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Well, some of you may have heard my ramblings around here that I've been working with some of the devs here(JF and MartinFick deserve major praise, probably more than me) on getting a better way to do the whole apps to sd thing.
After 3 days of talking/discussing/working on it, I've finally reached the fruits of that investigation and thought I'd share. This new method uses the filesystem unionfs to essentially meld the /data directory with the /system/sd directory, so that they appear to be one. This has the potential to allow users to move specific apps to or from the sd card, is far more stable than the normal symlink method(will still boot, etc even if there's no SD card) and should be easier to set up. Now, onto the tutorial of setting this up.
BIG DISCLAIMER NOTE: This is a major hack of the phone and it is fully possible that it will break your phone(I've seen no permanently bricked phones but that doesn't make it impossible). Use this method, and my app along with it at your own risk.
REQUIREMENTS:
1: This only works on JF(possibly only on 1.5, not sure about the others) and The Dude's v.1.0 or greater. The Dude's 1.0 or greater actually does the steps in this tutorial for you so you can just run appstosd2 and set it all up from there if you're using his ROM.
2: This still requires you to have 2 partitions set up, first FAT32 and second ext2. Although you can use the appstosd2 app attached to this post and available in the market for $0.99 which will partition the card for you.
3: If you want your apps to go to the sd card, you must have a directory "/system/sd/app" If you didn't have apps to sd before on the ext2 partition do the following in terminal emulator or run my appstosd2 app after finishing the tutorial:
Code:
su
mkdir /system/sd/app
If you want the private-apps, or dalvik-cache moved you can replace "app" in that code with ""app-private", or "dalvik-cache" respectively. Do not copy "data" to the sd card. My script will delete it on the next reboot.
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Alright, first there's some files you need.
1: init.rc in .zip attached to this thread
2: a2sd.sh in .zip attached to this thread
All the above listed files should be put on your sd card(my tutorial will assume they are in the root directory of the sdcard(the topmost folder)
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If you need to undo the normal apps to SD first do the following in the recovery terminal(it's not strictly necessary but I'd recommend it):
Code:
mount data
rm /data/app
mkdir /data/app
if you moved the dalvik cache, repeat steps 2-3 with "dalvik-cache" instead of app. Ditto with "data" for the data cache.
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Then go to terminal emulator and type the following:
Code:
su
cp /sdcard/init.rc /data/
cp /sdcard/a2sd.sh /data/
Then reboot and you're set. By default all future apps are installed to the sd card. In order to move an app to the internal memory do the following in terminal emulator:
Code:
su
cp /system/sd/app/[the app you want to move] /system/intmem/app/
rm /system/sd/app/[the app you want to move]
I will be incorporating this into my appstosd app soon(probably as a JF and TheDude-only version until the rest of the devs get on board).
I have included a copy of appstosd 2, which will copy all apps from internal memory to the sd card with an option to remove them from the internal memory. This will only work if you have followed this tutorial.
If you don't have partitions set up, appstosd2 will now do that for you with user-set partition sizes.
NOTE: If you're using The Dude's ROM and find yourself with an outdated version of this since he doesn't always update his ROMs at the same time I update this, do the following in terminal emulator to update(after putting a2sd.sh from the attached a2sd.zip on your sdcard):
Code:
su
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
rm /system/bin/a2sd.sh
cp /sdcard/a2sd.sh /system/bin/
reboot
For JF1.5, do the following to update:
Code:
su
rm /system/intmem/a2sd.sh
rm /system/intmem/init.rc
cp /sdcard/a2sd.sh /system/intmem/
cp /sdcard/init.rc /system/intmem/
reboot
NOTE FOR UPDATERS: If you had your data on the sdcard(/system/sd/data), it WILL GET DELETED with the new version. This is a necessity in order to get both wallpaper and protected apps working. I recommend moving it back to the phone.
EDIT: And here's another tutorial from ThatsBS(might be easier for the less tech savvy to follow?):
I am still learning a lot everyday from this forum. So for people new to this process let me noobify it, if I can, as I am one too.
Start by reading the first page!! Get all the stuff you need from page 1. (apps2sd2.zip and a2sd.zip )
I started from a fresh wipe and flash of jf1.51 adp.
A newly formatted fat32, non partitioned sd.
