Develop Bugs

[Q] System storage, USB storage, SD card?

Hi all, I feel like I'm completely lost at how Android or Samsung designed this.
First to clarify, I have the SGH-T989 with a 16GB microSD plugged in.
Under "Settings" - "Storage", I can see three categories: "SD card", "USB storage", and "System storage". It reports the size of my microSD card under "SD card", then it seems to divide what I understand is the internal memory into two parts: "USB storage" and "System storage". So "USB storage" has a total space of 11.25GB, and "System storage" has a space of 1.9GB.
What does it mean by "USB storage"?
And also, under "Applications" - "Manage applications" - "On SD card" tab, it is reporting the size of the "USB storage" on this tab. It seems to think the "USB storage" (which from what I understand is actually part of the internal memory) is the "SD card", and not treat my real microSD card as the "SD card". More importantly, if I move some app from system storage to SD card by clicking on "Move to SD card", it will be moved to the "USB storage" instead of my real microSD card. What is going on here? Does it mean that I'll never be able to really move an app to my real microSD card? Then what's the use of an external SD card?

System storage is simply where your apps are installed. usb storage is technically just your onboard storage. so if you move the app to USB storage it is technically no longer in the system storage. To me it's a good thing. I like to keep my actual external sd card for movies and pictures and music. Also those apps should still be pretty fast as they not on the slower sd card. ...
This is just how I would explain it to a friend.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Well for me it is actually different....if i'm moving app to SD then it is going to external SD and not the USB storage. Is there some setting which i need to change so that it move the apps to USB storage and not external SD.

edited post I thought i could trick the system into letting move and app to internal sd by unmounting the external sd card but it didnt work.

Edit:
Actually the "Move to SD card" will move the app from system storage to external SD card, not the USB storage.

android4sunny said:
Well for me it is actually different....if i'm moving app to SD then it is going to external SD and not the USB storage. Is there some setting which i need to change so that it move the apps to USB storage and not external SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right. I was wrong.

I'm curious why the storege is so very low. Isn't the phone 16GB? 11.25 of which 8.9 open is low.

the rest of the space has been partitioned for the internal apps

But I can only use the 1.9G to store my apps out of the 16G internal storage? If I move apps to SD card they get moved to the external SD card. Is there a way to move them to the rest of the internal storage (which is called "USB storage" on the phone)?

513263337 said:
But I can only use the 1.9G to store my apps out of the 16G internal storage? If I move apps to SD card they get moved to the external SD card. Is there a way to move them to the rest of the internal storage (which is called "USB storage" on the phone)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean when you move to SD card it actually gets moved to the USB drive, right? I don't like the way Samsung did this. We should have be able to move app or anything else to either internal, USB, or SD card. If we root will be able to do this?

I have the AT&T SGS2 and I'm wondering the same thing. I don't have an external SD card and my system storage is about to get full. I still have 9GB free in my USB storage but there doesn't seem to be a way to move my apps from system storage to USB storage. What do I do? Why is it partitioned this way?

Firepac said:
I have the AT&T SGS2 and I'm wondering the same thing. I don't have an external SD card and my system storage is about to get full. I still have 9GB free in my USB storage but there doesn't seem to be a way to move my apps from system storage to USB storage. What do I do? Why is it partitioned this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm actually wondering about the same thing. Although it claims it has 16GB internal storage the actual size that we can install apps is just 1.9G, rest of it is partitioned as some kind of USB storage that can't be used to install apps, very annoying...

Also I only have about 20 apps installed on my system storage and they're all about a few MBs each. I only have about 400MBs of system storage is free. What could be taking up so much space?
Edit: Okay just found that a few games were storing their data on the system storage even though the system says it's installed on USB...

