Related
Hi, I have been testing several NAND set-ups
-system to NAND and data to resized data,img
-system to resized system.img and data to resized data.img
-system to NAND and data to ext2
...
I am currently using NAND and data to ext2 partition, so all apps are installed there. After lots of reading I can not understand posts that are obsolete and posts that are not so I would appreciate if someone can explain me the basics and optimal setup for incubus superfroyo RLS14/15 roms:
I have now 4 partitions:
1) fat32,
2) 1,5G ext2 (app, app-private etc),
3) 1,5G ext2 (lost+found folder) and
4) 96M lynux-swap.
- How can I turn ext2 to ext3? do I need to do so? I have also read about ext4. Upgrading to ext3/ext4 applies to my 2) partition, to my 3) partition or to both? will I loose data stored? "there is no ext3/ext4 fs because there isn't the support on the compiled kernel. Ext3/ex4 are journal file system so are bad for limited writing device like nand or sd and thre is no good rease to use it" answered by l1qd1.
- How can I check if my lynux-swap is enabled and used by the rom?
- Do partitions 2) and 3) really need to be <1,5 G? why so?
- Can I take apk from apps folder in partition 2) in case I want to keep them for future fresh installs?
- What is lynux-swap optimal size? a 1,5G partition would be worse than 96 M? Why?
- Which tools are you using with incubus roms to manage installaion location and similar functionalities?
Another big mark I have is about deoxeding installed aps (not belonging to the ROM). Should I do it? why? how?
Pretty basic stuff I guess for experienced users & programmers, but I am new to lynux and android. Have read lots of things but it is difficult to learn by myself what would work with our Polaris and incubus ROMS and dzo/kk kernels,
Stick to ext2 man, you won't turn your old engine to 240mph on a Ford Model T.
You're not getting some major boost if the hardware dosn't use it, so I'd stick with ext2.
And you also want Super FroYo on your ext2 partition, yes? I'm here to help.
- How can I check if my lynux-swap is enabled and used by the rom?
adb shell
Code:
free
if on swap you have 0 it isn't enabled.
Code:
swapon /dev/device
to enable it or i suggest you tu use compcache.
- Do partitions 2) and 3) really need to be <1,5 G? No
- Can I take apk from apps folder in partition 2) in case I want to keep them for future fresh installs? Yes but not all apk support this
- What is lynux-swap optimal size? a 1,5G partition would be worse than 96 M? Why? Too Big = more sparse but it's a problem only for real disk so you can create a swap big as you want but it's unuseful (100 M is enaught)
i suggest you to switch to my kernels because are more updated and kk move to another device.
Yah l1q1d I love ur kernels. Eager for more !
l1q1d, I am testing your kernel as you advised me. I could apply the wifi patch without problems using your androiupdate18-09-10, as you told me some time ago they are both 2.6.25.
However I do not manage to turn linux-swap on: that's what I do: I install ubuntu, I use G-Parted to create partitions on the sd card. When I do so, the third partition is always shown as linux-swap in G-Parted but when I test adb shell -> parted -> print, it always shows as ext2. I can not dismount and can not swap on it.
The other way round, if I deleted all partitions with G-Parted and create the partitions with mkpartsfs or if I use mkfs to change the third partition from ext2 to linux-swap, then sometimes I can swap on it (directly on adb shell or with G-Parted) but when I unplug the device will tell me the card is empty and will not be able to mount it, access it from ubuntu or from the device. If I reboot then, the system will hang until I install both data and sysetm to nand. This happens no matter if I activate or not from the polaris or even if I switch on or off usb mode. The card at that point is useless. I guess the partition table or some other basic file is messed.
Could you please explain a little more how can I come with a 13.5G fat32 partition, a 2,4 ext2 partiions and a 0,1 lynux swap swapped on partition??
I really need to test this set up, since with the standard set-up (system to nand, fat32 for files and ext2 for installed apps I can not install all apps I use since performance drops significantly).
regards
well, ... dumb me, maybe with compcache you are referring to launch a script?
where do I get this compcache.sh? how do I launch it? from adb? from the terminal? from the sd card?...
Good news for those who have disabled security on their HTC Desire.
Having tried Firerat's Custom MTD patch on my HTC Desire and almost bricking it twice, I decided to break it apart and examine things in more detail.
As it currently stands v1.5.3 of his patch will corrupt your mtd0 partition if applied to your desire, so do not try it!
