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Apparently I'm cursed with Android phone. My last SGS suddenly erased half of itself and I ended up having to take it back to where I bought it from, and it turned out to be faulty.
Now I'm using a HTC Inspire 4G (Desire HD) with the stock 8Gb micro sd card.
I just wanted to see one of my videos in my gallery and the gallery was empty.
All I saw was were two folders: One was "All photos", with 3 photos and one had a blank name with 3 photos.
When I go into "All Photos", I see the 3 photos which are just placeholders. It looks like an icon for a photo - sort of like monochrome hills with a circle for the sun or something, with a little exclamation mark down the bottom right. That's all I see for the 3 photos. If I tap them, nothing happens. If I tap and hold, I can see its size, date, resolution is 0x0, but it can't seem to find the path of the image.
If I open up my DCIM folder in ES File Explorer, then I can browse to DCIM and some (not all) of my images (and none of my videos) are there. I can open the images in ES.
I have images/videos in other folders on my SD card, and some (not all) of the photos from those locations are present, and again no videos are there.
If I take a photo or make a video, that one photo/video will appear in the gallery and in the DCIM folder until the SD card mounts/unmounts (for example if I do it manually, or if I connect it to my PC as a mass storage device). Then, I can still see the photo in ES but not in gallery.
Additionally, my google latitude widget and google places widget on my far right home screen had error placeholders. I can't remember the exactly message but something like "this widget cannot be displayed". I deleted the widgets and re-added them and they seem to be ok now.
I'm running my HTC Inspire 4G (Desire HD) with Revolution 3.3 ROM. I have SetCPU and Llama profiles running persistently in the background.
Any idea why this happened? Is my media lost? Any program I can try to recover them? I had some things there which I would really have preferred to keep.
Thanks.
Okay, so in answer to my own question...
This issue has nothing to do with Revolution 4G ROM, nor with HTC.
Apparently the issue is that Google are douchebags who have known about this issue for almost two years and have done nothing about it.
To reproduce the problem:
First back up you SD card, just in case.
Create a new folder on you SD card... call it "test" or something, and dump some jpegs and videos there. Go into Gallery and let it index the folder. You can see there that there are a number of jpegs and videos.
Go into ES or Astro or whatever and create a new file called .nomedia in the folder.
Force a rescan somehow. I did it by unmounting/remounting the SD card.
Go into Gallery – see the folder is not there. This is the expected result.
Go into ES or Astro to your test folder. Notice that the video files have been DELETED.
I have a folder on my SD card that I don't want images to appear from. Is there a means to exclude certain directories?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA Premium App
Put an empty file called .nomedia in the directory.
This one works well for me - makes the process easier:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.studiokuma.nomedia
What kind of images don't you want to show up in your gallery?
The .nomedia method should work for you, if not you can always rename the folder with a "." at the beginning to make it hidden
Folder name examples:
.pr0n / .dontlookhere / .ignore
kyouko said:
What kind of images don't you want to show up in your gallery?
The .nomedia method should work for you, if not you can always rename the folder with a "." at the beginning to make it hidden
Folder name examples:
.pr0n / .dontlookhere / .ignore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.nomedia works for me, as far as keeping stuff out of the gallery. Being all grown up in my computer usage, I choose to not let my computing devices hide stuff from me, so that .folder thingy doesn't work for me (and pictures in those .folders without a .nomedia file still seem to make their way into my gallery).
I do have a .stuff folder for my .porn though... Keeps it up near the top of the list...
how about the hideitpro app from the market? it's actually pretty cool. opens up as an audio manager, then you put in a password and there you have all the hidden files you want. not just pics...just an fyi
Install the app Just Pictures and ignore the folders you don't want to see.
The .nomedia "solution" prevents the album art to display in the media players.
I use the app QuickPic from the Market, and in the app you can choose which folders you want include and exclude. Pretty useful. You don't have the pretty 3-D effects from the default Gallery app but it's so much faster.
You can do the same thing with Fishbowl Gallery. You can set default albums, as well as hide albums. However, this still doesn't prevent someone from stumbling upon the default gallery app. The best solutions are either .nomedia, or do not have media on your phone that you do not want prying eyes to see. Alternatively, while cumbersome, you can use androzip or unrar pro to zip the material in question. Of course, by zipping your files, you can add the additional layer of security by encrypting it, if you're the paranoid sort.
Sent via Tapatalk on CM7.0.0-Vision Stable.
I remember this method. Any one know if the older file deletion ever got fixed with 2.2.1 or later?
If you don't know what I'm talking about here's a quick rundown.
You put the .nomedia file in a folder with pictures, upon reboot all those pictures are deleted. This had something to do with them already being scanned once and them being older than the .nomedia file so instead of ignoring them it deletes them. Something along those lines (anyone have the link to the original bug report from back in '08 or '09?).
