Why can't i see any files from SD card in Android System Recovery so I'm a bit confused. I'm going to try to organize my question here and not create a wall of text so please bear with me. 

Problem - I have a Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 2 that I'd like to save the data from. no sim card, pattern locked. I don't know the pattern to unlock, nor do I remember the google account information to unlock it. USB debugging is NOT turned on so I cannot reach it via ADB, and it's not setup as a disk drive so simply attaching to a PC isn't a solution either.

Possible Solution - After lots of research, I've found a possible solution where I A - install CWM via the "Update from SD Card" feature in Android System Recovery, then B - Flash a Pattern Unlock to the device. This "should" in theory work, or at the very least if I get CWM installed, open a host of other possibilities to try.

Reason the above is not working - I've downloaded each file, placed them on a micro SD card via an adapter, and put them into the phone. After booting into the recovery console and going to the Update via SD Card option, I do not see any of the files on the SD card. I've gone as far as to boot the phone into recovery without the SD card installed and I literally see the same data. in short - I cannot get the SD card files to show up in the recovery console (this is a stupid problem to have and I'm hoping I'm just missing something).

What I'd like - some advice on how to get the files from the SD card to show in the recovery console. I'm assuming it must be easy. If not - perhaps an alternative method to get around the pattern lock that does not involve a factory reset. thanks.
I have had issues flashing from an external SD card due to the format of the card. 

I was unable to detect a card when it was was NTFS.

After reformatting as FAT32 there was no issue. So try that, if possible.