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Android System File System Limit
- Thread starter NDH4178
- Start date
The only time I think you'd see an error like that, is if you're exceeding the limits of FAT32 formatted storage media in your phone or tablet. e.g. a FAT32 micro-SD card in the device. Is that what you've got there?
There is 12GB Free
Exactly when are you seeing this notification?
12GB free where? Internal storage, external storage, e.g. a micro-SD, or cloud storage, e.g. Google Drive?
Because a "file system limit" error is something you might see if you try and exceed 65535 files in a single directory with FAT32, or try and exceed 4GB file size in FAT32 formatted media.
Total phone space is 12 GB. There warning appears in the phone notification bar. There is total of 1300 files on the entire phone.
svim
Extreme Android User
Your phone is running the Android operating system, which uses the ext4 file system. It's becoming a dated file system but still has robust limitations that are still capable enough to meet the needs of almost anyone, with the individual file limit in a directory being a theoretical 4 billion files.
A typical microSD card however is going to be formatted as FAT32 or exFAT, both being very dated file systems based on Microsoft's proprietary, no longer supported FAT. Even in its day (Win98) FAT was a weak, buggy, crash prone file system, with a now compounded problem being its stability is even less reliable with today's technology. It's strong suit being Microsoft forced the USB-IF board, the organization that determines USB protocols to adopt FAT as the default file system for USB media. So when we buy microSD cards, or USB flash sticks, or devices like webcams that have their own internal storage because of the storage media is based on USB interaction they use that outdated FAT-based file system. Basic FAT support is included in Mac, Linux, and of course Microsoft computers to things like microSD cards can be accessed and used as transfer media. But FAT32 and exFAT have file size and file number limitations based on their age.
So if you want to try and determine just what the problem is, it's really important that you acknowledge there is a significant difference between your phone's internal storage and a microSD card you might have installed. Each uses very different file systems that have very different limitations. Look in the Settings >> Storage menu to get better representation of what that error message might be trying to convey.
A typical microSD card however is going to be formatted as FAT32 or exFAT, both being very dated file systems based on Microsoft's proprietary, no longer supported FAT. Even in its day (Win98) FAT was a weak, buggy, crash prone file system, with a now compounded problem being its stability is even less reliable with today's technology. It's strong suit being Microsoft forced the USB-IF board, the organization that determines USB protocols to adopt FAT as the default file system for USB media. So when we buy microSD cards, or USB flash sticks, or devices like webcams that have their own internal storage because of the storage media is based on USB interaction they use that outdated FAT-based file system. Basic FAT support is included in Mac, Linux, and of course Microsoft computers to things like microSD cards can be accessed and used as transfer media. But FAT32 and exFAT have file size and file number limitations based on their age.
So if you want to try and determine just what the problem is, it's really important that you acknowledge there is a significant difference between your phone's internal storage and a microSD card you might have installed. Each uses very different file systems that have very different limitations. Look in the Settings >> Storage menu to get better representation of what that error message might be trying to convey.