[Q] Q about Jellybean Custom Rom Issues - General Questions and Answers

Hello Android XDA-ers!
I'm a newbie on the Custom ROM scene, but I just installed my first custom ROM on my E-bayed Verizon Droid Incredible. I flashed it once. It was awesome. After 2 months, my system got slow and it said my phone was "running low on storage," so I saw a reply on the forum where I got the ROM (credit:Albinoman) saying I should re-flash. I did, but I'm a bit confused.
The first time I unzipped the ROM from /sdcard0. The second time I unzipped the ROM from /storage/sdcard1.
1. Does that matter? Should I have re-flashed from the same source?
Source, "/sdcard1" claims to be 6.5G of unused memory. The only way I can access it is with my ES File Explorer (or other apps like it). I was dubious and double-checked my "Storage" setting by installing "Storage Analyser" and even that acknowledged /storage/sdcard1 as viable 6.5G of storage.
2. If my "Settings>Storage" and "Storage Analyser" app are both accurage, how can I utilize this storage?
I have an SD Card present. It is a 2G card. Nothing seems to be accessing /sdcard1 and it's a rather large bit of space. I know that I can add things to that storage space because when I plug in via USB, I can add items to it and I can retrieve them. However, the only way to view it is to use Root Explorer. I would like my apps and music etc to save there by default. It seems like they are being limited to a 758Mb space.
3. I check specs online and they say my DInc should have 8G internal storage. Why can't i utilize this? Did I do something wrong when flashing my phone? Help!

Related

[Q] Missing Internal SD

Hey sorry if this is posted somewhere else but I dont know where to look and I looked on google for you guys who want to post that google thing.
Anyways, after installing roms from CM7 or even eagle, my internal sd card does not show up in file or root explorer. Its shown in the storage sections but not where i can access the information on there from the phone's file system.
When i restore back to stock (but rooted) rom its back to normal!
Its there, just hidden and named emmc. This is why root explorer is a must own app, it allows to see tons of hidden files you would otherwise not see. I'm sure there's other free apps that can do the same but root explorer has saved me from so many headaches it was an instant buy in market.
The 1 major gripe I ever had with this phone was the way they partitioned the internal storage, whoever decided that was a complete moron!
Edit:
Look under mnt/emmc with root explorer
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Thanks but how do I use it for normal everyday stuff? I guess i cant with CM7?
Sure you can, just move stuff from sdcard to mnt/emmc with root explorer. I know its a pain and one of the reasons I started a request thread to see if there was a way to bind/combine both partitions into 1 so we'd all have more internal space for installing apps/games.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Hey thanks for the insight, I will just keep my reg ota with root until a much better version comes out.
jetbruceli said:
Hey thanks for the insight, I will just keep my reg ota with root until a much better version comes out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you use an external sdcard with your g2x, or do you use only the internal? There is a potentially easy solution if you want to use CM7 and keep the internal card as your primary. I'll tell you how step by step, but depending on if you use an external card and what you use it for, more or less steps will be involved. So I'll wait for your answer so I can give you the right response.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Well I have a 32 gb SD installed but like having the internal for apps and clockwork roms
sent from my anti IPhone device
jetbruceli said:
Well I have a 32 gb SD installed but like having the internal for apps and clockwork roms
sent from my anti IPhone device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally prefer to keep my backups and personal data on an external/removable sdcard. Its safer that way in case anything happens to the phones internal memory, all my documents and backups are safe and I can put my sdcard into my computer or another phone to retrieve it. Also, I'd much rather have 32gb of storage for all that rather than the 5gb you'll have with the internal card.
That said, its personal preference and always good to have options. Here's how I have mine setup with CM7 (I'll explain how to achieve the setup you want in a moment):
- My external removable card is mounted at /mnt/sdcard. This is the default setup of CM7.
- My internal sdcard (emmc) is mounted at /mnt/sdcard/_OtherSD. CM7 default is to mount it at /mnt/emmc, which means if I have photos, music and movies stored there they wont show up in some of my apps. By having it mounted to a directory inside my /mnt/sdcard directory, any app that looks at my external sdcard will also see what's stored on the internal sdcard. This is similar to the stock setup, except that with stock the external card is mounted as /mnt/sdcard/_ExternalSD.
But if you want the internal to be your primary sdcard then here are a couple of fixes for you. The quickest fix is this:
- Go to Settings > Cyanogenmod settings > Application
- Select "Use internal storage"
- Reboot phone
- Now your internal card will be mounted at /mnt/sdcard and your external card at /mnt/emmc
- This makes your internal card your main sdcard but leaves you external card mostly unusable because of its mount point.
So if you are like me and you like for things to be labeled properly and usable then continue reading. This works with CM7 (it wont work with stock), and I also recommend having root explorer (from the Market). My instructions will be specific to root explorer, although you can use any root text editor you want. You will need to edit 2 files (/system/build.prop and /system/etc/vold.fstab):
- Using root explorer navigate to your /system directory.
- At the top of the screen select "Mount R/W"
- Scroll down and find the /system/build.prop file. Long-press on it and select to open in text editor.
