Develop Bugs

[Q] SD-card partitioning / storage layout on desire

Dear XDA forum,
since a few roms i always get a "low on storage" warning, even after factory reset and flashing a new rom.
So i'd want to ask for a small summery of what storage there is inside the desire and on the sdcard and how to solve this problem
My sdcard is 16GB class 10. I didnt partition it manually (i think).
according to my desire it has effective 14.2gb.about 2gb are used and 4gb are free? that doesnt sound right.
so i guess its 2 partitions?
could anyone please tell me which mountpoint is which?
and how do i solve the low storage problem? do i need some a2sd script or do i have to more the internal storage to the sdcard?
which mountpoints do the scripts actarlly move?
i have no problem with repartitioning my sdcard. i was given to understand that u usually need a fat32 partition (for apps i guess) and an ext2/3 partition afterwards. some scripts even allow a swap partition at the end of the sdcard to be used as swap space. is that a good idea?
i know its a lot of questions :/ but i hope for some good answers :>
thanks & greetings,
soomon

my advice would be to backup your sd card and (re)partition using gparted, start from scratch because I don't know what your current configuration is, step 5 here
choose ext3/ext4 partition (max ~1.5GB) depending on rom requirements, most support ext4 and should be slightly faster. most roms don't need swap partition.
in simple terms, your space will get taken up by apps (apks), dalvik cache, app cache and app data. most custom roms will automatically move apks to your sd-ext partition. there are various different scripts which move the other bits around. generally it is better to keep app data on internal (/data partition)
regardless of which rom you choose, use an app like 'diskusage' to browse all your partitions, so you can work out where and how all your space is being use.
to maximise space you also need to be s-off and correct hboot for the rom (again should be stated within each rom thread, or search within it)

ok so the first partition on the sdcard will become my sd-ext which will replace the /data partition on the internal storage.
I guess is hould try data2sd then?
with a class 10 it should not get that slow and i get loads of space on that partition.
thanks for your help.

also use links2d,very usefull.....

hi again,
as i see in a terminal emulator by typing "df -h"
my data is 150mb and has 15mb left, so i guess i better moe the whole partition to the sdcard as i'd have to move all the apps to the sdcard anyway sooner or later.
my /system has only 5mb of 250mb left. is that a problem?

soomon said:
hi again,
as i see in a terminal emulator by typing "df -h"
my data is 150mb and has 15mb left, so i guess i better moe the whole partition to the sdcard as i'd have to move all the apps to the sdcard anyway sooner or later.
my /system has only 5mb of 250mb left. is that a problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
depends entirely what rom you're running if any, and what scripts it uses. basically you should be able to find some way to install many apps without running out of space (one of the main reasons for rooting in the first place ).
with your current setup, you could try something like link2sd to just move apps and dalvik to sd, see if you have enough space that way. you shouldnt have to manually 'move to sd', keeping them on 'internal' tricks them to sd-ext. (you can use something like 'diskusage' to check they're actually on the sd-ext)
the system partition is meant to be mostly full. free space on /system is wasted space.
you're still on stock hboot, which is why your data partition is so small.
if you install another rom, many of them have a smaller system size, so if you're s-off you can flash a different hboot to repartition your internal memory layout: your system size will reduce to roughly match your rom, and the saved space is converted into extra data space, see alpharev.nl for hboots.
e.g. if your rom system is 140MB, will fit nicely into cm7r2 hboot with 145MB system, and you get 287MB of data instead of 150MB. 287MB can be enough to store app data and dalvik cache if you don't have too many apps.
i refer you to these sets of guides for further reading, should explain a lot more, and better than i have...

thanks eddie,
i'm still s-on and stock hboot, but i use a custom rom: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1766550
i guess the problem is that LBE gues 4 and lookout together need over 22mb of space :/
i'll try link2sd then.
thanks!

