Win8.1 superior to Win10 ?

[Sebastian42]

I tried to move files from a phone to an external hard drive - so both connected through suitable adapters to USB ports. In three Win10 PCs (both x32 and x64), the phone was detected, but when clicked to see its contents : "This folder is empty". However, when the same was attempted in a Win8 PC (x32), 'all' the contents of the phone were revealed. What could explain that anomaly ?

 

[Bighorn]

The Subject/Title is a good lead-in for starting rants rather than asking about something like Win10 doesn't see files on phone. I've not had issues with seeing files on my Samsung phone using Win10 or Win11. Are the files on the phone stored on Internal memory or on a MicroSDXC card?

 

[Grizzly]

I also never had any issues with windows 10 or 11.
The question though is, what kind of phone do you have (Android, IOS, Windows).
Since Windows 10 has stricter policies when it comes to external devices, you may have to allow your Windows 10 computer to access your phone. When I connect my phone (Android) to my computer, I have to tell my phone that the USB port will be used for file transfer and have the USB being controlled by the phone, not the computer. So far, I never had any problems. With IOS phones (Apple) usually a message pops up on the screen asking for permissions.

Just food for thoughts....

 

[Sebastian42]

Bighorn
I was trying to do a favor for a friend - so it was NOT my phone - hence I am not 100% sure about SD card or not. But I think it is VERY unlikely that an SD card was involved. I know that where the files did show (W8.1), DCIM was looked at.

Grizzly - the phone is Android.
"you may have to allow your Windows 10 computer to access your phone." That sounds like a possibility. However, I can access the contents of MY phone without such a 'step' - in one of the three W10 PCs that could not see the contents of my friend's phone. I have not tried MY phone on the other two W10 PCs.

One one of MY phones I had to make a change on the phone (NOT in W10) to get the phone detected, as distinct from seeing its contents as empty.

 

[Bighorn]

I was trying to do a favor for a friend - so it was NOT my phone - hence I am not 100% sure about SD card or not. But I think it is VERY unlikely that an SD card was involved. I know that where the files did show (W8.1), DCIM was looked at.

Is it an Apple iPhone or Android based like a Samsung? This spring I was tasked to recover photos from an old iPad 2 and to do so required installing the iTunes program so as to get a file manager that would 'see' the iPad.

 

[Sebastian42]

To the best of my knowledge it is Android based. I can get full specs if that is useful - but it will take time.
I repeat that the phone was seen, but it's folder was shown as 'empty' by the W10 PCs, but W8.1 revealed the contents.

 

[Bighorn]

Can the images be transferred into the Win8.1 Pictures folder or a subfolder with an appropriate name for later transfer onto a USB Thumb drive or SDHC card?

 

[Sebastian42]

It is an UNRELATED issue that the Win8.1 has (for now) only one functional USB socket; through that the phone's content could be seen.
No attempt was made to copy to the W8.1 drive (an SSD) as the purpose of the exercise was to get transfer done to another external HDD. There could be no transfer to another USB device for lack of viable USB sockets. I tried ONE hub in that socket. Connecting the phone to it, caused the phone to be seen as empty.

Thank you for the work-around suggestion. That may allow the desired transfer before I fix the USB sockets.

 

[Sebastian42]

'Can the images be transferred into the Win8.1 Pictures folder or a subfolder with an appropriate name for later transfer onto a USB Thumb drive or SDHC card?' Yes - that has now been achieved. So I am not asking for HELP with a problem, but for understanding why W8.1 would reveal a phone's contents, where W10 shows 'Folder is empty'. Or conversely, why Win10 can't do what W8.1 can.

'The Subject/Title is a good lead-in for starting rants' - I apologize for the bad title - only now do I understand your thrust, but it is too late to change the title.