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How DO you access the 16gigs internal on PC?

I'm a Nexus One owner, previously G1/MyTouch3G also, so I'm no n00b.
With all Androids, if you have a microSD card, you just plug in the USB and you can mount the microSD card as a drive and copy stuff to it. Which is necessary since we have stupid small ass internal storage. Also it's where we copy pictures/mp3s to it.
So now, with the Samsung Galaxy S series of phones with 16 GIGS of internal storage, how do we ACCESS this storage from the PC so we can copy pictures/mp3s to the internal storage? Is there a way to MOUNT the internal storage?
I haven't read a SINGLE thing about this.
It would REALLY suck if we had to manually do it: Mount microSD, copy stuff to it, unmount, use a file explorer on the phone itself and manually move the files into internal storage.
Yeah there's probably root apps and such that you can ssh in, or use adb to transfer, but that's NOT ideal.
Would be nice is the internal storage auto mounts when mounting microSD like Garmin GPS systems. Garmin GPS systems have SD card slot, when you plug it in, you can see the INTERNAL Garmin memory as well as whatever is on the SD card. (You'll see 2 removable storage devices mounting in Windows).

I think when it's plugged in, the normal notice pops up in the notification bar. But instead of just asking you to mount, it asks if you want to mount internal or the sd card.

nxt said:
I'm a Nexus One owner, previously G1/MyTouch3G also, so I'm no n00b.
With all Androids, if you have a microSD card, you just plug in the USB and you can mount the microSD card as a drive and copy stuff to it. Which is necessary since we have stupid small ass internal storage. Also it's where we copy pictures/mp3s to it.
So now, with the Samsung Galaxy S series of phones with 16 GIGS of internal storage, how do we ACCESS this storage from the PC so we can copy pictures/mp3s to the internal storage? Is there a way to MOUNT the internal storage?
I haven't read a SINGLE thing about this.
It would REALLY suck if we had to manually do it: Mount microSD, copy stuff to it, unmount, use a file explorer on the phone itself and manually move the files into internal storage.
Yeah there's probably root apps and such that you can ssh in, or use adb to transfer, but that's NOT ideal.
Would be nice is the internal storage auto mounts when mounting microSD like Garmin GPS systems. Garmin GPS systems have SD card slot, when you plug it in, you can see the INTERNAL Garmin memory as well as whatever is on the SD card. (You'll see 2 removable storage devices mounting in Windows).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No luck accessing internal RAM from me either (and I think other reviewers on CNET had the same bad luck)...Just got mine on Friday, and it is great except for connecting to the PC (64bit Vista) looping through MTP mode (the device keeps flashing back and forth between main screen and MTP mode, and the PC keeps trying to install the right driver to access the device as a USB mass storage device). Multiple restarts and messing with the device in Device Manager yielded no results, so I just used removable SD card to add files to the device. That obviously works fine, but is irritating.
Anyone else having trouble accessing Captivate as Mass Storage Device?
Best wishes to all.

I can't tell if you're using the Captivate driver located here.
Loosely related...I'm curious as to whether all the work going on in the Modaco SGS forums to optimize I/O (such as this) is applicable at all to the Captivate...anyone know?

I installed the driver on my Win7 machine.
I set up the USB to ask when I plug it in. I select Mass Storage. Two drives show up in the list of drivers, but when I click either one, it says "Please insert a disk in the removable disk".
What am I missing?
[EDIT]
Hang on, there was a window behind my windows with a message about install failure, device unplugged. Trying again.
[EDIT2]
Installed again. Didn't get error. Using same method as above, still no go.
So then I select PC Internet the next time I plugged in the USB cable, and it then gave the Windows POPUP saying Installing Drivers, and finished with Ready to Use. But, now I don't see the drives in Explorer. So I launched Windows Mobile Device Center...didn't see anything.

In settings goto Applications > USB Settings > select "Mass Storage" and viola!

moosefist said:
In settings goto Applications > USB Settings > select "Mass Storage" and viola!
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Click to collapse
I have the popup set to ask, and as noted in my post, I did select Mass Storage first couple times. It does show drives, but but when I click either one, it says "Please insert a disk in the removable disk".
Thanks for the suggestion though.

The windows 7 drivers for htc android phones are hosed in general for me. I have to use linux in a virtual machine to access ANY htc android phone.

once you hit mass storage, if you bring the notification bar down, you can click the "usb" setting and select mount. Perhaps that will work? (or is that for mac only?)

once you hit mass storage, if you bring the notification bar down, you can click the "usb" setting and select mount. Perhaps that will work? (or is that for mac only?)
yes, when you do this you will be able to access both drives without it asking you to insert a disk

I am new to android so I had this problem for a while. But you made my day madjsp. I have been trying to get this phone connected to my pc for the past 2 days, but with very little success. The kies software detected my phone only twice. But this connection was very erratic. Just to copy 200mb of photos the link showed a transfer time of 7 hours. The device would often disconnect itself after like 10 secs.
But until samsung fixes their software and drivers, the mass storage option works very reliably for transfering files between pc and (internal+external) sd cards.
My directions:
1) Choose the Mass storage option in USB settings of the device
2) Then connect to the comp.
3) There should be a message in the notification bar: "USB connected. Select to copy files to/from your computer" . Tap the notification and select mount from the popup.
Now you can view both sd cards from pc and transfer files to/fro w/ ease.
The last step is the most important one. For all those having the problem where clicking the drive in the pc reads "Insert a media into the drive", this should fix the problem. Maybe it is something android specific that I didn't know...

