Database Users

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] Galaxy 3 Apps2SD. Data still being saved on the internal memory..

Hey everyone.
I installed a leaked version of Froyo on my Galaxy 3 I5800. I'm using the hack to always install the apps on the memory card. However, only the main apks of the apps are being stored on the memory card. Any application data is still being stored on the internal memory. For example, installing Angry Birds takes 10 MB on the memory card, but also takes about 2 MB on the internal phone memory..
Apps2SD is a huge improvement, but still, if the data's being stored on the internal memory, I'm gonna run out of space some time or the other.
Is there a hack or something to make the phone keep even the data on the memory card? I've heard about Apps2Ext but not sure if that can be installed on my phone and whether it stores the app data on the EXT partition too.
Any ideas?

Android documentation says that even when app. is installed on SD card,
"The .apk file is saved on the external storage, but all private user data, databases, optimized .dex files, and extracted native code are saved on the internal device memory."

TekkenLaw said:
Android documentation says that even when app. is installed on SD card,
"The .apk file is saved on the external storage, but all private user data, databases, optimized .dex files, and extracted native code are saved on the internal device memory."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May be that's better because program can run faster.. anyway you can solve it by creating of ext2 partition on your SD card and virtualy enlarge internal storage.
But I haven't found any manual how to do it on i5800.

Are there ext2 capabilities in the i5800's Froyo? I'm asking because 2.1 lacks them, much to my dismay. A Linuxish device with a closed file system (rfs) with no tools available (and FAT), erm...

addicted2088 said:
Hey everyone.
I installed a leaked version of Froyo on my Galaxy 3 I5800. I'm using the hack to always install the apps on the memory card. However, only the main apks of the apps are being stored on the memory card. Any application data is still being stored on the internal memory. For example, installing Angry Birds takes 10 MB on the memory card, but also takes about 2 MB on the internal phone memory..
Apps2SD is a huge improvement, but still, if the data's being stored on the internal memory, I'm gonna run out of space some time or the other.
Is there a hack or something to make the phone keep even the data on the memory card? I've heard about Apps2Ext but not sure if that can be installed on my phone and whether it stores the app data on the EXT partition too.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
install move to SD first then choose the option Exteral SD.Anything you install from now on will be installed to the SDCARD but aware the widgets and programs that require root doesn't work well in the SDCARD together with home replacement program.Unless of course the app itself support installing to SD.

banahaw said:
install move to SD first then choose the option Exteral SD.Anything you install from now on will be installed to the SDCARD but aware the widgets and programs that require root doesn't work well in the SDCARD together with home replacement program.Unless of course the app itself support installing to SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is what he did. But not everything will be saved to SD. This is the what he says.

nastyba said:
this is what he did. But not everything will be saved to SD. This is the what he says.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the APK file, that is the main package, is installed on the SD card. However, all the data that the application actually saves are usually on the internal device memory.
I have enabled Move to SD and set the install path to external, but it will still save application data on the phone memory. That is how Android is designed to work

banahaw said:
install move to SD first then choose the option Exteral SD.Anything you install from now on will be installed to the SDCARD but aware the widgets and programs that require root doesn't work well in the SDCARD together with home replacement program.Unless of course the app itself support installing to SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yes, I'm aware of all this. But still wanted to mention the point that the internal memory will always get used..

addicted2088 said:
Oh yes, I'm aware of all this. But still wanted to mention the point that the internal memory will always get used..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can extend your internal storage with your SD card, but you need to create ext2 partition on your SD card first and then <i>and this is the problem</i> explain to your i5800 to use this partion on SD card.
I've red many articles about it on HTC / SE phones where this method work. They say that the ROM must be customized, which haven't been done yet with our phone. The problem is, that the good programmers have Desire / or SGS and they do not care about the i5800

nastyba said:
you can extend your internal storage with your SD card, but you need to create ext2 partition on your SD card first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And this is where the problem starts: The i5800 cannot handle ext2, at least not with its stock roms. You're stuck with an exotic proprietary file system (rfs) for which no tools are available.

mizch said:
And this is where the problem starts: The i5800 cannot handle ext2, at least not with its stock roms. You're stuck with an exotic proprietary file system (rfs) for which no tools are available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
may be one day there will be a custom rom which will allows it

nastyba said:
may be one day there will be a custom rom which will allows it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mizch said:
And this is where the problem starts: The i5800 cannot handle ext2, at least not with its stock roms. You're stuck with an exotic proprietary file system (rfs) for which no tools are available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this problem allready solved?
Because my bro has problems with the little internal space.

