Develop Bugs

[Q] Any uses for /system folder? (Rooted Phone)

I've a strange question that might or might belong in the development thread, but figured since it's a question, I'll try here first.
I'm using a Stock DeOxed Rooted Rom on my EVO.
I recently installed a few more apps and saw this pesky little warning about low on space.
When I went into my "SystemPanel" app to see how much space was left exactly and noticed that my /data folder only had around 30megs out of it's 428M available.
Ok.. time to delete some apps I thought, but then I noticed that my /system folder (Where I presume pre-installed apps live) had almost 1/3 of it's space still available (115 out of 350megs available).
So I'm wondering.....
Is there some method that I can use to install Apps directly to this folder instead of the standard /data that apps appear to go to when installed?
Is it as simple as moving the APK file with Root Explorer, or are there some under the hood items in apps that prevent this sort of thing?
I've a few rather large apps that I cannot move to the SD card due to widget problems and the like but would be perfect for the system folder if I can find a way to move them there easily.
Thoughts?

DroidGnome said:
I've a strange question that might or might belong in the development thread, but figured since it's a question, I'll try here first.
I'm using a Stock DeOxed Rooted Rom on my EVO.
I recently installed a few more apps and saw this pesky little warning about low on space.
When I went into my "SystemPanel" app to see how much space was left exactly and noticed that my /data folder only had around 30megs out of it's 428M available.
Ok.. time to delete some apps I thought, but then I noticed that my /system folder (Where I presume pre-installed apps live) had almost 1/3 of it's space still available (115 out of 350megs available).
So I'm wondering.....
Is there some method that I can use to install Apps directly to this folder instead of the standard /data that apps appear to go to when installed?
Is it as simple as moving the APK file with Root Explorer, or are there some under the hood items in apps that prevent this sort of thing?
I've a few rather large apps that I cannot move to the SD card due to widget problems and the like but would be perfect for the system folder if I can find a way to move them there easily.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/system/app is where system apps are kept. If I remember correctly, any app can be installed into there, but you have to do through flashing an update.zip if I'm remembering properly. You may be able to take the apk that's in /data/app for the app you want to move and move it to /system/app, but I'm not sure if that will work properly or not. Someone who cooks ROMs might know more.
Also, you can partition your sd card and use true apps2sd with most ROMs. Its a little bit of work and will shorten the life of your card, but that gives you a lot more room if you need it.

I don't know that there's a way to move user apps to system. It's very possible there is a way, I've just never seen any posts about it. Apps 2 SD is usually the way to go.
ps. 30 megs?!?! Geez, how many apps do you have?
Sent from my SUPERSONIC

Easy peasy
First, use a true apk backup tool to backup e apk files you want to move. Titanium backup will NOT work because it compresses and distorts, and we need true apk files. I recommend file manager by adao team. Just go to applications, check what you want, and hit backup. Next, get the apk files on your computer by mounting sd and copying files from backups folder. You will lose all app data, but what can you do? Next, adb push the files to system app folder while in recovery mode (just say so if you don't know how to do this and i will tell you) and reboot. Done. Tell me if it works well.
By the way, 30 megs???

Doesn't froyo install to the sdcard if you tell it to?
I thought a2sd was obsolete

You can put apps there after changing the folder's permissions but I wouldn't recommend it. Just not a good idea to put regular apps there.
Just install them to your SD card instead
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

go into the android app manager and go through all your programs and click on move to sd card...
they will all still occupy some space on your nand, but not nearly as much.

Thanks for the advice, I thought it might not be as easy as moving them, oh well, just seems a shame for there to be over 100 megs I cannot do anything with.
I already had moved all I could to the SD card prior to posting this, but thanks for that advice as well, I'm sure others forget they can do that with Froyo.
As for the 30 megs I had left.. we'll it's back up to about 70 free which should be plenty for a while. (Remember we only have about 420 to start with).
Some of the big ones which could not be moved to the SD card are:
Swype (Deleted, took over 17megs)
TouchDown (12 megs.. must keep for tasks sync sadly)
Google Maps update (7.6 megs)
Documents to go (8megs)
A few various games that cannot yet be moved to the SD card at around 5megs each..
The rest are just lots of little apps.. I'm sort of an app junkie You should have seen my old Palm Centro... it was amazing!
According to Titanium, I currently have 194 'User apps', though I think a few are simply widgets, icon packs and the like.

