Help SD Card???

[Vehtemas]

I did some searches and nothing came up.... My sincerest apologies if I am re-posting the same question that has been asked 15 times...

Anyways, I just noticed that EVERYTHING (even though I set them to install to the SD card) goes onto my internal memory...

I verified the card is inserted and taking pictures DOES go into the SD card but nothing else does...

Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Thom]

I did some searches and nothing came up.... My sincerest apologies if I am re-posting the same question that has been asked 15 times...

Anyways, I just noticed that EVERYTHING (even though I set them to install to the SD card) goes onto my internal memory...

I verified the card is inserted and taking pictures DOES go into the SD card but nothing else does...

Am I doing something wrong?

Clarification is needed on your question. SD card is unfortunately ambiguous. "Install" generally means "install an App".

There is an internal fixed SD card that you have "odd" access to.

There is an external removable SD-Ext card that you can remove.

You can move information from one of the three areas of the SD card to the SD-Ext card and vise-versa.

You can access one of the other areas of the SD card using the Settings | Application | Application management tool.

You cannot access the other area of the SD card.

You cannot install apps into the SD-Ext card ... ever.

... Thom

 

[johnlgalt]

He knows which is which. He also knows how to move items, He's complaining about how the apps save things in internal storage instead of external, as with our previous phones.

V, yeah, most apps are hardcoded to use /sdcard to refer to the physical SDCard. The easiest thing would be for someone to write a patch for the system procs to change the mount points of the internal storage and the SDCard so that /sdcard points to the SDcard, and /internal points to internal memory.

The Galaxy S phones had the same issue when release in Europe over 6 months ago (although due to a different naming scheme, the principle was the same - sdcard was no longer actually the sdcard).

I'm really not sure why Motorola did this, but some apps can be changed. For example, in TiBu, go to Menu soft key --> Preferences --> Backup folder location - when the dialog box pops up, use the back key to move around in the folder tree, until you find where you want to save backups to.

Other apps can be configurable as well, but i they are not specifically configured, they may default to just using /sdcard - which here, obviously, is incorrect.

For the camera app, go to menu key --> Settings (gear icon) --> storage location. Here, SD Card really means SD Card, and internal memory means ... you get it. Changing this setting should affect the camcorder as well.

What other apps?

 

[Vehtemas]

He knows which is which. He also knows how to move items, He's complaining about how the apps save things in internal storage instead of external, as with our previous phones.

V, yeah, most apps are hardcoded to use /sdcard to refer to the physical SDCard. The easiest thing would be for someone to write a patch for the system procs to change the mount points of the internal storage and the SDCard so that /sdcard points to the SDcard, and /internal points to internal memory.

The Galaxy S phones had the same issue when release in Europe over 6 months ago (although due to a different naming scheme, the principle was the same - sdcard was no longer actually the sdcard).

I'm really not sure why Motorola did this, but some apps can be changed. For example, in TiBu, go to Menu soft key --> Preferences --> Backup folder location - when the dialog box pops up, use the back key to move around in the folder tree, until you find where you want to save backups to.

Other apps can be configurable as well, but i they are not specifically configured, they may default to just using /sdcard - which here, obviously, is incorrect.

For the camera app, go to menu key --> Settings (gear icon) --> storage location. Here, SD Card really means SD Card, and internal memory means ... you get it. Changing this setting should affect the camcorder as well.

What other apps?

Thom, thank you for your attempt to help, but John did understand correctly, I am sorry if I was too ambiguous.

Anyways, pretty much every app saves to internal storage ADW Launcher EX, Office Suite, Dropbox, SugarSync, pretty much everything.

I will start looking around but I am pretty sure the vast majority of them do NOT allow customizing the save points...

I guess that does indeed make sense on the naming scheme, although sounds really freaking stupid to me that they would do it...

*John* if you know how to change the setting for Camera Zoom FX that would be good, I just got the app for $ 0.10 and it also now defaults to the internal memory and not the SD card...

