[Q] SD Card backups and Data2Ext - Desire Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi All
Firstly, huge apologies if this has been answered already. I have searched a ton of threads and none really explain exactly what I need to know...
Secondly, I am in no way aware of how any coding or development works on the desire or any android device for that matter so my knowledge is only from what I have personally done to my device:
S-ON (dont have the balls to attempt this!)
Currently I am running RCMixHD ver 0.14. This ROM includes a script which (so I understand) activates the data2ext, and creates this within my ext partition. Now I have read a few threads and posts about possible corruption with this, and so I have a question?
Can I simply copy the entire contents of the SD card to my PC, and then in the event of the SD card becoming corrupt, copy it to a different SD card, pop it back in the phone and then carry on?
Also I am considering a bigger SD card than the 4gb one I have, could this method also be used to transfer everything onto the new SD card without wiping and losing every app and photo etc.
Apologies for the semi-noob post, but I want to be clear before I do any potential damage to my phone!
Thanks

Yes and Yes but i dont know if u need S-Off for data2sdext.
But switching to S-Off is not a real problem or really dangerous! Done this on many phones!

lick_the_fish said:
Hi All
Firstly, huge apologies if this has been answered already. I have searched a ton of threads and none really explain exactly what I need to know...
Secondly, I am in no way aware of how any coding or development works on the desire or any android device for that matter so my knowledge is only from what I have personally done to my device:
S-ON (dont have the balls to attempt this!)
Currently I am running RCMixHD ver 0.14. This ROM includes a script which (so I understand) activates the data2ext, and creates this within my ext partition. Now I have read a few threads and posts about possible corruption with this, and so I have a question?
Can I simply copy the entire contents of the SD card to my PC, and then in the event of the SD card becoming corrupt, copy it to a different SD card, pop it back in the phone and then carry on?
Also I am considering a bigger SD card than the 4gb one I have, could this method also be used to transfer everything onto the new SD card without wiping and losing every app and photo etc.
Apologies for the semi-noob post, but I want to be clear before I do any potential damage to my phone!
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you have all your apps, clockworkmod recovery should backup all your ext partition. If you want an extra backup, boot in recovery and mount sdcard + ext, then do a tar of you ext partition and save it to you sdcard (something like cd /sd-ext tar czvf /sdcard/ext.tgz *)
Your ext partition will then be saved.

Related

APP2SD??

hey everyone..
i recently got my hero an have been upgrading roms back an forth, but each time i wipe to update the rom i lose all my apps.. i was wondering if anyone could please help me get app2sd installed or show me a step by step process for it.. itd help heaps an be greatly appreciated!!
thanks in advance,
brett
I need help for this altso, dont realy understand how this works?
+1
How to install apps from MARKET to SD card, so we dont have to reinstall them each flashing
you need root! and a custom rom (MCR2.2 or 2.3 are my faves) these have apps2sd built in.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=552591
p.s your thread should be in Q&A NOT the Dev section
problem
hi. i've partitioned my sd card as per the instructions on this website. prior to that, i'd installed the modaco rom version 2.2, which is meant to have apps2sd on it.
i thought that after partitioning my sd card my apps would automaticaaly get transferred to the sd card. but that doesn't seem to have happened. how do i go about making that happened. i don't want to reinstall the modaco rom, it should happen already shouldn't it?
also, where exactly is apps2sd on the modaco rom? i can't find it.
try booting your phone without the SD card in....are your apps still there?
apps2sd is built in to the rom, you dont need to run anything. It does it all by itself in the background.
thanks. I'll try that tomorrow. Before I do, just one other query. I thought that after partitioning the sd card, everything on it would get wiped. But the same folders (ther were only 2 before i partitioned it) are still there with the files in them!
which makes me think, did i successfully partition the card? there's no doubt that when i typed 'print' in the adb shell/ gparted after the partitioning process it gave a list of 3 partitions in the sd card. I basically followed the instructions to the letter. I won't be in a position to check again until tomorrow.
Just to be clear before I do something I may or may not regret, to get apps installed on the sd card, I need to partition it first, correct? Once it has been partitioned correctly, any app installations I do, say via the market, should go straight to the sd card? I'm running MCRv2.2.
Yes partition your card first. (FAT first, then EXT3 second)
they usually go to the SD card after a reboot i think.
AFAIK it is a script that is run during startup.
thanks alot for that.. i done a bit more research an have it all sorted.. cheers.. brett
good news. happy to help
as suggested earlier on this thread, i rebooted my phone without the sd card, and sure enough, all my applications/ widgets could not be loaded (except those that were already on the modaco 2.2 rom). rebooting again with the sd card in place, and everything is back to normal.
however, when looking on the sd card with astro file manager, i can't see a list of the applications anywhere. also, after connecting my phone to the computer, and then looking under 'removable disc' on my pc, i can't see the list of apps on my sd card then either.
so i guess what i'm asking is, how do you definitely know that apps2sd has kicked in. i've read on this and other forums that people have checked on their sd card and seen their list of applications. how does one do that? is what i've done above, namely booting my phone without the sd card in place and demonstrating that the downloaded apps don't work, enough proof that apps2sd has worked properly on my phone?
djdhrubs said:
as suggested earlier on this thread, i rebooted my phone without the sd card, and sure enough, all my applications/ widgets could not be loaded (except those that were already on the modaco 2.2 rom). rebooting again with the sd card in place, and everything is back to normal.
however, when looking on the sd card with astro file manager, i can't see a list of the applications anywhere. also, after connecting my phone to the computer, and then looking under 'removable disc' on my pc, i can't see the list of apps on my sd card then either.
so i guess what i'm asking is, how do you definitely know that apps2sd has kicked in. i've read on this and other forums that people have checked on their sd card and seen their list of applications. how does one do that? is what i've done above, namely booting my phone without the sd card in place and demonstrating that the downloaded apps don't work, enough proof that apps2sd has worked properly on my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't see them in /sdcard because that is your FAT32 partition of the card.
Apps2SD works by mounting an ext3 partition from your card, it is mounted to /system/sd/ normally I think. Have a look there with your filemanager.
The reason for having a separate partition for it is that Android requires the ability to set access rights and ownership to files for it work, and FAT32 does not support this.
if you load a linux live cd (i use ubuntu) and plug in your card reader, or mount your hero, you will see the two partitions (or 3 if you use swap).
Windows can't see ext3 partitions, but linux can, cos its great
yeah i had a look using astro file manager and went into system/sd but nothing is listed there.
anyway, now i have a whole new bizarre problem. most of my apps force close when i try to use them! for example, i open taskiller, and its fine while its running, but as soon as i select something to kill, a message pops up saying it has to force close. same with advanced task manager, shopsavvy, shazam, flixster movies and many others. i've turned my phone off and on, and rebooted a couple of times to no avail. phone calls and internet access still works fine.
all this has started since i tried booting my phone without the sd card. i've taken it out again and tried again, but still same problem. weird!
ok problem above solved! i uninstalled then reinstalled the applications, and then they work.
thanks for all your help guys.
i used to get that on my g1...un-install and re-install always solved it for me too!
happy hero'ing!
I am glad that there is a ROM that support A2SD, but i prefer to run the generic one, and if possible is there a code to make my generic pre-rooted rom A2SD abled?
I answered a similar Question a day or so ago here.... Just general stuff
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4655969&postcount=2
Dayz xxxx

