[Q] Preventing USB access to internal storage? - Nook HD, HD+ Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've done some searching on this an not found anything really relevant - mostly questions about Media/MTP vs Camera/PTP and the loss of USB Mass Storage capability. My question is something different, and by the time MTP/PTP come into play things have already gone much too far. I'm also not clear whether this is a Nook thing or a Cyanogenmod thing, and I'm afraid that it might be the latter.
Is there any way to prevent access to the internal storage via USB?
On my HTC Amaze 4G (4.0.3) and I believe on my older 2.x based phone I have/had an option for USB connections: "Charge Only" or "Disk Drive" and with Charge Only there was no filesystem access from the PC. That is, in fact exactly how I want it. Heck, on the Amaze I actually have the option of encrypting the data, at least on the removable card. I see absolutely no reason why any shlub who gets his hands on my tablet should be able to freely browse the filesystem with the only requirements being a proprietary cable and a computer with a USB port. Heck, I don't want someone with a hacked charging station to be able to suck down the contents of my tablet (e.g. Jonathan Zdziarski's "juice-jacking" though that's focused more on iOS devices).
Is this really the state of security on modern Android devices?

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[Q] Question: Regarding The Mounting The Internal SD...

Hello,
I'm running a stock i896 (Rogers) Captivate. I am on WinXP 32-bit (x86).
I'm having trouble mounting the device's internal storage. What I've tried to do is connect my phone in the following two ways:
-1. Connect USB cable; select from one of the phones three options in the phone's pop-up menu: Kies (Firmware update), Media player, Mass storage
-2. Enter phone's Settings menu, and enable the option: Applications -» Development -» USB debugging; connect USB cable.
Both methods yield the same result: I hear Windows notification sounds that indicate a USB device has been connected (so far so good), check My Computer, and find that I have two new drives listed (one for internal, one for external—I assume).
The problem is, in attempting to access either of the two new drives (both labelled non-descriptly: "Removable Disk (X", where X is one of two consecutive drive-letters), I get the message: Please insert a disk into drive X:. I know not what to do at this point; I have no MicroSD card, but I assume that I ought be able to access the devices internal SD card without too much hassle...?
I've tried three different driver-packages so far (with clean uninstall/installs in-between): two Samsung ones, and one that came bundled inside PDANet's setup-package. (PDANet allows for cabled-sharing of a device's internet connection. The included driver was recommended in another thread.)
I wonder if there's something simple that I have to do—some toggle, that I've overlooked.
I'm new to the whole 'Droid mobile scene, having come over recently from Apple iOS (and I'm never going back). I'd like to get this sexy beast loaded up, and replace my old portable media-player.
While we're at it, are there obviously-superior alternatives to the stock media applications? Specifically, I like smooth, functional, pretty-looking apps—ones that are simple, efficient, easily-usable, and comprehensive (you know: good ones). Just wondering.
Thanks
Pull down the notification tray, tap USB storage, tap mount.
Sent from my Captivate
rofl
thanks
Holy crap I was struggling with this as well! Glad I found this thread!
loonieryan said:
Holy crap I was struggling with this as well! Glad I found this thread!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's in the notification bar at the top, chances are if you pull down the bar, you'll see something regarding it.

[Q] External storage and the nook

So I'm brand new to the world of tablets and Android and whatnot (and, subsequently, this forum, so sorry if this is a dumb question). I'm trying to decide between buying a nook Color (with the intention of rooting) and the Archos 101. I prefer almost everything about the nook, but the 101 can connect to an external hard drive, and that's a big deal, as I'd like to be able to access my documents and video on the fly.
So, with the proper USB adaptor, will the nook support external storage? Thanks!
The hardware should allow it, but AFAIK it doesn't support it out of the box. It shouldn't be TOO much trouble to allow it to. shrug.
others will know much more about this.
10equals2 said:
The hardware should allow it, but AFAIK it doesn't support it out of the box. It shouldn't be TOO much trouble to allow it to. shrug.
others will know much more about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm not expecting it to work pre-rooting. I'm just trying to figure out if I'll be able to access the external using a file manager.
Thanks!
Ok, don't quote me on this, but I (think) i remember someone somewhere (not very convincing...) stating that the usb hardware was capable of host and OTG modes.
Android is most definitely capable of dealing with host mode, which is necessary for usb hard drives. So there should be some way of enabling it....
Sorry I'm not much help... I'll do some research and see if its a hidden toggle somewhere, otherwise I'm no help. lol
Any update on this? I'd really like to buy a tablet... but I need to make sure that the hardware can support it.. even if rooting is necessary to make USB port into Host.
If it can't does anyone know of a tablet within the $200-300 range that has USB host capabilities? Would like it to have a separate port for power while USB being used specifically for my 1TB Western Digital My Passport external USB HDD.
Do you actually have 1TB worth of info that has to be accessible on the fly or could you just load what you regularly use onto a larger sd card? I know this isn't an answer to your question but I just wondered how many gigs of documents you have to have access to during the day because the NC can use up to a 32 gig mSD if I remember correctly.

