Program for formatting in android exfat. How to open NTFS? Android mobile can read flash drives with exFat file system
Many users mistakenly believe that formatting a flash drive is a procedure for deleting data from a digital medium. In fact, this operation has a wider purpose, which is identical to formatting a hard drive. And if, as is often the case, you do not pay attention to this, then such carelessness can adversely affect the operation of the memory card. That's why we decided to analyze the topic in which format to format a flash drive for Android
SD cards are available in almost every Android device. And this is quite understandable - it is not entirely logical to store all the available content on the internal drive, especially since the amount of internal memory in most devices is very small, but with the help of a flash drive, the device’s memory can be increased from two to 32 gigabytes and even more, the only thing is your desire and financial possibilities.
True, it is not uncommon for an Android device to start working incorrectly with a memory card due to various problems that can be eliminated by formatting the memory card.
Under the formatting of a memory card, you need to understand the procedure for processing any digital storage device (information). The purpose of this procedure is to streamline or completely change the structure of the drive.
As mentioned above, you can format all storage media, be it hard drives, USB flash cards or SD memory cards.
Attention! Before proceeding with formatting, you need to pay attention to the fact that as a result of the procedure, all information on the drive will be erased and it is often not possible to restore it.
On the other hand, during the formatting process, the system detects and corrects damaged fragments of the structure.
There are several types of file systems, for example, NTFS, FAT,FAT32, exFAT etc. All of them have both their pluses and minuses. Let's talk about this in more detail.
Most Android devices support FAT32. The main advantages of this system can be called good speed and compatibility. For example, in a household DVD player, photo printer or media player, if you insert such a drive, all files will be available and read normally.
Another file system designed for flash drives is exFAT. It was created relatively recently by the same Microsoft and, in my opinion, this is an ideal option for both flash drives and memory cards, since it is a FAT32 file system in which restrictions have been lifted. That is, the size of files, as well as sections in it, can be of any size, and the number of files stored in one folder is practically unlimited.
*Note: for some household appliances and computers on Windows XP, this format is irrelevant.
Considered modern and reliable NTFS- the file system that replaced in modern PCs, described above, FAT32. An absolute plus NTFS can also be called ensuring a higher level of information security.
What you need to pay attention to is the size of downloaded files. The point is that, in FAT32 the file size is limited to 4 GB, so when downloading a movie or any application of a larger size, the system will give an error “Not enough space in the device’s memory”, although in fact there is still plenty of space:
So, in order for your Android smartphone to see the flash drive, we need to change the format on it. There are several ways to do this, read on.
Using device OS functions
On some phones it is possible to seamlessly change the file system. To do this, through the main "Settings" open the "Memory" section. We find the item "Memory settings", then the line "Format memory card", open and change the file system from FAT32 to NTFS. Now you can click "OK" and wait for the process to complete.
Not all models of Android devices have a tool that allows you to change the file system. In this case, we will use the PC tools.
Using a computer
In Windows, the formatting function is standard and does not present any particular difficulties. So, we connect our Android device to the computer using a USB cable, do not forget to enable USB debugging:
Now on the PC, click "Start", then "Computer" (or "My Computer"). Among the displayed disks we find the removable media of our device, in the screenshot it is drive “E”, I called it MAIN, so as not to be confused with the internal memory of the phone, since, by default, both of these drives will be called “removable media”, differing only in the letter (“ E", "F" or otherwise). We right-click on the "E" drive, in the drop-down list of actions, select "Format":
In the window that opens, click the arrow in the field with the current FAT32 format and select the NTFS format. Then activate the "Start" button:
*Note:
- Make sure your phone is the only removable drive connected to your computer.
- To make sure that it is the SD card that will be formatted (drive “E” in the screenshot), check its contents.
If you have selected the format for your flash drive exFAT, then, guided by the action shown in the screenshot above, instead of FAT32 select not NTFS, but exFAT.
Using the convert function
This method allows you to perform the file system conversion procedure without losing data on the flash drive. Nevertheless, my advice is to take care of saving information just in case. So.