Wow.

Hi all,
I have been a winmob user for over 5 years and i know pretty much everything about them. (see join date) Though 3 days ago i got a a8183 desire.
My god i have a lot to learn about Android. Winmob seemed so much simplier to pick apart with registry and custom roms.
Anyways i have been reading thread after thread for days yet i still have a couple of questions that i cannot get clear answers for.
I have a a8183 telstra desire running on optus. I have updated to the latest offical 2.2 ROM. (Everyone mentions OTA (over the air) though i downloaded it and installed thru windows).
So i would appreciate if someone could help me out with my questions/assumptions.
1. From what i have read you cannot r00t a froyo OS. Is that right? Though i have found an app z4root that will do it temporarily until reboot. Unrevoked doesnt seem to work.
2. To change system files you need not only root though you need the clockworkmod recovery part of the bootloader. (eg. to replace HOST file for adblocking).
3. You need permanent r00t to install the clockworkmod (so i cannot do this).
4. You cannot remove default ROM apps from your phone without the clockworkmod.
5. You need clockworkmod to install custom ROMs.
So from what i gather.. r00t is good. though really only cause it gets you the clockworkmod recovery which is where you can really hack it.
And to get this i need to downgrade to 2.1, r00t, clockwork then use a hacked rom for 2.2?
Your help is greatly appreciated.

hi sage, i too came from windows mobile so i know how you feel, lucky for me i jumped on the android bandwagon earlier with the htc hero, after i got bored with my HD1, anyway your wrong on quite a few points, so i'll point you in the right direction.
1) the latest version of unrevoked (www.unrevoked.com/recovery) is more than able to root the froyo roms, its a one click app and can root your device in minutes
2) to easly modify system files you need s-off (this is equivalent to HSPL on wm devices) after you have rooted, you need to search for alpharev, this is a linux live cd, you just burn it and boot it and it will security unlock your device.
3) when you download and run unrevoked, it will not only root your device but insatall the latest version of clockworkmod recovery. (just hold vol down and power when your device is off to access hboot, and choose recovery from the list) so unrevoked kills 2 birds with one stone
4) to remove the apps in the /system/ partition there are 2 ways, from recovery using adb, or if you flash the s-off mod, you can remove them directly from your device using a file manager.
5) yes you need clockworkmod or another custom recovery to install custom roms, but now you know how to do it, thats not a problem

Hi Sage,
If you're looking for an easier way to get rid of all the Telstra apps (more like a blob of links really ) on your phone you may want to try one of the stock HTC WWE ROMs. It's clean and you can flash it via exe, just like in WM. The latest RUU I believe is the 2.29.405.2. Also, be aware of the risks of rooting your phone.

thanks for your response guys
Ok so i am now r00ted and running Leedroid's WWE ROM! (thank you!) it was actually pretty easy.
I think unrevoked was failing cause i was using a USB HUB.
OK so now i just want to remove some more of the default apps that come with it.
So i will try alpharev to security unlock my device. (is this permanent or if i reflash my rom it will come back?)
once i have done this i can then delete anything i like thru r00t explorer?
At this stage i am trying to just make some more room for apps. As a number of them wont move to SD Card.
A couple of last questions if i may. I have an new SD Card on order. Am i able to simply copy everything from my existing SD to my new and then swap it over in my phone and it will all be ok? Or do i need 'clone' it with some tool?
Where in the system paths do i remove 'shortcuts' within all apps? (or even simply rename them.)
Much appreciate your help. Android is growing on me. I especially love adb logcat!

ok.. i am now security off'd alpharev worked a treat.
i am now using r00t explorer to try and delete items from /system/app though they come up read-only so i cannot delete them
i take when i get to remove these the phone will have more stoage space for apps yeah?
i also still cannot find where the all apps shortcuts sit! (so i can rename/remove).
and lastly now i have the alpharev bootloader so gonna google how to change that
i did use the Leedroid apps2sd ROM. though most of my apps are still going to phone memory and i cant move them across.
Is there a fix for this? i guess once i work out how to delete these read-only files ill be ok anyway.

