[Q] Mass Storage mode instead of MTP - Nexus 4 Themes and Apps

I have been looking around, but did not found a way to connect my Nexus trough mass storage mode.
On my ICS Xperia P with internal memory there is a nice app that disconnects the MTP mode and connects the mass storage mode. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1744878) Trying that on Nexus wont work. Just as this command wont work setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage
Anybody? Or do we really have to live with MTP

MTP is safer b/c you can disconnect anytime you need to which helps avoid database corruption. And this is Jelly bean with a newer kernel so that could be why that app/command isn't functional.

I also would prefer mass storage.. MTP is so slow!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

I could be wrong, but I don't think there is a mass storage mode any longer.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

I miss my Xperia too...

I don't have problem with MTP and its faster also in transferring files. but yes still missing the mass storage on xperia.

It was never able to be done on the Galaxy Nexus or Nexus 7 so it's incredibly unlikely with the Nexus 4.
MTP is here to stay because it's the only way google sees to keep the system secure.
Downside is MTP sucks for a lot of people, i know my transfer times are anywhere from 2-50 times longer through MTP than Mass Storage. and yes i do mean 50 times longer. I've seen a 5MB file say it's going to take an hour to transfer.
I use Airdroid for pretty much 90% of my transfer needs simply because it's insanely fast compared to MTP. On the Gnex i also used stickmount to just attach a USB drive to the phone and i did some transfers that way.

The Nexus 4 has an ext4 file system. Windows does not understand this, so mass storage is not possible in a useful manner.
But it should be possible to run IP over USB, making a nice 480 Mb/sec FTP or Airdroid connection. The same connection is used for USB tethering.
My Sony-Ericsson c702 feature phone could do that (USB IP and Samba file sharing built in). But some experiments show the IP connection coming up (Linux PC, on the phone Settings -> more -> Tethering -> USB tether) with the PC getting 192.168.42.27. Don't know what the phone IP is yet, as it kept dropping real quick when the PC discovered the MTP protocol... but I thing it is possible.
BTW I use DAVdrive lite instead of Airdroid, as it is a lot more permission-friendly.

Ran a test and got 13 MB/sec out of davdrive, downloading a moveie file from the phone. The trick was to unmount MTP before starting tethering.
I found the IP address of the phone by typing arp -a on my Linux desktop, and downloaded from <ip>:8888 after starting davdrive.

Related

internal storage as removable?

does it support USB Mass Storage???
i connect device to PC via cable (debugging mode already on) but internal storage doesn't determines as removable... seems like it is in PC-mode only.
how to make it removable? i am former sgs2 user and the only thing i had to do is mark debugging mode, connect the device to PC, in status-bar choose removable device/mass storage.
You can't. It uses mtp
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
There is no USB mass storage.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Not sure if it's available for Windows but I use Android File Transfer for Mac and it lets me transfer files to and from my Verizon Galaxy Nexus.
http://www.android.com/filetransfer/
To expand a little - the GN doesn't do UMS because there's only one data partition, formatted as ext4. To make it support UMS you'd need to repartition it to have an extra fat32 partition, afaik no-one's done it nor said they're going to try.
MTP deals with the file system for you, should work OOTB for Windows Vista and 7 (MTP is a microsoft product) but winXP users seem to have problems.
Android file transfer does something similar for mac.
MTP is a pita under linux; I run Ubuntu and have switched to airdroid for doing transfers over wifi.
joshnichols189 said:
There is no USB mass storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see a difference though? As you can just plug it in your PC and put whatever file you want on it.
If you're running Linux you can also look into using sshfs and an SSH server on your phone. I use that now and it works great, even automatically reconnecting when I leave home and come back again. But I also had the SSH server (QuickSSHd) installed on my phone prior to this.
Tanith said:
I don't see a difference though? As you can just plug it in your PC and put whatever file you want on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see a difference either..
joshnichols189 said:
I don't see a difference either..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The difference is most marked for those running linux, to a degree for mac users and also for some xp users.
If you're running Vista or Win7 you won't notice unless you're moving big files (say > 1Gb) - MTP is slower.
I couldn't move files to my nex from my PC either:/ ..so I started using drop box to move files back and forth
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Check out the StickMount app, if you use a ROM. With the right cable, you can mount a USB stick. Works great.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