We connect the smartphone to the PC, as described above. Don't forget to enable USB debugging. On the PC, in the lower left corner, click on the "Start" button, in the search, enter " cmd", upon completion of the search for the program, press the key " Enter»:
Now, in the command prompt window that opens, enter convert E: /fs:ntfs, where " E"- the letter of the removable disk (SD card) that will be formatted:
The command line field may look different (depending on the operating system), which does not change the applied actions:
There is another way to get to the command line: On the computer, press " Start", then " All programs”, at the bottom of the list, select “ Standard", find the item" Command line ”, right-click on it. From the list that appears, open " Run as administrator". We answer the program's request for changes in the affirmative, after which it will be possible to make changes, as described above.
*Note:
- Programs running from the disc to be converted must be closed.
- Before starting the formatting procedure, make sure that the battery charge is at least 50 - 70%.
- Be sure to save important data.
We told you in what format to format a flash drive for Android in order to change the file system. But, as mentioned above, the formatting procedure can also be used to clear the memory card. About it .
Memory cards are used in almost every device on the Android operating system. And despite the fact that in latest models there is a tendency to gradually abandon their use due to an increase in the volume of the internal drive, they still continue to be very popular. They occupy a minimum of space, allow you to repeatedly overwrite data, and also have a high speed of information exchange.
Correctly selected format when formatting a flash drive will increase the stability of the Android device.
From time to time there is a need to format a flash drive on your device. The reasons may be different - some kind of malfunction, slow operation, writing or reading errors, or you just need to prepare the accessory to work on a new device. At this point, many people have questions about which file system is best for your device. If you format a memory card directly on the device, all parameters are selected automatically, but when formatting through a computer, four formats are available that can be selected from the list.
Let's see how they differ from each other and find out which memory card format is most suitable for your Android device, because the stability of the smartphone or tablet will depend on the right choice.
FAT
The oldest version of the file system. Today it is practically not used, as it is already obsolete. It has many restrictions, for example, the maximum amount of media that can be used is 2 gigabytes. Today, almost no one uses such flash drives, since you can’t really write anything on them. What can I say if the space occupied by some games can reach 4-5 gigabytes. Therefore, we immediately discard this option. The newest versions of Windows don't even offer it.
FAT32
A very popular file system format in our time. Such a flash drive can be used in a variety of devices, including consumer DVD players, set-top boxes, photo printers, cameras and camcorders, and many others. By and large, today it is the most compatible format. What are its technical features?
- Fast write and read speed from media.
- Minimum requirements for the amount of RAM.
- Full compatibility with all existing operating systems and many other gadgets.
- The maximum size of a recorded file is 4 GB.
- Limit on the number of folders and the files they contain.
NTFS
No less popular than FAT32, a format that is the de facto standard for computers running the Windows operating system. Many developers recommend giving preference to him, since in a number of indicators he surpasses his competitor. What exactly?
- Better data security.
- No restrictions on the size of the recorded file and the number of files in each folder.
- Better disk stability.
- Higher memory requirements.
- In some cases, a lower data rate.
exFAT
The most modern format used by default in most new mobile gadgets. By and large, it combines all the best aspects of FAT32 - high speed, minimum requirements to the equipment, - and NTFS - no restrictions on the number of files and the amount of data written, as well as high security and reliability. When using a modern smartphone or tablet, it is better to give preference to it.
conclusions
When choosing between FAT32, exFAT and NTFS, be guided by the size and class of your flash drive, as well as the year of manufacture of the device. If the memory card is up to 4 GB, you can easily format it in FAT32. If more, exFAT is better, since in the case of using NTFS, incompatibility problems can sometimes arise. If you are afraid of making a mistake, format the USB flash drive directly on your Android device. This article is devoted to this topic on our website. In the comments, write to us about what type of file system you choose when formatting a flash drive for your Android device.
Modern smartphones running on the Android operating system, in terms of their capabilities, can be deservedly equated to mini-computers that allow you to work not only as separate devices, but also in conjunction with various peripherals. One option for exchanging information between a computer and a smartphone can be digital media, which include a hard drive, flash drive, memory card. How to open a flash drive on Android and reset information from it to your device?
