I've been having this problem on and off for a while, mostly I believed it was related to something getting corrupted when I restored my apps to a new Rom with Titanium Backup.
I am happy to say, that after scouring the web for days, and trying a lot of wrong information, I finally figured out how to fix this.
It's real easy. All you need to do is remove any *.apk files located in the /cache directory on your phone (did not even need to remount- though I did it as root just in case).
I never did figure out why only some apps will have this problem or how the problem first comes about, but I have successfully done this twice and have since been able to install/update files that had this error before.
Update (3/3/11): OK - After scouring the Internet for over a month I finally figured it out. My info above was only part right. The problem is specifically with ROMs/Kernels that move the dalvik-cache to the /cache directory (HTC puts it in the /data dir).
In any case, when it's in /data, it is using app space, and therefore you usually run out of app space and know about it. However, because this is in /cache, you don't really know what you are using. As you load up on apps, your dalvik-cache grows, and since these apps need the .dex files in the cache, even if you clear your cache, it will just get re-created.
the /cache dir is also where the apps are temporarily stored while downloading from the market. So....
1. If you are getting immediate download fails, that means that your cache is so full that you don't even have space for the temp file.
2. If you get "Invalid Package" that likely means that there was not enough cache left to install the .dex files (the download is also taking up some of this space).
Unfortunately, the only way to fix this is to either remove some of your apps, or move your cache to your SD card.
HOWEVER, I found this great app on the market called Link2SD, that allows you to only move select apps to the SD card, and you can also move the dalvik-cache files associated with these apps.
see this thread for specifics: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10711328&postcount=1
it lets you select which apps to move. You will need to create a new partition on your card, though.
So far results have been great and I can finally update the 30+ apps that have been stuck for me for the last 2 months.
almost forgot, if you adb shell or use terminal emulator, you can type "df" to see how much space is left on all your mounts.
My phone has been doing the same thing with the whole package file is invalid bs. I tried to follow your instructions on going to the /cache folder. When I went to the folder, it was empty, so I wasn't able to remove any .apk files. So now what? How do I fix this?
If you use a File Managemet app like ASTRO, it will show the folder as empty because you need root access to see the dir. However, if you use Terminal Emulator or adb shell (as root) you will see that there are indeed other directories, and probably these orphaned .apk files.
Hi,
I'm also having the same issue with invalid package. I cleared the /cahch direcotry and still have the issue -- Is there something else i can try before wiping and starting over?
thanks
Rudey
It could also be caused by the .android_secure folder on your SD card. Clearing this folder and letting the market restore them solves issues a lot ofthe time.
As always use TiBackup or something to backup all your apps first too to be safe.
As the OP, I can tell you that I have, in fact, been unable to fix this problem.
Initially the suggestion I posted above worked, however a couple of days later is was no longer working again.
I have tried every trick on the web, including:
1. Removing SD card.
2. Deleting the above mentioned folder
3. clearing market cache
4. Clearing all caches in recovery
5. logging out and back in to google talk.
The only thing that fixes it is a complete factory reset.
I currently have a combination of 3 errors:
1. No download at all.
2. Download unsuccessful
3. Invalid Package
some apps will still update, but what is really weird is that I am even getting invalid package on new apps (so its not a corrupt app already installed on the phone).
One last thought. Once I am unable to update an app, even if I remove it, I can no longer restore the backup using Titanium.
oughta try reformating your SD card and let the phone reformat it too.
sgt. slaughter said:
oughta try reformating your SD card and let the phone reformat it too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't see why this is different than un-mounting the SD which should do the same thing and has been tried.
sw99 said:
don't see why this is different than un-mounting the SD which should do the same thing and has been tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
na actually reformating it will fully wipe everything on the SD and having the phone do it is best always as its always better to format with the device your using the disk on the most in general.
Found the problem, updated in OP.
sw99 said:
I've been having this problem on and off for a while, mostly I believed it was related to something getting corrupted when I restored my apps to a new Rom with Titanium Backup.
I am happy to say, that after scouring the web for days, and trying a lot of wrong information, I finally figured out how to fix this.
It's real easy. All you need to do is remove any *.apk files located in the /cache directory on your phone (did not even need to remount- though I did it as root just in case).
I never did figure out why only some apps will have this problem or how the problem first comes about, but I have successfully done this twice and have since been able to install/update files that had this error before.
Update (3/3/11): OK - After scouring the Internet for over a month I finally figured it out. My info above was only part right. The problem is specifically with ROMs/Kernels that move the dalvik-cache to the /cache directory (HTC puts it in the /data dir).
