Transferring music over USB

[monomoco]

I have a Samsung Galaxy Exhilarate and I bought a 32G SD card so I could put a bunch of music on it. When I turn on USB storage, everything seems to be working. I see the card on my laptop and transfer the music and the files are then in the directory. I eject it from Windows and then turn off USB storage on the phone. It shows 'Scanning SD Card' and everything seems normal, but when I try to open the music none of it is there. Storage shows the card still empty. What could be the cause?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! SD card support can sometimes be a little iffy on some devices. Have you tried unmounting the card, removing it from your phone, inserting it into your computer, and transferring the music that way?

 

[monomoco]

Hey,

Thanks for the reply. It's a Micro SD card, so I have no way to put it in the computer directly.

 

[ffejjj]

Hey,

Thanks for the reply. It's a Micro SD card, so I have no way to put it in the computer directly.

Stop by any electronics store and you can pick up an adapter for your micro to use it with your computer.

Sent from my HTCONE using AC Forums mobile app

 

[B. Diddy]

Exactly. Something like this: SanDisk microSD to SD Memory Card Adapter - Rakuten.com Shopping

 

[monomoco]

OK, thanks guys.

 

[monomoco]

So I went and bought an adapter and inserted the card into the computer. I just spent an hour transferring files over, and when I put it back into the phone they are not there! What else could be happening?

 

[ffejjj]

When you open the card while in the computer you do see all your files?

Sent from my HTCONE using AC Forums mobile app

 

[B. Diddy]

How are you looking for them in the phone? Using a file manager app or using a music app?

If you're using Google Play Music, try going to its Settings and tap Refresh.

It's always possible that the SD card has been corrupted. Samsung devices are kind of notorious for doing that. You could consider reformatting the card and trying again. This time, don't spend so much time transferring music--just transfer a few albums, then test it out to see if they're visible on your phone.

The other thing to consider is to try a new microSD card, which you may have to do anyway if your current one is indeed corrupted.

 

[monomoco]

I do see them on the card while it's in the computer. Then I take it out and put it in the phone and try to view them with the music player, but none are there. I check 'Storage' under 'Settings' and see the space is free.

I tried formatting and the same thing is still happening. I just bought this SD card two days ago, so I would be surprised if it was bad already.

 

[raptir]

I do see them on the card while it's in the computer. Then I take it out and put it in the phone and try to view them with the music player, but none are there. I check 'Storage' under 'Settings' and see the space is free.

I tried formatting and the same thing is still happening. I just bought this SD card two days ago, so I would be surprised if it was bad already.

If it's working in your computer I doubt it's the card. Have you tried formatting it in the phone rather than on your computer?

 

[dougwho]

music files transferred to SD card, can be seen in file folder when card is in computer but cannot be found when SD card is in phone.

 

[Rukbat]

Plug the phone into the computer. Copy a file or two. (Note where you're copying it to on the card - which folder. Making a folder named Music would make sense.) Eject the phone from the computer. (This is important. Windows does "write-ahead". When you "write" a file to the SD card [or any external device], Windows sets the file up for writing. Then it does he actual write between other operations. If you just remove the phone, the file may not yet have been written. Ejecting the phone forces Windows to finish writing the file first.) Turn off USB storage. (The phone can't see the SD card if USB storage is on - the card is "switched" to the microUSB port.) Run My Files (or any file manager) in the phone. Look on the external SD card (if you're still running Gingerbread, that's the only one you have - if you're running a later version of Android you may have an internal SD card and an external SD card) and look in the folder you put the music file.

Three other possibilities:

1) The music you're copying is DRM-protected. You can't copy DRM-protected music. (That's the point of DRM-protection - you buy the right to run the music only on the computer it was originally installed on.)

2) The file format is something the phone's music players can't read, like .aac. The file is there, but it's like a document written in a language you don't know - it can't be used.

3) You're copying shortcuts, not the original file. A shortcut is just a little file pointing to the actual music file, it's not the music file itself.

(There could be other things I'm not thinking of.)