(re)Mount External SD Card

[Polaris_999]

Hello Everyone,

I noticed on the Vibrant, you can unmount and remount the internal 16Gb SD Card whenever you wish, however, once you unmount the external SD card, you have to reboot the phone in order to get it remounted . Where's the logic in that???

Does anyone know of an App that allows one to unmount and remount the external SD card at will? Or will this be doable once the Froyo update comes along?

Thanks in advance....

 

[w_bovine]

Hello Everyone,

I noticed on the Vibrant, you can unmount and remount the internal 16Gb SD Card whenever you wish, however, once you unmount the external SD card, you have to reboot the phone in order to get it remounted . Where's the logic in that???

Does anyone know of an App that allows one to unmount and remount the external SD card at will? Or will this be doable once the Froyo update comes along?

Thanks in advance....

This is something I've never heard of. You cannot simply unplug the USB cable from the computer and then plug it back in? It will take a few moments while the phone remounts the SD cards to itself (as opposed to mounting on the computer) but after it has completed that you should be able to plug the USB cable back in and mount the drives.

 

[Polaris_999]

This is something I've never heard of. You cannot simply unplug the USB cable from the computer and then plug it back in? It will take a few moments while the phone remounts the SD cards to itself (as opposed to mounting on the computer) but after it has completed that you should be able to plug the USB cable back in and mount the drives.

Thanks for the quick response w_bovine.... but.....

I'm not talking about using the USB cable.....strictly just mounting and un-mounting the SD card from the settings screen on my Vibrant while not being connected to my PC.

Let me explain. I keep highly confidential Documents, Video files, & Audio files on my external SD card, whereas my other non-confidential files are saved on the internal SD card, both being 16Gb cards. While both cards are mounted, if I go into the app that accesses the confidential files, it keeps a history of files accessed so its easier to find/open them, however, when I un-mount the external SD card, the history of the confidential files disappears because the app can't see the files anymore.

So..... what I want to do, to keep my confidential files away from prying eyes, is a way to be able to mount the external SD card when I need to access/edit the files on the external SD card, then, once done, un-mount it again, so they're not readily available to, lets say for example, family members who like to play games with my phone. I work for an organization that takes its privacy very seriously, so I thought that if I can un-mount the SD card, and no-one knows its there, its the "out of sight, out of mind" theory. If no-one knows the SD card and its files are there, they have no reason to try to access the files, because they're not seen by any of the apps. But I don't want to have to reboot my phone every time I want to access the files, do what I have to, then un-mount the card again to hide the files.

I know there are apps that allow you to encrypt files, but I can't risk the encryption failing and corrupting the files, so if possible, my preference would be the ability to mount and un-mount the external SD card at will.

I hope this clears things up a bit and makes sense....

 

[w_bovine]

Thanks for the quick response w_bovine.... but.....

I'm not talking about using the USB cable.....strictly just mounting and un-mounting the SD card from the settings screen on my Vibrant while not being connected to my PC.

Let me explain. I keep highly confidential Documents, Video files, & Audio files on my external SD card, whereas my other non-confidential files are saved on the internal SD card, both being 16Gb cards. While both cards are mounted, if I go into the app that accesses the confidential files, it keeps a history of files accessed so its easier to find/open them, however, when I un-mount the external SD card, the history of the confidential files disappears because the app can't see the files anymore.

So..... what I want to do, to keep my confidential files away from prying eyes, is a way to be able to mount the external SD card when I need to access/edit the files on the external SD card, then, once done, un-mount it again, so they're not readily available to, lets say for example, family members who like to play games with my phone. I work for an organization that takes its privacy very seriously, so I thought that if I can un-mount the SD card, and no-one knows its there, its the "out of sight, out of mind" theory. If no-one knows the SD card and its files are there, they have no reason to try to access the files, because they're not seen by any of the apps. But I don't want to have to reboot my phone every time I want to access the files, do what I have to, then un-mount the card again to hide the files.

I know there are apps that allow you to encrypt files, but I can't risk the encryption failing and corrupting the files, so if possible, my preference would be the ability to mount and un-mount the external SD card at will.

