Lost dir android file recovery. Solving the problem with files on the memory card. Is it allowed to delete a folder

At the first glance at the contents of the memory of the Android device, the owner mobile device draws attention to the mysterious inscription "LOST DIR". Not everyone knows what it is for. There are hypotheses that it is an analogue of the basket in Windows, but this is far from the case. Also "LOST DIR" is not the result of virus applications. "LOST DIR" appears if Android turns on "File System Check" and places in the folder the lost files that appear when removing the CD-card during the data saving process. It usually does not take up much space, however, over time, its volume can increase. You can easily enter it to view the content.

Android OS is developed on the basis of "Linux" technology, and it has a special file recovery function. Similarly, in "Windows" from Microsoft also has a similar special function- "chkdisk". ...

What is the purpose of the directory?

It does not appear during normal operation of the device. It is needed for temporary storage of files in case of removing the memory card during the incomplete copying process.

But there are other reasons as well. Sometimes the folder appears as a result of Android crashes. For example, when the device is turned off while the file process is active or because the system freezes. So this functionality is necessary for analyzing the disk and its result is stored in a specially designated part of the memory.

Can you delete a folder?

Secondly, if important data has not disappeared from the SD-memory and there is no need to restore files, then you can proceed to the elimination process.

Safe removal of "LOST DIR"

Basically, it lacks important files for the Android OS. It is possible to remove it safely by using file manager... This operation will not damage the system. It should be noted that if there is a repeated completion of data copying, interrupted by the user, the directory will appear again.

One of the most frequent questions for novice users is what is the LOST.DIR folder on a USB flash drive Android phone and whether it can be removed. A rarer question is how to recover files from this folder on a memory card.

If the LOST.DIR folder on your Android memory card takes up a lot of space, while all important data is safe, and the phone is working properly, you can safely delete it. The folder itself will then be restored, and its contents will be empty. This will not lead to any negative consequences. Also, if you do not plan to use this flash drive in your phone, feel free to delete the folder: it was probably created when it was connected to Android and is no longer needed.

However, if you find that some files that you copied or transferred between the memory card and internal storage or from the computer to Android and back have disappeared, and the LOST.DIR folder is full, you can try to restore its contents, usually it is relatively easy.

How to recover files from LOST.DIR

Despite the fact that the files in the LOST.DIR folder have obscure names, restoring their contents is a relatively easy task, since they are usually intact copies of the original files.

For recovery, you can use the following approaches:

Easily rename files and add desired extension... In most cases, the folder contains photo files (just assign the .jpg extension to open them) and video files (usually .mp4). Where is the photo, and where is the video can be determined by the size of the files. And you can rename files at once as a group, many file managers can do this. Mass renaming with a change of extension is supported, for example, by X-Plore File Manager and ES Explorer (I recommend the first one, for more details :).
Use data recovery apps on Android itself. Almost any utility can handle such files. For example, if you assume that there are photos, you can use.
If you have the opportunity to connect a memory card to a computer via a card reader, then you can use any, even the simplest ones, should cope with the task and find out what exactly the files from the LOST.DIR folder contain.

I hope the instruction was useful for some of the readers. If any problems remain or you cannot perform the required actions, describe the situation in the comments, I will try to help.

Quite often, many owners of Android devices, when viewing the contents of an internal drive or removable media (SD-card) using file managers, come across the LOST.DIR directory. What kind of folder is in front of us in this case, let's try to figure it out. Finally, there are some tips on whether to delete, move or rename it.

LOST.DIR - what kind of folder: main purpose

If you look at the files contained on the memory card or in the absence of one, the incomprehensible LOST.DIR folder immediately catches your eye. Not all users have a clear idea of the role it plays.

Let's see what's what. First of all, it should be noted that operating system Android is essentially built on the principle of Linux, which had (and is) a dedicated file recovery or disk check fsck command.

By analogy, Windows also has such a system command. This is chkdisk. And it is not only a due diligence tool, as most users think.

As already clear, the command itself is designed to check a disk or logical partition, but the result is saved in a strictly defined place. Almost the same is observed in the case of the LOST.DIR directory. What kind of folder is created in sections? Yes, just a file storage in which copies of objects are created if a user, for example, for some reason retrieves a map from a mobile device. Roughly speaking, this is a kind

By the way, the same applies to removing the SIM card from the smartphone when it is temporarily deactivated Account Google. But many probably noticed that after changing the number, but when logging in with your username and password, some files are restored quickly and in full.

That is why the LOST.DIR folder on Android can be empty and take up to hundreds of megabytes or more. Probably, it is not worth explaining that everything depends only on how many user files are, and in internal memory device, and in the memory of the removable card.

Why is the LOST.DIR folder created and where is it located?