[Q] I9000M Mass Storage and a 2010 Chev Tahoe

Hey there folks, after my battle with Verizon, Bestbuy and Motorola I finally found an Android phone that would work for me (for the most part) up here in Canada. I have only had one issue so far and that would be using it in my vehicle with the USB port on-board.
I've had the phone for a few months now and never really needed this functionality until my 2nd iPod of the year was "liberated" from my vehicle over night. Now since buying the phone I've rooted, installed Darky's ROM series and formated the internal 16GB and external 16GB SD cards before putting my songs onto the external in a folder just labeled 'music'. Here is what I have just so you get a better idea:
-SG:S I9000M (Bell) with Darky Mod/ROM 9.5
-GM Chevrolet Tahoe (2010) with a standard USB port (which apparently works with thumb drives too but I might as well try to get my phone to work, charger + music = winning).
Lots of good R&R, and some really crappy techno (JK I like electronic too & classical as well as long walks on the beach).
-USB connection styles I've tried include: Mass Storage, Debugging, and Media Player (Kies no longer appears since I don't use Touch Wiz).
-The error my vehicle throws out is "Unknown device connected"
So I pose the question: do I need some config file on the SD cards, the phone or in a folder to tell my vehicle what the heck I just plugged in or do I need to put my music in a special folder? I don't know how apple does it, but I hate apple since their latest iPod update (Media Monkey can no longer sync the music without the iPod whining and slitting it's digital wrists about syncing with iTunes) which forced me to install iTunes (which I consider a virus since you absolutely have to install Qtime and it creates shortcuts everywhere and runs at startup).
Any input is appreciated, I did a quick search on XDA and I couldn't find any relevant topics, or I'm incompetent, one or the other.
TL;DR: Galaxy S I9000 + 2010 Tahoe + USB = not working
Looking at how the SGS presents itself to a host device, I believe that it hides its mass storage device (among others, such as networking and ADB connection) under a hub device rather than on its own as would happen with a typical USB thumb drive. The computer cannot read the past this hub device until the Samsung drivers are installed, upon which the mass storage device is then visible.
I tried hooking my SGS up to a digital photo frame once and the photo frame couldn't read it since it couldn't see a mass storage device. So unless you can somehow install the Samsung drivers onto your truck, I'm afraid you're SOL. At least, until a talented kernel developer here recodes the SGS's USB driver to expose the mass storage device natively.
when you plug the sgs into your truck, do you get the option to connect USB storage?
edit: just noticed you've already tried that.
yeah it might be up to the kernel dev's to do something about it - it would be great if there was an option to make it show up as a giant USB stick!
When I plug my I9000M into my desktop via USB it automatically mounts the 2 SD cards without having to do the windows "search for drivers" and under device management the 2 SD cards show up as portable devices. I think what I will do is remove the external SD card before plugging it in to see if it's confusing the onboard system (in the vehicle) by trying to mount 2 separate SD cards. My apologies for the slack spelling and grammar, I just woke up, I may edit the post later today as well as update on my progress.

