Storage to use with Tablet.{Large}

[casualbiker]

O.K---

I've got it all wired up.A little sign pops up and says an external hard drive has been added and dissapears.

Then I open COMPUTER(the app that looks like windows)but there is no sign of the new USB.

So the problem now is either software or me.

Don't let me down now guys we've come so far and are so close to the end.

You need to download a decent file explorer from Play store .. check it does USB OTG. Personally I used Nexus Media importer. It's a paid for app but cheap.. you can check if it works by trying Nexus photo viewer (just ensure you have a JPG on your drive)

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[bino]

You said earlier that you were able to connect everything in the sequence that I described. If this is true, you don't need anything else.

You also say that the tablet will recognize the OTG and a 2 GB flash drive. Were you able to open the flash drive and see the the files on it?

I would be inclined to try as stated above- try some other file management apps. But- if you were able to see the files on the flash disk, whatever yo are using should be good enough.

So- lets break this down:

You know the hard disk and cable work- proven with your computer when you loaded the files.

You know the OTG works- proven with the flash drive.

You know the file manager app and tablet work- proven with the flash drive and OTG cable.

Therefore, the powered USB hub is the problem in the chain. And for this I am not surprised. They have been hit-and-miss for me. I tried several before finding one that works adequately.

I hate to be the type to say I told you so... but you really should have spent the extra thousand and bought the disk I suggested which had internal power and would have worked right out of the box. You are likely to spend that thousand now in time, aggravation and USB hubs.

[chiangrai]

O.k..

I tried the Nexus file system Casual biker recommended,there is a free trial version but it said no USB is connected.

So Bino must be right the problem is the hub.I wasted 450bht could be worse.

The 1700bht I spent on the HDD was money well spent as I would hate to loose the stuff on my laptop.

So two ways to go from here the expensive and the cheap.

The expensive being the internally powered disk that Bino recommended.

Can you send me any links or prices for these please.

The cheap route would be to come to terms with not being able to take all of my 250GB files with me and buy the biggest USB flash drive stick that the tablet would run.How many GBs would that be and how much would it cost.

[casualbiker]

O.k..

I tried the Nexus file system Casual biker recommended,there is a free trial version but it said no USB is connected.

So Bino must be right the problem is the hub.I wasted 450bht could be worse.

The 1700bht I spent on the HDD was money well spent as I would hate to loose the stuff on my laptop.

So two ways to go from here the expensive and the cheap.

The expensive being the internally powered disk that Bino recommended.

Can you send me any links or prices for these please.

The cheap route would be to come to terms with not being able to take all of my 250GB files with me and buy the biggest USB flash drive stick that the tablet would run.How many GBs would that be and how much would it cost.

Look back at the picture I posted.. look at the Y shaped double USB cable .. that's what you need .. then just plug into phone charger to power harddrive.

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[casualbiker]

He you go!

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[kkerry]

Try this little test and see what happens.

Your 2GB flash drive. If you have anything you need to keep on it then first save to your computer. Then, in Windows, go to My Computer and right click on the drive and select Format. Select NTFS and tick Quick Format, then click Start. This will erase all the content on the drive. It will only take a minute to format. When done, copy over a few files. Now try connecting it again with your OTG cable to your tablet. You said your flash drive worked before so let's see if it still does. If it no longer works then maybe the problem is the file format because your external hard disk will most likely be NTFS also. ES File Manager is another free app you can also test in (might already be on your tablet). If you can't get it to work then there is an app from Paragon I've read that people use for NFTS drives on Android.

[chiangrai]

Casualbiker,

Where can you find these cables.

I see them on ebay -USB 2.0 A male to A male power and sink Y cable for 2.5 inch HDD cables.

Some are USB 3.0 and some have a micro male.Can you give me some advice on which one to choose and where to buy one

[chiangrai]

Kkerry,

I did your "little" test.

A tiny tab comes on the desktop saying USB data non-readable.

I changed from FAT something to NFTS.

Can you tell me where to find this Paragon app.

Could I change all files on the hard drive to Fat or is that a stupid question.

What a mega post of ups and downs this has turned out to be.

Thanks to all who are helping especially the regulars

[kkerry]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paragon.mounter&hl=en

That's the app, have a read, but it requires root access which I don't think you have.

I've seen a few videos with people hooking up hard disks to tablets and phones but I'm fairly sure they were rooted or maybe very high end phones. As to changing files on the hard drive to FAT 32, what you need to do is format the drive (not the files) and then copy over the files again. FAT 32 is old and has some limitations like length of file names. I don't think you can format a 500GB hard drive to FAT 32 without using some third party software like Partition Magic.

Unless someone here has successfully hooked up a external hard drive to a standard (unrooted) tablet or phone and can tell you where you are going wrong, then I would go back to what a few of us suggested long, long ago and that was micro SD cards... limited to 32GB on your tablet I believe. I will have access to an A1000 tablet in a few weeks time so might see if I can play around with it a bit but I think it's really a case of how many hoops you are prepared to jump through to get it all to work. Those dual USB cables are not so easy to find I think other than on eBay. I was looking for one the other day to fit my external drive and couldn't find one that would connect to my case but maybe I didn't look hard enough.

I think your original requirement was to play a "few" videos on short trips away but that has turned in to trying to substitute a tablet for a laptop... tablets are great, but they do have their limitations otherwise why would anyone buy a laptop anymore. If nothing else, you and a few of us reading your threads have learnt a few things.

