Problems
"The contents of the /sdcard partition is not properly displayed by Windows Explorer. I'm missing files/folders and/or I'm seeing files/folders that shouldn't be on my /sdcard. When I browse my /sdcard with a file manager app the contents are displayed OK."
"Whey copying files, the process hangs during transfer. Happens mostly when copying a large number of files."
"The /sdcard contents are listed, but it's not possible to copy anything from or to the /sdcard."
Cause
The Galaxy Nexus does not support the USB mass storage protocol, but relies on MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) when connected to a computer using a USB cable. The implementation of MTP is buggy at best. Transferring files is slower and less reliable when compared to USB mass storage. Windows Explorer is often unresponsive for shorter or longer periods when browsing the /sdcard with it and may not list the contents of the /sdcard properly. These problems are Windows version independent, despite the fact MTP is natively supported since Windows Vista. Problems are reported with XP, Vista and 7 on x86 and x64 architectures. Using alternative file managers instead of Windows Explorer also doesn't resolve the issue.
Solution
I've find it best to work around this issue by avoiding to use MTP by using the following methods:
Direct methods
1) Using ADB
Prerequisites
- ADB binaries
- USB debugging option enabled in developer options
- Galaxy Nexus connected to the computer with USB cable (rooted phones can also use ADB via a Wifi connection)
Steps
The Android Debug Bridge allows to copy files/folders from and to the /sdcard by using the adb pull and adb push commands on a Windows command line interface (DOS prompt). You'll need the ADB binaries on your computer to use this method. You can get them by either installing the Android SDK or by downloading this small package with all the binaries you need (recommended): http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1031911&d=1335747189
Extract the files to a folder of your liking. To use adb commands, you must open a command line and either navigate to the folder that contains the adb files (cd D:\MyAdbFilesAreHere) OR you can add the absolute folder location of that folder to the Windows PATH system variable so you can use adb commands regardless of the current directory you're in.
Syntax
adb push <local> <remote> - copy file/dir to device
adb pull <remote> [<local>] - copy file/dir from device
Examples
If you want to copy your entire /sdcard to D:\MyGalaxyNexus: adb pull /sdcard D:\MyGalaxyNexus
If you want to copy just the DCIM folder (camera images): adb pull /sdcard/DCIM D:\MyGalaxyNexus\CameraImages
If you want to copy a file from your computer to the /sdcard: adb push D:\MyGalaxyNexus\musictrack.mp3 /sdcard/music
Advantages of this method
- Good transfer speeds.
- Possible to automate backups by creating simple Windows batch files.
Disadvantages of this method
- Using a CLI is less intuitive than a GUI.
- File attributes are not preserved (created, modified, accessed attributes).
2) Accessing a shared folder on your computer with a file manager app on your device via Wifi
Prerequisites
- Wifi connection
- Computer and Galaxy Nexus connected to the same LAN
- A shared folder on your computer
- A file manager app that supports accessing LAN shares (for instance: ES File Explorer)
Steps
Create a folder anywhere on your computer and share it by giving the user "Everyone" read/write permissions on it (note: if you are on a network, this means every user on that network can access your folder AND write/delete files in it. For most home situations that's not an issue though): right click on the folder > Share With > Specific People > use the combox to select "Everyone" > click Add. Now change the permission level to Read/Write. You also need to turn off 'password protected sharing' for this to work via Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Advanced Sharing Settings > expand Home or Work > section Password protected sharing > turn off password protected sharing.
Finally, install ES File Explorer via the Play Store and launch it. Change the view to LAN. Tap New > tap Scan. Your computer's IP should be listed. Tap it. It will show an overview of shared folders. Ignore the admin shares Windows creates by default (all shares with a dollar sign suffix) and tap the folder you created earlier. Now you can copy any file from/to this folder using ES File Explorer.
Advantages of this method
- Decent transfer speeds.
- Copying files/folders with a GUI.
Disadvantages of this method
- All copy operations must be done on the phone.
- File attributes are not preserved (created, modified, accessed attributes).
3) Using an FTP server on your device
Prerequisites
- Wifi connection
- App that allows FTP access to your device (for instance: ES File Explorer)
- FTP client (for example: FileZilla)
Steps
This is pretty straightforward: open ES File Explorer, go to 'settings' > 'remote settings' and enable 'remote manage'. The app will provide you with an IP address & port which you have to enter in your FTP client. After you have connected, you can transfer files from/to the device.
Advantages of this method
- Decent transfer speeds.
- Copying files/folders using a Windows program.
Disadvantages of this method
- File attributes are not preserved (created, modified, accessed attributes).
Indirect methods
1) Using the cloud
Prerequisites
- An account with a cloud storage service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Box.com, etc.
