[TUTORIAL] Everything you wanted to know about app2sd, ext3, ext4 partitions!! - Galaxy 3 General

I found this post in some other section!!
i am just giving the same information here for my fellow g3 mates!!
Full credit go to neoKushan
here the original thread!! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=742351
Nows here what we are here for!!! Clear your doubts guys!!!
Ok, so here's the deal, in a very longwinded way that should hopefully explain everything and answer ALL questions.
You have an SD card in your phone and, a bit like normal PC Hard Drives, you can "partition" them (split them into two or more sections of different filesystems). Normally, your SD card is just one big FAT32 partition, which is fine for storing your pics, messages, emails, etc.
Now, other then your Phone's SD card, your phone will have its own internal flash memory (or "NAND") storage. Tradditionally with Android, you could only install applications to this NAND storage, you cannot install them onto your SD card. So if you have an empty 32GB SD card, but only 5Mb of internal phone storage, you still wont be able to install many apps, if any at all.
This was done to protect the apps from things like piracy - it's not easy to access the location where apps are installed on your phone's internal storage (normally impossible without root), so you can't for example buy an app, copy it, refund it, then install it again.
Still, this is no good for those of us who like to install lots and lots of apps, legitimately, as we run out of internal storage very quickly.
So Google came up with a way to install apps to the SD card. A folder is created called something like .android_secure and this stores (I believe) encrypted versions of applications, but there's a few catches:
1) Apps aren't automatically stored here, you have to manually "move" them
2) Not all apps are capable of being moved, in fact most apps aren't, the developer needs to update their app and allow it. Some apps aren't and wont be updated and some developers may not want to allow it for whatever reason.
3) Not all app data is moved, most of it is but some data is left on your phone so many people still run out of internal storage quickly.
4) You can force ALL apps to be moved to this area by default, but it breaks incompatible ones - such as Widgets, which are unable to load due to the SD card not being "prepared".
So that's Froyo's version. Before Froyo existed, some very clever people came up with a thing called "Apps2SD". Remember I said that your SD card normally is one big FAT32 partition? Well, Apps2SD works by having your SD card patitioned into TWO filesystems. A normal FAT32 partition for your usual stuff and a secondary "EXT" partition. EXT is just a filesystem, like FAT32 or NTFS, but it's the filesystem used by Android internally. The SD card is normally FAT32 because it's a "universal" filesystem, that just about any machine will be able to read, whereas EXT filesystems are generally Linux only, but I digress.
EXT has several different versions. The most common one you'll see is ext3. The main difference between ext2 and ext3 is "journaling", which is just a fancy way of saying that should an operation (such as copying, writing or reading) be interrupted unexpectedly (say, by you turning your phone off), then no data should be lost or corrupted. You know how when you turn your phone on, it says "preparing SD card"? It takes a few minutes, but what it's actually doing is checking that the FAT32 partition hasn't been damaged, because FAT does NOT have journaling. If you used a computer back in the Windows 98 days, you may remember that lovely blue "Scandisk" screen that had to run every time you didn't shut your computer down correctly - that's the same thing. But then Windows 2000/XP came along with NTFS, which also has journaling, meaning you had less chance of loosing data. But I digress once more.
So you have your SD card partitioned into EXT and FAT32. Generally it doesn't matter if it's ext3 or ext4, but you don't get any real advantage with ext4 over ext3 in this instance. Apps2SD then runs a special script on your phone which "symbolically links" the folder from your phone's internal storage where your apps are normally stored, to the ext partition on your SD card. A symbolic link is a bit like a shortcut for folders, except it's transparent to the OS: In other words, Android doesn't know that when it's installing it's apps to the internal phone storage, it's actually being stored on the SD card. This effectively boosts your internal phone memory from the previous 5mb that you had in my example above, up to whatever size you made the ext partition on your SD card (often 512Mb or 1Gb, but it depends on how many apps you install).
Plus, because it's "journaled", it doesn't need to be "prepared", meaning it's ready to go as soon as the phone starts - so your widgets and apps work immediately (unlike "forced" Froyo Apps2SD, where widgets disappear).
The catch with Apps2SD is that whatever space the ext partition takes up is taken away from the SD card. So if you have a 4Gb card (with something like 3.5Gb of actual storage) and you make a 512Mb ext partition, your SD card will "shrink" to 3Gb. The space isn't actually lost, it's just being used by the ext partition. If you reformat your card, you'll get it back.
Finally, there's a difference between "Apps2SD" and "Apps2SD+". Remember I said that your apps are stored on a special folder inside your Phone's NAND storage? Well, that was a bit of a lie. It's actually stored in TWO places. There's a second area which is called the Davlik Cache. You don't really need to worry about what this is for (Hint: IT's to do with the Java runetime your phone uses to run apps), all you need to know is that apps use it to store data, which also eats up internal phone memory. Apps2SD+ moves davlik cache to the ext partition on your SD card as well, freeing up even more space. Some people believe that this may come at the cost of performance, as the internal NAND memory should be faster than your SD card (Which is why you also get people arguing over which "class" SD card is better for Apps2SD - the logic being that a faster SD card means less impact from this move), but the truth of the matter is that your applications will be running from your Phone's RAM anyway, so performance isn't really impacted at all. Since most apps are only a few hundred Kb's in size, or a couple of MB at the most, it's a non-issue.
Finally, any recent version of Apps2SD/Apps2SD+ should work with an SD card that is or isn't formatted with an ext partition. It'll check for this partition when your phone first boots and if it's not there, just use internal phone storage.
Having an ext partition WITHOUT Apps2SD+ shouldn't cause any issues, either, so you can format your SD card whenever you're ready.
So in summary:
Apps2SD "fakes" your phone's internal memory and puts it all on a hidden section of your SD card.
Apps2SD+ pushes even more content to the SD card, freeing up even more space on the phone itself.
"Froyo" Apps2SD has various limitations that "old" apps2SD does not, but is much easier to handle as it doesn't involve any kind of "partitioning".

