SD card unmounts and/or disappears with USB cable

[attweco]

I'm a newb, so I can't tell if this is an Android- or Atrix-specific problem. I did some searches, and I find threads somewhat applicable, but none of them solve what I am finding.

I want to transfer a bunch of files to the SD card in my Atrix. Regardless of how I set up the USB connection, either the SD card gets unmounted, or it simply disappears inside Windows Explorer.

The official ATT/Motorola owners manual states that there should be a selection for "memory card connection" when I access the USB control panel on the Atrix. But there is no such selection. If I choose "none", then the SD card disappears in Windows Explorer. The most I get is "Removable Disk E", and "Removable Disk F" in Windows Explorer. But they're just a blank.

If I choose "mass storage", then the SD card gets unmounted by Atrix.


I realize, from the other threads I've searched, that "mass storage" is the incorrect setting. But I just wanted to point out that I had tried that option.

So, at this point, I have no way to access the SD card for USB file transfer.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[scrounger]

If you are just trying to copy files to your microSD card, then you want "mass storage" and the card will be dismounted. It should show on your PC as a Removable Disk. It is basicly the same as physically removing the card and putting into a card reader.

 

[attweco]

With the "mass storage" setting, the SD card unmounts, and it never shows up at all in Windows Explorer. What is there is the internal storage of the phone.

So, I'm mystified as to how to access the SD card.

 

[ma5on2002]

im also having this same problem

 

[ma5on2002]

ok i figured it out, i'm guessing you have by now as well. in case you didnt, its the last thing on the sd card & phone storage settings

 

[attweco]

ok i figured it out, i'm guessing you have by now as well. in case you didnt, its the last thing on the sd card & phone storage settings

Thanks very much, but, in my case, that wasn't the solution. I tried that and it was the same result: the SD card was inaccessible.

I stumbled onto the solution, entirely by accident. I was tooling around in the applications, and found "Media Share". Curious, I walked through it, and sure enough, both the internal storage and the SD card opened right up!

As the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes once said, "Eureka!"

 

[hotleadsingerguy]

Thanks very much, but, in my case, that wasn't the solution. I tried that and it was the same result: the SD card was inaccessible.

I stumbled onto the solution, entirely by accident. I was tooling around in the applications, and found "Media Share". Curious, I walked through it, and sure enough, both the internal storage and the SD card opened right up!

As the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes once said, "Eureka!"

Well this phone is slightly different from normal Android devices...when you "mount" the device in Windows/OSX it actually shows the internal memory of the phone. When you bought the Atrix it didn't actually *COME* with a MicroSD card. The "sdcard" directory on the phone is just that...a directory on the actual phone memory.

Select USB Mass Storage in the connection list when you plug it into the computer. The "drive" that pops up in Windows is the internal phone memory. Double-click on the "sdcard" directory and now you're looking at the files on the fake sdcard partition that the phone uses. Or you can open the "sdcard_ext" directory if you have a MicroSD card plugged in.

 

[WilliamC]

I'll have to try this again, but when I hooked it up to USB it mounted my SD card separately from my phone. This was under Windows 7 64-bit. I never saw any fake partition. If I opened up the phone then I saw the files in the phone and if I opened up the SD card then I saw only the SD card.

 

[Sabri]

I'm a newb, so I can't tell if this is an Android- or Atrix-specific problem. I did some searches, and I find threads somewhat applicable, but none of them solve what I am finding.

I want to transfer a bunch of files to the SD card in my Atrix. Regardless of how I set up the USB connection, either the SD card gets unmounted, or it simply disappears inside Windows Explorer.

The official ATT/Motorola owners manual states that there should be a selection for "memory card connection" when I access the USB control panel on the Atrix. But there is no such selection. If I choose "none", then the SD card disappears in Windows Explorer. The most I get is "Removable Disk E", and "Removable Disk F" in Windows Explorer. But they're just a blank.

If I choose "mass storage", then the SD card gets unmounted by Atrix.


I realize, from the other threads I've searched, that "mass storage" is the incorrect setting. But I just wanted to point out that I had tried that option.

So, at this point, I have no way to access the SD card for USB file transfer.

Thanks for the advice.

Hey,

Try this:

1. Unplug USB cable
2. Go to Settings--> Applications--> Development
3. Check "USB debugging" option
4. Plug your USB cable with "USB Mass Storage" option of the USB connection mode
5. Give feedback if OK

 

[attweco]

Thanks for the effort to assist me with the SD mount problem. Now, I simply use the "Media Share" function, and it works perfectly for me.

Thanks again.