- A Wifi connection (not an actual prerequisite, but using mobile data is a lot slower and will have a large impact on your data plan)
Steps
This is pretty straightforward to explain: upload the files you wish to backup to the cloud service of choice, and in turn download them to your computer.
Advantages of this method
- Decent transfer speeds.
- Copying files/folders with a GUI.
- Preserves file attributes.
Disadvantages of this method
- Not a direct method.
- Dependent of third-party services (service or internet connection might be down).
2) USB on the go
Prerequisites
- USB on the go cable
- USB thumb drive
- Root access
- App "Stick Mount" by ChainFire
Steps
With stick mount, a USB OTG cable and a USB thumb drive you can mount a USB thumb drive on your phone. This allows you to copy files and folders from the /sdcard to the mounted USB thumb drive using a file manager app. In turn, the files on the USB thumb drive can be copied to your computer.
Advantages of this method
- Good transfer speeds.
- Copying files/folders with a GUI.
- Preserves file attributes.
Disadvantages of this method
- Not a direct method.
- Needs a rooted device.
- Dependent of a third-party app (might be pulled from the play store or will not be updated).
GPsoft Directory Opus
Directory Opus is a file manager for windows, offering complete system integration thus a full replacement for Windows Explorer. Since version 10.5, Directory Opus has full MTP support built-in. Although certain operations cause long delays (copy-paste for example), the MTP support is robust enough for me to abandon ADB for file transfers.
This is great. Well done. I will certainly link to it in the 101 thread. If you want, I can also add the text to the actual thread (with credit of course) - your call.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Thanks efrant. I hope it proves helpful. Imho, it's probably best to copy the text to your 101 & FAQ post, so people can access all useful info in one place. But if you think the 101 & FAQ post will become too large, linking is also fine.
thanks for putting this together man.
Sent from my i9250
C:\Windows\System32>C:\Users\Angelo\Desktop\platform-tools-v19\adb.exe pull /sdcard D:\MyGalaxyNexus
remote object '/sdcard' not a file or directory
What's wrong?
DDeleted said:
C:\Windows\System32>C:\Users\Angelo\Desktop\platform-tools-v19\adb.exe pull /sdcard D:\MyGalaxyNexus
remote object '/sdcard' not a file or directory
What's wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use /sdcard/
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Petrovski80 said:
Solution
I've find it best to work around this issue by avoiding to use MTP by using the following methods:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AirDroid
For people who really want to use Windows Explorer effectively, there is a very good app called Samba Filesharing. It runs a samba server on your Android device, which you can then set up as a network drive in Windows. Unlike MTP, all Windows Explorer functions work, eg right-click context menu and filetype associations. It works via WiFi hotspot or normal WiFi connection.
The disadvantage is that transfer rate is limited to about 1.8 MB/s. But for simply browsing files, doing housecleaning, and less-than-huge file transfers, it provides all the familiarity of Explorer. I don't know if it works with wired USB tethering, but if it does, that would also give much faster transfer rate.
thanks for the comparisons in a simple list :good:
FYI, for linux users:
When using adb, no need to download any drivers, just use adb [to get adb, just download platform-tools-v19.zip or if there's a newer one when you read this...].
If you're using adb and try to move files remember to also put the / at the end of the filepath for your android device.
i.e.
./adb push nameofile.zip /sdcard/
Also, before attempting to manually mount your gnex, it already may be automatically connected.
After connecting the usb cable - verify by ./adb devices
Awesoomee guide! Should be stickied!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Hi.
Thank you for this guide.
I'm getting crazy for a problem: I would like to restore the photos without change the creation date.
I tried everything to copy file, ftp server, shared folder, ADB but the date changes: I have to give up or is there a method to preserve it?
Thank you again.
Bye!
! !
lupoalberto12 said:
Hi.
Thank you for this guide.
I'm getting crazy for a problem: I would like to restore the photos without change the creation date.
I tried everything to copy file, ftp server, shared folder, ADB but the date changes: I have to give up or is there a method to preserve it?
Thank you again.
Bye!
! !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use quickpic gallery to restore date/time file attributes. Quickpic reads exif metadata and updates the file date accordingly.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I know but I would like to use the default gallery .
Thank you.
Bye!
! !
lupoalberto12 said:
I know but I would like to use the default gallery .
Thank you.
Bye!
! !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can. Fixing the date attributes is a one time action, afterwards you can remove quickpic if you like.
Note that I'm not talking albout sort views.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Petrovski80 said:
Note that I'm not talking albout sort views.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the problem .
Better than nothing .
Thank you.
Bye!
! !
