Ok. I need help and I've looked everywhere and tried everything I know. This is the 3rd Atrix that this has happened to me and I can't imagine it is something I did to 3 separate Atrixes.
My question is what happens to programs that are moved to the SD Card - which for the Atrix is an internal storage area known as the Media Area?
What happens is that I install lots of apps that I find useful and fun. I move the larger ones over to the SD Card(Media Area). Which was all good for a couple of days. Then today I tried to update a couple of apps and one of them hung. Meaning it downloaded and said it was installing but just kept trying to install. From that point on, anything I had moved to the SD Card(Media Area) will not load. When I start a program that tells me the number of apps installed and where, it does not list any on the SD Card. When I go to the app manager in settings menu, ALL the apps that are installed on the main memory keep saying "Computing..." where it should say what size the file is. And of course any that I moved to the SD Card are not listed.
On top of this, I can't install anything from the market. I can press the button to install, but it doesn't do anything. Just sits there. When I try to push an app from the market on the web it downloads, but doesn't install.
I can navigate on the SD Card(Media Area) and move, copy, delete files all I want there so it isn't a problem with the SD Card(Media Area)
Now on my other Atrix phones, I reflashed the original sbf and that didn't help. I also tried the wipe data to restore factory settings. I have it rooted now, so if there is something I can do to it while rooted, that would be nice. I have Root Explorer and can navigate around. Where on the SD Card would the apps have been moved? I can't seem to find them.
Now someone smarter than me must know what is going on to install apps and move them. Is there a database that lists the apps in Android that has gotten corrupt? Can I rebuild it? Is it something else?
Is this an Android problem or an Atrix problem?
I'd appreciate any help before I take the Atrix back. I like the phone and would like to keep it, but this is ridiculous.
EDIT : I should also mention that I installed the Amazon App Store and tried to install something from there. It downloads and asks to install. Then it says that it is installing, but the install progress bar just stays there and nothing happens after that.
EDIT 2 : I also have tried to unmount the Internal SD Card (Media Area) and it hangs the phone. Even though I can access anything in that Media Area. Makes me think a file has gotten corrupted in the Android system, but I wouldn't know which one.
Related
I hope this is the right area to post this, but basically i'm after help from some Android experts and this seemed the place to go.
Basically I appear to have in some way knackered the settings default Install Location for Apps.
I used the well known and pretty straight forward trick of using the adb program in the SDK to override the default install location so it's the SD, and then enabling me to move all my apps to the SD card. It worked perfectly and gained me loads of space, which I promptly filled up with other apps.
However a couple of days ago I had a load of updates to install so I went with the normal "Update All" option and let it go. However it downloaded all the apps but when it got to the install stage for all of them it seemed to fail, it just sat there with all 5 apps and said they were installing, but was like that for a good 5 mins. At this point I made my mistake and thought (stupidly) i'd just turn off the phone and start again.
The result of that however was that now no apps which are stored on the SD card will install. They'll download but the installation will fail instantly. If I move them to the Phone Memory they'll install, but I can't really do this consistently as if I move something over it takes the phone over the ~15mb limit and they won't download at all. Once I get apps on though they will move across to the SD card fine and work
I must have broken some setting somewhere, I'm thinking something has gotten stuck, a flag is raised which I need to lower or something.
I'd greatly appreciate help with this, as my only other alternative seems to be a hard reset.
My handset is an unrooted (obviously) HTC Desire running 2.2
thanks.
Anyone able to help in any way?
Hi after having to switch my phone off, when I turned it on again it appears that all the apps I moved to the SD card are no longer there. I have just spent some time downloading them from the market again.
Question is why has this happened and how do I stop it from happening again
Thanks in advance
Solution
Hi Nexus.
I think you'll find that the apps still exist, they're just fragmented on the SD
card. This has happened to me plenty of times.
I've found it's only apps that are installed on the SD card and it's never
happened with apps on the phone's internal ROM.