Question about getting a new memory card...

If I plan on buying a 16gb card do I need to copy the files from the stock 8gb over to it or not?
Also, a simple question that probably has a simple answer but just to be safe. It won't mess up root/unlocked nand if I do, right? And it won't mess up apps that are currently installed?
you do not need to copy any files over, and it will not cause any problems with apps so long as you are not using app2sd on an ext partition.
Also, it will not mess with root so long as you have flashed a custom recovery during nand unlock.
elegantai said:
you do not need to copy any files over, and it will not cause any problems with apps so long as you are not using app2sd on an ext partition.
Also, it will not mess with root so long as you have flashed a custom recovery during nand unlock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for clearing that up!
If you have programs that save data on to the SD card then you actually would need to copy them to your new SD card or the data just won't be there.
A few games come to mind, some of my office docs as well as content from dropbox, my RSS news feed configurations, as well as any pictures or videos taken using the evo. If your phone is bone stock though, then no there isn't anything you need to copy over it'll work with an empty card.

[Q] SD Card Replacement

Howdy.
I've purchased a Class10 16gb kingston badboy and am having rather the trouble copying everything to it. I'm sure i'll work it out in the end but just in case I don't I thought I would ask if there's any amazing solution to SD Card Replacement out there... e.g. Ghosting an SD Card?
Currently an 8gb with fat / ext3 / swap (sadly)
Im in the process of backing up everything again from the 8gb and re-formatting the 16 while trying to copy shiz over. Fun times to their respective places on sd-ext.
Dont ask questions like this in the development thread.
Desire Q and A is more the place for these kind of questions.
Moved to Q&A as not development. Please do not make new threads in development to ask questions.
Try plugging in both sdcards to your pc (Linux, if using windows get a gparted livecd) then use gparted to copy the partitions over, then resize the fat partition to fill your sdcard.
Sorry guys, my bad. Realised my mistake of placement after pressing post.
Merc that would have been an epic solution However after much fustration, I got the great idea to do a backup of the current install through rom manager, copy that over to the other sd, load up in recovery and restore.
Somehow that made all the correct partitions and everything too. Ohhh what a mission.
Cheers for the help

SD card - ext{2,3,4} file system

There seems to be a lot of (out)dated information on the web about Android and sd-card formats. Would somebody please point me in the right direction (link to Google, CM Wiki, some other authority, or your own personal experience)?
Should I format my (entire) sd-card to ext2?
Can I format the entire card to ext2? (Is it supported by CM, AOSP, AOKP?)
Does the answer to the above questions depend on the rom in use?
I'm aware of the difference between ext2, 3 and 4. I'm mostly wondering if it's still required to have at least on primary fat partition, and whether that trade off is worth it.
Thanks.
i wouldnt do that since you dont have a SD card for the nexus.
you could ruin the entire partition and then you have a paperweight.
Zepius said:
i wouldnt do that since you dont have a SD card for the nexus.
you could ruin the entire partition and then you have a paperweight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. Thanks for pointing that out to me. I'm about to get my Nexus. (I'm preparing for it, in part, with this post.) I somehow overlooked that it doesn't support SD cards.

[Q] Issues with partioning sd card for a2sd

Hi all, I've a desire, running on
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1945441&highlight=activate+a2sd
currently.
I used this:
http://androidforums.com/gome-flytouch-3/352291-help-partition-sd-card.html
method to try to create an ext2/ext3 partition, the problem is it simply doesn't appear to work - actually the phone asks me to reformat my SD card. Anyway I'm really not sure what's happened here, I rooted my phone/flashed the previous ROM so long ago that any knowledge has basically gone out of the window, so whatever info. you need, do ask,
Thanks
gparted or 4ext recovery are the best ways to partition sd card. don't know why you're looking in other device forums. searching around here you'll find that you should not use minitool...
backup your sd card, then look here (step 5), stick with guides that are written for your device

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