Develop Bugs

Need help for 4.2 users : About emulated and legacy folders

As the title, is it normal if we get those folders after update to 4.2 ? Because as far as I read the problem when updating to 4.2 is only 0 folder.
I was using PA 2.54 that based on 4.1.2. I have installed latest TWRP. Then made a factory reset, after that I flashed PA 2.99. And it created those folders. Please help. Thanks.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus with Paranoid Android powered by Trinity kernel

Ridho1 said:
As the title, is it normal if we get those folders after update to 4.2 ? Because as far as I read the problem when updating to 4.2 is only 0 folder.
I was using PA 2.54 that based on 4.1.2. I have installed latest TWRP. Then made a factory reset, after that I flashed PA 2.99. And it created those folders. Please help. Thanks.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus with Paranoid Android powered by Trinity kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After reluctantly accepting the 4.2 ota, i also gained legacy and obb folders in data/media. I do have emulated showing, but im still confused at this point. Google made some waves.

bodh said:
After reluctantly accepting the 4.2 ota, i also gained legacy and obb folders in data/media. I do have emulated showing, but im still confused at this point. Google made some waves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and this is why I want a physical SD card in my phone... this emulated BS is driving me crazy today... over already accidentally deleted files thinking this so called linked directory was not a real directory ... it is in fact a fake directory with real actions... come on google... 1 directory to call home... not the multi linked mess of fake folders ....
/rant (GNexToro(HWv9)-TapTalk2)

Does anyone know what directories/folders are safe to delete? I have an entire duplicate of everything across two folders.
They reside here.
/storage/emulated/legacy/0/
/storage/emulated/0/0/
They are exact duplicates. Same size, etc.
Which is safe to remove? I searched for like a day on this forum, and many others. I have been trying to figure out which is safe to remove, but I am more confused now then ever. :silly:
I feel like just picking one to delete to free up space and if I muck up, I'll restore from a Nandroid.

The 0 folder is the new directory.
located at data/media/0
Created when you upgrade from 4.1.x to 4.2.1
The other folders you see are links to these folders, not duplicates of what you have stored in these folders.
Installing the latest recoverys will take care of the extra 0 folders ie 0/0/0
If you delete the folders from one of the link folders, you may delete the actual folders. They don't take up space.

gpfnzl said:
The 0 folder is the new directory.
located at data/media/0
Created when you upgrade from 4.1.x to 4.2.1
The other folders you see are links to these folders, not duplicates of what you have stored in these folders.
Installing the latest recoverys will take care of the extra 0 folders ie 0/0/0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for the reply.
I do have the latest recovery, but apparently if you updated to the latest CWM after moving to JB 4.2 you are still gonna get the folders. Updating before going to 4.2 would have prevented this. Well, this is what I get from reading other messages and forums.
So I am wondering if there is another way to sort these so it's not so confusing.
If not, I'll accept it and may roll back to 4.1, update my recovery, then flash the 4.2 rom.

and this is why I want a physical SD card in my phone... this emulated BS is driving me crazy today... over already accidentally deleted files thinking this so called linked directory was not a real directory ... it is in fact a fake directory with real actions... come on google... 1 directory to call home... not the multi linked mess of fake folders ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm still not sure what the actual presentation of the data loss that i heard about was, it wasnt people simply not finding the right path to the data was it? but i also dont get why so many people are so keen to remove a link to their internal memory. Why is it so bad for it to be there? just dont go into the folder
a lot of people seem to get that it is an exact mirror (it's just like a shortcut in windows), so just use one, and whats the bother?

d0wns3t said:
i'm still not sure what the actual presentation of the data loss that i heard about was, it wasnt people simply not finding the right path to the data was it? but i also dont get why so many people are so keen to remove a link to their internal memory. Why is it so bad for it to be there? just dont go into the folder
a lot of people seem to get that it is an exact mirror (it's just like a shortcut in windows), so just use one, and whats the bother?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They arent exact mirrors. The fact that I have to go through four virtual SD cards to find something I downloaded that's buried in one of them. Its a total pain. Which one is the real one?

