Develop Bugs

Apps2sd problem

I have had the latest MoDaCo rom running on my T-Mobile G2 touch a day after I recieved it and have to say that it out performs the stock rom by far. I have noticed a problem in the last 2 days or so which prompted me to do a clean install today but unfortunately did not resolve the problem.
I originally installed the MoDaCo rom using the guide over at the unlockr which was very simple and effective. I also decided that I would try and use apps2sd to help remove installed packages off my phone and store them on my 8GB SD. I had partitioned my sd card as the guide here suggests, I followed the code correctly by basically using copy and paste function in cmd so as to not make any mistakes and made note to update the ext2 to ext3 only as I read that the ext4 has issues with this particular rom.
I presumed everything was fine until today I noticed that when I install an app from the market store it seems to still be storing all the applications on the phone memory, I noticed the phone memory was reducing on every installation wheras the sdcard memory is untouched. Another thing I noticed is that in the sd card setting the sd card total space is being read as 7078MB wheras the partition was for a size of 7437MB. I have also accessed the data/apps folder on my phone through adb shell commands and low and behold all my apps are stored on there. There is also no folder on the sd card so there must be a problem.
I would be greatful if anyone could guide me as to any known issues with apps2sd on this particular rom or whether they can see where I might have done something incorrectly.
Many Thanks

With Aps2SD as I understand it, some parts of the programmes are still stored on the devices - system files etc. so The phone memory will change gradually.
Also, the browser and market caches still grow on the device, and need deleting via Application manager to keep the device memory as free as possible. (With Browser, clear cache, but not data as this clears your cookies and bookmarks )
Also, the apps from aps 2 SD are of course stored on the Ext3 partition. It doesn't get read at all as the SD Card in the device, as the device only sees FAT32 as SDCard space, so new apps loaded don't make a dint in the SD Memory seen on the device, or even in your PC, as this does the same thing, it doesn't see the Ext3 partition.
In My case, prior to installing MCR rom, I had around 50 apps on my device and my phone memory was reading around 70MB
After a wipe and installing MCR2.0 before loading any APPS - I was at around 155MB
After reinstalling ALL my 50 apps plus a fair few more - so around 60 apps(including some bulky apps like CoPilot - which I know stores around 8mb of its total of 15mb on the device itself to run smoothly and Docs To Go) I'm at around 120MB
So my advice is - Check your Browser and market caches. If your device has 50 or 60 apps on taking up around 30mb, then the bulk of those apps are being stored on your Ext 3 partition and its likely all running as it should.
If you have 50 or 60 apps and they are taking up closer to 80/90mb of your device storage, then aps2 SD might not have worked. - check on the thread for ROM that you have installed for advice on how to solve it.
Hope that helps
Dayz xx

APPS on SD?

Any ideas how I could get my apps onto my 4gig sd card.
I have read the tutorial but in my clockwords recovery mode, there is no option to partition.
The reason for the partition is for adding my apps to my SD card.
Currently I have tons of apps and allot of them slow my phone down.
Should this be the case? I was advised that the way android works is, it auto closes apps when the speed starts to slow down?

mobad said:
Any ideas how I could get my apps onto my 4gig sd card.
I have read the tutorial but in my clockwords recovery mode, there is no option to partition.
The reason for the partition is for adding my apps to my SD card.
Currently I have tons of apps and allot of them slow my phone down.
Should this be the case? I was advised that the way android works is, it auto closes apps when the speed starts to slow down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the linux kernal will close apps when it needs to but that has very little to do with where the apps actually reside.
you need to partition your card with rom manager from the market in order to enable apps2sd( not the crappy froyo apps2sd mind)
copy the contents of your card at the moment to your pc. downlaod rom manager from the market, use it to partition your card with 512mb and 32mb swap. then dowload modinstalllocation from the market, this will allow you to chose where you save your apps too. choose 1 internal( ie the 512mb ext 3 partition for apps2sd you made with rom manager). copy all your content back to your sd card. all your apps should now be in your ext3 partition. if you really want to move apps to the actual sd card main partition, choose location 2 phone with modinstallocation but beware that whenever you mount the sd card those apps wont work till its remounted( its wise not to put widgets on the sd card). to check all this info and make sure apps2sd is working correctly you can downlaod quick settings info from the market and it will give you all the info you need on internal and apps2sd storage on your phone.

