Database Info

SD Card Wiped!

Hey All-
I thought the issue with SD card would have been fixed with the T-mobile WM2003 ROM update (4.01.16). Although I am not sure if that is what did it. I did not have the problem until I updated ActiveSync (v3.7.1 - Build 4034) when it came out about a week ago. I have an ActiveSync backup file (backup.stg) from BEFORE I upgraded all of this (a different partnership as well). Is there a way to extract the data from that file to restore my SD card?
Many Thanks

Out of curiosity, what brand of SD card are you using? I'm using a Kingston 512 mB but have read on a few forums problems with the Kingston loosing content in the XDA II. I have not experienced the problem.
Ed

No this problem still persists, I've used a PNY,Sandisk & Panasonic SD card in my XDA I running WM2003 4.01.16 and it blows them all away. I've tried everything and all the ROM from's YORCH'S Kitchen. They obviously only tested the XDA ROM'[email protected] T-Mobile without any SD memory attached at all, and couldn't have cared for customer feedback. However, saying that it's suprising the amount of PDA users I know, whom don't have additional memory attached. I hope there's a resolution soon, in which ever form, upgrade, reg-keys anything to stop this annoyance.
Cheers.

I am using a San Disk 128Mb card. Any info on how to get into that Backup.stg file? Thanks

Yes, I do believe it is a bug that most bug testers missed to point out with the WM2003 4.01.16. I've encountered the same problem and lost all the files saved on my SD card (San Disk SD Card). The sad part about this bug is that your lost files are unrecoverable!

scottyjchef said:
I am using a San Disk 128Mb card. Any info on how to get into that Backup.stg file? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey scottychef, for that just go do the following on your PC:
First you need to go to "My Computer" in flile explorer then you select Tools menu and then "Fonder Options" and under the "View" tab check "Show Hidden Files and Folders" and then find the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\"YourUserName"\Application Data\Microsoft\ActiveSync\Profiles\"YourOldProfile"
And copy the .bak file into your current profile directory.
Best Regards,
Rayan

Some people came to the conclusion that the sd card erasure was something to do with the Today configuration and that when they chose the default screen etc the problem went away.

After going around the bend with my SD Card being erased/corrupted on nearly daily basis, and being fortunate enough to have friends with both XDA I’s & II’s running both PPC 2002 & 2003 I thought I’d set out and scour the registry to see if anything was missing that could be causing the problem, and I instantly noticed a one thing. On my version of 2003 (4.01.16 T-mobile) there is no key referring to FAT file system for the SD Card, which both the XDA I (PPC 2002-O2) & XDA II (PPC 2003-O2) have.
Also the FATFS.DLL which exists under the \Windows folder (Hidden of course) on both PPC2002(O2) & PPC2003(O2) is not present on the T-Mobile (4.01.16) ROM, However there is a FATFSD.DLL referenced in \HKLM\System\StorageManager\FATFS but not linked to the Storage Card
So I've simply made substitute keys from the ones missing.
Since I’ve entered the following Keys, I’ve nearly gone a week without a single hiccup. Now it may be too early to tell, but if a few of you guys with this problem should try it and it works for you, then problem solved.
Here’s what to do.
Install the PMH Registry Editor (freeware) to your XDA then navigate to
\\HKLM\Drivers\PCMCIA\SDCard
Add the following REG_SZ key:
Value name: FSD
Value data: FATFSD.DLL
Also, I’m not quite sure if the next key adds any performance/stability but was present on the XDA II and not the XDA I, but I added it anyway
Add the following REG_DWORD key:
Value name: BlockTransferSize
Value data: 64
Could be a combination of either key or one or the other, or neither, but I haven’t the time to try each permutation. Or maybe I've just been lucky this week and It'll get wiped over the weekend, I'll keep you posted.
Now reset the device and good luck, plus please post your findings as I could be barking completely up the wrong tree!!