In any case, when it's in /data, it is using app space, and therefore you usually run out of app space and know about it. However, because this is in /cache, you don't really know what you are using. As you load up on apps, your dalvik-cache grows, and since these apps need the .dex files in the cache, even if you clear your cache, it will just get re-created.
the /cache dir is also where the apps are temporarily stored while downloading from the market. So....
1. If you are getting immediate download fails, that means that your cache is so full that you don't even have space for the temp file.
2. If you get "Invalid Package" that likely means that there was not enough cache left to install the .dex files (the download is also taking up some of this space).
Unfortunately, the only way to fix this is to either remove some of your apps, or move your cache to your SD card.
HOWEVER, I found this great app on the market called Link2SD, that allows you to only move select apps to the SD card, and you can also move the dalvik-cache files associated with these apps.
see this thread for specifics: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10711328&postcount=1
it lets you select which apps to move. You will need to create a new partition on your card, though.
So far results have been great and I can finally update the 30+ apps that have been stuck for me for the last 2 months.
almost forgot, if you adb shell or use terminal emulator, you can type "df" to see how much space is left on all your mounts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didnt solve my issue.. I had reformatted my phone and SD card and reinstalled my apps. It was working fine again but now its back to some apps update fine.. some get DOWNLOAD UNSUCCESSFUL and some get PACKAGE FILE INVALID.. any ideas.. Im on sprint lovers rom (latest)
It appears th LINK 2 SD needs a second partition that I dont have nor use with SPRINT LOVERS ROM and 2.2 .... am I missing something??
To the OP,
The program you linked to seems to be a variation of dark tremor's a2sd method (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715116). His lets you move data, cache, and/or dc to the ext partition, but doesn't (at least I don't believe it does) give you granular control over which apps remain in the standard location.
In my own use, I chose to move all user installed apps to sd, but dc remained on the internal memory (albeit, not in /data, but in the /cache partition). I figured this way, even if the sd card is missing, the phone will still boot. I won't have access to anything I installed, but whatever the rom came with will still be accessible.
Follow the instructions on that thread and create the second partition. You won't need more than 500mb. apps2sd or link2sd is the only way you can fix this problem unless you want to remove some of your apps.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
gpz1100 said:
To the OP,
The program you linked to seems to be a variation of dark tremor's a2sd method (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=715116). His lets you move data, cache, and/or dc to the ext partition, but doesn't (at least I don't believe it does) give you granular control over which apps remain in the standard location.
In my own use, I chose to move all user installed apps to sd, but dc remained on the internal memory (albeit, not in /data, but in the /cache partition). I figured this way, even if the sd card is missing, the phone will still boot. I won't have access to anything I installed, but whatever the rom came with will still be accessible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's true, and I eventually went the app2sd route. However, I was trying to avoid that because of the slow speed of my sd card.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
sw99 said:
Yes that's true, and I eventually went the app2sd route. However, I was trying to avoid that because of the slow speed of my sd card.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure which app2sd method you're referring to, but keep the following in mind. I discovered this after my backup images failed to restore properly.
In the past, i'd be backing up boot, system, and data partitions. Obviously with dt's a2sd, I need to include the ext partition now. No problem. BUT, when restoring, i'd run into issues where my apps were present, but all settings were lost. After much confusion and head scratching, I tried wiping cache and dc AFTER the restore, but before the initial boot. The restore was a success now!
Apparently, with a2sd on the ext3, some remnants of cache or dc remain when backing up, even if cache is not selected. As part of any good restore, first thing is to always wipe, so now we end up with a hodge podge of files in the cache which I think causes the OS to revert all the settings back to default.
Just something to keep in mind.
i wanted to go back how my dhd was.. lots of problem.. i havent fix my radio problem yet and now this invaled package thing *face palm*
My phone is HTC G7, and I use data2sd to get 1.5G rom space, now there is still about 1.2G left, but I also met the "invalid package file" problem. I can't find any *.apk in /cache, (root, with "ls -a"). But if I uninstall some apps, I could install or update other apps successfully. I could not use Link2sd for I already have data2sd and I guess it's not a problem of insufficient space, because I still have enough rom space.
Do you have any new solutions?
supericexu said:
My phone is HTC G7, and I use data2sd to get 1.5G rom space, now there is still about 1.2G left, but I also met the "invalid package file" problem. I can't find any *.apk in /cache, (root, with "ls -a"). But if I uninstall some apps, I could install or update other apps successfully. I could not use Link2sd for I already have data2sd and I guess it's not a problem of insufficient space, because I still have enough rom space.
