Card Reader and Other USB devices - G Tablet General

I have a quick question. I have TnT lite 2.2 installed on my Gtab. If I plug in a USB thumbdrive, I can find the files on the Gtab. If I use a USB card reader, I cannot see where the files come up. I have gone through every folder, and the reader simply does not show up (yes, with a card in the reader).
Also, do all USB devices work? Where do they show up?
I am used to PC work, so getting used to this tablet is a bit of work

kewldude151 said:
I have a quick question. I have TnT lite 2.2 installed on my Gtab. If I plug in a USB thumbdrive, I can find the files on the Gtab. If I use a USB card reader, I cannot see where the files come up. I have gone through every folder, and the reader simply does not show up (yes, with a card in the reader).
Also, do all USB devices work? Where do they show up?
I am used to PC work, so getting used to this tablet is a bit of work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try looking for usbdisk folder either using es file explorer or root explorer. Files from usb disk are in there

New2Android said:
Try looking for usbdisk folder either using es file explorer or root explorer. Files from usb disk are in there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that folder and it did not recognize the reader. The folder was empty.

kewldude151 said:
I tried that folder and it did not recognize the reader. The folder was empty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try and reboot and then plug it in. if it still doesn't work, then maybe it just doesn't read the reader. only reads usb drives directly. it would be in the usbdisk folder btw.

Also keep in mind a lot of card readers (if not all) act like a bunch of drives even when there's nothing installed in them. That's why Windows pre-reserves drive letters for every slot on the gadget.
Readers like that may not work due to lack of proper drivers in Android ? Just a guess.

I don't have a portable SD reader at the moment (time for a DX order, I think). But, I have a microSD reader - one of those pen drives where you can add a microSD to it. That works fine in the VEGAn build, and I believe TnT Lite as well.

Tried the card reader for the CF cards from my camera. Had to plug the cable in 2 times but the card was seen and readable.

NMCBR600 said:
Tried the card reader for the CF cards from my camera. Had to plug the cable in 2 times but the card was seen and readable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was it a dedicated CF card reader or one of the multi readers? I have a multi reader I tried but couldnt get to come up. I am looking into a dedicated reader to see if that works.

It was a dedicated CF reader.

Since there is more than one slot, and Windows treats them as more than one drive, I would assume that one of the slots gets assigned as /usbdisk and the others are ignored. You are probably using one of the slots that is ignored.
Hopefully when we get the source, we can address these kinds of issues.

So essentially to get this to work, one needs to have just a dedicated reader for whatever style of memory card in use?

Cryofix in IRC has said that his 5-1 card reader worked. USB hubs work, so I don't see why these wouldn't. If you can, try putting a card in all of the slots to see if one is detected and then you'll know priority. There may be a way to remount the drives to different orders, but I have no idea how you would.

If you're rooted and have shell access you could manually mount the drives provided they're seen. They should be seen, I've had 6 devices hanging off a hub for mine and other than not knowing how(or not having the driver) to mount the DVD's UDF/ISO filesystem they all worked.

Count me in among the TnT Lite users who haven't yet figured out how to get their SD card reader to be recognized or mount. Mine has an LED on it that doesn't light up, leading me to believe it's not receiving power.

Related

Copying large files to sd card

I am trying to copy an 80Mb file to my card via my ActiveSync connection. It gets about 25% of the way and I lose the connection. I have tried with a card reader and still it fails (and stops my reader responding). I have tried formatting the card but still have the same problem. This problem has always existed but after repeated attemps I have always managed to get the file across - but this time it just will not go!
Does anyone else have problems like this?
It is strange that you cant copy to the card via a card reader/writer. Have you tried formatting on the pda and the pc. There is a good program called storage tools for formatting, it has many options.
http://www.softwinter.com/storagetools.html
I had some issues like that with my Dazzle USB 2.0 card reader when plugged into my USB2.0 port.
I'd attempt to copy a large file over, then it would come up with some error, the drives would then disappear then re-appear but I wouldn't be able to copy to the drive again until I removed the device from the USB port.
I gave up in the end and bought a Shuttle USB2.0 3.5" bay card reader and have had no problems since.

