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File manager that can create symbolic (soft) links?

I want to move my ringtones and notfication sounds from internal storage to /sd-ext. To do this I need to create a symbolic link from /system/media/audio -> /sd-ext/media/audio/
It seems that root explorer is unable to create symbolic links so are there any other android apps available that can do this? I really don't want to have to install the android SDK just to do this so is there an easy way to do this from the phone?
Cheers,
Richard.

If your rooted and have terminal installed you should be able to enter the following:
ln -sf /sd-ext/media/audio /system/media/audio
I haven't tried it myself in android but its what would work in a regular linux environment.

technoplunk said:
If your rooted and have terminal installed you should be able to enter the following:
ln -sf /sd-ext/media/audio /system/media/audio
I haven't tried it myself in android but its what would work in a regular linux environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks that did the trick. I installed Terminal Emulator from the market and su'd then created the link. After a reboot all my ringtones and notifications are now working from my sd-ext partition
Cheers,
Richard.

Glad to hear it worked, at the time I replied I didn't even own an Android phone yet.
This weekend I finally picked up a Desire HD.

I am trying to do the same thing on an elocity a7 ... rooted, running froyo, Dexter's mod 1.42. Terminal has su. I enter the following:
Ln -sf /sdcard/sdcard-disk/olivetree /sdcard/olivetree
I get the message: Link failed. No such file or directory.
Both directories exist and contain files. I have tried with various combinations of directories existing with or without files ... same thing.
Any ideas? Thanks

aimeehammond said:
I am trying to do the same thing on an elocity a7 ... rooted, running froyo, Dexter's mod 1.42. Terminal has su. I enter the following:
Ln -sf /sdcard/sdcard-disk/olivetree /sdcard/olivetree
Both directories exist and contain files. I have tried with various combinations of directories existing with or without files ... same thing.
Any ideas? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming /sdcard/sdcard-disk/olivetree and /sdcard/olivetree are both directories without any functioning links and contain some files that differ from each other, I would do enter the following in the terminal:
cp -a /sdcard/olivetree /sdcard/sdcard-disk/olivetree
rm -rf /sdcard/olivetree
ln -sf /sdcard/sdcard-disk/olivetree /sdcard/olivetree​
These steps copy all data from one directory to the other.
Delete one of the directories.
Link the existing directory to the removed directories location.

Thanks, Technoplunk. Now I get the message:
Link failed. Operation not permitted. :|

Does your lines in the terminal begin with a hash "#" character? If it does not then your not running the commands as root.
Try typing 'su' without the quotes then running the commands I suggested above.

Yes, I was already running in root ... did the su ... got the #

Thinking a little harder about your problem I realize your trying to do a soft link from one portion of a fat32 partition to another. I suspect the issue might be that you can't create soft links on a fat32 partition as it probably isn't supported. Microsoft created fat32 and never supported soft links on it.
It worked for laxity because he was linking from an ext3 or ext4 partition to the fat32. The actual link resided on the ext partition.

The file structure of this tablet seems a bit weird to me. /sdcard is the tablet's internal storage. The sub-directory /sdcard/sdcard-disk is the micro sd card. I would have expected it to be in the root directory of the tablet, but it's not. However, I didn't think the internal storage was FAT32. Is it??
I'm baffled.

The "mount" command will list all partitions and their types. Its a bit verbose on my phone. Any fat32 partitions will probably say vfat rather than ext(#).

Aha. Several partitions (/system /data /misc /cache) are ext3.
/sdcard and /sdcard/sdcard-disk are FAT32.
Is there a way to format the internal /sdcard as ext3?
Thanks so much for your help!

I recommend poking the people in the Elocity A7 section of the forums, they have more experience with your particular device and can likely tell you if it is safe to try or not.

I should also add that changing those partitions to ext3 would mean you could no longer drag and drop files from a Windows pc as Windows can't read that partition type.

Same question:
laxity said:
...
It seems that root explorer is unable to create symbolic links so are there any other android apps available that can do this?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't mind if it's free or paid application!

Problem solved!!!
Root Explorer v2.17 (estimated releasing date tomorrow, 10/28/2011) has "Link to this folder" / "Link to this file" and "Create link" options!
No more painful usage of terminal emulators on small screens!
Thank you Speed Software !

