First of all, I'm sorry if a similar thread as already been made but i didn't find a section for my phone nor a thread about this type of problem. I found two threads on different forums with the same identical problem but the answers were bad or some times there wouldn't be any answers at all.
So, I got a Samsung Galaxy W this Christmas and I loved it, it was fast and smooth, and still is, but i noticed that it didn't come with a SD Card and i wanted one because i noticed an option to move my apps to the SD Card instead of having them installed in my phone memory.
So, yesterday i bought a 16GB SD Card, and plugged it in my Galaxy W. All fine, it appeared in the Storage Settings, i formatted it and everything was going well, but then i started moving my apps to it and first of all, I noticed that when clicking the Manage Applications option inside the Applications Settings, and then when i clicked the tab On SD Card, the space available wasn't 16GB (or 14,XXGB it doesn't matter) but some MB's (0,94GB used and 788MB free) and i started wondering, Where are my 16GB?. Later on i also noticed that 0,94GB + 0,788GB = 1,07GB which is my USB Storage capacity. So, why is my phone installing apps to the USB Storage instead of the SD Card. I also installed ES File Explorer from the Market and when i opened the app it showed me the content of the /sdcard, inside this there is a bunch of folders (Android, LOST.DIR, bluetooth, usbStorage, external_SD, etc...) and i found a folder called external_SD and i clicked on it and it opened the files of my SD Card the real 16GB one and i know this because i had plug my SD Card in my MacBook with the adapter that came it with and i dragged a movie and some music and it was there, inside that external_SD folder which is inside of the /sdcard location in my phone. What i understood from this is that my phone is recognizing the USB Storage as the SD Card even though that my SD Card is recognized as the SD Card in the Storage Settings. Also when i plug my phone to my MacBook via USB, two drives show up, a NO NAME which contains the files from the /sdcard/ and another NO NAME which is my 16GB SD card. I'm really confused with this and i really need to move my apps to the SD Card to save space. Please, what do i need to do to solve this problem?
I took some screenshots to help you understand the issue:
Settings>Storage:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Settings>Applications>Manage applications>On SD card:
You can see here that instead of showing the space available on my SD Card it shows the space available on the USB Storage.
More images, an example of what it looks like when i move an application to the "SD card":
Screenshots of what it looks like when i run a file explorer app, in this case, ES File Explorer:
And what's inside this strange external_sd folder inside /sdcard/ which are the files i have in my real 16GB sdcard:
A strange fact is that, when i unmount my SDCard on Settings>Storage>SD Card>Unmount and then try to access the apps or even move them to SD Card, the phone tells me that i don't have any SD Card mounted which is true. So the phone recognizes the SD Card but when the SD Card is mounted, the phone uses the USB Storage as the SD Card. This is what i think the phone is doing.
So please guys i need help.
NOTE: My phone is not rooted.
teknoplayer said:
First of all, I'm sorry if a similar thread as already been made but i didn't find a section for my phone nor a thread about this type of problem. I found two threads on different forums with the same identical problem but the answers were bad or some times there wouldn't be any answers at all.
So, I got a Samsung Galaxy W this Christmas and I loved it, it was fast and smooth, and still is, but i noticed that it didn't come with a SD Card and i wanted one because i noticed an option to move my apps to the SD Card instead of having them installed in my phone memory.
So, yesterday i bought a 16GB SD Card, and plugged it in my Galaxy W. All fine, it appeared in the Storage Settings, i formatted it and everything was going well, but then i started moving my apps to it and first of all, I noticed that when clicking the Manage Applications option inside the Applications Settings, and then when i clicked the tab On SD Card, the space available wasn't 16GB (or 14,XXGB it doesn't matter) but some MB's (0,94GB used and 788MB free) and i started wondering, Where are my 16GB?. Later on i also noticed that 0,94GB + 0,788GB = 1,07GB which is my USB Storage capacity. So, why is my phone installing apps to the USB Storage instead of the SD Card. I also installed ES File Explorer from the Market and when i opened the app it showed me the content of the /sdcard, inside this there is a bunch of folders (Android, LOST.DIR, bluetooth, usbStorage, external_SD, etc...) and i found a folder called external_SD and i clicked on it and it opened the files of my SD Card the real 16GB one and i know this because i had plug my SD Card in my MacBook with the adapter that came it with and i dragged a movie and some music and it was there, inside that external_SD folder which is inside of the /sdcard location in my phone. What i understood from this is that my phone is recognizing the USB Storage as the SD Card even though that my SD Card is recognized as the SD Card in the Storage Settings. Also when i plug my phone to my MacBook via USB, two drives show up, a NO NAME which contains the files from the /sdcard/ and another NO NAME which is my 16GB SD card. I'm really confused with this and i really need to move my apps to the SD Card to save space. Please, what do i need to do to solve this problem?