SD"2" Mount Issue

My first thread that I can call my own.
Question for you all. Is there an easier way to transfer files over the the GTAB then having to pop out the SD Card and put it into an adapter and then into the computer and then out of the computer, out of the adapter and back in the GTAB?
Because every time I mount the USB, it only mounts the "internal" SD Card. Is there some sort of way to get it to mount both the internal and external SD Card?
I hate messing with the external SD Card. All the "popping in and out" makes me nervous.
I even tried mounting the internal SD Card and then copying the movies/music/etc.. over to the external SD Card via a file manager... but that is DAMNNNNN slow.
I haven't found a way (yet). Given that neither the zPad or TnT stock builds work, I'm thinking it's not that easy to do. Drives me nuts as well because I really don't want to keep taking the card out over and over and potentially damage it, over time.
That's exactly what I am worried about. LOL
I can just picture not paying 100% attention and snapping the card in half or, breaking the "locking" mechanism that holds the card in place.
roebeet said:
I haven't found a way (yet). Given that neither the zPad or TnT stock builds work, I'm thinking it's not that easy to do. Drives me nuts as well because I really don't want to keep taking the card out over and over and potentially damage it, over time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have ADB, can you do adb pull or push?
Jim
My workaround has been to use the LAN tab in ES File Explorer to copy data wirelessly to sdcard2. Probably not the speediest method but it keeps the card in place.
The techie/hacker solution to easy file transfer is to use the Rsync for Android app in the market store. Once you have it setup, (not the easiest thing to do) it works great for moving files automated from your gtab back to an rsync server (my linux box to the rescue). I even have a secondary profile to get it to reverse rsync a specified directory FROM my linux box to my gtab. Presto -- easy file transfer via wifi!!!
Also, another idea might be to use Dropbox?
Jim
P0RT3R said:
My workaround has been to use the LAN tab in ES File Explorer to copy data wirelessly to sdcard2. Probably not the speediest method but it keeps the card in place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do the same thing. It's mighty slow, but it works.
roebeet - an idea that almost worked - maybe you know why?
roebeet said:
I haven't found a way (yet). Given that neither the zPad or TnT stock builds work, I'm thinking it's not that easy to do. Drives me nuts as well because I really don't want to keep taking the card out over and over and potentially damage it, over time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
You all got me curious, so I just tried the following:
- Created a dir under /mnt/sdcard, /mnt/sdcard/mymnt
- Get temp root (z4root)
- Start terminal
- su
- mount -t vfat /dev/block/vold/179:17 /mnt/sdcard/mymnt
At this point, I can access the sdcard2 by using /mnt/sdcard/mymnt or simply /sdcard/mymnt.
So, I disabled USB debugging, and I get the popup asking if I want to activate USB transfer (I'm on 3452, on earlier TNT firmware, it use to say enable USB storage).
I click the button to Activate, and then another window pops up, and I click Activate.
Then, the popup just stays there, with the spinning thing. It never enables USB transfer, and, on my PC, I see the removable drive, but when I click on it, it says it's not ready.
I've also tried umounting /mnt/sdcard2, thinking that it might be confused because of the two mounts to /dev/block/vold/179:17, but it still does the same thing.
So:
- It looks like I can mount the /dev/block/vold/179:17 (the external microSD card) under /mnt/sdcard, and
- When I do that mount, I can see the contents of the external microSD card in terminal under /mnt/sdcard/mymnt and under /sdcard/mymnt, but
- For some reason, turning off USB debugging/activatiing USB transfer fails.
Maybe someone can figure out why activating the USB transfer fails. If we can figure that out, then that would allow seeing the external microSD card via the PC USB interface.
Jim
I think it would need to mount both volumes -- the internal SDcard and the external SDCARD2 -- separately...
Using a mount (reparse) works internally since they are on the same device -- but if you try to mount SDCARD externally it doesn't understand the reference to SDCARD2
