Develop Bugs

[Q] Is it the SD card at fault?

hi all,
thought i would ask here as my questions in the rom specific forum are getting swamped by every asking for the dev to install specific programmes or people asking wht OJ death is..
im just trying to narrow down if my SD card is faulty, the rom is causing the issues or i have or am doing things wrong.
on random occasions i have lost apps, photos and other info from my SD card.
the first time it happed i did a nandriod backup prior to a rom update.
right after the nandriod back up my phone booted up and every photo i had taken in the last 2 days were gone.
thankfully using Recuva data recovery program in windoiws i was able to find and restore the photos.
i then updated my rom the Open desire rom, the one that enabled the OTA menu system. as far as i know there were no other things changed in the initial update.
after rebooting all my sd card data was wiped.
BUT.... some of the apps on the sd card were still there and some were gone, as well as apps on the phone, some were gone some was not.

chuxsta said:
on random occasions i have lost apps, photos and other info from my SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not alone... I too have a similar issue, with an un-branded, un-rooted Desire. The first think I noticed was a duplicate "Backgrounds" folder appearing in the 3D Gallery - which in itself is odd, because the standard Gallery app only shows it once.
Weirdly in one version of the folder I have a few less images than the other, but they're otherwise all duplicates and can only be found in one visible "Backgrounds" directory on my SD card. It's not just the Gallery app aither - some others (like Wall Switch) also see two "Backgrounds" folders.
Then I noticed a number of images had mysteriously disappeared from another folder - in both Gallery apps. The only app that's crashed is Wall Switch - which is probably related, as it's looking for images in that "Backgrounds" folder. It works fine most of the time though.
If any images have gone missing, I should be able to get them back as I recently upgraded to a 32GB card and copied all my files across before doing so. However, I'm more concerned that there's a problem with the new card. (Which, for the record, was not a cheap one from eBay.)
As such, I'll be spending some time this weekend testing the new card to see if I can identify any issues... but I too have a couple of questions in that regard:
i) Is there any benefit in formatting the card in the phone before use? (It came pre-formatted so I first checked it for errors in Windows first, then just started using it.) I realise before Froyo the phone could not format such big cards, but I think that may have been resolved now.
ii) What's the best way to verify the integrity of the card? (e.g. Will error checking via Windows - XP in my case - suffice?)
EDIT: I took the card out and copied the files (minus my MP3 library) back to the 4GB card that came with the phone. When I ran with this card the duplicate directory disappeared. CHKDSK found no problems on the 32GB card, but I reformatted it in the phone anyway and then copied everything back to it and all is now fine. I'm assuming the phone did a "Quick Format" rather than a full one, as it only took a few seconds. I'm not too worried about the missing image files as these may have been inadvertently deleted anyway. Fingers crossed the problem is behind me now, but I'll keep an eye on it.

I am having similar issues, it's almost like the SD card is not fully loaded, and tried to load but can't. Things are missing, and then they are there. I am using a new 16GB over the original 8GB.
I am rooted though, am I able to do a format of the SD card?
Also when I choose to make it work as disc drive, nothing happens, does not show up on system.

bmancell said:
I am having similar issues, it's almost like the SD card is not fully loaded, and tried to load but can't. Things are missing, and then they are there. I am using a new 16GB over the original 8GB.
I am rooted though, am I able to do a format of the SD card?
Also when I choose to make it work as disc drive, nothing happens, does not show up on system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had the same issue when i first rooted my phone i was able to put the card in an old HTC and it showed up as a drive in USB mode and i was able to run a file recovery tool to extract the data
then re format and copy the data back to it..
but the current issue is just random and strange...
stuff just seems to disapear as far as the phone is concerned ...
as i have already mentioned i had stuff vanish after running nandroid back up..

