Unable to copy files to SD

Hardware Librem 5
1

ISSUE:
I need to shore up space on the “31 GB Disk” by moving some files to a SD Card defined as “SD Card Reader” as described by using “Disk”

There doesn’t seem to be a easy way, if we can at all, to copy or move files to extra ‘drive’.

To clarify, when I received the phone and took it to a outlet to fall prey to being ‘connected’, I asked for extra space and they sold me a tiny -card- and installed it.
The 64g card has not been used for storage yet, but shows “Generic Ultra HS-SD/MMC” (2.09) and under “Volumes” with black text on a dark dark blue background is barely legible but I think it says “No Media”.

Using “Disks” and seeing the 64g ‘card reader’, I tried the hamburger/wrench/3 bars and “Format” and other options are all grayed out.

PROBLEM:
I let a update do it’s thing and it hung at one point with a lengthy error that I can read only the center because first ¼ is off screen to the left, I can see the middle ½ with the remaining ¼ offside to the right.

I cannot use the screen cap until I free up space - I guess.

~s

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Larger capacity SD cards / SD cards these days often come pre-formatted with an exfat file system, which may or may not work Linux and more likely than not is not what you would want with Linux unless interoperability with Windows is a requirement.

Suggestion: Power down the Librem 5, remove the µSD card, put the card in a big computer with a big screen, where you can establish whether or not the card works / is formatted / what file system is on the card / format the card with a file system (I suggest ext4).

Regardless though, you have to be selective about what files you move from the main eMMC disk of the Librem 5 to the µSD card. You would need first to establish what application is using a file that you want to move and whether and how that application supports moving the file / having the file in a different location.

As an example of low-hanging fruit: I put all my music files on the µSD card (from Day 1) and the application, Lollypop, is quite happy to be directed to the µSD card to find music.

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It would help me to see a screenshot if/once you are able to get one. In the meantime, this is the relevant documentation published so far:

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My SSD verses your SD - what’s the difference and why edit it - is it misleading or something?

It will take me some time and care enough to care about the hassle - Remember -0 I’m not a hobbyist - just a person needing a digital phone - like plug and play - only tab and go.

The only thing I’d save there is images. Just remembered, I’m low on space - ergo the need to know.

Is formatting “ext4” the reason Windows freaks if I plug a USB stick in to Windows and check it. I have saved things from my PureOS workstation to USB drive and some can be read on Windows, some not. I need remember which is stick x Windows and which is by PureOS I guess.

Thanks Irvine -

5

In normal usage, they are radically different.

SD and actually µSD card in the Librem 5, and theoretically SD stands for Secure Digital.

SSD The nature of a solid state drive varies substantially depending on the interface (SATA, NVMe, USB, …).

It is technically the case that an SD card is one type of SSD, among many.

Possibly. The internet says that if you install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows - and there is some suggestion that you need, specifically, WSL2 rather than WSL1 - then Windows can read ext4.

If interoperability between Windows and Linux is a key goal then choice of file system is important and will depend on your exact requirements. For example, if file content is important but file metadata is not so important and individual file sizes are not outlandish (below 4GB) then the FAT file system can be the best choice to achieve interoperability, as ancient as FAT may be.

It is also the case that sometimes the local network is an easier way to move files around (once set up) rather than using so-called sneakernet.

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hi all! :slight_smile:

syncthing is a nice cross platform and human friendly solution for syncing folders between machines, i use it in place of data cable and what not…

for info:

installer for windows:
https://github.com/Bill-Stewart/SyncthingWindowsSetup/releases/download/v2.0.0/syncthing-windows-setup.exe

only cuz linking a random .exe file (for convenience) isnt really a nice thing (for trust), it is an officially blessed syster project, and i did:
Downloads → Syncthing Windows Setup → Releases → syncthing-windows-setup.exe (below v2.0.0)
i have read its docs and installed it on my dad’s machine, so i can tell u that there is nothing to think about when u do the installation, just a typical “next next next install” is fine

on linux, it is the regular process, on android, there is a “syncthing fork” (named something like so, i can help if this info is insufficient :smiley: ), use that, ask for reasons if u want to…

then u need to exchange identities of machines, validate the identities at both sides to ensure secure connection, add folders, share them with known machines… both machines should be online in the same time, it solves very well anything for the transport, like it has post quantum security and it wont go to the internet if u have machines on the same local network and whatever… default settings are basically fine, backup strategy, filtering, sharing file permissions, and telling whether the other end can manipulate the contents are the most interesting ones…

my other gem for the purpose is sshfs, which probably is a linux only tool, but it allows to see any folder of remote machines as if they were part of your local filesystem… the other downside is that it takes some extra work to give devices stable identities in order to make ssh (used by sshfs) happy, and u can either use static ip addresses which takes messing with various router firmware settings (similar feeling to messing with bios/uefi settings, it is always something specific to vendor/product/version, where u should know the field instead of simply getting instant recipes), or set up mdns, which is similar to naming bluetooth devices where u need to ensure that u connect to the right device… with bluetooth, if no other device says its name is Bob, then u hit it, and then security is built up for the future when it becomes a known device, and with ssh, u need to check and save a public key of the other machine in order to have a secure connection to the right host, so mdns in itself isnt secure, but it can be secured… i can help more or less if u are interested, but i rolled my own mdns solution (based on mdnsd) which would need to be aligned to systemd (that u use, but i dont), which is an option, or others here can probably help u with setting up any common mdns solution like avahi or mdnsresponder… or it is also an option to change the identity of the remote host in your config, which isnt automagic, but it is simple enough to do it manually… so, tell me/us if u are interested in utilizing this…

bests! :slight_smile:

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OK. I read a lot on their site - now to make a step x step for myself - I call it my roadmap to destruction. :sweat_smile:

I am in a holding pattern while I wait to see how Sam$ is going to honour the warranty - especially when it is a out-of-box hardware issue. Meanwhile, I have another updating problem with my L5. :sob:

~s

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feel free to ask about syncthing, i mastered it mostly, and i like it! :smiley: mastering ssh/sshfs is a bigger task, it has a lot to read, understand, set up, and utilize for the best experience, but starting to use it is simple otherwise, especially with personalized help instead of reading all of its documentation…

do u mean that u r waiting for samsung and a new sd card, which is a roadblock?

btw i didnt dare to start to teach u about storage devices and filesystems, as i spent much of the last 6 years with the topic (happy anniversary for my 1st big data loss :smiley: ), and i do anything related from terminal, but feel free to ask, if u dare… :smiley:

librem5 stuff… there are so many ppl around here who can help u more than i could, but that probably takes a new topic and some error messages that u have…

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