It happened to me also!! I've bought a new MMC card, 256 MB,, and 3 days ago, I woke up & found my card wiped out!
I've used a software called Easy Recovery Pro, and I've recovered all my lost file on the card
I used a digital camera to create a new drive ( I: ) for the card, so that I can recover the files!! Is there any other mean to map the MMC or SD card to a drive??
anyway, I just read some notes on this forum, and I've found that its a bug in windows 2003, but to solve the problem, always format your card using FAT32, and before formating it, just switch the today screen to DEFAULT, then format, and after the format completes just put your favourite theme :? (you could say its crap, but beleive me, it worked, am using my card now without any problems no more)
Micro$oft is weird

I'm bumping this. Is it still working, spadb? Did anyone else try this procedure?
spadb said:
After going around the bend with my SD Card being erased/corrupted on nearly daily basis, and being fortunate enough to have friends with both XDA I’s & II’s running both PPC 2002 & 2003 I thought I’d set out and scour the registry to see if anything was missing that could be causing the problem, and I instantly noticed a one thing. On my version of 2003 (4.01.16 T-mobile) there is no key referring to FAT file system for the SD Card, which both the XDA I (PPC 2002-O2) & XDA II (PPC 2003-O2) have.
Also the FATFS.DLL which exists under the \Windows folder (Hidden of course) on both PPC2002(O2) & PPC2003(O2) is not present on the T-Mobile (4.01.16) ROM, However there is a FATFSD.DLL referenced in \HKLM\System\StorageManager\FATFS but not linked to the Storage Card
So I've simply made substitute keys from the ones missing.
Since I’ve entered the following Keys, I’ve nearly gone a week without a single hiccup. Now it may be too early to tell, but if a few of you guys with this problem should try it and it works for you, then problem solved.
Here’s what to do.
Install the PMH Registry Editor (freeware) to your XDA then navigate to
\\HKLM\Drivers\PCMCIA\SDCard
Add the following REG_SZ key:
Value name: FSD
Value data: FATFSD.DLL
Also, I’m not quite sure if the next key adds any performance/stability but was present on the XDA II and not the XDA I, but I added it anyway
Add the following REG_DWORD key:
Value name: BlockTransferSize
Value data: 64
Could be a combination of either key or one or the other, or neither, but I haven’t the time to try each permutation. Or maybe I've just been lucky this week and It'll get wiped over the weekend, I'll keep you posted.
Now reset the device and good luck, plus please post your findings as I could be barking completely up the wrong tree!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Well maybe, but i don't think so, becuase when my MMC was wiped, I noticed that Windows has changed the file system to FAT32, although it was FAT16 before!!
So all what I think is that Windows needs the storage card to be formatted as FAT32 and not anything else!
I did formatted my MMC using FAT32, and now its working so fine, no wippings no data loss, it works like a charm
Am still using my MMC card without fear of getting wipped!

spadb thats a interesting fix, you might also wants to label your card (
as in reformat and then give it a name, that solved it for me and its been
months since my last erase).
HTH

Got the same problem
I tried most of the T mobile Roms they have the same bug which is painfull to restore data to the Storage :S and relocate the shortcuts..anyway if u just wanna try how this could be deleted try to pull off the sd out then put it in do it several times it will be wiped I tried that on purpose with the newest Tmobile rom and today wiped again by itself with an old Tmobile Rom 4.01.00 and the SD is on the FAT32. I just can't tell what should we do in this case nor the Tmobile wm2003 are good neither the ATT with the sound clipping, If there's some1 could get us the best Rom ever tested or a way to fix all this bug we'd appreciate the help.. P.S my SD is 256M.B

GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!! My 256 MMC card got wipped again!!!!! :twisted:
I hate this!!!!! I hate it I hate it I hate it
I wanna know if the SD card registry solution posted by "spadb" works with MMC cards as well!
I will recover my files & format the card again..
I hope this time it won't be wipped again!
by the way, is there any software which can map the SD / MMC card to a logical drive under windows, while the device is on the cradle (without using card readers)?

I'm getting this problem too. I've had my XDA II for less than a week and its wiped my SD card twice. Looking around other pocketpc forums on the web it appears that other people are experiencing this too. I wonder if this is a bug in the latest Windows Mobile 2003 update?
I've tried using the repair option in an evaluation copy of storage tools and it appears to be able to restore the data. It's almost as if the FAT is getting corrupted including the backup FAT.
I'm using FAT32 for the filesystem. I know my SD card is ok because it has worked 100% on my Orange SPV phone previously.
Going to phone O2 tomorrow because this is getting beyond a joke.
Cheers,
Richard.

name ur SD card storage or somthing and make it fat 32 ive never had a sd erase yet (touch wood) that was using a sandisk 256mb card, soon to get a simpletech 256mb (speedy )

What tool can I use to label the SD card? Storage tools doesn't appear to have that option.
Cheers,
Richard.

a pc :roll:

http://www.pocketgear.com/ppcw/software_detail.asp?id=8392
and posible pocket mecahics

For all of you guys who lost their data from their SD cards, you can ALWAYS get your data back using any SD Card Reader or Digital Camera.
Just put your SD card in the card reader or the cam & run any file recovery software on the removable disk which appears whenever you connect the card reader / cam to your PC, and you will restore all of your files.
I've restored all of my files using this simple way of recovery. 8)

Can someone please explain the SD Card issue to me....

