Help understanding ext-Micro SDHC use in And 2.3

[jlg234]

I have the SGP-5.0 (US And 2.3.5)
The internal storage is given as 8 gigs of which approx 5 Gigs is USER accessible for storage. This is assigned as "USB" storage. I also have a 16 gig M-SDHC in the unit and it is defined as "SD Card" by Android 2.3.5 when viewed through the Settings "SD Card and device storage".

When I use a "File Management" app such as "My Files" or "ES File Explorer" the 5 gigs internal memory is id'ed as "sdcard" and the 16 gig m-sdhc is viewed as "external_sd".

When I use apps such as "App 2 SD" or "Send to SD card" they only use the internal 5 gig storage. The same goes for APK backup apps and e-readers such as Kindle, Kobo, Aldiko etc.

Is there a way to have the OS recognize my "external sd" to be an extension of the "internal sd" storage? (Special partitioning or formating)

Is the external_sd only good for data such as e-books, media files as well as various doc formats?

I would have thought 8 gigs of internal storage plus 16 gigs of external storage would have been ample before hitting the "low on storage" warnings.

I tried searching around on the Net but most queries were for card types, mounting issues and speed.

JLG

 

[Hook]

I don't think so without root. I haven't checked all the many APS2SD apps in the market to be sure, but the ones I skimmed looked like they were not capabale of changing the OS's designation of what storage target to use.

ROM Toolbox is a great set of tools for rooted devices that includes a APS2SD tool that specifically will assign the target you wish.

 

[Sideman]

I'm not an android programmer, but if we were able to extend the "sd internal" storage to include some, or all, of the "sd external" storage, there could be big problems when the m-sdhc card was removed. No? Many apps could be broken for lack of access to their files/data.

 

[Hook]

I'm not an android programmer, but if we were able to extend the "sd internal" storage to include some, or all, of the "sd external" storage, there could be big problems when the m-sdhc card was removed. No? Many apps could be broken for lack of access to their files/data.

Possibly. I'm sure Samsung only targets the internal storage with APS2SD both for that reason and to keep things the same between devices that do and do not have expandable storage.

However, honestly, how often are you going to switch out your 32 Gb microSDHC card? Which is why APS2SD worked so well in the first place.
I haven't switched the target because, honestly, I am nowhere near filling up my memory and can't imagine doing it with apps. Then again, I'm not a big gamer, which seems to be the larger apps. I use internal memory for apps and the card for media and documents. Ebooks take up almost no space, so I don't worry about them.