Here, first of all, you need to pay attention to one detail: the device must have OTG (On-The-Go) support, thanks to which the device can support not only various digital media, but also work with mice, keyboards, USB modems, etc. e via OTG cable.
As a rule, budget Android devices do not support OTG, so you won’t be able to connect a USB flash drive to them, but even if your device has this support, you may not always be able to use it.
With what it can be connected? The fact is that by default the device may not read some file systems, for example, NTFS. Alternatively, you can reformat the flash drive to FAT32 or exFAT, but what if there is no computer nearby?
How to open NTFS?
To support the NTFS format, you can use the Paragon NTFS & HFS + application, which allows you to work with digital drives that have this file system.
The app requires administrator rights to run. One of the ways to get root is described in the article:
Paragon NTFS & HFS+ can be installed for free from GooglePlay: link
See also:
Most Android devices come with 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. If this is not enough for you then you can use microSD card memory, USB flash drive or even a hard drive.
Connecting a USB flash drive to an Android device is quite simple. You need to buy an OTG cable and connect a USB drive to your Android smartphone or tablet. Next, open ES File Explorer and select your flash drive from the menu on the left. That's all!
But what about connecting an external hard drive to Android? Today we will try to connect a 2TB hard drive to Android. Will we be able to do this?
As a rule, external hard drives, unlike USB flash drives, do not immediately work with Android devices and. Since Android devices come with different OS versions and are made by different manufacturers, it is impossible to say exactly why the hard drive does not work on Android. However, we identified three main reasons:
- Some devices low class do not support OTG. We can't do anything about it. If the Android device does not support OTG, then you will not be able to connect a USB flash drive or hard drive to it. To find out if your device supports OTG or not, you can use the SB OTG helper app.
- Devices middle class support OTG, but do not detect external HDDs that are formatted in NTFS and HFS+. This can be fixed, and we'll show you how.
- And finally devices high class support both FAT32 and NTFS hard drives without using any software. But, as a rule, they cannot read other formats, such as HFS or exFAT. We'll show you how to fix it.
Why won't external hard drive connect to Android?
When you connect an external hard drive to Android, you may have two problems.
1. Hard drive not detected
If you hear a click or the LED on your hard drive is not blinking, it means that the drive inside your drive is not spinning properly.
Cause: Unlike USB drives, external hard drives consume much more power. If they are not powered by an external source, then it will draw power from the device itself. Therefore, if your smartphone is not powerful enough to power an external hard drive, it will not work.
For example, my WD 2TB hard drive works fine with my Nexus 6, while a budget smartphone is unable to detect the HDD without an external power supply.
Solution: Use an active USB hub or an externally powered OTG cable.
2. Hard drive detected but not opening
Cause: file system error. There are many different file systems, and each operating system prefers to use its own. For example, Android supports FAT32 by default, and since USB drives also use the FAT32 format, you won't have any problems connecting a USB stick to Android.
However, most hard drives use the file system NTFS(the default file system on Windows), and sometimes HFS(default file system on MAC). Thus, mismatch of file systems results in an error.
Solution: We have two options:
1) Format hard drive
You can format your hard drive to FAT32 using your computer and then connect to Android. Since FAT32 is compatible with all operating systems, it will work with your Android device. In fact, if you use FAT32, then you will never run into file system compatibility issues on any platform.
However, I don't recommend formatting your hard drive to FAT32. Why? FAT is an old file system and does not support important features such as journaling (data loss prevention) and encryption. Also, the maximum size of a single file in the FAT file system is limited to 4 GB.
2) Usebe third partyother applicationsi (recommended)
Special third-party applications allow you to keep the original file system of your hard drive. You need to install a free app like Paragon NTFS or Stick Mount to mount your hard drive to Android. I have been using this method for a very long time and have never had a problem.
How to Connect an External Hard Drive to Android
[WITHOUT ROOT]
- Nexus Media importer (paid app)
This application is designed for Nexus devices, but it also works with many others. Android smartphones. However, before you buy the app, make sure you have Nexus Photo Viewer running on your device. This app is from the same developer, but it's free.
Once you install the Nexus Media importer application, it will automatically detect the external drive and you can use it right away. The application works only for reading data, i.e. you cannot copy data from your Android to an external hard drive. Moreover, it does not support HFS hard drives.