Put the init.rc and app2sd.sh on the sd (the files NOT the zip)
Then go to the terminal emulator and typed:
su
cp /sdcard/init.rc /data/
cp /sdcard/a2sd.sh /data/
Then reboot
Next I ran the apps2sd 2 app. It will ask you how much to you want to partition. I did 3000mb the first successful time and the dreaded low mem notice would not leave the status bar. I have read not to make it more then 1500mb. Have a good connection, dont force close it. It will reboot.
Next, after the reboot, I ran the apps2sd 2 app again and pressed "copy apps to sd" (let it do its thing)
Reboot.
Next I went back to the emulator and typed:
su
mkdir /system/sd/app-private
mkdir /system/sd/dalvik-cache
Reboot.
Go back to the apps2sd 2 app and hit move dalvik-cache.
Reboot for good measure and your done.
I did this in about 10 mins. Worked flawlessly.
I have a ?, if i have been using your app what dod i do diferent or what should i change?
Thanks
Good job, thanks!
[email protected] said:
will still boot, etc even if there's no sim card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean SD card?
[email protected] said:
Alright, first there's some files you need.
1: unionfs.ko from here:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JF1.5 build has already unionfs.ko in it, doesn't it? Is there any difference between this unionfs.ko and the one included?
1. I hear unionfs is not really stable at this point, is it true?
2. Why do you want to move the whole /data folder to sd, instead of just /data/app, /data/app-private?
3. You might want to add a command to remove previous app2sd changes (i.e. delete symlinks, create folders.)
4. How do you put selected apps to internal memory after this? Copying to /data will copy to sd card again.
The whole idea is really interesting! Thank you for your work!
ArmandHammer said:
I have a ?, if i have been using your app what dod i do diferent or what should i change?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to do anything different. It will find all the apps you put on the sd card. If you want to set the phone back to normal(so the phone memory apps can still be there), you can do the following in the recovery terminal:
Code:
mount data
rm /data/app
rm /data/dalvik-cache (only if you moved the dalvik-cache)
mkdir /data/app
mkdir /data/dalvik-cache
@Dimath: yes, I did mean SD card, good catch
1:JF didn't mention it and from a little bit of using it, it seems stable to me. Plus, no matter how much I've screwed up, I haven't managed to boot loop my phone yet.
2: You could just mount those independently. I might end up doing that eventually but for now the way it is works for reasons I'll get to.
3: True, although it's not strictly necessary. If apps2sd already works, this won't break it. I'll put in a guide on undoing the symlink method
4: Actually, no. My script sets the internal memory as the main file system in the union, so apps automatically go there. Moving apps to the sd card just involves copying them to /system/sd.
Ok, just a little confusing.
I didn't use the apps2sd to move apps over to my SD card. What I did was set it with the busybox ls command. I guess that's the symlink.
My question is, if I didn't use apps2sd, can I still use your method? I also moved the dalvik cache also, everything works fine for me now, my apps go directly to the SD card when installing since my memory stays at around 65 MB no matter what I do.
Just need some laymen terms to help me understand that if I'm NOT using apps2sd, and I just linked them with the recovery method, what's my pitfalls / advantages?
Thanks.
larrygates said:
Ok, just a little confusing.
I didn't use the apps2sd to move apps over to my SD card. What I did was set it with the busybox ls command. I guess that's the symlink.
My question is, if I didn't use apps2sd, can I still use your method? I also moved the dalvik cache also, everything works fine for me now, my apps go directly to the SD card when installing since my memory stays at around 65 MB no matter what I do.
Just need some laymen terms to help me understand that if I'm NOT using apps2sd, and I just linked them with the recovery method, what's my pitfalls / advantages?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, any other method of apps to sd currently uses the same symlink method, so following the directions as if you installed my app will work. A note though is that all future apps will install to the internal memory by default. I did that because it's MUCH easier to move apps from the memory to the sd card than vice versa. You can use the code I posted if you want it the other way around.
would this also work for /data/data and app-private?
or is this particular setup only for dalvik-cache and app?
oh and before I do this, just wondering, so in theory, since I have a 1.5GB ext2 partition, my free memory will be 1.573GB (1.5GB + 73Mb internal)? The internal memory will just run down and switch over to the sdcard when needed (but be seen as one filesystem)?
andonnguyen said:
would this also work for /data/data and app-private?
or is this particular setup only for dalvik-cache and app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works for the whole /data folder and everything under it. Everything is automatically installed to the phone memory right now so you can just move over anything you don't want on it(will be making an app to do this automatically)
EDIT: oh and anything you already moved over to the sd card will still show up.
