Related
In short:
Is there a thread somewhere stating the pro's and con's of running Android from different types of "media" (SD, NAND, EXT2)?
If there is, please provide a link, I can't seem to find anything that isn't an unanswered question or small comments.
If there isn't, let this be a starting point for those looking for the answer to this question.
Longer:
I've seen this question pop up once and again but it might be that the topic is totally exhausted and people have stopped commenting on it. I can't seem to find an answer though; What are the pro's and con's of using NAND, EXT2, FAT32 or any combination of it?
I see a couple of installation alternatives and some I have been able to conclude myself but others not.
* Running from SD-card using HaRET
This option is the slowest in terms of Android performance. It has the added value of easily getting back to Windows Mobile by rebooting the phone, gaining easy access to the SD card and manipulation options.
* Running the system AND data on NAND
This option has in my view the fastest Android experience. Access to files on the SD card is a bit more cumbersome (there is the SD card split widget APK available but I have yet to see it working) and access to files for manipulation I can't comment on (haven't gotten to that yet).
* Running the system from NAND and data on EXT2
The performance seems almost as fast as the system+data on NAND. I have no idea about the added value of running anything from an EXT2-partition in the SD card but I'm guessing it will be slower. I have no idea if file access for manipulation is easier or not compared to the other options.
* Running the system AND data from EXT2
I have not tried this yet and cannot comment on it. Something tells me it will be slower than NAND because of SD card overhead.
* Running the system from EXT2 and data on NAND
I have not tried this yet and cannot comment on it.
Now, I've missed out on several of the installation options but I'll edit this post as soon as I get to investigating it further.
Any comments/experience/knowledge in this is greatly appreciated, as it can make things clearer as to what options to choose.
Well these are very good question and wanted to start a thread on this matter as well. I also could not find a strait answer anywhere.
I also want to know if there is an advantage using ext2 over fat32.
So, people out there having knowledge about this matter please share it.
Ext2 and Fat32 are both types of filesystem used on various different types of media, including SD card, Hard drives etc.
EXT2 is (one) of the native linux filesystems, and is fully supported in kernel, and is usually faster and more stable in that OS
FAT32 is the 32bit version of the old MSdos filesystem, used up to Windows 98, and still supported by windows machines, but slower and less stable than the native NTFS filesystem used by XP and above.
Nand is actually the type of flash ROM used by our devices, and not a filesystem as such, and running Android in Nand refers to where the information is stored, rather than the filesystem used to store it.
It's equally valid to say that we run WM in Nand also.
I think that in the case of Android EXT2 should be faster and more stable than fat32 since it's designed for Linux, and works better in that OS.
Zenity ik would like to thank you very much as this answers mij questions.
And i think this would many others aswell.
Don't forget - if you format your MicroSD to just EXT2 then you will make it very awkward to transfer files to/from the card on a Microsoft Windows based system.
This may, or may not be a problem for you.
Ultimately, the current ideal situation (IMHO) is to run your OS from NAND, and to store your data (music / movies / documents) on a FAT32 format MicroSD - as this enables you to swap the MicroSD card without turning off the device, and provides best cross-platform usability of the MicroSD for the purposes of transferring data to/from it.
Thank you all!
Thank you all for commenting! I will add your comments to the Android-wiki I'm building as this question could come back repeatedly from newcomers (and old ones who forgot )!
boli99 said:
Don't forget - if you format your MicroSD to just EXT2 then you will make it very awkward to transfer files to/from the card on a Microsoft Windows based system.
This may, or may not be a problem for you.
Ultimately, the current ideal situation (IMHO) is to run your OS from NAND, and to store your data (music / movies / documents) on a FAT32 format MicroSD - as this enables you to swap the MicroSD card without turning off the device, and provides best cross-platform usability of the MicroSD for the purposes of transferring data to/from it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a program for allowing the mounting of EXT2 file systems on windows, however they are not signed. This is more problematic in Windows that are 64bit. The program is called 'ext2fsd' and you can get it from source forge. EXT2 is a better file system, and does not have the 4GB file size limit, and does not fragment (although on a SD card, this should not be an issue). EXT2 also has file permissions that Linux understands. Fat32 has no Access control file permissions.
I have just recently got polymod's eclair running with both system and data on ext2 partitions.
my question is...
I am just wondering what the boot order is...
and where(if possible) can it be changed?
system.img in the andboot folder VS system on partition.