Many thanks for your reply.
I have just done as you said and then downlaoded aroudn 4 apps equalling around 20mb.
They seem to be on the sd card and internal.
The size of external has gone down by around 15mb and around 5-10mb has goen down on the internal as well?

mobad said:
Many thanks for your reply.
I have just done as you said and then downlaoded aroudn 4 apps equalling around 20mb.
They seem to be on the sd card and internal.
The size of external has gone down by around 15mb and around 5-10mb has goen down on the internal as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct. If you are using legacy Apps2SD or Froyo Apps2SD, the Dalvik cache (see here) remains on the internal phone memory.
So, when you install a new application onto SD card, it will consume memory on internal phone memory, though at a lesser rate than if the app was installed on phone memory (in my experience, roughly half the rate).
The only way to "resolve" this is to install legacy Apps2SD+, which also moves the Dalvik cache to SD card.
Personally, I don't do this - what I do is actively manage my applications using Titanium backup. For example, I seldom use certain large apps such as Google Earth, and some games, but I do want to keep them available. So I install them on the phone, and then back them up using Titanium Backup. When storage is low, I will remove them from the phone, but I can bring them back quickly (and without using data) as required.
I don't use legacy Apps2SD+ because I do have several SD cards that I want to be able to swap between quickly.
Regards,
Dave

Dave - many thanks for your comprehensive and useful reply.
What would be the limitation for using Apps2SD+?
From your reply im assuming it would stop me from chaing sd cards?

Essentially yes - you'd need to keep the EXT partition across SD cards in sync, which while not impossible, is more difficult than just copying .android_secure folder from one card to another which I believe should work ok so long as being used in the same phone.
Regards,
Dave

Excellent.
I think im ready to set it all up.
Got two not technical final question for you -
Which rom would you recommend?
I'm currentl with Frost 2.9a however I found Modaco's custom rom to be mroe fruitful with apps/stability.
Which 16gb/32gb sd card would you recommend?
Thanks

mobad said:
Which 16gb/32gb sd card would you recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I regularly use two 16gb Class 2 Sandisk cards and a 8gb Class 6 Transcend card. To be honest, I've no performance issues with either and my Sandisk cards regular exceed Class 6 minimums. Personally, I see no point paying extra for a large capacity Class 6 or Class 10 card - I may try 720p recording on my Class 6 soon though to see if it improves the framerate, but I doubt there will be much if any difference.
Regards,
Dave

Apps Still taking up space on phone

Hi Everyone,
i currently have a Rooted HTC Desire with DJ Droid V1.2 and froyo. I have setup my SD card partitioned to 512mb. Everytime i install an app to the SD card or even move it to the SD card, it still takes up the full space on the phone. For example i had 116mb free on my internal storage then after installing fennic (takes up 18.51mb) i had 97.80mb left so it took up 18.19mb out of a 18.51mb install.
Am i doing something wrong? can anyone advise?

ricochet69 said:
Hi Everyone,
i currently have a Rooted HTC Desire with DJ Droid V1.2 and froyo. I have setup my SD card partitioned to 512mb. Everytime i install an app to the SD card or even move it to the SD card, it still takes up the full space on the phone. For example i had 116mb free on my internal storage then after installing fennic (takes up 18.51mb) i had 97.80mb left so it took up 18.19mb out of a 18.51mb install.
Am i doing something wrong? can anyone advise?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dalvik cache and data will still be on the internal memory, only the physical app will get moved to sd card.

Lennyuk said:
Dalvik cache and data will still be on the internal memory, only the physical app will get moved to sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok fair enough but look at how little space is actually being stored on the sd card (0.32mb) Are you saying that the app is only 0.32mb and 18.51mb of that app is data? by the way ive never used this app so i dont know how it has 18.51mb of data.

ricochet69 said:
ok fair enough but look at how little space is actually being stored on the sd card (0.32mb) Are you saying that the app is only 0.32mb and 18.51mb of that app is data? by the way ive never used this app so i dont know how it has 18.51mb of data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well maybe in the case of firefox, or whatever name its going by, as its only a alpha/beta does not correctly move to SD.

see attached screenshot

Lennyuk said:
well maybe in the case of firefox, or whatever name its going by, as its only a alpha/beta does not correctly move to SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok i prob picked a bad app as an example i was just trying to get something with a large install. i tried it with another few apps after partitioning my sd card and it seems to work fine. Thanks man.
Just one question. what is app2sd for? is that the routed version of what froyo has? it only lists like 2 apps to be able to move. which one moves the apps to the ext partition, app2sd or applications (in system menu)?

