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[Q] SD card keeps freezing phone

So I flashed my Captivate back to stock using Odin and then flashed Cognition. Everything seems to be working fine again except my phone locks up every time I try to access the SD card. It usually happens whenever I open gallery but also sometimes when I'm in a game or some other application. I can still access it fine through a computer and it doesn't look like I have any corrupted files but it just keeps on locking up my phone. I tried reflashing Cognition and that didn't help. I'm wondering if it's a problem with the SD card even though I've never had any problems before because I've done countless restarts and battery pulls today so it's possible something got corrupted. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Does it have the standard directory where you store your photo/films?
or
Did you try to reformat (FAT32) it? Then take a few pictures (so it does create the stanard directory/~ies). Seems to me it's missing some..
Senax

I finally fixed it by going all the way back to stock and reflashing everything. I think it may have have had something to do with the overclocked version of Cognition I was running or perhaps a theme I installed. I was pretty sure it wasn't an issue with the SD card as nothing was corrupted and I could access it fine on my computer. Either way it works again now!

just as a future reference.. you should ALWAYS backup your SD card to your PC considering SD cards DO fail. I lost almost 4.5gb of info because my memcard was corrupted and I had to start collecting all over again (+ i lost something like 600megs of cell pics).

[Q] Apps on SDcard go missing? usually??

Is anyone running into a problem with apps that have been moved to sdcard just disappearing? Most of the time I see little green droid icons all over my launcher (ADW), and lots of missing apps in the app drawer. I can reboot several times and eventually all show up.
I'm running ee4_debloated-v421 / 0730_charge_voodoo kernel / sdcard_patch. Am on my second handset (first one had a clicky button go dead). The earlier handset occasionally did the same thing.
I presume the sdcard is the culprit, as it is the common element. But I have popped it out, run fdisk and defrag all with no errors.
Any theories??

I had this happen when I first got my charge. How I fixed it was I took the SDCard out of my phone and put it into my flash media reader, and then did a full format using HP's Format tool with default device settings. It took a long time to do the full format, but after doing so, I didn't have any more issues with apps disappearing that were installed to the SDCard.

Full format, huh... (gulp) well it's certainly worth a try! I'll report back.
Thanks,
Larry

ljcorsa said:
Full format, huh... (gulp) well it's certainly worth a try! I'll report back.
Thanks,
Larry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know when the phone first came out, there were several users with SDCard problems. I'm not sure how others fixed them, but a full format and a half hour or so fixed mine

Well, I'm disappointed to report that the problem did not disappear :-( Could it be the contents? I copied *everything* from the card before full formatting with the HP tool (which tooks hours as you said), then copied it all back. Same result... if I reboot enough times it will come up with all apps showing.
I've ordered a Class 10 card. Plan to use the HP tool on it straight away. What else would you recommend? Maybe move all the apps back to the phone? Would you start from a fresh load of the ROM?
Many thanks,
Larry

ljcorsa said:
Well, I'm disappointed to report that the problem did not disappear :-( Could it be the contents? I copied *everything* from the card before full formatting with the HP tool (which tooks hours as you said), then copied it all back. Same result... if I reboot enough times it will come up with all apps showing.
I've ordered a Class 10 card. Plan to use the HP tool on it straight away. What else would you recommend? Maybe move all the apps back to the phone? Would you start from a fresh load of the ROM?
Many thanks,
Larry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that DroidXcon over in the Android Central forums advises NOT to move apps over to the SDcard because of problems like you have experienced...the higher (class) speed card may help. I've noticed that on my stock class 2 card when I view a subdirectory that contains large wallpaper files using QuickPic or Gallery, the thumbnails will often "time out" and not display towards the end of the list unless I refresh the listing several times. I would assume it is for the same reason that recording video to the class 2 card will time out after a few minutes.
Good luck with the Class 10 card...keep us posted!!!

Well, the Class 10 arrived in time to try again, so formatted with HP Utility and copied all the saved files over. Same behavior.
If it's the sheer quantity of apps on the SD card and there is a timeout involved, that might explain it! Reformatting the card would effectively defrag it which would speed it up, perhaps explaining imnuts' observation. And if reading in all those apps at startup is not I/O bound but maybe CPU bound, that would explain my experience.
I'm going to try moving apps back to the phone just to see.

Wow, this is persistent. Moved all the apps from SD back to phone using TiB, which seemed to hang sometimes. Tried different access methods with no clear winner. Anyway, after a reboot, the situation was unchanged. Unreal.
So I am starting from scratch with a freshly-formatted Class10 card, a full data/cache wipe, and a new ROM: GummyChargedFE1.9.1. Haven't had a problem yet, but haven't restored anything to SD either. Proceeding cautiously.

Ok, I'm converted. GummyChargedFE1.9.1 solved this problem. Everything seems to run better. Added the V6 SuperCharger thing which tweaks minfree levels and much more, and the combination runs extremely well.
Biggest problem for me is that I'm satisfied... spent the last two years trying to get my "original" Droid to run well, then got the Charge, started over. What do I do for an encore?

