Related
In short:
Is there a thread somewhere stating the pro's and con's of running Android from different types of "media" (SD, NAND, EXT2)?
If there is, please provide a link, I can't seem to find anything that isn't an unanswered question or small comments.
If there isn't, let this be a starting point for those looking for the answer to this question.
Longer:
I've seen this question pop up once and again but it might be that the topic is totally exhausted and people have stopped commenting on it. I can't seem to find an answer though; What are the pro's and con's of using NAND, EXT2, FAT32 or any combination of it?
I see a couple of installation alternatives and some I have been able to conclude myself but others not.
* Running from SD-card using HaRET
This option is the slowest in terms of Android performance. It has the added value of easily getting back to Windows Mobile by rebooting the phone, gaining easy access to the SD card and manipulation options.
* Running the system AND data on NAND
This option has in my view the fastest Android experience. Access to files on the SD card is a bit more cumbersome (there is the SD card split widget APK available but I have yet to see it working) and access to files for manipulation I can't comment on (haven't gotten to that yet).
* Running the system from NAND and data on EXT2
The performance seems almost as fast as the system+data on NAND. I have no idea about the added value of running anything from an EXT2-partition in the SD card but I'm guessing it will be slower. I have no idea if file access for manipulation is easier or not compared to the other options.
* Running the system AND data from EXT2
I have not tried this yet and cannot comment on it. Something tells me it will be slower than NAND because of SD card overhead.
* Running the system from EXT2 and data on NAND
I have not tried this yet and cannot comment on it.
Now, I've missed out on several of the installation options but I'll edit this post as soon as I get to investigating it further.
Any comments/experience/knowledge in this is greatly appreciated, as it can make things clearer as to what options to choose.
Well these are very good question and wanted to start a thread on this matter as well. I also could not find a strait answer anywhere.
I also want to know if there is an advantage using ext2 over fat32.
So, people out there having knowledge about this matter please share it.
Ext2 and Fat32 are both types of filesystem used on various different types of media, including SD card, Hard drives etc.
EXT2 is (one) of the native linux filesystems, and is fully supported in kernel, and is usually faster and more stable in that OS
FAT32 is the 32bit version of the old MSdos filesystem, used up to Windows 98, and still supported by windows machines, but slower and less stable than the native NTFS filesystem used by XP and above.
Nand is actually the type of flash ROM used by our devices, and not a filesystem as such, and running Android in Nand refers to where the information is stored, rather than the filesystem used to store it.
It's equally valid to say that we run WM in Nand also.
I think that in the case of Android EXT2 should be faster and more stable than fat32 since it's designed for Linux, and works better in that OS.
Zenity ik would like to thank you very much as this answers mij questions.
And i think this would many others aswell.
Don't forget - if you format your MicroSD to just EXT2 then you will make it very awkward to transfer files to/from the card on a Microsoft Windows based system.
This may, or may not be a problem for you.
Ultimately, the current ideal situation (IMHO) is to run your OS from NAND, and to store your data (music / movies / documents) on a FAT32 format MicroSD - as this enables you to swap the MicroSD card without turning off the device, and provides best cross-platform usability of the MicroSD for the purposes of transferring data to/from it.
Thank you all!
Thank you all for commenting! I will add your comments to the Android-wiki I'm building as this question could come back repeatedly from newcomers (and old ones who forgot )!
boli99 said:
Don't forget - if you format your MicroSD to just EXT2 then you will make it very awkward to transfer files to/from the card on a Microsoft Windows based system.
This may, or may not be a problem for you.
Ultimately, the current ideal situation (IMHO) is to run your OS from NAND, and to store your data (music / movies / documents) on a FAT32 format MicroSD - as this enables you to swap the MicroSD card without turning off the device, and provides best cross-platform usability of the MicroSD for the purposes of transferring data to/from it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a program for allowing the mounting of EXT2 file systems on windows, however they are not signed. This is more problematic in Windows that are 64bit. The program is called 'ext2fsd' and you can get it from source forge. EXT2 is a better file system, and does not have the 4GB file size limit, and does not fragment (although on a SD card, this should not be an issue). EXT2 also has file permissions that Linux understands. Fat32 has no Access control file permissions.
I have just recently got polymod's eclair running with both system and data on ext2 partitions.
my question is...
I am just wondering what the boot order is...
and where(if possible) can it be changed?
system.img in the andboot folder VS system on partition.
