Database Users

[POLL] a2sd... yay or nay?

So I've learned more about android so far than I intended or expected. I haven't needed to learn about or implement a2sd but at this point my "keepers" app collection has me down to just over 20mb free internal storage so I'm considering taking the plunge.
I haven't used a2sd yet for two reasons:
A) I haven't needed it
B) I've read lots of threads regarding difficulty with setting it up and maintaining it when switching or updating roms
So what's the scoop? Is it worth it? Is there any performance gain or is it strictly a storage benefit?
Should I go ahead and learn about it so it's in place when the time comes that I want to use it or am I better off with my current rule of thumb? Which is "if I think I NEED a2sd then I probably NEED to reevaluate my app library".
Thanks guys

nebenezer said:
So I've learned more about android so far than I intended or expected. I haven't needed to learn about or implement a2sd but at this point my "keepers" app collection has me down to just over 20mb free internal storage so I'm considering taking the plunge.
I haven't used a2sd yet for two reasons:
A) I haven't needed it
B) I've read lots of threads regarding difficulty with setting it up and maintaining it when switching or updating roms
So what's the scoop? Is it worth it? Is there any performance gain or is it strictly a storage benefit?
Should I go ahead and learn about it so it's in place when the time comes that I want to use it or am I better off with my current rule of thumb which is "if I think I NEED a2sd then I probably NEED to reevaluate my app library"
Thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you are running out of space on your phone, I wouldn't worry about it. It is supposed to be faster if you have one of the $100 8gb class 10 thingys but I don't know if its true. its fast enough already
My vote: Nay

I have never used it and have never run short of space on my phone. From all the millions of posts on the subject I can't imagine it being worth the huge pain in the ass it seems to be!

I use it, as I have and do run out of space on /data.

I have a 16 GB class 2, so I've always refrained. I'm not running out of space, but I usually decide whether or not I like an app right after I install it and if I don't like it, uninstall.
So, to answer your question...
I don't know, I'm curious myself.

I use, ran out of space on my phone the first week so was excited to do it. it was a piece of cake to set up with RA 1.6.2, and switching roms has been no big deal, I usually first try to update without wiping ext, and 9 times out of 10 it works fine and I don't have to download my apps again (though you do lose data, but that can be backed with titanium. If it does mess up, it's no big deal, I adb pull the apps out with a * and they're all on my computer pretty quickly so I can reinstall as necessary.

jonnythan said:
I use it, as I have and do run out of space on /data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean to say that even using a2sd you STILL run out of space on /data?
funcrusher said:
I have a 16 GB class 2, so I've always refrained. I'm not running out of space, but I usually decide whether or not I like an app right after I install it and if I don't like it, uninstall.
So, to answer your question...
I don't know, I'm curious myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, I was hoping this poll would benefit more than just myself
Like I said, I keep my app list pretty clean but 20mb as low as I've seen yet.

nebenezer said:
Do you mean to say that even using a2sd you STILL run out of space on /data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, no, definitely not.

jonnythan said:
No, no, definitely not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, thanks!

I love a2sd cause I have a 8g card vs a small internal storage space on the phone. A2sd is very easy.
1. Backup your SD card on computer.
2. Root your phone if you haven't.
3. Partition your SD card via the recovery menu(I used 512mb for my ext2).
4. In the same menu at that below it change it from ext2 to ext3.
5. After complete put all of your files back on your SD card that you saved to your computer.
6. Then mostly every new 2.1 ROM has it built in now where it runs from the first bootup with no patching or user issues. Just make sure you look in the description of the ROM to make sure.
I'm running Fresh 2.0d. I just upgraded to a new 8g SD card for more music and movie storage space. So I just re-did the process. The longest part is waiting for the files to be transfered to/from the computer.

doeboy1984 said:
I love a2sd cause I have a 8g card vs a small internal storage space on the phone. A2sd is very easy.
1. Backup your SD card on computer.
2. Root your phone if you haven't.
3. Partition your SD card via the recovery menu(I used 512mb for my ext2).
4. In the same menu at that below it change it from ext2 to ext3.
5. After complete put all of your files back on your SD card that you saved to your computer.
6. Then mostly every new 2.1 ROM has it built in now where it runs from the first bootup with no patching or user issues. Just make sure you look in the description of the ROM to make sure.
I'm running Fresh 2.0d. I just upgraded to a new 8g SD card for more music and movie storage space. So I just re-did the process. The longest part is waiting for the files to be transfered to/from the computer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would skip the ext3 part if I were you, kills your sd card faster

I know some people were having so trouble with some of the ROM's cause they were in ext2 but no one was having any problems while using ext3 s thats why I posted that. To help alleviate that issue

Vrekk said:
I would skip the ext3 part if I were you, kills your sd card faster
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why they even made this an option. I have a feeling the people implementing this have no knowledge of filesystems which is frightening....

