So I have been tinkering with a chroot environment on a ext3 partitioned portion of my external sdcard. It is similar in partitioning to webtop2sd, but I only use the partition for a chroot environment not the whole webtop.
My issue:
The chroot environment is slow, like really slow. This is most noticeable with unpacking packages. Installing ssh and the 5 dependent packages took 10 minutes.
My setup:
I have a patriot class 10 16GB card. The SD card speed tests show the write speed to be 9.7MB/s and read speed at 13.5 MB/s. Not super fast, but it should be sufficient.
SD Card Cache:
I am running gingerblur and it appears that kenneth has already applied the cache hack which increases the read_ahead to 2MB.
My Question:
The read_ahead hack appears to be is done to 179:0. Is it possible this is not affecting mmcblk1p2? I am able to mount the ext3 partition as either /dev/block/mmcblk1p2 or /dev/vold/179:34. Do I need to somehow add an entry in /sys/devices/virtual/bdi for 179:34?? Would this work?
Any help would be appreciated, I realize this is a complicated question being asked by a less then competent person, so if it has not been entirely coherent I apologize.
Solution
Well I solved my issue. Turns out that my Patriot class 10 SDcard, while capable of sustained high read/write speeds, was very poor at handling random access read/writes. I put what I thought was a crappy old class 2 card SanDisk and everything worked as it should. I have looked around and apparently this is a known issue with manufacturers downgrading random access in favor of high direct throughputs to get that "class 10" rating. I assume this is probably more so with low end manufacturers such as Patriot. I have since ordered a class 4 SanDisk card and I expect that it will work just fine. I will post back if it doesn't.
Related
When I first bought the cards I was getting fast write speeds around 6mbs as advertised. However after partioning it with wp7 and android and getting about 1.3mbs much less than before. The card is only a week old and before I call and ask I wonder if it could be do to the partitioning? Its divided between a 5.2gb android fat32 and a 2.3gb unformatted by wp7.
This is via usb btw, or is this a known problem through usb?
I have set up the CM7 on an SD boot and it works for the most part.
However it seems very unstable, about 3/10 uses it will crash apps. I really only have Aldiko and the Nook App on it and maybe Angry Birds and a Task Killer.
Aldiko and Nook etc will just go into an error loop saying the app stopped unexpectedly and then I have to hold the power button to shut it down.
My question is if this is typical of using the SD root method?
Then, if I do a full hardware root/ROM is it generally more stable in your experiences?
I suspect that part of my problems are the SD card itself, I had a 4GB Class 2 Sandisk card initially and it worked well but it was very very slow. So I got a Transcend brand 8GB Class 6 card which should work, it is a big name brand and all, and is much faster but CM7 seems very unstable. Is it all just the card?
Yes, your card is the culprit. So far from people reporting here you need a SanDisk Class 4 card. Its all about the 4k read/write speeds of the card you're using. You want a 1.0+ in CrystalDiskMark to get decent performace and get rid of the FC's. I am using the card I linked here and have not had any problems running apps or the Nook freezing.
- Aerlock
I had similar problems (sometimes intermittently) using an A-data card, I think it was 8GB class 6. I finally installed to emmc and have not had any problems since. The CM7 nightlies go to the point of being so good that I never needed to boot into stock anymore anyway.
So if I get it working on the SD, is it even worth doing the perm internal ROM mod?
Or is the SD MOD just as good/better?
MuGGzyx said:
So if I get it working on the SD, is it even worth doing the perm internal ROM mod?
Or is the SD MOD just as good/better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running off the SD is so good I haven't even felt like trying to put it on the internal memory. The only thing you lose by running it from the SD card is the ability to pop out the SD card whenever you want, though the only times I've popped out the SD card is to put the newest nightly on the boot partition. And thats just cause I've been too lazy to figure out the exact mount commands to mount it on the nook. If I want to get/put files off/on the SD card I just plug it into my computer.