(•.•) said:
Is this problem allready solved?
Because my bro has problems with the little internal space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. For that you need to first flash a fugumod kernel. Then you can use Kyrillos' apptosd script from here. You need to use apptosd script v3 if you want your /data/data to be transferred to your SD. But script v3 works good only with class 6 SD card or higher.
Oh yes. You need to convert your data partition to ext4 and create an ext4 partition in SD card also.

ok formating...
seems that i have here a class 4 sd card 8gb... damn it!

I am currently on Kyrillos 6.1. If i create an EXT4 partition in my SD card, via CWM recovery, how can i move the apps which are already installed in my phone memory to that partition? Like if i use Titanium backup, then would moving the apps would go to FAT partition or the newly created EXT4 partition?

mrn123 said:
I am currently on Kyrillos 6.1. If i create an EXT4 partition in my SD card, via CWM recovery, how can i move the apps which are already installed in my phone memory to that partition? Like if i use Titanium backup, then would moving the apps would go to FAT partition or the newly created EXT4 partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First backup your apps using titanuim backup. It will get backed up in SD card. Then copy the backed up apps and the rest of the stuff in your SD card to your PC. Then goto recovery, advanced, partition SD card. Create the required partitions. All data in SD card will be erased. Then in recovery only, wipe data. Then reboot. After that all the apps which you install will goto the ext partition that you created.

Thanks Dhiren!!! I was just wondering whether there was any way to directly move the apps to the EXT4 partition which are already installed on phone memory..I shall try out as you said...

A7+ memory and extrenal card issue

From elocity about A7+:
The 4GB internal high speed flash memory can store up to 4 feature films, 40,000 photos, or 2,000 songs for countless hours of entertainment. Wireless & Bluetooth.... BLA bla bla.
.................................
Ok, I have been searching and finding related information but confusing me more.
I have an A7+
it came with a 8 gb card, I can't figure out how to save to card, downloads, apps etc.
It never gives choice. No options in settings > memory card or when downloading
Besides the external card issue, and because of my novice tech knowledge I don't under stand what takes up space and best way to manage with A7+ or if different then A7
The 8 gb card shows 7.39 gb available and has not changed since installed, card was new so I never formated it.
*I now have 39.62mb available user space (that's not a lot, is it?) thats after 4 gb factory and all systems use, that left me with 1.53 gb to work with?? (edit, I deleted about a dozen apps and a bunch of music. Now available internal memory is LESS, 39.61mb what's going on)?
I have downloaded a bunch of apps, I don't fully understand how this effects memory, I have about 250 songs, no movies and just a dozen or so photos
I'm guessing its the apps
Thanks in advance...

reply
well, this is more of an android topic and not A7.
anyway, to move apps to a card go to Settings/Applications and on some apps that aren't protected you will have the option to move to card. many file managers have an app backup option and will also allow you to copy/paste to/from your memory card. try Astro, it's very popular and works well.
saving downloads is sometimes done by the settings of which ever program you are using. as far as i can tell the default browser and firefox mobile only save to onboard.

Astra was not available for the A7+ that I could find, I found Es explorer app and yet to find area for my needs in it, I guess I need more time on it, it looks like much more then I need and more complicated then I can manage
I just need a easy way to manage basic downloads like photos, music, apps

the device comes with a file manager preinstalled, i can't recall the name because my A7+ is not functioning and no one replied to my post.

