This is a really strange problem, I don't know if anyone has it or maybe I'm just dumb and there is no problem, but I'll try explaining
So when I plug in my vibrant, there are two drives that appear, the SD card and the phone storage. I can tell the difference because one is 2GB and the other is 16GB.
However for some reason my Vibrant doesn't let me install ROMS from the SD card even though I am sure I put the .zip file onto the SD card directory. HOWEVER for some reason the ROMS appear to install correctly when I put the .zip into the phone directory. Also, Titanium Backup saves its backups into the phone directory even though it claims to install them into /sdcard/titaniumbackup. Can anyone possibly shed some light on this?
The phone's 16GB of internal memory is actually mapped to /sdcard while an actual SD Card is mounted in a folder underneath that. I don't have an SD Card handy at the moment so I can't verify the exact name.
As for ROMs, I'm pretty sure they would need to be in the phone storage (/sdcard). That's also where Titanium Backup is storing its files as you saw.
/sdcard/sd is the actual card, and you can change Titanium Backup to utilize that space -- That's what I'm doing, in case something catastrophic happened to the phone itself, I have a chance of just removing the SD card with my backups. Preferences > Backup folder name is where you can change that.
Related
I purchased a new SanDisk 32GB microSDHC card for my Magic a few weeks ago. As of the beginning of this month, I started noticing some strange things happening like the card being set to read-only at random. I first noticed it from the camera app where it stated that I needed to insert an SD card before using it. I checked using Root Explorer, and strangely enough it was mounted as read-only. I mounted it back as R/W, and everything seemed fine...or so I thought.
A few days later, I was gonna send those pics that I took with the camera, but they were gone and nowhere to be found on my SD card. I got suspicious so I took a few test pics after (again) having to set the SD card with R/W permissions using Root Explorer. I checked the card, and the pics were there, but as soon as I tried to send them via MMS, the files disappeared. From here, I put the card in my PC's card reader and copied a random file to it. No issues with that, so I put the card back into my phone and that file was gone. Scratching my head some more, I put the card back into my PC and copied another random file. Then I refreshed the folder view within Explorer, and the file was not there. Seeing that I could read the files on the card, I feel that something strange was going on, so I made a backup to my PC. The files copied fine, and I can see the contents on my computer, so reading from the card isn't an issue. I, then, attempted to reformat it from the computer. Windows complained that it was unable to format the card, so I thought I'd go with something a little more refined when dealing with partitions. Using Paragon Partition Manager, I was unable to reformat without first deleting the partition already present, so I did just that. However, after deleting the partition, it gave an error saying that this drive cannot be formatted. Having gotten really frustrated with this issue, I decided to try out GParted on my laptop. I put the card in my card reader on that and ran GParted. It recognized the card, but showed that it was still partitioned...leaving me to believe that Partition Manager didn't actually delete the partition as it said it did. Didn't worry about that too much, and went ahead and deleted the partition through GParted and reformatted to FAT32 with no errors whatsoever during the process, and everything seemed to work fine. However, the used file space was exactly the same as it was before starting this process. I slapped the card back into my PC, and sure enough nothing has changed.
It now seems that the state of my card is somehow "frozen". I can read the files already existing on the card, but nothing can be written to it. The only thing that I did differently with this SD card, in comparison to any other card I've used, is using Swapper (org.azasoft.free.swapper) to create a swap file on my SD card that appeared to work fairly well until all this happened. Though maybe a 1GB swap file wasn't such a great idea, and most likely unnecessary anyways.
I've had a card die on me in the past, but just because it was old. Though, it was completely unusable...couldn't read or write from/to the card, respectively. So being able to read from the card is quite new to me, and I'm not sure if I've killed it, or if (possibly) there is a chance for revival. Normally, I wouldn't worry about it too much and just have the card replaced, but due to the highly sensitive data currently present on the card, that's completely out of the question at this point.
Any insight on this issue would be very highly appreciated.
I would see if you can get it replaced. If you can't, and their is sensitive info on it, completely destroy it (break it into several pieces, blend it, then use fire) and buy a new one.
