How to Enable ‘Mass Storage” on Your Lumia 800
WARNING from llaadd: Before you even consider doing this, please note it is not recommended as WP7 was specifically designed not to work in mass storage mode because of issues when used in this way. Known issues include: media not showing on your phone properly and reduced responsiveness. Nokia and Microsoft are well aware of Mass Storage mode and they would have enabled it, if they felt it were viable for this OS.
Mass storage mode as most of you Symbian users know is when you connect your phone to your PC and use it similarly to an external hard-drive, which enables you to drag and drop files without the need for a third party software (such as Nokia Suite, Zune, iTunes etc…). Now apparently this isn’t a regular option on the Lumia 800 (possibly all WP devices- seeing as I haven’t tried any so I don’t know exactly).
The kind folks over at ‘NokiaBuff.com’ have figured out a workaround that enables you to drag and drop music, videos and other files to your Lumia 800 without the need to use Zune, now the main advantage of this is that it’s MUCH faster than transferring files through the program itself. Below are the steps with screen-shots (courtesy of LoveMyNokia.com).
*Note: according to the source this will work for Music & Video but any music files transferred are grouped under “Unkown Album” (perhaps a problem with the metadata transfer?)
Note 2: I haven’t actually tried this considering the lack of a 800 but according to the source and tipster it should work so good luck.
Here are the steps to get it done in your Lumia 800.
Step 1 :
Open Registry Editor by typing “ regedit ” in start bar or in Run tool.
Step 2:
In the Left Pane click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and find a folder tree called SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Enum and then USB.
Step 3:
Press Ctrl + F or click Find in Edit Menu at the Menu Bar and search for “ZuneDriver” make sure USB folder is selected before searching.
Step 4:
It will find Zune Driver inside a folder tree called as VID_045E&PID_04EC&MI_00 . Just ignore all the stuffs and click Device Parametres folder tree.
P.S : Before we proceed rightclick Device Parameters and click Export in case if something goes wrong this will restore the registry to old state
.
Step 5 :
When you click Device Parameters in the right pane it will display the registry values under it.
Step 6:
Registry editing begins now
In the right pane double-click the registry value called
- ShowInShell and change its value from 0 to 1 .
- PortableDeviceNameSpaceExcludeFromShell and change its value from 1 to 0 .
- EnableLegacySupport from 0 to 1 .
Make sure these three values are changed. Just close the registry editor and it will save those values.Step 7:Remove the Lumia 800 and re-insert it again. You will see two portable devices in My Computer with a Storage capacity of 13.3GB. Now you can transfer your songs, pictures and videos to the Lumia without using Zune.This trick consists of some drawbacks such as music added via this hack will show as unknown album in Music app.
But in our test the picture and video transfers to the device worked without any problem. Just make sure you copy the compatible formats to play in Lumia 800. This hack is faster that Zune as you can see the files pop up in gallery or video player as you begin to transfer.Dont forget to eject device before removing the usb cable.
Category: Applications, How to:, Nokia, Windows Phone
About the Author (Author Profile)
Heyyo, names Ali- Currently a third year Dental Student from Chicago; studying in Jordan. I love all sorts of gadgets (Have = Green Nokia N8, Cyan Lumia 800, Black N9; Want: White 808 & Stromtrooper Lumia 900- yes I'm greedy) oh and cookies.. don't forget the cookies. Follow my twitter handle '@AliQudsi' - no pressure. Thanks.Subscribe
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Sites That Link to this Post
- How to Enable USB Mass Storage Mode in Nokia Lumia 800 | Techstic | December 15, 2011
- Why Free Ipod Music Downloads Matter | My PC World | February 14, 2012
- boLT on Software » Blog Archive » WP7 – Enable Mass Storage Access | February 27, 2012
as i said its the same thing. Instead of opening explorer i open zune and send the files i want.
And on zune i have them better organized with albums arts etc
so mass storage for me is overrated
zune is not itunes
iTunes is a shi** piece of software, once you installed it on a Core2Duo device, then expect a Pentium-3 performance from it… :S
I value the ability to connect my devices to any USB supporting computer system and move around arbitrary files without restrictions.