- Aerlock
MuGGzyx said:
So if I get it working on the SD, is it even worth doing the perm internal ROM mod?
Or is the SD MOD just as good/better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Internal is always more stable.
Sent from my LG Optimus V using Tapatalk
I didn't run any benchmarks when I had it on a SD card (16 GB SanDisk class 4) but it seemed about as good as it has been after switching to eMMC.
The CM7 SD card mounts internal memory on mmcblk0 and uses it... (I presume for caching, etc) Speed of the SD shouldn't cause crashes. Slowness yes, but crashes?
Re: SD vs. eMMC, an SD install can be just as fast and stable as eMMC, but SD installs also seem somewhat prone to suddenly and mysteriously losing that stability, developing FCs, WiFi issues, lag and even freezes/crashes. There are also more robust and straightforward tools for managing eMMC installs; both CWM and ROM Manager tend to have quirky interactions with SD installs, performing some operations on the SD partitions and others on the internal partitions. I would advise anyone who finds that their SD install has become their sole or primary OS to eventually move it to eMMC. Even if you're still using stock quite a bit, an eMMC dual boot (see my sig link) has advantages over running one system from SD--mainly, that the two OSes can both use the SD for storage.
gyrfalcon said:
The CM7 SD card mounts internal memory on mmcblk0 and uses it... (I presume for caching, etc) Speed of the SD shouldn't cause crashes. Slowness yes, but crashes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12964262
There's no such thing as "Speed of the SD." There are several metrics, primarily large sequential vs. small random reads and writes. Card class (what most people assume equates to "speed") is based on the former, whereas performance as a boot drive correlates with the latter. A card optimized for large writes tends to suffer badly in small-block random r/w. There's no such thing, presently, as a card optimized for small-block r/w, but SanDisk class 2, 4, and unclassed cards tend to have very balanced benchmarks, with reasonable performance across all metrics. This places their small-block r/w speeds 10x and 100x ahead of a card optimized to meet class requirements.
I've also been hearing there's an issue with some cards reporting their reads and writes using an oddball protocol that's currently unsupported in the kernel.
I know it has been asked a lot in the past, but searching didn't provide Milestone specific answer.
So If I buy Class 6 or Class 10, will the milestone be able to utilize the full write speed? I am running Cyanogenmod 7 RC0 (latest). At the moment I have 8GB class 4 Apacer microSD and tbh its a terrible card. All I get is 2.5 mb/s write on large files, but I am getting the same speed when the card is in card reader too so its not phone issue.
Thanks.
Maybe I'm wrong, but what I know is that the card class is the limit. It doesn't mean it will read/write at full speed all the time.
How are you testing your speeds?
Maybe SD Speed Increase help you.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zZGluY3JlYXNlLml0Il0.
I don't know how to test my speeds, but were getting 24mb/s read and 8mb/s write speeds in SD Tools ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/...1bGwsMSwxLDEsImFsZXMudmVsdXNjZWsuc2R0b29scyJd ). I'm using a Samsung 16gb Class2. I think the app is not calculating very well. Don't know.
I am using the SD card as USB mass storage instead of carrying separate thumb drive. I transfer a lot of large 1+ GB files.
I tried SD Speed increase last week and it does make a difference on smaller files, but when copying 2GB files it seems to start fast (like a burst mode), but if timed it takes exactly the same time to write something on the card.
I am going to change my 8GB card for 16GB today anyway I just wondered if class 10 is worth getting or should I get class 6 and save some money. Whatever I buy I will report back and test the speed.
I went ahead and bought Patriot LX 16 GB class 10 microSD. Now I get variable speeds from 3.5 mb/s to 8 mb/s depending on the file sizes. As I read somewhere this is due to fact that the phone is using MTP protocol to act as mass storage device.
Anyway with the old card I was topping only 2.5 mb/s no matter the file size, so it's definitely an upgrade and since class 6 was only 5$ cheaper I saw no reason not to buy the faster one, even if the milestone can't utilize its full capability. In the end its an old phone and I believe there weren't any class 10 cards out in 2009 anyway.
And one more thing, the camcorder isnt lagging anymore when recording videos
EDIT: After booting in recovery and clearing dalvik and cache partition I am getting 9.5 + mb/s, but it does start around 4.5 mb/s and then rises to its full speed. Cheers.
Except for the improvements in video recording, is there anything else that runs smoother for you when using the phone?
maango said:
Except for the improvements in video recording, is there anything else that runs smoother for you when using the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think everytime any app need to access your sd, it will be smoother, like gallery, taking photos, loading maps cached in sd, music apps indexing songs, etc. Accessing apps installed on sd card may be loaded faster too.
extrem0 said:
I think everytime any app need to access your sd, it will be smoother, like gallery, taking photos, loading maps cached in sd, music apps indexing songs, etc. Accessing apps installed on sd card may be loaded faster too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats right. Gallery loads faster, applications and games moved to SD start up faster etc. Don't know about maps, but I suppose they cache faster too.
However the main difference is when copying stuff to phone in mass storage mode. Thats why I got a higher class card in first place. While all other stuff related to reading from SD do seem snappier, the difference is not all that great since even Class 2 cards can read with high speed, but when it comes to apps that are writing the difference is obvious.
I'm using a Samsung Essentials 32GB Class 10 Card.
Gave me some troubles at first, something with sector sizes seemed wrong - but after formatting it with this tool https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_3/ it worked.
Someone in these forums suggested the tools - search for the link to find the recommended settings.
Alright, thx for the answer. For someone not using the phone the same way as you, do you think it would be worth the money to get a faster card?
Sent from my Milestone using XDA
The difference between class 6 and class 10 right now is only few bucks. I don't see why not. You never know, may come in handy.
Here check this out, less then 1$ difference in price.
16GB microSDHC CARD Class 6 - Transcend
16GB microSDHC CARD Class 10 - Transcend
I wouldn't go below class 6 since the camera is lagging when recording videos.
Is it true that if a formatted microSD often will make it slow microSD?
It' unlikely, but possible.
My Samsung Essentials 32GB Class 10 card gave my Milestone hiccups at first (rebooted several times when powering on, rebooted every time I left USB mass storage mode) so I re-formatted it using these instructions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23494134&postcount=7417
Now everything works fine and I still get a little more than 10MB/s when copying movies via USB - so no loss here.
With the recent change to the partition layout on JB to improve performance we are left with limited storage.
I'm thinking of buying a class 10 sdcard with fast read/write speeds. Then creating a 1-2gb ext3/4 partition and installing link2sd so I'm able to move big apps to save space on the limited storage we have at the moment.
How fast is a class 10 sdcard that has roughly 30mb/s read/write speeds compared with the internal onenand and slower movinand chips?
Is this a good solution? Anyone got any other ideas?
Apparently these are the read speeds I found on the net.
Onenand: 108mb/s
Movinand: 52mb/s
Class 10 sd: 30mb/s
The question now is what are the write speeds, because I've read that the Movinand chip has very poor write speeds, especially in older devices like mine. Is it slower than a class 10 sd card?
Hi guys,
What is the fastest memory card speed G6 (not plus/play) can use? Somewhere I read Motorola recommends U1 or faster. Is it worth investing in a fast card?
E.g. a Sandisk 32GB 100/90 MB/s is the same price as a Samsung 64GB 100/60 MB/s so if the phone couldn't use the fastest speed anyway, I'd rather take larger capacity.
I'm planning to put apps on the card. My old phone has slowed down considerably when I did that, so if the G6 CAN use the faster speed, I'd prefer that.
Thanks!
Sandisk 160/60 card gets 77/44 on moto g6. The same card gets higher speed on a lower end phone. Apps run okay at that speed on g6 but don't know if consistent use for apps lowers overall performance. Other users should post their speeds so we can get an idea what's the max speed g6 can get out of microsd cards.
Actualy in the meantime I bought the Sandisk Extreme Plus A1/V30 (95/90 MB/s), I just haven't installed it in the phone yet.
@e4noob what app did you use for benchmarking?
//Edited card name/specs
dontknowme said:
Actualy in the meantime I bought the Sandisk Extreme Pro A1/V30 (100/90 MB/s), I just haven't installed it in the phone yet.
@e4noob what app did you use for benchmarking?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used androbench. Please post the speeds on this card. I'll predict around 80/50. I have this suspicion that g6's card reader might be low quality. But it would be nice to be proven wrong on that.
e4noob said:
I used androbench. Please post the speeds on this card. I'll predict around 80/50. I have this suspicion that g6's card reader might be low quality. But it would be nice to be proven wrong on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay I put the card in the phone and ran 4 tests with Androbench. The *best* results, rounded up to 5/50 from each category are:
Squential read/write: 80/65 MB/s
Random r/w: 4200/1400 IOPS
SQL Insert/Update/Delete: 950/1200/1900 QPS
This is a brand new Sandisk Extreme Plus 32GB card (95/90 MB/s) formatted as external storage.
Also ran 2 tests on internal storage (note this phone has been in use for 2 weeks and it's half full so there's certainly some data fragmentation):
Squential read/write: 260/100 MB/s
Random r/w: 11600/5300 IOPS
SQL Insert/Update/Delete: 1100/1200/1550 QPS
Not sure what to think of the SQL numbers but in the random r/w performance the internal memory trashes the memory card so it's probably not the best for running apps. Sequential write is quite close though so I guess Sandisk's claim of 4k video recording holds true.
Hm, I wonder if there are memory cards meant for faster random access (like an SSD) and would phones be able to take advantage of such speed?
Edit: fixed my mistake about what card I have. It's a Extreme Plus 95/90, not Pro.
~ never mind, a rant was here how I can't format the card as internal storage but I found it. Good.
After formatting as internal, the phone complained the card is slow.
I let it move 4.5 GB of data from internal memory to the card, which the phone said would take 7 minutes. It was done in about a minute.
dontknowme said:
~ never mind, a rant was here how I can't format the card as internal storage but I found it. Good.
After formatting as internal, the phone complained the card is slow.
I let it move 4.5 GB of data from internal memory to the card, which the phone said would take 7 minutes. It was done in about a minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen that too (phone warning the card is too slow) when I was experimenting with internal storage format. If you face any issues like phone wigging out or apps going missing or card crashing, let us know here.
e4noob said:
If you face any issues like phone wigging out or apps going missing or card crashing, let us know here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problems so far!
On my last phone with a basic Class 10 Kingston card, I had problems with apps disappearing after a reboot. It was especially annoying with Amazon Kindle which was the biggest (movable) app and I had to keep it in the phone memory.
No problems with the Moto. I even enabled the developer option to force apps which don't support it onto the card and they all work fine. Which is super cool especially for navigation apps with their massive offline maps. Neither Sygic nor HERE We Go support moving the app onto the card. (In both cases you can move the maps onto the card but only if it's formatted as external storage, not internal.)
Apps start really fast. I *think* I can sense some slowdown when running some apps like Duolingo and LingoDeer compared to when running from internal memory, but it might as well be my imagination. I see no slowdown when running Waze which is a lot larger. And the phone is slightly slower to boot but that's no biggie. It wasn't fast to begin with. But all the card apps are available IMMEDIATELLY upon booting, while on my old phone/card it took another minute to initialize.
Last night I noticed the phone tends to kill background apps way too aggressively, which is bloody annoying but I doubt that has anything to do with the card, it's more like another stupid Android/Motorola feature. (I have the adaptive battery feature disabled.)
Another odd thing is that the storage reports 5 gigs of games in the internal memory even when I moved all games onto the card, so that's clearly another Android bug.
So yea, I think it was worth it investing a little more in a faster card. I wish the phone would be faster overall but for what it is it's fine and the card isn't slowing it down so far.