1. What is the problem?
The implementation of FUSE by Google runs using the root-account. The disadvantage is that the standard user is not capable of changing any attribute including timestamp. A copy or move file operation usually keeps all attributes including date and time on all known operating system - except Android if FUSE is involved. This can complicate management of backups or syncing - and sorting or filtering by date is not helpful anymore.
2. What is concerned?
The problem exists at least on all file systems which are emulated by Android using FUSE. Android 8 and later uses SDCardFS and therefore is not concerned.
Concerned from Android 4.0: ext4, exFAT
Not Concerned on 4.0: FAT32
It seems FAT32 is done via FUSE in later Android versions also, so it seems every file system is concerned from 4.1 to last Android 7.
Most Android 4.x-devices are using ext4 for the file system of the internal storage and are therefore concerned. The usage of FAT32 which can not manage file greater than 4 GiB seems not appropriate anyway. For memory cards smaller than 64 GiB it is usual to use FAT32, bigger cards use exFAT by default.
It is possible to access external file systems, eg SAMBA or FTP, and then usually the timestamp is set correctly, because this is not part of FUSE and uses other file systems. AFAIK most file manager still try to set the timestamps, although it always fails without root, and ignore the error returned by FUSE, so copying and moving should be fine. At least Total Commander copies the timestamp fine if writing to Samba using the appropriate plug-in on non-rooted devices.
3. How to recognize/test the problem?
If you copy or move a file, the date and time should be kept. But if the destination on Android uses FUSE, instead of the original timestamp the current date/time is being set. Also all other attributes which the file system may manage (rights, owner, groups etc.) usually are concerned. The original values vanish.
If you want to see which file system is being used for internal memory or some external card you may use the app DiskInfo.
If it shows vfat, it means FAT32.
4. Which possibilities exist to correct the behavior?
Google fixed the bug in Android 8 which was known for a long time (start of 2009).
Google issue 34691 with links to related issues
With Android 8 usage of FUSE was removed, the problem was corrected
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/36930892#comment120
(careful when using command line under Android 8: cp -a seems not always to be working, but touch -r will)
5. Which possibilities exist to circumvent the problem?
5.0. do not use Android for writing to filesystem: If you don't use Android for writing the files, setting the timestamp mostly will be fine. As mentioned in 4. you can use any filesharing server (Samba, ftp etc.). Storing your documents there instead of the local device will relocate the write access to the filesystem of the filesharing server, which usually manages timestamps fine. There also exist possibilities like adopted storage mode, where the SD card gets accessed by Linux and Android only is being used like a card reader.
As the files have the owner root, all possibilities to circumvent using Android need a rooted device. All following solutions shown here won't work for devices which are not rooted.
5.1. Afterwards correcting (not tested): In the app store there exists at least one app File Timestamp which can afterwards set the timestamp.
5.2. Samba Filesharing runs under root account. If some file is accessed via samba server, the time stamp and attributes can be set correctly.
5.3. Make use of a file manager which sets the timestamp using the power of root on a rooted device:
X-Plore sets file time after copying if root mode is enabled.
Ghost Commander is said to work fine (additional requirement: Busybox)
Total Commander 2.04 and newer support changing the time stamp under root account. On Android 5 and newer you need to use link /storage/xxxx-xxxx for external SD, not ///_Name, to make it behave correctly.
SManager by devwom also deals fine with timestamp using root
MiXplorer tries calling touch. The standard touch on some Android versions is faulty implemented, MiXplorer then only succeeds when BusyBox (internal download of MiX) is installed. Try if it works on your device with your current setup, and have a second look if the timezone correctly evaluated.
5.4. Manual call via command line: Who opens a terminal (eg Open Android Terminal) on a rooted device preferrably with BusyBox can execute commands as root.
Example 5.4.
Archive (also possible on Unix/Windows/etc)
cd <Quelle>
tar -cf <Pfad_zu_Archiv>/Archiv.tar *
Extract
cd <Ziel>
su
tar -xf <Pfad_zu_Archiv>/Archiv.tar
Copy
su
cp -a <Quelle> <Ziel>
The command su changes to root user, so that write access to time stamps is possible. It is always possible to read them, so that it is not necessary to su before archive.
Careful when calling touch: The standard implementation (toybox) seems to be faulty, it does not set the given time when called using -d or -t switch.
Careful when using Android 8 (root not required), it seems at least some implementation of cp does not set timestamp on cp -a
Does this affect F2FS as well?
As my current device Moto G uses f2fs for internal storage and I didn't root it by now the test was easy to do
Yes f2fs is also affected. Current time is being used for copy of a file. Thanks for the question, I will add this. Guess it also is implemented using fuse. Until someone tells the opposite I will add it to the fuse-managed fs.
There is another information which I want to add: That the default file manager on most os (Finder on Mac, Windows Explorer on Windows, even cp on Unix and copy on DOS iirc) keep time and attributes for files, but not for folders. Please if you test the behavior, watch files not folders. Although I'd like to keep timestamp there also, you can't rely on these anyway.
Keeping date/time of folders usually can be achieved across platforms when using any archiver. tar, zip, anything. Compress and extract keeps the date of folders. Total commander on Android also.