I took some screenshots to help you understand the issue:
Settings>Storage:
Settings>Applications>Manage applications>On SD card:
You can see here that instead of showing the space available on my SD Card it shows the space available on the USB Storage.
More images, an example of what it looks like when i move an application to the "SD card":
Screenshots of what it looks like when i run a file explorer app, in this case, ES File Explorer:
And what's inside this strange external_sd folder inside /sdcard/ which are the files i have in my real 16GB sdcard:
A strange fact is that, when i unmount my SDCard on Settings>Storage>SD Card>Unmount and then try to access the apps or even move them to SD Card, the phone tells me that i don't have any SD Card mounted which is true. So the phone recognizes the SD Card but when the SD Card is mounted, the phone uses the USB Storage as the SD Card. This is what i think the phone is doing.
So please guys i need help.
NOTE: My phone is not rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no problem. Your device has an internal SD card as well as the 16GB external SD card. When you move an app to the SD, they are being moved to your internal SD card. Plus, devices with internal SD cards do not allow you to use it's full space for app installation. e.g. A device says it has 16GB internal memory (the internal SD card), but you may just have 2GB for apps. When you mount your SD card to your PC, the internal SD card is the one which gets mounted (unless you use a hack to swap them).
Theonew said:
There is no problem. Your device has an internal SD card as well as the 16GB external SD card. When you move an app to the SD, they are being moved to your internal SD card. Plus, devices with internal SD cards do not allow you to use it's full space for app installation. e.g. A device says it has 16GB internal memory (the internal SD card), but you may just have 2GB for apps. When you mount your SD card to your PC, the internal SD card is the one which gets mounted (unless you use a hack to swap them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, does that mean that i can't move apps to the external_SD? Because the Internal SD of my phone only has 1,07GB .
Plus, when i connect my phone via USB to my computer, two separate drives show up, the external SD and the internal SD.
teknoplayer said:
So, does that mean that i can't move apps to the external_SD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, unless it is set as the default mount point.
Theonew said:
Yes, unless it is set as the default mount point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do i do that? I only have 1.07GB of internal SD. And why does this happen with this phone? My friend has a Samsung Galaxy (don't remember the model) with a 16GB card and his apps go to his 16GB card.
teknoplayer said:
How do i do that? I only have 1.07GB of internal SD. And why does this happen with this phone? My friend has a Samsung Galaxy (don't remember the model) with a 16GB card and his apps go to his 16GB card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll need some hack, etc. (don't know any for your device). Maybe your friend's device does not have an internal SD card.
Theonew said:
You'll need some hack, etc. (don't know any for your device). Maybe your friend's device does not have an internal SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that sucks. How can Samsung make a cellphone with only 1.70GB of space and without the capability of moving the apps to an external SD? It doesn't make sense.
teknoplayer said:
Wow, that sucks. How can Samsung make a cellphone with only 1.70GB of space and without the capability of moving the apps to an external SD? It doesn't make sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's pretty good if you think about it. Some devices have <150MB of space and even with an external SD card (and the ability to move apps to it), the internal memory would still run out due to the small space of the app which remains on the internal memory.
Theonew said:
That's pretty good if you think about it. Some devices have <150MB of space and even with an external SD card (and the ability to move apps to it), the internal memory would still run out due to the small space of the app which remains on the internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but i'll have to be deleting apps each time i reach the 1.70GB.
teknoplayer said:
Yeah, but i'll have to be deleting apps each time i reach the 1.70GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could see if this could help: https://market.android.com/details?...=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwOSwiY29tLmJ1YWsuTGluazJTRCJd.
Theonew said:
That's pretty good if you think about it. Some devices have <150MB of space and even with an external SD card (and the ability to move apps to it), the internal memory would still run out due to the small space of the app which remains on the internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but i'll have to be deleting apps each time i reach the 1.70GB.
