I have a 128gb microsd card formatted to exfat. None of the Android 11 ROMS recognise the format and want to format it presumably to fat32. Given the file size restrictions of fat32, is there any other file system i can convert to that will likely be recognised by android 11 (ext4, ntfs etc)?
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As far as I know the SD is formatted as Fat32 and we are limited according to its specs. It means we can't write a file larger than 2GB on it.
Is there any way to format an SD card for Nook as NTFS, ext2, ext3 or anything R/W supported in Windows or OS X natively (or with additional drivers)?
nook_lover said:
Is there any way to format an SD card for Nook as NTFS, ext2, ext3 or anything R/W supported in Windows or OS X natively (or with additional drivers)?
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Windows supports two filesystems: fat, and ntfs.
Of those two, Android only supports fat.
So... no.
cfoesch said:
Windows supports two filesystems: fat, and ntfs.
Of those two, Android only supports fat.
So... no.
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That's a shame. I was downloading a video file larger than 2GB and then my Nook suddenly got rebooted and I realized about the limitation...
And the file size limit is not 2gb but 4gb
Montisaquadeis said:
And the file size limit is not 2gb but 4gb
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so it's Fat32 then? not Fat.
Montisaquadeis said:
And the file size limit is not 2gb but 4gb
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ok. 2gb is for fat and 4gb is for fat32 I guess.
cfoesch said:
Windows supports two filesystems: fat, and ntfs.
Of those two, Android only supports fat.
So... no.
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Window also supports exFAT with file size limit, which is exceeding contemporary mobile storage devices maximum capacity, but, unfortunately, Android doesn't support this file system.
As an alternative, I've tried formating my SD to ext4(Ext2Fsd allows to mount ext2-3-4 partitions on Windows), but NT didn't recognize it.
I found a utility called Drive Mount, it can mount storage device with FAT/NTFS/EXT file systems, but it doesn't support Android 2.x.
I also tried to mount my SD manually, but Nook Tablet handles SD card in a way unfamiliar to me.
If you insert FAT formatted SD card, then NT will mount SD(block device /dev/block/vold/179:17), but if you insert ext4 formatted card(I bet the same goes for ext3 and ext2 too), then NT will not mount anything and /dev/block/vold/179:17 will be inaccessible(the device still will be at /dev/block/vold, but both cat and mount will tell you that there is no such device or address).
UPDATE
I was able to mount ext4 formated SD card via /dev/block/mmcblk1p1
NT thinks that SD card is blank or has unsupported file system, but it is fully accessible for both read and write.
So if you desperately want to watch some 4+Gb video, you need to format SD to ext2/3/4 and mount it to some empty folder on your NT internal partition, I wouldn't recommend using /mnt/sdcard, though.
If somebody interested, I can make a step-by-step instruction for Windows users.
I recently bought a SanDisk Ultra microsd HC 64gb Class 10 card for my new samsung galaxy s3 I9300(International version)...
But just as i put it in the sdcard slot, the phone shows up the preparing sd card line in the notification menu and the sd card doesnt moun on the system...
After a while when i got fed up I put the card on another of my old phones since i crashed my card reader, and it still doesnt show up so i boot my old phone into ecovery and moint it onto pc (Rooted old htc explorer/pico)
And the phone shows up as unallocated space in the minitool partition wizard 6.0 pro when i check for the problem..
So i format the card to fat32 logical partition with 59.5 gb of space on the card and when it is formatted successfully
I put back in my SGS3 and still it is stuck on the preparing sd card line in the notification panel...
My question:-
How do i mount it on my phone and well perform it's sd card functions...
"You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk and use the Format tool included on the disk." [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314463]
Even though its possible i'd advise to omit FAT32 - try ext4?
Thanks all
avdaga said:
"You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk and use the Format tool included on the disk." [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314463]
Even though its possible i'd advise to omit FAT32 - try ext4?
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Well actually i used windows 7 for all this blunder
But anyways yes you are right fat32 could be the problem but my only reason for formatting it to fat32 was to use directory bind and i've also seen that ntfs formatted sd cards are not supported on android (i tried it on my dad's samsung galaxy s2)
But yeah finally i found my solution, you see there must be some problem in my s3 since later on i gave the card a last chance bu putting it in my dad's Galaxy SII and guess what, it mounted and worked, the first thing i did then was to format it by the default samsung interface in the settings section and then transfer a music file on the card and played it and when it worked i took it out and put it in my gs3 and FINALLY it worked!!! My guess some problem with the GSIII anyways i reported it to samsung's bug report section and the rest is history.... Thankyou mate!!:victory::good::laugh:
Should I Format My Sd Card to exFAT or Fat32? I want exFAT for file size transfer but wasn't sure if anyone has ran into any problems with it
Does S4 support 64Gb SD card formatted as ext4?
It is currently formatted as vfat and, I think, I have just ran into its limitation: one of my directories contain over 18,000 files and no more can be added. I do not have an option of reducing the number of files in that directory or splitting it since it is controlled by an app (Anki).
I guess, one of the options is to use internal storage that is ext4 and would not have such limitations. But I would much rather keep those files on SD card if it is possible format it as ext4.
igory_1999 said:
Does S4 support 64Gb SD card formatted as ext4?
It is currently formatted as vfat and, I think, I have just ran into its limitation: one of my directories contain over 18,000 files and no more can be added. I do not have an option of reducing the number of files in that directory or splitting it since it is controlled by an app (Anki).
I guess, one of the options is to use internal storage that is ext4 and would not have such limitations. But I would much rather keep those files on SD card if it is possible format it as ext4.
