Related
At first i got error damaged sd card (it isnt damaged i changed 3 sd cards ) then i restart the phone launched link2sd app it ask me what the type of partition (ext2/3/4/fat32) i choose ext2 error invalid argument same if i make the partition fat32 any thoughts?
are you sure it's an ext2 partition? (the 2nd partition)....there's a good tutorial on here somewhere for how to set up your mem card for link2sd. mine is ext3.
if you're not sure, you can try loading the mem card on your pc, right clock, choose properties and it will tell you which file system you are using.
in order to use link2sd effectively, you basically want your main partition to be fat32 (for storage of music/video/whatever), and then your secondary partition should be no more than 1gb and either ext3 or ext4 i think.
mine is set up with around 13gb fat 32, and 1gb ext3, stock rom, rooted, link2sd. works like a charm. look up the tutorial though, and it will tell you how to prepare your sd card before you set up link2sd.
im sure its ext2 and if i make it fat32 i get error faild to connect app bla bla read only file...
alexlarisa said:
im sure its ext2 and if i make it fat32 i get error faild to connect app bla bla read only file...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm still confused....when you say "it"....you do mean the 2nd partition, right?
you haven't formatted your entire sd card as one huge ext2 partition?
::EDIT::
just found that tutorial.....try following this guide and see if you still have problems afterwards?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1432459&highlight=set+up+sd+card
i'd also suggest that you try different file systems/find out which is most stable for your card....depends on your card and your rom from what i can tell (although, i've also noticed that some configurations that are apparently not compatible, do work, and sometimes better than any other....just try your options, see what works best for you....same goes with most hacking/modding i think, e.g. OC'ing works really well for some guys with the exact same phone as me, but if i OC, my phone goes nuts....I guess it's tiny variations in hardware, but try your options, see what's stable, what works, and stick to that)
Gloris said:
i'm still confused....when you say "it"....you do mean the 2nd partition, right?
you haven't formatted your entire sd card as one huge ext2 partition?
::EDIT::
just found that tutorial.....try following this guide and see if you still have problems afterwards?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1432459&highlight=set+up+sd+card
i'd also suggest that you try different file systems/find out which is most stable for your card....depends on your card and your rom from what i can tell (although, i've also noticed that some configurations that are apparently not compatible, do work, and sometimes better than any other....just try your options, see what works best for you....same goes with most hacking/modding i think, e.g. OC'ing works really well for some guys with the exact same phone as me, but if i OC, my phone goes nuts....I guess it's tiny variations in hardware, but try your options, see what's stable, what works, and stick to that)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i mean the 2nd partition most stable is fat32 but every 2 days i get an error faild to link app bla bla bla ready only file
Try this tutorial which I used and has certainly worked for me
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21119907#post21119907
i did and i have this errors :/
alexlarisa said:
i did and i have this errors :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What type of SD is it? speed/size, etc.
Did you try rebuilding your mount script in Link2SD.
To me it sounds like a bad SD card. Once in a blue moon I will get the second partition not mounting but a quick boot from Link2SD fixes that.
SanDisk class 4 8gb i tryied rebuld the mount script it says invalid argument ....
alexlarisa said:
SanDisk class 4 8gb i tryied rebuld the mount script it says invalid argument ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has it ever worked for you?
yes but every 2 days i get this error and i have to wipe the partition and remake it
Have you tried doing a full wipe, wipe dalvik, clean reinstall of your ROM?
i am on stock rom s-off rooted
are you OC'd?
I had massive problems when I installed the OC kernel on the stock rom...
alexlarisa said:
i am on stock rom s-off rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe try flashing a ROM that supports link2SD better (ext2/4 support).
Try something like this if you like sense - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1432259
Otherwise flash CM7 !
@Gloris no @se-nsei i am noob at flashing roms but ill give it a shot thx any way
alexlarisa said:
@Gloris no @se-nsei i am noob at flashing roms but ill give it a shot thx any way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we were all noobs once, and time to learn is ALWAYS...
so start by flashing recovery... then choose rom and flash it, it's really painless process... most of the times ... u can find all the guides here on the forums ...
b02, you couldn't be more right. We were all noobs until we learned and tried to go just a little bit further. Every day is a learning day. It doesn't hurt to follow some rich tutorials that we can find here, get some practice and maybe later we are "teaching" others how to do things. Nobody should be ashamed of being a noob.
Hello. I am new to this forum. I am curious how many people really use a swap partition and what is the method of of using swap in htc wildire s?
I am well aware of Linux OS and understand the need of swap but in case of android does it really improves something?
Hi.I will try to explain you what i know: :laugh:
-swap partition is needed to work some ROM's,combinated with ext partitions.