What exactly is the problem? Im thinking of getting the focus and I keep hearing these SD card issues but what "exactly" is the problem? I understand that once you put it in, your SD card is done, and that if you want to remove it you have to wipe everything, I understand all that, but what are the problems that arise? I have a 16gb micro sd that I have used on all my devices no problem, do files get corrupted or something? Does it just not read it?

There aren't any problems in that sense. The only real "problem" is that not all MicroSD cards work with WP7. In addition, hot-swapping isn't supported, because in effect, the MicroSD's memory is added to the internal memory, and the system then doesn't differentiate between storing on the sd card and that that's built into the phone, and thus stuff is spread all over all of them.
There aren't any "problems" as such that I know of though.
On an ending note - WP7 is awesome ^__^ Honestly the best user experience I've ever had with a phone (esp. having come from Android >.<) ^__^

loading a microSD card will turn it into a secure card. once this happens no other device will even read it (except a nokia n8) making it extremely difficult to format if it doesn't work nicely with windows phone 7. That is the main issue. rest already mentioned.

GenkaiMade gave his version which is correct but I thought I would explain it my way.
Take your average memory card and device. What are some of the default expectations you have when using one?
1) You should be able to get any MicroSD card on the market and be able to put it into your phone with it working.
2) You should be able to remove the memory card from the device and put it in a different device (such as another phone or PC) and have it still work like normally.
The problem with Windows Phone 7 is that it breaks these two rules.
1) Many of the higher rated MicroSD card flat-out don't work on WP7. This is because of the method WP7 uses to read/write to memory card. You can find more specific details on why this is but I will just keep it simple. There are many user-created lists which list which MicroSD cards do work with WP7.
2) You can NOT hot-swap your memory card once it is inserted into phone. Why? SD stands for Secure Digital which means there is a security aspect capable on the card. Microsoft takes advantage of this in WP7. Once you put your new card in your phone automatically reformats and locks it down. If you then take out the card and place it in another phone or a PC it will not be recognized, almost as if it is invisible. And the worst part, there is nothing* you can do about it. Once you pair a memory card and WP7 phone they are joined for life.
Why does this suck? If you buy a 8GB card now you simply can't upgrade to a 16/32Gb one down the road without losing all of your data and having a useless MicroSD card. The old card would become a better Frisbee than data storage device. This is why most WP7 phones don't let the users have access to the memory card. Microsoft knew this would happen and thus pushed manufacturers to not have the card easily accessible. There is even much talk that the memory card in the Samsung Focus was meant to be glued to the phone to prevent swapping but somewhere along the line that idea was scrapped.
* Note: Technically there is ONE thing you can do. If you own or have access to a Nokia N8 phone it can read the locked down MicroSD card and reformat to something any device can recognize. Essentially undo the problem. But how many people have easy access to one? The answer, almost nobody.

