Related
Can anyone tell me where the music is stored on my device whenever I select a file to be available offline in Google Music?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Good question. I searched my internal and external SD, but didn't see it...
In for answer
/sdcard/external_sd/Android/data/com.google.android.music/cache/music/
So I'm assuming that sd_card/external_sd/ is my 2gb external card. Is that correct? If so I wonder why it saves to the external sd. I haven't bought a bigger card yet. I can't find a way to change where the files are saved.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Kmo78 said:
So I'm assuming that sd_card/external_sd/ is my 2gb external card. Is that correct? If so I wonder why it saves to the external sd. I haven't bought a bigger card yet. I can't find a way to change where the files are saved.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't look like there is a way to change the cache location. Time to get a bigger SD card!
I decided to do a little experimenting with this. I removed my sd card and when I turned my phone on google music began downloading the 15 songs I had selected to be available offline. I went to the /sdcard/external_sd/ directory and the files were there without an external card installed. So is this path just a shortcut to the external card? It's kinda weird. I'd prefer to have the songs saved to the phone. Hopefully google will give us an option in an updated version of the application.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
I was kind of surprised by this thread as I have the opposite problem, my music is synced to sdcard/data, instead of external_SD where I want it.
Guessing since you posted this you don't know how you got it synced to external?
Mixy said:
I was kind of surprised by this thread as I have the opposite problem, my music is synced to sdcard/data, instead of external_SD where I want it.
Guessing since you posted this you don't know how you got it synced to external?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same thing here!
I'm having the same problem here on my transformer. Maybe someone wants to look at what I've been trying so far and join in solving this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1476972
Fix (no sdcard formatting needed)
This is a fix i figured out piecing together other peoples attempts.
Use this as a script
mount -o bind sdcard2/android/data/com.google.android.music sdcard/android/data/com.google.android.music
Alternately you can change the first location to the location of your choosing as long as it resides on the external as card.
Ex.
Mount - o bind sdcard2/music sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music
will bind:
sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music (google's forced save location)
to
sdcard2/music
Go to google music (play music now) settings and clear any music that is currently saved to your device.
this only applies to music made available offline. If you do not clear it before running the script the music will exist on your internal sdcard but not be accessible.
open script manager and find the script you made
Select it and make sure to click set on boot and superuser
Run Your script.
That is it now your default save location for google music is bound to the location on the external sdcard. the device will see the location as its default but really be saving to the external sdcard.
You can check this by going to google music. Selecting "make available offline" and look at the free space. It should shoe the space available on your external sdcard.
TLR Version (noob version)
I was getting a lot of questions about the preliminary steps here (i.e. rooting, writing script, etc) so i decided to attach the noob version in case anyone needs verification on how to accomplish these steps.
HOW DO I ROOT?
So, Rooting gives you full access and control over your phone. instructions for how to root are device specific. so i would start by searching XDA for "YOUR DEVICE one click root"
ex. samsung galaxy s2 one one click root
some devices are easier to root than others. i cannot provide steps for your particular device, but through XDA, and google you CAN find everything you need.
some devices have one click root tools, some do not, so the rooting process is more in depth for those devices.
rooting instructions are so device specific i could not find a generic set of instructions, and don't want to mislead anyone by linking them to a set of instructions not compatible with their device.
There is a risk of bricking your device (making it inoperable) while rooting, although the risk is minimal... almost non existent if you carefully follow instructions. I have rooted 5 seperate devices without bricking any, and, in most cases even if bricked the device can still be restored.
there are additional benefits to rooting, such as overclocking
for example my Galaxy S2 normally runs at 1.5 GHZ, i have increased the speed to 1.8GHZ
(NOTE** Without XDA DEVELOPERS i would have rooted 0 devices, and probably bricked at least one, so thank you to all of you out there who have helped me, I hope this method will help some of you in return.)
NOW THAT YOU ARE ROOTED...
INSTALL SCRIPT MANAGER..
First, to install script manager just go to google market (Play Store) and search for script manager
INSTALL ES FILE EXPLORER..
