Help Iconia A500 cant browse through USB flash drive

[Zoandroid]

have you tried remounting it by going to the storage tab in settings?

That works for me too! Thanks!

 

[klassy70]

Hi All, I just got an Iconia 500 tablet and love it, however, I am alittle lost. Can and how do I install itunes? Is their an app for it? Can I install my printer? I also want to buy additional memory - 32gb sd card, but someone said get a flash drive, and then someone said get both. I thought the tablet only held 32gb? If i get both, that's 64gb?! Which is better? Also, can I put files on here? Im used to a windows file structure. I have files from my laptop. Please help. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kenji57]

Hi Klassy70,
I,m not sure about itunes on Android . There are various apps that let you sync your itunes tracks with your tab, but as far as I know there's no itunes for android.
You could check out Remote for itunes (trial)
https://market.android.com/details?id=hyperfine.hftunes
or search in the Android Market for itunes. I can't help much more with this as I'm not a big itunes user.

In Android you don't install Printers like in Windows. There are various apps that let you print. Best way is to search the market for the brand of printer you have eg Epson, HP or just search "Print".

You can put in a microSD card, up to 32 Gb. You can also use the USB port for external drives, thumb drives or portable hard drives.
I have a 16Gb micro SD which I leave in my tablet and I also attach USB thumb drives or my WD Passport 500Gb hard drive whenever I need to. That's the really great thing about the USB port on this tab.

For transferring files you will need to install a File manager App.
I use File Manager HD, but there are several other good ones. I really don't know why Acer doesn't include a file manager in the stock system. My Samsung phone does.

When you plug in a USB drive it doesn't pop up a Window like windows, you have to look for it in the File manager.
In FileManager HD I go to the storage icon and then go up one level and there are folder icons for external-sd and usb-storage. You can also bookmark these for next time.

Hope that helps

 

[dbldipp]

There is also the option of connecting it to your Windows PC and after the 3.2 update you can see every file on your tab with the PC. You can move files from folder to folder , add and remove files and such. You can see all your drives that way including the usb, external sd and the internal drive.

 

[kenji57]

There is also the option of connecting it to your Windows PC and after the 3.2 update you can see every file on your tab with the PC. You can move files from folder to folder , add and remove files and such. You can see all your drives that way including the usb, external sd and the internal drive.

You're probably right; it is an option, and you could use a second computer to manipulate the files on the tablet.

Or you could just get a File Manager app and then you can "move files from folder to folder , add and remove files and such. You can see all your drives that way including the usb, external sd and the internal drive" without connecting any cables or waiting for your windows PC (assuming you have one) to boot up.

Using File Manager HD I can access files on networked PC's or my NAS as if they were on the tablet.
The A500 comes with a cable for connecting to a PC but I've never taken mine out of the box.

 

[klassy70]

Where/how do I get the 3.2 update? But first, how do I determine whether or not I have 3.1 or 3.2?

 

[Zoandroid]

Look in Settings/About tablet. It will list the Android OS version in use there.

I got A500 for Xmas, and was pushed the OTA 3.2.1 update from its original 3.2.0 within a day or two.

 

[wgbrow43]

My A500 won't read thumb drives. My wife's A500 reads the thumb drives just fine. I have verified my A500 has the latest system updates installed; the thumb drives are FAT32 formatted; I've tried 3 different File programs (all report no files when I try to read the USB_device). I can transfer data from my laptop to/from the tablet BUT that is using a different port than the thumb drives use.

I'm about ready to reinstall the system & reinstall all my apps but was hoping to find some other ideas/suggestions before taking that drastic a step. Any ideas??

 

[SouthofOttawa]

My A500 won't read thumb drives. My wife's A500 reads the thumb drives just fine. I have verified my A500 has the latest system updates installed; the thumb drives are FAT32 formatted; I've tried 3 different File programs (all report no files when I try to read the USB_device). I can transfer data from my laptop to/from the tablet BUT that is using a different port than the thumb drives use.

I'm about ready to reinstall the system & reinstall all my apps but was hoping to find some other ideas/suggestions before taking that drastic a step. Any ideas??

Check the pins of the USB port on your A500. I had the same problem until I realized that the USB stick I was using had bent one of the pins in the port. I straightened it out and now use a different thumb drive and am careful when plugging one in.

 

[Zoandroid]

My A500 won't read thumb drives. My wife's A500 reads the thumb drives just fine. I have verified my A500 has the latest system updates installed; the thumb drives are FAT32 formatted; I've tried 3 different File programs (all report no files when I try to read the USB_device). I can transfer data from my laptop to/from the tablet BUT that is using a different port than the thumb drives use.

I'm about ready to reinstall the system & reinstall all my apps but was hoping to find some other ideas/suggestions before taking that drastic a step. Any ideas??