-you can create swap partition with MiniToolWizard
-in same time,you can create with CWM recovery.
If you need,i will give you a link for MiniTool.
If i helped you,please click "Thank's" button.Have a nice day !!
Does android automatically detect SWAP Partition on SD Card and utilize it automatically?
Yes(i think).
Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using xda app-developers app
does it? i thought the kernel had to had zram enabeled to allow swap use? i might be wrong though..
Most roms auto-detect, but I'd recommend checking with the devs before partitioning your sd card.
Also, unless you have a class 6 or upwards, it won't really do any good.
omnomnomkimiiee said:
Most roms auto-detect, but I'd recommend checking with the devs before partitioning your sd card.
Also, unless you have a class 6 or upwards, it won't really do any good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did u find that info?? Is class 4 mmc that bad????:s
never use a swap partition on any android phones. It does no good. The swap partition are made with your sd card which is more than 10 times slower than your internal memory. When an app is loaded or is sent to swap partition cache memory, it takes time to copy or load the files.
Android already has a system for moving unused apps to cache memory. So, let android do its job.
Sent from Hell!!
.xxx. said:
never use a swap partition on any android phones. It does no good. The swap partition are made with your sd card which is more than 10 times slower than your internal memory. When an app is loaded or is sent to swap partition cache memory, it takes time to copy or load the files.
Android already has a system for moving unused apps to cache memory. So, let android do its job.
Sent from Hell!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well thats some info for me thanks a lot.
.xxx. said:
never use a swap partition on any android phones. It does no good. The swap partition are made with your sd card which is more than 10 times slower than your internal memory. When an app is loaded or is sent to swap partition cache memory, it takes time to copy or load the files.
Android already has a system for moving unused apps to cache memory. So, let android do its job.
Sent from Hell!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This can make phone slower? Just that ?
How can i know if the swap partition is enable ?(i don't know if i have a swapt partition,i forgot that)
And if i have,all i need is to delete this ,just that ?Or i need to reinstall the rom ?
edu_stoicescu said:
This can make phone slower? Just that ?
How can i know if the swap partition is enable ?(i don't know if i have a swapt partition,i forgot that)
And if i have,all i need is to delete this ,just that ?Or i need to reinstall the rom ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just ignore his comment. We need Linux swap. Without it phone gets laggy. I tested it myself.
Download minitool partition wizard home edition. Its free Google it. After installing it and insert ur sdcard via card reader and run the program.it will show ur partitions.
You don't need to uninstall ur system. Just make nandroid backup using recovery. Re format only the ext and swap partition. Based on wat ext u had earlier. All partitions should be primary.
Then from advance recovery restore sd-ext.
Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
@Edu: just search xda for details of swap partition. There have been number of discussions regarding it and all have ended up denying the use of swap partition. These have been comfirmed by much experienced devs, who have been cooking roms for more than 3 years. But still if you dont believe, i would recommend you to google a little and then make the decision.
Sent from Hell!!
.xxx. said:
@Edu: just search xda for details of swap partition. There have been number of discussions regarding it and all have ended up denying the use of swap partition. These have been comfirmed by much experienced devs, who have been cooking roms for more than 3 years. But still if you dont believe, i would recommend you to google a little and then make the decision.
Sent from Hell!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But sir without it the phone gets very laggy. Means every games run slower. The antutu gpu score gets lowered.
U can easily get 645-630 3D with swap. But without it u can't cross 615. That may seem as little gain but for games it becomes a big issue.
Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
Sorry couldn't upload the pics as modify isnt supporting upload of pic.
finance.resat said:
Sorry couldn't upload the pics as modify isnt supporting upload of pic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe that is because the extra cache memory are directly transferred to swap memory. Games which require huge cache memory can be of profit. thanks for the screens btw
@op : just take nand back up and back up your sd card. Try the swap partition thing and if it is beneficial, go ahead or else you know what to do
Sent from Hell!!
