[Q] Do you suggest EXT4 over Fat32 for 16GB MicroSD?? - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've an I9505 with AOSP MIUI and ChronicKernel, and I have just bought a new 16GB Sandisk Ultra HCI (1) MicroSD.
Do you suggest to format it with an EXT4 filesystem or the default FAT32?
I've done some speed test, and the writing speed of 1GB file seems the same.
I don't usually need to store single files bigger than 2GB.
I also do not need to write on it from Windows. I can in any case safety read EXT4 on Windows with many apps.
I only seen that with the EXT4 I have 1GB less of free space, caused maybe by the SU allocated space. Tune2FS -m 0 seems don't work here.
The recovery seems to work on EXT4 well.
Is EXT4 much more safe, affrodable, fast and modern to justificate the upgrade?
Are there some more good reason to chose EXT4 over the very diffuse Fat32?
The only complains regards free space and writing from Windows. Seems possible just by few software, like Ext2Fsd-0.51, but it's still not possible to erase android user created files. I have in any case few of this needs.
Thank you in advance for your kind reply.

I have not seen significant difference in performance between filesystems.
However, I do need (from time to time) to have files bigger than 2GB on my SD card, since I use it as external disc too... so I go by inertia with NTFS.
You WILL need sooner or later > 2GB file on your SD... So, in your case, EXT4...

Thank you Bodisson.
I'm still looking a way to freeup the SU allocated space, wich is so hight. 1GB of loss space on a 16GB card!!!

Bodisson said:
You WILL need sooner or later > 2GB file on your SD... So, in your case, EXT4...
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No, Fat32 has support for files up to 4GB. So only if you need files bigger than THAT you should change filesystem.
If you don't: simply stick with Fat32 as it is way way WAY more compatible with every phone, camera, computer, whatever.

Pfeffernuss said:
No, Fat32 has support for files up to 4GB. So only if you need files bigger than THAT you should change filesystem.
If you don't: simply stick with Fat32 as it is way way WAY more compatible with every phone, camera, computer, whatever.
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Click to collapse
Thank you Pfeffernuss. I did a mistake. Fat32 and < 4GB file dimension, right!
In any case I would sacrifice compatibility but reliability. Fat32 is an old filesystem, and not very affrodable in case of OS crash. File recovery is also not at best. Speed for big files are the same, I admit. But the speed for small file access is much more slow.
I also use FTP and SCP for file tranfer.
I do not like to unmount MicroSD inside a full working OS to let it Windows directly compatibile. And also the internal memory is in any case Windows non accessibile.
Both can use MTP onthefly.
I like NTFS for Windows based usage. It's really much more fast and secure than Fat32.
I want to do the same in a Linux environment.
I'm finally oriented to an EXT4 ...
In any case thanks for your reply.

Related

[concept] Android with NTFS (or any FS that supports files +4GB)

Hello
Sometimes i want to move file that's bigger then 4G to a sd-cart. Unfortunately FAT32 don't support this
So I asked google and google didn't know eather, but he gave me interesting project. Android-x86
Android-x86 supports NTFS as file system.
So i was wandering, if in kernel i turn module ntfs on, will i be possible to convert fat32 partition to ntfs?
will it work then?
[edit] I know I can change fat32 to ext3/4 but will it be mounted to /sd-cart/ so i'll be able to write/read it from the phone?[/edit]
really interesting any news about this???
anyway some notice about other platform??? how is it possible that still today don't exist an operative system for smartphone with filesystem support more than old fat32 4gb data??? this has no sense for me
confiq said:
[edit] I know I can change fat32 to ext3/4 but will it be mounted to /sd-cart/ so i'll be able to write/read it from the phone?[/edit]
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I realise I'm replying to an old post but as there's been recent activity on this thread...
I'd just use an ext2 partition. If you're running A2SD you probably have one already. I run MCR 3.2 on my Hero & this partition is mounted (as a result of A2SD) on /system/sd & is obviously read/write. Max filesize under ext2/3 is 16GB for a 1KB blocksize.
anything happen with this? with the wealth of tablets coming out with the ability to mount host powered usb harddrives it would be great to be able to read/write (or even just read) ntfs natively within Android. formatting to Ext3 is the only option at the moment and is a bit of a ballache if i want to use the drive for anything else or take it to a friends etc.
thefunkygibbon said:
anything happen with this? with the wealth of tablets coming out with the ability to mount host powered usb harddrives it would be great to be able to read/write (or even just read) ntfs natively within Android. formatting to Ext3 is the only option at the moment and is a bit of a ballache if i want to use the drive for anything else or take it to a friends etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Havent heard anything yet. But you can use the EXT2/3 FS driver for windows to make your life a little easier. I use it when I pull hdds out of my NAS.
http://www.fs-driver.org/

