Extending internal storage under new update - Fire TV General

I already asked this in another thread on here, but haven't received a response yet. I know the new update allows you to use external storage now, but unfortunately for some games, such as Asphalt 8 Airborne, don't provide the option to install to an external source. Has anyone tried to use the MountDataToUSB flash in this forum to extend their internal storage to a USB hard drive, and if so did it work? The new update uses a Windows style file system, and the flashables were made to work with the previous Fire TV system, that being Linux-based. I did try to apply the update and everything looked ok, until I rebooted that is. I didn't screw anything up, the flash just didn't take. I would like to be able to find a work around for this, especially if Link2SD doesn't work. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

will4958 said:
I already asked this in another thread on here, but haven't received a response yet. I know the new update allows you to use external storage now, but unfortunately for some games, such as Asphalt 8 Airborne, don't provide the option to install to an external source. Has anyone tried to use the MountDataToUSB flash in this forum to extend their internal storage to a USB hard drive, and if so did it work? The new update uses a Windows style file system, and the flashables were made to work with the previous Fire TV system, that being Linux-based. I did try to apply the update and everything looked ok, until I rebooted that is. I didn't screw anything up, the flash just didn't take. I would like to be able to find a work around for this, especially if Link2SD doesn't work. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why I've decided to not install the latest update (official or prerooted). While the latest update has many new features, none are things I need or desire. If you have MountDataToUSB already working, I'd suggest sticking with it.

will4958 said:
I already asked this in another thread on here, but haven't received a response yet. I know the new update allows you to use external storage now, but unfortunately for some games, such as Asphalt 8 Airborne, don't provide the option to install to an external source. Has anyone tried to use the MountDataToUSB flash in this forum to extend their internal storage to a USB hard drive, and if so did it work? The new update uses a Windows style file system, and the flashables were made to work with the previous Fire TV system, that being Linux-based. I did try to apply the update and everything looked ok, until I rebooted that is. I didn't screw anything up, the flash just didn't take. I would like to be able to find a work around for this, especially if Link2SD doesn't work. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one fire tv that is rooted and one that is not rooted. On my rooted fire tv I have the swap internal for external on a 128 gig ssd drive. On my unrooted fire tv I took the latest update to be able to add a few more games. I decided not to update my rooted fire tv because I would actually be losing functionality. The swap internal to external seems to be running really well and I can add as many games as I like. SPMC and kodi seem to be running well on the rooted fire tv and there doesn't seem to be any real slow down. I guess the point being is that I would not give up the MountDataToUSB for the latest update. The update does allow you to add a usb drive but right now it's use seems limited. At least compared to MounDataToUSB or the swap internal for external function. The swap internal for external is actually very easy with adbfire.

dk1keith said:
I have one fire tv that is rooted and one that is not rooted. On my rooted fire tv I have the swap internal for external on a 128 gig ssd drive. On my unrooted fire tv I took the latest update to be able to add a few more games. I decided not to update my rooted fire tv because I would actually be losing functionality. The swap internal to external seems to be running really well and I can add as many games as I like. SPMC and kodi seem to be running well on the rooted fire tv and there doesn't seem to be any real slow down. I guess the point being is that I would not give up the MountDataToUSB for the latest update. The update does allow you to add a usb drive but right now it's use seems limited. At least compared to MounDataToUSB or the swap internal for external function. The swap internal for external is actually very easy with adbfire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The MountDataToUSB option is actually pretty easy to perform, also. You just flash the appropriate .zip file in Recovery Mode and reboot. The only downside is it takes a while for the boot process to apply the zip. After that, the end result is a lot more storage than you started out with.

