Database Develop

[Q] Help regarding Partioning SD Card

Am a newbie to the whole G1 scene, but got some questions regarding partioning.
What is the whole purpose of partioning your SD card?
What are the benefits of doing this?
What is EXT2, EXT3 and whichever you choose what does that give you?
Thanks.

On a normal SD card, there is a FAT32 partition for storing your music, photos etc.
If you are using a custom rom, you can add either or both of these partitions to your sdcard:
-SWAP this lets the phone use part of the sdcard as ram when the phone ram runs out.
-EXT2/3/4 this lets you install apps on the sdcard instead of installing it on the meager memory of the phone.

That has cleared a few things up for me - Cheers.

Confused about SD card, partitions, running off SD card etc...

Hey guys. I'm a noob to the nook. Got mine yesterday and flashed nookie froyo 0.6.8. Flashed auto nooter 3.0 before that (not sure that was necessary, but I did it anyway - Was it necessary?)
I digress... I'm confused about the sd card and from what I've read in the forum, it's still not clear to me. So here are my questions and I apologize if they were answered elsewhere. If someone could link a post that might be helpful that would be great!
1. Which roms run off the external sd card?
2. Is it better to run off the external sd card?
3. I'm using an 8 gig class 10 card, but only 1.78 is accessible and and less than 500 mb of open space is left.
4. NookcolorUMS is confusing. I've tried mounting all partitions and cant access the extra space. And yes I did format it after flashing so it's allocated using FAT32.
Any help or direction to helpful posts would be really greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

treylemkn said:
Hey guys. I'm a noob to the nook. Got mine yesterday and flashed nookie froyo 0.6.8. Flashed auto nooter 3.0 before that (not sure that was necessary, but I did it anyway - Was it necessary?)
I digress... I'm confused about the sd card and from what I've read in the forum, it's still not clear to me. So here are my questions and I apologize if they were answered elsewhere. If someone could link a post that might be helpful that would be great!
1. Which roms run off the external sd card?
2. Is it better to run off the external sd card?
3. I'm using an 8 gig class 10 card, but only 1.78 is accessible and and less than 500 mb of open space is left.
4. NookcolorUMS is confusing. I've tried mounting all partitions and cant access the extra space. And yes I did format it after flashing so it's allocated using FAT32.
Any help or direction to helpful posts would be really greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I think CM7, NookieFroyo, and the HC build have all been made to run off the SD.
2. I don't think so; it does give you the nice "sandbox" feel that you can't screw anything up though. It is MUCH faster to run off the internal memory; and with the multi boot ability in my opinion there really is no reason to run off an SD card.
3. I'd look at the card in some type of partition manager; there may be some partitions that can not be seen otherwise. Have you already flashed a rom to the card?
4. Not sure.

themoe said:
1. I think CM7, NookieFroyo, and the HC build have all been made to run off the SD.
2. I don't think so; it does give you the nice "sandbox" feel that you can't screw anything up though. It is MUCH faster to run off the internal memory; and with the multi boot ability in my opinion there really is no reason to run off an SD card.
3. I'd look at the card in some type of partition manager; there may be some partitions that can not be seen otherwise. Have you already flashed a rom to the card?
4. Not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I flashed the image to the external sd card. It put the boot image after flashing on the card. I just reformatted the card and can now see it in the nook.
New questions.
1. Is there a way to create a nandroid back up?
2. How do I get to clockwork recovery without using the image on the sd card?
Maybe more questions later.
Thanks!

themoe said:
1. I think CM7, NookieFroyo, and the HC build have all been made to run off the SD.
2. I don't think so; it does give you the nice "sandbox" feel that you can't screw anything up though. It is MUCH faster to run off the internal memory; and with the multi boot ability in my opinion there really is no reason to run off an SD card.
3. I'd look at the card in some type of partition manager; there may be some partitions that can not be seen otherwise. Have you already flashed a rom to the card?
4. Not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Multi-boot ability? I still have so much to learn. Is it basically a matter of rearranging the partitions on the internal storage? Would the best link be http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=959461
?
Can the primary partition continue to boot stock unrooted Nook ROM?

* Go to the parallel Development Forum to find threads on:
- Multi-boot (very simple to install)
and
- SD card booting versions of CM7, Honeycomb and Froyo
* Within the thread of each of those three, you will find instructions for adjusting things (installing missing capabilities, partitions, etc).
* Download Free Easeus Partition Manager (sp?) to extend 4th partition while looking at SD card in Windows, this will give Android's /sdcard folder the rest of your card. Then Download Free Notepad++ (linux file format text editor) to edit a file as described in those threads. See threads for more details.
* Download Free Win 32 Disk Imager to backup SD card in Windows ("read" backs up card, "write" burns an image to card, the latter is how you create bootable ROM on SD card).