I read through lbcoder's custom partitions layout thread, then broke apart Firerat's patch to determine what it was doing, and what was going wrong on the HTC Desire.
The result, I have modified Firerat's Custom MTD script so it works on the HTC Desire and have successfully modified the partitions on my phone so system is 125MB, cache is 5MB, and data is 317MB.
Now after moving all my apps & dalvik-cache from SD-EXT back to DATA I still have 130MB free! w00t!
I will be providing minimal support for this, I am purely providing this to allow others to modify their partition table just as I have done. Ensure you read Firerat's original thread for further information and/or troubleshooting, it's 99% his patch/work, I just made a small change to stop mtd0 from being overwritten.
These are the steps I performed on my phone and are based on ClockworkMod Recovery v2.5.0.7.
If none of this makes sense to you then this is not for you:
Disable security on your phone. (S-OFF in FASTBOOT)
Place bravo-recovery-v1.5.3-CustomMTD.zip & bravo-boot-v1.5.3-CustomMTD.zip on SD card
Reboot into recovery
Take a Nandroid backup
Create mtdpartmap.txt on SD card with size of system & cache, the example provided sets system to 125MB and cache to 5MB, this will depend on your ROM: echo "mtd 125 5" > /sdcard/mtdpartmap.txt
Format system, data, and cache (found under mounts and storage)
Flash bravo-recovery-v1.5.3-CustomMTD.zip, this patches recovery to use the new partition sizes
Reboot into recovery
Format system, data, and cache again for good measure (found under mounts and storage)
Flash ROM, or restore Nandroid backup, it will be flashed to NAND based on new partition sizes
Prior to rebooting, flash bravo-boot-v1.5.3-CustomMTD.zip, this patches ROM kernel to load with same partition sizes.
Enjoy
Warnings:
Do not attempt to flash radio via recovery/ZIP, only do it via fastboot.
Has only been tested on HTC Desire, may not work on other phones.
Some users have suggested small cache size affects performance in games, if you play games on your phone it may be worth setting cache to 20-35MB
Uninstalling:
Removing this is simple.
Boot in to fastboot
Fastboot flash the original unmodified clockwork img
Reboot into recovery
Format system, data, cache
Install ROM/ZIP, gapps etc, reboot
Download:
bravo-recovery-v1.5.3-CustomMTD.zip
bravo-boot-v1.5.3-CustomMTD.zip
Credits:
AlphaRev - for bringing S-OFF to HTC Desire
Firerat - for the original patch. I will be forwarding you the exact changes/details shortly.
Lbcoder - for coming up with the idea
Skraw ( CM forums ) - for getting lbcoder interested
Koush - for AnyKernel
Cyanogen & Co - for giving us all such great ROMs to play with
Amon_RA and Koush - for giving us something to patch
Techjosh - for fixing the patchers for use with Rogers (EBi1)
Mblaster - for pointing out my nasty habit of using -r zip flag at the end of command ( breaks compatibility with older zip versions, fixed in AutoPatcher v1.5)
Kali- for porting CM6 to Desire thanks a bunch
I don't take any credit for this, other than the time invested to get it working on the Desire.
Code:
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs 208112 0 208112 0% /dev
tmpfs 208112 0 208112 0% /mnt/asec
/dev/block/mtdblock3 128000 123932 4068 97% /system
/dev/block/mtdblock5 315008 184048 130960 58% /data
/dev/block/mtdblock4 5120 776 4344 15% /cache
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2 505636 2307 477224 0% /sd-ext
/dev/block/vold/179:1
7431564 5413644 2017920 73% /mnt/sdcard
/dev/block/vold/179:1
7431564 5413644 2017920 73% /mnt/secure/asec
/dev/block/dm-0 3124 1504 1620 48% /mnt/asec/com.google.android.stardroid-1
Reserved
Just in case
Interesting
Nice work.
Now THIS is what I was waiting for when I s-offed my desire
Good stuff can't wait to try it out.
Thanks.
Yeahaa ... that's what many people waiting for ... Thank you very much for that work !
Nice work!
Very very Interesting...
HTC Desire
DeFrost 5.1 rom
Which is the command to see the partition sizes? i undestand is under adb but cant find the commands
wait a sec... couldn't this be used to resize the /system to fit the complete Desire HD rom... ofc that would not allow you to have custom apps, but still
daedelus82, you seem to have made the most out of your nightshift . Thanks from all of us wondering how to put S-Off to good use.