DelphinusMinor said:
Hey, thanks for the reply.
I do have the latest recovery, but apparently if you updated to the latest CWM after moving to JB 4.2 you are still gonna get the folders. Updating before going to 4.2 would have prevented this. Well, this is what I get from reading other messages and forums.
So I am wondering if there is another way to sort these so it's not so confusing.
If not, I'll accept it and may roll back to 4.1, update my recovery, then flash the 4.2 rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what i see, reverting back to 4.1 won't do it.
You have to go back to a particular stock 4.1 then install latest CWM recovery. untested by me. There is a guide around but i've lost the link.
For me I did a full manual wipe of everything (including SD card), then a manual reinstall of cwm and a 4.2 rom.
I have a 0 folder, but i don't have a 0/0/0 folder created when switching between roms.
Need someone clever to write a clear guide and have it stickied

I too would be interested to know if a solution has been found yet. My legacy folder is taking up more than half of my internal storage. Is it safe to delete?
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

I didn't think my dirs were duplicated at first, and the other day I investigated more. One directory structure looks exactly the same, but when I went thru the diff folders and compared between the two, alot of the folders didn't have the same contents. Some folders were even empty and it's clone had data in it, settings and whatnot.
I may post a screenshot once my phone is charged.

/emulated/legacy/0/0/
Is completely different from
/emulated/legacy/0/
The data is diff sizes if you compare both of those folders.
Why Android went this way by setting user accounts/profiles is beyond me.
Here is an example pic. I am not going to take screenshots of everything tho, obviously.
On the left all the folders and data is older then the data in the directory on the right, so I am thinking it is probably safe to delete the older data.
Any ideas?

Here is another example.
What is in the legacy folder on right, is totally diff from what is on the left, but in this case, the data on the left is now the newest data, where the right has no data at all.
Just noticed /emulated/legacy/0/0/0/ also has totally diff contents then the first two I mentioned and the folders vary in size dramatically.
It's a bit frustrating.
EDIT: Added another pic.

DelphinusMinor said:
Here is another example.
What is in the legacy folder on right, is totally diff from what is on the left, but in this case, the data on the left is now the newest data, where the right has no data at all.
Just noticed /emulated/legacy/0/0/0/ also has totally diff contents then the first two I mentioned and the folders vary in size dramatically.
It's a bit frustrating.
EDIT: Added another pic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please correct me if im wrong in my thinking. Its normal if I flash from 4.2 (for a day or to) then flash back using a nandroid to 4.1 to have a left over 0folder sitting in my main storage SDcard0?
So when im back on 4.1 I have Sdcard0/0 thats where it ends for me as of now. I flash back and forth all the time. I also get legacy folders but as of yet there always emty. The 0folders left over (mind you im on 4.1) im only testing 4.2 but the left over folder 0 does contain a lot of folders though only data is located in the duplicate android folder.
Questions so being that im on 4.1.2 again what do I do with the left over folders? Up till now I just use windows copy them over and let all the folders merge. Seems to work most the time but It can cause issues.... there gotta be better way? How come I get left over crap in a 0 folder every dang time I flash back from 4.2 to 4.1
Thats normal? Oh BTW im on newest TWRP installed from GOO. I am running Jellybam 4.1.2 I don't delete folders just merge them back into my other folders but maybe I shouldn't do this?
I dunno when im on 4.2 I don't have any issues except that I think this concept is some stupid guys idea of trying way way to hard to be smart. Smoked a little ot much weed before he came to work ya know?
Please
1. What do we do about 0 doler / legacy folder when we flash back to 4.1
2. Whats normal... what should we except when flashing from 4.1 to 4.2 assuming we have newest TWRP or CWM
3. Anything else you think you should add
4. whats your home launcher
peace