Different strokes and all that jazz.
I’m always a little surprised how happy people are to be in a walled garden with limited options.
Zune is the same as iTunes in its function. It only allows media transfer and it dictates what formats you can use.
Mass storage is hassle-free, allows transfer of any file and is much quicker.
Saying that it’s the same thing is silly, because it’s not.
i prefer to have some limitations if that means i am using a hasssle free smooth OS
and i dont see the mass storage as a limitation
i can drag and drop if i want with zune
i can sync through wifi without touching the phone nor the pc
i can sync my files through skydrive using the 25gb
i have many GBs of music on skydrive and download what i want in my phone or i can stream them if i am near a wifi
etc…
What happens when you don’t have access to Skydrive? No wifi? You’re screwed then.
Zune may be ok for some people in certain scenarios, like living in the city and having a fast internet connection. But outside of that, it’s too restricted.
thats the 13-14gb on the lumia for
unless you are planning a trip to a remote island and you will need 20gb of videos and music
Can you download .pdf and Office or text files straight to a WP device? Not sure upon this point.
The memory in the Lumia is not discussed here, we are talking about file transfers, not storage.
documents and excel files yes, pdf no. Latter is especially a pain in the arse, that mcuh I admit, and in the former I’d like to know where they are stored. It can be pain to go through “last used” list on office to get to a particular document file, for example.
So you can download them to be viewed on the device, but you cannot be sure where they actually are on the phone or even if they are on the phone. This is a big minus for me, and why I carry E7 around as well.
What’s so restrictive about it? Zune also sync over USB.
Also there are things which drag and drop can’t do, lilke Podcast Bookmarking, play counts/meta data syncs. I find drag and drop more restrictive for my usage. The fact is that both has its advantages, neither one is objectively better.
Which is why you ought to have both on any system pretending to be capable.
Yes, you can have your cake and eat it, too. WTF happened with objective criticism and consumer demand for better products? There are objectively bad things about WP7, as there are about Maemo/MeeGo, pointing out those things doesn’t have to put anyone into a defensive mode. FFS, they’re just OSes! You have nothing to lose or gain by defending them in spite of their flaws. On the contrary, accepting the possibility that your beloved OS may have some flaws may actually rise awareness that can tickle up to the OS developer to actually fix them.
Major disadvantage of Skydrive : data rates, data rates, data rates. Esp in countries where there is no unlimited 3G data rates, problem if on the go.
Main reason some of us dont use Iphone in the 1st place.
Wow…now I wish Microsoft wouldn’t be such a prick and give that built in…I hate iTunes, and I don’t think I want to touch Zune. So this hack is excellent for me.
Good article, I bet most WP users will need this.
Does it allow transfer of word documents, pdfs etc files too? Or just media?
You can drag and drop those via skydrive. You’d need a browser.
but if the computer with the files on it isn’t online, or if you just don’t want to upload your files to skydrive or any of those services?
Yes, that’s what I meant. Skydrive is not an option. I do not want my files anywhere near that.
Zune it is, then. XD
Do you know this site is sgeugsted by a number of other sites? Nice stuff. Thanks very much!
Reading the source site, amazing how many things are actually possible but intentionally “broken” by Microsoft in order to wall you in. Like folder creation, mass storage, file manager..
In other words, with enough attention from hackers you can make this into a functional user-friendly OS, but what Microsoft does with it is really insulting to the end user.
The OS itself is quite capable, which is good. But the restrictions..
Just because the basic functionality is there, doesn’t mean that it’s a functional feature.
For example, this trick does nothing to those who don’t want install Zune, or use Linux.
Ah true, I missed that point. So without Zune you have nothing, basically?
have you actually used zune?
90% of linux users have dual boot a windows os
the other 10% i doubt that they will ever consider buying anything from ms
so not a big loss
so thats mean this mass storage mode only avaliable on pc/laptop that already installed with zune? So i must carrying zune software to make this trick on any pc/laptop?