I don't really claim to be an expert but I wrote this and nobody really chimed in to say anything was wrong, so hopefully it applies here.
I'll try to keep an eye on this thread in case anyone has questions.

I don't really claim to be an expert but I wrote this and nobody really chimed in to say anything was wrong, so hopefully it applies here.
I'll try to keep an eye on this thread in case anyone has questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot buddy.. People may know all that but you have written in such a simple manner that even a small kid will understand..
Acid lestitious 2.0. Fugumod 2.2 build 1.9

thanx soo muxh for this info...it's getting really confusing out there with everyone claiming this type is better than that blah blah blah etcetc....this is very helpful
thanks again

JohnstonF said:
thanx soo muxh for this info...it's getting really confusing out there with everyone claiming this type is better than that blah blah blah etcetc....this is very helpful
thanks again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome
Acid lestitious 2.0. Fugumod 2.2

Related

Partitioning the SD

Can someone please educate me on partitioning the sd? Based on what I've read and my discussions with others, ext swap is for cache, fat32 is for apps, and the remainder is for usb storage???
I have a 8 GB class 6 (supposed to be faster) Samsung sd partioned at ext swap - 0 and fat 32 - 500.
If I'm right about ext swap (please correct me if I'm wrong), I could make my phone faster if I allocated some sd space to it??? One forum I read said that the phone is usually faster but it could have been referring to a different phone and a slower card.
If I did decide to change my partition what affects would it have (wipe sd, reinstall custom rom, etc)?
Thanks for any feedback!
Partitioning the SD card allows you to utilize a2sd/app2sd and/or swap space on your SD card - if the ROM in question supports it.
Note that the ext and swap partitions are separate things, not one and the same thing.
swap is for swap - set it to 0 (you will never need it)
ext{2|3} is for the A2SD/APPS2SD space for storing applications (and dalvik-cache for some ROMs) - 512 MB will be more than you ever need.
the rest is the VFAT partition - the MS-DOS partition you see from your Windoze box when you mount it from the PC.
Note also that partitioning your card destroys all data on it - make a backup if you decide to partition.
Neither A2SD nor having swap space will speed your phone up. (Adding swap - for ROMs which support it - will actually slow your phone down, except certain pathological cases, unless you become an expert on the process trimmer configuration and experiment with swappiness controls. The reason this happens is because the as-configured process trimmer kicks in too late if you merely add swap and do not reconfigure the trimmer).
My recommendation? Keep your life simple and avoid both A2SD and especially use of a swap area on the SD card, until such a time as you "need it". You might find a practical need for A2SD if you are going to be trying out a whole bunch of new ROMs as they come out, or you are an app hoarder and run out of space in /data.
Probably you will never need to use a swap partition on your card.
Again, in neither case will you notice a perceptible gain in "performance" of the phone.
bftb0
PS Josh. Please stop putting usage questions in the Development forum. Please. Put them in the General forum.
Thanks for clearing that up......and i will stop posting in development.

