Develop Bugs

JP3 Lag Fix- ext3 partition via script = 1610 quadrant

This is early, hacky, and built from the work of the guys on the Vibrant forums: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=739647
anomalous3 figured out that "there was only one thing running as root that could safely be replaced; the boot logo player. So, all this does is replace the boot logo player with a script that calls userinit.sh from /data/local and then calls the (now renamed) bootlogo player for those of you who want that nifty startup screen"
What this does is allows the phone to mount an ext3 partition on boot so we can have a lag fix on JP3. I'm getting 1610 on quadrant and it's pretty stable. Please someone improve this!! shaunm89 and I just hacked this together from other's work.
Directions:
1.) Create an EXT3 partition on your external SD card of 2gb. It should be the second partition after the fat32 partition
2.) Flash Modaco's pre-rooted JP3 through Odin: http://android.modaco.com/content/s...insecure-boot-clockworkmod-recovery-for-odin/
3.) Boot the phone up. Open market and install Root Explorer (costs $) and Busybox. Update busybox
4.) Download these files: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ONGUDAIJ
Copy them across to the SD card. Move playlogos1 and playlogosnow to /system/bin. Move userinit.sh to /data/local. Use root explorer to set permissions read (all 3) write (user only) execute (all 3). 0755 for those who know linux. You can use adb to push if you wanna get fancy.
5.) Reboot. Use root explorer to see if /sd-ext exists, and if so, whether /sd-ext/data and /sd-ext/dalvik-cache exist. If so it worked! If not, reboot again and then check.
That's it. Maybe someone can package this into an update.zip, maybe someone can take it and make it more stable and even faster (ext4 for example)

great! hope we could find an easier way
Sent from my GT-I9000

Is it a must to get the pre-rooted version of firmware? However using the original SP3 then root by myself?
On the other hand, I think I will modify your init.rc as I would rather to do all the moving by myself
Great job, hope we can get EXT4 soon.

In step 4, " Move userinit.sh to /local/data" should be data/local. Quadrant benchmark 1700.

seems like the script is calling busybox, but is it necessary to use root explorer. Could one substitute root explorer with adb?
I assume root explorer is just to do things adb can do, but locally on the device instead of attached via USB.

I tried this and it and i can see sd-ext and the subfolders but is this all we need to do?
is /data/data linked to the sdcard?
I am asking because i tried to reboot the phone without the sdcard in it and i can still see all my apps and everything is working fine.
Thoughts?
Also there is an error in section 4 of your instructions. there is no /local/data, it is /data/local.
Also playlogos1 and playlogosnow files needs to be renamed with a capital P for this to work.

No need to install root explorer if you can use adb to push the files. I just wasn't sure how to use adb to push to those directories.
I fixed the other mistake, thanks
This is not ideal but gets the job done. I'm hoping you guys can make it better!

Are you able to download anything from the market after doing this?
My market is just stuck on "starting download" and that's it.

clubtech said:
Are you able to download anything from the market after doing this?
My market is just stuck on "starting download" and that's it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Protected apps don't show but i've been able to get all my other purchased and free apps installed and running fine.

Strange.
I'll flash again and try again.

Yea i don't know.
The market will download some and won't others.
Also my Quadrant test is getting stuck at 3/4 stage of the I/O test so it might be my SDCard which sucks.
I used a 16GB SanDik class 4 card.

clubtech said:
Yea i don't know.
The market will download some and won't others.
Also my Quadrant test is getting stuck at 3/4 stage of the I/O test so it might be my SDCard which sucks.
I used a 16GB SanDik class 4 card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sandisk are one of the best cards you can get, kingston are known to get stuck at this stage, are you sure you don't have a fake sandisk card?
anyway if you leave it running after about 10 minutes quadrant will finish and still give you a massive score of over 1500.. just shows how reliable the quadrant scores are .

does it mean that quadrant is good but speed isnt?

Tried this fix on my JP3 but no luck. I don't get these folders.
Maybe it must be MoDaCo?
If I manually execute the script I get these folders, but after reboot they are gone.
Pretty new to this maybe I'm doing something wrong?

drygmasken said:
Tried this fix on my JP3 but no luck. I don't get these folders.
Maybe it must be MoDaCo?
If I manually execute the script I get these folders, but after reboot they are gone.
Pretty new to this maybe I'm doing something wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, did it from scratch today. Format, flashed MoDaCo prerooted JP3 and everything. Stilll I don't get this to work (
Please, any ideas?

