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I have been having a real hard time moving all my apps over to my sd card. I have tried three different tutorials and none of them seem to work. I tried JFvMOD by LucidREM: APPS on SD [2009-02-14] guide and when I rebooted my phone it was stuck on the G1 image for way too long. I think the problem is that my g1 is having trouble reading my ext2 section of my sd card. I am running JFv1.42_RC33
I'm pretty sure I partitioned my card correctly because I used partition manager 9 and I set aside two different ext2 sections, both 1 gig. When I read my card through partition manager it says I have a ext2 section and I also tried it on a mac and it says I have a ext2 section too, but when I type in busybox df -h it comes up with:
dev/block/mmblk0p1 5.4G 1.9G 3.5G 35% /sdcard
and nothing like:
/dev/mmcblk0p2 1.5G 6.3M 1.4G 0% /system/sd
I have an 8 gig sd card so it says I am missing 2 gigs
I would really appreciate if someone could help me out
Hi,
Do you mean Paragon Partition Manager?
The ext2 drive should be a primary partition not a logical one.
Otherwise it wont work.
Yes, that's what I meant. How do I create a primary partition and not a logical one?
Hi,
Connect your phone to the computer and mount drive.
Start ppm and click 4th link on right.
Click create partition, determine size you want and highlight the sd card drive,you would click format and pick ext2.
It will format the ext2 drive as a primary drive.
So you will have 2 primary drives, one fat32 and one ext2.
Your computer will reboot automatically as part of the formating process.
If something went wrong in the formating process, remove both ext2 partition and redistribute unused space to the fat32 partition and start over.
I am still having problems.
I reformatted everything. The ext2 and fat32 types are both primary however on the top it is labeled: Logical Disk (*). [No Label]
Any ideas
tyler.aua said:
I am still having problems.
I reformatted everything. The ext2 and fat32 types are both primary however on the top it is labeled: Logical Disk (*). [No Label]
Any ideas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so Open Paragon, click ADVANCED PARTITIONING on bottom right, on your sd card right click on the partition and click Delete partition. Then Delete all other partitions on the SD card.
After you have deleted them all, click on the apply button on the top of Paragon. Then after that is finished, right click on the sd card and click create partition. The first drop down box will say: Create Partition as: and select Primary Partition. Then select the size you want the FAT32 Partition to be and on the Second drop down box select FAT 32. Then click yes.
Then Right click on the sd card again on the part that says (unallocated) and click Create partition. Select the partition as primary, and this time select the Linux Ext2 option of the second drop down box. Then click yes. Finally, Click on the top button to apply changes (Green Check mark) and you are done partitioning. Then just follow these instructions.
Let me know if that works for you. Good luck.
EDIT: BTW the Linux Ext2 partition has to be less than 2GB for this to work.
Hi,
Thanks good info.
I made mine 1.6 gigs just by chance.
Good thing it's under the 2gb limit.
Any reason it has to be less than 2gigs?
Thanks
cchap07 said:
Ok so Open Paragon, click ADVANCED PARTITIONING on bottom right, on your sd card right click on the partition and click Delete partition. Then Delete all other partitions on the SD card.
After you have deleted them all, click on the apply button on the top of Paragon. Then after that is finished, right click on the sd card and click create partition. The first drop down box will say: Create Partition as: and select Primary Partition. Then select the size you want the FAT32 Partition to be and on the Second drop down box select FAT 32. Then click yes.
Then Right click on the sd card again on the part that says (unallocated) and click Create partition. Select the partition as primary, and this time select the Linux Ext2 option of the second drop down box. Then click yes. Finally, Click on the top button to apply changes (Green Check mark) and you are done partitioning. Then just follow these instructions.
Let me know if that works for you. Good luck.
EDIT: BTW the Linux Ext2 partition has to be less than 2GB for this to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bestwebs said:
Hi,
Thanks good info.
I made mine 1.6 gigs just by chance.
Good thing it's under the 2gb limit.