Issue 34691 is now marked as obsolete. Probably someone at Google has read my FAQ, and the bug won't be fixed. I just can ask the same question like the newest comment in the issue: is the issue obsolete, or is it Android?
tag68 said:
As my current device Moto G uses f2fs for internal storage and I didn't root it by now the test was easy to do
Yes f2fs is also affected. Current time is being used for copy of a file. Thanks for the question, I will add this. Guess it also is implemented using fuse. Until someone tells the opposite I will add it to the fuse-managed fs.
There is another information which I want to add: That the default file manager on most os (Finder on Mac, Windows Explorer on Windows, even cp on Unix and copy on DOS iirc) keep time and attributes for files, but not for folders. Please if you test the behavior, watch files not folders. Although I'd like to keep timestamp there also, you can't rely on these anyway.
Keeping date/time of folders usually can be achieved across platforms when using any archiver. tar, zip, anything. Compress and extract keeps the date of folders. Total commander on Android also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, from my experience:
Windows:
Explorer didn't maintain folder ts, only file. Total Commander has option to do so. Some archivers do maintain while some not, meaning it's possible on Windows.
Linux:
Most Explorer-like eg KDE's Konqueror didn't preserve ts. Midnight Commander can, the option when copying is there. Also cp -a or cp -prv works in Terminal. So its possible on Linux.
OSX:
I'm using MC too solely for this purpose (I'm a timestamp freak) because most file mangers on osx sux just like the os (not the underlying bsd core) Krusader even show wrong ts. Disk Order comes close but can't rival Total Commander on Windows, or Norton Commander, Volkov Commander on DOS or Midnight Commander on Linux/OSX for that matter. So also possible on OSX/HPFS.
Android:
The closest to almost able is Total Commander, and to some extent, later versions of ES File Manager. Most others simply failed even ones with root support. So I have to cp -a in Android if I have to maintain folder ts, so far I'm not able to get even TC to do that (don't know where's the option, is it there? You're implying as if it's there, do tell if so) Used 2.04 and 2.05 beta builds so far.
And also, I never get a single archiver on Android to extract timestampfor folder (files are fine obviously) except 7zip on vfat, but that means no permissions since 7zip is not unix native.
And oh, by that I meant 7za command line, not anything in apps aka shell, not going to use those archiver shells anytime (unless embedded in a file manager)
kotey said:
I'm using MC too solely for this purpose (I'm a timestamp freak) because most file mangers on osx sux just like the os (not the underlying bsd core) Krusader even show wrong ts. Disk Order comes close but can't rival Total Commander on Windows, or Norton Commander, Volkov Commander on DOS or Midnight Commander on Linux/OSX for that matter. So also possible on OSX/HPFS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using muCommander on OSX, it also keeps timestamps of folders.
kotey said:
Android:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, guess I remembered wrong in this point that TC keeps timestamp of folders. I'll ask the author. Like I did for setting timestamp as root, I gave the authors of TC and ES Explorer the hint. While Christian Ghisler (TC) immediately answered and helped a lot, I did not get any reply from the authors of ES Explorer. Does it keep timestamp if you have root in the meantime?
tag68 said:
I'm using muCommander on OSX, it also keeps timestamps of folders.
Oh, guess I remembered wrong in this point that TC keeps timestamp of folders. I'll ask the author. Like I did for setting timestamp as root, I gave the authors of TC and ES Explorer the hint. While Christian Ghisler (TC) immediately answered and helped a lot, I did not get any reply from the authors of ES Explorer. Does it keep timestamp if you have root in the meantime?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Old ES doesn't keep ts of anything.
ES v3 has the same behaviour as TC, it keeps ts of files but not folders.
AFAIK both ES and TC doesn't actually require root in order to keep ts of files, just like cp -a did in a non-root shell (but cp will throw lots of permission copy error, just ignore those obvious warnings, in fact it does the job perfectly)
Just tested ES File Explorer on my unrooted Moto G: Without root it does not keep ts of files. Of course not. It can't. Like cp -a can not do what the OS does not allow.
On which file system did you test when it worked?
Just did a test on my rooted S3 for a file copy operation:
1. ES Explorer keeps timestamp on external SD card where it can write without root according to FAT32 on Android 4.1.2 where FUSE is not active for FAT32
2. ES does not keep timestamp when writing to internal sdcard where FUSE is active - it does not use the power of the root account to set it.
ES is not capable. For my mail 2013-10-23 to [email protected] there was no reply. Guess it was not read, or just ignored ... and I asked 2014-01-23 if my mail arrived and repeated the question, again without answer ... so I strongly recommend to prefer Total Commander at least for rooted devices.
The author of Total Commander now found out why the timestamp could not be copied under Lollipop. The next version sure will bring a fix.
For interested readers here the link to the German discussion . Cause of the problem was discussed on Stack overflow
tag68 said:
Just did a test on my rooted S3 for a file copy operation:
1. ES Explorer keeps timestamp on external SD card where it can write without root according to FAT32 on Android 4.1.2 where FUSE is not active for FAT32
2. ES does not keep timestamp when writing to internal sdcard where FUSE is active - it does not use the power of the root account to set it.