A good way to check is to go into: Settings- Applications- Manage applications-
then tap the SD card tab. That list shows all of your apps installed on the SD
card. I found that when apps here got fragmented/corrupt they didn't show their
original app icon. Instead they showed the stock android app icon. This is a good
way to tell if the missing apps in question are still there but are just fragmented.
The way to solve this, the way that's worked for me, is to plug the phone into a
pc and mount the SD card as a disk. Then on the PC access the SD card via
explorer and right click- properties- tools- then click de-fragment.
This may take up to 30 mins as it's not as fast as a HDD.
From using this technique my apps have always returned and I can use them
with no problems again.
I've also noticed that this issue only happens if I restart or turn the phone off. I
don't understand what is corrupting the apps as the SD card is mounted
correctly and is the one supplied as standard.
I hope I've helped, and I guess this will save you from re-downloading all of your
apps again.
I'm happy to hear anyone's thoughts/suggestions onto why this is actually
happening in the first place too.
Cheers, Dms
Hi thanks so much for the answer. This has been bugging me for ages and even though I have been searching I have not had any joy solving it until your reply.
As you said it only seems to happen to apps on the sd card, and I would like to know why they are not "persistent" There must be a developer who understands the Android system who can explain why this happens and what you can do to make apps you have on your sd card permanent.
As you said it only happens to me when I re start my phone.
Thanks again for the answer
Hi. It's no problem. Yes I havn't seen anything about this issue being mentioned either.
I'd like to know what's causing it. Whether it's a hardware fault or something in the software.
It's a real pain having to hook it up to my pc to sort it out. Especially when I'm away from a pc, I can't use half of my apps.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA App
Ive had a weird problem the last day or so, when I reboot my device, apps mysteriously go missing. Each time I reboot, like 5 or 6 different apps disappear. This only happens to SD card apps though. This started happening a few days ago but yesterday it got alot worse AFTER I had reformatted my card. Could there be something wrong with my SD card? The apps still appear to be installed in "manage applications" but they look like "com.aac.cachemate.demo" as the name of the app, instead of "Cachemate" and etc...?
did you use link2sd ?
com....whatever in manage applications usually means, that the apk file is missing, while the application data is present
the mess as described, can be seen if your ext partition is mounted too late ...
nadlabak has some fix about it
https://github.com/nadlabak/android...mmit/e5b9b3195687e04af7a7929f8637e77e1efae9a1
but i can't remember where is part of setting the property, after checking and mounting the whole card ...
nikctsh said:
did you use link2sd ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not, I used the standard apps2sd built into CM6. Every time I reboot, different apps are missing and then some come back that were missing the time before...They all still appear in manage applications though so they might be intact but I'm not sure if all are, they show up with the default generic android icon, and weird names. "mobi.mgeek.tunnybrowser." (Dolphin Browser) and "net.flixter.android" (Flixter) etc...The storage sizes of the missing apps appear to be different then they are supposed to be. (Maybe)
(This might have something to do with it) Yesterday for hours (before I reformatted) the phone was stuck at "Preparing SD card, checking for errors" so I went online and followed the suggestion an xda member who suggested in another thread to delete the "fsck_msdos" file from "system /bin" which disables the SD card check to see if the SD card has been properly mounted and checked. It seemed to fix my other SD card issue for the rest of the day. could this be related?
Just share my experience , when I was in 2.1 , I used link2sd , and if I boot without sdcard , all my linked apps will happen like that , I think maybe this is the same case as apps2sd . So , what I do is just uninstalled all those apps , and reinstalled some of it ( it's quite annoying to reinstall over 100 apps ) . As you said , all those apps remained as it's package name , so I'm kinda sure our case is almost the same . But when I was in 2.2 , once I booted with sdcard inserted , but after boot completed , all my user apps dissapear , yes , ALL . But anyway , after scan for sdcard problem in OR , all my apps recovered , with no force close , just like nothing happen during the last boot . So also , try to scan for sdcard problem in OR .