Any reason it has to be less than 2gigs?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea why it has to be less than 2gigs, its just based on experience and what others on the forum said. If you make it more than two gigs the market will give you an error when you try to install apps that says something along the lines of "Not enough Space to install program."
Hi,
I have sucessfully moved my apps and caches to my 1.6gb ext2 partiton on my 8gb sd card.
I would like to back up the ext2 partition in case my sdcard fails.
How do I do this in windows xp?
Thanks
I'd love to find out how to do something similar. I just got an 8 GB card that I'd like to replace my 2 GB card with, basically, I'd like to clone the whole thing over.
Anyone have any ideas? I can do XP or Linux, just curious what software would be able to do the best job of replicating the card from one to the other.
Attach the card to your computer with an adapter (not the phone as it will be mounted by android). Download and install ext2ifs from here. You will now be able to see the files on the ext2 partition and can copy/paste them to where ever you would like.
Thanks, but I've had no luck with ext2ifs and memory cards. They even address it in their troubleshooting section:
I have a device with a removable media, for example a USB memory stick, a Compact Flash Card, a magneto-optical drive etc., which has a partitioned format and has more than one partition. When I insert that media, a drive letter appears for the first partition, but not for all the remaining partitions of the media. When I open "IFS Drives" of the control panel, the considered device appears as a hard disk drive, but there is no partitioning scheme shown for it. How can I create drive letters for the remaining partitions of that removable media? (USB hard disk drives are not affected.)
There is an unsatisfactory answer only: it is not possible.
Windows creates (and deletes) all the drive letters for pure removable devices or removable medias itself. Because the Ext2 IFS software need not to create them, it intentionally does not show any partition scheme for that drive.
Windows creates a drive letter for the first partition of the considered media, but not for the remaining ones. (Windows NT4, 2000 and even XP behave the same way in that regard).
You will run into the same problem if you have a removable media partitioned with two partitions of the FAT type on a computer, which has not installed the Ext2 IFS software! So there is one straight advice only: do not use removable media with more than one partition with Windows.
I'm guessing (someone else could correct if wrong) that if I were to just do the basic copy from one card to another - that would suffice?
If I just took the card, created two partitions (FAT32 and EXT2FS) on the larger card, then copied over all the files in both - that would work just fine?
Strange, I've never experienced any issues with ext2ifs, but yes a simple copy paste of both partitions has been all i needed. Just make sure to copy any hidden files as well.
Can we back it up using Ubuntu Live CD and just upload them to a new sd cards ext2 partition?
yes, but you would need multiple card readers.
andonnguyen said:
yes, but you would need multiple card readers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why can't you save it to the hard drive, replace the sd card, access the ext2 partition and upload the files that you backed up?
Although I'm not very familiar with Ubuntu, when I tried it last time it didn't even allow me to have access to the app and app-private folders within the partition.
What do I need to do to be able to back it up to the hard drive so I can try to upload it to another SD?
Hi,
Thanks for the suggestion.
But when I installed the driver, I can still see just the fat32 partition not the ext2 partition.
I am using a sdhc usb card reader so it is not connected to the g1.
It is like the ext2 partition does not exist through windows xp.
But when I put the card back in the g1 the files are taking up space through ternminal emulator. So the ext2 partiton does exist but still not accessable through windows.
Any other ideas?
jsunkist146 said:
Attach the card to your computer with an adapter (not the phone as it will be mounted by android). Download and install ext2ifs from here. You will now be able to see the files on the ext2 partition and can copy/paste them to where ever you would like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bestwebs said:
Hi,
Thanks for the suggestion.
But when I installed the driver, I can still see just the fat32 partition not the ext2 partition.
I am using a sdhc usb card reader so it is not connected to the g1.
It is like the ext2 partition does not exist through windows xp.
But when I put the card back in the g1 the files are taking up space through ternminal emulator. So the ext2 partiton does exist but still not accessable through windows.
Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what comes up when you use
"busybox df -h" in the terminal emulator?
make sure you see something like "/dev/mmcblk0p2 (partition size) (used) (available) (used %) "/system/sd"
If not then that's the problem.