I have a similar problem. The music bib stored by google music should reside on my second sd card. In the moment the app stores the music automatically on the first internal sd card. But I have the same problem that the internal sd card is fat32. So is there any solution to move my bib to the second sd card?
Thanks

Hi there!
I have a similar situation as I got deleted my "lib" file, that is a symbolic link, from my "com.android.mms" folder.
From RootExplorer I remember the file pointing to "... -> com.android.mms", so what am I supposed to type in Terminal Emulator?
Tnx in advance.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G906K using TapaTalk

Hello,
Sorry to unhearth this post but I have a similar problem and these command lines do not seems to work.
technoplunk said:
Assuming /sdcard/sdcard-disk/olivetree and /sdcard/olivetree are both directories without any functioning links and contain some files that differ from each other, I would do enter the following in the terminal:cp -a /sdcard/olivetree /sdcard/sdcard-disk/olivetree
rm -rf /sdcard/olivetree
ln -sf /sdcard/sdcard-disk/olivetree /sdcard/olivetree​These steps copy all data from one directory to the other.
Delete one of the directories.
Link the existing directory to the removed directories location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my daughter's SGJ5 running 6.0.1, I have an issue with Musical.ly taking too much space because it is storing video files on the phone memory and wont be moved to SD card.
So I got inspiration from your post and thought of creating a symbolic link between the folder where Musical.ly stores its videos to another one on the SD card: respectively '/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.zhiliaoapp.musically/files/localvideos' on the phone memory and '/storage/6561-3337/Videos/musically' which I created on the SD card.
I ran the following command using adbputty:
cp -a /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.zhiliaoapp.musically/files/localvideos /storage/6561-3337/Videos/musically
rm -rf /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.zhiliaoapp.musically/files/localvideos
ln -sf /storage/6561-3337/Videos/musically/localvideos /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.zhiliaoapp.musically/files/localvideos
cp and rm worked fine but when I try to run the ln command I get the following error:
ln: cannot create symbolic link from '/storage/6561-3337/Videos/musically/localvideos' to '/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.zhiliaoapp.musically/files /localvideos': Operation not permitted
Edit: I tried the following command instead (inspired from "https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62273638&postcount=18")
ln -sf /storage/6561-3337/Videos/musically/localvideos /data/media/0/Android/data/com.zhiliaoapp.musically/files
and that works for creating the symlink but Musical.ly does show anymore Private videos, nor is it possible to create new ones.
Could you please help me with this?
Cheers

link2sd mounting problem..plz help

when i launch link2sd it says "Mount script cannot be created. mount:mounting/dev/block/vold/179.10 on /data/sdext2 failed:invalid argument..
i had installed abround 300 apps on my sd-ext partition through "link2sd" app..yesterday when i installed some of doodle games , my link2sd was not able to mount sd-ext.. i tried through recovery mode to mount the sd-ext, bit it doesnt...i tried doing it through partition manager (easeus) on my pc..but it doesnt.
when i launch link2sd it says "Mount script cannot be created. mount:mounting/dev/block/vold/179.10 on /data/sdext2 failed:invalid argument"
i dont want to go through the hurdle od formatting my sd-ext & install all the apps all over again...though i have titanium backup..
please help me repair the sd-ext & be able to mount it ..

link2sd mounting error ...update
i came across a very good post for solving the link3sd problem as follows: "htp://blog.mx17.net/2011/08/howto-use-link2sd-with-cyanogenmod-703.html"
im using windows & have androidsdk installed on my pc..i can also execute the adb shell command but it doesnt accept the commands posted in the above link..
another thing i want to know is weather i should run cmd from windows-pc or terminal from my cm7...it doesnt work both ways when i connect my phone by adb..
please tell me detailed instructions for windows -pc if anyone knows
so please help...you may kindly send me a reply at [email protected]
also i would like to know your personal email so that i can contact u in future with ease..

vishalsignap said:
i came across a very good post for solving the link3sd problem as follows: "htp://blog.mx17.net/2011/08/howto-use-link2sd-with-cyanogenmod-703.html"
im using windows & have androidsdk installed on my pc..i can also execute the adb shell command but it doesnt accept the commands posted in the above link..
another thing i want to know is weather i should run cmd from windows-pc or terminal from my cm7...it doesnt work both ways when i connect my phone by adb..
please tell me detailed instructions for windows -pc if anyone knows
so please help...you may kindly send me a reply at [email protected]
also i would like to know your personal email so that i can contact u in future with ease..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, yesterday i got the same error ;(
maybe somebody already know solution ?