- Scroll about halfway down the file and find the section that says "
# Mount the internal SD card, too
- Where it says "ro.additionalmounts=" specify a directory by typing its full path. I use /mnt/sdcard/_OtherSD. This is the mount point you will use in the vold.fstab file (which you'll edit in a moment)
- The very next line says "ro.vold.switchablepair=" .. These are the mount points that get swapped when you enable that setting in CM7. Change the options to match the mount points you will want to use. So for me it says "/mnt/sdcard,/mnt/sdcard/_OtherSD" ... of course no quotation marks.
- Select Menu > Save & Exit. One nice feature of root explorer is that it automatically saves your original file as a backup in case there are any problems.
- Now navigate to /system/etc
- Make sure the directory is still mounted as R/W, scroll down and open the file /system/etc/vold.fstab. This file specifies where both the external and internal sdcards are actually mounted. Each drive/device has its own entry.
- Find the line that starts with dev_mount emmc /mnt/emmc" and change it to match the mount point you created in the build.prop file. So for me I change it to "dev_mount emmc /mnt/sdcard/_OtherSD"
- Select Menu > Save & Exit
- Reboot phone
Now when you use the CM7 settings option to use internal storage, it will swap them but still keep one mounted within the other so any music, pics, videos you have will be usable by all your apps.
****PLEASE NOTE**** -- These changes will be overwritten if you flash a new nightly.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Thanks a million! I will try just having access is good.
I have root explorer and I use file expert.
You said ur on cm7? Or are u on a custom version like eagle? I keep flipping between reg stock, cm7, miui and eagle. Just can't tell which is the best for everyday use.
But really thanks for all the info!
sent from my anti IPhone device
jetbruceli said:
Thanks a million! I will try just having access is good.
I have root explorer and I use file expert.
You said ur on cm7? Or are u on a custom version like eagle? I keep flipping between reg stock, cm7, miui and eagle. Just can't tell which is the best for everyday use.
But really thanks for all the info!
sent from my anti IPhone device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just plain CM7. I think I'm using nightly 144. The method should be the same or similar on other cm7-based roms. It just won't work on stock-based roms because the changes to the files get overwritten when you reboot.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
d12unk13astard said:
Its there, just hidden and named emmc. This is why root explorer is a must own app, it allows to see tons of hidden files you would otherwise not see. I'm sure there's other free apps that can do the same but root explorer has saved me from so many headaches it was an instant buy in market.
The 1 major gripe I ever had with this phone was the way they partitioned the internal storage, whoever decided that was a complete moron!
Edit:
Look under mnt/emmc with root explorer
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been trying to edit the vold.stab etc on my phone forever trying to get that to work and I haven't gotten it figured out (still a Linux noob, probably always will be). I realize most people seem to prefer the already available options to remount it inside the external SD card or vice versa, but honestly I really just want it combined with the internal memory. Others say that is pointless because 1.5GB should be plenty of space, but honestly if I were to install all the apps on my Transformer onto my phone, my phone would almost immediately run out of internal space.
JaiaV said:
I've been trying to edit the vold.stab etc on my phone forever trying to get that to work and I haven't gotten it figured out (still a Linux noob, probably always will be). I realize most people seem to prefer the already available options to remount it inside the external SD card or vice versa, but honestly I really just want it combined with the internal memory. Others say that is pointless because 1.5GB should be plenty of space, but honestly if I were to install all the apps on my Transformer onto my phone, my phone would almost immediately run out of internal space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder what would happen if the phone was physically repartitioned ... I don't know enough of how Android works to know what effects that would have. Obviously the disk is just a disk and you can create whatever partition sizes you want. Is the OS designed to look for a certain number of partitions and partition sizes on each phone? Or will it just use what's there?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
JaiaV said:
I've been trying to edit the vold.stab etc on my phone forever trying to get that to work and I haven't gotten it figured out (still a Linux noob, probably always will be). I realize most people seem to prefer the already available options to remount it inside the external SD card or vice versa, but honestly I really just want it combined with the internal memory. Others say that is pointless because 1.5GB should be plenty of space, but honestly if I were to install all the apps on my Transformer onto my phone, my phone would almost immediately run out of internal space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found an app that has made the 1.5gb internal storage manageable, look in the market for link2sd. Basicly it allows you to move any app/game to the extra partition on your sdcard(I made a 4gb partition) I'm amazed how stable it runs! After trying numerous apps2sd programs and them being unstable plus running out of internal space too quickly, link2sd is a godsend! It allows even dalvik cache moving to SD extra and batch selecting/deselecting for ultra quick installs. I can't reccommend this app enough for people having internal storage space problems.
As for the internal SD card being combined with the 1.5gb storage I put up a request thread on it hoping a Dev would know how to.. until that happens tho link2sd has made me proud.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1265540
Internal storage partition
Some of the asshats on that thread made me laugh with their ignorance.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
d12unk13astard said:
I found an app that has made the 1.5gb internal storage manageable, look in the market for link2sd. Basicly it allows you to move any app/game to the extra partition on your sdcard(I made a 4gb partition) I'm amazed how stable it runs! After trying numerous apps2sd programs and them being unstable plus running out of internal space too quickly, link2sd is a godsend! It allows even dalvik cache moving to SD extra and batch selecting/deselecting for ultra quick installs. I can't reccommend this app enough for people having internal storage space problems.
As for the internal SD card being combined with the 1.5gb storage I put up a request thread on it hoping a Dev would know how to.. until that happens tho link2sd has made me proud.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1265540
Internal storage partition
Some of the asshats on that thread made me laugh with their ignorance.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can move apps to external storage by default with CM7. This is not the solution I am looking for , but thank you for trying.
