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[HELP]Apps/Data on SD: Switching to new SD card

Is it possible if I installed apps/data on SD card to switch to another card and install apps/data on it? I removed my current card and my phone stopped working. I will take help from anyone who has it.

if you want to, you should be able to copy everything to a backup folder and upload to another sd card. you need to do this in linux cause windows does not natively read ext2 partitions. shut down your phone, remove the micro sd card, put in your computer, copy everything to the backup folder, then re-partition your new (hopefully bigger) micro sd card. put back in the phone and boot it up. i have never tried this, but it should work, just as long as you have the ext2 partition the system can read from. good luck.

I agree fully with corp769. In addition, two important things to remember are:
* ext2 must be the second (primary) partition
* you must preserve UNIX access permissions by copying apps and data directories with cp -rp ! That's the reason apps on SD doesn't work without repartitioning.
* you must use a separate card reader, you cannot do this while the card is plugged into your G1. (Unless you can do some fancy mounting/unmounting stuff on the phone, that is. It's certainly easier and safer to use a card reader).
I too have never tried this, but it should work.

creid2352 said:
Is it possible if I installed apps/data on SD card to switch to another card and install apps/data on it? I removed my current card and my phone stopped working. I will take help from anyone who has it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did this on linux from a 2G card to a new 8G card .. my partitions are named so i utilize naming to distinguish one partition from the other:
make two folders on your linux desktop .. "SDD1" and "SDD2" .. the FAT32(sdd1) can be click-and-drag to the desktop folder .. the EXT2(sdd2) needs to be run inside Terminal to retain the permissions (unless someone know a better way)
ie: sudo cp -a /media/sdd2/* /home/LucidREM/Desktop/SDD2
then switch cards
ie: sudo cp -a /home/LucidREM/Desktop/SDD2/* /media/sdd2
obviously substitute your name for mine unless you call yourself "LucidREM"

In the exact same process when you have an error nfs :
In linux with the card reader
unmount both vfat and ext2 partitions and type :
fsck -p /dev/yourext2partition.
fsck.vfat -p /dev/yourfatpartition
that's how I manage to recover 2 MicroSD card

If you want to go the GUI route - go grab a copy of the GParted Live distribution. Put that on bootable media (whatever your case may be, USB or CD/DVD) then boot into GParted and use the GUI to copy and paste the partitions over. GParted will do a consistency check and fix any errors in both partitions first, then copy over into the new SD card.

Thanks a lot for the help everyone. I will give this a shot when I get home. Appreciate all the quick responses.

no prob man, just let us know if it works for you or not.

If you don't have linux, is there a program for windows or mac I can use to do this? Thanks

legaleye2005 said:
If you don't have linux, is there a program for windows or mac I can use to do this? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes download Wubi (which is like Linux in a box, and can be installed in like 10 minutes and ready to use and removed like a normal program) or download Paragon Partition Manager 9 Trial Version, it must be version 9 not 10. I recommend Wubi however, much easier, and who knows, you might fall in love with it like I did.

I tried the LucidREM instructions and it is looping on startup.
Is there a different way to do this?

Simplest Method
Just in case people still want to know how to change SD cards (ext partition and all), which I suspect will happen a lot since the 16GB cards are going to start dropping in price soon, here's the simplest and best way I know how to do it. I have done this a bunch of times without any issues. I've even used this to go from a G1 to a myTouch (with minor compatibility changes, of course). But simply changing/upgrading SD cards is a breeze.
First thing's first. You will need bart.sh which can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=562292. If you are using a myTouch or simply don't want to bother typing commands, use Amon_RA's wonderful recovery menus with bart.sh already built in. The Nexus One version can be found here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=611829) but there are links to the recovery menus for the G1, myTouch, Hero, etc. on that page.
You will need to be familiar with how bart.sh works and this is way beyond this post. There is a ton of information on the bart.sh thread. So here are the steps that need to be done.
1) Run bart.sh, either in recovery console or via recovery menu, to backup your entire ext2/3/4 partition (as well as nandroid for simplicity).
2) Back up the fat32 portion of your SD card as you normally would by mounting your SD card to your computer. Make sure that this includes the new bart.sh backup which should be located in the bart folder in the root of you SD card.
3) Partition your new SD card using the method of your choice. Amon_RA's recovery menus have an easy and painless method for this but you can use parted or any other method you choose. If you use your device to partition your new SD card do NOT boot your phone after you partition the card. You will want to finish Step 4 first. Amon_RA's recovery allows you to mount your SD card from recovery to help you complete Step 4 if you do not have a SD card reader.
4) Using Amon_RA's recovery menu or an SD card reader copy the fat32 partition, which includes your bart.sh backup, from your PC to the fat32 partition of your newly partitioned SD card. From the recovery menu, restore your bart.sh backup.
5) Voila. You now have all of your partitions moved to a new SD card.
This process can be simplified into one sentence. Do a bart.sh backup and restore it to the new SD making sure the SD card has the proper partitions and that you don't forget about the fat32 partition. The above is just a list showing the proper order so that you don't lose any data during the process.