Anyway, if it hasn't been fixed you've been warned, you stand a good chance of losing all media in those folders. So backup those files - but you knew that already
The easiest remedy to this is to remove the files, rename the folder to .whatever or insert the .nomedia file. Reboot. Then throw the files back onto the sdcard. That should eliminate any issues.
I've used the .nomedia solution awhile back to get icons, cover art, etc out of my gallery and it worked just fine... nothing was deleted (Droid X).
IIRC, I did have to clear the gallery app's cache to get it to "forget" about media that it had already found; on first lauch after clearing it's cache, expect it to be slow as it re-scans your device / sd card (..rebooting didn't work to clear the cach on my device... had to clear it via settings > application > manage apps..)
.nomedia file solution works
KCRic said:
I remember this method. Any one know if the older file deletion ever got fixed with 2.2.1 or later?
If you don't know what I'm talking about here's a quick rundown.
You put the .nomedia file in a folder with pictures, upon reboot all those pictures are deleted. This had something to do with them already being scanned once and them being older than the .nomedia file so instead of ignoring them it deletes them. Something along those lines (anyone have the link to the original bug report from back in '08 or '09?).
Anyway, if it hasn't been fixed you've been warned, you stand a good chance of losing all media in those folders. So backup those files - but you knew that already
The easiest remedy to this is to remove the files, rename the folder to .whatever or insert the file. Reboot. Then throw the files back onto the sdcard. That should eliminate any issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The .nomedia file solution works fine for me on Android 2.3.3.
The issue you mentioned is therefore fixed (nothing file was deleted unexpectedly).
Reboot was also necessary so that the native photo gallery app does not display the icons/pics any longer for the folders where I added the .nomedia file.
Furthermore, this works also for the music files.
(I use also TapeMachine app, and wanted to avoid that the sounds I recorded are listed in the Music Player).
If I place a .nomedia file in a directory, does that exclude all of its subdirectories from the gallery, as well?
Yes, it does. I just placed a .nomedia file in my /Music folder on my extsdcard and all the pictures in my albums are gone after a reboot.
UPDATE: I just tied this on my tablet (running 4.4.2) and it did not need a reboot. Gallery adjusted automatically. It was a folder on the extsdcard - and since 4.4.x restricts access to the sdcard, it stands to reason it saw the file placed and adjust the library automatically.
NiveusLuna said:
If I place a .nomedia file in a directory, does that exclude all of its subdirectories from the gallery, as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok i have some movies and lots of albums on my SD card.
When i open my gallery it loads all pictures even screen shots of the videos and the album art as pictures.
And there are many.. i have dozens and dozens of albums on the phone.
How can i get all those hidden from gallery?
For the folders on your phone that require "ahem" discretion. You can rename the folder to start with a period. e.g. "/.pictures/" and wipe the stored data for the gallery app to remove the cache of thumbnails it has created. This does mean a lot but not all apps won't look in the folder. However, if other apps need to look in the folder for music etc. they will also ignore folders starting with a period.
There's also a couple of apps on the android market that will remove items from the gallery without deleting them.
I know your problem.
Some phones also allow you to choose which folders you want to be shown in the gallery.
When in the main screen of the gallery, press the menu button and see what comes up. Hopefully you can hide your dirty habits that way.
Dallasalien's method should work on any phone.
Dallasalien said:
For the folders on your phone that require "ahem" discretion. You can rename the folder to start with a period. e.g. "/.pictures/" and wipe the stored data for the gallery app to remove the cache of thumbnails it has created. This does mean a lot but not all apps won't look in the folder. However, if other apps need to look in the folder for music etc. they will also ignore folders starting with a period.
There's also a couple of apps on the android market that will remove items from the gallery without deleting them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
woohoo.. the .pron worked..thanks... http://media.xda-developers.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
wife doesn't mind.. but my 3 yr old daughter doesn't need to see when she wants to view pictures..hehehe
Download Quickpic from the market let's you hide, exclude any folders you like
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
Are you drag n dropping folders from a windows machine? If so it's even copying the folder with the art work for your media player which the gallery will see. You could always just drag over the wanted video into a folder instead, or hide with a app or name the folder with a period like mentioned
john94si said:
woohoo.. the .pron worked..thanks... http://media.xda-developers.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
wife doesn't mind.. but my 3 yr old daughter doesn't need to see when she wants to view pictures..hehehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*I do like that post*
If you make a new file named .nomedia in any folder of your sd card it will stop the gallery from loading the pictures in that folder.
I use astro file manager to create an empty zip and just rename it to .nomedia without the .zip at the end. You can also copy and paste the file into any other folders. It hides the pictures in subfolders as well so just 1 in your music folder will hide album art for all folders inside.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
john94si said:
woohoo.. the .pron worked..thanks... http://media.xda-developers.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
wife doesn't mind.. but my 3 yr old daughter doesn't need to see when she wants to view pictures..hehehe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your kid needs her own skyrocket!
