[Q] Troubles with Link2SD - Xperia Play Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello guys,
I've got a problem.
I've been following the following guide "http://www.link2sd.info/description" in order to create a partition with Minitool Partition Wizard and link/swap all my apps on my SD card.
So I've got two partitions on my SD card now:
- The first one, "kingston (F)" - 14 Go FAT32 which is where I store all my data.
- The second one, with no name, 780 Mo FAT32 which is used by Link2SD to link and install my apps.
So far, everythings fine, Link2SD is working as it should be.
My only problem is: the second partition (the one used by Link2SD) does not show in windows 7 explorer. It is not visible on my computer and I cannot access to the data on this partition. Which is a shame as I want to backup all these data, just in case. And I want to upgrade my SD card to 32 Go so I need to copy and move all this data from my current SD card to the new one.
Curiously, the partition on my SD card shows in Minitool Partition Wizard, it also shows in "ES File Explorer" on my phone, and it is also visible via Windows Disk Management program (but I cannot explore or access to it: it just shows as 780 Mo used separately, with no name, no letter).
Do you know what the problem is? Maybe I did something wrong when creating the partition?
Your help or suggestions would be very appreciated.

You didn't do anything wrong, it just doesn't work that way. Windows 7 doesn't know how to mount the 2nd partition, because Android doesn't tell it to mount as a drive. It's like you're asking why you can't mount the /data or /system partitions on Windows 7

Related

How to partition SD Card for Desire?

Hi! all. need to know how to partition SD Card for Desire. Any tutorials i can follow?
wolvie77 said:
Hi! all. need to know how to partition SD Card for Desire. Any tutorials i can follow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use ROM Manager from the Android Market and there's an option to Partition SD Card under utilities, just install the recovery first and it will work fine.
Also you can use AM Recovery fake-flash to avoid installing ClockworkMod Recovery, but it's easier using ROM Manager
But if you are running Linux on any computer, then you can use GParted to Partition the SD Card, ask if you want steps to use GParted
shoey-n said:
You can use ROM Manager from the Android Market and there's an option to Partition SD Card under utilities, just install the recovery first and it will work fine.
Also you can use AM Recovery fake-flash to avoid installing ClockworkMod Recovery, but it's easier using ROM Manager
But if you are running Linux on any computer, then you can use GParted to Partition the SD Card, ask if you want steps to use GParted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any chance we could have the GParted steps, I tried using it for creating the partitions (FAT32 then Ext2) and no matter what I did I got a Damaged SD error upon remounting it in the Desire.
I'm starting to think my card is bad!
Not in front of Linux right now, so this is off the top of my head. I'll post in the morning clear steps (better if used in card reader not using USB toggle on device)
Backup what ever is on your card first!
In the top right corner of GParted select your device and let it search for partitions on card
Unmount all partitions by right clicking on each partition and clicking unmount
Then delete those partitions by right clicking and selecting delete
(I normally apply those changes before proceeding by clicking the green tick, to make sure the partitions have cleared)
With the unpartitioned space, firstly create your FAT32 partition by right clicking and selecting FORMAT TO then FAT32 (MAKE SURE REMAINING SPACE IS IN FOLLOWING NOT PRECEEDING) then with the remaining space create your EXT2 partition exactly the same but obviously format to EXT2 and you could even add a small 32MB linux-swap partition but it's not necessary
Then apply the changes, if everything goes successfully and you are still getting remount errors, then try reflashing your ROM or a different ROM
(I'm assuming your rooted)
If you still have no luck, then your card is bad
I just found out that Clockwork can only handle ext3 partitions - at least my version (2.0.1.4). If I create partitions using ROM Manager, it creates a ext2-partition. Only after I changed it to ext3 using linux I could mount the partition in Clockwork and perform wipes and backups.