App2sd with more than one card?

I installed Cyanogen´s last version, and did a ext3 partition in my sd card...
All work fine, and now I have apps in sd card, BUT...when I try to change the card for another one, the phone hangs....
I can´t activate or deactivate sd card like I did when no app2sd before change it, because the option is disabled in settings and secondary sdcard is show with all ext3 space...
I have a lot of multimedia files and need more than one sd card, so... is not possible to change the sd card when you configured the phone for app2sd?

josepz said:
I installed Cyanogen´s last version, and did a ext3 partition in my sd card...
All work fine, and now I have apps in sd card, BUT...when I try to change the card for another one, the phone hangs....
I can´t activate or deactivate sd card like I did when no app2sd before change it, because the option is disabled in settings and secondary sdcard is show with all ext3 space...
I have a lot of multimedia files and need more than one sd card, so... is not possible to change the sd card when you configured the phone for app2sd?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because Cm rom automatically move your app, app-private, lost+found & dalvik-cache to your SD and when you boot your phone with a different SD it will definitely freeze because you don't have you dalvik-cache in ext partition

its a chicked & egg problem. Does anybody know if the phone can be connected to a computer when in recovery mode? Because if it can't, the phone needs to be wiped everytime the SD card goes bad or you need to replace it for some reason.
If recovery console can be connected to the computer, then the card can be backed up to a folder on the computer and restored back into another card.

devsk said:
its a chicked & egg problem. Does anybody know if the phone can be connected to a computer when in recovery mode? Because if it can't, the phone needs to be wiped everytime the SD card goes bad or you need to replace it for some reason.
If recovery console can be connected to the computer, then the card can be backed up to a folder on the computer and restored back into another card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use adb from JF's or Cyanogen's recovery, or you can mount your card manually through the recovery console:
echo /dev/block/mmcblk0 > /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0/file

best thing to do is this while in recovery, use adb and type
Code:
adb shell mount /system/sd/
adb pull /system/sd/ system_sd_backup
turn off phone, change sd card, go back into recovery, then
Code:
adb shell mount /system/sd/
adb push system_sd_backup /system/sd/

RaiderX303 said:
best thing to do is this while in recovery, use adb and type
Code:
adb shell mount /system/sd/
adb pull /system/sd/ system_sd_backup
turn off phone, change sd card, go back into recovery, then
Code:
adb shell mount /system/sd/
adb push system_sd_backup /system/sd/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are fired from the computer, right? NVM. figured that. Thanks for the command. A nudge in the right direction is always very helpful! Now I know, I will not be in dark if my SD card gives up on me.

Similar Problem
I've got a similar problem...
My SD card has corrupted a couple of times, so I've ordered a new one. However, I've now got round to setting up App2sd and all is working well. A few questions about swapping cards around:
Am I right in thinking that I can use the above method (adb shell commands) to copy the relevant info across to the new SD card? Assumably after it's been partitioned.
I was thinking that a Nanodroid backup and restore would do the trick - not so convinced now...?

A new SD card

My HTC Dream currently holds 4.2.5 cyan rom. I would like to change to a higher capacity SD card. Can I just plug in the SD card right away and start using? Is the 4.2.5 cyan rom installed to the phone storage or the SD card?
Do I need to first format the SD card before I use it and if so, format to what version?

are you using apps2sd? If you are not, just plug in the sd card and go. If you are, you are going to need to partition it and reflash more than likely. The rom is stored on the phone, but apps, if you are using apps2sd, is obviously on the sd card, as well as some other things that could prevent it from starting up after the switch.

Yeah using apps2SD, so how should i go about using this new SD card to my phone?

format your new sdcard and copy over all the files from the ext off the old card

Format to which format? Fat32 or?
Erm how do I copy over all the files from the ext off the old card?
Sorry, a noob here.

format the new sd card to have both an FAT32 and EXT3
to backup/restore, you can get an ext viewer such as paragons EXTfs (free) just copy and paste to the new sdcard

B-man007 said:
format the new sd card to have both an FAT32 and EXT3
to backup/restore, you can get an ext viewer such as paragons EXTfs (free) just copy and paste to the new sdcard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, can I check with you, how to format the new sd card to have both an FAT32 and EXT3?
This application paragons EXTfs is a windows application?

Why don't you just format your new sdcard with the Amon_Ra recovery?
Just thinking out loud here and trying to keep it as simple as possible.
Here is what I would do:
Install Amon_Ra recovery (see my signature for the link)
Go to console and enter "switchrom -s YOURROMNAMEHERE"
Wait until it finishes then reboot back into recovery again.
Mount the SDCARD to your computer and copy the directories (to include the switchrom directory) then unmount the card. No need to unplug it yet from the usb port on the computer.
Remove the old SDCARD and replace it with your new (blank) one.
While in the recovery main menu select "Partition" and then "Partition SD".
This should make your FAT32/ext2 partition.
After that has completed mount the SDCARD to the computer and copy the old sdcard data to your new card (FAT32 partition).
Unmount the SDCARD and go to console again.
Type "switchrom -r YOURROMNAMEHERE"
After it has completed then you should now have your app and app_private directories on your EXT2 parition. If you need to convert ext2 to ext3 or 4 simply select those options from the partition menu in the recovery.
If you have anything else stored to your old sdcard's ext partition just adb pull those files. (adb pull /system/sd \backupdirectory)
I think that is probably the easiest way. Just my opinion/advice.

Binary100100 said:
Why don't you just format your new sdcard with the Amon_Ra recovery?
Just thinking out loud here and trying to keep it as simple as possible.
Here is what I would do:
Install Amon_Ra recovery (see my signature for the link)
Go to console and enter "switchrom -s YOURROMNAMEHERE"
Wait until it finishes then reboot back into recovery again.
Mount the SDCARD to your computer and copy the directories (to include the switchrom directory) then unmount the card. No need to unplug it yet from the usb port on the computer.
Remove the old SDCARD and replace it with your new (blank) one.
While in the recovery main menu select "Partition" and then "Partition SD".
This should make your FAT32/ext2 partition.
After that has completed mount the SDCARD to the computer and copy the old sdcard data to your new card (FAT32 partition).
Unmount the SDCARD and go to console again.
Type "switchrom -r YOURROMNAMEHERE"
After it has completed then you should now have your app and app_private directories on your EXT2 parition. If you need to convert ext2 to ext3 or 4 simply select those options from the partition menu in the recovery.
If you have anything else stored to your old sdcard's ext partition just adb pull those files. (adb pull /system/sd \backupdirectory)
I think that is probably the easiest way. Just my opinion/advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have adb installed, that's why.

bryant_16 said:
I don't have adb installed, that's why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Setup ADB on your computer
Use terminal and copy the directories on your ext
Maybe consider a root file directory application (I suggest SUFBS it's a paid app but very much worth it.)

How do you setup ADB?
Compared to the earlier method, which one will be faster and easier?
Sorry, a noob here.

Look. i'm not trying to be rude but you really need to read links like:
***Informative Links*** - Read before clicking "New Thread"
and if you were to do that instead of using the "noob" excuse (hard to be a noob when you've been using this forum since 2007... but whatever. Not judging.) you would come across this:
[HOW-TO] ADB for Dummies(How-To Learner's Guide)
So... yeah. I'm finished helping for the night. Good luck. No more spoons.

So should I use adb or?

Binary100100 said:
Why don't you just format your new sdcard with the Amon_Ra recovery?
Just thinking out loud here and trying to keep it as simple as possible.
Here is what I would do:
Install Amon_Ra recovery (see my signature for the link)
Go to console and enter "switchrom -s YOURROMNAMEHERE"
Wait until it finishes then reboot back into recovery again.
Mount the SDCARD to your computer and copy the directories (to include the switchrom directory) then unmount the card. No need to unplug it yet from the usb port on the computer.
Remove the old SDCARD and replace it with your new (blank) one.
While in the recovery main menu select "Partition" and then "Partition SD".
This should make your FAT32/ext2 partition.
After that has completed mount the SDCARD to the computer and copy the old sdcard data to your new card (FAT32 partition).
Unmount the SDCARD and go to console again.
Type "switchrom -r YOURROMNAMEHERE"
After it has completed then you should now have your app and app_private directories on your EXT2 parition. If you need to convert ext2 to ext3 or 4 simply select those options from the partition menu in the recovery.
If you have anything else stored to your old sdcard's ext partition just adb pull those files. (adb pull /system/sd \backupdirectory)
I think that is probably the easiest way. Just my opinion/advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there, is adb absolute necessary here?

Copying ext2 from one SD Card to another

Here's what I am looking to accomplish. I wanted a backup sd card just in the event mine goes bad. I ran a search with 'SD Card" in the title and read each thread. Here are my roadblocks.... I installed DiskInternals Linux Reader and although it let me copy the ext3 partition files to my pc, it does not allow me to copy them back to the new card. Partition Manager does not have a 64-bit free version. Installed Ext2 IFS for Windows, however, it refused to see my sd card when mounted. I used RA-dream-v1.5.2 recovery to do a Bart + Ext Backup and verified the ext-backup.tar is on my sd card. I was going to install ADB, however, it doesn't say it works on Windows 7 64-bit. I have already partitioned the new card and have everything copied to the Fat32 partion. How now is the easiest way for me to get the ext-backup.tar untarred to my ext3 partition on the new sd card? Please don't flame me as I have been reading threads since 10 this morning. Thanks for any help!

The best thing I've found for managing the Linux partitions is a GParted Live disc. Just download and burn to a bootable CD. Pop it in and reboot your machine and you're free to do pretty much whatever you want with your SD card partitions without having to worry about Windows getting in the way.

Appreciate it. Gonna try it now. Thank you!

Well, I did as instructed. However, it failed to "Buffer I/O error on device sr0, logical block 57107. Any other way to accomplish what I am looking for?

any possibility that your USB port is flakey? Any way to try it on a differenty machine? I've got one PC that has USB problems and has been known to give similar kinds of error messages.

It seems fine for everything. It's a brand new Dell, only 2 months old. It was kinda freaky when I booted from the cd...lines of text scrolling on my screen for a couple minutes, lol. I was like...this better not be wiping my pc out Then at the end it just died on that error... The one thing I notice in reading threads...people keep giving console commands to do things on the phone using adb, however, I tried and it says adb isn't found... Here is an example. I can't believe there isn't an easy way to do this with so many folks rooted, etc.
----------------------------
best thing to do is this while in recovery, use adb and type
Code:
adb shell mount /system/sd/
adb pull /system/sd/ system_sd_backup
turn off phone, change sd card, go back into recovery, then
Code:
adb shell mount /system/sd/
adb push system_sd_backup /system/sd/

ok so I have copied an EXT from one card to another and this is how you do it. You need to be using RA recovery. Go into your console from recovery and type "bart -e -s EXT" that will create a back up of your EXT in a folder called "bart" on the fat32 partition of your SD card. Plug your phone into your PC and copy the bart folder to the PC. Now take the SD card out of your phone and put in the one that you want to restore the EXT to in. Copy the bart folder from your PC to your new cards fat32 partition. Make sure you partition the new card so that it has an EXT partition on it and then go into the recovery console and type "bart -e -r" it will ask you to select which back up to restore. Input the number for the back up that says "EXT" and restore it.

Joe333x said:
ok so I have copied an EXT from one card to another and this is how you do it. You need to be using RA recovery. Go into your console from recovery and type "bart -e -s EXT" that will create a back up of your EXT in a folder called "bart" on the fat32 partition of your SD card. Plug your phone into your PC and copy the bart folder to the PC. Now take the SD card out of your phone and put in the one that you want to restore the EXT to in. Copy the bart folder from your PC to your new cards fat32 partition. Make sure you partition the new card so that it has an EXT partition on it and then go into the recovery console and type "bart -e -r" it will ask you to select which back up to restore. Input the number for the back up that says "EXT" and restore it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked flawlesly! Your help coupled with a PM I received from 'shadowch31' made this seamless. Thanks so much!

I tried to run the BART backup via console, but I keep getting an error message as following:
Storing app data...
tar: empty archive
Error occurred during storing of app data...
tar operation failed.
Do you have enough space on the /sdcard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have about 4 times more free space on the SD card then my ext-4 partition is. What could be the problem?

How can I delete the EXT2 partition?

I got my N1 "Froyo" updated->rooted->Titanium apps restored.
EXT2 seems useless since official app2sd is now supported,my question is,how can i delete the EXT2 partition?

Might wanna hold off on that for a bit...
Looks like the official app2sd method requires developers to set a flag on each application so that it is allowed to be installed on SD card. Any attempts to manually move current apps to the SD card only seem to work until a reboot, at which point you'll have to reinstall everything to the internal storage.

where to? in pc or mobile?
in pc: http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php

Same question here. Currently have an Ext2 partition in sd card mobile however 8 gb San Disk class 2 card doesn't fully support Apps2Sd (especially large apps 15 mb+) as I often experienced force close and slow down. Any advice how to delete it?
Thanks in advance.

Boot into recovery and connect phone to computer. Open a command prompt and navigate to the "tools" folder of the SDK. Enter the following:
1. adb shell
2. parted /dev/block/mtdblock0
3. list
This will show you the list of partitions on your card. Partition 2 should be ext. You can straight up delete it using "rm 2" but that won't reclaim the empty space to the fat32 partition. You'll have to backup files from your fat partition, delete all partitions and make one new fat32 partition using the entire space.
This is, of course, the long way. Alternatively, you can use the SD Partition utility built into the AmonRa recovery. All that requires is that you enter the amount of space you wanna allocate. That still nukes your files so make backups.