I feel like returning the phone. This shouldn't happen. Having an external SD and not being capable to use it.
teknoplayer said:
Yeah, but i'll have to be deleting apps each time i reach the 1.70GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You already said that .
hey i also have this phone, i'm having the same problem
Modern combat 3 automatically download data files on my external (external_sd/android/data). but all other apps/games doesn't do this thing. Even I try 'move to sd' but data files remains to internal sdcard..example is the GTA3. wondering what's with this phone
Same problem
Yeah, same i have the same phone Samsung Galaxy wonder and I bought 32gb micro SD card $75.00...really sucks finding out that the external memory card doesn't work. Whats the use of having specs showing phone is capable to have up to 32gb external memory when it doesn't even work
thanks for the info
i'm going insane trying to figure it out
because it said full when i installed new apps
but when i see from setting it still has 14 GB
still, i have to move my data manually
Flashed this rom:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2235446
I am getting this error of No external storage available on all the apps that require internal storage e.g. In Gallery, it says no external storage available, same in camera, explorer e.t.c
Have I done something wrong?
Do you have an sd card?
I do have an sd card, currently, the player only works with the sd card.
somehow the sd card is being treated as the internal sd card? this is completely weird. As soon as I take out the sd card, it fails to recognize the internal card.
CookieMaker said:
somehow the sd card is being treated as the internal sd card? this is completely weird. As soon as I take out the sd card, it fails to recognize the internal card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Find "vold.fstab. (system/etc)" open it, and change "/mnt/sdcard/sdcard1" to "/mnt/sdcard/sdcard0."
CookieMaker said:
somehow the sd card is being treated as the internal sd card? this is completely weird. As soon as I take out the sd card, it fails to recognize the internal card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1 can you go setting--- memory-- check what is available and send the scren shoot.
2 when you wipe in recovery no any strange message at the screen? like can't read or open mmcblk0p 15....
I got this same kind of problem but i dont have and external Sd, but i want to save the pictures on the phone it self is there a way to change this? Because when i open the camera ap it says, no external memory.
I had the same issue
I had the same issue.
Go into recovery mode and try to mount emmc. That's what my external SD was renamed.
It was fine when I loaded the ROM but it flaked out after I loaded a different kernel.
I would recommend using X-plore from the Play Store to navigate your files. It's the best way to explore, move etc.
Try format SD-card:
Go to CWM -> mounts and storage -> format sdcard
I formatted SD card as internal storage (Android 6.0) and it is confusing...
I read that when the SD card is formatted as internal storage, it is also encrypted, so it can't be accessed trough windows for file transfer (if not rooted). OK, so I thought, there must be some practical way to transfer files such as books, movies, music, etc. from PC to SD card...
I tried to make some folder (for instance, BOOKS) on my tablets internal memory, transfer the files in that BOOKS folder, then move that BOOKS folder to SD card. But, I can't find the location of the SD card, so there is nowhere to move that BOOKS folder.
1) What is the SD card folder location, if there exists one?
2) Is there some practical way to transfer files from PC to SD card?
3) What does "Migrate data" option actually migrates, APK's, pictures, videos,...? And how does it decide what is suitable for migration, on what criteria?
4) Is there a way to pick which files would be transferred to SD card?
You correctly pointed out that the systems treats the SD card like internal storage. If your smartphone is running and you connect it via an usb cable to your pc, you will only see one folder. You can now copy something to your device and it is on your device. Basically, "SD card like internal storage" means that your internal storage has been extended by your SD card.
Simply said, there is only "one" storage. Your SD card ist now part of the internal storage. Usually, this is a great advantage as it takes away the limitations of a small internal storage.
However, the downside is:
- you must not take the SD card out of the phone and copy something. This will break the memory.
- you cannot pick what is stored where - Android decides this.
- you can only copy something to the pc via usb cable, bluetooth or network, you must not take the sd card out of the device.
The upside is:
You can stop worrying about where to copy what - Android decides this for you. So lean back and enjoy your new memory capabilities.
Paul2017 said:
You correctly pointed out that the systems treats the SD card like internal storage. If your smartphone is running and you connect it via an usb cable to your pc, you will only see one folder. You can now copy something to your device and it is on your device. Basically, "SD card like internal storage" means that your internal storage has been extended by your SD card.
Simply said, there is only "one" storage. Your SD card ist now part of the internal storage. Usually, this is a great advantage as it takes away the limitations of a small internal storage.
However, the downside is:
- you must not take the SD card out of the phone and copy something. This will break the memory.
