How To Run Android Apps that require SD Card Without SD Card

If you are unable to access your SD card on your Android device because of a damage, this guide will teach you how to run apps that require a functional SD card. How is it possible? Mount it to the phone’s /cache partition as an /sdcard partition. Knowledge on ADB and Linux commands is helpful to execute the process, but not entirely necessary. Read on for the instructions!

Requirements:

ADB installed and running on your PC

Terminal Emulator installed on your phone

Instructions:

Step 1: Plug your phone into the PC, ensure USB Debugging option is checked. Check it by Settings > Application > Development.

Step 2: Open Command prompt on your PC. Enter following command:  adb devices

Step 3: If you see your device listed, enter this command: adb remount

Step 4: Upon receiving a string “remount succeeded”, run Terminal Emulator on your phone. Enter these commands in the terminal hitting enter after each command:

umount /sdcard

mount -o rw,remount /

umount /sdcard

ln -s cache /sdcard

Viola!  Run the app or widget that requires an access to the SD card; it should work now.

Please note that once you reboot, the process needs to repeated, and is only temporary. Few apps like, ROM Manager or the Camera will not work with this solution.