It says my card is mounted (about half of my sd card apps show up) but when I bring up the gallery, it says "SD card unmounted or not present." When I try to unmount it in settings, it never unmounts, I just click "unmount" and nothing happens....
donovanx3 said:
It says my card is mounted (about half of my sd card apps show up) but when I bring up the gallery, it says "SD card unmounted or not present." When I try to unmount it in settings, it never unmounts, I just click "unmount" and nothing happens....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you have corruption in your sdcard filesystem. I would take your sdcard out, put it directly into a Windows PC and run chkdsk (alternately fsck.msdos on a linux PC).
Mioze7Ae said:
It sounds like you have corruption in your sdcard filesystem. I would take your sdcard out, put it directly into a Windows PC and run chkdsk (alternately fsck.msdos on a linux PC).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I will run a chkdsk when I get some time to sit down at the computer later. I think it probably is corruption.
Mioze7Ae said:
It sounds like you have corruption in your sdcard filesystem. I would take your sdcard out, put it directly into a Windows PC and run chkdsk (alternately fsck.msdos on a linux PC).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SD card fixed with error checking in windows!! Thanks!
Fast Boot option may be the culprit
The advice about checking SD card on Windows or Linux sounds good and I will keep it in mind, but I did not need to fix this sort of problem. I am not familiar with CyanogenMod (CM) in any version, but if it has a fast boot option, read on...
CUT TO THE SOLUTION BELOW -- SEARCH FOR ////
Some (not all) of my apps moved to SD (all by Titanium Backup Pro) have begun to disappear and (sometimes) reappear without warning after I began to add and delete large Virtual Machines created in QEMU from my 16GB SanDisc class 10 microSD card on my HTC Droid Incredible running rooted stock Verizon Android Froyo 2.2.3. I know this thread is far from my phone's "home base", but from what I can tell this problem with disappearing apps located on an sdcard is NOT determined by hardware or even Android version.
I also happen to use LauncherPro by Federico Carnales instead of the built-in HTC Sense launcher. I noted elsewhere on XDA that a user had suggested that because at least some (maybe all) launchers start before the SD Card that this may be a problem, especially if changes are made to the sdcard that the launcher did not perform, or was not active during their performance by other apps such as Titanium Backup. That fits my situation, because I unmounted the SD, physically removed it to a PC, and added/deleted large VM files to save (lots) of time. No problems of this sort before I did this, so there must be some connection.
I noted that other users have tried reformatting SD, substituting different brands of SD, using newer/older SD etc. None of these reliably helped. So I skipped these options.
//// The (simple!) solution I tried that SEEMS to work (only time will tell!) is buried in the main Android Settings (accessed from the Menu button while in Home screen). Under "Applications" there is a setting "Fast Boot" that I checked long ago and forgot about (it seemed like a good thing to do at the time). The text warns "Turn off to use some Market apps" (that shows the age of my 2-yr old used phone and Android OS -- ohmygosh!-- because it refers to Market rather than Google Play Store!) Anyway, I unchecked the option and rebooted the phone.
Yes, it took a bit longer to boot (maybe a whole minute!), but after waiting about another minute ALL my home screen apps had normal icons and loaded properly. Titanium Backup Pro batch scenarios confirmed there were no apps in a forced uninstalled state (i.e. I had not done the deed, the system somehow had done it or at least rendered the apps "invisible" to Titanium, which decided they needed reinstallation).
The only odd behaviour was that auto brightness was turned off after I unchecked Fast Boot and rebooted. Going into Android Settings > Display and rechecking "auto brightness" took care of that. No other oddities or strange behaviours thus far (but it has only been about an hour).