USB mass storage

Hi,
has anyone succeeded to export the internal or external SD storage as a USB mass storage device? The only thing that works for me is MTP under Windows.
Of what I know it's not possible because the phones usb mass storage only supports one drive.
Our phone has two drives, internal and external SD.
Therefore it has to use MTP for you to see the two drives in Windows.
It's the same for all phones with external and internal memory.
Solution: Unmount SD card, rip it out of the frickin phone, ram it into your computer, start copying HD quality movies super fast, rip it out of your computer and showe it back into your phone! Problem?
Sent from my LG-P880
Yes, but I don't like to open the filigree back side too often.
MrWunderbaum said:
Of what I know it's not possible because the phones usb mass storage only supports one drive.
Our phone has two drives, internal and external SD.
Therefore it has to use MTP for you to see the two drives in Windows.
It's the same for all phones with external and internal memory.
Solution: Unmount SD card, rip it out of the frickin phone, ram it into your computer, start copying HD quality movies super fast, rip it out of your computer and showe it back into your phone! Problem?
Sent from my LG-P880
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for digging out this old thread. But still better than starting a new one.
I am new to android and the 4X HD is my first android phone. Was using iPhone with PWNtunes, which allows for free file transfers to and from the phone (including music & videos) without using ANY additional software on the other end.
Is there really NO way to activate USB mass storage at least for the external SD card ? I mean, I could like copy the files later to the internal memory, but I really hate the idea that I have to open the phone everytime I want to transfer a file. I can't always mail the files.
I am willing to modify the phone in any way, but I often come across computers where I can NOT install any additional software. Even worse I work with Hardware devices (like my car Stereo or my Set-top-box) where there is no possibility to change the Software.
So USB Mass Storage is the only way to go for me. All the google searches I've done so far point out 2 piece solutions, at best, where I would also need to install software on the PC.
Is there really no standardised solution for this that works on ANY Android ICS (like PWNtunes for any iPhone) ?
I would even pay up to 10 € for this feature, a feature that should be included !
With Total Commander and the Android-ADB-Plugin I have access to the entire file system and SD cards of all my Androids.
I don't know about yours but, for me its enough when I select "LG software" (don't know how's in yours cause mine is in Portuguese...), after I just need to run "LGAutoRun.exe" and I can see the internal store and external sd just like if I had "mass storage" selected.
If I have previously selected "LG software" windows just ask me if I want to open to see the files, but thats normal cause the drivers are already installed.
@Bud Cord & @RuedasLocas
Both are again solutions where I would have to run some kind of software on the Host side.
Yes, this will work for Win7 computers BUT IT WILL NOT work for my TV, it will NOT work for my Car Stereo, it will NOT work for my Printer, it will NOT work for my portable mediaplayer, it will NOT work for my DSL-Router, it will NOT work for my DVB-SetTopBox, and so on. For all those other devices that ONLY understand USB MASS STORAGE it will simply NOT WORK.
Yeah USB MASS STORAGE (UMS) is some crappy old block access device. BUT it is also the defacto standart that every USB Device that can read a USB stick supports.
I had a Windows Mobile 6.1 Phone some years ago, it hat UMS, only for the SDcard.
I had a simple Feature-Phone(SE K610), it hat UMS, again only for the Memory card.
I had a Chinese unbranded Phone with dual-Sims and a TV set built in, it had UMS!
I had an iPhone I could Jailbreak it and activate UMS. Every 2$ cheapo USB stick has UMS.
I again want USB MASS STORAGE at least for the SD-Card. I am still trying to find some workaround. Even that the phone was not rootable at the beginning was no dealbreaker for me, but THIS actually IS a dealbreaker for me. I loved to use my Phone as a USB-Stick and plug it in everywhere. I always did that. IPhone has forced me to carry around my own cable, android is forcing me to carry around a regular USB stick.
I hate the phone for not having MASS STORAGE. The worst part is that it seems like Android has adopted this crap, so any Android phone is just as bad.
Sorry for whining, I just thought that there was some simple solution that I am not seeing.