*Edit* Spoken too soon, I found out where to change it. Done =)

Know a hack for Google Music to change it to go to the SD card?

 

[johnlgalt]

Lol - glad you figured it out - I just now saw that it was for sale, so I just now snagged it.

This sale has robbed me of at least $5 - and I've never, ever, ever had this many games on my phone before....

 

[Vehtemas]

Lol - glad you figured it out - I just now saw that it was for sale, so I just now snagged it.

This sale has robbed me of at least $5 - and I've never, ever, ever had this many games on my phone before....

Hahaha I think I have spent around $5-6 on this sale. ADW Launcher is my favorite.

I VERY much recommend Heavy Gunner, it is an AWESOME game hahaha.

And yeah I have almost 2 full screens of games now, it is ridiculous.

I have bought 2 apps before this, and now I bought a crap ton.

P.S. know of any way to trick Google Music to save to the sd card?

 

[Thom]

He knows which is which. He also knows how to move items, He's complaining about how the apps save things in internal storage instead of external, as with our previous phones.

V, yeah, most apps are hard coded to use /sdcard to refer to the physical SD card. The easiest thing would be for someone to write a patch for the system pricks to change the mount points of the internal storage and the SD card so that /sdcard points to the SD card, and /internal points to internal memory.

The Galaxy S phones had the same issue when release in Europe over 6 months ago (although due to a different naming scheme, the principle was the same - sdcard was no longer actually the sdcard).

I'm really not sure why Motorola did this, but some apps can be changed. For example, in TiBu, go to Menu soft key --> Preferences --> Backup folder location - when the dialog box pops up, use the back key to move around in the folder tree, until you find where you want to save backups to.

Other apps can be configurable as well, but i they are not specifically configured, they may default to just using /sdcard - which here, obviously, is incorrect.

For the camera app, go to menu key --> Settings (gear icon) --> storage location. Here, SD Card really means SD Card, and internal memory means ... you get it. Changing this setting should affect the camcorder as well.

What other apps?

Here's a few points for consideration ...

Since this was posted in a public forum and not a private message, I assumed that everyone reading it should at least be able to follow it. I could not follow the questions. John obviously had a past history with the poster on the subject and knew how to "break the code".

When getting involved with this forum the single thing that took longest for me to discover was what the hell TiBu meant. It would periodically crop up. The generally adopted form of using an abbreviation like this is either TiBu (Titanium Pro Backup) or Titanium Pro Backup (TiBu). The last place I was employed had a policy of always using the first form. (If someone knew the abbreviation they would skip over it.)

TiBu is a sperman app. I use it on my Droid X that is root-ed. TiBu is a root-ed app and I believe a subject relegated to the "Bionic All Things Root" sub-forum.

The reason they inflicted that incredibly stupid issue of redefining what SD Card meant was that it was hard coded in a number of applications that were currently in use and would continue to be in use on the old environment. The alternative would seem to be a requirement for two versions of each App (one for the old and one for the new environment). For security reasons they never want it to default to having an app write data on the removable SD-Ext card. It should be a conscious decision from the end user as to what got put there.

... Thom

 

[Vehtemas]

Here's a few points for consideration ...

Since this was posted in a public forum and not a private message, I assumed that everyone reading it should at least be able to follow it. I could not follow the questions. John obviously had a past history with the poster on the subject and knew how to "break the code".

When getting involved with this forum the single thing that took longest for me to discover was what the hell TiBu meant. It would periodically crop up. The generally adopted form of using an abreviation like this is either TiBu (Titanium Pro Backup) or Titanium Pro Backup (TiBu). The last place I was employed had a policy of always using the first form. (If someone knew the abrivation they would skip over it.)

TiBu is a superm app. I use it on my Droid X that is root-ed. TiBu is a root-ed app and I believe a subject relegated to the "Bionic All Things Root" sub-forum.

