Develop Bugs

Partioning SD Card

Sorry, done a search and looked through all posts but can't seem to find a guide to partition sd card for use with apps2sd.
My phone is rooted and have rom manager installed where it looks I can perform the partition. Can someone point me to a noobs guide to partition or give us a hand. I have read about all different extensions to make the partition to but have no idea what they all are. Any help appreciated.

Swap - 0
Ext3 - as little or as much as you wish (usually 512-1024mb)
FAT31 - the rest

obviously this will wipe the sd card, what about all backups etc. Do i just copy to pc then copy them back when partition is complete?

Yes, but remember you will have less space on for data since a part of it will be taken up by Ext3 partition.

no problem, cheers for that

Make this sticky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
memphisuklf said:
Sorry, done a search and looked through all posts but can't seem to find a guide to partition sd card for use with apps2sd.
My phone is rooted and have rom manager installed where it looks I can perform the partition. Can someone point me to a noobs guide to partition or give us a hand. I have read about all different extensions to make the partition to but have no idea what they all are. Any help appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been trying to make this subject a sticky for a while.
I posted some tutorials in the Q&A Thread: See my post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=713643 (bottom of the page)....
Good luck!

does rom manager create the partition as ext 3 as default?

ok, seems I now have a problem. Did partition through manager 512mb/0 swap seemed to work fine but now phone won't boot, stuck at htc white screen. Any ideas?
Edit
Ok booted after 4th time of pulling battery. Doesn't look like it partitioned though. on windows I only have H: with 3.18gb

I used the Android Recovery Menu from Paul's old rooting tutorial which let me partion the memory card easily.

gave up for now, will have a look later on but don't want to mess with it that much as i`m using my stock sd card

I think you already have A2SD installed. I used Rom Manager to do the partition too and it was straightforward. No problems with rebooting though. If you reinstall your apps now, and if you check with a system info apps, you will find that you now have loads of internal memory.

ah, ok got 115mb free after installs(Used to have 10mb). So the defrost rom i`m using will automatically use apps 2sd when a partition is found?
Thought I had to set this up with spare parts?
How come I cant see the partition through windows?

Windows doesn't recognise linux partitions. Check with Quick System Info if A2SD is working correctly.

haha, feel stupid now. Working fine when checked with quick system info. Cheers for all the help guys, much appreciated

memphisuklf said:
ok, seems I now have a problem. Did partition through manager 512mb/0 swap seemed to work fine but now phone won't boot, stuck at htc white screen. Any ideas?
Edit
Ok booted after 4th time of pulling battery. Doesn't look like it partitioned though. on windows I only have H: with 3.18gb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u have 4Gb card and in windows you see only 3.2Gb partition, then i think you have ext partition there ok. Windows wont see your ext.
Rom Manager will make ext3 partition in the end of your sd card.
With 512Mb ext + 0Mb swap you will get fat32 partition + ext3 in your SD card.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

On a similar topic, if I install a 2.2 ROM with Google APS2SD and legacy APS2SD, do I only need to create a partition for the legacy version of APPS2SD? If I just wanted to use the Google version can I just leave the card as it is?

yep, no formatting is needed for google app2sd

Here's my experience to Partition the SD card.
1) I rooted my Desire with "UnrEVOked"
2) Flashed the phone with a ROM
3) Then I went to "Market" and download "ROM manager", which has an option to "Partition SD card".
4) Reboot

dexter9898 said:
Here's my experience to Partition the SD card.
1) I rooted my Desire with "UnrEVOked"
2) Flashed the phone with a ROM
3) Then I went to "Market" and download "ROM manager", which has an option to "Partition SD card".
4) Reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a related thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731531
I developed the most common methods of partition your SD Card, and answered some questions and asked some additional ones.
I would very much welcome it, if anyone wants to participate in assembling the infos about SD cards....

Not the best guide but does work, you may need to adjust the figures depending on what size card you got.

Too many a2sd a2sd+ app2sd, really confused...