Don't know if or what I did wrong, but it certainly didn't work for me (tried with multiple versions of clockwork and several times).
shoey-n said:
You can use ROM Manager from the Android Market and there's an option to Partition SD Card under utilities, just install the recovery first and it will work fine.
d
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even after doing that, everything in the rom manager is dimmed. I mean only the flash clockworkmod recovery and the reboot into recovery are highlighted. Is there somethin'g I missed?
jondalar said:
Even after doing that, everything in the rom manager is dimmed. I mean only the flash clockworkmod recovery and the reboot into recovery are highlighted. Is there somethin'g I missed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is your phone rooted or not?
wolvie77 said:
Hi! all. need to know how to partition SD Card for Desire. Any tutorials i can follow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Introductory Remarks:
- Ext Partition is only needed if your rom uses App2SD+ (Froyo app2sd works with basic Fat32 partition)
- Ext partitions are only visible in Linux = Windows can't see it.
- You can check if you have a working ext partition with Quick system info (in app market)
- On first reboot after partition, android will move some apps to the SD, this will take a lot of time. Some people have reported a bootloop on green HTC Screen, one reported a need to Battery pull 4 times before it finally worked), so be patient!!!!
Now the tutorials:
Easiest way is to install Rom Manager:
1) install rom manager
2) choose partition sd card
- 512mb ext
- 0 swap
3) let RM do the rest... ;-)
Another one is using Gparted:
(copied this from http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Apps2SD)
For a great Linux GUI alternative, use Linux 'GParted' a GUI based partition editor. (Designed for and found standard in the GNOME desktop environment, but can also easily be install in other desktop managers such as KDE and others.) Backup your SD card before you start ! The following steps will wipe the contents !
You can use a livecd of GParted, or use it from within Ubuntu (vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVK-tJe8pXE&feature=related)
1) Connect your phone to your computer (or use an SD Card adapter...., in this case skip to 4))
2) Pull down the notification bar and mount the phone
3) Start Gparted
4) Gparted will search available drives. (Your phone should show up as a USB drive, and will be something like /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1, etc..)
Warning: double-check you've not selected a hdd by mistake!
5) In the upper right corner, select the correct USB device for your phone. (i.e. check to make sure it is correct size for your SD card)
6) Right click on each partition and select 'unmount'
7) Right click on each partition and select 'delete'
If you know what you are doing, you can re-size the partitions and add a new 2nd partition formatted as ext2/3/4
8) Right click on the big gray bar (should say unallocated x.xx gb) and click 'new'
9) Enter configurations
Free Space preceding = 0
Create as = Primary
New size = [don't touch]
File system = fat32
Free Space Following = 512 (or whatever you want)
10) Click add
11) Right click on the big gray bar (should say unallocated x.xx gb) and click 'new'
12) Enter configurations
Free Space preceding = 0
Create as = Primary
New size = [don't touch]
File system = ext2/3/4 (recommend ext4)
Free Space Following = 0 (or ~32 if you want swap)
Click add
13) Click edit, then 'Apply All Operations' to write changes to disk
14) Quit GParted
15) Unmount your SD Card
16) Reboot your phone
This is what I've found so far, as the easiest method.
Another tutorial can be found under: http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f9/how-to-create-ext2-partition-14232/
or
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=534714 this is one way to do it.
What I don't know for sure:
- If the size of the ext partition matters?
- What ROMs require ext partitions?
- If Class 6 SD cards really are that important (some webpages say that class 2 cards are not able to handle ext2 partitions and end up bricked.
- How to manage the contents in the ext partition when changing SD Cards...
- How to check if you bricked your sd card...
- etc...
Good Luck
chrysochire said:
What I don't know for sure:
- If the size of the ext partition matters?
- What ROMs require ext partitions?
- If Class 6 SD cards really are that important (some webpages say that class 2 cards are not able to handle ext2 partitions and end up bricked.
- How to manage the contents in the ext partition when changing SD Cards...
- How to check if you bricked your sd card...
- etc...
Good Luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By the way, if anyone reads this, I would love to make this topic a sticky, so as to answer all questions related to SD Cards...
chrysochire said:
CUT.....
Good Luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice guide. Thanks soo much for this explain.
Very cleary!
hi i am using GParted to partition ext3 for use with apps2d but i have tried several times without success
after booting up the phone, i see a blank sd card.. i.e. not mounted in my Desire..
wondering what i m doing wrong,, or is there another method to do it?
From the Clockwork Mod recovery, I cant partition the sd card too.. and have also tried without any success via the ROM Manager...
Warning! Noob question ahead:
Why wouldn't you just take the new SD card, insert it into the phone without partitioning it, and let the Desire handle the whole thing?