Hi, that seems very good news and tool but can you explain me the advantage to resize or manipulate the partition ??
My English is not perfect for understand "lbcoder's custom partitions layout thread" or "Firerat's patch".
Regards, Oijkn.
Short Question: Is there anything that prevents us from mounting /dev/block/mmcblk0pX as /data? Seems like a trivial Apps2SD for me, but perhaps that would be too easy...
Otherwise ~420MB /system would be possible. Don't know if thats enough for those DesireHD Roms.
Oijkn said:
Hi, that seems very good news and tool but can you explain me the advantage to resize or manipulate the partition ??
My English is not perfect for understand "lbcoder's custom partitions layout thread" or "Firerat's patch".
Regards, Oijkn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main use is to get more space for apps on /data by shrinking /system to exactly the size needed for the rom you use and shrinking /cache as it is not really used anyway (at least on g1 it was only used for ota updates, which you don't get on a custom rom).
Other use would be to fit a huge rom on a blown up /system partition.
Question before you release it: how to predict what size of /system I need? It is equal to size of /system folder in ROM's flashable file?
Second question: it is good idea to shrink /system to something like 5 MB and move all system apps to /data (then all apps can be easily uninstalled and updated)?
mblaster said:
The main use is to get more space for apps on /data by shrinking /system to exactly the size needed for the rom you use and shrinking /cache as it is not really used anyway (at least on g1 it was only used for ota updates, which you don't get on a custom rom).
Other use would be to fit a huge rom on a blown up /system partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate for the explain ^^ I understood a little better. Do you think that patch will make my desire more efficient ??
I think this will benefit the community a lot.
Sense HD users might finally get the whole system on nand.
AOSP users will have more memory to install appss on nand.
Win-win for everybody
Will this script Resize the Partitions automatically depending on which ROM you are flashing?
wow
it sounds great
worst case we delete some unnecessary apps, and HD port can fit to the device
wow
i tried this on my g1, trust me its not worth the trouble. stick with apps2sd if youre having space problems.
warsng said:
i tried this on my g1, trust me its not worth the trouble. stick with apps2sd if youre having space problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But thats just it though... I am using using A2SD and still having space trouble!
Hi,
Do anyone knows if there is a real advantage in creating a partition in the phone sd card, [sd-ext]?
I read that it solves this error: E:can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk1p2
(File Exists).
But, does the phone has a real gain when you format and create a new sd-ext partition?
Thanks,
If you have a ROM that has data2ext or app2ext then you'll notice a speed increase as well as a drop in usage on your phone's internal memory. I have a MT3GS and with data2ext I went from an 1100 in quadrant to a 1600
dbzfanatic said:
If you have a ROM that has data2ext or app2ext then you'll notice a speed increase as well as a drop in usage on your phone's internal memory. I have a MT3GS and with data2ext I went from an 1100 in quadrant to a 1600
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply,
When you say, data2ext or app2ext, are you saying app's that can be installed in the ex-sd card?
Can I do that in cwm or there is a better way?
Cheers,
Data2ext and app2ext are ROM add-ons that enable you to either move the entire data partition to your sd-ext or just all of your installed apps. If you use data2ext your apps are automatically moved since they're stored in the data partition. You would flash them the same way you flash a ROM if the mods are available for your phone. Just search the forum for your phone if you want to know if you have those options.
Thanks mate,
I installed move2sd enabler.
So I can to move all the apps to the sd-ext partition I created?
I'm going to search for that.
I honestly haven't used move2sd so I'm not sure how that works. It should be a separate script like I mentioned before.
I created a new partition in clockworkmod 512mg 32mg swap.
The phone restarts, all seems ok, but when I restart again in CWM and select format sd-ext partition, it says that I don't have one.
I'm trying to find a way to fix this issue but until now nothing...
Check if you have a blocksize of 4096 (there's a command, don't know it offhand) and make sure it's actually an ext partition, it might be a different type or may be the wrong type of ext, such as ext2 when it needs ext3 or vice versa.
Already did the check,
su
sf
And there's no new partition created.
CWM erased all the data inside my card but did not create a new partition.
Do you thing it's because I have lagfix on with ext4 part type?
Honestly I have no idea. I used the parted script/command from adb to do my partitioning. Maybe try that or try converting to ext2?