I know it can be set in the installer. but lets say I had installed system on ext2 partition. and then later placed a system.img in the andboot folder.
can I swap between the two?
OK...
I figured it out myself,
You can use the installer to select boot options (Not just options to install)
so I have a system and data on partitons. (currently using)
and I also have a second build installed to .img files in the andboot folder. (for failsafe backup)
if I want to swap from one into the other
I enter installer and change the settings for the system and data to
their respective locations and then just QUIT.
I also still have a donut build in the android folder. as well as still running winmo.
quad boot system on my phone...LOL
Now thats a neat use of the installer, I think this find deserves it's own thread in fact, I'm certain others will find it useful
Tanks !
binlabin said:
* Running the system from NAND and data on EXT2
The performance seems almost as fast as the system+data on NAND. I have no idea about the added value of running anything from an EXT2-partition in the SD card but I'm guessing it will be slower. I have no idea if file access for manipulation is easier or not compared to the other options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done some tries with this doing the partitioning from within android and then formatting the FAT32 partition from Windows 7 but the FAT32 partition doesn't work very well afterward. Really slow and sometimes crashes the explorer. Propably something to do with my SD-card. May try doing the partitioning and formatting from Linux to see if it works better.
Seems to me the main advantage of this option is to increase the size of available data storage which i suspect can become a limitation sooner or later in a pure NAND install.
EDIT: Now I've done it and gone NAND-System + EXT2-Data... Partitioned the SD-card from Ubuntu with gparted. Resized the FAT32 partition and created 3 primary EXT2 partitions. only the second (partition 3) should be used though with the setup I am using. It's charging right now so I haven't tried it out much yet but I will later on. However I noticed that I now have 171Mb free phone storage instead of 30-something that I had before (same apps installed).
EDIT2: Ran gparted again and shrinked the unused partition (partition 2) and expanded the data partition (partition 3) so I now have 369Mb free "Internal phone storage". Haven't noticed any speed differences between this and when I had data on NAND.
nand
By then one question:
If im install android in the NAND is more fast ready? But this process erase WM6?
Because now android work good in my HTC TYNT II but the camera and bluetooth not work and have one or two performance problems and for this dont like delete WM6 of my phone, and for this im use Android from my SD.
But look the NAND option because have a problems with the time live of my battery only lasts 5hours with android and SD.
Thanks for your help and cooperation
excellent thread which answers some questions that I had. Thanks to everyone who contributed. The only question remaining though and I have posted this elsewhere without getting an answer:
I partitioned a 2 gb sdcard with ~1.6gb Fat32 and the rest as a single Ext2. I selected system on nand and data on ext2 in the installer. After installation, it does show alot more memory for data as compared to data on nand, BUT I also have a data.img in andboot which is in the Fat32 partition, with a size around 250mb. The question is, is the data in that file or on ext2? If I backup data from installer, it creates a databackup.img in andboot with the same size as data.img. Seems to me the ext2 partition is just taking up space and not being used. Can anyone more knowledgeable shed some light on this? Thanks.
Not quite sure what is going on there, seems very counter-intuitive, I would have assumed that system on Nand, data on EXT2 would have installed the data partition to EXT2 on SD. This would seem not to be the case in this instance.
There are a few experiments you could try, if you are brave enough, since you may cause problems by trying any of these suggestions, which could mean a reinstall, I leave it to your judgement how to proceed
Ok firstly I assume you have a card reader, since you managed to partition and format the SD card in the first place. Remove the SD card, insert in card reader, delete the andboot folder, or the contents of the folder, ( may be wise to have a spare SD with either a winmo or android install handy at this point, just in case things go horribly wrong ).
Now with the cleaned SD, put it in the phone and boot, it should boot fine, IF the data is truly on the EXT2 partition.
That at least will answer one question, namely, where the heck is my data?
If this works fine, then I'd just put it down to some inner weirdness of android on non-native devices, if it fails then I'm wondering if your EXT2 partition may have problems, forcing the phone to dump it on the first available good partition, namely the FAT32 one.
Oh and if it does fail, you will have to reinstall, since your data will be toast.
Finally, good luck, I await with interest
As I recall, the install has the FAT32/Ext2 options incorrectly swapped. It has been this way for a while.
zenity said:
Not quite sure what is going on there, seems very counter-intuitive, I would have assumed that system on Nand, data on EXT2 would have installed the data partition to EXT2 on SD. This would seem not to be the case in this instance.