JaiaV said:
I can move apps to external storage by default with CM7. This is not the solution I am looking for , but thank you for trying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The difference between apps2sd which your using and link2sd which i'm using is that with apps2sd your internal memory will run out much faster then if using link2sd which can also move dalvikcache to sd ext. I've already moved 300 apps/games to sd ext with link2sd and still have over 1gb of internal storage, try doing that with apps2sd
Edit: forgot to mention link2sd is a free app in market.

Internal memory access

Ok, keep the insults to a minimum if this is something I should already know. I have an issue accessing my internal memory card from my system. I can see that I have storage from the settings and much is left; I automatically download to the internal storage, from XDA for instance. I can flash from the internal memory and can access and alter it from USB hookup to my laptop. But, when using ES file manager or Root manager, it goes from root to the external card without any option. What gives? As some background, I did move to Chimera from Embryo 3.2, where I swear I read a post about the kernel having been altered to make deleting from the internal memory impossible from inside. Even so, why would I not be able to see it? Now I use Chimera 2.2, and have changed the kernel to Instigator X. All functionality is good, except for this one thing. I have researched for others having this 'issue' and haven't found anything on it in Q&A or the threads of any of these ROMs. Not the end of the world, but would like to know if it is an anamoly, or more likely I am an idiot who is overlooking something.
On AOSP based roms internal is at emmc and external is at sdcard
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] A Storage problem on the Blaze

Before I even explain my issue, I would like to clearly state that I have indeed used the search function here and used google and bing search engines to try and find a solution. It seems no one has came across this or I am not searching for the right thing.
Ok, now on to my issue at hand. I have done lots of flashing on multiple devices and so I know a fair amount when it comes to all that, but my issue is that on the Blaze It says on Samsung's website that it has 4gbs of internal storage. On my phone, I have tried gingerbread stock, Ice Cream Sandwhich on stock, and even used every Jelly Bean rom on the forums for this device. Regardless of the rom I use, stock or custom, my phone displays internal storage twice, which in any file manager shows one as the phone's internal storage, and one as the sd card/usb storage, but both have 1.4gbs of free space on a fresh install. They show up seperate, but should be the 4gbs of internal space. Another thing is if I have a micro sd in my phone it shows up in setting>storage, but if I try to use a file manager to locate it, regardless of which one I use, I cannot access my micro sd card or find it. The only place it shows up is in settings>storage, along with both seperate internal storages that have 1.4gbs of storage each. I am trying to figure out how to fix this issue so I can find a way to use my sd card for applications instead of my phone using usb storage as the sd card, which limits me to 1.4gbs of space,
Zekk98 said:
Before I even explain my issue, I would like to clearly state that I have indeed used the search function here and used google and bing search engines to try and find a solution. It seems no one has came across this or I am not searching for the right thing.
Ok, now on to my issue at hand. I have done lots of flashing on multiple devices and so I know a fair amount when it comes to all that, but my issue is that on the Blaze It says on Samsung's website that it has 4gbs of internal storage. On my phone, I have tried gingerbread stock, Ice Cream Sandwhich on stock, and even used every Jelly Bean rom on the forums for this device. Regardless of the rom I use, stock or custom, my phone displays internal storage twice, which in any file manager shows one as the phone's internal storage, and one as the sd card/usb storage, but both have 1.4gbs of free space on a fresh install. They show up seperate, but should be the 4gbs of internal space. Another thing is if I have a micro sd in my phone it shows up in setting>storage, but if I try to use a file manager to locate it, regardless of which one I use, I cannot access my micro sd card or find it. The only place it shows up is in settings>storage, along with both seperate internal storages that have 1.4gbs of storage each. I am trying to figure out how to fix this issue so I can find a way to use my sd card for applications instead of my phone using usb storage as the sd card, which limits me to 1.4gbs of space,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah the 4gb is like 3.72GiB which is split up with 1.4gb of user space (pictures, videos, etc), another 1.12 for apps (shared with titanium if you don't switch the backup folder location) and the rest for the system (rom, kernel, recovery etc). It does have 4gb.
In regards to your external sd card... which rom are you running? On most JB roms the external sd card path is found at /external_sd and NOT at the sdcard/external_sd that ALL the ICS roms use.
Yeah, I figured it was still the 4gbs, but being split like that is stupid. As far as what rom I am using or have used, I have used both the the gingerbread stock and ice cream sandwhich stock. I have used the official CM10 latest nightly build of Jelly Bean for this device, I have used Paranoid, Baked rom, Blaz3r, and now I am using the new Pacman Jelly bean Rom, but with the same issue. I will go to those locations where you stated and it shows nothing, even if i go back one and hold down on the screen and go to properties of that folder nothing is there. And the usb storage of 1.4 is located at this directory /sdcard. And where my micro sd card should be at which is /external_sd there is nothing nor does it display the gbs of space. The micro sd card is only viewable through settings. I have tried a 2gb, an 8gb, a 16gb and a 32gb micro sd. All work fine, on my pc and a Sidekick 4g I have, and even show up on the Blaze with no errors, but I can't use any file manager to access it. The only way i can access it is through the recovery, in which case it uses the directory /sdcard and then I have no access to the usb storage like I do in the roms.