Then i must bring flashdisk or my old symbian phone with my wp7, LOL. Althou, this is a great trick anyhow
Wow…. I just want to get rid of this ugly Zune and this is trick has done the great job for me.
Here is mine:
http://imgur.com/jRf2J
This is completely useless. If you already have installed Zune on computer, you can use Zune for transfer. Why do you need this?
Mass storage’s advantage is to use it on computer wihtout Zune
I’ve tried all the technique listed above and it still says it will not copy to device. Please help! ?
That’s not mass-storage mode, that’s using Zune driver and running Zune as a shell extension to Windows Explorer – it still uses Zune, it just doesn’t display it. The same way you can transfer music from Winamp to your iPhone without directly invoking iTunes.
The mass-storage mode is useful to have so you can transfer data from your computer to your phone the way you’d do for anything else, but where it really shines is when you’re on the go and need to transfer files fast, and this thing doesn’t provide that – you still need to have a Win machine with Zune + this ‘hack’ installed, and even then you won’t be able to transfer arbitrary data files.
This is, at best, a convenient way to bulk-transfer music/video files from Windows Explorer and is by no stretch of imagination a mass-storage mode.
mass storage is useful because almost any hardware support it, I like having my media available on my TV just by hooking my N9 phone to it.
For computer use the mass storage is mostly useless, I mount my n9′s hardrive on my computers automatically as soon as they are on the wireless via sftp:// safe fast and hassle free.
A basic function of the N9. Drag and drop anywhere, use the phone as huge USB stick (sorry, L800 has only 16GB). No problem with Ubuntu.
But WP users are supposed to use Skydrive, Zune, etc.
even the first i can do it with dlna
but i prefer to do that using my media player
either way i just sync my files with my pc using the wifi sync without even doing anything
better than any mass storage ability
Better? Having to send your files to Skydrive and back, which takes more time, is better?
In what twisted world is it better than copying a file directly between two devices? At much higher speed, too?
Please explain that to me.
Zune syncs over local wifi without going over to Skydrive, shut your mouth if you don’t know anything or have never used it.
Once again, if you do not have wifi – what happens? Be civil. I understand that a nerdraging fanboy would rather make personal attacks, but this is not the place.
then plug in your usb cable
or use your data plan
There’s no personal attack in my post, you have demonstrated in your own post that a) you have never used Zune because if you have you would know that Zune also syncs over USB cable and local wifi and NOT to Skydrive, b) you keep attacking Zune/WP7 for Skydrive while holding onto this piece of false information while holding up how drag and drop/USB mass storage is superior when people have called you out on your ignorance of the subject.
I called you out for not knowing well known facts which could be found via google in 10 seconds and tell you to shut up is not personal attack.
Telling dr_zorg to shut his mouth is basically saying “fuck you” to him. It’s not civil at all.
No, telling someone who is willfully ignorant on the topic yet presumes he knows better than everyone else while not taking the time to educate himself on the topic to shut his mouth is not a personal attack nor being uncivil, and it is most definitely different to tell him to “fuck off”.
What he was doing was no different than being a troll for spewing FUD of how Zune/WP7 works when it was CLEAR he doesn’t know how it works!
Pot, meet kettle.
if i want speed i just plug my usb cable
usually i dont care about speed unless someone is chasing me lol
its more convinient and i just hate cables so i prefer to wifi sync even if it will do some sec more than plug cables
“usually i dont care about speed unless someone is chasing me lol”
So you don’t care about how fast the phone or OS is then either, right? That should be the case if one is consistent. And when you are criticizing the speeds of other OS’s compared to WP7, you are just being a fanboi, because you don’t care about the speed really.