For those of you running it:
What class cards do you have?

feld said:
I don't know why they even made this an option. I have a feeling the people implementing this have no knowledge of filesystems which is frightening....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
feld,
Care to post a brief run-down of the difference between ext2 and ext3?

funcrusher said:
For those of you running it:
What class cards do you have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using a class 6.

jonnythan said:
I'm using a class 6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See, if I had a class 6 I probably would have tried it out by now. Afraid that my class 2 will slow down apps etc. ;\

I've had no problems with a class 2 8gb.
I have a class 6 on order.

funcrusher said:
See, if I had a class 6 I probably would have tried it out by now. Afraid that my class 2 will slow down apps etc. ;\
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt it, actually. The class rating only refers to the minimum write speed in an optimal situation. Read speeds seem to be decently high across the board. You'll probably never notice any difference, if there even is one.

jonnythan said:
I doubt it, actually. The class rating only refers to the minimum write speed in an optimal situation. Read speeds seem to be decently high across the board. You'll probably never notice any difference, if there even is one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah? What do you think about the 2.5 version or whatever that moves your dalvik over as well?

any limit for SD card w/Hero

is there any limit to the size of SD card for the hero phone??? or class????

bklynfire said:
is there any limit to the size of SD card for the hero phone??? or class????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The maximum size is 32 Gigs. Currently, I've heard people re having problems with the 32 gig cards (maybe not on the CDMA Heros), but with other phones -- which HTC said they would release a firmware update for. Also, I don't know if there's anyone here that even has a 32 gig card -- mainly because they're ridiculous expensive.
There are quite a few people around here that are using 16 gig cards perfectly fine, so at the moment -- get that, unless you'd like to spend more for a 32 gig. In regards to the class of the card -- this matters for read/write speeds (mostly write); if you plan on using Apps2SD, its recommended that you get a class 6 card, however class 4 and even class 2 working perfectly fine as well; though do understand ware and tear will affect the card over time.
At the end of the day; you'll need to experiment on your own and see what works for you. I'm not one for Apps2SD, so I don't use it. I have a class 4 - 4 gig card and I haven't had any problems; though I do plan on getting a bigger/better card sometime later.

thank you for your reply

bklynfire said:
thank you for your reply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem.

pseudoremora said:
The maximum size is 32 Gigs. Currently, I've heard people re having problems with the 32 gig cards (maybe not on the CDMA Heros), but with other phones -- which HTC said they would release a firmware update for. Also, I don't know if there's anyone here that even has a 32 gig card -- mainly because they're ridiculous expensive.
There are quite a few people around here that are using 16 gig cards perfectly fine, so at the moment -- get that, unless you'd like to spend more for a 32 gig. In regards to the class of the card -- this matters for read/write speeds (mostly write); if you plan on using Apps2SD, its recommended that you get a class 6 card, however class 4 and even class 2 working perfectly fine as well; though do understand ware and tear will affect the card over time.
At the end of the day; you'll need to experiment on your own and see what works for you. I'm not one for Apps2SD, so I don't use it. I have a class 4 - 4 gig card and I haven't had any problems; though I do plan on getting a bigger/better card sometime later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While there are some known issues with 32 gig cards there is an easy fix. I have read if you let your pc format the card and not the phone you shouldn't have any issues. Do a search to make sure though.

Droidish said:
While there are some known issues with 32 gig cards there is an easy fix. I have read if you let your pc format the card and not the phone you shouldn't have any issues. Do a search to make sure though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't the phone have to eventually format it for A2SD??

iviyth0s said:
Wouldn't the phone have to eventually format it for A2SD??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not if you add a ext partition using your computer with a partition manager, it separates the partition and adds another in whatever format you choose (ext2, ext3, ext4, fat32 and etc...) You can do what the phone does with your computer. Some even prefer doing it that way. I also think it wont erase anything from your card when using the computer, it doesnt format when adding a parition.