So for me it seems it happens shortly after bootup. Yes I give it enough time.
But once I open the all programs area, I see it load all of the icons. Maybe some issue with it not loading untill I open that area up.
Also, most of issues seems to be coming from the App Organizer Application, it's updated often so hopefully my issues will go away.
*As I play around with things it seems almost all my issues are related to the program. Even the issue with it not showing up on my computer when connected through USB. It does show up, just takes awhile, and once it does my Apps Organizer icons flash. So related.

try this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=18971539
some cases seems related

[Q] Any uses for /system folder? (Rooted Phone)

I've a strange question that might or might belong in the development thread, but figured since it's a question, I'll try here first.
I'm using a Stock DeOxed Rooted Rom on my EVO.
I recently installed a few more apps and saw this pesky little warning about low on space.
When I went into my "SystemPanel" app to see how much space was left exactly and noticed that my /data folder only had around 30megs out of it's 428M available.
Ok.. time to delete some apps I thought, but then I noticed that my /system folder (Where I presume pre-installed apps live) had almost 1/3 of it's space still available (115 out of 350megs available).
So I'm wondering.....
Is there some method that I can use to install Apps directly to this folder instead of the standard /data that apps appear to go to when installed?
Is it as simple as moving the APK file with Root Explorer, or are there some under the hood items in apps that prevent this sort of thing?
I've a few rather large apps that I cannot move to the SD card due to widget problems and the like but would be perfect for the system folder if I can find a way to move them there easily.
Thoughts?

DroidGnome said:
I've a strange question that might or might belong in the development thread, but figured since it's a question, I'll try here first.
I'm using a Stock DeOxed Rooted Rom on my EVO.
I recently installed a few more apps and saw this pesky little warning about low on space.
When I went into my "SystemPanel" app to see how much space was left exactly and noticed that my /data folder only had around 30megs out of it's 428M available.
Ok.. time to delete some apps I thought, but then I noticed that my /system folder (Where I presume pre-installed apps live) had almost 1/3 of it's space still available (115 out of 350megs available).
So I'm wondering.....
Is there some method that I can use to install Apps directly to this folder instead of the standard /data that apps appear to go to when installed?
Is it as simple as moving the APK file with Root Explorer, or are there some under the hood items in apps that prevent this sort of thing?
I've a few rather large apps that I cannot move to the SD card due to widget problems and the like but would be perfect for the system folder if I can find a way to move them there easily.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/system/app is where system apps are kept. If I remember correctly, any app can be installed into there, but you have to do through flashing an update.zip if I'm remembering properly. You may be able to take the apk that's in /data/app for the app you want to move and move it to /system/app, but I'm not sure if that will work properly or not. Someone who cooks ROMs might know more.
Also, you can partition your sd card and use true apps2sd with most ROMs. Its a little bit of work and will shorten the life of your card, but that gives you a lot more room if you need it.

I don't know that there's a way to move user apps to system. It's very possible there is a way, I've just never seen any posts about it. Apps 2 SD is usually the way to go.
ps. 30 megs?!?! Geez, how many apps do you have?
Sent from my SUPERSONIC

Easy peasy
First, use a true apk backup tool to backup e apk files you want to move. Titanium backup will NOT work because it compresses and distorts, and we need true apk files. I recommend file manager by adao team. Just go to applications, check what you want, and hit backup. Next, get the apk files on your computer by mounting sd and copying files from backups folder. You will lose all app data, but what can you do? Next, adb push the files to system app folder while in recovery mode (just say so if you don't know how to do this and i will tell you) and reboot. Done. Tell me if it works well.
By the way, 30 megs???

Doesn't froyo install to the sdcard if you tell it to?
I thought a2sd was obsolete

You can put apps there after changing the folder's permissions but I wouldn't recommend it. Just not a good idea to put regular apps there.
Just install them to your SD card instead
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

go into the android app manager and go through all your programs and click on move to sd card...
they will all still occupy some space on your nand, but not nearly as much.