Do you have any new solutions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is not the apps, its the /cache running out of space. I suspect that the app you are using cannot move the dalvik-cache files (and is really just a shortcut to android's app2sd - which is not the same as darktremor or link2sd).
in terminal us df -k to see how much space you have on each mount to confirm that there is little space in cache.
If you really have that much space in your apps mount, then I would suggest moving the dalvik-cache back to its original location (search for instructions, as the only way I know how to do it is by installing darktremor's app2sd). If you are still having problems, you really are limited to either partitioning your SD card and using apps2sd or link2sd or removing apps.
hope this helps.
I have been having this issue for a couple of months now - with a bit of a twist. After wiping my dalvik-cache, my apps began to sucsessfully update - except for Google apps.
I have no idea why just those apps, but going into settings/Applications/Manage applications, and selecting each app, then clearing that apps cache, allowed those apps to sucessfully update also.
I am thankful I did not have to resort to the above fix.
Any solution if not rooted?
I've just started to get this error when trying to update the Google+ app. The error is only happening with Google+, every other app I update/install works fine.
I haven't rooted my device, and I'm hoping there's a way to fix the issue without rooting?
Device: Nexus One
Rom: Stock Android
Version: 2.3.4
Although I couldn't see anything in the cache directories, I checked in /system/app and couldn't find any package that looked like it would be Google+.
Related
i was wondering is there a way to put all the apps cache in the sd because for my search it seems like you can only do it for some. Im also running the Cyanogen rom 3.6
I know there is an app in the market named ClearMe (or there was) that will allow this if you are looking for a less manual method
Edit: you said all apps. I'm not sure of a method.... yet..
not just cache to sd, storage to sd
ruffrider5956 said:
i was wondering is there a way to put all the apps cache in the sd because for my search it seems like you can only do it for some. Im also running the Cyanogen rom 3.6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been wondering about a couple of things since I flashed Cyanogen's ROM. 1) Calendar storage is on internal storage. I have 5MB there so that sucks. Is there any way to change that? 2) Various programs, while the app itself is installed on SD, some data, but not all, goes to the phone's internal storage. This seems random. Is there any way to move ALL storage and ALL cache to the SD? When I was on JF v1.51, all data and cache was on SD. I have 63mb free internal but on JF I had 73mb free at all times. Now I fluctuate. Any thoughts?
aaronratner said:
I have been wondering about a few things since I flashed cyanogen's rom. 1) calendar storage is on internal. I have 5mb there so that sucks. Any way to change that? 2) various programs, while the app itself is installed on as, some data, but not all, goes to the phone. This seems random. Anyway to move ALL storage and ALL cache to the as? When I was on JF v1.51, all data and cache were on sd. I have 63mb free internal but on JF I had 73mb free at all times. Now I fluctuate. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you need 73mb free? Is 63mb not enough? I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just think you might be worrying about something that is not an issue. The phone works ok with 20+ MB free and works great with 30+ MB. If you have too much free memory, it is just sitting there doing nothing. You want to use the phone's resources the best way you can, not just have them sit there being unused.
I really don't see the point in moving ALL cache to SD. I've found that the phone boots up much faster if your Dalvik-Cache is using internal memory. It is about 30MB on my phone. I did move my app, app-private, media, and data to my SD card. I've heard arguments that it is not a good idea to move the data over but I have over 100 apps and my data folder is about 6 MB. So a Class 6 card could move that entire folder in about 1 second.
Nice first post, but...
Just for reference, I don't really care if I have 10MB free. My phone is running very smoothly. Most of the questions that I ask are purely for educational purposes. I was wondering what the difference was between the apps to sd I did on JF1.51 (I did it manually and I'll show it at the end of this post for reference) and the built in method in cyanogen's ROM. I was curious about why the free memory fluctuated on cyanogen's and not JF's.
I think that some apps are using the phone's internal memory and some are using the ext2 partition. One example: I use NewsRob (an RSS reader). It asks me where I want to store the downloaded RSS feeds and I said my SD card. It created a folder and stored the file on my SD card (not the ext2 partition but the fat32). However, the internal memory was also affected even though the app itself is on SD (on ext2). Another example is my calendar app. The storage, of which I have 5MB, is stored on internal memory. On JF's it was not. Why? What is done differently?
If I enter the following commands in terminal emulator...
Code:
su
df system/sd
...I get 553920K total, 106180K used, 447740K available (block size 4096).
