[Q] Photos and External SD Card - Galaxy Note 10.1 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

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
Click to expand...
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.

Related

[Q] Corrupt image files won't delete

I searched and could not find any answers.
Last week I took a picture on my Samsung Captivate 2.2 that came out as a black image. I tried 4 times total to take a picture and this kept happening. They were corrupt files. I rebooted my phone and after that, I was able to take pictures once again.
My problem: these 4 pictures are saved on my external SD card and I have tried deleting them from Root Explorer, and from my computer via USB. They delete, but once the media scanner runs, the pictures are back on my phone. I have tried deleting the thumbnails as well.
Additional info:
I don't have any other pictures saved on my external SD. I save the other pictures on my internal SD.
Files are saved under: external_sd>DCIM>Camera
My phone is rooted.
Screenshots are attached. I am hoping there is a solution other than reformatting the SD card since I have quite a bit saved on there. Thanks in advance!
I have reformatted my SD card completely. No files saved on it now. But the 4 corrupt files keep showing up! I have also noticed there are 3 thumbnails still there. These thumbnails do not belong to any pictures because there is nothing on the SD card but the 4 corrupt files. Deleting the thumbnails did nothing. On reboot, the 4 corrupt images + 3 random thumbnails are still there.
?
GE796 said:
I have reformatted my SD card completely. No files saved on it now. But the 4 corrupt files keep showing up! I have also noticed there are 3 thumbnails still there. These thumbnails do not belong to any pictures because there is nothing on the SD card but the 4 corrupt files. Deleting the thumbnails did nothing. On reboot, the 4 corrupt images + 3 random thumbnails are still there.
?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you clear data on the gallery in the apps menu in settings?
I just tried this, then rebooted. Didn't work, unfortunately. Thank you though!
Nevermind. I am stupid

[Q] .Thumbdata3 file

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.
Click to expand...
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.

SD Card reader -- View images in Gallery?

I've been playing around with the cheapo OTG Connection Kit (combo SD card reader and USB port).
I noticed something odd -- when I load an SD card (from a Nikon D50) into the SD card reader, the tablet recognizes the drive and automatically opens the file manager. I can navigate to the photo folder on the SD card, and then open individual photos (which open in the Gallery app). However, I can't swipe left or right to see the other photos. I have to exit the Gallery and then open another photo.
I was hoping that I could simply open the first photo and then swipe through the rest of the photos in the folder, as you would normally do with images. But this just doesn't seem to work when the photos on the SD card.
Any thoughts? Has anyone else experienced this, or could someone else test this out to see if they get the same result?
Anyone? I've now tested this with an SD card directly in the card reader dongle, as well as with a USB card reader plugged into the USB dongle. Neither allows you to load images on the card as a gallery (so that you can swipe left and right through the gallery). Each image must be clicked on individually and then backed out of.
Seems to me that the gallery app doesnt have any external storage mount points set into its default and I dont think you can add any. Pics are opening individually in gallery because you have that set as your default app for viewing pics. Try another gallery type app from the market or maybe search the forums for a modded one.
Thanks -- I've been thinking along those lines. I've heard good things about JustPictures! so maybe I'll start there and report back what I find.
I've the same issue... I'll try market gallery manager. Thanks
I had some partial success with JustPictures! -- it definitely was able to load the entire folder from the SD card, but when I swiped through the pics, it seemed like it wasn't quite in file name order like I expected. Not sure if it was random or some other order.

Thumbnail file taking too much space

Hey guys I am facing an issue regarding space in my phone's internal SD CARD. I checked in root explorer n found that 2 files of thumbnail in DCIM folder taking 600mb of space. though all my photos n videos are in external SD CARD. But I don't know how its still being created in the internal SD CARD and I wanna tell that I use quickpic galary app to browse all the photos n videos and never used phones original galary app....
So plz help me guys n provide a solution. M using Sony Xperia go phone!!
Sent from my ST27i using xda premium
Maybe You Can find solution in one of those threads:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1318827
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28447099#post28447099
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=35259164&postcount=7
It seems a problem with android 4+ I made a goo.gle link but haven't posted much here yet oQSfA is the extension of the url. If I am erroneously posting this, I am sorry. I have the same issue. If anyone can post a clickable link it might get stars quicker. It might be fixed in jelly bean, but I don't know.
Issue 39546:Files under DCIM/.thumbnails are eating away at SD card storage
I have since done factory restore with formatting the stock SD. File is there, much smaller though 197 KB. No pictures to thumbnail, so it isn't necessarily solved. I did switch out cards (old 16GB to stock 4GB) before format and delete the .thumbnail file but that was recreated even with no pictures. I figured it may be my picasa account, but have since opened gallery. After letting more (from Picasa) picture and folder thumbnails appear than ever before my file is still small
.:banghead:
it still (6+ hours) has not grown giant. In fact its not really there. I didn't disable any of TMobile bloat like I did initially, and have the blank SD. In the process of reinstalling apps reopening gallery and checking space with storage analyzer.
I still don't like not being able to choose internal USB or external storage SD. Most apps "moved to SD card" just move to USB storage. Interestingly tapatalk appeared to move to the real external SD card as did a few others.
I doubt this will be fixed on ICS. I can hope though. It seems like the app itself needs to use the external SD directory, but the stock gallery might never be updated.
Samsung galaxy blaze 4G with stock ICS 4.0.4. All the extra TMobile apps are a pre-installed, but not updated.
I don't claim to be knowledgeable enough to know what I don't know. I always reserve the right to be wrong.
Taking pictures didn't make thumbnail file huge, but one relatively small video of 29 seconds with a 5MP camera created a 47mb file and two 3mb files in the thumbnail folder. Not huge but bigger than 10%.
EvilHobbit said:
Maybe You Can find solution in one of those threads:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1318827
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28447099#post28447099
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=35259164&postcount=7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks bro.. u really helped me.. just tried some solutions from the links u gave me.
will post feedback again if its working or not. i hope those thumbnail files wont come back now.
Glad i could help a bit .
Sent from my LT18i using xda app-developers app
EvilHobbit said:
Glad i could help a bit .
Sent from my LT18i using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
finally it worked... thanks a lot bro...
for all others dealing with same issue, here is what i did... just replaced the thumbnail file with another file created with root explorer named it same as the thumbnail file n removed the write permissions of the new file created... so it wont let system write any data in it. therefore it stays empty.

How to stop Android from caching thumbnails?

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.
Click to expand...
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.

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