[Q] CM9/CM7 Out of space, but computer showing 27GB available

Hello all,
I have CM9 nightly installed on a 32GB microSD and I have just run into a weird problem. I still have 27GB left open BUT when I try to download magazines and install apps, it's saying I'm out of room or running out of room. Anyone have any idea why that might be?
Is it possible it's installing things to the EMMC? If so, how do I change that?
Sorry if this a n00b question. Thanks in advance for your help.
mikelav456 said:
Hello all,
I have CM9 nightly installed on a 32GB microSD and I have just run into a weird problem. I still have 27GB left open BUT when I try to download magazines and install apps, it's saying I'm out of room or running out of room. Anyone have any idea why that might be?
Is it possible it's installing things to the EMMC? If so, how do I change that?
Sorry if this a n00b question. Thanks in advance for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android has 3 major areas where stuff is stored. The system partition holds all the OS stuff plus has an area for system apps. The data partition is were downloaded apps get stored normally. The media or sdcard area is normally used for music, videos, pictures and also where some apps store any working data.
The system and data areas are of relatively fixed sizes even though they are all on the actual SD card. For your 32GB SD card it is probably "460M system, 975M data, rest is FAT for sdcard" from veryGreen post.
So your error message is being triggered probably because the 975M data partition is full. Typically this enough to hold about 150 - 200 apps depending on their size, but some games can take quite a lot.
You can check memory usage by going into settings and looking under apps.
What can you do about it? On an SD card install the simplest way is to use ANdroids capability to move apps from the standard data partition to the sdcard partition. Not all apps can be moved but many can and this will then free up space in your data partition.
Get the Apps2Sd app to help you manage this process.
I haven't run from a sdcard in quitevawhile, buy it sounds like the card didn't get repartitioned after making it into a bootable. After you burn an image to a card, you need to use an application like Easus, a disk partitioning tool (free for home use for windows, I believe) t repartition the card and make use if the remaining space.
mateorod said:
I haven't run from a sdcard in quitevawhile, buy it sounds like the card didn't get repartitioned after making it into a bootable. After you burn an image to a card, you need to use an application like Easus, a disk partitioning tool (free for home use for windows, I believe) t repartition the card and make use if the remaining space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the partitioning must have worked otherwise it wouldn't function at all.
You could change data partition size to give more space to the data partition if you are careful. I've done that on emmc prior to install. I've never tried it on an SD card after install and it's possible it might muck something else up. However, the basic point is that apps and related content go into data by default. The big part of the SD card left over from the initial install is intended for media.
Compare it to a phone. The data partition in the internal phone memory is fixed and can run out of space if lots of apps are installed. If you plug an SD expansion card into a phone it allows you to store lots music, video, etc but unless you move apps to the SD card then your original data space is unchanged. That's why app users can complain if a memory hungry app can't be moved to SD.
Maybe you can teach me something here. I am not sure I understand.
When I formatted an 8 gig card to run cm7.1, I was able to use it to boot but had the rest of memory unavailable for use. It wasn't until I redid the process and then reformatted the partitions to have the remaining space available. Only then was I able to use the remaining 6 gigabyte or whatever. I had the four partitions in both instances, and the card worked, it just wasn't available because all the space was allocated to the wrong partition. Which I rectified with Easus, I'm pretty sure.
What I guess I am saying, isbthat there are some tools that could be used, although I maybe wrong. It just seems counter-intuitive that the OP should have to use App2SD and otherworkarounds when theybhave 32 gigs to play with. I think Easus lets you define those partitions anyway you like, with the 29 gigs or so that is left once you allocate the system stuff.
