Help Problem browsing files on Windows XP

[robertjw4688]

I posted this in another thread but thought this warranted another so, so please hear me out:

Whenever i plug my phone into my pc to use as a media device, 2 things pop up under My Computer: Android - Phone and Android - SD Card. Now, when I go to either of these, I can see the folders but when I go into a folder, no files appear even if there should be several in there. This bothers me because I want to export some files to my PC.

I've tried disabling Usb debugging (this makes my pc unable to recognize my phone at all) and reinstalling the Android driver. I've also tried using the Join Me program but it's extremely glitchy and unusable.

Help please?

 

[sonicbluemustang]

Let me guess you have four folders Android, DCIM, Data and gallery3d. These four folders can be seen as a secondary sdcard in your system /mnt/sdcard2/
Perhaps if you r "rooted" you can explore your phone with a file explorer downloaded from the Google Play store such as ES File Explorer or Root Browser. Then copy the files you wish to your sd card.

 

[robertjw4688]

I'm kinda worried about rooting my phone since i don't want to void the warranty. I don't think that would help anyway since i can browse files on my phone fine. It's the pc that can't see the files on the phone or the sd card

 

[sonicbluemustang]

You can always unroot.

 

[robertjw4688]

I've noticed that if i put a file on the sd card, without putting it in a folder, my computer can see it and therefore i can copy the file to it. But if the file is in any folder i cannot because for some reason my computer shows every folder as empty.

 

[sonicbluemustang]

I've noticed that if i put a file on the sd card, without putting it in a folder, my computer can see it and therefore i can copy the file to it. But if the file is in any folder i cannot because for some reason my computer shows every folder as empty.

Now that is strange, I dont see why that would be. I wouldnt put it past it being a windows xp limitation. Can u create a folder with xp on your sd card?

 

[robertjw4688]

Can u create a folder with xp on your sd card?

Nope I've also realized i can't put certain types of files on here from my pc, like .epub or .doc. It said "file type not supported. I just wish it would appear on my computer as a removalable disc instead of an MTP device. Is there any way to do that?

 

[sonicbluemustang]

After googleing ur problem I found this on xda so worth a try
Disable ADB debugging

Install SDrescan from Google Play.
Run it.
If you already had your phone connected to a computer as a media device (MTP) and are watching the contents of your SD card or internal memory in Windows Explorer, press F5 to refresh your view. If not, connect it now.


link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1785408

 

[robertjw4688]

How do i disable ADB debugging? I tried what you suggested and it didn't work.

 

[sonicbluemustang]

Settings/Developer Options/USB debugging
uncheck it

 

[robertjw4688]

Ok did that and followed your instructions. Didn't work.

 

[sonicbluemustang]

Man we need to get you a win7 machine! lol When I had xp I stopped installing them sp packs. maybe this weekend I'll go over to debs and plug mine into her xp machine and see what happens. I'm curious now!!

 

[robertjw4688]

Let me know what happens and if you find a solution.

 

[sonicbluemustang]

O I will, I gave away my XP machine cause it was costing between 50 and 75 dollars a month in electricity for the desktop to run 24-7. Went wireless for everything printer & laptop, Now I'm on 8 only cause my 7 laptop took a dive or should i say vacation when on for more than 15 minutes. I like 7 a whole bunch 8 really smucks with the new ui.
I still say its a xp limitation of some sort. Perhaps even your usb port.

 

[robertjw4688]

I had a Windows 7 laptop that I loved but it crashed. Now I'm stuck with my XP desktop because I can't afford anything else.

Thanks in advance, by the way

 

[sonicbluemustang]

Well I will say that now XP suxs I could not get my phone to do anything on Debs pc. I did get it to see what looked like a USB drive but couldn't access it at all. It did say I needed a High Speed USB Controller for the device but thats all. It was pretty gay, pardon my french.

 

[Golono]

It likely is an issue with Windows XP. The problem is how the OS identifies your device. It is probably due to the fact that XP can't recognize the partitioning of the phone. Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) is a file system protocol. It allows the OS to recognize various file types. Make sure that you have the latest version of Windows Media Player (WMP 10 or up should be fine). MTP is within WMP's framework which is why you need WMP. Also, try checking for updates to XP. Having the latest Service Pack is also important. Make sure that you have USB Debugging off.

After updating or installing the latest version of WMP, disconnect your phone from your computer and then restart your computer. When it boots back up, plug your phone back in. Finally, make sure that you select 'Media Transfer' on your phone when asked which connection type.

EDIT: If ^ doesn't work, you could always go the WIFI route. I found a guide that can assist you with setting this up if you are interested. LINK

 

[robertjw4688]

Glorious day! Put the new version of WMP my pc then reinstalled the ZTE drivers and now it works like it's supposed to! Thank you!

One last question: it doesn't give me an option to eject the disk and I've tried running the ejectdisk.exe on the phone, and it gives me an "incorrect parameters" error. Is there anywhere i can download it? Would it be safe to remove it regardless?

 

[sonicbluemustang]

Glorious day! Put the new version of WMP my pc then reinstalled the ZTE drivers and now it works like it's supposed to! Thank you!

Awesome this is good to know. I am going to upgrade Debs pc to Vista this weekend maybe so hopefully it will cure some of her probs too.

 

[Golono]

Glorious day! Put the new version of WMP my pc then reinstalled the ZTE drivers and now it works like it's supposed to! Thank you!

One last question: it doesn't give me an option to eject the disk and I've tried running the ejectdisk.exe on the phone, and it gives me an "incorrect parameters" error. Is there anywhere i can download it? Would it be safe to remove it regardless?

No problem. Glad to see that things are finally working.

As far as ejecting goes, don't worry about it. When your phone is connected to your computer, it is connected as a MTP device. That's why you don't have en eject option. Thus, it isn't exactly "mounted" to your computer. It is a bit more complicated than that and has to do with how your phone identifies itself but lets keep it simple . Unplugging the phone is fine. Just make sure you aren't copying anything when you do so.

Last Note: XP isn't that bad. The problem is that technology has continued to advance while XP has remained the same. Luckily, Microsoft threw in MTP before calling it quits with XP. The only reason the later versions of Windows don't have this compatibility issue is because they natively include MTP. Besides, XP isn't as bloated as Vista/7/8.

 

[KagomeKagome]

I hate to resurrect an old thread, but I hate to post a new one, too, when my question is related. My husband is at a loss for getting our XP laptop (our only PC at the moment, I'm afraid) to recognize this phone. He tried installing the drivers via the phone. They installed, but My Computer shows nothing. I tried the XP drivers someone uploaded a few threads up on here, and still nothing. Not sure what version of WMP is on our machine, but I do know XP is up to date with SPs. Out of curiosity, could an older version of WMP cause our issue or is something else going on? Any ideas?

 

[sonicbluemustang]

wmp 11 would be the latest
Download Windows Media Player Free

 

[KagomeKagome]

That's the version we have. Still can't get it to pick up the drivers for this phone. I'm out of ideas. Help?

 

[JuanSuar]

I got this error when I tried to transfer files from my PC. And found that my PC in WinXP seams to be not good enough, perhaps a drivers problem for my Galaxy S5. The solution was FTP application in my PC and allowing (with ES File Manager' the 'Remote control' on the phone. This is bad thing, given that my old Galaxy Y was working fine with USB connected, this is why I said 'perhaps drivers'.
BUT then using a Windows 7 PC (best I got) all was fine with USB connected for 'File transfers'. All files vissibles, and all transfers of any type without a problem.