I'm really confused, first with all the different a2sd variants and ones that are made by Darktremor or other people or the FroYo version. This is as much as I know for this app.
Secondly, I really couldn't find any information on doing partitions manually or setting ALL partitions to ext since I have a linux box, I really don't care to use windows to copy over files or whatever. I have a VMware box to do that on my windows machine anyways.
Third, the ClockworkMod recovery has NO options to do the partition following Darktremor's faq, and I don't know if I should install another recovery after flashing my hboot to 0.93 S-OFF (Alpha)
Mind you I only had my android for about 6 days and this is my first one, so learning curve is hard.
Please help

1) the names can be confusing but old apps2sd is an ext partition on your SD card that appears to the system as internal storage. Froyo apps2sd is using Froyo to transfer mapps to the fat32 partition (normal partition) of your SD card. You just need to use context because people tend to use apps2sd for both.
2) you can use gepart to partition. You need a fat32 partition for apps to write to and for any personal data because Android looks to that partition for that kind of data. I have my SD card as 5 gb fat32 and 3 gb ext3. Fat32 goes first.
3) go to ROM manager. Partition SD card. Choose size....there is only 3 sizes though.
If anything I wrote is wrong I'm sure I'll be corrected.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but since this is related to a2sd in general I might as well ask it here. What's the effect of having a2sd+ on your battery? Would it lower battery life due to cache and apps being stored mainly on SD instead of internal memory? I observed that this was often the case when I store always-on apps on SD back on my old Windows device.

So no way of not using a fat32 eh?
It still seems I don't have much space left after using the Rom manager way. I have 120meg free on internal mem.
Could I just format using linux mkfs? I want to make the apps partition about 2GB to hold more apps. Though it seems some widgets can't take putting on SD card, it dissipates.

BriEE said:
So no way of not using a fat32 eh?
It still seems I don't have much space left after using the Rom manager way. I have 120meg free on internal mem.
Could I just format using linux mkfs? I want to make the apps partition about 2GB to hold more apps. Though it seems some widgets can't take putting on SD card, it dissipates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Widgets must be installed on internal storage, or they wont work.

If you want an easy method to make a ext 3 partition use ROM manager premium from the Market. It will make you automatically an ext3 partition with a maximum of 512 mb which is enough (put swap to 0). Just keep in mind that first inside ROM Manager you need to select the option Flash ClockworkMod Recovery, and after that go to the SD partition option otherwise it wont work. And also remember you need to have the PREMIUM version otherwise it might not work
Now if you want to have more than a 512 mb you can use gparted. It is a livecd which means that can work on linux, mac or windows just reboot with the cd inside and is quite straightforward to use. Hope this helps.

Hello guys, any thought about that issue maybe?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=816098

[Q] Need more space

I know there are threads crying about needing more space yada, yada, etc... I have read a lot of threads, but none really give a simple solution. And go ahead and flame away.. But I have rooted my phone, it was a miracle that I accomplished this. At least when I was with WinMobile and the TP2 they has simple step by step instructions on how to unlock and flash a new rom. I have the android 2.1 and always having to uninstall an app to install another because of the STUPID space limitations and the fact that I cannot install programs on my 16gb microSDHC card is making it a real pain. I should have just traded it for a 1gb card. What good is all that space I can't use? Can someone (in between flames) please direct me to a step by step method to fix this problem? I found one for the 2.2, but not 2.1.
These are the only steps I know right now that can let me store all the apps I want on a SD card and have plenty of room.
1) Sell HTC Desire
2) Buy HTC Touch Pro 2
3) Install 16gb card from the sold Desire
4) Install all the programs I want.
Simple, but right now I am regretting having sold my TP2. I like the speed of the Desire, the .1 bigger screen, But hate the limited space. So to make this thread a understandable question, here it is:
1) Can someone give me step by step instructions to let me use my SD card to make more room?
2) And can it be done with no flames?

You need to s-off first: hxxp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=805811
Than mtd partition: hxxp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=806321
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

hatemenow said:
You need to s-off first: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=805811
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried this, For GSM phones only. Mine is CDMA.

for beginners, just move all apps to sd-card. go to settings, applications, select the app, select "move to sd card"
don't do that for widgets and live wallpapers, as they wont work anymore
for pro's: use apps2sd/a2sd and never run in storage space limitations again.

mad-murdock said:
for beginners, just move all apps to sd-card. go to settings, applications, select the app, select "move to sd card"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't have that option to "move to sd card" I think that came with 2.2, I have 2.1 on my Desire.

