Develop Bugs

[Q] Help With Roms - Not a Desire User Myself...

Hi,
I have recently rooted, full s-offed and hbooted my friends Desire.
Im a DHD user myself and am trying to get to grips with how you guys handle your devices when it comes to roms.
So far, I 'get' the hboot situation and partition layouts etc and have taught my friend.
Now Im getting a bit lost with the whole sdext part of it as well as the apps/data2sd side.
I know how to partition and get them applied but lose it on actually how they work when it comes to roms. Any rom that uses normal layouts such as CM7 I get.
Take for example:
[ROM][Cool3D Sense 3.0][26 July]Cool Sensation v6a|Stable|CM7/r2|DATA++|STOCK
I get this part:
Requirement:
CM7 Hboot 130MB System, 5MB Cache, 302MB Data. Download
CM7 r2 Hboot 145MB System, 5MB Cache, 287MB Data.
DATA++ Hboot 180MB System, 5MB Cache, 252MB Data.
STOCK Hboot 250MB System, 40MB Cache, 147MB Data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I on put CM7r2, now how do the partitions work?
Is it Partition 1 = /system, 2 = /data?
I tried it with 1=512 & 2=1gb but it just froze with only SystemUI running after the lockscreen.
I can see what the roms doing via the zip/updater-script but this whole partition thing is lost on me.
Any help is appreciated!
On a related side note, this will also help us provide support for lower nand devices with our Flashable ROMCleaner 2.0 we have recently released.
Once we get this down we are pretty much able to support most roms!

I think the easiest, briefest way to explain the ext3/4 partition is to think of it basically as an extension to your internal memory. Don't think of it as being a partition on your SD Card (even though it is) but an extra bit of internal memory. This ext is where apps will be stored if you have a2sd.
To avoid app piracy, many apps can't be stored on the SD Card (normally), so this extension to your SD Card is created to store them, that's why the ext partition isn't formatted as FAT32. If it was formatted FAT32 the phone wouldn't recognise it as being part of itself (if you like), but rather still part of the SD Card.
Hope this makes sense.
EDIT: Just re-read your post and if you've flashed the HBOOT it will automatically repartition depending on which HBOOT you flashed. You don't need to repartition anything. If you already ext partitioned your SD Card this won't be affected.

So when a rom installs to the sdext partitions its pretty much 'symlinking' the data which would normally reside on the internal partition?
When the system want to access this file then would it still 'see' it as sitting on the internal?
If it does then it would make our cleaning script a lot easier lol
As for the hboot, I didnt know it actually created the partitions for you when flashed as he had already got 2 on his sd.
Would this explain the freezing with the roms then? With Cool3d it seems that /system is split between internal and sdext so Im assuming the sdext side of it wasnt getting copied across?
May have something to do with the order of partitions as well, 1=system 2=data?

First of all the SD card needs partitioning, which I'm guessing you did, with something like GParted? You would create either a ext3 or ext 4 partition, minimum 512MB. Normally a ROM states min. size for ext partition but the thread for Cool3D doesn't seem to so 512MB or 1GB would be ok. If in doubt pm the dev to make sure.
Cool 3D requires ext 4 which needs aligning before flashing the ROM (but if the SD Card already has ext 3 this will be converted automatically when aligning to ext 4)
Then flash the correct HBOOT (choice of 4 listed on the thread) using fastboot then flash the new ROM. The thread also states you need to have specific Radio and RIL. All "stuff" you need is linked in the first post. Just follow the instructions on the first post and you can't really go wrong.
The freezing you mention could be caused by not aligning your ext partition first.

Partitioning for SuperNova with 4EXTRecovery

I am trying to partition my SD with 4EXTRecovery ready for the SuperNova ROM but not sure which options to choose. So I know I go down to 'advanced', then 'Partition SD Card'. Do I answer 'Romove all partitions and start from scratch' or 'No - save my fat32 partition'? I was thinking the second. Then 1st sd-ext should be 2048 or less I think. I'm not sure what to select for 2nd sd-ext (think it should be 0) and then swap partition. Haven't gone further than swap partition so don't know if there are more to select.
Thanks, Tony

Make from scratch if you dont have any important files on SD, if you dont format fat32.
1GB ext3 should be absolutely enough, you will never fill 2gb with apps lol.
Second ext select 0, no swap either.

Thanks. That's what I kind of thought but wasn't too sure. It's ext4 though, not ext3. I will go for 1GB as well thanks. Is it possible to change the size of the ext4 partition later without losing data?
I've just gone past the swap partition step and it asks 'Write partition table?' Should I answer 'Yes' or 'No'?

AFAIK yes.

I've just added a question. Do you know the answer. 'Write partition table?' Should I answer 'Yes' or 'No'?

Select "yes".

Thanks. Now to install the ROM. Fingers crossed.

Dont forget to full wipe/factory reset & dalvik cache wipe also turn off signature verification.

Just followed the instructions on droidzone's website and it all went smoothly. Now running SuperNova. Just took a while to restore all apps using titanium.

Thanks for your help and obviously thanks to droidzone for his fantastic ROM.

[Q] Pros and Cons of sd-ext?

Hi!
Just would like to know the pros and cons of formatting into ext4 on my SD.
As far as I can find :
Pros : Supports files larger than 4GB as Fat32 cannot
That's about it I think...
Cons : Windows cannot natively detect such a partition
Why I ask this is I just saw a this post
blahbl4hblah said:
Having sd-ext partition on your sdcard will always be benefical, the phone will run so much better believe me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm ready to go ext4 if there's any performance gain, who wouldn't? But what gain is there, and what would I lose in return?

ArmedandDangerous said:
Hi!
Just would like to know the pros and cons of formatting into ext4 on my SD.
As far as I can find :
Pros : Supports files larger than 4GB as Fat32 cannot
That's about it I think...
Cons : Windows cannot natively detect such a partition
Why I ask this is I just saw a this post
I'm ready to go ext4 if there's any performance gain, who wouldn't? But what gain is there, and what would I lose in return?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're mixing things up here a bit I think. Sd-ext referrs to having a partition on your sdcard to allow support for Apps2SD (basically being able to move apps to your SD card and run them from there in order to free up space); you'd basically repartition the card so that there's an ext3/4 partition for apps and a FAT32 partition for data.
As for the ext4 filesystem, it does allow for larger file sizes and is also a bit faster but you're correct in the fact that you won't be able to natively mount it on a Windows system.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

OriginalGabriel said:
You're mixing things up here a bit I think. Sd-ext referrs to having a partition on your sdcard to allow support for Apps2SD (basically being able to move apps to your SD card and run them from there in order to free up space); you'd basically repartition the card so that there's an ext3/4 partition for apps and a FAT32 partition for data.
As for the ext4 filesystem, it does allow for larger file sizes and is also a bit faster but you're correct in the fact that you won't be able to natively mount it on a Windows system.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But don't we already have Apps2SD in GB, + all the apps that do it for you. How is this different, apart from some apps that can't natively be moved? And why is it faster? Internal memory should always load faster, should it not?

ArmedandDangerous said:
But don't we already have Apps2SD in GB, + all the apps that do it for you. How is this different, apart from some apps that can't natively be moved? And why is it faster? Internal memory should always load faster, should it not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GB has the ability to do Apps2SD but it requires the partitioning as, I believe, a symlink is set up so that partition on the sdcard acts as a part of the devices internal storage.
As for speed, just moving apps to your sdcard won't speed up your phone; what that poster you quoted was talking about (most likely, I'd have to see the original thread) was converting your devices partitions (/system, /data, /cache, etc.) from ext3 to ext4. ext4 is a bit faster however some ROMs do not fully support it.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Ok, let's clear this up. GB has Apps2FAT32 (a2sd) natively. A2EXT is completely different but none of that is the point of the OP's question.
When it comes to our phones - there is almost no notable performance gain when using EXT4 over any other EXT format. Our phones don't utilize FAT32 internally - just on the sdcard. EXT4 is designed for use with massive file systems. A couple Gigs really doesn't access it's full potential.
While the question is interesting, I'm not really sure what you're planning on doing. Don't format your sdcard entirely in EXT format, and don't attempt to format your phones partitions as FAT32. The result would be... just don't do it.

