SD card ext and swap partitions: How useful? How large? - G2 and Desire Z Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm using Mimicry 1.4.0 and quite happy with it in general. I've figured out that 4EXT is the way to go, and have ensured that all my internal partitions are ext4 (just now actually, I'm interested to see how much it helps). I have seen various people suggesting repartitioning of the SD card as a way to see a significant performance enhancement as well, and this seems reasonable to me but certain information on the matter seems to be lacking. There's a few posts here and there on the subject that have additional detail, but they're in other device forums or in response to folks running different ROMs..
So:
How helpful is repartitioning?
Should I just create an ext1 partition? Is ext2 additionally helpful? What about a swap partition?
What do the damn things actually do?
How large should I make the partitions? I assume there's a point of diminishing returns.
Since I am a cheap bastard, my cheap SD card is likely quite slow. How do I tell how fast it is? How relevant is that?
Much thanks!

+1
I'm also interested to know if anyone using swap has seen any performance improvements.

When you make for example 128Mb ext4 and 256 Mb swap partition to your sd card for G2 and plugged in it. Stock rom will not use the swap file but stock rom will detect the ext4 part and use it for keeping the cache there.
and for the custom roms like CM series and Sense roms you'll need to make a swap partition and if you like ext4 partition on sd card. (ext4 is not necessary).
Because G2 and desire Z has 368Mb ram and these new custom roms are needing a bit larger space then stock rom. thats why you can use " swap_enable_v2" for additional ram using. ( Remember if your sd card's write speed more then 6 Mb/s ) of you can simply use some scripts like SuperCharger_V6 or some other like this.
I stongrly suggest you to use Swap enabler and SuperCharger_V6 at the same time like me. it increased my desire z's permormance more then %40 and it awesome now.
:good:

Well, I'd say swap partition does not always is a good idea - constant reads and writes of the specific part of the card may degrade it's performance.
That's why I'd suggest trying DataSwap, which can just create plain file on the card.
I'm using it for over 4 months now, and I'm pleased.
On the side note AFAIR /sdcard should be FAT, and not EXT4

Partitioning the sd card or creating a swap file on sd card is not so different. Still mskes alot reads and writes
Sent from my Nokia 3310

If you are using ICS/JB - I put my swap file on the /cache directory since it doesn't seem to ever get filled up. Then I am not using the sd card.

Related

Ext partition with Evo

So i know on my magic i always had a Swap partition, EXT, and fat32...
Seems like when i got my Evo, the SD card only had a fat32 and no EXT.
When installing custom roms, Should i just go ahead and reformat the card with EXT or do we not need it on the Evo. From what i know of the EXT partition and working with my magic for so long, i would assume it still needs to be there but it was just odd that it wasn't there from the factory when i got my phone.
TIA
IMO, a2sd isn't necessary on this one
I have almost 60 apps installed (including the behemoth Google Earth), yes I know how ridiculous that is, and I still have over 200MB internal storage free.
The EXT2/3 and Swap partitions didn't come stock on your Magic, either.
It's up to you. Like nebenezer said, it's really not necessary on this device. The only reason I'm running a2sd is so that I don't have to mess around with reinstalling all my apps when testing out new ROMs. That's really the only reason at this point why a2sd would be an advantage. In fact, unless you're using a class 6 SD card (which the provided card is not), it actually probably slows down the phone a bit when launching applications.
Ahhh.. So EXT is pretty much only for A2SD? Thought there was some other info on there...
And i know what swap is..
Cool. THX
frettfreak said:
Ahhh.. So EXT is pretty much only for A2SD? Thought there was some other info on there...
And i know what swap is..
Cool. THX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pretty much, you can move dalvik to sd and I think data/data too but like CentroniX said unless you have a c6 or greater card your better off skipping a2sd on this phone.
Not having to reinstall your apps is convenient but when I flash a new rom I wipe EVERYTHING anyways. I always like to start with a clean flash so if there are any problems I know its not one of my apps. Plus titanium backup makes it very easy to restore everything.

How to use A2SD?

Hi,
I would like to know how to configure it.
I have in my SD:
1024M for swap
1500M for ext2
5000M for Fat32
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Swap? On a Desire? Don't think you need that, there's plenty of RAM.
So you need to partition your SD card, 512 mB ext3 should be plenty, the rest can be FAT32.
FAT partition must come first.
ok, thank you.
And now how can I enable the A2SD apps ?
raffarein said:
ok, thank you.
And now how can I enable the A2SD apps ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you have Apps2SD installed and your SD card partitoned correctly, all there is to do is just install your apps and they will be installed to your ext2 partition on your SD card. Use the Quick System Info app from the Marketplace, or see my thread to check if it is working correctly:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=677073
raffarein said:
Hi,
I would like to know how to configure it.
I have in my SD:
1024M for swap
1500M for ext2
5000M for Fat32
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Way too much swap!! For Desire best is 0 for swap, 512mb for Ext2 and rest for Fat32
is it possible to partition the SD card "outside" the phone?
I got a new SD card I want to use, and the old one is running as ext partition, and the phone spasses out if i swap the 2 cards? so how can I make the external partition so I can install on the new one?
Yes, you could try partitioning by accessing Recovery Mode via your PC while having your phone connected with the USB cable. Use the relevant push files (available for download in my sig from the Nimbu guide) to access Recovery Mode, then you will see an option to partition your SD card. You can set the swap, ext2, and FAT32 space of your SD card and convert it from ext2 to ext3.
As advised above, set your swap to 0 MB, ext2 between 512 MB - 1024 MB (max), and rest of space allocated to the FAT32 partition.
Remember to backup your SD card contents beforehand otherwise you will lose everything through partitioning.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I'm on r3.1 rom with A2SD+, I'm really pleased with it but I plan to switch to some Froyo rom once htc releases it (with A2SD+ if possible).
What is the proper way to prepare sd card for change of rom ( now I have sd card with standard settings: swap 0 ext2 512 mb fat32 rest).
Do I need to format it again?
The thing that I need to switch between goldcard and my everyday card during the process makes it difficult enough
djoni1980 said:
The thing that I need to switch between goldcard and my everyday card during the process makes it difficult enough
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the same topic: Is it possible to partition your SD card first and then make it a goldcard so we don't have to switch between cards during rooting and flashing? Thanks..
djoni1980 said:
I'm on r3.1 rom with A2SD+, I'm really pleased with it but I plan to switch to some Froyo rom once htc releases it (with A2SD+ if possible).
What is the proper way to prepare sd card for change of rom ( now I have sd card with standard settings: swap 0 ext2 512 mb fat32 rest).
Do I need to format it again?
The thing that I need to switch between goldcard and my everyday card during the process makes it difficult enough
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With DJ Droid's v1.0 R1 BETA rom (Sense with Froyo), it allows you to partition your SD card the exact same way you had done with the r3.1 rom. I have mine setup with a 0MB swap, ext2 size of 512 MB, and rest to FAT32 partition. To install this rom, it is advised to format your SD card again to get rid of any niggling bugs.
AFAIK, all other Froyo roms (ones without Sense) require you to prepare the SD card differently and not have your SD card partitioned, you need to push via ADB to install your apps to the SD card.
manisa236 said:
On the same topic: Is it possible to partition your SD card first and then make it a goldcard so we don't have to switch between cards during rooting and flashing? Thanks..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will not be possible as you need to use the Gold Card to unlock your phone's CID if your phone is network branded. After that, you can root and then flash a rom, and then partition your sd card afterwards.
Thanks for the answers massdroid, you are the most helpful member around
djoni1980 said:
Thanks for the answers massdroid, you are the most helpful member around
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you buddy. I appreciate your kind words
what are the benifets of app2sd???
The title says it all, I was wondering what are the benefits of storing and running your apps from the sd card other then the obviously being able to install more apps then can be stored on the phones internal memory?
Secondly what is the purpose of zipalign? At a very simplistic level I guess it has something to do with optimizing the apk though I am not really sure what this means.
Even with my Sprint CDMA Hero overclocked to 652 (min) & 710 (max) I still find the keyboard to be a bit laggy, will enabling the above help with this at all?
Yep, by installing apps and their associated cache to your SD, it saves you from having to install them directly to internal memory, which would affect the performance of your phone with the more apps you install. With A2SD installed, you basically save storage space and allows your device to run faster.
Also, consider installing a cache cleaner app to free up more space.
Zipalign makes interacting with apps more efficient after they are optimised making them run faster with the Android OS.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
where do performance improvements come from?
MasDroid said:
Yep, by installing apps and their associated cache to your SD, it saves you from having to install them directly to internal memory, which would affect the performance of your phone with the more apps you install. With A2SD installed, you basically save storage space and allows your device to run faster.
Also, consider installing a cache cleaner app to free up more space.
Zipalign makes interacting with apps more efficient after they are optimised making them run faster with the Android OS.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen the benchmark tests showing the speed improvements but I don't really see how changing the location of where the apps are installed to would necessarily improve the performance of their execution, I mean the phone's internal storage is separate from the phone's internal ram. Are there fragmentation issues or something when it comes to running the apps from the smaller internal storage vs the larger external storage of the sd card?
I think this question was asked previously but I didn't see an answer for it; when app2sd is set up, when you start installing new apps do they automatically get zipaligned and then installed to the sd card or do you have to do it manually?
Hmm.... i think you have a point there and i agree with what you are saying. With A2SD, i don't think it improves performance since it's ROM space, not RAM, that these apps are occupying. The main advantage of A2SD is having more dedicated space for storage of apps.
Since the 1.6 SDK was released, i think the ADT does this automatically on APK export. Therefore any app which has been updated since ~September (and was developed using the ADT Eclipse plugin) will be zipalign'd.
You can also do this manually, see this link:
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/09/zipalign-easy-optimization.html
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

[READ]Sd card partition

Ok if I do a sd card partition what are the benefits from doing this action?
What will happen?
What are the pros and cons from this?
If I do a sd card partition will it delete everything from my sd card?
Will it ruin anything?
I NEED HELP.
Sent From My HTC EVO
Copy contents to your pc. Format sdcard thru phone. Flash amon recovery. Boot into recovery, partition thru recovery on your phone.
App2sd allday. No cons
Caspers25 said:
Ok if I do a sd card partition what are the benefits from doing this action?
What will happen?
What are the pros and cons from this?
If I do a sd card partition will it delete everything from my sd card?
Will it ruin anything?
I NEED HELP.
Sent From My HTC EVO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Benefits is extra space for programs.
Like the poster above me said, copy everything off your phone on to your PC and use Amon Ra's Recovery to do it all for you automatically.
It will not ruin your phone or sd card.
You'll be fine.
It said on rom manager that it cold do it. What sizes should I have? Ext size 125? 256? 512? And swap size? 32 64 or 128?
Somebody help?
Sent From My HTC EVO
it's really your choice. If you want more space for your apps, make the ext partition bigger.
the swap partition (i think) really shouldn't be as important for a evo (as it's got plenty of ram and processing power), but you might as well make a 128 swap.
Well I mean can't you already out apps2sd already Without partitioning?
But what happens to the other 256 half of my memory where will it go?
Haha sorry.
What do you use tho?
Sent From My HTC EVO
meh, I'm not too familiar with 2.2's apps2sd methodology...
my SD card is still formatted from an old MyTouch 3G Slide, with like a 256 MB ext and 64 MB swap.
neither partitions will actually be "visible" when you mount the sd card, unless you view it in linux.
the space that you use for the ext and swap will be taken away from your total GB.
so if you have a 8GB card, and partition away (theoretically) 512, only 7.5 GB will be accessible to you.
I say go for it, if you think it'd be nice to put apps on to an extra partition for more space and not having to worry about whether that app is still usable and functional when you mount your SD card.
And the swap partition... I know how useful it was with older phones (like the G1) and how essential it is with almost every linux distribution, but I really can't confirm or deny any benefits it would have on an Evo.
it certainly wouldn't hurt it (i think 0-0) but I can't say it'd help too much either.
I think you could at least give it a shot. If it doesn't do anything, then you haven't really lost much. If it helps a lot, then you've gained something. If something goes wrong, it's rather easy to get back to normal.
Hope that helps.

Ext4 or this ?

OK, so I have a class 10 SD card, gets about 14/down when I test against an 8k file with J SD card tester. Running ext4 cw3.x.x.5 and then bonsai .3 latest rev.
What about using the steps here to move around some of the partitions and apps on our phone ? How does our phone compare to the desire in regards to the NAND ?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=852219
I would like to move the cache files to the fastest speed memory possible which it seems to me is the class 10 SD in our phone - and would like to enable a swap file as well - what do you guys think? I read some of vipers thread on his rom with the possible a2sd commands - but just didnt see what would benefit me more and why, so didnt know which to try.
Sorry for so many questions recently, but I really am trying to get a good handle on this...)
bumpity-bump?

[Q] Merge wasted EMMC with SD card?

My HTC Incredible has 8GiB of internal flash available for use. I assume some other Android devices also have a good amount of internal flash.
I have a 32GiB microSD card, but I'd like to add in that other 8GiB, as it's a substantial amount.
I can put things there from adb, or some file managers, but a lot of apps don't access it and mounting the flash to /sdcard and then swapping back gets old.
So, idea -- would it be possible to "merge" the two by a trick of mounting (sort of like JBoD RAID) and get the entire 40GiB under /sdcard? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_mount
I believe UnionFS and AUFS can do this, and I believe Cyanogenmod already has the latter. Has anyone tried making use of that otherwise nearly-wasted chunk of space?
Thanks.
I modified my vold.fstab file to trick the phone into thinking one was the other, but for what your asking I don't think can be done. Symlinks aren't possible using FAT32 (which is what we have the sdcard and emmc formatted as) so that's out. Overall I can't think of any way to do it. Not sure what you're thinking about there with CM, it most assuredly doesn't do that. Also, there are only a small handful of other devices that have emmc's out there, the majority only have sdcards.

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