Database Users

App install Fails?

hey all iv noticed this a lot with the stock 2.2 rom on my POV Mobii tegra 2 (advent vega rebrand).
e.g i uninstalled a game called jelly defence, then tried to install an updated version of it. the install fails saying aplication not installed.
ok so i then tried to reinstall the first version i had working on the tablet, and that also fails to install saying again application not installed..
why would this be happening? iv noticed that it happens on a fair few number of apps that i install, then uninstall, then try to install again and they fail to install.
installation is done via apk file from sd card. even tried over wifi and still same error.

I know this might sound rude, but did you try Google?
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4226132/application-not-installed-error-on-android

ahh, could be something to do with the certificates or the AndroidManifest.xml file.
where is this file located so that i can check its permissions?

This might be a tough nutt to crack...
"AndroidManifest.xml" file is inside .apk files.

ok i managed to fix the problem. i mounted my sd card to the pc with card reader, and in the android.secure folder there was a file called smdl2tmp1.asec , i deleted that and now the app installs fine. got both jelly defence and few others installed with no issues.
strange how i cant see that folder on the tablet itself because its hidden. need an app to see the folder and its contents directly on the tablet so i can delete it again if needed.

Yeah, folders and files with a dot infront of their names are invisible.
It's a Linux thing!
Glad you got that sorted out!

is there no file manager app that can see these files directly on the tablet?

Just tried "iFileManager" app I got with stock tablet software and it can see hidden files/folders.
I also tried Root Explorer and it can see hidden files/folders, but this is a paid app.
Astro File Manager can also see hidden files/folders, but you need to go into Preferences-->Look and Feel-->and enable "Show Hidden Files" option.
Maybe your current file manager app also has such an option?
Hope I helped, and don't forget to give a thanks!

ahh, i have stock ifilemanager, but i dont use it, i use ES File Explorer since i can access my LAN shares with it easily over the wifi. will give ifilemanager a go in few mins time.
thanks again.

just checked ifilemanager can see the folder but it cant see any of the file which are inside the folder.

Just checked some "hidden" folders myself on my tablet.
Some have files / sub-folders inside and some don't.
Not all folders need to have files inside.

but when i check the folder on the pc via sdcard reader, there are files in the folder.
cant see them directly on the tablet, but when connected to pc i can see the files in exact same location.

storage/emulated/0/

can someone please explain to me why, since updating to 4.2, I have what looks like a duplicate of my SD card contents in a sub folder called storage/emulated/0/?
all my gallery apps, Gallery, DroidIris etc. see duplicates of all my pictures now?
And If I save a pic from a browser It points to the folders in storage/emulated/0/, not the SD card ones?
deleting any file in one folder effects the other, so it is probably not a true duplicate thats taking up space is it?
I assume this has to do with the multi user addition to 4.2, but I have not set up a second user at all.
Does this just occur to people upgrading, or to people who installed a fresh version as well?
Cheers.

CarsnGadgets said:
can someone please explain to me why, since updating to 4.2, I have what looks like a duplicate of my SD card contents in a sub folder called storage/emulated/0/?
all my gallery apps, Gallery, DroidIris etc. see duplicates of all my pictures now?
And If I save a pic from a browser It points to the folders in storage/emulated/0/, not the SD card ones?
deleting any file in one folder effects the other, so it is probably not a true duplicate thats taking up space is it?
I assume this has to do with the multi user addition to 4.2, but I have not set up a second user at all.
Does this just occur to people upgrading, or to people who installed a fresh version as well?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this has been added as part of the multi-user feature and is where the data/content is stored for other users. It has been mentioned on the forum somewhere else, cant remember where I seen it though.

I also wondered this but then thought logically.
Two users using the same SD card wouldn't be a good idea.
So they sort of virtualise the SD card, and then when a new user is created a sort of partition is created for the user.