ES is not capable. For my mail 2013-10-23 to [email protected] there was no reply. Guess it was not read, or just ignored ... and I asked 2014-01-23 if my mail arrived and repeated the question, again without answer ... so I strongly recommend to prefer Total Commander at least for rooted devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm dealing with this issue from sometime but only now I'm finding your fantastic thread (THANKS A LOT!!!!).
I have something slightly different about ES Explorer (v 3.2.5) :
- exactly as you say with JB 3.2 on a Sony M and an Asus tf101
- as it should be (preserving timestamps) on a Sony z1c with kitkat 4.4.4
Of course all the devices are rooted.
It's crucial for me to have timestamps preserved and I cannot afford to have on my devices two different file managers; unfortunately I'm forced to take the decision to leave ES Explorer and join Total Commander.
Since ES seems not to use power of root, my guess is that Sony allows writing of ts. If I am right it would work the same way if you disallow ES to use root.
Btw I could not reply to your email, although the address when replying was the same like you wrote inside the mail.
tag68 said:
Since ES seems not to use power of root, my guess is that Sony allows writing of ts. If I am right it would work the same way if you disallow ES to use root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've run the test and...you've right: with or without usage of root ES behavior remains the same !
Some days ago there were two comments, which I still wanted to reply. Unfortunately I'm not able to find them.
The first was about the issue closed by Google and the reason of closing. If it was duplicate, as there are still open issues dealing with timestamp. When the issue was closed I looked why Google closed issues in that case. The ratio was "the issue is so old now that we treat it as handled. If it still is active, please recreate." I don't believe it will help in any way that issues dealing with the timestamp problem are open but stay unchanged another 6 years. But time will tell, and you always can feel free in bugtracker systems to vote for the issues or watch them.
The second comment was mentioning an interesting script to set timestamp and therefore linked the Android timestamp keeper project. I don't think it would be helpful for an average user, so I wanted to thank for the link, but at least currently I do not want to add it to the Guide.
tag68 said:
Some days ago there were two comments, which I still wanted to reply. Unfortunately I'm not able to find them.
The first was about the issue closed by Google and the reason of closing. If it was duplicate, as there are still open issues dealing with timestamp. When the issue was closed I looked why Google closed issues in that case. The ratio was "the issue is so old now that we treat it as handled. If it still is active, please recreate." I don't believe it will help in any way that issues dealing with the timestamp problem are open but stay unchanged another 6 years. But time will tell, and you always can feel free in bugtracker systems to vote for the issues or watch them.
The second comment was mentioning an interesting script to set timestamp and therefore linked the Android timestamp keeper project. I don't think it would be helpful for an average user, so I wanted to thank for the link, but at least currently I do not want to add it to the Guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The correct active issue is:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=25460
So far it's the only one, even though the issue is now 6 years old, I think. Once or twice a Google person has post that it'll be fixed, then the next update will come out, and nothing.
matthelm, please have a look at your link. On the left side you can see
Status: Duplicate
Merged: issue 18624
Owner: [email protected]
Closed: Nov 2013
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the currently active issue is 18624. It is the third in the list of 34691 which I linked because it gives the overview which issues exist. Thank you for adding the link to 25640 there - but it is not active.
For those looking for a file manager that solves this issue - I've tested literally a dozen of file managers out there and the only one that keeps the filestamp intact is Ghost Commander. HIGHLY recommended, powerful, efficient, even has FTP over SSH. I'm thrilled!!!
Old faithful said:
For those looking for a file manager that solves this issue - I've tested literally a dozen of file managers out there and the only one that keeps the filestamp intact is Ghost Commander. HIGHLY recommended, powerful, efficient, even has FTP over SSH. I'm thrilled!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is wrong with Total Commander? I'm using it since a long time and it does it correctly ...
Edit: In a short test did Ghost Commander not copy the attributes to internal memory of my Moto X Play. It could not because it did not ask for the power of root. So currently Total Commander stays the only comfortable option for me.
tag68 said:
What is wrong with Total Commander? I'm using it since a long time and it does it correctly ...
Edit: In a short test did Ghost Commander not copy the attributes to internal memory of my Moto X Play. It could not because it did not ask for the power of root. So currently Total Commander stays the only comfortable option for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Total Commander works on the PC, actually use it as my second file manager, but on android it has very few useful features. after a few hours trying to get it to do simple file management stuff such as moving, copying and the like, I got too frustrated and uninstalled it.
Ghost commander on the other hand has all the tools available right on the screen and when rooted, does not change file attributes at all, see for yourself
Test copy of one picture from the external SD Card to a test folder in the root of the device:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Test copy of the previous file into a test subfolder onto the external SD Card
Running KitKat 4.4.4, rooted, Super Su 2.56 beta, with permissions added for writing to the external SD Card.
Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk 2
BTW in case you wondered, I'm NOT German speaking but indeed to German descent
Hold on, I can't seem to replicate this. I don't know why, but after reboot the folder in the root directory (device) was gone... In other words, there is something weird going on with root here.
Second thing, the app I'm using seems to be a fork of ghost commander and there are some differences. I'm looking into it...
Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Tapatalk 2
OK, so I uninstalled this app (File Manager by GOODEV) and reinstalled Ghost Commander, then back again, and I am not able to create a permanent folder in the Device Root. I am, however, able to create folders in existing root folders, as well as copying files there.