Swap Partition When Using Apps2sd

Hey guys,
I am planning to format my sdcard to fat32/ext_ partitions for use of apps2sd. I have a few questions I would like answered first though.
-Is a swap partition required? I have little space on my sd and would rather not use one. If it is required, what size/file system would you suggest? I take it there is no invisible swap partition by default?
-Ext 2, 3 or 4 for my apps2sd partition?
- I am planning to make my apps2sd partition only about 200mb, will that work well?
Thanks.
- swap: depending on rom, but in general: no
- i would recommend ext2, you can use 3 or 4 as well. keep in mind that ext4 doesn't work on any 2.1 rom until we have the kernel sources (after official release).
- it will work, the size only determines how many apps you can install there. average size of an app is ~1mb, though can go from a few kb to several mb (i.e. copilot.apk has 14mb).
Thanks a lot Any particular advantage of ext2 over ext3?
tbman1996 said:
Thanks a lot Any particular advantage of ext2 over ext3?
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Click to collapse
Ext3 and ext4 wear out your sdcard quicker, because of journaling features.
Since, compared to a system or cache partition, the sdcard is not written to as much, and system crashes where the mobile is shut down during a write operation are rare for Android, journaling doesn't offer any significant advantage. The unnecessary journaling however, accounts for extra writes to the flash memory chips, which in turn equals extra wear.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ext2 said:
ext2 is still the filesystem of choice for flash-based storage media (such as SD cards, SSDs, and USB flash drives) since its lack of a journal minimizes the number of writes and flash devices have only a limited number of write cycles.
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[Q] What is EXT4 and what are the benefits of it?

i've been seeing that "Ext4 is required" for newer ROMs, but i was wondering what that actually means with respect to Android...i understand that it's a filesystem. thanks and sorry for the ignorance.
From my understanding it's kind of like how a hard drive is formatted. In this case we used to have rfs and thanks to the good folks here we now have the now becoming standard ext4 which is supposed to be a bit speedier on the I/O I believe.
I think it also supports larger file sizes.
great...thanks for the info.
rockrerun said:
I think it also supports larger file sizes.
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I don't think that would matter though. It's the SD card that is in FAT32 that would hold the over 4gb file. The phone will play it in any case. Now...if you formatted the SD to ext4 then I suppose this would be true. I don't know if the new file ext4 was needed to "read" an ext4 sd card or not though. I could simply format my sd to ext4 (since I'm still on RFS for now) and check out if an over 4gb video file would play...or be seen at all.

partition sd card?

