Database Info

[Q] internal sd card for samsung captivate shows as write protected

I will give some background to begin with. I had installed the Kies mini update to the 2.2 software on my Captivate. I then rooted with super one click. I have the drivers for the Captivate installed in Windows XP and I have USB debugging enabled. It recognizes the drive and will show me the contents on the computer, but it doesn't allow me to copy from the computer to the drive. I know I can use dropbox for some things, but for other things like installing a custom rom, I would like to be able to copy to the drive. It does show as mounted and mass storage is enabled on the phone. Any ideas?

If you are rooted just go into cwr and mount sd card there. if not i have no idea as i haven't kept a phone stock since a week after i got my old Moto Droid, as soon as i found out it was possible.

Well apparently the version of Clockwork Mod Recovery that I have doesn't give the option to mount the SD card. I have 2.5.1.2. I did find a way using SGS tools to download a custom rom to the root of the SD card. I was going to reinstall Debian Linux at some point on my computer so I may have better luck with using that to write to the SD card then I am having with XP.

Yeah
Make sure that the SD card isn't locked. Also, back up everything on it to your computer and do a complete format as well. And if you're wanting to write ROMs to your SD (or CWM, etc.) in Linux, you're going to have to use dd in the terminal, and most like will be writing to "sdb".
Here's a simple walkthrough just in case you don't know how to use dd:
Become root by typing "su" and following it with your password. If you don't have a root password, type in "sudo passwd" and set it.
Next you have to unmount your microSD. To see what you have mounted type in "mount". Your SD card will most likely be called "/dev/sdb" or "/media/sdb" or something along those lines (not sdb1, that is the partition on the card). Once you know what your SD is called and where it's located, type in "umount /dev/sdb", placing '/dev/sdb' with the actual location and name of your SD card.
Now we get to use dd. Type in: dd if=<insert location of IMG here without the tags I included> of=<location of your sd without the tags I included> bs=1M
Be patient, because it usually takes a while, depending on what you're writing. Good luck mate.

I was looking for an answer to this myself. Me and my girlfriend both have the same phone, galaxy S. We both put andromeda rom on it and are now going to switch to FireFly (I did, she's trying to).
Well, mounting her USB storage ends up with the internal SD card being recognized as a CD ROM and the external as a usb storage device.
Anything we try to do to her internal says there's write protection and to disable it or use something else every time we do anything.
Only even trying this because we're getting some weird "Error at line 17: symlink with SU..." blah blah....
Completely stuck here. Doesn't make any fracking sense.

same to me. what should i do? I'm trying to install Andromeda. But I can't even copy ROM file to internal SD card. HELP ME ASAP!

Limited MTP capability with 6.0

My XT1540 was updated today and noticed a few minor inconveniences.
When connecting to my Linux pc, I no longer can get a MTP connection. I can still get a PTP connection.
When connecting using WIN 7, I can get a MTP connection with the internal storage, however, I am limited to PTP accessing the SD Card, only the Android and DCIM directories are available.
ADB seems to work fine with either connection. I had no issues using either Linux or Windows when on 5.1.1.
Is there a way to restore full MTP capability?

MrTooPhone said:
My XT1540 was updated today and noticed a few minor inconveniences.
When connecting to my Linux pc, I no longer can get a MTP connection. I can still get a PTP connection.
When connecting using WIN 7, I can get a MTP connection with the internal storage, however, I am limited to PTP accessing the SD Card, only the Android and DCIM directories are available.
ADB seems to work fine with either connection. I had no issues using either Linux or Windows when on 5.1.1.
Is there a way to restore full MTP capability?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your sd card merged as internal? If so, unmerge and mount is the only solution right now as the SD card becomes encrypted once switched over.

christopherrrg said:
Is your sd card merged as internal? If so, unmerge and mount is the only solution right now as the SD card becomes encrypted once switched over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not set my card up as internal as that basically incorporates the card into the OS and eliminates the original intent of the SD Card. Basically makes the card invisible and no longer available to the user as he pleases. It appears Google is trying to take away the portability and convenience of a SD Card. I definitely want to portability and separation from the OS.
BTW....After further research on this topic I see many others are having the identical issues across other platforms. No solution found yet.

