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SD card question

S

S8 user

Newbie
Hey guys. I have an SD card that was in my old Blackberry. I want to put in the S8. Is there anything special I need to do in order to get this in...or is it as easy as just put it in. Just wondering if it needs to be formatted or anything. Thanks.
 
I will do that, thanks. Would it read the stuff already on it from the BlackBerry or should I just switch it to the computer?
 
It should be able to read any data that are on there, but only if you have apps that can read the particular files. So media, pdfs, etc will be fine, but data from blackberry apps probably not.
 
Just how old is your microSD card? If it's pretty dated you might be better off buying a new one. Simply because it will work with your S8 does not necessarily mean it's going to be your best option if it's a relatively 'slow' card -- SD cards come in different sizes (SD, miniSD, microSD) and different storage capacities (Samsung states the maximum capacity for a S8 is a 256GB microSD card) but also in different classes, the category that defines read/write speed of the card.
SD card
https://www.techspot.com/guides/1591-microsd-buying-guide/
S8 specs
https://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-s8/specs/
A slower class card will be suitable if all you're going to use it for is basic storage, just ignore all of this, but if you intend on doing stuff like recording a lot of video than you'll want a faster card so it doesn't bog down your phone's general performance.
 
That's not too old really. Again it's all relative to what you do with it. For just file storage purposes you just need to factor in storage capacity, a faster class card is really only an issue if you're doing things on your phone that are frequently doing interactive reading/writing to the card (... and mostly it's the writing aspect).
If you're really curious about identifying just what card you do have, just take it out of your phone and look at it closely. Any reputable brand card will have a label on it - some with explicit details but most will have at minimum some kind of designation on it -- i.e. a logo with a C and a 10 inside it for a class 10 card, or a logo with a U and a 3 inside it for a class UHS 3 card. More info with photos here:
https://www.sdcard.org/developers/overview/speed_class
 
S8 user said:
I dont think it is that old..maybe two years...but in the tech world I guess that's a light year.
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It's not so much the length of time, it's actually the amount of use. Flash storage like SDs can and does literally wear-out after an X number of write cycles. Writing to EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is actually destructive, and can only be done so many times.
 
Yes a card's useful life is tied to its usage, but it does need to be noted that, just as an example if the OP has a class 4 card, even if rarely or heavily used, will never be faster than a UHS3 class card -- the overriding issue being older cards are lower classes while newer cards are either lower classes or more often higher classes. The issue in question is determining just what is the card's class.
 
Really the only thing I will be using it for will be pictures. I need to take a lot of pictures for work when I travel. It's a micro sd so no issues with fitting. I was mostly concern if I had to do anything where it's coming from the BlackBerry.
 
Ahhh, just ignore all the verbage I added and keep using your microSD card as is. A significant aspect to microSD cards is by default they're set up using an old file system format (Microsoft's antiquated FAT) that is supported by almost every modern operating system so they, more or less, work seamlessly with whatever device you have -- Blackberry, Linux, MacOS/iOS, Windows, Android, etc. This allows one easily use a card to transfer files back and forth no matter what kind of device or computer you happen to using.
 
So here is a question...I have all my pictures grouped into folders. Is there a way to transfer the complete folder all at once to the SD card. Looking at it so far the only option I see is to open the folder and transfer each individual picture. Or am I gonna have to use the computer and just drag and drop. Was hoping I could do from the phone.
 
You don't need to actually install any additional file manager app on your phone, Samsung already includes a basic file manager app on its products. Look in your apps menu for the 'My Files' app.
 
svim...have already been there and unless I'm missing it,you cant transfer the whole file. You have to go to the file and open. Then select each individual picture you want and ttansfer. Unless I am doing it wrong.
 
Well 'My Files' is more of a basic file manager so for something like drag-and-drop copying/moving you'll need to install a file manager app with dual-pane windowing from the Play Store (most third-party apps will have more extensive features).
But if you want to stay with My Files you should be able to just select the folder, use its contextual menu to copy/move, and then select the location you want to move it to (you might be better off using 'copy' instead of 'move' at least until you get used to things work out -- when you copy files/folders you should check the destination to confirm the files/folders are actually there before deleting them from the source.)
Note that photo manager apps like Gallery or Google Photos will display your photo library as a general, overall collection of photos. The folders you store them won't be how they're displayed. Instead of sorting the photos into folders on your phone, you might want to instead just arrange/sort them using your photo manager app's 'Albums' feature. This way you just dump all your photos in a central location, typically the default should be the DCIM folder, but your photo manager app show your photo library sorted by the Albums you've created.
 
OK HELP, So I have got all the files transferred to the Sd card. Figured out what I was doing. But then a window came up and said to delete the duplicate files. I pressed ok. Now I have lost a tonne of pics, ones I can never get back. Please please please tell me that there is a way to recover these. Right now I want to throw up.
 
S8 user said:
OK HELP, So I have got all the files transferred to the Sd card. Figured out what I was doing. But then a window came up and said to delete the duplicate files. I pressed ok. Now I have lost a tonne of pics, ones I can never get back. Please please please tell me that there is a way to recover these. Right now I want to throw up.
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I believe I have found and retrieved the pictures. Thanks EFF for the cloud trash.
 
God I am so Android stupid it is not even funny. Got my pictures back but now I have multiple folders. The folders will contain some of the pics and the other folder will contain the ones deleted.

When I try to transfer the photos to have them all in one folder instead of two, it tells me that the pictures cant be transferred because they are not synced with the cloud....stupid and stumped. I'm at a loss guys.
 
What photo manager app are you using on your phone? The Gallery app? Google Photos? Something else?
Also, do you have access to a desktop or laptop?
 
The gallery app and the my files app. Seems to be the only way to transfer to the Sd card is using the my files, then transfer. Yes I do have access to a desktop.
 
Just put it in the slot, make sure it is seated, then put it in the phone. If there card needs to be formatted, your phone will display a message saying so, but I doubtfou will matter. You may want to format it anyways so it is fresh when you put it in your phone.
 
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