- Total commander with USB plug
This is the most popular (and also free) way to connect an NTFS hard drive to an Android device. You will need to install two free apps from Google Play.
First, install Total commander, which is a file manager that will help us view the contents of our hard drive.
Then install the USB plug-in for Total Commander - this is an extension for the file manager that will do the main job, that is, connecting to an external hard drive.
After that, connect your hard drive to Android using an OTG cable. The application will recognize your hard drive and you will see a notification at the bottom of the screen - "open drive with Paragon UMS". If you don't see this notification, just open the app and update it. He must earn.
This app is made by chainfire (the developers of SuperSU). Basically, Stick Mount will help you to mount an NTFS formatted hard drive to Android. However, you still need to use a file manager to view the contents of your hard drive.
Install Stick mount from Google Play. Then connect your external hard drive to Android using an OTG cable. The application will automatically detect the hard drive. Typically, Stick mount mounts the hard drive at sdcard > usb storage, but you can find the exact location of your drive by opening the app and clicking on the mount option.
Conclusion: This is a free and working way. However, it still does not allow you to transfer data from Android to the hard drive, nor does it support the HFS file system hard drive. If these are important factors for you, then try the next method.
Paragon is well known for its software for connecting HFS hard drives on Windows and NTFS hard drives on MAC. The most interesting thing is that they have an Android app and it's even free!
You need to install the app, connect an external hard drive to Android, and Paragon UFSD root mounter will automatically configure the drive and show its location. You also have the option to format the drive, but this feature is hidden in the settings.
Conclusion: it The best way connect hard drive to android. It is free, allows you to read and write data, supports the NTFS and HFS file system. However, it does not actually support exFAT, but you can use Stick mount for that.
If nothing works?
Typically, external hard drives are connected to computers (or Android devices) via a cable. But thanks modern technologies we have wireless hard drives. And they really work. When you press a button on a wireless hard drive, it creates a "hot spot" that you can connect to from your smartphone.
pros
- You can connect your wireless hard drive to multiple Android devices (usually no more than 3)
- It has a built-in battery so you can use it while driving a car or on a train.
Minuses
- Wireless hard drives cost twice as much as conventional hard drives.
- Wireless HDDs support the NTFS file system by default. Thus, you cannot use them on iOS devices.
03.11.2013 maestro 0 comments
How to properly format a 64GB Micro SDXC card for an Android smartphone that supports cards up to 32GB
For many, it is no secret that the memory of your Andrid smartphone can be increased using Micro cards SD. Currently, these cards are divided into three categories: Micro SD, Micro SDHC and Micro SDXC. In this article, I will not go into details of each type of card, because. enough information on the net. I will only point out the difference of principle for us. Micro SD 2 GB, Micro SDHC from 4 GB to 32 GB (now widely used) and Micro SDXC from 64 GB to 2 TB (theoretically, at the moment there are 64 GB and 128 GB cards). The cards differ not only in the amount of memory, but also in different file systems. For example, Micro SD is a FAT system, Micro SDHC is FAT32, Micro SDXC is theoretically only exFAT (in fact, this is not the case, which will be discussed below). In addition, the user's card reader device must support a certain type of card. The situation is simple: if the device supports SDXC cards, then it also supports earlier generations - SD and SDHC. How to correctly format a 64 GB Micro SDXC card for an Android smartphone that supports cards up to 32 GB
For many, it is no secret that the memory of your Andrid smartphone can be increased using a Micro SD card. These cards currently fall into three categories: Micro SD, Micro SDHC, and Micro SDXC. In this article, I will not go into details of each type of card, because. enough information on the net. I will only point out the difference of principle for us.
- Standard Micro SD cards SD 1.0 can be up to 2 GB,
— Standard Micro SD cards SD 1.1 can be up to 4 GB,
- Micro CD standard SDHC from 4 GB up to 32 GB(now widely used)
—Micro SDXC from 64 GB and up 2 TB(theoretically, practically at the moment there are 64 GB and 128 GB cards).