hm.. when i try to install link2sd i get "insufficient storage available". that program is not even 1MB in size and i have 15mb of free space on the internal storage.. what can i do?
edit: i'll try to install it at home with an adb tool. maybe i have more luck with that.

follow instructions for a2sd with that rom (scroll down). this will move apps and dalvik to sd-ext automatically. or follow/search the thread for other methods, it's regularly discussed...
[not used link2sd, it should in theory do the same thing, but my advice would be to stick with the instructions as that's the recommended way if you really need/want to install link2sd...uninstall something else to make more space ]

ofc removing apps might help (althrough i only installed 2 or 3). but 15mb should be enough to install a 800kb software
gonna try to install some apps later after running a2sd.
thanks a lot man didnt see that information.

Installing CM7 with m2sd

I'm trying to install m2sd on cm7. I do a full wipe, install the Rom, gapps, and m2sd script. After starting up I enable m2sd for apps and reboot. Then I start installing software, but they take up space on internal memory. After moving them to sd they don't go to ext partition but to the fat one.
What could be the issue?

how did you partition you sd card? should be done with gparted (step 5 here) or 4ext recovery only (not minitool or clockworkmod recovery).
depending on the options chosen for m2sd, some stuff will still take space on internal, for instance app data is best left on internal for performance. use an app like 'diskusage' to browse all your partitions.
make sure you're also s-off and on cm7r2 hboot to maximise space (have a look for further guides if this doesnt make sense).

Try also enabling dalvik cache to sd.

Or the data + r-mount combination (which is I'm using now with no problem at all).

eddiehk6 said:
how did you partition you sd card? should be done with gparted (step 5 here) or 4ext recovery only (not minitool or clockworkmod recovery).
depending on the options chosen for m2sd, some stuff will still take space on internal, for instance app data is best left on internal for performance. use an app like 'diskusage' to browse all your partitions.
make sure you're also s-off and on cm7r2 hboot to maximise space (have a look for further guides if this doesnt make sense).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just did it all again, to make sure I used gParted, so I'm sure I have 10gig Fat32, 4gig EXT4 and 256meg Swap. Then I did a full wipe of the phone, installed cm7, gapps, and when the system booted I installed and configured m2sd APK and rebooted. Still, in the gui section you can see "File System Type: N/A". It looks like it didn't recognise the FS but I have tried setting that to auto and EXT4
EDIT
Does anyone know what a2sd script has been used in THIS rom?

gaseki said:
I just did it all again, to make sure I used gParted, so I'm sure I have 10gig Fat32, 4gig EXT4 and 256meg Swap. Then I did a full wipe of the phone, installed cm7, gapps, and when the system booted I installed and configured m2sd APK and rebooted. Still, in the gui section you can see "File System Type: N/A". It looks like it didn't recognise the FS but I have tried setting that to auto and EXT4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
follow the guide again...
4gb ext4 partition is too much, you won't even need that much for apps! absolute maximum that i've read you should use is 2gb, personally i recommend 1.5gb.
you also don't need swap.
both partitions also need to be primary as per the guide.
EDIT
Does anyone know what a2sd script has been used in THIS rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that rom uses terminal emulator to enable A2SD. follow the guides/instructions in that thread.

Question about [ROM][Jan 23. 2013] MildWild V-4.9 JG

Hello, I had older version of this ROM , and there was a function in Settings>Applications, to move application to SD card/To phone/To SD-ext.
Now in the newest version of this ROM there is no such thing as Move to SD-ext. Maybe someone could tell me how can I move apps to sd-ext ?