Hi,
In my phone , I do have that ext2 line /dev/mmcblk0p2
size 1.4gb - used 49 meg - free 1.3 gb
sdcard line /dev/mmcblk0p1
size 6.2 gb - used 5.2gb - free 981 meg
Thanks for the reply.
Binary100100 said:
what comes up when you use
"busybox df -h" in the terminal emulator?
make sure you see something like "/dev/mmcblk0p2 (partition size) (used) (available) (used %) "/system/sd"
If not then that's the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're on Linux it is trivial to get the files off, if you'd like to make an exact image you can use the dd command. I suggest grabbing a live CD, as it will be a much easier process than making windows see ext partitions.
crater said:
If you're on Linux it is trivial to get the files off, if you'd like to make an exact image you can use the dd command. I suggest grabbing a live CD, as it will be a much easier process than making windows see ext partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Live CD, but can you elaborate on the "dd command" exactly. I'm a Linux noob and wouldn't mind backing up the partition. Last time I tried, I couldn't even get permissions to open the files no less copy them.
Thanks.
Insert the two SD cards into USB SDHC card readers. Launch the free MiniTool Partition Wizard program. Copy the ext2 partition you want to transfer on the first SD card to an unallocated area on the second SD card. MiniTool Partition Wizard under Windows does "see" multiple partitions on a USB drive even though Windows doesn't assign letters to those drives and they are invisible in Windows Explorer.
To increase the size of the ext2 partition on either SD card, use the Linux program GParted. Boot up with the GParted Live CD/USB iso file. Run GParted to resize the ext2 partition. (MiniTool Partition Wizard can move but not resize an ext2 partition.)
I've looked through all the tutorials and read an obscene amount of how-to's, yet I can't figure out partitioning. Tried it from the SDK on a mac and pc and got some sort of path error right from the start. I've tried disk utility on a mac but I am confused on what entries I need to make. Same goes with disk manager on a PC. I've also tried Ubuntu with no luck (got an error). You name it, I've tried it and now I'm exhausted. All I am trying to do it partition a 4GB card to get a linux-swap of 128MB for one of the hero ROMs I want to try...If someone could show me the entries I'd need to make for size for the 3 partitions, that would be great. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Boot into recovery, create a partition.
Boot ubuntu, get the gnome partition editor
Resize the partitions as you need them.
Done.
If you were to flash Amon Ra's recovery it has an option to partition your sd card for you. I'm not exactly sure how much it would set the swap at, but I'm sure you could find it with a little searching. Here's the link to the recovery http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=530492
This is for a 8gb
adb shell
# parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
print
rm 1 (make sure you back up sdcard)
rm 2
rm 3
mkpartfs primary fat32 0 7599
mkpartfs primary ext2 7599 7604
mkpartfs primary linux-swap 7668 7732
quit
# reboot recovery
this is making the linux swap 128mb.
I use the method mentioned above:
adb shell
# parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
print
rm 1 (make sure you back up sdcard)
rm 2
rm 3
mkpartfs primary fat32 0 7599
mkpartfs primary ext2 7599 7604
mkpartfs primary linux-swap 7668 7732
quit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are some tips though on how to get these numbers...
1. You MUST have the SDK installed correctly with the drivers so you can initiate the adb command and communicate with the device.
2. Partition in Recovery mode. Either Cyanogen or Amon_Ra... I use Cyanogen, so I can't speculate as to how to do this with Amon_Ra
3. BACK-UP YOUR SD CARD, this WILL WIPE YOUR CARD!!
Ok, once you are in recovery, go into the shell:
adb shell
Once there, mount the card with parted:
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
Once there, get your SD Card Information:
print
This will give you the size of your SD Card and list the partitions that currently exist on it. The number is gives you for SIZE is what you need to go off of, NOT ALL SD CARDS ARE THE SAME!!!
Be sure to remove any parititions that are there already (use the rm # command (# being the partition number you want to remove)).
