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How to create ext3 partition on SD-Card under Windows

This post is for people scared of Linux (like me)
I finally found a way to partition a SD-Card under Windows. I tried more tools, but only one was able to work with SD-Cards. Here's what you need to do:
1. Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard (google it, i cant post links)
2. Resize original FAT32 partition to make room for the ext3 one. If you have enough space, the data on the card shouldn't be affected, but make a back-up just in case.
3. Create the ext3 partition on the space made available and apply changes
The first partition should be FAT32, and the second ext3, make sure you have them in this order.

Kneros said:
This post is for people scared of Linux (like me)
I finally found a way to partition a SD-Card under Windows. I tried more tools, but only one was able to work with SD-Cards. Here's what you need to do:
1. Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard (google it, i cant post links)
2. Resize original FAT32 partition to make room for the ext3 one. If you have enough space, the data on the card shouldn't be affected, but make a back-up just in case.
3. Create the ext3 partition on the space made available and apply changes
The first partition should be FAT32, and the second ext3, make sure you have them in this order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Almost all custom partition managers can do this in Windows-Partition Magic, Paragon, Or Gparted with VMWare

They can, but not on SD Card. Windows doesn't support partitions on memory cards. I tried Partition Magic, Paragon, Easeus, none of them work.
I didn't try Gparted with VMWare tho, you might be right about that.

Kneros said:
They can, but not on SD Card. Windows doesn't support partitions on memory cards. I tried Partition Magic, Paragon, Easeus, none of them work.
I didn't try Gparted with VMWare tho, you might be right about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Paragon works for me on Windows..And Gparted is what I use

Strange, it didn't work for me (see attached pics).

Just install the latest ClockworkMod, or Amon-RA and do it through recovery.

Is it useful to have an ext3 partition on SD card with stock 2.2 rom ?

fblasot said:
Is it useful to have an ext3 partition on SD card with stock 2.2 rom ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's useless, you need a ROM that supports it.

quick question - if I create an ext3 partition using this method or any other way, and then move the apps I had on SD (the old way) back to internal, will it then move them to the ext3 partition automatically? I just want to make sure I have this right myself before I attempt it.
I'm using Oxygen 2.3 ROM RC-6 which supports apps2sd etc.
thanks in advance for any replies.

Kneros said:
Strange, it didn't work for me (see attached pics).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See mine..
I'm using 9.0 Pro, you're using 10.0 server, if that helps..
I still prefer Gparted though..On Vmware.

Choronzonix said:
quick question - if I create an ext3 partition using this method or any other way, and then move the apps I had on SD (the old way) back to internal, will it then move them to the ext3 partition automatically? I just want to make sure I have this right myself before I attempt it.
I'm using Oxygen 2.3 ROM RC-6 which supports apps2sd etc.
thanks in advance for any replies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The a2sd+ script is built in, it executes at installation. Best way would be to use Titanium to backup ur froyo a2sd apps, wipe+install a2sd+ custom rom, use the option of Titanium, to move to sd.

and how do you want to put data on the ext3 partition ? ... you will need linux, its the best way...

Kneros said:
This post is for people scared of Linux (like me)
I finally found a way to partition a SD-Card under Windows. I tried more tools, but only one was able to work with SD-Cards. Here's what you need to do:
1. Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard (google it, i cant post links)
2. Resize original FAT32 partition to make room for the ext3 one. If you have enough space, the data on the card shouldn't be affected, but make a back-up just in case.
3. Create the ext3 partition on the space made available and apply changes
The first partition should be FAT32, and the second ext3, make sure you have them in this order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT:
Didn't work, SD could not be mounted under Android or Clockworkmod
Did the partitioning under Clockworkmod

partition works, but..
i tried minitool and easueus, both partiotion my 16 gb sd card, but...
I use miui rom, xpart(data2ext). the script works, but the phone is slow as ........
someone any idea?
i also have a 8 gb card, same partitions, but no problem..
any idea how i can tets my 16 gb card?