its one thing the speed of the os and another the speed when sending stuff through wifi
i care about the first
the second one no
and please we are talking about a difference of seconds here nothing important and its doesnt pose any UX problem
infact from a UX view of point its better
Does anyone know if nokia will be able to bring such features in their future phones? Maybe to help them stand out? The features like mass storage,bluetooth transfer,file managers,usb on the go? Or will the next apollo or tango update bring this? God i hope so
Not sure but perhaps. What I do know from people inside Nokia is that it was a massive pain in the butt for Nokia to get all that to work well on Symbian – and I gather there may still be the occasional problem when using it, haven’t used a Symbian device for the last two years (have the N900). Something the average end user would not appreciate, probably. Not as easy as just “said and done”. Probably almost nothing on cell phones (arguably the most complex consumer electronic devices there are).
personally i dont beleive you will ever see these things on wp7
what i really want and the only thing i miss from my n8 (except the camera) is the fm transmitter
do it nokia
damn i completely forgot about that. dont know if any of you saw that wp7 cant manually skip through music playing. you have to hold the foreward or rewind button in to skip through the song. thats just sad! anyway does wp7 support hdmi out?
yes but if you keep holding it it speeds up
its easier this way to go to a section you want
i agree that you should be able to skip through though
Oh, yes.. Bluetooth is rubbish in Lumia, only for transerring Phone contacts? Can’t even use for pics and media, etc! (sorry, a bit off topic, but I had to get that off my chest!)
How about transfering zip or pdf file from a phone to another phone in WP? Without wifi or network?
“WARNING from llaadd: Before you even consider doing this, please note it is not recommended as WP7 was specifically designed not to work in mass storage mode because of issues when used in this way. Known issues include: media not showing on your phone properly and reduced responsiveness. Nokia and Microsoft are well aware of Mass Storage mode and they would have enabled it, if they felt it were viable for this OS.”
What a pathetic OS.
And Nokia chose that PoS OS over MeeGo!
Nokia is being run by idiots. No wonder all the capable people are leaving Nokia.
That’s great! but greater if it can receive file via bluetooth as well cause it’s painful to connect to Zune just to send only one song to my phone.
One advantage of using Zunes/iTunes is maintaining metadata sync for all your videos, music and photos. The disadvantage is that you have to use Zunes/iTunes
I prefer Symbian’s way of working with media – a content harvester process goes through your mass memory and memory card for newly added photos, music and videos, which you can add just by copying them over to the phone via USB mass storage. You can use whatever OS on your computer then.
This cloud syncing nonsense actually reinforces the walled garden approach by letting the OS manufacturer control what goes on on your device and how it gets there. Why go over Wifi or 3G to a server thousands of miles away when a simple USB cable would do? But then they wouldn’t be able to make money from it
how many times should we tell that you can sync using usb cable?
How about bluetooth? Symbian can directly transfer file from phone to phone. Can WP do that?
You cannot without Zune installed on the system you want to sync with, that’s the problem we’re discussing all along.
You cannot expect for every person out there to install Zune (if it is even available for the targeted system) just to be able to transfer data to/from their system. If you see no advantage to being able to do that, fine, but accept that such ability is quite important to plenty of people, my self included.
why they cant install it?
are they are leaving in a cave?
Imagine, there are people that don’t want to put junk* on their systems in order to do an ordinary, standardized thing such as file transfer.
Imagine, Zune is not exactly available for each and every platform out there.
Imagine, you might not have internet connection at the moment to download Zune.
Imagine, for the time it takes to download, install and setup Zune on one’s system, you can transfer GBs of data the normal way and be done with it.
Imagine, most smartphones were able to do that without any software for a decade now, including even the old WM. The only notable exceptions being Windows Phone and iOS. It’s a step backwards.
I actually thought you’re one of the reasonable fanboys (if such thing exists anyway). Sorry, my bad.
* I’m not saying that Zune is junk, but if you are installing it just for that one instance of the needed file transfer after that it remains useless – i.e. junk.
first of all zune is not junk
its a great media player with awesome UI
if you used it you would know
secondly the only problem i see is that someone doesnt have internet in order to download the program
if you know you are going to a person that doesnt have internet (are there anyone without net nowdays?)then put it in a usb stick and install it from there
“If you are going to take a picture, take your dedicated camera with you”
- And then we got cameras on phones
“If you are going to use the internet, take your laptop and RJ45 wire”
- And then we got GPRS and 3G connection
“If you want to listen to music, take your walkman”
- And then we got music players in phones
You know, I’ve heard all these and more before. Every time progress takes a step forward, there are naysayers that will want to throw us all back into the stone age, because they just happen to do it the hard way and know no better.