The 8MB card above stops at 7732 where my 8GB card stops at 8053, so keep an eye on the numbers!!
Ok, now you have to work backwards... If you wanted to make 3 partitions, you work from back to front with the numbers:
For my card, since it ENDS at 8053, and I want a 128MB linux-swap partition, I simply take 8053 - 128 = 7925, so the THRID partion will be:
mkpartfs primary linux-swap 7925 8053
Now I have a 500MB ext3 parition so I take 7925 - 500 = 7425 which makes the SECOND partition:
mkpartfs primary ext2 7425 7925
And then the remaining space is for FAT32:
mkpartfs primary fat32 0 7425
So you will actually run them in the reverse order:
FAT32 > ext2 > linux-swap:
mkpartfs primary fat32 0 7425
mkpartfs primary ext2 7425 7925
mkpartfs primary linux-swap 7925 8053
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can adjust the numbers however you want for space assignment.
Once you are done, you should (unless the ROM dev states otherwise) upgrade the ext2 partition to ext 3.
In parted type:
quit
This will drop you to the shell and then type:
upgrade_fs
Wait for this to complete and you now have FAT32 + ext3 + linux-swap
Hope this helps explain it some!
this android and me how to is the best ive seen has pictures and step by step, made partitioning a breeze http://androidandme.com/2009/08/news/how-to-manually-partition-your-sd-card-for-android-apps2sd/
Thanks for the help guys. I'll keep trying but I haven't been able to get the ADB working via the SDK. I know I am doing something wrong with the path because its not even letting me get past the initial command. By the way, I have the Amon Ra recovery and I believe it auto-partitioned 32MB. I need 98, possibly 128.
On the bright side, I just received a replacement phone because my first mytouch was defective and giving me horrible reception (BEFORE I ever tried messing around with it). So, now I have two phones, one of which I can mess around with.
staunty said:
I've looked through all the tutorials and read an obscene amount of how-to's, yet I can't figure out partitioning. Tried it from the SDK on a mac and pc and got some sort of path error right from the start. I've tried disk utility on a mac but I am confused on what entries I need to make. Same goes with disk manager on a PC. I've also tried Ubuntu with no luck (got an error). You name it, I've tried it and now I'm exhausted. All I am trying to do it partition a 4GB card to get a linux-swap of 128MB for one of the hero ROMs I want to try...If someone could show me the entries I'd need to make for size for the 3 partitions, that would be great. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
staunty said:
Thanks for the help guys. I'll keep trying but I haven't been able to get the ADB working via the SDK. I know I am doing something wrong with the path because its not even letting me get past the initial command. By the way, I have the Amon Ra recovery and I believe it auto-partitioned 32MB. I need 98, possibly 128.
On the bright side, I just received a replacement phone because my first mytouch was defective and giving me horrible reception (BEFORE I ever tried messing around with it). So, now I have two phones, one of which I can mess around with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Staunty: I was in your position yesterday. I'm thinking about making a write up for noobs solely about partitioning, simply because until you do it, the language and way to do it was extremely hard to find. Here is how I did it:
I could not get ADB to work at all, not sure why but I get an error every time I try to mount or find my device in console, I've heard of ADB problems on windows 7 and even tried a fix to no avail. Realizing ADB was out of the question, I needed to format the SD card outside the phone. I did not have a card reader, so I drove to best buy and for 19.99 purchased a card reader for my pc. It is by rocketfish and comes in a red box in case you go my route. Thankfully it reads micro SD cards WITHOUT a converter to normal SD. If you have all the materials, time to format the card.
Because Android needs a linux-swap and EXT2 or EXT3 partition for what we're doing, windows can't format the card correctly without using ADB. The workaround is to use linux. You don't have to install linux, you can just burn it onto a CD and boot up with it for a 1 time use to format your SD card. If you don't have a CD burner like myself, you can use a USB drive. I went to www.linuxmint.com and downloaded linux mint for free. Mint is like ubuntu but extremely user friendly. It comes with Gparted, the partition editor. In mint, there is a search bar right in the program menu. Search for partition or Gparted and it will show up. Put your card into the card reader. Select your SD card from the drop down window in Gparted. Look for the "device" with 3.69gb of available space, thats your 4GB SD card. Right click each partition and select "unmount". Once your entire SD card is "unallocated" you're ready to divide up your memory card into partitions.