However, when I go to Settings > SD card & phone storage I get 540MB under total space and 409MB available.
That doesn't seem to jive or am I missing something? Hey, everything seems to be working well so I don't really care on that end. However I do care that I don't understand why this is the way it is.
Reference: My apps to sd method on JF.
In terminal emulator
Code:
busybox cp -a /data/app /system/sd/
busybox cp -a /data/dalvik-cache /system/sd/
busybox cp -a /data/data /system/sd/
Then in Recovery Terminal (Alt+X on JF menu in Recovery Mode)
Code:
mount data
rm -rf /data/app
ln -s /system/sd/app /data/app
rm -rf /data/data (optional)
ln -s /system/sd/data /data/data
rm -rf /data/dalvik-cache
ln -s /system/sd/dalvik-cache /data/dalvik-cache
reboot
I'm using "move cache for root users" - first result after searching for "cache."
It moves Browser, Market, GMaps, Street View, Gmail, and Steel caches to SD.
If you have apps2sd I would assume all caches would be on the SD card, not positive tho.
juphro said:
I'm using "move cache for root users" - first result after searching for "cache."
It moves Browser, Market, GMaps, Street View, Gmail, and Steel caches to SD.
If you have apps2sd I would assume all caches would be on the SD card, not positive tho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
using that program as well and yes it does put all the cache on your sd card.
imbonez9 said:
using that program as well and yes it does put all the cache on your sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too use that program. It's called TA Utility. It works well but I'd like more than that. For example, as stated in my original description of the "problem" is that there are other apps that don't get included in this. For one thing, calendar. That's 5MB right there. There are also various program that use some internal storage even if they cache the bulk of the files on the SD (fat32 partition). I don't actually think that this is a problem. I am just very interested in understanding the inner workings of the a2sd that I had done on JF and the a2sd that is done automatically on Cyanogen's ROM.
Another program that is a "problem" is the Work Email that was ported over by Cyanogen from myTouch. Even if you don't use it, opening it once adds more than a MB of data to the internal storage. While I removed the storage, if I wanted to use the Work Email app for some reason it would "cost" me a meg. Again, this is not a real issue as I have nearly 200 apps installed and still have 64MB of internal storage left. I just want the "why" behind all this.
My question, then, is why do certain apps "cost" me internal storage while others do not? It cannot be random. There needs to be a reason and there also needs to be a way to change that. I just don't know why and how.
aaronratner said:
I too use that program. It's called TA Utility. It works well but I'd like more than that. For example, as stated in my original description of the "problem" is that there are other apps that don't get included in this. For one thing, calendar. That's 5MB right there. There are also various program that use some internal storage even if they cache the bulk of the files on the SD (fat32 partition). I don't actually think that this is a problem. I am just very interested in understanding the inner workings of the a2sd that I had done on JF and the a2sd that is done automatically on Cyanogen's ROM.
Another program that is a "problem" is the Work Email that was ported over by Cyanogen from myTouch. Even if you don't use it, opening it once adds more than a MB of data to the internal storage. While I removed the storage, if I wanted to use the Work Email app for some reason it would "cost" me a meg. Again, this is not a real issue as I have nearly 200 apps installed and still have 64MB of internal storage left. I just want the "why" behind all this.
My question, then, is why do certain apps "cost" me internal storage while others do not? It cannot be random. There needs to be a reason and there also needs to be a way to change that. I just don't know why and how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I''m not sure its the app that is taking up the room but the space it needs to park it on the phone. Like i installed docs2go. It adds to my internal but not as much as the whole program is.
[SOLVED] - Solution
I have figured out the answer to my original question for all those who are interested. I wanted to know the difference between the A2SD that I used on JF (I did it myself) and the auto-A2SD in Cyanogen's ROM. It's very simple. The /data/data/ folder on Cyanogen is not moved to SD whereas I has it sysmlinked on JF.
If you are running Cyanogen, run the following in TE...
Code:
su
du -h /data/data/
to see what you have stored. I am going to spend some time on the forum looking to see what, if anything, can be safely moved (in a stable way) to /system/sd/ on Cyanogen. I will either report back here or start a new thread if I think my findings are worth sharing (meaning, if I come up with anything more than what everyone else but me already knows, LOL). I suspect it might be a bit of an issue since Cyanogen warns against using any other A2SD methods while using his ROM. Time will tell.
I believe that the reason /data/data is not moved to sd anymore is because it proved to be unstable for most (not all) people here. Also, if you manualy move /data/data to sd at some point on Cyan's rom it will be moved back to internal memory automaticaly next time you reboot. This is just the way Cyan has it set up due to the problems people had when the whole data folder was moved.
Agreed
borodin1 said:
I believe that the reason /data/data is not moved to sd anymore is because it proved to be unstable for most (not all) people here. Also, if you manualy move /data/data to sd at some point on Cyan's rom it will be moved back to internal memory automaticaly next time you reboot. This is just the way Cyan has it set up due to the problems people had when the whole data folder was moved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I fully agree with that. /data/data on SD was NEVER stable for me. I don't think my phone lasted more than three days after moving it. My main reason for posting was to understand what was different between what I did on JF and what Cyanogen did by default. I now fully understand the difference and, most importantly, the reasons behind it. I just have to keep and eye on which programs write data and how much data they write and what, if any, should/could be deleted. The calendar storage, for example, cannot be deleted or calendar entries disappear. For me, it's 5.5MB.
Perhaps, if I am really bored, I (or someone else) will write and app or script that can remove data/cache for ANY app added to a list. For now, I have the obvious caches moved over and a cache cleaning app for those caches moved to SD. A more efficient and more customizable method for this process is definitely needed but I have learned that these "problems" seemed to get "solved" as Android grows up. For now, manual methods will have to do.
Im using the Fresh .04 ROM. I understand Apps2SD is installed and functional. I did format my SD card correctly before installing and I suspect it should be working.
My question is:
I have been pushing a few apps to my /system/app directory using adb.
Is that on the SD card now or am I just pushing to the system RAM area and not taking advantage of Apps2SD.
I noticed my available space is at 90MB and with the Modoco ROM I had 104 available with most of these apps.
I feel like Im doing this wrong.
Apps2sd is not functional in 0.4. It was a bug that was discovered after the fact. You aren't doing anything wrong.
0.5 is being tested by about 10 people right now and all are saying it's working fine. So be patient and 0.5 will be out later.
What apps are you pushing to /system/app?
No, /system/app is not on the SD card. But it's not on the data partition either. The internal memory is partitioned as follows as far as I can tell:
/system 174MB total, generally around 10-20MB free depending on ROM and so forth
/data 163MB total. This is what reports as "phone storage" in the OS. Starts at around 140MB free.
/cache 133MB
I'm not sure how the rest of it really works but that's the gist of it.
AppsToSD moves the /data/app and /data/app-private folders (and nothing else) to the SD card. These are the folders that contain your Market and downloaded .apk files. Other things in the /data directory that use "phone storage" are the boot cache, dalvik cache, and app data (browser cache, preferences, saved games, etc).
jonnythan said:
What apps are you pushing to /system/app?
No, /system/app is not on the SD card. But it's not on the data partition either. The internal memory is partitioned as follows as far as I can tell:
/system 174MB total, generally around 10-20MB free depending on ROM and so forth
/data 163MB total. This is what reports as "phone storage" in the OS. Starts at around 140MB free.
/cache 133MB
I'm not sure how the rest of it really works but that's the gist of it.
AppsToSD moves the /data/app and /data/app-private folders (and nothing else) to the SD card. These are the folders that contain your Market and downloaded .apk files. Other things in the /data directory that use "phone storage" are the boot cache, dalvik cache, and app data (browser cache, preferences, saved games, etc).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I was pushing a few of the Original Sprint Apps and some of my purchased apps. Unfortunately, I had to download a couple apps from a "not so legit source" for the short term due to the Market screw up. However, dont look down on me, I only got the apps I legitimately purchased and couldnt download again after I formatted my card and such going from Modoco to Fresh.
Anyway, I just adb push "app name" /system/app after a mount from
a command prompt.
Once the Apps2SD is fixed, should i be doing this process a different way to take advantage of the SD card space.
Yeah, push to /data/app. There is a limited amount of free space in the /system partition.
jonnythan said:
Yeah, push to /data/app. There is a limited amount of free space in the /system partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easy enough. Thanks.
jonnythan said:
Yeah, push to /data/app. There is a limited amount of free space in the /system partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so I loaded the Modoco ROM and pushed to /data/app. It seemed to push fine, but I dont see the app.
What am I doing wrong.
Did you reboot after you pushed it there?
jonnythan said:
Did you reboot after you pushed it there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, a I get a loop at the Sprint logo. I have tried doing a Nandroid Backup 2x and then upgrading to the new Modoco and pushing. Everything works fine until I push an app to the /data/app directory, then I get a loop.
Im going to try pushing to the sdcard and move to data/app using SU file Manager.
What file are you trying to put there?
jonnythan said:
What file are you trying to put there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "test" app im pushing is the Droid Facebook app. Facebook.apk.
I tried pushing Sprint_TV.apk too, with no success.
Its odd. If I push anything to that directory, it loops the startup at the Sprint logo. I just ended up pushing to /system/app and decided to forget about it. Im a neophyte and was getting ready to throw the phone out the window.
Sprint_TV might need to be in /system/app, which is wher it normally is. The Droid Facebook app might simply not work on the Hero. So...
jonnythan said:
Sprint_TV might need to be in /system/app, which is wher it normally is. The Droid Facebook app might simply not work on the Hero. So...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After alot of trial and error, I finally got the apps in the right place and to work correctly.
I pushed to /data/sd/apps
That appears to be where Apps2SD is setup to throw the apps.
Thanks for hanging in there with me on this thread.
Both apps work great in that directory. In fact, I moved alot of the stock apps to that directory and they worked fine. None of them got moved automatically. It seems the only time Apps2SD moves the apps is upon installation, so pushing or for apps that were previously installed, they didnt get moved.
Hey, it works for me, hopefully someone else will find this useful.
Lappie2010 said:
After alot of trial and error, I finally got the apps in the right place and to work correctly.
I pushed to /data/sd/apps
That appears to be where Apps2SD is setup to throw the apps.
Thanks for hanging in there with me on this thread.
Both apps work great in that directory. In fact, I moved alot of the stock apps to that directory and they worked fine. None of them got moved automatically. It seems the only time Apps2SD moves the apps is upon installation, so pushing or for apps that were previously installed, they didnt get moved.
Hey, it works for me, hopefully someone else will find this useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps that are in /data/app (the default location without apps2sd) will get moved to /data/sd/app and then a sym link is created that points from /data/app to /data/sd/app. Anything that is in /system/app (all default system apps) will not get moved. Modaco's rom had moved a few of them there but people were receiving FC's and moving them back.
Ok, first off, I'm new to this, I've only had my android for about 1 1/2 months. I've read a million threads and posts to absorb information so I don't have to ask stupid questions like this. However, I've searched and tried several different methods, and none have worked. I apologize in advance because I'm sure the information is already somewhere in this forum, but I can't seem to find the specific information for my phone, Mt3G.
The problem I'm having is that last week I decided to partition my my sdcard so I could see how apps2sd worked. After some trial and error, I got it to work.
1. 64 mb swap
2. 512 mb ext
3 remainder on FAT32
After a couple of days, I started notices lags and also issues such as not being able to upload images to facebook, trouble downloading apps from the market, not being able to receive MMS messages or sending them, etc. Overall, it seems like partitions are causing my phone to lag, run slow and other small glitches, so I would like to remove all the partitions, format the sdcard, and just have one single FAT32 partition, as if it were stock. I no longer want apps2sd.
I've tried 'droid explorer', I've followed the cyanogen tutorial on how to uninstall apps2sd via terminal emulator, I've tried wiping, formatting, everything, nothing works. Every time I reboot my phone, the secondary partition still remains, although it says total space unavailable now, but its still there, and according to droid explorer, the apps are still there. I just want to get rid of everything because as of right now, most of my downloaded app icons don't appear, but when I go to download the apps at the market, they say they are already installed. I dont know, I'm about to just throw my phone at the wall.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way, here is my current setup.
Phone: MT3G
ROM: Cyanogen 4.2.11.1 + Cyanogen recovery 1.4
Instead of Cyanogen's recovery, install Amon_RA's 1.5.2G
It will let you format your SD back to Fat32, or you can repartition it the the three, with just the click of a trackball.
In doing so, you will more than likely have to reflash the rom due to you losing all your apps and whatnot that's also on the ext partition, since you will be deleting it.
Backup all your stuff onto your computer first, as you will lose it all when it wipes the slate clean.
@tazz, hey, thanks for your reply. So let me elaborate, when I originally partitioned my card I had amon_ra on my phone. When I started noticing problems, I went back into recovery to see if there was any way to delete or repartition back to a single FAT32, but I couldn't find anything. I stated to back track and flashed CM recovery back on my phone, wiped, reflashed ROM, etc. Nothing...in fact, it caused even more force closes and still, my apps didn't appear in the app drawer, although according to market place and android explorer, they were installed.
Anyway, I took your advice, reflashed amon_ra recovery back on my phone, but I still do not see an option to partition with a single FAT32. All I'm seeing is the option to repartion the SD card, then it gives me the option to pick swap size, ext size, then the remainder on the fat32. Do I just set the swap and ext to 0? Also, do I wipe at all in this process?
yeah just put it to zero. i was thinking about his 1.2.3.
if you put them to zero, it should work out the same either way.
Hmmm....I must be doing something wrong. Went into recovery, selected 'partition sd', set swap to '0', set ext to '0', remainder to FAT32, flashed ROM, system reboot. Secondary partition still appears when I go into the sd storage under settings. Also, android explorer still showing apps in data folder, and marketplace still shows apps such as astro file manager still installed. I'm lost.
Update: Tazz, I followed your instructions, reflashed ROM, rebooted. Secondary partion still appeared. However, I noticed that the option for 'unmounting sdcard' was available. So, I unmounted and physically removed my sdcard to see if this was causing the problem or if it was something internal. After removing sdcard, I still had my applications showing that they were installed, but not showing in app drawer. I decided to try flashing an older CM ROM, just to see what happens. It worked! After flashing older ROM verision, I reflashed newer version and all my problems were solves.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for helping me get rid of my partitions.
There are a bunch of threads that have questions about Apps not installing in the market. My usual symptoms include the app being stuck in 'Starting Download" in the market while the notification bar says it downloading ok. This occurs in many roms too ASOP and Sense.
This fix I use it deleting the contents of .android_secure folder found on your SDCard. This fix works 100% for me.
I'm pretty sure that deletes any apps you've moved to the SD card.
I can't say thats the case. I have a couple of apps on my sd card (Angry Birds, Raging Thunder 2, etc) and my .android_secure is empty.
I checked by going into settings/applications/manage applications/on sd card. It reports 7 apps on SD. What I did then is checked the .android_secure folder using Root Explorer and it says its empty. Finally, I opened up Raging Thunder and was able to play the game successfully.
Where did you get this information? Looking at the folder structure, it looks like the data is stored in another location. I would like to know where though.
The directory appears empty from within an android based explorer, but if you mount the card on windows, you'll see a bunch of .asec files. For example, I have a 16MB com.rovio.angrybirds-1.asec file there. I think the reason it appears empty when you look on the phone is because it takes those files and mounts them, either hiding them as a side effect of that process or explicitly hiding them as a separate step. If you do a df from ADB or terminal (with the card mounted on the phone), you see a bunch of entries like this:
/dev/block/dm-69 16612 14484 2128 87% /mnt/asec/com.rovio.angrybirds-1
So there are files there, but it looks like they're hidden when the card is mounted. I'm not 100% sure what happens if you delete them (while the card is mounted on windows, not the phone), but I believe it would break the apps you've moved to the SD card when you remount the card on the phone.
Interesting info...i didn't know the files were hidden. Btw, do you have apps that don't install the first go around? This happens on numerous occasions with different roms
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Yeah, I've seen issues sometimes. You mention different roms -- are you using Titanium to reinstall apps and having issues the next time an update comes out on the market? I've been seeing that one lately. Usually the second time around it works. Not sure why. Of course, the market itself also goes out from time to time.
Your tip *does* apply when you're doing a hard reset/wipe data. .android_secure should be emptied after you've wiped data, as I believe those files are encrypted using a key on the data partition. However, I believe both CW (for sure) and Amon (I think) will wipe .android_secure when you wipe data, so that should be done for you. I did see situations before I was rooted when I reset somehow (maybe just through android's own factory reset) and the dir didn't clear out, but I think it will normally if you wipe through recovery. Other than after a data wipe though, I don't think you normally want to manually touch that directory.
Another method that has worked for me especially with Angry Birds is to unmount your SD card (via settings), install the program, and then remount your SD card. With this method however you have to repeat the procedure each time the program is updated.
Ok I had memory issues when I went from the Backflip to the Flipside. But thankfully links2sd made a huge difference and i was able to get all the apps I wanted using that nifty little app. Now however after this update I can't even get half the apps I had on 2.1, and that is with using Links2sd. I've tried getting rid of ATT bloatware, moving some apps to systems apps, and clearing davlik cache using Titanium Backup but it only does so much. Anyone have any solutions to get more internal storage or a better way to get apps onto the SD card because this is making the update almost not worth it...and what's worse is that we cant even revert back to 2.1 without bricking the phone....sad day!
I'm having pretty much the same issues, but I'm wondering how you moved apps to the system apps? This would be helpful to me.
How much internal memory do you have free? I have about 45mb which is less then half of what I had before the update. Im not sure what is taking up the memory. Ive removed what I can and feel is safe with Ti Backup and moved my apps with Link2SD to my SD card.
boazjuggalo said:
I'm having pretty much the same issues, but I'm wondering how you moved apps to the system apps? This would be helpful to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is done via titanium backup. Long press on the app and the menu gives you the option to convert to sys app.
pre4speed said:
This is done via titanium backup. Long press on the app and the menu gives you the option to convert to sys app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea that's how I moved it to system.
And I have about 20MB after moving a few apps and moving some to system....ugh this is frustrating
I have my wife's phone running on 60mgs free...
HiloDB1 said:
How much internal memory do you have free? I have about 45mb which is less then half of what I had before the update. Im not sure what is taking up the memory. Ive removed what I can and feel is safe with Ti Backup and moved my apps with Link2SD to my SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 2 or 3 apps installed (Facebook and whatnot) and I have roughly 32mb after clearing davick (or whatever it's called)
telegraph0000 said:
I have my wife's phone running on 60mgs free...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really, how? How many apps do you have? I have about 17 apps
JBallin4life27 said:
Really, how? How many apps do you have? I have about 17 apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just basics
Adfree
Adobe flash
Adobe reader
Adwlauncher
Fruit ninja
Pandora
Jorte
Jw reader
Lik2sd
Maps
Market
Palmary weatherb pro
Pure messenger widget
Quick boot
Titanium backup
I also added opera, and that brought it down to 50megs
Tadaaaaaa.....
Hey, I just posted the SBF in the Flipside Android Development part of the forum and I flashed that and it appears that this version of 2.2.2 runs better with links2sd and has significantly made a difference in freeing up memory. I'm gonna play around with it some more but it appears to have links2sd running as well as it did when I had 2.1. Some of you may want to consider backing up and reflashing the update. Just something to consider. I'll post an update again soon after I play around with it a bit.
Do you know how much space was available on /data when you fresh flashed it?
(edit)
So, I ended up breaking something, as usual, and had to reflash, so I used the fresh 2.2 sbf. Turns out there's roughly 74mb free on /data when you first flash, although that quickly drops as the system apps (maps, market, and flash offhand) are brought up to date.
You're right!!!
My wife's phone is down to 55 megs!!!
Sorry, I meant to post again after my last post but my phone kept freezing on the red Moto screen everytime I flashed the update and I took my phone back to AT&T 3 times this past weekend only to find out it was my SD card causing the problems. Just FYI if you partition your SD card to use link2sd make sure your second partition is set as primary otherwise the 2.2 Froyo update will completely shutdown as soon as you put your card in and will not let you do ANYTHING!
That being said, you definitely have better memory after flashing the SBF as opposed to the other methods i've tried for the update. I was able to install almost all the apps and games I had previously (some I didn't add just cuz I hadn't been using em). Everything runs smoother for me and I havent had any freezing or anything. Hope this update is running well for you guys
I'm reluctant to move many things over to system apps, personally... Don't forget that link2sd won't link the dalvik-cache of system apps, so you'd actually have more free space in /data by leaving it as a user app and just linking app/dalvik/lib. I'm at roughly 95mb free currently, with a pretty reasonable amount of stuff installed, so I'm much happier now.
Another space-saving trick I've found: Titanium Backup has a folder in /data that it uses as a temp file storage, any time you restore a backup it moves the .apk over there then installs it. It's located at /data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup/files, and also contains busybox, sqlite3, and your license file. If you're restoring a backup of a large app, this means you need a pretty large amount of space free to do so, which can be difficult on our phones. You can move this folder over to the second sd card partition that link2sd uses and symlink it without problems. Here's a (probably ugly) method:
Code:
cd /data/sdext2
mkdir tbfiles
cp /data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup/files/* ./tbfiles
rm -Rf /data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup/files
ln -s /data/sdext2/tbfiles /data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup/files
Actually....
If you have auto-link on... and move it to system with tibu... it will link the cache...
Why are you linking lib files... when you reboot... they go back to internal... you'll have memory issues at reboot that way...
Sent from my MB508 using Tapatalk
The file I manually link isn't a lib, or at least it doesn't get linked by Link2SD when you link TitaniumBackup's libs. The link stays through a reboot and hasn't caused me any issues so far, it just makes less free space required to restore backups.
As for linking libs in general, while they do tend to get unlinked on reboot, I have plenty of free space to let them exist in /data, and the newest Link2SD has a one-touch option to relink them all again to recover that space. It's not an issue unless you're linking libs and also filling your /data partition near the max.