Finally got it to run faster with this fix, thanks for sharing!
drygmasken said:
Ok, did it from scratch today. Format, flashed MoDaCo prerooted JP3 and everything. Stilll I don't get this to work (
Please, any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also happened to me initially. /sd-ext won't show up or if it does, it doesn't contain the correct folders though it is listed when you run 'mount'. Laggy with Quadrant result at 975.
So, went back and reformatted SD w/Fat32 then EXT3, cleared cache/data, re-flashed Modaco's JP3, installed the latest Busybox, copied files per OP and I finally got it working after a couple of re-boots (3, i think). It is running smooth so far w/quadrant 1622. GPS seems to be getting locks on SATs quickly but you still can't get to LBSTest via the keypad. Still can't write to the external sd when mounted/shared to PC.
Also tried JAC's work (see this thread: [KERNEL/RECOVERY] Vibrant EXT2/3/4 with init.d support) since it has the nifty feature allowing user to put startup scripts on boot up. I flashed his kernel but i got stuck on the 'Vibrant' boot screen. anyways, will give it another try later.

titovic said:
Also happened to me initially. /sd-ext won't show up or if it does, it doesn't contain the correct folders though it is listed when you run 'mount'. Laggy with Quadrant result at 975.
So, went back and reformatted SD w/Fat32 then EXT3, cleared cache/data, re-flashed Modaco's JP3, installed the latest Busybox, copied files per OP and I finally got it working after a couple of re-boots (3, i think). It is running smooth so far w/quadrant 1622. GPS seems to be getting locks on SATs quickly but you still can't get to LBSTest via the keypad. Still can't write to the external sd when mounted/shared to PC.
Also tried JAC's work (see this thread: [KERNEL/RECOVERY] Vibrant EXT2/3/4 with init.d support) since it has the nifty feature allowing user to put startup scripts on boot up. I flashed his kernel but i got stuck on the 'Vibrant' boot screen. anyways, will give it another try later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which method do you use for making the ext3? I made my on my hero using Amon RA could that be a problem?

drygmasken said:
Which method do you use for making the ext3? I made my on my hero using Amon RA could that be a problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used GParted Live CD as Paragon fails to format my AData card and sorry but I am not familiar with AMON RA.

1646 thanks, very fast!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Would this procedure work for ext4 partitioned SD Card?

[GUIDE] Persistent Temp Root for G2 to SD Card

Problem: Changes to the system partition are lost when Linux flushes the disk cache: http://pastebin.com/cm75Z9UA
These instructions are a workaround to provide temp root like normal plus persistence because /system /data and /cache are partitions on your SD card. This lets you reboot and even factory reset, while being able to easily restore your settings and such by re-rooting and mounting your SD card partitions back over the internal partitions.
Prerequisites:
SD card partitioned with four partitions:
6GB as fat (for your data, can be bigger or small depending on your card size)
400MB ext3 for /system
1.3GB ext3 for /data
200MB ext3 for /cache
On the phone, enable "USB debugging" in Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Development
On a PC with the Android SDK tools (adb) installed and working:
adb push Superuser.apk /data/local
adb push busybox /data/local
adb push rage /data/local
adb push resume /data/local
adb push root /data/local
adb push rsync /data/local
adb push setup /data/local
adb push su /data/local
adb install Term.apk
adb shell chmod 755 /data/local/busybox /data/local/rage /data/local/setup /data/local/resume /data/local/rsync /data/local/root
On the phone, open "Terminal Emulator" and type:
/data/local/rage
Wait for it to say "[+] Forked NNNN childs." then press the back button.
Open "Terminal Emulator" again and it should force close.
Open it one more time and the prompt should display "#". Then type:
/data/local/root
/data/local/setup
You may need to re-root after it reloads the GUI, but then it will stick. setup is a script that mounts your SD card partitions and copies the existing. It should only be run once unless you want to erase what you have there previously. This step wont work if you SD card is not partitioned properly.
On future power-ons, run this after temp-root instead of setup:
/data/local/resume
and you should get your Android back how it was.

is it suppose to scan through all apps on phone then reboot

Thanks muchly, I'll try this when my G2 arrives.
I have a question about this method. It looks to me that what setup does is copy the entire system, data, and cache to the SD card. Then, when you run resume, it uses rsync to bring the main system (in the onboard flash) up to date from the SDcard version, and then any changes, even if not actually written to the main system partition due to the HTC copy protection, get written to the sdcard copy of the system. Very clever (if I'm reading this write, otherwise, still clever, but me not so clever as I mis-understood).
The question is this: Are there any glitches or instabilities generated by suddenly changing the system files after the OS is already booted? Do I have to make sure to do this before I begin using my phone after boot or risk making changes that I will then loose when I run resume?
Thanks again for the work putting this together!
Sheep

Sheep, you understand almost completely. Setup does copy the existing data from the internal phone memory to the SD card. However, it then (like resume) doesn't copy anything back, it just mounts the system, data, and cache partitions from the SD card on top of the internal ones.
I had issues with the internal memory reverting back after I make changes to it. It seemed to happen over a short time, or was triggered by things like mounting the SD card to a computer.
I've been using this for about 24 hours with no problems. I've done a couple fresh boots and ran resume. But I didn't test the instructions from scratch, so if anyone tests and finds a problem, let me know!

Any performance hit because of running from SD?

I haven't really noticed any.