I was wondering what that was in ASTRO I thought it was something I did wrong and yes if you delete one file it will end up deleting both of them so be careful luckily I deleted some old downloads I didn't need anymore GOD BLESS YOU GUYS
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

thats all fine, thanks guys,
but now, if I download a new pic from dolphin browser to the /emulated/0/pictures folder, the gallery sees my SD/pictures as well as the /emulated/0/pictures folder, the original has 99 files in, and the new one 1 file in, both are called "pictures".
the "save picture as" action opens up its own file explorer, and it wont let me go back far enough in the file tree to access the SD/pictures folder so I can only save in the new /emulated/0 folder and its sub folders?
cheers.

I can't find the folder on my pc. I am trying to run a backup app and it stores it there. I try to replace the backup location to downloads for example and it won't work. It's driving me mad.

The linked directories are linked to look like separate directories but they link to what is called a mount point that the actual physical storage and the actual file. What you do in any of folders will be done in all the folders.
I'm still wrapping my mind and this and my Linux knowledge it's weak. So I'm not going to try to suggest how to deal with these folders. As much as possible I'm letting the app handle the files.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

CarsnGadgets said:
can someone please explain to me why, since updating to 4.2, I have what looks like a duplicate of my SD card contents in a sub folder called storage/emulated/0/?
all my gallery apps, Gallery, DroidIris etc. see duplicates of all my pictures now?
And If I save a pic from a browser It points to the folders in storage/emulated/0/, not the SD card ones?
deleting any file in one folder effects the other, so it is probably not a true duplicate thats taking up space is it?
I assume this has to do with the multi user addition to 4.2, but I have not set up a second user at all.
Does this just occur to people upgrading, or to people who installed a fresh version as well?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same for me. Music player, gallery and other apps now show two copies of files. Any solution to fix this yet?

algus said:
Same for me. Music player, gallery and other apps now show two copies of files. Any solution to fix this yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are confusing a symlink'd directory with a second copy.

No one - so far - has reported a real problem related to duplicate file - so don't be expecting a fix.
Spend the time reading up on Linux directory structures instead.

rmm200 said:
No one - so far - has reported a real problem related to duplicate file - so don't be expecting a fix.
Spend the time reading up on Linux directory structures instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.
It's not broken do don't expect a fix. It only 'looks' like you have duplicate files. A change you make in any single place will show up in all locations. Delete a file in one place it will be gone everywhere. The whole file system is an optical illusion. Layers on layers of naming parts of the file system.
For instance /sdcard is actually /data/media/0 if you created another user on your tab they would get /data/media/1 but they would find their files under /sdcard in a file manager.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

I understand that it is a link. As I said problem is that applications show two copies of all files put in /sdcard folder. Because applications treat each link as a separate file. This is exactly what the original poster and I wrote in our posts.
So far I fixed this problem for myself by deleting all files from /sdcard (they disappeared from other linked locations as well) and saving them back straight to /storage/emulation/0 (they appeared in other linked locations, including /sdcard, but this time the gallery and other apps show single copy of each file in their collections).
This is not confortable for a typical user to learn about all these linked folders and I consider it as a drawback of Jelly Bean.

algus said:
I understand that it is a link. As I said problem is that applications show two copies of all files put in /sdcard folder. Because applications treat each link as a separate file. This is exactly what the original poster and I wrote in our posts.
So far I fixed this problem for myself by deleting all files from /sdcard (they disappeared from other linked locations as well) and saving them back straight to /storage/emulation/0 (they appeared in other linked locations, including /sdcard, but this time the gallery and other apps show single copy of each file in their collections).
This is not confortable for a typical user to learn about all these linked folders and I consider it as a drawback of Jelly Bean.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying to understand what you are seeing.
On my device, the gallery app only shows pictures in my user: emulated/0. This is from selecting a picture and then asking for info on it.
What apps are showing duplicates, other than a file explorer that you would expect to show symlinks?
I should add - are you copying pictures directly to /sdcard from somewhere else?