To make a script go to google market (Play Store) and find ES File Explorer
WRITE SCRIPT..
Open es file explorer when install completes.
in es file explorer click the menu button, and select "new"
when prompted select "File"
name your file something you'll remember
Ex.MusicScript
Click your new file
when prompted select "Text"
type this EXACTLY how you see it
Mount - o bind sdcard2/music sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music
press back and when prompted to save click yes
MAKE DESTINATION FOLDER..
now on es file explorer click "Favorites" (the star)
a new menu will pop up, at the top you willsee a picture of a phone with "/" underneath it click the phone
this will take you to the root directory
click the folder Sdcard2
click the menu button, and select "new"
when prompted select "Folder"
Name the folder music
Your script and destination music location are created
EXECUTE SCRIPT..
now open script manager
find your script which should be located in the directory /mnt/sdcard and the file name you chose earlier
select the script
open as script/executable
make sure script is selected not executable
click the buttons for "Su" and "Boot"
click save
Go to google music (play music now) settings and clear any music that is currently saved to your device.
this only applies to music made available offline. If you do not clear it before running the script the music will exist on your internal Sdcard but not be accessible.
now reboot the script will run at boot a prompt will appear asking for superuser rights, click yes and remember this selection (it may say something different than remember this selection whichever option resembles remember needs to be selected.)
YOU'RE DONE!!!
your music should now save to sdcard2/music but the device will still think it is saving to the default sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music
You can check this by going to google music. Selecting "make available offline" and look at the free space. It should shoe the space available on your external sdcard.
So try your hardest to figure out how to root using google, and if your not confident enough to attempt it this fix may not be for you.
if you have tried everything you can and are still stuck message me back, including what device you have, and i will see if i can find a link to the rooting instructions for your particular device.
I assume no responsibility if you damage your device... These steps do work, and if followed will fix your music issues as well as introducing you to a world of additional benefits of being a rooted user.
FuzzyMeep Two said:
This is a fix i figured out piecing together other peoples attempts.
Use this as a script
mount -o bind sdcard2/android/data/com.google.android.music sdcard/android/data/com.google.android.music
Alternately you can change the first location to the location of your choosing as long as it resides on the external as card.
Ex.
Mount - o bind sdcard2/music sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music
will bind:
sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music (google's forced save location)
to
sdcard2/music
Go to google music (play music now) settings and clear any music that is currently saved to your device.
this only applies to music made available offline. If you do not clear it before running the script the music will exist on your internal sdcard but not be accessible.
open script manager and find the script you made
Select it and make sure to click set on boot and superuser
Run Your script.
That is it now your default save location for google music is bound to the location on the external sdcard. the device will see the location as its default but really be saving to the external sdcard.
You can check this by going to google music. Selecting "make available offline" and look at the free space. It should shoe the space available on your external sdcard.
YOU'RE DONE!!!
your music should now save to sdcard2/music but the device will still think it is saving to the default sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.music
You can check this by going to google music. Selecting "make available offline" and look at the free space. It should shoe the space available on your external sdcard.
So try your hardest to figure out how to root using google, and if your not confident enough to attempt it this fix may not be for you.
if you have tried everything you can and are still stuck message me back, including what device you have, and i will see if i can find a link to the rooting instructions for your particular device.
I assume no responsibility if you damage your device... These steps do work, and if followed will fix your music issues as well as introducing you to a world of additional benefits of being a rooted user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method doesn't work on my Evo 4G LTE. Still shows the internal SD available space on "Make available offline" Does it matter if I'm using a 64GB card?