[kkerry]

http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/12992/12/index.html

These are now becoming more available, USB drives designed to plug in direct to OTG enabled devices. The SanDisk model is in Bangkok shops now. There have been a number of different companies releasing them recently but the SanDisk one is all I've seen here. Adata have one that is a better design imo so I will get one in Singapore soon to try out.

[chiangrai]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-USB-2-0-A-Male-to-A-Male-Power-Sync-Y-Cable-for-2-5-inch-HDD-Cables-/291005939700?pt=US_USB_Cables_Hubs_Adapters&hash=item43c14e3ff4

[chiangrai]

Kkerry,

what do you think of the cable above.

That flashdrive is interesting.

Did you see the 64GB option at the bottom.

I must get he missus to read why it has a star on it unlike the others

[kkerry]

http://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adapters-c1/usb-c449/usb-3-0-c451/1m-usb-3-0-dual-power-cable-2-x-type-a-to-micro-b-p6678

I was looking for this one without any luck at my usual outlets. I need a Micro-B connector for my USB 3.0 hard disk case. I was only after one to try with a tablet to see if I could make it work, probably wouldn't really use it much when I travel as I find many medium range hotels in Asia now have TVs you can plug an external hard disk straight in.

Not all tablets are compatible with 64GB flash drives, many cheaper ones support only up to 32GB so check carefully before buying a 64GB version if you want it to use with your Lenovo. I only saw 16GB and 32GB versions in the shops here the other day as they have just been released here.

Edited February 8, 2014 by kkerry

[chiangrai]

Yep,

It looks like my best option now that I have an OTG cable is to get a flash drive and put the 450bht for the hub down to experience.

[casualbiker]

CR. What connector is it to the Hard drive. Is it a standard USB. If yes. Then that cable you listed will be fine.

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[bino]

The expensive being the internally powered disk that Bino recommended.

Can you send me any links or prices for these please.

This is the one I referred to previously.

http://www.invadeit.co.th/product/external-hard-drives/toshiba/canvio-desk-2tb-desktop-external-hard-drive-black-p016945/

3090 THb, but 2 GB. Only 300 THB more than 1 GB model.

[casualbiker]

http://www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/12992/12/index.html

These are now becoming more available, USB drives designed to plug in direct to OTG enabled devices. The SanDisk model is in Bangkok shops now. There have been a number of different companies releasing them recently but the SanDisk one is all I've seen here. Adata have one that is a better design imo so I will get one in Singapore soon to try out.

If you want to keep it REALLY small AND have the capability of extra space then a Meenova is also an opinion.

http://www.meenova.com

So with this you could have a 32g SD card in the device and use the Meenovo for another 32g SD card (possibly 64g) but reading around on the net your device will only recognise 32g.

It's also very easy to change the SD cards on the Meenovo.

I have a brand new spare one if your interested? Pm me.

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Edited February 8, 2014 by casualbiker

[kkerry]

Haven't seen that before, nice idea. I've looked at a few of the different new OTG flash drives and a selling point for the Adata is how you can use different flash drives with it (not just the supplied Adata) as well as connect a mouse and other USB stuff. The advantage I'd expect a OTG flash drive to have over a micro-SD card is speed. A 32GB flash drive should be much quicker than a 32GB micro-SD card if transferring large files. Interesting how they support Chinese Xiaomi phones. They would sell well in Thailand if people weren't so brand name conscious. Played with their MI3 the other day. Best $300-350 phone by a mile but the owner wasn't happy with it... wanted an iPhone...

[casualbiker]

Kkerry. That Adata is a nice idea.. found them on the net here in Thailand.

http://www.thaiandroidphone.com/thread-49470-1-1.html

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[chiangrai]

I will leave you guys at it.

I have only one last queston.

When I buy the cheapest 32GB flash drive stick to use with my OTG cable.

Need I be worried if it is USB 2.0 or 3.0.

The power drive is still useful as it will charge my tablet and my electronic cigarette at the same time.

The last hotel I stayed in in Laos had one electric socket which the fan was plugged into.I had to carry an electric 3 socket extension cable so I could plug in the fan,bring my lap top wire to the bed and charge my e-cigerette at the same time.All strapped to my motorbike only my laptop was on my back,but still.................

So I've lost the electric multi socket extension cable,my laptop and two chargers.

Now I have a 7 inch tablet a power hub,a flash drive and a OTG cable and no chargers.

Every cloud has a silver lineing.

Please don't forget my last question.When I buy a flash drive is the USB 2.0 or 3.0 an issue

[casualbiker]

Nope

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[Langsuan Man]

USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 make no difference since 3.0 is backward compatible. But if your desktop / laptop ( I don't want to go back 5 pages of posts to find out which) is USB 3.0 enabled, getting a 3.0 flash drive would be worth it since loading media to the flash drive is substantially faster using the 3.0 standard

But be warned a 32GB 3.0 flash drive is going to be almost twice the price of a 2.0 flash drive

[kkerry]

Just an update...

I purchased the SanDisk 32Gb Dual USB drive I mentioned previously (Sing $30) and tested it with a Lenovo A1000 tablet that in the specs supports OTG. Plugged it in, went to the file explorer and there it was without having to do anything like installing drivers. Was able to play some movies I copied to it without a problem. It's not particularly fast, as fast as an micro SD card I suppose. In Singapore I couldn't find my first choice AData drive anywhere despite it being listed at a few retailers. Some places had the Sandisk and I later saw a Sony version (SD36) and an Imation version (SD44). The main downside I see is you can't play and charge at the same time, unlike an micro SD card, however if you want to transfer something to another OTG phone or tablet as simply as possible then it's a handy product.