dk1keith said:
I have one fire tv that is rooted and one that is not rooted. On my rooted fire tv I have the swap internal for external on a 128 gig ssd drive. On my unrooted fire tv I took the latest update to be able to add a few more games. I decided not to update my rooted fire tv because I would actually be losing functionality. The swap internal to external seems to be running really well and I can add as many games as I like. SPMC and kodi seem to be running well on the rooted fire tv and there doesn't seem to be any real slow down. I guess the point being is that I would not give up the MountDataToUSB for the latest update. The update does allow you to add a usb drive but right now it's use seems limited. At least compared to MounDataToUSB or the swap internal for external function. The swap internal for external is actually very easy with adbfire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated but decided to downgrade back to the last pre-rooted firmware, because all the new features don't make up for losing the ability to connect multiple drives, expand internal storage etc. Since the things I use the FTV for work perfectly fine with the previous version, I'm ok with not having the latest and imo, not so greatest update.

AQKhanTheOne said:
I updated but decided to downgrade back to the last pre-rooted firmware, because all the new features don't make up for losing the ability to connect multiple drives, expand internal storage etc. Since the things I use the FTV for work perfectly fine with the previous version, I'm ok with not having the latest and imo, not so greatest update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree. I did the same thing last night.

Over on aftvnews, a comment in response to the "Everything you need to know about USB storage on the Amazon FireTV" article by a John Merrill details an experiment that was intriguing to say the least. He says he was able to get Stickmount to see and mount a flash drive formatted exfat, and Kodi too was able to see the drive but he was not able to play any media off the drive. When he then removed the drive and plugged it into his computer, the flash drive was unrecognized. Apparently the FireTV had done something to his drive, even though he selected "Cancel" when the AFTV asked to format the drive to FAT32.
So the question is, if a flash drive or other USB storage had two partitions, the first being a FAT32 and the second being exfat or ext4 etc., would this make it possible to use either stickmount/Link2SD or a modified version of jmandawg's script to achieve additional storage that is more useful and functional than what Amazon made possible in the latest ROMs?
Would a small (sacrificial) FAT32 partition satisfy the FireTV's requirements and would the system then allow the 2nd partition to be used for additional storage via either of the two methods above?
Or is this just silly and I'm missing something obvious that makes it impossible to overcome Amazon's restrictions on USB storage functionality?
I'm happy with beIng able to use my 128gb SSD with the 51.1.4.1 version, but I'd really love to be able to use Bluetooth headphones for late night viewing that the newest ROM's make possible. That would really be like having the cake and eating it too!

Related

[Q] How do I see an external HDD or USB drive on my tablet?

