[Sussex] How to sort out "crippled" android on smart phone (samsung Galaxy Note 2).

[Paul Willis]

Hi John
I know nothing about smartphones.
Are you trying to access built in memory or is it on a removable card?
Obviously removing a card would allow you to play with the data under
linux or maybe even windows - depending on format.
When things vanish after a linux upgrade it is often to do with
ownership and permissions so getting root access to your filesystem
would allow you to fix this.
Doing a quick google on android file permissions gives plenty of
instruction - I just saw a you-tube that explains enough.
If you can't see your data even with root access then it is either not
mounted or has been overwritten and is gone.
What you are looking for is read/write permission (for others) to work
with files, but remember directories need execute permission to be
searchable - ie to see the names of the files and subdirectories they
contain.
If all else fails and your data is precious then maybe you could
revert to the original system so you can recover it and reload it
again to a tested/repaired upgrade?
Google also has plenty on android partitions eg
http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/android-partitions-explained-boot-system-recovery-data-cache-misc/
I'd say data or the sd..s should interest you most .. or maybe a trace
of the previous data partition, mounted and with the right ownership
and permissions :)

Just some thoughts :)

Paul

On 13 January 2013 14:30, John The Fatbloke <johnsemailaccount at gmail.com> wrote:
> Wotcha List,
>
> HNY to one and all (better late than never......)
>
> So, what I thought was a properly researched upgrade of my smartphone before
> crimbo, turns out to have been a bit of a wasted effort at the moment.
>
> When it (the upgraded phone i.e. Samsung Galaxy Note 2) is plugged in,
> whether to charge or to try and use it to add some media, whether music
> files, documents or whatever, I get the prompt that it's "connected as a
> media device".
>
> Further checking shows it's connected as a camera, or that's how I read it
> from what I see as the only folder/directory that shows up in the file
> manager. If I try to explore it further, I see it as an empty
> folder/directory.
>
> Previously, my old phone (the original HTC desire) would just connect as
> mass storage and I could look through the various files/folders/directories
> that would show up in the file manager.
>
> So, what investigation I've managed to do, suggests that the Note 2
> installed version of android is 4.1.1 - which is, apparently, crippled and
> doesn't or won't connect as mass storage.
>
> A quick google suggests that I may need to "root" the phone and install a
> different version of android that will allow me to connect it as mass
> storage.
>
> To exacerbate the problem further, all my music is ripped as flac or ogg,
> which apparently the phone supports, but of course, it all sits in my music
> directory on the linux (current Ubuntu) partition, and that even installing
> the "Kies" (Samsungs) file management (which doesn't seem to be a
> satisfactory piece of software anyhow) on the windows partition (windows 7
> home premium), can't see the files on the linux partition (no surprises
> there), so I have no way of booting into windows so it will see the music
> directory.
>
> Now given my very small linux knowledge, I don't have much of an idea how to
> proceed or what the best solution might be.
>
> So does anyone know enough about this, to be able to either suggest a
> solution or to point me toward something that I might be able to work out,
> without (preferably) having to root the phone or do something to my system
> to be able to get round this issue ?
>
> After all, why, if android is based on Linux, would or have they cripped it
> so that it can't be seen by a linux system to be of some use ? I just don't
> understand it or see the point.......
>
> TVM in advance of anything you may be able to suggest.
>
> regards
>
> John D.....
>
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