Minitool is crap. Haven't used easeus but its still under Windows, which is a no no
Gparted is the only decent tool that will nicely partition an ext partition on your sd whilst aligning it properly. This is both my personal and professional opinion.
Now because it doesn't run in windows, its a bit more long winded but so much more worth while.
Virtual machine (vmware player) is the best method. There is a link to a guide to set this up in my signature
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Kneros said:
This post is for people scared of Linux (like me)
I finally found a way to partition a SD-Card under Windows. I tried more tools, but only one was able to work with SD-Cards. Here's what you need to do:
1. Download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard (google it, i cant post links)
2. Resize original FAT32 partition to make room for the ext3 one. If you have enough space, the data on the card shouldn't be affected, but make a back-up just in case.
3. Create the ext3 partition on the space made available and apply changes
The first partition should be FAT32, and the second ext3, make sure you have them in this order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Minitool partition wizard is a wonderful and practical software. Thanks!!

[Q] Moving to a new sd card

hello,
first of all i would like to point out that i have searched for this topic and have tried a few solutions, but it didnt work..
here it goes..
so im switching to a new sd, and just tried to swap the cards but when i do that im either stuck in bootloop,
or if i reflash i have nothing installed on the phone (and i dont mean apps, bcs there isnt a lot of them and i dont mind reinstalling),
for example when i press settings it says it is not installed lol..
there is also nothing on the homescreens, and when the screen locks i cannot unlock it bcs there are no buttons..
Its a 16GB class 6 card with a fat 32, and ext3 (1024mb), and a ext4 (768mb), as is requred by some roms (feel free to correct me if im wrong)
The formatting was done by minitool, as i cannot go into disk drive mode to do it with gparted (with the new card inserted almost nothing works)
the old one is a 4gig with a etx3(1024mb) and works normally when i put it back, although sometimes it needs reflashing..
i have tried mirroring the old cards folder to the new one, via sd card reader, but it doesnt solve the problem...it stays the same..
any and all help is appreciated

You should do a nandroid backup of your rom, copy entire FAT32 over to the new card and then do a nandroid restore.
dusty_m said:
Its a 16GB class 6 card with a fat 32, and ext3 (1024mb), and a ext4 (768mb), as is requred by some roms (feel free to correct me if im wrong)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was used by scripts which are not developed for about a year and thus obsolete. No mainstream script requires that.

Thx (hvala
will try it later on today....do i need any ext partitions?
is ext3 enough?

dusty_m said:
Thx (hvala
will try it later on today....do i need any ext partitions?
is ext3 enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is enough, but the question remains whether it will work if you used that same dual ext partitions setup on your old 4GB card. I'm not sure, but maybe someone could clarify that. Ext partition is needed, otherwise you'll end in a bootloop - especially if some vital parts of the rom were symlinked there.

I presume you have cwm recovery installed.
If so format your card with SDformatter V 3.1. TO FAT 32 with size adjustment on.
This will format all your card to fat32,
Put the card back in phone and partition the card from within cwm recovery,
Select size of ext partition (1024kb is usually big enough) select 0 for swap.
Ext partitions are used to save on internal memory by moving apps ( (and sometimes data and dalvik cache aswell) to the ext partition and using it as if it was internal memory.
Hope this helps...

i have used only ext3 on my old card...so i guess the same would work on the new one....
so if i got this right, i can restore the old rom via nandroid...and i guess flashing something else in the future should also work...