My phone actually mounts to the computer as two drives -- one for internal (SDCARD) and the other for external (SDCARD2)
I'd assume there is a way to have something similar work on our gTablets...
I'll have to slap a spare microSD card into the tablet to try though...wondering if teh INF needs to be tweaked as well (??)
From what Ive seen or experienced, Cyanogen was the only rom that Had the Sd card and Sd card2 Thing fixed right (with exception of having to plug in the Power cord before mounting). Evrey other Rom seems to have problems. But Cyanogen has way too many other problems so I use Vegan since to me it seems the most stable :s
Yeah -- my phone is running a fork from Cyanogenmod 6...so the code is shared
TeutonicWolf said:
I think it would need to mount both volumes -- the internal SDcard and the external SDCARD2 -- separately...
Using a mount (reparse) works internally since they are on the same device -- but if you try to mount SDCARD externally it doesn't understand the reference to SDCARD2
My phone actually mounts to the computer as two drives -- one for internal (SDCARD) and the other for external (SDCARD2)
I'd assume there is a way to have something similar work on our gTablets...
I'll have to slap a spare microSD card into the tablet to try though...wondering if teh INF needs to be tweaked as well (??)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the problem... When the Gtab is plugged into the PC USB (while USB debug is disabled), only one new "drive" appears, corresponding to /sdcard on the Gtab. There is no 2nd drive appearing on the PC corresponding to /sdcard2 on the Gtab.
I've been looking at my Windows configuration, with the Gtab plugged in, and the one drive that appears shows up under "Portable Devices" branch in Device Manager. The properties show that it corresponds to "wpdfs.inf", and looking through that, it looks like a generic USB Mass Storage configuration, i.e., a USB drive.
I still think that something would need to be fixed on the Gtab end for the two drives to appear on the Windows end.
Jim
app fix
I have found a workaround for the issue with the installation of a single app:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12299831&postcount=2
Depending on what you want to do, an FTP solution is also possible as discussed in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=869844
By using swiFTP, I am able to open a connection through a Win7 windows explorer, and I can drag-and-drop files to SDCARD2 (over a wireless connection). I put a 1Gig movie on the card and it took about 12 minutes.
Another option is to use Multi Mount SD-Card. This is link is for the lite version, there is also a paid version.
This app works outside the embedded SD Card Mounting scheme that comes with Froyo.
With this you dont have to press the "Mount USB" button that comes up in the notification bar when you attach the USB cable. Instead it will auto-mount the either the internal or the external SD Card when you plug in the cable.
(Having configured the setting of your choice before hand).
Unfortunately it can not mount both at the same time.
It works with my GTAB and I'm using VEGAn 5.1 Beta.
(Without the 5.1.1 Suppliment patch)
Folks are still struggling with this?
Use a USB flash drive, I do it all the time. Just a regular, boring, Windows FAT-formatted flash drive.
Wow it is amazing that this problem still exists.
I am a new owner of a Gtab and have had it for less than 2 days. Thank goodness for the many informative posts on this site, that have helped me make my new toy almost perfect.
I updated to 3588, installed cwm and titanbackup, vegan5.1.1 including the suppl patch and even learned how to tether it to my Samsung Captivate. The one thing that was annoying me was my device not seeing the 16 gb microsd card that I had inserted both in the gtab and on my pc.
After reading this thread, it looks like I am not going crazy, but it seems like my device is destined to not acknowledge this addtional storage in it's settings?
I really was hoping to use the external card for videos and my mp3 collection, so I am missing something or did I do something wrong to make this happen?
I would appreciate any comments or suggestions since this is the only thing that I need to get squared away before I install more apps(with the possibility and ever present threat of having to re-install something I may have already done)
I could not post this question in the dev section since I do not have enough posts to allow me to.
Thanks
Tina

I am Freakin Lost.....

