Database Develop

How to use USB Hard Drives on an HD Dock for Droid Bionic

Disclaimer - This is my first post on this site, so I'm going to try to be strait forward and concise, I'm sorry if any info I give lacks a certain panache.
First and foremost, if you want to use a hard drive on your phone through an HD dock, you must format your hard drive to Fat32. This is a very basic, but unavoidable step. That is if you don't want to make the entire process way more complicated. I used Easeus Partition Manager to format my entire 250GB hard drive (impressive I know). You can use other partition manager software, but Easeus is the one I'm used to, and I found a free download of it, which works perfectly on my old XP PC.
The Second step is to make sure you have enough power to make your hard drive usable, and thus be recognized by your phone. I used a USB hub with a Y-Cable and my phone charger to supply the extra power. Note: Do not put the additional USB power port on the HD dock, you will not get enough power. You have to use an additional power source for this method to work. I suggest using at least a 5V 1A charger, but my phone charger is 5.1V 850mA, and works perfectly.
Step Three is to connect the hard drive. This may seem like an unnecessary step, but there is some important things to know. Do not plug multiple storage devices into the hub. There seems to be some priority conflict when this happens. Thus, if you have a Thumb Drive and a Hard Drive, connect the Thumb drive to the HD dock directly, and the Hard Drive to the hub. I haven't tested if there is a similar conflict with two hard drives being plugged in to the hub simultaneously, nor two thumb drives. There also seems to be an issue where if you only have the hard drive plugged in, but no other storage device in any port, the hard drive still won't be detected. So, you may need to plug a thumb drive to your HD dock, and then a hard drive to the hub. This results in your phone calling the Hard Drive the same device name as the Thumb Drive, but the two are shown separately in the file manager.
The hub I used was a Micro Innovations 4-Port USB hub [Model # USB210P/USB210P-F], with a Mini USB port for the main data connection. As such, my Y-Cable was a Mini USB to Full USB Y-Cable. My USB enclosure for my hard drive was made by Manhattan, which has a single USB power/data connector. My Thumb Drive was a 16GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro. My additional charger was my stock Droid Bionic charger. I also used USB extension cords as needed.
In regards to my use of a hub and a Y-Cable there are a couple simple alternatives. One is to use a Y-Cable with a full sized female USB connection in stead of a Mini USB connector. This would allow you to forgo the USB hub. The other alternative is to, depending on the hub you have, use the provided wall charger to directly power the hub, thus not needing the phone charger, nor the Y-Cable.
This method of allowing your Hard Drive to work on your HD dock should work on other devices, as well as (with minimal alterations) silversonic1's guide "How to use USB Host without an HD Dock." http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1495720
Please let me know if this helped you, and feel free to post any additional info on your success and methods used.
Edit 05/28/12: My brother bought a power converter that gives 5V 2.1A, or an optional 5V 1A on two ports. It's an RCA AC to USB converter, model # PCHUSB2R. This adapter was able to supply enough power to my hard drive for it to be read without my Thumb Drive being plugged in as well. It appears that the biggest problem the HD Dock has is that it does not give enough power to charge the phone and power a hard drive through USB. The normal power supply provides 12V 1.5A to the Dock, but I don't know how that power is distributed throughout the Dock. This apparently causes problems, but the additional Amps from the new adapter resolves a lot of them.
Although, recently I've had the problem of the Hard Drive failing on the phone's OS, but not on the Webtop OS, so the hard drive is still usable where it needs to be. You just have to go into the Webtop's file manager to unmount it once your done, but sometimes it won't say it's unmounted, so be careful. Also, the hub solution still doesn't allow you to plug in extra storage devices. It seems you're limited to one storage device per USB port on the dock itself. So, a max of 3, while, theoretically, you should be able to plug in up to 7.

thanks for the concise guide, i've been mulling over NTFS hacks for a while but frankly id probably not be worth the time.
currently i have a USB hub connected to my lapdock by a USB A (back port on lapdock) to mini connector on the hub. correct me if im wrong, but if you actually own the HD or lap dock, USB host mode is activated for you and thus you do not require an OTG cable (assuming you have adequate power for your components)-
i'm working on trying to mount a USB dvd drive, it is being detected correctly however i wonder if the issue you presented with the HD failing to mount without the thumb drive could also present itself here? (seems like simply mounting the DVD shouldnt be too difficult, but device drivers for writing i havent come across..)

