Develop Bugs

External sdcard woes

Before owning the Note 2, I had the S3. The problem with the scared happens on both phones.
When I first got the Note, I removed the sdcard from the S3 and put it straight into the Note.
No media showed up. Formatted in phone, transferred media, all working as it should.
Today, add a video to card, doesn't show. Add a photo, doesn't show.
Format card, transfer media. Nothing shows up.
Am reluctant to buy another card as I tried three Cards in the S3, and the problem was present with all of them.
PS using root explorer I can find all the media, and play them in their respective apps.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using xda app-developers app

saldawop said:
Before owning the Note 2, I had the S3. The problem with the scared happens on both phones.
When I first got the Note, I removed the sdcard from the S3 and put it straight into the Note.
No media showed up. Formatted in phone, transferred media, all working as it should.
Today, add a video to card, doesn't show. Add a photo, doesn't show.
Format card, transfer media. Nothing shows up.
Am reluctant to buy another card as I tried three Cards in the S3, and the problem was present with all of them.
PS using root explorer I can find all the media, and play them in their respective apps.
Sent from my GT-N8010 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
solution might be here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410262

Thanks, for some reason that works for my videos, but not with photos and music!!!!
And that is more of a workaround than a solution. Ideally I would like for it to work as it should. Impossible for me to go back to stock as I will always need root to vieww my media(ok, I will probably always be rooted, but I want the option)
Edit: tried again and my music and photos are now showing (using Directory Bind)
Sent from my GT-N8010 using xda app-developers app

Ive had issues like this on my EVO. Try installing a "media scan" app from the market. It rescans all media content on the phone and then if you want you can remove the app after its done. I had 2 years worth of photos on my 16GB SD class 10 and no pictures or video thumbnails / pictures at all would show. Ran the app and fixed all the issues.

I did try a couple of those apps yesterday.I dont know if either one worked.I mean I know nothing showed up, but it was as though they never actually run.

Same issue
:crying:
I tried formatting several times and copied the data back, nothing helped. Also copying files from my comp to the sd card and internal storage in the phone is very slow. I bought the device yesterday, its stock unrooted.

I don't believe media (pictures/video) show up until mediascanner detects them and sticks in some internal database.
So just copying files onto your external card and popping it in isn't going to work.
media scanner is normally triggered during a reboot, and some apps can trigger it. (generally via 'rescan media' buttons).
Also make sure you don't have a .nomedia file there, as that causes media scanner to skip the directory.
( media scanner can really grind on directories with tons of files )
- Frank

ChodTheWacko said:
I don't believe media (pictures/video) show up until mediascanner detects them and sticks in some internal database.
So just copying files onto your external card and popping it in isn't going to work.
media scanner is normally triggered during a reboot, and some apps can trigger it. (generally via 'rescan media' buttons).
Also make sure you don't have a .nomedia file there, as that causes media scanner to skip the directory.
( media scanner can really grind on directories with tons of files )
- Frank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried a different memory card from my old Sensation and it read the files perfectly... can any of you help me with the copying speed.. it took me 35 mins to copy 1.20GB... just to be sure i i tried to copy the same date using the same data cable and the same usb port, onto my wildfire, and it copied it pretty fast. Any idea ?

HTCfreak! said:
I tried a different memory card from my old Sensation and it read the files perfectly... can any of you help me with the copying speed.. it took me 35 mins to copy 1.20GB... just to be sure i i tried to copy the same date using the same data cable and the same usb port, onto my wildfire, and it copied it pretty fast. Any idea ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like the Sensation card just has slower transfer rates. While your wildfire has faster transfer rates but you are experience issues on the phone side.
Just to confirm, you have formatted both cards the same way and one works and the other doesn't? If possible try to format the card from the phone. Have you tried a sandisk card?
Daniel

dachness said:
It sounds like the Sensation card just has slower transfer rates. While your wildfire has faster transfer rates but you are experience issues on the phone side.
Just to confirm, you have formatted both cards the same way and one works and the other doesn't? If possible try to format the card from the phone. Have you tried a sandisk card?
Daniel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both the cards are Sandisk 8gb cards, both formatted on the Note 2. I transferred data to card A when its in the wildfire, i formatted the card and put it in the note and formatted it again, and tried to copy the same data to card A, it takes more than 3times the amount of time... data transfer has been slow to the card while its in the note

