Whenever I try and upload a file to Google Drive or add a picture from my gallery to instagram, my phone creates a file called .thumbdata3 in the thumbnails directory on my SD card. The problem with this is not the creation of the file, it's that the file is exactly the size of all the free space on the memory card... When plugged into the computer it displays "0 Bytes Free" on the SD card...
So when I choose a file from the gallery to upload to google drive or instagram, it will hang on a black screen until this file has been created (filling up the SD card), and then upload... Then i check the free space, and it is 0Bytes.
Anyone else had this and fixed it?
PS Sorry for being a noob here
Bumping this...
Anyone had this? Or have a solution?
Same thing here, unfortunately no solution. Apparently it is safe to delete the file, but it will be recreated at some point, taking up all the space on the SD card again.
For me, it grew up to 400 MB and even beyond (IIRC), which seems a bit excessive, even taking into account that there are > 2000 pictures in the DCIM folder of my SD-card at the moment. Still, 400 MB is more than a quarter of the 1.4 GB that the pictures take up, which surely does not make much sense if that is supposed to speed up the process of reading/displaying the thumbnails!?
Does anybody know a fix? Is it ICS related? I'm on Stock 4.0.3 ICS BTW, and I never noticed this behaviour before the update...
Same here, with a SE Xperia Mini Pro (4.0.4). It happened with me when the phone tried syncing Evernote notes (with pictures attached).
Maybe this topic should be moved to a more generic sub-forum; apparently it's an ICS problem...
thumbdata3
I am also currently having this problem, specially when trying to upload/import photos from gallery to instagram. the ".thumdata3...." file can go as large as 2.5 gig for me, depenending on how much space I have on my SD card before importing pics from gallery to instagram
Same happenned to me - a siolutions that worked for me
Same happened to me the .thumdata3 ate up all remaining space (1.2G) on my Samsung Galaxy S2, android 4.0.3. Any time I deleted it, it was recreated any time I opened the camera app. Then the camera app was unable to take any pic due to sd full. If I deleted this file it was re-created any time I started camera again.
Installing and running the SDrescan app (from play store) helped. Though SDrescan made stock ringtones disappear. However reboot helped that, and the large file did not came back even after restarting camera.
This worked for me, though I am not sure in the reason. Might work for you as well, or not. I must say that android 4.0 is much worse than I expected. Not the first annoying error I have found.
My guess for the reason of the error happening: I once inserted an sd card with LOTS of media content. Then all this was cached somehow in gallery.
My guess for the reason this solution works: the app erases cached SD data thus helps reducing the thumbnail cache.
rasnadas said:
Same happened to me the .thumdata3 ate up all remaining space (1.2G) on my Samsung Galaxy S2, android 4.0.3. Any time I deleted it, it was recreated any time I opened the camera app. Then the camera app was unable to take any pic due to sd full. If I deleted this file it was re-created any time I started camera again.
Installing and running the SDrescan app (from play store) helped. Though SDrescan made stock ringtones disappear. However reboot helped that, and the large file did not came back even after restarting camera.
This worked for me, though I am not sure in the reason. Might work for you as well, or not. I must say that android 4.0 is much worse than I expected. Not the first annoying error I have found.
My guess for the reason of the error happening: I once inserted an sd card with LOTS of media content. Then all this was cached somehow in gallery.
My guess for the reason this solution works: the app erases cached SD data thus helps reducing the thumbnail cache.
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Click to collapse
I had the same issue, but unfortunately your solution didn't help me. Initially I thought it did, but after a reboot and launching Camera app, it hanged and created the .thumbdata3 file once again.
I also tried messing up with databases using SQLite Editor, as described here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28466334&postcount=9, but that didn't help either.
I've done some more research and found a solution here: http://www.mobilephonetalk.com/show...in-memory-card&p=311954&viewfull=1#post311954. After I deleted the .thumbdata3 file, created a blank one with Root Explorer and removed write permission to it, the file stays at 0 bytes and Camera and Gallery apps still work fine.