Did you try re-mounting USB STORAGE as suggested in post #24 above?

 

[wgbrow43]

Check the pins of the USB port on your A500. I had the same problem until I realized that the USB stick I was using had bent one of the pins in the port. I straightened it out and now use a different thumb drive and am careful when plugging one in.

I will look into this. Thank you.

 

[wgbrow43]

Did you try re-mounting USB STORAGE as suggested in post #24 above?

Yes I did and it still said there were no files.

 

[Apesgonzaga]

If you have ES File manager it's easy to access all your drives. Open it and you see the folders on your machine. In the tool bar at the top on the left side is an icon of a house. Click on it and you'll see your main files, click on the MNT folder and it gives you access you all your drives. Internal, external MSD and USB.

I have es file manager and I don't have the icon of the house. I'm guessing I'm already in my main files because I can see them, however I do not see a MNT folder (I have the flash drive mounted) am I doing something wrong?

 

[Valkillmore]

I had this problem until I figured out that in the Settings panel of whatever file manager you are using, there should be an option as such:
(Using ES File Manager as example)

Home directory

Tap it and, then change the current home directory from :
/sdcard/

To:
/mnt/

Now, when ever you open ES File Manager, it will start your navigation point at a higher level in the folder tree. You should now see these folders:

asec , external_sd , obb , sd card , secure , usb_storage

Pick appropriately from there.` This seems universal across the 3 different file explorers I have tried.

 

[anthonycr]

Hi, I have an Acer Iconia A501 and a Sandisk Cruzer Micro 16GB USB. When I stick my USB into the tablet, a 'Preparing USB storage' message popups for about half a second and then disappears very quickly afterwards. The tablet is brand new and recognises other USBs. My USB is FAT32 formatted and I have tried everything mentioned above but have had no luck.
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Zoandroid]

Which file exploring app are you using to try to see the files on the USB stick?

 

[anthonycr]

Which file exploring app are you using to try to see the files on the USB stick?

I've used Astro and File Manager and nothing shows up in the usb_storage folder

 

[Zoandroid]

Did you try, after connecting the USB stick, going into Settings-Storage and un-mount, then once that is completed, re-mount the storage? I find that I sometimes have to do that to get all the files on my removable SD card to list, so it might also help with a USB memory stick.

I am guessing you are running the stock ROM. I am not, and the dev who created my ROM rearranged and renamed some of the folder tree, so I don't see the same names you are seeing. That said, the folder tree Honeycomb uses is a bit convoluted. It shows for example multiple instances of the SD card files under multiple folder listings with different names. Some appear to simply 'mirror' the files in another folder. If the above doesn't help, I would look into every possible path that hints at listing USB or removable or external files. It may be someplace unexpected that is showing the files on the stick. They may be in /mnt path, or maybe some path directly from the root folder.

If none of this helps, post again and I'll mount a USB stick and tell you where my files show up. It might help you find yours.

 

[anthonycr]

I don't get the option to re-mount in Settings. The problem is that when I connect my USB, it disconnects in an instant. I get the mount option in Settings which when I press it, does what it would do when I plug my USB in - displays a message saying 'Preparing USB' for a flash of a second. I know the USB folder on my tablet is the usb_storage one because other USBs work and show up there.

 

[salsaprophet]

Hi, I have the same problem of "anthonycr".
I have a 32Gb HAMA pendrive, FAT32 formatting, only one file inside.
Form my laptop it works perfectly, when I insert into Tablet it says "detecting" and then nothing.
On Astro it says (directory is empty)
On settings I see the option "Mount...." if i click it it does something for a second than "Mount..." returns
I tried connecting other USB sticks and they work fine (8Gb and 16Gb) also my LG external HD (320Gb) and WD (500Gb) works fine....
I tried starting the tablet with pendrive inserted but nothing...
Maybe this HAMA 32Gb USB stick is not compatible?
An help on this issue will be appreciate
thanks

SP

 

[JediZamfir]

On the panel at the left tap Storage.

On the panel at the top right press the Up arrow until the first directory entry is asec. Now scroll down through the directory and you should see usb_storage. Tap usb_storage and you should see your data.

Good Lord is it a pain in the patootie to do something as simple as locate a video file on a flash drive. Thanks to your on topic post, I downloaded FMHD and there it was, just like you said. Much appreciated.

 

[bsnavely]

I just bought a Patroit 32GB flash drive, loaded it up with some files. It would not mount, same problem as others, detecting then nothing. Complete reformat as FAT32 then added some files. Plugged it in and within a few seconds it detected and loaded the USB drive. Must have been something wrong with the factory format. Remember do a complete format not a fast format, It will take about an hour to reformat a 32GB drive.