Thanks,
I'm going to try and take a look in to that.
I see a lot of posts that say to use RA-Recovery with sdk adb but does it works with an SGS?
I don't know honestly, you'll need to look in the SGS forum and see if a Ra recovery is posted there. Parted works with adb and can be added to any ROM regardless of recovery menu.
From what I saw Ra-recovery is not for sgs's.
I still didn't saw any posts that explains how to do a sd-ext new partition for a Samsung Galaxy S, only for HTC's and other phones.
If you happen to find anything that explains how to do this for a SGS be a friend and tell me ok?
Thanks
A friend of mine has an SGS so I'll ask him and see what he's done with his. I know he rooted and flashed CM to it but i'm not sure if he did anything else like data2ext or anything like that.
Thanks mate,
I'll be waiting for your reply...
Hi all,
So last night I decided to give Cyanogenmod7 a try. I came from MIUI.us 2.1.20 - I just love MIUI, but it's a bit too demanding for the Milestone. So I have CM7 up and running, and it is a lot more snappy. But now, I'm having trouble installing some apps.
I tried installing my bank's banking app, but it didn't install - checked the market and it doesn't appear. Same thing with WhatsApp!! If it were working, I might just become a CM7 user..but it's not working.
Am I missing something? I installed after doing a full wipe, after which I installed DT A2SD scripts and then gapps-20111216 (although didn't see gmail or market etc after gapps, so installed those via apk).
What's the deal here?
Thanks.
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
Ok, just wiped again, and reinstalled all. CM7 then gapps then dt a2sd. So far it's working.
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
googleservicesframework.apk and vending.apk are all you need for using market. Try to reinstall them. May you success.
Ok, so now my problem is A2SD. It's not working! A2SDGUI refuses to go in, and when I do a check, I get a segmentation fault...I've never had this issue before. I've tried reinstalling DT A2SD from withing recovery and still, nothing. Please assist, I just need to get set up properly now.
Regards
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
DT scripts dont work ...use an external partition (app2ext)
d.casper.b: CM7 for Milestone already comes with its own ap2ext scripts that are automatically used if there is ext partition present on your sdcard.
You should not install any 3rd party app2ext scripts as they are very likely to be conflicting with the scripts that are already there.
Thanks kabaldan.
I'll check it out.
I was even going so far as trying to use Link2SD from the market..
How'd I know if it's working? By monitoring the available internal storage?
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
d.casper.b said:
Thanks kabaldan.
I'll check it out.
I was even going so far as trying to use Link2SD from the market..
How'd I know if it's working? By monitoring the available internal storage?
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
when you will enable app2ext you will see the total space in your storage rise to 197 mb
I am not winning. I did a factory reset and flashed cm7 and gapps (not dt a2sd).
I did a test, internal storage was at 191mb, then I installed opera mobile and it went down to 182mb. Then uninstalled it again. Went into cyanogenmod settings and set install location to external. Installed opera again, but it was no different. Moving it to sd under 'manage applications' increased the internal memory again, but that's just moving the app to the FAT32 partition of the sd card.
So it's not seeming to work for me for some reason.
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
EDIT: I really don't want to be a nuisance, but now, looking at the available storage using "Quick System Info", I noticed after uninstalling "Opera Mobile", 9mb was freed on internal storage & 13mb on the ext partition.
So, perhaps it is working, and since the dalvik cache is (I assume) on internal storage, the storage is still decreasing. Am I correct? If so, is there a way to also move dalvik cache to the ext partition - I had it like this on MIUI & never looked at available memory ever again.
First of all, have you really partitioned your SD card? Make sure you followed the 3rd step on this guide: http://www.mrmuh.com/2012/01/update-a-motorola-milestone-from-motorola-firmware-to-cyanogenmod-7/ . You should have your SD Card partitioned with two partitions, the first should be FAT32 that's used normally on Android, and the second EXT3 or EXT4. Obviously, make sure you have a backup of your FAT32 partition before partitioning.
Second, you should understand how the apps2ext scripts on CM7 work. Application installs that would be stored on internal memory are rerouted to the EXT3/4 partition on the SDCard. This happens at the underlying system (linux) level, Android (that runs on top of linux) is not aware of this rerouting, so, as far as Android "knows", apps that are rerouted to the EXT partition are on the phone's internal memory. That means that you should make sure that apps you need installed on the EXT partition of the SD card are shown in "Applications > Manage applications" list to be installed on the internal memory. Yep, it's confusing, but once you understand how it works and why it works that way, it makes sense.
