Hello guys
i just want to know if there is able to transfer some apps to sdcard and some apps stay in the internal memory. i know how to move apps to sdcard and move them back to internal memory, but not all apps to sd card. so any one knows how?
thanks
I don't know the exact command off the top of my head, but couldn't this be done with unionfs? Since it is included in the fs image, it might not be too bad.
Or you could make symlinks (ls) for individual apps maybe? It would still require an ext2 partition and would be a lot messier...
Hello to all,
With my desire HD my sd is used for storage all my app and games data. The internal memory is for app and I have a lot of apps and I have a 32gb sd
With my Transformer 16gb with another 32gb sd I can't have the same storage capacity of my dhd since after the instalation of some games and the download of relative resources I have my internal sd full!!
So I have discovered gltosd but it works good for gameloft and data directories but for other games such as roc or dead space which download data on different directory I can't use my external sd as storage!
Also titanium backup can't backup on my external storage but only in internal and so... Is not a safe backup!
So my question is.... Is possible to make the internal sd as system memory and external sd as normal sd??
Of course I have root and custom ROM.
Thanks
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mattiadj said:
Hello to all,
With my desire HD my sd is used for storage all my app and games data. The internal memory is for app and I have a lot of apps and I have a 32gb sd
With my Transformer 16gb with another 32gb sd I can't have the same storage capacity of my dhd since after the instalation of some games and the download of relative resources I have my internal sd full!!
So I have discovered gltosd but it works good for gameloft and data directories but for other games such as roc or dead space which download data on different directory I can't use my external sd as storage!
Also titanium backup can't backup on my external storage but only in internal and so... Is not a safe backup!
So my question is.... Is possible to make the internal sd as system memory and external sd as normal sd??
Of course I have root and custom ROM.
Thanks
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You CAN set Titanium Backup to use the external MicroSD card, which is at "/Removable/MicroSD/TitaniumBackup/". I have 382 apps and games installed on my 32GB internal storage and still have 26.31GB available. I have no apps installed on the MicroSD card, only *.zip files for ROMS and kernels and such.
sidneyk said:
You CAN set Titanium Backup to use the external MicroSD card, which is at "/Removable/MicroSD/TitaniumBackup/". I have 382 apps and games installed on my 32GB internal storage and still have 26.31GB available. I have no apps installed on the MicroSD card, only *.zip files for ROMS and kernels and such.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but where you have the app resources? On internal or external sd?
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The answer to your basic question (can I make the external micro-SD card the main SD card is): yes, if and only if you are rooted.
Before I explain how, let me explain how the "internal SD card" works on the Transformer. (If you just want to know what to do, you can skip this section).
How the "internal SD card" works on the EEE Pad Transformer
Normally on Android, /data and /sdcard point to two separate file systems, one internal, and the other external. However on devices with an internal "SD card" this changes.
The simplest way to have an internal "SD card" is to simply partition the storage into two file systems, one for /data, and the other for /sdcard. Several devices do just that. The downside is that if you put too much space in /data it is effectively wasted, while too little space in /data limits the number of apps that can be installed or how much data they can store "locally".
To solve that it is possible to store the "internal SD card" data in the same filesystem as /data. A new directory was created called /data/media, all the files in the "internal SD card" are actually just files in that folder. They both therefore have the same amount of free space and total space. [1] But Android insists that /sdcard must be a FAT32-compatible file system, while /data must not be. The solution is simple. Create a fake file system driver that pretends to be fat32, but simply reads from and writes to /data/media. That is what the transformer does.
The fake FAT32-compatible filesystem is actually mounted at /mnt/sdcard. Finally there is a symbolic link called /sdcard, which points to /mnt/sdcard. There is one logical reason for doing that, which is is to make it easy change /sdcard to point to an external card. Thanks ASUS for making our job simple.
How to use an external SD card as the primary SD card
Use [highlight]adb shell[/highlight] or the Terminal Emulator app from the market to open a shell.
If the prompt ends with a "#", skip to the next step. Otherwise type [highlight]su[/highlight] (followed by enter) to get a root shell.
Type [highlight]mount -o remount,rw /[/highlight] to ensure the root file system is mounted read/write.
Type [highlight]rm /sdcard[/highlight]
Type [highlight]ln -s /Removable/MicroSD /sdcard[/highlight]
reboot
That should do it. One last thing you may want to do is to to move the files from the "internal SD card" to the external one, or delete the files stored there to free up space. To do this you can use the built-in File Explorer. From the menu in the top right, uncheck the "hide system files" option. Now you can find the "internal SD card" at /mnt/sdcard. Delete the files or copy them to /sdcard as you see fit.