Is there any reason why you still have 2.1? If you are rooted you can just flash a 2.2 rom with A2SD+, this will allow you to install the apps on your SD card.
In this thread you can chose a rom you like with A2SD+, instructions on flashing should be in the matching rom thread, just make sure that before flashing the rom, you have to partition your SD card with a ext3 partition.
To partition you SD card either use Rom Manager or Gparted (Linux software)
If you use Rom Manager you need the clockworkmod recovery image, this can be installed by using Unrevoked. Once you have the clockworkmod install, download Rom Manager from the market, in Rom Manager chose partition SD card and set ext to 512Mb and 0Mb for swap.
If this gives a /!\ in recovery you have to toggle signature verification(in recovery) under 'install zip from sd card' and try again.
Edit: don't forget partitioning your sd card will wipe everything on it

TheGhost1233 said:
Is there any reason why you still have 2.1? If you are rooted you can just flash a 2.2 rom with A2SD+, this will allow you to install the apps on your SD card.
In this thread you can chose a rom you like with A2SD+, instructions on flashing should be in the matching rom thread, just make sure that before flashing the rom, you have to partition your SD card with a ext3 partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm I checked out the CDMA Roms there and all have something that isn't working. MMS is broken on all 4, WiFi out on some, bluetooth on another.
TheGhost1233 said:
To partition you SD card either use Rom Manager or Gparted (Linux software)
If you use Rom Manager you need the clockworkmod recovery image, this can be installed by using Unrevoked. Once you have the clockworkmod install, download Rom Manager from the market, in Rom Manager chose partition SD card and set ext to 512Mb and 0Mb for swap.
If this gives a /!\ in recovery you have to toggle signature verification(in recovery) under 'install zip from sd card' and try again.
Edit: don't forget partitioning your sd card will wipe everything on it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Rom manager installed, used Unevoked3 on it already. So basically I guess I have to wait till USCC releases 2.2 (Suppose to by the end of this month), or someone comes out with a CDMA Rom that works 100%.

Oditius said:
Hmmm I checked out the CDMA Roms there and all have something that isn't working. MMS is broken on all 4, WiFi out on some, bluetooth on another.
I have Rom manager installed, used Unevoked3 on it already. So basically I guess I have to wait till USCC releases 2.2 (Suppose to by the end of this month), or someone comes out with a CDMA Rom that works 100%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
after you root use rom manager to partition your sd card, beware this will erase all your data and then install the open desire rom for us cdma i hope this helps,
iv tried alot roms, but open desire to is the best.

I will try open desire. Hopefully I am doing this right. What is this about the radio? Do I have to change that too?

TheGhost1233 said:
partition your SD card with a ext3 partition.
Once you have the clockworkmod install, download Rom Manager from the market, in Rom Manager chose partition SD card and set ext to 512Mb and 0Mb for swap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, but only 512mb? I have a 16gb card with plenty of room to spare. Or is 512Mb a fixed thing? 0mb for swap? Is this so the Desire automatically loads it somewhere else? Or is making it 0mb means it will expand if necessary?

Oditius said:
Ok, but only 512mb? I have a 16gb card with plenty of room to spare. Or is 512Mb a fixed thing? 0mb for swap? Is this so the Desire automatically loads it somewhere else? Or is making it 0mb means it will expand if necessary?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
512mb is the max rom manager can do, i have a 1.5gb ext partiton, swap isnt needed as the desire has ample ram, also sd speed are to slow for it to be useable anyway

You can do as much as you like, but i think 512 is max via Rom Manager.
you don't need to flash a new radio (thanks heavymetalmage) and don't forget before flashing the new rom, do a nandroid backup from your current rom, either via Rom Manager or recovery

Oditius said:
I will try open desire. Hopefully I am doing this right. What is this about the radio? Do I have to change that too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM6 is fully working on the Desire, including MMS. You can find it on forum.cyanogenmod.com and go to the CDMA Desire forum. This post has a lot of great info, especially on installing darktremor's app2sd: http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/...ellular-desire/page__view__findpost__p__74880
DO NOT flash any radios. There are no updated radios for the CDMA Desire right now. Make sure you do a Nandroid and back up your apps with Titanium Backup to make the transition the smoothest.

I used the Rom manager to do the partitions like stated, but when I open explorer it doesn't look any different. Did I do something wrong?

No probably not, you can check with Quick System Info if it worked

Arrgggg now I can't copy anything to the drive, it may say I have 14gb free, but I don't have enough room!!!!

TheGhost1233 said:
No probably not, you can check with Quick System Info if it worked
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says 14.35GB free

Oditius said:
It says 14.35GB free
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly that means that your trick worked and some the memory card can only be used for storing apps which u cannot see unless u connect your computer to a linux machine or get root explorer

kaldean said:
exactly that means that your trick worked and some the memory card can only be used for storing apps which u cannot see unless u connect your computer to a linux machine or get root explorer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found the problem and fixed it. Now I have 2 partitions, one 14gb the other 488mbs.

kaldean said:
exactly that means that your trick worked and some the memory card can only be used for storing apps which u cannot see unless u connect your computer to a linux machine or get root explorer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and by the way even after all works out and you start saving your apps to the memory card, a small portion of the app is still going to be stored on the phone, but on the bright side i have 50+ apps installed and i still have 115 mb of internal memory left, before i rooted i had only about 20 mb left.

[Q] Is there a noob guide to data2ext

Hi,
currently running InSertcoin 2.0 using apps2sd but I see lots complementing data2ext.
I read lots about it but I can't fathom it out, lots of recommends but no guides on how to do it.
I have an 8Gb Class 6 card
When I try to do it I keep getting boot loops and hangs, market not working etc.
Does anyone have a proper nooby guide to partitioning the SD Card?
Many thanks for any replies. My searches seem to round in circles.

the simplistic way is to use mini tool partition wizard
http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html
back up anything you want to save on your sd card to your computer, backup apps with titanium backup and move the files to your computer..
you might want to download and use the insertcoin 2.0.1 as it has an updated data2sd script
boot in to recovery on your phone and mount the sd card.
connect phone to computer using your usb cable
open mini tool partition wizard
delete all existing partitions, this completely wipes your card, thats why backups moved to your computer are needed.
then click create
then make your fat32 partition say 6gb choose primary in the first drop down menu, use up all the space but leave 1.4gb free
then click create again
make an ext3 partition of 1gb make primary
then make an ext3 partition of 100mb make primary
then make a linux swap partition of 100mb
then click apply and let it make your partitions
thats it, move your rom on to your sd card
unmount your sd card
and flash the rom

^^ Now THAT!! Is exactly what I was looking for.
All partitioned and Insertcoin 2.0.1 installed, just syncing now.
Many thanks, appreciate your time.

chr15gb said:
^^ Now THAT!! Is exactly what I was looking for.
All partitioned and Insertcoin 2.0.1 installed, just syncing now.
Many thanks, appreciate your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks SnakeyEyes, I've added this to the InsertCopinWiki: hope you're OK with that.

[Q] Partition SD card while still on phone?

I would like to partition my SD card in order to take advantage of memory tweaks like link2SD and dalvid2cache. I have read that you can use tools like Minitool partition wizard as well as some that are installed when you root your phone. Is there any way I can partition my SD card without having to take it out of the phone? It is kind of a pain to remove covers on the play just to get to the SD card. Besides, I worry that I might break the cover.
Also, I read somewhere that link2SD required non nand-locked (or S-off) to work. Is this true? Does this even apply to the play?
btw, I am using a rooted, stock 2.3.3 R800at

Mount the sdcard to Windows & run Minitool Partition Wizard. Resize the FAT32 partition & make an EXT4 partition of any size you'd like. Unmount it from from the PC & run Link2SD.
Link2SD doesn't require S-OFF for the Play.

To mount it, is it just the normal state when you plug in the usb cord to the PC? ie, mass storage mode? or do I need to unmount the sd card in settings somewhere first. Just want to make sure I get the order right.
What would a good size ext4 partition be on a 16 gb card?

Mass storage mode is fine. Doing so in CWM is probably better though since the OS isn't trying to access anything.
2~4GB should be fine.

Can I use CWM if I only have root? I haven't done anything other than just root via zergrush and use titanium to backup/remove a few apps.
Also, on sort of a side note, is there any program that will sync the contents of my SD card (all of them) with a corresponding folder on my PC? I know SD cards can die on you, so I would like to perform this sync on a regular basis to try and prevent phone throwing when the SD card dies.

ROM Manager.

I hate to be the guy that asks a lot of questions that should be obvious, but how does ROM Manager answer my above questions? I hope that doesn't come across as rude, I meant it from my ignorant standpoint. I looked up the app on Google Play, and it sounds like it is used for backing up your current ROM, loading new ones, and a couple of other ROM related features.

Fuegeaux said:
Can I use CWM if I only have root? I haven't done anything other than just root via zergrush and use titanium to backup/remove a few apps.
Also, on sort of a side note, is there any program that will sync the contents of my SD card (all of them) with a corresponding folder on my PC? I know SD cards can die on you, so I would like to perform this sync on a regular basis to try and prevent phone throwing when the SD card dies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get CWM installed, you can mount the sdcard while in recovery.
Use SyncToy to do the syncing
http://www.everything-microsoft.com...our-windows7-files-and-folders-using-synctoy/
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=15155

What's the difference between Rom Manager and CWM? Thanks again!