Case with extended storage built in

I have access to a 3D printer, and I was thinking of designing a case with a bare flash drive built in. If I cut one of the USB OTG cables down that allows usb and charging simultaneously and fit it in the case design would I be able to have the USB connected and still be able to charge? If that is a possibility, is there a way to trick Android into thinking that the USB drive is instead an SD card? If we could trick Android into thinking it was an SD card wouldn't we be able to merge the flash drive with the internal storage and increase the storage capacity of the phone? My other thought for this idea was using multirom, and just sticking a 256gb flash drive in the case and just booting off of that. Do either of these ideas sound like they would work well at all? I just have the 32gb model and it just isn't enough.
No. The phone will not charge while in USB host mode, if you try to just throw in voltage you'll burn out the flash drive and or damage your phones micro USB port.
You're multirom idea wasnt bad. But all multirom does is allow a system partition to be installed with an image to a flash drive, and then boot it from the flash drive. It still reads data cache and such off your devices partition.
How are you using your storage? I got use to the "no expandable storage" with my lg and Galaxy Nexus.
Are you encrypted? Unencrypt your phone, you'll save 1.5-2gbs of storage capacity. Use Google photos to backup your photos and videos in HD quality and have it delete files after backup. Do you flash roms? Go through your android/data and Android/obb folders and delete everything related to apps you don't use.
It's not a bad idea to backup music/photos/videos to a PC, then wipe internal storage and restore all the photos and such. You would be amazed at how much storage our phones will use that you can't find and delete without digging around.
Deleted as apparently useless...
noidea24 said:
No. The phone will not charge while in USB host mode, if you try to just throw in voltage you'll burn out the flash drive and or damage your phones micro USB port.
You're multirom idea wasnt bad. But all multirom does is allow a system partition to be installed with an image to a flash drive, and then boot it from the flash drive. It still reads data cache and such off your devices partition.
How are you using your storage? I got use to the "no expandable storage" with my lg and Galaxy Nexus.
Are you encrypted? Unencrypt your phone, you'll save 1.5-2gbs of storage capacity. Use Google photos to backup your photos and videos in HD quality and have it delete files after backup. Do you flash roms? Go through your android/data and Android/obb folders and delete everything related to apps you don't use.
It's not a bad idea to backup music/photos/videos to a PC, then wipe internal storage and restore all the photos and such. You would be amazed at how much storage our phones will use that you can't find and delete without digging around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am un-encrypted so I do have that little bit of extra space. I have a lot of music on my phone for listening in the car. LTE is spotty where I live, so streaming isn't a great option. I was under the impression that with a modified kernel it is possible to charge and access a device at the same time. Doesn't the nexus 7 have a kernel that allows that? If that is in fact possible is there a way to trick android into thinking that it's an sd card instead of a flash drive?
This is one such kernel for the nexus 7
https://mehrvarz.github.io/usb-host-mode-power-management-nexus7/
I think my solution my work great if there is a kernel that works with charging and we could get the USB to integrate.
Encryption takes up more space?
Code:
adb shell sm set-force-adoptable true
lets you use any external storage device as adoptable storage letting you use a OTG drive as internal storage. Could've just been my drive but it stalled at 20% for a couple minutes, mighta finished but my OTG adapter is kinda flaky and lost connection. After a bit of reading I've learned it might be since my phone isn't encrypted and adoptable storage is encrypted by default.
Also from what I understand about OTG things is that you CANNOT charge the phone while it's connection with OTG even wirelessly.
Though with the N6 having USB 2.0 it'll likely be very very slow.
Ad
StykerB said:
Code:
adb shell sm set-force-adoptable true
lets you use any external storage device as adoptable storage letting you use a OTG drive as internal storage. Could've just been my drive but it stalled at 20% for a couple minutes, mighta finished but my OTG adapter is kinda flaky and lost connection. After a bit of reading I've learned it might be since my phone isn't encrypted and adoptable storage is encrypted by default.
Also from what I understand about OTG things is that you CANNOT charge the phone while it's connection with OTG even wirelessly.
Though with the N6 having USB 2.0 it'll likely be very very slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome!! Thank you. I'll do some tinkering maybe this weekend to see what I can come up with. That was exactly what I was looking for as far as adoptable storage!
EDIT: I ran the adb command you gave me through terminal emulator on the phone itself after giving it root access. All 3 flash drives I tried integrated with my internal storage just phone. All 3 were 32gb usb 3.0, but each was a different brand. I built a custom "y" cable, but you can buy them on Amazon. I'm talking with a kernel developer and it seems it is possible to charge the phone at the same time. Both the nexus 4 and 2013 nexus 7 have custom kernels that allow what's called USB OTG Host mode that allows the device to charge and use a USB device at the same time. From what I can tell it's a kernel module that needs to be added. For the nexus 4 it was just a zip file that patched whatever kernel you were currently using. I don't have a lot of experience with compiling kernels, but I'll try and find out what needs to be done and fire my Ubuntu box up.

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