[Q] Change /data/data parition size? - Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]

I want to change the size of my /data/data ("datadata") partition permanently. I have plenty of space on my HTC Droid Incredible's NAND memory, but too much is allocated toward the /data partition and not enough toward the /data/data partition, so I am always being warned that I'm running low on space for application data (which a quick "df" command confirms is true). I am rooted of course and am hoping there's a way to manually redistribute the space; is there?
I purposely posted this question in general Android "hacking" because this question doesn't seem to be addressed anywhere on the internet, and I know this answer could benefit users of all phones, not just the Incredible.
Thanks a million in advance!

I too am looking into this. The stupid notification is extremely irritating.

I am also looking for a way to resize my /data partition. I have a rooted HTC Desire with Android 2.2.

Moving data partition to the SD card
Not quite what you're looking for, but can accomplish what you want. If you have a fast card, it improves performance as well.
Haven't posted enough to post a direct link, sorry:
forum.sdx-developers.com/moment-2-2-development/data-partition-on-sdcard-eliminate-lag

wolfclan68 said:
Not quite what you're looking for, but can accomplish what you want. If you have a fast card, it improves performance as well.
Haven't posted enough to post a direct link, sorry:
forum.sdx-developers.com/moment-2-2-development/data-partition-on-sdcard-eliminate-lag
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, thanks a lot!