The reason they inflicted that incredibly stupifd issue of redefining what SD Card meant was that it was hard coded in a numnber of appliocations that were currently in use and would continue to be in use on the old environment. The alternative would seem to be a requirement for two versions of each App (one for the old and one for the new environment). For security reasons they never want it to default to having an app write data on tne removable SD-Ext card. It should be a consious decision from the end user as to what got put there.

... Thom

You know Thom, I have a lot of respect for you but I cannot help but feel insulted that apparently he had to 'break the code'...

I admit I could have mentioned that DATA from the apps get SAVED to said area vs the app being installed there, which is probably what you assumed.

Also, I argue with your comment about the security reasons, applications themselves get installed on internal, however, most applications try to put data on the SD card, or external which I would argue is a much better place since there is much more data on the external card most of the time. This is how it has always run with every phone I have ever owned that is considered a 'smart phone'.

Also, why bother changing it in the first place? With most apps you can choose to save data to the SD Card or Internal Memory, it is YOUR choice to save to the SD card and thus incur the safety risk... Doing their method essentially made the external memory near useless since very few apps allow you to customize where the data associated with them is stored.

 

[johnlgalt]

I don't see the problem here. He posted, you asked for clarification, I answered he knew what you were writing about and proceeded to answer what he was asking....

@V - yeah, I bought that immediately when I saw it. I had 3 games before I bought my BIONIC - Wordzup, Spade's Free and ... I can't even find the other one lol (I have almost 250 downloaded apps now....

now, I have so many games I'll probably never play....Sigh.

And, no, no idea on how to do that yet. That's yet another FAQ taht I've not seen an answer to.

 

[Vehtemas]

I don't see the problem here. He posted, you asked for clarification, I answered he knew what you were writing about and proceeded to answer what he was asking....

@V - yeah, I bought that immediately when I saw it. I had 3 games before I bought my BIONIC - Wordzup, Spade's Free and ... I can't even find the other one lol (I have almost 250 downloaded apps now....

now, I have so many games I'll probably never play....Sigh.

And, no, no idea on how to do that yet. That's yet another FAQ taht I've not seen an answer to.

I have a ton of downloaded apps but only now got a bunch of paid for ones hahaha. I even bought quite a few that I don't think I will use but I might need in the future...

 

[johnlgalt]

I've already had a ton of paid apps that I have downloaded. 54 to be exact.

(OK, that doesn't sound right - how about I have bought 54 apps? yeah, that's better)

I've bought 54 apps for almost $185

 

[Vehtemas]

I've already had a ton of paid apps that I have downloaded. 54 to be exact.

(OK, that doesn't sound right - how about I have bought 54 apps? yeah, that's better)

I've bought 54 apps for almost $185

I paid for 1 app before this sale hahaha, it was setCPU for my OG Droid.

 

[johnlgalt]

Gosh. I bought SetCPU, ROM Manager, Root Explorer, Cachemate, TiBu, ....I had lost of paid apps on the DROID, too, 21 o 23, I think...

 

[Thom]

You know Thom, ....

I'm long ...

Spoiler

I don't think there is a problem. I know I don't have one. I hope you don't. You both Had obviously talked in t he past. That is the meaning of my "break the code" reference. (I had two other conversations today where people were confused about what SD card meant. Walking up cold. I thought this was the third.)

We never used to have virus scanners or spam scanners on PCs. No one ever conceived of the need. Over a 3-6 month period every PC in the world got a virus scanner. Later every PC in the world got a spam scanner.

It is amazing that Android is still as open as it is. It is changing. Not being able to rent stuff if root-ed is an example of that change.

Partitioning the data into what can/should be shared and what can't/shouldn't be shared is another step.

I think they had to do it the way they did or the needed segregation of data by each user would have gone un-addressed. They "secured" it all and you have to intentionally "insecure" it.

People are beginning to realize how powerful the computer in their pocket is and they are going to use it more and more and will want to store data on it securely.

I think the intent is to have a fistful of SD-Exts with movies and music and work databases on them. Pull out one and put in another.