How does this impact battery life?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Can't say, I've had my phone hooked up most of the time through adb looking for root. Just did this for fun and because I was sick of re-rooting all the time.

looks interesting I'll try it out tomorrow
Sent from my T-Mobile G2

so your sd card has to be partitioned pryor to trying this

pre-partitioned card?
thatruth132 said:
so your sd card has to be partitioned pryor to trying this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it does

texasaggie1 said:
yes it does
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and how do i do this on a non-rooted device

thatruth132 said:
and how do i do this on a non-rooted device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use your G1 to partition the card.
Brad

You can also connect your phone to a Linux computer (a LiveCD would be fine) and use gparted or fdisk. Don't forget to backup the contents of your card first!

Pretty cool. But I think I'm gonna wait for a more permanent solution....

sheek360 said:
Pretty cool. But I think I'm gonna wait for a more permanent solution....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no roms available yet any ways, so to a non dev, non cook like me, the Root is pretty much useless

I'd read that the currently available root was good until a reboot, then I saw this thread that made rerooting after a reboot much easier. Since then I've seen some posts that seem to indicate that a root may spontaneously disappear even without rebooting. Is this the case, some permissions may be lost even if you don't reboot?
I was ready to pull the trigger on this permanent-temporary root until I read that. I'd like to be able to import my old wpa_supplicant.conf file and get my corp ipsec vpn working. I'd also like to be able to get wifi-tether working (although I rarely use it), but if root won't stay 100% until a reboot, then I'm not going to bother.

Dalamak said:
There are no roms available yet any ways, so to a non dev, non cook like me, the Root is pretty much useless
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true. I'm not a dev or a cook, but there are things that you can make the phone do with root besides adding a theme or ROM.
wifi tether
ipsec vpn
backups
etc...

smasraum said:
I'd read that the currently available root was good until a reboot, then I saw this thread that made rerooting after a reboot much easier. Since then I've seen some posts that seem to indicate that a root may spontaneously disappear even without rebooting. Is this the case, some permissions may be lost even if you don't reboot?
I was ready to pull the trigger on this permanent-temporary root until I read that. I'd like to be able to import my old wpa_supplicant.conf file and get my corp ipsec vpn working. I'd also like to be able to get wifi-tether working (although I rarely use it), but if root won't stay 100% until a reboot, then I'm not going to bother.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With temp root on the internal system partition, writes would revert back after certain things (after mounting the sd card to a computer through the phone and disconnecting it, I'd always loose root). When running /system from an sd card, no writes can be reverted because none are made, so I've never had to re-root.

how to partition an SD card?
thatruth132 said:
and how do i do this on a non-rooted device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used gparted in ubuntu to do mine. Like SAINTH said, the install disk for ubuntu is also a livecd so you dont even have to install ubuntu if u dont want to

[Solved][Q] Recovering dead/dying SD card, fixing A2SD permissions

Hi,
I was organising my computer today (ironically in preparation for a backup) and plugged in my phone to copy files and it wouldn't mount or ask for the type of connection. I went to unmount it in Android and it said the size was '00'. I put the card in a card reader and did a check and it seems a few sectors have gone bad (which implies the reserve pool has filled too). That would explain the way it has been pausing for long periods of time when copying files (haven't done that in a month or so).
I've managed to copy all but one of the .apk files in /sd-ext/app and /sd-ext/app-data. If I put these (plus an empty dalvik-cache) on a new partition on a new card will A2SD+ be happy (apart from the one broken app of course)? Does each .apk have special permissions per app or anything? I should probably do a full wipe but I'm trying to hold out for official gingerbread. I tried to do a nandroid backup but clockworkmod says 'cannot stat /sdcard'
I haven't managed to get much of the FAT32 partition as it keeps dying after a few I/O errors and requires me to re-plug it (every sector comes up with I/O errors even when they are fine). I managed to get some files that I have nowhere else using ddrescue on individual files (a full image doesn't work because of the endless errors after a while). I think I may have made things worse as I stupidly didn't mount the drive in read-only mode. Now android mounts the SD card in read-only mode too, where it wasn't doing that earlier today. I did notice a few I/O errors in the android system log when I was trying to figure out the problem.
I'm misisng some (fairly unimportant) photos because the DCIM/100MEDIA folder seems to have lost it's directory listing. Does anyone have any suggestions for tools to recover these? I tried photorec but it only seems to find the thumbnails. I can't get the partition to mount on Windows but it more or less works on linux. According to HD Tune disk scan (chkdsk just freezes), the number of bad blocks is actually fairly small.
I did a whole pile of app updates yesterday which must have pushed it over the edge (many of which failed due to 'insufficient space' on the A2SD partition). The phone still mostly works (since most apk files are readable and the settings are stored on the phone).
Does dalvik-cache get updated much? I'm worried it might hugely shorten the life of a new card.
Thanks
Running Leedroid 2.4 A2SD+

Ok, I've got a new 16GB MicroSD card.
I can't get Android to recognize the apps in the A2SD partition, it regenerates the dalvik cache though. I've tried setting the .apk files to be globally readable and writeable.
Any ideas?