Well I had a problem...because of all the multiuser crap I was unable to restore a titanium backup cause of all the emulated directories that another user makes...I had to delete every /0 directory that it made cause if you install another Rom it makes a new /0 directory inside the other /0 directory so after flashing CM10, MIUI and slim bean I finished with a directory like this: sdcard0/0/0/0.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

restoring backups seems to be a problem too in cwm. Hmm how to fix it
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

I ran into this problem with Titanium Backup and my Nexus 7. I was trying to copy the titanium backup folder on the Nexus 7 to my windows PC (also tried mac too) as it was taking up a lot of space on the Nexus but Windows and Mac wouldn't have any of it. It just copied the folder and not the contents. Android file Transfer manager on mac just keeped crashing. I did not try adb pull folder with WugFresh toolkit, so that may work. I ended up copying from the nexus 7 to a USB drive using an OTG cable.

I been looking into this too, this is what I find so far I did a fresh install after I installed my Rom I wipe storage on my N7 so I have a clean storage nothing on it about 27.80gb after I installed one game that is 2gb and its show on both storage emulated and 0 n after my available space is 23.72gb. So I think its does create a duplicate that take space. But Im not sure.I going to run some more tests. If this is true this kinda suck cus then my 32gb n7 is only 16gb then.
Ps. Also if u reboot ur n7 and u go to storage there is another folder under emulated with 0 with the same files you can deleted this folder is save you won't loose anything but if you reboot and go back to storage the file reappear and you can delete but once u reebot again it will reappear again and over again.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium

No way are there 2 copies of files (unless you are auto backing up, which I do). My free space was 3.9gb before and after 4.2. Have all the extra meaningless folders.

You could think of the emulated storage locations like a shortcut. You could place multiple shortcuts to your 'My Documents' folder on your desktop without creating multiple copies of 'My Documents'.

Same problem with Galaxy Nexus
I have the same problem with my Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.2.1
In my Windows Explorer i dont see the same files like in my Phone with Total Commander on my Storage.
This is not funny.

what is /storage/emulated/legacy etc. and /storage/emulated/0 etc.

I am not rooted.
I have researched and every time someone talks about this topic they start refering to doing things in root. I am a Linux user specifically a Linux Mint 13 KDE. However! I don't work with the terminal and have not since my DOS days, nor do I want to. IMO I'm too old to bother with it.
Now I use ES File Explorer as my file browser and I see there seems to be a duplication of almost everything on my device yet there is not enough room on the Nexus 4 16GB to hold 2 of everything I have loaded onto it.
So I assume the extra stuff I see are sym-links (I don't realy understand what they are just that they are not real). Am I correct?
Why when an app looks for duplicates does it show the stuff in /storage/emulated/legacy etc. and in /storage/emulated/0 etc. and report them as the same size?
Why am I allowed to create a folder in /storage/emulated/0 or /storage/emulated/legacy if they just contain sym-links? IMO I should not have access to those folders without being rooted.
Why when I add a folder in /storage/emulated/0 or /storage/emulated/legacy does it show up in /sdcard?

donec said:
I use ES File Explorer as my file browser and I see there seems to be a duplication of almost everything on my device yet there is not enough room on the Nexus 4 16GB to hold 2 of everything I have loaded onto it.
So I assume the extra stuff I see are sym-links (I don't realy understand what they are just that they are not real). Am I correct?
Why when an app looks for duplicates does it show the stuff in /storage/emulated/legacy etc. and in /storage/emulated/0 etc. and report them as the same size?
Why am I allowed to create a folder in /storage/emulated/0 or /storage/emulated/legacy if they just contain sym-links? IMO I should not have access to those folders without being rooted.
Why when I add a folder in /storage/emulated/0 or /storage/emulated/legacy does it show up in /sdcard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to post a simpler version of this question: Why do I have [Android 4.2.2 on a Nexus 7] /storage/emulated/0/, /storage/emulated/legacy/, and /storage/sdcard0/ when they seem to have exactly the same contents? When, if I create something in /storage/emulated/0/ it's duplicated in the other two locations?
But I noticed this thread and decided to check it out. I am shocked that it'' gotten no response in five months.