Swap Partition
Hi, i'm new here so i'ld really appreciate anyone who can really help me on this:
I created a swap partition(256mb) on my sd card for my HTC wfs. now after making series of research on swap partition, i found out that swap parttion is necessarily not needed and even if i av to use the 256mb i allocated is too much. Now i need help on how to delete the swap partition without losing my DATA ON MY SDCARD. PLEASE ANYONE WITH THE RIGHT HELP
lakesYde said:
Hi, i'm new here so i'ld really appreciate anyone who can really help me on this:
I created a swap partition(256mb) on my sd card for my HTC wfs. now after making series of research on swap partition, i found out that swap parttion is necessarily not needed and even if i av to use the 256mb i allocated is too much. Now i need help on how to delete the swap partition without losing my DATA ON MY SDCARD. PLEASE ANYONE WITH THE RIGHT HELP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's kinda not possible i guess..with mini partition tool you can delete swap or ext3 partition and create ext4 visa versa..but if you wanted only fat32 it isn't possible.
either if you have ext3 or ext4..open mini partiiton tool..delete swap and delete ext3 or ext4(which one you have)
and create partition(ext3 or ext4) from remaining free space...in this your fat32 will be unchanged..
but obviously ext3/4 will be deleted..bt its okay to hv swap partition..256 MB hasn't big space..the whole concept of swap derived frm link2sd i guess..latest int2ext scripts dont need swap..but int2extv2+ need.
lakesYde said:
Hi, i'm new here so i'ld really appreciate anyone who can really help me on this:
I created a swap partition(256mb) on my sd card for my HTC wfs. now after making series of research on swap partition, i found out that swap parttion is necessarily not needed and even if i av to use the 256mb i allocated is too much. Now i need help on how to delete the swap partition without losing my DATA ON MY SDCARD. PLEASE ANYONE WITH THE RIGHT HELP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copy all of your data to your pc, then format the card via clockworkmod recovery. It should remove the partition. If not you can try gparted for linux or easeus partition master for windows pal.
If your trying to keep your ext partition but without a swap then copy your data to the pc, then select partition sdcard from clockworkmod recovery. Just don't select a swap and you will be fine
Oh, and make a nandroid backup to back up whats on your ext partition
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Z715e using xda premium
swap partition
crossfire77 said:
that's kinda not possible i guess..with mini partition tool you can delete swap or ext3 partition and create ext4 visa versa..but if you wanted only fat32 it isn't possible.
either if you have ext3 or ext4..open mini partiiton tool..delete swap and delete ext3 or ext4(which one you have)
and create partition(ext3 or ext4) from remaining free space...in this your fat32 will be unchanged..
but obviously ext3/4 will be deleted..bt its okay to hv swap partition..256 MB hasn't big space..the whole concept of swap derived frm link2sd i guess..latest int2ext scripts dont need swap..but int2extv2+ need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks dude really appreciate but going by what you said i have ext3 and already used a2sd that means if i delete ext3 definately i'll lose my data. that is what i'm trying to avoid but since you said my 256mb aint much a big deal, i think i wld leave it then.
Thanks a bunch.
---------- Post added at 11:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:35 AM ----------
heavy_metal_man said:
Copy all of your data to your pc, then format the card via clockworkmod recovery. It should remove the partition. If not you can try gparted for linux or easeus partition master for windows pal.
If your trying to keep your ext partition but without a swap then copy your data to the pc, then select partition sdcard from clockworkmod recovery. Just don't select a swap and you will be fine
Oh, and make a nandroid backup to back up whats on your ext partition
Sent from my HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Z715e using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
obviously i will lose my data......thanks anyway.
I am retiring my DInc for a life after cell-phone service (i.e. for games).
The Plan
1. Remap '/mnt/emmc' to '/mnt/sdcard', and '/mnt/sdcard' as '/mnt/ext_sd', in both the system ROM and the CWM recovery. (I can do this.)
2. Remove my microSD card. (No longer needed.)
The Unknown
But what will happen to HBOOT????
Will it find a "PB31IMG.zip" in the internal memory?
If not, can it be modified?
None of the emmc/sdcard threads also include explanations with regard to HBOOT.
If I partially succeed with "The Plan," it may be necessary to flash a restored recovery and system fix.
If I can figure the last part out, I'll post fully instructions and necessary flashables in the dev board.
Haraldr Blaatand said:
I am retiring my DInc for a life after cell-phone service (i.e. for games).
The Plan
1. Remap '/mnt/emmc' to '/mnt/sdcard', and '/mnt/sdcard' as '/mnt/ext_sd', in both the system ROM and the CWM recovery. (I can do this.)
2. Remove my microSD card. (No longer needed.)
The Unknown
But what will happen to HBOOT????
Will it find a "PB31IMG.zip" in the internal memory?
If not, can it be modified?
None of the emmc/sdcard threads also include explanations with regard to HBOOT.
If I partially succeed with "The Plan," it may be necessary to flash a restored recovery and system fix.
If I can figure the last part out, I'll post fully instructions and necessary flashables in the dev board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can mount emmc as sd with the vold.fstab file but that only works for in the os.
You may be able to modify cwm to make it think emmc is sd, but what for? Cwm has the option to flash from both.