Footnote:
[1] Oddly this means that unless you do what I've outlined in this post, using the built-in apps2sd functionality simply wastes space.
Not OP, but appreciate the great explanation.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium
jsmith45 said:
The answer to your basic question (can I make the external micro-SD card the main SD card is): yes, if and only if you are rooted.
Before I explain how, let me explain how the "internal SD card" works on the Transformer. (If you just want to know what to do, you can skip this section).
How the "internal SD card" works on the EEE Pad Transformer
Normally on Android, /data and /sdcard point to two separate file systems, one internal, and the other external. However on devices with an internal "SD card" this changes.
The simplest way to have an internal "SD card" is to simply partition the storage into two file systems, one for /data, and the other for /sdcard. Several devices do just that. The downside is that if you put too much space in /data it is effectively wasted, while too little space in /data limits the number of apps that can be installed or how much data they can store "locally".
To solve that it is possible to store the "internal SD card" data in the same filesystem as /data. A new directory was created called /data/media, all the files in the "internal SD card" are actually just files in that folder. They both therefore have the same amount of free space and total space. [1] But Android insists that /sdcard must be a FAT32-compatible file system, while /data must not be. The solution is simple. Create a fake file system driver that pretends to be fat32, but simply reads from and writes to /data/media. That is what the transformer does.
The fake FAT32-compatible filesystem is actually mounted at /mnt/sdcard. Finally there is a symbolic link called /sdcard, which points to /mnt/sdcard. There is one logical reason for doing that, which is is to make it easy change /sdcard to point to an external card. Thanks ASUS for making our job simple.
How to use an external SD card as the primary SD card
Use [highlight]adb shell[/highlight] or the Terminal Emulator app from the market to open a shell.
If the prompt ends with a "#", skip to the next step. Otherwise type [highlight]su[/highlight] (followed by enter) to get a root shell.
Type [highlight]mount -o remount,rw /[/highlight] to ensure the root file system is mounted read/write.
Type [highlight]rm /sdcard[/highlight]
Type [highlight]ln -s /Removable/MicroSD /sdcard[/highlight]
reboot
That should do it. One last thing you may want to do is to to move the files from the "internal SD card" to the external one, or delete the files stored there to free up space. To do this you can use the built-in File Explorer. From the menu in the top right, uncheck the "hide system files" option. Now you can find the "internal SD card" at /mnt/sdcard. Delete the files or copy them to /sdcard as you see fit.
Footnote:
[1] Oddly this means that unless you do what I've outlined in this post, using the built-in apps2sd functionality simply wastes space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woow!!!!
So if I wipe all and start from the beginning and before install any app I'll made this operation I will have ~16gb internal memory???
It's possible to make a zip to flash after the rom??
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jsmith45 said:
The answer to your basic question (can I make the external micro-SD card the main SD card is): yes, if and only if you are rooted.
Before I explain how, let me explain how the "internal SD card" works on the Transformer. (If you just want to know what to do, you can skip this section).
How the "internal SD card" works on the EEE Pad Transformer
Normally on Android, /data and /sdcard point to two separate file systems, one internal, and the other external. However on devices with an internal "SD card" this changes.
The simplest way to have an internal "SD card" is to simply partition the storage into two file systems, one for /data, and the other for /sdcard. Several devices do just that. The downside is that if you put too much space in /data it is effectively wasted, while too little space in /data limits the number of apps that can be installed or how much data they can store "locally".
To solve that it is possible to store the "internal SD card" data in the same filesystem as /data. A new directory was created called /data/media, all the files in the "internal SD card" are actually just files in that folder. They both therefore have the same amount of free space and total space. [1] But Android insists that /sdcard must be a FAT32-compatible file system, while /data must not be. The solution is simple. Create a fake file system driver that pretends to be fat32, but simply reads from and writes to /data/media. That is what the transformer does.
The fake FAT32-compatible filesystem is actually mounted at /mnt/sdcard. Finally there is a symbolic link called /sdcard, which points to /mnt/sdcard. There is one logical reason for doing that, which is is to make it easy change /sdcard to point to an external card. Thanks ASUS for making our job simple.
How to use an external SD card as the primary SD card
Use [highlight]adb shell[/highlight] or the Terminal Emulator app from the market to open a shell.
If the prompt ends with a "#", skip to the next step. Otherwise type [highlight]su[/highlight] (followed by enter) to get a root shell.
Type [highlight]mount -o remount,rw /[/highlight] to ensure the root file system is mounted read/write.