@GMtom1 are you sure that you got whatever your sd card is labed as right? I haven't tried this method yet, but that seems to be the biggest point of failure for us evo lte users that are bringing our cards from other devices
******
gmtom1 said:
This method doesn't work on my Evo 4G LTE. Still shows the internal SD available space on "Make available offline" Does it matter if I'm using a 64GB card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been having problems too... After i re-flashed my device, it has not been just working the way it did before, the script wouldn't work, so i believe that me installing Busybox or BASH, or something like that well before i made the script, was allowing the script to work properly. But, in the mean time, find "Directory Bind" it works perfectly...
p.s make sure you clear any music of of your internal sdcard, or it will still exist, but be inaccessible.
gmtom1 said:
This method doesn't work on my Evo 4G LTE. Still shows the internal SD available space on "Make available offline" Does it matter if I'm using a 64GB card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same..I tried it, made sure busybox was installed and still didn't work on my Evo 4G LTE
Anyone gotten to work on (Verizon) Galaxy S3?
I just tried to do this via your method and using the DirectoryBind utility, and both versions don't seem to like the path of my external SD Card (extSdCard).
Screenshots attached.
My script was:
Code:
mount -o bind extSdCard/music sdcard/Android/data/com.data.google.android.music
also tried with
Code:
mount -o bind /mnt/extSdCard/music sdcard/Android/data/com.data.google.android.music
FWIW the directory extSdCard exists
sti3 said:
I just tried to do this via your method and using the DirectoryBind utility, and both versions don't seem to like the path of my external SD Card (extSdCard).
Screenshots attached.
My script was:
Code:
mount -o bind extSdCard/music sdcard/Android/data/com.data.google.android.music
also tried with
Code:
mount -o bind /mnt/extSdCard/music sdcard/Android/data/com.data.google.android.music
FWIW the directory extSdCard exists
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
was getting the same errors as you are until I added the mnt/ in both paths.
mount -o bind mnt/sdcard/external_sd/gmusic mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.muisic
and I am good to go, 30GB of storage just waiting to be filled with music.
esox23 said:
was getting the same errors as you are until I added the mnt/ in both paths.
mount -o bind mnt/sdcard/external_sd/gmusic mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.google.Android.muisic
and I am good to go, 30GB of storage just waiting to be filled with music.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize for the gravedig, but I've been struggling significantly getting this to work on my Galaxy S3.
As a previous poster above said, because my external SD card is mounted at /mnt/extSdCard there are problems.
My command is:
Code:
mount -o bind /mnt/extSdCard/MusicCache /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music
and it doesn't work at all...
Any idea why?
Hello all,
I have a VZW Galaxy S3 and am using Scott's CleanRom 5.0
I noticed yesterday that my internal card is 2gb from being full. My external SD is a 32gb and only has a few pictures and some music on it. So I have been wandering around the phone settings trying to figure out how to move my apps to the sd card and free up some space. Can anyone enlighten me?
Thanks in advance.
drzcharlie said:
Hello all,
I have a VZW Galaxy S3 and am using Scott's CleanRom 5.0
I noticed yesterday that my internal card is 2gb from being full. My external SD is a 32gb and only has a few pictures and some music on it. So I have been wandering around the phone settings trying to figure out how to move my apps to the sd card and free up some space. Can anyone enlighten me?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only app that works is link2sd, on the market. But one draw back is you need to reconfig your external sdcard to do this. Reformat and create 2 partions on your sd card, first partition should be fat32, this where you keep your stuff (music/video/pics) and the second partition is for your apps. link2sd will move your app to the second partition on your sdcard and create a reference so your OS would know where to find it.
Note: If you already have stuff on your sdcard, you can keep them by resize the first partion then create the second partion. This way you still have your data intact.
drzcharlie said:
Hello all,
I have a VZW Galaxy S3 and am using Scott's CleanRom 5.0
I noticed yesterday that my internal card is 2gb from being full. My external SD is a 32gb and only has a few pictures and some music on it. So I have been wandering around the phone settings trying to figure out how to move my apps to the sd card and free up some space. Can anyone enlighten me?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you are better off moving data instead of the apps. You can get your music, images, and videos and free up a lot of space (Samsung camera can default to save on external card, 4.2 Canberra doesn't have that setting as far as i can tell). Advantage of this is that even if you brick / break / wipe your phone you can still retrieve your images and music. Pop the card in a new phone and everything is still there. More than that, have titanium backup on the external card and easily transfer non-system apps to the new phone.
buhohitr said:
The only app that works is link2sd, on the market. But one draw back is you need to reconfig your external sdcard to do this. Reformat and create 2 partions on your sd card, first partition should be fat32, this where you keep your stuff (music/video/pics) and the second partition is for your apps. link2sd will move your app to the second partition on your sdcard and create a reference so your OS would know where to find it.