Seems like you've done everything I could think of. So I'm not sure what to suggest to try and fix it. Maybe try to dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/whateveryoursdcardiscalled and then format?
you should really encrypt sensitive data so you don't have to worry about it when problems occur
tl;dr
However, it did seem like an issue I had with an SD card back when I was trying linux distros on USB sticks. My 16GB was turned into an 8GB one. That sucked LOTS. You know what fixed it?
My camera
Yeah, I put the SD on it and pressed Format. It automagically partitioned it and it's working correctly as we speak ... try other devices, such as handycams, cameras, mp4s, iPhone/iPod & such. They can do what Linux + gParted and Windows can't =)
HI guys,
Trying to find a successful way to transfer my app data (Installed apps which were moved to sd card) from my old micro sd card to my new larger one. Simple copy and paste within windows did not work.
After some searching I found this thread tomsguide.com/forum/id-1607981/moving-data-microsd-card-android-smartphone
It seemed to be the only possible solution with only 2 people acknowledging it worked.
I also have a videos folder which I would want to be ignored when doing the transfer (to save time- there are many vids in the folder).
Any help and input is greatly appreciated.
Samsung Galaxy S4 M919 T-mobile. Android 4.3 - Rooted with stock ROM.
Thanks.
Spazite said:
HI guys,
Trying to find a successful way to transfer my app data (Installed apps which were moved to sd card) from my old micro sd card to my new larger one. Simple copy and paste within windows did not work.
After some searching I found this thread tomsguide.com/forum/id-1607981/moving-data-microsd-card-android-smartphone
It seemed to be the only possible solution with only 2 people acknowledging it worked.
I also have a videos folder which I would want to be ignored when doing the transfer (to save time- there are many vids in the folder).
Any help and input is greatly appreciated.
Samsung Galaxy S4 M919 T-mobile. Android 4.3 - Rooted with stock ROM.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant imagine Im the only one who has run across this issue...
Copy paste worked fine for me in the past.
Why don't you move your apps to the internal storage until you got the new sd card, then move them back?
GDReaper said:
Copy paste worked fine for me in the past.
Why don't you move your apps to the internal storage until you got the new sd card, then move them back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Internal storage is just about full and the apps are many.
Is Windows capable of successfully reading the android files and copying them? The card is formatted exFAT..Should it be formatted NTFS instead?
I haven't formatted anything. Besides, formatting will wipe the sd card.
I simply copied all the contents from the sd card to the pc and then to the new sd card. Had no problems so far.
Widows is just a temporary storage, it doesn't need any rights over them.
Aren't there any sd card clone programs? Like the ones used for cloning HDD partitions and transfering their contents to another HDD?
GDReaper said:
I haven't formatted anything. Besides, formatting will wipe the sd card.
I simply copied all the contents from the sd card to the pc and then to the new sd card. Had no problems so far.
Widows is just a temporary storage, it doesn't need any rights over them.
Aren't there any sd card clone programs? Like the ones used for cloning HDD partitions and transferring their contents to another HDD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for following up on this frustrating issue.
The only android items which show in my old external card are the android folder which contains the obb folder. The other android based folder is a "data" folder which is empty.
Both of these were copied to the new external card with no luck.
Is there something I should be copying from the phones storage onto the new external card? I don't know why this is such an issue :/
What items show on your external card that you were able to successfully copy to your new one? I even tried navigating using ES Explorer and the only item that shows, which Windows cannot see, is a hidden android folder with nothing in it. ..If the original external sd has the same items as the new exteral card, this would lead me to believe that the android OS is simply linking something to the external card to link the external card apps to the OS.
I have never heard of any such programs for cloning from an android based system...
I selected everything (CTRL + A) and then copied it to the new card. Even if there were hidden folders, they were copied.
Game data is generally stored in the obb folder on the internal storage.
How exactly did you move your apps to the sd card?
GDReaper said:
I selected everything (CTRL + A) and then copied it to the new card. Even if there were hidden folders, they were copied.
Game data is generally stored in the obb folder on the internal storage.
