Database Users

Installing applications on SD card instead of main memory

Everytime I install new program to HD2 it asks me if I want to install into main memory or SD card. My PC windows experience says that it is advisable to install programs to main drive (C: usually). Does the same logic apply to WM devices? Or is it safe to install apps into SD card (which would leave more space on actual device)

It's really up to you where you install them. The only things to bear in mind are that the internal storage cannot be expanded, and you can remove the storage card.
The way I do this is to install anything that I think I'll really want to always have at hand on the device (essential apps like coreplayer, nitrogen etc..) That way, if I remove the storage card then my device still has my most favoured apps on it. Anything that I'm not too fussed about (games in my case) goes on the storage card.
It's your call completely, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with installing things on the storage card. In fact, I'd recommend doing it when you're installing non-essential apps so that you save internal storage for things that you don't have a choice with (MarketPlace apps, for example, or tweaks and mods).
Hope this helps mate.

ok, thanks for detailed reply. I will try to install apps to SD card, if that option becomes available during installation process. I am not switching SD cards, so it should be fine then.

one more question that is related to the first one... If I install application on SD card, then if I take the memory card out, put new ROM into phone and insert SD card back. Will applications run as before installing new ROM? Are all program files saved to SD card when installing or does it do some registry entries or save some files onto maine phone memory???

In my old JasJam I found that programs loaded faster when stored on the device storage as opposed to the SD card.
Is this the same on the HD2?

If you upgrade ROM then you will need to do a backup first then restore afterwards otherwise you will lose everything including the links to the programs on the SD Card (although the programs will still be there).
I use SPB backup to do this. It works well. I used it yesterday after I upgraded my O2 V1.43 ROM to HTC 1.66. The restore worked great
All Micro D cards aren't the same I paid a bit more and got a Class 6(fastest) 16GB card. Class 2 is the slowest.
I hope this helps?

Things to remember
SD card usage eats battery.
SD card usage is slower than phone mem.
SD card usage can cause conflicts and freezes.
SD card usage creates app associations that really should not be carried over to new ROM flashes.
Installation to phone mem gives smoother and more stable operation of phone.
You have plenty of on phone storage space so why not use it?

Links to apps gone
i have loads of applications on my SD card for my HD2 but when i reset it i lost all the links to them so now the only way to get to them is to go to the file explorer but i dont have any icons anywhere else on my phone, any suggestions?

Either reinstall the apps, or simply browse to the executables, copy, and paste as shortcut in \windows\start menu.

[Q] Should I format or partition my SD card?

I rooted my Aria using Unrevoked's one-click method, and flashed ATTN's FR008 ROM. I currently have only the factory 2GB sd card. I dl'd APPS2SD from the market and have moved the apps that are eligible to the SD card. There are still many apps that are still on the internal storage. My internal storage usually hovers around 100MB free; for right now anyway.
How low can the internal storage get before performance begins to degrade? Would it benefit me to dl ROM Manager? I am not too familiar with the pros/cons and/or procedures for partitioning the sd card.
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated! This is a great place for support and information and THANKS to all the dev's for all their hard work!!!

Perseids said:
I rooted my Aria using Unrevoked's one-click method, and flashed ATTN's FR008 ROM. I currently have only the factory 2GB sd card. I dl'd APPS2SD from the market and have moved the apps that are eligible to the SD card. There are still many apps that are still on the internal storage. My internal storage usually hovers around 100MB free; for right now anyway.
How low can the internal storage get before performance begins to degrade? Would it benefit me to dl ROM Manager? I am not too familiar with the pros/cons and/or procedures for partitioning the sd card.
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated! This is a great place for support and information and THANKS to all the dev's for all their hard work!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The internal storage you're seeing is strictly for apps and doesn't affect the operating system in any way. So no performance will ever be lost due to filling this up with as apps. To see "system"memory go menu> applications> running services. That's the one that affects performance.
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App

What is the deal with EXT/2 and etc...?
I haven't figured out what the deal with the EXT partition is yet. I got a new 8GB card and was gonna put it in but was gonna wait til I understood all that first.
Should I Do a nandroid backup..
copy all contents of current SD card to pc...
Insert new card...
Format/Partition new card...
Copy previous backup of SD card to new card...
I'm just a little lost as to the advantage of the partition.
Any info. is greatly appreciated!

Noob question sorry, Is there a point where the memory in the device affects its performance? Like if too much of the internal memory is used will the phone run slower? Or what is the point of this apps to SD.

Using DT's A2SD method involving an ext2, 3, or 4 partition on the SD card moves every downloaded and installed app (minus system apps) onto the SD card. The A2SD provided with Froyo only allows apps that have been updated to work with A2SD would be able to move.
Moving all of your apps to the SD card is essentially the same as Cyanogen's setting to move all apps to the SD card. However, with the partition and DT's A2SD, it mounts the SD card's partition during the boot process which allows widgets and Facebook sync to be run off the SD card directly. (ie. Facebook sync will always stay synced no matter how many times you reboot, widgets will not have a "Problem Loading Widget" bar on your homescreen after you reboot)
With the normal A2SD, the apps on the SD card will load last after your phone has already booted up ("Preparing SD Card" in the notification bar).
Plus, you would be able to move your dalvik-cache (and app data --> experimental) to the SD card's partition also freeing up more internal memory.

Perseids said:
I haven't figured out what the deal with the EXT partition is yet. I got a new 8GB card and was gonna put it in but was gonna wait til I understood all that first.
Should I Do a nandroid backup..
copy all contents of current SD card to pc...
Insert new card...
Format/Partition new card...
Copy previous backup of SD card to new card...
I'm just a little lost as to the advantage of the partition.
Any info. is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The above steps are correct. If you want an ext partition you can do that through rom manager (will wipe sd card so back up to pc).
Unless you plan to run the DT a2sd you don't need an extension partition. Froyo a2sd moves the apps to the fat32 partition, the main partition of your sd card, not an ext partition.
I personally recommend using DT a2sd.
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App

vicmora5 said:
Noob question sorry, Is there a point where the memory in the device affects its performance? Like if too much of the internal memory is used will the phone run slower? Or what is the point of this apps to SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you could fill your internal memory up to the point where there was no more room for apps to cache I suppose. But that's really it.
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App

Success, but need more help
Okay, I got my sd card partioned (512MB EXT, 64MB swap). I dl'd and installed DT's A2SD and the best I can tell upon reboot A2SD moved apps to SD card. The only way I can tell is using DriveWatch.
I am using GOLauncher EX and now the flipping in the tray appears to be greatly affected by the app being on the SD card. Is there a way to move selected apps back to the phone?

No there isn't.
BTW you can check if your apps are on your SD card by typing
su
a2sd check
a2sd diskspace
In the terminal emulator

Perseids said:
Okay, I got my sd card partioned (512MB EXT, 64MB swap). I dl'd and installed DT's A2SD and the best I can tell upon reboot A2SD moved apps to SD card. The only way I can tell is using DriveWatch.
I am using GOLauncher EX and now the flipping in the tray appears to be greatly affected by the app being on the SD card. Is there a way to move selected apps back to the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you can do is delete go launcher then unzip the rom you flashed and put the go launcher apk into the /system/app folder and rezip it. boot into recovery, wipe cache and dalvic (don't wipe data), and then reflash your rom. DT a2sd doesn't move apps on the /system partition. This is what I do with launcherpro.
EDIT: you can try just pulling the go launcher apk via ADB and then removing it from the /data/app folder and then pushing the pulled app to the /system/app folder. This would be easier but I've had apps that FC after using this method. Some work, some don't.
Sent from my cm7 Aria using XDA App

Great advice!. Seems there is always more than one way to skin a cat. I will give one of those methods a try.

[Q] Apps on my internal SD card disapeared when i put in external sd card

Hi
I'm using Go launcher EX. I bought a 16GB micro sdhc card for my huawei titan u8800. When i put it in suddenly over half of my apps disapeared from the app list and in my homescreens they only showed the green loading icon. When i try to click on them on the home screen it says that the application is not installed. I think it was the apps that i had moved to the internal storage that disapeared. In the memory info it still says that the internal memory card is almost used up so it doesnt seem to have been deleted. After i took out the card and rebooted they came back after about 10 minutes. Is it any way to get the apps back while i have the sd card in?

which rom are you using? Stock 2.2.2, cm7, miui?

I am using android 2.2.1 that came with the phone.

So, you din't have an external sd card and used the internal sd to install some apps there?
When put the external sd card, the system start to use this card instead of the internal, and the apps which are installed on internal sd card are no longer be installed.
Therefore, you need to copy them from internal sd to external sd.
You need to copy the folders .android_secure and Android(if exists), and also Data(if exists too) from HWUserData folder to external sd' s root directory.
I think this will solve your problem. If this works, you can after delete these folders from internal sd.

It worked! Thank you very much! Glad i didnt have to reinstall all my applications again....

[Q] SD card

Hi guys, so I backed up my sd card and went on a little quest. Never knew what this did so tried it out, went onto clockwork and did an sd partition of 1024mb. Turned phone on sd card worked fine, tried installing a big game but still it said not enough space when there is 2.5gb empty on sd card. So that failed I went onto MAGLDR and onto services and cleared sd partition. Now I turn phone on and it says no sd card and prompts me to format it on status bar, but then it still doesn't work. Tried mounting it via usb but still the sd card is not showing up. Has my sd card corrupted? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also some instructions on how to properly install apps 2 sd, as just moving to the sd card on settings doesn't fully move the app, some of it still remains in the internal and after installing 50+ apps it comes down to 20mb internal memory and says I have no more internal space.
Regards

Tenpin said:
Also some instructions on how to properly install apps 2 sd, as just moving to the sd card on settings doesn't fully move the app, some of it still remains in the internal and after installing 50+ apps it comes down to 20mb internal memory and says I have no more internal space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if a rom supports a2sd (typhoon, for example,) you do not have to do anything, it will automatically use an ext partition if it finds one.
If you choose 'move to sd card' for an app, it will be REMOVED from the ext partition, and placed on the fat32 partition (where it may not work), so DO NOT choose 'move to sd', all your apps should be set to internal, and the rom will put them in the ext partition.

Tenpin said:
Hi guys, so I backed up my sd card and went on a little quest. Never knew what this did so tried it out, went onto clockwork and did an sd partition of 1024mb. Turned phone on sd card worked fine, tried installing a big game but still it said not enough space when there is 2.5gb empty on sd card. So that failed I went onto MAGLDR and onto services and cleared sd partition. Now I turn phone on and it says no sd card and prompts me to format it on status bar, but then it still doesn't work. Tried mounting it via usb but still the sd card is not showing up. Has my sd card corrupted? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also some instructions on how to properly install apps 2 sd, as just moving to the sd card on settings doesn't fully move the app, some of it still remains in the internal and after installing 50+ apps it comes down to 20mb internal memory and says I have no more internal space.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, i would start with HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool to format the sd card back to original. Then start from there.
samsamuel said:
if a rom supports a2sd (typhoon, for example,) you do not have to do anything, it will automatically use an ext partition if it finds one.
If you choose 'move to sd card' for an app, it will be REMOVED from the ext partition, and placed on the fat32 partition (where it may not work), so DO NOT choose 'move to sd', all your apps should be set to internal, and the rom will put them in the ext partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And @samsamuel wouldnt he benefit more from data2ext? From my experiences, that puts EVERYTHING on the ext partition. just puting my two cents in, (its about all i got xP )

elesbb said:
And @samsamuel wouldnt he benefit more from data2ext? From my experiences, that puts EVERYTHING on the ext partition. just puting my two cents in, (its about all i got xP )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on what your needs are, .,,, running everything from the SD means much of the nand is unused, what's the point of that? Typhoon for instance,, 150mb system, say 20mb for cwm and boot, that's (round up) 200mb used out of 512,, nothing is gonna use the other 300mb, so might as well let the data use it.

Right I'm running this ice ROM off the nand: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1441462
[22-04-12][ROM] Unofficial AOKP for HD2 [Build 33][4.0.4][tytung_ics_r1]
It does say apps2sd is possible on thread op, so would I just partition my SD card on clockwork to 1024mb then just install apps without moving them to SD manually? Is that really it?
Regards,
Sent from my HTC HD2 using xda premium

samsamuel said:
Depends on what your needs are, .,,, running everything from the SD means much of the nand is unused, what's the point of that? Typhoon for instance,, 150mb system, say 20mb for cwm and boot, that's (round up) 200mb used out of 512,, nothing is gonna use the other 300mb, so might as well let the data use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, thats why i dont use either, i have the Tmous version so i ihave about 760 mb of unused nand. Only way id prolly use a partition is if i got a lot of bad blocks, but i only have about 5 bad blocks right now in just my data partition.
Tenpin said:
Right I'm running this ice ROM off the nand: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1441462
[22-04-12][ROM] Unofficial AOKP for HD2 [Build 33][4.0.4][tytung_ics_r1]
It does say apps2sd is possible on thread op, so would I just partition my SD card on clockwork to 1024mb then just install apps without moving them to SD manually? Is that really it?
Regards,
Sent from my HTC HD2 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, yes it is just partition sd card using minitool partition or disk utility(linux) and you should be good, i dont believe you have to reinstall the ROM either because apps2sd is an init.d script which gets ran upon boot.

[Q] CM7.2 eMMC install and SD card

Installed CM7.2 MiRaGe along with Go Launcher EX onto the eMMC recently and have a few questions.
Why do some apps require a SD card inorder to function even though the app itself installed on the internal storage (evernote, nook for android, etc)? If you open those apps, it will give an error saying it requires a SD card, I had to insert one and reboot inorder to use the app. looks like some directories were created on the sd card afterward so I assume some apps require to cache to it? I plan on having multiple cards so I can store movies on them. will I be able to hotswap the sd cards (meaning not having to power off or reboot)?
When I installed CM7.2, I just followed the directions within the thread. Should I have changed the partitions at all on the internal storage? any other tweaks do people usually make?

hramosnook said:
Installed CM7.2 MiRaGe along with Go Launcher EX onto the eMMC recently and have a few questions.
Why do some apps require a SD card inorder to function even though the app itself installed on the internal storage (evernote, nook for android, etc)? If you open those apps, it will give an error saying it requires a SD card, I had to insert one and reboot inorder to use the app. looks like some directories were created on the sd card afterward so I assume some apps require to cache to it? I plan on having multiple cards so I can store movies on them. will I be able to hotswap the sd cards (meaning not having to power off or reboot)?
When I installed CM7.2, I just followed the directions within the thread. Should I have changed the partitions at all on the internal storage? any other tweaks do people usually make?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't want to use an SD card there is a setting in CM7 just for that purpose. Many apps will not run without one. Go to settings, cyanogenmod settings, apps, and select use internal storage. It swaps emmc and sdcard. It fools apps into using your emmc media partition as 'sdcard'. And your real SD shows up as 'emmc' so you can hot swap and get your movies.