nitephlight said:
thanks for the concise guide, i've been mulling over NTFS hacks for a while but frankly id probably not be worth the time.
currently i have a USB hub connected to my lapdock by a USB A (back port on lapdock) to mini connector on the hub. correct me if im wrong, but if you actually own the HD or lap dock, USB host mode is activated for you and thus you do not require an OTG cable (assuming you have adequate power for your components)-
i'm working on trying to mount a USB dvd drive, it is being detected correctly however i wonder if the issue you presented with the HD failing to mount without the thumb drive could also present itself here? (seems like simply mounting the DVD shouldnt be too difficult, but device drivers for writing i havent come across..)
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Thanks for the reply.
It may be mostly power consumption problems for the most part for my set-up. After all I have my Thumb Drive, my Hard Drive, and a wired keyboard with built in USB 1.0 hub (which I connected a wireless mouse dongle and a USB powered fan to). But I did notice that my particular Hard Drive enclosure and Laptop Hard Drive won't work without the extra power. The light on it will turn on, but the Hard Drive remains inactive.
I just ran another test with nothing but the hard drive plugged in, but it wasn't readable until it had both extra power and my Thumb Drive connected. I don't know what exactly is up with this, but I know someone (other than me) will figure it out. I simply am not experienced enough with programming nor diagnostics to be able to find the cause, but I at least can work around the symptoms.

[Q] Can I connect my 1TB Western Digital Ext HDD (USB powered) to my Note?

Can I connect my 1TB Western Digital Ext HDD (USB powered) to my Note (GT-N7000, Stock 4.0.4 with Hydracore 5.4 Std)
I tried formatting one partition to FAT32 as well, but no luck..is it bcz of lack of power to the HDD to run?

Of course you can connect. Only your external hard drive in addition to using the USB connection must have a second source of electricity. USB connector on the phone is too inefficient.

Gregs5 said:
Of course you can connect. Only your external hard drive in addition to using the USB connection must have a second source of electricity. USB connector on the phone is too inefficient.
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Ok..but how can I do that? My Ext HDD is USB powered..is there any way I can provide the HDD with power supply, using some kind of cables/adapters or something?

If your external drive has no additional power outlet, then connect it to your phone is not possible. Attempts to various modifications may damage the phone.

You need a Y split USB cable, something similar to this:
http://compare.ebay.com.au/like/280750493818?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes
NOTE: that was just first USB cable I found using google, I'm not suggesting/related to that ebay seller in any way! Do your own research, you may be able to buy locally for cheaper.

cheddarchi said:
You need a Y split USB cable, something similar to this:
http://compare.ebay.com.au/like/280750493818?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes
NOTE: that was just first USB cable I found using google, I'm not suggesting/related to that ebay seller in any way! Do your own research, you may be able to buy locally for cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm...so, it cannot be used as "portable" as a pendrive..as it needs external power (PC/Laptop OR some external battery)..so better option would be 64GB or higher pendrive (if needed desperately)

[Q] USB OTG help?

Basically I decided to use my 1TB exFAT formatted HDD with my Z3C. I have a OTG cable and if the power supplied isnt enough I can hook up my external battery via the magnetic charging port on the side. However, when I connect it, the HDD fails to spin up and I can't mount it. Will I need to root the phone in order to mount it with an app or is there some kind of problem with the set-up.

Info
Tiansili said:
Basically I decided to use my 1TB exFAT formatted HDD with my Z3C. I have a OTG cable and if the power supplied isnt enough I can hook up my external battery via the magnetic charging port on the side. However, when I connect it, the HDD fails to spin up and I can't mount it. Will I need to root the phone in order to mount it with an app or is there some kind of problem with the set-up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should connect hdd itself to power not additional battery for Xperia phone
:good:

Tiansili said:
Basically I decided to use my 1TB exFAT formatted HDD with my Z3C. I have a OTG cable and if the power supplied isnt enough I can hook up my external battery via the magnetic charging port on the side. However, when I connect it, the HDD fails to spin up and I can't mount it. Will I need to root the phone in order to mount it with an app or is there some kind of problem with the set-up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be using a powered USB OTG cable or putting a powered USB hub to use any higher draw device like a HDD from a phone.