I think 'OI manager' is the factory manager on my A7+.
With OI manager I tried to transfer files, apps (or anything) into my 8 GB card with no success, also tried 4 or 5 apps that advertise "app to SD" type ability along with more 'astro' type apps that claim to be file managers that should do what I need all with no luck, its like my device is locked to not to allow moving files
related issue, tablet was down to about 39.62MB internal space, after removing many apps and mp3s, it always seems to effect internal storage randomly, after clearing space I would sometimes loose available space, sometimes gain space, whats going on?? Is this a quirk with Android system?
The big one is, I decided to take the 16GB sd card out of my Blackberry and try in A7+. after first installing card everything was fine, all 200 or so photos and some videos from BB card showed up as expected (with device showing the majority of the 16GB sd card available) ....I went on to do something else and left the A7+ to go into stand by, when I woke it up, it says 'sd card is full please clear space' I go check available space and it is 0 and I can no longer access any pics, internal or on the 16GB card ?? I swap back the empty 8 GB card and show a total available internal 4.33MB and system seems to work ok except low memory storage. Note, that I had 39.62MB internal user space one week ago then up to ~60.14MB as of 24 hrs ago after a lot of cleaning of music and apps, then installed & removed other BB sd card and now down to 4.33MB. Its like Android Alzheimers or something as I now have very little memory space available and a device that does erratic things.
*Last thing, could it be the music I downloaded directly into device is corrupt or not compressed correctly or just to many files "or something I don't understand"? (the mp3s are in the internal 4GB storage that really is 1.53GB usable)
I still have about 200 songs downloaded from app called "MP3 Music Download" that I got from one of the included app stores, apk or Getjar??
Anyway to transfer those mp3s to pc or thumb drive then delete them from device and check status
I have emails into eLocity now for a couple weeks with no response from previously helpful contact
~eLocity A7+ with no mods, factory settings~

over's tab said:
I think 'OI manager' is the factory manager on my A7+.
With OI manager I tried to transfer files, apps (or anything) into my 8 GB card with no success, also tried 4 or 5 apps that advertise "app to SD" type ability along with more 'astro' type apps that claim to be file managers that should do what I need all with no luck, its like my device is locked to not to allow moving files
related issue, tablet was down to about 39.62MB internal space, after removing many apps and mp3s, it always seems to effect internal storage randomly, after clearing space I would sometimes loose available space, sometimes gain space, whats going on?? Is this a quirk with Android system?
The big one is, I decided to take the 16GB sd card out of my Blackberry and try in A7+. after first installing card everything was fine, all 200 or so photos and some videos from BB card showed up as expected (with device showing the majority of the 16GB sd card available) ....I went on to do something else and left the A7+ to go into stand by, when I woke it up, it says 'sd card is full please clear space' I go check available space and it is 0 and I can no longer access any pics, internal or on the 16GB card ?? I swap back the empty 8 GB card and show a total available internal 4.33MB and system seems to work ok except low memory storage. Note, that I had 39.62MB internal user space one week ago then up to ~60.14MB as of 24 hrs ago after a lot of cleaning of music and apps, then installed & removed other BB sd card and now down to 4.33MB. Its like Android Alzheimers or something as I now have very little memory space available and a device that does erratic things.
*Last thing, could it be the music I downloaded directly into device is corrupt or not compressed correctly or just to many files "or something I don't understand"? (the mp3s are in the internal 4GB storage that really is 1.53GB usable)
I still have about 200 songs downloaded from app called "MP3 Music Download" that I got from one of the included app stores, apk or Getjar??
Anyway to transfer those mp3s to pc or thumb drive then delete them from device and check status
I have emails into eLocity now for a couple weeks with no response from previously helpful contact
~eLocity A7+ with no mods, factory settings~
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have the same problem customer support was trying to help me but all I succeeded in doing was move an ebook to files and now I can't get it back or read it. I have never formatted my 8 gb card so I don't know if that is the step I missed. My stepdaughter printed out the manual but unfortunately it is more an overview than a step by step. It IS in the oi file manager. I also noted that when I tried to move the book that there was a thin strip that said move file and maybe that sucked me into loading the book to my files. My A7 also played youtube videos at first but now it don't. It will play other sites but if they go to youtube it comes and attacks the site. youtube has declared war on me and I don't know why or how to make them stop. bye for now frank

Thanks for input on this. I was never able to get issues resolved, the return period was almost up so I decided to return it 'no questions asked'
To many things building against it, lacking support online and from manufacturer, I will miss many aspects of the A7+, a nice little tablet with potential, but.....
I now have an Archos 80 G9 (8" 3.2 Honeycomb w/ 8GB) it also packs a lot for the money, so far so good
Edit: forgot to mention, on eLocity the 'HOME' key had stopped working completely