I hope this clears things up a bit and makes sense....

Okay, I understand what you're saying. I'll be honest and say it sounds like a not-very-foolproof plan. If I had highly confidential information on my phone it would be encrypted without exception, and of course there would be backups in different places. I certainly would not let anyone use my phone either. I mean, what happens if you lose your phone or it gets stolen? Anyone who gets a hold of it is going to know there's an SD card in it. Not a chance I'd ever take. So much for my sermon.

I can't say I've heard of such an app. Perhaps someone else out here can provide some input. I would suggest that you also check out the forums on xda developers if you haven't already. They seem to be a bit more technically oriented over there and may be able give you an answer. Not to take away from Android Forums mind you.

xda-developers

I saw this on Appbrain:

Reload SD - Android app on AppBrain

No idea if it would work for your purpose...it's not entirely clear about that. Just a shot in the dark.

 

[Polaris_999]

Okay, I understand what you're saying. I'll be honest and say it sounds like a not-very-foolproof plan. If I had highly confidential information on my phone it would be encrypted without exception, and of course there would be backups in different places. I certainly would not let anyone use my phone either. I mean, what happens if you lose your phone or it gets stolen? Anyone who gets a hold of it is going to know there's an SD card in it. Not a chance I'd ever take. So much for my sermon.

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but unless they open the phone, if its unmounted, they won't know its there. And for the most part, as the phone is 99.9% of the time in my holster when its not in my grubby little hands or being charged, lost and/or stolen hopefully aren't going to happen. The biggest risk are my kids playing games.... and yes, I have backups of course, these are just the copies I work on while at home, and in most cases, are removed once the work is completed, as I don't wish to keep them on my phone too long.

As to encryption.... I have my concerns as to how "encrypted" they are with apps from the AppMarket...

I can't say I've heard of such an app. Perhaps someone else out here can provide some input. I would suggest that you also check out the forums on xda developers if you haven't already. They seem to be a bit more technically oriented over there and may be able give you an answer. Not to take away from Android Forums mind you.

xda-developers

I saw this on Appbrain:

Reload SD - Android app on AppBrain

No idea if it would work for your purpose...it's not entirely clear about that. Just a shot in the dark.

Yea, I'll check out xda when I get a moment.... and I did see that app you mentioned, but the description sounded vague..... it talks about reloading a card that's already mounted...so I'm not sure...but I'll try it and see....

Thanks again for the quick response! Much appreciated!

 

[w_bovine]

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but unless they open the phone, if its unmounted, they won't know its there. And for the most part, as the phone is 99.9% of the time in my holster when its not in my grubby little hands or being charged, lost and/or stolen hopefully aren't going to happen. The biggest risk are my kids playing games.... and yes, I have backups of course, these are just the copies I work on while at home, and in most cases, are removed once the work is completed, as I don't wish to keep them on my phone too long.

As to encryption.... I have my concerns as to how "encrypted" they are with apps from the AppMarket...



Yea, I'll check out xda when I get a moment.... and I did see that app you mentioned, but the description sounded vague..... it talks about reloading a card that's already mounted...so I'm not sure...but I'll try it and see....

Thanks again for the quick response! Much appreciated!

You're welcome.

Yeah...it is pretty vague in the app description. If it works, or you find something that does, be sure to let us know!

 

[Polaris_999]

You're welcome.

Yeah...it is pretty vague in the app description. If it works, or you find something that does, be sure to let us know!

It didn't work the way I had hoped, as it mounts in a totally different location than the way it mounts when I reboot the phone, meaning, I can't see my files. Unless there's a way to configure its mount point... not sure yet, as I haven't had a chance to really look into it yet.

Its odd....I'm still running Android 2.1 and this version allows me to Unmount, Format, and Mount the internal 16Gb SD Card that comes with the phone, whereas the only options for the external SD Card is Unmount and Format.... no option to Mount! Why the difference in options is beyond me....doesn't make sense. Hopefully Froyo will fix that.... but if not, then hopefully I'll be able to find an app that does!