Quicksilver4648 said:
GenkaiMade gave his version which is correct but I thought I would explain it my way.
Take your average memory card and device. What are some of the default expectations you have when using one?
1) You should be able to get any MicroSD card on the market and be able to put it into your phone with it working.
2) You should be able to remove the memory card from the device and put it in a different device (such as another phone or PC) and have it still work like normally.
The problem with Windows Phone 7 is that it breaks these two rules.1) Many of the higher rated MicroSD card flat-out don't work on WP7. This is because of the method WP7 uses to read/write to memory card. You can find more specific details on why this is but I will just keep it simple. There are many user-created lists which list which MicroSD cards do work with WP7.
2) You can NOT hot-swap your memory card once it is inserted into phone. Why? SD stands for Secure Digital which means there is a security aspect capable on the card. Microsoft takes advantage of this in WP7. Once you put your new card in your phone automatically reformats and locks it down. If you then take out the card and place it in another phone or a PC it will not be recognized, almost as if it is invisible. And the worst part, there is nothing* you can do about it. Once you pair a memory card and WP7 phone they are joined for life.
Why does this suck? If you buy a 8GB card now you simply can't upgrade to a 16/32Gb one down the road without losing all of your data and having a useless MicroSD card. The old card would become a better Frisbee than data storage device. This is why most WP7 phones don't let the users have access to the memory card. Microsoft knew this would happen and thus pushed manufacturers to not have the card easily accessible. There is even much talk that the memory card in the Samsung Focus was meant to be glued to the phone to prevent swapping but somewhere along the line that idea was scrapped.
* Note: Technically there is ONE thing you can do. If you own or have access to a Nokia N8 phone it can read the locked down MicroSD card and reformat to something any device can recognize. Essentially undo the problem. But how many people have easy access to one? The answer, almost nobody.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're wrong. It has nothing to do with what you said. Lol @ breaking rules. They aren't breaking anything...
SD Card DRM is in the spec, it is only given to people who license it. That's what WP7 uses. It's locks down the storage system with a DRM key and that's why other devices (barring Nokias) can't see it - most SD Card clients don't support SD Card DRM.
Nokia (Symbian, and maybe Maemo, but I'm unsure on that) is the only other mobile OS that supports it, and that's why it can reformat the card (but cannot read any data on it, of course, since it doesn't have the decryption key). When you power on the phone, the WP7 pre-boot environment unlocks the card via a key on the device the same way you unlock an encrypted system drive on a PC. If a device cannot supply this key, they cannot mount the card.
If you swap the card, you have to hard reset the device because the storage is spanned and the decryption key on the device no longer corresponds to the SD card in the device (but due to spanned storage the device would malfunction even if it were to boot up). The new card is encrypted and added to the pool on a hard reset, and the [new] key is put on the device so that it can be mounted when the device is powered on.
It's pretty damn simple, and has been written in plain English in many threads; yet people still FAIL to understand it.
Have you ever thought there must be a reason why they call them SECURE Digital Cards? Or did you think Secure = taking it out one device and just plugging it into the other and taking the data off of it?
The Storage in WP7 was never meant to be swappable. Microsoft has always said it would not be. It's your own business if you want to play around swapping cards like Russian Roulette.
As far as which work with WP7. It requires higher Random I/O speeds than most SD Cards provide, and that doesn't correspond to Class Type. Also, a card can work fine for sometimes weeks at a time and then start to fail, so replacing it yourself is at your own risk.
And most manufacturers and carriers will void you warranty if you mess with the SD Card.

In that respect using memory cards is nonsense on WP7.
If you cannot do what you want with this, what was a rule and still is a rule on the market today,
they should just build devices with inbuilt memory like iPhone and don't talk about memory cards anymore. That would be simple.
Current situation is a mess.

So what cards are compatible now? I Googled it and the first response was 'San Disk Pulls WP7 compatible memory cards' and I figured that wasn't a good sign.

williammel said:
So what cards are compatible now? I Googled it and the first response was 'San Disk Pulls WP7 compatible memory cards' and I figured that wasn't a good sign.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they only pulled it because MS wants to do official testing and release an official list.
refer to this webpage for more info: http://mobilitydigest.com/the-sd-cards-that-dodont-work-with-windows-phone/

Here it is in KB form from Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2450831

N8ter said:
You're wrong. It has nothing to do with what you said. Lol @ breaking rules. They aren't breaking anything...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a figure of speech. I know Microsoft didn't break any real "rules". This is what I posted:
Quicksilver4648 said:
...
What are some of the default expectations you have when using one?
...
The problem with Windows Phone 7 is that it breaks these two rules.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I said "rules" I implied "expectations". Microsoft did nothing wrong, outside of communicating with the end users, with how WP7 manages MicroSD cards.
And I clearly know why certain MicroSD cards will or wont work. I just didn't feel like explaining it because it would take a lot of time.

It's time to start expecting people to use these technologies in a secure manner.
The media industry does not support platforms that leave them open to be attacked by software pirates.
Information is power, and no one likes their info stolen.
There are many reasons.
iOS phones encrypt their storate. And the reason why they don't support external storage cards is probably the same reason why Microsoft uses the SD-DRM and encrypts the WP7 storage.
I don't know how Symbian handles its storage, but I'm pretty sure that OS at least supports Encrypting the file system on SD cards. It supports pretty much everything ele.