Like I sad, I maybe just don't understand this very well, it is something I did when I was first learning about rooting, before I figured there was no real reason not to go internal.
mateorod said:
Maybe you can teach me something here. I am not sure I understand.
When I formatted an 8 gig card to run cm7.1, I was able to use it to boot but had the rest of memory unavailable for use. It wasn't until I redid the process and then reformatted the partitions to have the remaining space available. Only then was I able to use the remaining 6 gigabyte or whatever. I had the four partitions in both instances, and the card worked, it just wasn't available because all the space was allocated to the wrong partition. Which I rectified with Easus, I'm pretty sure.
What I guess I am saying, isbthat there are some tools that could be used, although I maybe wrong. It just seems counter-intuitive that the OP should have to use App2SD and otherworkarounds when theybhave 32 gigs to play with. I think Easus lets you define those partitions anyway you like, with the 29 gigs or so that is left once you allocate the system stuff.
Like I sad, I maybe just don't understand this very well, it is something I did when I was first learning about rooting, before I figured there was no real reason not to go internal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The various partitions have different purposes. It's not that they are unavailable for use. You want each area to have sufficient room for what you want but not necessarily too big because that then is wasted and is subtracting from the other areas.
First there is the boot partition containing the boot images. This can be small.
Next you have the system partition (~500MB) which can be fairly small because the OS does not take a lot of room and the system apps are relatively fixed in size and you don't need to add extra to that.
Next you have the data partition where downloaded apps and some of their associated data lives. You want this to be fairly big to accommodate a decent number of apps but it doesn't need to be huge. Apps vary in size from 100s of Kbytes up to say 20MB or more. So a 1GB data partition can typically hold about 200 apps.
On an SD card that then leaves the rest of space for a sdcard partition where media can be stored like video, pictures and music plus some apps will also require some working space on there.
So on an SD card install the main balance is between data and sdcard. If you were to make the data partition larger to accommodate more downloaded apps then you reduce the amount of space for music, video etc. But you do want enough space to hold a decent number of apps. The standard verygreen SD card installer sets the balance at ~1GB data and the rest sdcard for media. Now if you never wanted to put much media files on the SD card and you want to be able to download thousands of apps then that would be an argument for setting the balance the other way.
Now if you install to the internal memory the same scenario applies but you have an additional partition confusingly called emmc. Your boot, system and data areas are on the internal memory. The left over internal area is the emmc partition and the sd card is now normally set up to be a single sdcard partition.
Both the emmc and the sd card are typically used to hold media files.
The size of the data and emmc partition in the internal memory can be varied before you do the install by some partitoning zip tools and there is a thread dedicated to that.
By default as supplied new Nooks have a 5GB internal data partition and a 1GB emmc. Many people think that is not a great choice as it is really difficult to run out of app space with 5GB and it means there is only 1GB internal space for media and the unused data space is wasted. By repartitoning to say 2GB data and 4GB emmc then you get plenty of space for apps and release space for more media.
You are right that using something like Apps2Sd would seem unnecessary when you have lots of free space. It is effectively a work-around to let you use some of the sdcard as extra data area if you run out of the data area that has been allocated. Actually on an SD card install there is not much of a downside in that moving an app from data to sdcard as it is still all on the same SD card. For an internal memory install it is nice to have a big enough data partiton to make moving apps to the SD card unnecessary.

[Q] Apps to EMMC?

