[Q] Organize The MicroSD - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello friends,
My phone is a Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray ST18i (2011)....but my question is not related to the phone but all android phones.
I try my best to keep the folders and partitions organized in my laptop. but the same cant be done in the phone's sd card.
if i install a app for an instance, say Handcent app, it creates a folder in the main (root) of the SD card (i suppose /sdcard), with the name "Handcent" and similarly every app i install creates folders and now i have a big messy link of folders.
and also many are uninstalled but the folders are left alone in the card that i need to delete. (which i tend to forget).
Is there a remedy for this matter? anything that will remove the folder and contents (with user permission) when uninstalling the app?
SD card is littered with names and unknown codes that i dont know which app created this.
Please provide a solution that i can keep the card organized well.
Im running ICS 4.0.4 custom rom, with 32GB Class 4 Kingston MicroSD Card.
Thank you all,
Tim

Download system Cleanup from market. It will list those folders as "Delete Dead datafolder".
This tool require root I guess.

If you said about this
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.SystemCleanup.Inteks.org&feature=search_result
it is not the one. cause that is something for the data and app folder inside the android box. not on the sd card. i think something is fitting on SD Maid
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.thedarken.sdm&feature=search_result
Will try the maid and give feedback.
Thank you!

Actually both of the apps work good. need to do some work with that SD Maid. very good one. but need patience to work with. And the other one is good but does all in the system itself. good to clean some caches.
Thanks! will be digging for more.
Tim

Related

[Q] changed sd cards.. where are the apps?

so the deal here is that i wanted to put a 16gb sd from 8gb that i was using. i had the old sd card (8gb) in my phone, i copied the whole thing on my computer's hard drive. put the new one in my phone, then formatted, then copied back everything from the computer.
Now, i only see 129 apps on the phone out of 285 i used to have. most of the apps i used to have were moved to sd using apps2sd.
i tried searching but i found results regarding how to backup before using new sd, or how to format etc. if i got blind for some reason and have missed the thread can someone please direct me to the right thread? or else can someone please help me that how can i get those apps back?
thanks for any kind of help.
P.S, not rooted.
chubaan said:
so the deal here is that i wanted to put a 16gb sd from 8gb that i was using. i had the old sd card (8gb) in my phone, i copied the whole thing on my computer's hard drive. put the new one in my phone, then formatted, then copied back everything from the computer.
Now, i only see 129 apps on the phone out of 285 i used to have. most of the apps i used to have were moved to sd using apps2sd.
i tried searching but i found results regarding how to backup before using new sd, or how to format etc. if i got blind for some reason and have missed the thread can someone please direct me to the right thread? or else can someone please help me that how can i get those apps back?
thanks for any kind of help.
P.S, not rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to me , you have the hidden files and folder disabled on your PC. So enable it, the from your old sdcard(8gb) copy a folder named ".android_secure" and put it in 16GB, then check again if that worked.
mnomaanw said:
According to me , you have the hidden files and folder disabled on your PC. So enable it, the from your old sdcard(8gb) copy a folder named ".android_secure" and put it in 16GB, then check again if that worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reply, will try this..
If you do that you may be subjected to random freezes,lockups,etc. Not saying this for a 100% but usually that's the case. When you install apps and run them certain apps place folders on your sd card that are linked to the app. Also if you move apps to your sd VIA program/mod they are stored in the android_secure folder located on your sd card. When you format,move,alter,etc the folder from the sd or alter the contents inside of the .android_secure folder you remove/break the links, and just dropping the folder back on the SD will work but in most cases it dosent restore the links correctly from my understanding. IMO your best bet is to just uninstall the apps you had moved to your sd and then reinstall them. Also for future reference don't move or alter the
.android_secure folder folder if you have a nandroid that has some of the apps you installed moved to the sd. This is just my understanding. Hope this helps
Edit-as far as how to format your sd or format a new SD read this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10878511&postcount=8311
It's good info.
#Root-Hack_Mod*Always\
chubaan said:
so the deal here is that i wanted to put a 16gb sd from 8gb that i was using. i had the old sd card (8gb) in my phone, i copied the whole thing on my computer's hard drive. put the new one in my phone, then formatted, then copied back everything from the computer.
Now, i only see 129 apps on the phone out of 285 i used to have. most of the apps i used to have were moved to sd using apps2sd.
i tried searching but i found results regarding how to backup before using new sd, or how to format etc. if i got blind for some reason and have missed the thread can someone please direct me to the right thread? or else can someone please help me that how can i get those apps back?
thanks for any kind of help.
P.S, not rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use a linux based system to copy the files and folders over...it overtakes the permissions left behind in a windows format
mnomaanw said:
According to me , you have the hidden files and folder disabled on your PC. So enable it, the from your old sdcard(8gb) copy a folder named ".android_secure" and put it in 16GB, then check again if that worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks. i did what you suggested and i got all the apps back.
laie1472 said:
If you do that you may be subjected to random freezes,lockups,etc. Not saying this for a 100% but usually that's the case. When you install apps and run them certain apps place folders on your sd card that are linked to the app. Also if you move apps to your sd VIA program/mod they are stored in the android_secure folder located on your sd card. When you format,move,alter,etc the folder from the sd or alter the contents inside of the .android_secure folder you remove/break the links, and just dropping the folder back on the SD will work but in most cases it dosent restore the links correctly from my understanding. IMO your best bet is to just uninstall the apps you had moved to your sd and then reinstall them. Also for future reference don't move or alter the
.android_secure folder folder if you have a nandroid that has some of the apps you installed moved to the sd. This is just my understanding. Hope this helps
Edit-as far as how to format your sd or format a new SD read this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10878511&postcount=8311
It's good info.
#Root-Hack_Mod*Always\
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i already copied the folder and i see everything i had, so ill wait and see if it will freeze.. thanks
wloftus said:
use a linux based system to copy the files and folders over...it overtakes the permissions left behind in a windows format
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the solution. but i dont have linux based system nor do i know anything about it, been with windows since 98..

Memory Full problem!Please take a look..

Hey there guys...
To start with i have my S3 two days now and i absolutely love this phone...:')
But,after installing lots of games my internal memory has gone full and i can't download any data in-game because i have low storage space...
My external sd on the other hand is around 10gb free but when i try to move the data to the same folder on the external the data isn't identified by the game and it asks me to download again?
It has become really frustrating,it seems i can't do anything about it...
Any suggestions to try?
Cheers,George
As the system now uses unified storage all apps will remain on internal memory; moving the data alone to an external SD card will have no use without altering the application to look for that location for its data. i.e. in the GS2 you had a move to SD option since the phone was partitioned. With the S3 however this option is not there which means that when an application is downloaded all of its information needs to be stored on the internal storage. When the "Move to SD" option was selected within the S2 or prior phones, it informs the application that its new location is within x folder rather than the folder it was originally downloaded too. Since this option is no longer there then the application has no way of being told where its new location is.
Maybe move to SD could be an add-on with a mod/hack but I am not sure if this is possible. Maybe check with a developer?
Have you got a prior Android phone? Maybe install the application on to it; use the "Move to SD" option and see if that will allow it? It's just a suggestion; if you don't have a different Android phone I can try it for you.
Edit: Just tried it; the phone itself doesn't even check for applications stored within an external SD. Sorry man - the only way around it would be a mod/custom/hack (if possible).
T__ said:
As the system now uses unified storage all apps will remain on internal memory; moving the data alone to an external SD card will have no use without altering the application to look for that location for its data. i.e. in the GS2 you had a move to SD option since the phone was partitioned. With the S3 however this option is not there which means that when an application is downloaded all of its information needs to be stored on the internal storage. When the "Move to SD" option was selected within the S2 or prior phones, it informs the application that its new location is within x folder rather than the folder it was originally downloaded too. Since this option is no longer there then the application has no way of being told where its new location is.
Maybe move to SD could be an add-on with a mod/hack but I am not sure if this is possible. Maybe check with a developer?
Have you got a prior Android phone? Maybe install the application on to it; use the "Move to SD" option and see if that will allow it? It's just a suggestion; if you don't have a different Android phone I can try it for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank's for the answer...
In my galaxy s 1 i had no problem having the games data on the sd card,i havent moved and application to the sd but i had the data on sd and everything worked great...now...i don't get it....:/
nfsmw_gr said:
Thank's for the answer...
In my galaxy s 1 i had no problem having the games data on the sd card,i havent moved and application to the sd but i had the data on sd and everything worked great...now...i don't get it....:/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did check for you; the S3 physically doesn't look for application data in the external SD (I edited original post after testing few things).. There probably are ways around it as mentioned but you would need to speak with developers for further insight.
If worst comes to worst application developers may have to implement a look in x location first, if no data found, look "here" in to their applications.
As the phone is unified storage you can store applications in the full ~12GB storage space (All the ones I have, have roughly 11.3GB after OS and all is on it) so have you used the phones storage itself for only applications; and the SD for media etc?
I am interested to know how you have managed to fill at least 11GB of space with applications; how many do you have? How is the performance of the phone with this many applications on it? Any lag navigating (I know there shouldn't be with quad core processor - but it's interesting to know if hundreds of applications cause lag between screen scrolling).
You can use an app called directory bind to link the game data on the SD to a mounting point on the internal SD. Search for it and you'll find it, not sure if I got it here or the play store.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Yup, there's directory topic on forum, as well as working 'gl to sd' app in play store. It is not just for gameloft games.
Sent from my SGH-I747M
Thank you all guys!!
Well i filled it with lots of games that's why i don't have much space available!
No the phone is flying,it doesn't lag at all!
I use Dragon Ics rom and Siyah Kernel...no oc....
I'll try directory bind and post back soon!
To put applications on the sdcard, you could use symlinking (confirmed this works myself).
Install the application, then go to /data/app and move the apk file to your sdcard (/mnt/extSdCard) or inside a folder on your sdcard.
Then type ln -s /mnt/extSdCard/your-apk.apk /data/app/your-apk.apk

[Q] Using FolderMount to clear internal space - please help!

Hi, I'm a total noob to Android phones, I admit it. I just got my first smartphone, and it's an old one - an HTC Aria. Thanks to a lot of info here in XDA-developers, I got it rooted with clockwork mod and am using the Cyanogen ROM with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Well, it's such an old phone, I see that it only has ~185 mb internal storage. I added an 8GB SD card. Even though I move my apps to external storage, I can see that the data didn't get moved and is still quickly eating up all the phone's internal storage. I'm trying to use Madmack's "FolderMount" but am having trouble figuring it out. I think it might be an understanding of Android file/folder structure (I have very little). I'm considering buying the "pro" version (if it works for me), just so I can move the whole data folder at once and free up my internal memory again.
Here's my efforts at testing to see if it works. I'm trying to move the data from the "Plague, Inc." game to the external card (the app is already on the external card). So, when I choose source, it automatically starts me in the /mnt/sdcard/ but doesn't allow me to go "up" to any further root folders of that. So I found in the "Android" folder the "data" folder. I tried to FolderMount that but it gave me the error about the non-Pro version. So I tried the "com.miniclip.plagueinc" folder (knowing that it's currently using 15MB of data) and then using an app called SDCardManager (which I understand is supposed to make it easier for me to access my SD Card, like Windows Explorer or something), I made a folder with this path "/mnt/sdcard/foldermount" I think it should be the right path because it's also where my "android.tether" folder is that I know I created myself.
Anyway, when I pair those two folders in FolderMount, it copies stuff over, and the pin looks green, but it shows my internal memory hasn't changed, still almost entirely full. So what do I do to clear it up? I think my problem is in my understanding of the Android's file structure. I think on "source", I should be able to access some folder before "/mnt/sdcard", but I can't get there. Please give this noob help from anyone who can! Thanks!
Can anyone help me with this? Particularly the developer, madmack? I really need to find a way to move the app data to the external memory so I can clear up space. Even if someone could help me understand the file structure better, that'd be helpful. Thanks!

[Q] Apps Moved to SD Disappear fix?

I have a weird and it seems like a common problem too, i have found some threads about it but either they are a little different from mine or they dont have a real solution for it.
So yesterday i decided to download a bunch of games, i never used enough applications to need to move them to my sd, but since i downloaded a lot of them some started to get installed to the sd and i manually moved some of them too to the sd card. But while i was still downloading more apps, some of them started to show the android icon, and when i tried to run them they crashed. The weird part is that it was just some of them.
After that i tried rebooting my phone hoping that would help the phone to reload and see the apps, but that just made it worst since those, and some others went totally missing from the drawer. Is not because the launcher loads before the sd card is read because i already checked that.
So i went to settings>applications and discovered that all those applications are listed there but listed with their other name (dont know how to call it, but is like "com.developer.app" ). All of the missing apps are like that and i cant run them.
- I have formatted the sd using gparted, same behavior
- I have formatted the sd and the internal (sd?) with the phone
- I have done a factory reset with no luck
- I have runned fsck in both internal and external sd's
- The files of the applications are in the .android_secure folder in the external sd card "app.asec"
- The sd card is working (files music, everything else is working)
- I dont know what else to do, I want to be able to use my sd card to install apps
Thanks for your help
Simple Answer
Just Install Nd Run The Apk First Nd Play now simply move To SD
It Will Work.
Same Problem In Galaxy Y .
SolveD
Press Thank If I Helped
I dont fully understand you, but i think you are telling me to install, then run the app and then move it to the sd card, i did that to almost all of them (i was trying the games ) but that didnt make any difference. Thank you anyway!
looks like it was a faulty micro sd card switched to another one and problem solved

Missing file folder on SD card?

I have no idea how this happened. SD card is fine, and all apps that were installed to SD card work, but this is odd.
I made a folder on my SD card and named it "Applications". It has been this way for a while. I put apps and apk files in this folder. This way, I can keep different versions of apps, and free up space.
For some reason, this folder is missing! Had a lot of things there. Any idea why it is gone (didn't run any" cleaners" or do anything different with phone.....) Any suggestions on finding it or getting it back?
Thanks in advance!
Something similar happened to me...
I keep my apps backed up with Es file explorer in sdcard1/backups/apps and after flashing the new rom I always install them from there but once some have disappeared from that folder,not all,just a few, all of which begin with the letters from H to O.
I don't have a clue why that happened...
Sent from my Razr XT910
sherri said:
I have no idea how this happened. SD card is fine, and all apps that were installed to SD card work, but this is odd.
I made a folder on my SD card and named it "Applications". It has been this way for a while. I put apps and apk files in this folder. This way, I can keep different versions of apps, and free up space.
For some reason, this folder is missing! Had a lot of things there. Any idea why it is gone (didn't run any" cleaners" or do anything different with phone.....) Any suggestions on finding it or getting it back?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the lost.dir directory on ur sdcard.
It might rename the apks to numbers like 4226 etc.
Sent from my XT912 using XDA Free mobile app
Thanks, but this was back in September. No idea what happened. I just reinstalled from TiBu, and recreated the folder.

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