Code:
su
mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cp /sdcard/unionfs.ko /system/
cp /sdcard/init.rc /data/
cp /runme.sh /data/
cp /sdcard/a2sd.sh /data/
I see, when I run these lines of code (I can do this from adb also right using adb remount) this IS the new symlink method. It's just all at one time without me having to manually link anything.
Right?
larrygates said:
Code:
su
mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cp /sdcard/unionfs.ko /system/
cp /sdcard/init.rc /data/
cp /runme.sh /data/
cp /sdcard/a2sd.sh /data/
I see, when I run these lines of code (I can do this from adb also right using adb remount) this IS the new symlink method. It's just all at one time without me having to manually link anything.
Right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong, no symlinks here. Pure unionfs goodness. Basically it convinces the operating system that /data and /system/sd are the same thing. So anything that's on /system/sd shows up under /data but everything that's normally under /data is still there. Think of it like what happens in windows when you merge folders with the same name, but in this case in actuality everything stays exactly where it was.
New news: If you haven't seen it, I updated this tutorial(and the scripts with it) quite a bit and would now consider it to be completely fully functional.
Also The Dude will be sending me an advance copy of his next ROM tomorrow to verify it works. In his build the apps to sd will be automatic, with no user setup(although if you want apps on the sd card you'll have to make an app directory under /system/sd(mkdir /system/sd/app), ditto for dalvik-cache and data).
Finally, I will attempt to add this into my apps to sd app tonight, thus rounding out everything I can do.
After all this, the only thing left is for Haykuro to build it into his ROM and me to make an app to move specific apps to/from the sd card automatically.
This will no doubt be the method of choice in no time. Great work. Sticky?
If anyone dl'd the latest version(that fixed the race condition, etc), please download the one I just put up. I made that one in windows and I believe the funky carraige return(that indicates a new line) that windows uses screwed it up
So I got some kind of error, and I don't know what is going on.
I put in all the lines in the terminal emulator app..
but after line cp /runme.sh /data/ it gives me an error
it says "cp: cannot stat '/runme.sh': No such file or directory
Any help? I rooted my phone just so I could run my apps off of my SD card.. and now I can't figure out how to get it to work. Somebody help me please.
GTASouthPark said:
So I got some kind of error, and I don't know what is going on.
I put in all the lines in the terminal emulator app..
but after line cp /runme.sh /data/ it gives me an error
it says "cp: cannot stat '/runme.sh': No such file or directory
Any help? I rooted my phone just so I could run my apps off of my SD card.. and now I can't figure out how to get it to work. Somebody help me please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM is this? JF1.5 should have runme.sh there...
[email protected] said:
Which ROM is this? JF1.5 should have runme.sh there...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I am going to re-partition my memory card.. and then re flash to JF1.5 and try it again.
Just tried it, one issue I'm seeing is android seems to install [email protected]@[email protected] into /system/intmem/dalvik-cache at boot. Is there anyway to have that only in my dalvik-cache on the sdcard?
Its a fairly large file at 3megs so I want it to reside solely on the sdcard and even if I delete it from intmem, whenever I reboot it gets added again.
Now when I display the internal phone storage from the settings menu, it shows up at 835 megs.
I wonder if this is possible to use unionfs and make an ext2 fs object as a file on the FAT fs. That way no 2nd partition is necessary. Plus, if you remove the sdcard, everything will still work.
Maybe we could combine unionfs and this method that uses an ext2 image on the fat32 for apps to sd.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=3402947&postcount=687
mkefs can be downloaded here:
http://sites.google.com/site/juanjosec/android
dwang said:
I wonder if this is possible to use unionfs and make an ext2 fs object as a file on the FAT fs. That way no 2nd partition is necessary. Plus, if you remove the sdcard, everything will still work.