USB = System Internal Storage
try to move as much stuff as you can to the External SD card
\sdcard\external_sd\
that's how it looks like when you install stuff

^typical XDA...ask simple question, get incorrect answer, LOVE IT. By the way this is a thread i SEARCHED GOOGLE FOR, while being told by another XDA member to USE THE SEARCH FEATURE in a different thread.....sweet
so let me rephrase the goddamn question(s)
WHY WHEN WE MOVE APP TO SD CARD DOES THE PHONE MOVE THE APP TO THE REMOVABLE microSD CARD AND NOT INSTEAD USE THE INTERNAL STORAGE (11.2GB) WHICH IS MORE PLENTIFUL THAN THE 1.9GB SUPPLIED?
when running some apps/games from a microSD card they cause force closes, data loss, and other wacky things to occur. <- is WHY we dont want them stored there...
IS THERE A WAY TO SELECT TO USE THE INTERNAL SD CARD (11.2GB INSTEAD?
...not as far as i can tell, ive tried it all includng removng the microSD card and attempting to install an app, the phone says not enough space even though i had 1.9GBs remaining in the "USB Storage" partition
The T989 SHOULD fil the INTERNAL CARD FIRST in my opinion....
i have over 200 apps/games on my device and ive only had it for ~2 months no media, only apps/games and i have 200mb remaining in the partition allocated for apps and 1.9GB remaining in the "USB Storage" partiton,....I DONT want apps/games stored on my 64GB microSD card, i remove it often, thats where my media is stored....
heres another kicker, the T989 reports a low memory warning and inabilty to store apps in the Intenal (1.9GB) partition at ~200mb, even though most apps are FAR smaller than anything that would impact that remaining space

HATe410 said:
WHY WHEN WE MOVE APP TO SD CARD DOES THE PHONE MOVE THE APP TO THE REMOVABLE microSD CARD AND NOT INSTEAD USE THE INTERNAL STORAGE (11.2GB) WHICH IS MORE PLENTIFUL THAN THE 1.9GB SUPPLIED?
IS THERE A WAY TO SELECT TO USE THE INTERNAL SD CARD (11.2GB INSTEAD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That 'why' is a bad question and you should feel bad for asking it. It was designed that way in the phone. As to your second question, a proper one, try this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.a0soft.gphone.app2sd&hl=en. It lists in the description what you asked for but seems ambiguous from the pictures.

HATe410 said:
^typical XDA...ask simple question, get incorrect answer, LOVE IT. By the way this is a thread i SEARCHED GOOGLE FOR, while being told by another XDA member to USE THE SEARCH FEATURE in a different thread.....sweet
so let me rephrase the goddamn question(s)
WHY WHEN WE MOVE APP TO SD CARD DOES THE PHONE MOVE THE APP TO THE REMOVABLE microSD CARD AND NOT INSTEAD USE THE INTERNAL STORAGE (11.2GB) WHICH IS MORE PLENTIFUL THAN THE 1.9GB SUPPLIED?
when running some apps/games from a microSD card they cause force closes, data loss, and other wacky things to occur. <- is WHY we dont want them stored there...
IS THERE A WAY TO SELECT TO USE THE INTERNAL SD CARD (11.2GB INSTEAD?
...not as far as i can tell, ive tried it all includng removng the microSD card and attempting to install an app, the phone says not enough space even though i had 1.9GBs remaining in the "USB Storage" partition
The T989 SHOULD fil the INTERNAL CARD FIRST in my opinion....
i have over 200 apps/games on my device and ive only had it for ~2 months no media, only apps/games and i have 200mb remaining in the partition allocated for apps and 1.9GB remaining in the "USB Storage" partiton,....I DONT want apps/games stored on my 64GB microSD card, i remove it often, thats where my media is stored....
heres another kicker, the T989 reports a low memory warning and inabilty to store apps in the Intenal (1.9GB) partition at ~200mb, even though most apps are FAR smaller than anything that would impact that remaining space
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's just the way the partitions are designed in the phone.. It's not necessary for it to be that way but that's the way this phone is designed and there isn't much you can do about it either..Other than moving apps to you external sd card which you apparently don't want to do there isn't really any other options

Programs uninstalled after reboot

Hi!
I was looking after this issue since my holidays. My Glide just uninstalls random applications that are on SD card (external_SD) after reboot. The replication is 8 out of 10. I had almost 30 apps on the SD card (mostly games).
What I did:
-restart the launcher
-wipe/factory reset
-change microSD cards
-reformat microSD card
How can I tell apps are uninstalled?
-checked Market
-checked TiBu (Backup/restore > Uninst. filter)
As I said, different apps are uninstalled every reboot. If I again reboot my device, the app(s) previously removed will be installed and another app(s) is removed.
Temporarily, my apps are transferred on my Internal storage (2gb) and so far, no issues. This quite puzzles me for I did not encounter any issues using my microSDs in file transfers, media and etc except for this one.
May you have similar issues and have solutions for them, please share and it will be greatly appreciated.
I posted this in the subforum for this only happened on my Glide (did not see in my Captivate and Infuse with same micrSDs). If you see this as inappropriate, please leave me a message or reply, or simply report my post.
Thanks