Yay, got it working
It turns out you need to run fix_permissions.sh, as Android does care about apk files and data files having the same permissions. fix_permissions did some strange changes to data permissions but it all seems to work bar needing to re-add most of my widgets to GoLauncher. Leedroid doesn't include fix_permissions but after much hunting (most links I found were broken), I managed to find it on cyanogenmod github.
https://github.com/CyanogenMod/android_vendor_cyanogen/raw/gingerbread/prebuilt/common/bin/fix_permissions
Just copy it to the SD card and run from ADB shell (or a terminal):
Code:
su
chmod +x /mnt/sdcard/fix_permissions
sh /mnt/sdcard/fix_permissions
Note that you must use sh, just ./fix_permissions gives permission denied for some reason.
Edit: seems it didn't correctly fix apps in app-private (of which I only had 2). I just reinstalled them (probably possible to fix them manually by looking at the owner in /data/data and chown the apk).

[Q] Backup apps and data?

I'm wanting to backup all my apps and data on my Note 8.0 3G. (I would like to back everything up to an external drive).
My device is rooted, and most apps are saved to SD, as is described here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2276193&page=2
I also have Multi Window Manager Pro if that makes any difference.
And I have Titanium Backup Pro installed... But I have no idea how to use it.
Oh, and I have a USB OTG to USB adapter, so I can plug in an external drive no problem.
Please help! :fingers-crossed:

Just load up Titanium Backup ( The free version is also installed right? ) and touch the arrow in the upper right hand corner. It will then give you a list different backup scenarios to choose from. I use Backup new user apps & newer versions.
You can also change to backup to external sdcard in Preferences using the menu button.

kable said:
Just load up Titanium Backup ( The free version is also installed right? ) and touch the arrow in the upper right hand corner. It will then give you a list different backup scenarios to choose from. I use Backup new user apps & newer versions.
You can also change to backup to external sdcard in Preferences using the menu button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so I managed to change the backup folder to a location I liked.
I selected the same option as you... and it takes me to a screen with the title 'Backup new user apps & newer versions'
Then 3 buttons: Select all, Deselect all, Invert selection.
then 'Pause active apps' and 'exclude active apps'.
then nothing else, no list of apps.
I tap the green tick, and I immediately get a notification that backup has finished. ....?
Edit: In other words, nothing happens - I check the folder and it's empty.

did you buy a license or is it the free version?
Go to their website and read up on how to use the software properly..
http://matrixrewriter.com/android/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5yb290dW5pbnN0YWxsZXIucHJvIl0.
There is this app to make a backup of your applications....

wase4711 said:
did you buy a license or is it the free version?
Go to their website and read up on how to use the software properly..
http://matrixrewriter.com/android/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed the free version, then bought the licence. So yes, I have the Titanium Backup PRO/Donate version.
I went to the site and read the FAQ, Troubleshooting, and User Guide.
I also clicked the 'Problems' Button. Makes no difference... So I also upgraded Superuser to Superuser Elite for good measure.
Today, I am getting warning messages that weren't coming up yesterday... for instance:
When I choose the backup location on my external drive, the Overview page tells me my Backup directory is X not available.
when I click the page+arrow symbol on the top right, i get this message: 'The current backup location ("/storage/UsbDriveA/Stuff you DON'T WANT/N5100 Backup") cannot be accessed.'
Also, if I change the backup location to what it was originaly I get exactly the same problem: - Backup directory is X not available.
("/storage/sdcard0/TitaniumBackup") cannot be accessed.'
Looking at the Overview page, at the bottom, it says:
System ROM: 2.64 GB (958 MB free)
Internal+Media 10.6 GB (7.63 GB free)
Ext. SD card: 10.6 GB (7.63 GB free)
(I actually have a 64 GB MicroSD installed)
Do you know what I think is going on? TitaniumBackup is getting confused because of the script I have enabled to install apps to SD as is described here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2276193
Which I did mention and link to in my first post. Are none of you using this method?

looks as if your internal card is mounted as external, and your removable card is not mounted. Are you running civato's kernel? if so, the vold entry in your mount script needs to be changed.