[Q] Swap Area / EXT2 partitions - Help needed.

Hello, I'm hoping someone can answer a few questions I have regarding the format of the SD Card for the Android system. - Apologies if this has already been explained on this forum, I did a search but didn't find anything too useful that answered my questions.
(I have knowledge of the linux file-system and swap drives, just unsure of the benifits of this for android).
Currently using a 16GB SanDisk Class4 SD Card.
I'm aware that you can format the SD Card to use as a swap-drive and for use of ext2 file-system.
While searching for info on this I found the following xda link which simply explains how to do this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/SD_card_partitioning
My questions are:
1. What are the benifits of having the ext2 file-system? (Would apps stored on SD Card run faster etc?)
2. Do I need to keep a FAT32 partition (as opposed to just having a swap and ext2 partitions without any FAT partition).
3. Does the swap drive greatly improve performance. And is this worth doing on a Class4 SD Card?
Thanks in advance!

Hi.
at the first I must say swat will decrease SD card life.
i recommond you to create EXT3 or EXT4 partition.
1)one of the benefit of EXT partition is your phone storage will not full and its help your phone performance.
2)yes.of course you should have fat32 partition for eg:music-movies...and other files.
3)yes.swap is a very good.and it helps your phone ram.eg:when you play plants vs zombie at the first screen game will exit because of ram and swap will use like ram and its good for gaming.

Thanks for the reply, much apprecaited.
Are you sure I need a FAT32 partition though? Videos, music etc etc can all be saved to ext2/3/4 on a linux OS so I just assumed I could just do away with FAT32 all together?
Is the following just not the same as using an App2SD app?
"1)one of the benefit of EXT partition is your phone storage will not full and its help your phone performance."
Sorry for being a bit fussy but I'd like to fully understand what the Ext/2/3/4 partition is actually used for. Is it just used purely for storage?
Thanks again!

In a short summary (and assuming you are using a Kernel and ROM supporting the features) ...
- "Swap" on a swap partition has its own own "filesystem". The data structures are actually created by "mkswap" and the partition is not directly accessible by the user. If your phone runs low on physical memory unused parts of the memory will be swapped out into the virtual memory to make room for other apps.
Note that this is no "magically increase your RAM" solution. Once swapping occurs it actually slows down the system as the swapped out memory regions need to be copied back into physical memory, sooner or later. It may only help to run "RAM hungry" applications.
- "SD-Ext" is a, most likely, ext2 formatted partition to where Apps you move to the SD (either by Android or App2SD) will go. This increases the amount of apps you can possibly install, but doesn't resolve the problem that apps having widgets or apps that are started during Android boot-up need to reside in the internal phone memory.
- The /sdcard partition where all your user data is being stored should be kept FAT32 (for the simple reason of making a backup of your data by slapping the card into card reader easier - Windows can't read Linux filesystems by default). Some ROMs will allow you to format /sdcard ext3 or ext4 ... the advantage is that ext3/4 (if the mount options are correctly set) may perform a lot better than FAT32, though your mileage may vary.
Roger? ...or do is something still unclear?

Many thanks B.Jay - I'll hit the thanks button after I post this reply! You cleared up all my questions, but just going back to the FAT32 partition;
I use linux as my main OS, so accessing the EXT format partition wouldn't be a problem; Do you know if all ROMs would work without a FAT32 partition and replace it with EXT2/3/4 partition? If you're unsure I can always find out by formatting and loading a rom.
Thanks again, you've been most helpful!

Agenty1609 said:
going back to the FAT32 partition;
I use linux as my main OS, so accessing the EXT format partition wouldn't be a problem; Do you know if all ROMs would work without a FAT32 partition and replace it with EXT2/3/4 partition? If you're unsure I can always find out by formatting and loading a rom.
Thanks again, you've been most helpful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Linux would, of course, be able to mount a ext partition (even on a SD card put into a card reader).
As for the ROM ... it depends.
The Stock Kernel Modules AddOn of GingerDX introduces ext3 and ext4 modules for the SEMC Stock Kernel, so in theory (I didn't test it!) you should be able to access /sdcard when being formatted ext3/4 - though it could be that you might need to adjust the vold script to properly mount the partition. The modules are mainly for supporting the sd-ext partition for "Apps-to-ext3/4-partition-on-mSD".
There's also alfsamsung's Alfs Kernel which is compatible with GingerDX and some other ROMs. That would be something you could try as well.
Simply look through the ROM threads ... I think MiniCM7 (+nAa's Kernel) should be able to support it, though this could involve some tinkering.
Personally speaking, I only have a ~2GB sd-ext on the SD in my X8 and the rest is a normal FAT32 partition (/sdcard).

yes you need a FAT32 partition.
when you partition your SD card you can move moveable app and games to ext partition.
please dont move app wich they cant move to ext partition.
cause after restart app that you moved to ext will corrupted.
good luck.