Mildwild removed this option from around V-4.3, which is why I'm still on that rom. It allowed you to choose apps on internal, sd-ext or classic froyo apps2sd.
The latest version moves apps and dalvik cache to sd-ext automatically, you don't have to do anything. As long as you have a correctly partitioned sd card (4EXT or gparted), it will work.
Keep apps on internal to trick them to sd-ext, i.e. don't 'move to SD' . Also use cm7r2 hboot to maximise space as well.
If you install another app like 'diskusage', it will tell you how all your partitions are being used.

eddiehk6 said:
Mildwild removed this option from around V-4.3, which is why I'm still on that rom. It allowed you to choose apps on internal, sd-ext or classic froyo apps2sd.
The latest version moves apps and dalvik cache to sd-ext automatically, you don't have to do anything. As long as you have a correctly partitioned sd card (4EXT or gparted), it will work.
Keep apps on internal to trick them to sd-ext, i.e. don't 'move to SD' . Also use cm7r2 hboot to maximise space as well.
If you install another app like 'diskusage', it will tell you how all your partitions are being used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I partitioned my card correctly, because on earlier version it worked, but now it shows me o 65mb used and 82mb free. My partition is 1GB. So i assume something is wrong because apps are not moved to sd-ext automatically ?

MisterMonitor said:
I partitioned my card correctly, because on earlier version it worked, but now it shows me o 65mb used and 82mb free. My partition is 1GB. So i assume something is wrong because apps are not moved to sd-ext automatically ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install diskusage like I said, you should see your sd-ext partition being filled up. You need to understand what is stored where.Your user app apks and dalvik cache should be automatically moved to sd-ext, and app data should be on internal memory (data partition),
However, 65MB used and 82MB free is your internal memory correct? This adds up to 147MB, which means you are on stock hboot. With diskusage look at your system partition, on stock hboot you will see a lot of free space on /system which is completely wasted. You should change hboot to cm7r2 to use space more efficiently.
Your rom system size is ~140MB. On stock hboot, your system size is 250MB, so you waste 110MB. cmr72 hboot has 145MB system, so you waste only 5MB. The saved space is converted to extra internal memory, 147MB increases to 287MB
What I believe is that your sd-ext partition is working fine, except that your internal memory (/data) appears to be filling up quickly because it is only 147MB, when when it should be 287MB total by simply switching to cm7r2. 287MB should be filled up by app data only (not apps or dalvik), which is plenty.
To change hboot you need to be s-off:
- Nandroid backup
- Get the hboot from alpharev.nl, then flash cm7r2 hboot using fastboot, guide here
- Reboot back to recovery, full wipe and restore nandroid.

Where can i get Data2SDReinstaller.zip?

i have just gotten my hand on a HTC desire over the weekend, with zero knowledge on rooting or android. after installing a few apps, namely FB, gmail, maps, flipboard and whatsapp i was given the "low memory" warning. uh... i have not even installed candy crush yet... so i did some read up on a few sites and straightaway attempted to mod the desire to increase the internal memory.
what i did :
s-off using Revolutionary tool and installed CWM.
partitioned an 8gb class10 card, 2048mb ext3 and the balance FAT32,
CyanogenMod 7.0.2.1 stable release.
Data2SD
to my delight everything work out and i get increased internal memory and i was happily re-installing all the above apps. problem is some of the apps -youtube and facebook, could not be started. after choosing "move to sd" then it can be started and used, albeit a tad laggy. the only issue left is whatsapp, after activation, it went on and on in the "initialising" for a very long time without any sign of it ever getting into working condition, i had to force close it.
i am thinking of repeating the whole process once again, clean install, but based on the read-up about data2sd, if i were to reflash rom on a device that already has data2sd prior, i would need to use Data2SDReinstaller.zip instead of Data2SDinstaller.zip that i have acquired earlier.
after googling up like mad, i still could not find anywhere to download Data2SDReinstaller.zip. hope that anyone who still has this would share it up here. Thanks a lot!