Thanks for the advice, I thought it might not be as easy as moving them, oh well, just seems a shame for there to be over 100 megs I cannot do anything with.
I already had moved all I could to the SD card prior to posting this, but thanks for that advice as well, I'm sure others forget they can do that with Froyo.
As for the 30 megs I had left.. we'll it's back up to about 70 free which should be plenty for a while. (Remember we only have about 420 to start with).
Some of the big ones which could not be moved to the SD card are:
Swype (Deleted, took over 17megs)
TouchDown (12 megs.. must keep for tasks sync sadly)
Google Maps update (7.6 megs)
Documents to go (8megs)
A few various games that cannot yet be moved to the SD card at around 5megs each..
The rest are just lots of little apps.. I'm sort of an app junkie You should have seen my old Palm Centro... it was amazing!
According to Titanium, I currently have 194 'User apps', though I think a few are simply widgets, icon packs and the like.

[Q] What needs to be on SD?

Over the past 6 months I have collected a plethora of "****" on my SD card, lots of apps that left behind empty folders, logs, etc. I want to "fresh start it" and wipe everything off of it to eliminate all the folders that are no longer needed. Yes, I'm a app downloader/uninstaller, lol and as I'm sure some of you know leaves behind a trail of crap on your storage medium.
My question is, what does the SD card HAVE to have left on it (if anything) for the phone to operate correctly? I am Rooted/S-Off/SkyRaider 3.3.
Do i need to leave update.zip for instance on it, pictures i can i move to my Linux box, but I would hate to format the SD only to find out I just borked myself by removing a crucial system file the custom roms or rooting need.
I would also move my RomManager backup to my LB as well, just thought of that....
Anyone know?

i would leave clockwordmod folder, android.tether, android, and titanium backup folder..i mean thats what i have and would keep on my phone...I'm sure your setup is similar.

Thank you! =)

Damn good post. I went ahead and wiped my SD as well through clockwork. I saved my pictures and stuff to my desktop and then retransfered from there. What really sucks is organizing my pictures/music/media/ Sometimes when I switch ROM's I forget the camera auto saves pictures to internall emmc folder. What would be prime is to have it auto sync with a service like drop box.

so... we dont need :
"update.zip"
data
permissions log
blackberry? (never understood this being on my card)
etc...
i just formatted card via settings - storage - card format...
it took like 2 secs... and i have 3-4 gig of music on there...
seemed too fast for a format...
only 2 files it left on card was android.secure and lost.dir
i am re-adding some files i need, but wondering if your list above is the only "neccessary" files - obviously i'm adding my backups but i'm nervous cause theres a ton of files i'll be "missing"
i do have it backed up on 2 pc's, so i guess i'm covered...
hoping this helps - really just want a fresh canvas to work with...

Some applications and files disappear from SD card after SAFELY removal in Windows 7

Good afternoon, dear xda-developers forum members.
I really hope to find some help here.
In last two months I had the following issues:
1. This one happened two times already: after using my phone as a flash in windows 7 and "safely removal" of it, all my applications which were installed on SD card were saying that "Application is no longer installed" when I tried to run it, although other documents and files were readable from ASTRO File Manager, i.e. SD card was mounted. In Settings->Applications all these applications had black icons with SD card image on it and rather with package name than regular application name(for example com.navitel instead of regular Navitel, etc.). I've restored all these applications from Titanium Backup, but I'm afraid that there is something more disappeared also which I don't know about.
2. My "Android" folder on sd card became a file with weird contents(this folder was used for NFS Shift data only). I couldn't restore it. Again: if this folder corrupted, then there is definitely something else also corrupted.
After I saw these things for the first time, I used Windows checkdisk with auto-fix errors. It found a lot of files and put it into "FOUND.000" directory. I recognized in these files few apk-files of installed applications from SD and also few images from my SD. Then I restored applications to SD card and for some time it seemed ok. But one time it happened again.
My assumption is that Android fails to re-mount SD card after I disconnect it from PC.
I don't know what to do... is it Android bug or is it Desire bug or what? I swear that I ALWAYS make "safe USB removal" in Windows before disconnect the USB-cable and I ALWAYS wait for the message "It's now safe to disconnect your device".
I'm very disappointed with all that Please, advise me something useful...
P.S.: If needed I can give you any debug information you want, I'm a programmer, so I've been around

You could try to format your SD card, just backup the contents first, see if that works. As for Android, it does a pretty good job of mounting straight after. What version of Android are you running?