roustabout said:
looks as if your internal card is mounted as external, and your removable card is not mounted. Are you running civato's kernel? if so, the vold entry in your mount script needs to be changed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using the stock kernal. I haven't flashed a custom rom... All I've done to my device is this:
1 Install framaroot
http://forum.xda-developers.com/atta...0&d=1368232060
2. Open frama root and select SupesSu. Select the Aragorn method.
3. Reboot your device
4. Install busy box and open the app. Grant Su permissions and do the smart install
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....busybox&hl=en
5. Now you are rooted and ready to follow the steps of this thread.
6. Use ur device to format the SD card
7. Download script and save to SD card
http://downloadandroidrom.com/file/G...e2/app2sdNote2
8. Install script manager from play store
9. Open script manager, click on browse as root then ok
10.Choose the downoaded file and choose Script/Executable
11. Now tap on Su, Boot and Save
12. Reboot your phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And this is the script:
the script:
-----------------------script starts next line
#!/system/bin/sh
# extsd2internalsd is a modification that allows to switch internal sd to external sd
# and viceversa. With this you can use default internal sd only for app storage
# and the external sd to store all apps resource and all others stuff. The resut is a very
# big increase of installable apps on gnote2 and note8
# All credits to Mattiadj of xda forum for the idea and script and to mike1986 for
# the cmw zip. xda thread url at
# http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...php?t=2036796:
sleep 10
mount -o remount,rw /
mount -t vfat -o umask=0000 /dev/block/vold/179:17 /storage/sdcard0
sleep 30
mount -o bind /data/media /storage/extSdCard
chmod 777 /mnt/extSdCard
sleep 10
chown 1023:1023 /storage/extSdCard
chown 1000:1000 /storage/sdcard0
------------- end script on blank line above
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Your script looks like it's doing what mine does.
When you use the settings control panel to look at storage, does your storage show that internal storage is larger than your SD card - in your case, it'd be ~60 gig internal and ~9 for sdcard?
If they show the same value (the value Titanium reports) there's a problem with your script. otherwise you should be ok as long as the folder exists.
I just checked my device and titanium shows what yours does - both memory pools are the same size. mine works fine and uses this path:
/storage/sdcard0/titanium

roustabout said:
Your script looks like it's doing what mine does.
When you use the settings control panel to look at storage, does your storage show that internal storage is larger than your SD card - in your case, it'd be ~60 gig internal and ~9 for sdcard?
If they show the same value (the value Titanium reports) there's a problem with your script. otherwise you should be ok as long as the folder exists.
I just checked my device and titanium shows what yours does - both memory pools are the same size. mine works fine and uses this path:
/storage/sdcard0/titanium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, my internal storage is much larger (59.47Gb) - showing it is using the SD card, with the 'SD' (external) showing just under 10Gb.
I've restarted my device a couple of times, so I'm not getting those error messages. I can set my backup folder to the same as yours '/storage/sdcard0/TitaniumBackup', and I can also set it to the folder I want to use on my external drive - '/storage/UsbDriveA/Stuff you DON'T WANT/N5100 Backup'.
The problem now is that when I try to do a backup, selecting either 'Backup new user apps & newer versions' or 'Backup new user+system apps & newer versions' I'm presented with a screen where I'm supposed to select or deselect apps, but NO apps are listed! Not a single one.
What happens for you?

Titanium launches, confirms it has root rights and sqlite support, nags me if I happen to have USB debugging off, then lands at Overview.
I click on the Backup/Restore tab and it shows me a list of apps available to back up. If I click the checklist button, I get to "Batch Actions - ALL" and it tells me how many apps it's ready to back up, in my case 142 user apps.
The only thing that behaves as you're describing is if I've accidentally set a filter which doesn't match anything.
In the "Backup/Resore" tab there's a "Click to edit filters" button; if you go in there and there's a value set, try clearing it and then clicking the green checkmark to save your change. If you don't click the checkmark, your change isn't saved.
That may take you back to the backup/restore fully populated with user and system apps if you'd accidentally set a filter.

roustabout said:
The only thing that behaves as you're describing is if I've accidentally set a filter which doesn't match anything.
In the "Backup/Resore" tab there's a "Click to edit filters" button; if you go in there and there's a value set, try clearing it and then clicking the green checkmark to save your change. If you don't click the checkmark, your change isn't saved.
That may take you back to the backup/restore fully populated with user and system apps if you'd accidentally set a filter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES!!! For the strangest reason, I had it filtering out everything except 'flashbarservice.apk' which doesn't even exist on my device. :silly:
Thanks for identifying where the problem was. I must have accidentally saved that as a filter back when I was setting up my device and completely forgot about it. *slaps forehead*.
What a run around for such a simple obvious mistake.
Everything is now backing up nicely to my external drive. :good: :fingers-crossed:

[Q] SDCard write issue with 3rd party apps (0 byte files)