WinSCP
Petrovski80 said:
3) Using an FTP server on your device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, some extra things to note. The ES Explorer FTP server (or perhaps any FTP server) on the Galaxy Nexus is prone to disconnection and may hang if you try to copy the whole folder with a client app like WinSCP.
For WinSCP I found that when doing transfers to enable "Transfer files individually" helps with the reliability.
Hi all
Can I delete these files from my phone using windows explorer?
Sure you can. But you could as well use the stock file explorer.
Just be aware that you're dealing with more than one folder here (don't recall all of them: images, demovideo, ...)
-----
tapatalked with Android
Hi. I have...
- Nexus 5x H790 version 6.0.1 MMB29P full stock.
- Latest USB drivers from (http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html).
- Nexus Toolkit v2.1.0 sfx" say i have all MTP and ADB drivers installed.
- Pc with Windows 10 x64 (latest build 1511 compilation 10586.36).
When i plugged the phone, and change "charge only" to "file transfer (mtp)", windows native file explorer show all folders and subfolders, but empty, without files inside.
For example, I cannot see the photos/videos from the camera folder to copy to my pc.
Does anyone know how to fix this?
are you able to copy files to the phone? have you set explorer to show hidden files? is this really the case for all folders and files, or are there exceptions? did you set these folders to not show up in any app on the phone, for instance in a photo gallery or media player?
just some qustions that came to mind
Broken303 said:
are you able to copy files to the phone? have you set explorer to show hidden files? is this really the case for all folders and files, or are there exceptions? did you set these folders to not show up in any app on the phone, for instance in a photo gallery or media player?
just some qustions that came to mind
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In some files, copies. Others, not.
I dont change nothing in app or gallery.
Have you tried clearing data on the Media Storage app, then rebooting your device? I sometimes have problems with folders and files not showing up in Windows Explorer when connected via MTP, and this seems to fix it for me. You may need to choose the option to show system apps in order to see this app.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Same thing here, also windows 10. Can confirm that clearing data on the Media Storage app is fixing the problem ☺
I am trying to extract the Nokia Tune ringtone from my Lumia 635 running Windows 10 Mobile build 10.0.10586.456. I did a factory reset it, then did an interop unlock using Root Tool in order to gain full file system access. I used CustomPFD to enable full file system access when connected to the computer. Looking through the file system, I have been unable to find the location of the default ringtones. Does anyone know where the default ringtones are stored on Windows 10 Mobile? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
try here "PROGRAMS\CommonFiles\Sounds"
Thanks, that's where it was. However, I wasn't able to access that directory via MTP. I had to use spavlin's Storage Explorer. Even then I couldn't access that folder directly, I had to manually type the path. Once I did, I could see everything in that folder. Kept scrolling until I found Nokia Tune.wma. Copied it to C:\Data\Users\Public, thinking I'd simply be able to copy it to my computer via MTP. But the file didn't show up. So I used Total Commander's WiFi feature on the phone and got it on my computer that way. Thanks for your help.
hi guys
all APK files o my device (aus zenfone 3 deluxe) and windows 10 file explorer are seen as FOLDERS!
the icon of them is the classic yellow windows folder!
the trouble is that i copy an APK from my asus to another smartphone (for example my nubia M2)...
this file is seen by M2 exactly as a FOLDER!
so i can't install it (on my M2) becouse it's a FOLDER actually!
how can i solve this trouble?
thanks a lot!
pd. all my two phones are rooted (magisk) and work very fine!
dj75 said:
hi guys
all APK files o my device (aus zenfone 3 deluxe) and windows 10 file explorer are seen as FOLDERS!
the icon of them is the classic yellow windows folder!
the trouble is that i copy an APK from my asus to another smartphone (for example my nubia M2)...
this file is seen by M2 exactly as a FOLDER!
so i can't install it (on my M2) becouse it's a FOLDER actually!
how can i solve this trouble?
thanks a lot!
pd. all my two phones are rooted (magisk) and work very fine!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SOLVED!!!
why in english? For all people, all forums… i’m right no?
Follow theese passages:
- Disconnect the smartpone from PC
- On smartphone Enter in SETTINGS -> APPS -> APP INFORMATION
- Tap on the three vertical points and select “show system app”
- Now for all the files explorer app installed (one by one) and also for the system app EXTERNAL STORAGE , MEDIA STORAGE (always one by one), enter in them and tap on “archive and memory”
and clean DATA (clean cache is automatically done!)
- Switch off the smartphone…then switch on again
- And why not? You can switch off and then on the pc.
NO reset but switch off and on!!!
Connect again the smartphone on pc and that’s all folks!
Windows file explorer will see the files on smartphone as FILES and no more as FOLDERS
The same happens with all your android files explorer apps.