android on a second partition of the memory card ! - HD2 Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting and Genera

Hi all !
I was wondering if it could be possible to install android on a second partion of the memory card so I can keep windows and all of its folder inside the primary partion while I can use the second partion to run adroid and let it create all its folder ont he second partition, Actually I got everything in the main root that is became a great mess !

Everything is possible of course, but I'd think you'd have to do a lot of modifying to do that. WinMo still initiliases Android, so you'd have to edit haret (and maybe other files too). Not worth the hassle methinks.
I do agree that Android clutters up your SD card. There should be some standards, like one big folder where all apps store their settings.

Search this forum for "partition".

what should I look ??

Related

[ Q ] Android inside WM Rom ( or system files only )

I was using "search" to find similar question but i didnt found anything.
My question is :
So far the biggest problem with battery , and android speed was related
with using SD Card.
Ok . I'm a NOOB with Android so don't laugh please :
Is there a way to build WM Rom with smallest number of files
to make device bootable and implement into this Android files ?
I know ... Android is building a BIG folder ( aprox. 700 MB ).
But if we could keep only most important system files
inside the rom , and all the rest will be kept on memory card ???
What you think ?
Is it possible ?
It could save battery , mayby more speed - only if it possible
??????
Still learning - sorry for bad EN.
klopikxda said:
I was using "search" to find similar question but i didnt found anything.
My question is :
So far the biggest problem with battery , and android speed was related
with using SD Card.
Ok . I'm a NOOB with Android so don't laugh please :
Is there a way to build WM Rom with smallest number of files
to make device bootable and implement into this Android files ?
I know ... Android is building a BIG folder ( aprox. 700 MB ).
But if we could keep only most important system files
inside the rom , and all the rest will be kept on memory card ???
What you think ?
Is it possible ?
It could save battery , mayby more speed - only if it possible
??????
Still learning - sorry for bad EN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no drivers for the NAND as far as I know. That is why there is SD boot. Go to a file explorer in android and there is no nand partition or folder in the root alongside 'sdcard'
so from what i understand, we need windows booted to power up all the hardware. correct?
i think what he was asking and i was asking earlier is:
if we build a minimal windows boot, ONLY to power up the hardware, and then move the "android" folder from memory card to main phone memory and create the launcher to start the haret and the other file from the phone memory just like it would start from SD card.
in other words treat the phone memory like a SD card am i missing something?
fuzzysig said:
so from what i understand, we need windows booted to power up all the hardware. correct?
i think what he was asking and i was asking earlier is:
if we build a minimal windows boot, ONLY to power up the hardware, and then move the "android" folder from memory card to main phone memory and create the launcher to start the haret and the other file from the phone memory just like it would start from SD card.
in other words treat the phone memory like a SD card am i missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is right !!!
But not to move everything from catalogue Android from SD card to phone memory.
Only most necessary files like drivers, kernel and such.
Files that could keep battery lives longer on stanby with good system stability.
If not possible...... maybe your way will be better ...if possible.
well to split the filesystem between main memory and sd card you have to change alot of file refferences and links its gonna be a nightmaire.
but i dont know enough about this system to tell if this could work or not

[Q] Partition SD Card (different than previous questions asked)