We Need Custom ROMs with Mass Storage Mode Resurrected

I am so sick of MTP instead of Mass Storage Mode. I run Linux Mint and it's simply painful to try to get MTP working properly like Mass Storage Mode did in GB. Please, ROM devs, answer my prayers.
when you can add a sd card to the phone, you will have your mass storage.
I realize people don't like change, and want to stick with UMS, but you would have to pretty much crush the awesome single partition storage of the GN to get UMS...
Just dont understand why most people are aways want SOME MORE STOREGE, how many stuff you gonna put in your device? A thousand songs or pics?
GoZhU said:
Just dont understand why most people are aways want SOME MORE STOREGE, how many stuff you gonna put in your device? A thousand songs or pics?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With UMS enabled, they'd theoretically have lower storage than sticking with MTP. There would have to be at least 2 partitions that would mean files couldn't span across them.
I use wifi file explorer pro. Real easy and just as effective as having mass storage. Was bummed as far as me not being able to connect and drag/drop but when i found this app its just as good.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium App
I can't for the life of me understand this complaint. I have no issues using MTP either in Linux or Win7. Do partition the space up would only bring about all the issues with inadequate space the Nexus One encountered.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I don't know if it's a MTP thing, but I'm having a hell of a time copying .mkv files to the phone. I can FTP to my Thinkpad Slate at 3MB/s via wifi, the GNex capps out at 400KB/s. I've tried to connect the phone via USB to my desktop and just drag and drop and the progress bar doesn't even move. This is driving me insane.
I'm using the latest GummyNex 0.6.6.
If I recall correctly, when I was using Android Revolution 2.1.2, it was copying at 2MB/s via wifi FTP. I guess I need to look into this.
mallinj said:
I am so sick of MTP instead of Mass Storage Mode. I run Linux Mint and it's simply painful to try to get MTP working properly like Mass Storage Mode did in GB. Please, ROM devs, answer my prayers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried adbfs?
Looks like it solves your needs without introducing the troubles of mass storage mode.
I am using SAMBA...
airdroid also works well (ubuntu 10.04 and 11.10 on different machines, also better than mtp on vista for me)
it's been 8 hours and my music is still copying to my phone. MTP is completely unacceptable. it's already told me i had to skip like 30 songs before i hit "skip this message" 2 hours ago. i'm copying ~25 GB of music over and half of that is .ogg which is not natively recognized by MTP. I could have copied the 25GB onto my thunderbolt 10 times over already. I dont care what the reasoning, requirement, or intent was to remove mass storage, but it was not work it. watching my files copy at like 400 k/s to a phone plugged in with a USB 2.0 cable makes me want to return the phone.
somnambulator said:
it's been 8 hours and my music is still copying to my phone. MTP is completely unacceptable. it's already told me i had to skip like 30 songs before i hit "skip this message" 2 hours ago. i'm copying ~25 GB of music over and half of that is .ogg which is not natively recognized by MTP. I could have copied the 25GB onto my thunderbolt 10 times over already. I dont care what the reasoning, requirement, or intent was to remove mass storage, but it was not work it. watching my files copy at like 400 k/s to a phone plugged in with a USB 2.0 cable makes me want to return the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I use windows media player to sync my music and it flies. Way faster than my nexus one did. It takes about 1-3 seconds per track.
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium
Drag and drop the files onto the folder icon. Don't open the folder itself and then copy into it.
My problem with MTP is compatibility. Hardly anything recognizes MTP and knows what to do with it besides my PC. Things I used to connect to via USB to transfer files or backup while on the go just don't work with the nexus. So instead of having an all around portable storage device in my phone I now have to carry other devices to perform those tasks, might not sound like a big deal but its just nicer being able to have that ability in one device. MTP may be great for some but not for everyone.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium App
dev/null/ said:
MTP may be great for some but not for everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed - my primary OS is linux, I can make mtp work kinda but it's poor and slow.
However enabling UMS would require repartitioning the GN and afaik no one's done it or said they plan on doing it.
Most people find wireless transfer much more satisfactory for this phone - I've only used airdroid but others have set up their own wireless ftp server. There are probably other apps that do it...
josteink said:
Tried adbfs?
Looks like it solves your needs without introducing the troubles of mass storage mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is it an app on the phone or computer (windows/linux)?
thanks