Unfortunately removing system apps wont give you more space to install apps, they are stored under a different partition, /system and /data are not on the same disk so you can save as much space on /system as you want but it won't affect /data at all.
With running out of space you have a few choices:
Go to settings..applications..then manage and move as many apps to SD as you can. This is fro-yo apps2sd, not all data is moved and not all apps can be moved, so you will probably run out of space again anyway.
Or
Reboot into recovery and partition your sdcard to create an ext partition, when you boot your rom ALL apps will be moved to the ext partition leaving lots of free space. Backup your sdcard before you partition it, you will lose all data.

Sage said:
ok.. i am now security off'd alpharev worked a treat.
1) i am now using r00t explorer to try and delete items from /system/app though they come up read-only so i cannot delete them
2) i take when i get to remove these the phone will have more stoage space for apps yeah?
3) i also still cannot find where the all apps shortcuts sit! (so i can rename/remove).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Press on Remount as R/O, this should allow you to delete/replace system stuff & ringtones, fonts...etc.
2)No, because apps install to data/apps & not system/apps.
3)You mean like the applicatiuon menu when we used to delete shortcuts or rename them? Hahaha man that was sooooooooooooo long time ago for me. Anyway, the applications installed are displayer & you can't hide them or rearrange them like Winmo. You might want to try Launcher Pro to hide apps in the apps drawer.
If you need more info, ask freely because 2 years ago I went through the same

mr.r9 said:
1) Press on Remount as R/O, this should allow you to delete/replace system stuff & ringtones, fonts...etc. Typo..You meant R/W
2)No, because apps install to data/apps & not system/apps.
3)You mean like the applicatiuon menu when we used to delete shortcuts or rename them? Hahaha man that was sooooooooooooo long time ago for me. Anyway, the applications installed are displayer & you can't hide them or rearrange them like Winmo. You might want to try Launcher Pro to hide apps in the apps drawer.
If you need more info, ask freely because 2 years ago I went through the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm..actually the new MTD partition table hack should be able to free space on the /system, adjusting partitions with less for /system and /cache and more for /data/app should give enough space..Though I'm not sure if he wants to try this right now, since it's considered an advanced task and maybe he'd like to get more accustomed to Android before attempting it? His wish though..
And well, there's yet another method to remove system apps, other than the other two methods. This is to modify the zip file of the custom rom to remove the actual apks from /system and reflashing it on top of the actual flash..

droidzone said:
And well, there's yet another method to remove system apps, other than the other two methods. This is to modify the zip file of the custom rom to remove the actual apks from /system and reflashing it on top of the actual flash..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh yes indeed. OP, you can edit the zip before installing it to your device. You can remove/replace application in system/data and fonts...etc. Just remember to change signature verification to off in your recovery.

my god. i have spent days on this baby and im only barely scratching the surface
much appreciate all your help guys!
ok.. so its time to use app2sd i hear that app2sd+ is better though? (it moves more data to SD yeah? appcache?)
i only have 2Gb microsd right now so i might wait until i my 8GB arrives before i flash a new ROM and start again (again!)
i also noticed these online kitchens. http://cookmyrom.co.cc
which look great! tho they are still a version behind the leedroid i am using tho its a good way to get rid of some default apps.
i certainly like the idea of reparitioning the default disk though not quite ready for that yet especially when app2sd+ sounds much more straight forward.
i am dumbfounded that you cant remove 'shortcuts' from the All Apps! or even rename them!! my god. i would think that was first thing available on such an open source OS.
So i have now created a folder called "Folder" to reduce the clutter.. and now i guess i cant even rename it!?? and if i create another one its called "Folder" too!
lol.. this OS is so advanced yet some basic stuff seems to be overlooked.
I did try launcher pro though it removed my HTC Sense (which i like). So i might need to keep looking for an app to help organise my All Apps and my desktop (is desktop what its called?)
And just how do i add ringtones?
love your work guys thanks again.

Create a folder called Ringtones on the root of your SD to have...ringtones.
When you open a folder, long press on the header to rename it.
As for organizing, I stopped caring & started to use search, but maybe if you want you can try an app called folder organizer.

mr.r9 said:
Create a folder called Ringtones on the root of your SD to have...ringtones.
When you open a folder, long press on the header to rename it.
As for organizing, I stopped caring & started to use search, but maybe if you want you can try an app called folder organizer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice one thank you!

Sage said:
...So i have now created a folder called "Folder" to reduce the clutter.. and now i guess i cant even rename it!??...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open the folder then hold where it says folder to change its name.

Ok. Now have app2sd working!
thanks to all of you. Beginning to love this android phone now. I feel sorry for all the people who use them as they come from the factory! Thank god for all the xda people who rip them to shreds and make them better

If i can have one last question. Any way to remap hardware buttons to start an app?
Like when you hold down the search button it launches Google Voice. I want it to launch a different app..
I did a search and found the hardware button remapper though it only does hardware to hardware.. not hardware to app

For Folders(Assuming you're using full HTC Sense), just open it and hold the title bar. Took me some time to figure out. You cannot easily rename the apps in "All apps", but you can remove them(Which is essentially uninstalling them) from Settings > Applications > Manage, unless they are system apps which need to be manually deleted either via S-OFF + Root explorer(OR something similar) or ADB + Custom recovery(Clockworkmod or Amon Ra).
For setting a custom ringtone, open the music app, select the music > Menu > Set as ringtone.

so no love on the hardware remap for apps?
Oh well i have done a lot of googling and it seems it cant be done (well at least not easily).
My last question is when you launch an app from a folder the folder stays open.. any way to force close or change its behaviour?

for those following this. I found the Tasker app remaps hardware buttons amongst doing amazing other things.
Still no love on closing folders though.

i ended up using tasker to create app widgets to replace the folders...

If you want app widgets, there's also "Desktop Visualizer".
In terms of killing of an app, have you tried "Settings -> apps settings -> development" then there's an option there for "stop apps via long press"?

Link2SD & CM11: Optimal Strategies

I am super-curious if & how anyone here is using Link2SD successfully with CM11 (on the Epic 4G, specifically).
I've tried scouring these forums, and the Internet in general, to figure out the best way to get this to work...
But everything that I've tried, it all seems to be working great, only up until the first time that the phone reboots, then it all goes to hell.
I am wondering if there are any extra steps to follow, specifically for the Epic 4G, or any particular pitfalls known to avoid?
That's why I wanted to ask here, specifically to Epic 4G users...
If you are getting Link2SD to work well with CM11, then please chime in here, and can you explain how you got it all set up and working well?
(I feel like this is the one last thing that if I could conquer it, then I could really continue to get a lot of life out of this phone... as it stands, it seems too risky to put much faith in Link2SD, because if the phone happens to spontaneously reboot while I'm out running around, then I'm screwed because so many apps just disappear, and then it's a pain to re-download, re-install, and re-setup each of them...)
Thanks in advance for any help,
AS

I am using Link2SD on my Epic 4G with CM11 with some success. I just did a reboot, and as usual lost any icons that had links created in Link2SD, so I go to the app locker & re-add them to my home screen. This is typical of what happens on a reboot for me. One thing I did notice is that it takes a minute or so for the deleted app icons to show up in the app locker again, so if you are reinstalling them, it may be a matter of waiting for them to show back up. Also on occasion(not this time), Link2SD will prompt me about a problem with the links and then prompt me to reinitiate the partition or something to that affect. Once I do that and it reboots, the app icons are still gone, so I just re-add them. Anyway, I know its not a perfect solution, but with this device its better than running out of RAM. One last thing, needless to say, I only create links for enough apps to free up enough RAM to keep my Epic working properly.

I've finally got a system going that seems to work for me, and so I thought I'd share some things.
I'm on CM11 (as of today, cm-11-20140602-NIGHTLY-epicmtd.zip) and I'm using Link2SD.
HERE'S A "GOTCHA" THAT HAD ME PULLING MY HAIR OUT FOR AT LEAST A DAY OR TWO:
Link2SD was having problems mounting the 2nd partition - it would just say "Mount script cannot be created." or something like that (not a very helpful error message), no matter how many times I rebooted and tried again. What I *finally* figured out (somehow), was that this error was being caused by /system being completely full. When I went and deleted a few things from /system (such as goofy wallpapers or that 'Apollo' app that I never use), then Link2SD was able to successfully create the script, and then I'd reboot and could use the 2nd partition successfully.
It's still a little aggravating that any reboot of the phone will cause all of my "Linked" apps to disappear - I've played with this until I am blue in the face, and have resigned myself to accepting that this is just "how it is" (?) - but I'm now using Titanium Backup as my workaround.
STEPS I TAKE WHEN THE PHONE REBOOTS:
1) Go into Link2Sd and make sure the 2nd partition is usable, otherwise recreate mount scripts (deleting wallpapers/Apollo if necessary)
2) Under Link2SD's "More" menu, perform the following:
a) Clean up the 2nd partition
b) Clean up the dalvik-cache
c) Clear all app caches
3) Restore apps from Titanium Backup
a) starting with Facebook app (the biggest hog) and then immediately go and make Facebook a "Linked" app again
b) restore a few more apps (to internal/phone), then go and shuffle those over to "Linked" apps via Link2SD
c) (repeat step 'b' until all apps are restored and "Linked" via Link2SD
^ This is the only way I've been able to get this to work for me... but now I can put about as many apps on the phone as I'll ever possibly need, and I have to say everything is running pretty smoothly now - but if anyone can see a better way, or how to improve what I'm doing, then I'm all ears... please let me (us) know.
Thanks!