USB OTG --> Powered Hub --> SD Cards

Hi,
I have the HTC One and I am trying to get it to read several sd cards/thumb drives at the same time. I have the HTC One connected via USB OTG to a powered hub. The powered hub has a thumb drive and sd card reader plugged into it. Both the thumb drive and sd card reader light up... but I can only see one device on my phone. Is there any way I can set it up so I can see all devices connected to the hub? I want to be able to transfer photos from an sd card to the thumb drive, on the go without a computer. All drives/cards are formatted to FAT32, I am not rooted and do not want to be.
Thanks.

pmp6nl said:
Hi,
I have the HTC One and I am trying to get it to read several sd cards/thumb drives at the same time. I have the HTC One connected via USB OTG to a powered hub. The powered hub has a thumb drive and sd card reader plugged into it. Both the thumb drive and sd card reader light up... but I can only see one device on my phone. Is there any way I can set it up so I can see all devices connected to the hub? I want to be able to transfer photos from an sd card to the thumb drive, on the go without a computer. All drives/cards are formatted to FAT32, I am not rooted and do not want to be.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One advice
Put your One on gas and burn it up !!
You wanna add two things simultaneously to a phone they will suck its voltage and motherboard

yatindroid said:
One advice
Put your One on gas and burn it up !!
You wanna add two things simultaneously to a phone they will suck its voltage and motherboard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why would it suck its voltage if its a powered hub...

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

For anyone else looking for a solution try Nexus Media Importer... it seems to work pretty well.

Can it be done ?

Hello .... I'm curious if this tablet can be open up and have the memory removed, only to upgrade it to a higher level, is it possible ? Oh yeah and I know need it to be with one usb end and not a very long cable . Thanks

Dude905 said:
Hello .... I'm curious if this tablet can be open up and have the memory removed, only to upgrade it to a higher level, is it possible ? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's probably possible, but it wouldn't work.

Take a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nqY2EXTHhE
Do some reading here:
http://forums.webosnation.com/hp-touchpad/331349-2gb-ram-upgrade-touchpad-attempt.html
In my opinion everything is possible with the right "CODE" and that is attached to a human memory with very smart neurons!

From what I saw there I'm assuming that the memory hard drive or card GB is internal to the board ? I want to replace the 32GB with a 64 GB card or whatever these HP tablets have . I don't want to get into un-soldering and soldering though .... Thanks

Dude905 said:
From what I saw there I'm assuming that the memory hard drive or card GB is internal to the board ? I want to replace the 32GB with a 64 GB card or whatever these HP tablets have . I don't want to get into un-soldering and soldering though .... Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything is integrated. If you want to expand storage you can use an OTG Micro USB HUB an attached a USB 64GB flash drive, it will be bulky but works!

HP_TOUCHPAD said:
Everything is integrated. If you want to expand storage you can use an OTG Micro USB HUB an attached a USB 64GB flash drive, it will be bulky but works!
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That would work ? that would be great if it can . I would like to place movies onto the usb flash drive and play off it, So you saying it can work ? Thanks

Of course it works, you can play movies directly from the USB flash drive. You will need to supply power to the USB drive, connected by wire or using a Power Bank.
https://www.amazon.com/Adaptor-Powered-Charging-Charger-Connector/dp/B00LTHBCNM/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1486006080&sr=8-9&keywords=OTG+micro+usb+hub
If you want to make it portable:
https://www.amazon.com/2600mAh-Portable-External-Battery-Charger/dp/B01N5O3OX3/ref=sr_1_10?

Hello .... I'm curious if this tablet can be open up and have the memory removed, only to upgrade it to a higher level, is it possible ? Oh yeah and I only need it to be with one usb end and not a very long cable . Thanks

Is a Micro USB Port, is the same as your charger. The one that you connect to your Tablet. Search and do some reading on how it works, is very simple but you have to understand how all comes together, there is information on this site also.
Once you have Android install on your tablet, it works the same as others Android or Tablet Devices.

I finally got a OTG Micro USB straight cable, usb on one end and micro on the other, try it out and nothing happens, is there a setting with the tablet that needs to be turn on or off ? thanks

What version of Android are you using? or the type or ROM?