[Q] Constantly rebooting on USB Mass Storage, CM7.2

Hi, my poor Gio is stuck constantly rebooting every time I enable USB Mass Storage. Debugging is enabled. I didn't have this problem before switching to CyangoGenMod 7.2, and come to think of it, I don't recall having this problem until recently.
This problem occurs on Windows 7 Home Premium (regular USB drivers, no KIES) and Ubuntu Linux 12.04 Precise Pangolin, both 32-bit.
I really wanted to add some files, mostly music and videos, to my device quickly, but as DoubleTwist (my main media app, I love the UI) doesn't develop software for Linux, I am forced to use USB, rather than Airsync. The fact that I can't seem to use USB without my phone rebooting doesn't help much.
Anybody have a suggestion? I'll try disabling debugging, or maybe downloading the Android Debug Bridge? I can't try it tonight, but that doesn't make any sense. Why would either of those be a factor in just simply connecting Mass Storage?
EDIT: I disabled USB Debugging, and, though it took a while for the USB storage Android to say that it was in use, it finally worked, without rebooting. Now to see if it'll work again, or if an app on the SD card was causing the problem. The thing is, I have zero free space on the, what, < 200 MB Gio users have? So, if it is indeed an app (or even my Crystal theme), that'll suck.
Stay tuned for future edits!
did u figure it out?.... i have the same problem in my Sony Ericsson X8... with custom ROM Ginger elite v2... 2.3.7 .....
it reboots after trying to connect usb mass storage when usb debugging is not enabled... after trying for some time, it reboots
& when debugging is enabled, the entire phone hangs .....!!
if u figured something out.... kindly let me know...
I can't remember if I figured it out, I know I must have but this was a long time ago, and I can no longer connect to USB anyway due to water damage. I should be getting a Windows Phone 8 relatively soon anyway so it's not worth fixing.
Sent from my GT-S5660 using xda app-developers app
alucai vivorvel said:
hi, my poor gio is stuck constantly rebooting every time i enable usb mass storage. debugging is enabled. I didn't have this problem before switching to cyangogenmod 7.2, and come to think of it, i don't recall having this problem until recently.
This problem occurs on windows 7 home premium (regular usb drivers, no kies) and ubuntu linux 12.04 precise pangolin, both 32-bit.
I really wanted to add some files, mostly music and videos, to my device quickly, but as doubletwist (my main media app, i love the ui) doesn't develop software for linux, i am forced to use usb, rather than airsync. The fact that i can't seem to use usb without my phone rebooting doesn't help much.
Anybody have a suggestion? I'll try disabling debugging, or maybe downloading the android debug bridge? I can't try it tonight, but that doesn't make any sense. Why would either of those be a factor in just simply connecting mass storage?
Edit: I disabled usb debugging, and, though it took a while for the usb storage android to say that it was in use, it finally worked, without rebooting. Now to see if it'll work again, or if an app on the sd card was causing the problem. The thing is, i have zero free space on the, what, < 200 mb gio users have? So, if it is indeed an app (or even my crystal theme), that'll suck.
Stay tuned for future edits!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok so i had the same prob and this is what i did..
> disable debug
>connected phone to usb - mass storage
>rebooted
>again chose mass storage
>worked!!
Glad to hear it. I did end up getting a new phone, but it wasn't WP8 - and because Samsung has some bakas on their development teams, it's actually worse for the storage situation. I also don't like how there is no longer USB Mass Storage; rather, you're stuck with either MTP or whatever cameras usually use. Both seem to be slower than a regular connection, Windows tells you that your device may not be able to open the pictures in your music folders, and the MTP app locks your phone down until it's finished syncing.
I almost miss my Gio.
Almost.
Sent from my GT-S7560M using xda app-developers app
Help
I cannot enter Mass storage mode. It is getting rebooted and also takes away the wallpaper I've set.
My phone is rooted Micromax canvas 4 A210 with custom rom (lollipop themed). This problem started recently. I can recall I installed ADB and so may be conflict with the drivers etc. I've uninstalled the Google USB drivers which installs with ADB but still no help. I checked turning on and off USB Debugging, no help. I also tried changing the USB port, no help.
Further I use Link2SD app and after a clean install of custom rom, I checked options like 'Auto link' and 'External card' as default install location. Would there be some apps which should not be moved to External card? If yes, then what they are ?