You stated that you have a 4 gig card. I'm assuming it's the stock class2 mytouch card. Thats the card I'm using as well, so I'll give you my numbers. Just an FYI, I decided to use a very large EXT3 and very large swap as I've heard not having enough swap can lead to lag so I decided to be overly generous, you can change these numbers to whatever you want. I also left some space unpartitioned just to be on the safe side since this was my first time partitioning the card.
Right click on Unallocated and select new at the top. We're going to do your FAT32 first. In the middle box on the left that says "Size" type 2900, I believe it asks you for the # in mb. If it asks for GB just type 2.9. On the lower right hand side, select FAT32 and then less ok. The second partition we'll make is an EXT3 partition. Most other methods can't directly create an EXT3 partition, however Gparted does let us do this. Lets take advantage while we can. Right click again on unallocated and fill in 575 for size. This time select EXT3 from the drop down menu. Hit create. Last and certainly not least, our Linux-Swap partition. Create a new partition again, fill in 225 for the size and select Linux-Swap for the partition. After you've created all 3, click the green check mark above the white partitioning area. You will get a message that all data on the card will be lost. Click yes. Wait for the computer to create the new partitions on the card and then viola, you've partitioned your SD card without ADB. I apologize if any of this seemed long winded or condescending, however I simply wanted to write out every possible step because I know at one point I really wanted to see something as step by step as this.
Mr. Nefarious said:
Staunty: I was in your position yesterday. I'm thinking about making a write up for noobs solely about partitioning, simply because until you do it, the language and way to do it was extremely hard to find. Here is how I did it:
I could not get ADB to work at all, not sure why but I get an error every time I try to mount or find my device in console, I've heard of ADB problems on windows 7 and even tried a fix to no avail. Realizing ADB was out of the question, I needed to format the SD card outside the phone. I did not have a card reader, so I drove to best buy and for 19.99 purchased a card reader for my pc. It is by rocketfish and comes in a red box in case you go my route. Thankfully it reads micro SD cards WITHOUT a converter to normal SD. If you have all the materials, time to format the card.
Because Android needs a linux-swap and EXT2 or EXT3 partition for what we're doing, windows can't format the card correctly without using ADB. The workaround is to use linux. You don't have to install linux, you can just burn it onto a CD and boot up with it for a 1 time use to format your SD card. If you don't have a CD burner like myself, you can use a USB drive. I went to www.linuxmint.com and downloaded linux mint for free. Mint is like ubuntu but extremely user friendly. It comes with Gparted, the partition editor. In mint, there is a search bar right in the program menu. Search for partition or Gparted and it will show up. Put your card into the card reader. Select your SD card from the drop down window in Gparted. Look for the "device" with 3.69gb of available space, thats your 4GB SD card. Right click each partition and select "unmount". Once your entire SD card is "unallocated" you're ready to divide up your memory card into partitions.
You stated that you have a 4 gig card. I'm assuming it's the stock class2 mytouch card. Thats the card I'm using as well, so I'll give you my numbers. Just an FYI, I decided to use a very large EXT3 and very large swap as I've heard not having enough swap can lead to lag so I decided to be overly generous, you can change these numbers to whatever you want. I also left some space unpartitioned just to be on the safe side since this was my first time partitioning the card.