Eric Weir said:
I was going to post a simpler version of this question: Why do I have [Android 4.2.2 on a Nexus 7] /storage/emulated/0/, /storage/emulated/legacy/, and /storage/sdcard0/ when they seem to have exactly the same contents? When, if I create something in /storage/emulated/0/ it's duplicated in the other two locations?
But I noticed this thread and decided to check it out. I am shocked that it'' gotten no response in five months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are basically the same thing. 2 mount points pointing to the same storage device and partition.
If you create something in one folder, it will show up in the other. Same applies for deleting stuff.
They do not take away more storage space, as it is only available once but shown twice.
You also don't need to worry about it in any way because file browsers normally set their default directory to one of these locations.
As far as i know, Google changed the mount points in Android 4.2 to /storage/emulated/0/ due to them switching to MTP and EXT4(?) for the sdcard. The other mount points are still there for compatibility.
Don't quote me on that, though.

They changed it for multi-user feature
Sent from my Nexus 4

Can I delete "legacy"
Nuu~ said:
They are basically the same thing. 2 mount points pointing to the same storage device and partition.
If you create something in one folder, it will show up in the other. Same applies for deleting stuff.
They do not take away more storage space, as it is only available once but shown twice.
You also don't need to worry about it in any way because file browsers normally set their default directory to one of these locations.
As far as i know, Google changed the mount points in Android 4.2 to /storage/emulated/0/ due to them switching to MTP and EXT4(?) for the sdcard. The other mount points are still there for compatibility.
Don't quote me on that, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I delete the legacy folder without harming anything?

DEFI4NT said:
Can I delete the legacy folder without harming anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you read the post that you quoted ?
"If you create something in one folder, it will show up in the other. Same applies for deleting stuff."

DEFI4NT said:
Can I delete the legacy folder without harming anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would you even want to delete it in the first place? You wouldn't be gaining anything is just another mount point.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

....

/storage, /sdcard are sym linked folders,that means when you open one of those, it redirects to the original(/data/media/0), as for the 0 is just a multi user feature implemented in android 4.2, but only enabled on tablet androids.
Why do this Sym-Link?: simple so it dosent break apps(not only file explorer type of app, but all apps).
Still dont get, why it would break?.Simple. android api have lots of ways to write/read files from folders, u can do manually,u can get the data path, u can get the sdcard path, etc,etc. so to not break that they just does these sym links, thats why in one app the storage contentents are listed on /sdcard but on others, is /storage, etc,etc. one example of an app that broke because of these changes to android is titanium backup, u need to change the internal storage on it, so it work.

Are they really symlinks?
I want to make sure that they are sym linked files/ folders and not additional copies as it will directly impact the storage.
Emulated storage is the only reason i have not upgraded yet to Android 4.4 yet, despite ROMs being available ages ago..
1. Please let me know for confirmation, if there is no impact on storage space.
2. Can Link2SD be used in 4.4 with emulated storage?
3. If there is a file and its sym link/ copy; are the rights equally assigned to both files/ folders?
I mean to ask if there is a provision to have root previlege on the original file and read only rights on the sym link ? Is it possible??
the main reason for this question is that, if by mistake i do something on the sym lilnk, it should not affect the original file.
and whatever change i wish to operate on, i can do it on the original file itself.
Regards
Dwipen
opssemnik said:
/storage, /sdcard are sym linked folders,that means when you open one of those, it redirects to the original(/data/media/0), as for the 0 is just a multi user feature implemented in android 4.2, but only enabled on tablet androids.
Why do this Sym-Link?: simple so it dosent break apps(not only file explorer type of app, but all apps).
Still dont get, why it would break?.Simple. android api have lots of ways to write/read files from folders, u can do manually,u can get the data path, u can get the sdcard path, etc,etc. so to not break that they just does these sym links, thats why in one app the storage contentents are listed on /sdcard but on others, is /storage, etc,etc. one example of an app that broke because of these changes to android is titanium backup, u need to change the internal storage on it, so it work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