In any case, both GOODEV File Manager and Ghost Commander will transfer files to and from SDCard, EXT SD Card and Device folders without changing timestamps.
BTW, I noticed that GOODEV File Manager loads ads when you're connected to WiFi so it may well be a spam version of Ghost Commander
Related
Playing around with the ls -R command, I found where the SMS database is kept, and it's somewhat readable in a text editor...
UPDATE (thanks staulkor): This database is viewable, and searchable using an SQLite database viewer.
Code:
/data/data/com.android.providers/telephony/databases/mmssms.db
Just run the following command to back it up to the SD Card:
Code:
busybox cp /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db /sdcard
Happy hacking
You can use an SQLite viewer to read the database correctly
Would seem simple enough to write a script to run on a PC/Mac to back up the database and load it into some sort of viewer... searchable perhaps?
I'm not too familar with databases, but would seem simple enough to make a lightweight app to keep the SMS archive...
Cool, maybe we'll soon see a port of PIM Backup. Would be nice...
Hmm...
/data/data/com.android.providers/telephony/databases/mmssms.db
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and
busybox cp /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db /sdcard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are two different paths - I think both are supposed to be
Code:
/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/
(since I can't cd to the other one).
At any rate - thanks for the tip, but can anyone else confirm this works for them? On my android (R30) I get "opendir failed, Permission denied" if I try to read the contents of that directory.
Seeing as it's fully possible to write an application to back up the database to the sdcard (or even to a website), wouldn't that make more sense?
Afterall, there's no need to have the actual database -- and the method is highly restrictive to both people with root on their phones and those with a USB cable and computer handy.
Also, backing up this database will not backup any MMS attachments, which are stored here:
/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/app_parts/
Refer to the "part" table for an index matching the files there to messages/filenames. (For each MMS, there should be an XML file that helps identify the type of message, and then the file itself, such as a jpeg).
is this the best and safest way to back up sms database as of yet? I have about 1000 sms and it slows down my messaging so I've been try to find a way to free that up. Backing them up would be great so i can clear them.
If anyone has tried this, please share with the rest of us on its effect on the phone.
Thank you,
Hbguy
P.S: This site is truely GREAT because pros are patient with noobs
i don't understand this...i downloaded the file managers on marketplace, and cannot when i click on data file, there is nothing in there..so i dowonloaded a terminal program and still don't understand how to use the commands to move sms from memory to sim...can u do a quick step-by-step? do i have to use any specific programs to do this? sorry, so used to the simplicity of WM6 on my old phone, having trouble adapting to this platform..thanks for any help.
jazzmanmonty said:
i don't understand this...i downloaded the file managers on marketplace, and cannot when i click on data file, there is nothing in there..so i dowonloaded a terminal program and still don't understand how to use the commands to move sms from memory to sim...can u do a quick step-by-step? do i have to use any specific programs to do this? sorry, so used to the simplicity of WM6 on my old phone, having trouble adapting to this platform..thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to have root on your phone to follow the instructions given above (if you don't know what that means, you don't have it). For non-root users, most of the Android system on the G1 is locked down -- including /data and all its subfolders.
If you do have root on the phone, you can follow the instructions at the top from a terminal while logged in as root. You can verify you are root by running the program "id":
# id
uid=0(root) gid=0(root)
From there, to copy the SMS/MMS database to your sdcard, you can follow the above instructions. If you don't have busybox (ie, "busybox: not found"), you can use the "cat" command as so:
cat /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db > /sdcard/mmssms.db
You may also want any files stored here:
/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/app_parts/
Which are from MMSs (if you've no MMSs saved, then you've no need to bother).
Also, not sure if there is a clarification needed for you. The instructions provided offer no way to access SMSs stored on the SIM, as Android uses a PDU interface that doesn't use the SIM's SMS storage space. It is possible to read SMSs off the SIM, however, and into the internal memory storage. See the settings window in the messaging application.
If someone does take the time to create an application to do this, then it would not require root access. Applications are allowed to access the SMS/MMS database, provided the user grants them permission, and could then be used to read the data from the database and into a new database or other file (eg, csv).
do ya think it would be posible to move these permanently to the memory card? ummmm.... ill try if i get a chance ..... ya can connect to phone via adb in recovery mode right ? an undo whatwver i break?
how would you view your backed up sms messages using staulkors sql database?
step by step would be great
hbguy
Just to be clear - for most people on RC30, this probably will not work.
Per http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442480 the hacks to gain root access have been blocked since RC30 was deployed in early November. Someone should write an application to support this, but instead everybody is busy creating new useless calculators and niche geolocation applications.
If I'm wrong about the above, it would be terrific for anyone to chime in and clarify that.
goodwinm said:
Cool, maybe we'll soon see a port of PIM Backup. Would be nice...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus
Six months ago, I gave up on the latest version of ES and reinstalled the old version. About a month ago, I was invited to try the ES Beta. I was curious about what they might have changed in this newest version, so I said OK.
I have to say, in the Beta, the new interface looks a little crowded, but I don’t care that much about looks. What I really think is important is if an app is useful or not.
Every time I want to download a new file or transfer a file from my laptop to my phone, I can't immediately find it in the library. It really bothered me. I tried quite a few file-management apps, but nothing really worked the way I wanted it to. Until now. I found that the ES 4.1 Beta solved this file issue. Every single change about the number of files is displayed on the home screen, and the library shows which file was “Last opened” and which was the “Last created.”