Correct me if I am wrong but apps moved to SD actually install to the 4gb USB storage in the unit (/sdcard). Nothing goes to the external SD (/sdcard/external_sd) unless manually moved there. If you want to install a program to the SD you have to use root utilities.
Doesn't help you with your issue but you should be able to completely remove the SD card and see if you continue to have the problem.

I haven't noticed this on my wife Glide but it does happen on my Skyrocket.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

Installed adw launcher last night and haven't had a problem with the disappearing apps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

eddiert said:
Correct me if I am wrong but apps moved to SD actually install to the 4gb USB storage in the unit (/sdcard). Nothing goes to the external SD (/sdcard/external_sd) unless manually moved there. If you want to install a program to the SD you have to use root utilities.
Doesn't help you with your issue but you should be able to completely remove the SD card and see if you continue to have the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No your wrong when you hit the button move to SD Card it actually goes to the MicroSD card. I tried hitting that button without a Microsd card and I get an error it says not External card detected or something like that. When I installed my MicroSD card it moved the apps to it.
JB

dudejb said:
No your wrong when you hit the button move to SD Card it actually goes to the MicroSD card. I tried hitting that button without a Microsd card and I get an error it says not External card detected or something like that. When I installed my MicroSD card it moved the apps to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct. Good to know. I verified that I have a few apps moved to SD and they do not work when the SD is removed.
However, I can not replicate the OPs original issue. I put the SD back in and the apps are launchable again. All apps remain after reboot. When the SD was swapped was it with a different brand/model. I am using an 8gb Sandisk.
I could not replic

dudejb said:
No your wrong when you hit the button move to SD Card it actually goes to the MicroSD card. I tried hitting that button without a Microsd card and I get an error it says not External card detected or something like that. When I installed my MicroSD card it moved the apps to it.
JB
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Click to collapse
That's weird because I was able to move to SD without inserting a Micro SD card and when I move to SD, it moves them to the internal USB storage instead of the Micro SD card.

vil33 said:
That's weird because I was able to move to SD without inserting a Micro SD card and when I move to SD, it moves them to the internal USB storage instead of the Micro SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird how we both have different results here. I have the Rogers running Android version 2.3.5 and Kernel version 2.6.36.3
JB

responses are greatly appreciated....I also tried moving two apps on SDcard after transferring them to the internal (2GB) storage. my glide automatically removed one of them after reboot. Well it's not a concern until i ended up running out of space on my internal

I noticed this as well on some apps I just reinstalled them on the internal and will not transfer them to the SD I again. I guess some programs don't want to be transferred to SD.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927R using XDA App

dudejb said:
Weird how we both have different results here. I have the Rogers running Android version 2.3.5 and Kernel version 2.6.36.3
JB
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Click to collapse
I have the exact same phone, I think you are confused. Move to SD never moves to external SD. Why else would apps like 'Apps2SD' exist then?

Apps2Sd allows you to map certain folders that are hard coded to the sd internal. For example game loft games install on the internal applicaton 2 gig partition a small installer and then Download extra content on the internal sd card. Apps2Sd allows you to map the game directory from the internal sd to your micro sd card. Similar in linux with a sym link. The Move to Sd from the Os (gingerbread). Allows you to alleviate some room from your 2 gig applications partition and move apps to the Microsd card.
JB
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927R using XDA App

dudejb said:
Apps2Sd allows you to map certain folders that are hard coded to the sd internal. For example game loft games install on the internal applicaton 2 gig partition a small installer and then Download extra content on the internal sd card. Apps2Sd allows you to map the game directory from the internal sd to your micro sd card. Similar in linux with a sym link. The Move to Sd from the Os (gingerbread). Allows you to alleviate some room from your 2 gig applications partition and move apps to the Microsd card.
JB
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927R using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Could it be that whether it move to internal or external SD depends on the app? None of my apps have been moved to the external microSD yet. Maybe it is because I have extra space on my internal microSD? Also when I go to Manage Apps > On SD Card, it shows the space used and remaining on the internal SD(USB storage).