[Q] HELP: any way to enable the mass storage mode on the galaxy note 2 ?

can any one help me and suggest a method to enable the mass storage mode in my note 2 , when connected to my laptop ?
Firstly why? MTP is better when you get it working as you don' t need to unmount anything from the phone first!
Secondly, it is likely to be possible yes probably very similar to how it was hacked to work on the s3, however it only worked for external sd and caused lots of corruptions to sd cards... so it is far from perfect.
My advice would be to get used to MTP.
i was need it to let my stereo car read mp3 files i solved by installing an s3 hack that can make the extsd a mass storage unit take a look here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1711009 it worked for me i'm with omega v4 rom
Lennyuk said:
Firstly why? MTP is better when you get it working as you don' t need to unmount anything from the phone first!
Secondly, it is likely to be possible yes probably very similar to how it was hacked to work on the s3, however it only worked for external sd and caused lots of corruptions to sd cards... so it is far from perfect.
My advice would be to get used to MTP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand what you mean but. ..it becomes virtually impossible and frustrating to transfer stuff to internal memory or even external memory because it is slow. ..Very slow
External memory I can manage by taking out my card and using an adapter to plug it into my laptop card slot..
Is there a way to mount internal memory as usb mass storage? I don't mind if I have to turn my phone off or something
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
Did you try Airdroid?
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda app-developers app
try Kies over wifi...
it transfer data using local connection and transfers GBs of files in some minutes definitely MUCH faster than MTP and prefer it to AirDroid, but it hasnt been working lately (last time i checked was a week or two back)
This is a problem for those like me using Ubuntu. I never managed to make MTP work on it.
Wi-Fi transfer of files can be done with X-Link, but the lack of mass storage is a nuisance.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
Yes, MTP is a big problem on Ubuntu. I have tried 3 implementations of MTP protocol on 12.04 and 12.10, no dice.
i'm searching for an answer. worst thing with mtp is the fact that it hides directories from you! so you can't backup everything properly. annoying
bump! MTP is too/painfully slow. Reminds me of 1995. We need an alternative. Whoever put up this technology without due consideration and testing, before deploying it on these popular devices needs to be consider a different job.
looks like I wont be getting this phone until mass storage mode is added
harishdhandev said:
can any one help me and suggest a method to enable the mass storage mode in my note 2 , when connected to my laptop ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, there is no way to enable UMS mode without rooting the phone.
I had to find a solution for my car stereo be able to read mp3 files.
I just rooted the phone and install SGS3 easy UMS ( PlayStore ). Yes its working just perfect on NoteII.
I'm using Ubuntu at work and it works like a charm as well.
Don't forget to unmount the drive in Ubuntu before unplug, and stop the service on Windows.
Also, on the UMS app, switch back to MTP before unplug, to avoid files errors ( no problem if u are just reading, ie: car stereo)
fmpmuld said:
Unfortunately, there is no way to enable UMS mode without rooting the phone.
I had to find a solution for my car stereo be able to read mp3 files.
I just rooted the phone and install SGS3 easy UMS ( PlayStore ). Yes its working just perfect on NoteII.
I'm using Ubuntu at work and it works like a charm as well.