Related

RyanZa's one click lag fix

Hi,
I was browsing the dev forum for the lag fix and I was wondering if anyone had any first hand experience using it on the Epic? I searched and didn't find anything substantial in this forum.
Thanks,
Tonythetigger said:
Hi,
I was browsing the dev forum for the lag fix and I was wondering if anyone had any first hand experience using it on the Epic? I searched and didn't find anything substantial in this forum.
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not needed. Have you seen your Epic lag? If so, return it.
Well, it lags a little when I try to open barcode reader or the camera? I thought there was discussion on how the Epic would still receive a benefit from the lagfix..
Actually you can pretty easily make it lag. Take two pictures at full res and then go through gallery and attah them to gmail. Send. If you are not on wifi the phone litterally is paralyzed until its finished.
Those chose pooly on the formating
So has anyone used the lagfix?
I believe or partitions are different. That would most likely brick your device if used. I'm fqairly certain we could do the same for our devices but that's going to take time. Working recovery > that atm.
Aridon said:
Actually you can pretty easily make it lag. Take two pictures at full res and then go through gallery and attah them to gmail. Send. If you are not on wifi the phone litterally is paralyzed until its finished.
Those chose pooly on the formating
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thats not fix with a LagFix. Thats a bug. It happens attaching it to anything. MMS, Gmail, Email, Facebook. Its a known bug.
Well my quadrant benchmark is 1k, shouldn't it be capable of going up to 2k?
I believe the lagfix will actually work, and may even help. I don't have an epic, so I can't test it at all.
Anyway, the I9000 has 8gb or 16gb internal memory. 2gb of that is dedicated to /data (data is where all your apps and their data go).
The epic has 2gb? 1gb? -- some amount of fast internal memory dedicated to /data.
Both the I9000 and your epic use the RFS filesystem, which appears to be very poor.
What the OCLF apk does is make a loopback EXT2 partition in your RFS filesystem, and then uses symlinks to make android put the apps/data inside the EXT2 partition. This should work fine on your epic, especially if you have 2gb of program memory! If you have less than 1gb it may be a problem though.
Feel free to try it out if you have rooted your device! (The I9000 root won't work on the Epic)
RyanZA said:
I believe the lagfix will actually work, and may even help. I don't have an epic, so I can't test it at all.
Anyway, the I9000 has 8gb or 16gb internal memory. 2gb of that is dedicated to /data (data is where all your apps and their data go).
The epic has 2gb? 1gb? -- some amount of fast internal memory dedicated to /data.
Both the I9000 and your epic use the RFS filesystem, which appears to be very poor.
What the OCLF apk does is make a loopback EXT2 partition in your RFS filesystem, and then uses symlinks to make android put the apps/data inside the EXT2 partition. This should work fine on your epic, especially if you have 2gb of program memory! If you have less than 1gb it may be a problem though.
Feel free to try it out if you have rooted your device! (The I9000 root won't work on the Epic)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its 1Gb. But its not completely empty.
Also, I'm willing to test it. Do you have a link for the download?
Well the Epic has 512 ram and 512 rom, Froyo is supposed to allow the phone to use the SD card as install room for apps.
Would the lagfix run there?
Here is the link to the app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=760571
Fixter said:
Its 1Gb. But its not completely empty.
Also, I'm willing to test it. Do you have a link for the download?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's on the market.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.rc.QuickFixLagFix
1GB... and yeah its obviously not empty, it has all your stuff in it!
Anyway with 1GB is might be a bit tight, as that would leave only 500mb or so for apps.
Make a backup before you test it though, since I think you're the first person to test it on the Epic. It should refuse to run if there is anything wrong though.
So if the phone can use the SD card for /data would the fix have more space there? Or would we just get more space to install and run apps
RyanZA said:
It's on the market.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.rc.QuickFixLagFix
1GB... and yeah its obviously not empty, it has all your stuff in it!
Anyway with 1GB is might be a bit tight, as that would leave only 500mb or so for apps.
Make a backup before you test it though, since I think you're the first person to test it on the Epic. It should refuse to run if there is anything wrong though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says Unavailable.
Tonythetigger said:
Well the Epic has 512 ram and 512 rom, Froyo is supposed to allow the phone to use the SD card as install room for apps.
Would the lagfix run there?
Here is the link to the app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=760571
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
512MB is going to be too little.
You can actually get around this with a fast SD card though! If you know how to use gparted, you can make a 2GB or so EXT2/3 partition on your SD card, and then copy your data across to that, and use symlinks to point Android there. With the Epics fast NAND though, this shouldn't be necessary for speed - but it might be really nice for you guys if you want to install a lot of apps!
EDIT: You can follow mimocan's tutorial here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=724251
Just don't use EXT4 since your kernel won't support it. There is a way to dynamically load the EXT4 kernel module though, if anybody is interested.
RyanZA said:
512MB is going to be too little.
You can actually get around this with a fast SD card though! If you know how to use gparted, you can make a 2GB or so EXT2/3 partition on your SD card, and then copy your data across to that, and use symlinks to point Android there. With the Epics fast NAND though, this shouldn't be necessary for speed - but it might be really nice for you guys if you want to install a lot of apps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats weird.. On the Samsung Specsheet is says 1Gb. I saw it not 30 minutes ago.
EDIT: User Memory 1GB (not all is usable for customer use/downloads)
DAMN IT! I'm sure Touchwiz is using the other 500Mb.
Here's a link to the dev page, you can download the app directly from there: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=760571
lag fix?
SDcard-using lag fix is obviously unnecessary for Epic 4G.
The reason why Epic has a small NAND chip is that it uses a different type of NAND, called "OneNAND." OneNAND is much much faster than normal NAND or moviNAND (which other Galaxy S's use).
This is why Epic users don't experience "lag" which exists in Vibrant or Captivate.
But we can still make Epic faster, by getting rid of Samsung's rfs file system (which obviously makes Vibrant/Captivate slower) and mounting ext3/4 or other faster file system.
Then we need:
1) patching kernel or adding module to support ext3/4/nilfs2/yaffs2/ubifs/btrfs/etc/whatever we want.
(ext2 is supported by the stock kernel I think. However, unlike SD card and moviNAND which have own hardware wear-leveling algorithms in their controllers, OneNAND does not has it, so I'm not sure if ext2 (which does not support journaling/log) is okay to use.)
2) backing up the partitions which we want to change the file system from rfs
(such as: /data/data, /data/app, /data/dalvik-cache, etc, whatever)
and finally formatting it to what we want, and mount it.
3) kernel or script that automatically mounts as the file system we want.
4) a genius who can do this. (It is obviously not me.)
This is done for Captivate in XDA forum, and also for Galaxy S M110S in a Korean forum.
chocoberry said:
SDcard-using lag fix is obviously unnecessary for Epic 4G.
The reason why Epic has a small NAND chip is that it uses a different type of NAND, called "OneNAND." OneNAND is much much faster than normal NAND or moviNAND (which other Galaxy S's use).
This is why Epic users don't experience "lag" which exists in Vibrant or Captivate.
But we can still make Epic faster, by getting rid of Samsung's rfs file system (which obviously makes Vibrant/Captivate slower) and mounting ext3/4 or other faster file system.
Then we need:
1) patching kernel or adding module to support ext3/4/nilfs2/yaffs2/ubifs/btrfs/etc/whatever we want.
(ext2 is supported by the stock kernel I think. However, unlike SD card and moviNAND which have own hardware wear-leveling algorithms in their controllers, OneNAND does not has it, so I'm not sure if ext2 (which does not support journaling/log) is okay to use.)
2) backing up the partitions which we want to change the file system from rfs
(such as: /data/data, /data/app, /data/dalvik-cache, etc, whatever)
and finally formatting it to what we want, and mount it.
3) kernel or script that automatically mounts as the file system we want.
4) a genius who can do this. (It is obviously not me.)
This is done for Captivate in XDA forum, and also for Galaxy S M110S in a Korean forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the explanation. Now lets wait for the genius.