So searching thru the threads here it seems that the only way to utilize the EMMC memory on the Nook Color is to repartition the NC so that it all looks like internal phone memory? Is this correct or has there been a way found to utilize both the EMMC memory area AND the SD card?
Not sure what you are asking specifically but you do not have to repartition the Nook to look like internal phone memory to use the internal memory.
1. You can use the internal memory stock or rooted and you can repartition the internal memory so that the system and data allocations are to your preference. Typical partitioning is 1GB system and 5GB data. Plus whatever size SD card you insert.
2. You can install a custom ROM and the use of internal memory is the same as above with the standard being 1/5GB. Plus whatever size SD card you insert.
3. You can run a ROM on a bootable SD card where the ROM sees 1GB of the card as "internal memory" (also some space is used for the system and ROM) and the rest of the space on the card is seen as "SD card external memory." You can also mount the data partition of the Nook's internal memory so that the bootable ROM on the SD card also sees another data partition of 5GB. This is handy for items you want to appear to both the Nook's internal ROM and the ROM on the bootable SD card.
JP
I'm not clear what you are asking either. Before I repartitioned I had 1/5 and ran apps that I worried about load times on from eMMC. Stuff like flashlight or aldiko that I don't sweat that much I loaded from the SD card. Because I felt the 5 was going to waste I flipped it to 5/1. Now I ignore the loss of the 1, load everything I run to the 5 and have 32 to store books, movies, music or whatever on. (Technically I could make use of the 1 if I wanted to but it's not worth it to me.)
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Sent from the Center of My Mind
I have 5 gig sitting there doing nothing in EMMC partition. I would like to be able to access this memory as well as the external 8 gig card i have in it. Right now the space on the EMMC partition never gets touched.
So will the nook start to auto install to the EMMC partition if I fill up the one gig partition? or is it just going to sit there unused.
shadoes said:
I have 5 gig sitting there doing nothing in EMMC partition. I would like to be able to access this memory as well as the external 8 gig card i have in it. Right now the space on the EMMC partition never gets touched.
So will the nook start to auto install to the EMMC partition if I fill up the one gig partition? or is it just going to sit there unused.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except if you changed something in settings, the original installation place is the EMMC.
In case you fill all this space there, then you will have to start installing apps to SD.
For me there is no reason to install directly to EMMC, except if some app only runs from there and therefore should be installed only there (like widgets).
after the install of CM 7.2 the auto setting places apps in the 1 gig partition and apps2sd moves them to the 8 gig external card. the 5 gig EMMC partition is completely untouched.
If I fill up the 1 gig partition will they move to the EMMC? if not it appears this space will be completely wasted. I would prefer to use it as that frees up space to put music/media files on the SDcard for road trips.
I only leave apps on the internal memory I want to run faster. I noticed with my phone that once that spot start to fill up the phone runs noticeably slower.
shadoes said:
...
So will the nook start to auto install to the EMMC partition if I fill up the one gig partition? or is it just going to sit there unused.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No and Yes. Unless you go to Settings>Cyanogemod settings>Application> check Use internal storage
Then you will lose the SD card and gain the 5G. You can easily go back by unchecking it again whenever you want to. (That's why I did what I did with the partition swappy stuff.)
shadoes said:
I have 5 gig sitting there doing nothing in EMMC partition. I would like to be able to access this memory as well as the external 8 gig card i have in it. Right now the space on the EMMC partition never gets touched.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's there, you can put anything you want in it, the question is whether the apps you use can find the files you've stashed there. Some apps can, some can't.
BeyondPod (RSS feeds) lets you put its storage anywhere you want, so I moved that and my music into /emmc, and Music found the mp3s without me having to tell it anything. I don't buy many mp3s from Amazon, so I don't know how that interacts.
Also, I swap to /emmc, which is still an experiment in progress.
So will the nook start to auto install to the EMMC partition if I fill up the one gig partition? or is it just going to sit there unused.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it won't do it automatically unless you always use it, like another poster suggested.
To further clarify, once the system partition is full that's it, the only thing else it does is tell you it's full. No rolling over, no starting to install elsewhere.
All Settings>Cyanogemod settings>Application> check Use internal storage does is trick the NC into thinking the internal memory is an SD card. When you have that checked and are loading all your apps to the External memory by choosing Settings>Cyanogemod settings>Application>Install location>External you are loading them to the 5G.
The bad part about it is that you can only use one or the other, if you load a bunch of stuff to the 5G and then switch to the SD card, (uncheck the Use internal storage box), you won't be able to count on the stuff on the 5G to load properly. Same with if you load a bunch of stuff on the SD and change to the 5G.
*I've* chosen to repartition the system partition to 5G and the eMMC to 1G. 5G is so much more that I should ever need for apps it's ridiculous and because I have a 32G SD card I can just forget about the 1G.
I suppose I should repartition but I don't want to have to wipe and reinstall everything.
shadoes said:
I suppose I should repartition but I don't want to have to wipe and reinstall everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I waited till I had a genuine Sandisk class 4 16G SD. I know you shouldn't have to worry if you aren't booting from it but what the heck.
Oh and Titanium Backup is your friend. It'll even get your wallpaper back. The only thing I had to manually reload was the custom boot animation.
i tried titanium with my phone and it failed horribly haha. but I will try it again. i would like to have access to that space. also need to try loading my mp3s to it via the PC. that may work as well.
shadoes said:
i tried titanium with my phone and it failed horribly haha. but I will try it again. i would like to have access to that space. also need to try loading my mp3s to it via the PC. that may work as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download the latest Titanium and backup. If possible save the *.apk file to your SD Card.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1094371 Choose the "c" repartition option. After completing the repartition and format you will have a virgin install of whatever ROM you are running. Either install Titanium from the apk or download it again and do a restore, (note the amount of memory you have at the bottom). If I remember right you have to click install and done for every third party app you have but what the heck, it's better than setting there watching pixels burn. Once the restore is done look at the memory stats in Titanium again and note what memory got used. Reboot one last time and you are done.
As for the mp3's, I do all that kind of stuff through Samba. The only time I plug a wire into the NC is to charge it. I guess you could take the SD card out to do that but I've been given to understand we want to avoid taking that in and out where ever possible as well.
Another alternative to above Titanium BU tip is to sync your BU to Dropbox, zip it and after reinstall of ROM upload your zipped BU file into the SD folder Titanium makes when first installed, unzip, overwrite, and everything's there. I've never had trouble with this method. And it's fast...
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
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Moving to Q&A

what is A2S for and how to use it???

I've just installed the Paranoid-Jellybean 1.99
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1793180
on my EU HTC HD2
I can't anderstand what sd the idea behind program S2E, it seems its purpose is to move apps to SD but when used it this way then all newly installed Widgets disappeared What's more even without launching S2E in Settings thare are options to move individual apps to SD (not for all in fact)
it isn't talking about the normal fat partition on the sd card, you must have an EXT partition created before using the app.
What it does, is take the ext partition on the sd card and makes the system think that it is internal memory, thus giving you more 'internal' memory for apps and data and such like.
This isn't the same as choosing 'move to sd ' in the settings - apps options, as this moves the app to the FAT (windows) partition of the sd card. Some apps wont work when 'moved to sd', however they WILL work from the ext partition, because android thinks its internal.
So, if you haven't already got an ext partition, back up the contents of your current sd card (it will get wiped) then reboot into cwm, choose 'advanced - partition sd card' and choose a partition size. (512 or 1024 is usually plenty) then restart android and try the app again.
Any apps that you have already 'moved to sd', go move them back to internal, and the system should automatically move them from the FAT partition to the EXT partition.
Tahnk you for your explanation. Also I must apologize I confused the names of the programs - in fact its S2E rather than A2S (the previous post have written from memory). However probabely this s2e serves the same purpose, as it has such relevant commands:
Applications - Location: /data/app
Private apps - Location: /data/app-private
...
and so on, until:
Dalvik cache - Moving from /data to /sd-ext
So, I've chosen the first option and got displayed:
Application
Moving from /data to /sd-ext
Reboot is required!
and rebooted the phone, but the result was disappointing - several apps dissappeared including all Widgets!
Of course I've had ext3 partition previously set.
What was wrong?
Other question please: exactly WHAT is worth moving to SD Ext partition, Dalvik cache too?
yea they do the same/similar things - namely move parts of the system to the ext partition, and create symbolic links so that the system doesnt notice they've moved.
You seem to be moving your entire data folder to the ext, which i believe has an impact on boot performance, since the data partition wont be mounted straight away, and android needs it during boot.
I don't know a great deal about the various app2sd scripts, but the ones i've used normally only move the /data/app/ (your user installed apps folder) and the dalvik cache to the sd-ext partition.
samsamuel said:
yea they do the same/similar things - namely move parts of the system to the ext partition, and create symbolic links so that the system doesnt notice they've moved.
You seem to be moving your entire data folder to the ext, which i believe has an impact on boot performance, since the data partition wont be mounted straight away, and android needs it during boot.
I don't know a great deal about the various app2sd scripts, but the ones i've used normally only move the /data/app/ (your user installed apps folder) and the dalvik cache to the sd-ext partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So won't it exert excessive load on SD card which could lead to some sort of instability or other issues?
ioy said:
So won't it exert excessive load on SD card which could lead to some sort of instability or other issues?
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Click to collapse
better than exerting load on the nand and increasing the chances of bad blocks, right?
samsamuel said:
better than exerting load on the nand and increasing the chances of bad blocks, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
theoretically YES but then does it also apply for the whole Android ROM itself (please compare the neighbouring discussion "is NAND Android better than SD and why?")
ioy said:
(please compare
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no thanks, i have far more interesting things to do. i couldn't care less if there's excess load, though i'm pretty sure there isn't, since i've been running an ext partition for several months and no problems.
Have you understood me well? I've asked about the problem probably NAND ROMs themselves wear NAND memory too so would it be safer (for the device) to use SD ROMs (which write only on SD memory all the time)? How do you think, could it be the case?
i think if it were of any real benefit, people would be talking about it, but no one does. I guess its down to you, if YOU think it will help, then do it. If you don't, don't!
I guess battery drain would be teh real deal maker/breaker. I havent used sd android, but i believe it to be (in general terms) a little less stable, more prone to slowdowns, and harder on teh battery. But thats all anecdotal evidence, as i said, ive never booted sd android.
(edit - i must say, in humour, not meaning offence, that between this thread and your other thread, you sound like a guy who just bought a sports car and wants to cycle to work to save wear and tear on teh car )

Can we mount ext partitions?

Hello all,
Now that we have root on our aesthetically unique device, I believe our next problem is storage space. I don't know about you all, but my aquos crystal has about 4 gb to work with when it comes to apps. Folder mount works well for me, as far as linking the obb files of large apps to the external sd card, but I still have to store a portion of any particular app on the phone's internal storage, which for me is no bueno. There has to be a better way. (For the sarcastic among you, buying another phone is not an option for me.)
Back in the day of Gingerbread, I remember having a whopping 300 mb of app storage to work with. I was able to partition a portion of my external sd to be used as internal storage for the device, solving all my storage woes. It worked so well, that I was sure that I would be able to find a similar method for the aquos crystal.
Now, I see that Link2sd is able to work with ext2, ext3, ext4, and fat32 partitions, so I figured I would attempt to create a ext2 partition on the micro sd to link to my internal storage directory. I used the Partition Wizard mini tool to create a ext2 partition in windows. Unfortunately after starting up Link2sd and selecting the format of my ext partition (ext2), Link2ds gives me an error telling me that the mount script was unable to be created. I've read that if we get this error, we can select ext4, even if we are using a different partition format. This got rid of the error. Mount script was successfully created. Autolink is selected, which should install new apps directly to the new partition. It doesn't, not for me at least.
I've read several guides around the internet dealing with this issue, as well as completely different methods besides Link2sd, and nothing seems to work for me. My goal in this is to supplement the capacity for apps. I would love to find a way to store all the library, devlik, and app files for each app on the external card, rather than having to keep some of each app on internal, and its larger counterparts on external. As you know, apps are constantly updated, and what seems to happen is if you install an app, then link it to the sd card, and the app gets updated in the future, the updated portion will get installed on the internal card, making your 'linked' app kind of pointless. What I'd really like to do is disregard the phone's internal storage altogether and use something like a 64 gb card as the phones internal storage. This may or may not be possible.
I'm not a programmer. I have a very basic understanding of how these things work. When it comes to things like this, I am literally standing on the shoulders of giants, and benefiting from their tenacity and willingness to share the fruits of their labors. Their exploits, and the internet that tells their story, have allowed me to root and modify practically every console and android device I've ever owned. With that being said, thank you to all that have been involved in unraveling the real potential of this device.
So, do any of you fine saints and scholars know of a way to get around the feeble storage capacity of our aquos crystal?

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