Don't forget to unmount the drive in Ubuntu before unplug, and stop the service on Windows.
Also, on the UMS app, switch back to MTP before unplug, to avoid files errors ( no problem if u are just reading, ie: car stereo)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
one question - how to make two-way sync folders between my laptop and SGN2?
I always did it with GoodSync, but now it is impossible...
thx
Haha isn't this a cool icon? ---->
Gah.... I was hoping there was a way to USB mass storage on this phone. I guess I should have done more research on the phone before I bought it. I'm still in my 2 week return it period, but that's not THAT much of a deal breaker. Just really stupid... Why can't I have it all?? I mean we finally got USB host (OTG or whatever; same same) from a stock phone, only to lose USB Mass Storage! Oh the frustrations!
Dramatics aside, will a custom ROM allow something different? I'm not clear on what layer this MTP mode is operating at. I did think it was funny that it popped up as a camera type device in Windows. Right now I'm only using internal flash. Usually I want to browse pics on the phone from the PC, and in this case, if I use IrfanView to open one on the device, it copies it local and then opens it, so I can't scroll through them. Silly, and mildly frustrating. :-/
I'm going to look into some networking options to see if those work (Kies, AirDroid, maybe FTP). Actually, Dropbox might solve this particular problem for me now that I think of it.
I saw the thread for mounting external SD as USB mass storage. I take it there's no way to co-mount the internal storage as a USB mass storage device?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1711009
AllanonMage said:
Gah.... I was hoping there was a way to USB mass storage on this phone. I guess I should have done more research on the phone before I bought it. I'm still in my 2 week return it period, but that's not THAT much of a deal breaker. Just really stupid... Why can't I have it all?? I mean we finally got USB host (OTG or whatever; same same) from a stock phone, only to lose USB Mass Storage! Oh the frustrations!
Dramatics aside, will a custom ROM allow something different? I'm not clear on what layer this MTP mode is operating at. I did think it was funny that it popped up as a camera type device in Windows. Right now I'm only using internal flash. Usually I want to browse pics on the phone from the PC, and in this case, if I use IrfanView to open one on the device, it copies it local and then opens it, so I can't scroll through them. Silly, and mildly frustrating. :-/
I'm going to look into some networking options to see if those work (Kies, AirDroid, maybe FTP). Actually, Dropbox might solve this particular problem for me now that I think of it.
I saw the thread for mounting external SD as USB mass storage. I take it there's no way to co-mount the internal storage as a USB mass storage device?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1711009
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, Samsung turned off the USB Mass Storage for obvious reasons. But anyway, I can access both memories from my computers, using MS Windows.
On windows, there's no problem at all as you can manage all the files directly from explorer.
On Other systems, the problem is different. For some reasons, like with all other systems (ie car stereo or media player...), the galaxy will not be recognized because MTP needs drivers. Then, you have to use UMS and the only way to install and use it is to root the phone. But keep in mind UMS will only permit access to external memory card.
Well, if I have to transfer files from internal memory through UMS, I copy the files I need to external memory before using it..... That's not a big problem , is it ? And because your phone is rooted, you can even find a script to copy some folders automatically.
Hope I'm clear enough and it helps.