The folder itself is not initially created during normal operation of an Android device. As mentioned above, the system creates such a temporary storage and places objects there when the cards are retrieved. However, this is not the only reason.

In some cases, the directory can be created automatically in case of system failures, for example, in the process of copying files, turning off the device with some active process with files, or simply when the operating system itself hangs.

Actually, the directory itself is created only in two root directories: either on internal storage(if the use of the card is not provided), or the same folder on the SD card. Moreover, each of them is solely responsible for the data stored on each of the above devices.

LOST.DIR folder on a USB flash drive or internal drive: safe deletion

Basically, after looking at the size of the directory, many users decide to get rid of it. But here you should pay attention to the fact that you should not underestimate the role of this folder. Sometimes when using the default settings rather than manually selecting a location, backups system or user data can be saved here.

Therefore, before you start deleting a folder, you need to check its contents - you never know, or maybe the necessary files are saved there, which will be simply impossible to recover later. Applications can be restored from the same service Google play (Play Market, Android Market). But if the user's files or the same contact book were registered on one of the two storage media with the subsequent deletion of data from the SIM card, then you will have to think about the expediency of such operations.

So we figured out a little about the LOST.DIR directory. What kind of folder and why it is created, I think, is already clear. Now a few words about deletion. By and large, if it does not contain any critical data both for the system and for the user, it can be “demolished” quite simply, using any file manager or the system's own tools for this. Nothing bad will happen. It is worth noting here only that when repeating situations related to incorrect work or forced termination file processing processes, the folder will be recreated automatically. The user does not even know about this (the system does not give notifications about this, but works in the background).

Conclusion

Now it is already at least a little clear what the LOST.DIR folder means and what it is for. As you can see, there will be nothing particularly critical in removing it irrevocably. But this should be done only if the data in it to the owner mobile gadget not necessary, as well as backing up files and folders or creating system images for later recovery.

So, good afternoon, dear readers of the Fans-Android site. In this article I will try to tell you how to deal with the problems of files and folders disappearing from the memory card and what to do if different audio and video players partially cannot see the files written to the memory card.

Let's first look at the LOST.DIR folder - why is it filling up? This directive is created when Android launches File System ChecK (analogous to Windows Chkdsk) and searches for lost file chains. These files appear if you pull out the memory card at the moment when something will be written to it. After all, Windows tries to write files using the caching mechanism. When you unplug the cable, the contents of the cache will not have time to successfully appear on the disk and these files are considered to be defective. After the device is disconnected from the computer, Android launches scanned maps and detects such "broken" files, and then they are automatically moved to the LOST.DIR folder.

Now let's start looking at the issue from a practical point of view. First of all, so that you do not have such problems, you should always select "Safely Remove" before disconnecting the device from the computer, and then in the device itself already "Disconnect USB storage" (the name may differ slightly, depending on model and firmware of the device).

In addition, it is worth checking the memory card regularly using the ScanDisk application - after all, the problem may lie in the memory card itself. Try to format it and, following the advice above, write files to it.

How do I format it?

To completely format the card on the phone, you will need to go along the path: Menu-Settings-Memory-Unmount memory card (Eject card) -Clear card-Connect SD card (names may vary slightly depending on the phone model).
Also, there is an option to format using a computer with a choice of different cluster sizes.
Format using the special SD Formatter application or the Hard Disk Low Level Format Tool. This is the so-called "low-level" formatting.

You can also try changing the cache on the memory card using the ® SD Speed Increase application. If formatting does not help, then it is worth trying to replace the card with another option. There is also a situation when the files you have recorded are visible on the computer, but they are not displayed on the device. In this case, check if there is a .nomedia file in the folder where they were written. If there is, remove it immediately.

If the files that were recorded there disappear from your memory card

We have noticed that some of the files may be missing due to installed applications... Try to remove the last ones from installed programs, after which you noticed the given problem.
There is a solution to the problem using the QuickPic gallery. From the menu, select Show hidden folders"- the thumbnails folder, which may contain missing photos and video files.
If none of the suggested methods helped you, try doing a factory reset - this may help with identifying whether the problem was in the program or in the firmware - which is also quite likely.
Try updating the firmware version.

If your music player does not see most of the audio files

Try looking at the length of the file name, and whether it contains any characters (punctuation marks, etc.). If the titles are too long, try shortening them. In some cases, this procedure has been helpful.
If there are a large number of files, and they are all in the same folder, then most of them may not be displayed. Try to distribute them into several folders, approximately equally.
Go to Settings - Applications - Manage applications - Applications, find the item "Media storage" and select "Clear data".
If you are using a standard player, then try installing any of the third-party custom application catalogs on your smartphone.
Also, formatting the memory card often helps in solving this problem.