Samsung connection to windows.

[Ohfuckeryitsmarzipan]

Ds (22) has a galaxy 3 tab. He is having problems when plugging in to a computer to get files off his hard drive. It won't recognize it.he I loath to get a random solution off the internet without knowing if it is malicious or correct. Anyone else had this problem?

I use Android File Transfer but this is for Macs. As far as I know you should need no additional software when connecting an Android device to a Windows machine.

Is he seeing an Autoplay dialog box when he plugs the tab into the PC?

If not, he should be able to go into Windows Explorer/My Computer and see an extra drive listed, which is the tablet.

What exactly is the problem he is having?

When he goes into my computer it isn't showing the device. Apparently other son said he had the same problem with galaxy phone.

What version of Windows are you running?

This suggests it would be worth restarting the Galaxy whilst it's plugged in to the PC.

There's no auto play box, he gets the message mtp driver not installed then nothing happens. First thing he did was reboot whilst plugged in. Thank you v much for your help btw.

Sorry, no experience with Galaxy Tab, but I'd suggest using microSD card and a USB adaptor (to allow microSD to plug into PC). It's not as convenient, perhaps, but may be a workable option.

If he wants to move small files (eg MP3 music tracks) then it may be worth considering some online storage service.

In the past, DriveHQ offered a few GB for free (obv they want to get paying customers), and Sony Xperia did a deal with Box.com to offer users 50 GB free (non Sony users can get 5 GB free, I think).

Understood not as convenient, but an online storage area like that might be used by DS and his friends (sharing MP3s, but don't tell anyone!)

tribpot - hadn't heard of Android File Transfer but have "pushed" files over Bluetooth from iMac to Android mobiles. Obviously depends a bit on file sizes as to what works best/ is convenient. Also I have web hosting accounts so have other options via FTP, and 'online' means the files are 'always' available even if I'm visiting my sister, or a client, etc.

NetworkGuy - I have a funny feeling we've spoken before about Airdroid for wireless file transfer (which now I think about it would work for OP's ds as well).

AFT works fine for transferring files over a wire to a Mac (or from the Mac to the tablet).

He has it as a comic reader, and has lots on his hard drive which he wants to transfer. You've lost me though.

Unlikely to be able to get lots on his tablet, that's not really what they're for. He could either do with a micro-SD card with the files on it, or to store the files in the cloud as Network Guy suggests. Dropbox, Google Drive, Copy, OpenDrive, there's lot of options for free storage on t'internet. Then he can just download a file when he wants it and delete it from the tablet when he doesn't.

Ohfuckeryitsmarzipan - difficult to know quite what size the files are - for all I know some might class Anime as Comic material... Ask him how much space is taken on the computer with his files, perhaps, so we know how big a problem this is...

Let's be clearer on storage - many laptops/PCs in recent years have had 160 / 250 / 320 / 500 / 640 / 750 GB and even 1000 GB (1 TB) hard drives. I think the Galaxy Tab comes in various sizes, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB (but have not looked in recent days so I could be confused with some other), so while he may be able to store dozens or hundreds of small files, if he has significant amounts of storage on his computer holding files he wants to move, then a microSD card (which will fit in the Galaxy Tab) would mean he could have say 32 GB of files available on the tablet, even if his tablet only has 8 GB of storage itself.

Copying (whether via wireless, bluetooth, or whatever) from PC to tablet may be slow and clumsy, but copying a load of files onto a microSD card and then plugging that in should be relatively painless.

Ask your son if he has a microSD card (eg for his mobile phone?) and see if he is clued up technically to transfer files on that from computer to tablet.