Right click on Unallocated and select new at the top. We're going to do your FAT32 first. In the middle box on the left that says "Size" type 2900, I believe it asks you for the # in mb. If it asks for GB just type 2.9. On the lower right hand side, select FAT32 and then less ok. The second partition we'll make is an EXT3 partition. Most other methods can't directly create an EXT3 partition, however Gparted does let us do this. Lets take advantage while we can. Right click again on unallocated and fill in 575 for size. This time select EXT3 from the drop down menu. Hit create. Last and certainly not least, our Linux-Swap partition. Create a new partition again, fill in 225 for the size and select Linux-Swap for the partition. After you've created all 3, click the green check mark above the white partitioning area. You will get a message that all data on the card will be lost. Click yes. Wait for the computer to create the new partitions on the card and then viola, you've partitioned your SD card without ADB. I apologize if any of this seemed long winded or condescending, however I simply wanted to write out every possible step because I know at one point I really wanted to see something as step by step as this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, thanks for the detailed info. However, I finally figured out what was happening with the SDK...Maybe you're having a similar issue. First of all, I went with the 2.0 initially but was having some sort of error that I found others to be having. I scrapped the 2.0 and went with the 1.6 SDK. Dropped it on C:\ and renamed it (rename it whatever you want). That solved issue 1 and my command prompt found the right path. Issue 2 was needing to delete any and all HTC drivers in my system. After I did that, I plugged the phone back in an reinstalled the drivers that popped up with plug and play. Problems solved. Only problem I now have is remembering which ROM for which I was doing all this. Seriously, I've looked at and read about so many that they all sound the same. We should collaborate on this noob tutorial, I knew nothing whatsoever about 2 days ago and have spent countless hours figuring out stuff that is relatively simple in hindsight.
or try amon ra's preview of his new recovery, it has dynamic partitioning http://bit.ly/aXCh8
I am in the same boat. I have used Gpartition Live CD, Amon RA's Recovery 1.2.3. After partitioning the SD (4GB Class 4), when I put it in Windows XP via a SD adapter, it says the SD is not formated. The same happens when I use my phone. They phone sees the SD memory as "Blank Media".
Anyone have any ideas what I am getting wrong?
themetatron said:
or try amon ra's preview of his new recovery, it has dynamic partitioning http://bit.ly/aXCh8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I use and it works best for me.
So, I've got a new SanDisk 64gb Class 10 micro SD and want to use it for app and data storage, as well as for nandroid recoveries.
Unfortunately, the stock format - exFAT - is not recognized by many apps or by any of our custom recoveries.
Now, you've got two virtually bulletproof options to reformat that disk to FAT32 ... you choose your poison.
**************** HARDCORE *******************
I call this the "Use your teeth to open that bottle of beer" method ...
1. Place the card in your PC's card reader and determine the drive designation (i.e., G:\, H:\, etc.)
2. Download the program Fat32Format to your PC from here: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm. The download link is actually situated about mid-page.
3. Unzip the downloaded file with 7Zip (which you can get here: http://www.7-zip.org/)
4. Navigate to the folder with the unzipped fat32format.exe file; while holding down the [Shift] key, right click on the folder.
5. A menu should popup. Scroll down and click on <Open Command Window Here>.
6. You are now in virtual DOS (.. don't be scared ..)
7. Enter the following command sequence> fat32format h: (or whatever drive designates the location of your SD card)
8. You will be prompted to confirm a wipe and format of your SD card. Type "y" and hit enter.
9. In approximately 5 seconds, your SD card will be FAT32 formatted.
10. Remember to follow whatever procedure you normally would before removing a drive from USB.
***************** EASY PEASY ******************
This, on the other hand, is the "my hands are as soft as a baby's bottom" method ... (thanks to lynkdead)
1. Place the card in your PC's card reader and determine the drive designation (i.e., G:\, H:\, etc.)
2. Download the fat32format utility in GUI version from here: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/guiformat.exe. Click on the picture to retrieve the file.
3. Launch the guiformat.exe.
4. Choose the drive that corresponds to your SD card.
5. Choose the size of the SD Card you are formatting.
5. Check the Quick Format box.
6. Press Start.
And voila !!!
Enjoy your new SD card !!!
Pj
Phoenix, AZ
p.s. Needless to say, this process will erase all data on the card. Also, you will no longer be able to transfer files larger than 4gb to the card.
http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/guiformat.exe
If you use the GUI version from the same website it's WAY easier.