Well I just purchased my Acer tablet this evening and loving every bit of it. I tried plugging an external HDD into the USB and go into astro and I'm not too sure where to go from there. I kept clicking home and saw something about USB but kept saying it was empty. Any help here.
tu3218 said:
Well I just purchased my Acer tablet this evening and loving every bit of it. I tried plugging an external HDD into the USB and go into astro and I'm not too sure where to go from there. I kept clicking home and saw something about USB but kept saying it was empty. Any help here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The path is /mnt/usb_storage or /mnt/usbdrive. But keep in mind that the external hard drive must be formatted to fat32, not NTFS as most large usb drives are. A workaround to this is any of several custom legals floating around, that will slow NTFS mounting, but I will let you get used to your device first before we go flashing anything
ahh thanks! Well, looks like I'll be rooting. After I root, what do I need to get this functionality?
I installed "Drive Mount" from the Market and it gave me access to my external HD that is NTFS formatted.
It does require root access, but once the drive is mounted it plays my movies and such without any problems.
You dismount the drive in the application before you unplug.
So far I haven't needed anything special to see and use flash drives or card readers.
strider_mt2k said:
I installed "Drive Mount" from the Market and it gave me access to my external HD that is NTFS formatted.
It does require root access, but once the drive is mounted it plays my movies and such without any problems.
You dismount the drive in the application before you unplug.
So far I haven't needed anything special to see and use flash drives or card readers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
awesome..thanks a lot. So do you just have root access and running stock everything else?
I'm doing the same thing as Strider and I'm just rooted with stock 3.1 with the .13_GEN2 OTA update. My phone (HTC EVO 4G) is rooted, rom'd, kernel'ed, modded, etc., but I haven't felt the need to do that with my A500 and Honeycomb.
internetpilot said:
I'm doing the same thing as Strider and I'm just rooted with stock 3.1 with the .13_GEN2 OTA update. My phone (HTC EVO 4G) is rooted, rom'd, kernel'ed, modded, etc., but I haven't felt the need to do that with my A500 and Honeycomb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry for more questions, but what is that update you posted? I just rooted using iconiaroot and now looking for the next best step I should take. Like you said, I have my thunderbolt completely revamped but I as well don't feel the need to do that to my tablet. Main thing is I just want to see my HDD and be able to watch netflix.
Also for the USB mount, it said I needed busybox. Can I just get that from the app in the market?
tu3218 said:
sorry for more questions, but what is that update you posted? I just rooted using iconiaroot and now looking for the next best step I should take. Like you said, I have my thunderbolt completely revamped but I as well don't feel the need to do that to my tablet. Main thing is I just want to see my HDD and be able to watch netflix.
Also for the USB mount, it said I needed busybox. Can I just get that from the app in the market?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can get busybox from the market-it comes in the form of an installer. So once installed, open up busybox and follow the instructions. Then you can install the other drive mounter as for the update, its minor; you don't even have to re root your device afterwords!
Okay lol So I installed busybox, installed mount drive. I go into drive mount and I mounted my HDD but when I go into Astro file manager and USB storage, it just says empty. Is there a certain app I'm suppose to be using?
tu3218 said:
Okay lol So I installed busybox, installed mount drive. I go into drive mount and I mounted my HDD but when I go into Astro file manager and USB storage, it just says empty. Is there a certain app I'm suppose to be using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its not labeled as usb drive when mounted in the app, its /mnt/(whatever your device name is)
For instance, I have a flash drive that in drive mount is labeled as sda1, so its path is /mnt/sda1. FYI I just downloaded this app to help you out lol but I got it to work. And though astro is nice, I recommend es file explorer
A bit of advice.
Do yourself a favor, do a full backup of your current rom/setup through CWM before going too much further down the rabbit hole.

[Q] Can the Acer a500 support any other Android OS released except Honeycomb or ICS?