Type [highlight]rm /sdcard[/highlight]
Type [highlight]ln -s /Removable/MicroSD /sdcard[/highlight]
reboot
That should do it. One last thing you may want to do is to to move the files from the "internal SD card" to the external one, or delete the files stored there to free up space. To do this you can use the built-in File Explorer. From the menu in the top right, uncheck the "hide system files" option. Now you can find the "internal SD card" at /mnt/sdcard. Delete the files or copy them to /sdcard as you see fit.
Footnote:
[1] Oddly this means that unless you do what I've outlined in this post, using the built-in apps2sd functionality simply wastes space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for details, very nice and easy to understand. I do have a couple follow-up questions though.
- First to set the stage: I have the 16GB version of the TF, and right now have a 16GB external microsd installed. Rooted with stock ROM at present.
- Are there any issues or reasons why someone should not do this? Would the only reason for doing this be low internal memory?
- Your final footnote about apps2sd. Wasn't completely clear on this. Are you saying, that if I want to use apps2sd, I should do what you outlined?
- Essentially just want to determine if it is best to do this or not. I have a NookColor that is rooted and have used it fine for a year now, and have placed most apps/data on the external microsd, so am familiar with having that way, but am unsure about the TF.
Thanks again (gave you a thanks!)
surfmly said:
- Are there any issues or reasons why someone should not do this? Would the only reason for doing this be low internal memory?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another reason of doing it is avoid mixing sd content in the internal memory and making clearer that /sdcard is the external memory. But yes, the main reason would be wasting 16Gb for Android system... There shouldn't been any problems with this change if you follow the instructions. The TF and Android can handle it.
surfmly said:
- Your final footnote about apps2sd. Wasn't completely clear on this. Are you saying, that if I want to use apps2sd, I should do what you outlined?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use apps2sd, you link /data/app to /sdcard, but since /sdcard is part of the internal memory and its also linked to /data, you will be wasting more internal memory. If you do the changes sugested by jsmith45 and use apps2sd, since /sdcard will now be pointing to the real external sd card, you will be using the external card to store all your apps.
surfmly said:
- Essentially just want to determine if it is best to do this or not. I have a NookColor that is rooted and have used it fine for a year now, and have placed most apps/data on the external microsd, so am familiar with having that way, but am unsure about the TF.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use the TF with a little head and move the heavy games/apps to the sdcard, you shouldn't get out of space soon and won't need this kind of change.
AzureusPT said:
If you use the TF with a little head and move the heavy games/apps to the sdcard, you shouldn't get out of space soon and won't need this kind of change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
however, as was previously said, as the transformer has its "internal SD card" data in the same filesystem as /data, moving apps to sd is just shuffling them about in the same file tree, it doesnt actually move them to the real external sd card.
using this mod would achieve that- my only concern being that if that card fails then a lot of important data is lost.
i also wonder how well this mod would work using CWM??
bob dylan said:
however, as was previously said, as the transformer has its "internal SD card" data in the same filesystem as /data, moving apps to sd is just shuffling them about in the same file tree, it doesnt actually move them to the real external sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, thats true. I typed without thought...
Still, you have around 10Gb of usable space in /data. The point on doing the trick of restoring /sdcard to external should be if you have enough apps to get to that size. Note that many apps that download aditional data, many times they save it on the real sd card.
What I ment to say about using it with head was that its wise to use the external card to save the big files (that could be movies, music, etc), and handle the internal with apps.
BTW... just came to me now... with simple apps it is possible to get to 10Gb? I'm not talking about Let's Golf instalation (+1Gb), just the weight of the apk itself...
thanks guys
I have followed the tutorial but my sdcard folder links to internal memory and not to removable/microsd.
Infact all resource of apps are stored in Internal SD and not in External SD as i want.
I have tried with adb and terminal emulator...is the same. My rom is Revolver 3.11...help
Edit: the problem is after the reboot! if i don't reboot the symbolic link is present....I think i have to create and automatic script for every reboot
Now i have fixed the problem but i think the solution is not very perfect.
Ok sdcard folder links to removable/microsd but...mnt/sdcard is linked to internal sdcard!!! So apps installs it self on mnt/sdcard/data and games such as Race of champions download the resources on mnt/sdcard too.
I think the best way is to change the link to mnt/sdcard also to removable/microsd...
Any advice?
mattiadj said:
I have followed the tutorial but my sdcard folder links to internal memory and not to removable/microsd.
Infact all resource of apps are stored in Internal SD and not in External SD as i want.