Dropped the ball
No matter what you do you cannot get the Elocity A7 or A7+ to load to the SD card.....we have been trying for months and no matter what we do nothing works. The damned thing has so much potential and is suck a powerful little machine that it is a shame that the bloody company dropped the ball. We did manage to to get it onto every market in the world and we changed the 4 Gig internal to a 32 Gig internal and reloaded the Titanium backup onto the card with the PC so there is more space and now the SD is primarily storage and a media file. To think that all they had to do was try a little harder and this would have been a monster in the market place last year. Oh well, maybe someone else will create a tablet that is fun and easy to use.

blooknight154 said:
No matter what you do you cannot get the Elocity A7 or A7+ to load to the SD card.....we have been trying for months and no matter what we do nothing works. The damned thing has so much potential and is suck a powerful little machine that it is a shame that the bloody company dropped the ball. We did manage to to get it onto every market in the world and we changed the 4 Gig internal to a 32 Gig internal and reloaded the Titanium backup onto the card with the PC so there is more space and now the SD is primarily storage and a media file. To think that all they had to do was try a little harder and this would have been a monster in the market place last year. Oh well, maybe someone else will create a tablet that is fun and easy to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i fixed the kernel in my A7CompPlus release, and apps can be installed on sdcard, and i think i updated it in the Cyanogen release as well.
it just took some kernel recompile and different framework, since elocity framework does not support this at all (it is removed from the firmware completely).
so you cannot get the feature unless you try a custom rom.

Dexter_nlb said:
i fixed the kernel in my A7CompPlus release, and apps can be installed on sdcard, and i think i updated it in the Cyanogen release as well.
it just took some kernel recompile and different framework, since elocity framework does not support this at all (it is removed from the firmware completely).
so you cannot get the feature unless you try a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dexter, Thank You for your work on A7+. I am enjoying your CM7 rom but can't get apps to load to SD. Tried every combination of settings. Are there any performance disadvantages to modding vold.fstab file ot make the SD card internal? Also please give update on your ICS mod work. I appreciate any suggestions.

denmichelson said:
Dexter, Thank You for your work on A7+. I am enjoying your CM7 rom but can't get apps to load to SD. Tried every combination of settings. Are there any performance disadvantages to modding vold.fstab file ot make the SD card internal? Also please give update on your ICS mod work. I appreciate any suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i believe that external sdcard should work. but maybe its just found on the /mnt/sdcard location or what vold.fstab says?
have you checked its mounted? i am sure it should have worked. let me see if i get a chance to confirm or check.

Dexter_nlb said:
i believe that external sdcard should work. but maybe its just found on the /mnt/sdcard location or what vold.fstab says?
have you checked its mounted? i am sure it should have worked. let me see if i get a chance to confirm or check.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your quick reply. I checked and SD is mounted and shows up in storage. I found the following generic vold.fstab which is supposed to be set up to make the external SD act as internal storage. Please comment on any changes that might be needed.
# Vold 2.0 Generic fstab
## - San Mehat ([email protected])
##
#######################
## Regular device mount
##
## Format: dev_mount <label> <mount_point> <part> <sysfs_path1...>
## label - Label for the volume
## mount_point - Where the volume will be mounted
## part - Partition # (1 based), or 'auto' for first usable partition.
## <sysfs_path> - List of sysfs paths to source devices
######################
# sdcard mount for the P1
# internal sdcard
{
ums_path = /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0/file
asec = enable
}
dev_mount sdcard1 /mnt/sdcard/external_sd 28 /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host/mmc1
# externel sdcard
{
ums_path = /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun1/file
discard = disable
asec = disable
}
#dev_mount sdcard1 /mnt/sdcard/external_sd 1 /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.4/mmc_host/mmc2
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.4/mmc_host/mmc2
#end line ## keep this line

denmichelson said:
Thanks for your quick reply. I checked and SD is mounted and shows up in storage. I found the following generic vold.fstab which is supposed to be set up to make the external SD act as internal storage. Please comment on any changes that might be needed.
# Vold 2.0 Generic fstab
## - San Mehat ([email protected])
##
#######################
## Regular device mount
##
## Format: dev_mount <label> <mount_point> <part> <sysfs_path1...>
## label - Label for the volume
## mount_point - Where the volume will be mounted
## part - Partition # (1 based), or 'auto' for first usable partition.
## <sysfs_path> - List of sysfs paths to source devices
######################
# sdcard mount for the P1
# internal sdcard
{
ums_path = /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0/file
asec = enable
}
dev_mount sdcard1 /mnt/sdcard/external_sd 28 /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host/mmc1
# externel sdcard
{
ums_path = /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun1/file
discard = disable
asec = disable
}
#dev_mount sdcard1 /mnt/sdcard/external_sd 1 /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.4/mmc_host/mmc2
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.4/mmc_host/mmc2
#end line ## keep this line
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The file above did not work. The CM7 vold is below. Do you know what commands need to be changed to make the external card the primary internal storage.
# Vold 2.0 Malata Harmony fstab
#######################
## Regular device mount
##
## Format: dev_mount <label> <mount_point> <part> <sysfs_path1...>
## label - Label for the volume
## mount_point - Where the volume will be mounted
## part - Partition # (1 based), or 'auto' for first usable partition.
## <sysfs_path> - List of sysfs paths to source devices
######################
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard 1 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.0/mmc_host/mmc0 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.1/mmc_host/mmc1
dev_mount emmc /mnt/emmc 6 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.3/mmc_host/mmc2
dev_mount usbdisk /mnt/usbdisk auto /devices/platform/tegra-ehci

you cannot make sdcard primary internal this happens in boot stage.
you can only switch internal storage card with external card.
just change the 2 first thing in 2 first lines /mnt/sdcard and /mnt/emmc and its done

Dexter_nlb said:
you cannot make sdcard primary internal this happens in boot stage.
you can only switch internal storage card with external card.
just change the 2 first thing in 2 first lines /mnt/sdcard and /mnt/emmc and its done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it should now look like this. I tried it but storage seems same with external SD card showing my 8gb of storage and internal is still 1gb. Any other steps. Thanks for your patience. I really want to get more app storage.
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/emmc 1 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.0/mmc_host/mmc0 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.1/mmc_host/mmc1
dev_mount emmc /mnt/sdcard 6 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.3/mmc_host/mmc2
dev_mount usbdisk /mnt/usbdisk auto /devices/platform/tegra-ehci

denmichelson said:
So it should now look like this. I tried it but storage seems same with external SD card showing my 8gb of storage and internal is still 1gb. Any other steps. Thanks for your patience. I really want to get more app storage.
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/emmc 1 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.0/mmc_host/mmc0 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.1/mmc_host/mmc1
dev_mount emmc /mnt/sdcard 6 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.3/mmc_host/mmc2
dev_mount usbdisk /mnt/usbdisk auto /devices/platform/tegra-ehci
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dev_mount emmc /mnt/emmc 6 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.0/mmc_host/mmc0 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.1/mmc_host/mmc1
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard 1 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.3/mmc_host/mmc2
this is the correct way

Dexter_nlb said:
dev_mount emmc /mnt/emmc 6 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.0/mmc_host/mmc0 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.1/mmc_host/mmc1
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard 1 /devices/platform/tegra-sdhci.3/mmc_host/mmc2
this is the correct way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dexter, thanks for your continued help. I made the changes and everything looks and acts the same.Internal storage is 1g and external storage on Sd Card is 7.39 as it was before. My file card needed to be reformated before it was recognized. I rebooted after the changes anything else required?

denmichelson said:
Dexter, thanks for your continued help. I made the changes and everything looks and acts the same.Internal storage is 1g and external storage on Sd Card is 7.39 as it was before. My file card needed to be reformated before it was recognized. I rebooted after the changes anything else required?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i might actually have misunderstood, if i recall the A7 correct, internal storage is actually the /data partition that you cannot change, thats alot bigger process to fix.
you can only keep sdcard at the /mnt/sdcard location , the /mnt/emmc location was for USB connected devices in the CM rom.

Dexter_nlb said:
i might actually have misunderstood, if i recall the A7 correct, internal storage is actually the /data partition that you cannot change, thats alot bigger process to fix.
you can only keep sdcard at the /mnt/sdcard location , the /mnt/emmc location was for USB connected devices in the CM rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dexter, I appreciate your timely responses and ongoing support for the A7+

IDEA: Hacking internal/external sdcard mount paths

Hello.
I'm using the latest aurora and I'd like to discuss an idea I had.
Since the U8800 has plenty internal memory and it's quite fast comparing to an average sd card, it'd be great if we could use the internal memory for the tasks that need "speed" instead of "space".
Running apps from the sd card is the perfect example!
So the idea would be, while keeping the external sdcard mounted on /mnt/sdcard, having /mnt/sdcard/Android/data, for instance, point to the «internal sdcard path»/Android/data.
What do you think would be the best solution:
- hacking the mount points?
- using links?
- other solution?
Any developer or filesystem savvy user can point the advantages or dangers of using this solution?
- e.g.: the system or some apps may check if the external sd-card is mounted before trying to read/write to /mnt/sdcard/Android/data... that would mean the system/those apss may think that path isn't reachable with the ext-sdcard unmounted, altough they can be read.
Suggestions? Rants? Ideas?
Regards!

I have wondered if the /data/app or maybe the whole /data partition could be mounted in the internal storage partition. That would give 2gb space for apps and associated files instead of 3-400 ish and would mean no need to move apps to sd card which would mean faster loads at startup due to internal memory being faster.

VuDuCuRSe said:
Hello.
I'm using the latest aurora and I'd like to discuss an idea I had.
Since the U8800 has plenty internal memory and it's quite fast comparing to an average sd card, it'd be great if we could use the internal memory for the tasks that need "speed" instead of "space".
Running apps from the sd card is the perfect example!
So the idea would be, while keeping the external sdcard mounted on /mnt/sdcard, having /mnt/sdcard/Android/data, for instance, point to the «internal sdcard path»/Android/data.
What do you think would be the best solution:
- hacking the mount points?
- using links?
- other solution?
Any developer or filesystem savvy user can point the advantages or dangers of using this solution?
- e.g.: the system or some apps may check if the external sd-card is mounted before trying to read/write to /mnt/sdcard/Android/data... that would mean the system/those apss may think that path isn't reachable with the ext-sdcard unmounted, altough they can be read.
Suggestions? Rants? Ideas?
Regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this is known for a while now . Quoted from my thread here:
vold.fstab - CHANGE THE DEFAULT SDCARD: -thanks to julle131
There is this file named vold.fstab at your /system/etc/ folder, which controls which of your sdcards (Internal/External) will be mounted when you connect your phone to the PC. The last 2 lines are the only that matter. These are the two possibilities:
EXTERNAL SDCARD MOUNTED (DEFAULT):
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.4/mmc_host
dev_mount emmc /mnt/sdcard1 14 /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host
INTERNAL SDCARD MOUNTED:
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard 14 /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host
dev_mount emmc /mnt/sdcard1 auto /devices/platform/msm_sdcc.4/mmc_host
change them as you wish with a root explorer or before flashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make this change and every app will use the internal sdcard. Gallery works ok with images to external sdcard, it just might take a while for the first refresh. But I don't know if you'll notice any difference in terms of speed....
Cheers

spirosbond said:
Well this is known for a while now . Quoted from my thread here:
Make this change and every app will use the internal sdcard. Gallery works ok with images to external sdcard, it just might take a while for the first refresh. But I don't know if you'll notice any difference in terms of speed....
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not what he talked, I think. He said that the apparel would be installed on the external sd card, but the data would be moved to the internal one. And we have speed, but the main card would be the external one.
I think its a great idea if I understood it right!
Sent from my U8800 using xda premium

mrasquinho said:
That's not what he talked, I think. He said that the apparel would be installed on the external sd card, but the data would be moved to the internal one. And we have speed, but the main card would be the external one.
I think its a great idea if I understood it right!
Sent from my U8800 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I see! Sorry about that. As far as I know apps are not choosing were to put their data. They just say to the OS "I want these things to be at the sdcard" and the OS puts them at the correct place. So you can't "hack" the app to "see" at somewhere else. On the other hand the OS initialises on boot which card is the primary and which is the secondary. So my knowledge stops there and I can't imagine a way to make this separation between app data and the rest...
I hope for someone else's help!

PaulMilbank said:
I have wondered if the /data/app or maybe the whole /data partition could be mounted in the internal storage partition. That would give 2gb space for apps and associated files instead of 3-400 ish and would mean no need to move apps to sd card which would mean faster loads at startup due to internal memory being faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe this cannot be done, because I think that the mapping of the partitions and mounts comes from the bootloader, but there is already the solution of resizing the data partition using the space of internal storage.

PaulMilbank said:
I have wondered if the /data/app or maybe the whole /data partition could be mounted in the internal storage partition. That would give 2gb space for apps and associated files instead of 3-400 ish and would mean no need to move apps to sd card which would mean faster loads at startup due to internal memory being faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a great idea!
I almost don't use the so called "internal sd card", therefor I have 2GB of fast empty space being wasted.
Why not simply mounting the internal sd-card partition in the data folder and the data partition on the internal sd card folder?
I only use the internal sd card to hold ringtones and other small stuff that I need to be in accessible 100% of the time, so a few hundred MB are enough!
Me gusta!
Every ROM flashes it's own fstab, right?
So all we'd need to do would be, editing the fstab before flashing it.
-----------------
Regarding the my first idea... I don't think one can simply mount a path on another path. We'd need a "virtual" device pointing to /mnt/sdcard-internal/data/ then mount that virtual device on /mnt/sdcard-external/data/.
My knowledge of unix mount/filesystems is not much more than what's explained here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Mount
OK, just found this:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/11079/mount-a-directory-to-look-like-a-drive
there is a FUSE filesystem named bindfs that probably does exactly what you want. For example the following:
bindfs -n /media/USB-HDD-01/ISO/ /home/johnc/ISO-images
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
would result in ISO-images to show up as a mounted filesystem in the Places sidepanel in Nautilus. The -n is required because otherwise bindfs tries to use the allow_other FUSE option, which by default is not allowed for regular users (if you use bindfs in /etc/fstab this is not a problem).
The first directory you give is the existing one, the second directory you give is an empty directory under which the contents of the existing one will appear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, bindfs depends on FUSE... and there's a port of fuse to android: https://github.com/seth-hg/fuse-android but looking at the README I get the feeling that it's not really working. The last step would be having a kernel with FUSE support... and regarding that, I have no idea, how easy it is to get a kernel like that for our U8800 :\

Finding such a solution to expand the DATA partition indirectly would be great!
I used to apply genokolar's custom partition method as "1.2G DATA + 1.46G INTERNAL SD" before, but i found out that it has some issues with Official 2.3 Roms. One of them -the most important IMHO- is the BOOTLOOP problem occurring in some specific situations!!!
See the details in my post here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=25853141&postcount=134
(Seems that I don't encounter the bootloops on Custom Roms, but i'm not %100 sure and never will be )
So i unfortunately gave up using it, and revert to the stock partition .
I will be grateful to the one who will find a better and reliable solution. Hope to see it soon...

I still have to gather more information on the official update "modus operandi".
My goal is to simply reformat both partitions and then swap their mount points.
If the official update formats the partitions before applying the flashing official ROM files, then partitioning changes shouldn't cause any failure on the official update.
But like I said, I'm still yet to confirm that info.
Gen's idea was great (I learned a lot just by looking at his scripts) but resizing partitions has its dangers.
Since "no one" really uses the internal memory, why not simply exchange its room with /data, right?

This would be awesome! I would love to have 2gb for apps, instead of cluttering my phone.. plus the 2gb of internal storage are just a waste for me.. I never use them.. so this would be great!

[TUTORIAL] Expanding Memory In Xperia X8 Using Link2SD

After searching a lot, I found a tutorial on a forum in English, which I did in my SE X8 and it worked. The idea was to expand the memory as to install a few applications and the phone's internal 128mb I were kids. As for now, the android has X8 2.1 (YES OR must have the 2.1 for this tutorial), which does not support installing programs on SD, we can use link2sd, which creates links to a partition you need to make to SD in order to free internal memory of the phone. It is very stable, and no speed difference on the phone. Yes, it is recommended that memory is of "high speed". The one I have, is 8GB SDHC Class 4. To do this, the phone must be rooted, so we can do it with SuperOneClick or Flashtool. It's easy ....
After this preamble, let the instruction itself:
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT CAN HAPPEN!
We will need a pair of programs:
Root on phone: SuperOneClick/Flashtool
Free program to partition the SD: Partition Wizard
To manage the applications: Link2SD
Hands:
1 - Root on the Xperia X8 whit SuperOneClick/Flashtool.
2 - Unplug and turn off the phone, then take the SD card, connect it to PC with a memory reader and do a full copy of it to the PC, because you need to format it.
3 - Using partition magic, delete the partition on the card.
4 - Create two partitions, in my case a 7.5-GB and one 500 mg (500 mg advise. Maximum). It is essential that the two partitions are primary. 4a-format the partition in FAT32 largest, where we will put all the backup back, and the girl in EXT2 partition, which should not put anything.
5 - SD copy in the FAT32 partition link2sd.apk in order to install it.
6 - Turn the phone and use a browser to install the link2sd.
7 - Run the link2sd, and we get a message "Root access required", which allow selected access.
8 - link2sd Once inside, select the application you want to move to sd, and select "Create Link".
9 - The application automatically goes to the EXT2 partition.
IMPORTANT!!
- Once you move applications to restart the device before using it - It is possible that applications appear in a different order from the menu. - Applications of the system, unable to move. - In the event the market, tells us that there are applications to update, we go and we choose link2sd MARKET FIX. - When mounting the SD on the PC to copy music or pictures, or whatever, do not touch the ext2 partition, what's more, windows or going to see, can only be read from a PC with Linux.
I think that's all.
Surely, this tutorial also applies to other phone models, use it AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
Sorry for the bad English. I translated it from Spanish.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

If u are having bootloop problem while using it(happened with me once on stock Rom)
1.Then simlpy pull out SD card & ur phone will start normally.
2.u have to Format & recreate the 2nd partition as shown in above tutorial
3.uninstall & again install(not reinstall) link2sd
4.& u are done...
Cheers
sent from my W8 using client-server technology

itz useful..

Mistev said:
After searching a lot, I found a tutorial on a forum in English, which I did in my SE X8 and it worked. The idea was to expand the memory as to install a few applications and the phone's internal 128mb I were kids. As for now, the android has X8 2.1 (YES OR must have the 2.1 for this tutorial), which does not support installing programs on SD, we can use link2sd, which creates links to a partition you need to make to SD in order to free internal memory of the phone. It is very stable, and no speed difference on the phone. Yes, it is recommended that memory is of "high speed". The one I have, is 8GB SDHC Class 4. To do this, the phone must be rooted, so we can do it with SuperOneClick or Flashtool. It's easy ....
After this preamble, let the instruction itself:
DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT CAN HAPPEN!
We will need a pair of programs:
Root on phone: SuperOneClick/Flashtool
Free program to partition the SD: Partition Wizard
To manage the applications: Link2SD
Hands:
1 - Root on the Xperia X8 whit SuperOneClick/Flashtool.
2 - Unplug and turn off the phone, then take the SD card, connect it to PC with a memory reader and do a full copy of it to the PC, because you need to format it.
3 - Using partition magic, delete the partition on the card.
4 - Create two partitions, in my case a 7.5-GB and one 500 mg (500 mg advise. Maximum). It is essential that the two partitions are primary. 4a-format the partition in FAT32 largest, where we will put all the backup back, and the girl in EXT2 partition, which should not put anything.
5 - SD copy in the FAT32 partition link2sd.apk in order to install it.
6 - Turn the phone and use a browser to install the link2sd.
7 - Run the link2sd, and we get a message "Root access required", which allow selected access.
8 - link2sd Once inside, select the application you want to move to sd, and select "Create Link".
9 - The application automatically goes to the EXT2 partition.
IMPORTANT!!
- Once you move applications to restart the device before using it - It is possible that applications appear in a different order from the menu. - Applications of the system, unable to move. - In the event the market, tells us that there are applications to update, we go and we choose link2sd MARKET FIX. - When mounting the SD on the PC to copy music or pictures, or whatever, do not touch the ext2 partition, what's more, windows or going to see, can only be read from a PC with Linux.
I think that's all.
Surely, this tutorial also applies to other phone models, use it AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
Sorry for the bad English. I translated it from Spanish.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That helps a lot but complicated.Hah
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

Mistev your tutorial is very good.
But there is a small problem in using link2sd. It is a good application and is used by a lot of people if they are on the stock 2.1 rom with "no move to SD card" option.But once you have created a partiton and have linked your apps to the SD card then you cannot remove your SD card.If you do you will lose all the apps linked to the SD card.Its the only drawback of this app

good work. thanks
:highfive: