From Droid Forums:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/dr...ion-storage-vs-internal-storage-question.html
The droid 3 has 512 meg ram (random access memory) for running OS and apps being used.
It also has 16 gig of internal storage (basically like an internal sdcard/flash drive).
This 16 gig is divided up in to different pieces, some to store the system (OS) files, some to store your apps that you download. It appears to use a little about 2.5 gig for this.
The rest of the internal storage is mapped as /sdcard (about 11.5 gigs). This is where you store pictures, .mp3s, etc....and where apps you download will store their data (kindle books, launcherpro backups, etc...).
A physical sd-card you install is "extra" space for you to store more pictures and songs and such.
Q1) How is the OS allocating between the 512MB RAM and the 16GB internal storage?
Two different pools.
512MB ram is RAM for the phone's OS and running apps.
16GB internal storage is storage of the system files and apps downloaded.
Q2) Are my applications installed across memory and the storage?
Memory is for running apps
Storage is for storing apps
There is no cross memory usage
Q3) Do I have control of where the apps are stored between the onboard memory and onboard storage?
No. On board memory is not for you to use, it's for the OS and running applications.
On board storage is divided in to sections, some for downloaded apps from the Market and where the system files are and another section for your files (documents, pictures, songs, etc..).
The 1.53GB remaining is the /data mounted partition for apps you get from the Market (or other sources). The 11.35GB is for where you would put pictures, music and such. They are both off the internal 16GB storage just separated in to different partitions. (2gb for /data, 11.35 for /sdcard).
Adding an additional (real) sd-card to the slot will mount as /sdcard-ext giving you more storage for pictures, music and such.
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Tom Crews
SnkBitten - http://android.snkbitten.com/
(available on Rom Manager)
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This question was asked in relation to the Droid 3, and the below answer is awesome, and I get it 100%, But I am wondering: Does this apply to the D2G at all? The 8GB internal storage that it has is massive compared to most phones in the same "class". I bought the phone, assuming, actually, that the 8GB was somewhat useful, but it's only been useful by ensuring I never, ever have to install an app on the sd card.
I have 120 apps, yet, 5.93 of this 8 GB is still available. In other words, NOTHING I ever do will come close to filling it, short of finding a way to put my pics/videos/music there.
It seems the Droid 3 allocates this space logically. But is there a way to make the D2G do it? An app, maybe? Or has it been doing it all along without me even realizing it?
You need to be rooted to be able to use that space.
Gasai Yuno said:
You need to be rooted to be able to use that space.
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I am rooted. Now what?
This requires either adb shell or a terminal.
First, you need to create a new folder for your stuff in /data, and set the permissions for it to 644 sdcard_rw:sdcard_rw.
Second, to be able to access it from your PC (and make the phone scan it for content along with the SD card contents) you will have to bind it to a folder on the SD, using mount's bind option.
I think that the bind mount won't survive reboots, so you'll have to bind it every time you boot your phone (you can always automate it via a script though).
Related
For example, I've got system rom, internal storage, sd card storage, and ext sd card storage. Why don't I just have internal storage and external storage? Can someone explain what each one is "for", and where I should store what (like apps, music, videos, etc.). Thanks ahead of time for any answers that you give, this has been bothering me for a while.
You should store your files on the internal /sdcard or your external /ext_sd micro sd card.
I'm saving music,videos and pictures on my external sd card.
This way i can take the card out of my phone plug it into a new one and have everything there.
I leave the build in card for the apps, kernels, roms, downloads and random other things.
Its mainly just preference.
Because of multiple partitions on the internal sdcard android can use different filesystems and option on each one.
Each filesystem can have advantages in security,scalablity, performance or reliance.
Partitions can be flagged read-only to secure them from involuntary changes.
Thanks for the help, but that leads to another question. I can't move some apps to the other part of my internal storage, or the media area, as the phone calls it, why not? It's just internal storage like the other partition, but the media area has around 12gb of data while the internal storage only has about 2. I just don't want to fill the first partition up because im not able to move apps out of it.
I'm not really sure about that one, but something along the lines off: on the internal 2gb partition android can restrict and controll access for stablity and safety reasons, while if the apps were saved on the 12gb media partition any rouge app could run wild and screw things up for other apps.
Physicly they are probably the same, so with some technical knowledge you could reflash your device and change the partition sizes.
I'm not certain that this is where this post should go, however it seemed the most fitting for it. My android tablet (Arnova 7b G3) has only 4GB of internal storage, of which 2GB is allocated as storage, and the other reserved for firmware, apps and system etc. This makes it awkward when installing games for example which have a download size of 1.39GB (GTA: Vice City) that must be downloaded to internal memory as it leaves very little spare. The tablet divides the space into the following: Internal storage, and internal SD card.