Right, let me give my own perspective on this.
Until recently I was a WM6 user. I regularly upgraded my phone, and the last one was an HD2. WM phones never came with any real amount of storage, just a piffling amount of internal memory (what, 500MB?). I was therefore faced with the added cost and hassle of having to purchase a memory card and insert it into the phone. This was a bit like buying a PC without a hard disk and having to buy and install your own. It was an added hassle and expense.
Once you had your SD card inserted, you were then faced with the decision of where to store the data for each of your apps. Take email - do you store all your emails and attachments on the internal memory, thus using up a good chunk of that precious resource, but having it work quickly, or do you store it all on the SD card, where there's a lot more room but it's slow and clunky, and if anyone steals your phone they can pop the card out and get at the data? When you install apps, you're again given the choice of where to install it. Do you go for the speed of internal storage? Do you put it on the SD card, knowing if you ever pop out the card, your app will be unavailable? Decisions, decisions.... Too much damned complexity. The average user shouldn't be faced with these choices, if I install an app, it should just go on the phone wherever, period.
Not only that, once my card was in there, I never once removed it. The majority of my apps were on it, my emails, and all my media. I totally filled it with media. Popping out that card would more or less break my phone. My apps wouldn't work, my emails would be missing......so I never did. Nor did I ever use it as a mass storage drive....because there was never any free space on it. Instead I had a 32GB USB memory key hanging from my keychain - that was my portable mass storage solution.
Not only this, if I wanted to put media onto the card, I had to connect to the PC and drag and drop my stuff directly onto the phone. What a hassle! Doing this didn't optimize the size of the photos for the phone's screen. It didn't drop the bitrate of my mp3s, it didn't convert videos to the right size and format. All that had to be done manually, and I never bothered, so my media took up a lot more room than it had to. So inefficient.
So, given that I never removed the card, and that doing so would hose my phone, and that it was always full, so never got used as mass storage, and that it was insecure, and an added expense and hassle, and putting media on the card was a manual process, what would I have done in a next generation phone to cure all these issues?
Well, I would have made sure the phone came with plenty of onboard memory, and I would have removed the distinction between internal memory and the "card" so it was all one storage container. I would have secured the memory so even if it could be removed, the data couldn't be read in another device. I would have made sure the memory was fast enough to deal properly with a modern OS. I would automate the process of converting and downsizing media by using software on the PC to automatically perform those tasks. I'd also make the process wireless and fully automatic. I'd.......oh wait, that's what Microsoft already did in WP7.
So I'm happy, even if you lot ain't.

I just got 2 Focus's for the Wife and I. Using the SD card sticky in the Focus forum here as a general help, I purchased a PNY 8Gb C4 for the Wifes, and a Patriot 16Gb C2 for mine (Frys, and the Patroit was the last one in the store from the Display! No one buys C2 anymore).
The back overlay on both devices mentions memory cards, and quick startup quide shows you how to install them and what happens if you remove them.
I put the Cards in last night (phones just arrived yesterday), formatted (hold the Power/Camera/Vol Down at the same time, answer questions) and in a few seconds each system was formated. Both are working fine right now.
Right now though doesn't mean much, many in the SD thread are having issues after several weeks, though it seems it more prevalent with the 32Gb cards. YMMV...

What I find goofy about the whole thing is that it has been stated that 7 needs random read/write, which is not measured by class rating, and can vary even within the same type of card, but very few people have posted numbers showing that they tested their cards at all before gleefully sacrificing them to the hungry maw of the Focus. Seriously guys, do more testing and post more numbers before rendering your cards unreadable to a PC. It'll help us all to better understand what works and what doesn't.

This bites.. I always knew that the card inside the wp7 was secured, but I always had faith in the power of this forum. Especially in recovery situations. Now I have lost a lot of irreplaceable data, like dozens of pictures of my young child. It seems I had a little too much faith.
Thank you for this information. it was very helpful. I have already moved away from Windows phones to android, and am going to start using nandroid. Hopefully this won't happen again.

[Q] Switching devices. Questions about SD, accounts, and SIM.

I am giving my unrooted Sensation to someone else on the same plan as I am on and getting an S2. Can I keep the stuff on my SD card and transfer it over? Or do the phones have a different file structures and I must reformat the card and start from scratch? Also, can another person put their SIM card in the Sensation if it is still under my name? (Without notifying T-Mobile). Finally, I would like to be able to share some of the apps from my Play account onto what will be my friend's device, without having the account shared across email, calendar, and contacts. Is this possible?
Thank you so much. It has been a pleasure being in this forum with you all.

SensationNation said:
I am giving my unrooted Sensation to someone else on the same plan as I am on and getting an S2. Can I keep the stuff on my SD card and transfer it over? Or do the phones have a different file structures and I must reformat the card and start from scratch? Also, can another person put their SIM card in the Sensation if it is still under my name? (Without notifying T-Mobile). Finally, I would like to be able to share some of the apps from my Play account onto what will be my friend's device, without having the account shared across email, calendar, and contacts. Is this possible?
Thank you so much. It has been a pleasure being in this forum with you all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps lst is saved on the cloud, so just delete your google account from sensation and log on in galaxy and with SD card, copy all your music videos pictures and other stuff that you need, without system files like Android folder etc, then format sdcaard and put everything back on it, then put it in galaxy, it would make new files It won`t take long time, and you will be sure that your sdcard has no unneeded files That`s what I`m always doing when I swith ROMs or phones, and had no problem at all about T-Mobile I don`t know, maybe someone else would answer you with this

As far as the sim switching goes, t-mobile, being a gsm network, could care less if you put a new sim card in the phone. Tell your friend to pop in his sim and all will be right with the world.

Thank you so much, both of you! I hope that there are people like you both on the Galaxy T-989 forum.

Domingoknows said:
As far as the sim switching goes, t-mobile, being a gsm network, could care less if you put a new sim card in the phone. Tell your friend to pop in his sim and all will be right with the world.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's completely correct as far as the technical network goes. However, your friend or you might want to call T-Mobile customer care and tell them explicitly about the new devices on the accounts for non-technical reasons. There are occasional customer care things where the path is smoother if the rep doesn't have to say, "I don't see that device on your account". For example, if you need to do a warranty swap. Those things are not impossible without this, it's just that the path is smoother. For 99% of life, it doesn't matter at all.

So..what is the function of the extSD card now? What can I use it for?

Since KitKat doesn't allow movement of photos, apps, etc. to the SD card?
Now I'm wondering what is the use of my SD card cause I can't move anything to it? I don't use music on mine due to the battery life. I have a lot of photos, not sure if I need to delete now or what. I don't want to root. Thanks!
My parents are also going to get a phone w/ only 1.3 GB usable storage. And not sure what to do with photos because I can't move them to SD cards.
Also, I'm not able to save documents or recording I created to my SD card anymore. That was a reason why I bought the lowest internal space for a tablet I have. ANy tips?

Hahahalalala said:
Since KitKat doesn't allow movement of photos, apps, etc. to the SD card?
Now I'm wondering what is the use of my SD card cause I can't move anything to it? I don't use music on mine due to the battery life. I have a lot of photos, not sure if I need to delete now or what. I don't want to root. Thanks!
My parents are also going to get a phone w/ only 1.3 GB usable storage. And not sure what to do with photos because I can't move them to SD cards.
Also, I'm not able to save documents or recording I created to my SD card anymore. That was a reason why I bought the lowest internal space for a tablet I have. ANy tips?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had read some really long and interesting articles and many posts about unhappy consumers concerning this issue with KitKat 4.4 and others are still wondering what it is Google is trying to do as it seems it is all based on a more secure system for our phones security wise and as for privacy and information especially when it comes to APPs that we tend to install and these APPs always wanting access to your phones information things that are very much personal. IE: Contacts, Emails, File Placement as to what the APP installs and where it installs things too.
The problem is Google did not care to inform the Public on these changes in KitKat 4.4 OS and how the SD Card is for the most part becoming some what obsolete. Many upgrading their low end cell phones that have little internal memory/storage and now using KitKat 4.4 and not knowing nothing to these critical changes of the SD Card and all that will effect their every day use of apps and gadgets such as the camera, music player, the storing of personal files etc...
My own suggestions, people can try a custom ROM or Kernel but of course there is always the warranty issue if your cell phone product is new and voiding your warranty. Avoid buying a cell phone with KitKat on it or avoid upgrading to KitKat for the time being to see what Google does and if they are going to listen to the general public and change things or not who knows... All things to think about now and in the future.
- orbit
My 2 Cents