I have tried with adb and terminal emulator...is the same. My rom is Revolver 3.11...help
Edit: the problem is after the reboot! if i don't reboot the symbolic link is present....I think i have to create and automatic script for every reboot
Now i have fixed the problem but i think the solution is not very perfect.
Ok sdcard folder links to removable/microsd but...mnt/sdcard is linked to internal sdcard!!! So apps installs it self on mnt/sdcard/data and games such as Race of champions download the resources on mnt/sdcard too.
I think the best way is to change the link to mnt/sdcard also to removable/microsd...
Any advice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that I got around to trying this I am seeing the same problem. I have tried twice and it doesn't appear the link works. My External MicroSD is not being linked to when opening /sdcard in file explorer. Testing by taking a picture to see where new photo resides... it ends up in both /sdcard and /mnt/sdcard and not in /Removable/MicroSD....
So you need to do anything else like have a freshly formated MicroSD with proper folder structure (i.e. same folders currently in the /mnt/sdcard folder)?
Thanks.
---------- Post added at 03:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:23 PM ----------
jsmith45 said:
How to use an external SD card as the primary SD card
Use [highlight]adb shell[/highlight] or the Terminal Emulator app from the market to open a shell.
If the prompt ends with a "#", skip to the next step. Otherwise type [highlight]su[/highlight] (followed by enter) to get a root shell.
Type [highlight]mount -o remount,rw /[/highlight] to ensure the root file system is mounted read/write.
Type [highlight]rm /sdcard[/highlight]
Type [highlight]ln -s /Removable/MicroSD /sdcard[/highlight]
reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jsmith - this doesn't appear to be working for me. The link doesn't point to /Remvoable/MicroSD per the terminal client commands I run per above, it is still /mnt/sdcard.
Anyone getting this to work properly on TF101 (I am running rooted .21 via Nachoroot/Vipermod). Thanks.
---------- Post added at 03:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 PM ----------
By the way, I confirm that the symbolic link is working without reboot.
Also, for something like storing photos from the camera (and video recorder) I don't see option in camera or gallery to change save path. It shows the path for saved photos as /mnt/sdcard/......
So even without rebooting, with symbolic link working (i.e. opening /sdcard does open my external SD card), the camera is saving photos on the internal SD (at /mnt/sdcard).
I was thinking that we would be able to make the external SD card used for these types of things. Many apps should be installed on internal (runs better many times, etc) but extra stuff like music, photos, videos, etc should use the external card. Looks like this mod wouldn't necessarily change that.
Also, I noticed that on my HTC Inc2, the external card is at /mnt/sdcard (or /sdcard). So if any app is setup to use /mnt/sdcard, it will use the external SD card. However on the TF, even with the mod in this thread, the app would use /mnt/sdcard which is the internal SD. Only if an app uses /sdcard as the path would it use the external SD and I am not sure if most apps use /mnt/sdcard or just /sdcard.
Thoughts on best next steps to get the external card to be used more/better are welcome
People let see my thread on dev section.... Probably I have found the solution!
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I would like to play with something like this too..
As i have wiped TB backup a few times by mistake when loading on new Rom..
As it backups to the internal not external.. thus I have to manually copy it back and forwards on each backup..
sent from yet another MikG HTC Evo
Hello, I have previously owned a Galaxy Ace which never had an internal SD storage and things were so much more simpler. Apps could be installed on removable SD. Apps were not confused when installing. I have realised that with this phone, when installing big games for example FIFA 12 or Need for Speed Most Wanted, it thinks that the internal SD storage is the removable SD card and won't download game data due to not having enough space. This 1.10GB worth of storage is totally useless and I would rather not have it for reasons of simplicity and just have a large removable SD card media instead. This 1.10GB internal storage space is insignificant when compared to 32GB removable SD Card and really is not worth the grief.
I have tried Link2SD to overcome this issue without any success as it moves the data files from the /data/data partition to the removable SD but not the Data which has been downloaded to Android/Data directory on the internal SD storage. Now I know that there are utilities (such as directory bind) which can swap the internal SD with the external SD. I also know that you can modify vold.fstab to do exactly the same. But I would rather not have this internal storage or if possible, have it extended to the internal data storage.instead.
Can someone please guide me on how to extend this irrelevant partion to data partition or have it removed entirely and just have a simple storage configuration like I did with the Galaxy Ace or older phones before all these large storages were introduced. Thanks in advance.
you need modified "vold.fstab"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2044439
No that just swaps the partitions. If you go to settings>storage the Removable SD card shows as USB storage and the internal SD is showing as SD Card. This is not what I want. Furthermore the fact that external SD is mounted in sdcard path is even more annoying and confusing at times.