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/6lMKqYYXpXw;context-place=topicsearchin/nexus/category$3Aconnecting-to-networks-and-devices%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false
Nikhil Bastikar said:
I found a solution from user named Peter Oravecz.
So basically we need to delete the cache and the data for the System apps named "External Storage and Media Storage".
Goto
Phone settings-> Apps -> Tap three dots on tiop right to select select Show system apps -> select External Storagge and Media storage and delete data ana cache.
Then REBOOT THE PHONE.
this shud work.
Worked for me.

Ulverinho said:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/6lMKqYYXpXw;context-place=topicsearchin/nexus/category$3Aconnecting-to-networks-and-devices%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false
Nikhil Bastikar said:
I found a solution from user named Peter Oravecz.
So basically we need to delete the cache and the data for the System apps named "External Storage and Media Storage".
Goto
Phone settings-> Apps -> Tap three dots on tiop right to select select Show system apps -> select External Storagge and Media storage and delete data ana cache.
Then REBOOT THE PHONE.
this shud work.
Worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will give this a shot... to bad Motorola didn't tell the soak testers this, almost everyone who left their sd card as portable storage (classic mode) lost USB MTP access to the card.

acejavelin said:
I will give this a shot... to bad Motorola didn't tell the soak testers this, almost everyone who left their sd card as portable storage (classic mode) lost USB MTP access to the card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, figured that out already...
But if to believe this
https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/109134/p/1449,9582
going to internal mode will give no access to sd card at all... what they were thinking in Google...hmm...
Of course, we can teach PCs and software to see ext4 - but why o why...

Ulverinho said:
Yup, figured that out already...
But if to believe this
https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/109134/p/1449,9582
going to internal mode will give no access to sd card at all... what they were thinking in Google...hmm...
Of course, we can teach PCs and software to see ext4 - but why o why...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Teach? lol... just run Linux, Windows sucks.

acejavelin said:
Teach? lol... just run Linux, Windows sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I'm on Mac It's altogether a pain
Anyway, this is quite strange feature that had not much attention.
I hope that post helps.

Ulverinho said:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/6lMKqYYXpXw;context-place=topicsearchin/nexus/category$3Aconnecting-to-networks-and-devices%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false
Nikhil Bastikar said:
I found a solution from user named Peter Oravecz.
So basically we need to delete the cache and the data for the System apps named "External Storage and Media Storage".
Goto
Phone settings-> Apps -> Tap three dots on tiop right to select select Show system apps -> select External Storagge and Media storage and delete data ana cache.
Then REBOOT THE PHONE.
this shud work.
Worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that, but I see no option to delete cache.
So you now have full MTP access to your SD Card?
I am also interested if anyone else had success with with a MTP connection using Linux

acejavelin said:
Teach? lol... just run Linux, Windows sucks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you have full MTP access to your SD Card using Linux?

MrTooPhone said:
So you have full MTP access to your SD Card using Linux?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... The point was if Google gave us direct access to the card as internal storage, we would need ext4 support. Was just a wishful thinking conversation.
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

Ulverinho said:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/6lMKqYYXpXw;context-place=topicsearchin/nexus/category$3Aconnecting-to-networks-and-devices%7Csort:relevance%7Cspell:false
Nikhil Bastikar said:
I found a solution from user named Peter Oravecz.
So basically we need to delete the cache and the data for the System apps named "External Storage and Media Storage".
Goto
Phone settings-> Apps -> Tap three dots on tiop right to select select Show system apps -> select External Storagge and Media storage and delete data ana cache.
Then REBOOT THE PHONE.
this shud work.
Worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Data clear and reboot also worked for me, thanks!

MrTooPhone said:
I tried that, but I see no option to delete cache.
So you now have full MTP access to your SD Card?
I am also interested if anyone else had success with with a MTP connection using Linux
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, Apps - Show system ones - go into app settings, then Storage - and then U'll see Wipe Data and Wipe Cache.

Ulverinho said:
Well, Apps - Show system ones - go into app settings, then Storage - and then U'll see Wipe Data and Wipe Cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I did not look under storage. Still made no difference with Linux, I get PTP but not a MTP connection for internal storage. No access to the SD Card. I will try with Windows later tonight, but I bet there will be no change (MTP for internal data and restricted to PTP for SD Card).

MrTooPhone said:
Thanks. I did not look under storage. Still made no difference with Linux, I get PTP but not a MTP connection for internal storage. No access to the SD Card. I will try with Windows later tonight, but I bet there will be no change (MTP for internal data and restricted to PTP for SD Card).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try making MTP default one in Developer Options - Select USB Config. Obviously this is not the solution as to mounting issue, but might force phone to choose MTP as default when cable plugs in.