First off, to eliminate the flamers 1)I know you don't need to partition your SD Card (i've been running android on 2 SD cards for around a month now) 2)I know it won't make my device run any faster.
The question is though If i partition my memory card to have the 3 partitons: ext, linux swap, and fat32, will this mean that on the main part of the memory card that my windows mobile can see that i won't have all of the various folders that the Android OS creates (i.e: .android_secure, .bookmark_thumb1, rosie_scroll?
The reason i ask is i want to have my memory card as clean as possible so that within my windows mobile build that it is still very organized.
Thanks for any help you can offer. If you are going to reply simply to say use the search, I have, I've read and thank you very much, you can now move on to the next topic to type that.
I also have the same question.
How get clean memmory card from Android folders?
Or how to install Android in folder (sdcard/Android/all android folders)
Than my WM folders will use (sdcard/WM folders)
I second either of these as to keep my mem card tidy from all the android folders created and mixed up with my WM files.
Well since no one seems to know the answer or isn't willing to share, I am going to try doing this within the next two days and will report back on whether or not it works.
How would each OS know what partition belongs to it?
gaiden0000 said:
Well since no one seems to know the answer or isn't willing to share, I am going to try doing this within the next two days and will report back on whether or not it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice to hear that! I think there is 2 ways:
with partition on sdcard
change Android install place to place in folder
Somone who build Android roms can try to change location where android install apps.
juggs said:
How would each OS know what partition belongs to it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you crate partition for linux (ext...) windows will not show, read and find it.Also WM will not read files on linux partition but I think that linux still will read both. Dono how it is on Android but in Ubuntu on PC it works.
SD partitioning works great!
This is how to create partitions on your SD card: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=267475
I tried it - and it works. WinMo shows two storage cards - 'Storage Card' and 'Storage Card 2'. The first one is the Active partition - which is my Android partition.
When you are in WinMo and installing WinMo software, you are given the choice of where to install it - and it shows both storage cards. So in effect you can have all that is WinMo on one partition and all that is Android on another. Android is working nicely from its own partition.
I must say - this is the first time my Android is working sooooooo well. As well as my wife's HTC Desire device. It is a noticeable difference - the same Android build worked quite sluggishly before this exercise. It is either because I am using a freshly formatted partition, or because it has its own partition now.
My partitions were formatted with FAT32, 32KB unit allocation size. I am using ChuckyDroid ROM and currently testing this Android build Core_Droid_V.0.2.
Yeey ! " ... after action - satisfaction .. "

DUALBOOT-how 2 reinstall wp7without toutching Android ?

Hi installed wp7+Android using dual boot with magldr1.3
now i'm very satisfied with Android, and want to install a new build of wp7 without toutching Android ! how to do? if i install wp i think i will damage android partition in my SD card plz help
regards
+1
That is correct, if you reinstall WPH it will (re)format your SD card and so erase the Android partition.
But some guys here will surely provide the anwser to that problem.
hica said:
Hi installed wp7+Android using dual boot with magldr1.3
now i'm very satisfied with Android, and want to install a new build of wp7 without toutching Android ! how to do? if i install wp i think i will damage android partition in my SD card plz help
regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should be easy, in theory at least.
1. Use a disk imaging software to make an image of the entire partition you use for Android and save that image on your computer.
2. It'll perhaps be a good idea now to delete the Android partition or better yet, delete both WP7 and Android partitions altogether and make just one FAT32 partition spanning the entire card. This might not be necessary but it'll give the next step a stock, empty, Fat32 formatted SD card to begin with.
3. Install the new WP7 build.
4. Go through the entire process of setting up the partitioning for dual-booting the way you did it in the first place with your previous setup.
5. Once you have the Android partition resized and formatted...simply write the disk image saved from step 1 to it using your favorite disk imaging software.
Please note that I have NOT tried this out and can't confirm if it'll work but in theory, it should. Also, if you keep the partitions exactly of the same size that you had in the first place with your original dual-boot setup, it'll *probably* increase the chances of it working in the end.
Hope it helps. =)
I agree with HQRaja.
I would simply create a folder on your Desktop and call it Android Partition Backup, or something simular. Insert the memory card and only the Fat32 partition will be visable in Windows so select everything and move it to the newly created folder on your Desktop. Install Sd Formatter from here. Once launched click on options, Format Type as Full Erase, Format Size Adjustment as On then OK. This will format not only your fat32 partition but remove all partitions as well. Then install the new WP7 Rom, Dual Boot as before and then copy everything from your backup folder back onto your card.
If you feel you dont have enough room for music, apk's or want to try mulitple Android Roms while still using WP7, the keep an eye out for my new tutorial where you can have say over 11gb for Adroid and over 3gb for WP7. It is written out but will read it through more tomorrow to make sure it is ok before uploading. I would do it tonight except my Mrs is nagging and I have been summond .
Hope this helps.
I have been searching for a solution where I can increase/allocate 75% space in sd card for android use and the remaining for w7. I heavily used android because of more games and applications. I am using w7 just for show

