Database Users

APPS2SD Confusion.

From the recovery image to get APPS2SD by simply running the format the SD using Ext2+Swap+fat32 right?
I have a class 6 card. How do I know if this actually works? I formatted and my internals space did not change?
Are there major benefits of doing APPS2SD?

Yes, first format the SD card.
To see if its working,
Check your Settings -> SD card & phone storage -> Internal phone storage. Make note of what it is at. Install some apps, maybe even try reinstalling some of the apps on your phone. Then, check the internal storage again and see if you have some more space.
As for the benefits, it just frees up your internal memory on your phone. I don't think it makes your phone faster or anything.

The question I have about APPS2SD is this. How come when I use it my internal memory drops after I install apps. I have not used it since I had to go back to the original Sprint ROM to do the update and installing the same apps I had before, my internal memory was about the same as it was when I used APPS2SD. I used the recovery screen to format to Fat32-Ext2-Swap and files were on the sd card when I checked, but my internal memory still drops everytime I install something. What is the real benifit of this if the internal memory drops anyway. I am real confused about this and have not decided if it is worth using since I have read it can damage your memory card. Can someone with knowledge of how this works please explain it.
Thx for all the great Info found here.

AppsToSD only puts the apps themselves on the SD. The internal memory is still used by the boot-cache, dalvik-cache, and actual app data like settings, saved games, cache, etc.

Must it be ext3?
What if i have ext2?

rvenes said:
Must it be ext3?
What if i have ext2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If youre using one of the newer recovery images there should be an option to upgrade ext2 to ext3
as for the difference...im not to sure exactly

Tipharet said:
How do I know if this actually works? I formatted and my internals space did not change
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answer: . . . . .
nelson8403 said:
Just because the apps are installed to the SD card doesn't mean they don't store things on the phone.. cache is stored on the phones, theres a /data/data folder on the phone that the apps populate as well, it just doesn't take AS MUCH space on your phone as a non appstosd
also to make sure your apps are working go into your adb shell, type in
Code:
cd /data/app
pwd
cd /data/app-private
pwd
What this will do is go to your /data/app folder and because with appstosd that is a symbolic link to /system/sd/app the PWD (present working directory) will display /system/sd/app, if PWD shows /data/app you are not running appstosd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

rvenes said:
Must it be ext3?
What if i have ext2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know it works just fine on ext2.
As far as the difference, the nutshell version is that ext3 is pretty much just ext2 with journaling hacked in. If you don't know that that means, do a google search on "journaling file system".
There should be no downside whatsoever to switching to ext3. It can still be read from and written to by anything that can use ext2, and it adds more robust error recovery.
Caveats: I'm not sure how well, or if, that error recovery works on flash memory devices. My expertise is working with large servers that use hard disks. I also don't know if there are tools in our android builds that take advantage of the benefits that ext3 provides.
Having said that, I'm still confident that choosing to upgrade to ext3 offers NO downside, and while there might also be no upside, there is also the potential for a huge upside.
My advice: Do it.

Intuitive guide to Apps2SD?

I knew this time would come....
I've got too many apps on my phone and Im running low on space, and I've noticed my phone has been dragging lately.
I have an 8GB class 6 SD card, so hopefully speed shouldnt be an issue.
I have yet to use A2SD...
If I partition my drive, do I lose everything that's on there? Obviously that's not a problem as I can just move everything over to my computer then copy it back, but if I can leave the data on there and partition that'd be great.
Im having a hard time finding a step by step "from day one" guide.
Mind pointing me in the right direction? The only thing Ive found in the wiki is moving to a new SD card with A2SD.
Im currently running DC 2.07.2

BACK UP SDCARD
Boot into recovery. Partition SD card (default values)
Download http://www.darktremor.com/files/misc/a2sd-2.5-signed.zip
Flash above .zip as any normal ROM
Boot phone
Open command prompt and type:
adb shell
a2sd install
Tada.

Ok great, got that part down.
Now moving the already installed apps over to the SD card? What else do I do from here?
Thank you for the help!

Actually, looks like everything went ok...
ls -l /data reveals all the locations as /system/sd/app
I didn't bother to look at free internal space before installing, but my interanal free storage is now at 130MB. Sound right?
Last question i have for now....
Now that all my apps are on the SD card, if I were to flash a new ROM (say a new ROM Flipz comes out with) that has A2SD support... I dont' have to re-install them as both the apks, odex, and dalvik are all stored on the SD card right?

poor_red_neck said:
Actually, looks like everything went ok...
ls -l /data reveals all the locations as /system/sd/app
I didn't bother to look at free internal space before installing, but my interanal free storage is now at 130MB. Sound right?
Last question i have for now....
Now that all my apps are on the SD card, if I were to flash a new ROM (say a new ROM Flipz comes out with) that has A2SD support... I dont' have to re-install them as both the apks, odex, and dalvik are all stored on the SD card right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only version that I'm aware of that moves Dalvik-cache to the sd card is Apps2SD version 2.5. I don't know if anyone has that in the ROMs yet. Many of them are either using an Apps2SD that was built for Fresh 2.0d, Apps2SD version 2.0, or the Apps2SD which is common in the 1.5 builds.
Your apps in /data/app and /data/app-private are on the sd card. You can flash Apps2SD version 2.5 (A2SD) from http://www.darktremor.com/files/misc/a2sd-2.5-signed.zip if you want to move the dalvik-cache.
EDIT: I really should read the instructions that was posted before I stick my foot in my mouth. The file is the one located at Darktremor, which is the version 2.5...so, yes...your dalvik-cache is on the sd card.

So I tried the above method, but all my apps stopped working and when I go to reinstall them, it says "Insufficient Space for App"...
What did I do wrong?
EDIT: Okay, nevermind, it seems to be working now. I tried installing the app again and it installed fine the second time. Trying another one now.

I did this recently and just found out that I cannot install/download apps from the market, it just gets stuck there. Does it know where its downloading too after a2sd is installed?

Apps2Sd or App2Ext?

I want to know in which partition it would be better to have apps on? Ext or Fat? Should I move the apps which support Moving to SD card to the Fat partition or it doesnt matter in which partition the app is?

depends on your preference, for some people it might be easier to just use apps2sd since it require no setup while ext does.
i prefer apps2ext because it works for me and i just experience too many problems with apps2sd

behelit said:
depends on your preference, for some people it might be easier to just use apps2sd since it require no setup while ext does.
i prefer apps2ext because it works for me and i just experience too many problems with apps2sd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have set up apps2ext on my phone.. But is there any advantage or disadvantage in keeping apps in either of the partition?
BTW what problems did you face in apps2sd?

This may help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8012686&postcount=4342

Thanks for this ..

Ive set up my apps2ext and most of my apps are in the ext partition but I have found that not all apps are in there...some are stored in sd and some in phone...why is that? I have still around 0.5gb left in the ext partition...
can anyone shed some light into this? thanks in advance

nazrin313 said:
Ive set up my apps2ext and most of my apps are in the ext partition but I have found that not all apps are in there...some are stored in sd and some in phone...why is that? I have still around 0.5gb left in the ext partition...
can anyone shed some light into this? thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android sees and reports apps on your sd-ext partition (apps2ext) as internal.
App developers can force apps to install on SD (sd-fat).
If you install an app that is forced to SD then it will install on "external" (sd-fat) and be reported as such.
You can prevent this behaviour, and I recommend doing this, by forcing apps to internal storage (despite what the developer builds into the app) - you may need a custom rom for this(?). They will always be installed on sd-ext then.

djmcnz said:
Android sees and reports apps on your sd-ext partition (apps2ext) as internal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply. And Yeap I know but I have also seen at some instance that the apps are stored in the phone memory
djmcnz said:
You can prevent this behaviour, and I recommend doing this, by forcing apps to internal storage (despite what the developer builds into the app) - you may need a custom rom for this(?). They will always be installed on sd-ext then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im using Enom's latest if thats any help

nazrin313 said:
Thanks for the quick reply. And Yeap I know but I have also seen at some instance that the apps are stored in the phone memory
Im using Enom's latest if thats any help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect:
Code:
adb shell pm setInstallLocation 1
Will set future installs to "internal" (sd-ext).
You'll need to manually move the ones already on sd-fat back to "internal" using Manage Applications... then fixed...
EDIT: Oh! I see "phone memory" - sorry. They will not be in /data/app/ they will be in /data/app-private/ which is NOT moved to sd-ext...

djmcnz said:
Perfect:
Code:
adb shell pm setInstallLocation 1
Well set future installs to "internal" (sd-ext).
You'll need to manually move the ones already on sd-fat back to "internal" using Manage Applications... then fixed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks buddy, your a star.....

tried what you suggested and moved the apps from sd to internal..now Im running low on space as Im down to 19mb...any suggestions? Did I do something wrong?
EDIT...just saw your edit...what do you mean?

nazrin313 said:
tried what you suggested and moved the apps from sd to internal..now Im running low on space as Im down to 19mb...any suggestions? Did I do something wrong?
EDIT...just saw your edit...what do you mean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
19MB suggests apps2ext is not working... it should never really go below ~60MB with apps2ext (I have 203 apps and ~70MB free).
The edit means that some secure apps are installed to a location that apps2ext does NOT move... although there are very few of these, nothing to account for ~19MB.
What apps2ext does your rom use? DarkTremor? If so that has built in diagnostics... otherwise, if you do this:
Code:
Terminal:
ls -l /data/
Code:
ADB:
adb shell ls -l /data/
What do you get back?

djmcnz said:
19MB suggests apps2ext is not working... it should never really go below ~60MB with apps2ext (I have 203 apps and ~70MB free).
The edit means that some secure apps are installed to a location that apps2ext does NOT move... although there are very few of these, nothing to account for ~19MB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im sure its working as I have most of my apps (some 170+) are in ext3sd..and the rest either in phone or fat sd...
djmcnz said:
Code:
Terminal:
ls -l /data/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its says anr,app, app-private,backup, d_app_store, dalvik-cache, data, dontpanic, local, lost+found, misc, property, systems, tombstones...
dats it...

nazrin313 said:
Im sure its working as I have most of my apps (some 170+) are in ext3sd..and the rest either in phone or fat sd...
its says anr,app, app-private,backup, d_app_store, dalvik-cache, data, dontpanic, local, lost+found, misc, property, systems, tombstones...
dats it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
should say something like
Code:
/data/app -> /system/sd/app
To reflect the symlink.

djmcnz said:
should say something like
Code:
/data/app -> /system/sd/app
To reflect the symlink.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmm...interesting, I guess Enom's rom doesnt use darktremor's script...what do you suggest? I guess it would hurt putting the script over the ROM?
Edit: i ran the code again indeed it did say /data/app -> /system/sd/app
Ermmm... so what next?

nazrin313 said:
Hmmmm...interesting, I guess Enom's rom doesnt use darktremor's script...what do you suggest? I guess it would hurt putting the script over the ROM?
Edit: i ran the code again indeed it did say /data/app -> /system/sd/app
Ermmm... so what next?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hunt and peck.
du will give you disk usage...

nazrin313 said:
Im sure its working as I have most of my apps (some 170+) are in ext3sd..and the rest either in phone or fat sd...
its says anr,app, app-private,backup, d_app_store, dalvik-cache, data, dontpanic, local, lost+found, misc, property, systems, tombstones...
dats it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
170+ apps = LOTS OF DALVIK CACHE. My 120ish is 110m.. Of course it depends on the app, but I'd say you're seeing all dalvik cache. If you really need more internal storage, you'll have to uninstall some apps or move dalvik to SD. (NOT /cache)

Yeap, i can confirm dat its all dalvik cache...so, should i move the dalvik to sd? Why? N why not cache?
Update:
Ive tried putting dalvik into sd but i had a system process error...what up? Luckily i did a nandroid before i moved it

Another update
Tried dc to cache - everything loaded just fine but cannot install apps from market
Tried dc to sd - system error n fc's everything
Anyone?

Using app2sd but get a Low On Space message after installing apps?

Why is this? My app2sd space is 300+mb but why it seems like my apps installed in my phone memory?
I need to uninstall some my apps to get rid of the Low On Space message in the notification bar
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA Premium App

1)verify your apps are actually on the ext partition. Use Root explorer to verify the links.
2)try "cachesd"
3)try "datasd", seriously slows down boot-up.
edit: Thought you meant apps2sdext by darktremor.

A2SD doesn't move the entire app to the SD card, only part of it. I believe that if you are root, there is a method known as A2Ext which makes use of a partition the user makes on the SD card and treats that partition as if it were part of the internal memory, thus making it unnecessary to use A2SD. Can someone with more knowledge on this topic clarify this?

i've had the same problem for the last 6 months, never been able to fix it. I have 20 mb internal storage left, and a2sd is definitely working (partition shows up in Titanium Backup, and i have a LOT more apps than would fit normally on internal). Someone recommended I move my dalvik-cache to sd, never tried it, but I'll look at it soon.

britoso said:
1)verify your apps are actually on the ext partition. Use Root explorer to verify the links.
2)try "cachesd"
3)try "datasd", seriously slows down boot-up.
edit: Thought you meant apps2sdext by darktremor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive tried typing a2sd cachesd in terminal emulator. But my phone memory are still decreasing after i install sniper vs sniper online from 30mn to 20mb. And now the Low On Space message are back on my notification bar.
And yes, i use darktremor app2sd.
Other suggestions of what to type in the terminal emulator?
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA Premium App

You guys definitely need to move the dalvik cache to SD. I forget the exact term to type into terminal emulator but I think there is an a2sd app available on the market which you can use to do it. Its called A2SDGUI

ksc6000 said:
You guys definitely need to move the dalvik cache to SD. I forget the exact term to type into terminal emulator but I think there is an a2sd app available on the market which you can use to do it. Its called A2SDGUI
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have installed it. It says my dalvik cache are on sd-ext. Other suggestions?
Sent from my LG-P500 using XDA Premium App

like britoso said, try datasd. that should clear up a lot of space

I had a similar issue..not sure if my solution will work in your case, but worth a shot:
In Root Explorer, go to the "/Cache" folder
Delete all the "downloadfile-(number).apk" files
See if that fixes it
It seems as though the marketplace gunks up that folder whenever it's updating an app, or something along those lines.

I have the exact same issue. I'm always hovering around 20MB

have you tried flashing the dark tremor's script that does the trick for me

[Q] Where is my memory going ?

I've xcd35 also known as zte blade. I've not installed many applications, still I see only around 25MB free space in my phone memory
What can be the reason for this ?

Have you taken a lot of photos or videos possibly and are those not being saved on the SD card?

Yes, i did took many photos but they are on my sd card.
Still I don't know where did the space go.. can anyone help me in getting back my space ?

Maybe you should install some app such as file manager from market (I can't provide a link, search "file manager", it's the first result by rhythm software). Then go ahead and select "Storage analysis" after clicking menu. It'll do a complete scan of your phone+SD-card and then shows you the biggest space hoarders.

I installed file manager and it says following,
device total memory: 162.5 M
device free memory : 24.57M
sd total memory: 1.86M
sd free memory: 1.15M
Also, it gives the biggest space holders, but all those are in my sd (like one app tak 570+ MB and my documents take 33M, both are in my sd).
the list all space holders includes the folders in sd card only.. How do I see status of internal memory ?

shek007 said:
I installed file manager and it says following,
device total memory: 162.5 M
device free memory : 24.57M
sd total memory: 1.86M
sd free memory: 1.15M
Also, it gives the biggest space holders, but all those are in my sd (like one app tak 570+ MB and my documents take 33M, both are in my sd).
the list all space holders includes the folders in sd card only.. How do I see status of internal memory ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open CWM clear cache partition and then advanced clear dalvik cache and reboot it should clear your memory u must be surfing a lot on stock browser if even this didn't solve your problem reset your phone

What is cwm ? And where can I find it ?
Also, what is dalvik cache and how do I clear it ?

shek007 said:
What is cwm ? And where can I find it ?
Also, what is dalvik cache and how do I clear it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
clockworkmod rest is mentioned in the above post

shek007 said:
I installed file manager and it says following,
device total memory: 162.5 M
device free memory : 24.57M
sd total memory: 1.86M
sd free memory: 1.15M
Also, it gives the biggest space holders, but all those are in my sd (like one app tak 570+ MB and my documents take 33M, both are in my sd).
the list all space holders includes the folders in sd card only.. How do I see status of internal memory ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 162.5MB is the total internal memory available for your apps and their data. The 24.57MB is how much of that is free at the moment. When you move an app to the sdcard, some of it is left behind on the internal memory, so you can't get rid of all of it. You can increase the amount of internal memory available by creating an ext partition on your sdcard (though it looks like you only have a 2GB sdcard, so you wouldn't have much space left for music etc. on it) and then using something like darktremor a2sd to move your apps to the new ext partition. This works differently from the normal move to sdcard as it allows you to move the whole app so frees more space.
The other option is repartitioning the internal memory. This means you take some of the space from where the rom is installed, and add it to the data partition so you can make use of it. For this to work well you need to use/be using a custom rom as the stock ones wont fit in the reduced space.
saaransh9 said:
Open CWM clear cache partition and then advanced clear dalvik cache and reboot it should clear your memory u must be surfing a lot on stock browser if even this didn't solve your problem reset your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isn't really a long term solution. The dalvik cache is needed by the phone, so wiping it will only temporarily give you more space until the phone rebuilds it all once you use your apps again. The cache partition is separate from the data partition, so wiping that would make no difference to how much space you have available.

shek007 said:
What is cwm ? And where can I find it ?
Also, what is dalvik cache and how do I clear it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM you are working on? It seems like you have stock ROM as you are unaware of CWM. If you are using stock rom, you need to switch to any custom rom to flash darktremor a2sd so that you can partition you sd card and install applications on them. You can get complete tutorial on installing CWM and custom rom from cyanogenmod website. You can uninstall bloatwares if there any to free your phone memory.

Amphoras said:
The 162.5MB is the total internal memory available for your apps and their data. The 24.57MB is how much of that is free at the moment. When you move an app to the sdcard, some of it is left behind on the internal memory, so you can't get rid of all of it. You can increase the amount of internal memory available by creating an ext partition on your sdcard (though it looks like you only have a 2GB sdcard, so you wouldn't have much space left for music etc. on it) and then using something like darktremor a2sd to move your apps to the new ext partition. This works differently from the normal move to sdcard as it allows you to move the whole app so frees more space.
The other option is repartitioning the internal memory. This means you take some of the space from where the rom is installed, and add it to the data partition so you can make use of it. For this to work well you need to use/be using a custom rom as the stock ones wont fit in the reduced space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can change my sd card to 16 or 32 GB .
That is not a problem..
Now, can you please tell me how do I do external partitioning ?
or how do I do repartitioning of internal memory?
zajith said:
Which ROM you are working on? It seems like you have stock ROM as you are unaware of CWM. If you are using stock rom, you need to switch to any custom rom to flash darktremor a2sd so that you can partition you sd card and install applications on them. You can get complete tutorial on installing CWM and custom rom from cyanogenmod website. You can uninstall bloatwares if there any to free your phone memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using dafult one I guess.. As I never install any rom before..

shek007 said:
I can change my sd card to 16 or 32 GB .
That is not a problem..
Now, can you please tell me how do I do external partitioning ?
or how do I do repartitioning of internal memory?
I'm using dafult one I guess.. As I never install any rom before..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to root and install a custom rom to partition both internal as well as external memory efficiently. You can flash darktremor a2sd script that allows you to install apps on partitioned sd card to your rooted stock rom but it won't work (didn't work for me).
Almost all the custom rom come with darktremor a2sd pre-installed on it. So it is advised to switch to any custom rom. But beware, both rooting and installing custom rom will void your warranty. Once you install a custom rom, i'm sure you will love it.
You can find guide on partitioning internal memory on the following links
h**p://android.modaco.com/topic/339048-guide-flashing-firmware-to-bladelibra-via-windows/
and here
h**p://android.modaco.com/topic/337426-gen1gen2partition-layout-tool-windows-only/
But i personally won't recommend partitioning you internal memory as the following ICS rom uses the default like partition.
You can follow the following link below to root and flash cyanogenmod
h**p://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=ZTE_Blade
If you find rooting steps given in the guide difficult you can install z4root from following link and install it on your phone to root the phone easily.
h**p://www.4shared.com/file/TA3fZuTc/z4root_zte_blade_permanent_roo.html
Once you install cyanogenmod install "ROM MANAGER" from market and there you will find the option to partition your sd card.
Regards...

shek007 said:
I can change my sd card to 16 or 32 GB .
That is not a problem..
Now, can you please tell me how do I do external partitioning ?
or how do I do repartitioning of internal memory?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can partition the sdcard from ClockworkMod recovery, which you need to flash the custom rom or the darktremor scripts to make use of the ext partition. Some roms come with it pre-installed, others you have to flash it separately.
You can repartition the internal memory by TPT or Windows flasher. TPT is the easier and safer method. From your internal memory stats you posted earlier, it looks like you are stock Gen 2, but download the Mr Pigfish app from the market to check.
If it says you are Gen 1, then you can use one of wbaw's TPTs from his thread on here, or you can use them from my app. Once you use one of these, you will be converted to Gen 2 as well.
If you are Gen 2 already then you are most likely stock Gen 2 and will need to use the TPT's from my app (choosing the stock Gen 2 option when it starts), from the thread I made on here, or by using the Windows flasher.

Here's a tip that I just recently discovered.
Since apps that are flashed in your rom (like Market) cannot be deleted in a conventional sense, a duplicate of the app is created whenever they are updated. I found an app called apps2rom that moves the updated version to the rom, and deletes the old version.
I got a good 10mb from that.