I have read somewhere that there is a " .nomedia " folder somewhere. Delete that and see what happens.

nm8 said:
I have read somewhere that there is a " .nomedia " folder somewhere. Delete that and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also on top of that, when you formatted the SDCard did you format in the PC or in your phone through recovery? You will want to format through recovery.
I would recommend upgrading to an ext partition and then formatting again (if you don't need the ext). I have found that even formatting the SDCard on some roms (because the way they work) it doesn't wipe everything and upgrading the to ext actually changes the file system of the SDCard rather than a quick format. Then only copy your media back to the card. Dont copy everything like .android, data, and stuff like that. Just what you want to keep.

HTCfreak! said:
Both the cards are Sandisk 8gb cards, both formatted on the Note 2. I transferred data to card A when its in the wildfire, i formatted the card and put it in the note and formatted it again, and tried to copy the same data to card A, it takes more than 3times the amount of time... data transfer has been slow to the card while its in the note
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any chance you have a counterfeit Sandisk card? Did you buy it from an authorized dealer? If buying from Amazon make sure you only purchase directly from amazon, LLC and not a third party vendor.
For reference which sandisk card do you have what class is it rated at?
Daniel

No the card is legit, i got it in the box when i bought the HTC Sensation and worked fine on the sensation. It has good copying speed if i put it in another device like my wildfire even now. I checked copying speeds yesterday using the same card in my wildfire and my new note, but it takes forever to copy data to the card while its in the Note. I have not rooted my Note yet. Its factory stock as of now.
---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 AM ----------
nm8 said:
I have read somewhere that there is a " .nomedia " folder somewhere. Delete that and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that, and it worked. thanks.... But still having data transfer speed issues... i copied data to the internal memory and even that is slow... this problem is not limited to only my sd card, but also the internal memory

If your internal memory is slow I would consider that cause for concern. Perhaps try running benchmarks and comparing your results to those in the benchmark thread. It may be worth returning it for another phone if you can't find a solution soon.

HTCfreak! said:
No the card is legit, i got it in the box when i bought the HTC Sensation and worked fine on the sensation. It has good copying speed if i put it in another device like my wildfire even now. I checked copying speeds yesterday using the same card in my wildfire and my new note, but it takes forever to copy data to the card while its in the Note. I have not rooted my Note yet. Its factory stock as of now.
---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 AM ----------
Tried that, and it worked. thanks.... But still having data transfer speed issues... i copied data to the internal memory and even that is slow... this problem is not limited to only my sd card, but also the internal memory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you might have to reinstall your rom

Isn't the speed difference just to do with the way the Note 2 connects to the pc? I.E MTP as opposed to mass storage? I seem to recall my G.F's original Note is dog slow at data transfer in MTP but much faster in USB mode....shame the Note 2 can't do this, it's one of my reservations about buying it.

Ouzo said:
Isn't the speed difference just to do with the way the Note 2 connects to the pc? I.E MTP as opposed to mass storage? I seem to recall my G.F's original Note is dog slow at data transfer in MTP but much faster in USB mode....shame the Note 2 can't do this, it's one of my reservations about buying it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now it makes sense to me, thanks :good:
Is there any way to connect in USB mode rather than MTP??

Can I ask if anyone else suffers from the same problem as raised in the OP?
I would imagine its not "the norm" and yet I have had the same issue on both the S3 and Note 2.
Whilst, it is now working, I am having to use Directory Bind, for it to do so.
I put in a new 64GB card on Saturday, recognised straight away in Settings/Storage, formatted fine in the phone giving me 59+GB of free space.
Put media on it...nothing shows.
I cant ever see my phone not being rooted so it can be worked around,but it just seems strange that I have had this on both phones and yet nobody else seems to suffer from it.

