Hello, I wanted to know about how SD cards and Root and all the stuff that is associated with rooting (ROMS, backups, etc) interact. I am on Verizon, currently have a Droid X2, which is a really bad phone, and am due for an upgrade already. I am considering choosing between the HTC One and the GS4, but leaning towards the One because of the design/speakers/snapiness/etc. But there is one thing that I'm concerned about. It doesn't have expandable storage. No expandable storage = no SD Card. I wanted to know because I've seen a few reviews and some of them say that Rooters should stay clear of the One because it doesn't have an SD card.
Another thing: I currently own a Nexus 7 which is rooted, so no SD card there either, but I never realized that I won't be able to quickly restore all of my apps through titanium like I do on my X2, because I realized that all the backups are saved on my X2s SD card, so whenever I factory restore or change ROMs, it's convenient to have my apps and the app data on the SD card. So if I were to wipe my Nexus 7 or change ROMS, the backups would be gone because they are stored on the internal storage, right?
So my questions are:
What role does an SD card have in the Rooting processes and root related things? Is it necessary? What are the advantages of having an SD on the device?
Can any of the roles an SD card has be worked around without one?
Can I have my backups backed up to the cloud or other method in which they can be quickly restored, like on my X2 with the SD card?
Why do the reviewers stay to stay clear of devices without SD card slots?
Should I get the One, and now that I think of it, should have I got my Nexus 7 since I'm a rooter and might change ROMs/have to factory reset?
So my questions are:
What role does an SD card have in the Rooting processes and root related things? Is it necessary? What are the advantages of having an SD on the device?
Nothing; the advice about the One just meant that people who root and ROM their devices tend to horde a lot of phone-related files, so expandable storage is a plus since it allows you to cost-effectively add storage as needed. As for advantages? Being able to add storage as you need it, for cheap, and the ability to seamlessly move your files from phone to phone or computer easily. Plus, apps require internal storage, so another plus of having external storage is that you can put all of your media and other files on external storage to save app space.
Can any of the roles an SD card has be worked around without one?
Sort of; both phones (One and S4) support USB OTG. It's a cheap, $2 cable on eBay that's a microUSB adapter on side (goes into the charger port on your phone) and a full-sized USB port on the other. It lets you plug in flash drives, keyboards, mice, etc. There's also this: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andyfei/mini-microsd-reader-for-android-smartphones-and-ta
Can I have my backups backed up to the cloud or other method in which they can be quickly restored, like on my X2 with the SD card?
If by backups you mean Titanium Backup, yes. Titanium Backup has a native export to cloud option that supports Google Drive, Dropbox, and other providers. If you mean Nandroids (full device backups), just copy them off your phone to your computer. They're saved in a folder on either your SD card or internal storage (guessing your SD card on your Droid X2). I don't recommend at all restoring app backups from two different devices, let alone two completely different versions of Android. It's guaranteed to screw up your ROM in one way or another. It's fine to restore an app to a different device/version of Android, but not the data with it.
Why do the reviewers stay to stay clear of devices without SD card slots?
A few reasons, though none of them have to do with the ability to root:
- If your phone dies (completely, due to damage or just having a bad unit), the data is pretty much gone and unrecoverable. If you were using a microSD card, you could have just pulled it out of the phone and called it a day.
- You can expand the storage for cheap; one of the biggest flaws of the iPhone is that going from 16GB to 32GB costs $100. A 16GB microSD card is like, what, $10? Nuff said.
- Apps can only be installed to internal storage (unless you use some root apps that are a pain in the butt). If you offload all your media (photos, music, videos, etc) to your external storage, you can have room for all your apps. Remember that games are starting to take up over a gigabyte each in some cases. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, Asphalt 7, etc.
Should I get the One, and now that I think of it, should have I got my Nexus 7 since I'm a rooter and might change ROMs/have to factory reset?
It depends on your preferences. The One is a great phone in itself; it depends on you whether or not the lack of microSD card slot is a deal-breaker. It won't affect your ability to root the phone, but consider the answers to your questions that I gave you (I'm not swaying you from or towards it). The Nexus 7 is a great tablet; again, having a microSD card slot has nothing to do with the ability to root your device.
Product F(RED) said:
So my questions are:
What role does an SD card have in the Rooting processes and root related things? Is it necessary? What are the advantages of having an SD on the device?
Nothing; the advice about the One just meant that people who root and ROM their devices tend to horde a lot of phone-related files, so expandable storage is a plus since it allows you to cost-effectively add storage as needed. As for advantages? Being able to add storage as you need it, for cheap, and the ability to seamlessly move your files from phone to phone or computer easily. Plus, apps require internal storage, so another plus of having external storage is that you can put all of your media and other files on external storage to save app space.
Can any of the roles an SD card has be worked around without one?
Sort of; both phones (One and S4) support USB OTG. It's a cheap, $2 cable on eBay that's a microUSB adapter on side (goes into the charger port on your phone) and a full-sized USB port on the other. It lets you plug in flash drives, keyboards, mice, etc. There's also this: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andyfei/mini-microsd-reader-for-android-smartphones-and-ta
Can I have my backups backed up to the cloud or other method in which they can be quickly restored, like on my X2 with the SD card?
If by backups you mean Titanium Backup, yes. Titanium Backup has a native export to cloud option that supports Google Drive, Dropbox, and other providers. If you mean Nandroids (full device backups), just copy them off your phone to your computer. They're saved in a folder on either your SD card or internal storage (guessing your SD card on your Droid X2). I don't recommend at all restoring app backups from two different devices, let alone two completely different versions of Android. It's guaranteed to screw up your ROM in one way or another. It's fine to restore an app to a different device/version of Android, but not the data with it.
Why do the reviewers stay to stay clear of devices without SD card slots?
A few reasons, though none of them have to do with the ability to root:
- If your phone dies (completely, due to damage or just having a bad unit), the data is pretty much gone and unrecoverable. If you were using a microSD card, you could have just pulled it out of the phone and called it a day.
- You can expand the storage for cheap; one of the biggest flaws of the iPhone is that going from 16GB to 32GB costs $100. A 16GB microSD card is like, what, $10? Nuff said.
- Apps can only be installed to internal storage (unless you use some root apps that are a pain in the butt). If you offload all your media (photos, music, videos, etc) to your external storage, you can have room for all your apps. Remember that games are starting to take up over a gigabyte each in some cases. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Need For Speed: Most Wanted, Asphalt 7, etc.
Should I get the One, and now that I think of it, should have I got my Nexus 7 since I'm a rooter and might change ROMs/have to factory reset?
It depends on your preferences. The One is a great phone in itself; it depends on you whether or not the lack of microSD card slot is a deal-breaker. It won't affect your ability to root the phone, but consider the answers to your questions that I gave you (I'm not swaying you from or towards it). The Nexus 7 is a great tablet; again, having a microSD card slot has nothing to do with the ability to root your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for replying so quickly, I appreciate that! I know that SD cards don't affect rooting whatsoever, but some features that you need to root like titanium backup for restoring app data/apps.
As far as cloud backups go, I know how to backup my applications and app data to the cloud, but how would you go about restoring the apps and data? I'm asking because if you have an SD card you find the location on the SD card where your backups are and you just restore straight from titanium. Since they're in the cloud, would you have to manually move them from PC to the internal storage folder? Or download them from the cloud one by one to you're device? (I know you can create a flashable zip file, but last time I tried it on my X2, it boot looped, so I had to factory restore it.)
That's my main concern is backups and restoring data. How do you do it from the cloud that's as fast as from an SD card? Or how do you perform restores at all from the cloud? Thanks so much!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Thank you for replying so quickly, I appreciate that! I know that SD cards don't affect rooting whatsoever, but some features that you need to root like titanium backup for restoring app data/apps.
On phones running Ice Cream Sandwich and above, the internal storage shows up as an SD card (the phone may not say it, but if you go into Android's root directory with a file browser, you'd see /mnt/sdcard/ , which is really just the internal storage. If you put a memory card into a Galaxy S3 or S4, the card shows up as /mnt/extsdcard/. Most technical apps allow you to choose where to save/load to and from. Titanium Backup is one of those apps. You can copy your backup folder from the memory card in your X2 to the internal storage in the One. Or you can even use one of those USB OTG cables to put it on a flash drive or card reader directly into the One (remember, a USB OTG cable gives you a full USB port).
As far as cloud backups go, I know how to backup my applications and app data to the cloud, but how would you go about restoring the apps and data? I'm asking because if you have an SD card you find the location on the SD card where your backups are and you just restore straight from titanium. Since they're in the cloud, would you have to manually move them from PC to the internal storage folder? Or download them from the cloud one by one to you're device? (I know you can create a flashable zip file, but last time I tried it on my X2, it boot looped, so I had to factory restore it.)
To be honest, I haven't used Titanium Backup's cloud feature because my home internet isn't too fast, so uploads would be slow, so I don't know much about restoring from the cloud. But I would assume you'd be able to do so. A quick Google search should help you out.
That's my main concern is backups and restoring data. How do you do it from the cloud that's as fast as from an SD card? Or how do you perform restores at all from the cloud? Thanks so much!
Well pulling files over the internet will always be much slower than reading them from local storage; like I said, you can specify to Titanium Backup where your backups are located. You can even export certain app backups into one file (if you hit Menu in TB, you'll see the option if you scroll down a bit). Then you can import it to your One. Or like I said, just move the TB folder on your memory card to your One's internal storage. Like I said, I don't have experience with cloud backups for TB or Nandroid, so Google or someone else would get you a better answer than I can give you.
Related
Can you please help a noob figure out where this post belongs?
I make no pretense to being a developer, and I was very hesitant to join XDA, but these are questions concerning modding which I have not found answers to, despite posting to a number of other Android forums, so I was forced to "raise my sights."
I have an LG Optimus Fuel L34C (KitKat). I am an Android noob but I have a history with Linux, so I know just enough about what goes on behind the KitKat curtain to make me dangerous. So yes, I also care about the journey. And I'm already heavily invested in this quest, so despite my lack of expertise, I'm willing to do the leg work to make it happen.
My one saving grace is I have a backup fetish. And I want to continue to make Nandroid backups even when the L34C's puny internal storage (1790 MB usable) is maxed out (or nearly so). But I don't want to resort to backups to the cloud because 1) it offends my inner geek that I have to rely on someone else for backup support, and 2) as a delusional paranoid, the concept of "the cloud" gives me the willies.
I'm using TWRP Manager (Root) for Nandroid backups now, but TWRP only can write to the internal SD. Which means that once internal storage is about half full, there's no longer enough space remaining for any more Nandroids. And a bare bones installation with just enough additional apps installed to perform the Nandroid already takes up about 700 MB. So there's no chance of any further Nandroid backups after downloading or installing just two or three hundred more MB.
So my primary goal is to be able to write Nandroid backups to the external SD card (or, pipe dream, to write them to USB). If this also allows me to install apps or store other (internal) data on the external card, so much the better.
I just bought a second L34C because the WiFi on the original L34C pooped the bed. So now I have a new and unmodded L34C to experiment on. I had (towel) rooted the old phone, write-enabled the external SD card and installed the TeamWin open recovery image v2.8. And I replaced the OE 4GB external SD card with a 16GB class 4 card, partitioned half in Fat32 and half in Ext3.
The primary obstacle was that I could never get the second partition on the 16GB card to mount, which prevented me even from experimenting with symlinks. I also installed the latest version of Link2SD, but when I tried to use it to move an app that Link2SD labeled as movable, I got this:
!Failure
App2SD is not supported by your device. Because your device has a primary external storage which is emulated from the internal storage. You can link the app in order to move its files to the SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno why it's blaming Apps2SD unless Link2 is built around Apps2.
Curiously, I installed Aparted, too, and it was able to access (and process) the 2nd partition, even though it wasn't mounted. I've not heard this definitively but I'm led to believe this is down to the L34C's lack of support for init.d. So I downloaded a copy of daishi4u's custom boot image, which includes support for init.d, but the old phone crapped out before I could try it.
So with background in place, and a spanking new L34C in hand, on to the questions.
#1. With the current state of L34C/KitKat development, is what I'm asking even possible? Once the internal SD card has got too crowded for a Nandroid, is there a solution that will allow me to continue making local Nandroid backups? In particular, I'm thinking there might be another Nandroid backup app that I am unaware of that can write its backups to some location other than the internal SD card.
If this already has been accomplished (and is documented online), please just point me to the details and I'll get out of your hair.
2. I picked daishi4u's custom boot image because the reputation of daishi4u's work is known to me, and because it offered init.d support. If you think another boot image is preferable, please enlighten me.
3. Is Link2SD's problem with the L34C truly the emulated storage? I ask because I know developers typically code apps to make a best guess as to the cause of an error, but despite their best efforts, an app still is liable to be exposed to unanticipated conditions, resulting in a problem that might be beyond the scope of their programming to understand and enunciate.
4. Is the lack of init.d support in fact what prevents an L34C mounting additional partitions on the external SD card? Or am I barking up the wrong tree?
5.a. I found a post in another forum that was near three years old stating that the extra partition on an Android external SD card must be no more than 2GB, and preferably just 1GB. If this ever was true, is it still the case for KitKat? And what is the source of the limitation?
5.b. If there is a 2GB partition limit, is there a limit to how many 2GB partitions can be externally mounted? A Nandroid backup of a heavily configured L34C could take up most of 2GB, so it would be especially useful work-around if there were one (additional) partition for the Nandroid and a second (or third, or fourth, ...) for moving apps and random data off the internal SD.
6. Which app(s) would you suggest I try for moving apps/data/folders to the external SD? There are so many available, and I have not been able to find any comparisons/contrasts of their relative merits, so I would appreciate your recommendations to avoid having to resort to the 'shotgun' approach. This is presuming I'm able to get more than one partition on the external SD card to mount.
I've not lost sight of the fact that some of these apps do not require a second partition on the SD card (creating something functionally akin to an iSCSI partition on it?), but I'm not counting on finding a solution in one of them.
Thank you for taking the time to read my long-winded post.
Well personally I don't keep more than one nandroid on my phone but what you may wish to do is transfer them to your pc for safe keeping and not have to worry about it. You could also try inserting your sd card into your pc and manually transferring the nandroids from your pc to your sd card afterwards. It may work.
Now with regards to the sd card write protection issue, I could not locate anything for your device in particular but if you register you can ask your question here and someone may be able to help you.
I've always had Android phones with SD cards and was mostly able to always keep files other than Apps (and a few things like Titanium BU license) on the SD so when changing phones, or ROMs or having the need to reset I never was at risk of losing music, books, pictures, etc.
Do any of you have a good strategy for doing something similar on a phone with no SD? I absolutely love this 7 Pro (especially being back to rooting after being with Verizon for 4 years and their phones being unable to be rooted).
Other than the difficult and dangerous ordeal of going the A/B overhaul (sounded really scary when I read about it)... What say any of you?
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Just transfer files out to computer before you touch the storage, or use cloud storage, also type c to USB adapter also works...you can have a USB SD reader attached that way
beejmeister said:
I've always had Android phones with SD cards and was mostly able to always keep files other than Apps (and a few things like Titanium BU license) on the SD so when changing phones, or ROMs or having the need to reset I never was at risk of losing music, books, pictures, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People who used a black and white TV every day
were shocked by the transition to a color TV.
The physical limitations of the SD card have long been
exceeded by the speed of internet traffic and cloud storage.
P.S.
A Google Account takes care of your contacts.
Keep everything important on Google Drive, Dropbox and so on.
Opera browser has long been synchronizing your tabs and more.
Nova Launcher backup & import settings in one file, etc.
beejmeister said:
I've always had Android phones with SD cards and was mostly able to always keep files other than Apps (and a few things like Titanium BU license) on the SD so when changing phones, or ROMs or having the need to reset I never was at risk of losing music, books, pictures, etc.
Do any of you have a good strategy for doing something similar on a phone with no SD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want something that's not cloud-based, but, convenient, I use this solution from MEENOVA:
http://www.meenova.com/st/p/dash_g3c.html
I've been looking for a method to move or force installation of apps to my 128gb micro SD card and so far I haven't found anything that works correctly, is there some method that actually allows moving apps to the SD card? or any custom rom that allows this? would titanium backup "move to SD card" option work?
You can use adoptable storage. It binds an SD card to your phone so you won't be able to use it with any other devices, but it essentially extends your phone's storage space by that much. Make sure you back up everything on your external SD card somewhere if there's anything important on it because this will wipe it clean.
1.) Open the "Files" app (the Google app with the colorful folded rectangles).
2.) Go to Browse.
3.) Scroll down to the bottom where you see your SD card, and tap on it.
4.) Hit the three dots in the top right.
5.) Click "Storage Settings".
6.) And finally, "Format as internal".
Once you've "adopted" the storage space you can move apps to it freely by going to a specific app's "App Info" page, clicking Storage, and choosing "Change" for each app. If you want to move multiple apps you can use something like "Internal Storage To SD Card" from the Play Store, which helps streamline the process; or even go into Developer Options and enable the option "Force allow apps to write on external storage" near the bottom which will force the majority of apps to favor the external SD card over the phone's.
Here's a bit more info on where your files are kept after this process.
If you want to retain separate access to the external SD Card so that you can use it with your computer or other devices while also storing app data on there, I'm afraid it's not very simple to do so. Android 9/10 has made a lot of changes with file access and how things are managed and stored on your device. I'm still figuring it out for myself, too.
i have a question, it will lose performance?
because i think if the phone is using a UFS 2.0, is the same or better maximum speed of R/W of SDCARD?
Polakiyo87 said:
i have a question, it will lose performance?
because i think if the phone is using a UFS 2.0, is the same or better maximum speed of R/W of SDCARD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, the performance of the external drive will be lower.
However, don't underestimate them.
The performance of modern transflash is quite enough, for example, to run games like Doom, witcher or Skyrim(20+GB distros) from them on Nintendo consoles. The main thing is that the card is good. Like the same Sandisk extreme.
Not working for me. I've formatted the SD card as internal, but I can't move any apps to the SD card. When I go to the storage screen for an app, it only displays the total, app size, data and cache. There's no option to change storage location.
Yes, I've rebooted.
Same for me.
App mgr III and link2sd did not works even with Root :/
WTF nobody found a solution on a Android 10?
You don't want the apps running off the SD card as it's bandwidth is a lot slower than internal memory! It's a bottleneck to avoid.
Use the SD card as a data drive only.
Internal memory: OS, apps, temporary data and downloads.
SD card: all critical data, backups, music, vids, etc. Everything you need to fully restore the phone after a factory reset should be on it including copies of the apks.
Always redundantly backup the data drive on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically separated! Or you will lose your data sooner... or latter.
blackhawk said:
You don't want the apps running off the SD card as it's bandwidth is a lot slower than internal memory! It's a bottleneck to avoid.
Use the SD card as a data drive only.
Internal memory: OS, apps, temporary data and downloads.
SD card: all critical data, backups, music, vids, etc. Everything you need to fully restore the phone after a factory reset should be on it including copies of the apks.
Always redundantly backup the data drive on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically separated! Or you will lose your data sooner... or latter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i know ... All my pictures, videos etc are on SD ...
But you don't reply, do you have a solution?
Like millions of android users, i have not enough space for games in the phone. I don't care about slow speed of game. Genshin inpact for example take more of 7gB !
OS takes 15gB ... App takes often many hundred of mB it's WTF...
App are crazy to cache, and snapchat instagram facebook etc can take 1gB each.
The sd limitation is a programmed obsolescence for smartphones (256 gB of microsd are cheap). All people don't care about low performance of specifics app, it's better than the impossiblity to install then.
Normally we should be able to make symbolic links between linux partititons.
That's the same on windows, i install my terabytes of games on an hard drive because my sdd is not enought ... And it works well.
raysar said:
Yes i know ... All my pictures, videos etc are on SD ...
But you don't reply, do you have a solution?
Like millions of android users, i have not enough space for games in the phone. I don't care about slow speed of game. Genshin inpact for example take more of 7gB !
OS takes 15gB ... App takes often many hundred of mB it's WTF...
App are crazy to cache, and snapchat instagram facebook etc can take 1gB each.
The sd limitation is a programmed obsolescence for smartphones (256 gB of microsd are cheap). All people don't care about low performance of specifics app, it's better than the impossiblity to install then.
Normally we should be able to make symbolic links between linux partititons.
That's the same on windows, i install my terabytes of games on an hard drive because my sdd is not enought ... And it works well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be happy for the bump...
You should also post your OS version for solutions.
Maybe a ADB edit could get it.
Lol, I have one game loaded. Most are fair to high privacy/security risks... that could really keep you amused.
I used App2sd earlier with android 7 and devices with 8GB flash , where only 3.5GB we ahve for applications. The result, I was able to install 100 or more apps and games without problem. It will not work in modern android.
I use a script which move all pictures , movies, call recordings to the sd card when I plug in usb-c cable. The card is a place of storing multimedia, nandroid backup and titantium backup.
Modern devices with 64GB+ flash are able to keep all apps inside , of course if all media files will be moved to sd card.
raysar said:
Same for me.
App mgr III and link2sd did not works even with Root :/
WTF nobody found a solution on a Android 10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess xda developers not the same. It is ****. They can't brake a **** Xiaomi? It seems that I have to buy an old phone not Xiaomi and brake it.
Hi, I know I'm late to this but hopefully it will help someone having the same problem.
Tested on Redmi 9a, android 10
1- After you format your sd card as
SeekerofLight.iz said, download this app from Google store: this app basically shows all the hidden settings on all Xiaomi phones.
2- Open the app and type storage in the search bar located at the top.
3- you will see several results, tap at
"Storage Use: Storage use
com.android.settings.applications.StorageUse".
4- A new window will open with a list of all apps installed on your phone. Tap the app you want to move to sd card then "storage and cashe" and you will find the da** "Change" button we all have been looking for tap it and select sd card.
I've attached screenshots for those who prefer them.
And about performance, there was a slight lag almost unnoticeable but games were playable in general.
AngryYoungMan said:
Not working for me. I've formatted the SD card as internal, but I can't move any apps to the SD card. When I go to the storage screen for an app, it only displays the total, app size, data and cache. There's no option to change storage location.
Yes, I've rebooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all apps will support installation on sd card... If u want force it to be on sd card, u can use App2SD Pro app but root needed
After reading about the problem people have with video playback the latest OTA versions"IN: 11.0.6.7.KB05DA ; EU: 11.0.6.8.KB05BA ; NA: 11.0.6.7.KB05AA "
I want to ask what is the best way to backup as much data as possible before updating in case I need to wipe and downgrade later. On my older phones when I was rooted I would just fire up TWRP and take a nandroid backup before updating. If any problems I would just restore that.
What is the best alternative without root? Adb backup? and manual sync/copy of photos and stuff to the cloud/my computer. I read about adb backup that not working properly for some people and possible being deprecated in the future.
One of the reasons I got the 10+ was for the SD card slot. I use the SD card like a data drive. The internal memory is for the OS, programs and to temporarily store downloads (to check for malware).
Samsung's also have Smart Switch to back up settings data, apps, etc. That backup copy is also on the SD card (haven't tested it yet).
Right now I can do a complete reload with little or no internet connection and be good to go in about 2 hours.
You can use external memory instead though. Cloud crap takes too long, same with Playstore.
Use ApkExport to copy all your apps and updates then load directly from those copies.
Save all critical data on the external hd. Make sure your bookmarks are recoverable. Any app that allows you to backup their settings, do so and add those as well.
Make sure you copy your contacts and text messages.
I keep master folders on my phone for documents, music, vids, dcim by year, etc that match to those stored in my laptop which serves as a secondary backup to my SD card. Keep at least two backup copies and store in separate locations. Ideally one should be completely off line and stored in a earth grounded metal box.
Hdds are preferable to flash memory.
Workout a plan within the limitations of your device and software before you need it.
I have unrooted LG V20 H990DS.
Unfortunately my Micro SD Card got corrupted and I lost all the photos. As an extra insult to injury, Instagram app was installed on SD card and now I can't run it nor uninstall / reinstall it. The icon is simply grey. It also cannot be found under "apps" section of settings.
I can see the "com.instagram.android" folder under "root/config/sdcardfs" but I can't do anything with it since I don't have a root. If I go in Play Store the phone recognizes Instagram as not installed and when I try to install it I get the "Can't install Instagram - Try again, and if it still doesn't work, see common way to fix the problem"
Is there anything I can do or do I really have to factory reset my phone? -___-
Take out the trashware. Keep all social media apps off the phone! Malware.
SD cards normally don't corrupt themselves. A rootkit or malware is a possibility.
Bad card or hardware.
Do a low level format of card, then reformat in the phone. Do not remove the card from then on or "share" it with other devices. Do all data transfer to the card from within the phone only.
If this doesn't resolve the issue, replace the card with a good name brand V30 rated card like Sandisk Extreme.
blackhawk said:
Take out the trashware. Keep all social media apps off the phone! Malware.
SD cards normally don't corrupt themselves. A rootkit or malware is a possibility.
Bad card or hardware.
Do a low level format of card, then reformat in the phone. Do not remove the card from then on or "share" it with other devices. Do all data transfer to the card from within the phone only.
If this doesn't resolve the issue, replace the card with a good name brand V30 rated card like Sandisk Extreme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may have been a bit unclear.
I myself moved Instagram to SD card some time ago so I could save some space on my phone and now that my Micro SD card got corrupted, Instagram doesn't work anymore. It was not result of a virus or anything. SD Card is also in bad shape, it's recognized as RAW.
cinemafou said:
I may have been a bit unclear.
I myself moved Instagram to SD card some time ago so I could save some space on my phone and now that my Micro SD card got corrupted, Instagram doesn't work anymore. It was not result of a virus or anything. SD Card is also in bad shape, it's recognized as RAW.
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Malware is always a possibility when erratic behavior is observed. Androids should be rock solid stable, if not there's a real underlying issue. Unfortunately I have no easy solutions for this at this stage as far as data recovery.
Meh, keep apps off the SD card. It's a security and reliability risk.
Only one folder on the phone with the name "dcim" in it.
Do a low level format on the PC to try and reuse it. Of course this will completely erase all data.
Recovering data from a flash drive that has lost its folder structure is a frustrating mess at best.
In the future redundantly backup the SD card redundantly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. Use the SD card as a data drive... apps and download folder go on internal memory. All files should be vetted before transferring to the data drive.
At the very least open files in the download folder, jpeps and png's especially to try detect malware -before- transferring to the data drive(s)!!! I've had scripted jpegs before but pick them off before they got into the database. They are real and will cause hell in any folder they are in. May not be detected by any antivirus. WYSIWYG, observe for changes in that folder after opening suspect file.
blackhawk said:
Malware is always a possibility when erratic behavior is observed. Androids should be rock solid stable, if not there's a real underlying issue. Unfortunately I have no easy solutions for this at this stage as far as data recovery.
Meh, keep apps off the SD card. It's a security and reliability risk.
Only one folder on the phone with the name "dcim" in it.
Do a low level format on the PC to try and reuse it. Of course this will completely erase all data.
Recovering data from a flash drive that has lost its folder structure is a frustrating mess at best.
In the future redundantly backup the SD card redundantly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. Use the SD card as a data drive... apps and download folder go on internal memory. All files should be vetted before transferring to the data drive.
At the very least open files in the download folder, jpeps and png's especially to try detect malware -before- transferring to the data drive(s)!!! I've had scripted jpegs before but pick them off before they got into the database. They are real and will cause hell in any folder they are in. May not be detected by any antivirus. WYSIWYG, observe for changes in that folder after opening suspect file.
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Thanks for the reply!
I have solved the app part of the problem so factory reset is not necessary.
What I did was that I took my brother's Micro SD card and placed it into my phone, then I tried reinstalling Instagram from Play Store and it worked! This time it installed it back onto SD card. What I did after was just move the Instagram app from SD Card to phone storage via apps settings.
After that I removed my brother's SD card and was able to run Instagram once again directly from the phone memory.
It seems that the phone just wanted to see some SD Card inserted and then it would allow reinstallation of the app.
SD cards corrupt themselves, especially when formatted as adoptable-storage with ext4 journaling file system and full-disk encryption used for write-intensive applications
aIecxs said:
SD cards corrupt themselves, especially when formatted as adoptable-storage with ext4 journaling file system and full-disk encryption used for write-intensive applications
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I never have that issue and use SD cards in both my N10+'s but all data is manually transferred to them. One app has permission to auto backup to the SD card, ColorNote. However it's firewall blocked... just in case.
Never use encryption on data drives and especially backup drives... you are the most likely one to end up locked out.
Samsung devices don't allow moving apps to MicroSD Card (which was the case here) as adoptable-storage isn't supported by Samsung at all (probably for performance reasons)
aIecxs said:
Samsung devices don't allow moving apps to MicroSD Card as adoptable-storage isn't supported at all
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As it should be... the card/interface are too slow to run apps effectively anyway.
Critical data goes on the SD card.
Only apps, the dcim and download folders should be on internal memory. The dcim files can be regularly transferred to the card to free up memory... just rename that card folder ie Pics, etc.