Issue with viewing the phone's pictures on my PC

[jaymzb0nd]

When I attach my phone to my PC by USB and look at the picture folder, the pics only show up as the generic jpeg icon instead of letting me see little thumbnails.

It's not a big deal but is definitely annoying when attempting to find a picture quickly since I'd have to either transfer the pictures to my PC itself to see the thumbnails or click around opening random pics until I find the correct one.

Is this something I'll just need to get used to or the result of a setting on the phone?

 

[The Hustleman]

In interested in a solution to this as well

sent from my Samsung Galaxy S III on T-Mobile! goodbye Sprint!

 

[Xanadu73]

When I attach my phone to my PC by USB and look at the picture folder, the pics only show up as the generic jpeg icon instead of letting me see little thumbnails.

I assume Windows ( :roll: )?

Sounds to me that either Windows is mounting it read-only for some reason, or the phone is only allowing read-only so Windows can't write the Thumbs.DB, so it probably skips any further image processing.

Are you mounting it is a normal USB mass storage device, or is the phone reporting itself as thus dumb "imaging device" (which is default for ICS)? There's an app to make it a normal USB drive again: USB Switcher.

Also, if Windows is showing just the default "I Don't Know What This File Is" icon, sounds like you have .jpg still associated with an app you no longer have installed. That too could interfere with thumbnail generating.

I dunno. Just throwing out ideas. Linux loves my S2...


M.

 

[avengethis1]

It's how the pc sees the files over usb or network. It's for faster indexing

 

[eni6ma]

I don't have the answer but I do know the cause! Its because its showing up as a media device and not a drive with a valid drive letter so windows is not treating it like a regular drive. Now if samsung or others can make drivers for windows that allow it to do so that would correct that. Then you could view them.

 

[Xanadu73]

It's how the pc sees the files over usb or network. It's for faster indexing

My son's Win 7 laptop loads thumbnails on his S2. XP does also, for that matter. I also switched his phone to report as mass storage device and not this stupid "imaging device".

M.

 

[21plays]

this is not the s3's problem. install klite codecs and it will generate any thumbnail for you

 

[work4crown]

I went to this page Download K-Lite Codec Pack
and tried the Mega 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Klite and I still don't see thumbnails. Any suggestions?

Should I download other versions of klite? Is there some configuration of klite I need to do after install?

 

[alvinx]

ICS does not have MassStorage anymore, so your phone is not an usb-disk but an imaging device (MTP vs. USBstorage).

S3 is an ICS-only device without MassStorage-Support only MTP, so no thumbnails.
S2 can be pre-ICS with MassStorage, which acts like a normal drive with thumbnails.

The problem is the MTP-Protocol or its Windows-implementation not the phone.

One reason for Google to switch to MTP is that storage on the phone is accessible when connected to a PC, with USB-mass-storage connected to a PC like in Gingerbread (pre-ICS) on the S2 the phone cannot access the storage.

I don't know if "USB Switcher" or similar can restore USB-Mass-Storage on the S3 without side-effects... have to give it a try because I hate MTP, if you don't use Windows it's a pain in the ass, usb-storage can be connected to any OS (OSX, Linux, my SamsungTV, or even an iPAD), but MTP needs an implementation and has certain restrictions.

 

[byronkw]

has anyone found a way to see previews of photos when ICS is attached to a Windows PC with a USB cable?

seems crazy to me that i can't process photos from my PC without downloading blindly, and then uploading again...

 

[GTWalling]

The only way to do it is to be rooted and use an app called SGS3 Easy UMS.

 

[kat0307]

Same problem here with Note 2 - would love a solution for easy photo management via desktop as this wonky Samsung Kies program won't even install properly..