May i know what version of link to sd u using??u can try to update your link to sd to 1.9.4

vishalsignap said:
when i launch link2sd it says "Mount script cannot be created. mount:mounting/dev/block/vold/179.10 on /data/sdext2 failed:invalid argument..
i had installed abround 300 apps on my sd-ext partition through "link2sd" app..yesterday when i installed some of doodle games , my link2sd was not able to mount sd-ext.. i tried through recovery mode to mount the sd-ext, bit it doesnt...i tried doing it through partition manager (easeus) on my pc..but it doesnt.
when i launch link2sd it says "Mount script cannot be created. mount:mounting/dev/block/vold/179.10 on /data/sdext2 failed:invalid argument"
i dont want to go through the hurdle od formatting my sd-ext & install all the apps all over again...though i have titanium backup..
please help me repair the sd-ext & be able to mount it ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got solved, by reformatting the ext 2 to FAT 32 and solved the problem

[Q] /data purpose?

Caution, ROM flashing newbie.
Hey,
I'm currently considering to flash a ROM on my S5830 (running Cyanogen 7.2 Stable currently) and one of the steps is to mount /data, which I thought could be done in mounts&storage in CWM recovery. My question is what the purpose of this is. Maybe because ROM related data is stored there? Thanks!
P.S. Yes, I have searched the answer for this and no, I couldn't find it.
I'm asking this, so I'll know what its use is, so I'll hopefully can solve related problems elsewhen.

The /data partition contains much of the data pertaining to user settings, contacts, applications, etc. If you were to perform a factory reset, this is the partition in your phone's internal storage that gets wiped clean.

Hmm, okay, but why is /data completely empty when I open it with ES File Explorer (hidden files shown)? And why is this unmounted by default if it's this important? Thanks in advance!
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda app-developers app

That's because your file manager needs root permission to list the contents. In Terminal Emulator, run "su root" followed by "ls /data", and you'll see lots of stuff in there.
Sent from my SPH-D710

YellowApple said:
That's because your file manager needs root permission to list the contents. In Terminal Emulator, run "su root" followed by "ls /data", and you'll see lots of stuff in there.
Sent from my SPH-D710
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks for your quick and clear help, appreciate it.
Only one more thing: why is it unmounted by default, and if it's unmounted, why can I still view it? I think I misunderstand what mounted is.
Currently playing with my Ace S5830 running Cyanogen 7.2 Stable

Remcotjuuh said:
Many thanks for your quick and clear help, appreciate it.
Only one more thing: why is it unmounted by default, and if it's unmounted, why can I still view it? I think I misunderstand what mounted is.
Currently playing with my Ace S5830 running Cyanogen 7.2 Stable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question. Do you have a link to the directions you're trying to follow for reference? The flashing directions are likely referring to mounting the /data folder/partition outside of the normal Android OS (i.e. via ClockworkMod or from a computer). By default /data should be mounted and accessible from Android (assuming you're using root privileges with your file manager or the "ls" command), else you won't have access to most of your contacts, settings, etc.

YellowApple said:
Good question. Do you have a link to the directions you're trying to follow for reference? The flashing directions are likely referring to mounting the /data folder/partition outside of the normal Android OS (i.e. via ClockworkMod or from a computer). By default /data should be mounted and accessible from Android (assuming you're using root privileges with your file manager or the "ls" command), else you won't have access to most of your contacts, settings, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1808856
Here's it. The installation procedure can be found under Installation procedure, and mount data really is emphasized. And yes, I can mount /data in CWM recovery under mounts and storage, which gives me the impression it's unmounted now. Actually, the only thing which I CAN unmount is /cache. The others, /data, /system, /sdcard and/ sd-ext, all have the option to be mounted.
And after enabling root access in ES file explorer I indeed could view /data

