[Channeal]

Hello there.

 

I recently updated my Android phone to a newer model (both phones are Sony Xperias).

 

I had a 16GB SD card in my old phone and I was thinking of transferring it to the new phone, as it has music on it. It also has some apps on it though and I don't want those as I have downloaded all the apps I want directly. Would you recommend that I delete everything from the SD card and then start from scratch again with the music, or is it possible to easily get rid of the apps only?

 

I haven't tried inserting the card into my new phone yet as I don't want to mess everything up!

 

Many thanks,

 

Chris.

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I'd make a copy of the old SD to a new SD, then insert the new one into the new phone. That way you still have the original.

[SpywareDr]

I'd make a copy of the old SD to a new SD, then insert the new one into the new phone. That way you still have the original.

[Channeal]

Sorry, but I am not 100% sure why you said that.

 

I don't have a second SD card, but do not really understand what the advantage of having another identical one would be.

 

And if I copied everything over to a new card, I would still have the same problem I mentioned originally of having all the apps on there - which I no longer need, as have downloaded them directly from the Play Store.

 

I am thinking the best solution would probably be to delete everything including the music and then put the music back again. Hopefully now I have more storage space (which I was very short of on my previous phone) there will be no need to put any apps on the SD card and I can keep it for music only.

 

Thanks for your help anyway.

[SpywareDr]

SD cards are NOT very reliable. Of course, if you don't care about your stuff on there, then it doesn't really matter. But if it's important, do yourself a favor and create at least one backup copy.

 

Once you  mount the SD card in the new phone, you can then delete the apps and their folders to free up space.

 

PS - 16GB micro SD cards run ~$5 (USD)

Edited by SpywareDr, 18 August 2018 - 02:20 PM.

[Channeal]

Apologies for the delay in replying, SpywareDr. Mail from GTG usually goes straight into a GTG folder - but on this occasion it went into the Spam folder instead, so I thouight you hadn't replied.

 

The music on my SD card isn't vital at it is music primarily stored on my computer, I just like to play some of it on my phone too. I put it on the SD card because I was drastically short of space on my old phone. I have more space now, but it seems like a good idea to keep the music on the card.

 

When I first wrote my original post, I had forgotten that I have got an SD card reader, so I can probably use that to delete everything other than the music. If I do put the card in my phone with the programs still on it though, will it cause problems that the programs are duplicates of the ones I have downloaded onto the new phone?

 

Thanks for your help.

[SpywareDr]

No worries about the delay.

 

Inserting a card with programs on it will not "cause problems", (unless you then try to run them of course). Simply use the Operating Systems' File Manager to delete, move, copy (or ignore) those folders.

[Channeal]

I have been busy and have only just got around to looking at this again

 

I have put the card in my card reader so that I can view it on my laptop. Can I just delete everything apart from the music folder? I have no idea what is in all the other folders or where the programs can be found.

 

Many thanks.

 

 

[SpywareDr]

On older versions of Android, the ".android_secure" folder contains apps which have been moved to an external SD card. Android 6.0 and up use "adoptable storage" where the external SD card and internal storage are merged to create more space. More info here: https://android.stac...le-storage/info

The folder beginning with ".HhTjq" is a temporary folder that for some reason has not been deleted yet.

"ALBUMS" contains Photo Albums on some phones I've run across.

"DCIM" (Digital Camera IMages) contains photos taken by the phones camera.

"Download" contains files that you have downloaded.

"LOST.DIR" is a system folder where the Android OS places files that were recovered during a system boot up (ie when you turn on your phone). It is analogous to the 'Recycle Bin' under Windows OS. The files which are stored inside this directory are often recoverable.

"MEDIAGO" is often seen on Sony products. More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_Go

"Movies" contains movies, videos, etc.

"Pictures" contains picture files other than those stored in the DCIM folder.

If you are going to ever be using that card back in the phone it came out of, recommend leaving those last two 'xml' files alone, (as well as the '.android_secure' folder).