HTCfreak! said:
Now it makes sense to me, thanks :good:
Is there any way to connect in USB mode rather than MTP??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For whatever reason I don't think Samsung enabled USB mass storage mode on either the S3 or the Note 2. It's the one thing that's holding me back from buying one at the moment because I use iTunes Agent to sync with iTunes, and that requires the device to be in mass storage mode when connected to the pc (or you can take the sd card out and put it in a reader, but I don't like to take the back off too many times as most phones end up getting really creaky). It's a real shame because I'm just itching to get one.
Have a look in the GS3 forum - I think there's a thread where someone has created an app that enables you to toggle USB mass storage mode, but I think you might have to be rooted and have a custom kernel. Don't quote me, that's from memory
---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:50 PM ----------
saldawop said:
Can I ask if anyone else suffers from the same problem as raised in the OP?
I would imagine its not "the norm" and yet I have had the same issue on both the S3 and Note 2.
Whilst, it is now working, I am having to use Directory Bind, for it to do so.
I put in a new 64GB card on Saturday, recognised straight away in Settings/Storage, formatted fine in the phone giving me 59+GB of free space.
Put media on it...nothing shows.
I cant ever see my phone not being rooted so it can be worked around,but it just seems strange that I have had this on both phones and yet nobody else seems to suffer from it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a couple of threads about this I think now. I browsed some last night. Sorry, I'm only on my phone at the moment so it's a bit awkward to try and find a link for you (what with having a Sensation with only a 4.3" screen They'll be on the first page or two I think.
My girlfriend's original Note had a similar problem with photos and media after connecting an external hard drive. Going into settings/apps and clearing data on the media storage app followed by a reboot sorted the problem for her.

[Q] Phone freezes when trying to access photos on ext. SD Card

I have 812 pictures in my Camera album on my external Toshiba 32GB Class 10 SD card. When I first got the phone in December, everything worked great, even after transferring from my EVO 3D. Now, whenever I try to access my stuff on my SD card through the Gallery app, it just freezes. I can hit home and exit the app, but back doesn't work and I cannot scroll anywhere. I can still access pictures via ASTRO and save stuff on to it..I just don't anymore, in case it goes corrupt. Any solutions? I tried searching, but no one seems to have the same problem as me..

Lol. Sounds like a simple cache issue with the gallery. Go to settings, application manager, all apps, find gallery, try clearing cache, and if that doesn't solve the problem, delete data. This will not delete your images. I think it may or may not delete your thumbnails. Just scroll over the images again and a thumbnail is remade. Nothing will harm your photos.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

kkarson said:
I have 812 pictures in my Camera album on my external Toshiba 32GB Class 10 SD card. When I first got the phone in December, everything worked great, even after transferring from my EVO 3D. Now, whenever I try to access my stuff on my SD card through the Gallery app, it just freezes. I can hit home and exit the app, but back doesn't work and I cannot scroll anywhere. I can still access pictures via ASTRO and save stuff on to it..I just don't anymore, in case it goes corrupt. Any solutions? I tried searching, but no one seems to have the same problem as me..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm... I would normally say that the 800+ images in one gallery might be the cause of the problem. But you say that it was working fine previously. Even then, I'd recommend to split the images into different folders (maybe based on month they were taken) to minimize the amount of thumbnails that gallery has to process and look through.
I'm assuming you've done the MA6 and MB1 updates. Perhaps upgrading the phone to 4.1.2 caused this? I haven't heard of anything similar on XDA, but I'd stick with kkarson's approach and clear cache from the gallery app. Hope that works for ya!

Already tried clearing the cache and data from the Application Manager, but still the same results. I have a folder of old camera photos from my EVO 3D with 1780 photos in it, and it opens and I can view the photos perfectly fine, with no lag or freezing. But when I open the "Camera" folder on the ext. SD card, it just freezes and I have to go back to the home screen. I just upgraded to MB1 today and still the same results..
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

Maybe there's corrupted files on the SD card causing the phone to choke when it tries to read them. If you have windows 7 or XP you can put the card in your pc, (with a card reader or usb card reader), then right click on the card and choose properties. Select the tools tab in the properties box. The first option is error checking which will scan the disk and fix errors (if fix errors is checked). However, if there are corrupted files on the SD card it might be going bad and should be reformatted.

I have the same issue. I havent found a fix. I even formatted my external SD card.. didnt help.