- you cannot pick what is stored where - Android decides this.
- you can only copy something to the pc via usb cable, bluetooth or network, you must not take the sd card out of the device.
The upside is:
You can stop worrying about where to copy what - Android decides this for you. So lean back and enjoy your new memory capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I converted it to portable storage as I find it much more convenient. With adoptable storage, the biggest downside is, as you mentioned, that I can't pick to choose what can I store on my SD card. Dedicated SD card is not an issue, as I never (and a vast majority of users) wanted to pull it out of device.
Migrate data is a terrible option, almost no control, undefined behaviour. Generally, the way that Google engineers handled the adoptive storage option is amateurish.
Also, I noticed now, why did they remove the sort by size and sort by date filters in settings--->apps on Android 6.0???
smarko1983 said:
Thanks for the reply. I converted it to portable storage as I find it much more convenient. With adoptable storage, the biggest downside is, as you mentioned, that I can't pick to choose what can I store on my SD card. Dedicated SD card is not an issue, as I never (and a vast majority of users) wanted to pull it out of device.
Migrate data is a terrible option, almost no control, undefined behaviour. Generally, the way that Google engineers handled the adoptive storage option is amateurish.
Also, I noticed now, why did they remove the sort by size and sort by date filters in settings--->apps on Android 6.0???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, I just had a look at my Nexus 7 running lineageOS 14.1 (Android 7.1): you cannot sort the apps by size. Don't ask me why.
Phone the card came out of is a Doogee S68 Pro. I configured the SD card to be internal memory and for the camera app to save pics taken to the SD card. I assumed when the SD card was full the camera would save back to the internal memory but instead it gave an error saying storage full and wouldn't take more photos. There was no option within the camera app to switch the save location to the internal memory so I removed the SD card. This forced the camera to now save to internal memory. BUT. Now when I put the SD card back in it doesn't read and says I need to format the card to use it. Same result if I put the card in different android phones or pug it into a PC. I don't want to format the card because I want the pictures on it.
How can I get the image files off this SD card? I've tried a few file recovery programs without any success. I don't have a linux machine, just a PC, and I have no experience with rooting phones or the like.
Probably card is in raw mode now.
What you mean by saying that you have configured card as an internal storage?
gotaquestion said:
Same result if I put the card in different android phones or pug it into a PC. I don't want to format the card because I want the pictures on it. How can I get the image files off this SD card? I've tried a few file recovery programs without any success. I don't have a linux machine, just a PC, and I have no experience with rooting phones or the like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The External SD-card got encrypted as soon as you decided to use it as internal memory. It's no longer readable by any card-reader. IMHO forensic tools are needed to retain the data stored there.
a602820922 said:
Probably card is in raw mode now.
What you mean by saying that you have configured card as an internal storage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I pulgged it in the first time it gave two options, use as internal memory or as mass storage device. I choose the internal memory option.
Dam
jwoegerbauer said:
The External SD-card got encrypted as soon as you decided to use it as internal memory. It's no longer readable by any card-reader. IMHO forensic tools are needed to retain the data stored there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feared this was the case. I don't understand why the original phone cannot decrypt the card though as it would with a Samsung device. I have sent a support request tot he phone manufacturer so hopefully that bears fruit.
gotaquestion said:
When I pulgged it in the first time it gave two options, use as internal memory or as mass storage device. I choose the internal memory option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thank you for confirmation. As above card encrypted and furthermore you might have lost all the data of the phone as well as sms , apps, updates basically everything since you choose that option has been storage on ad card, and your internal storage was not used or useless in a different world, access has been denied to it.
Which tools have you tried to recover data?
I have a problem with my tablet not recognising the sd card. It is not specific to a particular card, I have tried 3 and they all behave the same. The cards function correctly in other devices.
When I go to Settings, Storage the card is not showing, only internal storage. However, if I go to My Files the SD card is showing and I can read to and write from the card.
When I go to Apps, choose an app and then choose Storage I have an option to move the app to external storage. When I choose this option I get a message saying there is not enough room on the card even though the card is essentially empty .
Can anyone suggest how I can get the SD card to show under Storage and also how to move apps to the card?
Thank you.
OK, my bad. The card does show under Storage, I just wasnt looking in the right place. However I still cant move apps to the card.
My internal storage is now nearly full and I have a totally empty SD card, would love to get a fix for this issue.
Thanks.