There are a few experiments you could try, if you are brave enough, since you may cause problems by trying any of these suggestions, which could mean a reinstall, I leave it to your judgement how to proceed
Ok firstly I assume you have a card reader, since you managed to partition and format the SD card in the first place. Remove the SD card, insert in card reader, delete the andboot folder, or the contents of the folder, ( may be wise to have a spare SD with either a winmo or android install handy at this point, just in case things go horribly wrong ).
Now with the cleaned SD, put it in the phone and boot, it should boot fine, IF the data is truly on the EXT2 partition.
That at least will answer one question, namely, where the heck is my data?
If this works fine, then I'd just put it down to some inner weirdness of android on non-native devices, if it fails then I'm wondering if your EXT2 partition may have problems, forcing the phone to dump it on the first available good partition, namely the FAT32 one.
Oh and if it does fail, you will have to reinstall, since your data will be toast.
Finally, good luck, I await with interest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great idea, I'll try this on the weekend. I wont delete data though, I'll just rename andboot and backup data for good measure, because I want to be able to go back to the data by renaming it back if it doesn't work. I was also thinking if there is any way to get to the ext2 partition and read it... I'm on xp so I cant do it on my pc, and on the phone, I've looked around in astro n other file managers but cant see anything. But if the case is as golfnz34me points out, then I should just backup the data, and change the option to Fat32 in install and restore data. That should do the trick.
golfnz34me said:
As I recall, the install has the FAT32/Ext2 options incorrectly swapped. It has been this way for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, will check this out. If its true, then great, more speed for my /data! I wonder how I missed this, been going through these forums regularly...
Ok I checked it out, and golfnz34me is correct it seems.
But now I found a new problem. I backed up data, and in the installer, set the data to SDCard, and tried to restore data. It gives various errors like
Code:
cannot determine filesystem size
failed
failed to format
...some other lines...
losetup: /dev/block/loop2: no such device or address
I created the partition with Paragon partition manager, and after getting this error I rechecked in PPM. I reformated the partition, but still get the error. In PPM the partition drive letter isnt assigned. Or, the partition isnt the active partition. Can one of those be the problem? The volume name is Ext2. Im not very experienced in partitioning etc, apart from normal ntfs partition for new hds in windows, so I didnt play with any options. I dont have a linux system either. Any got any ideas? Any help would be appreciated alot!
Not sure about using partition managers other than gparted, afaik most people are using the Gparted live cd if they don't have a linux install handy.
The errors all point to some sort of problem with the EXT2 partition, or it's formatting.
Also EXT2 partitions do not have drive letters, nor do they have to be active partitions.
Apps and data on SD card.
I cant seem to figure out how to make all the apps and other stuff install to the SD card. Do I have to partition the card into two partitions? or is there a way to install the system to Nand and make all the apps and data go to the SD card? Ive tried setting it to System on nand and data on SD partition but it says no partitions to install to or something.
So my question is 2 fold. 1, I have no internet whatsoever so Tether is very important to me and having the fastest speeds possible would be ideal.
Upon my quest to get a decent speed with tethering I've noticed this Journaling situation. What is it and can someone explain what it entails?
Journaling has no effect on internet speed (unless the phone is pulling somthing from the disk like a bookmark),will not affect "information on the fly",like the internet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journaling_file_system
Wikipedia said:
A journaling file system is a file system that keeps track of the changes that will be made in a journal (usually a circular log in a dedicated area of the file system) before committing them to the main file system. In the event of a system crash or power failure, such file systems are quicker to bring back online and less likely to become corrupted.[1]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the no journal mod on my phone and it makes it a little more snappier.
musclehead84 said:
I have the no journal mod on my phone and it makes it a little more snappier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you dont wish to use journaling why are you not using ext 2?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
You silly goose. We don't have ext2 for are phones yet
Sent From Da Hood.
That's some subtle trolling.
Just in case wiki isn't being clear. Here is what the difference between journaling and no journaling.
scenario 1 w/ no journaling:
you surf the web, pull down image > data written to cache > save to disk
if your phone crash and reboot then you lost the image that's being pull down
scenario 1 w/ journaling:
you surf the web, pull down image > data written to disk as image loaded
if your phone crash and reboot then you have the image save as much as it was downloaded.