[Q] USB Mass Storage

Has anybody been able to get USB Mass Storage working ?
There are no devices that use mass storage anymore since like 4.1.2. Everything has switched to MTP. This is everywhere on the internet and id bet on XDA.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using XDA Premium HD app
trialsrider1 said:
There are no devices that use mass storage anymore since like 4.1.2. Everything has switched to MTP. This is everywhere on the internet and id bet on XDA.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, my Galaxy S2 has Android 4.1.2 and both USB mass storage and MTP
Sent from Galaxy Note 8.0 GT–N5100
I use one of these http://www.2leef.com/store/product/bridge/
Works fine on The Galaxy note 8 and Galaxy note 3 with Astro File Manager.
stevejau said:
I use one of these http://www.2leef.com/store/product/bridge/
Works fine on The Galaxy note 8 and Galaxy note 3 with Astro File Manager.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems to be just an usb pen with 2 connectors
Sent from Galaxy Note 8.0 GT–N5100
I've found the USB Mass Storage handy for specific items and recently I was trying to recover some files (Via Android Restore program) that only worked if there was a USB Storage option, MTP wouldn't work. I have tried some apps on the app store, but none of them work to activate USB Storage. Was hoping their was a work around
gabripranzo said:
It seems to be just an usb pen with 2 connectors
Sent from Galaxy Note 8.0 GT–N5100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, that is all it is..and as i said it works fine with Astro File manager..I have not tried it with Root Explorer or any other file manager as yet, but Astro does the job well.
Their website does say it is compatible with Galaxy note 2 amongst others and I can vouch that it works great with Galaxy Note 8 and Note 3.
Cheers
Steve
USB
Maybe I'm missing something here.
My USB 128GB stick works fine with my OTG cable.
I've just ordered a micro USB reader for micro SD cards from meenova.
Will let you know how it works when it arrives.
Shofar1 said:
Maybe I'm missing something here.
My USB 128GB stick works fine with my OTG cable.
I've just ordered a micro USB reader for micro SD cards from meenova.
Will let you know how it works when it arrives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're talking about connecting an android device using mass storage and not MTP protocol. USB otg has nothing to do with this.
Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 utilizzando Tapatalk
gabripranzo said:
We're talking about connecting an android device using mass storage and not MTP protocol. USB otg has nothing to do with this.
Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 utilizzando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure how connecting a pendrive (otg or not, and btw it is very likely that the the microusb port on the pen-drive is also otg ) does not violate the above the same. When the note 8 acting as a Usb mass Storage Media is the main concern.
now back to topic,
Like it or not of companies have decided to do away with UMS. It basically boils down to architecture issues with their future plans.
UMS Gives exclusive access to the HOST (your computer or what ever you connect your device as Media to) and thus android/phone has to unmount the volume to prevent any locks or other potential issues (which are many including security).
Also the Host (your computer) has to be able to read/write the Files System format that you phone/ sd card is formatted to. (it's a dependency, because if the tablet where to use/ invent some new native file system, a lot of existing hosts might not be able to read them at all.
There are other reasons too like singular large ultra fast storage blocks to act as file systems as well RAM which can break if requiring unmounting,
Now MTP is not god send either and has it's own set of issues (read below)
however it's evolving.
with MTP most of the control is with your tablet or phone. and data is not written to the media directly by the host in for form for Blocks, but rather as files etc and thus the slowness as speed also depends a lot on your device not to mention it's biggest drawback that it's sequential/synchronous.
Personally, If i need to do large transfers etc, I just remove my microsd card in put that it into a tiny card reader, not ideal but works.
It is very unlikely that we are going to be getting UMS officially from those who are done with the standard on similar devices, . Maybe some better alternative in future than MTP, but who knows.
Here is little extract from the wiki : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Transfer_Protocol
for who care about the how's and the why's
History
The main purpose of this protocol is to allow only the transfer of media files and associated metadata to and from portable devices, one transfer function, in or out, at a time. Productivity functions such as open, edit and modify require copying to the hosting system for these functions then copied back in their entirety to change the data.
The protocol was originally implemented for use across USB but extended for use across TCP/IP and Bluetooth. Windows Vista supports MTP over TCP/IP. Windows 7 and Windows Vista with the Platform Update for Windows Vista also support MTP over Bluetooth.[7] The host connecting to an MTP device is called an MTP Initiator whereas the device itself is an MTP Responder.[8]
