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Question Noobe

I would like to know exactly what these do before i do them. sorry guys im a noobe..
Build:RA-magic-v1.2.3G
- wipe sd:ext partition
- Wipe SD:dalink-cache
- part sd:fat32+ext2+swap
- part sdnly fat32
- repair ext filesystem
- convert ext2 to ext3
- fix apk uid mismatches
- fix rotate
- USB Mass storage on
- USB Mass Storage off
Also how do you flash this recovery img from the Recover Flasher App, VS using CMD & fastboot.

jdubdieslo said:
I would like to know exactly what these do before i do them. sorry guys im a noobe..
Build:RA-magic-v1.2.3G
- wipe sd:ext partition
- Wipe SD:dalink-cache
- part sd:fat32+ext2+swap
- part sdnly fat32
- repair ext filesystem
- convert ext2 to ext3
- fix apk uid mismatches
- fix rotate
- USB Mass storage on
- USB Mass Storage off
Also how do you flash this recovery img from the Recover Flasher App, VS using CMD & fastboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wipe sd: ext partition- deletes your apps on your ext partiton
wipe sd: davlik-cache wipes your cache on your sd
part sd: fat32+ext2+swap makes the three partitions you need to run hero roms
parted sd: fat32 only- just partitions your memory card for a fat32 for stock roms like cyanogen
convert ext2 to ext3- does exactly what it says. makes ext2 to ext3
repair ext filesystem- do this after you choose to convert ext2 to ext3
fix apk uid mismatches- does exactly what it says
fix rotate- fixes auto rotate issues some roms have
usb mass storage on- allows you to access your fat32 part of your sd from the recovery
usb mass storage off- turns off the mounting of your sd from the recovery
to flash it using the recovery flasher app, just look at the unlockr's video and substitute the recovery image name for the one that is in the video. Voila.
Hope this helps

Applause...
Getting a straight answer sometimes is the most difficult part of installing a rom.

thelastgoodbrother said:
Applause...
Getting a straight answer sometimes is the most difficult part of installing a rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol thats very true but come on if you can't do the research to figure out the basic youll be posting another thread the next day but this time it'll be called "stuck on the g1 screen" lol sometimes not giving a straight answer may save their phone... but thats just my opinion

So use part sd: fat32+ext2+swap when useing hero rom... what if i use hero rom & go back to cyanogen can i leave it that way or do i need to parted sd: fat32 only? also if i did part sd: fat32+ext2+swap And then did part sdnly fat32 would it override the part sd: fat32+ext2+swap. another question i dont even know what ext 2 is so moving it to ext 3 would be? sorry guys im new at this.. just wanted to clarify this. is fat32 letting me store apps to sd? because i removed the sd card while phone was on & notices it froze; i put it back in removed & rrplaced battery and it was fine again.. also i noticed i part sd: fat32+ext2+swap again before i read your replies to see what it would do and everything on my sd card was goin..
also what is swap i saw an app that saved a swap file on sd..
thanks everyone for you help. loving the android community. as soon as i get some extra cash i will be donating to people that helped me make my android stand out from any one's android on my end of the computer. thanks

jdubdieslo said:
So use part sd: fat32+ext2+swap when useing hero rom... what if i use hero rom & go back to cyanogen can i leave it that way or do i need to parted sd: fat32 only? also if i did part sd: fat32+ext2+swap And then did part sdnly fat32 would it override the part sd: fat32+ext2+swap. another question i dont even know what ext 2 is so moving it to ext 3 would be? sorry guys im new at this.. just wanted to clarify this. is fat32 letting me store apps to sd? because i removed the sd card while phone was on & notices it froze; i put it back in removed & rrplaced battery and it was fine again.. also i noticed i part sd: fat32+ext2+swap again before i read your replies to see what it would do and everything on my sd card was goin..
also what is swap i saw an app that saved a swap file on sd..
thanks everyone for you help. loving the android community. as soon as i get some extra cash i will be donating to people that helped me make my android stand out from any one's android on my end of the computer. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are running a hero rom and want to go to cyanogen, you can leave the fat32+ext2+swap. Just make sure that you wipe your sd partition and davlik cache using the options in the recovery image. Do this every time you are flashing any new rom for that matter, whether it's a different hero rom or a stock rom.
Ext is the partition of your memory card that stores all your apps. This was necessary for the g1 because it only had like 80 mb of memory for apps. The mytouch has nearly 300 so apps2sd is not really necessary, but most custom ROMs include this anyway. Ext3 is what most of these ROMs operate on. Ext2 is an old outdated version that no one really uses anymore and ext4 is even newer than ext3 but is not really necessary.
Fat32 only does not let you store your apps on your sd. It does not have the ext partition to let that happen. I don't know why your phone froze when you took your sd card out. It shouldn't have. When you part your memory card, whether its just fat32 or the combo fat, ext, and swap your memory card gets wiped and formatted to whatever you have, so of course you will lose all your contents on the memory card. It wipes and reformats all 3 partitons, or just the one if you are doing only the fat32.
As for swap, this is necessary for hero. Hero phones have 288 mb of ram and the mytouch only has 192mb so if you don't have this, the phone lags so bad and hangs up and you get constant load screens. The app you saw is known as swapper. Yes it does put a swap file on your sd card, but if you go into advanced settings, it lets you use your swap partition of your memory card, which is what you should always choose.
Keep them questions rolling, I like being able to contribute whenever I can.

tazz9690 said:
If you are running a hero rom and want to go to cyanogen, you can leave the fat32+ext2+swap. Just make sure that you wipe your sd partition and davlik cache using the options in the recovery image. Do this every time you are flashing any new rom for that matter, whether it's a different hero rom or a stock rom.
Ext is the partition of your memory card that stores all your apps. This was necessary for the g1 because it only had like 80 mb of memory for apps. The mytouch has nearly 300 so apps2sd is not really necessary, but most custom ROMs include this anyway. Ext3 is what most of these ROMs operate on. Ext2 is an old outdated version that no one really uses anymore and ext4 is even newer than ext3 but is not really necessary.
Fat32 only does not let you store your apps on your sd. It does not have the ext partition to let that happen. I don't know why your phone froze when you took your sd card out. It shouldn't have. When you part your memory card, whether its just fat32 or the combo fat, ext, and swap your memory card gets wiped and formatted to whatever you have, so of course you will lose all your contents on the memory card. It wipes and reformats all 3 partitons, or just the one if you are doing only the fat32.
As for swap, this is necessary for hero. Hero phones have 288 mb of ram and the mytouch only has 192mb so if you don't have this, the phone lags so bad and hangs up and you get constant load screens. The app you saw is known as swapper. Yes it does put a swap file on your sd card, but if you go into advanced settings, it lets you use your swap partition of your memory card, which is what you should always choose.
Keep them questions rolling, I like being able to contribute whenever I can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ao since ext 2 is outdate we want to convert ext 2 to ext 3 then repair ext filesystemafter words.. so if you convert ext 2 to ext 3 is there only a ext 3 now or both ext 2 and it adds a ext 3? also what does dalvik mean? also i thought apps to sd was a big deal because if you switch roms all your apps are still there, but if you wipe ext partition then you lose the apps so the real reason is just for phone with low ram and cant store many apps at once.. intresting..and wats up with not wipe data/factory reset after installing roms? whats the reason behind that, i notice my IME keyboard is no longer there when i do that.. im trying to think of more questions lol. thanks a million.

jdubdieslo said:
ao since ext 2 is outdate we want to convert ext 2 to ext 3 then repair ext filesystemafter words.. so if you convert ext 2 to ext 3 is there only a ext 3 now or both ext 2 and it adds a ext 3? also what does dalvik mean? also i thought apps to sd was a big deal because if you switch roms all your apps are still there, but if you wipe ext partition then you lose the apps so the real reason is just for phone with low ram and cant store many apps at once.. intresting..and wats up with not wipe data/factory reset after installing roms? whats the reason behind that, i notice my IME keyboard is no longer there when i do that.. im trying to think of more questions lol. thanks a million.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you convert ext2 to ext3, there will only be ext3. It converts it from ext2, it does not make an additional partition. Davlik cache, if I am not mistaken is all your cache from your browser to google maps gets saved to your sd card as well instead of your phone memory. The apps2sd was originally for the fact that you keep your apps, but when flashing hero roms, it did not work for some reason and it resulted in boot loops. So that's why they say always format your ext if flashing from a different rom. For stock roms, I don't believe this would be an issue so you probably could go on without wiping your sd as long as you are moving from a stock rom to another stock. It will not work if you go from stock to hero, and vice versa. Wipe data/factory reset clears all the settings from your phone so you do not have any lingering settings stored on the phone from an old rom when you flash a different one. The only time that you do not need to do this is if you are flashing a newer version of the same rom. The IME is probably still there, it just got unchecked from the input method. Go to locale and text and recheck the "input" box and it should work again.

yeah it is safest way to wipe and reformat the sd card before flashing a new rom.
tazz9690 said:
if you convert ext2 to ext3, there will only be ext3. It converts it from ext2, it does not make an additional partition. Davlik cache, if I am not mistaken is all your cache from your browser to google maps gets saved to your sd card as well instead of your phone memory. The apps2sd was originally for the fact that you keep your apps, but when flashing hero roms, it did not work for some reason and it resulted in boot loops. So that's why they say always format your ext if flashing from a different rom. For stock roms, I don't believe this would be an issue so you probably could go on without wiping your sd as long as you are moving from a stock rom to another stock. It will not work if you go from stock to hero, and vice versa. Wipe data/factory reset clears all the settings from your phone so you do not have any lingering settings stored on the phone from an old rom when you flash a different one. The only time that you do not need to do this is if you are flashing a newer version of the same rom. The IME is probably still there, it just got unchecked from the input method. Go to locale and text and recheck the "input" box and it should work again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Previously I got a 2GB micro-sd card. so no problem for me to move my music, photos, videos and backup apps to my pc.
But i just bought a 8GB card 2 weeks ago and man, backup all before flashing a rom is pain in the a** . but can't help flashing this and that ROMs hee hee
so no choice. yesterday I flashed Eugene's supermagic rom. awesome!
cheers

tazz9690 said:
if you convert ext2 to ext3, there will only be ext3. It converts it from ext2, it does not make an additional partition. Davlik cache, if I am not mistaken is all your cache from your browser to google maps gets saved to your sd card as well instead of your phone memory. The apps2sd was originally for the fact that you keep your apps, but when flashing hero roms, it did not work for some reason and it resulted in boot loops. So that's why they say always format your ext if flashing from a different rom. For stock roms, I don't believe this would be an issue so you probably could go on without wiping your sd as long as you are moving from a stock rom to another stock. It will not work if you go from stock to hero, and vice versa. Wipe data/factory reset clears all the settings from your phone so you do not have any lingering settings stored on the phone from an old rom when you flash a different one. The only time that you do not need to do this is if you are flashing a newer version of the same rom. The IME is probably still there, it just got unchecked from the input method. Go to locale and text and recheck the "input" box and it should work again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so when going to another rom should you part the sd before or after the rom is loaded? and honestly im running out of questions.. i got one that is throwing me off.. i have my phone in fastboot and in device manager it show andriod bootloader (cant remember the exact device); i type in the cmd
cd desktop
cd fastboot
then the code for the custom splash and i get
< waiting for device > and it just sits there. nothing will happen. & my splash is still stock.. the file is at the rights bytes and i have the folder on my cd on the desktop and the driver i beleive is installed correctly on the cp. what am i doing wrong?