Final point: it's no big deal whether you have journaling or not.
scenario 2 w/ no journaling:
You work on a very important spreadsheet as you hit save > data written to cache > save to disk
if the software have recovery feature, and the phone crash before you hit save, then you lost all changes prior to the last saved because the temp file that the software use wasn't written to the disk.
scenario 2 w/ journaling:
You work on a very important spreadsheet as you hit save > data written to disk.
if the software have recovery feature, and the phone crash before you hit save, then you get to choose the recovery file which is the temp file that constantly being written to the disk.
The difference: hours of work.
Isn't the ext system just the file system for Linux based systems? Like FAT and NFTS is for Windows? And isn't ext2 the precursor to ext3, and ext the precursor to ext4? Like FAT, then FAT16, FAT32, etc? If that's correct, why would we want ext2 in the first place if we have ext4?
running_the_dream said:
Isn't the ext system just the file system for Linux based systems? Like FAT and NFTS is for Windows? And isn't ext2 the precursor to ext3, and ext the precursor to ext4? Like FAT, then FAT16, FAT32, etc? If that's correct, why would we want ext2 in the first place if we have ext4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The benefit of ext 4 over ext 2 is journaling or stability on a cellphone. If your not worried about error correction or saving files before a crash then ext2 should be used as it is way faster. You think your ext4 scores improved, ext 2 would blow that away. When I was on the moment ext2 was used but people were concerned about the reliability. doesn't make much since if you turn the journaling off to use a slower fs.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
dreamsforgotten said:
The benefit of ext 4 over ext 2 is journaling or stability on a cellphone. If your not worried about error correction or saving files before a crash then ext2 should be used as it is way faster. You think your ext4 scores improved, ext 2 would blow that away. When I was on the moment ext2 was used but people were concerned about the reliability. doesn't make much since if you turn the journaling off to use a slower fs.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. So what's the limitation of ext2? Meaning, if it's so much faster than the newer file system, ext4, why would the devs even bother making ext4? Does it allocate blocks of info better or hold more info? I haven't been able to find much useful info online concerning ext4.
ext2 was created before there is journaling option. In a way, journaling is kinda like after thought for ext2. But if you look at ext file systems, they are written for linux and mostly for PC. so, power requirement isn't a big issue. So, it's inherently by design that ext2 which have less feature and build back in the older system would use less power. I think ext4 is basically ext2 on steroid. Better journaling and larger file/partition size limitation. So, the size limitation is a non issue for such small platform like smartphone.
running_the_dream said:
Thanks for the info. So what's the limitation of ext2? Meaning, if it's so much faster than the newer file system, ext4, why would the devs even bother making ext4? Does it allocate blocks of info better or hold more info? I haven't been able to find much useful info online concerning ext4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im not that advanced with the two myself I just vaguely remember the back and fourth when this came out for the moment on sdx. there's nothing wrong with ext4 but for a speed junky with no concern for the safety net ext2 boast faster speeds. That being said, wer dont need yet another fs to have to support with themes/roms. now as fast as your pc, you will definetly benefit using the ext4 system. In that case ext2 is obsolete to a point.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the helpful info guys. I have yet another question. When flashing another Rom, do you always have to re-flash the no journaling even if you've done so with the previous Rom?
imwillzillla said:
Thanks for the helpful info guys. I have yet another question. When flashing another Rom, do you always have to re-flash the no journaling even if you've done so with the previous Rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You better be very careful when you flash "another ROM". First not all ROM support ext4, and not all support no-journaling. I'm not well verse in the XDA myself either but from what I understand, at-least in the linux space, you can format w/ or w/o journaling, and then there is option disable on boot also, but the kernel has to support it. So, it's all depend the kernel you use support it or not. I don't think ATM, there are many/any tools in Android development space that support conversion between journaling/non-journaling, and especially when going back to RFS. There may not need to be a conversion between journaling and non-journaling since those are technically just how data being handle upon written to the disk, so data structure on the disc should be the same. But, I'm not entirely positive about it. So, I would avoid switching between ROM which doesn't support the same format as it was originally format.