Just read this on the portal
http://www.xda-developers.com/andro...hd2-data-successfully-moved-to-ext-partition/
This has two main advantages: larger sized data partition and more speed as EXT is inherently faster for I/O purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I go about formatting a section of my SD into ext4, with existing SD data intact.
And how do I move apps that area already in my phone's internal memory to the ext4 partition? I know there's an option in ROM Manager and CWM, but just don't want to mess anything up

ArmedandDangerous said:
Just read this on the portal
http://www.xda-developers.com/andro...hd2-data-successfully-moved-to-ext-partition/
How do I go about formatting a section of my SD into ext4, with existing SD data intact.
And how do I move apps that area already in my phone's internal memory to the ext4 partition? I know there's an option in ROM Manager and CWM, but just don't want to mess anything up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, only two ROMs actually support the real A2SD: PyroMod and MexDroid. It's recommended you format the EXT partition to EXT4 before you actually flash either of those ROMs, and you have to rename MexDroid in order to get A2SD working.

blackknightavalon said:
As far as I know, only two ROMs actually support the real A2SD: PyroMod and MexDroid. It's recommended you format the EXT partition to EXT4 before you actually flash either of those ROMs, and you have to rename MexDroid in order to get A2SD working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thankfully I am already using meXdroid~ Guess I'll just wait for the new version in the next few days to do the formatting. Can I backup all my apps with Titanium Backup, flash ROM (wipe data/cache and dalvik cache), restore with Titanium.
Or would I have to reinstall every app again so that it goes into the ext4 partition?

blackknightavalon said:
As far as I know, only two ROMs actually support the real A2SD: PyroMod and MexDroid. It's recommended you format the EXT partition to EXT4 before you actually flash either of those ROMs, and you have to rename MexDroid in order to get A2SD working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a script to accomplish this on pretty much any ROM. It *should* work on current ROMs too. It's called 'darktremor a2sd'. Still find it amazing people forget about that one when this question comes up because it's one oldest methods of obtaining a2sd.
I'm still not understanding the OP's question. Are you wanting to do this for an IO performance gain or for space? I can understand doing it for space if you have a ton of apps but if you're doing it for performance it's a waste of your time. You're internal partitions should already be in EXT4 format (use 4EXT Recovery if they're not).

KCRic said:
There's a script to accomplish this on pretty much any ROM. It *should* work on current ROMs too. It's called 'darktremor a2sd'. Still find it amazing people forget about that one when this question comes up because it's one oldest methods of obtaining a2sd.
I'm still not understanding the OP's question. Are you wanting to do this for an IO performance gain or for space? I can understand doing it for space if you have a ton of apps but if you're doing it for performance it's a waste of your time. You're internal partitions should already be in EXT4 format (use 4EXT Recovery if they're not).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm doing it for the performance. Have been using 4EXT for a few days and loving it. Already converted internal memory to ext4 from ext3. If further partitioning my SD card for performance is really not noticeable, then I guess I've got nothing to worry about

What is the use of 2nd sd-ext2 partition?