​hello, I accidentally deleted the /sdcard folder and now it appears that i've lost all my data. So, i've deleted the folder by mistake from windows explorer and the tablet "auto created" a new one and none of my data shows up. I've tried about a dozen recovery programs but none will recognize my tablet. How can I make it show in Windows 7 like a Removable Device and not like a Portable Media Player. I kown it's more of a windows question but maybe someone else here made the stupid mistake i did and kowns how to slove my problem or please send me to a forum were I can get some help.
ps: I kown not to write anything on the tablet's storage until I solve this.
ps2: i don't actually have a sd card, all my data is on the internal memory.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
​Had some free time lately and did some research and I found out that the reason I can’t access the internal storage through software like recuva or other data recovery sw, it is because Honeycomb uses MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) instead of UMS (USB Mass Storage), like android did until honeycomb and data recovery software doesn’t work on MTP, or at least none of the ones I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a few. So, I decided to change the thread question to: Can the Acer a500 support any other Android OS released except honeycomb or ICS (I read it uses MTP also)? and: Can the internal storage be accessed by a recovery software on Linux or any kind of OS? plus: Did anyone manage to recover data from internal storage through any method?
Ps: I don’t need a full working rom, just the touch screen or a mouse so I can mount the internal storage.
Ps2: I would have tried it myself, but I don’t have the knowledge(all I could think about was to download the rom from other tablets that run on 2.3) or the time to joggle with roms on my acer so if any of you developers out there could help me I would be in great debt to you.
Have you tried these apps? (seems you need root though)
I don't know if they will work, but just trying to help you out (I too have deleted my internal memory, but it always happened while ROM flashing... forgot to back up my files first).
https://market.android.com/details?id=fahrbot.apps.undelete
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hexamob.hexamobrecoverypro
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hexamob.hexamobrecoverylite
(^ the free and possibly not as good version of the one above it)
Also, on the W7 computer, have you tried Recuva?
Again, not sure if it will work, but I have used it for memory cards, flash drives, etc and it worked really well.
I think the biggest challenge though would be the way that the computer reads the tablet. It doesn't appear like a normal external USB device.
So, I think that an app will be your best bet. I think too that Android keeps apps*, OS*, and user data (your pics, movies, documents, etc) on separate partitions, so installing an app shouldn't overwrite any of your old stuff. I am only 90% sure of that though. :/
*It may actually be apps + OS
Were you rooted??? Did you make a nandroid backup??? If you have a nandroid back up you can restore just the data partition from recovery and you will be current as of your last backup. Another major reason to root your device.
vladx1007 said:
​hello, i accidentally deleted the /sdcard folder and now it appears that i've lost all my data. So, i've deleted the folder by mistake from windows explorer and the tablet "auto created" a new one and none of my data shows up. I've tried about a dozen recovery programs but none will recognize my tablet. How can I make it show in Windows 7 like a Removable Device and not like a Portable Media Player. I kown it's more of a windows question but maybe someone else here made the stupid mistake i did and kowns how to slove my problem or please send me to a forum were I can get some help.
ps: I kown not to write anything on the tablet's storage until I solve this.
ps2: i don't actually have a sd card, all my data is on the internal memory.
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is untested, but it you install
https://market.android.com/details?...51bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5mdW5reWZyZXNoLnNhbWJhIl0.
on your tablet then try to access your files using your recovery program on your pc. If you have questions about samba server look here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1317847&highlight=samba
same issue
just connected to PC in usb debug trying to copy to pc. copy did not go thru but sdcard went empty !!!
i did not do any mistake.
samba did not help show old files/folders.
need to find a way to undelete
nuzbabu said:
just connected to PC in usb debug trying to copy to pc. copy did not go thru but sdcard went empty !!!
i did not do any mistake.
samba did not help show old files/folders.
need to find a way to undelete
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My thoughts were that Samba acts as a server and would be used with wifi to show as local network share on your pc. Then to use a program to recovery your files. I think that idea is not possible after further checks. Seems none of my recovery apps will recover from network drive. Some will save to Network drive though, but that doesnt help you.
One of the apps from the market spexwood suggested may be your only hope.
I would suggest getting an sdcard and save your photos and videos on it.. much easier to recover if erased.
​Had some free time lately and did some research and I found out that the reason I can’t access the internal storage through software like recuva or other data recovery sw, it is because Honeycomb uses MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) instead of UMS (USB Mass Storage), like android did until honeycomb and data recovery software doesn’t work on MTP, or at least none of the ones I’ve tried, and I’ve tried a few. So, I decided to change the thread question to: Can the Acer a500 support any other Android OS released except honeycomb or ICS (I read it uses MTP also)? and: Can the internal storage be accessed by a recovery software on Linux or any kind of OS? plus: Did anyone manage to recover data from internal storage through any method?
Ps: I don’t need a full working rom, just the touch screen or a mouse so I can mount the internal storage.
Ps2: I would have tried it myself, but I don’t have the knowledge(all I could think about was to download the rom from other tablets that run on 2.3) or the time to joggle with roms on my acer so if any of you developers out there could help me I would be in great debt to you.