MadFlava said:
I have the same issue. I havent found a fix. I even formatted my external SD card.. didnt help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No fix. Your Sd card is done. The fix is get a new one.
Also the op likely has Sd card problems and not a phone problem.

EzDuzit said:
No fix. Your Sd card is done. The fix is get a new one.
Also the op likely has Sd card problems and not a phone problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The card isnt that old and isnt giving any read/write errors.
I guess that could be the case.. its a class 10 Sandisk card.. I would think it would last more than a couple of months.

MadFlava said:
The card isnt that old and isnt giving any read/write errors.
I guess that could be the case.. its a class 10 Sandisk card.. I would think it would last more than a couple of months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you benchmarked your read/write speeds to your external sd?

MadFlava said:
The card isnt that old and isnt giving any read/write errors.
I guess that could be the case.. its a class 10 Sandisk card.. I would think it would last more than a couple of months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm looking at a Sandisk 32GB class 10 ultra card that I got right after xmas so it's only 3 mopnths old. It started spitting out corrupt files after only 1 month. Eventually I'll get another card. But if my phone ever random restarts, or suddenly locks up, or I notice media is using a lot of battery, I know if I run scan disk on the card it will show errors. It lasts for a few weeks between formats.
There are also tons of posts from people that have had sd card failures on this phone (also with new cards).
Scan of my card after phone acted up.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I bought a new class 10 PNY card today. Once I get some pictures on it, I guess we'll see if that was the issue.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

MadFlava said:
I bought a new class 10 PNY card today. Once I get some pictures on it, I guess we'll see if that was the issue.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont worry you're not alone, theres a thread in general that had a ton of posts and the thread title was "If your sdcard failed on you, what recovery were you on?"
Many have had to purchase 2 or 3 cards until they got one that didnt go bad or corrupted. If you got the sdcard (the one that failed) very recently, you could call the manufacturer and tell them it failed on you, I'm sure they would send a replacement because I've seen others do it and they got their replacements in a timely manner

CNexus said:
Dont worry you're not alone, theres a thread in general that had a ton of posts and the thread title was "If your sdcard failed on you, what recovery were you on?"
Many have had to purchase 2 or 3 cards until they got one that didnt go bad or corrupted. If you got the sdcard (the one that failed) very recently, you could call the manufacturer and tell them it failed on you, I'm sure they would send a replacement because I've seen others do it and they got their replacements in a timely manner
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the new card doesnt work any faster than the old card. At this point, Im thinking its not the card.

I guess I'm just gonna have to get a new card....this one is only 6 months old!!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

My Verbatim class 10 16gb sd card works just fine on my SGS2 and computer but it freezes like hell the SGS4. i want it in my SGS4 ...any advice please..i formatted and still the same

kremori said:
My Verbatim class 10 16gb sd card works just fine on my SGS2 and computer but it freezes like hell the SGS4. i want it in my SGS4 ...any advice please..i formatted and still the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isn't the section for the S4.

Camera - use SD card or system memory?

What's the pro's and con's with using SD card to store camera photos?
How I see it:
Pro:
- More space.
Cons:
- Less performance, so multi-shots and HDR and high bitrate video may stutter?
- Slower to copy to PC?
What's everyone using.

I prefer to keep it on my 32GB ext SD card.

Internal for me. I make sure to delete duplicate photos and missed shots, I don't like having 10 photos of the same thing. Plus, I only keep photos for the current year, on January 1st I move all my photos to my computer and NAS.

External for me. Class 10 Sandisk, I've never noticed any drops in performance.

I just have a random Class 4 (I think?) 32GB I had lying around, so wondering if I'd see a performance hit with this.
For reference, GoPro only recommends Class 10 if shooting 12MP photos at 0.5 second timelapse, so perhaps I should be fine on the G3.

From what I can see, with Pictures it doesn't really make a difference. I've got the 32GB/3GB version and shooting photos to my 32GB SanDisk Class 10 MicroSD is pretty much the same as writing them to the internal memory. However shooting videos at the maximum resolution does require quite a high write speed SD card (The only one above the Class 10 Extreme is the Ultra, which writes/reads at 90Mb/sec. The Extreme I have writes/reads at 30Mb/sec). So I guess it wouldn't really matter with pictures, but with video I'd personally stick to writing them to the internal storage, otherwise you may have stuttering. But if you've only got a 16GB version, then I guess it would be appropriate to stick everything on a MicroSD as you're not going to get much 4k footage on the 10 or so GB the 16GB comes with available to you.