Apex launcher doesn't lose the icons. I can free about 66MB of system space by swapping the launcher, deleting CM wallpapers, live wallpaper and Google keyboard.
I verified link2SD plus was not working properly but free link2SD works as advertised. For me, just installing the plus version will break the working functions of the free version. The free version scripts, links and launcher icons survive reboots. The plus version continually lost mount and wouldn't properly clean up the second partition and was not copying the lib files and placing them in the second partition.
Edit: per the developer's request, after verifying free link2SD was setup and surviving reboots, I added plus link2SD and rebooted: OK so far. Next I linked a file with plus version; OK until reboot. The application was not found except in directories. Dalvik cache cleanup finds the dex link and file in second partition as unneeded files. Had to manually delete all the files and links for the broken application and reinstall it. Also had to uninstall plus link2SD to properly link again. Sent the results back to developer.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
Edit: 6/20/2014; link2SD 3.4.8 fixed the reboot issue for the link2SD Plus version for me. Sent email to developer to thank him for the fix.
See post #8.

Update on my last entry:
I emailed the link2SD developer and got a reply asking me to check the plus version again. In my reply back I linked him to this thread.
Another tip to add for nightly flashers that use link2SD and modify the zip prior to flashing: pull the mount script, 11link2SD, found at /system/etc/init.d and move it same location on zip before flashing. If retaining data, ie: dirty flashing; the mount securely retains your apps after flashing new nightly. Just checked with free version of link2SD: works.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Arson Smith said:
I am super-curious if & how anyone here is using Link2SD successfully with CM11 (on the Epic 4G, specifically).
I've tried scouring these forums, and the Internet in general, to figure out the best way to get this to work...
But everything that I've tried, it all seems to be working great, only up until the first time that the phone reboots, then it all goes to hell.
I am wondering if there are any extra steps to follow, specifically for the Epic 4G, or any particular pitfalls known to avoid?
That's why I wanted to ask here, specifically to Epic 4G users...
If you are getting Link2SD to work well with CM11, then please chime in here, and can you explain how you got it all set up and working well?
(I feel like this is the one last thing that if I could conquer it, then I could really continue to get a lot of life out of this phone... as it stands, it seems too risky to put much faith in Link2SD, because if the phone happens to spontaneously reboot while I'm out running around, then I'm screwed because so many apps just disappear, and then it's a pain to re-download, re-install, and re-setup each of them...)
Thanks in advance for any help,
AS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using link2SD for all minus 16gb internal android device. Here is what i do in epic 4g, currently on CM11 20140523, use 20131209 gapps. I just write the part involved link2sd :
1. Buy atleast 16gb microSD and class 10 is a must, make 2nd partition (usually about 4gb - 6gb) as ext2 - ext4 (depends on the OS).
2. Device rooted, install titanium backup & root explorer 3.1.3 (make sure the root explorer working). Uninstall system apk (one of the launcher, whisper push, terminal emulator (I prefer use better terminal emulator, install as user app), CM filemanager, etc - still more that can be uninstalled for more space in system.
3. install link2SD, pick ext2 - ext4 (depends), dont restart yet. go to setting, uncheck everything then restart.
4. After back to launcher, open root explorer, go to root/data/, check app & dalvik-cache folder, press copy. Go to sdext2 folder, delete lost&found folder (usually there), and paste. So the app & dalvik-cache folder is there now (you could copy data/data folder too if you really want maximum extra space in internal, but in epic 4g i didn't copy data folder because it's enough space).
5. At the sdext2 folder, long press app folder, select "link to this folder", go to root/data/, press "create link" - "yes". Then go to sdext2 folder again, long press dalvik-cache folder, select "link to this folder", go to root/data/, press "create link" - "yes". Do the same if you copy data/data folder to sdext2 folder.
6. Reboot. Done. Then installing others app or restore with titanium backup.
I hope this is useful. Some Screenshot attached.

Hello
Thanks for that solution.
I`m searching for this solution since 1-2 weeks.
I had the same Problem on xcover 2 Link2SD.
Now it`s clear i have installt Link2SD and works perfect for just 3-4 days then i upgrade to Link2SD plus and then it happend like the Threat above.
I`m wondering that Lin2SD works perfectly on CM11 and if you go to Link2SD plus for money and this don`t work.
Free works perfectly and paid work not.
I have go back and everything its fine.
I hope the autor will fix the problem then i go back to plus.
Thank Thanks Thanks works fine!
regards marle.m

Good news! It appears the link2SD version 3.4.8 released today has a bug fix to survive reboots for linked apps when linking with link2SD plus version.
So far, I've only linked one app with plus version enabled and it survived one reboot. Then Ⓘ linked the data folder and rebooted again which also survived the reboot.
Looks like plus version is fully functional; I'll update if it fails some time later.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Finally had a chance to sit down and mess with this...
Yeah! Success! Freeing up space in /system worked.
Next question...Will I have to remove the bloat prior to flashing from now on? ie no more CyanDelta easy flashing
Anyone have any Scripting-Fu to come up with an automated method of stripping out said bloat?
thx sno

Snoshrk said:
Finally had a chance to sit down and mess with this...
Yeah! Success! Freeing up space in /system worked.
Next question...Will I have to remove the bloat prior to flashing from now on? ie no more CyanDelta easy flashing
Anyone have any Scripting-Fu to come up with an automated method of stripping out said bloat?
thx sno
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking the gapps could be modified at the updater-script to remove some system bloat. Then remove some bloat from that as well. Most remove their own bloat choices so maybe a diy tut would be more useful?
I agree, the script would make the nightly flashing easier.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Just realized that if using Link2SD Plus to multi link all folders of an app to sdext2 after a clean install is still broken, if using intended method. Apps linked this way are missing after reboot.
Working on a safer suggested method that focuses more on removing apps from Gapps but also removing some other system apps after flashing a nightly that requires no modification of the nightly zip on a computer. Have to focus on linking only a minimum amount of apps with free Link2SD considered less risky to move, like larger stand alone apps, not needed tools.
I've got a working script and method that works but the risks to be avoided need to be detailed along with the tut to script and tool your own modified Gapps that minimizes the flash to flashing the nightly as-is and then flashing a custom Gapps that includes preferred launcher and restore methods.
Removing CMWallpapers, Apollo music and Trebuchet launcher. Substituting blacked out Google play. Replacing removed apps with Apex beta test launcher for test group, blacked out Pandora (these will be installed at /data partition where they can be easily uninstalled or updated) I use my own borrowed wallpaper.
Along with the removed bloat from Gapps, this frees a bit more than 40 MB of system space.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

UPDATE: the latest version of Link2SD (3.5.2) has "fixed the bug that causes linked apps disappear on reboot when internal data is linked".
So... if you've also ponied up the buck or two for Link2SD Plus (as I have), then this finally works again like you'd always hoped it would.
I just loaded a bazillion apps back on the phone, and have been able to reboot multiple times without losing them.
The only time I "lost" them for a moment was after flashing to the latest CM11 nightly, but then doing the "Recreate mount scripts" and reboot brought them right back, with no other shenanigans necessary.
(Just wanted to let people know, because this is such a relief to me now....)
HURRAY!

OK I'm trying this again. Reboots are fine as long as I don't select quick or soft reboots; I lose mount, linked apps not installed.
Now need to try the clean install of nightly.