I will report back here on this thread only (Samsung Fascinate > Fascinate Q&A > What just happend? apps on sdcard) if anything else requires reporting. Silence implies success!
link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1873670
(I am copying this post to other relevant threads, but will not post anything further elsewhere -- only there. This is a bit arbitrary (although this thread appears to be the most recent active one on this topic), but I hope this approach pleases the XDA sysops/admins) :angel:
Sorry for opening up old thread. My HDC Note3 clone phone having the same/similar issue. The phone have 8G ROM which partition into 2 different name, internal phone (1G) and SD card (5G). Whatever Apps that I install on the SD card will disappear from home menu every-time I re-boot using the power button. However, it it still there when the phone do their own reboot due to something
I try unchecked "Fast Boot" but disappearing act still happen. Any suggestion to resolve the issue?
Title says it all. I was prompted for an update on my phone. All data was erased on the card, i believe. Since my contacts are still intact. As well as the apps i've downloaded.
Why in the HELL did this happen?
I'm sure the question of getting my data back is out of the equation. Oh well... at least i can ask the former question.
What the hell happened?
Are you rooted or was this a ota update? All I can think of its possibly a faculty SD card. Was there any option to format SD card or was it a straight over the air update ? Seems like the SD was bad. Perhaps get another ad card to prevent this happening in the future. This is a guess. Very strange indeed. Never heard of this happening with a ota update. Best wishes.
Sent from my Sensation 4G using xda premium
Did you check the space remaining on your memory card? Maybe it's just a reading error after you updated.
Perhaps you want to manually mount your sd from the settings
Swyped From My Sensation.
Mount manually? ...errrm. No need to. Also, i have no idea what "rooted" means. I saw a notification for an update, so i updated. Also, like i said, the data is gone. There's no music, photos. Nothing that i've saved myself on the SD card. Just the apps i've gotten that are on internal memory. This has become a huge question, more than anything. I'm curious as to what in the hell made this happen. Also, as for suggesting the purchase of a new SD card. That's funny. I'm in no position to spend money on something that came with my phone, and SHOULD be working. If anything, my service provider should do that for me. I didn't do anything to the card. I updated the phone, and everything that was on it got erased.
Dude maybe your sd card is unmounted and you need to manually mount it... go to settings > storage scroll down and find mount sd card..
Swyped From My Sensation.
It's BEEN mounted. Was never un-mounted. Phone updated, SD got erased.
UPDATE: Ok...I've explored the phone on my PC, and found a folder called DCIM (generic digital cam folder name), and all my pictures were there. But when i go to the gallery on the phone, they don't appear there... ?!
As for my music, haven't found it.
Also, there's a folder named "LOST.dir"
But it's empty.
So I have my new verizon SG3, and I wanted to root it to have access to the SD card. As I seem to have already filled up my storage.
So I started reading many threads, starting with this one for Jelly bean:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2046439
I had trouble with the custom recovery stage. ODIN kept failing when trying to flash it. So eventually I came with a prerooted stock flash at this link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33948598
and that seems to have got me to root status.
Now I am not really sure what I need the custom recoveries for, or if this link includes the boot loader or unlocker, or whatever it is, and if I really need it.
I'm looked at various ROMS and haven't really seen anything I think I need.
All I really want to do is have access to my SD card which I thought I had with the root option. But any apps that I say "Move to SD card" they only move to the internal SD card and not external.
How Do I actually use my external card?
Also, I have noticed that every time I turn the screen on, I see the "preparing SD card" message on the notification bar. and sometimes a message saying it has been removed.
What's going on with that?
And finally, my battery has been draining rather quickly. "MEDIA" seems to be using about 70% of the battery.
This is including two instances of Downloads
com.sec.android.providers.downloads
DRM protected content storage
and media storage
I read somewhere that it may be unwise to delete the preinstalled content, so I tried freezing the DRM as another forum stated that was ok as well as media hub, some of the google apps, and the verizon ringtones.
But in that process, I somehow managed to loose my notifications and ringtone selections, and when I try to reinstate them, it shows unknown ringtone, and the only options when I click to change is my GO SMS and Solid Explorer. I did locate the ringtones in the systems folder, but clicking on them only gives me an error.