Ulverinho said:
Try making MTP default one in Developer Options - Select USB Config. Obviously this is not the solution as to mounting issue, but might force phone to choose MTP as default when cable plugs in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried all that several times with no success. Can you confirm your PC OS and if you have full MTP access to the SD Card? Not PTP access where you only see the media directories and files.

MrTooPhone said:
I have tried all that several times with no success. Can you confirm your PC OS and if you have full MTP access to the SD Card? Not PTP access where you only see the media directories and files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I've got access to my books, music, downloads and so on.
This is both Windows 7 and OSX.

Ulverinho said:
Yes, I've got access to my books, music, downloads and so on.
This is both Windows 7 and OSX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. After wiping data and cache for external storage and media storage, I have full MTP with Windows 7. Unfortunately, my Ubuntu 12.04 does not recognize the MTP connection. But it will connect when I select PTP.

OTG didn't work also. On my build. It's the same as the first update. Was fixed later.
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

Actually, after clearing data and cache on these two items my attempts to access phone via USB are even worse know... In Windows 7 it just says "Unknown USB device" and the peripheral connect/disconnect tone goes off repeatedly, can't access anything anymore. But in Linux Mint I was able to access both internal storage and SD card now. Weird.
EDIT: Hmm... copying files to Linux from the SD card failed after about 1GB, as soon as I moved my laptop a bit. I might have a bad cable (this is a really old Samsung charger & cable I have carried in my laptop bag for traveling for probably 4 years). Not putting much stock in this test at this time until I can get home tomorrow night and use a known good cable.
EDIT2: Got a different cable from the front desk at the hotel, was able to copy about 8GB of music and pictures from SD card to my Linux Mint PC with no issues... Windows is still unable to recognize the device at all (might be something in my work laptop, but I think it had worked before and any other USB peripheral works fine)

How to set up SD Card as Internal Storage?

I've been all day trying to get a Micro SD installed on my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Go5 so I can move apps onto it. After bricking an old SD 32 GB card and buying a new 64 GB card I started searching for help here. I found information that said the card has to be formatted as 'Internal Storage.' This post described the process (the process that worked toward the bottom).
I'd been trying to figure out how to install the Android SDK on my Windows PC without downloading Android Studio in order to get the adb shell mentioned in that post set up. I found this post and this post on the stackoverflow forum, but just wasn't able to figure it all out. But it looks like I need the Java SE Development Kit 10 installed.
I was able to set up USB debugging on the phone though.
Can anyone help me out here and describe just what must be done to achieve all this?
Thanks for any feedback on this

Not really able to help but i read many people advise against using SD card as internal storage. Most regular SD cards r not fast enough or durable enough to last more than a few months. Just sharing

sautom said:
Not really able to help but i read many people advise against using SD card as internal storage. Most regular SD cards r not fast enough or durable enough to last more than a few months. Just sharing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're right about that. I've installed programs on USB sticks that can be quite sluggish. Then again I've had a number of system maintenance utilities on flash drives for years that aren't and still perform fine. Then they don't get used for hours on a day to day basis.
I moved a number of apps on my old Galaxy Ace to a micro sd card though, most used was the Poweramp music player that's always performed well.
And I've got the card now, so I may as well try to get it set as internal and just see how it performs over time. Thanks for you feedback sautom.