People like you stifle progress.
Even if they have internet, there’s still the Data rates to consider. And lets say so happen we are in an outlet with free WIFI, then there’s the internet speed to consider, which is not fast.
And how about from one smartphone to another, can it use usb cable to transfer like a USB-on-the-go can? Like the way Symbian & N9 is able to do
its not about syncing thru usb but what can be synched… documents, zip files, presentations etc cannot be synched by zune thats its major draw back.
Yes, we can use zune via USB cable, but we must install zune first to the PC. In Symbian we don’t need to install anything. With my symbian phone I don’t need USB flashdisk anymore, I only need to carry USB cable, & I’m ready to transfer files from & to any PC
I don’t have windows on my Laptop, Is Zune available for linux? M$ is telling me not to use WP? Heck I paid for the 16 GB storage, I need to be able to put what I want it there and I need to be able do it using USB. I don’t need restrictions. If M$ is saying there are performance problems when this is enabled I am happy with Symbian.
Errr… MDF, what do we have to say to make you understand? We don’t want to have to resort to Zune to transfer files between phone and pc. We do want to be able to Xfer files just as if the phone is a removable drive, with the folders and folder structure all gloriously revealed.
I don’t understand. My old nokia sybian fon has mass storage so obviously the hardware (fon) has no problem with it. So, why the **** did MS refuse (yes, refuse… I don’t want to say they’re too dumb to make it work) to implement this in WP7 and blame it on the hardware. After all MS invented Windows, right? And all the highly paid bright sparks in MS can’t make mass storage work in the phone????
No USB Mass Storage support is a dealbreaker for me…it’s why I’m stuck with Android devices for the time being. Two major reasons
1. Ease of file transfer. I use my phone as a portable drive to bring files wherever I go, with a 16gb microsd card I have as much travel storage as I need conveniently accessible to me with a microusb cable.
2. Media portability. Same concept really, I have all my songs/videos available on a thumbdrive that will play on any computer/device with a usb port. My stereo has a usb port, my friend *nix computer has a usb port, my dvd player has a usb port, EVERYTHING has a usb port. I don’t have to do anything but enable mass usb support and my files are available on a broad range of devices with minimal work on my part.
i have tried using above method but i get an error message on the lines of “device has stopped working or has been disconnected”. i do see my lumia phone listed in the external drives listed, infact i see two icons. i can then double click and go inside those but when i right click to paste the copied files, above mentioned message appears.
i did uninstall zune software before i used above trick…. does any one have an idea why i might be getting this? is it because i uninstalled zune? please help!!!
What about just entering ##634#, accepting, and then in Settings (… row) selecting “Serial” USB mode?
AFAIK, this setting is only present on the Samsung Focus not on the Lumia phones.
This settings allows you to change the “USB Path” to:
a) Zune
b) USB Modem, Diag.
c) USB Modem, Tethered Call
The “a)” is the default option, the “c)” allows your PC to recognize the phone as a modem to use the 3G/GPRS tethering via USB. I do not know anything about the “b)”.
I do not think that any of these options will allow the PC to recognize the phone as a disk drive, a standart MTP media player or something similar.
This option IS available for Lumia 800, and the options are Zune or Serial. Just had no chance to try it out.
Thank you very much for this information. It work like a bomb. I was thinking I did a very bad bay after I parches this phone. I like taking photos and video’s with my phone. It is the main reason why I always bay a phone with a good camera. You don’t always carry a camera with you but you need to carry a phone. So I invest rather in a good phone. Transferring the data is such a schlep and keep on loosing stuff. Now its like old times again.
so does this work on Nokia Lumia 710?????….i was thinking of buying the Lumia 710 or the new HTC ONE V….which one would you prefer???
It is showing the device on My computer however I am not able to copy the content.