ES move Encrypt and Compress to the home screen in the Beta. Former users may remember that ES had these two functions before, but if you wanted to find Encrypted or Compressed files, you had to press and hold on files before doing anything. In this Beta version, you can manage all these files right on the home screen.
I’m always transferring files with my co-workers. Due to security concerns, we always encrypt those files first. The ES Beta encrypts files by masking the file names without zipping them. It also supports encrypting zip files. When the file is too large, I’ll choose this way. Unlike other file management apps, ES is more stable when encrypting files, decreasing the possibility of damaging the file. It’s the best app for your zip and rar archives.
Logger displays newly created files on the device. Actually, I don’t find this essential for daily use, but I found it could monitor auto-created files. Now, I check logger every day, just in case some files downloaded themselves. It’s very useful for people who are used to deleting these files themselves. It will save some space, but logger loads slower at first start-up. I found that after unlocking Real-Time Observer, it would load in less than 2 seconds.
This new version doesn’t support theme changing yet. Classic themes and Holo themes can’t be used, either. I left feedback for ES about this. They promised new themes will be coming soon, and I’m sure they won't let their users down.
Duplicate of this thread.
Closing...
Hi all,
I have a quite special issue. I hope someone here can help me or point me into the right direction.
Huawei P9 with Android 6.0, rooted.
For my purposes (*) I use a MicroSD card with 128MB capacity that contains a lot of small files (abt. 1.5 million files).
I wondered for weeks, why the phone becomes incredibly slow and hangs from time to time.
I learned that the Media Storage service could be responsible, because it tries to index all files and that can take a very long time if there are lots of files.
I deactivated Media Storage (using Titanium Backup) and BINGO! My phone is like new. Snappy, well usable.
Since I don't need MTP access to the phone, I thought it might be good now.
HOWEVER:
I just found out that ring tones don't work anymore, neither for phone ringing, nor for the alarm clock etc.
It seems that those apps also rely on the file index, that's gone now.
Without any ring or alarm tone, the phone is almost unusable again.
Do you know of any way to make the MTP / Mediastorage server ignore one directory when indexing? That would help, as I could simply let it ignore the directory on SD card that contains those 1.5 million files.
Or can you think of any other good solution for my problem?
Thank you so much!
Daniel
(*) to explain my usecase, why I need so many files on SD: I am a photographer, doing gigapixel panorama photography. For presenting my work to customers, I put my demo panoramic tours onto the SD card. These are HTML files with a data directory containing JPG tiles of the gigapixel panoramas. One panorama image consist of up to a few 100.000 files. A webserver running on the phone makes the panorama tours accessible to onboard browsers or, via WiFi hotspot, to other devices in the surrounding, e.g. a PC or tablet of the customer.
I considered solutions like an external storage (USB OTG) connected to the phone only when I present that stuff to the customer, or an entirely separate device (Pandora / Dragonbox Pyra or so) to host and serve the panorama tours, but I like to carry only one device, the small smart phone, to do it all. An extenal OSB OTG storage solution would almost fit my needs. But.. only almost, because a small storage is something that can get lost or stolen easily and that needs additional handling and provides additional points of failure, which I don't want to have in front of the customer.
Android is capable of doing it all, and my philosophy is, that a computer needs to adapt to my way of work than vice versa. This was the intention when Neumann and Zuse invented programmable computers. And I don't really want to eat humble pie here.
daniel908 said:
Hi all,
I have a quite special issue. I hope someone here can help me or point me into the right direction.
Huawei P9 with Android 6.0, rooted.
For my purposes (*) I use a MicroSD card with 128MB capacity that contains a lot of small files (abt. 1.5 million files).
I wondered for weeks, why the phone becomes incredibly slow and hangs from time to time.
I learned that the Media Storage service could be responsible, because it tries to index all files and that can take a very long time if there are lots of files.
I deactivated Media Storage (using Titanium Backup) and BINGO! My phone is like new. Snappy, well usable.
Since I don't need MTP access to the phone, I thought it might be good now.
HOWEVER:
I just found out that ring tones don't work anymore, neither for phone ringing, nor for the alarm clock etc.
It seems that those apps also rely on the file index, that's gone now.
Without any ring or alarm tone, the phone is almost unusable again.
Do you know of any way to make the MTP / Mediastorage server ignore one directory when indexing? That would help, as I could simply let it ignore the directory on SD card that contains those 1.5 million files.
Or can you think of any other good solution for my problem?
Thank you so much!
Daniel
(*) to explain my usecase, why I need so many files on SD: I am a photographer, doing gigapixel panorama photography. For presenting my work to customers, I put my demo panoramic tours onto the SD card. These are HTML files with a data directory containing JPG tiles of the gigapixel panoramas. One panorama image consist of up to a few 100.000 files. A webserver running on the phone makes the panorama tours accessible to onboard browsers or, via WiFi hotspot, to other devices in the surrounding, e.g. a PC or tablet of the customer.