Third, the fact that apps are rerouted to the EXT partition doesn't mean that everything about the app will live on the ext partition: it means only the main application package will live on the ext partition, application data is still stored on the internal memory. For most apps, the amount of data used for application data are much smaller than the application package, but in some apps the amount of application data from the app may often surpass the size of the app itself - for example, in my phone, Tweekdeck stores about 9Mb of data, which is about 10 times the size of the application itself (820kb) - presumably this amount of data is cached tweets, pictures, etc. But that case is usually the exception, not the rule, I've just mentioned it so you understand that using apps2ext doesn't mean your internal memory will always stay unused, it just means it will be used (way) less.
Finally, regarding the CyanogenMod Settings location setting, if you understood what I said above, you should now understand that it should actually be set to always install to "Internal", rather than external. However, there's a bug in this that you should be advised, that not all apps will respect this setting: some apps will install to external regardless of how you've configured that setting (meaning the app will use Froyo/Gingerbread native Apps2SD, hence being installed to the FAT partition of the SDCard). So, when you install a new app, check on app management if it didn't get installed to the SDCard, and move it to the internal memory if that's the case. For these kind of apps, you'll have to do it every time you update the app too.
Thanks, I edited my previos post..
I actually have 3 partitions, a FAT32, an ext2 (maybe it's ext3, but doubt it - partitioned some months ago, so my memory's hazy), and a SWAP - which I should get rid of, but am too lazy.
I understand entirely what you've said, I know that internal is really ext if working, and sd is FAT32 partition.
You see, I'm just new to this rom and have to trial and error until I understand, with miui you just flashed the rom and the a2sd scripts and didn't bother again (maybe only to move an app that installed to FAT partition). But it seems CM7 is simply just to flash the rom and you're good to go. But as I was pondering in my previous post...is there any way to move dalvik cache to ext?
Thanks for putting up with me..I'm almost there.
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
d.casper.b said:
Thanks, I edited my previos post..
I actually have 3 partitions, a FAT32, an ext2 (maybe it's ext3, but doubt it - partitioned some months ago, so my memory's hazy), and a SWAP - which I should get rid of, but am too lazy.
I understand entirely what you've said, I know that internal is really ext if working, and sd is FAT32 partition.
You see, I'm just new to this rom and have to trial and error until I understand, with miui you just flashed the rom and the a2sd scripts and didn't bother again (maybe only to move an app that installed to FAT partition). But it seems CM7 is simply just to flash the rom and you're good to go. But as I was pondering in my previous post...is there any way to move dalvik cache to ext?
Thanks for putting up with me..I'm almost there.
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in the market you will find an app called s2e which moves app data, davlik cache to sd
also link2sd also free's up more space and makes cm7 snappier
please don't install such things to CM7 for Milestone unless you know what you are doing and you are able to resolve conflicts with the existing scripts
dalvik-cache is already moved automatically
if you want to free more space in /data, enable lib2ext to move native libraries to ext - it's mentioned in the changelog for 7.1.2 release
app data itself should not be moved as it can cause instability
d.casper.b said:
Thanks, I edited my previos post..
I actually have 3 partitions, a FAT32, an ext2 (maybe it's ext3, but doubt it - partitioned some months ago, so my memory's hazy), and a SWAP - which I should get rid of, but am too lazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, get rid of swap, there won't be any use for it (for now anyway) and it's best for you at this point to have a known working structure (two partitions, 1st FAT, 2nd ext3/4) for your SD as you're troubleshooting your problems/questions, it'll make it easier for us too as this will eliminate potential points of failure or inconsistencies. And you should really consider upgrading to a journaled filesystem, either ext3 or ext4. Using ext2 is unreliable because Android doesn't umount the ext partition cleanly on reboot or shutdown, so you may have problems with apps disappearing or misbehaving every other reboot. Using ext3/4 with journal elimitates this problem since the journal is just replayed for the uncleanly umounted partition and the filesystems behaves more consistently.