dwipen said:
I want to make sure that they are sym linked files/ folders and not additional copies as it will directly impact the storage.
Emulated storage is the only reason i have not upgraded yet to Android 4.4 yet, despite ROMs being available ages ago..
1. Please let me know for confirmation, if there is no impact on storage space.
2. Can Link2SD be used in 4.4 with emulated storage?
3. If there is a file and its sym link/ copy; are the rights equally assigned to both files/ folders?
I mean to ask if there is a provision to have root previlege on the original file and read only rights on the sym link ? Is it possible??
the main reason for this question is that, if by mistake i do something on the sym lilnk, it should not affect the original file.
and whatever change i wish to operate on, i can do it on the original file itself.
Regards
Dwipen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1- impact? no they are like .ink files in windows
2- yes link2sd works
3- the permissions are the same

maybe someone here can explain whats going on
So my phone seems to have two systems (or probably more) running and it IS using up my memory. See attached photos. I own a 32gb Optimus G pro. Rooted and custom recovery. Beeen trying out a few ROMs. Well somehow I noticed that there is some kind of ghost app/system using up my memory. I only use 7.36 of my sd card (internal). Yet I only have 6gb of memory left. And I just noticed my calendar has double the entries.
Is there a fix??? Or do I have to reflash stock kitkat???
What happened? The only irregular thing that happened is when I was restoring a nandroid backup I fell asleep and woke up 3 hours later and noticed that somehow the phone was making another backup. Could that be the cause. Restoring doesn't fix this. What can I do?
I can't rfactory reset since I have a custom recovery. Doing it in the custom recovery has no effect.
Oh and I did flash freegee's cwm over hoangnova's cwm. Someone told me to update cwm through freegee because I couldn't flash any custom roms.

I have similar problem.
liovag said:
Hello,
I have order Meizu m1 note 32 gb version blue color from fastcardtech.com and i have received a couple of days ago. Today i notice that in storage menu, the file system holds 17.13GB
The phone is unrooted.
How is this possible, I am very disappointed, and frustrated.
This is a big thing. I have pay for 32GB version and i suspect that they fraud me.
Also i have connect the phone via usb to my pc and i saw that the total size is only 11,9GB and not 32.
Also i have install to the phone the ES File Explorer to check the storage capacity and i saw that the phone have 11.94 GB Total capacity and not 32 i suspect that you have change something to the phone software. to look 32gb but actually is only 16GB version. This is fraud.
I have make factory reset with erasing data and upgrade the system but remains the same. :/
Please give me your advice.
View attachment 3407558
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Imagine a HOUSE. The house = the storage location. Everything in it is your data... furniture etc. These are your files.
storage location \legacy = the back door.
storage location \0 = the front door.
If you delete a file = take your chair and throw it in the yard. Its gone from the house no matter if you entered the front door or back door.

yes, it consumes double storage!
I also have the same observation. Whatever the explaination from previous replies, it consumes my storage double! And it hurts if you only have 8 GB internal storage in my Moto G.
X-plore app can show the storage mapping in my root folder.
What we need now is a solution how to avoid this double storage consumption.
So, we have two identical houses, instead of one house with two doors!