TakuSkan said:
I've been all day trying to get a Micro SD installed on my T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Go5 so I can move apps onto it. After bricking an old SD 32 GB card and buying a new 64 GB card I started searching for help here. I found information that said the card has to be formatted as 'Internal Storage.' This post described the process (the process that worked toward the bottom).
I'd been trying to figure out how to install the Android SDK on my Windows PC without downloading Android Studio in order to get the adb shell mentioned in that post set up. I found this post and this post on the stackoverflow forum, but just wasn't able to figure it all out. But it looks like I need the Java SE Development Kit 10 installed.
I was able to set up USB debugging on the phone though.
Can anyone help me out here and describe just what must be done to achieve all this?
Thanks for any feedback on this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have lollipop or newer Android version, you should be able to use the "Adoptable storage" option.
Also, if performance is important to you, then you won't like this option, using sdcard as internal is slower, the only "gain" in using this is the system has more storage to use. There is no gain on performance, you actually lose there.
I don't recommend using sdcard as internal storage though. There are way too many issues that come along with using this kind of modification. A lot of times, the sdcard gets corrupted, then the real issues start when you try to fix it, usually, the device won't function properly, the data on the sdcard gets lost/corrupted, just to name a couple of the many possible issues. It isn't exactly "easy" to fix this when it happens, depending on what goes wrong, sometimes it can't be fixed.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
If you have lollipop or newer Android version, you should be able to use the "Adoptable storage" option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read quite a bit on this and "adoptable storage" now, and agree that trying to use an expansion SD card as internal memory to run apps is a bad idea Droidriven. I still have a little over 1 GB left on the tiny built in 8GB internal SD Card memory, and have most of what I want installed.
I'm pretty green when it comes to Android, coming from many years with Windows and a tad with Linux. I see that with v6.0.1 Marshmallow, the OS began setting up a system directory tree on the 64 GB SD card when I installed it, and I'm able to set data folders there for apps like the camera. That'll be good for storing large camera videos and other media files.
One thing I haven't figured out yet though is whether or not there's any setting on a non-rooted phone like this Go5 that will allow me to transfer files directly into the 'Android' folder on the internal 8 GB card from Windows. I'm able to connect the two via USB or FTP and write files from Windows to folders on the 8 GB card like 'Download'. But I can't copy any files from Windows over to any of the writable apps folders in the 'Android' folder. I've resorted to copying them 1st to 'Download' from Windows, and then using a file manager in Android to copy files over to the 'Android' folder. I'm not used to such rigid file/folder permissions.
Does this sound like an issue that will require rooting? It'd make life a lot easier if that weren't the case. I'd think if I can write files to that 'Android' folder from within Android, I ought to be able to do the same remotely somehow.
Thoughts?

TakuSkan said:
I've read quite a bit on this and "adoptable storage" now, and agree that trying to use an expansion SD card as internal memory to run apps is a bad idea Droidriven. I still have a little over 1 GB left on the tiny built in 8GB internal SD Card memory, and have most of what I want installed.
I'm pretty green when it comes to Android, coming from many years with Windows and a tad with Linux. I see that with v6.0.1 Marshmallow, the OS began setting up a system directory tree on the 64 GB SD card when I installed it, and I'm able to set data folders there for apps like the camera. That'll be good for storing large camera videos and other media files.
One thing I haven't figured out yet though is whether or not there's any setting on a non-rooted phone like this Go5 that will allow me to transfer files directly into the 'Android' folder on the internal 8 GB card from Windows. I'm able to connect the two via USB or FTP and write files from Windows to folders on the 8 GB card like 'Download'. But I can't copy any files from Windows over to any of the writable apps folders in the 'Android' folder. I've resorted to copying them 1st to 'Download' from Windows, and then using a file manager in Android to copy files over to the 'Android' folder. I'm not used to such rigid file/folder permissions.
Does this sound like an issue that will require rooting? It'd make life a lot easier if that weren't the case. I'd think if I can write files to that 'Android' folder from within Android, I ought to be able to do the same remotely somehow.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always just use the ES File Explorer app, it lets me move whatever I want to/from Android folder.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
I always just use the ES File Explorer app, it lets me move whatever I want to/from Android folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, from within Android. I'm using the free open source Amaze file manager that I can do that with. But I can't connect the Android phone to a Windows PC and be able to copy files from Windows to the Android folder on the phone. Just to Download, and maybe DCIM and the root of the internal 8 GB SD memory.
Can ES File Explorer access shared folders on a Windows PC? Amaze sets up an FTP server, but I don't see where it can access files on a Windows system.
EDIT: Seems it can: How to Access Shared Windows Folders on Android, iPad, and iPhone

TakuSkan said:
Yes, from within Android. I'm using the free open source Amaze file manager that I can do that with. But I can't connect the Android phone to a Windows PC and be able to copy files from Windows to the Android folder on the phone. Just to Download, and maybe DICM and the root of the internal 8 GB SD memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to do this with just Windows. Are you sure that you have your USB options set correctly? It should be set to MTP(file transfer).
When you connect the device to PC, you should see a USB icon in the status bar on the device, pull down notification panel, it should have a notification that takes you to your USB options.
Or, when you connect the device, you might get a pop-up menu on your device that has settings for USB options.
It varies from one device to another and one android version to another.
Do you have USB debugging enabled in developer options?
Also, if you do some reading about everything that the ES File Explorer app can do, you'll see that it can be used to transfer files to/from PC via more than a few options, including wirelessly/remotely.
It has several things it can do and different ways to connect when connecting/connected to other devices, including smart TV and others. It can also be used as a server or even be used to create a hotspot.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
You should be able to do this with just Windows. Are you sure that you have your USB options set correctly? It should be set to MTP(file transfer).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes Droidriven. I have set USB debugging and USB is set as MTP. I just discovered that Amaze does connect to Windows like ES File Explorer by running it's cloud search function. So far Amaze has done everything I've been told to use ESFE for. But Amaze is very light. I just used Amaze to copy a file over from a shared Windows folder to that Android folder on the phone.
I have Total Commander on the Windows system, but when I use it to navigate to an apps subfolder of Android on the phone, it can't see any of the files or folders that I can access with Amaze from within the phone.
So I'm half way there Just need to figure out how to get Windows to see and write files on this Go5 now.