Is it possible to merge the two partitions, seeing as a lot of the first partition is given to apps anyway it wouldn't be as though there was no space for firmware?
Thanks!
I've been looking for a method to move or force installation of apps to my 128gb micro SD card and so far I haven't found anything that works correctly, is there some method that actually allows moving apps to the SD card? or any custom rom that allows this? would titanium backup "move to SD card" option work?
You can use adoptable storage. It binds an SD card to your phone so you won't be able to use it with any other devices, but it essentially extends your phone's storage space by that much. Make sure you back up everything on your external SD card somewhere if there's anything important on it because this will wipe it clean.
1.) Open the "Files" app (the Google app with the colorful folded rectangles).
2.) Go to Browse.
3.) Scroll down to the bottom where you see your SD card, and tap on it.
4.) Hit the three dots in the top right.
5.) Click "Storage Settings".
6.) And finally, "Format as internal".
Once you've "adopted" the storage space you can move apps to it freely by going to a specific app's "App Info" page, clicking Storage, and choosing "Change" for each app. If you want to move multiple apps you can use something like "Internal Storage To SD Card" from the Play Store, which helps streamline the process; or even go into Developer Options and enable the option "Force allow apps to write on external storage" near the bottom which will force the majority of apps to favor the external SD card over the phone's.
Here's a bit more info on where your files are kept after this process.
If you want to retain separate access to the external SD Card so that you can use it with your computer or other devices while also storing app data on there, I'm afraid it's not very simple to do so. Android 9/10 has made a lot of changes with file access and how things are managed and stored on your device. I'm still figuring it out for myself, too.
i have a question, it will lose performance?
because i think if the phone is using a UFS 2.0, is the same or better maximum speed of R/W of SDCARD?
Polakiyo87 said:
i have a question, it will lose performance?
because i think if the phone is using a UFS 2.0, is the same or better maximum speed of R/W of SDCARD?
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Of course, the performance of the external drive will be lower.
However, don't underestimate them.
The performance of modern transflash is quite enough, for example, to run games like Doom, witcher or Skyrim(20+GB distros) from them on Nintendo consoles. The main thing is that the card is good. Like the same Sandisk extreme.
Not working for me. I've formatted the SD card as internal, but I can't move any apps to the SD card. When I go to the storage screen for an app, it only displays the total, app size, data and cache. There's no option to change storage location.
Yes, I've rebooted.
Same for me.
App mgr III and link2sd did not works even with Root :/
WTF nobody found a solution on a Android 10?
You don't want the apps running off the SD card as it's bandwidth is a lot slower than internal memory! It's a bottleneck to avoid.
Use the SD card as a data drive only.
Internal memory: OS, apps, temporary data and downloads.
SD card: all critical data, backups, music, vids, etc. Everything you need to fully restore the phone after a factory reset should be on it including copies of the apks.
Always redundantly backup the data drive on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically separated! Or you will lose your data sooner... or latter.
blackhawk said:
You don't want the apps running off the SD card as it's bandwidth is a lot slower than internal memory! It's a bottleneck to avoid.
Use the SD card as a data drive only.
Internal memory: OS, apps, temporary data and downloads.
SD card: all critical data, backups, music, vids, etc. Everything you need to fully restore the phone after a factory reset should be on it including copies of the apks.
Always redundantly backup the data drive on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically separated! Or you will lose your data sooner... or latter.
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Yes i know ... All my pictures, videos etc are on SD ...
But you don't reply, do you have a solution?
Like millions of android users, i have not enough space for games in the phone. I don't care about slow speed of game. Genshin inpact for example take more of 7gB !
OS takes 15gB ... App takes often many hundred of mB it's WTF...
App are crazy to cache, and snapchat instagram facebook etc can take 1gB each.
The sd limitation is a programmed obsolescence for smartphones (256 gB of microsd are cheap). All people don't care about low performance of specifics app, it's better than the impossiblity to install then.
Normally we should be able to make symbolic links between linux partititons.
That's the same on windows, i install my terabytes of games on an hard drive because my sdd is not enought ... And it works well.
raysar said:
Yes i know ... All my pictures, videos etc are on SD ...
But you don't reply, do you have a solution?
Like millions of android users, i have not enough space for games in the phone. I don't care about slow speed of game. Genshin inpact for example take more of 7gB !
OS takes 15gB ... App takes often many hundred of mB it's WTF...