On Android 4 ICS (and possibly others), a giant thumbnail file may be created in your DCIM folder. This file can be several Gigabytes in size, depending on how many pictures you have. It is generated by the Android Gallery app.
Here's a list of different ways to prevent or reduce the size of that giant thumbnail file.
1.Quick and temporary solution- just delete any files/folders in your DCIM folder that start with .thumbnail
2.Create a file named .nomedia in certain folders to prevent the gallery from scanning those folders.
The standard trick under android to "hide" image files such as book cover artwork or cd artwork from the Gallery app was to place a .nomedia file in the folder concerned.
However, for some reason this process has been buggy in the extreme on tablets. Well, I believe I have found the solution. It would appear that under Honeycomb & the ICS we have on our tf devices, the media scanning process only gets done once - when the system is first started. This means that all the artwork for books etc gets presented in the Gallery app even if there is a .nomedia file in the relevant folders/s. On many android devices, there is a setting that enables you to rescan your media. Or if you unmount and then remount an external storage card, the system rescans - but not on HC or ICS!
SOLUTION
Place .nomedia files in all the folders you do not want displayed in Gallery
Go to settings - apps - gallery
Clear cache, clear data, force close
Go to settings - apps - media storage
Clear cache, clear data, force close
Hard reset (cold boot) this will not delete any data
Next time you open Gallery it may not contain anything, but give it a minute while the system is still scanning the device & you will find that only the folders you want to be visible, are visible.
Credit : [email protected]
3.Delete the .thumbnail and replace is with an empty folder or empty file. More Info
Thanks To hewillmakehell
4.A thumbnail deleter app developed by ppero196
Credits :
[email protected]
ppero196 For Thumbnail Deleter App
hewillmakehell
nice tutorial tested in ics works with the nomedia file just wnt to ask if can be applied in gb
Sent from my GT-P3110 using XDA Premium HD app
It doesn't work,after reboot it comeback with different filename.
I have 4.2GB thumbnail as I have hundreds of HQ photos
in my phone gb ics jb
just open rootex ... u can buy on Ps
push menu n make a new file...
give name .thumbnails
move to dcim n replace thumbails folder?
if rootex fc when u replace files .thumbnails
just delete thumbnails folder n replace with .thumbnails file
binggo...
I was about to post a question about this, but I just figured this out myself. My phone recently updated to Android 11. I have an SD-Card which has music on it - along with a lot of album art. Since the update, all these album art photos have been cluttering up my gallery. Every time I add a .nomedia file in here (which also was there before the update), it seems to get automatically deleted (no, not hidden). I tried copying a .nomedia file from elsewhere on the phone. I even tried popping out the SD-Card and adding the file via PC. As soon as Android touches it, it deletes the file again.
So, here is the issue. With Android 11, it is creating some default folders (I wish it wouldn't clutter up things with these empty folders that I never need or use). Those default folders include: Music, Pictures, Movies. These are created at the top level on the SD-Card and on internal storage. So, if you are also using one of those folders for something, it's going to auto delete the .nomedia file. In my case, I just moved my music into a Musics folder instead(and ensured it has a .nomedia file, of course.
Hopefully this will save someone else from wasting their time trying to figure out why this is happening!
pacaveli420 said:
I was about to post a question about this, but I just figured this out myself. My phone recently updated to Android 11. I have an SD-Card which has music on it - along with a lot of album art. Since the update, all these album art photos have been cluttering up my gallery. Every time I add a .nomedia file in here (which also was there before the update), it seems to get automatically deleted (no, not hidden). I tried copying a .nomedia file from elsewhere on the phone. I even tried popping out the SD-Card and adding the file via PC. As soon as Android touches it, it deletes the file again.
So, here is the issue. With Android 11, it is creating some default folders (I wish it wouldn't clutter up things with these empty folders that I never need or use). Those default folders include: Music, Pictures, Movies. These are created at the top level on the SD-Card and on internal storage. So, if you are also using one of those folders for something, it's going to auto delete the .nomedia file. In my case, I just moved my music into a Musics folder instead(and ensured it has a .nomedia file, of course.
Hopefully this will save someone else from wasting their time trying to figure out why this is happening!
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Click to collapse
This makes no sense, please explain in more detail.
android1977 said:
This makes no sense, please explain in more detail.