xxsicknessxx said:
Please correct me if im wrong in my thinking. Its normal if I flash from 4.2 (for a day or to) then flash back using a nandroid to 4.1 to have a left over 0folder sitting in my main storage SDcard0?
So when im back on 4.1 I have Sdcard0/0 thats where it ends for me as of now. I flash back and forth all the time. I also get legacy folders but as of yet there always emty. The 0folders left over (mind you im on 4.1) im only testing 4.2 but the left over folder 0 does contain a lot of folders though only data is located in the duplicate android folder.
Questions so being that im on 4.1.2 again what do I do with the left over folders? Up till now I just use windows copy them over and let all the folders merge. Seems to work most the time but It can cause issues.... there gotta be better way? How come I get left over crap in a 0 folder every dang time I flash back from 4.2 to 4.1
Thats normal? Oh BTW im on newest TWRP installed from GOO. I am running Jellybam 4.1.2 I don't delete folders just merge them back into my other folders but maybe I shouldn't do this?
I dunno when im on 4.2 I don't have any issues except that I think this concept is some stupid guys idea of trying way way to hard to be smart. Smoked a little ot much weed before he came to work ya know?
Please
1. What do we do about 0 doler / legacy folder when we flash back to 4.1
2. Whats normal... what should we except when flashing from 4.1 to 4.2 assuming we have newest TWRP or CWM
3. Anything else you think you should add
4. whats your home launcher
peace
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Apex Launcher but you don't see it in the images. I think you are referring to FlashFXP which is a file manager I use to move files and folders between my PC and my phone, and to move files and folders between diff folders on the device itself by connecting to my phone in two instances.
It's my understanding the "0" folders are designated for the different user accounts.
If you go to JB 4.2. and then go back to 4.1 I believe the files from your 4.2 install remain intact(Or at least the file structure). No data is actually wiped unless you intentionally do so.
Now, I am just someone who flashes casually and I wouldn't consider myself an expert. I am confident in my skills, just not at a point where I can say anything with serious conviction. So your mileage may vary.
I actually found out which set of folders were the ones in use, and I ended up doing a nandroid, and then deleting everything else on my phone to be safe. I have rebooted several times and haven't had any issues. This was a few days ago.
Remember too, if you restore from an older nandroid from a prior firmware version it will roll back whatever kernal you currently have, etc. It basically brings your phone to the exact state it was in when you did the backup.
Good luck with whatever you do! :cyclops:

AHHHHHHH All my precious data on internal sdcard GONE. All because of the stupid linked legacy folder! I was just trying to delete 1 duplicated (or so I thought) mp3 file, then Google had to come into the action and screw everything over!
I'm done! I'm done with all this BS. I can't even sleep properly! Just let me enjoy my summer

Peteragent5 said:
AHHHHHHH All my precious data on internal sdcard GONE. All because of the stupid linked legacy folder! I was just trying to delete 1 duplicated (or so I thought) mp3 file, then Google had to come into the action and screw everything over!
I'm done! I'm done with all this BS. I can't even sleep properly! Just let me enjoy my summer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just deleted one file... how did literally all of your data get erased?
I... what

tritonesub said:
If you just deleted one file... how did literally all of your data get erased?
I... what
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I deleted the undetectable, sneaky, linked legacy/emulated folder because it was in /sdcard. So it portrayed itself as another folder, but in it's entirety was the /sdcard itself masquerading as emulated/legacy causing ones mind to think it is an expendable piece of foolery. Linked folder(/sdcard->emulated) contains emulated folder which links sdcard, but it was placed in sdcard so it's entire existence is invalid. Inception eh.

gpfnzl said:
The 0 folder is the new directory.
located at data/media/0
Created when you upgrade from 4.1.x to 4.2.1
The other folders you see are links to these folders, not duplicates of what you have stored in these folders.
Installing the latest recoverys will take care of the extra 0 folders ie 0/0/0
If you delete the folders from one of the link folders, you may delete the actual folders. They don't take up space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for this, finally i found where to hunt down the folders taking up space on the storage and delete that ****, now i have more room on the internal memory.:good:

tomh1979 said:
thank you for this, finally i found where to hunt down the folders taking up space on the storage and delete that ****, now i have more room on the internal memory.:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you give us all a pointer as to which folders you found safe to delete--I'm sure that we could all do with getting that bit of extra storage??

[Q] Storage explanation needed

Hi all, I just wanted someone to help me with some confusion I have about the internal memory of the galaxy nexus
I'm aware there's obviously no SD card however inside the storage section there seems to be a folder called sdcard0 which has all my usual sub folders in it. However, when I tried to restore with TB after flashing a ROM earlier I couldn't and when I checked it was because the TB folder on sdcard0 was completely empty, as well as all the others. What I also found was that there is a sub folder like all the others, except it's called "0" and has exactly the same folders as sdcard0! This is where I'm confused, the TB folder inside 0 has all my backup data but in the app it doesn't recognise there's anything to restore and some help on this would also be appreciated if anyone could help me with this issue and maybe explain how this 0 folder has been created I'd be very grateful, thanks again
Sent from my rooted time travelling slice of cheese

Use the search function next time.
Sdcard0 is related to 4.2+ multi user feature. 0 is essentially admin. Having multiple 0 folders means you flashed a 4.2 rom on an outdated recovery that didn't handle it correctly. Move the folders into the main 0 and delete the extra. Then update your recovery.