Hi all, I've noticed lately that most of the new roms coming out require you to partition your sd card. a couple of questions;
Why?
is it perminent?
wich partition to add new files too?
can i still use stock sd card?
how big to make partition?
Thanks in advance
dca1970 said:
Hi all, I've noticed lately that most of the new roms coming out require you to partition your sd card. a couple of questions;
Why?
is it perminent?
wich partition to add new files too?
can i still use stock sd card?
how big to make partition?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Memory size on the phone is not adequate to handle the size of certain ROMs.
No its not permanent
Ext3 for apps
Yes
As big as you want, 2gigs is what's recommended and 32 mb swap
phatmanxxl said:
Memory size on the phone is not adequate to handle the size of certain ROMs.
No its not permanent
Ext3 for apps
Yes
As big as you want, 2gigs is what's recommended and 32 mb swap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! .
Upgrading from ext2-ext3
On a side note, I have been attempting to partition my SDcard with the 2G on my 16G C6 card. When I use AR1.8 everything goes quickly, but it will not upgrade from ext2-ext3 and says to use adb to do this (adb does not see the partition)...partition seems to be made when checking the card. On AR2.3 the partitioning goes on forever and have to do a battery pull to get it to stop. When I check the size with this version it also seems to have done the partition even with the endless process stated earlier. It however gives me the message 'opps, something went wrong' when trying to upgrade from ext2-3.
When checking from either method in TB, it shows an ap2sd partition of around 400mb and have yet to actually upgrade to ext3 from either recovery version.
Any ideas?
Use RA recovery to partition, it makes it simple.
What ROMs require this?
I guess I've been in the AOSP world for too long...
Just the virus gingersense and the virus kingdom that I know of. The virus kindom does not require it but you wont be left if much room for apps.
phatmanxxl said:
Just the virus gingersense and the virus kingdom that I know of. The virus kindom does not require it but you wont be left if much room for apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not just http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=855424 ?
Better performance on NAND than SD-EXT.
phatmanxxl said:
Use RA recovery to partition, it makes it simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, AR was my intention of RA. Have used both the initial version 1.8 (my first anyway) and 2.3 with no success.
Have been attempting to do it within ADB and keep getting this message when attempting to make the ext2 partition:
Input/Output error during write on /dev/block/mmcblk0
This is the process I'm using:
within adb shell
# parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
(parted) mkpartfs primary fat32 0 13991
(parted) mkpartfs primary ext2 13991 16039
this is where I get the error mentioned above and can not continue to the swap.
(parted) mkpartfs primary linux-swap 16039 16071
HOWEVER....
If I use mkpart primary ext2 13991 16039 it takes, but does not show that it is an ext2 in the files system under the partition information.
Does this even make sense..lol
EDIT:
Never mind..erased my edit until I really screw up my card...now it won't mount...back to the drawing board
Gave up after reading about Transcend cards and just partitioned to the single 16G. Going to get a different card/mfg and give it a go. At least I learned a bit more about ADB today...so not a total loss.
OK..after looking through many options, may have my issue as to why RA won't perform the partition and I can't do it through ADB.....MY CARD. Apparantly there have been issues with Transcend and making an ext partition. Guess it's time to go C10 and get a new one.
Anyway...found this thread and thought it might help?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=534714
Got a new C10 card today from a different mfg and that fixed the problem!
I use gpart on ny ubuntu OS. It is NVIDIA to keep a Linux OS around guys. I can do the wholebpartitioning without erasing any files or data. soo I'm good to go. Also its fast as well.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

[Q] A Noob Question, Please Help

I've been hearing a lot about partitioning sd cards and I know it's done in recovery mode.
So my question is - What's the difference between ext2, ext3, ext4 and swap partition?
Please help out!!
ext2 - Linux file system (no journaling)
ext3 - basically ext2 with journaling
ext4 - next generation of ext3 with better journaling and performance
swap - if internal memory should run full, parts would be swapped to the swap space, so it is basically an enhancement of internal memory
Check each out in the wikipedia, its worth it!
EDIT: I'd personally always go for ext4 and 128 swap
tbschommer said:
ext2 - Linux file system (no journaling)
ext3 - basically ext2 with journaling
ext4 - next generation of ext3 with better journaling and performance
swap - if internal memory should run full, parts would be swapped to the swap space, so it is basically an enhancement of internal memory
Check each out in the wikipedia, its worth it!
EDIT: I'd personally always go for ext4 and 128 swap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man,
But still I have few more questions..
What do you mean by "journaling"? And why do we need ext, ext2, ext4 for our mobile?
And swap is for enhancing internal memory or RAM?
Aced443 said:
Thanks man,
But still I have few more questions..
What do you mean by "journaling"? And why do we need ext, ext2, ext4 for our mobile?
And swap is for enhancing internal memory or RAM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Journaling filesystem - quote from Wikipedia:
A journaling file system is a file system that keeps track of the changes that will be made in a journal (usually a circular log in a dedicated area of the file system) before committing them to the main file system. In the event of a system crash or power failure, such file systems are quicker to bring back online and less likely to become corrupted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I can't elaborate on why Android uses ext4 - I only read that one reason is that it's capable of multithreading. I hope one of the experts can tell us both more
Swap - you're right, of course - is used for RAM.

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