Snoshrk said:
Finally had a chance to sit down and mess with this...
Yeah! Success! Freeing up space in /system worked.
Next question...Will I have to remove the bloat prior to flashing from now on? ie no more CyanDelta easy flashing
Anyone have any Scripting-Fu to come up with an automated method of stripping out said bloat?
thx sno
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One possible solution:

more scripts to limit steps
Another possible solution (click link)

Installing and running games with cache (5.0 no rooted)

Hey warriors!
Pls help - after installing apk and storing obb files into sd card/android/obb folder I cannot run any HD game with my G3. The application will not find the files.
My procedure:
- download apk + cache
- install apk
- place obb files into obb folder (usually the files are already in a correctly named folder, e.g. "com.pixelbite.rr3" (for recklessracing3), so I just extract and copy them from my PC over to SD card)
- run apk - it will then give me an error message, or just look for the files for eternity, or simply just crashes
I have tried couple of games - NOVA3, MC5, RecklessRacing with no luck
- is it because I am not rooted?
- is it necessary to change something in phone settings prior to installing?
- or simply what I am doing wrong?
Many thanks for your help!

leeris said:
Hey warriors!
Pls help - after installing apk and storing obb files into sd card/android/obb folder I cannot run any HD game with my G3. The application will not find the files.
My procedure:
- download apk + cache
- install apk
- place obb files into obb folder (usually the files are already in a correctly named folder, e.g. "com.pixelbite.rr3" (for recklessracing3), so I just extract and copy them from my PC over to SD card)
- run apk - it will then give me an error message, or just look for the files for eternity, or simply just crashes
I have tried couple of games - NOVA3, MC5, RecklessRacing with no luck
- is it because I am not rooted?
- is it necessary to change something in phone settings prior to installing?
- or simply what I am doing wrong?
Many thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the time, that stuff is stored in the /data partition which you cannot access to write to without root. The only "people" that can access and write to that area are the app itself that wrote to it initially, and an account with root access.
Some games might store some "cache" to the internal sd card, but that all depends on the app.
This is why using the cloud is so much better for game advancement, but not all games are using that.

iBolski said:
Most of the time, that stuff is stored in the /data partition which you cannot access to write to without root.
Some games might store some "cache" to the internal sd card, but that all depends on the app.
This is why using the cloud is so much better for game advancement, but not all games are using that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I got your point but what would be the safest way to install games without issues? Will rooting the device solve the problem, or is there still some work to do most of the time with every game?
And if root is OK, is there any one-click root available for G3 which is safe? I am very good at bricking the phones

leeris said:
I think I got your point but what would be the safest way to install games without issues? Will rooting the device solve the problem, or is there still some work to do most of the time with every game?
And if root is OK, is there any one-click root available for G3 which is safe? I am very good at bricking the phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only other way to make this work, and you would have had to backed everything up before, is to use Helium which (without root) requires you to have a Windows or Mac client app installed on your PC and you hook up you device that way. It can then backup the data and restore it, without root. However, it only works with certain apps. Not all apps can be backed up with Helium.
As for rooting, it depends on which model of G3 you have. Overall, rooting is easy, but it depends on which version of the Android OS it's running and again, which model of G3 you are using. I don't want to go into it with this thread as it can all be discovered by going to the following FAQ thread in the OP and finding the section for rooting. There it explains which root method works on which model of phone and what version of the OS you must be on. Again, this all depends on the model of the phone you have. Here is the link to the FAQ post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g3/help/help-thread-lg-g3-question-t2947298
After that, you can use a lot of different apps to backup and restore your app and data. TiBu is the most popular one.

iBolski said:
The only other way to make this work, and you would have had to backed everything up before, is to use Helium which (without root) requires you to have a Windows or Mac client app installed on your PC and you hook up you device that way. It can then backup the data and restore it, without root. However, it only works with certain apps. Not all apps can be backed up with Helium.
As for rooting, it depends on which model of G3 you have. Overall, rooting is easy, but it depends on which version of the Android OS it's running and again, which model of G3 you are using. I don't want to go into it with this thread as it can all be discovered by going to the following FAQ thread in the OP and finding the section for rooting. There it explains which root method works on which model of phone and what version of the OS you must be on. Again, this all depends on the model of the phone you have. Here is the link to the FAQ post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g3/help/help-thread-lg-g3-question-t2947298
After that, you can use a lot of different apps to backup and restore your app and data. TiBu is the most popular one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But when a game with cache is officially downloaded from Google Play - this should work more or less correctly right?

leeris said:
But when a game with cache is officially downloaded from Google Play - this should work more or less correctly right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What? You have me confused.
What are you expecting to happen when you download an app from Google Play? Not sure what you are asking...

Save apps with settings for another ROM?