CWM Recovery is at version 5.0.2.6 at the moment this partitions sdext with ext3 which works fine on nearly all roms. There is a 4Ext Recovery available which can convert ext3 to ext4 if required, just do a search for it if you need it, but you should be fine with ext3.

i have AmonRA
edit: am i able to to the same with it?
i remember it has the format option in the menu...
also 1024kb?
i have 1024mb lol

Yea I presume so, I use cwm!. Just follow the instructions for your rom..and create the partition if required

The restore thingy didnt help, ima still stuck at boot logo, or if i try another restore, i manage to boot, but again nothing is installed (settings and stuff)
will try the reformat and see how it goes...
why cant i just flash a brand new rom to this empty card?

converting ext3 to ext4

I realise that I should have created my ext partition as ext4 not ext3 as the newer roms seem to need it. I had a search and it seems to be a bit complicated to simply convert the partition so I have a two-part question to see if what I have in mind will work.
I use Link2sd which I like and seems to work well (other than for Swype which I now have gotten rid of).
So, will this work (and I apologise for being somlistic in my approach):
I move all my linked apps to the SDcard proper using L2SD (there's not enough room on the phone's internal memory)
I copy my entire SD card to my computer just in case
I then use 4EXT and using the option "wipe or format --> EXT3" I reformat that ext3 partition as a ext4 partition
Using L2SD I relink all the apps to the new ext4.
Otherwise, if I were to reformat and repartition the entire SD card using Gparted, can I simply drag and drop the SDcard folder I backed up on my computer back onto the SD card then relink everything with L2SD?

Nandbackup
Copy all files to computer
Format sdcard to ext4
Copy files back
Nandrestore
via xda app

stankyou said:
Nandbackup
Copy all files to computer
Format sdcard to ext4
Copy files back
Nandrestore
via xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great - nice and easy. Should I move the apps to the main part of sd card first by unlinking them because I don't see the ext3 partition when I connect the phone to my computer.

The concept of doing a nandbackup is to copy thhe current status of the phone. Everything. So you relly don't need to do that.
Just make sure that the contents you see when you plug the phone to the computer is saved in the computer including the nandbackup you made.
The nand will basically take care of the files on the ext part when you restore it.
via xda app

stankyou said:
Nandbackup
Copy all files to computer
Format sdcard to ext4
Copy files back
Nandrestore
via xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If using 4ext you only need to convert ext to ext4(it backs up automatically). If you restore a nand made with ext3 you also loose the ext4 partition so you also need to manually convert all nand backups to ext4 using 4ext. Hope this makes sense...

nicklashidegard said:
If using 4ext you only need to convert ext to ext4(it backs up automatically). If you restore a nand made with ext3 you also loose the ext4 partition so you also need to manually convert all nand backups to ext4 using 4ext. Hope this makes sense...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It makes sense but I'm starting to get a bit confused as to what I now need to do.
What you're saying is the nand backup will put the phone back how it was to start with, ie the ext4 partition will revert to ext3? So what is the best way to do all of this? When you say "you also need to manually convert all nand backups to ext4 using 4ext. " how do I do that and do you mean before or after I restore the nand backup?
To make this easier, can I not simply forget the nand backup and do this: unlink all my apps with L2sd and put them onto the sd card like in native apps2sd. Then put the whole sd card on a folder on my computer, wipe and repartiton the sd card with ext4, move the whole folder back onto the fat32 partition and the use L2sd to relink all the apps onto the new ext4 partition?

simon12 said:
It makes sense but I'm starting to get a bit confused as to what I now need to do.
What you're saying is the nand backup will put the phone back how it was to start with, ie the ext4 partition will revert to ext3? So what is the best way to do all of this? When you say "you also need to manually convert all nand backups to ext4 using 4ext. " how do I do that and do you mean before or after I restore the nand backup?
To make this easier, can I not simply forget the nand backup and do this: unlink all my apps with L2sd and put them onto the sd card like in native apps2sd. Then put the whole sd card on a folder on my computer, wipe and repartiton the sd card with ext4, move the whole folder back onto the fat32 partition and the use L2sd to relink all the apps onto the new ext4 partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put simply:
boot into 4ext recovery.
go into tools/Convert or change a backup --> ext4
convert ext
It will automatically backup ext, convert it to ext4 and then restore ext again (no data loss).
Delete all old NAND backups and start again (otherwise you'll restore your ext3 partition) or you can convert backups with 4ext (from ext3 to ext4).
Simples :victory:

nicklashidegard said:
Put simply:
boot into 4ext recovery.
go into tools/Convert or change a backup --> ext4
convert ext
It will automatically backup ext, convert it to ext4 and then restore ext again (no data loss).
Delete all old NAND backups and start again (otherwise you'll restore your ext3 partition) or you can convert backups with 4ext (from ext3 to ext4).
Simples :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely brilliant - thanks! Done that and it worked.
How do I delete an old Nand backup - I'm looking in 4ext but can't see anything obvious or do I simply do another backup and that wipes the old one?

simon12 said:
Absolutely brilliant - thanks! Done that and it worked.
How do I delete an old Nand backup - I'm looking in 4ext but can't see anything obvious or do I simply do another backup and that wipes the old one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using the 4ext app go into manage backups or using a file explorer go into sdcard/clockworkmod/backup and delete the corresponding folder

nicklashidegard said:
Using the 4ext app go into manage backups or using a file explorer go into sdcard/clockworkmod/backup and delete the corresponding folder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have booted the phone up but now it does not want to recognise the ext partition. Links2sd suggests that the device may not support ext4 yet I know lots of Desire owners on here have that. I guess I have to revert to get my apps back that are currently showing as not loaded.

Just convert back to ext3 again using 4ext.. kernel might not support ext4

nicklashidegard said:
Just convert back to ext3 again using 4ext.. kernel might not support ext4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn. Oh well, thanks for the help anyway.
Anyone know what kernel I would need and how would I go about installing it? Is this a fairly easy and safe thing to do?

simon12 said:
Damn. Oh well, thanks for the help anyway.
Anyone know what kernel I would need and how would I go about installing it? Is this a fairly easy and safe thing to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say just leave it as ext3. I've never come across a ROM that don't support ext3....

nicklashidegard said:
I'd say just leave it as ext3. I've never come across a ROM that don't support ext3....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking of installing this one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1315961 I hear it is quite a stable one and that's most important to me. It says that ext4 is required for the ROM:
(Q) I get an error ”can’t Mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 (File Exists)”.
(A) That error and others like it are generally caused by a corrupt ext partition on your SD Card. The solution is to use 4EXT recovery, gParted, or a similar tool to reformat the ext partition to ext4. Leave the FAT32 partition alone and you shouldn’t lose any data. Don't use Windows-based partition tools!
Some suggest using ext3 as it is a known quantity and most ROMS will boot with an ext3 partition, however Runnymede AIO requires an ext4 partition.
and for AD2SDX to work (links you to here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18911182&postcount=1784 )
I'll have to look for another instead.

[Q] GB to JB - Reformat SD?

Currently running MikG3.11 w/a2sd so have a EXT3 partition for data (I have my /cache pointing there also). I'm looking to move to a JB rom (probably Evervolv - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1961602).
How do I need to re-partition my 16G sd to make the most efficient use? It's been quite a while so a quick 'step1,2,3 howto would be great..including suggested sizes, ext3/ext4...)
Recovery is SmelkusMod..
Thanks Tons!

You may not *need* to do anything out of the ordinary.
If your ext3 partition is of a reasonable size, you might be able to just wipe everything (except 'SD card') in smelkus, flash the ROM, and proceed from there. Nandroid first of course.
'Reasonable' means about 512 to me, others may have different ideas.
How big is your ext partition?
The main reason to repartition is if you are having mystery SD card issues or you want to add or resize partitions. If these don't apply, just wipe, flash, and go.
6100 using xda app-developers app