Maybe we could combine unionfs and this method that uses an ext2 image on the fat32 for apps to sd.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=3402947&postcount=687
mkefs can be downloaded here:
http://sites.google.com/site/juanjosec/android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been looking at that possibility with JF and MartinFick as well, seems like it could be a good plan but I wanted to get this bit done first. It's a good point about the dalvik-cache, but in order to fix it JF(in this case) would have to change /init.rc to make sure to do this bit before building the dalvik-cache.
Can't download apps from market
hmm so I didn't hit any errors when doing this, but afterwards I am unable to download any apps from the market. It just continually says "Starting Download..." Everything else seems to work well.
I had this same issue when I tried to manually setup apps to sd using the symbolic links. I narrowed the issue down and figured out this only occurred after I moved the dalvik-cache over to the sd card. I'm assuming I'm doing something wrong, but can't seem to figure it out. Any pointers in a general direction would be most helpful
I'm using JFv1.50 ADP1.5, not the modded version by LucidREM. For some reason the bootloader couldn't pickup his version on my phone and --edit-- I'm pretty sure I have the SD card partitioned correctly... everything else seemed to work ok. The ext2 partition shows up as the correct size
*EDIT* So apparently my issue was the SD card as well. Just did a format of the sd card and it fixed it. I also formatted data and cache (alt+w in recovery mode). Thanks MarcusMaximus!
[email protected] said:
New news: If you haven't seen it, I updated this tutorial(and the scripts with it) quite a bit and would now consider it to be completely fully functional.
Also The Dude will be sending me an advance copy of his next ROM tomorrow to verify it works. In his build the apps to sd will be automatic, with no user setup(although if you want apps on the sd card you'll have to make an app directory under /system/sd(mkdir /system/sd/app), ditto for dalvik-cache and data).
Finally, I will attempt to add this into my apps to sd app tonight, thus rounding out everything I can do.
After all this, the only thing left is for Haykuro to build it into his ROM and me to make an app to move specific apps to/from the sd card automatically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I have apps2SD and the dalvik-cache both moved on the dudes builds already, do I still have to create those directories or will my existing setup still work fine? I would like to know what kind of issues I may run into when the dude releases .95 with this (hopefully, not getting my hopes up just in case).
I haven't yet found an answer on how to move apps back to internal memory after applying MoDaCo's ROM. Does anyone have the answer?
Can you not adb pull the app off of the sdcard and the adb push them to /system/app?
ekinnee said:
Can you not adb pull the app off of the sdcard and the adb push them to /system/app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
format your memory card to fat32 and then do a "factory reset"
ap2sd doesn't support fat32 and it will just place your apps "where they should be" trying to reverse ap2sd would be a big pain in the ass
*note this will wipe your phone*
But why /system/app?
The /system partition only shows 12 MB free for me. The /data partition is where apps normally are, right? My /data partition shows 91 MB free when I df -h, and my phone reports that it has 91 MB of free internal memory. So they should go on the /data partition, right?
I am new to the site and I dont know how to create a new post so I am going to address my issue here. the other day I downloaded a Iphone theme for my touch pro (Raphael) and now I cannot figure out how to restore it bak to the factory settings. I have done numerous hard resets and nothing has worked!!! HELP ME PLEASE!
At least put it in the right forum. This is the Hero forum.
jonnythan said:
But why /system/app?
The /system partition only shows 12 MB free for me. The /data partition is where apps normally are, right? My /data partition shows 91 MB free when I df -h, and my phone reports that it has 91 MB of free internal memory. So they should go on the /data partition, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you talking about stock apps or market apps.... they are located in 2 different areas
/system/app -stock
/data/app -market
OR if you wanna get fancy /system/sd/app -market apps with ap2sd installed
I am talking about market apps. I want to move, for example, EasyMoney back to internal memory. There appears to be no way to do it though.
you must be pretty serious about moving them....alright well don't say I didn't warn you about it being a PITA
Code:
mv /system/sd/app/{name of your app} /data/local
*reboot phone with sd card removed*
*hope phone doesn't lock up on you*
Code:
mv /data/local/{name of your app} /data/app
*reboot into recovery and format sd card to fat32 only*
/data/app is a symlink to /system/sd/app.
If I move something to /data/app it goes into /system/sd/app. Which is right where it started.