What I am looking for is removeable SD card to be mounted as mnt/sdcard. And the internal SD card to be extended with some other internal partition such as data partition or just removed altogether. In simple terms I want the same file structure as my Galaxy Ace S5830.
Gizmotech said:
No that just swaps the partitions. If you go to settings>storage the Removable SD card shows as USB storage and the internal SD is showing as SD Card. This is not what I want. Furthermore the fact that external SD is mounted in sdcard path is even more annoying and confusing at times.
What I am looking for is removeable SD card to be mounted as mnt/sdcard. And the internal SD card to be extended with some other internal partition such as data partition or just removed altogether. In simple terms I want the same file structure as my Galaxy Ace S5830.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If want the removable SD card to be mounted as mnt/sdcard then the vold.fstab could do the trick. You said you wanted to play games right? That's what I use to play Need for Speed Most Wanted on my phone. As for the "Internal Storage" or the 1.20 GB Partition, modifying it and adding or removing other partitions would require a .pit file which as far as i know is responsible for partitioning the phone and unfortunately we do not have. Does this answer your question?
It does answer my question although not the answer I wanted to hear. I used to think highly of Android when I used the Galaxy Ace as it did not have this issue due to not having a internal usable storage. But how on hell did Samsung decide to put a puny amount of storage space and mount it as sdcard. I feel sorry for the normal users who have never come across rooting and mods. I am sorry as much as I have love for Android phones, I think my next phone will be an Apple. Never thought I would be saying this but I am honestly tired of this stupid internal sd / external sd configuration. This has even put me off purchasing phones like the Galaxy S3 as you will still have this stupid configuration to get your head over. End of rant.
Is is possible to mount the removable SD card as /mnt/sdcard and the internal puny storage as /mnt/USB or any other name so as not to confuse it with SD Card. At the same time not having the storages swapped and in their right places when checked in settings>storage?
whats the problem with swapping them? I'm hardly annoyed by this kind if situation. if you are almost filling up the 1.20GB storage then you can move some of the apps to the 1.10GB "external_sd". Then to make sure you use the REAL sd card set the default installation path to be internal memory.
Sent from my GT-I8160 running Holo Bean Beta
Gizmotech said:
What I am looking for is removeable SD card to be mounted as mnt/sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and I say again... if you change "vold.fstab" then you will have that you say above. I have /mnt/sdcard = 32gb and /mnt/sdcard/external_sd = 1.1gb
monstro78 said:
and I say again... if you change "vold.fstab" then you will have that you say above. I have /mnt/sdcard = 32gb and /mnt/sdcard/external_sd = 1.1gb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is more of a workaround than a fix as swapping it loses the Unmount SD Card options for the removable media in settings>storage. The same with Directory Bind. They both do the trick but not quite the way I would have wanted it to do so.
Gizmotech said:
That is more of a workaround than a fix as swapping it loses the Unmount SD Card options for the removable media in settings>storage. The same with Directory Bind. They both do the trick but not quite the way I would have wanted it to do so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then we cant do anything for that matter for now since there are no pit files available to repartition the phone.
Sent from my GT-I8160 running Holo Bean
I was just thinking if there was a way of making a new directory on the /mnt path called 'storage' or something, we could have possibly modified vold.stab. So change where it says /sdcard to /storage and /sdcard/external_sd to /sdcard. I'm not sure if that would work but again, I don't think that another new directory can be created in /mnt without a .pit file.
Gizmotech said:
I was just thinking if there was a way of making a new directory on the /mnt path called 'storage' or something, we could have possibly modified vold.stab. So change where it says /sdcard to /storage and /sdcard/external_sd to /sdcard. I'm not sure if that would work but again, I don't think that another new directory can be created in /mnt without a .pit file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually there are 3 mount points inside the vold.fstab file. 1) /mnt/sdcard 2)/mnt/external_sd 3)/mnt/usbstorage (i think, i forgot..)
the third is supposed to be used for USB OTG function but for now it remains undefined. I do not know anything about modifying this file so I guess I'll leave it to the experts, ask around and see what turns up.
I just checked the vold.fstab and I think the mount point is mnt/sdcard/external_sd and not mnt/external_sd if I am interpreting the data correctly.
Gizmotech said:
I just checked the vold.fstab and I think the mount point is mnt/sdcard/external_sd and not mnt/external_sd if I am interpreting the data correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah youre right.. I guess working on my jelly bean theme made my brain forgetful.
Sent from my GT-I8160 using xda app-developers app