Note: If you already have stuff on your sdcard, you can keep them by resize the first partion then create the second partion. This way you still have your data intact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me make sure I understand correctly. The app will guide you through the partitioning process or is this something I have to do independent from the app?
Thanks in advance.
tsachi said:
I think you are better off moving data instead of the apps. You can get your music, images, and videos and free up a lot of space (Samsung camera can default to save on external card, 4.2 Canberra doesn't have that setting as far as i can tell). Advantage of this is that even if you brick / break / wipe your phone you can still retrieve your images and music. Pop the card in a new phone and everything is still there. More than that, have titanium backup on the external card and easily transfer non-system apps to the new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First I guess I need to explain that I still use iTunes in conjunction with Tune Sync for my music so back up isn't an issue for music. My photos are uploaded to SmugMug so they too are backed up. It just seems that my data and apps are hogging the internal SD.
I have TB Pro installed but admittedly don't know much about it yet as I have converted from the Dark Side (IOS). So, how do I get it to do what I need? Perhaps there is a tutorial somewhere on YouTube I could look up.
EDIT: I found the setting in Camera storage but no option to change it. I just says "SD Card" I assume that is internal SD?
drzcharlie said:
Let me make sure I understand correctly. The app will guide you through the partitioning process or is this something I have to do independent from the app?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to do it manually. It's pretty simple, may take around 20min. Just download the "gparted" iso image, then use imgburn to burn this image on your cd, reboot with cd as default boot device instead of your harddisk, once you booted into gpart operating system, there will be a gui you could use to partion your sdcard, first resize your existing partion, then create a new one from the unallocate partion as ext4. Remember both partion have to be PRIMARY and set the ext4 to boot (once you create the ext4, just right click, select flag then select boot).
Gparted boot creator
download gparted iso:
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php
burn with imgburn:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
How to use link2sd.
click on the app you want to move then select "link to sd" button. Don't click on move app to sd, this is for the old GB rom only.
tsachi said:
I think you are better off moving data instead of the apps. You can get your music, images, and videos and free up a lot of space (Samsung camera can default to save on external card, 4.2 Canberra doesn't have that setting as far as i can tell). Advantage of this is that even if you brick / break / wipe your phone you can still retrieve your images and music. Pop the card in a new phone and everything is still there. More than that, have titanium backup on the external card and easily transfer non-system apps to the new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
buhohitr said:
You have to do it manually. It's pretty simple, may take around 20min. Just download the "gparted" iso image, then use imgburn to burn this image on your cd, reboot with cd as default boot device instead of your harddisk, once you booted into gpart operating system, there will be a gui you could use to partion your sdcard, first resize your existing partion, then create a new one from the unallocate partion as ext4. Remember both partion have to be PRIMARY and set the ext4 to boot (once you create the ext4, just right click, select flag then select boot).
Gparted boot creator
download gparted iso:
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php
burn with imgburn:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
How to use link2sd.
click on the app you want to move then select "link to sd" button. Don't click on move app to sd, this is for the old GB rom only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for all of this. I won't be able to do this until I return where I can burn the image. Looks fairly simple and I will give it a go when I return to work.
You could always plug your phone into your computer and drop and drag the files you want over to your external card.
sfobrien said:
You could always plug your phone into your computer and drop and drag the files you want over to your external card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had wondered if I could do that without affecting anything. I'll give it a try.
Thanks
Your welcome.