Issue:
When using Open Camera, ES File Explorer or Amaze file explorer files are created with zero bytes. i.e. Copying a file will create a 0 byte file or if file storage location set to the SDCard, the Open Camera app will fail to record video or take pictures.
Initially write operations on the SDCard did seem to work for a while (recorded one video before fail using Open Camera and copied files across without errors).
All operations are fine on internal memory.
There is no issue using the built-in file manager and camera apps. Will update as I check though other apps affected by this.
Setup:
The phone was on MIUI 9, then updated to the MIUI 10 OTA update (from beginning of Oct2018):
GLOBAL Version 10.0.1.0 (OEDMIFH)
Android 8.1.0 OPMI.171019.019
Kernel 4.4.78-pref-ge3e6edb
I then performed a factory reset from the boot recovery before installing everything from my previous phone. I didn't try MIUI 9 with an SDCard.
System Apps and Apps up to date.
I then started with the SDCard (128GB Class 10) cleanly formatted on PC, FAT32, and then when inserted into the phone formatted again. Looked for option to mount as Internal Storage, but noted that this isn’t available on this device (probably for the best), and no obvious option for encryption???
Troubleshooting:
Initially I thought, OK failed SDCard (this was before I found built-in apps worked OK). So I removed the card formatted it and checked using a test program to write/verify the whole card and it checked out OK. Still same issues back in the phone.
Next I pulled SDCard from another phone and tried that, and I get the very same issues. Thinking less likely it is a failed SDCard now, perhaps it is a hardware issue with the phone. Although it did write some files before.
After reading a few places, mention of an issue on MIUI 9 but this was fixed in later update. The steps don't match with anything in MIUI 10.
There is also mention of a bug with Android Orio which is similar, where apps need Storage permissions. Checked and I'd given the apps this permission and I had.
Following this, I tried the standard apps (Camera and File Manager) and discovered that these wrote files without errors (using the very same files which fail before/after on the other apps). Right so looking less like a hardware issue (hopefully!).
For ES Explorer, first time you write to the SDCard you have to select the SDCard root (“Please choose the root directory (XXXX-XXXX) of ext-SDCard…”). In this step, the SDCARD is referred to as BOOT and ES Explorer mounts it with the ID of SDCARD. The internal memory is mounted as /storage/emulated/0 and the SDCard as /storage/XXXX-XXXX/.
Additional testing with the apps, has shown that the data is actually written by ES Explorer since the 0 byte file shown in ES Explorer after a copy, is the correct size and opens from the standard file manager. This is further confirmed when performing a reboot or remount of the SDCard, ES Explorer then reads the file as it should… Any file copied/moved by the standard file manager is shown and works correctly, even from ES Explorer.
I get just the same behaviour with alternative file explorers such as Amaze. Also I think many of the other apps suffer from the same issue since they can't open the 0byte photo or video until there is a remount/reboot.
With regards to Open Camera, this has the option to Use Storage Access Framework, which I think I had to enable for it to select the SDCard for storage (otherwise I think it returned a “serious error” when a few seconds into recording). I suspect something similar is happening on this app, but perhaps not consistently. As mentioned before, the first time I noticed a problem was after it had recorded a video (which was fine) and the next one I recorded was 0 bytes. The fact that it recorded without complaining, in retrospect, suggests to me that it was only reporting 0 bytes for the file (and if I’d remounted the card I would have the video OK) – since it’d have to been writing the data somewhere.
So it may be that the issue isn't writing to the SDCard, but correctly reading the data afterwards without remounting the SDCard (or reboot).
I've noticed there is a new version of MIUI 10 released yesterday, so may pick that up to see if it magically solves things (nothing mentioned on change log).
Questions:
Anyone else experienced anything similar? Ans: Apparently yes, it is a "feature", aren't we lucky.
Am I missing some special setting? Ans: No.
Any thoughts on what the issue could be or if there is a fix? Ans: It can be fixed using root magisk.
Are your mount points similar/different? Ans: Guessing not and isn't related to the problem.
Did you do a factory reset after update (one possibility is that whatever made it work in MIUI 9 remained for most people if they didn't factory reset)? Ans: Not the cause of the problem.
Thanks
meltwater.

i thought i was the only one with zero bytes files. and when you transfer them back- all good

The only way I could find an alternative solution was to install "ExSDCard Access Enabler" module in magisk.
Then point the direction to /mnt/media-rw/XXXX-XXXX/* and you can carry on as usual.
But this only works for apps that allow you to enter or select a path where you can enter the directory path by typing or open a gui to browse to this directory.
Or a file manager such as Root explorer, just go back back back to / directory and go to /mnt and you'll find the folder from there.
Apps such as OpenCamera when selecting the save path you can manually either enter this path or choose to use the Android framework to go to this folder.
But if the app only has an option to "save to external sd card" it assumes the sdcard is mounted to /storage/XXXX-XXXX/* with write permissions.
A bit of a shame..but I don't use any apps that asks for this permission so I can live with it.
I like to mention that this behavior is the same on Treble roms too, Pie or Oreo.