Yup. Since Droid Ace v2 has files that go in /data (you can tell by the presence of a "data" folder in the root of the ROM's zip if you open it up with a file manager), it needs /data to be explicitly mounted prior to install, since it has to put stuff in there. Most ROMs I've used (like CyanogenMod) only use the /system partition (unless you install gapps).
Not sure why the update script doesn't do the mounting, but since I'm no developer (yet), there might be a very legitimate reason for that.
Sent from my SPH-D710

YellowApple said:
Yup. Since Droid Ace v2 has files that go in /data (you can tell by the presence of a "data" folder in the root of the ROM's zip if you open it up with a file manager), it needs /data to be explicitly mounted prior to install, since it has to put stuff in there. Most ROMs I've used (like CyanogenMod) only use the /system partition (unless you install gapps).
Not sure why the update script doesn't do the mounting, but since I'm no developer (yet), there might be a very legitimate reason for that.
Sent from my SPH-D710
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes sence. One more thing then. As my previous ROM was Cyanogen, I also installed gapps, but I can't remember I mounted /data at that time, and installation simply succeeded. Any thoughts? Maybe because I installed gapps after flashing Cyanogen.

Sorry for the late response. It's possible that the Google Apps update package *does* mount /data in its scripts; I have yet to look into it. Or perhaps it does some intermediate thing where they plop some temp installer somewhere and have Android run said installer. I'll have to find that out
Sent from my SPH-D710

I think I got it. I thought that when flashing the ROM one of the lines said mounting /data, so that could have been part of the scripts.
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda app-developers app

[help please] Can not access to internal or external memory /sdcard /storage ...

Hello,
On my tablet /sdcard and equivalent folders (/storage/emulated/0, /storage/emulated/legacy, /storage/sdcard0) and all /storage are empty.
In command line with ADB, I see everything.
In command line from the tablet with ConnectBot, ls in /sdcard or /storage gives opendir failed: permission denied. But in root after su, files are here like with ADB.
So the problem is only with the tablet and the normal user.
Before I have tried some apps to move data of some games to the SD card with "GL to SD". It modify the file /etc/permissions/platform.xml. Can it be linked with my situation?
I have a LG G pad 7 with Android 5.02.
Help please!

This is the same problem as this guy: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/93793/cannot-access-sdcard-internal-storage but there is no answer.

Nobody can help me?

Please, I need my tablet!

I thought there was a lot of experts on XDA, I'm disappointed... :-|

Have you tried to replace /etc/premissions/platform.xml with the original (unmodified) file?

Thank you. Of course, immediatly, I even never boot on the modified one.
But the 1st time permissions were wrong, the .bak has 400 instead of 644 and I didn't notice. The problem appears there and stays even with 644...

I think the problem is the file platform.xml and it's not read at all.
Because I also can activate Wifi or Bluetooth, but I can not use them, and in command line only root can ping (this is defined is platform.xml too).
Maybe the 1st boot with the wrong permissions makes this file been deleted from another file and it's not read at boot... How can I know where this file is called to verify this? :-|

[Completed] Second partition (ext2) not visible in File Explorer

I partitioned my sd card with AParted app. After I did it I saw three local drives on my file Explorer (ES File Explorer) - one internal and two external (as expected). And also I was able to see these three partitions when connected to PC. And I was able to mount the second partition in Link2SD app. After few days, the second partition disappeared from the explorer somehow. I don't know the cause of it. But I am still able to mount the second partition in Link2SD. And I have no problem in linking the apps to the second partition. Is there any way to make the second partition folder reappear again in the file Explorer.
Phone : Samsung S Duos
Second partition : ext2

Hi
Thanks for using XDA Assist.
Try posting your question in the Q&A section of your device:
Galaxy S Duos Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Solution : Location of other partitions of SD Card
Second partition (or any partition) can be found on the root folder of any phone. Just Go to the following folder which has the path :
/data/sdext2
(If the required partition format is ext2)
If some other format is present, then the innermost folder may have a different name.
Try searching by name of the format or something like that.
Primokorn said:
Hi
Thanks for using XDA Assist.
Try posting your question in the Q&A section of your device:
Galaxy S Duos Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting[/UThanksRL]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Primokorn
Thank you for suggesting to post this question in my device Q&A section. But I don't find the need in that. I believe this is a common question which do not require any information particular to any phone. Anyway, thanks for your concern.

Actually it can be device specific e.g there’s no sdext2 folder into /data partition for the Nexus 5.
Glad to know you got it fixed