I know it can be set in the installer. but lets say I had installed system on ext2 partition. and then later placed a system.img in the andboot folder.
can I swap between the two?
OK...
I figured it out myself,
You can use the installer to select boot options (Not just options to install)
so I have a system and data on partitons. (currently using)
and I also have a second build installed to .img files in the andboot folder. (for failsafe backup)
if I want to swap from one into the other
I enter installer and change the settings for the system and data to
their respective locations and then just QUIT.
I also still have a donut build in the android folder. as well as still running winmo.
quad boot system on my phone...LOL
Now thats a neat use of the installer, I think this find deserves it's own thread in fact, I'm certain others will find it useful
Tanks !
binlabin said:
* Running the system from NAND and data on EXT2
The performance seems almost as fast as the system+data on NAND. I have no idea about the added value of running anything from an EXT2-partition in the SD card but I'm guessing it will be slower. I have no idea if file access for manipulation is easier or not compared to the other options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done some tries with this doing the partitioning from within android and then formatting the FAT32 partition from Windows 7 but the FAT32 partition doesn't work very well afterward. Really slow and sometimes crashes the explorer. Propably something to do with my SD-card. May try doing the partitioning and formatting from Linux to see if it works better.
Seems to me the main advantage of this option is to increase the size of available data storage which i suspect can become a limitation sooner or later in a pure NAND install.
EDIT: Now I've done it and gone NAND-System + EXT2-Data... Partitioned the SD-card from Ubuntu with gparted. Resized the FAT32 partition and created 3 primary EXT2 partitions. only the second (partition 3) should be used though with the setup I am using. It's charging right now so I haven't tried it out much yet but I will later on. However I noticed that I now have 171Mb free phone storage instead of 30-something that I had before (same apps installed).
EDIT2: Ran gparted again and shrinked the unused partition (partition 2) and expanded the data partition (partition 3) so I now have 369Mb free "Internal phone storage". Haven't noticed any speed differences between this and when I had data on NAND.
nand
By then one question:
If im install android in the NAND is more fast ready? But this process erase WM6?
Because now android work good in my HTC TYNT II but the camera and bluetooth not work and have one or two performance problems and for this dont like delete WM6 of my phone, and for this im use Android from my SD.
But look the NAND option because have a problems with the time live of my battery only lasts 5hours with android and SD.
Thanks for your help and cooperation
excellent thread which answers some questions that I had. Thanks to everyone who contributed. The only question remaining though and I have posted this elsewhere without getting an answer:
I partitioned a 2 gb sdcard with ~1.6gb Fat32 and the rest as a single Ext2. I selected system on nand and data on ext2 in the installer. After installation, it does show alot more memory for data as compared to data on nand, BUT I also have a data.img in andboot which is in the Fat32 partition, with a size around 250mb. The question is, is the data in that file or on ext2? If I backup data from installer, it creates a databackup.img in andboot with the same size as data.img. Seems to me the ext2 partition is just taking up space and not being used. Can anyone more knowledgeable shed some light on this? Thanks.
Not quite sure what is going on there, seems very counter-intuitive, I would have assumed that system on Nand, data on EXT2 would have installed the data partition to EXT2 on SD. This would seem not to be the case in this instance.
There are a few experiments you could try, if you are brave enough, since you may cause problems by trying any of these suggestions, which could mean a reinstall, I leave it to your judgement how to proceed
Ok firstly I assume you have a card reader, since you managed to partition and format the SD card in the first place. Remove the SD card, insert in card reader, delete the andboot folder, or the contents of the folder, ( may be wise to have a spare SD with either a winmo or android install handy at this point, just in case things go horribly wrong ).
Now with the cleaned SD, put it in the phone and boot, it should boot fine, IF the data is truly on the EXT2 partition.
That at least will answer one question, namely, where the heck is my data?
If this works fine, then I'd just put it down to some inner weirdness of android on non-native devices, if it fails then I'm wondering if your EXT2 partition may have problems, forcing the phone to dump it on the first available good partition, namely the FAT32 one.
Oh and if it does fail, you will have to reinstall, since your data will be toast.
Finally, good luck, I await with interest
As I recall, the install has the FAT32/Ext2 options incorrectly swapped. It has been this way for a while.
zenity said:
Not quite sure what is going on there, seems very counter-intuitive, I would have assumed that system on Nand, data on EXT2 would have installed the data partition to EXT2 on SD. This would seem not to be the case in this instance.