HP_TOUCHPAD said:
What version of Android are you using? or the type or ROM?
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Its ......Kitkat .... Android 5.1.1 version and cm-11-20161219-NIGHTLY-MLQ-tenderloin .... This is very stable ... Thanks

The ROM that you are using is from the Developer Milaq.
I installed the latest Nightly dated December 26 of 2016, of the ROM you are using.
https://milaq.net/downloads/tenderloin/cm-11.0/
After a fresh installed I connected the OTG Micro USB HUB, then connected the HP Touchpad cord charger to the OTG and finally the USB flash drive ( SanDisk Cruzer Glide 16GB). You will noticed that the USB flash indication light starts flashing and a notification on the Left top side on Android tells you ( USB Storage in USE ). Then you go to the File Manager and you will see USB Storage, when you touch it you will see all the files on the USB flash drive and you can play your movies directly from there at the same speed as if were on the internal storage. When you are done, go to setting and storage and eject the USB Flash drive. Is very simple!

HP_TOUCHPAD said:
The ROM that you are using is from the Developer Milaq.
I installed the latest Nightly dated December 26 of 2016, of the ROM you are using.
https://milaq.net/downloads/tenderloin/cm-11.0/
After a fresh installed I connected the OTG Micro USB HUB, then connected the HP Touchpad cord charger to the OTG and finally the USB flash drive ( SanDisk Cruzer Glide 16GB). You will noticed that the USB flash indication light starts flashing and a notification on the Left top side on Android tells you ( USB Storage in USE ). Then you go to the File Manager and you will see USB Storage, when you touch it you will see all the files on the USB flash drive and you can play your movies directly from there at the same speed as if were on the internal storage. When you are done, go to setting and storage and eject the USB Flash drive. Is very simple!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see nothing since nothing happens once I connect it, though if I use the cable to connect to my computer I am able to see the tablet internal drive, but not to a flash drive from tablet to flash . This is why I was asking what's exact cable type for this tablet port . I'm thinking it isn't the correct one . There so many different sizes out there. Thanks for your suggestion, much appreciated

I sent you the link to Amazon of the OTG.
Did you take the time to learn what OTG is?

HP_TOUCHPAD said:
I sent you the link to Amazon of the OTG.
Did you take the time to learn what OTG is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did view it but the type that goes into the tablet isn't listed . I bought one already that I assume is the correct size but with these micro usb connectors there is many different types, do you understand what I'm trying to say . Pic below is what I'm using
Code:
https://s23.postimg.org/osksn2wrv/IMG_20170208_141448.jpg

Dude905 said:
Yes, I did view it but the type that goes into the tablet isn't listed . I bought one already that I assume is the correct size but with these micro usb connectors there is many different types, do you understand what I'm trying to say . Pic below is what I'm using
Code:
https://s23.postimg.org/osksn2wrv/IMG_20170208_141448.jpg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the information is on this web site:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1582771
And for the second time this is the OTG cable that I have, which I posted the link : https://www.amazon.com/Adaptor-Powered-Charging-Charger-Connector/dp/B00LTHBCNM/ref=sr_1_31?ie=UTF8&qid=1486568545&sr=8-31&keywords=micro+usb+otg If you look at the specification of how it works it tells you is a "Micro Usb HUB Adaptor with Power Powered"
The HP touchpad or old devices do not offer power to the micro usb port, you need a Y adapter one to supply power to the USB flash drive and the other one for data.
That is why I said, do some research to understand the connection, which it clearly shows on the Amazon product.

Oh ok now I got you it also needs power to make it work, the tablet alone isn't good enough . See, I was hoping just a simple connector going into the tablet Micro and have on the other end usb female connector were by I could plug in a flash stick without power needed . Thanks for all your help

Dude905 said:
Oh ok now I got you it also needs power to make it work, the tablet alone isn't good enough . See, I was hoping just a simple connector going into the tablet Micro and have on the other end usb female connector were by I could plug in a flash stick without power needed . Thanks for all your help
Click to expand...
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That will work with devices that allow power out from the charging port. The work around for old devices is the Y connector, with the connector I posted you can use a USB Keyboard, a USB mouse and a USB flash drive all at once, turning a tablet into a regular desktop PC. Like I posted your ROM will work and you can play movies directly from the USB drive with no loss in performance, with only your basic ROM nothing else is need it.
You are very welcome and have fun!

HP_TOUCHPAD said:
That will work with devices that allow power out from the charging port. The work around for old devices is the Y connector, with the connector I posted you can use a USB Keyboard, a USB mouse and a USB flash drive all at once, turning a tablet into a regular desktop PC. Like I posted your ROM will work and you can play movies directly from the USB drive with no loss in performance, with only your basic ROM nothing else is need it.
You are very welcome and have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, those devises sound really good . I might just get one for that fact alone .... Though, it isn't really what I needed