Ok Guys,
I have just done the rom swap on my tablet. Everything went fine and thanks to the easy direction builder....worked great. I have a few questions because I am lost. Please help me understand what I have here and how to fix the broke things if they are actually broke.
I can't read a usb jump drive from the usb port
My computer does not see the tablet now that I have changed the rom
Now for my lost part. I am trying to figure out how to move things around on this unit but I can't seem to make the sdcard and sdcard2 make sence. When I dismount the sd card I loose stuff on both sdcard and sdcard2, but when I mount the card again I get back stuff on both. I am trying to figure out which is which. I have heard the sdcard2 in the external but it just does not figure in my head. I hit the home button on the file manager and it brings up sdcard and sdcard2 along with a lot of other stuff. When I click on sdcard it shows all the stuff on the mini sd I have installed and when I click on sdcard2 it shows DCIM & LOST.DIR. That seems to be the internal but it is listed as sdcard2...what gives. Someone please get me up to speed. Also I had some tunes on here and there was cover art that showed when it played and now it is gone......no idea as to where it went.
Sorry for the newb questions but I have never had a tablet like this and it is all new to me.
Thanks
Brad
redbullsushi,
First, if you want more help you will have to give more info. You don't say what rom you are using, etc. That would help.
Second.....when you look at the file manager:
/sdcard -- is the internal memory of you tablet.
/sdcard 2 -- is the name assigned to the miniSD card slot with the external miniSD.
/usbdisk -- is the USB key (large) port.
Don't know why they named them that way but might as well get used to it!
Now sort out what you can and get back here with more info on your G-Tablet and the software on it.
Rev
Yea sorry about that
I am running Vegan 5.1
And I had read about the strange names but mine seem to be backwards. Everything that I think is on my minisd is listed as sdcard.....when i dismount my sdcard in the system I don't see all my stuff anymore and the sdcard shows a blank folder. The sdcard2 still shows the DCIM and LOST.DIR. So it appears to me to be backwards.
I also got the usb storage to work by mounting it in clockwork but the usb connection to my computer is still not working.
Thanks
Vegan does not properly display the microsd storage in the System Settings. When you dismount the sdcard in Vegan from the System Settings, it will dismount the internal storage as this is option in the settings is not referring to the external micro sd. You don't need to be dismounting the sd card in your settings really.
While in Vegan, when you connect the USB to your computer, a notification should pop up in the tablet to enable USB storage, you need to make sure this is turned on, then your pc should see the tablet, and it will see your internal memory (/sdcard).
Turn off your tablet and remove your microsd card and plug it into a card reader, I'm guessing you'll see the DCIM folder.
Ok,
so got the usb working...mine did not offer the turn on option. i had to pull the toolbar down from the top to enable that. should i have usb debugging on?
also, my computer does not read sdhc cards so if anyone has some info on updating a machine running win7 to read that it would be helpful. i have tried both my on board reader and my usb reader and neither work. i assume they are out dated and i need to buy another reader?
that being said how do i see my minisd on the machine other than it is listed as sdcard not sdcard2. i know this because when i hooked to the usb and connected to my cpu i saw all of the things that are listed on sdcard2.....arg
so i must make the assumption that sdcard is my external and sdcard2 is my internal?.......is that right?
Thanks
Also,
I have tried to move some tunes from the sdcard to sdcard2(external/minisd) and it says file cant be moved. I also don't see anywhere that my minisd size is listed......I know this is all noob to you guys but wow this is frustrating. I appreciate the help very much.
Thanks
that being said how do i see my minisd on the machine other than it is listed as sdcard not sdcard2. i know this because when i hooked to the usb and connected to my cpu i saw all of the things that are listed on sdcard2.....arg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not making much sense to me. Maybe I'm reading this wrong...you're asking how you can see your microsd on your pc (it's microsd, not minisd, minisd is a different format), but at the same time you do see it on your pc (which shouldn't be the case).
On your tablet, what do you see in the /sdcard folder? What do you see in the /sdcard2 folder? On your pc, what do you see when you've connected the tablet to your pc?
Sorry again.......i meant micro not mini. When i look at sdcard i see a bunch of files. When i look at sdcard2 i see the DCIM file. So when i connected to pc i took out microsd to make sure i knew what i was looking at. So sdcard is internal and sdcard2 is micro like you said. I am trying to get used to this.
My struggle now is the 2 avi apps dont play the avi i downloaded. I am also finding apps that wont install, and they seem to be the best of what i need ie: pdf ereader and avi video player. And i cant move files from sdcard to sdcard2.
And let me say dude thanks for your help and i hate you were the poor bast*rd that has tried to help. I appteciate it and if it woild be easier for you to chat on phone i will PM my cell.
Thanks
Get vitalplayer from the market. It plays videos well. My divx/xvid files play well using vitalplayer. It's also dependent on how your videos were encoded.