I'm completely new to all this (rooting, custom ROMs, A2SD etc.) but have managed to successfully root my HTC Desire (using unrevoked), install OpenDesire 2.3, and partition the SD card using ROM Manager. I rebooted and my installed apps are showing as being on the SD card in Settings > Applications > Manage Applications but with different names (e.g. instead of 'Titanium Backup' it's now 'com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup') and the icon is a default black Android/SD card rather than the app icon. When I go into the launcher my installed apps aren't there and they're not listed when I try to add a shortcut to the homescreen.
Have I done something wrong? Or is there an additional step I don't know about?
Ah, it looks like I did something in the wrong order - I'd already downloaded and installed Titanium, then moved it to the SD card under Froyo A2SD, then partitioned the SD card...
I reinstalled Titanium and everything's fine.
I am still interested in that:
mysteryfr said:
Why wouldn't you just take the new SD card, insert it into the phone without partitioning it, and let the Desire handle the whole thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Guys,
I need some serious help. I have rooted the desire, flashed to leedroid 1.4c rom, but have been left with no SD Card and now I am trying to mount the sd card in the desire as it no longer recognises it...
i can have rom manager loaded but it can't see the sd card..
i dont have A2SD or partitions on the sd card, i can put the card in the laptop and write to it..problem is i am on a windows lappy so no linux..i know i can make a live cd but i'm not up to that..i dont think..
is there a guide i can have to get the sd card mounted on the desire running windows...i have got android sdk on the pc but i have nfi how to use that either...
all help appreciated...
XClemX Try this: (hopefully you've backed up your SD card to your PC!)
go to Settings, Sd & Phone storage,
click on format SC card.
That should get your card recognised.
Thanks Depaor,
The SD card isn't seen in that either...i'm attempting to make a gold card now to see if i can get it to work that way...fingers crossed...
is your card visible from card reader on pc, or from other phone?
If it is, just format it in FAT32 on your pc, and it will be fine... also, always check if phone is in "charge only" mode before disconnecting usb...
Will a non-rooted Android phone read a card formatted as ext3 or ext4? Just curious.

How to Partition your Sd Card??

How to partition your SD Card for us Newbies.
how can i do that? Ext2 , Ext3
i have a 8 gb sd card class 6. someone guide me please with a link
Thnx
acronis disk manager can do that but the card wouldnt boot in my phone, so i used the phones internal boot up manager to do it, unlocker.com has a video guide. i only been doing this my self passed 3 days and its been really confusing so good luck
Page 2 of the Q&A Forum
oMaRcO said:
How to partition your SD Card for us Newbies.
Thnx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Introductory Remarks:
- Ext Partition is only needed if your rom uses App2SD+ (Froyo app2sd works with basic Fat32 partition)
- "Install apps to sd" (ext) must sometimes be configured in your ROM, check the thread for your rom for infos...
- Backup your SD card before you start ! The following steps will wipe the contents !
- Ext partitions are only visible in Linux = Windows can't see it.
- Swap Partitions are no longer useful.
- You can check if you have a working ext partition with Quick system info (in app market)
- On first reboot after partition, android will move some apps to the SD, this will take a lot of time. Some people have reported a bootloop on green HTC Screen, one reported a need to Battery pull 4 times before it finally worked), so be patient!!!!
- If the device is plugged into a PC when you try to boot with the partitioned SDCard it never gets past the white HTC sceen & logo.
Now the tutorials:
A. Easiest way is to install Rom Manager:
1) install rom manager
2) choose partition sd card
- 512mb ext
- 0 swap
3) let RM do the rest... ;-)
- I believe Rom Manager (as of end of July) creates an ext2 partition, therefore if you want ext3 or 4, easiest is to go through Gparted, or if you have amonRa Recovery, I believe this function is present.
B. Another one is using Gparted:
(copied this from http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Apps2SD)
You can use a livecd of GParted, or use it from within Ubuntu (vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVK-t...eature=related)
+ You can do this using your phone to mount the SD card or a Card adapter directly connected to your computer.
1) Connect your phone to your computer (or use an SD Card adapter...., in this case skip to 4))
2) Pull down the notification bar and mount the phone
3) Start Gparted
4) Gparted will search available drives. (Your phone should show up as a USB drive, and will be something like /dev/sdb1 or /dev/sdc1, etc..)