For the life of me I can't find where to change the camera storage location. I don't see it in the camera settings menu anywhere.
Any suggestions?

Thanks for feedback.
I haven't found how to change location either. I just unmounted SD, launched camera app, and said to save to internal. Then I remounted SD.
Sent from my LG G3

To change storage at least for me is under settings in the camera app. After you click settings, it comes up right under the settings icon
Sent from my LGLS990

How do I stop it from asking me which storage location every time I start the Camera app?

The only difference I see is that burst shots and videos take longer to process which isn't a big deal once I already took the shot/video. much easier for me to keep them on the sd card for when I plug it into the computer or switch devices. I know on the M8 you couldn't have saving to sd card selected for burst shots.. it was annoying at times.

To change the storage location I had to go to Settings - Apps - Camera and clear data. Restarted camera and it asked where I wanted to store photos. I don't remember it asking me that the first time... Oh well its working now. :thumbup:

as mentioned on post 9, there is a toggle icon for selecting between internal and SD below the settings icon.
Sent from my LG-D855 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

dex. said:
as mentioned on post 9, there is a toggle icon for selecting between internal and SD below the settings icon.
Sent from my LG-D855 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see that option heh.

TheStickMan said:
I don't see that option heh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when I open the camera with the SD card removed that option disappears, and reappears we the card is back in the phone.
is the SD card being detected and read OK in other apps? if you did not format the card in the phone worth backing up the contents and formatting it in the phone.
if a format (or change of SD card) does not restore the IN/SD option for those missing it, what variant of the phone is being used? e. g. mine is a 32GB D855 (adeutn)
Sent from my LG-D855 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I prefer to keep my pictures on the SD Card in the case if I get a bootloop and have to reinstall my stock firmware and wipeout my internal memory for a fresh install.
Besides, a 32GB microsd can be had for less than $20. Cheap insurance!

dex. said:
when I open the camera with the SD card removed that option disappears, and reappears we the card is back in the phone.
is the SD card being detected and read OK in other apps? if you did not format the card in the phone worth backing up the contents and formatting it in the phone.
if a format (or change of SD card) does not restore the IN/SD option for those missing it, what variant of the phone is being used? e. g. mine is a 32GB D855 (adeutn)
Sent from my LG-D855 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
855K 10D firmware here. I get the prompt to save to SD card and it works fine, but there's no toggle.

jtambis6 said:
I prefer to keep my pictures on the SD Card in the case if I get a bootloop and have to reinstall my stock firmware and wipeout my internal memory for a fresh install.
Besides, a 32GB microsd can be had for less than $20. Cheap insurance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you could use Google plus autoupload...

Camera images never saved, disappeared from gallery.

To make a long story short, I took some irreplaceable pictures today that disappeared.
I have my camera saving to my 64gb memory card. I took a few pictures and a couple of panoramas and they ended up showing up glitchy and useless.
They didn't appear in the gallery with the exception of a few images.
It looked odd.
I rebooted the phone and tried to go into the gallery and they just weren't there. The previews showed up momentarily and then they vanished.
Now when I try to take a photo to go to my external memory, it works fine. It didn't pre-reboot.
Is there a method of:
A: Recovering my lost 10-15 images.
B: Ensuring that this doesn't happen in the future.
For the record, my card seems to be working fine. Music on it loads up quickly as well as any other images that I loaded onto it. Files open and there is zero lag. I don't suspect that the card is corrupted or anything.
Thanks guys.

silentecho13 said:
Is there a method of:
A: Recovering my lost 10-15 images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try something like Recuva: https://www.piriform.com/recuva
I successfully used that to restore files deleted from microSD cards a few years back.

johnus said:
You could try something like Recuva: https://www.piriform.com/recuva
I successfully used that to restore files deleted from microSD cards a few years back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
I'm unfortunately on a Mac. Guess I'll boot into boot camp and install it and give it a go.
I hope the pictures actually existed as files though and not some cached object.