Jus10o said:
Not if you add a ext partition using your computer with a partition manager, it separates the partition and adds another in whatever format you choose (ext2, ext3, ext4, fat32 and etc...) You can do what the phone does with your computer. Some even prefer doing it that way. I also think it wont erase anything from your card when using the computer, it doesnt format when adding a parition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even though windows (I'm not running linux)

32GB SD card issue w/2.3.3 resolved

I recently upgraded my phone to 2.3.3 from 2.1.
After upgrading, my phone no longer detected my 32GB SD.
I spent a lot of time researching the issue and found that most people just went to a smaller card like I did.
I went out and bought a 4GB card.
After loading my phone up with apps and audio and images, 4GB was not enough.
So, here is how I resolved this...
I downloaded HPUSBDisk.exe which is an HP USB format tool.
Copied the content of my 4gb micro to my PC/Laptop.
I inserted my 32GB micro SD into a "micro sd USB adapter"...
Format the SD using the HP USB format tool (FAT).
Copy the contents from the 4GB to the 32GB.
When I placed the 32GB into the phone and powered it up it was now recognized.

weird, I own a 16GB card and never had problems with 2.3.3
actually never heard about this problem until today

a.monteiro said:
weird, I own a 16GB card and never had problems with 2.3.3
actually never heard about this problem until today
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
16 GB are not really a issue.

I use a 32gb from Kingston and have no issues. ??? Think maybe it's not the memory size that is the problem. Maybe it got corrupted? I had that problem on a smaller card on a round of back to stock while playing around with ROMs and such. Formatted it on PC and all was fine... think it was 8? Was a while a go. But I've heard of it happening while updating, read about it after I had the issue with the card that came with my x10.

Deviantelf said:
I use a 32gb from Kingston and have no issues. ??? Think maybe it's not the memory size that is the problem. Maybe it got corrupted? I had that problem on a smaller card on a round of back to stock while playing around with ROMs and such. Formatted it on PC and all was fine... think it was 8? Was a while a go. But I've heard of it happening while updating, read about it after I had the issue with the card that came with my x10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock or Custom kernel?

BuLLitz said:
I recently upgraded my phone to 2.3.3 from 2.1.
After upgrading, my phone no longer detected my 32GB SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. X10i officially supports cards by a capacity no more than 16 Gb. However, most cards 32 Gb work normally too.
2. A card can be formatted by standard facilities of Windows, it is important only, that a clustersize was 32 Kb

+1 to OP
thank you

verdazil said:
1. X10i officially supports cards by a capacity no more than 16 Gb. However, most cards 32 Gb work normally too.
2. A card can be formatted by standard facilities of Windows, it is important only, that a clustersize was 32 Kb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an X10a... but whatever.
When I flashed my 32gb SD using Win7, regardless of the cluster size, it would not work in my phone. Period.
I am NOT the only one who has had this problem nor am I the only one who found success in my method.
The 32gb I have in my phone right now, was formatted using the HP Tool at 16kb...
Screw this place... you bunch of pompus jack-wads.

BuLLitz said:
I have an X10a... but whatever.
When I flashed my 32gb SD using Win7, regardless of the cluster size, it would not work in my phone. Period.
I am NOT the only one who has had this problem nor am I the only one who found success in my method.
The 32gb I have in my phone right now, was formatted using the HP Tool at 16kb...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see some merit to your argument, i use HP Tool myself.
It's way more elegant for this kind of stuff.
BuLLitz said:
Screw this place... you bunch of pompus jack-wads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was it required?

BuLLitz said:
I have an X10a... but whatever.
When I flashed my 32gb SD using Win7, regardless of the cluster size, it would not work in my phone. Period.
I am NOT the only one who has had this problem nor am I the only one who found success in my method.
The 32gb I have in my phone right now, was formatted using the HP Tool at 16kb...
Screw this place... you bunch of pompus jack-wads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you made him cry, you guys are just so mean

Jedidiah55 said:
you made him cry, you guys are just so mean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I quoted the wrong post LOL.
I didn't have any 'thanks' on me at the time.
No one should have to feel threatened or treated badly enough to leave xda.
it's not right.

verdazil said:
1. X10i officially supports cards by a capacity no more than 16 Gb. However, most cards 32 Gb work normally too.
2. A card can be formatted by standard facilities of Windows, it is important only, that a clustersize was 32 Kb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI:
"Memory Phone memory up to 1GB
microSD™ up to 32GB, 2GB included"
(obviously the original specs, mine came with 8GB)
From Sony's specification page for the phone found here:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/pro...10us?cc=us&lc=en#view=features_specifications
Then in the bottom right click on View the Xperia x10 specifications.

