Is it possible to retrieve data from SD Card that was formatted as internal storage? - General Questions and Answers

Android Version: 8.0
Root: No.
I use my phone mostly to recieve A LOT of work documents, photos, audio, etc via whatsapp.
So, i thought in get a SD card and format it as internal storage, since what i need is just a lot of storage to save as much data as possible, not gaming or anything of the sort.
The issue is, since it's formatted as internal storage, connect phone to PC via USB won't let me see the content and i have no way to transfer from PC to phone OR from phone to PC.
I want to know how to transfer whatsapp photos/documents/audio/etc on a phone with SD card formatted as internal storage to a PC (without dropbox, google drive or other cloud service, since this is work data it's a big no-no to use cloud sharing), or if it's just not possible. Same if it's possible to send files from PC to phone.

Don't know. If you can't directly access it and use recovery software instead it will make a mess of the data ie no file structure. (Edit, see post below.)
In the future don't use it as internal memory, it's too slow for one thing especially write speeds.
Apps, DCIM and download folders go on internal.
All critical data goes on the SD card. The DCIM folder data is regularly transferred to the SD card but never name that SD card folder DCIM.
The SD card is then redundantly and regularly backed up to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.

@Flonne
While adopting a storage, whether an SD card or USB drive, Android formats and changes it’s FAT32 or exFAT format to ext4 or f2fs.
With Adoptable Storage, Android encrypts the external SD card or USB drive being used as internal storage, thus, it gets tied to a specific Android device. The key used to encrypt the data on the SD card is stored on the Android device’s internal memory. So, it is NOT possible to mount the adopted storage to another device because of its encrypted nature.
The adopted storage becomes an extension to Android's internal /data partion what at any time can get accessed from PC.

I broke my screen and when I connected to pc through adb i was hoping to access the sdcard. it was formatted as internal, i didnt know better at the time.
somehow it got factory reset and i didnt know. ordered new screen and booted up and it was reset ahhh. memory card says needs formatting. phone has lineage and is or can be rooted and phone works fine.
in this case, is there any way to access the sdcard ?
thanks.

RowlyRowl said:
I broke my screen and when I connected to pc through adb i was hoping to access the sdcard. it was formatted as internal, i didnt know better at the time.
somehow it got factory reset and i didnt know. ordered new screen and booted up and it was reset ahhh. memory card says needs formatting. phone has lineage and is or can be rooted and phone works fine.
in this case, is there any way to access the sdcard ?
thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was factory reset then the encryption keys were lost. Not retrievable.

thanks for the reply. i will stop crying and move on. i like closure.

RowlyRowl said:
thanks for the reply. i will stop crying and move on. i like closure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sucks. I've lost a 30 yo database that was irreplaceable. Just play time in the hurt locker...
Always backup critical data redundantly and regularly to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. Never encrypt data drives.

yah i try but was motorbiking in baja mexico for a month and lost all the pics and all my text messages. nothing critical like an old db but still lots of fun memories ... im old and need pics to remember
but everything went wrong. i think i recently updated the phone with lineage and when i came back adb wasnt authorized anymore so i couldnt access the phone for data copy. usb-c to hdmi didnt work... could have been so simple if things just worked ... android has become as frustrating as my one and only iphone 3g . thanks again.

RowlyRowl said:
yah i try but was motorbiking in baja mexico for a month and lost all the pics and all my text messages. nothing critical like an old db but still lots of fun memories ... im old and need pics to remember
but everything went wrong. i think i recently updated the phone with lineage and when i came back adb wasnt authorized anymore so i couldnt access the phone for data copy. usb-c to hdmi didnt work... could have been so simple if things just worked ... android has become as frustrating as my one and only iphone 3g . thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always carry two .5tb OTG flashsticks for backup. Not as reliable as hdds but much better than nothing.
Generally unencrypted SD cards are very reliable if not removed from the device. Sometimes important lessons come at a high cost.

Related

God Mode MicroSD Card

I have a SanDisk 64GB MicroSD card that I have used for about 8 months without any issue. Recently the SD card would write data, then the data would disappear. This was extremely frustrating after trying to backup phone data to make a switch and realizing that, even though I verified the existence of the backed up data including opening specific files, that when I put it into a different phone, the data was gone. Everything that was there before this started happening won't go away. I have deleted everything on the card multiple times and it keeps coming back.
I can't get the card to format for the life of me. I run a format through cmd and the card still returns to life as it's old self with all the data that doesn't wipe still fully accessible and usable. Now the thing is I can't format through any program besides cmd. In cmd I get a notice before I format that the card needs to be forced to dismount ("Volume is in use by another process"). I think the card is perma-stuck mounted to my old phone. No matter what I do nothing succeeds and I'm really at a loss. There's no write protection switch on the card and I don't know what I need to do to fix the issue. I'd really like this card back and not have to burn it (I mean that literally) and spend $50 for a new one.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Data Recovery from encrypted SD card after Factory Reset without decrypting !