A main reason for using MTP rather than, for example, the USB mass-storage device class (MSC) is that the latter operates at the granularity of a mass storage device block (usually in practice, a FAT block), rather than at the logical file level. In other words, the USB mass storage class is designed to give a host computer undifferentiated access to bulk mass storage, such as compact flash, rather than to a file system, which might be safely shared with the target device (except for specific files which the host might be modifying/accessing). In practice, therefore, when a USB host computer has mounted an MSC partition, it assumes absolute control of the storage, which then may not be safely modified by the device without risk of data corruption until the host computer has severed the connection. Furthermore, because the host computer has full control over the connected storage device, there is a risk that the host computer may corrupt the file system, reformat it to a file system not supported by the USB device, or otherwise modify it in such a way that the USB device cannot completely understand it.
MTP and PTP specifically overcome this issue by making the unit of managed storage a local file rather than an entire (possibly very large) unit of mass storage at the block level. In this way, MTP works like a transactional file system - either the entire file is written/read or nothing. The storage media is not affected by failed transfers.
In case the device maintains a database/index of the content of the disk, MTP saves the cost of re-scanning the entire disk every time the content is modified.
Additionally, the MTP allows MTP Initiators to identify the specific capabilities of device(s) with respect to file formats and functionality. In particular, MTP Initiators may have to provide passwords and other information to unlock files, or otherwise enable digital rights management. Nothing specific of this nature is in the core standard but the features are available via vendor extensions. MTPZ, the Zune Extension to MTP specifically denies access to files until authentication has been processed, which is only possible using Windows Media Player 10 or higher.
Drawbacks
No multitasking - Unlike USB mass storage, MTP has been built to only allow a single function at a time, e.g. read, write, delete, with no other function available until the first function is complete.
By design, MTP devices (like PTP devices) are not treated as a traditional removable drive. The actual file system is implemented by the device, not by the computer's operating system. In theory the operating system may hide this difference, but this is not the case on Windows or Mac OS.[clarification needed] This also means that file system recovery tools on the computer will be of no use if the drive is corrupted, or crashes.
As of 2013, MTP is much less widely-supported than USB Mass Storage (see support section).
The MTP and PTP standards do not support direct modification of objects. Modified objects must be copied out of the device and reuploaded in their entirety, which can take a long time for large objects.
Google's MTP implementation in Android includes extensions to deal with this limitation.[9][10]
Windows/PC MTP implementation:
When opening a file, the user must wait till the file has copied to the PC before it can be viewed. (Note: The file remains on the PC hard drive after viewing and the device is removed)
No creation of files on the device from the PC, files must be created on the PC and copied over.
No editing of files on the device, files must be copied off the device before edits can be saved and file copied back.
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As a workaround, for PC users at least, there is a Total Commander plugin which displays the MTP folders in normal file panel. It does not provide all the UMS features, like say binary directory sync (lack of which is one of my biggest griefs with MTP), but it's useful for simple file operations (browsing, copying etc.)
If anyone's interested I'll try to find the link/instructions.
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Sorry.. Wrong thread
trialsrider1 said:
There are no devices that use mass storage anymore since like 4.1.2. Everything has switched to MTP. This is everywhere on the internet and id bet on XDA.
Sent from my GT-N5110 using XDA Premium HD app
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And I can tell you, my brother is SERIOUSLY pissed. He's all ready to go smack around a few people at Google for this (once he's done smacking a LOT of people at Microsoft, now that his new machine is saddled with MSWin8).
In truth, it seems very arrogant on Google's part to presume that no one would want/need to use USB storage mode. My brother would like to edit files on the Note8 while it's attached to teh computer (using LibreOffice on the computer to edit it), and he feels it's absolutely preposterous that he has to copy the file down, edit it, then copy it back up. Google, 1985 wants it's broken methodology back.
Drive Droid
Pda23 said:
Has anybody been able to get USB Mass Storage working ?
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DriveDroid on the play store at least.
I haven't yet had a reason to check if the Note will work, but does work on a Galaxy3 with Cyanogenmod. It goes and mangles the drivers to support the depreciated mass-storage proto. Expect it to be hit-and-miss when changing roms, requires root, requires kernel to no have completely disabled the old drivers. I now carry a recovery cdrom on my phone, it's worked most of the time.

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