Reading OTG- USB

I gotta say, I'm struggling mightily here.
I'm running stock on my Nexus 10, with 4.4.2, rooted with TWRP installed as recovery and with SU installed.
I'm trying hard to see if I can watch movies on USB using the OTG cable. All my movies are MKV's on my HD. I could convert to .mp4 if I have to.....but
I've played around mounting the stick with Stickmount as well as Nexus Media Importer. Both will mount the drives but I can't read anything on them.
I finally got it to where I could read files if they were on my Hp 16 Gb stick formatted Fat, not NTFS or ex-Fat. It will not read my Patriot 64's in any format.
I went to Stickmount Playstore page to d/l the 2 zip files that would enable NTFS support and moved them over to /SDcard. Didn't seem to make any difference.
It used to be I could play any video file of any format, of any size, on any sized stick. What happened? Do any of the other roms do any better at supporting this? Are there known limitations to KitKat? Are there work arounds/enhancements/fixes available? Should I run a different kernel?
Any help would be most appreciated.
OK. So here's where I'm at. I now come to see that the only drive that will work is a FAT32 format and that it has to be 16 gb or less in size. It doesn't matter what format the file is in. It won't read NTFS or exFAT.
Is that the experience of everyone else or what?
I've also found that I cannot format a larger drive (eg: 64 gb) in windows. It only allows exFAT on this size. I can, however, use something like EaseUS Partition Manager (free) and format the drive that way into FAT32 at least allowing a greater number of movies on 1 stick.
Next hurdle though, is how to get around the 4gb size issue.
You can try using USB OTG HELPER without any limitations as to the type of stick or drive (FAT NTFS table format) you can use. The downside that I have noticed with all those programmes that enable OTG function via root methods is that they tamper system files which in turn cause future system file update errors. (I had to manually find and replace some files in order to make my 4.3 update from 4.2 happen)
Send from a GNEX YAKJU with stock ROM and custom recovery with root

shield tv 16gb - advantages of rooting? sideloading games

waiting for android tv shield to review? can anyone suggest what the advantages of rooting?
can i sideload any apk games to a usb / sd card and play them?
wakkaday said:
waiting for android tv shield to review? can anyone suggest what the advantages of rooting?
can i sideload any apk games to a usb / sd card and play them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sideloading apps can be done without root. I have full android on my shield (using it right now to type this, and as my main computer), but when I ran the stock OS, the main thing I used root for was foldermount. The 16GB version is just too small without it. I was able to move my bigger games to USB Flash or SD card, even when not supported. I also used stickmount to get access to my 500GB hard drive, which made it a very nice media center. Oh, and I changed the DPI because it was just too huge without that. That's just some of what you can do with root.
when you have full android? do you miss out on the nvidia games? or can these still be played
so the foldermount app lets you install full games on an external hd or sd...
and stick mount lets you access the files on a usb? but isnt this possible anyway withouyt full android... oris this some sotrt of server?

marshmallow 6.0 and USB Fat32 ONLY ! no exfat or NTFS support

Hello.
I use my nexus player as Kodi player
I have upgraded to android 6.0.
When y connect a USB memory stick formated in NTFS or ExFAT, android didnt mount the file system, I can only format the USB stick.
With Fat32 usb memory stick, Android mount the file system and I can access the files (/STORAGE/XXXXX).
But with the fat32 system, i can't copy file > 4 Go (big MKV video) on the memory stick (fat32 limitation).
Can you help me ?
Thanks, and sorry for my bad english.
I have run into the same issue. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like anyone has built an ASOP Marshmallow 6.0 kernel with ntfs or exfat enabled. One option is to downgrade to 5.1.1 and use Kernelfox's kernel and another option possibly is to be install CM 12.1 rom.
I found this issue annoying as well... I finally just plugged the USB stick into my router and load my large .mkv files from there... but you'd think android would support ntfs sticks... oh well.
root
install stickmount
that is the only way i know for sure to do it. i have an external drive connected directly and play large 20gb plus mkv rips doing it this way. there is a file you must install on the root but just read all the instructions in the stickmount description in the store
knives of ice said:
root
install stickmount
that is the only way i know for sure to do it. i have an external drive connected directly and play large 20gb plus mkv rips doing it this way. there is a file you must install on the root but just read all the instructions in the stickmount description in the store
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this work on 6.0? I currently have two 1TB drives on 5.1.1. I couldn't get them to work on 6.0 when it first came out.
brkshr said:
Does this work on 6.0? I currently have two 1TB drives on 5.1.1. I couldn't get them to work on 6.0 when it first came out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it definitely works on 6.0
you need to make sure you follow the instructions for the file that needs to be installed with stickmount. all the instructions are in the stickmount description in the store.
knives of ice said:
yes, it definitely works on 6.0
you need to make sure you follow the instructions for the file that needs to be installed with stickmount. all the instructions are in the stickmount description in the store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, thank you! Just didn't want to flash 6.0 and find out it doesn't work again and have to go back.
brkshr said:
Awesome, thank you! Just didn't want to flash 6.0 and find out it doesn't work again and have to go back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you attempted the merge? Can you post your results please?
xconwayx said:
Have you attempted the merge? Can you post your results please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes sir. I installed 6.0.1, rooted and installed Stickmount. Everything works. The only thing different from Android 5.1 is when I plug my hard drives in, I have to go into ES File Explorer and unmount both drives, because of Android 6.0's built in OTG support. Then I can go into Stickmount and mount the drives as usual. It adds an extra step, but I think it's worth it because Android 6.0 looks much smoother than 5.1 did.
Edit: I've also found out in the past that things go smoother if you unmount drives in stickmount before you take out or plug in another drive.
Edit2: Also, my drives are NTFS formatted. Stickmount asks you to download 2 files when you first open it. I suspect these are the NTFS and EXFAT compatibility files, because I've never had a problem with NTFS drives.
brkshr said:
Yes sir. I installed 6.0.1, rooted and installed Stickmount. Everything works. The only thing different from Android 5.1 is when I plug my hard drives in, I have to go into ES File Explorer and unmount both drives, because of Android 6.0's built in OTG support. Then I can go into Stickmount and mount the drives as usual. It adds an extra step, but I think it's worth it because Android 6.0 looks much smoother than 5.1 did.
Edit: I've also found out in the past that things go smoother if you unmount drives in stickmount before you take out or plug in another drive.
Edit2: Also, my drives are NTFS formatted. Stickmount asks you to download 2 files when you first open it. I suspect these are the NTFS and EXFAT compatibility files, because I've never had a problem with NTFS drives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for sharing these findings! Much appreciated.
brkshr said:
Yes sir. I installed 6.0.1, rooted and installed Stickmount. Everything works. The only thing different from Android 5.1 is when I plug my hard drives in, I have to go into ES File Explorer and unmount both drives, because of Android 6.0's built in OTG support. Then I can go into Stickmount and mount the drives as usual. It adds an extra step, but I think it's worth it because Android 6.0 looks much smoother than 5.1 did.
Edit: I've also found out in the past that things go smoother if you unmount drives in stickmount before you take out or plug in another drive.
Edit2: Also, my drives are NTFS formatted. Stickmount asks you to download 2 files when you first open it. I suspect these are the NTFS and EXFAT compatibility files, because I've never had a problem with NTFS drives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there anyway to automate the unmount/mount? I'll be stetting this up for someone else, and don't want to redo it everytime he resets the device.
matthelm said:
Is there anyway to automate the unmount/mount? I'll be stetting this up for someone else, and don't want to redo it everytime he resets the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I know of
I know that it's too much later but after suffering the inability to mount neither exFAT nor NTFS in stock MM in my Idol 3, i leave the program that mounts successfully both file systems, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paragon.tcplugins_ntfs_ro
It's weird but in LP i could mount exFAT file systems without any external program and after upgrading to MM it's not possible, sometimes AOSP gets worse. Anyway, before that i used to make use of this app to mount NTFS and still work in MM, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paragon.mounter

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