I own a Samsung ON 7 phone and I was using a class 10 Sandisk memory card which was encrypted by the device in the lock screen and security menu and with no other third party software. Now I have done factory reset on my phone and accidentally forgot to decrypt the SD card, now SD card is detectable and all the files are there and visible as well. but i can't open any file. What to do, please help ! :crying:
Are you sure you have permissions set correctly? Can you just plug your phone into a computer with a USB cable and move the files over that way?
Also, those Sandisk SD cards are crap. I had a few of those cards and every 6 months they would fail and go read-only I/O error, never with more than 25% of the space used. Your card could just be being a Sandisk.
DIsclaimer: I don't actually know what Android uses for encryption, I assumed LUKS or something similar. It's possible that Android has the dumbest encryption scheme ever and lets you see the filenames in an encrypted volume, but that seems really unlikely.
I was in a similar situation recently and was looking for advice on the forum. I connected my SD card to a PC and restored the files using the Uneraser program. I think that this option can help many.

Moto G3 won't save pictures even with new SD Card.

Hello there, first poster in XDA here. Let me tell you my issue that's been driving me crazy for the past weeks.
I've been using a Motorola Moto G3 for about two years now, running Marshmellow, with a Toshiba 32GB SD Card formatted as internal storage. My problem started a few weeks ago, when I tried to backup my Whatsapp files from internal storage to the SD Card part, and I think something went wrong in the process, since it did, indeed, move my files, but, since then the SD Card would unmount now and then, by its own accord.
I assumed my SD Card went corrupt and tried to save most of my data, but, as I said, it would unmount itself, lasting each time less and less time mounted until, finally, my phone stopped recognizing it. I played along, not being able to save anything else on the phone, since I had no more free space.
The thing is, yesterday I bought a new SD Card since I finally discovered my old one was corrupted, and I formatted this new one as internal storage as well, but now I still can't save save pictures, whether I download them or try to make a screencap. I can still download new apps, but it's quite a pain.
Anyone know how could I fix this?
Thanks in advance
EDIT:
Oh, and to list things I've already tried:
- Tried updating Android version
- Tried shutting down and rebooting a few times
- Tried wiping out data from "External Storage" and "Media Storage" in the Apps section then rebooting
I don't think you understand "adopted storage"... once you make a card adopted (internal) storage, you don't have any external storage, or an sd card from an apps point of view.
acejavelin said:
I don't think you understand "adopted storage"... once you make a card adopted (internal) storage, you don't have any external storage, or an sd card from an apps point of view.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I know. However, when I go to Settings->Storage, it still recognizes the SD Card. I would show you some screenshots, but then again, I can't save pictures. The thing is. I thought I couldn't download stuff because my old SD card was corrupted, but even with the new one, I still can't manage to get it done.
RadeonThe1st said:
Yeah, I know. However, when I go to Settings->Storage, it still recognizes the SD Card. I would show you some screenshots, but then again, I can't save pictures. The thing is. I thought I couldn't download stuff because my old SD card was corrupted, but even with the new one, I still can't manage to get it done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's ok, I know what it a looks like.
Did you perform the migration of data in the adoption phase? If not, there should be an option in the 3-dot menu on the storage page.
acejavelin said:
Did you perform the migration of data in the adoption phase?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, as soon as I moved the files, the SD card started unmounting itself from time to time. I succesfully moved my Whatsapp files, but everything went downhill from there. I don't know if that's what you were asking...
RadeonThe1st said:
The thing is, as soon as I moved the files, the SD card started unmounting itself from time to time. I succesfully moved my Whatsapp files, but everything went downhill from there. I don't know if that's what you were asking...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need a different/better microSD card if that is occurring.
And no, migrate data is part of the adoption process and if it didn't complete then the card isn't being used properly. Once the card is adopted you should not be selecting internal or external storage or moving things, that defeats the purpose of adopted storage.
The reality is adopted storage is garbage, it doesn't work quite as well as we all hoped... Which is why many manufacturers disable it, and most experienced users don't recommend it.