How exactly did you move your apps to the sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just copied and pasted to the new card. Nothing was missing.
All the shortcuts are still in the OS but they are all blank and show as 0kb in size. If I try to go into google store it doesn't show any of the updates for the external card, only the ones for the internal storage are listed.
As for the OBB files, those I never keep on my cards, as there is never enough storage. this is not an issue with my internal storage either, as all them apps still show as being installed regardless of whether or not any obb files are there.
This makes no sense. There has to be something that links the external programs to the OS which is not getting copied to the new card...
Do you know Titanium Backup? Just make a backup from everything (all apps and datas) and store it f.e. in the dropbox, change SD Card and restore the backup from the dropbox via Titanium to your phone.
Cheeky Freddy said:
Do you know Titanium Backup? Just make a backup from everything (all apps and datas) and store it f.e. in the dropbox, change SD Card and restore the backup from the dropbox via Titanium to your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for this suggestion. I have the full version and was not aware they integrated db.
I set up drop box on my TBP but I cant get the apps to save into drop box...Every time i try to backup anything it keeps saving onto internal card...I'm trying to backup the external cards app to db as a single batch. Do you know what setting to change for this to work?
Spazite said:
Thank you for this suggestion. I have the full version and was not aware they integrated db.
I set up drop box on my TBP but I cant get the apps to save into drop box...Every time i try to backup anything it keeps saving onto internal card...I'm trying to backup the external cards app to db as a single batch. Do you know what setting to change for this to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try to get your hands on an OTG cable and connect a USB flash drive to your phone, and use a file explorer like ES to transfer the entire SD card to the USB Flash drive, then fire up the new SD card and copy the items you put on the USB flash drive back to the SD card using ES. This should definitely work and you wouldnt require a pc also.
Spazite said:
Thank you for this suggestion. I have the full version and was not aware they integrated db.
I set up drop box on my TBP but I cant get the apps to save into drop box...Every time i try to backup anything it keeps saving onto internal card...I'm trying to backup the external cards app to db as a single batch. Do you know what setting to change for this to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the backup from your SD card is stored onto your internal card everything is fine. Just plug your new SD Card in your phone and restore your backup and everything will be back on your new sd card.
TheAwesomeBit said:
try to get your hands on an OTG cable and connect a USB flash drive to your phone, and use a file explorer like ES to transfer the entire SD card to the USB Flash drive, then fire up the new SD card and copy the items you put on the USB flash drive back to the SD card using ES. This should definitely work and you wouldnt require a pc also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at the card via Es, I see nothing in there that has not already been transferred. What folders do I need to transfer over...the "data" android" and hidden "android secured" are for the most part empty.
Spazite said:
Looking at the card via Es, I see nothing in there that has not already been transferred. What folders do I need to transfer over...the "data" android" and hidden "android secured" are for the most part empty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you enabled show hidden folders on ES?
TheAwesomeBit said:
have you enabled show hidden folders on ES?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Only 1 hidden android folder which is empty.
Looks like I was able to see the contents of the .android_secured folder using an OTG cable. It contains what look like to be the files required for the apps to be recognized by the OS. Also what i believe to be the files for Google Play to also recognize the apps for updates.
I tried copying the folder but it wont work. However, I was able to copy all the contained files onto the new sd card.
Looks like I'll have to mount it again and just use the titanium backup method.
Backed up all the external data using TB onto the new card...I'm now having trouble restoring the backup to the new card...cant seem to find the option to do so.
I have the backup stored on the new external card.
so i opted for the 16gb moto pure and am now getting no available storage when trying to download a app in the play store. After looking into what is taking up all my space it seems twrp is 4.25 gigs. Is there anyway to have that on the sd card? I have never had this problem on older phones that were 16gigs with a sd card.
When you're in TWRP and doing a backup (Nandroid), there is the option that says "Storage: Internal Storage". If you click on that, you can change it to your external SD card. In the mean time, you can copy the backup folder from your device storage to your external storage. If there isn't a folder called TWRP yet, you can make it (or cut & paste the entire TWRP folder on your device to the SD card). Or you can just do a new Nandroid and see how it works. It usually takes a few minutes longer to backup to your SD card compared to your internal storage.