Fast Boot option may be the culprit
In case anyone is following this old thread ...
I did not need to install a new ROM
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:

Problem with microSD Card

Hi guys,
I've been having this problem for quite some time now. I first noticed this when I shifted from one custom ROM (SAGA LBC) to another (CyanogenMod 7.1). At first, my phone kept resetting after a reboot. At first, I thought it was an incompatible ROM. For a time, wiping cache and dalvik cache via the recovery interface did the trick. But then, it just got worse and worse. I eventually reverted back to LBC, thinking that it might be Cyanogen. But, as it turns out, my phone still kept resetting. Even as mundane a task as going to the settings menu freezes up my phone, requiring me to reset, sometimes even by pulling out the battery. I tried doing the wiping of the caches again, bit it never became effective.
Then I read somewhere that Andoid seems to be uber sensitive to file corruptions and defragmentation of the microSD card, so I defragged the SD, fixed the permissions, and deleted the LOST.DIR and tmp folders. Everything went smoothly at first, but then after a couple of days, my phone kept rebooting again. To verify that it was the microSD at fault, I removed it for the mean time. Since then, my phone hasn't frozen nor rebooted.
One other thing: whenever I check the microSD via Windows (right click --> Properties --> Tools), everything seems to be in order as Windows can't detect anything wrong. Right now, I've ran chkdsk :f /f /r on the drive, but Windows says that everything is fine. I haven't reinstalled the microSD yet, as I want to run a more thorough test before I do.
Have any of you encountered this? Could you guys give me suggestions on what to do, a better tool than chkdsk, etc? I can buy another card, but I don't want to do that just yet. My microSD is 32GB, and I don't want to just throw it away or something

[Q] rooting, battery drain, and SD Card issues

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?

Samsung Galaxy S7 Boot loop

Well, this is rather vexing.
I've been hard at work trying to backup / transfer data from my extremely old Samsung Galaxy S5 that seems to be coming to the end of it's useful lifespan. The S7 was next, but aside from running out of internal storage, I thought I still had time on that one (I wasn't experiencing a lot of slowdown or any crashes).
I went out for a couple hours (taking my newer phone), and when I came back, I saw my S7 on the insert the pin code screen. When I put the correct pin code in, the "unlocked padlock" stays on the screen for ages, before the phone restarts and I am shown the pin screen again (if I insert the wrong pin, it says so, so I am sure that I am not inserting the wrong pin).
So for the first time in my life, I am dealing with a spontaneous boot loop. This device has never been rooted, had a custom recovery installed or even the bootloader unlocked (it's the Exynos version, so presumably it would have been possible, but I decided that I wanted *one* unrooted device just in case, and given Knox, I decided that this was the device that will remain unmodded).
Anyway, that's for the story, but the question is, is there anything that I can try before the nuclear option (factory reset etc.).
Fortunately most of the photos are on the MicroSD. There are perhaps two or three apps that I would have liked to backup (they did not have a convenient built-in backup system) but I am just wondering if there is anything I might be able to do at this point? For instance, would wiping the cache be an option? Or is there anything I might be able to do with adb?
(Note: The device is running on Android 7)
Thanks.

Don't set security passwords for device access as you are the one most likely to be locked out.
If the boot loop wasn't caused by a hardware failure it's likely a app you loaded. Launchers and power management apps are prime candidates. Leave at least a couple gb of headroom on internal storage.
A factory reset is the easiest solution. Be careful what you load next time... take out the trash.
Use the SD card as a data drive, all critical data and everything you need for a reload goes here. No apps. Only apps, and the temporary download folder go on the internal memory.
The DCIM folder can be set to the SD card as well, but there can only be one DCIM folder and don't change its name. If a second backup folder is used on the SD card instead do not name it DCIM.
ApkExport can be used to make installable copies of apps for transfering them and added the data drive as well, no Playstore needed.
Do not use Kies or SmartSwitch when going between different type devices or OS versions. It can cause issues.
Cut/paste critical data, verify the data is readable and all there. Don't trust Kies or SmartSwitch with critical data.
Never clone data drives.
Never encrypt data drives.
Regularly redundantly backup the SD card data drive to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.

Thanks for the reply.
1. No app was recently installed (past couple of weeks)
2. Hardware failure? Maybe, but it is rather out of the blue. Phone has not displayed any unusual behaviour, it hasn't been taken out of the house for a week or so (it is really in the process of getting retired). And I would like to ascertain it.
3. I am aware I can just nuke the whole thing with a factory reset, but before taking that easy option and effectively lose some data I'd like to retrieve if possible, I would like to other options.
And rather than tips on what I should've done or can do next time (much of which I am already doing), I am looking for advice on anything I might be able to try -before- nuking the whole thing.
For instance, could the log-files (there are quite a few of them) provide hint in what went wrong? Any option of re-installing the OS without wiping the data partition? Since I am on a fairly old version of Android I may also have the option of doing a minor update. That kind of things. I am thinking that there might also be the possibility that the system files somehow got corrupted and perhaps a re-install or system update might be worth trying.
I am basically looking for options that will not, for the time being erase the data partition. If it comes down to it in the end, then fine, but that is the last option not the first.

It sounds like it got spontaneously corrupted. Perhaps a flash memory cell failure. If so it may or may not be "self healing" with a factory reset or a reflash.
If you have ADB access you may be able to fix it.
Otherwise your options are limited to what's on the boot menu.
Try doing a hard reboot (simulates pulling battery).
If you try booting it a bunch of times it may go into go safe mode. I've seen that behavior in Android 9.
That's extent of my skills, sorry.
The reason why I posted how to prevent data lose is because sometimes that's all you can do.
Internal memory data I consider expendable, the SD card data... potentially expendable.