[Help] android 10 sd card photo recovery

I have a nokia 3.2 with android 10, one day the lcd suddenly has dead pixels. I took out the sd card and did a device reset(like the old days). Then I sent the device for repair.
A few days later I got the device back, but then I realized that the sd card cannot be recognized by the device or PC. I have learned that it may be encrypted. Is there anyway that I can get my photos back?
The picture in the attachment shows the image created from the sd card open in 7z. the "android_meta.img" contains no data inside.
Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
Look inside here:
How to decrypt Adopted Storage?
Using the SD card as Adopted Storage encrypts it. How can it be decrypted?
android.stackexchange.com
jwoegerbauer said:
Look inside here:
How to decrypt Adopted Storage?
Using the SD card as Adopted Storage encrypts it. How can it be decrypted?
android.stackexchange.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. I am afraid I don't have the key anymore. Brute force maybe the only solution.
In case of unreadable SD card (not an encription problem) a distinction must be made between corrupted File System and physical failure. In the first case the raw data are still accessible and a recovery SW tool is able to restore the files, maybe assigning them arbitrary names such as "file0001". In the event of a physical failure, the SD internal memory chip may still contain data, but the electrical signals between the SD connector and the memory are damaged; in this case the data is irrecoverable. Fortunately, I found a German site https://recoverfab.com which, in practice, uses a Laser to open the SD, then connects the memory chip to an external circuit and retrieves the stored data. Of course, the operation has its cost, but if the data is really important it can prove to be a salvation.

Cannot upgrade my SD card to a higher capacity

I have an interesting phenomenon. I want to upgrage an extFAT 256 Gb SD card to an extFAT 1 Tb SD card. The source and the destination cards are not encrypted. I copied all unhidden files from the old one to the new one via a USB reader. I can see everything on my 1 Tb card. When I insert the new card to the phone, some folders like download, music or video are empty. I remove the card from my phone and put it to the same USB reader. These directories contain no files. It looks like you cannot simply copy files. Of course, I can copy them connecting my phone via USB; however, it will take a day to transfer 65 Gb of data. Disk imaging is very slow too. I'm on UI 4.0 Stock, Note 20 Ultra.
Format and load card in the phone.
You need a V30 rated card for best speed.
Thanks! No, it does't work. I've done it the same way: format on the phone / use very fast card. Copy to the phone speed is 700 Kps, via USB reader - 7.5 Mps. I'm afraid it has something to do with the card ID xxxx-xxxx. Volume ID changer doesn't work with new SD cards.
All I do is get a Sandisk extreme, format in phone and it's good to go.
I'm running two N10+'s, one running P the other Q. Using a 512 gb card.
In phone transfer speeds are about .5 [email protected] Average about 1.
Try going from internal memory to card. Should be about [email protected]
Check the PC, use the SmartSwitch driver.
Access SD card drive in the phone using Windows Disk Management, scan for new devices, load/download from that window.
Check Event Viewer for error messages.
Try clearing the system cache.
The story is even worse. I have a 512 Gb os Internal Storage version . I copied my SD card to it, put a new SD card and copy all my files from external to SD. The copy process was fast I was able to see my files on the new SD card. As soon as I deleted a copy from the Interatal Storage, my files were automatically erased from the SD card.
robotov said:
The story is even worse. I have a 512 Gb os Internal Storage version . I copied my SD card to it, put a new SD card and copy all my files from external to SD. The copy process was fast I was able to see my files on the new SD card. As soon as I deleted a copy from the Interatal Storage, my files were automatically erased from the SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I trust you have redundant copies saved on hdds...
How fast? The card's top speed is around [email protected] Sounds like it was just deleting the files, not writing them to the card.
Try in safe mode.
Run a Check Disk on the PC. Do a low level format and always format in the phone before use. A 3rd party app maybe more helpful for low level formatting.
More ideas.
*always keep the possibility of a virus or rootkit in mind when you observe unexplained behavior with an Android. These are very rare unless you do something stupid... as we all have.
If one disk or more are suspected of being compromised keep them 100% isolated from the backups!!! As they should be anyway.
It's also possible a hidden user setting was altered. Poorly written 3rd apps can do this, unistalling may not fix it or could even trigger it.
Factory reset to clear the user data and reset everything to default. If you did any major firmware upgrades and you didn't factory reset... it's time to.
I don't advocate factory resetting normally at all but for the above issues sometimes it's the best option for a stock Android.
If you can find the app that alter the hidden user setting you may be able to repair it sometimes by reinstalling the app and toggling the setting in it that triggered the issue than unistalling it again, if it's an option. I've done this before, in fact it was on the current load I'm using which will be 2 yo in June. I prefer to find the issue rather than nuke whenever possible... to prevent reoccurrence.
Thank you! I've found the problem. I had to disable zip compressed folders functionality on my PC using a registry fix. Obvously, the phone doesn't support this feature.
robotov said:
Thank you! I've found the problem. I had to disable zip compressed folders functionality on my PC using a registry fix. Obvously, the phone doesn't support this feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yay! Nothing like success!
Congratulations on your 1.5tb dual drive handheld PC
♤excellent♤
Lol, you had me worried as I'm thinking of up sizing to a 1tb card on my N10+
Never encrpt, compressed or clone data drives especially media files as bad things tend to happen. Those silly little null marks matter

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