I think the Title should be Changed, Something Like Recovery-101. Know Your Phone.
Alot of great Info for New comers

jdubdieslo said:
so when going to another rom should you part the sd before or after the rom is loaded? and honestly im running out of questions.. i got one that is throwing me off.. i have my phone in fastboot and in device manager it show andriod bootloader (cant remember the exact device); i type in the cmd
cd desktop
cd fastboot
then the code for the custom splash and i get
< waiting for device > and it just sits there. nothing will happen. & my splash is still stock.. the file is at the rights bytes and i have the folder on my cd on the desktop and the driver i beleive is installed correctly on the cp. what am i doing wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Part the sd before you load the rom onto the phone. if it has apps2sd and you try to part your memory card after, you will get stuck at the splash more than likely because you are missing key components that are stored onto the sd, like all your apps for example that come with the ROM.
In fastboot, when it's plugged in, on the phone does it say "Fastboot USB"?
You might want to try to reupload the drivers for the fastboot. That may be why it's hanging. I never use fastboot through the desktop. I always use fastboot through the SDK folder on my C:\ drive. It always worked for me that way. For some reason I could never get it to work with the "cd destop" but thats just me.

tazz9690 said:
Part the sd before you load the rom onto the phone. if it has apps2sd and you try to part your memory card after, you will get stuck at the splash more than likely because you are missing key components that are stored onto the sd, like all your apps for example that come with the ROM.
In fastboot, when it's plugged in, on the phone does it say "Fastboot USB"?
You might want to try to reupload the drivers for the fastboot. That may be why it's hanging. I never use fastboot through the desktop. I always use fastboot through the SDK folder on my C:\ drive. It always worked for me that way. For some reason I could never get it to work with the "cd destop" but thats just me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i figured taht was the right order part sd then load rom because i did it and it worked lol, and since it worked i never tried it rom the part sd. so do cyanogen roms have app2sd? and does the cyanogen rom have a overclocker built in now because i tried to use my overclock widget and it doesnt work and the phone seems as if its running faster even with out my widget..
and yes it says fastboot usb & ive tried uninstalling & reinstall the drivers mutliple times and still get < waiting for device > so if i do it on the c:/ drive were do i place the fastboot folder? /c:/fastboot? and what would the code be?
cd c:/
cd Fastboot
thent he other code that i have saved at home the flash_splash one? i cant remember it.
one really dumb question. i rooted my pops mytouch lol because he was complaining about the mytouch stock because of numerous things. so i rooted it to 4.2.2 and out of all things he is now complaining about the stock ringtones.. lol. anyone know where to get the stock ringtones? if not its cool i told him id make sum ringers with ringdroid for him like the temptations and willie nelson lol.. thanks all for your support.

jdubdieslo said:
i figured taht was the right order part sd then load rom because i did it and it worked lol, and since it worked i never tried it rom the part sd. so do cyanogen roms have app2sd? and does the cyanogen rom have a overclocker built in now because i tried to use my overclock widget and it doesnt work and the phone seems as if its running faster even with out my widget..
and yes it says fastboot usb & ive tried uninstalling & reinstall the drivers mutliple times and still get < waiting for device > so if i do it on the c:/ drive were do i place the fastboot folder? /c:/fastboot? and what would the code be?
cd c:/
cd Fastboot
thent he other code that i have saved at home the flash_splash one? i cant remember it.
one really dumb question. i rooted my pops mytouch lol because he was complaining about the mytouch stock because of numerous things. so i rooted it to 4.2.2 and out of all things he is now complaining about the stock ringtones.. lol. anyone know where to get the stock ringtones? if not its cool i told him id make sum ringers with ringdroid for him like the temptations and willie nelson lol.. thanks all for your support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cyanogen's rom has dynamic apps2sd. If it senses that you have a partition, it will do apps2sd. If you don't have an ext, it will save it to the phone, so it will work that way too.
For the fastboot, do you even have your computer set up for the use of ADB and fastboot? Like having the latest SDK downloaded and set up for your computer? That might be why it says, waiting for devices. When you do cd fastboot, afterward type fastboot devices and see if in the cmd it says "HTC Bootloader" or "Android Bootloader" I am not sure which one it is.
As for the ringtones, here is the link for the download in Cyanogen's 4.2.2 threat http://n0rp.chemlab.org/android/audio-resources.zip That downloads a zip of all the stock ringtones. Just upzip the file and place it on the root of your sd card.

tazz9690 said:
Cyanogen's rom has dynamic apps2sd. If it senses that you have a partition, it will do apps2sd. If you don't have an ext, it will save it to the phone, so it will work that way too.
For the fastboot, do you even have your computer set up for the use of ADB and fastboot? Like having the latest SDK downloaded and set up for your computer? That might be why it says, waiting for devices. When you do cd fastboot, afterward type fastboot devices and see if in the cmd it says "HTC Bootloader" or "Android Bootloader" I am not sure which one it is.
As for the ringtones, here is the link for the download in Cyanogen's 4.2.2 threat http://n0rp.chemlab.org/android/audio-resources.zip That downloads a zip of all the stock ringtones. Just upzip the file and place it on the root of your sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats good to know. so if you ext 2 will cm use ext 2 & if you converted it will it use ext 3? also how can i tell what i have ext 2 or ext 3 other than knowing if i click convert to ext 3? i downloaded the SDK and used the usb folder when the computer was looking for drivers & it says it installed drivers successfully; so now when im in fastboot usb on my phone the computer in device manager shows bootloader (cant remember exactly what it says untill i get home); & when my phone is in recovery the driver shows ADB (cant remember the exact name till i get home also); and then i do the codes because my fastboot & sdk folders are on my desktop; when i downloaded the sdk folder i dont think i did anything with it as far as isntalling it, what does the sdk folder do? lol. sorry..
thanks for the ringtones my pops says mucho gracias.

jdubdieslo said:
thats good to know. so if you ext 2 will cm use ext 2 & if you converted it will it use ext 3? also how can i tell what i have ext 2 or ext 3 other than knowing if i click convert to ext 3? i downloaded the SDK and used the usb folder when the computer was looking for drivers & it says it installed drivers successfully; so now when im in fastboot usb on my phone the computer in device manager shows bootloader (cant remember exactly what it says untill i get home); & when my phone is in recovery the driver shows ADB (cant remember the exact name till i get home also); and then i do the codes because my fastboot & sdk folders are on my desktop; when i downloaded the sdk folder i dont think i did anything with it as far as isntalling it, what does the sdk folder do? lol. sorry..
thanks for the ringtones my pops says mucho gracias.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think any builds use ext2 anymore. They all either use ext3 or ext4. You have to make an ext2 first though, before you can convert it to ext3. Same goes for ext4, you have to have ext3 before you can upconvert to it. Just use ext3 just to be safe. If you go into "Parted" through the recovery image by typing in "parted /dev/block/mmcblk0" in adb shell, then typing 'print' it will show how big your fat32 is, it'll say which ext you have as well as your size, and the same for linux swap.
For a SDK, the folder stores the drivers needed for fastboot and adb in it. You should save it to the root of your C:\ drive because it makes things easier. I recommend you set up SDK using this thread guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=532719
Setting up the Android 1.5r2 SDK
Download the file from above
Unzip to your desktop
Take the "android-sdk-windows-1.5_r2" folder and move it to the root of your hard drive (C:\)
Right click on My Computer and click properties
Select the Advanced Tab or Advanced System Setting (Vista)
Select Environment Variables...
Press New
For Variable Name type: adb
For Variable Value type: C:\android-sdk-windows-1.5_r2\tools
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preparing your phone for ADB
Go to Settings on your phone
Select Applications
Select Development
Make sure 'USB Debugging' is checked
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Installing Drivers
Plug in your phone through USB and DO NOT MOUNT IT!!!!!
Your computer should see a new device and try to install Android 1.0 driver (If it doesnt, scroll down to the "Im not getting a notification of Android ADB when i plug in my USB" section)
Let it load
Once it cant find them select "Install drivers from my pc"
The drivers you need are in the Android SDK 1.5r2 folder (C:\android-sdk-windows-1.5_r2\usb_driver)
Depending on your OS pick x86 or amd64
You ADB Android Device should now be installed! Good Job
Those are basically what you need to look at.

jdubdieslo said:
I would like to know exactly what these do before i do them. sorry guys im a noobe..
Build:RA-magic-v1.2.3G
- wipe sd:ext partition
- Wipe SD:dalink-cache
- part sd:fat32+ext2+swap
- part sdnly fat32
- repair ext filesystem
- convert ext2 to ext3
- fix apk uid mismatches
- fix rotate
- USB Mass storage on
- USB Mass Storage off
Also how do you flash this recovery img from the Recover Flasher App, VS using CMD & fastboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't mean to hijack your thread OP, but I do have a question that I hope someone can answer. When partitioning the SD card, you choose the option I put in Bold. After that, could you use this link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=535914
To adjust the different sizes of the 3 partitions? I know that in order to run any Hero ROMS, your SD card has to be partitioned with at least 3 (fat32+ext2+swap) parts. This is the only part that still confuses me when it comes to adequately rooting.

If you are using ubuntu, you create the partitions you want, as well as the size. If you use the recovery image, you would just be adding an unnecessary step because it will just get deleted when you make your partitions again with Ubuntu.

tazz9690 said:
I don't think any builds use ext2 anymore. They all either use ext3 or ext4. You have to make an ext2 first though, before you can convert it to ext3. Same goes for ext4, you have to have ext3 before you can upconvert to it. Just use ext3 just to be safe. If you go into "Parted" through the recovery image by typing in "parted /dev/block/mmcblk0" in adb shell, then typing 'print' it will show how big your fat32 is, it'll say which ext you have as well as your size, and the same for linux swap.
For a SDK, the folder stores the drivers needed for fastboot and adb in it. You should save it to the root of your C:\ drive because it makes things easier. I recommend you set up SDK using this thread guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=532719
Those are basically what you need to look at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if u have a ext 3 how do u get ext 4? Also wat is linux swap? And yea i didnt do all that im sure thats why i was getting < waiting for device >. I will let u know the outcome of the splash screen... thanx.

jdubdieslo said:
So if u have a ext 3 how do u get ext 4? Also wat is linux swap? And yea i didnt do all that im sure thats why i was getting < waiting for device >. I will let u know the outcome of the splash screen... thanx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want ext3, you have to go into parted like I stated in a previous post and create your partitions that way. From there, to upgrade to ext3, you type "upgrade_fs". You now have ext3. If you want ext 4, after that you would type
"tune2fs -O extents,uninit_bg,dir_index /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
e2fsck -fpDC0 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2"
That's just too much work for me. I am fine with ext3. If you want a more in depth explanation, go to this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=534714&highlight=wipe+partition
Linux swap, I believe I explained in one of my early posts. The mytouch only has 192 mb of ram. The Hero's have 288 and so do the 32A board Sapphire phones like the HTC Magic and the Rogers Magic. Since we were unfortunate to get that low of Ram, if you try to run a hero rom without the linux partition, the phone will lag, freeze, and get load screens constantly. Using a linux swap partition makes it possible to run the Hero ROM's at a decent speed, though it will not be as fast as if you had the actual HTC Hero phone or a 32A Sapphire.

[New Solution] - Faster Virtual Ram !!!!!

Hi,
I'm not a developer but I think my idea is great.
1. Using CACHE partition (50Mb) as virtual ram​
- I see that we are using swap ext partition to increase virtual ram, but access data speed of sdcard is not fast enough (for class2 or class4 sdcard),
- And I see that we have 50Mb free in cache partition which are only used when we use OTA update. But if we use a moded rom, why do we use OTA update ? access data speed of internal memory is really good, why don't we use cache partition as virtual ram ???
2. Runing faster with dalvik-cache on internal memory.​
- As you know, after install an application, we will have apk file in data/app or data/app-private and some odex file in dalvik-cache.
- If we only use app2sd with data/app and data/app-private, our application will run faster.

There was already an idea like that.
You mean using CACHE as swap partition.
At the moment this isn't possible because we would have to format this partitions and recovery wouldnt work then.

maxisma said:
There was already an idea like that.
You mean using CACHE as swap partition.
At the moment this isn't possible because we would have to format this partitions and recovery wouldnt work then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are the partitions formatted as now?

ivanmmj said:
What are the partitions formatted as now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YAFFS2
Swapfiles aren't compatible with it.
Only 1 solution:
Create a loop-ext-file and loop mount it, put a swapfile on it and you're set.
But thats slow.

The partition wouldn't have to be formatted, you can use zeroed images for swap space, I've done it in Solaris before and I'm sure some of the memory techniques for Android have implemented this before, don't quote me!

maxisma said:
There was already an idea like that.
You mean using CACHE as swap partition.
At the moment this isn't possible because we would have to format this partitions and recovery wouldnt work then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it not possible to use something like a swap file on the cache partition? I'm not familiar enough with the workings of Android, but I know that swap files are supported in Linux and I've seen it mentioned for Android, so is there any reason this wouldn't work? It would be an amazing improvement. I see you answered while I was typing this post, thanks.
I do wish people would stop putting their ideas as [new solution] and stuff and just put it forward as an [idea] or [concept] until there's a working implementation.

maxisma said:
YAFFS2
Swapfiles aren't compatible with it.
Only 1 solution:
Create a loop-ext-file and loop mount it, put a swapfile on it and you're set.
But thats slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would the loop mounting be slow to create or slow for performance? I wouldn't mind a bit more boot time if it meant onboard swap, but obviously if it's a slowdown vs SD or none at all, it's probably not worth it.

How would u format a folder like that??? We could elimate the recovery and instead of useing it for 50 mb swap. Let's use it on the system folder. And then we could than drag eclair in our phones but then we would have to be stuck have just one rom. We could also ask rom devs to make us img instead of .zip roms so we could just flash the images

What about Nandroid etc?
This is a must-have.
Also I think the formation of the partition would be overwritten with every reboot..
But idk.
Won't try it out.

there's an issue for using /cache as swap or compcache like maxisma said.. recovery uses a small portion of /cache to write it's files to temporarily so this wouldn't be an easy work around. this idea was already started a long time ago by shafty and well, it never turned out.

maxisma said:
YAFFS2
Swapfiles aren't compatible with it.
Only 1 solution:
Create a loop-ext-file and loop mount it, put a swapfile on it and you're set.
But thats slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need a swap partition, neither real nor looped
Code:
# dd if=/dev/zero of=/cache/swapfile bs=1M count=XX
# mkswap /cache/swapfile
# swapon /cache/swapfile
Ooops, forget about it: swapon (as a busybox internal) can't do that on my CM. It does work on my machines :/

But remember guys we also have the spl as backup. We could make the nandro-backup into a .nbh file to flash but it takes a longer time to do it. We could make an app or script that does it for as. I tried to customize the init.rc, build.prop, and fstab but it changes everytime - reboot. What should I do? These files were rewriten when I rebooted. If you guys want to talk this over with me and some of my friends on gtalk, I'll create a group for us to talk more in depth. My email address is [email protected].

jroid said:
there's an issue for using /cache as swap or compcache like maxisma said.. recovery uses a small portion of /cache to write it's files to temporarily so this wouldn't be an easy work around. this idea was already started a long time ago by shafty and well, it never turned out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How much code do we have for recovery? I know there are modified recovery images, I have used Cyano and RA. It seems like it would be possible to create a small ramdisk or loop mount for recovery to use and recover this RAM for use by our applications. Or a mod to the init script to format that device properly for recovery when it boots and run mkswap on it when we boot to normal mode. I'm not real familiar with Android at this level, so perhaps I'm way off base here.

Do you know how to put a custom init.rc on to the g1? When I reboot it is gone and goes back to the orginal init.rc

mohsinkhan47 said:
Do you know how to put a custom init.rc on to the g1? When I reboot it is gone and goes back to the orginal init.rc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to change the one in the initial ram disk.
1) unpack boot.img
2) change initrc
3) repack boot.img
4) flash

farmatito said:
You have to change the one in the initial ram disk.
1) unpack boot.img
2) change initrc
3) repack boot.img
4) flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that but got " broken image file ". What do I do now?

If the 50MB on the cache partition is never used, would it be possible to re-map it to /system? Probably something akin to what the "Death" SPL did.

That is what I said but then I guess you would have to reformat the phone to accept a different amount of info in this case megabytes. We would have to reformat the system folder to hold more info on it.

rgawenda said:
You don't need a swap partition, neither real nor looped
Code:
# dd if=/dev/zero of=/cache/swapfile bs=1M count=XX
# mkswap /cache/swapfile
# swapon /cache/swapfile
Ooops, forget about it: swapon (as a busybox internal) can't do that on my CM. It does work on my machines :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YAFFS2 doesn't support swapfiles.
Thats why would need a loop mounted ext-image.

Placing a swap file/partition in internal memory is risky business. Flash memory has a limited number of write cycles, and swap does many writes per second. Whereas an SD card can be replaced if worn out, internal memory cannot, so the phone becomes a brick if the flash memory is damaged by swapping.