I have an issue with the size of the thumbdata3 file in DCIM/.thumbnails on internal memory (camera is set to store to ext SD) at the moment it is 314MB on internal memory but the thumbdata3 file in the DCIM/.thumbnail folder on ext SD is less than 1MB (I only have around 100 photos and pictures on my phone) - but camera still works (other than in the scenario described below)
If I delete the large thumbdata3 file from internal memory and then attempt to use the camera, the photo is taken without any problem but when I try to view it in either gallery or QuickPic by clicking through from the 'last image taken thumbnail' in the camera and then click back to carry on taking another picture the camera FC's. It usually does this twice and is then absolutely fine - apart from the fact that the large thumbdata3 file has been recreated on internal storage.
I've tried it numerous times and every time the same results - delete thumbdata3 from internal memory, couple of camera FC's, large thumbdata3 file recreated, no more problems (bar the loss of 314MB of storage)
I've tried replacing the thumbdata3 file on internal memory with a copy of the smaller one from Ext SD, creating a blank thumbdata3 file and setting it as read only/no write permission and neither have helped.
Its a bit weird and annoying but I won't let it take the shine off my fun with CM9, however it would be nice to recover that large chunk of storage space to be put to better use.
All the same, many thanks Arco - Beta 1 is my first CM9 install and its great :good:[/QUOTE]
Hi - haven't full troubleshooted this issue yet, but see my notes here. I have the same issue (GNEX JB 4.1.1 stock) and for me it is caused by the app KeepSafe which hides/unhides pics/videos on your phone. Note I believe this is an interaction issue between this app and the media scanning functionality in JB (and I suspect ICS), and so there are likely other apps that have the same issue. For me it creates 1 or 2 .thumbdata3 db files each around 1.3GB.
Certainly, irrespective of app causing it, you can follow the steps to purge Gallery and Media Storage, resync your gmail account and they should disappear on their own. Opening the camera and taking a photo causes the db to come back at around 400MB with a single thumbnail - one of the test files I was hiding and unhiding with KeepSafe but has since been deleted. Can't really explain this behaviour!
Any way, I made some notes on what I tested, the results and some ponderings in case this helps someone work it out:
Thumbdata3
Hiding in keep safe seems to create both the thumbnails and thumbdata file.
Clearing data/cache for gallery and media storage removes all these files? So far doesn't seem to be the case. File and db still there after. Rerunning the media scanner now. Perhaps they caused it? Also forced resync of all items in gmail account. Thumbs and db now gone. Not clear if it was the media scanning completing or the re-sync, but steps to resolve issue now appear deterministic.
Tested with single pic. Restored. No thumbs. Re-hid, thumbnail appeared for this pic and a 435MB db file.
All thumbs were for pics hidden in keep safe. However previously there were far more thumbs. Speculate - cumulative issue thru successive hide/restore cycles, possibly due to file name collision avoidance.
Deleting pic in file explorer also causes the problem? Does not appear to be the case. Gallery/Media Scanner/Media Storage handles this manual intervention far better under ICS/JB. Previously, manually removing a picture rather than deleting it thru Gallery tended to mean the tile/thumb remained. Scanner didn't or didn't very effectively detect this. Probable algorithm change in ICS. Now it sees the deletion immediately. Possibly implicated in keep safe not correctly interacting with the gallery/media scanner properly under ICS/JB.
I´ve the same problem.
After restarting the phone, the camera freezes for a while and regenerates the file, no matter how many media files are in the phone or sd card, it always growth to 431mg after restarting.
(I also find many lost files in the LOST.DIR (almost 2.300gb...many are dissapeared files that I forget about them!)
The .thumbdata files on my SGSIII take up ~4 GB worth of space. Already a quarter of my phones internal memory is being wasted. I wonder if this is a bug or "working as intended"? It makes me wonder how google can still justify the lack of an external microsd card slot on their nexus phones when there is so much space being mismanaged by the OS.
It's works
strom87 said:
I had the same issue, but unfortunately your solution didn't help me. Initially I thought it did, but after a reboot and launching Camera app, it hanged and created the .thumbdata3 file once again.
I also tried messing up with databases using SQLite Editor, as described here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=28466334&postcount=9, but that didn't help either.