dvijetrecine said:
i thought i was the only one with zero bytes files. and when you transfer them back- all good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, helps to know it isn't something terminal. Will update if I manage to get to the bottom of it.
SUPERUSER said:
The only way I could find an alternative solution was to install "ExSDCard Access Enabler" module in magisk.
Then point the direction to /mnt/media-rw/XXXX-XXXX/* and you can carry on as usual.
But this only works for apps that allow you to enter or select a path where you can enter the directory path by typing or open a gui to browse to this directory.
Or a file manager such as Root explorer, just go back back back to / directory and go to /mnt and you'll find the folder from there.
Apps such as OpenCamera when selecting the save path you can manually either enter this path or choose to use the Android framework to go to this folder.
But if the app only has an option to "save to external sd card" it assumes the sdcard is mounted to /storage/XXXX-XXXX/* with write permissions.
A bit of a shame..but I don't use any apps that asks for this permission so I can live with it.
I like to mention that this behavior is the same on Treble roms too, Pie or Oreo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, not come across it before, very odd behavior. Very glad I don't have to throw the card or return the phone.
I've seen magisk mentioned elsewhere, shall look into it. Does that require root? How easy is the Mi Max 3 to root? That sounds like that should be enough to make it work.
Also thanks for pointing out it is on other roms too, saves chasing down a fix through that. I assume then it does it on MIUI 9 too.
Thanks!

meltwater said:
Awesome, helps to know it isn't something terminal. Will update if I manage to get to the bottom of it.
Interesting, not come across it before, very odd behavior. Very glad I don't have to throw the card or return the phone.
I've seen magisk mentioned elsewhere, shall look into it. Does that require root? How easy is the Mi Max 3 to root? That sounds like that should be enough to make it work.
Also thanks for pointing out it is on other roms too, saves chasing down a fix through that. I assume then it does it on MIUI 9 too.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Magisk is the new "supersu" standard when it comes to root.
So it is the root per say. Yes you need root. But you root your phone by installing Magisk, its kind of a multi-tool.
You need to unlock your bootloader, if not already unlocked if you bought it that way like I did from Tradingshenzhen.
It will say Unlocked on the bootloader mi splash screen when you turn the phone on if the bootloader is unlocked.
And then you need to properly flash TWRP. Other than that you can stay on stock rom and use Magisk
Magisk thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445
ExSDCard Write Access Enabler module thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/module-exsdcard-write-access-enabler-t3670428
I see something I did not see before.
In the thread OP mentions:
Since the v3.3 ZIP version, a feature has been added especially for Oreo (Android 8) users, on this Android version, several special permissions can be used by any app.
For exemple, theses specials permissions are used to get access to reading logs, managing the power of the device.
If you want to use this special feature, you just have to follow theses easy steps:
- creating a simple file named "ExSDCard_Oreo_apps" in the module path, so: /sbin/.core/img/ExSDCard/ExSDCard_Oreo_apps (remove any extension).
- Write all the apps package names that require a special permissions, one by line, for exemple:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So with this you can apparently create custom rules for apps that don't support selecting the external SD card path.
Maybe you should look in to that and experiment

This bug happened across android 8.0 in various brand.
Since I familiars with ES File Explorer, I solved by root the phone, convert ES File Explorer into System app via Titanium Backup, then everything work perfectly fine. No more 0 bytes copy file.
ES File Explorer still work even I un-root my phone by uninstall Magisk.
If you're really not want to root your phone or any other reason. Just copy file that you want then restart your phone. Copied file will now become usable file.

My bootloader isn't unlocked and for now I'd rather avoid rooting my phone (may well do so later).
Good to know there are work-arounds, and that my device hardware is ok.
Will have an experiment and see if I can live with it until I have a go at rooting. Even if I do the temp fix of ES explorer.
Thanks for the info and tips.

Same **** for me. 1 year to solve this stupid bug and they dont have fix this **** yet
Say thanks to xiaomi[emoji108][emoji867]
Enviado desde mi MI MAX 3 mediante Tapatalk

Hmm i'm getting an SD card tomm for my Mix Max 3, i use the Asus File Manager. I wonder if that problem happnes with other file manager apps. Tried the Samsung Evo and another one and that 0byte bug there. No bueno.

Wmateria said:
Hmm i'm getting an SD card tomm for my Mix Max 3, i use the Asus File Manager. I wonder if that problem happnes with other file manager apps. Tried the Samsung Evo and another one and that 0byte bug there. No bueno.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, looks like it is a solid bug. For now, I'm living with it and use the space I have on internal memory to transfer data to before using a System file manager to transfer to SDcard.
Been trying some app development and now found the "Install via USB" bug.
Again can work around it, but it does spoil debugging with Android Studio.
There are certainly some odd bugs on this phone, I suspect down to Xiaomi going "off plan".