Copy from one USB-device to another with Asus Infinity

Hello,
New to Android and new to this forum. I have my TF700T two weeks now and I'm glad I bought it. My target is to copy the content of my Compact Flash cards (16GB each - from my DSLR) to a portable hard drive. Therefore I tried to connect both a card reader and a portable hard drive via an auto-powered USB-hub to the only usb-connection of my tablet. I even tried with another hub and even with a third hub. The only result was that my tablet only found the first device that was connected (regardless wich one: the CF-card or the HD) with the hub and not both at the same time, so copying from the CF-card to the drive isn't possible in one step. Sure I can copy the CF-card to the internal memory of the tablet and in a second pass move it to the HD, but that is very time-consuming.
Anyone who knows how to connect more then one usb-device at the same time via a powered USB-hub and do a file transfer between them? Your help is greatly appriciated.
You can use wi fi transfer to do it with a file manager, like file expert.
tbtaf said:
You can use wi fi transfer to do it with a file manager, like file expert.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@tbtaf: When on vacation or on a photo trip I only have that portable hd, my tablet and a powered usb hub. I think a Wifi appraoch is not applicable then. Or am I missing something?
Sounds like you need to setup a second mount point for the additional device - don't know if that can actually be done or not, but I do know that some people who could not even connect the first device were able to manually specify the device by mounting it in a terminal window.
I'm not sure 100% on the code, but let me try to find out.
Or you could copy the 16 Gb CF card onto the pad's internal memory (or external MicroSD card), disconnect it, connect the HD and then copy it out again.
HeartWare42 said:
Or you could copy the 16 Gb CF card onto the pad's internal memory (or external MicroSD card), disconnect it, connect the HD and then copy it out again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He already mentioned, he doesn't want to do this, he wants to copy straight.
For now, it's not possible since the powered hub or non power hub unable to recognize 2 devices at the same time.
CF, now there's nostalgia if anything. I thought those became outdated over 3 years ago... Fact is the CF is hardly compatible with mobile devices these days.
No, you can't copy from an external cardreader directly onto an external HDD through your tablet. It can only read 1 storage device in the USB port. Multiple devices works, but multiple storages doesn't. Some people have had some success with USB Flashdrives/Pendrives instead of HDD's though. You could try that.
You can copy from an SD to HDD easily though, so you could consider using an SD with a CF adapter if your camera has no SD slot. (SD's have the added advantage that the pins can't bent.)

Phone storeage (SDcard) backup

On my previous devices, I occasionally pulled out the removeable SD card, and ran a backup of the card to my laptop hard disk. I ended up with a 32GB card which was filled with music, videos, and work documents. So, I got the 32GB S III to have plenty of room. So now, generally, I have my music, documents, etc., on the S III internal 32GB SDcard as it is called. I have my videos and a few other huge items on the external removeable extSDcard.
Now the problem is, there is no practical way for me to back up the internal storage. It won't fit on what is left of my external card. I have a issues with my laptop so USB does not work, or is unreliable when it does, and too slow anyway. I don't really want to use the cloud. I have tried FTP, and it works, but clunky.
I'm thinking about getting an external hard disk and using an OTG cable. That is about the closest I can come to what I want.
Does anyone have any good solutions? I guess I could get a 64GB card, but if I got a 64GB card, I would prefer stuffing more videos and such on it, not wasting it for backup.
I'm rooted, simply so I could freeze some bloatware.
There are a bunch of questions I'd need an answer to before I could even begin to help:
What about your computer is making the USB connection spotty? Are the USB ports damaged?
What ROM are you running on your device?
What OS are you running on your laptop?
Are you familiar at all with adb? Do you have it set up to work on your laptop?
IMPORTANT: Backing up 32GB of data from anything to anything will take a long time. USB OTG will still run at USB speeds, so probably not much faster than trying to backup over USB to your laptop. Your best option will probably be something like my adb_bak2computer tool. Shameless plug I know, but its true. Well, only if you are running linux or mac (for now at least).
In the advanced options menu you can select "userdata" which will backup /data including your internal sdcard. I could write a new option to only backup the internal sdcard, actually I think I will.
Still, need answers to those questions.
Ta,
ALQI
USB is out. Long story, but basically, the laptop has an internal hub to drive all of the USB ports. A lot of devices refuse to cooperate when they are on the other end of a USB hub. Nice laptop other then that annoyance.
worwig said:
USB is out. Long story, but basically, the laptop has an internal hub to drive all of the USB ports. A lot of devices refuse to cooperate when they are on the other end of a USB hub. Nice laptop other then that annoyance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most machines have a "USB hub" that drives multiple USB ports, so that shouldn't be a problem. Even if you were using an external USB Hub, and it was a powered hub, you should still be fine. Could be something wonky with your OS?
Anyhoo, if you've ruled out USB to your laptop, then its either some sort of Wifi file explorer (or wireless adb), or USB OTG.
Hope that helps,
ALQI
alquimista said:
Most machines have a "USB hub" that drives multiple USB ports, so that shouldn't be a problem. Even if you were using an external USB Hub, and it was a powered hub, you should still be fine. Could be something wonky with your OS?
Anyhoo, if you've ruled out USB to your laptop, then its either some sort of Wifi file explorer (or wireless adb), or USB OTG.
Hope that helps,
ALQI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not going to waste another minute on USB to the laptop. The USB has not worked on this laptop for years. I hope to purchase a new laptop early next year, or maybe a Surface Pro. Also, even when USB is working, I can't MOUNT it as a drive letter, so normal backup programs don't see it. I have to manually cut and paste. But that is all another story.
I really want to be able to MOUNT the S III SDcard as a drive over WiFi. That would be perfect. Then I could run an automatic backup script.
worwig said:
I really want to be able to MOUNT the S III SDcard as a drive over WiFi. That would be perfect. Then I could run an automatic backup script.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use an app called "FolderSync" that lets you sync whatever you want with a shared windows folder. I do this on a schedule to backup my internal and external SD cards over my home network. But it is kinda slow, so if you have 32gb then it could take all day if you are syncing for the first time.
I use FolderSync quite a bit because it also supports Dropbox and a bunch of other cloud services. It was well worth the money for the paid version, but there is a Lite version also. I don't know what the limitation are on that.
Bort76 said:
I use an app called "FolderSync" that lets you sync whatever you want with a shared windows folder. I do this on a schedule to backup my internal and external SD cards over my home network. But it is kinda slow, so if you have 32gb then it could take all day if you are syncing for the first time.
I use FolderSync quite a bit because it also supports Dropbox and a bunch of other cloud services. It was well worth the money for the paid version, but there is a Lite version also. I don't know what the limitation are on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds like the ticket. I'll try it for a while and report back.
EDIT: After a quick test, this looks to be nearly perfect. I can set it up to sync to my network drive (or about any other wireless storage) with ease. Thanks.

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