I could be wrong this but the op's question regarded tehtering speed. Now I can see the advantages/disadvantages of journeling while using the phone directly to surf the web but if you are just using the data sevice through the phone on another computer/laptop would you really see any of the advs/disadvs?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
helchez said:
I could be wrong this but the op's question regarded tehtering speed. Now I can see the advantages/disadvantages of journeling while using the phone directly to surf the web but if you are just using the data sevice through the phone on another computer/laptop would you really see any of the advs/disadvs?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answer is yes
I mean, because the data only passing through, and your phone is acting not much difference than a router, so there should no any difference in speed. or maybe at best how the tether app load, unless of course the tether app is busy writing log file or something.
running_the_dream said:
Thanks for the info. So what's the limitation of ext2? Meaning, if it's so much faster than the newer file system, ext4, why would the devs even bother making ext4? Does it allocate blocks of info better or hold more info? I haven't been able to find much useful info online concerning ext4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ext3 and ext4 were continuations of development of ext2.
Wikipedia said:
The ext3 file system adds, over its predecessor:
* A Journaling file system.
* Online file system growth.
* Htree indexing for larger directories.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wikipedia said:
* Large file system //now up to 16TB instead of 16 GB
* Extents //replaces traditional block mapping with the ability to allocate multiple blocks in a group
* Persistent pre-allocation //for when it is necessary to allocate a contiguous block before you are ready to write to disk
* Delayed allocation //aka allocate memory and write when the cache is flushed
* Break 32,000 subdirectory limit
* Journal checksumming //to more quickly check the integrity of the journal over ext3
* Faster file system checking
* Multiblock allocator
* Improved timestamps //which require more writes to disk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apologies if this has been resolved before, but I've been seeing two download folders in my SD card "downloads" and "Downloads." I've tried deleting one but I get an error - this also confuses Recovery when I try to flash a file located in one of the directories it typically looks in the wrong one. Has anyone had this or resolved it?
pongalong said:
Apologies if this has been resolved before, but I've been seeing two download folders in my SD card "downloads" and "Downloads." I've tried deleting one but I get an error - this also confuses Recovery when I try to flash a file located in one of the directories it typically looks in the wrong one. Has anyone had this or resolved it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the issue and have just learned to deal with it. I don't really know when it why it happened, sometime around when I first flashed jellybean I think. Idk. Just letting you know you're not alone. Btw the "download" folder appears first in recovery. I move all my roms and kernels there. The "Download" is the folder all the general downloads end up in for me... at least I think... it's confusing but a sms issue to me.
DARKSIDE
I made a folder called Aaroms. It goes alphabetical and capital letters first so that folder is always on the top of the list. I then sort my roms mods and kernels with sub folders.
If you keep your (D)download folder clean and sorted it should be easy to know which one has what
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
This is just speculation, but...
1. I think the virtual sdcard (sdcard0) and its links exists to make the real "sdcard" (/data/media) look like fat to apps instead of ext, which it really is (because it doesn't have a separate partition to itself). Most apps only know how to write to fat on the sdcard.
2. To programs that expect to be writing to fat, "download" and "Download" are the same directory, so they can be careless how they spell it when they access it or create it. But since the real filesystem is ext, they get created as two different directories. Maybe through some case-checking bug in the virtual sdcard or some program that writes directly to /data/media.
3. What I wound up doing was taking all my data out of both directories, deleting one, and making sure the remaining one was named "directory". Then I put all my data back in that one and everything has been good since then.
Well this is Linux after all. Downloads != downloads
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Need help too
pongalong said:
Apologies if this has been resolved before, but I've been seeing two download folders in my SD card "downloads" and "Downloads." I've tried deleting one but I get an error - this also confuses Recovery when I try to flash a file located in one of the directories it typically looks in the wrong one. Has anyone had this or resolved it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue. I have two Download folders. The thing is that the one with the small "D" (download), it is empty, and when I try to delete it, it always reappear.
Help!
this was anwsered like 2 days ago.
sent from my i9250
bk201doesntexist said:
this was anwsered like 2 days ago.
sent from my i9250
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant find the post telling the answer. Lol. The last post isbin october 2010.
strumcat said:
1. I think the virtual sdcard (sdcard0) and its links exists to make the real "sdcard" (/data/media) look like fat to apps instead of ext, which it really is (because it doesn't have a separate partition to itself). Most apps only know how to write to fat on the sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that the symlinks are there just for backwards compability issues with apps, that look under /sdcard/ mount point. it doesn't have anything to do with fs, android never used fat, or ntfs; known fs in android are yaffs2, ext4 and maybe a few proprietary ones like sammy's rfs.
bk201doesntexist said:
I think that the symlinks are there just for backwards compability issues with apps, that look under /sdcard/ mount point. it doesn't have anything to do with fs, android never used fat, or ntfs; known fs in android are yaffs2, ext4 and maybe a few proprietary ones like sammy's rfs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The real sdcards were formatted as fat, and most apps that used them to store data only knew how to read/write a fat fs. I found this out by creating a mountable volume on a real sdcard on my old phone. It mounted as a directory on the sdcard. If I formatted the volume as fat, all my apps could use it normally. If I formatted it as ext(anything), a few apps could use it but most could not.