vil33 said:
Could it be that whether it move to internal or external SD depends on the app? None of my apps have been moved to the external microSD yet. Maybe it is because I have extra space on my internal microSD? Also when I go to Manage Apps > On SD Card, it shows the space used and remaining on the internal SD(USB storage).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you are rooted, look for a folder named .android.secure on your Glide's hard drives. That folder contains apps that are moved to SD card. I see mine on /sdcard/external_sd/.android.secure

Hi, even if this thread is an old one, the same issue happened to my phone:
I can't use the internal memory to move apps because they are uninstalled every time the phone is rebooted. What is the clue?
Sent from my NX505J using Tapatalk

[Q] RE: Ext SD CARD

I realised that Galaxy W got 3 layers of memory which is phone storage, USB storage and ext sd card, and I found out that most of the apps are saved in internal storage (USB storage), but it has very limited spaces, so I would like to move all the apps to my ext sd card.
Anyone can guide me that how to do so???

Flash the ROMs here
Sent from my GT-I8150 using xda premium

There are 3 storage options on this phone...
ROM aka Device Memory = 1GB = Where apps install to.
Internal SD aka USB Storage = 2GB = Extra space
External SD aka SD Card = upto 32gb microSD card.
So you dont need to use an external SD card until you've used up nearly 3gb of space!
Have you used 3GB already?

Vyker said:
There are 3 storage options on this phone...
ROM aka Device Memory = 1GB = Where apps install to.
Internal SD aka USB Storage = 2GB = Extra space
External SD aka SD Card = upto 32gb microSD card.
So you dont need to use an external SD card until you've used up nearly 3gb of space!
Have you used 3GB already?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no installation of apps on the so-called USB Storage/Internal Storage......This is intended for data associated with apps, and storage for stuff like pics/photos/music.
There is built-in App2SD support in all Androids since Froyo, but it is not automatically invoked....you need to go to Settings/Manage Applications.
Look under Downloaded, where all the d/l Apps are listed, and tap on any app you wish to install on your SD Card, your external SD card, this is not internal so-called SD/USB Storage.
Any App that can be moved, will have a Move to SD card option.....those which are not written to enable movement, will be greyed out.
You could also get App2SD from market, which will give you a notification when an App is downloaded that it can be moved, and allows you to do this when you select the notification. It works well......IMHO. I use it and cannot fault it.
There is also another App 2 SD, which does a similar job, but has a Pro paid-for version......reports on Market that it does not support External SD, which is what we have, so avoid....IMHO

Right so still abit confused over this. Before i installed Kerza'a rom onto the phone.
Under the settings and storage and where is shows sd card, usb storage and Device memory.
On sd card it use to show my 8gb card and in the usb storage it use to show the 1.7gb that came on the phone.
After i installed kerza's rom it switched. But no matter what i do my apps still save to the smaller 1.7gb space.
Is there anything that can be done?

This means that KP's ROM switches mount points for SD's, and your Large SD Card is now considered as Internal SD.......
and no Apps can be moved to Internal, by Samsung design, they move to external SD.
arco says this will change with ICS, when and if we get it......
On the good side, your apps are now on probably faster Internal Storage (now mapped as External SD)......and you have more than enough to cater for apps IMHO. And you can probably force move other apps, maybe with Titanium Backup, or other ways, just be careful, some Apps should not be moved, so trial and error.
Even when I used DT's A2SD, on my previous, the biggest sd-sxt I used was 1GB.

B117 and sd storage

Has anyone noticed that even if you change the default storage location to the SD card, some applications are still installed in the phone memory?