Update:
Overnight, the saving issue arose again. I'm forced to use internal storage when using my camera.

I've seen this problem before. So SD cards don't work well with Samsung devices. I bought a Samsung SD card and never seem this problem again. I recommend you do the same.

b0Ne83 said:
I've seen this problem before. So SD cards don't work well with Samsung devices. I bought a Samsung SD card and never seem this problem again. I recommend you do the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish I wasn't broke :/
I'm using a SanDisk 64gb. Guess I've gotta dig up some cash and get a Samsung.
I don't see how this is an issue though.
What is your card formatted in? My current is in exfat. I'm thinking the format may be an issue.

It may be a kitkat issue. Google "kitkat SD card write". Root users are using a fix that sets permissions so the sd card can be written to by all apps as expected.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

Dumbo53 said:
It may be a kitkat issue. Google "kitkat SD card write". Root users are using a fix that sets permissions so the sd card can be written to by all apps as expected.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right before I came across your post, I found some info on the kitkat issue with sd cards. I'm guessing that's what's causing this problem. Odd because it's the default Samsung camera that's messing up.
Oh, how I miss root. I just hope we get root soon. I'm pretty close to selling this phone and hopping on Tmobile.

I had this problem happen with very VERY irreplaceable pictures, on my backpacking trip to china, one of the most irreplaceable pictures of my entire life was taken, appeared glitchy in gallery, phone reset and it was gone.
after taking out the SD card, and doing many deep scans to try and recover the deleted pictures, it seems the pictures arent there, which leads me to believe it somehow tried to save it in internal memory (which cant be mounted as a drive, so cannot be recovered).
if you can somehow flash an older version of android (like 2.xx) you can mount your phone as a drive, and then attempt to recover deleted data from your internal SD..
yeah all i can say is ,,|,, you samsung.

I too have the same problems as the OP. And I am on SAMSUNG micro SD card! Guess it is one of those first batch gremlins?
However, I think the problem has gone away after I switch on the image "preview" option. Give it a try.

I had the same issue with a 64gGB SanDisk micro SD card. The camera would seem as if it was taking pictures but nothing was actually saved; they just shows as corrupted files in the gallery. I lost countless irreplaceable images from our honeymoon because of this. Once I switched to a 32GB Samsung micro SD card I never had the issue again, also saving the pictures directly to the internal memory solved the problem. I use the SD card for music as well so it has to be something with the phone writing to the SD card. From what I've read it's a issue with the compatability with samsung and non samsung sd cards for some reason.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Free mobile app

Never had this issue with any of my Samsung phones (S2, S4, and now the Note 4). I'm using a SanDisk Class 10 32GB. I'd recommend pulling the files off the SD and doing a format. Download the App SD Maid as well for routine maintenance on your SD. Good luck.

My 64GB SanDisk SD card was giving unexpected unmounted errors, so I picked up a Samsung 64GB SD card. The unexpected unmount errors went away, but now I have this problem. Pictures are not saving to the SD card correctly. Sometimes it says media not found. Others the preview/thumbnail looks fine but the full view is just grey.
I am going to try saving to internal memory and manually moving to the SD card as I run out of room.
Sent from my iPad air using Tapatalk

Tablet destroying SD cards?

In August, I bought a 128GB PNY microSD card. It lasted almost two months, and then the tablet started acting funny. It would randomly unmount the card, it couldn't find my music files, and apps I had moved to the card would just disappear. I assumed the card was broken, so I eventually replaced it with a 128GB Samsung card. It's worked fine until the other day, when it started exhibiting the exact same behavior. I haven't been able to fix it.
I've tried formatting them both, but nothing seems to work. Windows can see the cards and the contents, but it's not able to format either card - it reads them both as write-protected, even though they're not. The only thing I can think that might cause it besides my tablet is Link2SD. I use this to move the large app data to the card since I only have 16GB of regular space. Could this be causing it? I'm at a loss, and I can't keep buying new cards. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I regularly read this forum and this is the first time I've heard of an issue as described. I bought a a cheaper 64Gb mSD card and used it with my Tab S day one. I've never had an issue. Could be you just have been unlucky? Were your cards from recognized brands? I suspect that the larger GB cards have lower yields so you need to buy a better quality card.
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app