The symlinks are for backwards compatibility, but I believe the fuse filesystem virtual sdcard0 exists to make ext4 look like fat to all apps and to windows.
Note that if the gnex "sdcard" had its own partition, it could be formatted as fat and mounted as USB external storage like a real sdcard. I don't know, but it seems like Google went out of their way to prevent that.
The Google line is that the gnex sdcard shares an ext4 partition to maximize space, ie no unused wasted space on two partitions. But that is pretty farfetched, since the number of problems caused by this arrangement is huge in proportion to the "space saved" which is negligible.
Obviously, the real reason for this kludged-up mess is to discourage local storage/backup and encourage cloud storage, which can then be monetized.
strumcat said:
The real sdcards were formatted as fat, and most apps that wrote data to it only knew how to write it to a fat fs. I found this out by creating a mountable volume on a real sdcard on my old phone. It mounted as a directory on the sdcard. If I formatted the volume as fat, all my apps could use it normally. If I formatted it as ext(anything), a few apps could use it but most could not.
The symlinks are the for backwards compatibility, but I believe the fuse filesystem virtual sdcard0 exists to make ext4 look like fat to all apps and to windows.
Note that if the gnex "sdcard" had its own partition, it could be formatted as fat and mounted as USB external storage like a real sdcard. I don't know, but it seems like Google went out of their way to prevent that.
The Google line is that sdcard shares ext4 partition to maximize space, is no unused wasted space on two partitions. But that is pretty farfetched, since the number of problems caused by this arrangement is huge in proportion to the "space saved" which is negligible.
Obviously, the real reason for this kludged-up mess is to discourage local storage/backup and encourage cloud storage, which can then be monetized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure, i was talking about nand storage. still, if apps really depend on that to survive (said "fat compability"), it's unlogical to me coming from linux, where several fs can co-exist, as you may know.
if sdcard had its own partition like you say, and it could be formatted to fat, it would suck from a performance point of view, right? because its way slower than ext4 or yaffs2?
sent from my i9250
bk201doesntexist said:
sure, i was talking about nand storage. still, if apps really depend on that to survive (said "fat compability"), it's unlogical to me coming from linux, where several fs can co-exist, as you may know.
if sdcard had its own partition like you say, and it could be formatted to fat, it would suck from a performance point of view, right? because its way slower than ext4 or yaffs2?
sent from my i9250
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, Android knows how to read/write fat as well as ext. But I guess the app devs figured sdcards would be fat forever. so they only included fat I/O in their apps.
Yes, ext4 is better than fat. But fat+mass-storage is far better and faster than ext4+fuse+mtp. For example, an sdcard backup from fat mounted as mass storage to a pc is much faster and more reliable than an sdcard backup using mtp. MTP backups are painfully slow and often won't even complete due to errors.
strumcat said:
Sure, Android knows how to read/write fat as well as ext. But I guess the app devs figured sdcards would be fat forever. so they only included fat I/O in their apps.
Yes, ext4 is better than fat. But fat+mass-storage is far better and faster than ext4+fuse+mtp. For example, an sdcard backup from fat mounted as mass storage to a pc is much faster and more reliable than an sdcard backup using mtp. MTP backups are painfully slow and often won't even complete due to errors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it still happens in 2017 running Android 7.1.2 lol
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Has anyone had any experience with using their SDcard with either the ntfs file format, or any other? If so, how well did it work and what did you think of it?
I know there are plenty of threads out there asking whether it's theoretically possible to format the SDcard to any other file systems (usually asking ntfs) and still expect android to read it, but I haven't found actual usage statistics (stability, speed). I'm interested in reformatting my SDcard to either NTFS or 4ext (I use linux, so pretty much any file system is game), however I don't know if this will be better for prevent files from easily corrupting, or if it'll still be the same (theoretically it should).
xxkid123 said:
Has anyone had any experience with using their SDcard with either the ntfs file format, or any other? If so, how well did it work and what did you think of it?