I'm not sure I'm being understood here. We have apps2sd, which is great. I have a 500 MB partition for my apps. But now I've got 100 MB of internal memory on the phone that I can't use for apps.
I'd like to use some of that for my most frequently used apps.
jonnythan said:
/data/app is a symlink to /system/sd/app.
If I move something to /data/app it goes into /system/sd/app. Which is right where it started.
I'm not sure I'm being understood here. We have apps2sd, which is great. I have a 500 MB partition for my apps. But now I've got 100 MB of internal memory on the phone that I can't use for apps.
I'd like to use some of that for my most frequently used apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what I was suggesting was moving it from the link on the sd card to local storage, breaking the link, then moving it to where the link originally pointed before ap2sd. Then finally making it so the link will not be recreated.
I understand what you are saying now, but I don't know how you set that variable.... or if it that can even be done. If so, it can't be done easily.
what you're asking is like makeing a raid setup with your nand and your sd card... that's well beyond what I'm capable of doing.
I've moved several stock apps back and forth between /system/sd/app and /system/app without any problems. Reboot after move is a good idea though.
For market apps there might be an issue when upgrading if they are in the /system/app directory, but I haven't tested that.
flactemnad said:
I've moved several stock apps back and forth between /system/sd/app and /system/app without any problems. Reboot after move is a good idea though.
For market apps there might be an issue when upgrading if they are in the /system/app directory, but I haven't tested that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there will be a problem, android market will not mount /system/app when it goes to update an app from the market. I tried this by accident by copying a a stock app and installing it over it's self (was testing a way to easily remove a stock app) locked the phone up.
There is probally no HUGE advantage in having the stock apps on the sd card as most of them (the ones accessed frequently... widgets etc) would be accessed from the much slower sd card as apposed to the much faster NAND.
The reboot is almost required if the app is running, if you do manage to move the file that's not in the middle of a read you'll get the dreaded com.android.core popup (infinately repeated unable to work around) So it's highly suggested that the app is not running in the backround, or widget on the desktop.
I also highly reccomend the restart when attempting to move apps from your /data/app or /system/sd/app note /system/sd/app is mounted... but not to be confused with any other part of /system
by mistake i deleted the visual voicemail app that comes with the phone and i was wondering if somebody could help me putting it back into the phone, i have the .apk file on my computer already
johnsongrantr said:
there will be a problem, android market will not mount /system/app when it goes to update an app from the market. I tried this by accident by copying a a stock app and installing it over it's self (was testing a way to easily remove a stock app) locked the phone up.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up. I don't have any market apps installed under /system/app, but I do have some stock apps on the sd that I can easily move back to straighten things out to a more proper setup.
aim1126 said:
by mistake i deleted the visual voicemail app that comes with the phone and i was wondering if somebody could help me putting it back into the phone, i have the .apk file on my computer already
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nvm found an app on the market called apk installer, worked perfectly
So, I wasn't really sure how to title this thread and just went with the above.
I am running 2.1 with App2sd and installed it like this.
Cd/ sdcard/app2sd
Sh install_use_busybox.sh -f
Reboot
Internal shows low double digits used (40-50ish).
Then once that came on, I ran this
Cd/ data
Rm app1/*
Rm Dalvik-Cache/1*
And my data went down to single digits. Everything is running A-OK but I do have one question.
If I install an app from the market, it goes right into my partition just like normal. Now if I install an app (like Flash21, MoboPlayer or System Recovery) that I picked up through XDA and use Root Explorer to install it, it does not install to the card but rather on the internal.
Can I use Root Explorer to move something out of my internal and into my SD partition? I look in Data/app and everything I have is in there but I can't tell what is on the SD card and what is on the Internal.
I have a 32gb card with 670mb ext2 partition and small a swap for kicks.
In Root Explorer, I have an SDext2 folder but nothing in it, but have App, App-private and Dalvik-Cache.
Basically I want something like Open Recovery, MoboPlayer or Flash moved out of my internal and on my SD partition (and still run ok), just like all the apps I have downloaded from the Market.
Woodrube said:
So, I wasn't really sure how to title this thread and just went with the above.
I am running 2.1 with App2sd and installed it like this.
Cd/ sdcard/app2sd
Sh install_use_busybox.sh -f
Reboot
Internal shows low double digits used (40-50ish).