[Q] link2sd vs built in

Ok in FB's kernel thread I asked is link2sd could be creating reboots when linking a app during a automatic update. FB asked why I was using link2sd.
So after some discussion Im confused. And not wanting to clutter his thread anymore Im creating this one.
My understanding is link2sd uses your current ext partition and puts apps in the sxt partition then symbolic links the app to the original location. That way you gain that much space on your internal.
FB says the built in apps2sd of android does that already. But I was told all it does is move the app from the internal to external (sdcard). This is possible even without a ext partition, I know because several people with the Optimus V do not use link2sd or anything like it. They just use the built in app mover.
When I had my Optimus V I used this data2ext but I do not think it would work for our phone since its written for CM7. WIth that my interal memory showed up as however much my ext partition was minus the apps. What it did is trick the OS into thinking the ext partition was really the internal storage.
My question is am I right in how link2sd works or am I misunderstanding?
Is there a version of the data2ext that works on the SGS4G roms we have and I just cant find it?

Here's some reading for you:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=919326
bakpinar said:
How it works:
Link2SD mounts the second partition of your SD card as /data/sdext2 and makes OS mounts it at boot time.
When you select an application and press "Create Link" button you can select which files of the application will be linked and moved to SD card. Apk, dex and lib files can be moved and you can select all three or any two of three or even only one of them.
Depending on what you select, Link2SD moves apk file, dalvik-cache (.dex) file and lib files (.so) to SD card's second partition and creates symbolic links in original directories.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
apps2sd does NOT require repartitioning your sdcard and it's an Android 2.2+ feature.
links2sd requires your sdcard to have at least 2 partitions + formatting your sdcard, and is a 3rd party application.

Ok I understand that. Don't we need a ext partition anyway? IM trying to wrap my head around this but I'm still confused how the built in moves the app to the ext partition.
I'll read more of that thread tomorrow stupid ISP OS doing maintenance and my net is crapping out.
Vroom Vroom

First of all, what do you mean by "ext partition"?

FBis251 said:
First of all, what do you mean by "ext partition"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think what eollie is looking for is what we had on Froyo. Remember dsexton's ext4 guide? We could create a second (ext4) partition on our EXTERNAL Sdcard and use Link2sd to move apps there..
On Froyo I had a second 1.5 GB ext4 partition on my EXTERNAL sdcard and used Link2sd app to move my apps to that partition. It worked Great and I miss having it on Gingerbread. I could not get dsexton's guide to work on Gingerbread at all. It caused me all kinds of problems. Even soft bricks..
Sorry if I'm wrong eollie.

On my old Milestone xt720 I used link2sd primarily before 2.2 was available for the phone. It involved setting up an ext4 partition as well as a linuxswap partition.
At this point ... seeing as we have gingerbread which already moves most apps to sd card ... the only advantage I can really see is that when you use links2sd you can move absolutely any app to sdcard (keyboards, alarm clock, ect) that would not normally be moved.
Now one thing to be cautious about when using links2sd is some apps will not work properly when on the sd card. This is especially true with apps that have widgets. For example - if you move your digital clock to sd card the clock widget will not display.
I don't know if this will be helpful but I just thought I would offer my input.

Jerry D said:
I think what eollie is looking for is what we had on Froyo. Remember dsexton's ext4 guide? We could create a second (ext4) partition on our EXTERNAL Sdcard and use Link2sd to move apps there..
Sorry if I'm wrong eollie.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct.
The link I posted is what I used on my Optimus V. It tricked the phone into thinking that partition was the internal memory.
Like jiggleynuts (that name kills me) said you have to be careful with what apps you put on the sdcard. I was using that but when I update apps it would move them to the sdcard if they could be. And my apps that have widgets I use were breaking cause of it.
Again if we can use something like the data2ext I linked to then I would scrap link2sd faster than you could blink. I hate having to use a app when there is a alternative like the data2ext stuff.
Am I wrong in thinking the ext support we have is the same as what the op in the thread I linked is talking about?

eollie said:
Ok in FB's kernel thread I asked is link2sd could be creating reboots when linking a app during a automatic update. FB asked why I was using link2sd.
So after some discussion Im confused. And not wanting to clutter his thread anymore Im creating this one.
My understanding is link2sd uses your current ext partition and puts apps in the sxt partition then symbolic links the app to the original location. That way you gain that much space on your internal.
FB says the built in apps2sd of android does that already. But I was told all it does is move the app from the internal to external (sdcard). This is possible even without a ext partition, I know because several people with the Optimus V do not use link2sd or anything like it. They just use the built in app mover.
When I had my Optimus V I used this data2ext but I do not think it would work for our phone since its written for CM7. WIth that my interal memory showed up as however much my ext partition was minus the apps. What it did is trick the OS into thinking the ext partition was really the internal storage.
My question is am I right in how link2sd works or am I misunderstanding?
Is there a version of the data2ext that works on the SGS4G roms we have and I just cant find it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eollie -
did you ever get the data2ext mod working for the t959v?
i remember you from the optimus v forums last year.
correct me if i'm wrong but we used the data2ext mod with bumblebee and harmonia? i'm considering trying that data2ext v7 mod on this device. i'm actually really surprised that mod isn't being used with this device like it was with the O-V. Both have limited internal memory. maybe i've not learned enough about this device and it isn't capable of utilizing the mod. i'm kinda curious why darktremors app2sd mod isn't used either. its an easy option in the kitchen. either way i'm curious what you've found out or experienced with these mods. i do know link2sd works with this device, so i'm assuming data2ext and darktremor app2sd would too.

I replied to your pm. But Ill answer here too, I never found a conclusive answer. So I just move apps using the built in android app2sd function. If there happens to be a app that needs images loaded at boot like launcher themes or the such I just move it to internal memory.

ok cool. i may try it. i dunno.
thanks for your response.

[Q] SD-EXT on SGS4G with CM9?

I'm currently running bhundven's herring CM9 with no kernel modifications and CWM 6. I find that the internal storage for this phone is very low and only holds a small amount of applications, especially since many apps seem to not want to install at all (about 3/4 of the time I try to install things, I get either "Package invalid" or "Insufficient space available", which is extremely annoying and might be a separate problem).
Is there any way that I can get sd-ext to work on this phone with this setup? I'd rather not switch kernels (I'd love to get TWRP recovery but the flashable doesn't work for me and I don't want to switch kernels).

cpkelley94 said:
I'm currently running bhundven's herring CM9 with no kernel modifications and CWM 6. I find that the internal storage for this phone is very low and only holds a small amount of applications, especially since many apps seem to not want to install at all (about 3/4 of the time I try to install things, I get either "Package invalid" or "Insufficient space available", which is extremely annoying and might be a separate problem).
Is there any way that I can get sd-ext to work on this phone with this setup? I'd rather not switch kernels (I'd love to get TWRP recovery but the flashable doesn't work for me and I don't want to switch kernels).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't used it but this app should do the trick.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.codlab.int2ext
Let me know if it works.

I prefer Mounts2SD, which lets you completely configure things. I was running PACman with cache and dalvik offloaded which worked quite well. And free is a good price.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spazedog.mounts2sd

That seems like it just switches the internal and external storage, not making an ext partition on the SD card. But can things like this really be done through an app? I thought these things had to be done through init.d or build.prop scripts.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app

The app creates an init file. Or so it appears. Like I said I don't use it. It seems that raze does and I'd defer to him here. Either his app or the one I linked should work fine.

Thanks (given) to both of you. And any ideas on what else might be causing the invalid packages when downloading from the play store? It happens even though I have much more free app space than I would need (eg. I had 119 MB of free space and a 30 MB app download failed).
EDIT: Just tried using Mounts2SD, but it couldn't find the sd-ext partition. Do I need to create that manually, and how?
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app

Titanium backup had a feature to integrate app updates into the Rom.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using xda app-developers app

Another way is to create ext4 partition (about 1G is usually enough) on you SD card with free MiniTool Partition Wizard and then use Link2SD to link apps/dalvik to this partition. I've been using it like this for a long time and it works fine. There are plenty of guides on the Web how to do that.

I used CWM or TWRP to create the sd-ext partition. You need to create that first somehow... if MiniTool Partition Wizard will do it without wiping the sdcard, that's better than recovery though.
My method was boot to recovery, mount sdcard, copy everything to computer HD, unmount sdcard, partition sdcard with 2 GB sd-ext (because I wanted lots of space, but I'd probably cut it down to 1 GB next time), mount sdcard, copy everything back from computer HD, unmount sdcard, reboot to system. Then launch Mounts2SD, pick what format you want the sd-ext in (FAT or ext2 are the fastest, but you can take ext3 or ext4 if you're not going to just disable the safety features) and what stuff you want moved over.
Edit: Just found this link, which I haven't used but which explains how to do the sd-ext with MiniTool... apparently MiniTool DOES still wipe the partitions though, so you may as well just use CWM/TWRP and make your life easier.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wik...#using_MiniTool_Partition_Wizard_Home_Edition

Theraze said:
I used CWM or TWRP to create the sd-ext partition. You need to create that first somehow... if MiniTool Partition Wizard will do it without wiping the sdcard, that's better than recovery though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MiniTool will wipe the sd card to create the new partition as well. I wish there was a way to do it without wiping the card but there is not. So back that stuff up first.

Madein Cyberspace said:
MiniTool will wipe the sd card to create the new partition as well. I wish there was a way to do it without wiping the card but there is not. So back that stuff up first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used GParted to partition my SD card. NO WIPING. Move, resize, add partitions.

nevkuril said:
Another way is to create ext4 partition (about 1G is usually enough) on you SD card with free MiniTool Partition Wizard and then use Link2SD to link apps/dalvik to this partition. I've been using it like this for a long time and it works fine. There are plenty of guides on the Web how to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but our herring kernel does not support EXT4 partition, I tried it myself
and it didn't work. I had to create EXT3 which is supported by almost all kernels.

Eh, my results varied. Worked fine for me with ext4. And worked fine for my wife as well.

Rebel_X said:
Yes, but our herring kernel does not support EXT4 partition, I tried it myself
and it didn't work. I had to create EXT3 which is supported by almost all kernels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP says he's running CM9. That's what I'm running but I use Proton kernel as CM9 kernel has a video bug, and ext4 partition works just fine for me. Strange if Bryan really removed ext4 support, it's just a line in the config file.

Successfully made the partitions last night but my phone won't mount the SD card anymore. Was trying ext3, I'll try ext2 and ext4.
EDIT: Fixed the problem, changed my partition to ext2 and set both partitions to "Primary" (not sure which one did the trick).

cpkelley94 said:
Successfully made the partitions last night but my phone won't mount the SD card anymore. Was trying ext3, I'll try ext2 and ext4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure that you make the first partition Primary/FAT32. This will be your normal SD card. Just take about 1GB of space from it at the end. Then make second partition Primary/ext4 with size to the end of the card. You can try ext2/3 but I don't think it is really necessary.

MiniTool will NOT wipe your partition if you do it right.
dsexton had a guide posted on how to do it.

Is it worth making a swap partition? If I remember correctly it significantly degrades the life of the SD card (and microSD's are delicate as it is), and I don't know if it would significantly increase performance.

cpkelley94 said:
Is it worth making a swap partition? If I remember correctly it significantly degrades the life of the SD card (and microSD's are delicate as it is), and I don't know if it would significantly increase performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also created 128MB swap partition, not supported too and not mounted.
I tried to used swapper2 app from the market, but it says not supported by
kernel. Now I lost that space till I feel motivated to format or repartition the SD
card again.
I am using hefe kernel btw on AOKP milestone 6-5.

No swap.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app

[Q&A] 2 GB External Data -- Hefe Hook Kernel and others

The Hefe Hook kernel allows you to mount a partition of your microSD as /data, getting 2 GB (or more) for your apps and their data.
Please ask your questions here about installation, use, or general approach.

This is great @jeffsf and can u show me how to re-partition the "real internal" storage? I mean expanding the /system since u put the /data out of it. Thanks man
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

daothanhduy1996 said:
This is great @jeffsf can u show me how to re-partition the "real internal" storage? I mean expanding the /system since u put the /data out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you've hit on another of the reasons I've been exploring using the microSD for "live" storage. It's one thing to use potentially slow storage for photos that you basically write once or "app to SD" where you read the APK at boot time, make sure your ODEX in the Davlik cache is good, then generally read from the internal-flash cache. It is another when that memory is being read and written "constantly" when your phone is running.
The good thing is that once /data is not part of the internal flash filesystem, you don't have to worry about one ROM (kernel) thinking it begins at one place and another saying it starts at another. Previously, if one ROM had one /system size and another and a different one, the next partition, /data, would look to be corrupt when you swapped ROMs.
As a warning, not all users have fast microSD cards. Some that say "Class 10" on them really are dogs, especially for small reads/writes. The "Class" ratings are for sustained writes, as you would have with a camera recording video. If your ROM is "external /data" only, or even defaults to that, be prepared for a slew of "Your ROMs sucks. It is so slow." complaints.
You'll also need a way to automate formatting the card. It can be done on the phone, as long as you aren't trying to preserve any data.
As I recall, the layout of the MTD partitions is done in drivers/mtd/onenand/samsung_galaxys4g.h I would be careful not to move the partition boundary for efs, as you'd have to move the data it contains in your updater script. Repeating the warning about not moving the boot and recovery partitions is probably a good idea as well!
Your build tree may need some of these values, or at least think it needs some of these values. For example, device/samsung/aries-common from the CyanogenMod/cm-11.0 (KitKat) branch calls out NAND page sizes, partition sizes, and flash block sizes. I haven't looked in detail at your build tree so I can't comment on how it might handle things differently than the CyanogenMod one.

itzik2sh said:
Hi
I hope I don't ask anything silly, but please let me know if any of my assumptions is wrong :
1. I take FBi's251's AOKP milestone 6 (ICS 4.0.4)
2. 8GB SDCard was formatted to FAT32 (4GB) and EXT3 (4GB) using TWRP kernel
(Beastmode's proton kernel to be exact).
3. I would flash this kernel and it would move apps and their data to the sd-ext
without any special additions.
Thanks. I read the thread, but unfortunately 8GB SD is what i have and I think it should be enough.
Thanks again.
P.S - it's for 2 guys I already sold them my SGS4Gs. I want them to be happy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOKP should be fine. I haven't tried it recently, but it was the tree in which I did the early Hefe Kernel development.
As I understand it, you have a microSD with
partition 1: 4 GB FAT32
partition 2: 4 GB ext3
So that can work, but will need some tweaking of the init-on-fs.sh script. I intentionally didn't use the second partition as so many scripts gobble that up as sd-ext and do who knows what to it.
My first preference would be to reformat the cards, perhaps:
6 GB FAT32
1 MB ext2/3/4 (Yes, 1 MB, a sliver, choice of ext2, ext3, ext4 up to you)
2 GB ext4
since then the script will work without modification and if they install a third-party script that uses the second partition, it won't corrupt their data.
If you were to keep the formatting the way that it is now, you'd need to edit the mount commands in the script to look something like:
Code:
/system/xbin/busybox umount /data
/system/xbin/busybox mount -t ext3 -o noatime /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /data
(removing the sd-ext mount)
I'm not sure what your expectations are, but all that the kernel and that script will do is mount a different disk partition on /data -- you need to manually move the data over (or restore from something like Titanium Backup). There may be some trickery in renaming that could be used with TWRP backups to restore from data.yaffs2.win to the new /data partition, but I haven't tried that at all.

Hi Jeff
Thanks for your quick reply, and sorry again for not seeing the Q&A thread.
I think making it :
partition 1: 4 GB FAT32 (sdcard)
partition 2: 2 GB ext3 (sd-ext)
partition 3: 2 GB ext3 (data)
partition 4: 1 MB (spare)
would be better and handle data as well. don't you think ?
Would it be worth doing with a "Team" micro-SD card (class 6 I believe) ?
Thanks.

I haven't tried a Class 6 card, but my gut feeling is that it will be dicey. I didn't "commit" to using /data on microSD until I had tried it for several days using Titanium Backup's ability to move both apps and app data to the external card. I would try that first, especially as the phones in question aren't going to be in your hands (I consider you an expert user, able to manage things outside the UI with ease).
I've attached some testing I did a while ago with Transcend and SanDisk cards. When you look at them, realize that the speed scale changes between them. I have a feeling that the real "performance" on a device is going to be related to relatively small reads and writes, not the ability to stream video to the card. I also don't know much about the Team brand, but I found that even some well-known brands didn't have the performance of the Transcend or SanDisk in the same category.
However you configure your cards, I would definitely recommend a journaling filesystem of some sort. I've had my microSD come loose inside the phone. The journal will at least help to reduce any filesystem corruption should that happen.
You don't need the fourth partition -- I have it there to be able to keep rsync backups for fast ROM swapping.
.

Regarding the apps data, have you tried exploring the Mount2SD script ?
sent from me

I've tried a couple of the scripts out there in the past. Since backing up my data is very important to me, I trust the scripts in Titanium Backup to work well with its backup/restore strategies.
Mounts2SD looks like it has gotten a lot more sophisticated than it was when I tried it in the past. It sounds like something worth trying in its current state. At a quick glance (and not looking at the code), I'd personally make some different choices about features; enabling journaling, and being concerned about why lost+found was filling up (things should only appear there if the file system is found to be corrupt).