Hi,
I was formatting my memory card in DHD using 4EXT recovery and I keep wondering what is the use of second sd-ext partition? To be precise, I mean sd-ext2, not sd-ext (I know its used for apps2sd). Does it work like backup partition if the first one runs out of memory? But that wouldn't make sense, since you can just create one big partition. My second thought was that maybe you install linux on it if you want to have it in your smartphone (like ubuntu or debian).
And the second question is about swap. Does anyone uses it at all? I used to have it on my old HTC G1, but I don't think it makes sense to use it now. Are there any roms that take advantage of swap and does it make them work faster (particularly the new big sense 3.x roms)?
Thanks in advance for any responses,
BR, Jack.
edit: I wrote the same topic on my native polish board and I got responses, but that's not what I meant so I decided to write more precise what I mean.
I know there are such apps like ie. link2sd, which use second partition on the memory card as partition for storing applications, data etc. They use the bolded partition (numbers are numbers of partitions on memory card):
1. fat32
2. sd-ext
What I am talking about is second ext partition, like this:
1. fat32
2. sd-ext
3. sd-ext2
It surely doesnt mean format of partition (like ext2, ext3, ext4), it means there is a second ext partition. Both of them can be formatted differently, both can have different ext (like ext2, ext3, ext4). What is the use of sd-ext2 partition? Does it serve as a backup partition for first sd-ext? Or you can install linux on it?

from what i've seen reading around on this forum, swap isn't necessary on a desire HD, the phone has enough ram
not sure about a second sd-ext though sorry

For what i gather... only 4Ext has it... why not ask them?

[Q] pb99diag missing after partiton resize

Seems I've made a bit of a booboo somewhere. I was recreating the ext3 partition on my sd card. I deleted the existing ext4 partition and resized the fat32 partition to take up the slack left behind. When I checked the partitions afterwards, everything was fine and all my files were present and correct in my fat32 partition. I booted into recovery, formatted all partitions except my fat32 and went to install my rom again. Except I forgot to put it on the sd card. So I copied it back on to my sd card, stuck the card back in the phone, booted into recovery and promptly got a message that pb99diag.zip is missing. I've checked the entire fat32 partition and there's no sign of it. I tried renaming "OTA_Bravo_Froyo_HTC_WWE_2.29.405.5-2.29.405.2_releasedauhl6jhok5cmdm6.zip" to "pb99diag.zip" but it doesn't seem to like it.
How can I get back into recovery without the pb99diag.zip?

found a similar thread: http://www.modaco.com/topic/348778-hboot-looking-for-pb99diagzip-why/
It's because you resized it, I believe it might eventually stop searching for the file and go into recovery, but it's not ideal.
I'd try backing up sd again, and completely reformatting and partitioning again, but using up to date gparted instead.
- Also, why did you need to change from ext4 to ext3? ext4 is marginally faster, most ROMs support ext4.
- And are you trying to install an RUU? In which case you don't need an ext partition at all?
Sorry just trying to understand your overall aim...

- Also, why did you need to change from ext4 to ext3? ext4 is marginally faster, most ROMs support ext4.
- And are you trying to install an RUU? In which case you don't need an ext partition at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had 2 2gb ext partitions, ext3, ext4. I didn't need 2 so deleted 1 and just created a single ext3 partition. I wanted to go back to my PA jb 4.2.2 which was working fine until I used link2sd to free up some more system space but because its sh1t it just completely ballsed up my entire install. I installed an RU and this left me rooted with s-off and it was plain sailing from there to reinstall recovery and flash my custom rom again. I'm using a different sd card now (for testing purposes) but I'm still getting the pb99 errors. As you say, it will eventually allow me into recovery and I can continue what I'm doing but it takes ages and I've never had this issue before.
I'm using MiniTool Partition Wizard Professional to create my partitions.

mickrick said:
I'm using MiniTool Partition Wizard Professional to create my partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's your main problem, do not use MiniTool Partition Wizard. More often than not it creates improperly aligned partitions. Link2SD won't have helped either, it's a messy method and you don't need it with 4.2.2 ROMs, follow the instructions to activate A2SD via terminal commands.
I would backup the FAT32 partition of your sd card, and reformat and repartition the whole thing using gparted. Use this video guide to help
Basically you want to remove all partitions and create one FAT32 partition, and max 2GB ext4 partition. You might as well keep it ext4 over ext3, it should be marginally faster.
Then full wipe and reflash ROM, don't use link2SD.
You should also look to s-off, search for guides, much more powerful, and useful if things go wrong.