I considered solutions like an external storage (USB OTG) connected to the phone only when I present that stuff to the customer, or an entirely separate device (Pandora / Dragonbox Pyra or so) to host and serve the panorama tours, but I like to carry only one device, the small smart phone, to do it all. An extenal OSB OTG storage solution would almost fit my needs. But.. only almost, because a small storage is something that can get lost or stolen easily and that needs additional handling and provides additional points of failure, which I don't want to have in front of the customer.
Android is capable of doing it all, and my philosophy is, that a computer needs to adapt to my way of work than vice versa. This was the intention when Neumann and Zuse invented programmable computers. And I don't really want to eat humble pie here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an Xposed module that can do exactly what you're asking. But I'm not sure how nicely the xposed framework will work with your Huawei device (assuming you're still stock). You can check it out if you feel its worth any hassle that might be involved. Here's the link to the forum and a screenshot of the app's description & capabilities
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/xposed-xposed-media-scanner-optimizer-t2942609
GREAT! THANKS!
I didn't know that an XPosed module existed that could solve that problem.
An attempt to install XPosed a few months ago has failed.
But I retried today with the Wanam build (official one failed back then) and it worked well. Downloaded this module now and will see how it works.
Thank you so much!
Quick question:
The manual for the Media Scanner Optimizer module says
"Directories: If checked the media scanner will only scan directories that have a .scanMedia file (i.e. an empty file with a dot as first part of the name similar to the .noMedia file). Use a file explorer app to create this file. This file can be placed in a directory that may contain subdirectories. The subdirectories will be scanned as well. If unchecked all directories will be scanned (except for the ones containing a .noMedia file - this default behavior of the media scanner is not altered by the Xposed Media Scanner Optimizer)."
(source: http://repo.xposed.info/module/com.thomashofmann.xposed.mediascanneroptimizer)
Does that mean, in my case I coud simply have placed a .noMedia file in the directory with the millions of files and my problem would have been solved, even without XPosed?
Somewhere I read that the media storage service does NOT care about the .noMedia files, so I refused experimenting with this quite early in my research phase.
Do you have experiences, if this really works or not?
daniel908 said:
Quick question:
The manual for the Media Scanner Optimizer module says
"Directories: If checked the media scanner will only scan directories that have a .scanMedia file (i.e. an empty file with a dot as first part of the name similar to the .noMedia file). Use a file explorer app to create this file. This file can be placed in a directory that may contain subdirectories. The subdirectories will be scanned as well. If unchecked all directories will be scanned (except for the ones containing a .noMedia file - this default behavior of the media scanner is not altered by the Xposed Media Scanner Optimizer)."
(source: http://repo.xposed.info/module/com.thomashofmann.xposed.mediascanneroptimizer)
Does that mean, in my case I coud simply have placed a .noMedia file in the directory with the millions of files and my problem would have been solved, even without XPosed?
Somewhere I read that the media storage service does NOT care about the .noMedia files, so I refused experimenting with this quite early in my research phase.
Do you have experiences, if this really works or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I initially thought about the .nomedia alternative. But I wasn't clear on if the 1.5 million files you have were actually media files. If they are then creating a .nomedia file should do the trick. If not, then you have the Xposed module
I personally have a few .nomedia files here and there on my SD card. And it does what its supposed to, ie; stops any media file that's present in those folders from showing up in the Gallery/music player.
So I guess its safe to assume that they weren't indexed either
Freewander10 said:
I initially thought about the .nomedia alternative. But I wasn't clear on if the 1.5 million files you have were actually media files. If they are then creating a .nomedia file should do the trick. If not, then you have the Xposed module
I personally have a few .nomedia files here and there on my SD card. And it does what its supposed to, ie; stops any media file that's present in those folders from showing up in the Gallery/music player.
So I guess its safe to assume that they weren't indexed either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the .nomedia trick would only work, if the Xposed module was there?
Or does it work by default, even on a non-rooted stock ROM?
Thise mana files that I have are almost all JPG files. There are a few .js and .xml files, too, that control how the .jpgs are rendered on the client's browser, also some video files that are embedded into the virtual tours, but about 99.5% of the files are .jpg.
daniel908 said:
I thought the .nomedia trick would only work, if the Xposed module was there?
Or does it work by default, even on a non-rooted stock ROM?
Thise mana files that I have are almost all JPG files. There are a few .js and .xml files, too, that control how the .jpgs are rendered on the client's browser, also some video files that are embedded into the virtual tours, but about 99.5% of the files are .jpg.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't matter what type of files you have. If the folder has a .nomedia file, it will not be scanned for anything.
This is standard android behavior, and does not require xposed to be installed.
I saw this on my device, and only found little info/threads, with almost zero content/analysis. Aparently the kindle app leaves a bunch of random files around. And since the prefix is "RCE" i am a little paranoid, since that usually means "Remote code execution" and is usually associated with exploits
Files:
CS_JIT_Animation.mp4
jit_cs_positive_preview.png
rce_plugin_strings_resource_cs_CZ.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_de_DE.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_en_US.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_es_ES.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_fr_FR.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_it_IT.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_ja_JP.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_nl_NL.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_pt_BR.json.min
rce_plugin_strings_resource_v2_TYPO_TEST.json
rce_plugin_strings_resource_zh_CN.json.min
All Attached in a zip created by the android native file manager.