[Q] freeing up space on galaxy s 4g

I know this issue has been more or less beat to death, trust me one google search proves that. and after 2 1/2 days searching and researching I have come up with an idea to rid us of this limited application space problem once and for all. At this point I am stuck realizing that android doesn't use an fstab file like any ol' standard linux install....so what's the android equivalent?
a little explaination....
I came across a solution used on another phone where via a custom rom someone was able simply hardlink /data/app, /system/media, etc... to a copy stored on a ext2/3/4 partition on the sd card, I guessed roughly 2~3 gb of space would be sufficient. I created the partition, copied the folders, and just before I was going to start hardlinking things, I realized I had to manually mount the ext2 partition, it wasn't done automatically, and therefore won't be done at boot. So...this is where I'm stuck. if I could figure out how to get the ext2 partition to mount at boot then problem solved
Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, etc would be appreciated. I apologize in advance if I may have missed something someone may seem as "obvious"....I've been at this for over 2 days reading more webpages than I care to recount and quite frankly my brain is fried.....so please keep the "flaming" to a minimum...
dude just overwrite the FOTA files and it will free up 250mb.
Are you sure you searched these forums? It's in the dev section.
did the fota fix, got about 290mb free (already done before I posted this). call me greedy but ~300 mb just seems not quite enough.....my solution sounds simple enough if I could only fix that blasted mount on boot issue....
as for searching, I apologize but I viewed so many pages yesterday that I couldn't possibly list them all, but fota was one of them and already done.....I'm looking for a more permanent solution (assuming that ota updates will become available for this phone before it becomes obsolete)
Wouldn't that have to be a script initiated by the kernel? I could be way off, but it seems like thats how they fixed the problem with the G1 app mem issue using cm. You might read on cm+G1. Like the way your thinking though!
Check THIS out. I think it's along the right lines, if it could be ported.
Not sure what you think needs more than a few hundred MB in the "real" mount of /data.
Several ways you can install other apps on the SD card, both native using package manager (pm), as well as using tools like app2sd without a custom kernel and boot sequence.

[Q] Will future versions of the Android OS fix this blasted "out of space" problem?