Just launch the .exe, choose the drive that corresponds to your SD card, make sure Quick Format is checked, and press start.
I thought I'd give people to a chance to explore Command Prompts as sort of a baby step to ADB or Terminal Emulator.
The GUI method works just as well. :good:
Thanks for the heads-up ... I edited the OP to reflect both options.
Pj
Phoenix, AZ
Sorry, I don't download and run any unknown/noncorporate apps, for the fear of them being trojans. Do you have any other methods?
Can one not format a mounted sdcard to fat32 on their pc by using "right click/properties/tools/format" or something? Does Microsoft not provide an official tool to format an sd card?
The functionality is built into Windows, through the command prompt. It is, however, excruciatingly slow.
Fat32formatter is open source and has proven to be the only reliable method of formatting large drives without spending any money.
Let us know if you find a good alternative ...
Pj
Phoenix, AZ
pdinphx said:
The functionality is built into Windows, through the command prompt. It is, however, excruciatingly slow.
Fat32formatter is open source and has proven to be the only reliable method of formatting large drives without spending any money.
Let us know if you find a good alternative ...
Pj
Phoenix, AZ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, basically - use command prompt on windows7? "format X: /FS:FAT32", where "X:" is the sdcard drive name.
Right? (just reading "format /?" in windows)
That should work, though others have reported trying the native Windows format command and later running into trouble with a damaged disc prompt when the card was inserted into the phone.
Pj
Phoenix AZ
nabbed said:
Sorry, I don't download and run any unknown/noncorporate apps, for the fear of them being trojans. Do you have any other methods?
Can one not format a mounted sdcard to fat32 on their pc by using "right click/properties/tools/format" or something? Does Microsoft not provide an official tool to format an sd card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't trust it you can always upload the files to VirtusTotal, run them against your own virus scanners, or just rely on the handful of people here who have run the program without issue.
In Windows if you try to simply right-click format it doesn't give the FAT32 option, only exFAT. You can try it through the command line, and it appears to work, though once you actually try to use it CWM throws a fit. Other tools that I've tried also don't work (likely because they simply do exFAT even though they say FAT32, since the difference usually doesn't matter).
This tool works, I've had zero issues, and it hasn't tripped any of the virus scanners I've run against it.
I don't have a 64g card yet, but only my old 16 for more. Why not have the s3 format your card. I did that with my 16g and its a fat32.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
... NEVER use fat32 with anything above 32 GB.... there is a reason for this it is designed for a max of 32GB you need to use the phone to format it. it will become a newer ext partition.
Either format it in the phone fully booted into Android, or download EaseUS Partition Master (free) & format it as a Primary Drive FAT32 file system. Either way will work.
Sent from my E4GT packed full of "The Goodness" of TNz Blend ICS on Tapatalk 2 Pro, the SGS3 is on my hip...
drksilenc said:
... NEVER use fat32 with anything above 32 GB.... there is a reason for this it is designed for a max of 32GB you need to use the phone to format it. it will become a newer ext partition.
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How u r so wrong. You wont be able to use asop cm9 or cm10 when released. unless the 64gb card is in fat32 format. the only disadvantage I see is the 4GB file limit.
why wouldnt cm9 be able to use ext4 thats what the 4.0 version of android was built on and why the partitions can scale.
drksilenc said:
why wouldnt cm9 be able to use ext4 thats what the 4.0 version of android was built on and why the partitions can scale.