Deviantelf said:
FYI:
"Memory Phone memory up to 1GB
microSD™ up to 32GB, 2GB included"
(obviously the original specs, mine came with 8GB)
From Sony's specification page for the phone found here:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/pro...10us?cc=us&lc=en#view=features_specifications
Then in the bottom right click on View the Xperia x10 specifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but quite a few cards seem to have bad compatibility.

I'm curious if it's a certain class of cards that cause issues, or if it's certain vendors or brands? Do certain brands format them different and that causes the issue?
I researched what class was supported and bought a brand name (Kingston) that isn't high end but from a reputable business so I knew it wasn't fake. Bought a 32gb class 4 Kingston from Tiger Direct, popped it in and it worked fine. I put it in and tried it before transferring data to it.
I'm definitely not discounting the issue, but finding out WHY the issue is there is what I'm curious about.

i heard SDHC work the best but i'm idk the difference really, all i care about is the memory on the card

Deviantelf said:
I'm curious if it's a certain class of cards that cause issues, or if it's certain vendors or brands? Do certain brands format them different and that causes the issue?
I researched what class was supported and bought a brand name (Kingston) that isn't high end but from a reputable business so I knew it wasn't fake. Bought a 32gb class 4 Kingston from Tiger Direct, popped it in and it worked fine. I put it in and tried it before transferring data to it.
I'm definitely not discounting the issue, but finding out WHY the issue is there is what I'm curious about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MY 16GB class 4 & 32GB class 6 KINGSTON both worked very well with no issue's.

Having the same problem!
I just upgraded my X10a to 2.3.3 and it's not detecting my 8gb SD card, I re-intalled the 2.1 android and the card worked fine, then I upgraded it again to 2.3.3 and formated the card, didn't work... I don't know what to do now!

Having a similar problem!
Hi, I've been having a problem with mi 8GB SD card, the thing is that I just Upgraded my X10 to 2.3.3, but it's not detecting the micro SD, it was working fine till I did the upgrade, so I took the card and plug it into the PC, it is working, then I tried changing the fortmat, didn't work either, so I changed it back to Android 2.1 and It got it working again, I tried one more time to upgrade to Android 2.3.3 and the problem persists, all the apps and features are working just fine, but the phone it's kinda useless without the microSD...
Anyone that knows what the problem might be, please reply, cuase it's very frustrating!!

khuzuco said:
Hi, I've been having a problem with mi 8GB SD card, the thing is that I just Upgraded my X10 to 2.3.3, but it's not detecting the micro SD, it was working fine till I did the upgrade, so I took the card and plug it into the PC, it is working, then I tried changing the fortmat, didn't work either, so I changed it back to Android 2.1 and It got it working again, I tried one more time to upgrade to Android 2.3.3 and the problem persists, all the apps and features are working just fine, but the phone it's kinda useless without the microSD...
Anyone that knows what the problem might be, please reply, cuase it's very frustrating!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock 8GB card in my x10 died quite fast.
They get scratched underneath easily.

Hate to bump up an old-ish thread. But I came across the following article and the pertinent quote from it is "We tested this card on some phones including Motorola Razr and Samsung Galaxy S2 and even on a year old Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and it works fine"
So it looks like this old dog was still able to use a 64GB micro sdxc card.
But at 110$ USD (cheapest I've found so far)... might not be worth it yet.

Readyboost and Windows 8

I am trying to use Readyboost with Windows 8 to speed up my relatively slow laptop. It works fine but I have two questions.
1. Does it make much difference?
2. How come I am limited to 4Gb Readyboost since the USB stick is 16Gb?
Thanks in anticipation.

Windows is capped at 4gigs readyboost as far as i know.
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using XDA

eBoostr is a far better alternative. Give it a go.

64GUNSHIP said:
eBoostr is a far better alternative. Give it a go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried ready boost in the past but never saw much speed improvement using it.

Maybe your drive is formatted in FAT32. Format to NTFS and enjoy all 16 gigs

Thanks. I didn't think that it was limited to 4Gb. I'll try NTFS formatting and let you know how I get on.

yes ntfs, you have to put this

[Q] SD card compatibility issues? How to reformat?