[Q] Will future versions of the Android OS fix this blasted "out of space" problem?
So I have been an avid fan of Google for many, many years. I was looking forward to the Google phone before any Android details came out. So I naturally jumped at the chance to own one. But lately, I'm starting to have a change of heart. These constant out of space warnings are really getting annoying.
So much in fact, I don't know that I want my next phone to be an Android device sadly. I really want to want another one. But this experience is starting to sour my taste for them.
I currently run a rooted (virtuous) Dinc. I have gotten the out of space notification many, many times. I have now started to get it again after installing the Google Music app after being invited into the beta. I have removed about 15 programs, but I still only have about 17MB free on that stupid 149MB partition!
This is beyond annoying. If the phone has something like 8GB of internal memory, why can't I use it? Why can't the apps install there? Why limit this massive amount of storage to a measly 150MB? What year is this, 1995?
I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I am fed up. I don't know what else to do here and I'm ready to walk away. Someone please tell me that Google has saw the light and is going to fix this glaring bug of theirs in Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich!
Why did you create a partition so small? You should create a larger partition to prevent these notifications so often since you'll have more space and use up the extra space not being used. Also, it's not the Android OS's fault that your phone has a small partition made. Since the partition is so small, and you have hardly any memory left (17mb) then it's just one of the phone's functions to notify you about this which should be a good thing to let you know.
theonew said:
Why did you create a partition so small? You should create a larger partition to prevent these notifications so often since you'll have more space and use up the extra space not being used. Also, it's not the Android OS's fault that your phone has a small partition made. Since the partition is so small, and you have hardly any memory left (17mb) then it's just one of the phone's functions to notify you about this which should be a good thing to let you know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm...I didn't make the partition...Android did. Trust me, if it were my choice it would be bigger!
ned4spd8874 said:
Umm...I didn't make the partition...Android did. Trust me, if it were my choice it would be bigger!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android doesn't just make partitions by itself. Maybe the rom you have did that. try getting a new rom because this is not normal.
theonew said:
Android doesn't just make partitions by itself. Maybe the rom you have did that. try getting a new rom because this is not normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong. At least on the HTC Droid Incredible, ROM's have a standard 150 megabyte \data\data partition. For either odexed or deodexed ROM's space is taken in that partition by pretty much every installed application. I've seen contacts hog nearly 70 megabytes of that partition for some handsets, and Sense takes a lot of it, too. Odexed ROM's allegedly require less of the space.
I've run several Froyo ROM's and they all have that limitation. I cannot speak for AOSP ROM's, only Sense ROM's.
There is an app which I have used (but don't seem to be able to find in the Market any more, and the dev isn't responding to PM's here at xda, but I digress) called NotEnoughSpace which allows some portions of the contents to be shifted elsewhere. I found it was very helpful when I was on Froyo, but it does not appear to work on GingerSense. On the other hand, the partition appears to be bigger in GingerSense. The flip side is that the GingerSense ROM's are so fat, there's less RAM available for applications to run.
Pick your poison. I agree it's a stupid limitation that somebody should figure out a way to fix.
hgoldner said:
Wrong. At least on the HTC Droid Incredible, ROM's have a standard 150 megabyte \data\data partition. For either odexed or deodexed ROM's space is taken in that partition by pretty much every installed application. I've seen contacts hog nearly 70 megabytes of that partition for some handsets, and Sense takes a lot of it, too. Odexed ROM's allegedly require less of the space.
I've run several Froyo ROM's and they all have that limitation. I cannot speak for AOSP ROM's, only Sense ROM's.
There is an app which I have used (but don't seem to be able to find in the Market any more, and the dev isn't responding to PM's here at xda, but I digress) called NotEnoughSpace which allows some portions of the contents to be shifted elsewhere. I found it was very helpful when I was on Froyo, but it does not appear to work on GingerSense. On the other hand, the partition appears to be bigger in GingerSense. The flip side is that the GingerSense ROM's are so fat, there's less RAM available for applications to run.
Pick your poison. I agree it's a stupid limitation that somebody should figure out a way to fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, thanks for explaining that much better than I could!