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It's not a matter of a specific ROM being able to read it, it's a matter of external storage not being recognized by your recovery(only sees fat & fat32 at /mnt/sdcard), and the OS cannot see external storage formatted as ext2/3/4, only FAT, FAT32, & exFAT.
not my best explanation ever
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carhauler1969 said:
It's not a matter of a specific ROM being able to read it, it's a matter of external storage not being recognized by your recovery(only sees fat & fat32 at /mnt/sdcard), and the OS cannot see external storage formatted as ext2/3/4, only FAT, FAT32, & exFAT.
not my best explanation ever
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You sure about that last bit? I was going to reformat my 64GB extSD as ext4 (when I got around to it), since Microsoft's exFAT is patent FAIL, and it's the only other fs the phone supports that'll handle files larger than 4GB. No good reason why it shouldn't be supported on stock touchwiz or on CM10||AOKP
drksilenc said:
... NEVER use fat32 with anything above 32 GB.... there is a reason for this it is designed for a max of 32GB you need to use the phone to format it. it will become a newer ext partition.
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Click to collapse
As I noted above, none of our custom recoveries recognize the exFAT format, which means that you cannot boot, backup or flash from that giant 64gb card. Many users have reported the same problem with their favorite apps ...
No one has reported issues with a FAT32 64gb card , so I don't think this is an issue.
Either way, it is your choice ...
PJ
Phoenix AZ
zmore said:
You sure about that last bit? I was going to reformat my 64GB extSD as ext4 (when I got around to it), since Microsoft's exFAT is patent FAIL, and it's the only other fs the phone supports that'll handle files larger than 4GB. No good reason why it shouldn't be supported on stock touchwiz or on CM10||AOKP
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Click to collapse
Try it and report back ...
PJ
Phoenix AZ
This convinced me to go FAT32: http://www.epiccm.org/2012/06/why-not-exfat.html
I suspect the phone respects your card's native format. My 64gb SanDisk remained exFAT formatted even after running it through the phone. Thus, the need to format it with my computer. If your experience is different, please let us know.
PJ
Phoenix AZ
pdinphx said:
This convinced me to go FAT32: http://www.epiccm.org/2012/06/why-not-exfat.html
I suspect the phone respects your card's native format. My 64gb SanDisk remained exFAT formatted even after running it through the phone. Thus, the need to format it with my computer. If your experience is different, please let us know.
PJ
Phoenix AZ
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This is what I wanted to be certain on cards >32gb. I know Team Epic posted points on how to avoid exFAT, but only for 32gb that you can run thru the phone.
nabbed said:
Sorry, I don't download and run any unknown/noncorporate apps, for the fear of them being trojans. Do you have any other methods?
Can one not format a mounted sdcard to fat32 on their pc by using "right click/properties/tools/format" or something? Does Microsoft not provide an official tool to format an sd card?
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I can confirm download is not a Trojan. I did the second option and it worked perfect took 5 seconds.
Can anyone please tell me how I can get to know which partition I am using.. I partitioned using ClockworkMod Recovery 5.0.2.8... So thats why I have no idea..! :S
I think that recovery will make an ext2 partition, but not 100% sure. Easiest way to check is probably to connect your micro SD card to your computer (in a card reader, I don't think it will work in the phone, although I'm not completely sure) and run a partition manager like MiniTool Partition Wizard (http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html). It should show all drives connected to your computer, and within each drive, all the partitions, along with their format etc. Find the drive corresponding to your SD card (probably the only one with an ext partition) and look at the format of the ext partition.
This assumes you run Windows. If you run Linux, it should natively detect both partitions on the card, although depending on your distro it may or may not automatically mount them. I can't really help too much with that aspect of things, but I'd say if you are the sort to run Linux, you'll have a fair idea where to go from there.
SifJar said:
I think that recovery will make an ext2 partition, but not 100% sure. Easiest way to check is probably to connect your micro SD card to your computer (in a card reader, I don't think it will work in the phone, although I'm not completely sure) and run a partition manager like MiniTool Partition Wizard (http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html). It should show all drives connected to your computer, and within each drive, all the partitions, along with their format etc. Find the drive corresponding to your SD card (probably the only one with an ext partition) and look at the format of the ext partition.
This assumes you run Windows. If you run Linux, it should natively detect both partitions on the card, although depending on your distro it may or may not automatically mount them. I can't really help too much with that aspect of things, but I'd say if you are the sort to run Linux, you'll have a fair idea where to go from there.
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Okay thanks...
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