3DSammy said:
I regularly read this forum and this is the first time I've heard of an issue as described. I bought a a cheaper 64Gb mSD card and used it with my Tab S day one. I've never had an issue. Could be you just have been unlucky? Were your cards from recognized brands? I suspect that the larger GB cards have lower yields so you need to buy a better quality card.
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely won't rule out being unlucky, it's definitely in my blood. I just find it odd the exact same thing would happen to two cards, months apart and with different brands and purchasing locations. PNY isn't super awesome, but they're not garbage, and Samsung is fairly prominent.

Samsung phones and tablets are occasionally said to be sd card killers. The GS3 definitely was, killed like 3 cards with the same result as you got.
Sometimes I feel it also affects certain sizes of card. The GS3 ate 16gb cards, but not 32gb cards. So it's quite possible that a different size card may have a longer life.
Not saying this has any base in research, just my experience.

Andante1980 said:
Samsung phones and tablets are occasionally said to be sd card killers. The GS3 definitely was, killed like 3 cards with the same result as you got.
Sometimes I feel it also affects certain sizes of card. The GS3 ate 16gb cards, but not 32gb cards. So it's quite possible that a different size card may have a longer life.
Not saying this has any base in research, just my experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read this on other forums as well, specifically the GS3 part. I wish there was a way to be sure. What happened to destroy the cards?

I am using a Samsung 64GB and Link2SD. Haven't encountered any issue so far. But on a related topic, I managed to destroy a 1 year old Sandisk USB drive yesterday while trying to format it as NTFS. Now Windows won't recognise it al all. It could just be that the flash memory had defects to begin with.

Does Windows make the bell sound when you insert your microsd, if it does you should be able to recover it, if it does not and you have checked the reader is working the microsd might be dead, if you have an sdhc adapter see if a camera or any other device will recognize the card, if it does format it in that device then see if windows will see it, I had an 16GB microsd a few years ago completely die when i froze while i was copying music to my phone, nothing would recognize the card after that it was totally dead, and i got a refund.
john.
snapper.fishes said:
I am using a Samsung 64GB and Link2SD. Haven't encountered any issue so far. But on a related topic, I managed to destroy a 1 year old Sandisk USB drive yesterday while trying to format it as NTFS. Now Windows won't recognise it al all. It could just be that the flash memory had defects to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Tinderbox (UK) said:
Does Windows make the bell sound when you insert your microsd, if it does you should be able to recover it, if it does not and you have checked the reader is working the microsd might be dead, if you have an sdhc adapter see if a camera or any other device will recognize the card, if it does format it in that device then see if windows will see it, I had an 16GB microsd a few years ago completely die when i froze while i was copying music to my phone, nothing would recognize the card after that it was totally dead, and i got a refund.
john.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows does recognize the card, and I can see the contents of it and copy all content OFF the card. However, trying to format it just tells me the disk is write protected. I've done everything in my power to try to unlock the disk, including third-party programs and commands in the DOS prompt, but it's still write-protected. So bizarre!

I had the write protect problem on an card myself a few years ago, I downloaded an app that let me remove the protection and the card worked fine after that.
Does the write protection stop a camera from formatting the card, or only windows, as i said it`s been years since i had my problem.
Have you tried a partition manger app, I have used the one below for years, but i dont know if it will be blocked by the write protection as well.
http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html
John.
greycobalt said:
Windows does recognize the card, and I can see the contents of it and copy all content OFF the card. However, trying to format it just tells me the disk is write protected. I've done everything in my power to try to unlock the disk, including third-party programs and commands in the DOS prompt, but it's still write-protected. So bizarre!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Tinderbox (UK) said:
I had the write protect problem on an card myself a few years ago, I downloaded an app that let me remove the protection and the card worked fine after that.
Does the write protection stop a camera from formatting the card, or only windows, as i said it`s been years since i had my problem.
Have you tried a partition manger app, I have used the one below for years, but i dont know if it will be blocked by the write protection as well.
http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html
John.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually don't own a camera, the only things I have that take SD cards are computers and Android tablets/phones. I haven't tried that particular partition manager (Chrome won't let me download it - it says it's unsafe?), but the Windows manager and an HP one someone recommended both say "Failed to format disk."