1dave said:
Has anyone noticed that even if you change the default storage location to the SD card, some applications are still installed in the phone memory?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is application limitation not the phone or firmware

the apps themselves are mostly installed on the phone memory to avoid problems when you remove the SDcard. but all user data is stored on the external memory. as an example i couldn't install tomtom on previous version becasue the map size (over 4gb) was to large for the internal memory. now the app is on the phone memory but the maps get auto downloaded on the SDcard

[Q] [Help] A Single partition and external SD

Hello,
Phone: Samsung galaxy grand i9080L.
Now the question:
Am i able to make a single partition of internal storage? Because the phone came with 8 gb but it have 2 partitions on the internal memory, "System" and "Internal SD" , I just wanna a single one to control better things and as if i move to "SD" Its going to the internal SD and the external (MicroSD) Is not on use -_-

GabrielCool1 said:
Hello,
Phone: Samsung galaxy grand i9080L.
Now the question:
Am i able to make a single partition of internal storage? Because the phone came with 8 gb but it have 2 partitions on the internal memory, "System" and "Internal SD" , I just wanna a single one to control better things and as if i move to "SD" Its going to the internal SD and the external (MicroSD) Is not on use -_-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot use the system partition as it's reserved for the OS.Don't mess up with it, doing so may/will brick your phone If you are on Stock or ANY ROM with App2SD support you can move apps to External SD Card. Check whether your ROM supports App2SD or not.

Trilochanaaya said:
You cannot use the system partition as it's reserved for the OS.Don't mess up with it, doing so may/will brick your phone If you are on Stock or ANY ROM with App2SD support you can move apps to External SD Card. Check whether your ROM supports App2SD or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't, that's why, app2sd move em' to "sdcard0" which means (in my phone) emulated/0/ (Folder) and not to the external sd card. Already tryied many ways and still same, and well so.
What i wanted to do? as "system" is the internal storage i wanted to merge it with "emulated" which is the internal storage but in a partition to emulate a External SD Card so if its only 1 internal storage the microSD will work as it should work, because on my older phone(Ice mobile apollo touch) I was able to see apps, data, etc, on microsd as only had 1 internal storage.. Now as the sdcard is even in the internal , the external is empty. Its a problem too for cracked applications that need data/obb.

GabrielCool1 said:
I can't, that's why, app2sd move em' to "sdcard0" which means (in my phone) emulated/0/ (Folder) and not to the external sd card. Already tryied many ways and still same, and well so.
What i wanted to do? as "system" is the internal storage i wanted to merge it with "emulated" which is the internal storage but in a partition to emulate a External SD Card so if its only 1 internal storage the microSD will work as it should work, because on my older phone(Ice mobile apollo touch) I was able to see apps, data, etc, on microsd as only had 1 internal storage.. Now as the sdcard is even in the internal , the external is empty. Its a problem too for cracked applications that need data/obb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What ROM are u using?

Trilochanaaya said:
What ROM are u using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4.2.2 supossed to be stock, downloaded from sammobile to my operator/country as my ROM was literaly "f*ck*d" for a stupid thing i did so.
I just searched GT-i9080L and the latest android(4.2.2) was the one i downloaded, btw, the partition came with the phone, wasn't made by me or a rom and also, the phone didn't come new, i bought it from 2nd hand.

In Grand Internal memory will be shown as sdcard0 and External memory will be shown as sdcard1. Is external storage i.e. Sdcard1 mounting for you?

Trilochanaaya said:
In Grand Internal memory will be shown as sdcard0 and External memory will be shown as sdcard1. Is external storage i.e. Sdcard1 mounting for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i use a explorer i can only see 2. SDCard and internal memory, if i search through internal memory i'll find a folder called emulated, inside, another called 0, inside, all the things that should be on sdcard, which means that this "emulated" emulates a sdcard inside the phone. and yeah, external sd = sdcard1.
internal sd(emulated) = sdcard0
internal memory = internal memory o.o

External is actually /extSdcard on stock ROMs afaik.

akiratoriyama said:
External is actually /extSdcard on stock ROMs afaik.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know right, but it isn't used as Sdcard, the sdcard that it uses its a emulated sdcard INSIDE the internal memory.

GabrielCool1 said:
Hello,
Phone: Samsung galaxy grand i9080L.
Now the question:
Am i able to make a single partition of internal storage? Because the phone came with 8 gb but it have 2 partitions on the internal memory, "System" and "Internal SD" , I just wanna a single one to control better things and as if i move to "SD" Its going to the internal SD and the external (MicroSD) Is not on use -_-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2869939
Press thanks Button
Sent From RR for I9082

will it work on s2 plus