TakuSkan said:
Yes Droidriven. I have set USB debugging and USB is set as MTP. I just discovered that Amaze does connect to Windows like ES File Explorer by running it's cloud search function. So far Amaze has done everything I've been told to use ESFE for. But Amaze is very light. I just used Amaze to copy a file over from a shared Windows folder to that Android folder on the phone.
I have Total Commander on the Windows system, but when I use it to navigate to an apps subfolder of Android on the phone, it can't see any of the files or folders that I can access with Amaze from within the phone.
So I'm half way there Just need to figure out how to get Windows to see and write files on this Go5 now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know where you're having issues, all I have ever done is just connect my device to Windows via USB then use the native Windows Explorer file manager to transfer to/from internal/external to PC/device. I've never had to do anything special or use any extra software on the device or PC to achieve this, plus, I've done this on different Windows systems.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
I don't know where you're having issues, all I have ever done is just connect my device to Windows via USB then use the native Windows Explorer file manager to transfer to/from internal/external to PC/device. I've never had to do anything special or use any extra software on the device or PC to achieve this, plus, I've done this on different Windows systems.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it may be because this was a T-Mobile phone and that they may have disabled some functions like "adoptable storage" which doesn't seem to be present, as well as maybe setting permissions to prevent access to certain system folders.
I've even found that I have to change the extensions of some files like ini files to txt before I can drag and drop from Windows Explorer via a USB connection to just a few folders on Android.
It is a bit nutz. Rooting would probably solve the problem. But I'm not ready to go there yet. There may be an answer for getting the Windows > Android file viewing and writing yet. But at least for the moment I can copy both ways with the Amaze File Manager.

Okay, I'm back to considering formatting this 64 GB SD Card as internal storage. I would really like to record video to it, and with the internal memory limited to 1 GB that's left of the total of 8 GB from the factory, that's just not going to make it.
I got the Android SDK and 'adb shell' working on my PC, and started researching how to run commands that would target just the SD Card, and not the existing memory. The command 'sm list-disks' returns: disk:179,32
Is that the phone's internal memory, the SD Card's memory, or perhaps all memory on the phone? When I run the command 'sm list-volumes' I get:
private mounted null
public:179,33 mounted 38C4-18FE
emulated mounted null
I know 38C4-18FE is listed on the phone as being my added SD Card. So I'm hesitant to run the command I see people using to format their SD Cards: 'sm partition disk:179,33' I've wiped the wrong drives by mistake before using Windows diskpart when I didn't specify the right drive/volume. Can anyone clear that up for me?
I'm still hesitant to do this as it seems the phone will automatically begin to use the entire contents of the SD Card as space to run its OS. Might there be commands that would specifically alot the space on the card for writing data, and not for apps that would write and rewrite data there? Something I could create a folder in and point video recording apps to?
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow

TakuSkan said:
Okay, I'm back to considering formatting this 64 GB SD Card as internal storage. I would really like to record video to it, and with the internal memory limited to 1 GB that's left of the total of 8 GB from the factory, that's just not going to make it.
I got the Android SDK and 'adb shell' working on my PC, and started researching how to run commands that would target just the SD Card, and not the existing memory. The command 'sm list-disks' returns: disk:179,32
Is that the phone's internal memory, the SD Card's memory, or perhaps all memory on the phone? When I run the command 'sm list-volumes' I get:
private mounted null
public:179,33 mounted 38C4-18FE
emulated mounted null
I know 38C4-18FE is listed on the phone as being my added SD Card. So I'm hesitant to run the command I see people using to format their SD Cards: 'sm partition disk:179,33' I've wiped the wrong drives by mistake before using Windows diskpart when I didn't specify the right drive/volume. Can anyone clear that up for me?
I'm still hesitant to do this as it seems the phone will automatically begin to use the entire contents of the SD Card as space to run its OS. Might there be commands that would specifically alot the space on the card for writing data, and not for apps that would write and rewrite data there? Something I could create a folder in and point video recording apps to?
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's possible to partition the external sdcard so that it has separate partitions with one of those partitions devoted to internal storage and the other for whatever you want. I'm not versed in specific tools and methods to do it, there are many.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
It's possible to partition the external sdcard so that it has separate partitions with one of those partitions devoted to internal storage and the other for whatever you want. I'm not versed in specific tools and methods to do it, there are many.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy with dedicating the entire memory in my sd card to adoptable storage space. I just want to know if adb is returning the right designation of my added sd card memory, and not the default internal memory.
Does the command 'sm list-disks' run from an adb shell that returns this for me: disk:179,32 mean that 179,32 is the designation that represents the sd memory card I added? Or if I try to use adb to partition 179,32 as adoptive memory, will I be formatting the default internal memory? What would be an adb command to return the designation of the small 8 GB default internal memory of my phone?

TakuSkan said:
I'm happy with dedicating the entire memory in my sd card to adoptable storage space. I just want to know if adb is returning the right designation of my added sd card memory, and not the default internal memory.
Does the command 'sm list-disks' run from an adb shell that returns this for me: disk:179,32 mean that 179,32 is the designation that represents the sd memory card I added? Or if I try to use adb to partition 179,32 as adoptive memory, will I be formatting the default internal memory? What would be an adb command to return the designation of the small 8 GB default internal memory of my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried running the command without the external sdcard inserted? That will tell you the designation of your internal because internal is all it will see, then insert the external sdcard, then you can run the command to see what the designation for the external is. Once you setup Adoptable Storage, there will be no difference in designation, the OS will see your internal and your external as one complete storage space, it sees external as if it were internal and identifies/labels it as such for all intents and purposes.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
Have you tried running the xommand without the external sdcard inserted? That will tell you the designation of your internal because internal is all it will see, then insert the external sdcard, then you can run the command to see what the designation for the external is. Once you setup Adoptable Storage, there will be no difference in designation, the OS will see your internal and your external as one complete storage space, it sees external as if it were internal and identifies/labels it as such for all intents and purposes.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly the information I've been after Droidriven. That sounds like the perfect way to differentiate default internal memory from an SD addon. I read where after formatting/partitioning the sd card, installed apps will stay on the internal memory unless you opt for an ill advised process of moving them to the new space where they probably won't perform well.
How will the OS see the added sd memory after formatted as adoptable storage? My concern is that since this a cheap flash memory sd card, I don't want the OS to start writing and rewriting to this sluggish, slow flash memory card and just wear the thing down. Is there any way to specify the added memory as being data storage only? I only want the extra memory for writing video from the phone to a space large enough to hold multiple files

TakuSkan said:
I read where after formatting/partitioning the sd cardm installed apps will stay on the internal memory unless you opt for an ill advised process of moving them to the new space where they probably won't perform well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right.
TakuSkan said:
How will the OS see the added sd memory after formatted as adoptable storage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, it will see all one space with no way to "store here instead of there" that I know of. The OS uses the entire space as it sees fit.
TakuSkan said:
My concern is that since this a cheap flash memory sd card, I don't want the OS to start writing and rewriting to this sluggish, slow flash memory card and just wear the thing down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly what it will do, this is the common cause of sdcard formatted as internal getting burned out, they aren't meant to do all that writing/rewriting/overwriting/deleting constantly. Frequent activity kills it in the end, hence, my original post warning against the downsides to using external as internal. Once external is incorporated into internal, if the external gets corrupted, the OS won't boot or operate, potentially making a terrible mess to get the device recovered but not the external sdcard, it's toast at that point, along with everything that was stored on it, in some cases, the device can't be recovered either, due to lack of software support or publicly available downloadable firmware.
TakuSkan said:
Is there any way to specify the added memory as being data storage only? I only want the extra memory for writing video from the phone to a space large enough to hold multiple files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might be possible somehow, but it probably requires root and some other apps that use root to make the needed modifications to direct data where you want it stored. I'm not sure it's possible though because, as I said previously, the OS sees internal and external as one complete partition, with no way to "see" a difference between them because they no longer have differing disk designations.
In my honest opinion(based on my exposure and experience with various devices that have used this as an option and the issues they have had along the way), using external as internal is too risky and shouldn't be used. Oddly, Adoptable Storage works better on devices that have better hardware and plenty of internal storage than it does on lower end devices with limited hardware and limited storage, the lower, limited devices are typically the ones that end up having issues. I know, this seems counter-intuitive since the better devices don't need the extra internal storage and the lower devices do need the extra internal storage, but we both know that flash memory is very unreliable for continuous write/delete/rewrite and is doomed to fail.
Could you possibly consider some kind of OTG storage, wireless USB drive or some kind of "cloud" storage or FTP setup?
You should be able to direct your downloads, your pics and your recordings to the folder of your choice when downloaded/created instead of having to move them after. I'm not certain you need to do this just to be able to use your external to store data.
Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