Fuegeaux said:
What's the difference between Rom Manager and CWM? Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROM Manager = Android app that works with CWM. Installs CWM on phones that support it. Xperia Play isn't supported for CWM installation from the ROM Manager but the other features within it do work.
CWM = recovery image that boots when invoked via ROM Manager or at the bootloader/kernel.

Ah, so I use Rom Manager to invoke CWM-like functionality, one of which is to mount SD card when the system is able to access it, right?

Fuegeaux said:
Ah, so I use Rom Manager to invoke CWM-like functionality, one of which is to mount SD card when the system is able to access it, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... you need to get into recovery mode to access CWM properly. The ROM Manager can reboot the phone to get into that mode.

I downloaded ROM Manager from the market. I see two options in ROM Manager that I think are what you are talking about. The first one is under Recovery->Reboot into Recovery. The second one is Utitilities->Partition SD Card. Can I just check the Parition SD Card option or do I need to Reboot into recovery first? Also, above Reboot into Recovery, there is an option which says "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery. You must have the ClockwordMod Recovery installed to flash and restory ROMs!" But you said that the Xperia Play does not support this. I assume that I don't need to do this. (but, for future reference, I can't use ROM Manager to flash ROMs, right?)
First off, do I even need minitool Partition wizard if ROM Manager will do it for me using the Partition SD card option? Will that let me do ext4 as well as FAT32 and select differing sizes?
Second, if Partition SD card will not do what I want it to do, or do it fully, then what are the steps to do? My thought is plug phone into PC. Use ROM Manager to reboot into Recovery (using ROM Manager option). Once PC detects SD card, use Minitool Partition wizard to reformat/partition SD card with FAT32 for main portion and EXT4 for seperate portion for Link2SD use.
Will EXT4 also work for the dalvik2cache tweak?
Sorry for all of the questions and thanks again for all the help!

You need to have CWM installed that's made specifically for the Play. It CAN'T be installed from the ROM Manager.
Use this app to install it
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pvy.CWMinstaler
The Partition SD Card option will erase everything on the SD card & it creates a small EXT2 or EXT3 partition. I don't recommend using it.
Use the Minitool & do as I recommended earlier on...
Don't mix dalvik2cache with any sdext script... I recommend using Link2SD or mount2SD apps for utilizing the ext4 partition to move the dalvik-cache.

I will test these things out when I get home today, or maybe this weekend if I can't find free time before then.
One thing I noticed when I went to the thread mentioned in the Xperia CWM app is that in big red letters it says "Do NOT use this recovery if you are not using stock 2.3 firmware". I guess that means when ICS comes out from Sony, we won't be able to upgrade through ROM Manager, right? This also means that going from 2.3.3 to 2.3.4 would be okay using this version of CWM, right?
Also, if I wanted to upgrade to a 2.3.4 build, then ROM manager is the way to go, right?
Thanks again!!

I can't use the ROM Manager with ICS until something changes. Upgrading through CWM is always possible though, just as long as you know that spamming the home key (about 10 times) at system startup will get you into it.
Yes, ROM Manager/CWM Recovery can take care of any upgrades that don't involve flashmode or fastboot mode (ftf, img, & sin files).

Thanks again for all of your help. I find myself having more questions about ROMs, but that is kinda hijacking my own thread. Plus, I don't think I am ready to flash any ROMs just yet. I don't know, it just makes me kinda nervous doing that, plus it is a big pain having to redownload all of my apps and setting things up again.
I will try and partition my SD card soon and report back with the results.

Use Titanium Backup to capture all of your settings with the apps. Quite simple to achieve.

All right, so I finally repartitioned my SD card. I had to use FAT32 for the second partition because Link2SD did not recognize the EXT4 partition. I did make the mistake of not putting it as primary, but I fixed this and it still didn't work.
It looks like all is working, but I can't seem to link the davlik cache over, though it acts like there is none. Could I clean up the davlik cache and would that make any problems? It just seems like there is still a lot of memory being used and I can't figure out where it is coming from.

Fuegeaux said:
I would like to partition my SD card in order to take advantage of memory tweaks like link2SD and dalvid2cache. I have read that you can use tools like Minitool partition wizard as well as some that are installed when you root your phone. Is there any way I can partition my SD card without having to take it out of the phone? It is kind of a pain to remove covers on the play just to get to the SD card. Besides, I worry that I might break the cover.
Also, I read somewhere that link2SD required non nand-locked (or S-off) to work. Is this true? Does this even apply to the play?
btw, I am using a rooted, stock 2.3.3 R800at
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
connect your sd card to computer and use minitool partition wizard to partition your card. it is so convenient and easy to operate.