This is really frustrating coming from the Apple world as I'm used to everything just "working" =\

 

[byronkw]

try AirDroid https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...s/details?id=com.sand.airdroid&token=xcO8bRCW

although it doesn't over come all my issues, it's very good (better than Kies)

 

[BearsFiord]

I was unable to view my pics on my computer. I was able to access my Motorola Droid Razor as a Mass Storage Device. However, my pics appeared as JPEG icons and I was unable to view them or open them. :-\

I contacted Verizon and spent 45 min. on the phone with them before they transferred me to Motorola. I spent another 30 min. on the phone with Motorola and figured out the problem while I was on hold.

Again, my phone is a Motorola Droid Razor. But, this will probably work with any phone. It's not the phone; it's how the phone is connected to the computer.

Try this:

1. Unlock and plug your phone into your computer via a USB cable.

IMPORTANT: Some USB cables are ONLY meant for CHARGING the phone. I know this is crazy - BUT TRUE. I know. One cable would not work and then I read in a forum somewhere that some cables are meant for charging only, tried a different cable and was able to connect to the computer.
CLUE: Do not use a USB cable that you pull out of your phone charger to connect the phone to the computer! :-[

2. After connecting the phone to your computer, look for the USB connection icon in the notification area at the top of your home screen and pull down the notification bar. You will see that your phone is connected to the computer in one of 3 ways; 1. Mass Storage, 2. Media Device (MTP), 3. Camera (PTP). Everyone will tell you to connect the phone to your computer as a 1.Mass Storage device. Instead,?

3. Connect it as a 3. Camera (PTP).

4. Go to the Start Menu on your computer and open My Computer. Select List on the Views Menu. If instead you use Tiles or some other selection; i.e. Thumbnails, the files may appear unlabeled.

5. Double-click on Droid Razor, or whatever type of phone you have connected.

6. Double-click on DCIM.

7. Double-click on Camera - and voil?! Your pictures will appear.

From here, you can open and/or save them. My Dell defaults to Windows Picture and Fax Viewer to view the pics. I was unable to edit them using this program. However, after the pictures are saved to a file, they can be opened with another program; i.e. Microsoft Office Picture Manager, and be edited. Right-click on the photo, hover your cursor over Open With and select the program you want to use to open the pics.

Hope this was helpful!

 

[GTWalling]

The way Android connects to the PC via USB was changed with ICS. It no longer connects using Mass Storage Mode (like a hard drive).

 

[TrailMaster]

My problem is kinda along the same line...but not quite. I take a ton of pictures, and I can see them on my phone (Galaxy S3), but when I copied the jpg files to my pc, there is a bunch of files that Windows Picture Manager, Windows Media Center and a whole bunch of other picture viewing apps are unable to open. A message appears saying the file is corrupt or too big. I tried emailing the file to myself and uploading it to Google drive, but that didn't work. I am certain that the file size in not the issue. I looked at the properties of the problem jpg files, and nothing jumps out. Have anyone else come across a similar situation? and how were you able to solve it?

 

[Robert White1]

go to Market, and download and install AirDroid.

You won't need any cable, and you can see all the pictures with no hassles.
you can do as you want after that!

 

[clay24j]

I just download a PC program called IrfanView, and it works somewhat.

After I started up IrfanVeiw, I clicked on file and then open, and then I just used the open window to preview some files and folders I couldn't see before. Remember to click on show all file types in the open window. The opening window has a kool little picture preview. This won't help with everything, but it helps on guessing what is what sometimes.

As I was installing the IrfanView program, I hit the select all file type button to download all the files, because I am not sure what will work with some files or what IrfanView might need. All in all, it helped me out.
I'm using windows 7 and have a HTC Evo 3D phone.
I also took my Memory card out and put it in the laptops SD slot to explorer it, without using a USB connecting. hope this helps out some.

 

[ItsAllSoGoofy]

I tried that and it didn't work with the Galaxy S3. Kies doesn't work for me either.

 

[klugey1]

This was an awesome solution! byronkw, you are a hero. We have multiple Android and iPhone devices, and now we can use this Find my Android that works just like Find my iPhone (for my kids). That was the main reason we always bought them Apple products, but this works even better. I can see the whole phone (pictures, phone calls, text messages) What a GREAT app/service.