d.casper.b said:
You see, I'm just new to this rom and have to trial and error until I understand, with miui you just flashed the rom and the a2sd scripts and didn't bother again (maybe only to move an app that installed to FAT partition). But it seems CM7 is simply just to flash the rom and you're good to go. But as I was pondering in my previous post...is there any way to move dalvik cache to ext?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The apps2ext script built on CM7 should do this by default - you probably already have your dalvik-cache on the ext partition. To check this, go into OR, enter the console and type: "ls /sddata/dalvik-cache" . If it returns a list of files, you've already got the dalvik-cache on your ext partition. Another option is setting the option dalvik.vm.dexopt-cache-only to 1 in the file /system/build.prop . This will put all dalvik-caches (both from user apps and system apps) on the phone's internal cache partition, thus still freeing space on the internal memory but without using the ext partition, but that's not recommended if you install too many apps because the cache partition may run out space and that will spawn all kinds of weird behavior on Android. The safer route is just using the default configuration anyway (user apps dalvik-cache on sd-ext).
Another option to further reduce internal memory use is using lib2ext, that will move user apps native libraries to the ext partition, but the memory gain in this case is dependent on which apps you use and how big their native libraries (if they even have one) are. To activate it, just go into the Terminal app (with Android booted) and type:
$ su
# lib2ext
And reboot. The libraries will be moved to the ext partition during boot. Make sure you have a big enough ext partition to hold everything (apps, dalvik-cache and apps libs) - the size to recommend is very dependent on how many apps you use and how big they are, but I'd say 512Mb would be the bare minimum.
in the market you will find an app called s2e which moves app data, davlik cache to sd
also link2sd also free's up more space and makes cm7 snappier
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DON'T! JUST DON'T! These third-party apps will cause all kinds of problems with CM7 builtin apps2ext.
EDIT: Oh well, Kabaldan already put all my rambling much more succintly than I could... I'm way too talky
well i was jus trying to help.. .anyway guys thanks i guess i won't be needing those apps anymore ...sorry for my noobness
Thank you so much guys!
It seems like it's working. I will check out lib2ext & the other suggestions tonight or over the weekend (on my way to work now).
I must say, I thought the move to CM7 would be a temporary one, but the speed gain is just what I needed, & the tweaks I thought I'd miss I am finding hidden in the settings .
Just wondering on the battery now - but I've been fiddling non-stop.
So let me play a bit more the weekend & I'll merge my ext2 and SWAP partition into one ext3 partition.
Thanks all, and kabaldan for your hard work on this rom.
Sent from my Milestone using Tapatalk
Just as I was on my way...
Everything's running fine, A2SD works. But now, I partitioned my SD card with a 2nd partition (ext3, it was ext2), but now widgets are not loading. Checked the apps install location, and it's 'internal', ie. ext3. I never had this before. I think maybe it's due to the filesystem now?
EDIT: Ok, ext2 is doing the same. I can't keep starting from scratch the whole time guys.
EDIT2: It's now suddenly working! Just have a Fat32 and an Ext3 partition. But I don't understand because it's been setup like this twice before with no success. I'll hold thumbs!
PS, CyanogenMod is quite up my alley now, speed is awesome and I'm happy.
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The Hefe Hook kernel allows you to mount a partition of your microSD as /data, getting 2 GB (or more) for your apps and their data.
Please ask your questions here about installation, use, or general approach.
This is great @jeffsf and can u show me how to re-partition the "real internal" storage? I mean expanding the /system since u put the /data out of it. Thanks man
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daothanhduy1996 said:
This is great @jeffsf can u show me how to re-partition the "real internal" storage? I mean expanding the /system since u put the /data out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you've hit on another of the reasons I've been exploring using the microSD for "live" storage. It's one thing to use potentially slow storage for photos that you basically write once or "app to SD" where you read the APK at boot time, make sure your ODEX in the Davlik cache is good, then generally read from the internal-flash cache. It is another when that memory is being read and written "constantly" when your phone is running.
The good thing is that once /data is not part of the internal flash filesystem, you don't have to worry about one ROM (kernel) thinking it begins at one place and another saying it starts at another. Previously, if one ROM had one /system size and another and a different one, the next partition, /data, would look to be corrupt when you swapped ROMs.
As a warning, not all users have fast microSD cards. Some that say "Class 10" on them really are dogs, especially for small reads/writes. The "Class" ratings are for sustained writes, as you would have with a camera recording video. If your ROM is "external /data" only, or even defaults to that, be prepared for a slew of "Your ROMs sucks. It is so slow." complaints.
You'll also need a way to automate formatting the card. It can be done on the phone, as long as you aren't trying to preserve any data.