Zekk98 said:
Yeah, I figured it was still the 4gbs, but being split like that is stupid. As far as what rom I am using or have used, I have used both the the gingerbread stock and ice cream sandwhich stock. I have used the official CM10 latest nightly build of Jelly Bean for this device, I have used Paranoid, Baked rom, Blaz3r, and now I am using the new Pacman Jelly bean Rom, but with the same issue. I will go to those locations where you stated and it shows nothing, even if i go back one and hold down on the screen and go to properties of that folder nothing is there. And the usb storage of 1.4 is located at this directory /sdcard. And where my micro sd card should be at which is /external_sd there is nothing nor does it display the gbs of space. The micro sd card is only viewable through settings. I have tried a 2gb, an 8gb, a 16gb and a 32gb micro sd. All work fine, on my pc and a Sidekick 4g I have, and even show up on the Blaze with no errors, but I can't use any file manager to access it. The only way i can access it is through the recovery, in which case it uses the directory /sdcard and then I have no access to the usb storage like I do in the roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried reformatting your external sd?
Yes I have tried reformating it and I bought a brand new one and its the same problem.
Zekk98 said:
Yeah, I figured it was still the 4gbs, but being split like that is stupid. As far as what rom I am using or have used, I have used both the the gingerbread stock and ice cream sandwhich stock. I have used the official CM10 latest nightly build of Jelly Bean for this device, I have used Paranoid, Baked rom, Blaz3r, and now I am using the new Pacman Jelly bean Rom, but with the same issue. I will go to those locations where you stated and it shows nothing, even if i go back one and hold down on the screen and go to properties of that folder nothing is there. And the usb storage of 1.4 is located at this directory /sdcard. And where my micro sd card should be at which is /external_sd there is nothing nor does it display the gbs of space. The micro sd card is only viewable through settings. I have tried a 2gb, an 8gb, a 16gb and a 32gb micro sd. All work fine, on my pc and a Sidekick 4g I have, and even show up on the Blaze with no errors, but I can't use any file manager to access it. The only way i can access it is through the recovery, in which case it uses the directory /sdcard and then I have no access to the usb storage like I do in the roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On GB and ICS the location for your external SD card is /sdcard/external_sd. On jelly bean it's at /external_sd. You need a root file explorer to access it (root explorer/es file explorer) in jelly bean roms.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Yes, I know this, I have looked in those locations and I did have root when I used Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich stock. I currently have the Pacman rom, which is a CM!) variation/Jelly Bean rom. When I use Es File Explorer or Root explorer the directory /external_sd is empty and when I backup and hold down the screen on that folder and go to properties it doesn't show any storage information. It just says 0.0mb. I have tried every directory someone has mentioned or I thought was it, and I only have the usb storage showing up, and in manage applications when I click an application's details it will ask me to move to sd card and when I do that it moves from the phone storage of 1.4gb to the usb storage of 1.4gb.
To me it seems like the OS keeps thinking the usb storage is the only sd, and it displays my actual micro sd, but doesn't actually show it in root explorer or es explorer. I am trying my best to provide as much information as possible. I posted on here because I have spent a few nights trying everything I know and can Google search to solve this problem.
Zekk98 said:
Yes, I know this, I have looked in those locations and I did have root when I used Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich stock. I currently have the Pacman rom, which is a CM!) variation/Jelly Bean rom. When I use Es File Explorer or Root explorer the directory /external_sd is empty and when I backup and hold down the screen on that folder and go to properties it doesn't show any storage information. It just says 0.0mb. I have tried every directory someone has mentioned or I thought was it, and I only have the usb storage showing up, and in manage applications when I click an application's details it will ask me to move to sd card and when I do that it moves from the phone storage of 1.4gb to the usb storage of 1.4gb.
To me it seems like the OS keeps thinking the usb storage is the only sd, and it displays my actual micro sd, but doesn't actually show it in root explorer or es explorer. I am trying my best to provide as much information as possible. I posted on here because I have spent a few nights trying everything I know and can Google search to solve this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So at the top of the screen you only see the phone icon in ES file explorer? Or does it have the phone icon and /sdcard/? You need to go into the settings in ES file explorer and check the 'root explorer' and 'up to root' in root settings or you will not be able to access the external_sd through es file explorer in JB.
There is an "external_sd" folder located in the /sdcard in jelly bean... that's not where it really is. You need to make sure you are at root / and scroll down to /external_sd. The external_sd folder in /sdcard does show 0.0mb.
Yeah I already knew that you had to check 'root explorer' and 'up to root' in es explorer. I fixed the sd card issue by downloading and flashing the latest CWM recovery available for the device and formatted the sd card and internal storage, this fixed the issue. I also did a fresh install of the Pacman Jelly Bean rom and now it shows /sdcard and /external_sd and they are both properly displayed and I can explore them as I should be able to. I think the TWRP and that may have caused the problem, or when I had an older version of CWM Recovery, but after doing as I described above my issue was resolved and now the storage is displayed as it should. I tried this on the other recoveries and countless roms with no such results, so I guess a better and more up to date recovery fixed a formatting issue that was occurring.
I do thank you for all the help that has been provided, as its nice to know that the community for this device has devs and senior members of these forums willing to help people with their problems, whether they are complicated or simple.