Thanks again! I think I'll follow your trend and try the 2GB SD-ext and the rest FAT32.

sd-ext missing!!
hey guys!! I've a small prob, would appreciate some tips. I normally move apps to sd card, if the app is movable by default. if the app is not movable by default, i use this app2sd by droidsail (available in the market) which force moves parts of the app 2 sd card. When I make back ups using xrecovery, i have no problem.
but when I use cwm for back ups, it gives an error saying sd-ext not found and it skips that part of the back up!! so any app I've moved by default or forced moved to sd card doesn't get backed up!! So I presume I have to create a sd-ext partition manually? How do I do it? I do have an sd-ext folder. but its not in sd card. it's in the root. (never had this prob with xrecovery though)
thanks in advance!!

neo_na said:
hey guys!! I've a small prob, would appreciate some tips. I normally move apps to sd card, if the app is movable by default. if the app is not movable by default, i use this app2sd by droidsail (available in the market) which force moves parts of the app 2 sd card. When I make back ups using xrecovery, i have no problem.
but when I use cwm for back ups, it gives an error saying sd-ext not found and it skips that part of the back up!! so any app I've moved by default or forced moved to sd card doesn't get backed up!! So I presume I have to create a sd-ext partition manually? How do I do it? I do have an sd-ext folder. but its not in sd card. it's in the root. (never had this prob with xrecovery though)
thanks in advance!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which version of CWM would that be?

Saipro said:
Which version of CWM would that be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's cwm 4.0.1.5

[Q] Sd partion??

Hey guys ... I am noob at android so please! !!!bear with it..
just wanted to know...
what is SD partion???
how to go about it??
hoe to check it's working??
what are the benefits? ??
is it ok to do it with 4gb class 4 card???
Thanks for reading ..

noobismyname said:
Hey guys ... I am noob at android so please! !!!bear with it..
just wanted to know...
what is SD partion???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As with every storage media you can actually partition the mSD. By default it ships as a single partition that is FAT32 formatted (otherwise Microsoft couldn't play Mafia and press license fees out of Android phone manufacturers as the FAT file format is copyrighted by Microsoft).
noobismyname said:
how to go about it??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can partition the mSD in either ClockworkMod recovery or you can turn off your phone, take the mSD out of the phone and put it into a card reader and then partition the card on your computer by i.e. EASEUS Partition Manager (Windows) or gparted (Linux).
noobismyname said:
hoe to check it's working??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know how you usually check if your hoe is working (oh how I love typos), but you can check if the SD card partitions are working this way:
- Boot the phone
- Once it's booted up and you have no warning about the SD card then the partition mounted at /mnt/sdcard works. To check if /mnt/sd-ext is also working either open the "Terminal", type "su" (without the quotes) followed by "mount" which will return all currently mounted devices.
noobismyname said:
what are the benefits? ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you create a sd-ext partition (USE SEARCH to know what this means!) you can move your apps out of the internal phone memory onto the sdcard (this actually even works without a designated sd-ext partition). However, you can't move each and every app to the SD ... apps coming with widgets, apps that start automatically upon boot, a widget or a live wallpaper can't be moved to the SD as it will stop working.
Swap on the SD (to have virtual memory - much like the "pagefile.sys" of Windows or the swap partition of Linux) only decreases the lifespan of your SD most likely considerably when there's a whole lotta swapping going on - apart from needing a custom kernel as the Stock doesn't support swap.
noobismyname said:
is it ok to do it with 4gb class 4 card???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A Class 4 mSD isn't blazing fast, but it should be about sufficient. In general, the higher the number of the Class, the faster the card, the more fluid the I/O transfers.