Well done for getting this far on your own! A few things you could do to improve check:
- How did you partition your sd card? Should be done in gparted or 4EXT recovery only, not minitool. Also might as well use ext4, slightly faster than ext3
- Next you should also install cyanogenmod on cm7r2 hboot to maximise your actual internal memory. Currently you're still on stock hboot with 250MB /system and you're only using ~140MB. You can convert this wasted 110MB into extra /data (internal memory), goes from 147MB to 287MB
- I personally don't recommend data2sd. Might the reason you're getting errors. Also you shouldn't need to use 'move to sd' anymore that moves to the fat32 partition not the sd-ext. Use a different script to move apps and dalvik to sd-ext, keep app data on internal.
So try:
- backup everything if you haven't already (titanium backup for apps etc)
- change hboot to cm7r2 using fastboot, search for guides
- (optional) flash 4EXT recovery using fastboot
- backup and repartition sd card if necessary using 4EXT as above
- full wipe and reinstall ROM again
- use another app/script such as mount2sd, S2E or darktremor A2SD, move apps and dalvik to sd-ext. They do the same thing. You won't necessarily see you're internal memory increase to 'internal + sd-ext' but it's working. Don't 'move to sd' as before, keep them on internal to trick to sd-ext.
- restore apps. Install something like diskusage to check your partitions are working.

eddiehk6 said:
Well done for getting this far on your own! A few things you could do to improve check:
- How did you partition your sd card? Should be done in gparted or 4EXT recovery only, not minitool. Also might as well use ext4, slightly faster than ext3
- Next you should also install cyanogenmod on cm7r2 hboot to maximise your actual internal memory. Currently you're still on stock hboot with 250MB /system and you're only using ~140MB. You can convert this wasted 110MB into extra /data (internal memory), goes from 147MB to 287MB
- I personally don't recommend data2sd. Might the reason you're getting errors. Also you shouldn't need to use 'move to sd' anymore that moves to the fat32 partition not the sd-ext. Use a different script to move apps and dalvik to sd-ext, keep app data on internal.
So try:
- backup everything if you haven't already (titanium backup for apps etc)
- change hboot to cm7r2 using fastboot, search for guides
- (optional) flash 4EXT recovery using fastboot
- backup and repartition sd card if necessary using 4EXT as above
- full wipe and reinstall ROM again
- use another app/script such as mount2sd, S2E or darktremor A2SD, move apps and dalvik to sd-ext. They do the same thing. You won't necessarily see you're internal memory increase to 'internal + sd-ext' but it's working. Don't 'move to sd' as before, keep them on internal to trick to sd-ext.
- restore apps. Install something like diskusage to check your partitions are working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi eddie, thanks for your pointers!
i used CWM to partition the card earlier on, only to discover that it was partitioned on ext3 with no choice to . prior to data2sd, i have tried link2sd, with the impression that it is similar to S2E & mount2sd. sad to say that after installing apps as listed earlier, the same low memory warning still popped up, so i assumed these script is not what i wanted.
for my next step, i plan on a full wipe and start afresh, thinking of using minitool to hammer the whole card flat on a single, FAT32 partition, and then using Aparted to create an ext4 partition. (downloadable from market, yeah that would mean putting the phone into stock CM firmware first and re-wipe again after that).
i have zero knowledge on linux nor any of my machines running it and i am so used to windows environment, that is the reason i did not start out on using Gparted in the first place, and used CWM's own partitioning tool.. 4ext recovery could be an alternative from what i read, but can 4ext be installed when CWM is already in place?
just to update, found the download for the data2sdreinstaller files, in some sections of xda i forgot which thread but i have it now. i will try on re-doing data2sd first. if the phone still give me issues then next would be doing as what you have suggested. thanks again!

Don't use clockworkmod. It's not that it's a bad recovery generally, but for desire it's not recommended as it tends to not create properly aligned partitions.
Backup sd, delete all partitions and repartition from scratch, use gparted or 4EXT recovery, don't recommend anything else. Now that you're s-off it's quite easy to change recovery, it will simply replace CWM.
gparted is also not that bad once you get the hang of it, I use bootable live cd and personally prefer it as I can see everything. I never used linux either... Use this guide
I've never had any luck with link2sd, never liked it. Yes it's supposed to do the same thing, but the idea of linking seemed a bit odd, maybe just not for me, and you may not have had any luck due to a bad partition. Try the others suggested, move apps and dalvik to sd-ext.
Remember to also change hboot to optimise space further.