Warning: double-check you've not selected a hdd by mistake!
5) In the upper right corner, select the correct USB device for your phone. (i.e. check to make sure it is correct size for your SD card)
6) Right click on each partition and select 'unmount'
7) Right click on each partition and select 'delete'
If you know what you are doing, you can re-size the partitions and add a new 2nd partition formatted as ext2/3/4
8) Right click on the big gray bar (should say unallocated x.xx gb) and click 'new'
9) Enter configurations
Free Space preceding = 0
Create as = Primary
New size = [don't touch]
File system = fat32
Free Space Following = 512 (or whatever you want)
10) Click add
11) Right click on the big gray bar (should say unallocated x.xx gb) and click 'new'
12) Enter configurations
Free Space preceding = 0
Create as = Primary
New size = [don't touch]
File system = ext3 or 4 (recommend ext4)
Free Space Following = 0
Click add
13) [CHECK AGAIN you are working on your SD card and not your Hard Drive!!!!] Click edit, then 'Apply All Operations' to write changes to disk
14) Quit GParted
15) Unmount your SD Card
16) Reboot your phone and wait (see introductory remarks)
C. Recovery Images
Some Recovery Images also have a option to format your SD card from the recovery screen. (see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=721792).
I have not tried that.
As long as you have an ext2/3/4 partition and the ROM you're flashing has A2SD support (check before you download the ROM), you are not required to do anything more.
D. How to check if it worked?
To check whether A2SD is working once you've flashed your ROM,
1)Download Quick System Info from the Market, and check under A2SD Storage, it should give you enough informations.
2)download the Android Terminal Emulator app from the market and use the following commands
Code:
su
ls -l /data
You should see your app directory pointing to /system/sd/app and app-private pointing to /system/sd/app-private (courtesy of ikkokusenkin)
E. Further Infos
See: http://geeks.pirillo.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-partition-an-sd-card or :
http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f...rtition-14232/ or:
http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/15/ho...-android-when-using-swap-hero-and-or-apps2sd/ (With Rav Recovery...) or:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=534714 (most complicated way.... )
related thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731432&page=2
F. Open Questions:
What I don't know:
- If the size of the ext partition matters (if you have to choose 256/512 or 1024, and can't have 600mb for example?
- What ROMs require ext partitions? (all with app2sd+, basic froyo app2sd doesn't require ext partition).
- If Class 6 SD cards really are that important (some webpages say that class 2 cards are not able to handle ext2 partitions and end up bricked.
- How to manage the contents in the ext partition when changing SD Cards... (do you need any management of your ext partition?) or you have to reinstall those apps????) See here.
- How to check if you bricked your sd card...
- etc...
Good Luck
Use Rom Manager
Completely painless, took less that 2 mins to do mine
PS - It may appear to stuck at the HTC white screen after completion, I just left it and
it booted up normally after about 3 mins
50 apps installed and 132MB spare!!
The first time round the Rom manager worked for me. But I again formatted the card thinking i had not followed the right partitioning so i tried again but i get stuck on a black screen with SU request written forever which needs to be force closed.
Please advise. thanks
I recently bought a 32gb sandisk and want to get that working heres what I have done with no luck:
I inserted the new memory card and it picked up fine on the phone then I went to rom manager to partition the card, 512mb and 0 swap it reboots but only stays in clockwork mod, from here I dont know what to do.
If I connect the phone to the computer with the card mounted it displays the card as raw not fat32 but music files drag and drop and easily play.
I could format it from the computer to fat32 but I'll wait and see what you guys say.
Chan_B said:
I recently bought a 32gb sandisk and want to get that working heres what I have done with no luck:
I inserted the new memory card and it picked up fine on the phone then I went to rom manager to partition the card, 512mb and 0 swap it reboots but only stays in clockwork mod, from here I dont know what to do.
If I connect the phone to the computer with the card mounted it displays the card as raw not fat32 but music files drag and drop and easily play.
I could format it from the computer to fat32 but I'll wait and see what you guys say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try to format the card back to fat32 using:
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/sd/download/index.html
Then check out the Windows way of using parted to partition
http://androidandme.com/2009/08/news/how-to-manually-partition-your-sd-card-for-android-apps2sd/
After partitioning I use clockworkmod to upgrade ext2 to 3.