I've done some more research and found a solution here: http://www.mobilephonetalk.com/show...in-memory-card&p=311954&viewfull=1#post311954. After I deleted the .thumbdata3 file, created a blank one with Root Explorer and removed write permission to it, the file stays at 0 bytes and Camera and Gallery apps still work fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's works with me!
that works
That works for me:
1. copy name of thumbdataX--x file
2. delete that file
3. create folder named the same as deleted file; reboot your device
4. look in folders named LOST.DIR (you can find it in the root directory of your internal memory and your SDcard) - huge temporary files may be left in these folders, so delete these files
New thumbdata file can't replace the folder and doesn't appears :victory:
until now the folder solution works :laugh:
Kyonex said:
That works for me:
1. copy name of thumbdataX--x file
2. delete that file
3. create folder named the same as deleted file; reboot your device
4. look in folders named LOST.DIR (you can find it in the root directory of your internal memory and your SDcard) - huge temporary files may be left in these folders, so delete these files
New thumbdata file can't replace the folder and doesn't appears :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't work, camera still overwrites the .thumbdataX--x folder. And as /mnt/sdacard is using FAT32, I also can't set file permission to 000 or use /dev/null symlink.
I cannot play my mp3s without one or two songs repeating over and over, before going to a new song, then the player goes back to the same repeated ones. I noticed that extra files are being created continuously in the mp3 folder. Even if I make a play list the player still manages to go back to these invader files. Is that a micro sd card or android issue. I first notice it after I install ics on my SGS I9000. Now I am JB (I9300OXADLI8). I have added some pics. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
sirgen said:
I cannot play my mp3s without one or two songs repeating over and over, before going to a new song, then the player goes back to the same repeated ones. I noticed that extra files are being created continuously in the mp3 folder. Even if I make a play list the player still manages to go back to these invader files. Is that a micro sd card or android issue. I first notice it after I install ics on my SGS I9000. Now I am JB (I9300OXADLI8). I have added some pics. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first and foremost, do not create multiple threads for the same issue, since its against XDA rules, for which u might even get an infraction from the FSM(forum specific moderator).
now for ur issue, try clearing Data/Cache of the 'Media storage' as well as the music app, then reboot ur phone and wait some time for the 'Media scanning' to complete and then check for the duplicate file issue
OP, your double posting has been removed, Please refrain from posting same topic multiply times, Thank You.
Also here is some good reading to assist you:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1699450
Thank you bigjoe2675 and Sun90, I did contact Archer about my mulity post and wrong placement. I did not do that deliberately. I sincerely apolagise.
Sun90 said:
first and foremost, do not create multiple threads for the same issue, since its against XDA rules, for which u might even get an infraction from the FSM(forum specific moderator).
now for ur issue, try clearing Data/Cache of the 'Media storage' as well as the music app, then reboot ur phone and wait some time for the 'Media scanning' to complete and then check for the duplicate file issue
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for being a pain, but how do I go about clearing the Data/Cache of the 'Media storage' and the music app? Thanks
I was able to clear Data/Cache of the 'Media storage' as well as the music app but the problem still lie. I realised that not only are files being created from one or two songs, but other mp3 files are being replaced by the same repeated ones. E.g. if I try to play another song I will hear one of the two repeated songs instead, but the info for the song that should be playing will be displayed.
Are you deleting the files, and then clearing the cache? Clearing the cache might not necessarily delete the files that already exist.
Also, try scanning your sd card for errors on a pc. Weird things happen...
Ok I deleted everything on the sdcard formated it put the music files back on then I did the clearing of the cache. I will let you guys know later on, if the problem is solved after some test. Thanks.
Well I formatted the micro sdcard twice, cleared cache for storage and music app and it still happens. I have now put the music on my internal mem and the problem is not happening. So it is deffinately an sd card problem. Is the card damaged/corrupted? Can it be fixed? Or should I get a new one? EHHHHHHH
It seems there's a very strange behavior with the stock "Gallery" app:
1) All my photos were previously saved in the internal SdCard ("/storage/sdcard0/DCIM/Camera") as the default "storage" location in the (stock) Camera app settings was "Device".
2) I've now changed from "Device" to "Memory card" the storage setting of the Camera app.
3) New photos are now saved in "/storage/extSdCard/DCIM/Camera" as expected.
4) If I open the Gallery I can see two "camera" albums: one with all my photos taken before changing the storage location and another one with the photos taken after changing the storage setting.
All ok till now...
But if I move all my old photos to the new /storage/extSdCard/DCIM/Camera folder they don't show up in the Gallery!
Furthermore the Gallery doesn't show any other image saved in the external SdCard.
I've tried to clean up the data and cache of both the Gallery and the Media Storage apps and to reboot but that didn't solve the problem (and there's no ".nomedia" file in those folders).