I know there are plenty of threads out there asking whether it's theoretically possible to format the SDcard to any other file systems (usually asking ntfs) and still expect android to read it, but I haven't found actual usage statistics (stability, speed). I'm interested in reformatting my SDcard to either NTFS or 4ext (I use linux, so pretty much any file system is game), however I don't know if this will be better for prevent files from easily corrupting, or if it'll still be the same (theoretically it should).
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I didn't know that 4ext was a file system, I believe you meant etx4 :trollolol: 4Ext is a recovery for some android (HTC) devices.
I recommend using 4Ext to format your sd card with whatever it recommends. I think it formats to part ext3 and the rest as ext4, but I can't remember.
I think you can use NTFS or any other popular formats with android though
Yes but not on the DHD. Kernel support is required for R/W in those formats. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S3 can use NTFS and exfat formatted SD cards. The DHD can only access fat32 formatted cards and use a multi-partitioned (ext3/ext4) card for app2sd.
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sashank said:
Yes but not on the DHD. Kernel support is required for R/W in those formats. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S3 can use NTFS and exfat formatted SD cards. The DHD can only access fat32 formatted cards and use a multi-partitioned (ext3/ext4) card for app2sd.
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thanks, this was what I was looking for!
Fallon9111 said:
I didn't know that 4ext was a file system, I believe you meant etx4 :trollolol: 4Ext is a recovery for some android (HTC) devices.
I recommend using 4Ext to format your sd card with whatever it recommends. I think it formats to part ext3 and the rest as ext4, but I can't remember.
I think you can use NTFS or any other popular formats with android though
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jeezus, I meant ext4 I us 4ext rc8 on my i4g, so I'll probably give it a go sometime.
I need support for large (10+GB) files, but can't get exFAT or ext2/4 formatted sdcards working on my P8000.
I generally prefer to use exFAT for mac/windows/linux interoperability, but I guess the default kernel has no support for it. Ext2/4 gives the error 'Damaged SD card' and reformats with FAT32.
Any way to currently do this? Am I missing something obvious?
need to write module (exFAT or NTFS) for kernel
I also asked this question, no one helped
no program does not work, I tried everything
Bummer. I was afraid of that.
Thanks for the info.
I have my sdcard as two partitions, a FAT32 partition visible to the phone and an EXT4 partition to use link2sd for moving apps from the phone memory which is not visible to the phone. I am not sure whether there is an application that lets you use files as you wish to by saving to the EXT4 partition.
ShootistUK said:
I have my sdcard as two partitions, a FAT32 partition visible to the phone and an EXT4 partition to use link2sd for moving apps from the phone memory which is not visible to the phone. I am not sure whether there is an application that lets you use files as you wish to by saving to the EXT4 partition.
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Did the same two partitions on my sdcard. FAT32 and EXT4 both are working. The P8000 is able to handle EXT4 partitions but i don't now, how big these partitions can be.
Perhaps in Android 6 add this
Of course it is still not known
so does ext4 and fat32 work with link2sd?
gnomified said:
so does ext4 and fat32 work with link2sd?
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Fat32+ext4 works, and link2sd can be used. Ended up going that route, myself.
Ended up going that route, myself.
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fine if it suits you
not suitable for me
Write to developers do support for the NTFS or exFAT, received a reply
Thanks for your letter and suggestions for Elephone. I will sort out your ideas and report it to my colleague. Maybe it will appear on our phone in the near future.
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doubt that it will
64gb
my phone can't recognize my fat32 64gb sdcard :crying:
jasux said:
my phone can't recognize my fat32 64gb sdcard :crying:
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The slot seems to be very sensitive.
I've need to try it several times, to insert the card "correctly".
So don't give up...remove the card and insert it again...try reboots and so on...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/ele...rys-kernel-t3226081/post63443302#post63443302
Here's my first experimental exFAT kernel build. I'm obviously not responsible for any damage.
Zormal said:
I need support for large (10+GB) files, but can't get exFAT or ext2/4 formatted sdcards working on my P8000.
I generally prefer to use exFAT for mac/windows/linux interoperability, but I guess the default kernel has no support for it. Ext2/4 gives the error 'Damaged SD card' and reformats with FAT32.
Any way to currently do this? Am I missing something obvious?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try my patch