eddiehk6 said:
Don't use clockworkmod. It's not that it's a bad recovery generally, but for desire it's not recommended as it tends to not create properly aligned partitions.
Backup sd, delete all partitions and repartition from scratch, use gparted or 4EXT recovery, don't recommend anything else. Now that you're s-off it's quite easy to change recovery, it will simply replace CWM.
gparted is also not that bad once you get the hang of it, I use bootable live cd and personally prefer it as I can see everything. I never used linux either... Use this guide
I've never had any luck with link2sd, never liked it. Yes it's supposed to do the same thing, but the idea of linking seemed a bit odd, maybe just not for me, and you may not have had any luck due to a bad partition. Try the others suggested, move apps and dalvik to sd-ext.
Remember to also change hboot to optimise space further.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
noted with many a thanks. hopefully learning this on Desire would allow me to do the same on some other Android devices in future. Funny to think i am doing this as all these while i am just a plain nokia user with all stock firmware.
the jargons for androids are abit overwhelming for me.

Don't worry, it's all a learning process. For most in the desire forums it was their first android device, like me too.
All of the stuff I've written above, I knew none of that at the start either.
Like anything, the more you read the more you learn. It'll start to make sense sooner or later

[Q] Internal memory and sd ext

hello guys
im using CyanoMod007 (CM10.1.2 | JB 4.2.2 | A2Ext+) [STOCK | CM7] [v31 | 07/08/13] rom and i have a problem.
i though my apps would go in the 1gb sd ext partition i created, intead i have my internal memory with 148mb almost full. what have i done wrong?

How did you partition your sdcard? Should be done with 4EXT recovery or gparted only, not minitool or clockworkmod recovery
Your internal memory will read 148mb because you're still on stock hboot.
You can increase it slightly by changing to cm7 hboot (requires s-off) and installing the cm7 version if the ROM.
However your internal memory still won't read 'internal + sd-ext'. You may need to activate a2sd using terminal commands, should be in the ROM op or search the thread.
Move apps and dalvik to sd-ext, most of the time you need to keep apps on internal to trick them to sd-ext (do not 'move to sd')
Finally check all your partitions by installing DiskUsage app and see how your /sd-ext and /data (internal memory) is filling up, understand HOW your memory is being used

eddiehk6 said:
How did you partition your sdcard? Should be done with 4EXT recovery or gparted only, not minitool or clockworkmod recovery
Your internal memory will read 148mb because you're still on stock hboot.
You can increase it slightly by changing to cm7 hboot (requires s-off) and installing the cm7 version if the ROM.
However your internal memory still won't read 'internal + sd-ext'. You may need to activate a2sd using terminal commands, should be in the ROM op or search the thread.
Move apps and dalvik to sd-ext, most of the time you need to keep apps on internal to trick them to sd-ext (do not 'move to sd')
Finally check all your partitions by installing DiskUsage app and see how your /sd-ext and /data (internal memory) is filling up, understand HOW your memory is being used
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tnks for your reply mate...
im still new to all this, what i can tell you is that i used 4ext to partition the card and then recovered a backup i had. its s-off.

shaca said:
tnks for your reply mate...
im still new to all this, what i can tell you is that i used 4ext to partition the card and then recovered a backup i had. its s-off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you do anything, install DiskUsage as advised.
- Browse to your /sd-ext partition, you may need to enable root permissions. If it's not filling up with your apps then you haven't activated A2SD.
- Browse to your /system partition, you'll find that you have a lot of free space here as you are still on stock hboot. This is effectively wasted space. If you change hboot you'll have a smaller /system and therefore larger /data (internal memory) :good:
So like I said, if you want app space, change to CM7r2 hboot using fastboot commands (search for a guide), full wipe and install the ROM again.
Follow the instructions as written in the first post to activate A2SD. Recommend you choose to move dalvik cache only to sd-ext.