SD card will not (actually) format

Hello,
so I have this SanDisk Ultra 32 GB MicroSD card that I wanted to move to another Android phone but no matter what I do I cannot properly erase the files that are written on it. Every time I format the card the process seemingly completes without errors and you get the "card ready for use blah blah blah" message but the files are still there like nothing happened.
I tried to format it on the new phone -> files still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free
I tried to format it on the old phone -> files still there., 13GB out of 30ish space free
I connected the old phone as mass storage to PC:
- a dialog appears if I want to check sdcard for errors -> no errors found
- tried to format by right clicking in My Computer > H: drive > fast format -> files still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free
- tried to format by right clicking in My Computer > H: drive > full format -> files still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free
- ran chkdsk -> no errors
After searching for some answers I tried:
1) diskpart > attributes disk clear readonly
2) diskpart > clean
3) computer management tool > new simple volume
4) sdcard shows as empty on PC with full 30ish space free
5) disconnected from PC -> in Android the files are still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free (same after phone reboot)
6) reconnected to PC as mass storage -> files still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free
So I repeated the whole process with diskpart and computer management tool but this time before disconnecting from PC I created a test txt file on the empty SD card. After disconnecting from PC the test txt file was gone while old files were back yet again.
I also checked if there's a physical readonly switch on the card itself but couldn't find any, so I guess there isn't.
I'm thinking that maybe the card is busted, but if it is, why isn't it showing any errors?

CuriousJack said:
Hello,
so I have this SanDisk Ultra 32 GB MicroSD card that I wanted to move to another Android phone but no matter what I do I cannot properly erase the files that are written on it. Every time I format the card the process seemingly completes without errors and you get the "card ready for use blah blah blah" message but the files are still there like nothing happened.
I tried to format it on the new phone -> files still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free
I tried to format it on the old phone -> files still there., 13GB out of 30ish space free
I connected the old phone as mass storage to PC:
- a dialog appears if I want to check sdcard for errors -> no errors found
- tried to format by right clicking in My Computer > H: drive > fast format -> files still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free
- tried to format by right clicking in My Computer > H: drive > full format -> files still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free
- ran chkdsk -> no errors
After searching for some answers I tried:
1) diskpart > attributes disk clear readonly
2) diskpart > clean
3) computer management tool > new simple volume
4) sdcard shows as empty on PC with full 30ish space free
5) disconnected from PC -> in Android the files are still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free (same after phone reboot)
6) reconnected to PC as mass storage -> files still there, 13GB out of 30ish space free
So I repeated the whole process with diskpart and computer management tool but this time before disconnecting from PC I created a test txt file on the empty SD card. After disconnecting from PC the test txt file was gone while old files were back yet again.
I also checked if there's a physical readonly switch on the card itself but couldn't find any, so I guess there isn't.
I'm thinking that maybe the card is busted, but if it is, why isn't it showing any errors?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use the PC to directly format the sdcard instead of trying to do it through the device or trying to do it with PC connected to the device. Use a card reader. Also, make sure the sdcard isn't encrypted or right protected.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
Use the PC to directly format the sdcard instead of trying to do it through the device or trying to do it with PC connected to the device. Use a card reader. Also, make sure the sdcard isn't encrypted or right protected.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a card reader, that's why I'm connecting it through a phone. Wouldn't the mass storage option be essentially the same as putting the card in a card reader (the phone has Android 5, which still has the mass storage capability)?
I also noticed that I cannot even create a new folder on the card from within Android. Built in file explorer says "some file operation failed", Astro says "could not write file".