Same thing happen to me, i found drivers on this site and instead or hitting mass storage when it is connect to PC, I hit media PLAYER and it worked fine i was able to see the 16GB and my SD card, Loaded music and videos and pics with no problem, also remember only plug into the back of computer. you can find drivers on this site that will work on like pages 3-6

doomah69 said:
Same thing happen to me, i found drivers on this site and instead or hitting mass storage when it is connect to PC, I hit media PLAYER and it worked fine i was able to see the 16GB and my SD card, Loaded music and videos and pics with no problem, also remember only plug into the back of computer. you can find drivers on this site that will work on like pages 3-6
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Click to collapse
Selecting Media player worked for me as well. I now can see and have access to both my internal and external / removable SD card. Good lookin' out!

Card Reader and Other USB devices

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.
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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.
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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.

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...
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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.

[Q] how to mount / connect android phone's SD card?

when i connect my htc desire via usb to the keyboard dock and i select "mount as removable disc" i cannot then find the phone's sd card in either the stock file browser on the transformer or in ES file explorer.
the card appears to mount as i lose access to my sdcard only apps on the desire but there is no popup screen on the transformer like you get with a usb flash stick for example.
any help getting the sdcard mounted via usb (i definately dont fancy removing the card from the phone just to copy a few files).
i know there are bluetooth options to workaround this but they are slower and less reliable than a usb cable.
thanks in advance!

gunswick said:
when i connect my htc desire via usb to the keyboard dock and i select "mount as removable disc" i cannot then find the phone's sd card in either the stock file browser on the transformer or in ES file explorer.
the card appears to mount as i lose access to my sdcard only apps on the desire but there is no popup screen on the transformer like you get with a usb flash stick for example.
any help getting the sdcard mounted via usb (i definately dont fancy removing the card from the phone just to copy a few files).
i know there are bluetooth options to workaround this but they are slower and less reliable than a usb cable.
thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm wondering the same thing

I don't know if you tried this, but I use dropbox to move files around between devices.

yeah i use dropbox but obviously a direct transfer of the files with a usb cable will be much quicker and simpler. with dropbox you have to upload files (for example 2gb of music) which would take hours, and then download it again taking a long time.
to transfer 2gb with the usb cable takes 5 minutes max!
i suppose i could use a pc in the middle, so mount the phone's sdcard and then mount the tfr itself as and use the pc to copy paste between them but thats a pain as i dont want to need 3 devices for these things.
bluetooth is ok for small files like apps etc but not for anything larger

Have you managed to mount the Transformer to a PC with a drive letter assigned to it? The Transformer always shows up as a Portable Media Player, which doesn't allow me to mount it with a drive letter.
I am trying to sync some files to the Transformer, but need a drive letter for my sync software to work.

gunswick said:
when i connect my htc desire via usb to the keyboard dock and i select "mount as removable disc" i cannot then find the phone's sd card in either the stock file browser on the transformer or in ES file explorer.
the card appears to mount as i lose access to my sdcard only apps on the desire but there is no popup screen on the transformer like you get with a usb flash stick for example.
any help getting the sdcard mounted via usb (i definately dont fancy removing the card from the phone just to copy a few files).
i know there are bluetooth options to workaround this but they are slower and less reliable than a usb cable.
thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the transformer properly finds the removable device it will go in /Removable/ The phone SD cards don't seem to trigger the transformer to mount external storage. You'll see the popup for like a split second. My guess is that it has something to do with the file format. I'm not sure though.

Any solution to this?!
I succeeded to mount phone's microsd properly but not my Internal sdcard.
If you still can't figure out how to mount your external sd just plug your phone into the dock, go to settings > memory > scroll all the way down and then mount the storage .
Oh, I think that you've to be on Honeycomb 3.2 btw
This allows you to mount your external mocro sd but not your internal.

[Q] How to mount only external SD?

Whenever I plug in the phone to my computer via USB, it loads it as two separate drive letters. This is fine and good for the PC side of things.
The problem is that I want to be able to use the phone's external SD as a mass storage device that attaches to a new car's USB port. The car always throws back an "unsupported" error, and I'm betting it has everything to do with the fact that the phone tries to mount the 2 cards. The car just doesn't know how to handle that information.
So, does anyone know of a tweak or setting that would force the phone to only mount one or the other, preferably the external?

I've removed the external SD card and plugged the phone in to the car. It doesn't error out now, but I didn't give it ample time to find music hidden in the internal SD.
That being the case, I still would like to know if there is a way to disable USB mass storage for one or the other without having to shift things around all the time. There's a reason why all of my music is on the external SD--it's a 16GB card and I have a ton of music.

The only way I can think of is by mounting it in clockwork recovery console. That would give you access to the music...but you'd lose the functionality of the phone during that time, so doesn't seem like it would be a viable route for you to take...but I suppose if you wanted to do bug testing to see if your external WOULD mount to your cars usb, that's one way to check that out.
Hope this helps.

I'll give that a try this afternoon. You're right, though, it does defeat the purpose--I'd really like a functioning phone while I drive. I'm sure there's a way to adjust this, I just don't know enough about the inner workings to make it happen.

Hello devitec,
I have the same Problem in a BMW with a Samsung Galaxy SII phone. I have no satisfying solution but I can use below workaround.
The BMW cannot mount both drives, but he chooses randomly one of the two. Because there are no music-files on the internal sd, it gives me an errormessage. On every second try i get the external sd which is browsable like a usb-stick. The album- and artist-informations are not parsed for the BMW-filterfunctions, so i can only choose by directory.
I hope this workaround will also work in your car.
max01001111
P.S.: The Samsung galaxy SII has to be in debug mode to mount without kies-support.

what if you guys try to unmount the internal sd before you connect ur phone to ur car?
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