As I recall, the layout of the MTD partitions is done in drivers/mtd/onenand/samsung_galaxys4g.h I would be careful not to move the partition boundary for efs, as you'd have to move the data it contains in your updater script. Repeating the warning about not moving the boot and recovery partitions is probably a good idea as well!
Your build tree may need some of these values, or at least think it needs some of these values. For example, device/samsung/aries-common from the CyanogenMod/cm-11.0 (KitKat) branch calls out NAND page sizes, partition sizes, and flash block sizes. I haven't looked in detail at your build tree so I can't comment on how it might handle things differently than the CyanogenMod one.
itzik2sh said:
Hi
I hope I don't ask anything silly, but please let me know if any of my assumptions is wrong :
1. I take FBi's251's AOKP milestone 6 (ICS 4.0.4)
2. 8GB SDCard was formatted to FAT32 (4GB) and EXT3 (4GB) using TWRP kernel
(Beastmode's proton kernel to be exact).
3. I would flash this kernel and it would move apps and their data to the sd-ext
without any special additions.
Thanks. I read the thread, but unfortunately 8GB SD is what i have and I think it should be enough.
Thanks again.
P.S - it's for 2 guys I already sold them my SGS4Gs. I want them to be happy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOKP should be fine. I haven't tried it recently, but it was the tree in which I did the early Hefe Kernel development.
As I understand it, you have a microSD with
partition 1: 4 GB FAT32
partition 2: 4 GB ext3
So that can work, but will need some tweaking of the init-on-fs.sh script. I intentionally didn't use the second partition as so many scripts gobble that up as sd-ext and do who knows what to it.
My first preference would be to reformat the cards, perhaps:
6 GB FAT32
1 MB ext2/3/4 (Yes, 1 MB, a sliver, choice of ext2, ext3, ext4 up to you)
2 GB ext4
since then the script will work without modification and if they install a third-party script that uses the second partition, it won't corrupt their data.
If you were to keep the formatting the way that it is now, you'd need to edit the mount commands in the script to look something like:
Code:
/system/xbin/busybox umount /data
/system/xbin/busybox mount -t ext3 -o noatime /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /data
(removing the sd-ext mount)
I'm not sure what your expectations are, but all that the kernel and that script will do is mount a different disk partition on /data -- you need to manually move the data over (or restore from something like Titanium Backup). There may be some trickery in renaming that could be used with TWRP backups to restore from data.yaffs2.win to the new /data partition, but I haven't tried that at all.
Hi Jeff
Thanks for your quick reply, and sorry again for not seeing the Q&A thread.
I think making it :
partition 1: 4 GB FAT32 (sdcard)
partition 2: 2 GB ext3 (sd-ext)
partition 3: 2 GB ext3 (data)
partition 4: 1 MB (spare)
would be better and handle data as well. don't you think ?
Would it be worth doing with a "Team" micro-SD card (class 6 I believe) ?
Thanks.
I haven't tried a Class 6 card, but my gut feeling is that it will be dicey. I didn't "commit" to using /data on microSD until I had tried it for several days using Titanium Backup's ability to move both apps and app data to the external card. I would try that first, especially as the phones in question aren't going to be in your hands (I consider you an expert user, able to manage things outside the UI with ease).
I've attached some testing I did a while ago with Transcend and SanDisk cards. When you look at them, realize that the speed scale changes between them. I have a feeling that the real "performance" on a device is going to be related to relatively small reads and writes, not the ability to stream video to the card. I also don't know much about the Team brand, but I found that even some well-known brands didn't have the performance of the Transcend or SanDisk in the same category.
However you configure your cards, I would definitely recommend a journaling filesystem of some sort. I've had my microSD come loose inside the phone. The journal will at least help to reduce any filesystem corruption should that happen.
You don't need the fourth partition -- I have it there to be able to keep rsync backups for fast ROM swapping.
.
Regarding the apps data, have you tried exploring the Mount2SD script ?
sent from me
I've tried a couple of the scripts out there in the past. Since backing up my data is very important to me, I trust the scripts in Titanium Backup to work well with its backup/restore strategies.
Mounts2SD looks like it has gotten a lot more sophisticated than it was when I tried it in the past. It sounds like something worth trying in its current state. At a quick glance (and not looking at the code), I'd personally make some different choices about features; enabling journaling, and being concerned about why lost+found was filling up (things should only appear there if the file system is found to be corrupt).