Current places mentioning this
https://forums.oneplus.com/threads/unkown-files-in-download.948860/
https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xper...erious-Files-in-Downloads-Folder/td-p/1353185
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-xz1/help/phone-mysterious-files-download-folder-t3871763
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMmx5tRm0jM (one of the files is a video, someone uploaded to youtube ...and to https://gfycat.com/generouspinkcolt
How to make those files appear for you:
Install kindle from the google app store
if you already have it installed, or want to see the files again after you deleted, Stop the app and delete all storage. (nothing will be lost, this app syncs everything and some more to the amazon servers)
perform the first Sync on kindle app
Now, insert a pen drive and open the native android File Mananger and look at the local Download folder
Files are somewhat hidden:
If you look into the download folder with any other app (I tried, blackberry file manager, oi file manager, Ghost Commander, and Termux --after enabling the storage setup)
Files probably have a weird attribute or ownership... but the native android file manager does not show anything other than creation date! And every single file operation (copy, move, compress) reset the information to "regular user, creation time set to now". So either I see them on the Native File Manager, without any information available, or I do not see the files until I destroy the information.
Android version is not important (seems to happen on several versions) and has been happening for a while (First mention seems to be Nov2018)
Anyone have any idea what this is? I know I will probably reverse eng the kindle app at some point, wast a bunch of time, and realize it is just some dumb amateur library badly implemented by amazon... or maybe not. I think at this point I am most curious as to how the app "hides" the files from most everything.
So I reside in India and have recently bought a Bravia which runs on Android 11.
But the problem is that it has no built-in default file manager app
Like when I install PPSSPP v1.13.1, the emulator wants me to choose a directory and that's where I'm stuck.
Same goes for Lemuroid emulator. (Latest from F-Droid)
To simplify, if I want to manage storage I use FX File Manager but can't access to Android/Data or Android/Obb folder and there's no default or stock file manager app to grant the access from.
Any solution??
mix explorer works perfectly
ichyb3ll said:
So I reside in India and have recently bought a Bravia which runs on Android 11.
But the problem is that it has no built-in default file manager app
Like when I install PPSSPP v1.13.1, the emulator wants me to choose a directory and that's where I'm stuck.
Same goes for Lemuroid emulator. (Latest from F-Droid)
To simplify, if I want to manage storage I use FX File Manager but can't access to Android/Data or Android/Obb folder and there's no default or stock file manager app to grant the access from.
Any solution??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am facing issue on my tcl Google TV. Can you find solution
mix explorer works perfectly
its like you dont want to read the solution
PuckBass said:
mix explorer works perfectly
its like you dont want to read the solution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have also tried the mix explorer. But it has the same issue.
When i connect my mobile to google tv via usb,it soesnt show my mobile content on tv
I have the same problem . PPSSPP displays a message that it cannot use the file management application. PPSSPP does not allow you to open and view directories. PPSSPP cannot see the ISO files already uploaded to the disk.
Same issue with Chromecast with Google TV after updated to Android 12 - it has no default file manager so there is no way to grant permission to access Android/data!
seriosuly people the solution keep being posted and you guys chose to ignore it ...
and people need to stop with the updates to android 12 broke something.
IT DID NOT!
https://mixplorer.com/ = open source file explorer that does EVERYTHING !
PuckBass said:
seriosuly people the solution keep being posted and you guys chose to ignore it ...
and people need to stop with the updates to android 12 broke something.
IT DID NOT!
https://mixplorer.com/ = open source file explorer that does EVERYTHING !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem on my Chromecast with Google TV (HD) with Android 12. The application (John Data Sync for John GBC/GBA emulator) needs access to the emulators folder but when i tap the assign button (to search for it) it does not open any file manager and shows this error: "You don't have an app that can do this".
I've tried multiple file managers, including Mixplorer, but it can't open any of them. I suspect the problem is that the OS doesn't have any file manager setted as default. It doesn't open any chooser and I have no idea how to set it. Maybe from adb?
I don't think it's a permission problem since the file managers do have access to the data folders when i open them. The problem is the other apps can't "launch" or even find them.
Any ideas? Thanks
i have to do the same with psppp & no problem.
PuckBass said:
i have to do the same with psppp & no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you doing this specifically on Chromecast with Google TV 4k? Because as others are saying "default file selector" is not present on that device, therefore loophole to enable access doesn't work.
I'm sure there are other Google TV devices out there and OEMs might have added some flavour to them. allowing this.
I've attach photo as proof that MiXplorer doesn't work on CCWGT
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Kewzyx said:
I have the same problem on my Chromecast with Google TV (HD) with Android 12. The application (John Data Sync for John GBC/GBA emulator) needs access to the emulators folder but when i tap the assign button (to search for it) it does not open any file manager and shows this error: "You don't have an app that can do this".
I've tried multiple file managers, including Mixplorer, but it can't open any of them. I suspect the problem is that the OS doesn't have any file manager setted as default. It doesn't open any chooser and I have no idea how to set it. Maybe from adb?
I don't think it's a permission problem since the file managers do have access to the data folders when i open them. The problem is the other apps can't "launch" or even find them.
Any ideas? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTgoodevil said:
Are you doing this specifically on Chromecast with Google TV 4k? Because as others are saying "default file selector" is not present on that device, therefore loophole to enable access doesn't work.