So I have a few questions. I recently just got a Samsung Galaxy S4 Active and I have a Sandisk Ultra 32gb class 10 UHC-1 MicroSDHC card that was previously in a rooted Motorola Photon running CM10. I already wiped all the data and it is almost ready to put in the S4, I just wanted to reformat it just for the piece of mind and to restore it to out of the box condition. While I was googling how to reformat it to make sure I did it exactly right, I came across a bunch of forums on how Sandisk microSD's malfuntion and don't seem to work right in Samsung smart phones. Specifically the Galaxy line and the Note's. Has anyone experienced this problem? And is there anyone out there that has one of these cards in an S4 that actually works properly? I was so excited to gain 32 more gb of storage space on my phone, and now I'm scared =[ looks like I may have bigger problems now than just reformatting the card.
But speaking of reformatting. How do I reformat this card properly? And I also read that you should format it as exFAT? is that right? And I also read that formatting it through Windows can mess it up as Windows reformats it to work best with their system, not for phones. So is there a program anyone can recommend to use to reformat it? And could you also please give step by step instructions on how to reformat on said program. Like down to every option I should select, or shouldn't select. I want to make sure I do this exactly right and don't mess up my card. Especially with all of these horror stories I've been hearing.
Thanks =]

I haven't seen a specific thread/posts on doing this. Google didn't help much.
I would recommend, however, getting a 64gb Samsung card from Amazon. Already exFat and works perfectly. Very fast--
Samsung Electronics 64GB Pro microSDXC Extreme Speed (UHS-1) Class 10 Memory Card (MB-MGCGB/AM)
The Sandisks, some anyway, have had problems--

Ehh.. I dont really need a 64gb card and don't really want to pay extra for space I dont need. Also I'm confused about exFAT. Ive seen a lot of posts on that as well and have read thst exFAT doesn't play nice in smartphones and that the only time it's really recommended is if you're rooted and on a custom ROM, which I'm not. I just gave up on reformatting and just put it in my phone last night as-is. It was completely wiped, so good enough. I don't want to take the chance messing with any of that. So far its been fine. But from what I've read it usually doesn't strike until a few months later. For right now I will keep my photos set to save on the internal just in case and the only thing im really going to put on the card is music, which I can easily get back off the computer if the card fails. Worst comes to worst sandisk has a lifetime warrenty and I have a reciept of the purchase so if anything happens I will just buy a 32gb Samsung or go with sandisk again. Apparrently the issue was with the ultra cards manufactured before or in December 2012 (which mine was). I also can't confirm this as I only saw one person say it in one forum, and it was neither confirmed nor denied by anyone else, but I saw someone say recently, I think last month, that the most recent huge update At&t pushed fixed the problem with Sandisk cards. So hopefully thats true. I guess I will just wait and see. Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using xda app-developers app

Eh. Maybe I will get a 64gb. Can't hurt to have more space. Especially with me. Lol. I'll have to look into it when/if the time comes. Thanks for the advice =] sorry, I have a bad habit of answering my own questions sometimes. Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using xda app-developers app

ok, just keep a backup on pc
the exfat handles +4gb files

Galaxy_S_ said:
So I have a few questions. I recently just got a Samsung Galaxy S4 Active and I have a Sandisk Ultra 32gb class 10 UHC-1 MicroSDHC card that was previously in a rooted Motorola Photon running CM10. I already wiped all the data and it is almost ready to put in the S4, I just wanted to reformat it just for the piece of mind and to restore it to out of the box condition. While I was googling how to reformat it to make sure I did it exactly right, I came across a bunch of forums on how Sandisk microSD's malfuntion and don't seem to work right in Samsung smart phones. Specifically the Galaxy line and the Note's. Has anyone experienced this problem? And is there anyone out there that has one of these cards in an S4 that actually works properly? I was so excited to gain 32 more gb of storage space on my phone, and now I'm scared =[ looks like I may have bigger problems now than just reformatting the card.
But speaking of reformatting. How do I reformat this card properly? And I also read that you should format it as exFAT? is that right? And I also read that formatting it through Windows can mess it up as Windows reformats it to work best with their system, not for phones. So is there a program anyone can recommend to use to reformat it? And could you also please give step by step instructions on how to reformat on said program. Like down to every option I should select, or shouldn't select. I want to make sure I do this exactly right and don't mess up my card. Especially with all of these horror stories I've been hearing.
Thanks =]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As an update I have seen it mentioned to take card out of phone and put in card reader. Then plug into pc, right click and your will have your format choices. Also, there are Formatter programs to dl from web too. Been so long since I did that--kinda forgot--lol

I have recently reformatted my 32 gig card to exfat. Only been a week but no problems so far. Why did I? Because I down load movies that are over 4 gig on accasion. Plain fat doesn't let you store more than 4 gig. Hope that helps. Took me a while to figure out why my file transfers kept falling.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2