I have uploaded the app i used, It years old so i most likely does not work but you can give it a try.
John.
greycobalt said:
I actually don't own a camera, the only things I have that take SD cards are computers and Android tablets/phones. I haven't tried that particular partition manager (Chrome won't let me download it - it says it's unsafe?), but the Windows manager and an HP one someone recommended both say "Failed to format disk."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

greycobalt said:
I actually don't own a camera, the only things I have that take SD cards are computers and Android tablets/phones. I haven't tried that particular partition manager (Chrome won't let me download it - it says it's unsafe?), but the Windows manager and an HP one someone recommended both say "Failed to format disk."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would download partition wizard with another browser or force chrome to download it. Its a perfectly legitimate app which I've used many a time.
You need a low level format and partitioning software like that. Windows is useless on its own.
Delete the sd card partition, recreate and reformat.

ashyx said:
I would download partition wizard with another browser or force chrome to download it. Its a perfectly legitimate app which I've used many a time.
You need a low level format and partitioning software like that. Windows is useless on its own.
Delete the sd card partition, recreate and reformat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded it through Edge, and everything worked fine. It even seemed like it was going to work, until I hit "apply". Then it sat and thought for a while, and told me there was an error with the format of the disk. Instead of trying to recreate 2 partitions, I tried to just see if it would format at all, and when I applied that change, it said it completed successfully, but the disk was still in it's former state - full of my files, fully readable, and definitely not formatted. I feel like this stupid thing is haunted.

So for this problem, can anyone give me an opinion on whether it's hardware or software based? Such as, do you believe this is happening because it's a Samsung tablet, or with a bug on their current Android version? I'm hesitant to keep putting cards in it, but I want to use my tablet!

Have you flashed or rooted your tablet? , are you on kitkat or lollipop?

Tinderbox (UK) said:
Have you flashed or rooted your tablet? , are you on kitkat or lollipop?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was rooted, but it was on stock 5.0.2. I used root to run Link2SD.

Link2SD only moves apps not music, so why did your music disappear, have you used any cleaning apps as they can delete files that you want to keep.
greycobalt said:
It was rooted, but it was on stock 5.0.2. I used root to run Link2SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Tinderbox (UK) said:
Link2SD only moves apps not music, so why did your music disappear, have you used any cleaning apps as they can delete files that you want to keep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I had Link2SD moving all kinds of crap. It was linking games, books, comics, magazines...lots of stuff. My music didn't disappear - in fact, nothing did. It's all still there, only the tablet can't see it. My computer can see it, I can copy and open the files, but I can't write anything new to the card, and I can't format it.

It sounds like your tablet is loosing the location of the files on your microsd, I would say Link2SD is at fault, I would give the developer a email with the problem your are having and see what they say.
EDIT: I just read the reviews of LINK2SD and some people are reporting files are disappearing.
John.
greycobalt said:
Well I had Link2SD moving all kinds of crap. It was linking games, books, comics, magazines...lots of stuff. My music didn't disappear - in fact, nothing did. It's all still there, only the tablet can't see it. My computer can see it, I can copy and open the files, but I can't write anything new to the card, and I can't format it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

greycobalt said:
Well I had Link2SD moving all kinds of crap. It was linking games, books, comics, magazines...lots of stuff. My music didn't disappear - in fact, nothing did. It's all still there, only the tablet can't see it. My computer can see it, I can copy and open the files, but I can't write anything new to the card, and I can't format it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@greycobalt: I recently had Link2SD card stop mounting the 2nd partition (formatted as ext2, that is used for Link2SD).
I'm using a SanDisk 64 GB micro SD.
1) Did you have this same problem? Were you able to recover your app files when you put the SD card into your computer?
2) Oddly enough, I can see the files on the 1st partition of the card, which is formatted to FAT32 and I can see everything on that in file explorer. You said that these even disappear?
3) What file format did you have for your microSD for Link2SD to be able to link apps to it?