Sent from my Galaxy S3 with Tapatalk 2
drzcharlie said:
I had wondered if I could do that without affecting anything. I'll give it a try.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You only can move video/music/pictures/backup files etc.. to your ext sdcard, but you cannot move your apps to external card. Your apps will stopped working. Link2sd allowed you to install all your downdoad apps to your SDcard (most of them, some apps required to stay internal, like widgets etc...)
buhohitr said:
You only can move video/music/pictures/backup files etc.. to your ext sdcard, but you cannot move your apps to external card. Your apps will stopped working. Link2sd allowed you to install all your downdoad apps to your SDcard (most of them, some apps required to stay internal, like widgets etc...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have been more clear. What I suggested was just for backing up files in case the internal memory were to get wiped, example being if a new ROM was flashed with Odin, back to stock, etc. Thanks.
sfobrien said:
I should have been more clear. What I suggested was just for backing up files in case the internal memory were to get wiped, example being if a new ROM was flashed with Odin, back to stock, etc. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did more research prior to moving them manually and found that what you just posted would have that affect. So, I still haven't done anything. My computer is old and not capable of burning a disc so I need to use a work computer but will have to do it after hours.
On a semi- related matter, since flashing CR 5.0 my settings for "Nearby Devices" is grayed out. I have been using this in conjunction with viewing photos on my TV. Any thoughts on why this might have happened? I re-flashed without success in gaining access.
drzcharlie said:
I did more research prior to moving them manually and found that what you just posted would have that affect. So, I still haven't done anything. My computer is old and not capable of burning a disc so I need to use a work computer but will have to do it after hours.
On a semi- related matter, since flashing CR 5.0 my settings for "Nearby Devices" is grayed out. I have been using this in conjunction with viewing photos on my TV. Any thoughts on why this might have happened? I re-flashed without success in gaining access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you need to install Allshare in order for this option to work.
Is there a way to download and install the Allshare app separately? I didn't choose it when doing the CR5.0 install. I looked on the playstore, but don't see it. I was going to re-install the ROM, but would rather just load the app if i could.
Only way I know is to flash ROM again. I don't use it. You don't have to wipe data just cache and dalvik.
Sent from my Galaxy S3 with Tapatalk 2
Thanks for that information. I wonder if Allshare is available somewhere? Google is my friend...
This appears to be the Allshare app. It does everything the stock app did. I'll try it and report back.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...mNvbS5zZWMuYW5kcm9pZC5hbGxTaGFyZUNvbnRyb2wiXQ..
This appears to be the Allshare app. It does everything the stock app did. I'll try it and report back.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...mNvbS5zZWMuYW5kcm9pZC5hbGxTaGFyZUNvbnRyb2wiXQ..
EDIT: Nope, when opened it states: Allshare Framework not installed application will exit
Well, it was worth asking the question. I will be reflashing the ROM tonight. I just noticed a issue with what I believe would be the KindaCrap mods I installed. I removed the clock from the notification bar, and changed the battery to just a percentage, and the percentage was really slow while charging like it wasn't taking a charge. After rebooting I was near 60%, when it was showing me 20% before the reboot. I think a fresh install will be good.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devasque.fmount
Anyone tried it ?
Google Play says it's compatible with our device.
Anyone tried it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for being off topic, i can confirm it works on my galaxy s3 and would recommend to other s3 users to use it, but i think it is not necessary for our device
sense when you install games, the data will automatically be save into sdcard and there's no need for that folder to be mounted. and sorry if i mention s3 in our SGS4G
Should work similar to using Titanium to put your internet data for an app on the sd-ext storage. Probably works exactly the same way, except that you have to figure it out yourself instead of having it automated.
Works great for TB... on apps I don't use often with sloppy internet/external storage, it's nice to be able to not worry about 80 megs of my internal storage getting sucked away just because of a irregular convenience app.