App are crazy to cache, and snapchat instagram facebook etc can take 1gB each.
The sd limitation is a programmed obsolescence for smartphones (256 gB of microsd are cheap). All people don't care about low performance of specifics app, it's better than the impossiblity to install then.
Normally we should be able to make symbolic links between linux partititons.
That's the same on windows, i install my terabytes of games on an hard drive because my sdd is not enought ... And it works well.
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Be happy for the bump...
You should also post your OS version for solutions.
Maybe a ADB edit could get it.
Lol, I have one game loaded. Most are fair to high privacy/security risks... that could really keep you amused.
I used App2sd earlier with android 7 and devices with 8GB flash , where only 3.5GB we ahve for applications. The result, I was able to install 100 or more apps and games without problem. It will not work in modern android.
I use a script which move all pictures , movies, call recordings to the sd card when I plug in usb-c cable. The card is a place of storing multimedia, nandroid backup and titantium backup.
Modern devices with 64GB+ flash are able to keep all apps inside , of course if all media files will be moved to sd card.
raysar said:
Same for me.
App mgr III and link2sd did not works even with Root :/
WTF nobody found a solution on a Android 10?
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I guess xda developers not the same. It is ****. They can't brake a **** Xiaomi? It seems that I have to buy an old phone not Xiaomi and brake it.
Hi, I know I'm late to this but hopefully it will help someone having the same problem.
Tested on Redmi 9a, android 10
1- After you format your sd card as
SeekerofLight.iz said, download this app from Google store: this app basically shows all the hidden settings on all Xiaomi phones.
2- Open the app and type storage in the search bar located at the top.
3- you will see several results, tap at
"Storage Use: Storage use
com.android.settings.applications.StorageUse".
4- A new window will open with a list of all apps installed on your phone. Tap the app you want to move to sd card then "storage and cashe" and you will find the da** "Change" button we all have been looking for tap it and select sd card.
I've attached screenshots for those who prefer them.
And about performance, there was a slight lag almost unnoticeable but games were playable in general.
AngryYoungMan said:
Not working for me. I've formatted the SD card as internal, but I can't move any apps to the SD card. When I go to the storage screen for an app, it only displays the total, app size, data and cache. There's no option to change storage location.
Yes, I've rebooted.
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Not all apps will support installation on sd card... If u want force it to be on sd card, u can use App2SD Pro app but root needed
how can I use more than 10 apps?
which twrp, app2sd, dalvik symlink can I use, bec their lack of reason of designing /data partition to 3gb? (64gb inside)
Assumed your device has slot for external SD-card and assumed your device's Android supports Adoptable Storage then you can extend Android's storage memory up to capacity of external SD-card.
Note: Android still installs the apps on the internal memory and dumps their data on the external SD card. So, you are deprived of installing any further apps if your phone has a scarcity of internal storage.
FYI: Once an APK got installed, you can delete the APK to regain storage space.
it does have 51gb more free space on that internal 64gb, so but im tryin to solve it with link2sd, and a 2partitioned external sd
regh said:
it does have 51gb more free space on that internal 64gb, so but im tryin to solve it with link2sd, and a 2partitioned external sd
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You don't want to load and slow your CrystalSky down with much more than you need to fly. It wasn't exactly meant to be a tablet.
Droid4200 said:
You don't want to load and slow your CrystalSky down with much more than you need to fly. It wasn't exactly meant to be a tablet.
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I bought it only for navigation in bright sunshine. because other tablets difficult to see, don't care about flying, it's too expensive
regh said:
I bought it only for navigation in bright sunshine. because other tablets difficult to see, don't care about flying, it's too expensive
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I installed a few programs regularly from appstore (also side loaded) then after they installed moved apps to SD card. Saved a lot of space on the Crystal Sky, but there are a few system apps that can't be.
Hi, I have an old Redmi6A phone (Lineage OS 17.1) that only has 8GB of internal memory. This is very little if you use Whatsapp. Of course I added a 32Gb SD card, but with whatsapp I have trouble saving my photos on the card. What are the possible workarounds?
1- Is there a difference depending on whether you set the SD card as portable storage or internal storage?
2 - My phone is rooted. I've looked for practical solutions including magisk, but no module matches.
3 - Beyond whatsapp, what should I do: is there an app that allows other apps to be installed on the external media? Is this a good idea? Is it better to limit the storage of data on the SD card to avoid the crash of these "deported" apps?
Just an advice or two would make me happy...
If Android device allows to make external SD-card part of internal storage memory ( keyword: Adoptable Storage ) then you are good. Check it.