FWIW I think twrp may have been what caused your issue. I remember someone was having other issues I believe with paranoid android settings not working and twrp was the cause. I have been on the original cwm by shabbypenguin since the beginning and have had no issues with any rom. Glad you got it figured out:thumbup:
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda app-developers app
I have the same phone and have 1.40GB internal storage but I did some research at Tmobile.com and got this http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_blaze_4g_t769-4420.php and it say there is 3GB and a 4GB Micro SD. I upgraded to a 16 GB Micro SD but had some problems with CM 10 being about to access my music and etc. but I got around that today YAY!. But with the OS and other partitions that are needed 1.40 should be about right after everything. Cheers mate

Failed to write to sdcard1 after ota kitkat

Has any one else lost the ability to write to their socketed sdcard since the 4.4.2?
thesavo said:
Has any one else lost the ability to write to their socketed sdcard since the 4.4.2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a "feature" of kitkat. Can't be changed unless you have root.
Seriously?
Yes, see here for fix(if your rooted):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nextapp.sdfix
thesavo said:
Seriously?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a security issue. Before KK, the SD card was wide open to any other process to be able to request read/write to any directory and file, regardless of whether or not they created that file or directory.
Now, under KK, a program can create a file or folder in a "protected" area and only that program has the ability to modify the contents in that folder. It cannot modify other folders or files that it didn't create.
Time to move the podcasts. So my older shows that I worked hard to keep to keep the ext sdcard1 as a target, will have to be copied to sdcard0.too bad.thanks @iBolski
No wonder BeyondPod kept 'accidently' putting shows on SDcard0 for the last year. Even though I "pinned" it to SDcard1 in the advanced settings.
Even with the application that patches the /etc/permissions/platform.xml, I have found certain apps still do not work correctly. Dolphin Browser, for example, cannot switch to /storage/sdcard1. It keeps saying it can't find it and I need to ensure I don't have "USB Mode" enabled, which I don't even have as an option when connected to a PC.
I also have init.d installed on my machine and I had startup scripts that mounted various directories from my external to the internal SD card to "fool" the device so that apps that wouldn't save to the external but the internal would save across a mount. Well, that no longer works. For example, Amazon MP3 will not save downloaded music anywhere except to the internal sd card. I had my startup scripts mount an amazonmp3 directory on my external SD card to the internal amazonmp3 directory on the internal memory card. When I proceeded to download music, it didn't show up in the external directory. However, I noticed that the internal sd card's memory did decrease. I then unmounted the directory and saw that the Amazon MP3 app was ignoring the mount under KitKat and directory saved the files into the /storage/sdcard0/amazonmp3 directory, even though it was mounted to the directory on the external SD card. It did work under JB and ICS, but apparently, with KitKat, some apps will still write directly to the native directory on the internal SD card, ignoring the fact that I've mounted a different directory to it.
The stock Moto camera will write to the external SD card if you go and change the setting for it. However, the Google Camera does not give you any option to store your pictures anywhere except on the internal SD card memory. :crying:
Remember, apps can write to the external card, if you don't apply the "patch", but only to what is considered a protected are (the /storage/sdcard1/Android directory structure) and then, they can only write to a directory that the app created. They can read other directories, but they cannot modify them.
iBolski said:
It's a security issue. Before KK, the SD card was wide open to any other process to be able to request read/write to any directory and file, regardless of whether or not they created that file or directory.
Now, under KK, a program can create a file or folder in a "protected" area and only that program has the ability to modify the contents in that folder. It cannot modify other folders or files that it didn't create.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's official explanation (bull****) as you described above with non stock camera. Basically KK made external storage almost useless. I found this nice description quite long time ago.
https://plus.google.com/+TodLiebeck/posts/gjnmuaDM8sn
Zeljko1234 said:
That's official explanation (bull****) as you described above with non stock camera. Basically KK made external storage almost useless. I found this nice description quite long time ago.
https://plus.google.com/+TodLiebeck/posts/gjnmuaDM8sn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know at this point, Root Explorer still works with it, after setting the correct permissions into the /etc/permissions/platform.xml file. That works for a lot of apps. The only one that I know that is currently broken is Dolphin browser. I cannot navigate to the /storage/sdcard1/ area anymore. It keeps telling me it can't find the file or directrory and that I should make sure the SD card is ready and USB Mass Storage (haven't seen this option since my Droid X2) is not on.
So definitely, Dolphin Browser is doing something differently that even the patch isn't working for it.
Problem is that without root user cannot edit platform.xml and even after that some applications refuse to write to sd card. Another example is OfficeSuite 7 Pro which I bought and now cannot edit file if it's needed. Workaround is to save to internal then overwrite to sd card.
Basically stock Android becoming more and more limited, harder and harder to get root... That's so bad that I wouldn't update to official kk in the case that my phone has locked bootloader.
Read this article http://www.xda-developers.com/andro...use-even-more-issues-for-root-app-developers/

How to set up SD Card as Internal Storage?

I've been all day trying to get a Micro SD installed on my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Go5 so I can move apps onto it. After bricking an old SD 32 GB card and buying a new 64 GB card I started searching for help here. I found information that said the card has to be formatted as 'Internal Storage.' This post described the process (the process that worked toward the bottom).
I'd been trying to figure out how to install the Android SDK on my Windows PC without downloading Android Studio in order to get the adb shell mentioned in that post set up. I found this post and this post on the stackoverflow forum, but just wasn't able to figure it all out. But it looks like I need the Java SE Development Kit 10 installed.
I was able to set up USB debugging on the phone though.
Can anyone help me out here and describe just what must be done to achieve all this?
Thanks for any feedback on this
Not really able to help but i read many people advise against using SD card as internal storage. Most regular SD cards r not fast enough or durable enough to last more than a few months. Just sharing
sautom said:
Not really able to help but i read many people advise against using SD card as internal storage. Most regular SD cards r not fast enough or durable enough to last more than a few months. Just sharing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're right about that. I've installed programs on USB sticks that can be quite sluggish. Then again I've had a number of system maintenance utilities on flash drives for years that aren't and still perform fine. Then they don't get used for hours on a day to day basis.
I moved a number of apps on my old Galaxy Ace to a micro sd card though, most used was the Poweramp music player that's always performed well.
And I've got the card now, so I may as well try to get it set as internal and just see how it performs over time. Thanks for you feedback sautom.
TakuSkan said:
I've been all day trying to get a Micro SD installed on my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Go5 so I can move apps onto it. After bricking an old SD 32 GB card and buying a new 64 GB card I started searching for help here. I found information that said the card has to be formatted as 'Internal Storage.' This post described the process (the process that worked toward the bottom).
I'd been trying to figure out how to install the Android SDK on my Windows PC without downloading Android Studio in order to get the adb shell mentioned in that post set up. I found this post and this post on the stackoverflow forum, but just wasn't able to figure it all out. But it looks like I need the Java SE Development Kit 10 installed.
I was able to set up USB debugging on the phone though.
Can anyone help me out here and describe just what must be done to achieve all this?
Thanks for any feedback on this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have lollipop or newer Android version, you should be able to use the "Adoptable storage" option.
Also, if performance is important to you, then you won't like this option, using sdcard as internal is slower, the only "gain" in using this is the system has more storage to use. There is no gain on performance, you actually lose there.
I don't recommend using sdcard as internal storage though. There are way too many issues that come along with using this kind of modification. A lot of times, the sdcard gets corrupted, then the real issues start when you try to fix it, usually, the device won't function properly, the data on the sdcard gets lost/corrupted, just to name a couple of the many possible issues. It isn't exactly "easy" to fix this when it happens, depending on what goes wrong, sometimes it can't be fixed.
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Droidriven said:
If you have lollipop or newer Android version, you should be able to use the "Adoptable storage" option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read quite a bit on this and "adoptable storage" now, and agree that trying to use an expansion SD card as internal memory to run apps is a bad idea Droidriven. I still have a little over 1 GB left on the tiny built in 8GB internal SD Card memory, and have most of what I want installed.
I'm pretty green when it comes to Android, coming from many years with Windows and a tad with Linux. I see that with v6.0.1 Marshmallow, the OS began setting up a system directory tree on the 64 GB SD card when I installed it, and I'm able to set data folders there for apps like the camera. That'll be good for storing large camera videos and other media files.
One thing I haven't figured out yet though is whether or not there's any setting on a non-rooted phone like this Go5 that will allow me to transfer files directly into the 'Android' folder on the internal 8 GB card from Windows. I'm able to connect the two via USB or FTP and write files from Windows to folders on the 8 GB card like 'Download'. But I can't copy any files from Windows over to any of the writable apps folders in the 'Android' folder. I've resorted to copying them 1st to 'Download' from Windows, and then using a file manager in Android to copy files over to the 'Android' folder. I'm not used to such rigid file/folder permissions.
Does this sound like an issue that will require rooting? It'd make life a lot easier if that weren't the case. I'd think if I can write files to that 'Android' folder from within Android, I ought to be able to do the same remotely somehow.
Thoughts?
TakuSkan said:
I've read quite a bit on this and "adoptable storage" now, and agree that trying to use an expansion SD card as internal memory to run apps is a bad idea Droidriven. I still have a little over 1 GB left on the tiny built in 8GB internal SD Card memory, and have most of what I want installed.
I'm pretty green when it comes to Android, coming from many years with Windows and a tad with Linux. I see that with v6.0.1 Marshmallow, the OS began setting up a system directory tree on the 64 GB SD card when I installed it, and I'm able to set data folders there for apps like the camera. That'll be good for storing large camera videos and other media files.
One thing I haven't figured out yet though is whether or not there's any setting on a non-rooted phone like this Go5 that will allow me to transfer files directly into the 'Android' folder on the internal 8 GB card from Windows. I'm able to connect the two via USB or FTP and write files from Windows to folders on the 8 GB card like 'Download'. But I can't copy any files from Windows over to any of the writable apps folders in the 'Android' folder. I've resorted to copying them 1st to 'Download' from Windows, and then using a file manager in Android to copy files over to the 'Android' folder. I'm not used to such rigid file/folder permissions.
Does this sound like an issue that will require rooting? It'd make life a lot easier if that weren't the case. I'd think if I can write files to that 'Android' folder from within Android, I ought to be able to do the same remotely somehow.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always just use the ES File Explorer app, it lets me move whatever I want to/from Android folder.
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Droidriven said:
I always just use the ES File Explorer app, it lets me move whatever I want to/from Android folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, from within Android. I'm using the free open source Amaze file manager that I can do that with. But I can't connect the Android phone to a Windows PC and be able to copy files from Windows to the Android folder on the phone. Just to Download, and maybe DCIM and the root of the internal 8 GB SD memory.
Can ES File Explorer access shared folders on a Windows PC? Amaze sets up an FTP server, but I don't see where it can access files on a Windows system.
EDIT: Seems it can: How to Access Shared Windows Folders on Android, iPad, and iPhone
TakuSkan said:
Yes, from within Android. I'm using the free open source Amaze file manager that I can do that with. But I can't connect the Android phone to a Windows PC and be able to copy files from Windows to the Android folder on the phone. Just to Download, and maybe DICM and the root of the internal 8 GB SD memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to do this with just Windows. Are you sure that you have your USB options set correctly? It should be set to MTP(file transfer).
When you connect the device to PC, you should see a USB icon in the status bar on the device, pull down notification panel, it should have a notification that takes you to your USB options.
Or, when you connect the device, you might get a pop-up menu on your device that has settings for USB options.
It varies from one device to another and one android version to another.
Do you have USB debugging enabled in developer options?
Also, if you do some reading about everything that the ES File Explorer app can do, you'll see that it can be used to transfer files to/from PC via more than a few options, including wirelessly/remotely.
It has several things it can do and different ways to connect when connecting/connected to other devices, including smart TV and others. It can also be used as a server or even be used to create a hotspot.
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Droidriven said:
You should be able to do this with just Windows. Are you sure that you have your USB options set correctly? It should be set to MTP(file transfer).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes Droidriven. I have set USB debugging and USB is set as MTP. I just discovered that Amaze does connect to Windows like ES File Explorer by running it's cloud search function. So far Amaze has done everything I've been told to use ESFE for. But Amaze is very light. I just used Amaze to copy a file over from a shared Windows folder to that Android folder on the phone.
I have Total Commander on the Windows system, but when I use it to navigate to an apps subfolder of Android on the phone, it can't see any of the files or folders that I can access with Amaze from within the phone.
So I'm half way there Just need to figure out how to get Windows to see and write files on this Go5 now.
TakuSkan said:
Yes Droidriven. I have set USB debugging and USB is set as MTP. I just discovered that Amaze does connect to Windows like ES File Explorer by running it's cloud search function. So far Amaze has done everything I've been told to use ESFE for. But Amaze is very light. I just used Amaze to copy a file over from a shared Windows folder to that Android folder on the phone.
I have Total Commander on the Windows system, but when I use it to navigate to an apps subfolder of Android on the phone, it can't see any of the files or folders that I can access with Amaze from within the phone.
So I'm half way there Just need to figure out how to get Windows to see and write files on this Go5 now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know where you're having issues, all I have ever done is just connect my device to Windows via USB then use the native Windows Explorer file manager to transfer to/from internal/external to PC/device. I've never had to do anything special or use any extra software on the device or PC to achieve this, plus, I've done this on different Windows systems.
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Droidriven said:
I don't know where you're having issues, all I have ever done is just connect my device to Windows via USB then use the native Windows Explorer file manager to transfer to/from internal/external to PC/device. I've never had to do anything special or use any extra software on the device or PC to achieve this, plus, I've done this on different Windows systems.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it may be because this was a T-Mobile phone and that they may have disabled some functions like "adoptable storage" which doesn't seem to be present, as well as maybe setting permissions to prevent access to certain system folders.
I've even found that I have to change the extensions of some files like ini files to txt before I can drag and drop from Windows Explorer via a USB connection to just a few folders on Android.
It is a bit nutz. Rooting would probably solve the problem. But I'm not ready to go there yet. There may be an answer for getting the Windows > Android file viewing and writing yet. But at least for the moment I can copy both ways with the Amaze File Manager.
Okay, I'm back to considering formatting this 64 GB SD Card as internal storage. I would really like to record video to it, and with the internal memory limited to 1 GB that's left of the total of 8 GB from the factory, that's just not going to make it.
I got the Android SDK and 'adb shell' working on my PC, and started researching how to run commands that would target just the SD Card, and not the existing memory. The command 'sm list-disks' returns: disk:179,32
Is that the phone's internal memory, the SD Card's memory, or perhaps all memory on the phone? When I run the command 'sm list-volumes' I get:
private mounted null
public:179,33 mounted 38C4-18FE
emulated mounted null
I know 38C4-18FE is listed on the phone as being my added SD Card. So I'm hesitant to run the command I see people using to format their SD Cards: 'sm partition disk:179,33' I've wiped the wrong drives by mistake before using Windows diskpart when I didn't specify the right drive/volume. Can anyone clear that up for me?
I'm still hesitant to do this as it seems the phone will automatically begin to use the entire contents of the SD Card as space to run its OS. Might there be commands that would specifically alot the space on the card for writing data, and not for apps that would write and rewrite data there? Something I could create a folder in and point video recording apps to?
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
TakuSkan said:
Okay, I'm back to considering formatting this 64 GB SD Card as internal storage. I would really like to record video to it, and with the internal memory limited to 1 GB that's left of the total of 8 GB from the factory, that's just not going to make it.
I got the Android SDK and 'adb shell' working on my PC, and started researching how to run commands that would target just the SD Card, and not the existing memory. The command 'sm list-disks' returns: disk:179,32
Is that the phone's internal memory, the SD Card's memory, or perhaps all memory on the phone? When I run the command 'sm list-volumes' I get:
private mounted null
public:179,33 mounted 38C4-18FE
emulated mounted null
I know 38C4-18FE is listed on the phone as being my added SD Card. So I'm hesitant to run the command I see people using to format their SD Cards: 'sm partition disk:179,33' I've wiped the wrong drives by mistake before using Windows diskpart when I didn't specify the right drive/volume. Can anyone clear that up for me?