Why2 said:
I also have the same observation. Whatever the explaination from previous replies, it consumes my storage double! And it hurts if you only have 8 GB internal storage in my Moto G.
X-plore app can show the storage mapping in my root folder.
What we need now is a solution how to avoid this double storage consumption.
So, we have two identical houses, instead of one house with two doors!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely understood the analogy about the house and furniture but it does not answer the above question.
Why does it reflect as double the amount of storage being used if it is technically one spot. Its not like its one spot with different files, its one spot with duplicate paths of ONE file that are somehow reflecting as double files, using double the amount of space.
Sorry I'm trying my best to explain and work logic into this lol

II've been trying to change the destination file for utorrent on my android from storage/emulated/legacy to storage/external_SD, for some reason when I do this utorrent says "file not found", and will only download to storage/emulated/legacy, can anyone help with this? It would be greatly appreciated

Need help with understanding mount-points, folder structure and file system rights...

Hi everyone,
I need your help. I sometimes face strange issues with my Nexus 4 (Stock Room, Rooted, Matrix Kernel v5). Yesterday I wanted to copy a apk-file for installation on my phone from my home-server. I use ES File Explorer for that. I failed to copy the apk-file to /sdcard/folder-name (operation failed). then i navigated to /data/media/0/folder-name and tried it from there, also it didn't work.
i then copied the file to /sdcard/download and was able to copy it to that and to install it.
i don't really understand why it behaves that way, i was always able to go to /sdcard/folder-name and do what i want. i also noticed another strange thing. i connected my phone via USB (MTP-mode) to the PC and uploaded a few GB of MP3s to it (Folder: Music).
when browsing this folder with ES File Explorer, I cannot delete anything from that folder /sdcard/Music. THOUGH it reports "deletion successful" the files or folders do not get deleted but just remain on the internal SD-card. i could only delete the music successfully via "/data/media/0/Music".
who can explain briefly WTF is going on? i obviously do not really understand the concept and logic behind this. is there a maximum file/path length that must not be exceeded?
thanks in advance and best regards,
hallu

need to bump this, sorry...

does anyone have any idea as to why this phone is behaving the way it is?

I use root explorer and have ZERO issues. That includes pulling apk's.

Try a different file explorer to see if that makes a difference so at least you can determine if the issue is just app specific and not something else.
Check to see of ES isn't mounting certain folders with RW permissions.
Also the actual internal storage is /data/media/0/ so /sdcard/ is just a symlink to that folder. ES seems to be having problems with the symlinks.

4.3 SDCard

Just updated OTA to 4.3 last night and now my apps will not write to the SDcard. I have two in particular that I used a lot. Winamp and pocketcasts, I get an error Eacces permission denied and Winamp I use the program that changed the id3 tags and adds cover art, that acts like its working, but when you apply the changes it never actually saves. So obviously google changed how SDcard access works. Just wondering if there was anything I could do, or do I need to wait for everyone to update their apps? Ive reinstalled the pocketcasts app and double checked it has external permissions to the sdcard and it says it does. such a bummer

Xceptiona1noob said:
Just updated OTA to 4.3 last night and now my apps will not write to the SDcard. I have two in particular that I used a lot. Winamp and pocketcasts, I get an error Eacces permission denied and Winamp I use the program that changed the id3 tags and adds cover art, that acts like its working, but when you apply the changes it never actually saves. So obviously google changed how SDcard access works. Just wondering if there was anything I could do, or do I need to wait for everyone to update their apps? Ive reinstalled the pocketcasts app and double checked it has external permissions to the sdcard and it says it does. such a bummer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just discovering this very annoying problem on my own phone. Apparently the Android 4.2 guidelines say that apps are not supposed to write to the external SD card. For whatever reason the i9505G 4.2.2 build still allowed this, but not 4.3. Instructions for re-enabling this is described here, under Update #2: http://www.chainfire.eu/articles/113/Is_Google_blocking_apps_writing_to_SD_cards_/

I was able to see what file you were talking about, however it appears without root I cannot save the changes. I have not seen anywhere how to root the google edition of the phone either, so Im stuck.

I have the same issue as well, except that ES File Explorer can write to the directory. I've been trying to reverse engineer as to why and recompile the apk.
ES File Explorer (Can write)
FX File Manager (Can't Write)