Hello there, sorry for this noob question, but I am really eager to let my external SD card to work. I have checked out some of the methods like directory bind etc., although some of them do not work and even complicated for a noob like me; I saw this app called Super Mount in google play and also it was previously suggested as what i have read in the forum here in XDA regarding how to run your apps or games in your ext SD so you can save your phones' (in case my mine its tablet) internal memory, did some research, and so I have tried what I could but I cannot seem to make it work... here is the path that I have been using in the Super Mount....(the one listed below that is the example path in google play)
source path : /storage/extSdCard/Android/obb/jp.co.sega.vtc (my tablet)
mount path : /storage/emulated/0/Android/obb/jp.co.sega.vtc
vs.
source path : /storage/extSdCard/DioDict3B (the example on the supermounts screen shot in google play)
mount path : /storage/sdcard0/DioDict3B
So I was kind of trying to copy how the directory should be...and by the directory that I did, whenever I launch my game its not working....its virtua tennis by the way.....and it says i need to download the extrafile over the wifi connection, though it works fine if I install it in my internal SD and put the SD data in the OBB folder. So, I am assuming it has something to do with the mounting. I have successfuly installed Lidroid File Manager and its plug-in the Super Mount, I can mount and unmount successfuly via the plug-in, only that I cannot seem to make it work.
By the way, I have Folder Mount installed and I'm using it for some big games in the tablet. Would that affect the directory or something if I have it installed? I just noticed there's an "emulated" in the directory, would that do anything to make the lidroid not to work? I did not uninstalled it since I have games which I have already mounted via the Folder Mount and it might mess things up more, so just want to consult few experts here in the forum first. Thanks and more power
Galaxy Note 8 N5100 user.
h4ckneyed said:
Hello there, sorry for this noob question, but I am really eager to let my external SD card to work. I have checked out some of the methods like directory bind etc., although some of them do not work and even complicated for a noob like me; I saw this app called Super Mount in google play and also it was previously suggested as what i have read in the forum here in XDA regarding how to run your apps or games in your ext SD so you can save your phones' (in case my mine its tablet) internal memory, did some research, and so I have tried what I could but I cannot seem to make it work... here is the path that I have been using in the Super Mount....(the one listed below that is the example path in google play)
source path : /storage/extSdCard/Android/obb/jp.co.sega.vtc (my tablet)
mount path : /storage/emulated/0/Android/obb/jp.co.sega.vtc
vs.
source path : /storage/extSdCard/DioDict3B (the example on the supermounts screen shot in google play)
mount path : /storage/sdcard0/DioDict3B
So I was kind of trying to copy how the directory should be...and by the directory that I did, whenever I launch my game its not working....its virtua tennis by the way.....and it says i need to download the extrafile over the wifi connection, though it works fine if I install it in my internal SD and put the SD data in the OBB folder. So, I am assuming it has something to do with the mounting. I have successfuly installed Lidroid File Manager and its plug-in the Super Mount, I can mount and unmount successfuly via the plug-in, only that I cannot seem to make it work.
By the way, I have Folder Mount installed and I'm using it for some big games in the tablet. Would that affect the directory or something if I have it installed? I just noticed there's an "emulated" in the directory, would that do anything to make the lidroid not to work? I did not uninstalled it since I have games which I have already mounted via the Folder Mount and it might mess things up more, so just want to consult few experts here in the forum first. Thanks and more power
Galaxy Note 8 N5100 user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant find this app anymore.
Hey Guys -
Amongst other devices, I have a rooted Nvidia Shield Tablet which I primarily use for gaming (of course) and love. Recently, I upgraded to Lollipop and soon after even completely reset the tablet by reapplying the recovery image, then upgrading to Lollipop via OTA (since recovery files still haven't yet been updated.)
There's just one main issue I cannot find a solution for: I have many legacy apps / games and for some of them need to have SD Card write access. Take for instance "Star Wars - Jedi Academy." It's a paid app and when downloaded installs a small APK as well as a folder with the Demo version of the PC game's files. The app says if you copy the retail version files to a folder and point it to them, it will play the full game and does - however - these files are 3.5gb therefore I copied to a folder on my SD. When I open the app/game and point it to the SD Card folder (which it sees), it says the target isn't writable.
When Lollipop first came out, I know many apps needed to be upgrade to be able to write to the SD card - due to Storage Access Framework I believe. They must know that some legacy apps probably may never get updated. How are we to use these? I'd think the fix would come in one of the following forms:
- Xposed Add-on (Installer/Framework still not compatible with Lollipop, though )
- Play Store App - Non-official workaround like ones offered for KitKat
- Lucky Patcher modification?