How do we set up our devices exactly how we like with the apps we like and customised settings for each app.... and then save them all onto the SD card so we can then flash in another flavour of ROM to try out and simply add our saved apps all set up and ready to go....?
It takes forever to re-set all my apps i like to use.... and as I'm hopefully going to have MultiROM working asap I would hope that I can simply flash in a ROM to try and 'add' all my apps to it with with one click but importantly with all their settings exactly how I use them.

I agree. Maybe you could try the Titanium Backup donate version. I think it has a "Create zip" option. I just can't comment further as I've never used it.
Not sent by me.

i use APK Organize
Works fine for me...
Just be sure you have your phone rooted and in debug mode...
use the "Backup / Restore" function and choose app + data

Bernsi said:
i use APK Organize
Works fine for me...
Just be sure you have your phone rooted and in debug mode...
use the "Backup / Restore" function and choose app + data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that.... looks worth having
however... I've now discovered that I lost the original full root access I had on KK when i installed CM12 and I'm gonna guess that full root access is tied in to the kernel and of course Android 5.x.x is built on a different kernel and therefore needs re-rooting....? CyanogenMod grants App and ADB root via menu in developer options but that is obviously a limited root access and not enough for APK Organise...?
When i try the APK organise it denies me the backup saying 'No root access'.... which surprised me initially.
I can't seem to find a working root-tool for Android 5.1.1. which is what I'm currently on in CM12.1.... anyone know where I can find please as this APK organise looks like a very useful tool to have working from within Windows and makes it easy to keep the backups on my laptop harddrive instead of the sd card

Use zipme available on playstore.
It makes zip flashable with apk data and also settins if selected ....
Sent from my D5503 using XDA Free mobile app

160lightning said:
When i try the APK organise it denies me the backup saying 'No root access'.... which surprised me initially.
I can't seem to find a working root-tool for Android 5.1.1. which is what I'm currently on in CM12.1.... anyone know where I can find please as this APK organise looks like a very useful tool to have working from within Windows and makes it easy to keep the backups on my laptop harddrive instead of the sd card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to root CM, simply enable root access in the developer options.
Apart from that, I've been using Titanium Backup pro for years and I'm very happy with it.
Edit: sry, I didn't see the upper half of your post. Anyway, the CM root access is enough for TitaniumBackup. Maybe it's the app that has to be updated for lollipop, I remember TitaniumBackup had some issues in the first days of lollipop, too.

Winb33 said:
Use zipme available on playstore.
It makes zip flashable with apk data and also settins if selected ....
Sent from my D5503 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As luckyrumo points out these apps 'APK Organise' and the 'ZipMe' you recommend may well need updating to work with Android 5..... ZipMe hasn't been touched since 2013 according to the 'last updated' info.
I have Titanium Backup free version and tried using the backup app + data in batch prefs menu prior to having to do a wipe and clean install of CM12.... but when I reinstalled the Titanium backup app it failed to show the backups that were made previously and supposedly stored on my sd card along with everything else that has never been affected on the sd card. during ROM installations and associated full wipes... I think the backup disappeared when the app was wiped... I can't think of any other logical explanation....? I wonder if the paid version makes a difference...?
One particular app I use is Call Meter 3G which keeps track of my available contract free minutes by way of progress bar homescreen widget tracking any given monthly period and of course it does so by logging all my calls,messages and data use (tho I get unlimited data on my plan so that is not important). Because of the sheer volume and complexity of all the settings to get this app customised to work with my carrier plan it's a pain to have to set-it all up again when re-installing apps after flashing a custom ROM... and without the call logs you will always be starting part way thru a month so it won't be accurate until the bill cycles and a new month begins.
If I can get MultiROM working (no luck so far) having a one click install for apps and customised settings will make life much easier as I plan to try out ALL available ROM's alongside my primary. I only have one device at this stage so MultiROM is a no brainer for me... If I could just get it to install !!!!!
Nick

i also on CM 12.1 Lollipop 5.1.1... (Weekly 5 - JustArchi)
and i restored the apps + data (whatsapp + messages etc.) from CM 11 to CM 12.1 with no problems...
as i installed CM 12.1 in CWM, at restart system, i was asked for fixing root... i have choosen "yes"
for APK Organize choose root access for apps + adb in developer options and activate debug mode. should work, worked for me...