I do have NotEnoughSpace and don't use it for that purpose anymore. I just use it to see how much space I have available and to clean up the dalvik cache. When I was using it to get more space, my apps kept disappearing on me and I would have to re-install them constantly!
is this just a droid problem? i have an epic 4g and it allows me to use the entire 485mb for app storage. what about an apps to sd option? i know at least half of my apps have the option of being stored on the sd card. just wondering.
darksideauto said:
is this just a droid problem? i have an epic 4g and it allows me to use the entire 485mb for app storage. what about an apps to sd option? i know at least half of my apps have the option of being stored on the sd card. just wondering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every app that can be moved to the SD is. But I still have only 17MB available.
ned4spd8874 said:
Every app that can be moved to the SD is. But I still have only 17MB available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This does not make any sense. If an app is moved to the SD Card, the space it took up on the device (some if not all) should be gained back since it's not there any longer. Whenever I move an app to the SD Card, I get back my space. There really must be something wrong with your rom/phone.
You sir have alot of apps then.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
The small internal Storage is a massive problem. I agree to you.
But I know there are several ways to fix this. What I don't know is how...
There are several ROMs who support different kinds of app2sd scripts so you get more 'virtual' internal storage on the sd card.
As you can see on the pictures attached i have approx. 550 mb free internal storage but more than 40 apps that could be pushed to sd.
To get this it is necessary to re-partition your sd-card and install the correct scripts.
Unfortunately, as i said, i'm not able to tell you exactly how to get this work. I just followed a step-by-step guide somwhere in this forum.
The ROM i use, uses D2SD automatically, if the SD-card is partitioned the right way.
I'm sure you will find something that fits to the ROM you use.
darksideauto said:
You sir have alot of apps then.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have 75 non-standard/included apps. I've read where other people have hundreds!
pistolero0 said:
The small internal Storage is a massive problem. I agree to you.
But I know there are several ways to fix this. What I don't know is how...
There are several ROMs who support different kinds of app2sd scripts so you get more 'virtual' internal storage on the sd card.
As you can see on the pictures attached i have approx. 550 mb free internal storage but more than 40 apps that could be pushed to sd.
To get this it is necessary to re-partition your sd-card and install the correct scripts.
Unfortunately, as i said, i'm not able to tell you exactly how to get this work. I just followed a step-by-step guide somwhere in this forum.
The ROM i use, uses D2SD automatically, if the SD-card is partitioned the right way.
I'm sure you will find something that fits to the ROM you use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used the app2sd and notenoughspace programs in the past, but it seems they have done more harm than good. Apps would stop working. They would disappear completely. The system would crash, etc. I kinda gave up hope on using those approaches.
I was hoping the Google Android team would wake up and just fix this instead of us paying users have to perform work-arounds just to use our devices.
ned4spd8874 said:
I've used the app2sd and notenoughspace programs in the past, but it seems they have done more harm than good. Apps would stop working. They would disappear completely. The system would crash, etc. I kinda gave up hope on using those approaches.
I was hoping the Google Android team would wake up and just fix this instead of us paying users have to perform work-arounds just to use our devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you are pretty unlucky. I never had problems with this stuff. All works just fine as it should.
But, of course you are right, i can't understand why they don't give us a GB or so as internal storage either.
Damn scrooges.
ned4spd8874 said:
I've used the app2sd and notenoughspace programs in the past, but it seems they have done more harm than good. Apps would stop working. They would disappear completely. The system would crash, etc. I kinda gave up hope on using those approaches.
I was hoping the Google Android team would wake up and just fix this instead of us paying users have to perform work-arounds just to use our devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using a cleaner ROM for your DInc (ie "stock Android"- no Sense UI). I just got a DInc yesterday, switching from an Aria. Did a factory wipe, rooted, and installed the CM7 nightly 100. I believe I currently have s2e on my 8gb MicroSD (just swapped it from my Aria, which had s2e and CM7). Anyway, I have 118MB used, 630MB free internal storage space for apps. This clearly isn't a Google/Android problem. Could be an HTC Sense problem, I suppose.
edit: My Aria even has 185MB available for apps. Not a huge amount, but considering it has a lot less internal space than a DInc, yeah, OP something is wrong.

Linux/Android OS newbie question

I'd like to search this forum for help, but am uneducated enough on the internals of the android OS that I'm not sure what to search for.
i'll ask my question expecting an answer on either (1) how to search for such information in the future, or (2) how to solve the issue.
I installed a 16GB class 10 SD card in my transformer keyboard and would like to edit the appropriate config files so that all future software installs and downloads are on that storage card rather than the internal 16GB memory. So my question is what files do i edit to accomplish this?
thanks...
marvin
You want Apps2SD. Unfortunately, unless something has changed recently, you can't use it on your TF.
www.transformerforums.com/forum/asus-transformer-help/3514-tf-not-letting-me-move-apps-sd-save-things-sd.html#post27629
mncessna said:
I'd like to search this forum for help, but am uneducated enough on the internals of the android OS that I'm not sure what to search for.
i'll ask my question expecting an answer on either (1) how to search for such information in the future, or (2) how to solve the issue.
I installed a 16GB class 10 SD card in my transformer keyboard and would like to edit the appropriate config files so that all future software installs and downloads are on that storage card rather than the internal 16GB memory. So my question is what files do i edit to accomplish this?
thanks...
marvin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd probably try searching for "Move apps to SD" if I was searching for that topic(I know it's hard to figure out the right search terms sometimes, but by posting in Q&A, you've at least posted a fair question in the right place), here's my answer in two parts:
1. I don't think Apps2SD would work with the Dock SD slot.
2. You have the entire 16/32GB internal storage shared between apps and the /sdcard mount. Is that really not enough space?
Also, the internal storage is faster than a Class 10 card, so there will be a performance hit running from SD.
thanks...you've given me food for thought
2. You have the entire 16/32GB internal storage shared between apps and the /sdcard mount. Is that really not enough space?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there's never enough space!! I've always attempted to offload temp files, downloads, and various other files from the same partition as the OS. prevents excessive fragmentation etc. i'm assuming this would still be an issue even with non-spinning storage, maybe it isn't?
Also, the internal storage is faster than a Class 10 card, so there will be a performance hit running from SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now that's an interesting comment. i thought Class 10 was the fastest AND that internal storage on the transformer was the same technology. Hmmm.....more research for me.[/QUOTE]
thanks for the information and advice.
marvin
mncessna said:
there's never enough space!! I've always attempted to offload temp files, downloads, and various other files from the same partition as the OS. prevents excessive fragmentation etc. i'm assuming this would still be an issue even with non-spinning storage, maybe it isn't?
now that's an interesting comment. i thought Class 10 was the fastest AND that internal storage on the transformer was the same technology. Hmmm.....more research for me.
thanks for the information and advice.
marvin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theoretically, fragmentation can slow a flash drive down, but I've never known anybody to notice the difference or to bother with defragmenting regularly on a flash device. Maybe somebody here is into that, but it's just not practical IMHO. Apps2SD is for people who run out of internal space and need MORE room for apps. If you are pushing 12gb (the ballpark usable space on the internal memory of the TF) of apps, you need to get back into the work force. You're better off trying to keep large data files on the removable drive first, even if it means just relocating them every once in a while.
The bottom line is, the way the Transformer treats the built-in memory as an SD card is going to be an issue when trying to use an external card for Apps2SD (which I still haven't heard of anybody succeeding at), but you may be able to set your default download folder to the removable card. If you're dealing with a browser, it would depend on which one. If you're doing your own file transfers, just get a file manager that allows you to set your "home" directory and point it to the /Removable/MicroSD directory.
SilverZero said:
Theoretically, fragmentation can slow a flash drive down, but I've never known anybody to notice the difference or to bother with defragmenting regularly on a flash device. Maybe somebody here is into that, but it's just not practical IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even on hard drive it's most of the time not worth the effort. On SSD just forget about fragmentation.
i thought the reason fragmentation is a performance hit for HDDs is due to the fact it has to spin to get to the rest of the file.
SSD does not need anything like that.
fragmentation causes delays
finalhit said:
i thought the reason fragmentation is a performance hit for HDDs is due to the fact it has to spin to get to the rest of the file.
SSD does not need anything like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a disk read consists of a seek op to place the read head over the correct cylinder, then rotational delay while the correct sector rotates under the head, then a data read, and then a transfer to core memory. when a file is fragmented, this operation is repeated multiple times in order to read the entire file into memory. disk drives are pretty fast these days, but they are still the slowest part of most modern computers. cpus and memory are very fast, but disk drives slow things up, therefore, adding to io delays with fragmented files is a real performance hit.
however, i have no data on how fragmentation affects flash memory...perhaps not at all?!.
thanks to all for inputs.
Here's one perspective on flash fragmentation:
www.wizcode.com/articles/comments/flash_memory_fragmentation_myths_and_facts/

Rooted phone: requesting info re: ext partition size, type of ext, and others

Hi:
I am a newbie, but I've learned a lot about things using this site and others. Thank you!
I have a rooted LG Volt, which of course has the odious KitKat restrictions on putting apps on SD cards. I've read about mini-tools and have Link2SD (premium, so I can link everything to the SD), but haven't tried it out yet because I wanted to ask some questions first. For reference, I have a 16g (class?) 10 SD card, which I've verified is legit using an app (forgot name).
1) Is there a maximum size for the second (ext) partition? I've read 2g, but other sites have said that there are now no restrictions. 2g is quite small for me since the Volt has very little internal memory, and I download a ton of apps; I don't use as much data. Ideally, I'd like to go half and half (approx. 8/8g data/app partition).
2) If it is limited to 2g, is there any workaround that doesn't require a ton of knowledge? I read something about changing system apps to user apps, but would this work--and is there a noob-friendly walk through?
3) Is there a preferred ext partition type? Again, I've read varied opinions; most say that ext2 is optimal, but others say ext4 might work better with Link2SD.
4) Is there any advantage to using a swap file? Again, varied opinions, but it seems mostly beneficial in terms of speed, and not to a degree that it matters.
I have other questions regarding partition alignment (found a calculator, so I think I can figure out how to optimize the partitions) and will probably have more in the future, but I would really love answers (or else links to answers) about these issues.
Thanks in advance!
anoukaimee said:
Hi:
I am a newbie, but I've learned a lot about things using this site and others. Thank you!
I have a rooted LG Volt, which of course has the odious KitKat restrictions on putting apps on SD cards. I've read about mini-tools and have Link2SD (premium, so I can link everything to the SD), but haven't tried it out yet because I wanted to ask some questions first. For reference, I have a 16g (class?) 10 SD card, which I've verified is legit using an app (forgot name).
1) Is there a maximum size for the second (ext) partition? I've read 2g, but other sites have said that there are now no restrictions. 2g is quite small for me since the Volt has very little internal memory, and I download a ton of apps; I don't use as much data. Ideally, I'd like to go half and half (approx. 8/8g data/app partition).
2) If it is limited to 2g, is there any workaround that doesn't require a ton of knowledge? I read something about changing system apps to user apps, but would this work--and is there a noob-friendly walk through?
3) Is there a preferred ext partition type? Again, I've read varied opinions; most say that ext2 is optimal, but others say ext4 might work better with Link2SD.
4) Is there any advantage to using a swap file? Again, varied opinions, but it seems mostly beneficial in terms of speed, and not to a degree that it matters.
I have other questions regarding partition alignment (found a calculator, so I think I can figure out how to optimize the partitions) and will probably have more in the future, but I would really love answers (or else links to answers) about these issues.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, you haven't told us what are you trying to do. If you are just trying to get a few questions anwsered just say so.
From what I see you are trying to use Link2SD because of the kitkat sd card restriction?
Note: Apps can't detect if an SD card is fake. It will just test how fast it is and guess if it's fast engough for it's class
You can remove the KitKat SD restriction with this app: SDFix
1) Yes, there is a restriction but it depends on how it's formated: on ext2 and 3 the limit is 35184 GB on a single partition and ext4 has a max limit of 1152921500 GB.
2) It's not limited to 2GB. Changing system apps to user and user to system is useless and should not be done if you don't know what exactly and why you are doing it. Don't let root fool you. Deleting system apps will NOT give you more free space for all the games.
3) Depends on support. If your phone supports ext4 (and it does) use that if not use lower such as ext3 then 2 and so on.
4) Look at this as a glass and some water. Water is memory to be put in ram and the glass is the ram your phone has.
The more water you put in it, the less space there is. And when it's full it will overflow, and your phone will freeze or reboot.
What swap does is when the water overflows in the glass (the ram gets full), the water (memory) that overflows goes to a swap file instead of it just getting lost and the phone getting frozen.
But remember, any SD card is MUCH SLOWER that RAM and using swap will not give any preformacne improvments.
The swap sould be factory set anyways and it also uses a lot of storage.
You REALLY shouldn't mess with the partitions.
You could break your phone forever.
What I recommend using is FolderMount and GL2SD. FolderMount is exactly like Link2SD, but you don't need to do any fancy partitioning. And GL2SD works great too, the only downside is that you have to run the apps (you moved to SD) from within the app.
Thank you!
Wonderful, clear answers! Yes, just trying to figure out "what to do" so I can add more apps to the Volt in the easiest manner possible. Apologize for not being clearer about that.
Just some follow-up questions:
1) will the app cited above (nextapp) allow me to move apps to the sd, or just data? Never having had an android other than this one with the dread KitKat, I don't know how it typically works after a KitKat fix. So should I format the entire sd card as FAT32 or ext4 (is the latter even possible)? And where will the data that I do have be saved if I don't partition the card? All on the one partition?
2. RE: FolderMount and GL2SD: that sounds great. The one concern that I have is that Link2SD's support (I THINK that's where I found this) said that the problem with putting an app on an sd card versus linking it is that if you take the sd card out, all of the apps will be gone. Is that just incorrect?
Thanks again! Very helpful.

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