to this problem. (And it's not removing the MicroSD. Although that works too.)
Just pop a .nomedia file into every folder you dont need for the system. (like a folder with magazines. You don't need to see those in a gallery app, you can just open them from a file explorer. Ditto for documents, films, navigational files, etc.)
The .nomedia file excludes the folder from the index service. You can find one to copy in the Android directory.
The nomedia files also apply to subdirectories, so any folders within the folder containing the nomedia file are also excluded, no need to place one in those.
(Don't exclude the folder containing your alarm or ringtone!)
And can people please start remembering that MicroSD's are meant for MEDIA, not apps? You're not supposed to run programs from a portable harddrive on a desktop, either...

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