HD2 WP7 and Android Dual Boot File Swap

I apologize if this isn't in the correct forum. I wasn't sure since it's dealing with two dif os's.
Anyways, my question is Can I access files on the android jellybean partition from inside of wp7? I would like to be able to play movies, look at pics in wp7 that are in the android partition.
Also, what about vice versa? One last question. Wp7 seems to run very quickly, but Android seems to run pretty slowly. I assume its because it's running from the SD card. Is there any way that can be sped up to run at normal (fast) speed?
--- edit:
is it possible to put android on the nand, and wp7 on the sd so that the android os would be faster?
So.
Yes, you can access files from FAT partition on WP7. Few file explorers allow you to do that, just have a look at them and check if Storage Card folder works. They also allow you to watch videos, view images and play music, but forget about playlist support, subtitles or anything complicated. We don't have software to do that yet.
Vice versa is not possible since WP7 uses its own file system which Android can't see nor use.
Android will always run slower because it's an unoptimized piece of sh- I mean software. But you can try ROMs which take advantage of EXT4 partitions using NativeSD method - these are noticeable faster, no more waiting for minutes for apps to launch. You can also overclock CPU and use higher read ahead value for SD card (SD Speed Increase from Market).
Putting Android on NAND and WP7 on SD is not yet possible. It might be when Magldr 2.0 will be released (and it won't be really that anyway), but we don't know when.
thank you
thanks for the detailed and thorough explanation. i see that you are also using a dual boot. how slow/fast does your paranoidjellybean operate? i'm going to look into ext 4 and cpu boosts. i guess i will have to reinstall/delete everything in my android partition to do an ext 4? and i guess if i go ext 4 wp7 won't be able to read it? i'm going to look into it. i will update this with whatever info i find.
---- edit
I'm going to try and use the roms you name in your signature area that you are using, and see if it works any better. what sd card are you using? I'm using a micro center micro sd class 6 16gb one. i'm getting a 8000ffff error in this wp7 rom when trying to get something from marketplace, and the droid is too slow. going to try the ext method for the droid. (can't dl apps on droid either!) so i will post what happens here.
---- edit
ok, i'm thoroughly confused by these instructions (somewhat vague in parts ) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1869673 Is there a video tutorial where it is shown what to do step by step to get a native sd setup for a dual booth with android sd and wp7? Do I just do it the same way I did before (install wp7, then reset / repartition, but instead of using fat32 i make a fat32 (how big) and an ext4 (or 2?) and which comes first (the fat or the ext) ? Afterwards, ALL partitions are primary?
i found this info for installing ext4. but do i create the ext4 BEFORE or AFTER i install WP7 ?
I'd say Paranoid JB is pretty fast using NativeSD (EXT) method. You will need to create an EXT partition first, but keep a FAT partition, because on EXT the ROM will keep only its own data and apps, the rest is still on FAT (just like now, but instead of data.ext and system.ext in ICS folder there is a partition just for those). Windows Phone 7 will not be able to read content of EXT partition, but it will not be needed, since there won't be anything worth looking at and all media files you will still keep on FAT. You will also have to make a backup of everything on your FAT partition because it will be lost, and fresh install will be necessary. You might want to backup your applications with Titanium Backup though.
For more information on partitioning please visit NativeSD thread.
I'm using a 8GB Transcend Class 4 card with 4GB FAT, 1GB EXT and rest (2.4GB) WP7FS. I don't have any errors with downloading apps on neither WP7 nor Android. Are you sure you entered that special code for Marketplace and logged into Google account on Droid?
furthermore
actually, i installed the hd20 rom you're using and had no problems with marketplace. at this point i have hd20 wp7 set up, activated, and working. i'm just trying to understand some of the more advanced information in the forums about setting up the ext4. i found some very technical instructions (edit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=534714 ) for setting up an ext2 with gparted via dos then upgrading it to ext4. i don't know if that will mess up the wp7 partition, and if i should have done this before i installed wp7.
i had already read the nativesd thread, and the extended threads from it. i'm afraid i'm just not knowledgeable enough currently to fill in the gaps of information i find in a lot of the instructions. but i'm not giving up.
---- edit update:
this has gotten way off the original topic so I've started a new thread with a diferent topic here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=31356468#post31356468