I'm still hesitant to do this as it seems the phone will automatically begin to use the entire contents of the SD Card as space to run its OS. Might there be commands that would specifically alot the space on the card for writing data, and not for apps that would write and rewrite data there? Something I could create a folder in and point video recording apps to?
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's possible to partition the external sdcard so that it has separate partitions with one of those partitions devoted to internal storage and the other for whatever you want. I'm not versed in specific tools and methods to do it, there are many.
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Droidriven said:
It's possible to partition the external sdcard so that it has separate partitions with one of those partitions devoted to internal storage and the other for whatever you want. I'm not versed in specific tools and methods to do it, there are many.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy with dedicating the entire memory in my sd card to adoptable storage space. I just want to know if adb is returning the right designation of my added sd card memory, and not the default internal memory.
Does the command 'sm list-disks' run from an adb shell that returns this for me: disk:179,32 mean that 179,32 is the designation that represents the sd memory card I added? Or if I try to use adb to partition 179,32 as adoptive memory, will I be formatting the default internal memory? What would be an adb command to return the designation of the small 8 GB default internal memory of my phone?
TakuSkan said:
I'm happy with dedicating the entire memory in my sd card to adoptable storage space. I just want to know if adb is returning the right designation of my added sd card memory, and not the default internal memory.
Does the command 'sm list-disks' run from an adb shell that returns this for me: disk:179,32 mean that 179,32 is the designation that represents the sd memory card I added? Or if I try to use adb to partition 179,32 as adoptive memory, will I be formatting the default internal memory? What would be an adb command to return the designation of the small 8 GB default internal memory of my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried running the command without the external sdcard inserted? That will tell you the designation of your internal because internal is all it will see, then insert the external sdcard, then you can run the command to see what the designation for the external is. Once you setup Adoptable Storage, there will be no difference in designation, the OS will see your internal and your external as one complete storage space, it sees external as if it were internal and identifies/labels it as such for all intents and purposes.
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Droidriven said:
Have you tried running the xommand without the external sdcard inserted? That will tell you the designation of your internal because internal is all it will see, then insert the external sdcard, then you can run the command to see what the designation for the external is. Once you setup Adoptable Storage, there will be no difference in designation, the OS will see your internal and your external as one complete storage space, it sees external as if it were internal and identifies/labels it as such for all intents and purposes.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly the information I've been after Droidriven. That sounds like the perfect way to differentiate default internal memory from an SD addon. I read where after formatting/partitioning the sd card, installed apps will stay on the internal memory unless you opt for an ill advised process of moving them to the new space where they probably won't perform well.
How will the OS see the added sd memory after formatted as adoptable storage? My concern is that since this a cheap flash memory sd card, I don't want the OS to start writing and rewriting to this sluggish, slow flash memory card and just wear the thing down. Is there any way to specify the added memory as being data storage only? I only want the extra memory for writing video from the phone to a space large enough to hold multiple files
TakuSkan said:
I read where after formatting/partitioning the sd cardm installed apps will stay on the internal memory unless you opt for an ill advised process of moving them to the new space where they probably won't perform well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right.
TakuSkan said:
How will the OS see the added sd memory after formatted as adoptable storage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, it will see all one space with no way to "store here instead of there" that I know of. The OS uses the entire space as it sees fit.
TakuSkan said:
My concern is that since this a cheap flash memory sd card, I don't want the OS to start writing and rewriting to this sluggish, slow flash memory card and just wear the thing down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly what it will do, this is the common cause of sdcard formatted as internal getting burned out, they aren't meant to do all that writing/rewriting/overwriting/deleting constantly. Frequent activity kills it in the end, hence, my original post warning against the downsides to using external as internal. Once external is incorporated into internal, if the external gets corrupted, the OS won't boot or operate, potentially making a terrible mess to get the device recovered but not the external sdcard, it's toast at that point, along with everything that was stored on it, in some cases, the device can't be recovered either, due to lack of software support or publicly available downloadable firmware.
TakuSkan said:
Is there any way to specify the added memory as being data storage only? I only want the extra memory for writing video from the phone to a space large enough to hold multiple files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might be possible somehow, but it probably requires root and some other apps that use root to make the needed modifications to direct data where you want it stored. I'm not sure it's possible though because, as I said previously, the OS sees internal and external as one complete partition, with no way to "see" a difference between them because they no longer have differing disk designations.
In my honest opinion(based on my exposure and experience with various devices that have used this as an option and the issues they have had along the way), using external as internal is too risky and shouldn't be used. Oddly, Adoptable Storage works better on devices that have better hardware and plenty of internal storage than it does on lower end devices with limited hardware and limited storage, the lower, limited devices are typically the ones that end up having issues. I know, this seems counter-intuitive since the better devices don't need the extra internal storage and the lower devices do need the extra internal storage, but we both know that flash memory is very unreliable for continuous write/delete/rewrite and is doomed to fail.
Could you possibly consider some kind of OTG storage, wireless USB drive or some kind of "cloud" storage or FTP setup?
You should be able to direct your downloads, your pics and your recordings to the folder of your choice when downloaded/created instead of having to move them after. I'm not certain you need to do this just to be able to use your external to store data.
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