And you can't always set a linux swap of 0 so calculate 1MB for that part.
I got it to fat32 but then the windows way of using parted to partition seems difficult. How can I tell if I have partitioned my card successfully? How can I partition using clockworkmod only, when I go to partitions menu it only says mount or format, this is frustrating...
Chan_B said:
I got it to fat32 but then the windows way of using parted to partition seems difficult. How can I tell if I have partitioned my card successfully? How can I partition using clockworkmod only, when I go to partitions menu it only says mount or format, this is frustrating...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gparted has a live cd to partition your sd card
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php
Hi, i see you all set swap as 0 does that mean its using phone internal storage as swap how fast is read/write of phone ram ? i have class2 32gb card i used the phone boot with the r5 windows.bat to get into it and i set 256 swap/512 ext2/ rest 32bit all seems to work fine.
i note that writing to the sd card is about 2MBps and read is 10MBps.
i have a class4 8gb that writes at 10MBps reads about 17MBps i have had both in the phone and i cant say that i notice lag on the 32GB but i havent had it more than a few days and coming from xda orbit its a big difference.
if i use the card as storage the phone becomes very lag but maybe thats cause in that mode it would have no swap file? might change that when i finally flash to froyo.
gparted kept saying it was unformatted when windows said it was formatted so i gave up with it.
gianton said:
gparted has a live cd to partition your sd card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I think I sorted it. Fingers crossed.
Just rooted my htc desire and used rom manager to partition my sd card (the one I got when I bought the phone). Everything fine.
then I bought a new Transcend micro sdhc 8GB... this memory card is not recognize by windows if using card reader. So..:
- I inserted into blackberry and connected using usb cable. My windows (Windows xp) can see and access it.
- formatted the new memory card to Fat32
- copy Open Desire and and Official Sense Froyo ROMs, both by Adam
- flashed to Sense Froyo ROM, and when it rebooted, it freezed.. cant get into the system
- flashed to OpenDesire, it worked.
- Download ROM Manager
- choose "Partition SD Card"
- Swap 0, Ext 512mb
- ERROR...
what should I do?
Did you download Clockworkmod recovery through ROM Manager before that?
If you create a partition using rom manager do you lose all your apps and settings that you already have in use.
thanks
jankos said:
Did you download Clockworkmod recovery through ROM Manager before that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes.. cos when i clicked partition sd card, it asked me to download clockworkmod first.
it goes to recovery screen but with "unsucsessfull" message. cant find sdcard/cache/update.zip ...
the funny thing is, if I copied update.zip from my old memory card into new one. and run update.zip from recovery screen... then it worked.
but when I checked with quick system info, app2sd only shows around 400mb. is that rite?
aoisora said:
yes.. cos when i clicked partition sd card, it asked me to download clockworkmod first.
it goes to recovery screen but with "unsucsessfull" message. cant find sdcard/cache/update.zip ...
the funny thing is, if I copied update.zip from my old memory card into new one. and run update.zip from recovery screen... then it worked.
but when I checked with quick system info, app2sd only shows around 400mb. is that rite?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its showing around 400mb for me aswell, but how exactly can I tell if it is working. If I go to manage applications and click on sd card I have a couple that I moved over i.e rom manager but some apps are unmovable to sd card. Are these apps unmovable by design. I hope I haven't done it wrong.
BTW neophyte is the best rom I've used yet.
I made partition with Rom Manager.
Do I need now to "swap" ext2 to ext3?
If so, how do I do it?!
mattan said:
I made partition with Rom Manager.
Do I need now to "swap" ext2 to ext3?
If so, how do I do it?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think rom manager does that as ext3.
mattan said:
I made partition with Rom Manager.
Do I need now to "swap" ext2 to ext3?
If so, how do I do it?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROM Manager makes directly ext3 format. Do not worry about that
jankos said:
ROM Manager makes directly ext3 format. Do not worry about that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it doesn't it makes a ext2 partition, you have to format to ext3... I have used gparted live cd to do this.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Help me fix my SD Card

Hi there,
A couple days ago, I had a usb brick. I quickly fixed it, everything got back to normal except for my sd card : I think it's corrupted. Why do I say this ? Because I've got another sd card, and it's working perfectly. I can't get to format it via Gparted. It says the procedure failed, there was an issue and i couldn't format it. In addition, even though it's a 4GB card, it's recognized as a 3gb card.