CuriousJack said:
I don't have a card reader, that's why I'm connecting it through a phone. Wouldn't the mass storage option be essentially the same as putting the card in a card reader (the phone has Android 5, which still has the mass storage capability)?
I also noticed that I cannot even create a new folder on the card from within Android. Built in file explorer says "some file operation failed", Astro says "could not write file".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds to me like the sdcard has been "write protected", in other words, it is set to read-only and needs to be set to read/write, look for methods to remove the write protection to return it to read/write status.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
It sounds to me like the sdcard has been "write protected", in other words, it is set to read-only and needs to be set to read/write, look for methods to remove the write protection to return it to read/write status.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could the write protection be caused by the fact that I used to move apps to SD onto this sdcard (the old "move to sd" option, not adoptable storage)? I moved all apps to internal storage and set internal storage as the default install location prior to the first format attempt but dunno if it was enough.

CuriousJack said:
Could the write protection be caused by the fact that I used to move apps to SD onto this sdcard (the old "move to sd" option, not adoptable storage)? I moved all apps to internal storage and set internal storage as the default install location prior to the first format attempt but dunno if it was enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you mean the standard "move to sd" option in the app info page in system settings>apps settings, I doubt that is the issue.
If you used some kind of mod like Link2SD, that might be part of the issue.
If you moved system apps to SD, that also might be part of the issue.
Try factory resetting the device then see if it will format the card.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk

Droidriven said:
If you mean the standard "move to sd" option in the app info page in system settings>apps settings, I doubt that is the issue.
If you used some kind of mod like Link2SD, that might be part of the issue.
If you moved system apps to SD, that also might be part of the issue.
Try factory resetting the device then see if it will format the card.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just the standard "move to SD" option and I didn't touch any system apps. Also the phone wasn't rooted.
Now I'm trying to format the card using SD Formatter but it seems to be stuck at 0%.
Is there a piece of software that could tell me if the card is out of write cycles or generally check its health?

CuriousJack said:
Just the standard "move to SD" option and I didn't touch any system apps. Also the phone wasn't rooted.
Now I'm trying to format the card using SD Formatter but it seems to be stuck at 0%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the sdcard inserted in your phone, boot to stock recovery and select the factory reset option, after you reset the device, then choose the option to wipe cache partition. After resetting and wiping, reboot into system and try formatting the sdcard.
The reason I say to do this is because it will remove any settings or cached files that might be causing the issue.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk

[Q] broken filesystem on sdcard

Hello
I'm looking for some help on repairing a broken filesystem on a sdcard. There is a popular issue with the Redmi Note 8T that is corrupting the filesystem when copying a lot of files to the sdcard. Technical details and questions below.
The sdcard is a 128GB Sandisk Extereme card. It's encrypted (used as Adoptable Storage), the phone has still the decryption key, so when I insert the card it shows files and directories. Before the crash there was around 100GB of data on the sdcard. Now it has only 2,8GB of used storage (for most of the time - explenation below).
I've made a dd copy of the card and copied it to a larger 256GB card and a 512GB pendrive. Both starages connected to the phone (over usb, microcard reader) are giving the same result - the files and directories are decrypted, but the filesystem is corrupted. When I insert the sdcard into the phone and check the capacity, it shows that there is -6126312313/128GB of used space. After couple of minutes, the number changes to ~100GB/128GB or to 2,8GB/128GB (which is 95% of times).
Actually only one directory is corrupted the "Camera" directory. This one had previously around 95GB of pictures. When entering over MTP protocol and trieng to open this directory, it show's an error releted with bad directory size, entering over adb shell allows to enter it, but it's empty. Over adb it also shows that its size is 120KB. But there aren't any files inside the directory.
The phone of course isn't rooted and the bootloader is locked. Android 10 on board.
I'm looking for help, or any kind of idea on how to access the images in the Camera direcotry - and couple of questions below.
1. Is there any way to fsck over adb without root?
2. Can I access the decryption key on the phone? And decrypt the partitions on linux?
3. Can the sdcard be decrypted? And if yes - will it delete the decryption key after that?
4. Can I make a dd/binary copy of the card over adb and save it (looking for a way to fsck the filesystem on linux, but for that I need a full decrypted copy of the card)?
5. Is there a known app that could repair a broken filesystem?
6. Can the phone be rooted without loosing the decryption key? The phone doesn't need to be functional after that. If accesing the directory means breaking the phone - I'll go for it.
7. Any other ideas are very welcome, will give a try on anything.
And a final one - are there any other places on the internet (except xda) where I could ask for help which I'm not aware off?
Thanks!