B.Jay said:
As with every storage media you can actually partition the mSD. By default it ships as a single partition that is FAT32 formatted (otherwise Microsoft couldn't play Mafia and press license fees out of Android phone manufacturers as the FAT file format is copyrighted by Microsoft).
You can partition the mSD in either ClockworkMod recovery or you can turn off your phone, take the mSD out of the phone and put it into a card reader and then partition the card on your computer by i.e. EASEUS Partition Manager (Windows) or gparted (Linux).
I don't know how you usually check if your hoe is working (oh how I love typos), but you can check if the SD card partitions are working this way:
- Boot the phone
- Once it's booted up and you have no warning about the SD card then the partition mounted at /mnt/sdcard works. To check if /mnt/sd-ext is also working either open the "Terminal", type "su" (without the quotes) followed by "mount" which will return all currently mounted devices.
If you create a sd-ext partition (USE SEARCH to know what this means!) you can move your apps out of the internal phone memory onto the sdcard (this actually even works without a designated sd-ext partition). However, you can't move each and every app to the SD ... apps coming with widgets, apps that start automatically upon boot, a widget or a live wallpaper can't be moved to the SD as it will stop working.
Swap on the SD (to have virtual memory - much like the "pagefile.sys" of Windows or the swap partition of Linux) only decreases the lifespan of your SD most likely considerably when there's a whole lotta swapping going on - apart from needing a custom kernel as the Stock doesn't support swap.
A Class 4 mSD isn't blazing fast, but it should be about sufficient. In general, the higher the number of the Class, the faster the card, the more fluid the I/O transfers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eh!! thanks a ton ..
How to partion using Cwm???

noobismyname said:
How to partion using Cwm???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look into the "Advanced settings" menu - and note that not each version of CWM contains that functionality. CWM 4.0.1.5 that is in some thread around here does not have the partitioning capabilities, CWM 3.2.0.0 (as shipped with GingerDX) is able to perform it, CWM 5.x.x.x as in nAa's or Alfs' custom kernel is up to your for checking out.

???Dude???
How to partition??
you rather answered some different question.. well I am on stock kernel and my recovery has the advanced option derived is partition option also is it safe? ??? and it asks for swap which 1 to select????

noobismyname said:
???Dude???
How to partition??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on what you want to do ...
- swap and a normal data partition
Create a ~256-512MB swap partition
Partition the rest as a FAT32 partition
- sd-ext and a normal data partition
Create a ~1GB ext3 or ext4 PRIMARY partition and name it "sd-ext" (w/o quotes)
Partition the rest as a FAT32 partition
- swap and sd-ext and normal data partition
Create a ~256-512MB swap partition
Create a ~1GB ext3 or ext4 PRIMARY partition and name it "sd-ext" (w/o quotes)
Partition the rest as a FAT32 partition
And ... this information could also be found by using the Forum search!

AM WELL AWARE ABOUT THE SEARCH.BUTTON! !!!
well if you read the 1st post .. I have mentioned clearly that I am noob at android.
All I want is a brief explanation on partition ..
I read some were swap ain't supported on stock kernel and I an on stock kernel ....
Do I need a computer to partition? ??? please explain the process briefly......

Follow the SD card partitioning article in the XDA Wiki

B.Jay said:
Follow the SD card partitioning article in the XDA Wiki
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
h'm.. Thankyou
is there any way to do this without using a computer????

[Q]Swap and app2sd

Hi!
Could You give me tutorial how to make swap and app2sd on SDE?
I think I have to make partitions. First with swap. And now one partition ext4 and there will be app2sd and my files or two partitions-first with app2sd and second with my files?
My card is 10class and 8gb
Thanks
Sent from my E15i using Tapatalk

Please, tell me what is your sd class and how much gb have it?

8gb and 10class
Thanks
Sent from my MT15i using Tapatalk

1. FAT32 (for you own files - music, pictures etc.)
2. ext4
3. swap
create them in this order.

cwm can do that.
format sd
create partition
swap....
wait...reboot
in terminal emulator.
type
su
a2sd xdata
y
y
enjoy.
minimum edition™®

To make partitions on your SD follow these steps.
1.Make a backup of your SD.
2.Enter CWM recovery.
3.Go to advanced->Partition SD card.
Now it will ask you for sizes of A2SD and SWAP.
Set them as you want.
Its Done...
NOTEartitioning the SD will erase all the data on your SD card..

Difference between Link2SD and Apps2SD
Hi Guys,
I just wanted know the difference between Link2SD and Apps2SD.
When I used Apps2SD all my user application are moved automatically to SD Card. I don't have a choice to select the app to be moved to SD.
where in in Link 2Sd I have an option to move selectively.
more over when tried apps2sd on ICS ROM ( MiniCM9.0.4 ) it wont work. many forums says the apps2sd scripts are not supported in ICS due to changes of implementation of OS.
so which one is better ? why ?
Secondly which iotion is beeter for swap ?
Swap partition or Swap File
1. I know Swap partition allows to use even if phone is connected to PC where as swapfile will dismounted if you connect ot PC.
but if I use ReadaheadKB setting of SD card in devices section swap file will perform more faster ( as it was cached partially) vs. swap partion
( ReadAheadKB helps to perform sequential reads more faster )
even if SD card wear & tear is more with SD card. th cost for SD cards are down so drastically that one can afford the loss of SD card ( laugh: data on SD should be backed up frequently :laugh:
Cheers!
Royal Eagle
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