Then once that came on, I ran this
Cd/ data
Rm app1/*
Rm Dalvik-Cache/1*
And my data went down to single digits. Everything is running A-OK but I do have one question.
If I install an app from the market, it goes right into my partition just like normal. Now if I install an app (like Flash21, MoboPlayer or System Recovery) that I picked up through XDA and use Root Explorer to install it, it does not install to the card but rather on the internal.
Can I use Root Explorer to move something out of my internal and into my SD partition? I look in Data/app and everything I have is in there but I can't tell what is on the SD card and what is on the Internal.
I have a 32gb card with 670mb ext2 partition and small a swap for kicks.
In Root Explorer, I have an SDext2 folder but nothing in it, but have App, App-private and Dalvik-Cache.
Basically I want something like Open Recovery, MoboPlayer or Flash moved out of my internal and on my SD partition (and still run ok), just like all the apps I have downloaded from the Market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With app2sd (using ext partition) everything is on sd card. The only thing that mixes them is link2sd.
Why is it that when I download something from the market, it goes to the card and when I use root explorer or package installer, it makes my internal go up? I know i call pull the apk out of somewhere and put it in the system or data, nut just not sure where to pull and where to replace.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
I was using XXKPQ Gingerbread. Soon my phone started restarting and giving errors.
When I use ODIN I can put new files in to system folders. I installed XXKPE and clockworkmod, then I used adb remount, adb shell to delete everything under data/data, data/app, sdcard, sd-ext. When I do ls it said folders were empty but after restart everything came back!
Is there a way to mount a file system as a volatile memory? It accepts all the changes I say but it reverts back when unmounted and remounted. I thought it might be permission problem but fix_permissions script does not solve it. Also I heard 0 available memory bugs in the forums but my case is not that either.
On recovery menu, I used clockworkmod options to mount the data folder, I erased everything in it via adb shell, and without restarting I unmounted and mounted again using CWM, the files were there again in adb shell!
Since there are files under data/data and data/app folders, I get crashes of those applications all the time when I try to use the phone. If I install the same application from market it works fine but after restart it reverts back to crashing.
snlzkn said:
I was using XXKPQ Gingerbread. Soon my phone started restarting and giving errors.
When I use ODIN I can put new files in to system folders. I installed XXKPE and clockworkmod, then I used adb remount, adb shell to delete everything under data/data, data/app, sdcard, sd-ext. When I do ls it said folders were empty but after restart everything came back!
Is there a way to mount a file system as a volatile memory? It accepts all the changes I say but it reverts back when unmounted and remounted. I thought it might be permission problem but fix_permissions script does not solve it. Also I heard 0 available memory bugs in the forums but my case is not that either.
On recovery menu, I used clockworkmod options to mount the data folder, I erased everything in it via adb shell, and without restarting I unmounted and mounted again using CWM, the files were there again in adb shell!
Since there are files under data/data and data/app folders, I get crashes of those applications all the time when I try to use the phone. If I install the same application from market it works fine but after restart it reverts back to crashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exists even after xxkpe + pit flash?
Try converting to ext4 and formatting and then flash xxkpe + pit.
Having read many such issues now, it seems its MoBo issue. Search around a bit. From what i have read, probably service center's the only one who would be able to help you now.
Try VurrutRom , when you install it the rom exchange the internal sd with the external sd.
you will see that your /data folder is now in the external sd. I hope this fix your problem.
@ggclanlord: This phone had motherboard issues before but this looks more like a protection to me. No matter which rom I install the applications and their settings just stay there. I might try ext4 later as well.
reivaj20 said:
Try VurrutRom , when you install it the rom exchange the internal sd with the external sd.
you will see that your /data folder is now in the external sd. I hope this fix your problem.
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Click to collapse
How do I change the internal sd with external sd? I have found this but it does not say it needs to be Vurrut. Is it somehow easier with Vurrut?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1088474
First of all, why are you trying to clear any partition manually ?
Second, /data is a separate partition altogether neither on internal sd nor external.
Flash a full xxkpe with pit and re-partitioned checked. Then flash CF-root. Your phone should return to normal.
Generally you should not need to manually format partition ever but in case you need there are options under Advanced in CWM.
