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Help 'format sd as internal' problems

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davo26

Android Enthusiast
hi

got an HTC M8 with an SD card, and when i started getting the storage is low messages, looked into using the SD as internal storage.
i formatted it as internal and all was well for a while. now im getting the messages back again and they wont go. if i go into the storage section, it says .......17.9Gb of 45.2Gb used, then underneath phone storage is 15.74 of 16Gb used, SD card is 2.17 of 29Gb used, so it seems they are still separate.

however, if i tap the SD card, then the 3 dots for options, it gives me the option of 'format as portable', so it obviously is still set as internal.

if this is the case, why is it still saying low storage, and how do i solve this problem? theres loads of room left on the card, id like to use it.

thanks a lot
 
davo26 said:
going on for a week now, nobody on an android forum able to help me?? :D

thanks
Click to expand...

Possibly it's a problem that nobody else has encountered, and so can't suggest anything useful to try. I presume the SD is good and isn't a counterfeit or duff? Do you have the latest HTC firmware in your M8?

I don't have an M8 myself, and I've never attempted to use an SD as internal storage.
 
im pretty sure the card is fine as when i moved stuff to it previously i could still access it all. the format seemed to go fine too and it offers me the chance to format back to external now, which i assume means its seeing it as internal.

how would i check if the firmwares the latest, and if not how would i update it? the only update i can choose is software, and that says no updates available.

thanks a lot
 
Firstly, when an SD card is formatted as internal, I understand that part of the procedure is 'migrating' data from 'original' internal to 'SD' internal. Did you do this, and if so how much - is that what the 2.17GB is?

Secondly, is it not possible to migrate data at any time and have you tried migrating more data from 'original' internal to 'SD' internal?
 
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If you have no updates available then you are most likely using the latest firmware (HTC don't worry about the distinction between software and firmware, correctly believing that it would just confuse most people, and a system update contains both the elements people would refer to as software and those they'd refer to as firmware).

The reason I can't advise is that I only have a theoretical knowledge of this setup: I've never actually used it, so have no direct experience of how it shares things between real internal and SD. If you look in settings > apps, or maybe storage settings, does it offer any way to specify what goes where?
 
A way to test if the card is formatted as internal or portable storage would be to shut off the phone, remove the card and try to read it in a PC. If you can see the files, then it's definitely not formatted as internal. An SD card formatted for internal use is an extension of the internal data volume and is encrypted.

It could be that the card is on its way out. SD cards are notorious for failing at the most inconvenient times in the most bizarre ways.
 
thank you very much gents, and tommo, that migrating thing has worked! great stuff, id never heard of that so your link is much appreciated.

ok, its only moved 2Gb or so, but thats freed up space, got rid of the warning messages and im good to go again :-)

i just assumed that once the card was formatted as internal, id have one big drive with no need for any other work to be done. once the phone had migrated the 2Gb it did say i could move more media by going to storage and doing it from there, but i cant see any options to do anything else, either from the phone or the card storage.

never mind, im good for now, so once again, thanks for the help
 
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