- Some other method which may require root
- A base Android setting I've overlooked
So... does anyone know a method which is currently out and working? Thanks!
I recently wrote a post about this. Tl;dr you need to reformat your card as ntfs to get it to work, and then do some craziness with the Google Storage Access Framework on command.
Wait a second. Can't you write a simple app like SD fix to repair the way the SD card is accessed?
bzowk said:
Hey Guys -
Amongst other devices, I have a rooted Nvidia Shield Tablet which I primarily use for gaming (of course) and love. Recently, I upgraded to Lollipop and soon after even completely reset the tablet by reapplying the recovery image, then upgrading to Lollipop via OTA (since recovery files still haven't yet been updated.)
There's just one main issue I cannot find a solution for: I have many legacy apps / games and for some of them need to have SD Card write access. Take for instance "Star Wars - Jedi Academy." It's a paid app and when downloaded installs a small APK as well as a folder with the Demo version of the PC game's files. The app says if you copy the retail version files to a folder and point it to them, it will play the full game and does - however - these files are 3.5gb therefore I copied to a folder on my SD. When I open the app/game and point it to the SD Card folder (which it sees), it says the target isn't writable.
So... does anyone know a method which is currently out and working? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure it will solve your problem, but when I first upgraded to Lollipop I could not write anything to my sd card. Someone else mentioned that if you install Folder Mount, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devasque.fmount, upon first launch it would recognize the issue and offer to fix it. I tried it (used Folder Mount on my old Hisense Sero Pro 7 for a long time so I trust it), and sure enough it works great. Then just uninstall it once you've rebooted. End of problem for me...
Easy fix. If you have root use SD Card Fix by NextApp
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nextapp.sdfix
Gives you read write back to your ex SD.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
this fix did it for me without installing any app:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=44370296#post44370296
Wow - Thanks for all the replies guys! I got it to work!
After reading each, I decided to first try w.0.o.t's suggestion which is a direct but simple edit of a system file instead of installing an app for which I don't know what it does exactly. The example in the link he sent was a bit different as it was for 4.3, so here's what I ended up doing to make it work for 5.0:
1. Opened Root Explorer Pro on my tablet
2. Browsed to the file "/etc/permissions/platform.xml"
3. Copied it to the root of my internal storage (sdcard0) for backup
4. Held down touch on it and choose to Edit in Text Editor. It asked if I wanted to mount volume as RW to which I replied yes
5. Located the section "WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" and made the edits listed in the "EDITS" section below these steps
6. Saved file, held touch on filename again, went to permissions, and verified that it was set to "644" - it was
7. Restarted tablet
EDITS
Original Data in permissions.xml
Code:
<permission name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" >
<group gid="sdcard_r" />
<group gid="sdcard_rw" />
</permission>
Edited Data in permissions.xml What I changed the above values to...
Code:
<permission name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" >
<group gid="sdcard_rw" />
<group gid="sdcard_rw" />
<group gid="media_rw" />
</permission>
Notes when editing:
- Make sure that you change "r" to "rw" on the first listed group - may easily be missed when coming above two
- When typing extra line, my tablet auto-corrected the word "gid" and changed it to "god" without me noticing. After rebooting and it not working, I went back and saw the error, fixed it, rebooted, then it worked
To test, I opened FX File Editor and browsed to a file on my SDCard which I previously could not delete. This time, I was able to delete it without issue
Thanks again guys!
glad you sorted it out.
primetechv2 said:
I recently wrote a post about this. Tl;dr you need to reformat your card as ntfs to get it to work, and then do some craziness with the Google Storage Access Framework on command.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a link to some instructions for that method? And does it require root?
KingDestruct said:
Do you have a link to some instructions for that method? And does it require root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No root is needed.
It requires a computer, and probably for you to eject your SD card from your shield and insert it into the computer in a different way, so it's recognized by Windows Explorer.