I'm not sure how to get the standard selection screen back.
I tried flashing the previous stock rom again, but that did not help any.
So the question is, how do I get things back to working again, while still being rooted? Then how do I get true access to my SD card? And what can I safely remove. If a ROM will accomplish all this, which one is best and easiest to install?
I already used up half my data usage for the month installing all my apps, so I'd prefer not to do anything that would make me have to go through all that again. I have ROM toolbar installed, but it doesnt seem to want to let me do a backup. (I may need a recovery if I can get that working this time)
update
Update:
I managed to get the CWM recovery flashed finally.
How do I know if my bootlocker is unlocked if I installed the prerooted jelly bean rom I linked to before?
I also managed to get the ringtone selection to work again. I had the Media service frozen still. But that was what I think was a big battery drainer, so we will see. Im not sure why it would be draining the battery so much, something is going on.
I'm still having issues with the SD card, and installing anymore apps even after I deleted a few of the big ones. I was going to install a battery calibration tool witch is less than 200 kbs and it still is showing insufficient storage. Let the drive doesnt seem full. Maybe this is a partition issue? If so, how do I verify that and change it?
Ez unlocker in the play store will unlock your bootloader if you are rooted.
Volume up the phone before clicking yes. ;]…
One thing I've always stuck to, if it's messed up, go back to the beginning.
Could be md5 of dl or build of rom/packing of .tar, flash, etc.
Flash pure motives rls 13, works great.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
jam.i.s0n said:
Ez unlocker in the play store will unlock your bootloader if you are rooted.
Volume up the phone before clicking yes. ;]…
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah bud, EZ Unlock v.1.2 will properly get you unlocked, it's available on rootzwiki.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Ok, so I am unable to install any apps now no matter what I uninstall. I'm getting an insufficient storage error now, yet I seem to have plenty of space. This is getting really annoying.
I bought the SD card for apps to save their data to it, yet all apps save to the internal SD CARD, and not the external. I see a few apps i can download to possibly switch this option, but I really shouldnt have to go through all that. Whats the point of having a SD card in the first place if no app uses it.
Regardless, something is messed up. Battery is still draining like crazy which seems to be a common problem, but I have yet to find a fix. I would consider a factory reset, but I need to figure out how to back up first, as I can not afford to go and reinstall all my apps again. Will the back up preserve all my apps and their settings without having to reinstall from the play store? I have less than a GB of data left and I'm only about 6 days in my plan.
I am trying to drain my battery completely now, to see if that may "reset" its calibration or whatever. I'm not sure how that works, but It was suggested in places, so I'm trying.
What are my options for a full data wipe? and what is the best way to get my apps back without using a lot of data to do so? I tried doing a backup with my rom toolbox pro last night but I don't believe it worked. I dont think my phone is connecting to my external SD card. I can see the data on it if I browse, but no app actually saves anything onto it. Also, the phone wont let me delete, rename, paste, or do anything accept maybe open files from the card. I had it reformatted to FAT32 before I loaded anything onto it. So I'm not sure the issue. If Its protected, I'm not sure how to unlock it as micro cards dont have he lock switches like the big ones (which was a whole other issue for me when connecting to my computer)
Any advice? I know I'm not the only one with these issues.
So I am still having insufficient space errors when trying to download apps, though for some reason I did manage to get one random app installed that was in my "All apps" section from my previous phone.
I have tried wiping catch, and dalvik, and battery stats. That did nothing.
I have also tried reflashing the unlocked jelly bean update, with no results.
I think a full wipe may work but once again, since I can't make a back up since I can't install the apps to do so. I'm a bit reluctant to do this because I don't want to have to reinstall everything again and use more of my data connection. I do have a wifi connection, but I'm not sure I want to risk that not working properly.
Is there a way to manually backup my apps and data? what should I make copies of?