ricochet69 said:
ok i prob picked a bad app as an example i was just trying to get something with a large install. i tried it with another few apps after partitioning my sd card and it seems to work fine. Thanks man.
Just one question. what is app2sd for? is that the routed version of what froyo has? it only lists like 2 apps to be able to move. which one moves the apps to the ext partition, app2sd or applications (in system menu)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all apps will have the ability to "move to sd" on froyo, however with "apps2sd+" or "ext apps2sd" everything will be saved onto the ext parition of the sd card.

So since i have app2sd already preinstalled on the djdroid rom, i already see all my apps are movable to the SD card. is that correct? or are just most apps movable anyway

app2SD doesnt MAKE all YOUR APPS MOVABLE. It just alerts you when an app is movable.

dahauss said:
app2SD doesnt MAKE all YOUR APPS MOVABLE. It just alerts you when an app is movable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two things!
1. Why resurrect a thread that is nearly 3 months old?
2. If someone is using Apps2SD with an EXT partition, everything is already installed on the EXT partition and so is already on the SD card. There's no point "moving" it to SD since all you'd be doing is shifting it from the EXT partition to the FAT32 partition!
Regards,
Dave

[Q] Question about 2.2 App2sd and the App2sd of custom Rom

For the App2sd function of Froyo 2.2, I had set default to install the applications to SD card and all the "Move to SD" button can work. However, I find that some application still use up the internal memory, e.g. 10Mbs application can only move 5Mbs to SD card.
May I know any different between the 2.2 App2sd and that of custom Rom?
Is the App2sd of custom Rom (i.e. the one need to create ext2/3/4 on SD card) can move all the whole application to SD card and will not use up the internal memory?
Thanks!

There are essentially 3 forms of A2SD:
1. Froyo A2SD - moves the application (from /data/app) to the FAT32 partition of the SD card. Does not touch the Dalvik cache (data/dalvik-cache) or the application data (/data/data).
2. Legacy A2SD - moves the application (from /data/app) to an EXT partition of the SD card. Does not touch the Dalvik cache (data/dalvik-cache) or the application data (/data/data).
3. Legacy A2SD+ - moves the application (from /data/app) and the Dalvik cache (data/dalvik-cache) to the EXT partition of the SD card. Does not touch the application data (/data/data).
Options 1 and 2 should be pretty much identical in terms of internal storage usage, and option 3 should save the most space.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that any attempt to move /data/data to SD card causes a lot of instability, which is surprising because I would have thought that the Dalvik cache would have been more problematic.
The long and short of it is that there is no way to stop applications from consuming storage if they use /data/data. A prime example is Google Earth, which still consumes a lot of internal memory regardless of A2SD because of the data in /data/data.
Personally, I use Froyo A2SD, with the fusecompress mod to compress the Dalvik cache in internal memory.
Regards,
Dave

kitkit1981 said:
For the App2sd function of Froyo 2.2, I had set default to install the applications to SD card and all the "Move to SD" button can work. However, I find that some application still use up the internal memory, e.g. 10Mbs application can only move 5Mbs to SD card.
May I know any different between the 2.2 App2sd and that of custom Rom?
Is the App2sd of custom Rom (i.e. the one need to create ext2/3/4 on SD card) can move all the whole application to SD card and will not use up the internal memory?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
legacy apps2sd that comes native in froyo, just moves the .apk to the sd card, and not all apps can be moved. apps2sd+ that comes with custom roms, creates a parallel file system identical to that of androids but on your sd card, then points your device to the sd card as the install location, this means alot less space is taken up on your device, some install data is sometimes still stored on your device but for example i have over 200 apps on my desire and some of them are quite large, rockplayer/nfs shift/ 5 or 6 gameloft games ect and i still have over 50mb free