[Q] Android on SD and partitions etc NO CARD FOUND

Hello,
I am looking for some advice with regard to a speciifc problem I have with my HD2 which is running Android from SD using haret.exe etc to start the system from within Windows Mobile 6.5. The android files are currently held on a 8GB sandisk card. I have prefered this method of using android basically because I find it useful to remove the SD card and create a backup of the files onto my PC, which gives me peace of mind before installing new tryout software, just incase something goes wrong, I know I have the option to go back to a working system very quickly by reloading the files back to the SD card from the PC backup.
Recently I have been thinking that it might be easier if I could backup the files using the phone directly, so I decided to buy a 16GB card in order to partition it into two virtual 8GB drives and load my existing android os files onto one partition, whilst using the second partition to save a backup of android. I thought I should be able to create a backup of android from within WM6.5 instead of having to remove the card and rely on a PC all the time to do this job.
So, using MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition, I formatted and partitioned the new 16GB SD card, I used FAT32 for each partition and proceeded to copy my android files to the first partition of the new card. I installed the card into my HD2 and started the phone up which booted into WM6.5
From within WM6.5, I used the file explorer and could see both partitions appearing as separate SD cards, the first containing all my android os files etc, and the second partition was empty of course. Just as a test I thought I would try a copy and paste of a couple of files from the android partition to the empty partition, and this worked just fine. I thought to myself I am onto a winner here : ) Read on....
With that I decided to boot into android by clicking on haret.exe.
The system started to boot as normal and everything appeared to be going very very well. Booting completed and the system was ready to use..... Then I thought I would have a look around and see if it was running ok. OH DEAR.... It was reporting that it couldn't find the SD card, even though it had booted from it ! All my files and folders inaccessible and any programs that had been moved to SD card wouldn't start up or were missing from the list of installed apps. I still cant understand why the system has booted from an SD card that it cannot find once the system has booted......
This whole excercise was basically motivated by the need to be able to backup and restore the system from one partition to the other without the constant need to remove the SD card and do the job from a PC. (Constant removal of the SD card is starting to bother me incase I end up wearing the card slot out)
So basically my question is can this be done using my existing android install? (I wouldn't want to start again and install from scratch because the system is highly customised, and has took me a long time to get where it is now) I want to be able to have two partitions on my SD card, one which boots, runs android and holds all my files associated with android, and a second parition which I can use to create and restore a backup from within WM6.5.
This is not a desperate requirement, but I feel it would be a lot better than needing to rely on having my PC to hand all the time. This idea has come from my longstanding history of creating backups using GHOST and similar applications in Windows XP. I would like to do the same with my phone. Obviously I would still periodically make a backup to the PC for safekeeping but it would be more convenient to do it with the phone itself.
Any advice on where I am going wrong would be very useful. Also if you can suggest any other ways of making a strong reliable backup that makes an image of 'EVERYTHING' as is from within android directly, please let me know. I have had a look at Titanium backup, but not sure if it would make a mirror image of 'EVERYTHING' the way I would like to do it (like Ghost does in windows). The way I am doing it at present works fine, except for having to constantly remove the card and rely on having a PC about.
Oh by the way the android version on my SD card is Froyo 2.2 incase this matters (I have never bothered upgrading because it works and does what I need it to do)
Many Thanks
Tony
Brookbond said:
Hello,
I am looking for some advice with regard to a speciifc problem I have with my HD2 which is running Android from SD using haret.exe etc to start the system from within Windows Mobile 6.5. The android files are currently held on a 8GB sandisk card. I have prefered this method of using android basically because I find it useful to remove the SD card and create a backup of the files onto my PC, which gives me peace of mind before installing new tryout software, just incase something goes wrong, I know I have the option to go back to a working system very quickly by reloading the files back to the SD card from the PC backup.