When I try to use it in recovery mode, it says :
Code:
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 (or /dev/block/mmcblk0)
But when I use the other card, nothing weird happens.
I'd like you guys to help me repair my SD card.
kev94 said:
Hi there,
A couple days ago, I had a usb brick. I quickly fixed it, everything got back to normal except for my sd card : I think it's corrupted. Why do I say this ? Because I've got another sd card, and it's working perfectly. I can't get to format it via Gparted. It says the procedure failed, there was an issue and i couldn't format it. In addition, even though it's a 4GB card, it's recognized as a 3gb card.
When I try to use it in recovery mode, it says :
Code:
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 (or /dev/block/mmcblk0)
But when I use the other card, nothing weird happens.
I'd like you guys to help me repair my SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Googled and found this: http://www.ehow.com/how_4850280_repair-corrupt-sd-card.html
1. link your desire with pc
2. enter "FASTBOOT Mode", it will display "HBOOT USB PLUG"
3. open dos windows and type adb shell
4. type fastboot oem rebootRUU
5. type fastboot oem enableqxdm 0
and retry
I already tried this, but it didn't work out ! I'm out of ideas...
So it says it's a 3GB card? You had an 1GB Ext partiton before?
If yes, that's where your 1GB's gone.
Recommended is to repartition your card again from scratch - Using Either GParted, EASEUS or MiniTool partiton.
Backup everything from it, then delete all partitions - and re-create them.
davebugyi said:
So it says it's a 3GB card? You had an 1GB Ext partiton before?
If yes, that's where your 1GB's gone.
Recommended is to repartition your card again from scratch - Using Either GParted, EASEUS or MiniTool partiton.
Backup everything from it, then delete all partitions - and re-create them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, it's 3.7 GB and not 4GB (I guess it's normal though). And yes, the missing space was from the ext partition. Thanks god, the first thing I did was a backup of my SD card. Yet, I tried to format the card with Gparted (I'm currently running Ubuntu 10.10) but as I said above the procedure fails.
Then, I formatted in Windows, and I managed to create a 3Gb fat32 partition recognized in Gparted.
But how am I supposed to get my missing space back if this space isn't recognized in Gparted ?
I'm using Ubuntu 11.04 (natty) - and i'm able to mount my EXT partiton of the SD Card.
As I said, don't just format the card, but delete all partitions and re-create them, then format them.
Also, if your card is messed up badly, maybe you have to use the termina with commands to recover the ext partition.
Always format SD cards with the "SD Formatter 3.0" from the SD Association: http://www.sdcard.org/consumers/formatter_3/
This little programs formats the whole card (full capacity, erasing all other partitions) in FAT32 meeting all SD specifications.
Furthermore it alligns the LBA parameters (virtual heads, cylinders etc) and the fat32 parameters with the internal structures of the flash memory (eraseblocks), so that fat32 clusters never overlap eraseblocks. This speeds up write performance (in my case about 50%! ).
There is no better tool to format SD cards.
After that you can resize (But don't move it, just trim the end. The free space in front of the FAT32 partition is part of the alignment) the FAT 32 partition with gparted and generate an ext partition in the free space.
Finally one should run the ext alignment script (it's a zip for recovery mode) from baadnwz homepage (http://www.baadnwz.eu/2011/05/align-your-sdcard-fat-and-ext-partiton_16.html) to align also the ext4 partition to the flash cells.
boot up into android (with any ROM) and go to settings > storage > format SD card
this should restore whole SD as FAT32
funny enough Android could do it, while Gparted could not (gparted didnt see my whole sd, it didnt see the ext partition)
davebugyi said:
I'm using Ubuntu 11.04 (natty) - and i'm able to mount my EXT partiton of the SD Card.
As I said, don't just format the card, but delete all partitions and re-create them, then format them.
Also, if your card is messed up badly, maybe you have to use the termina with commands to recover the ext partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---> As I said too , Gparted fails to create partitions. It displays a "warning" icon by the sd icon. Unless I'm a fool, I can't get any further there.
hypophysis said:
Always format SD cards with the "SD Formatter 3.0" from the SD Association: http://www.sdcard.org/consumers/formatter_3/
This little programs formats the whole card (full capacity, erasing all other partitions) in FAT32 meeting all SD specifications.
Furthermore it alligns the LBA parameters (virtual heads, cylinders etc) and the fat32 parameters with the internal structures of the flash memory (eraseblocks), so that fat32 clusters never overlap eraseblocks. This speeds up write performance (in my case about 50%! ).
There is no better tool to format SD cards.
After that you can resize (But don't move it, just trim the end. The free space in front of the FAT32 partition is part of the alignment) the FAT 32 partition with gparted and generate an ext partition in the free space.
Finally one should run the ext alignment script (it's a zip for recovery mode) from baadnwz homepage (http://www.baadnwz.eu/2011/05/align-your-sdcard-fat-and-ext-partiton_16.html) to align also the ext4 partition to the flash cells.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---> Sounds great and geeky, gonna give it a try tomorrow afternoon (CET +2 here)
dzumagos said:
boot up into android (with any ROM) and go to settings > storage > format SD card
this should restore whole SD as FAT32
funny enough Android could do it, while Gparted could not (gparted didnt see my whole sd, it didnt see the ext partition)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---> Yeah, Gparted is a bit lazy here.... Gonna try it if hypophysis's method doesn't work out. I gotta admit this kinda problem is pretty disturbing and pisses me off so much.... Waiting forward to get it over with.
Anyway, thanks a lot for helping me, you're good people here !
Well, I tried hypophysis's method. It formatted successfuly. But as you said, I had to run Gparted again in order to create an Ext partition next to the fat 32 one. But I couldn't --> It says it couldn't find the "first sector" I guess, and it couldn't determine the device specifications, it wasn't able to perform everything he wanted. Actually it recognized the whole sd card, but wasn't able to do anything with it. I couldn't unmount it or mount it....
I'm stuck at square 1 Gonna try to perform dzumagos's method later.

SD-Card format question

Hi XDA!
Recently, my SD card reached its limit and I now only have around 100 mb of space, no matter what I do.
Using the MIUI file manager, I can see that under the tab 'other' (i think that is what its called, danish locale), it shows 1.7 gb used storage. Searching through the objects in the category, I only see small 20-900 kb files and some 100 mb, which apparently is my backup files.
Seeing it keeps rising, I thought about formatting and start over.
Is there any folders or files (beside my photos etc.) That I need to backup prior to formatting?
Also, could I just format it using Windows, if mounted as external harddrive?
Thanks in advance!
- Nagelzz
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I'm pretty sure there is no need for a full format, why don't you just delete the folders with those unnecessary backups and locale files?
Folders that I think need to be backuped if you decide to format afterall are those with a dot in the start of their name (altough I'm quite sure that even those are not important) and probably those that contain files that your programs use for backuping things (like notes, smsbackups, dropbox or whatever). I wouldn't format it though with windows, try sd formatter (google it) or format it with gparted just to be sure it won't corrupt your ext partition(s) if you have them...
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Premium App
Link2SD Problem... HELP!!!
Hello I have a HTC Desire Bravo(GSM) running CyanogenMod9 4.0.4 ICS. I have a 16GB MicroSD memory card and need to partition it to allow Link2SD to move apps and free the *tiny* storage my phone has.
I have got gParted LiveCD and I created a 1.5GB partition for Link2SD and formatted it to EXT3 (as instructed by CM9) but then when I come to open Link2SD on my phone to set it up, it asks me for the filetype so I select "EXT3" and it says the following:
Mount Script Error
------------------
Mount script cannot be created.
mount: mounting /dev/block/vold/179:2
on /data/sdext2 failed: Invalid argument
ext3 may not be supported on your device. Try FAT32
on the second partition.
Now before this I had CyanogenMod 7 build 2.3.7 and it worked fine but up until I upgraded to CM9 ICS it decides not to work. I formatted and reformatted my card to try all other options but it didn't work. Would I HAVE to use FAT32 on my second partition or is there something I am doing wrong??
Thanks

[GUIDE] Repartitioning SD Card for link2sd for DUMMIES.

Alright, this is a guide for those people who need to increase/decrease their size of ext2/3/4 partition or even change SD card as I did from 2 GB Samsung to 4 GB Kingston Class 4.
This has been tested on windows 8.
Windows only recognizes the first partition of any removable device, this is where the problem lies while changing SD card or while making the amendments to your Ext partition. You apps will all be LOST if you format without care. Don't get hyper, this is quick and easy guide.
Things you will need.
1.Minitool Partition wizard home edition (probably the same which you used to create the partition)
2.Ext2 Volume manager.
3.Ext2IFS for windows.
USB mount is strictly not advisable, use a card reader. If you don't have any then use a mobile which is not an android, Nokia as for example.
1. Switch your mobile off, remove SD card. Insert it into card reader and then to USB port.
2.Windows will show you your FAT/FAT32 partition.
3.Backup your FAT/FAT32 partition. This is because you are gonna delete this partition.
4.After backing up open Minitool Partition wizard, delete your FAT/FAT32 partition. Be sure to delete this only, DO NOT DELETE EXT2/3/4. Apply those changes.
5.Go to Ext2 Volume manager and select the removable SD card. Double click on Linux partition. Then click on mount points and done.
6.Go to My computer and you will find your Ext2/3/4 partition as a removable drive. Backup this, be sure to copy all the files. Do not leave any file.
7.Now delete this partition from Minitool Partition wizard, your full card is empty now.
8.Create a new parition as primary and Ext2/3/4. Drag this to the far right. Be sure that all the unallocated space is before this Ext partition. Not even a single MB should be after this partition. Apply changes. Select the size of partition according to your convenience.
9.Copy all those EXT backup files to this Ext partition. Windows will show this partition now. If it does not, go to Ext2 Volume manager and do the steps you did before.
10.Now that you have created an Ext partition of your desirable size. Go to Minitool Partition wizard and create a primary FAT/FAT32 partition in the unallocated space. Apply changes.
11.Copy those backup files on this new partition of fat file system which you copied. Now the Ext partition will not be shown in windows.
12.You are done! Insert SD into your phone and power it on. The first boot will take a little longer than normal.
13.Go to link2sd and check the storage, you will be having all the apps + your partition size is increased/decreased now.
If you have any problems tell me.
To all those who want to create a pictorial guide, DO IT BUT INCLUDE A LINK TO MY ORIGINAL GUIDE.
Close to 100 views still nothing here. :/
Sent from my GT-S5360 using XDA
Master_Key said:
Close to 100 views still nothing here. :/
Sent from my GT-S5360 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that increasing means getting bigger ext partition without the need to re-partition the card. If I were you I would create a guide in RESIZING EXT PARTITIONS, else rename your guide to "how to repartition a SD Card"
Sent from my GT-S5360 using xda premium
Sorry, changed it.
Well that day I had laptop and since then I am using mobile so forgot to check the caption.
Sorry again
Sent from my GT-S5360 using XDA
Problem
I followed all of your steps to the letter to repartition and increase the size of my link2sd partition and after rebooting my phone, I'm getting nothing but error messages and "force close" left and right. I'm not sure at all what had gone wrong. :/ I backed up every single file from both partitions, but everything appears to be borked.
UPDATE: it's apparently not mounting the second partition; that's at least what it seems to be telling me as I'm going through some of the stuff on link2sd
ElusiveZatchmo said:
I followed all of your steps to the letter to repartition and increase the size of my link2sd partition and after rebooting my phone, I'm getting nothing but error messages and "force close" left and right. I'm not sure at all what had gone wrong. :/ I backed up every single file from both partitions, but everything appears to be borked.
UPDATE: it's apparently not mounting the second partition; that's at least what it seems to be telling me as I'm going through some of the stuff on link2sd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you tell me in more detail what did you do?
Also what kind of SD card are you using and other details.
increase 2nd partition of SD card without losing data
My SD card's 2nd partition is FAT32 and I'd like to increase it's size. How do I do it without losing my apps installed on there?
I tried connecting it to card reader and using miniTools to increase the size but it only allows NTFS partition to increase without losing data.
increase size of partition 2
Hi, just a quick question, can I increase the size of partition 2 without formatting or losing files and data?

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