Hboot will never look for PB images on emmc, only the sdcard. The only way to fix that would be to try and figure out how to modify an hboot flashable, and then flash it and hope it dosent brick the phone. So essentially you would be creating your own custom hboot, which is unheard of as far as i know.
Why do you even want to do this? Whats wrong with leaving the sd in?
cmlusco said:
You can mount emmc as sd with the vold.fstab file but that only works for in the os.
You may be able to modify cwm to make it think emmc is sd, but what for? Cwm has the option to flash from both.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Consistency. There are instructions to make the swap. It's just another fstab in the recovery img.
cmlusco said:
Hboot will never look for PB images on emmc, only the sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I placed an old PB on the emmc. The bootloader buzzed through some messages... to fast for me to read. But it tried, right?
cmlusco said:
Why do you even want to do this? Whats wrong with leaving the sd in?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A) Because it's there. B) 1 less piece to not care about when it gets lost.
Skimmed the hex view of the hboot_____.nb0. EMMC partition appears in come strings. shrug. Who knows.
Haraldr Blaatand said:
I placed an old PB on the emmc. The bootloader buzzed through some messages... to fast for me to read. But it tried, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it was searching on your SD card which wasn't present for a PB file. no SD card > no file > no flashing
Haraldr Blaatand said:
A) Because it's there. B) 1 less piece to not care about when it gets lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Essentially emmc isn't very useful if you have an SD card, that's part of the reason Google wants to get away from expandable storage; to make the internal storage have a use and to reduce confusion. And not to belittle your money but an 8GB sd card or you could get even less than that for your purposes are fairly cheap so they shouldn't be something you worry about too much.
nschiwy said:
No, it was searching on your SD card which wasn't present for a PB file. no SD card > no file > no flashing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested. You are correct. HBOOT never checks the emmc. I pulled the sdcard, and nothing was scanned.
I wasn't sure... and I should have thought of that test earlier.
I just double checked the boot.img that's in with the hboot package. No signs there of altering things there either... but I found it a bit odd that it has a kernel+ramdisk in there.
nschiwy said:
Essentially emmc isn't very useful if you have an SD card, that's part of the reason Google wants to get away from expandable storage; to make the internal storage have a use and to reduce confusion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you check, I tried a set of ROM mods to get emmc and sdcard to be subdirectories of one or the other for that very reason. The problem is that vfat/fat/fat32 does not support mount points. (I wish emmc was ext3/4, and USB mounting of it went through a vfat emulation layer.)
IMO, I think Google goofed. The stock Android platform does not allow for multiple storage locations. i.e. When prompted for a location, emmc and sdcard should have been listed. Instead, "/mnt/sdcard" is pretty much hard coded into every layer of Android as the only path, when it could have been an array of paths.
nschiwy said:
And not to belittle your money but an 8GB sd card or you could get even less than that for your purposes are fairly cheap so they shouldn't be something you worry about too much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wasn't about the money. I now have 3 sdcards (32, 16, 8) and 2 phones. It just became a challenge to see if it could be done.
Since the phone is already modded to death, the hboot matter really shouldn't make a difference. But, there was still some uncertainty.
Oh well. Thanks for playing, guys.
Haraldr Blaatand said:
Oh well. Thanks for playing, guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. The emmc is great for playing. Playing music, running a Ubuntu chroot, storing backups from Titanium, even booting ROMs from the emmc using Boot Manager (at least before Jelly Bean broke that), the emmc is good for all kinds of stuff. Or maybe it's just the challenge of trying to get good use out if it that I enjoy, hmm...
Hi there,
I'm thinking of encrypting my phone as some important files (like my private key) are stored on it. Getting the internal storage to be encrypted isn't the big deal. My problem is that I can't find an option to encrypt the external SD. Some googling showed me, that it is theoretically possible. But I can't find such a point on my phone.
I'm on CM11 M8 (4.4.4) without any special kernel.
I've read occasionally that encrypted phones will suffer from speed loss. I don't really think that is a problem for my S4 Mini. What do you think? Is it practically or even necessary?
Thanks a lot
hadage said:
My problem is that I can't find an option to encrypt the external SD. Some googling showed me, that it is theoretically possible. But I can't find such a point on my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could use the SD card itself as data partition: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2644540 That way you can encrypt the whole SD card using Android stock encryption.
Keep in mind though that currently there is no (publicly known) way to mount an Android encrypted partition on another OS, should you ever wish to use that card e.g. on your PC.
hadage said:
I've read occasionally that encrypted phones will suffer from speed loss. I don't really think that is a problem for my S4 Mini.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash memory is sooooo slow, I expect the CPU to encrypt faster than that.