4.2 have multiuser support and the 0 is for the first user.
Though it is only on tablets you can actually create other users, at least on stock
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk HD

what the other guys said!
path forward: either update your recovery and then manually move over all the data from sdcard0/0 to sdcard0/ or if you dont want to do that you can simply open TiBackup and change the location of the folder of the backups. Option is available in TiBackup Preferences.

DZYR said:
what the other guys said!
path forward: either update your recovery and then manually move over all the data from sdcard0/0 to sdcard0/ or if you dont want to do that you can simply open TiBackup and change the location of the folder of the backups. Option is available in TiBackup Preferences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's terrible advice. The extra 0 folder will only cause issues down the road and should be gotten rid of asap.

063_XOBX said:
That's terrible advice. The extra 0 folder will only cause issues down the road and should be gotten rid of asap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition to this, it was bad advice as it was suggesting the file structure change be done at the sdcard0 level. The entire SDCard file structure is based out of /data/media. This is where the manual changes should be made (for instance, moving everything from /data/media/0/0/0 to /data/media/0). After making the change, reboot. The fuse mount points and symlinks will then properly reflect the change. It's always safest to make this drastic of a change at the base, physical data location, rather than on a fuse mount point or a symlink of a fuse mount point.
Also, as previously suggested, update your recovery. The current versions of CWR and TWRP have this issue resolved.

[Q] SD card seemed to double, cannot erase portion of it

I have been having a bit of a problem with my Galaxy Nexus and its driving me nuts because of the storage situation..
Up until a couple weeks ago, I had the latest (at that time) version of AOKP on the phone (4.1.?, JB build 2 possibly). Then, around the first of the year, they updated to their 4.2 version JB-MR1 Build 1. The first time I installed the ROM, I installed it with the wrong GAPPS, ICS vs JB, and the phone went all haywire. I tried to get into the SD card to check which GAPPS was installed, but there were SO many force closes, I couldn't do anything. I rebooted into recovery, tried to go to my SD card, but ALL my info was gone. Basically a clean SD card.
So, I within minutes, I restored back to what I was on and everything was happy. No problems. I then downloaded the right GAPPS, installed the new ROM and GAPPS and everything worked great. Happy happy joy joy..
Today, I went to do a restore and remove some old backups and again, there is a second SD card. There is the normal one, and one labeled under /0/ in the directory.
I can access that directory while in recovery, but cannot with root explorer (or via my computers explorer) to erase it. The problem is, I think it is doubled up my photos and media, and now the card is full..
So, long story just to ask, how can I get rid of this other SD card directory? When talking with a co-worker, he mentioned it creates another directory when a second profile gets created..something I never did.
Any thoughts on how to get this removed so I can have my space back?

MikeDaub said:
I have been having a bit of a problem with my Galaxy Nexus and its driving me nuts because of the storage situation..
Up until a couple weeks ago, I had the latest (at that time) version of AOKP on the phone (4.1.?, JB build 2 possibly). Then, around the first of the year, they updated to their 4.2 version JB-MR1 Build 1. The first time I installed the ROM, I installed it with the wrong GAPPS, ICS vs JB, and the phone went all haywire. I tried to get into the SD card to check which GAPPS was installed, but there were SO many force closes, I couldn't do anything. I rebooted into recovery, tried to go to my SD card, but ALL my info was gone. Basically a clean SD card.
So, I within minutes, I restored back to what I was on and everything was happy. No problems. I then downloaded the right GAPPS, installed the new ROM and GAPPS and everything worked great. Happy happy joy joy..
Today, I went to do a restore and remove some old backups and again, there is a second SD card. There is the normal one, and one labeled under /0/ in the directory.
I can access that directory while in recovery, but cannot with root explorer (or via my computers explorer) to erase it. The problem is, I think it is doubled up my photos and media, and now the card is full..
So, long story just to ask, how can I get rid of this other SD card directory? When talking with a co-worker, he mentioned it creates another directory when a second profile gets created..something I never did.
Any thoughts on how to get this removed so I can have my space back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android 4.2 has a multiuser framework.
The "0" folder you are seeing is the first user.
Although it's only possible to create more users on tablets without tweaks
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk HD

Lord Yurij said:
Android 4.2 has a multiuser framework.
The "0" folder you are seeing is the first user.
Although it's only possible to create more users on tablets without tweaks
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am I crazy saying that it could be taking up a couple gbs of space on my card? It seems that since this started up, my SD is almost full.
Any idea how to merge, or remove that? I can only access the 0 folder while in recovery, and no other time.

They put in symlinks to the folder so you can access it from different directories. The information shouldn't be doubled unless you personally did it.

Reading this might help you understand:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2107194

Lord Yurij said:
Android 4.2 has a multiuser framework.
The "0" folder you are seeing is the first user.
Although it's only possible to create more users on tablets without tweaks
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eqjunkie829 said:
They put in symlinks to the folder so you can access it from different directories. The information shouldn't be doubled unless you personally did it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the everything and helping me understand...
I did not copy over anything to that directory, and in fact cannot even access it outside of Recovery. It just looked to me that things were copied over by the file structure, which is why I thought it duplicated things. It just seemed odd to me that when all this happened, my SD card seemed to get much fuller..
Thanks again..

MikeDaub said:
Thanks for the everything and helping me understand...
I did not copy over anything to that directory, and in fact cannot even access it outside of Recovery. It just looked to me that things were copied over by the file structure, which is why I thought it duplicated things. It just seemed odd to me that when all this happened, my SD card seemed to get much fuller..
Thanks again..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Late but useful info for "the next guy". When you install 4.2 its creates a multi-user environment, correct. And you do loose half your space (assuming it was full when you upgraded). Here's why. In 4.2 there is only /data/media which is where your internal SD card (sdcard) is symlinked to (ie: the actual location of your files). When you install 4.2, all of /data/media is copied to /data/media/0 for the first user, then /data/media/11 for the second user, then /data/media/12 for the third user and so forth. Each user gets their own /data/media directory which has all the files that the single user had in 4.1 For each user you add, say its only yourself, you just lost half your space because /data/media still exists but now so does /data/media/0 (a duplicate copy). So you sdcard's space is divided by the number of user accounts your system has installed in 4.2. Hope this clarifies things.

elfaure said:
Late but useful info for "the next guy". When you install 4.2 its creates a multi-user environment, correct. And you do loose half your space (assuming it was full when you upgraded). Here's why. In 4.2 there is only /data/media which is where your internal SD card (sdcard) is symlinked to (ie: the actual location of your files). When you install 4.2, all of /data/media is copied to /data/media/0 for the first user, then /data/media/11 for the second user, then /data/media/12 for the third user and so forth. Each user gets their own /data/media directory which has all the files that the single user had in 4.1 For each user you add, say its only yourself, you just lost half your space because /data/media still exists but now so does /data/media/0 (a duplicate copy). So you sdcard's space is divided by the number of user accounts your system has installed in 4.2. Hope this clarifies things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. After a bunch of research, that is what is happening, and why my phone is always full of "stuff" now.
Now, if I could only access the /0 folders from my desktop...then I would be set..

MikeDaub said:
Thanks. After a bunch of research, that is what is happening, and why my phone is always full of "stuff" now.
Now, if I could only access the /0 folders from my desktop...then I would be set..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you do. its what you see when you plug your phone in.
if you have a old recovery and are flashing roms, it will create multiple /0 folders.

Zepius said:
you do. its what you see when you plug your phone in.
if you have a old recovery and are flashing roms, it will create multiple /0 folders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that is the case, I would like to access the standard folder, the copy, or original, or whatever the none /0 folder is..

MikeDaub said:
If that is the case, I would like to access the standard folder, the copy, or original, or whatever the none /0 folder is..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then you need root to explore /data/media/

Zepius said:
then you need root to explore /data/media/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. I would just find it handy to do via my desktop...

MikeDaub said:
If that is the case, I would like to access the standard folder, the copy, or original, or whatever the none /0 folder is..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"/data/media/" and "/storage/sdcard0/" or even just "/sdcard/" are the same thing. You dont have copies of files on your phone. If you delete it in one location, it deletes in the other because they are the same. You have the "0" folders on "storage/sdcard0" as well. If you do happen to have copies of files, you can organize it all on your computer if you plug in your phone.

MikeDaub said:
Thanks. After a bunch of research, that is what is happening, and why my phone is always full of "stuff" now.
Now, if I could only access the /0 folders from my desktop...then I would be set..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please thank me by hitting the "thanks" button

[Q] Reclaiming storage on Internal SD

I have almost used up all of the 12 GB available on the internal SD card. Problem is, I don't have a lot of app's/music/pictures stored. What I have noticed though is multiple hierarchies of the /0 file. Something on the order of 6 of them (0/0/0/0/0/0/). Doesn't seem right. It makesflashing new ROMs more difficult because I am never sure where things are saved.
I'm running Task650's
My question is, how do I reclaim my storage space and can I just delete several layers of the /0 file?

BertMor said:
I have almost used up all of the 12 GB available on the internal SD card. Problem is, I don't have a lot of app's/music/pictures stored. What I have noticed though is multiple hierarchies of the /0 file. Something on the order of 6 of them (0/0/0/0/0/0/). Doesn't seem right. It makes flashing new ROMs more difficult because I am never sure where things are saved.
My question is, how do I reclaim my storage space and can I just delete several layers of the /0 file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you have all your files in one and delete all the others, they're copies.

BWolf56 said:
Make sure you have all your files in one and delete all the others, they're copies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks that's what I thought, but wanted to be cautious and ask first.

the quickest way to do this is:
1. Copy your sdcard data to /data/media/0 and then delete the /0/0 folders
2. When prompted, choose merge
3. Verify there is nothing in the other 0 folder, then you can delete it
4. Repeat with other /0 folders, if applicable
5. Reboot

Is there any way to get write permissions to SD card - xposed Fix EXTSD dont work

I seem to have been at this for hours now. I finally got Xposed framework on my Tab S and Note 4 and decided to try Marshmallow SD fix
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/xposed-marshmallow-sd-fix-write-t3403263/page29
and then EXT SD fix
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/fix-extsd-fix-v1-0b-2016-01-18-t3296266
In each case going to Titanium backup it just doesn't work - I get the same old "Folder is not writable" message for anything on the SD card.
Since many people are having success - I'm assuming this is because of the Samsung version of Xposed framework ?
I don't know but nothing I do seems to work.
Any suggestions / advice - has anyone got this to work on their tab s or note 4?

louiscar said:
I seem to have been at this for hours now. I finally got Xposed framework on my Tab S and Note 4 and decided to try Marshmallow SD fix
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/xposed-marshmallow-sd-fix-write-t3403263/page29
and then EXT SD fix
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/fix-extsd-fix-v1-0b-2016-01-18-t3296266
In each case going to Titanium backup it just doesn't work - I get the same old "Folder is not writable" message for anything on the SD card.
Since many people are having success - I'm assuming this is because of the Samsung version of Xposed framework ?
I don't know but nothing I do seems to work.
Any suggestions / advice - has anyone got this to work on their tab s or note 4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's lollipop you need the sdcard fix. If it's mm you just need to allow write permissions to the app.

ashyx said:
If it's lollipop you need the sdcard fix. If it's mm you just need to allow write permissions to the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure I understand that. Are you talking about extsd or marshmallow fix ? Also there are no permissions to set other than the ones shown. For Titanium those are all set to on. Ie. Storage.
Is there a specific 'write' permission elsewhere that I've missed?

louiscar said:
I'm not sure I understand that. Are you talking about extsd or marshmallow fix ? Also there are no permissions to set other than the ones shown. For Titanium those are all set to on. Ie. Storage.
Is there a specific 'write' permission elsewhere that I've missed?
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Click to collapse
Any app that wishes to write to the external storage should show a dialog requesting permission to the ext sd after that it will have full write access.
Any app that doesn't isn't mm compatible.
Which folder path are you trying to use?

ashyx said:
Any app that wishes to write to the external storage should show a dialog requesting permission to the ext sd after that it will have full write access.
Any app that doesn't isn't mm compatible.
Which folder path are you trying to use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Titanium problem is fairly common. if all apps need to be was mm compatible then we wouldn't need a fix for the SD cards I would have thought.
But coming to Titanium itself I can select the old folder with is exsdcard/titaniumbackup but Titanium will tell me this has no write access but I can use it to read from and restore.
There is no location that Titanium will use or see on the extsdcard. What one has to do to is to copy the contents of your backup folder to the internal card then select that as the backup folder in Tba. Then you have elect to change the backup folder but choosing DocumentProvider storage. At this point you then have to create a folder - an existing folder is no good. Once created it will copy the contents of the internal folder to the extsdcard. Apart from the fact that this 'workaround' is much slower it is also inconvenient and any kind of change for whatever reason in the backup folder means that you can't just switch to the old one you have to go through the whole creation process.
As far as I am concerned this is why I wanted an SD card fix but I also understand to some point your view and it does make some sense. However it is confusing. When this nightmare started with Kitkat I understood that apps were allowed their own folder but couldn't affect or write to other folders. Also they were media folders only. This as I remember also affected file managers which then couldn't do their intended job.
With MM and without any fix Solid explorer can and does have full access to the sd card and can write in any folder from what I can see. Other apps seem to possibly access with documentprovider permissions - I'm not sure but many appear to have no problems but the pop up is very much like the documentprovider - choose a folder. So I am confused why Titanium has these problems and can understand a point of view that they haven't adapted as they should have perhaps but then I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't have done what they can with the features /tools they have for one of the most popular backup programs..
Either way, at the end of the day I was really hoping I could have got a fix which worked much like sdcard fix on Kitkat which stopped the nonsense and Google's insistence that they know best how we can and should use our SD cards.
And indeed for many people Marshmallow fix and or EXTSD appear to work for a lot of people in the way I was hoping - hence the creation of this thread because
1) it certainly doesn't for both my Samsung devices and
2) Many people with Samsungs (and some other devices) appear to be having the same difficulty.
I don't understand what has been done on MM to make it so difficult to overcome the problem but obviously it appears Google is just plain bloody minded and trying to make it more foolproof.

louiscar said:
The Titanium problem is fairly common. if all apps need to be was mm compatible then we wouldn't need a fix for the SD cards I would have thought.
But coming to Titanium itself I can select the old folder with is exsdcard/titaniumbackup but Titanium will tell me this has no write access but I can use it to read from and restore.
There is no location that Titanium will use or see on the extsdcard. What one has to do to is to copy the contents of your backup folder to the internal card then select that as the backup folder in Tba. Then you have elect to change the backup folder but choosing DocumentProvider storage. At this point you then have to create a folder - an existing folder is no good. Once created it will copy the contents of the internal folder to the extsdcard. Apart from the fact that this 'workaround' is much slower it is also inconvenient and any kind of change for whatever reason in the backup folder means that you can't just switch to the old one you have to go through the whole creation process.
As far as I am concerned this is why I wanted an SD card fix but I also understand to some point your view and it does make some sense. However it is confusing. When this nightmare started with Kitkat I understood that apps were allowed their own folder but couldn't affect or write to other folders. Also they were media folders only. This as I remember also affected file managers which then couldn't do their intended job.
With MM and without any fix Solid explorer can and does have full access to the sd card and can write in any folder from what I can see. Other apps seem to possibly access with documentprovider permissions - I'm not sure but many appear to have no problems but the pop up is very much like the documentprovider - choose a folder. So I am confused why Titanium has these problems and can understand a point of view that they haven't adapted as they should have perhaps but then I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't have done what they can with the features /tools they have for one of the most popular backup programs..
Either way, at the end of the day I was really hoping I could have got a fix which worked much like sdcard fix on Kitkat which stopped the nonsense and Google's insistence that they know best how we can and should use our SD cards.
And indeed for many people Marshmallow fix and or EXTSD appear to work for a lot of people in the way I was hoping - hence the creation of this thread because
1) it certainly doesn't for both my Samsung devices and
2) Many people with Samsungs (and some other devices) appear to be having the same difficulty.
I don't understand what has been done on MM to make it so difficult to overcome the problem but obviously it appears Google is just plain bloody minded and trying to make it more foolproof.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fix for KitKat and lollipop isn't needed for MM because Google did in fact listen to people griping about the ext card restrictions.
MM will give full access to properly coded apps.
I have many different devices running MM and all gave write access to the ext sdcard including TB, which I use regularly.
However that doesn't mean to say I haven't had the issue you speak of. I may have even had it with TB.
The folder path I use in this case is mnt/media_rw/
This path is almost always accessible by apps and is the path I'm using right now for TB.
If that doesn't work try disabling 'mount namespace separation' in SuperSU settings then reboot also make sure your TB is up to date.

ashyx said:
The fix for KitKat and lollipop isn't needed for MM because Google did in fact listen to people griping about the ext card restrictions.
MM will give full access to properly coded apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok understood.
I'm guessing then that the so called Marshmallow fix via xposed is to get older apps which may not be updated to work
ashyx said:
I have many different devices running MM and all gave write access to the ext sdcard including TB, which I use regularly.
However that doesn't mean to say I haven't had the issue you speak of. I may have even had it with TB.
The folder path I use in this case is mnt/media_rw/
This path is almost always accessible by apps and is the path I'm using right now for TB.
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Click to collapse
Ok so now the plot thickens and I've no idea what is going on here. Tba says when I navigate to this folder [and I'm assuming that the choice when asked is "filesystem storage" and not "Filesystem storage - Media" (which only offers internal memory anyway)]
"This folder cannot be accessed"
and that is before getting to the external sd card which would be the number (F91E-D472) in my case. ie. mnt/media-rw
Needless to say - Solid explorer can see this and navigate to the sd card no problem.
This happens on both Note 4 and TAB s and I'm really curious now because something on my systems are different.
ashyx said:
If that doesn't work try disabling 'mount namespace separation' in SuperSU settings then reboot also make sure your TB is up to date.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, namespace is unchecked - did that on both devices some time ago, and Tba is up to date.
Pretty damn confused now

louiscar said:
Ok understood.
I'm guessing then that the so called Marshmallow fix via xposed is to get older apps which may not be updated to work
Ok so now the plot thickens and I've no idea what is going on here. Tba says when I navigate to this folder [and I'm assuming that the choice when asked is "filesystem storage" and not "Filesystem storage - Media" (which only offers internal memory anyway)]
"This folder cannot be accessed"
and that is before getting to the external sd card which would be the number (F91E-D472) in my case. ie. mnt/media-rw
Needless to say - Solid explorer can see this and navigate to the sd card no problem.
This happens on both Note 4 and TAB s and I'm really curious now because something on my systems are different.
Sure, namespace is unchecked - did that on both devices some time ago, and Tba is up to date.
Pretty damn confused now
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Click to collapse
Have you tried placing the TB folder on your ext sdcard then used the detect button (whole device) in preferences to detect the folder and then select it under mnt/media_rw?

ashyx said:
Have you tried placing the TB folder on your ext sdcard then used the detect button (whole device) in preferences to detect the folder and then select it under mnt/media_rw?
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Click to collapse
This was the method I used as soon as I updated to MM and didn't notice the "this folder is not writable" message.
However, the option to choose mnt/media_rw isn't available. If I use Detect > whole device I'll be offered :
/storage/F91E-D472/Titaniumbackup
perhaps I'd see the other option under normal circumstances but Tba is not able to access that path so wouldn't find it in a search ... I guess

Aha! could this be the problem?
see post #15
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/917126/write-to-external-sd-restriction-in-marshmallow/
What is your sd card formatted as - mine is FAT32 so perhaps I need to go exfat?
..but then such links show that I'm certainly not alone - this one actually confirms that tb has this write problems and leads to the Documentprovider solution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GATqU1_xzqA

louiscar said:
Aha! could this be the problem?
see post #15
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/917126/write-to-external-sd-restriction-in-marshmallow/
What is your sd card formatted as - mine is FAT32 so perhaps I need to go exfat?
..but then such links show that I'm certainly not alone - this one actually confirms that tb has this write problems and leads to the Documentprovider solution:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ExFAT. Anything above 4gb should be ExFAT.

ashyx said:
ExFAT. Anything above 4gb should be ExFAT.
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Click to collapse
curiously I set permissions to 777 for the mnt/media_rw and titanium can go there but any further (even though I've done the same for the sdcard folder - nada!
and sadly after converting to exfat - mnt/media_rw .... "this folder cannot be accessed"
Not sure what else I can do.