NxNW said:
You may not *need* to do anything out of the ordinary.
If your ext3 partition is of a reasonable size, you might be able to just wipe everything (except 'SD card') in smelkus, flash the ROM, and proceed from there. Nandroid first of course.
'Reasonable' means about 512 to me, others may have different ideas.
How big is your ext partition?
The main reason to repartition is if you are having mystery SD card issues or you want to add or resize partitions. If these don't apply, just wipe, flash, and go.
6100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would. Repartition, 0/1024, ext3, then ext4....i actually do this before any flash. Think about what a2sd does, and you'll realize that if you don't format, your system has to run through more dead data to get to the info it needs
Sent from my EVO 4G using Tapatalk 2

jwitt418 said:
I would. Repartition, 0/1024, ext3, then ext4....i actually do this before any flash. Think about what a2sd does, and you'll realize that if you don't format, your system has to run through more dead data to get to the info it needs
Sent from my EVO 4G using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/system 318 used out of 350mb
/data 369/428mb
/cache 1.38mb/160mb
sdcard ext3 .97 used, 1.79GB total.
sdcard fat32 (rest of the 16G)
I had thought that going ext4 was typically recommended for JB. Are you saying first create a 1G ext3, then the rest as ext4? How does that work for transferring files back and forth via usb to a win7 box?
I intend on doing this fresh.. ie, install gbapps and individual app re-installs from there.

I have a lot of opinions on this but let me just try to answer your one specific question about ext4.
(going from memory here, I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong..)
When creating partitions in recovery, you will be prompted to allocate space to three separate partitions, swap, sd-ext, and 'the rest'. You have to choose a specific size for the first two, the third partition gets whatever is left. If you choose a size of zero when prompted, it will skip creating that partition.
So if you follow jwitts advice above, you will answer zero for swap, then 1024 for the ext partition.
This will skip the creation of a swap partition and create a sd-ext partition with size 1024. Initially you want to format this as ext2.
The rest of the SD card will go in the main sdcard partition and will be formatted as FAT.
As a last step you convert your ext2 partition to ext3 (and if you think there would be a benefit, you can further convert it from ext3 to ext4 in a subsequent step.)
Honestly, I installed evervolv over the exact same partition scheme you have already and have seen no need to tamper with it. Obviously others do. I leave you to make whatever decision you feel most comfortable with.
Partitioning is destructive: you lose all the contents of the entire SD card in the process so you need to make a backup first, and I don't mean nandroid. To me it's a bit more inconvenience plus the risk of losing irreplaceable data (ie pictures, music, etc).
By contrast, wiping partitions is routine and doesn't touch the main FAT partition. If you use smelkus to wipe your sd-ext partition (as implied in the oft-repeated advice to "wipe everything except 'SD card'") you should be starting with a pretty clean slate.
Maybe I've had the wrong understanding all this time, but I have been working under the assumption that "wiping" has the effect of deleting all the files below certain mount point.
The contents of your sd-ext folder are just as gone as if you "formatted". There may be other benefits to additional formatting or partitioning, and when you are planning to start from scratch, that can be a good time to do this sort of "preventive maintenance", but I was just pointing out that under normal conditions it is not strictly necessary.

Link2SD & Partitioning Help

Hey everyone. I'm going nuts trying to figure out how to use Link2SD. I partitioned my 32G SD card using Mini Partition Tool. I made a 1 gig partition. I've tried FAT32 and EXT2. After partitioning, i rebooted and tried Link2SD. I keep getting the error "Mount script cannot be created. [1] Segmentation fault mount ..."
Is there any solution for the xperia play? I manually moved my apps but still ran out of space keeping system tools like Titanium Backup on the internal. Maybe I should make them System Apps?