Thanks for your reply, I have a clear concept of these two app2sd now

So i just root my unbranded HTC Desire with Android 2.2 (from holland)
I rooted with the unrevoked method. Link here
I wanted to root because i was in need of ROM, only had 15MB left and everything was already on my SD card installed the normal way.
also with the "forced install to sd" method i was still in need of more ROM.
Like in the post above i just want to have 400 apps installed.
So i need a custom rom.
Now i have notes that if i install a custom 2.2 froyo rom i may have difficulties with bluetooth or fm-radio and maby other problems.
I have also heared about htc releasing source codes and now it should be possible to work around or fix those problems i just mentioned.
anyways I am still n00b in this all and doing allot of research for now. I just want to have a rom that would be the same as what i have now(WORKING WITHOUT PROBLEMS AND NO BUGGES) but with the app2sd in it so that i can have 300 apps and still have free memory.
so could somebody tell me what to do? is there already a custom rom out that works perfect, or i should stick with my rom, or what about OpenDesire
Well hope somebody can help me out with some wisdom.
Cheers and thanks in advanced.
DesireDroid

nobody can help me out?
is there an custom rom that works with fm radio and bluetooth and camera and all and has the htc sense in it?

or should i figure out to make my own custom rom?

DesireDroid said:
nobody can help me out?
is there an custom rom that works with fm radio and bluetooth and camera and all and has the htc sense in it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most custom Sense ROMs are fine.
The "issue" I think you are referring to is that Sense ROMs do not support the Bluetooth HID profile so cannot utilize a Bluetooth keyboard, whereas AOSP ROMs like CyanogenMod do support Bluetooth HID but the FM radio doesn't work.
Having said all that, I'd imagine that 300+ apps is probably an unrealistic target on any ROM due to the data stored in /data/data. It might be possible if the specific apps don't have much of a /data/data requirement, but in general I'd say it was unlikely.
Regards,
Dave

foxmeister said:
Most custom Sense ROMs are fine.
The "issue" I think you are referring to is that Sense ROMs do not support the Bluetooth HID profile so cannot utilize a Bluetooth keyboard, whereas AOSP ROMs like CyanogenMod do support Bluetooth HID but the FM radio doesn't work.
Having said all that, I'd imagine that 300+ apps is probably an unrealistic target on any ROM due to the data stored in /data/data. It might be possible if the specific apps don't have much of a /data/data requirement, but in general I'd say it was unlikely.
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
k having that said, i was thinking of buying a 16gb microsdhc class 6 card.
but, well i didn't know about the bluetooth HID , still is it hard to build up my own custom rom?
I mean, getting for example my current rom and modding things. or getting an official rom from htc and modding that?

try different roms and see which one is the best. Defrost, Opendesire, Aurax, or http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=741775
all of them are great but the best depends on your taste and expectatives.

k making a backup now.
I think i go try http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=768703
I have a 4gb microSD card, so i read that to enable a2sd+ i need to repartition the sd card. can this be done from the phone? i got the clockworkmod recovery.
and shall i make it 1GB so i can install more apps? just thinking crazy.
"is this Rom Manager in the android market?"

[Q] Amount of free memory is draining away although I moved everything to SD Card

Hi,
I have rooted froyo 2.2 with App2Sd enabled and always move everything that possible to the Sd card. In spite of that, I have only 20Mb free space left (I use Android System info app). I have 8GB 6class samsung Sd card and did the partitions as said in guides.
how can I have more space to install more apps or I stuck and just have to decide what important and what not ?
Thanks.

what App2SD?
The native Froyo one or the App2SD+?
The native Froyo one does not move the whole app. Just take a look in the app listing and you'll see how much space it occupies on the internal RAM and how much it occupies on the SD card. You also can't move every app, e.g. no widgets.
The App2SD+ moves all apps to the SD-Card, including cache. But even then the more apps you install the less internal memory is available. That's because of a process I don't exactly remember Some apps unpack stuff which gets copied to the internal data partition, and I don't talk about the cache. Don't know for sure, but you should find it with the search.

When I check the app2sd ver. It doesn't shows the. + Symbol so I guess that it is a regular one. Can you give me a link to the plus version?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Lior84 said:
When I check the app2sd ver. It doesn't shows the. + Symbol so I guess that it is a regular one. Can you give me a link to the plus version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?? how shall you check the App2SD Version. You either use the + one, by using an EXT2/3 partition and a proper ROM and not moving the apps manually, it gets done automatically, or you use the Froyo one, by moving each app manually to the SD card in the app settings.
To get APPS2SD+ you need a properly set EXT2/3 partition and then flash a ROM supporting it (like Leedroid if you like a Sense ROM, or DeFrost, Opendesire if you like an AOSP ROM), that's it.