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ext4 is a native Linux/Unix format which is what the Android OS is based on. ext4 will work fine on an SD card. If you connect your phone to a Windows machine depending on your version of the OS and drivers you have loaded it may not recognize it.
Your card is probably actually formatted as Fat32. VFAT isn't a real format type. It is just a notation for a FAT partition with long file names.
The one issue is that there have been a lot of people having issue with 64Gb SD cards on custom ROMS and kernels. If you are running a custom ROM or kernel and your card is currently working, I would check the support thread before making the changes.
One other thing to point out. It may be obvious, but I've been doing IT support and programming for about 30 years and have learned its best to point out the obvious before data is possibly lost. Unless you have a specialized utility to convert the SD card partition to ext4 from it current FAT state, it will erase the data in the process leaving you with a blank SD card. So make sure you back the data up somewhere before you make the conversion.
Hopefully this helps.
ext4 is a native Linux/Unix format which is what the Android OS is based on. ext4 will work fine on an SD card. If you connect your phone to a Windows machine depending on your version of the OS and drivers you have loaded it may not recognize it.
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I do not touch Windows, only Linux. So this is not a problem. However, I remember back a year or so ago I tried to use ext4-formatted SD card in my old Droid Incredible and it did not work and I had to switch back to fat32. But maybe older version of Android supported only older versions of extX file system?
Your card is probably actually formatted as Fat32. VFAT isn't a real format type. It is just a notation for a FAT partition with long file names.
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I vaguely remember reading somewhere that for S4 to recognize 64Gb card, it should be formatted only as exFat. I do not remember if I had to format the card myself or it worked out of the box. I think it did but I did not so far had any problem using the card in S4 (maybe there will be a problem once I use more than 50% of storage?). What tool is aware of exFat and can say for sure if I have fat32 or exFat? The tools I tried so far just say vfat.
The one issue is that there have been a lot of people having issue with 64Gb SD cards on custom ROMS and kernels.
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My phone is rooted but otherwise I am running stock kernel.
I'm a Windows programmer who is an average Linux/old time Unix user. VFAT is how Linux sees any FAT partition with long file names. I have plenty of tools that will specify the difference on the Windows side, but I'm not real sure on of any free tools the Linux side. I have a couple of paid tools for doing computer security forensics that are Linux based that can tell you the exact format type so I know it can be done.
I'm running Hyperdrive with the stock ME7 kernel. I just searched through the thread and the only ones who got the 64GB cards working were using custom kernels. They were also the only ones who appeared to get the ext4 working consistently on the S4.
I just did a quick experiment. I had an extra SD card around (not a 64GB) and formatted it as ext4. My S4 would not mount the card. It would see it and tell me that there was a blank SD card there or one that has unsupported files.
Sorry I couldn't be more help.
psu90 said:
I have plenty of tools that will specify the difference on the Windows side, but I'm not real sure on of any free tools the Linux side. I have a couple of paid tools for doing computer security forensics that are Linux based that can tell you the exact format type so I know it can be done.
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I was actually hoping that Android itself might have some tools to recognize such things since it seems to depend on it so much.
Since I put my S4 into an Otter shell, I no longer take SD card out unless absolutely necessary since it is such a pain to dress/undress the phone. So far Android System Info and DiskInfo seem to give the most detailed info about the file systems but even they just say vfat for external SD card.
igory_1999 said:
So far Android System Info and DiskInfo seem to give the most detailed info about the file systems but even they just say vfat for external SD card.
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The /system/bin/mount command executed from inside Droid Command Pro gives a lot of details but still says 'vfat'. Can one deduce from the rest of the output if it is fat32 or exFat? See the attachment.
Try this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sylkat.AParted
I know my SD card is FAT32 formatted. I formatted it as FAT32 on a Windows machine when I got it. This is the only app I tried that shows my SD card as FAT32. The rest all reported VFAT. Once it's loaded look under the tools tab. It should display all the partitions on your SD card.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy 4 using Taptalk 4.
psu90 said:
Try this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sylkat.AParted
I know my SD card is FAT32 formatted. I formatted it as FAT32 on a Windows machine when I got it. This is the only app I tried that shows my SD card as FAT32. The rest all reported VFAT.
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Yes: it shows fat32 for my card as well. The question is: would it show exFat if it sees it or also classifies it as fat32?
igory_1999 said:
Yes: it shows fat32 for my card as well. The question is: would it show exFat if it sees it or also classifies it as fat32?
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They would show up differently if the aParted supported ExFAT (sorry didn't know).
FAT32 and ExFAT are 2 different formatting structures for partitions, with 2 different boot sectors and different file allocation table (FAT) sizes and structures. With FAT32 in the boot sector of the drive starting in byte 3 it will show either "MSWIN4.1" or "MSDOS5.0" then starting in byte 82 (size 8 bytes) it will have "FAT32 ". With ExFAT starting in byte 3 (size 8 bytes) it will have "ExFAT ".
I just format my test card as ExFAT and aParted gave me an error saying extended partitions detected, that they weren't supported, and the display information may be incorrect. The information for the partitions was blank. So it did recognize the difference between FAT32 and ExFAT, but couldn't display the ExFAT information.
I did find this application yesterday ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.kuder.diskinfo&hl=en ). I display a FAT32 partitioned card as vFAT, which it technically correct. That is a FAT16 or FAT32 partition with the long file names. I just checked and it will display ExFAT as ExFAT.
Hopefully this will help.
I know from old Andoid OS threads that it was necessary to split format an SD-card in fat32 and ext3 or 4 partitions.
I now use ANdroid 4.4 and got myself a 128GB SDcard.
Simple question: is it still neccessary to reserve a ext3/4 partition for the OS ? Else I would all format to fat32