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Click to collapse
If you're storing your music files in any of the default folders, Android is going to auto delete your .nomedia file if you try to put one there. Ergo, the solution is you need to store your music in a folder named something else.
pacaveli420 said:
If you're storing your music files in any of the default folders, Android is going to auto delete your .nomedia file if you try to put one there. Ergo, the solution is you need to store your music in a folder named something else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks that's what I did and got lucky, I was so desperate I signed up to XDA just to comment I gotta say XDA I love your site and been reading for a couple year's now, enjoy the information provided, thanks guy's for all your hard work
pacaveli420 said:
If you're storing your music files in any of the default folders, Android is going to auto delete your .nomedia file if you try to put one there. Ergo, the solution is you need to store your music in a folder named something else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for saving my media library! I've been tortured by this issue since using the new phone, finally!
hello, i just get Android 11 on my MI A3, and those folders ( music, pictures, movies )appears on my sd card, they are useless for me, is there a way to delete them?
before Android 11, i didn't have this problem because i choosed " use sd as external support " instead of "use sd as extended memory" when inserting the sd card, but now even if i make the same choice, the folders are there and i can't delete them.
Sort of off topic but not really:
How do I stop it from creating these default folders? It's extremely annoying. I don't have my SD card structured that way and never have. I've deleted the default music, movies, etc folders numerous times now as they just clutter up the root directory and they keep reappearing. Is there a solution to this?
This seems to be a part of Android 11s default folder structure which no one ever bothered to do something about. I wouldn't be surprised if it's there for "security reasons" as well as a communist one. As in you only have the option to use these "secure" folders or else it won't show up in your apps at all.
This might be a way for Google to slowly faze out SDCards entirely while only giving you the option to use said folders for your "private" stuff akin to how IOS (kinda) works. In other words, they are doing it on purpose and no one ever bothered to read the fine print.
Obviously private music and other media collections is the root (see what I did there) cause of the problem. They don't want you to have those at all, And want you to use streaming services instead (tinfoil hat). Which is probably what these folders will probably end up being used for.
Netflix and Spotify allow you to store music on your device, but it's encrypted and will probably end up there at some point in Androids lifecycle. Obviously these files don't need .nomedia since the files are encrypted and will only show up in said app either way which makes the above meaningless.
Most of this is speculation obviously, but we've slowly been moving towards this trend if you look at how System apps were split into app and priv-app and so on. At some point in time only certain apps that has had the blessing of Google will be allowed to read anything off your storage. This happened with Chrome not to long ago where they blocked side-loaded extensions from running.
You will slowly see Android turning into IOS because they (Google) and big-tech in general wants 100% control of what you can and can't do. And everything based on AOSP or LOS is gonna follow suit because no one gives a flying fudge because that's too bothersome. The fragmentation of custom builds based on LOS/AOSP in general already shows that this has always been the case for the last 10 years. Linux in general is no different either as can be seen with wokeism. Except that was through decimation via woke people and not big-tech.
I was going crazy thinking this issue was specific to my samsung's stock rom. I started searching about this once I noticed it on LOS 18. Glad I'm not alone
I tend to be a little OCD about my folder structures but at this point I don't mind making a separate folder to avoid album arts in my gallery.
I believe I found a solution to this. It's been about a week or two with no further incident now. My solution was to delete the default folders from the root of the SD card because I don't use them, then create blank files that used those names. Haven't had a problem since.
I use the top level pictures folder because of a compatibility issue with programs that have small file path character limits that cause the program to hang. I don't use them anymore but I haven't had a reason to move it back where I had it previously and that would only make the default folder issue worse if I did. Or at least it would have until now with this discovery.
I do not use the movies and music folders, and if I move my pictures folder back where I had it I won't use that one either. Having them pop up on their own to clutter my root directory on both my SD card and my phone itself was very annoying. After deleting the movies and music folders off of the root of my SD card for the billionth time and getting rid of the empty default folders on my phone again, I created two blank files on my SD card root called Music and Movies. Ever since then the default folders haven't reappeared. On top of that, it hasn't created any ".thumbnails" folders all over the place like it always used to do either. That includes doing so on the internal phone storage. Creating those files on the SD card seems to have broken the whole process. I imagine the same would work vice versa for OP since it sounds like they use those default folders. Find an empty default folder on internal storage, delete it, create a file and name it the name of the folder you deleted (case sensitive), and that should disable the annoying default folder management process too. I can't vouch for that method, but I can vouch for it working when you do so on the SD card.
I just noticed this today on my tab s7+.
From what I can tell, the .nomedia file nolonger does anything on its own. However, if I add the .nomedia file to a folder, then rename the folder placing a . in front, of course it hides the entire folder. When I rename the folder again, removing the ., the .nomedia file now works. No matter how many times I rename the folder, the gallery does not see it until I remove the .nomedia file.
pool_shark said:
I just noticed this today on my tab s7+.
From what I can tell, the .nomedia file nolonger does anything on its own. However, if I add the .nomedia file to a folder, then rename the folder placing a . in front, of course it hides the entire folder. When I rename the folder again, removing the ., the .nomedia file now works. No matter how many times I rename the folder, the gallery does not see it until I remove the .nomedia file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you pool shark.. i tried what you did/suggested and it worked. thanks.