Any suggestion or advice?
I got myself in a right mess when creating new folders within the gallery app and moving photos around, I ended up with empty folders with a kind of broken link symbol for those folders that I thought I had deleted or renamed. I tried clearing the data and cache of the gallery app but it didnt help.
Now as I never turn my tablet off as I just let it sleep when im not using it ( excellent battery !) I wasnt letting the media scanner run which seems to kick in when powering on and the os booting up. After a proper power off and on my folders are all sorted in the gallery . Forgive me if you have already tried this simple step but hopefully it may help you or others who like me never power off their tablet.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
manmikey said:
I got myself in a right mess when creating new folders within the gallery app and moving photos around, I ended up with empty folders with a kind of broken link symbol for those folders that I thought I had deleted or renamed. I tried clearing the data and cache of the gallery app but it didnt help.
Now as I never turn my tablet off as I just let it sleep when im not using it ( excellent battery !) I wasnt letting the media scanner run which seems to kick in when powering on and the os booting up. After a proper power off and on my folders are all sorted in the gallery . Forgive me if you have already tried this simple step but hopefully it may help you or others who like me never power off their tablet.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using XDA Premium HD app
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply.
Anyway rebooting (power off and power on) didn't solve my problem. I've seen that the media scanner kicks in with a new reboot. Anyway it seems to ignore the media saved in the external Sd Card.
Strange thing is that the Gallery sees photos taken and automatically stored in the external Sd (after changing the the Camera settings) but not other image files copied in it.
Yesterday I finally got around to shifting my entire music collection to my external SD card, and then I uploaded all my music to Google Drive as well for safe keeping. Woke up the next day missing over 1.5GB of internal storage space. I checked Android assistant and my thumbnail cache was 1.88GB. It's usually pretty high anyway since I have dozens of podcasts, videos, and even some full movies on my external SD card, but now it's ballooned out of control. How can I stop Android from forcing these thumbnails that I don't want associated with my files?
Galaxy S4 stock 4.2.2 and rooted if that makes any difference.
I don't think there's a certain way to prevent this unless someone has a tool for. You'll just have to clear / delete the files as you go along.
Scripts said:
I don't think there's a certain way to prevent this unless someone has a tool for. You'll just have to clear / delete the files as you go along.
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Click to collapse
The problem is that even after I delete the bloated thumbnail cache, at least according to my settings menu, the internal storage remains the same. So it seems that the space is reserved for the inevitable refreshing of the thumbnail cache that comes every time I reboot or my music gallery is opened. It just annoys me that so much valuable internal space is taken up by something so pointless. If I could find a way to have thumbnails save automatically to my external SD card, I would be happy enough with that.
Hello, I'm not sure how to stop thumbnail caching but try and clear cache its self
Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2
Unfortunately clearing the thumbnail cache does nothing. The internal storage remains the same and the thumbnails are back on reboot all the same.
My phone won't let me download pictures, create any new folders, move or copy files to other folders, and chrome keeps deleting my tabs. When I go to delete files it says external storage files can not be removed to recycle bin. It says my storage is full but I still have 723 Mb free. It does let me delete files just not do anything else with them. When I try to download a picture through chrome it immediately pauses the download and when I try to resume it it pauses again. When I try to take screenshots it says can not take screenshot due to security policy in a little grey bubble near the bottom of the screen. It won't let any apps save pictures and whenever I restart the phone all my settings are reset to default and my app locker is disengaged. It won't let me download or update apps either and I get an error 963 or 492 from Google play. It will not allow me to send pictures with any apps either such as skype, Instagram, amino, etc. Apps randomly crash as well even when I'm not using them. I've tried clearing the cache with no success as well as unistalling all play store updates. The camera will not take pictures either, the shutter will click but no picture is saved. Any help is appreciated xc my phone is a Samsung Galaxy J3 running Android 7.0 and it is not rooted.
Have you tried to clearing playstore cache& data? Uninstall playstore updates?
R324D said:
Have you tried to clearing playstore cache& data? Uninstall playstore updates?
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Click to collapse
Yes i have it didn't change anything my storage is still acting strange. When I use certain apps they'll keep refreshing pictures and files and apps like it's rescanning them over and over. Almost like if an SD card was being mounted and unmounted rapidly but it's the internal storage