You can't do that if you have app data stored on it and want to run the app regardless of what SD-Ext card is installed.

Do you want to try to describe "code" vs "data" to everyone?

The answer was segregation based on the decisions of the user.

My GUESS is that it is ICS-related and the reason Razr has a SD-Ext slot. It is REALLY odd to me that Nexus does not have a slot.

At any rate ... if I am right or wrong ... it is what it is.

... Thom

 

[johnlgalt]

You know Thom, I have a lot of respect for you but I cannot help but feel insulted that apparently he had to 'break the code'...

I admit I could have mentioned that DATA from the apps get SAVED to said area vs the app being installed there, which is probably what you assumed.

Also, I argue with your comment about the security reasons, applications themselves get installed on internal, however, most applications try to put data on the SD card, or external which I would argue is a much better place since there is much more data on the external card most of the time. This is how it has always run with every phone I have ever owned that is considered a 'smart phone'.

Also, why bother changing it in the first place? With most apps you can choose to save data to the SD Card or Internal Memory, it is YOUR choice to save to the SD card and thus incur the safety risk... Doing their method essentially made the external memory near useless since very few apps allow you to customize where the data associated with them is stored.

it actually makes more sense to put data on an internal storage space, b/c if the micro SDCard gets corrupted / dislodged / lost, your applications will still function.

That, apparently, was the real reason that the naming convention came about as it did. Apps hardcoded for sdcard would still save there - so Motorola made he sdcard the internal and not the external, so data would be saved to the phone.

in this, Thom has the right of it. It makes no sense to the end user b/c we're used to a different scheme - but from an administration point of view (as in the OS has to administer the data being generated and saved by all the apps under its control) it makes perfect sense - the other alternative would be to fragment Android even more by making developers implement different saving schemes based upon the particular OEM their app was installed on - and you can bet even money that developers around the world would cry foul and boycott Moto devices from that point on.

I'm long ...

Spoiler

I don't thiink there is a problem. I know I don't have one. I hope you don't. You both ahd obviously talked in t he past. That is the meaning of my "break the code" reference. (I had two other conversations today where people were confused about what SD card meant. Walking up cold. I thought this was the third.)

We never used to have virus scanners or spam scanners on PCs. Noone ever conceived of the need. Over a 3-6 month period every PC in the world got a virus scanner. Later every PC in the world got a spam scanner.

It is amazing that Android is still as open as it is. It is changing. Not being able to rent stuff if root-ed is an example of that change.

Partitioning the data into what can/should be shared and what can't/shouldn't be shared is another step.

I think they had to do it the way they did or the needed segregation of data by each user would have gone unaddressed. They "secured" it all and you have to intentionally "unsecure" it.

People are beginning to realize how powerful the computer in their pocket is and they are going to use it more and more and will want to store data on it securely.

I think the intent is to have a fistful fo SD-Exts with movies and music and work databases on them. Pull out one and put in another.

You can't do that if you have app data stored on it and want to run the app regardless of what SD-Ext card is installed.

Do you want to try to describe "code" vs "data" to everyone?

The answer was segregation based on the decisions of the user.

My GUESS is that it is ICS-related and the reason Razr has a SD-Ext slot. It is REALLY odd to me that Nexus does not have a slot.

At any rate ... if I am right or wrong ... it is what it is.

... Thom

Again, you're making inferences that are simply not there. I made the natural conclusion based upon the fact that the same question had been asked by other users and I was answering it again. My rationale for choosing that interpretation over your own was that he has over 900 posts and he is not new to the forums, nor to Android devices in general.

now, let's get back on topic, K?

 

[Thom]

I stand corrected (sit corrected actually). You inferred correctly where he was coming from and I was wrong in assuming you had talked to him previously.

I provided what I think is answering the question he asked of why the name was redefined. At first blush the redefinition seems like a stupid thing to do. After you ponder it for a while I think you have to conclude that it was the way that made the most sense.

There is an awful lot of space on the SD card.

... Thom