GoogleJelly said:
You could try to format your SD card, just backup the contents first, see if that works. As for Android, it does a pretty good job of mounting straight after.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will, but strange that it happened, because I formatted the flash before using it for the first time...
I have two assumptions:
Maybe I shouldn't press power button to switch the screen off just after disconnecting USB cable from PC. I was doing that as a habit, because every time you disconnect your phone from PC, the screen turns on.
Maybe I shouldn't try to run application which is installed on SD just after disconnecting phone from PC. Maybe I should have waited for a minute. I've tried to do it once, because I wanted to see the result as soon as possible, so the phone said that "Application is no longer installed", I though that Android haven't mount SD yet and tried later. It worked. But next time when I used USB cable, all SD-card apps became uninstalled.
GoogleJelly said:
What version of Android are you running?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, forgot to mention. I'm using HTC Desire with Android 2.2(2.10.405.2).

Fast Boot option may be the culprit
In case anyone checks this old thread...
CUT TO THE SOLUTION BELOW -- SEARCH FOR ////
Some (not all) of my apps moved to SD (all by Titanium Backup Pro) have begun to disappear and (sometimes) reappear without warning after I began to add and delete large Virtual Machines created in QEMU from my 16GB SanDisc class 10 microSD card on my HTC Droid Incredible running rooted stock Verizon Android Froyo 2.2.3. I know this thread is far from my phone's "home base", but from what I can tell this problem with disappearing apps located on an sdcard is NOT determined by hardware or even Android version.
I also happen to use LauncherPro by Federico Carnales instead of the built-in HTC Sense launcher. I noted elsewhere on XDA that a user had suggested that because at least some (maybe all) launchers start before the SD Card that this may be a problem, especially if changes are made to the sdcard that the launcher did not perform, or was not active during their performance by other apps such as Titanium Backup. That fits my situation, because I unmounted the SD, physically removed it to a PC, and added/deleted large VM files to save (lots) of time. No problems of this sort before I did this, so there must be some connection.
I noted that other users have tried reformatting SD, substituting different brands of SD, using newer/older SD etc. None of these reliably helped. So I skipped these options.
//// The (simple!) solution I tried that SEEMS to work (only time will tell!) is buried in the main Android Settings (accessed from the Menu button while in Home screen). Under "Applications" there is a setting "Fast Boot" that I checked long ago and forgot about (it seemed like a good thing to do at the time). The text warns "Turn off to use some Market apps" (that shows the age of my 2-yr old used phone and Android OS -- ohmygosh!-- because it refers to Market rather than Google Play Store!) Anyway, I unchecked the option and rebooted the phone.
Yes, it took a bit longer to boot (maybe a whole minute!), but after waiting about another minute ALL my home screen apps had normal icons and loaded properly. Titanium Backup Pro batch scenarios confirmed there were no apps in a forced uninstalled state (i.e. I had not done the deed, the system somehow had done it or at least rendered the apps "invisible" to Titanium, which decided they needed reinstallation).
The only odd behaviour was that auto brightness was turned off after I unchecked Fast Boot and rebooted. Going into Android Settings > Display and rechecking "auto brightness" took care of that. No other oddities or strange behaviours thus far (but it has only been about an hour).
I will report back here on this thread only (Samsung Fascinate > Fascinate Q&A > What just happend? apps on sdcard) if anything else requires reporting. Silence implies success!
link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1873670
(I am copying this post to other relevant threads, but will not post anything further elsewhere -- only there. This is a bit arbitrary (although this thread appears to be the most recent active one on this topic), but I hope this approach pleases the XDA sysops/admins) :angel:

[Q] please help, applications on sd stuck on computing

Hi guys writing on this forum is now my last resort in the hopes may be someone has an idea what the hell is actually going on, my desire hd has been causing problems where when i update any of my apps they get stuck on installing, then i try to wipe the market data and cache but the whole system gets stuck on computing so i cant do anything, when i reboot the phone, the apps go away, all the sd apps dont appear, and the system still says computing for all the apps.....ive tried everything, i noticed when all this was going the android secure folder had some.-2 extensions although they werent duplicates so i moved all apps to internal storage, deleted the android secure folder and moved them all back, so they all had -1 extensions, phone worked fine for about 2 months until yesterday, was updating an app on 3g and it got stuck in the installing phase, computing came back, rebooted phone, no help, shutdown phone and back on again and all the apps were then read, took time to clear the mqrket data and cache, went to root explorer since i had stored it on phone storage, went to mnt, .asec and all the apps had the -1 extension, so now i dont know what to do....
Its a nightmare, cant update and everytime the apps do come back after repeated switching on and off of the phone, everytime i try to update an app it gets stuck on installing and computing comes back.....its wierd cuz ive changed the sd card, moved all apps from phone atorage to sd but the problems still there....right now i cant asses the sd apps, ill try rebooting and see of they come back again....ive backed manually all the android secure folder apps on my computer, ive noticed something wierd, when i move batch of 10 apps from computer to phone they are read fine and come up on the phone, i keep doing this in steps, manually mounting and then unmounting the sd card till all my apps qre transfered to the android secure folder and all are read just fine by the phone, but as soon as i do a reboot they all dissapear again, ive also noticed that when apps are working perfect they are located in the mnt, .asec directory when i view em theough root explorer, but when i the apps are not being read like right now they are located in the mnt, staging, .asec directory
Im sorry guys for the lengthy explanation but wanted to give as much information as possible, i guess what im saying is when i do manage to get my sd apps working by repeated rebooting of phone, everytime i try to update an app it gets stuck on installing and computing comes back so the whole process of reboot starts all over again, as that is the only way i can get the sd apps back....
Any help would be appreciated, thanks for the patience in reading all this, oh when the phone did work fine during the last 2 months, the only way i kept it going was because everytime i updated an app the ext-2 appeared on it, so i had to move it to phone and then back to sd card, i dont know if the -2 ext appearing is normal everytime u update an app but since i had exams going on i had to keep the phone working so i never took a chance of updating an app that was already on the -2 ext, but now i guess none of the apps are and the problems back for some reason...
Please ask questiona if this is gettin a whole lot confusing for some

any ideas
Guessing no one knows what i might be talking about then, any ideas would be helpful guys...

billy_87 said:
Guessing no one knows what i might be talking about then, any ideas would be helpful guys...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK the -2 just means there was already an app there when it updated. If you uninstall the app and reinstall it then it will be a -1 app again. From your first post it looks like you have alot of apps on your SD card? What calss is your SD card? Have you tried starting from scratch and reunstalling the apps from the market one by one to see it one app is causing the issue? From the statement about computing I would try a greasy start all together. Full wipe and reinstall the rom. Then your apps one by one. Will it be long? Yeah but its then only way to slim it down and find the issue.

thanks
Thabks zelendel, that really helped, strange that its happening, only some of the apps are giving e this problem, i just unistalled all the -2 and have reinstalled them, ill keep u updated if the problem goes away, im sure its cuz of the -2 s the app stalls and multiple reboots are needed to get them working again...whereas factory reset goes, oh boy thats gona be a long one, lets see how this one goes, ill keep u updated, and thanks again for all the help...