Noob With 3 Questions

I'm not at all Tech savvy.
When I go to my Calendar, how do I change the keyboard to numerical and back?
Also, can I change the keypad from Qwerty to a traditional keyboard?
I watched a video that claimed "Quick Charging" is detrimental to battery life.
Is that true? That's the only charger that came with my unit.
Rick

So is that like granting you 3 wishes?
What is the device in question?

rickybobb said:
I'm not at all Tech savvy.
When I go to my Calendar, how do I change the keyboard to numerical and back?
Also, can I change the keypad from Qwerty to a traditional keyboard?
I watched a video that claimed "Quick Charging" is detrimental to battery life.
Is that true? That's the only charger that came with my unit.
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
blackhawk said:
So is that like granting you 3 wishes?
What is the device in question?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My apologies, Galaxy A42 5G
Btw, if you're granting me 3 wishes, I actually have 4.
But that's a discussion for another time.

Yes, well... be careful what you wish for
Your Android is only as good as you organize and configure it to be. Always keep in my mind what do you would need to fully restore the phone if it crashed right this second. That way you will learn to do this almost effortlessly in time. Ask yourself the hard questions, like what would I do if I lost all my contacts? Answer, create multiple backup files that are stored on the PC and data hdds. Do this with all critical data that can't be replaced.
Fast charging is more stressful on the battery. Not sure about that Samsung but if it has the app Device Care you can disable fast charging there.
As for the rest use the gear icon on the keyboard to access settings.
Play with it, that's how you learn. It's almost impossible to crash* a stock Android so explore it.
Do Google searches and learn from others by reading.
Eventually it will become intuitive how to fix issues even when you see behavior you never saw before. The Android platform is many times much easier to use and troubleshoot than the Windows platform.
Play with it... Android wuv attention
* always backup all critical data on the phone redundantly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. Otherwise you will lose data, sooner or latter.
If you have a SD card slot, get a V30 rated card and use it as a data drive. All critical data and backups go here. Then backup the SD card regularly. Only the apps, the temporary download folder and the DCIM folder go on the internal memory.
Backup the contents on the DCIM folder to the SD card regularly however Do Not name that DCIM, name it something like Photos 2021.

blackhawk said:
Yes, well... be careful what you wish for
Your Android is only as good as you organize and configure it to be. Always keep in my mind what do you would need to fully restore the phone if it crashed right this second. That way you will learn to do this almost effortlessly in time. Ask yourself the hard questions, like what would I do if I lost all my contacts? Answer, create multiple backup files that are stored on the PC and data hdds. Do this with all critical data that can't be replaced.
Fast charging is more stressful on the battery. Not sure about that Samsung but if it has the app Device Care you can disable fast charging there.
As for the rest use the gear icon on the keyboard to access settings.
Play with it, that's how you learn. It's almost impossible to crash* a stock Android so explore it.
Do Google searches and learn from others by reading.
Eventually it will become intuitive how to fix issues even when you see behavior you never saw before. The Android platform is many times much easier to use and troubleshoot than the Windows platform.
Play with it... Android wuv attention
* always backup all critical data on the phone redundantly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. Otherwise you will lose data, sooner or latter.
If you have a SD card slot, get a V30 rated card and use it as a data drive. All critical data and backups go here. Then backup the SD card regularly. Only the apps, the temporary download folder and the DCIM folder go on the internal memory.
Backup the contents on the DCIM folder to the SD card regularly however Do Not name that DCIM, name it something like Photos 2021.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much!
I'll take your advice.

rickybobb said:
Thank you very much!
I'll take your advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome.
Lots to do. It takes time but make backing up your data and the ability to fully restore the apps and data after a crash a priority.
One data is lost, it is gone for ever.
Any apps that allow you to backup their settings, do so. Don't forget backing up important passwords.
NEVER encrypt data drives!!! Do not rely on Samsung SmartSwitch as a stand alone data backup!
You can use Apk Export to make installable copies of all your loaded apps even updates so you can reload them without Playstore. All my apps are backed up like this. Even if Playstore discontinues them... I have a copy.