I believe that my android device allows me to do this. The French translation does not use the words adoptable storage "stockage adoptable" but the 1st drawing seems to match.
What I have read on the subject indicates that the reading and access time to the data on the external card is much longer than on the internal memory. How does android arbitrate what it stores on the internal or external memory? Can the user control this?
I assume and hope that the most crucial apps are on the internal memory
It's on you how much of the SD-card's storage memory ( in % ) you'll add to internal memory: 1,2,...,100.
Yes, reading / writing to device's "portable memory" basically takes longer. So with regards to file transfer speeds, choosing the right memory card is crucial. Look here:
The best SD cards for 2023: top memory cards for your camera
We've tested and ranked all of the best SD cards you can buy
www.techradar.com
Android by default uses device's internal memory. The least app's allow to store their data on external SD-card: this is set by app's developer.
I tested the 2 options; first the adoptable storage but for some reason it didn't work; I mean the operation was correctly done but the 32Gb was not added to my internal memory; just a few hundred Mb more. I repeated the operation 3 times to rule out the possibility of an isolated incident.
So I was forced to reformat the SD card as external memory. Everything went well. But now I'm back to the original situation.
My search led me to 2 apps (Link2SD and App2SD) to override the restriction to move to the SD card. Those apps don't seem to be really used anymore: their peak corresponds to the 2015-2016 versions of Android (Marschmallow and Nougat) and are quite complex to handle since you have to format the external SD card in several partitions to be able to consider moving anything.
What do you think about this type of solution?
As @xXx yYy already said:
The least app's allow to store their data on external SD-card: this is set by app's developer.
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Thus forget the named 3rd-party-tools that claim they can.
BTW: look inside here
Whatsapp folder in Android: Here's where to find it
WhatsApp folder with all media files in Android can be found on new location if you are on Android 11. Learn here where to find it.
mobileinternist.com
Napafroi said:
I tested the 2 options; first the adoptable storage but for some reason it didn't work; I mean the operation was correctly done but the 32Gb was not added to my internal memory; just a few hundred Mb more. I repeated the operation 3 times to rule out the possibility of an isolated incident.
So I was forced to reformat the SD card as external memory. Everything went well. But now I'm back to the original situation
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After an external memory got converted to portable memory it's Android what automatically moves data from internal memory to portable memory as long as they moveable to gain internal memory space. Thus the few 100MB you reported.
You always can configure the amount of portable memory indeed to be used by Android's Storage Manager ( SM ) using ADB.
Well, I think I'm getting used to this adoptable storage which is really confusing since the size doesn't take into account the extra 32Gb (in the storage manager and also in solid explorer).
I don't know if it's a bug but sd maid and its memory analysis function allows me to check that telegram, osmand (including downloadable maps) and vivaldi browser will install directly on the adaptable storage. That's all I ask.
It's still surprising not to be able to view the content of the SD card; maybe it's a bug like others have experienced like on this thread
I wanted to experiment a nandroid backup on MicroSD adopted-storage with TWRP which was refused.
xXx yYy said:
You always can configure the amount of portable memory indeed to be used by Android's Storage Manager ( SM ) using ADB.
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So I understand better the interest to calibrate the portion of adoptable storage...
Screenshot no. 5 shows 2.7 GB of the portable memory ( real capacity 31 GB ) are used.
To get the whole portable memory as internal memory used using ADB try this
Code:
adb shell
sm list-disks -> This cmd returns id of SD-card e.g. 179:160
sm partition disk:179:160 private -> Here you use the id of SD-card
where the numbers are the Android's name of your disk.
I just did this.
Reboot but it didn't change anything. Maybe the card is defective...
EDIT : oh wait, yesterday I inserted this same micro SDcard in an old samsung galaxy tab4 with the "same" custom rom (LineageOS 17.10) as adoptable storage. The 32Gb capacity was not added to internal memory as well. Maybe this rom is buggy for managing adoptable storage.
Sorry for my english
The ( meanwhile outdated ) Lineage OS 17.1 - a Lineage OS 17.10 probably doesn't exist - is based on Android 10 and can "Adoptable Storage" as you initially confirmed.
IMO you are probably doing things wrong
"migrate data" is the 2nd necessary step after 1st step "adoptable-storage" is created. It will ( try to ) move all apps from phone into SD-card ( if app is moveable ), means all new installed apps will directly get installed into SD-card as long as android:installLocation="auto" is defined in app's AndroidManifest.xml.
When 100% disk space got adopted you can't see your SD-card any longer, the only way to check disk usage is from Android's cmd line running df -h /mnt/expand/* ( if Android is rooted consider 3rd party apps like Link2SD instead ).