I use the following on mine setup:
64gb Card (Fat32 - Primary)
5GB for EXT4 partition (Make sure when you partition it to set it as primary.)
300mb Swap Partition
I had an issue with Link2SD too ad it was because I was not setting the EXT partition as primary, oncei formatted it again as primary Link2SD had not issue with it. Try that.

ozzmanj1 said:
I use the following on mine setup:
64gb Card (Fat32 - Primary)
5GB for EXT4 partition (Make sure when you partition it to set it as primary.)
300mb Swap Partition
I had an issue with Link2SD too ad it was because I was not setting the EXT partition as primary, oncei formatted it again as primary Link2SD had not issue with it. Try that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks for the reply. Just tried what you said. My FAT32, ext4, and Swap are all Primary and sill no go. I get the same error (segmentation fault mount -t ext4...). When Link2SD opens I've tried selecting all the options for the parition type too and none of them work.
Anything else I can try? Does the order of the partitions make any difference? Right now I am Primary, ext4, Swap.

echardcore said:
Hey thanks for the reply. Just tried what you said. My FAT32, ext4, and Swap are all Primary and sill no go. I get the same error. When Link2SD opens I've tried selecting all the options for the parition type too and none of them work.
Anything else I can try? Does the order of the partitions make any difference? Right now I am Primary, ext4, Swap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah.... okay, I should have clarified this, only the fat32 and EXT partition are set to Primary. Swap Partition is set to logical, setting all three to primary causes issues.
Reformat only the swap and format to logical. Then in Link2SD force it to reinstall the scripting and see if that fixes it.

ozzmanj1 said:
Ah.... okay, I should have clarified this, only the fat32 and EXT partition are set to Primary. Swap Partition is set to logical, setting all three to primary causes issues.
Reformat only the swap and format to logical. Then in Link2SD force it to reinstall the scripting and see if that fixes it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay then. New problem. Now Link2SD says "No SD card present" and android doesn't mount it either.
This is killing me slowly.
I'll try to reformat the whole card via a reader...
Didnt work. SD card still not recognized.

echardcore said:
Okay then. New problem. Now Link2SD says "No SD card present" and android doesn't mount it either.
This is killing me slowly.
I'll try to reformat the whole card via a reader...
Didnt work. SD card still not recognized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. If your willing, lets start fresh. I am guessing you have your SDcard files backed up. Using Minitool partition delete all partitions and format as FAT32. Then create another partition of your size and format it as EXT (I prefer 4, EXT4) and set it to EXT(2,3,4,etc) and Primary. Then just for kicks, do not make a swap partition. I read that its not necessary, however I always do it..... well necessary only if you use a swap manager. So after the fat32 and ext partitions are made and minitool has created them. Take out the card, put it back into your pc and see if windows sees the fat32 partition. If good place it back into your phone and see if it upon bootup sees your sdcard.
Just in case as a reference here is the tutorial from the developer of Link2SD on how to set it up.
http://www.link2sd.info/description

ozzmanj1 said:
OK. If your willing, lets start fresh. I am guessing you have your SDcard files backed up. Using Minitool partition delete all partitions and format as FAT32. Then create another partition of your size and format it as EXT (I prefer 4, EXT4) and set it to EXT(2,3,4,etc) and Primary. Then just for kicks, do not make a swap partition. I read that its not necessary, however I always do it..... well necessary only if you use a swap manager. So after the fat32 and ext partitions are made and minitool has created them. Take out the card, put it back into your pc and see if windows sees the fat32 partition. If good place it back into your phone and see if it upon bootup sees your sdcard.
Just in case as a reference here is the tutorial from the developer of Link2SD on how to set it up.
http://www.link2sd.info/description
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PC sees the FAT32. Phone sees the card now. Link2SD shows the partition but cant mount it and create the script for it. Also tried as ext2. Thanks for your help. I am going to try to update the ROM.
After updating the ROM to 2.4.0 and waiting 10 mins and rebooting as usual. was able to successfully link the partition! Thanks for your help!

No problem. Glad you got it working.
Sent from my R800at using xda premium

Got all my apps installed! Woot! Also, something must have been messed up with my previous flash.. I wasn't able to restore apps the newer way from titanium backup. I had to do it the old way one by one.
phone is going to make a great gaming alternative to my SGSII.