meltwater said:
Issue:
When using Open Camera, ES File Explorer or Amaze file explorer files are created with zero bytes. i.e. Copying a file will create a 0 byte file or if file storage location set to the SDCard, the Open Camera app will fail to record video or take pictures.
Initially write operations on the SDCard did seem to work for a while (recorded one video before fail using Open Camera and copied files across without errors).
All operations are fine on internal memory.
There is no issue using the built-in file manager and camera apps. Will update as I check though other apps affected by this.
Setup:
The phone was on MIUI 9, then updated to the MIUI 10 OTA update (from beginning of Oct2018):
GLOBAL Version 10.0.1.0 (OEDMIFH)
Android 8.1.0 OPMI.171019.019
Kernel 4.4.78-pref-ge3e6edb
I then performed a factory reset from the boot recovery before installing everything from my previous phone. I didn't try MIUI 9 with an SDCard.
System Apps and Apps up to date.
I then started with the SDCard (128GB Class 10) cleanly formatted on PC, FAT32, and then when inserted into the phone formatted again. Looked for option to mount as Internal Storage, but noted that this isn’t available on this device (probably for the best), and no obvious option for encryption???
Troubleshooting:
Initially I thought, OK failed SDCard (this was before I found built-in apps worked OK). So I removed the card formatted it and checked using a test program to write/verify the whole card and it checked out OK. Still same issues back in the phone.
Next I pulled SDCard from another phone and tried that, and I get the very same issues. Thinking less likely it is a failed SDCard now, perhaps it is a hardware issue with the phone. Although it did write some files before.
After reading a few places, mention of an issue on MIUI 9 but this was fixed in later update. The steps don't match with anything in MIUI 10.
There is also mention of a bug with Android Orio which is similar, where apps need Storage permissions. Checked and I'd given the apps this permission and I had.
Following this, I tried the standard apps (Camera and File Manager) and discovered that these wrote files without errors (using the very same files which fail before/after on the other apps). Right so looking less like a hardware issue (hopefully!).
For ES Explorer, first time you write to the SDCard you have to select the SDCard root (“Please choose the root directory (XXXX-XXXX) of ext-SDCard…”). In this step, the SDCARD is referred to as BOOT and ES Explorer mounts it with the ID of SDCARD. The internal memory is mounted as /storage/emulated/0 and the SDCard as /storage/XXXX-XXXX/.
Additional testing with the apps, has shown that the data is actually written by ES Explorer since the 0 byte file shown in ES Explorer after a copy, is the correct size and opens from the standard file manager. This is further confirmed when performing a reboot or remount of the SDCard, ES Explorer then reads the file as it should… Any file copied/moved by the standard file manager is shown and works correctly, even from ES Explorer.
I get just the same behaviour with alternative file explorers such as Amaze. Also I think many of the other apps suffer from the same issue since they can't open the 0byte photo or video until there is a remount/reboot.
With regards to Open Camera, this has the option to Use Storage Access Framework, which I think I had to enable for it to select the SDCard for storage (otherwise I think it returned a “serious error” when a few seconds into recording). I suspect something similar is happening on this app, but perhaps not consistently. As mentioned before, the first time I noticed a problem was after it had recorded a video (which was fine) and the next one I recorded was 0 bytes. The fact that it recorded without complaining, in retrospect, suggests to me that it was only reporting 0 bytes for the file (and if I’d remounted the card I would have the video OK) – since it’d have to been writing the data somewhere.
So it may be that the issue isn't writing to the SDCard, but correctly reading the data afterwards without remounting the SDCard (or reboot).
I've noticed there is a new version of MIUI 10 released yesterday, so may pick that up to see if it magically solves things (nothing mentioned on change log).
Questions:
Anyone else experienced anything similar?
Am I missing some special setting?
Any thoughts on what the issue could be or if there is a fix?
Are your mount points simlar/different?
Did you do a factory reset after update (one possibility is that whatever made it work in MIUI 9 remained for most people if they didn't factory reset)?
Thanks
meltwater.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no need for this post. erased.

I want know why xiaomi dont fix this ****?
Think that mi max 3 will die with this bug. Never buy a xiaomi phone more

jorgeepelos said:
I want know why xiaomi dont fix this ****?
Think that mi max 3 will die with this bug. Never buy a xiaomi phone more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get a Mi Mix 2S

Wmateria said:
Get a Mi Mix 2S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone with 3 month since release and they dont solve bugs and i have to buy more expensive phones?
All xiaomi phones its ****, policies, comunity,software and bugs that the dont solve
And People like you its the problem=sh it comunity guys that likes get fuked the ass by xiaomi[emoji108][emoji6]
Enviado desde mi MI MAX 3 mediante Tapatalk

jorgeepelos said:
Phone with 3 month since release and they dont solve bugs and i have to buy more expensive phones?
All xiaomi phones its ****, policies, comunity,software and bugs that the dont solve
And People like you its the problem=sh it comunity guys that likes get fuked the ass by xiaomi[emoji108][emoji6]
Enviado desde mi MI MAX 3 mediante Tapatalk[/QUOTE.
It's people like you who make the community bad when you out your hatred in the forums or is not knowledgeable enough because main post talks about THIRD PARTY FILE MANAGER APPS not 1ST PARTY Xiaomi File Manger APP and thinks it's the end of the world on here and the Xiaomi forums. And trust me there is plenty of you people around pushing Devs and OP here by complaining when other people already stated the fact many times on a thread, and trust me, I hardly take offense. "Read", it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse