Database Users

Deleting system application and recover more space for app installation

Hi,
I go through the forum but unfortunately cannot find anything related to my inquiry. I use a custom ROM and go to /system/app to delete some unnecessary applications (e.g. Mail.apk), however, the saved space cannot be used for my 3rd party app installation. My dream was 9MB free before I remove system apps, it is 9MB again after their removal.
Is it possible to give more space to the 3rd party app application, given the sacrifice of system apps???

Are you sure that you are clearing cache?
Maybe you dont have apps2sd working for you.

Just do either one from terminal..
type:
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
Then type:
cd /system/app
then you can type "ls" to list the contents of the directory.
Or
su
cd /system/sd/app
ls
or if you dont have EXT2/3/4
su
cd /system/app
ls

Yes I don't have app2sd enabled.
My dream is always having 9MB left so it is very inconvenient .... But I don't want to run app2sd so that speed could be improved ....
That's why I want to remove some unnecessary apps in the /system/app (e.g. Mail.apk which consumes 2MB!) so that I can have more space for my applications.
cd /system/app
ls
Shows all the pre-installed applications (those coming with the custom ROM)
Thanks for answering!

xdaofficeuser111 said:
Yes I don't have app2sd enabled.
My dream is always having 9MB left so it is very inconvenient .... But I don't want to run app2sd so that speed could be improved ....
That's why I want to remove some unnecessary apps in the /system/app (e.g. Mail.apk which consumes 2MB!) so that I can have more space for my applications.
cd /system/app
ls
Shows all the pre-installed applications (those coming with the custom ROM)
Thanks for answering!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now do
-rm appname.apk
You have to reboot when your done though.

Theoretically it should work?
Because I removed Mail.apk, and rebooted. The free space left on the phone is still the same ....
Are those applications in different partitions or something wrong with my setup?
I am using AOSP r1.6 .....

xdaofficeuser111 said:
My dream is always having 9MB left so it is very inconvenient ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never heard that before.
Try removing applications that have higher file sizes, like the browser. You should see a change then.
And, as mentioned earlier, clear your cache.

akapoor said:
Never heard that before.
Try removing applications that have higher file sizes, like the browser. You should see a change then.
And, as mentioned earlier, clear your cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did - I even removed the largest one - Mail.apk. But I found that my space was not released ....
I cleaned my cache nearly every hour ....
I had a horrible experience with App2SD so I would rather keep all the apps on my G1 ram .....

What ROM is this?

akapoor said:
What ROM is this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOSP 2.4.2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=538456
But even when I was using CM and Dwang before the same happen - I deleted apps in system/app, but available space for my app installation hadn't increased .....
When I moved from Dwang to AOSP, I had to remove a lot of my apps as a result because AOSP consumed more space than Dwang .... but when I deleted the system apps in /system/app one by one .... the space wasn't recovered ....
No matter how many times I cleared the cache and reboot ....

That's why I start to think if /system/app and my 3rd party applications are on different partitions??? So that releasing space on one will not benefit the other ......
Does it make sense?

xdaofficeuser111 said:
That's why I start to think if /system/app and my 3rd party applications are on different partitions??? So that releasing space on one will not benefit the other ......
Does it make sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes you are right
system apps are on the /system partition
other apps are on the /data partition under /data/app
you need to clean the /data partition to get space back. you can clear the dalvik-cache and maybe get some space. Make sure you clear the browser cache because that takes about 8mb of space on average
Ace42 said:
Are you sure that you are clearing cache?
Maybe you dont have apps2sd working for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
god youre dumb

B-man007 said:
yes you are right
system apps are on the /system partition
other apps are on the /data partition under /data/app
you need to clean the /data partition to get space back. you can clear the dalvik-cache and maybe get some space. Make sure you clear the browser cache because that takes about 8mb of space on average
Thanks for your help!!!
Is it possible for me to rewrite any scripts/files so that I could transfer the free space from /system partition to /data partition (e.g. unmount, and remount them)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

xdaofficeuser111 said:
B-man007 said:
yes you are right
system apps are on the /system partition
other apps are on the /data partition under /data/app
you need to clean the /data partition to get space back. you can clear the dalvik-cache and maybe get some space. Make sure you clear the browser cache because that takes about 8mb of space on average
Thanks for your help!!!
Is it possible for me to rewrite any scripts/files so that I could transfer the free space from /system partition to /data partition (e.g. unmount, and remount them)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, those partitions stay the same size unless you flash an spl that enlarges them (Haykuro spl)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

the only way is by flashing the haykuro spl as if it was possible through scripts then the G1 would have been able to upgrade to better ROM's officially such as 2.0 without having to compress things

B-man007 said:
the only way is by flashing the haykuro spl as if it was possible through scripts then the G1 would have been able to upgrade to better ROM's officially such as 2.0 without having to compress things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's what I said only longer. Good job stretching out information

Thanks! I am already on Danger SPL ....
Look like my dream is to the limit .....

xdaofficeuser111 said:
Thanks! I am already on Danger SPL ....
Look like my dream is to the limit .....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, it is

xdaofficeuser111 said:
Thanks! I am already on Danger SPL ....
Look like my dream is to the limit .....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might as well use apps2sd again, but make sure you wipe when switching b/t roms.

Everyone here seems pretty certain about this, so please correct me if I am wrong, but we can make the system or data partition via creating symlinks to the cache. The cache is used to download and install OTA updates, and thus is a useless 45MB partition on the dream. The haykuro spl takes this space and adds it to the system, thus allowing users to flash large updates. The same amount of space can be created through proper symlinks (be very careful if you attempt to create any to the system). I have set up symlinks to allocate cache memory to the system in order to flash large metamorph updates. It seems equally likely that one could symlink a folder in /data/ with a folder in the cache. Can anyone prove me wrong?

Installing apps to system/app folder

I'm rooted running stock 2.1... 5 and I have removed some unwanted apps. I imagine the system/app folder is located on a different system partition which has so much room. Since removing aps from the system folder doesn't free up any memory I figured why not move some apps in there so that I don't take up my regular app folder. Is this possible?

Since those apps will then be in the read-only partition you will have to update them manually instead of through the market.

Yeah, I have some apps which have never been updated nor do I want them to be updated. So it will work huh. How much room is there on the system partition and what will happen if I go over?

obsanity said:
Yeah, I have some apps which have never been updated nor do I want them to be updated. So it will work huh. How much room is there on the system partition and what will happen if I go over?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
download Quick System Info from the Market....it will tell you how much room is left on your system partition. Going over the limit will cause your phone to bootloop on a restart.

Got it. I assume its the system storage? It says I got 16mb free.

Memory Help

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.

[Q] Deleted System Apps

Hello,
I was recently mucking around with custom recoveries on my Motorola Defy Mini XT320, and deleted some system applications to make some room on the /system directory. Unfortunately, one of those apps was the standard Clock app that came with the phone, and I'd become quite attached to that widget.
I was wondering, is there any way to restore deleted system apps/widgets after they've been deleted from the /system directory?
Cheers,
Welshie

Ext undelete
Undeletion on Ext3/Ext4 filesystem (the one your phone use) is not a trivial task and AFAIK there is nothing like this in recovery. You may always reflash your phone with the same version of the system formware you already have. This should not harm your data. Try do just wipe cache and Dalvik cache. Do not do factory reset, as it deletes /data where all the updates and personal data are. Also don't go between Slim/CM/Stock firmware as they probably have different partition layout so you loose your data anyway. So do nandroid backum in recovery first (your data, not the system). Then flash. You may restore your data then. Next time, do nandroid backup (in recovery) of the system before you make changes

Get use out of the 2gb wasted /system space when using a custom ROM

Hello xda,
When you install a (lightweight) custom rom on a s4, you will easily have about 2gb of the /system partition unused (+plus a few gb more in some other partitions). It sums up to about 4.5gb (!) of unused space.
Changing the partition sizes using a modified pit file is impossible.
Converting user apps to system apps seems useless as updates are installed on the internal storage.
Can something be done using foldermount? (moving cache to one of those unused system partitions?)
What do you think is the best way to get use out of this wasted space?
Thank you in advance,

Pretty much the only thing you can do with that extra space is to flash another ROM on it and then you can dual boot any 2 ROMs.
You can have a TouchWiz ROM and a LineageOS ROM, or any other combination of 2 ROMs.
This is pretty much the only thing you can do. Even if you somehow move apps to /system, their data will still be written on the /data partition.
Also, /system is read-only by default.

nxss4 said:
What do you think is the best way to get use out of this wasted space?
Thank you in advance,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash a bigger Gapps package. The Google apps will be installed on the system partition. Don't fill it completely, though.

Thank you for the replies guys! Dual booting is a good way to fill up space, indeed. But I'm really satisfied with RR 7.1.1. Maybe dualboating touchwiz for the camera is an idea, I will see!
Salut, thanks but I does it have any benefits? As updates will be installed on the internal storage anyway.

nxss4 said:
Salut, thanks but I does it have any benefits? As updates will be installed on the internal storage anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no reason to fill your phone up with a bunch of useless apps. Install the package that fits your needs most.

As you can convert user apps to system apps you can integrate updates to system partition too.

tset351 said:
As you can convert user apps to system apps you can integrate updates to system partition too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting, is there an automated way to do that? I did some research before starting this thread but couldn't find anything?
I like my phone to 'just work' (not like iphones) when I am busy

nxss4 said:
That's interesting, is there an automated way to do that? I did some research before starting this thread but couldn't find anything?
I like my phone to 'just work' (not like iphones) when I am busy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Automated? Well, it's not an iPhone
With link2sd you can migrate apps and updates into system partition.
Good luck

tset351 said:
Automated? Well, it's not an iPhone
With link2sd you can migrate apps and updates into system partition.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh well, I'm going to look into that, I use apps2sd atm for foldermount, they don't have this option. I'm gonna try out link to sd, thanks!
UPDATE: It works flawlessly, thanks !
Just no automatic applying updates to system apps, but i guess I can live with that