The cards also differ not only in the amount of memory, but also in the support of various file systems. For example Micro SD - FAT system, Micro SDHC - FAT32, Micro SDXC - theoretically only exFAT(in fact, this is not the case, which will be discussed below). In addition, the user's card reader device (card reader) must support a certain type of card. Those. if the device supports SDXC cards, then it also supports earlier generations - SD and SDHC, backwards compatible.
Recently, a lot of Micro SD cards with a capacity of 64 GB have appeared, but alas, so far most Android smartphones do not officially support Micro SD cards with a capacity of more than 32 GB. In fact, a smartphone is able to read a 64 GB card and work with it correctly if you perform simple actions with the card before installation. All well-known manufacturers of Micro SDXC cards initially format them in the exFAT system, since this system is designed for large-capacity cards. Since this system was created by Microsoft, Android smartphone manufacturers must purchase the rights to use it in order for the smartphone to be able to work with this system. I think you understand that companies are still reluctant to go to extra costs, and therefore very few devices support the exFAT system on memory cards, and they work with the FAT32 system. Many have already guessed: in order for your smartphone to work with a 64 GB card, you just need to format it to the FAT32 system. But it turns out that this is not so easy to do. The fact is that the FAT32 system itself theoretically only supports media (cards, partitions, etc.) only up to 32 GB, but in practice it can work very well with media up to 64 GB. The only problem that you may encounter with this is a slight loss of speed when reading / writing from the card, but it will be almost not noticeable. Next, we will look at how to CORRECTLY format a Micro SDXC card into the FAT32 system so that a smartphone that does not support this type of card sees it and the card DOES NOT FAILURE AFTER SOME TIME.
METHOD I
1. An SDXC card CAN ONLY BE FORMATTED IN A DEVICE THAT SUPPORTS THIS TYPE OF CARD! Those. your card reader must support Micro SDXC cards (or SDXC if you are using a card adapter). In many reviews on store websites, you can see reviews in which users format 64 GB cards in a smartphone that only supports a 32 GB card, after which the card fails after a few months. Under no circumstances should this be done! Otherwise, your card will fail within a period of 1 day to several months. If you don't have a card reader that supports SDXC, one can be purchased (for example, the excellent Transcend RDF5 card reader). Compared to the cost of the card, this is a negligible amount and a very small price for your "live" card and stored data.
So, we format the SDXC card ONLY in a device that supports SDXC.
2. Since most users have the Windows operating system installed on their computer, we will consider the option of formatting it from not. If you have a Windows XP operating system, be sure to install it on a non-update that has support for the exFAT file system. Windows 7 and Windows 8 already have this support.
3. Maybe when you paste new card into the card reader, Windows will display a message that the card is not formatted. In this case, first format it with the utility SDFormatter(see the official website of the program) to the exFAT system. In any case, I recommend this utility for formatting your card if it does not read / read incorrectly. This program formats SD/micro SD cards according to the specification.
4. It will not be possible to format a 64 GB card into the FAT32 file system using the standard Windows method, so we will use the utility Guiformat.
The program is specifically designed to format media larger than 32 GB to the FAT32 file system. If the utility gives an error before formatting, we perform step 3 (first we format it with the SDFormatter program), which is still better to do without fail. ATTENTION! In order for the smartphone to correctly see Micro SDXC, select the cluster size 32 Kb! It is better to use quick formatting (Quick), there is no need to perform full formatting.
5. If you have fulfilled everything strictly in accordance with the above recommendations, then your card is ready. Your Android smartphone will not see and show the correct volume 59.XX GB. It will be possible to work with the card, write / read files, but NEVER FORMAT it is in your smartphone. The card will serve you for a long time faithfully.
METHOD II
Is there another way to put exFAT support on android
— firmware update with support for ext2 file system and higher.
- flash the kernel with exFAT support
- exFAT linux driver needs root
- program Paragon NTFS & HFS need root
P.S. SITE Lepel recommends using only the utilities listed in this article. In other cases, a successful result may not work. The experiment was conducted with a 64 GB Sandisk Micro SDXC card and a Huawei Ascend D1 (U9500) smartphone. Looking forward to your feedback, questions and results with other cards and devices. I wish you good volumes in your smartphone!GOOD lacquer!