So you plug in the SD card as mentioned.
Open it up in Windows Explorer. (This usually comes up when you insert the card, but if it doesn't you can usually open the Start Menu or Start Screen and type Explorer to find it.)
Copy everything you want to save out of the card.
Right click in an empty space, then choose Format...
Format the thing as NTFS. Turning off Quick Format probably won't hurt. Don't bother with any other options.
Cross fingers. Try the card again.
primetechv2 said:
No root is needed.
It requires a computer, and probably for you to eject your SD card from your shield and insert it into the computer in a different way, so it's recognized by Windows Explorer.
So you plug in the SD card as mentioned.
Open it up in Windows Explorer. (This usually comes up when you insert the card, but if it doesn't you can usually open the Start Menu or Start Screen and type Explorer to find it.)
Copy everything you want to save out of the card.
Right click in an empty space, then choose Format...
Format the thing as NTFS. Turning off Quick Format probably won't hurt. Don't bother with any other options.
Cross fingers. Try the card again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry I should have clarified, I know how to and have formatted the SD card, I was referring to the fiddling around with the Google Storage Access Framework on command. Sorry for the confusion.
KingDestruct said:
I'm sorry I should have clarified, I know how to and have formatted the SD card, I was referring to the fiddling around with the Google Storage Access Framework on command. Sorry for the confusion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The GSAF will only pop up on apps that have been wired to support it. Among others I know ES and FX file explorers are now capable. Any luck with those?
primetechv2 said:
The GSAF will only pop up on apps that have been wired to support it. Among others I know ES and FX file explorers are now capable. Any luck with those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No luck whatsoever. I'm getting the same issue as the original poster. I've tried with both ES File Explorer and FX and Documents crashes as soon as I select the SD Card. The SD card is in NTFS format, would exFAT format make a difference?
---------- Post added at 06:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:19 AM ----------
primetechv2 said:
The GSAF will only pop up on apps that have been wired to support it. Among others I know ES and FX file explorers are now capable. Any luck with those?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried using ES File Explorer on my LG G3 running Android 5.0.1 and I was able to write to the SD card. So at this point its an issue with the tablet, which is immensely infuriating since I can't install games to the SD car properly, which is the main thing this tablet is for isn't it?! I really want to play some Hearthstone on it!
You know, at this point, any change in format might make a difference. I'm scratching my head as to why you need to explicitly provided Storage access to ES File Explorer, maybe it just no longer assumes it has the permissions (stock Samsung apps are okay with writing anywhere and preliminary documentation about OEM installed apps said the same thing).
The good news is that I've never destroyed an SD card by formatting formatting it. Go nuts. Try things other than what I suggested... At this point there's a good chance I'm missing something. And I'm sorry for botching my suggestions.
Here's an idea. Between switching formats and maybe allocation sizes (I'm leaning towards trying the smallest one), try formatting your SD card in the system's Storage settings.
Here's another: try the SD Formatter application available here. Raspberry Pi SD cards are sometimes as cranky as Shield ones.
http://www.raspberrypi.org/help/noobs-setup/
I got it to work! I used the SD Formatter you suggested, although it only let me format it to FAT32. I did see some other threads though that said something about renaming the SD card too, so I decided to rename the volume label to "Shield_SD", and I'm guessing that this is the problem, as I never named the SD card. I noticed also that on my LG G3 that the external SD card had a name that was a bunch of random characters, but I could write to it.
dgjenkins said:
Not sure it will solve your problem, but when I first upgraded to Lollipop I could not write anything to my sd card. Someone else mentioned that if you install Folder Mount, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devasque.fmount, upon first launch it would recognize the issue and offer to fix it. I tried it (used Folder Mount on my old Hisense Sero Pro 7 for a long time so I trust it), and sure enough it works great. Then just uninstall it once you've rebooted. End of problem for me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After upgrade to lollipop, then downgrade to KK 4.4.4, had a sd card write pb.
This one solved my problem.
Thanks for that, you made my day.
Best regards
Franck