There are a few experiments you could try, if you are brave enough, since you may cause problems by trying any of these suggestions, which could mean a reinstall, I leave it to your judgement how to proceed
Ok firstly I assume you have a card reader, since you managed to partition and format the SD card in the first place. Remove the SD card, insert in card reader, delete the andboot folder, or the contents of the folder, ( may be wise to have a spare SD with either a winmo or android install handy at this point, just in case things go horribly wrong ).
Now with the cleaned SD, put it in the phone and boot, it should boot fine, IF the data is truly on the EXT2 partition.
That at least will answer one question, namely, where the heck is my data?
If this works fine, then I'd just put it down to some inner weirdness of android on non-native devices, if it fails then I'm wondering if your EXT2 partition may have problems, forcing the phone to dump it on the first available good partition, namely the FAT32 one.
Oh and if it does fail, you will have to reinstall, since your data will be toast.
Finally, good luck, I await with interest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great idea, I'll try this on the weekend. I wont delete data though, I'll just rename andboot and backup data for good measure, because I want to be able to go back to the data by renaming it back if it doesn't work. I was also thinking if there is any way to get to the ext2 partition and read it... I'm on xp so I cant do it on my pc, and on the phone, I've looked around in astro n other file managers but cant see anything. But if the case is as golfnz34me points out, then I should just backup the data, and change the option to Fat32 in install and restore data. That should do the trick.
golfnz34me said:
As I recall, the install has the FAT32/Ext2 options incorrectly swapped. It has been this way for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, will check this out. If its true, then great, more speed for my /data! I wonder how I missed this, been going through these forums regularly...
Ok I checked it out, and golfnz34me is correct it seems.
But now I found a new problem. I backed up data, and in the installer, set the data to SDCard, and tried to restore data. It gives various errors like
Code:
cannot determine filesystem size
failed
failed to format
...some other lines...
losetup: /dev/block/loop2: no such device or address
I created the partition with Paragon partition manager, and after getting this error I rechecked in PPM. I reformated the partition, but still get the error. In PPM the partition drive letter isnt assigned. Or, the partition isnt the active partition. Can one of those be the problem? The volume name is Ext2. Im not very experienced in partitioning etc, apart from normal ntfs partition for new hds in windows, so I didnt play with any options. I dont have a linux system either. Any got any ideas? Any help would be appreciated alot!
Not sure about using partition managers other than gparted, afaik most people are using the Gparted live cd if they don't have a linux install handy.
The errors all point to some sort of problem with the EXT2 partition, or it's formatting.
Also EXT2 partitions do not have drive letters, nor do they have to be active partitions.
Apps and data on SD card.
I cant seem to figure out how to make all the apps and other stuff install to the SD card. Do I have to partition the card into two partitions? or is there a way to install the system to Nand and make all the apps and data go to the SD card? Ive tried setting it to System on nand and data on SD partition but it says no partitions to install to or something.
Hi,
i have a severe problem with my Desire. In at least two different ROMs i can't get the Hard Drive Mode to work. The SD Card contains a FAT32 partition and an Ext2 Partition when i activate it, my windows PC tells me, i should format the card.
What's interesting, is that it works, when i boot into Clockwork and mount the SD in the partitions menu. I get full access to the FAT32 partition in Windows (obviously no access to Ext2 Partition).
WHY is that, and what can i do against it? I find this extremely annoying.
Regards, Max.
PS: I'm gonna bump this topic into the sky, until my problem is solved, so don't even try ignoring it
First thing, it's been almost 2 hours and I'm responding. Topics do get answered eventually, just no one lives on XDA really.
Windows doesn't pick up ext partitions because ext partitions are Linux and Windows does not support it. I also am assuming your using A2SD. The ext2 partition is old so going to ext3 might solve your problem, although you will need to format your SD Card to do that.
first of all: thank you for your answer.
1) i've asked questions here before and most of them havent been replied to at all, so i'm kinda frustrated.
2) windows doesnt work with ext 2. i know that. thats why i wrote "in Windows (obviously no access to Ext2 Partition)"
3) my problem is that the FAT partition doesnt work in windows, linux sometimes recognizes it, but thats not the point.
Windows keeps telling my to format the device, when i put it in mass storage mode (booted android of course). but when i use the usb host in clockwork recovery, windows can work with the FAT partition flawlessly.
Maybe my initial post was a little misleading. I just wanted to be able to move some files around on my phone in windows!
Just format it and it'll be fine. Just remember to take what ever you have off your SD card, back it up first then format it. I do agree, sometimes they cannot get answered but still. Also, yes it was a little misleading, maybe I read it wrong I don't know. Just a format will do.
Hello there! I hope that I am not annoying you, but I am having issues with partitioning my SD Card, that have not yet been discussed here, so a step by step guide would be highly appreciated, because otherwise I am just too stupid.
I have a fully unlocked HTC Desire with alpharev's S-OFF, most recent radio & stuff. Partitioning my SD with Clockworkmod Recovery 3.0.0.5 just won't work, it DOES something, but when plugging my Desire on my PC, it shows me ONE FAT32 partition, just as it was before, which takes up all the SD's space. Neither does it work with ROM Manager.
It got really weird when I manually partition it with GParted on my Ubuntu:
My Setup was:
1 FAT32 Partition, size: maximum what was left.
2 EXT4 Partitions, one 768MB, one 256 just as recommended for DATA2EXT HERE
No SWAP Partition.
Then my sdcard can't even be mounted by CWM-recovery - it says wrong parameter
I can still access it via 'mount usb storage', and fully access and format it in any way I like.
Any hints, step-by-steps or any help at all on how to correctly partition my sdcard? GParted there are settings like partition tables and stuff. what should I choose to make my SD Android-mountable??
EDIT: I think I got it. haven't yet tried it, but I think my fat pertition exceeded 2GB, gonna try later.
hy, don"t know really how it works with gparted (i m currently using amonRA which allows partionning sc card) but a single search with my friend... google gives me that result.
I think this could helps you considering your post.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=557590
have fun ;-)
CrisisCorE said:
Hello there! I hope that I am not annoying you, but I am having issues with partitioning my SD Card, that have not yet been discussed here, so a step by step guide would be highly appreciated, because otherwise I am just too stupid.
I have a fully unlocked HTC Desire with alpharev's S-OFF, most recent radio & stuff. Partitioning my SD with Clockworkmod Recovery 3.0.0.5 just won't work, it DOES something, but when plugging my Desire on my PC, it shows me ONE FAT32 partition, just as it was before, which takes up all the SD's space. Neither does it work with ROM Manager.
It got really weird when I manually partition it with GParted on my Ubuntu:
My Setup was:
1 FAT32 Partition, size: maximum what was left.
2 EXT4 Partitions, one 768MB, one 256 just as recommended for DATA2EXT HERE
No SWAP Partition.
Then my sdcard can't even be mounted by CWM-recovery - it says wrong parameter
I can still access it via 'mount usb storage', and fully access and format it in any way I like.
Any hints, step-by-steps or any help at all on how to correctly partition my sdcard? GParted there are settings like partition tables and stuff. what should I choose to make my SD Android-mountable??
EDIT: I think I got it. haven't yet tried it, but I think my fat pertition exceeded 2GB, gonna try later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not overly sure if this will help but .....
A long time ago when I first started tinkering with roms I tried partitioning my SD Card for Apps2SD but whatever I tried (Partition Magic, ROM Manager, GParted) it would get halfway through partitioning and then fail sometimes even leaving me unable to access the card from phone or PC. Spent several nights trying to sort problem then found out that some makes (possibly cheaper but think Transend are mostly the bad ones?) don't like being partitioned, why .... I have no idea. Anyway bought a new one 16gb Lexar Class 6 card which partition first time and had no problems since. Hope it helps and best of luck!
Are you to create "primary" partition or "logical"?
Hi All,
I have a problem with my SD card. My phone doesn't recognise SD card after I created ext4 partition through partition magic on windows 7. Here is what happened.
- I have rooted desire running CM 7.0.3.
- I wanted to go back to Starburst 1.4 rom.
- I have class 4 16 gb sd card (fat + ext3) with 512 mb of ext3 and rest fat32 (this was when everything was running good)
- I flashed the new rom through CWM, but only got like 54 mb on sd left.
- So I manually formatted ext3 and changed it to ext4 using partition magic on windows 7 (connected sd card through a reader).
- After that I flashed the new rom, but still got the same size left.
- After that I went back to CM7.0.3 which is working fine for me.
However, at this time, my phone doesn't recognise my SD card.
- I saw that I can't format ext in recovery as i get this error
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2(File exists)
Error mounting SDEXT: !
I believe I was able to install CM7.0.3 coz it was a small rom was fit directly into phone's internal memory.
At this time, I can't see my SD card on phone. Can't play music or install any files or anything.