Recently I have been thinking that it might be easier if I could backup the files using the phone directly, so I decided to buy a 16GB card in order to partition it into two virtual 8GB drives and load my existing android os files onto one partition, whilst using the second partition to save a backup of android. I thought I should be able to create a backup of android from within WM6.5 instead of having to remove the card and rely on a PC all the time to do this job.
So, using MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition, I formatted and partitioned the new 16GB SD card, I used FAT32 for each partition and proceeded to copy my android files to the first partition of the new card. I installed the card into my HD2 and started the phone up which booted into WM6.5
From within WM6.5, I used the file explorer and could see both partitions appearing as separate SD cards, the first containing all my android os files etc, and the second partition was empty of course. Just as a test I thought I would try a copy and paste of a couple of files from the android partition to the empty partition, and this worked just fine. I thought to myself I am onto a winner here : ) Read on....
With that I decided to boot into android by clicking on haret.exe.
The system started to boot as normal and everything appeared to be going very very well. Booting completed and the system was ready to use..... Then I thought I would have a look around and see if it was running ok. OH DEAR.... It was reporting that it couldn't find the SD card, even though it had booted from it ! All my files and folders inaccessible and any programs that had been moved to SD card wouldn't start up or were missing from the list of installed apps. I still cant understand why the system has booted from an SD card that it cannot find once the system has booted......
This whole excercise was basically motivated by the need to be able to backup and restore the system from one partition to the other without the constant need to remove the SD card and do the job from a PC. (Constant removal of the SD card is starting to bother me incase I end up wearing the card slot out)
So basically my question is can this be done using my existing android install? (I wouldn't want to start again and install from scratch because the system is highly customised, and has took me a long time to get where it is now) I want to be able to have two partitions on my SD card, one which boots, runs android and holds all my files associated with android, and a second parition which I can use to create and restore a backup from within WM6.5.
This is not a desperate requirement, but I feel it would be a lot better than needing to rely on having my PC to hand all the time. This idea has come from my longstanding history of creating backups using GHOST and similar applications in Windows XP. I would like to do the same with my phone. Obviously I would still periodically make a backup to the PC for safekeeping but it would be more convenient to do it with the phone itself.
Any advice on where I am going wrong would be very useful. Also if you can suggest any other ways of making a strong reliable backup that makes an image of 'EVERYTHING' as is from within android directly, please let me know. I have had a look at Titanium backup, but not sure if it would make a mirror image of 'EVERYTHING' the way I would like to do it (like Ghost does in windows). The way I am doing it at present works fine, except for having to constantly remove the card and rely on having a PC about.
Oh by the way the android version on my SD card is Froyo 2.2 incase this matters (I have never bothered upgrading because it works and does what I need it to do)
Many Thanks
Tony
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android looks at storage (and cards and file systems) differently. Assuming you created the partitions okay, you would have to use the Linux mount command (sorry, more reading).
A simpler way to accomplish your goal would be to have everything in one partition on the card. Create a folder and call it "Backup_Folder" or some other name meaningful to you. You will be able to copy/paste in Windows or Android.
Having said that you might want to read more about NAND installations when you have time. It would likely run better and give you more choices. Although a learning curve, once mastered it is as simple and safe as what you are now doing.
---
Junk: something you have kept for years, and thrown away two weeks before you need it...

Categories

Resources