Hope it helps!
Good luck !
I have some app in /data/app folder and only there? Some apps are simply not there. Why is this? Can I move the /data/app folder? I want to free some disk space.
Phpdna said:
I have some app in /data/app folder and only there? Some apps are simply not there. Why is this? Can I move the /data/app folder? I want to free some disk space.
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Some apks are in /data/app and some are in /system/app.
Remove the ones that are unecessary to free up disk space and remove the respective dex file the dalvik-cache for the app.
Edit: Be careful to not remove required applications packages as you might cause instability or boot-loops among other issues. (A.K.A I'm not responsible for any of your problems)
No, you cannot move the folder.
However you could try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.buak.Link2SD or My favorite: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spazedog.mounts2sd
O.k. I know that I also tried mount2sd but it left my mobile unusuable. It doesn't explain why there is this /data/app folder. Some apks isn't there. For example downloaded apks sometimes install in /data/app and sometimes not. Can I move the apks from /data/app to system/app? Can it work? Is it possible it has to do with the search path? When I add /data/app to the search path can it work?
Phpdna said:
O.k. I know that I also tried mount2sd but it left my mobile unusuable. It doesn't explain why there is this /data/app folder. Some apks isn't there. For example downloaded apks sometimes install in /data/app and sometimes not. Can I move the apks from /data/app to system/app? Can it work? Is it possible it has to do with the search path? When I add /data/app to the search path can it work?
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Depending on your phone its partitioning might allow you to free space on your data partition by copying apps from data to system (depending on if they have separate partitions in your phones memory). One drawback is that you will be unable to remove the apps using normal app management. It also might be the case that updates are not installed for those 'system' apps or the updates are installed in the data folder again. For samsung the /system/ partition is mounted read only so for those i'm quite positive that updates will not be placed in the system partition.
The 'easiest' solution to your storageproblem is using some kind of link2sd or mount2sd (the latter including a separate partition on your SD). Be careful choosing the right script because many are old and outdated and might fail. Also you will be unable to switch sd-cards because you cannot easily unmount the app partition and if you remove the sd without unmounting it you have a big risk of damaging the filesystem (been there done that :crying
My best experience back when i had to use a mount2sd script was with this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spazedog.mounts2sd
In the app description you find a quite clear list of requirements for your phone to use the app effective.
P.S. for the mount2sd app it is my recommendation to move it to /system/app because if it is in /data/app and your data is moved to your SD and for some reason the startup (init.d) script fails you will be unable to use Mount2SD because it was not loaded from sd. Moving it to system/app ensures you that it is available even if the startup script failed.
Qaatloz said:
Depending on your phone its partitioning might allow you to free space on your data partition by copying apps from data to system (depending on if they have separate partitions in your phones memory). One drawback is that you will be unable to remove the apps using normal app management. It also might be the case that updates are not installed for those 'system' apps or the updates are installed in the data folder again. For samsung the /system/ partition is mounted read only so for those i'm quite positive that updates will not be placed in the system partition.
The 'easiest' solution to your storageproblem is using some kind of link2sd or mount2sd (the latter including a separate partition on your SD). Be careful choosing the right script because many are old and outdated and might fail. Also you will be unable to switch sd-cards because you cannot easily unmount the app partition and if you remove the sd without unmounting it you have a big risk of damaging the filesystem (been there done that :crying
My best experience back when i had to use a mount2sd script was with this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spazedog.mounts2sd
In the app description you find a quite clear list of requirements for your phone to use the app effective.
P.S. for the mount2sd app it is my recommendation to move it to /system/app because if it is in /data/app and your data is moved to your SD and for some reason the startup (init.d) script fails you will be unable to use Mount2SD because it was not loaded from sd. Moving it to system/app ensures you that it is available even if the startup script failed.
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I'm not going to try the app from spazdog again it left my mobile unusable and the uninstall was not easy. So,the apk can moved to system/app? Good to know, I find a solution to my problem because I moved the apk's to my sdcard. BTW. the problem was that moved apks are not in /data/app!!! Only the other apk's are in /data/app.... I wonder if I'm the only one? My next question is why is some apk's not moveable? It could help a lot of people to free disk space but some apks can't be move (with normal effort). Thanks for reading.