I'm sure there are other Google TV devices out there and OEMs might have added some flavour to them. allowing this.
I've attach photo as proof that MiXplorer doesn't work on CCWGT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, the way Google manages storage on newer android versions, particularly 12 and 13, does make things like this more difficult if not impossible. Even before then, in Android 11 there had been an increasing dependency on native file manager components, and to your points this may vary depending on how the OEM handles things so there is not always a clean line between Android versions. In newer versions, if people disable their native file manager they may then have problems with other file managers such as MiXplorer or even core functions of the OS. It stands to reason that if the native file manager was removed there would be similar problems, and it seems as if this is the situation some of you are in. Unfortunately the workarounds which grant access to various storage locations in third-party file managers (the creation of document providers) requires those native components. Those who can add document providers but still have issues accessing locations could then try the workarounds which you may have already heard in the MiX thread. https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/mixplorer-q-a-and-faq-user-manual.3308582/post-87626419
Disclaimer: although I maintain the MiXplorer FAQ I am not here to advertise it, just doing some cross pollinating between threads since there is common interest between those who want more access on their Google devices and those who use MiXplorer.
PuckBass said:
seriosuly people the solution keep being posted and you guys chose to ignore it ...
and people need to stop with the updates to android 12 broke something.
IT DID NOT!
https://mixplorer.com/ = open source file explorer that does EVERYTHING !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With all due respect, in addition to sharing inaccurate information about expectations in new versions of android on Google TV devices (and the subsequent need for native file explorer components) you have also falsely stated that MiXplorer is open source. As explained in various supporting resources for MiXplorer it is closed source.
As to not updating to android 12 or 13, for the time being that's what I'm doing but not everybody has a choice and at a certain point it does become beneficial to upgrade the OS for security and compatibility reasons. It is understandable and reasonable that people would find this problematic and seek workarounds.
Disclaimer: although I maintain the MiXplorer FAQ I do not represent the app or the developer nor do I have any elevated standing here at XDA, so just as a person I say: someone who is telling others to read posted solutions should do better at reading information themselves so as not to spread inaccurate misinformation.
IronTechmonkey said:
Unfortunately the workarounds which grant access to various storage locations in third-party file managers (the creation of document providers) requires those native components. Those who can add document providers but still have issues accessing locations could then try the workarounds which you may have already heard in the MiX thread. https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/mixplorer-q-a-and-faq-user-manual.3308582/post-87626419
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't sure from your post if things should work with workaround without native file manager or not so I tried on my CCWGTV.
Sadly it doesn't work - executing document provider step from both workarounds results in "You don't have app that can do this"
LTgoodevil said:
I wasn't sure from your post if things should work with workaround without native file manager or not so I tried on my CCWGTV.
Sadly it doesn't work - executing document provider step from both workarounds results in "You don't have app that can do this"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My post was intended to share that even in file managers with advanced capabilities it may not be possible to work around the absence of a native file manager. The workarounds were provided for those who are able to create a document provider but then cannot access the location (in MiXplorer). If you cannot even create the document provider then you may be stuck... as you and others have found out. I've never heard of a workaround for this and would imagine that any workaround would involve some system tweaks. This certainly does not mean they don't exist, which is why I posted here so if anyone shares a solution here I could share it in the MiX thread. Maybe there is some other thread or Forum where people are hacking away at this.
IronTechmonkey said:
My post was intended to share that even in file managers with advanced capabilities it may not be possible to work around the absence of a native file manager. The workarounds were provided for those who are able to create a document provider but then cannot access the location (in MiXplorer). If you cannot even create the document provider then you may be stuck... as you and others have found out. I've never heard of a workaround for this and would imagine that any workaround would involve some system tweaks. This certainly does not mean they don't exist, which is why I posted here so if anyone shares a solution here I could share it in the MiX thread. Maybe there is some other thread or Forum where people are hacking away at this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same issue on Chromecast 4. Have you found any workaround to access Android/data folder? I've tried to install File application from other device. It's installed and when I try to access Android/data now it shows the popup with question which app to use and there's this File application is listed. But when I select it, it doesn't start the application at all and I can't select the right directory.
PetrozPL said:
I'm having the same issue on Chromecast 4. Have you found any workaround to access Android/data folder? I've tried to install File application from other device. It's installed and when I try to access Android/data now it shows the popup with question which app to use and there's this File application is listed. But when I select it, it doesn't start the application at all and I can't select the right directory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I popped in here after hearing about this in the MiXplorer thread. but I'm not in position to need or be able to test any workarounds on my rooted moto devices nor have I heard of any workarounds.
ichyb3ll said:
So I reside in India and have recently bought a Bravia which runs on Android 11.
But the problem is that it has no built-in default file manager app
Like when I install PPSSPP v1.13.1, the emulator wants me to choose a directory and that's where I'm stuck.
Same goes for Lemuroid emulator. (Latest from F-Droid)
To simplify, if I want to manage storage I use FX File Manager but can't access to Android/Data or Android/Obb folder and there's no default or stock file manager app to grant the access from.
Any solution??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you just want to access the files or install apks, you can use ADB or terminal emulator to manage the files as an alternative.
I'm having the same issue as well. It won't let me choose a custom folder for storing PSP files. Tried different things but nothing worked.