Normally, pre backup, your TWRP folder should be VERY small.
You can change your storage when flashing ROMs or apps, depending on where you've stored them... Also, if you ever restore a backup and freak out because you can't find it, make sure you have the proper storage selected.
tele_jas said:
When you're in TWRP and doing a backup (Nandroid), there is the option that says "Storage: Internal Storage". If you click on that, you can change it to your external SD card. In the mean time, you can copy the backup folder from your device storage to your external storage. If there isn't a folder called TWRP yet, you can make it (or cut & paste the entire TWRP folder on your device to the SD card). Or you can just do a new Nandroid and see how it works. It usually takes a few minutes longer to backup to your SD card compared to your internal storage.
Normally, pre backup, your TWRP folder should be VERY small.
You can change your storage when flashing ROMs or apps, depending on where you've stored them... Also, if you ever restore a backup and freak out because you can't find it, make sure you have the proper storage selected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
never mind thanks!
tele_jas said:
When you're in TWRP and doing a backup (Nandroid), there is the option that says "Storage: Internal Storage". If you click on that, you can change it to your external SD card. In the mean time, you can copy the backup folder from your device storage to your external storage. If there isn't a folder called TWRP yet, you can make it (or cut & paste the entire TWRP folder on your device to the SD card). Or you can just do a new Nandroid and see how it works. It usually takes a few minutes longer to backup to your SD card compared to your internal storage.
Normally, pre backup, your TWRP folder should be VERY small.
You can change your storage when flashing ROMs or apps, depending on where you've stored them... Also, if you ever restore a backup and freak out because you can't find it, make sure you have the proper storage selected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hadn't used TWRP in ages. I got my phone yesterday and inadvertently backed up to my internal card. I went back in and then saw the option to choose my external card. I ran another backup to the external card and I was amazed that the backup took less time going to my external card than it did to my internal card. I don't mean a little faster, it was quite faster. You would think the internal would be much faster.
With the new SD card option in Marshmallow, I'm wondering how Android would react if I decided to split my SD card in two partitions? Would it be possible to use one partition as a memory extension, using the new option, while the second partition would be used as a standard storage device?
The way I see it, the new Marshmallow feature is great but, it make you loose the ability to use external SD card as a way to transfer big file from your pc to your phone. That's why it would be great to have one partition for traditional storage and another for memory extension. We'd just have to make sure the phone isn't running when we eject the SD card, to make sure no files are damaged in the memory extensions partition.
Funnily I was wondering the same thing. I dont think it will be possible as android formats the card when you opt for adaptive storage. But would it wipe partitions? Probably I suspect. One way to find out.....
Are these files safe to delete? I was under the impression that with this being a 16gb phone I wouldn't be fighting for internal storage space after owning the phone just a few days and less than 10 installed apps.
Looks like your own backups... your internal storage wouldn't be full if you bothered to use a sd card.
If one does have an external SD card, I don't recall if TWRP defaults to storing there or if you need to select external SD - something to check on for TWRP newbies.
-n0cturne- said:
Looks like your own backups... your internal storage wouldn't be full if you bothered to use a sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found TWRP to usually default to internal storage on every run, but once you set up the path/naming for your backups it usually sticks.
It seems like you are toying around with TWRP, possibly attempting to get ready to flash a custom rom. Given half the storage is system files, you'd barely be able to backup said default files to internal storage without running out of space.
You could always backup these files to a computer, delete them from the phone to free up enough space to download a rom (of which you should verify the md5 checksum), and hope everything goes perfectly.
If anything goes wrong, you'll need access to a computer and either use some advanced fastboot commands or.. an sd card, which you can easily swap on to a computer to download custom roms or backup files.
I would recommend getting a micro SD card for TWRP backups to avoid being fully dependent on a PC or internal storage. I like to have at least two TWRP backups on my micro SD. I know this phone works with 128GB - not sure about larger.