Looking for some quick help.
Thanks,
Satyam
Hi,
I had the same problem.
I got someone to format my SD card in there phone, then reverthing worked.
Regards
Matt
topgunmatt said:
Hi,
I had the same problem.
I got someone to format my SD card in there phone, then reverthing worked.
Regards
Matt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Matt,
So are you saying that you got your SD card formatted by someone else using Rom Manager ?
- As of now, when I click on the inbuilt ROM Manager in CM7, it says " The SD Card needs to be mounted to use ROM Manager!"
That means my SD card is abviously not read by my phone.
Looking for some help. I don't want to do something silly at this time.
Atleast, as of now my phone is not bricked and is working, just the SD is not.
Any suggestions/comments or link to my problem is more than welcome.
Thank You
Hmmm, i smell another usb brick here, we've had so many these days, and all by people using cwm and flashing gb sense roms...just to prove i'm right, can you connect the phone to your pc? If you're not able to do that, then u have 100% chance it's a usb brick.
OMG !! yeah you're right.. now when I connected my phone using a USB, it doesn't give me the option to "mount USB".
What do to from here ? I don't know what is a USB brick and am pretty poor with linux commands !!!
Plz help.. However I can see a a couple of ROMs through recovery mode in my SD card, but can't flash those which require an EXT.
Plz help !!!!!
sroy001 said:
OMG !! yeah you're right.. now when I connected my phone using a USB, it doesn't give me the option to "mount USB".
What do to from here ? I don't know what is a USB brick and am pretty poor with linux commands !!!
Plz help.. However I can see a a couple of ROMs through recovery mode in my SD card, but can't flash those which require an EXT.
Plz help !!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, calm down its'no biggie believe me
Here you can find a tutorial on how to fix it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=691639
Feel free to ask if you need further help (bus is farkin boring).
vnvman said:
Haha, calm down its'no biggie believe me
Here you can find a tutorial on how to fix it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=691639
Feel free to ask if you need further help (bus is farkin boring).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Are you saying that formatting SD card and making fresh ext partition through a media reader will not help in this case ?
I am very confused so to say.. I read the link that you posted, it talks about CID which I'm not able to find.. Can't see that option in fast boot (recovery).
Is there some other way to fix all this ?
Any more tricks/ suggestions are more than welcome..
Please see detailed info about my issue in the post
sroy001 said:
Hi,
Are you saying that formatting SD card and making fresh ext partition through a media reader will not help in this case ?
I am very confused so to say.. I read the link that you posted, it talks about CID which I'm not able to find.. Can't see that option in fast boot (recovery).
Is there some other way to fix all this ?
Any more tricks/ suggestions are more than welcome..
Please see detailed info about my issue in the post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope: i'm sorry but there is no other way...the problem lies in the misc partition, and that one doesn't get touched by simply toying with your sd, it's on nand, and no rom flashing/nandroid restore can touch it either. This process is the only way to go. CID can be obtained via adb command, i hope you'll have it installed and set up correctly.
i just fixed my brick lol . i found out bcuz i coulnt enable bluetooth
vnvman said:
Nope: i'm sorry but there is no other way...the problem lies in the misc partition, and that one doesn't get touched by simply toying with your sd, it's on nand, and no rom flashing/nandroid restore can touch it either. This process is the only way to go. CID can be obtained via adb command, i hope you'll have it installed and set up correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Okay I get it.. I need to fix my nand partition, now question -
1) I can figure out the 1st step "Find out your CID. Go into fastboot mode, and do 'fastboot oem boot" - Nothing happens when I click on fast boot option in recovery mode. The other method CID generator also asks for CID.. how do I get that.. that's my biggest question.
2) How can I see the rom version.
I know, I might me sounding stupid, but I'm not a pro.. used to love flashing new ROMs earlier and this time I just messed it up.
Need some step-by-step help.. I might be asking for too much, but I trust this forum and believe Android has too many fans hooked to it.. so I will get some help
sroy001 said:
Hi,
Okay I get it.. I need to fix my nand partition, now question -
1) I can figure out the 1st step "Find out your CID. Go into fastboot mode, and do 'fastboot oem boot" - Nothing happens when I click on fast boot option in recovery mode. The other method CID generator also asks for CID.. how do I get that.. that's my biggest question.
2) How can I see the rom version.
I know, I might me sounding stupid, but I'm not a pro.. used to love flashing new ROMs earlier and this time I just messed it up.
Need some step-by-step help.. I might be asking for too much, but I trust this forum and believe Android has too many fans hooked to it.. so I will get some help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also just want to let the forum know that I'm running a custom ROM (CM 7) and don't see the option of software info under Settings>About phone. Any other way to find out rom version ???????/
Ok, sorry man, i was out for a ride
To see the CID you have to type "fastboot oem boot" in the terminal, after navigating to the path where you have the sdk, for example:
"cd c:/sdk/tools"
"fastboot oem boot"
Then you should get all the info, together with the CID ofc...obviously you need to have adb installed and working in order to do that (there ia a lot of tutorials for that, just use the search function).
As to rom version, you don't need it, just download the mtd0.img, open it with the hex editor and mod it with your CID, then go for the next step
I dont believe you have bricked your phone, i think you have created a partition on it without making it a primary partition along with the fat32 parition.
boot into recovery and mount your SD card to your PC. Reformat the whole card and then it should work again, you may just be able to go into your partition software and amend to show 'primary' on each, if not read on. Couple of options then, download ROM manager from the market and reformat the ext3 using rom manger if not do it via your windows software but make sure both partitions are set to 'Primary'.
vis-tec said:
I dont believe you have bricked your phone, i think you have created a partition on it without making it a primary partition along with the fat32 parition.
boot into recovery and mount your SD card to your PC. Reformat the whole card and then it should work again, you may just be able to go into your partition software and amend to show 'primary' on each, if not read on. Couple of options then, download ROM manager from the market and reformat the ext3 using rom manger if not do it via your windows software but make sure both partitions are set to 'Primary'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a usb brick, not a plain brick: when you plug it to pc the phone usually doesn't even light up the led.
sorry, i read that he had full use of his phone bar the SD card
- I saw that I can't format ext in recovery as i get this error
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2(File exists)
Error mounting SDEXT: !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi, seems you got bad partition on your sd card, since it s normal that you can't mount sd while plug on usb.
did you already put out your sd card out the phone and try to read it with a usb scard reader plug on your computer??
cid error mean you have messed-up your misc partition which is the one in your nand where the recovery is located... didn't see any error about this in your thread...
in the boot, should fail with error misc partiton cid unknown etc...
have a try about sd card reader it's easer than misc error fix
give a try on this site and try using gparted cd live... don't need to be expert in linux command (it s a graphical interface) should you know that FIRST FAT32 PRIMARY partition and LAST EXT3 (is less fast but really more stable and relyable fs) PRIMARY partition
hi, still me sorry for spamming, just found a nice TUT using gparted on xda http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=535914
fragargon said:
hi, seems you got bad partition on your sd card, since it s normal that you can't mount sd while plug on usb.
did you already put out your sd card out the phone and try to read it with a usb scard reader plug on your computer??
cid error mean you have messed-up your misc partition which is the one in your nand where the recovery is located... didn't see any error about this in your thread...
in the boot, should fail with error misc partiton cid unknown etc...
have a try about sd card reader it's easer than misc error fix
give a try on this site and try using gparted cd live... don't need to be expert in linux command (it s a graphical interface) should you know that FIRST FAT32 PRIMARY partition and LAST EXT3 (is less fast but really more stable and relyable fs) PRIMARY partition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fixing misc doesn't take more than a minute if you have a working adb...repartitioning micro sd card takes loads of time instead, especially if it's big, coz you have to backup all of your data then copy them back, and that's a pain, especially if the sd isn't very fast.
Anyway you might be right there, just the other day a guy had a similar issue caused by multiple ext partitions not being recognized properly. I just thought it was a usb brick coz it's very common since the new gb sense roms rolled out and people started partitioning like crazy with cwm (which really SUCKS at that), and this either cause misc corruption or messed partitions on sd card: i'd suggest everyone to partition with amon them flash back any 3.0+ cwm to flash the rom, if you don't have the chance of using linux live cd (but you really should).
All sorted --------- RESLOVED !!!!
Okay Listen all Desire Owners-- I was able to fix this USB brick without having to go through all which was available on internet..
What I did -
1) Came home and formatted my EXT4 to ext3 and simply reflashed cm7 rom
All worked like charm - Now My SD card is mountable and works perfectly
Good for you
Anyway make sure you set up adb properly on your pc, it will save your life some day: it takes a while but it's worth it...i wouldn't get inti the rom flashing thing without it. Just a suggestion
Bests.
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.