Thanks
So am I right, that after doing that "workaround" I'll be having one big internal storage (divided into real internal and fake internal) but no external SD card?
Aguaz said:
For the sake of still having an "official" external sdcard I made two partitions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any need to?
Aguaz said:
This partition however has to be manually specified in the ramdisks fstab which involves flashing the boot partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if I'm understanding it right, but that means that I have to delete my boot partition?
hadage said:
So am I right, that after doing that "workaround" I'll be having one big internal storage (divided into real internal and fake internal)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, nothing really changes except that the data partition will then be on the sdcard. The size of it is only limited by the size of your card.
hadage said:
...but no external SD card? Is there any need to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned in the other thread I still use a small partition on sdcard for the "external" sdcard. Android usually tries to automount the first partition on the sdcard as "external" sdcard. So I chose to have data on the 2nd partition.
I doubt that this really is necessary though. I assume vold will just give up trying to mount "external" sdcard after realizing the partition is already in use.
Generally, I don't think there is a need for an external sdcard.
hadage said:
I'm not sure if I'm understanding it right, but that means that I have to delete my boot partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would need to flash a new boot.img onto it, because this image holds the fstab.qcom file, which needs to be edited to change the mount point of the data partition. Unfortunately it's triple packed:
cm-11-UNOFFICIAL-serranodsdd.zip
.....> boot.img
..........> initrd.img
...............> fstab.qcom
So it's not very straight forward, but the forum is full of info on how to do so. Keep in mind that your recovery.img has to be changed the same way in order for it to find the new data partition.
When formatting a data partition to be used for Android encryption, make sure the filesystem doesn't extend into the last 16 Kbytes of the partition where the crypto footer is kept. See https://community.freescale.com/docs/DOC-93753
hadage said:
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't say that. Hit the button
Alright, I'll have a look on that. I'm not absolutely sure if I'll be doing this, but thanks anyway. Helped me a lot
It's a bit of effort to set up, but in the long term it'll save you time not having to deal with additional tools. Plus you got ONE big storage instead of data fragmentation across several locations.
Good luck!
aguaz said:
It's a bit of effort to set up, but in the long term it'll save you time not having to deal with additional tools. Plus you got ONE big storage instead of data fragmentation across several locations.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@aguaz,
That's some very interesting stuff you are writing about.
Few questions, if you will:
1. You say the fstab.qcom is tripple-packed. But if I use a tool like Android Kitchen or AIK to unpack the boot.img, it appears there's only one layer of packing.
2. why not mount the external SD card just as the /data/media/0/ instead of /data? This way, app-data is still kept on the internal memory, and we get even more free space on SD + faster read/write speeds for app-data.
3. What /dev/ are you using to mount the external?
Can you shed some light on that?
EDIT:
Ad. 1
I guess this is kind of irrelevant as doing it with the tools I'm using seems to work flawlessly.
Ad. 2 and 3.
I did in fact manage to mount the sdcard just as a subfolder /data/media/0/ while leaving all the remaining /data on the internal storage, and from brief testing on an old SD card, it seemed to work fine
Code:
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.3/mmcblk1p1 /data/media/0/ ext4 nosuid,nodev,noatime,noauto_da_alloc,journal_async_commit,errors=panic wait,check,encryptable=footer,length=-16384
Now, the question is how to tune those mount options for a SD card, and how would they change if I was to use F2FS instead of ext4, which would be the ultimate solution.
1) I'm not familiar with the tools you mention, but boot.img consists of both kernel & ramdisk images. The ramdisk image itself contains fstab etc.
Alternatively you could also try an init.d script to change fstab. Those scripts get executed before data and sdcard are mounted.
2) Did you keep the vold entry regarding the external card? If so, does it still get (additionally) mounted as external card?
impactor said:
Now, the question is how to tune those mount options for a SD card, and how would they change if I was to use F2FS instead of ext4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The mount options are usually file system depended. So if file system is the same, you can use the same options as for internal flash partitions. I'd probably only change "errors=panic" into "errors=remount-ro" and remove "length=-16384" (deprecated).
I can't help you with f2fs mount options.
As the original question was about encrypting the card, let me add that stock encryption only works on partitions mounted as /data. So in your case that would not work.
Thanks for the clarification.
I commented out the vold mount, so it does not get automounted. Moreover, I doubt it would mount anyway because AFAIK a device in linux can only be mounted once.
aguaz said:
As the original question was about encrypting the card, let me add that stock encryption only works on partitions mounted as /data. So in your case that would not work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do want to encrypt my phone, eventually.
Can you elaborate more on why a card mounted under /data/media/0/ would not get encrypted when /data is being encrypted?
Also, what happens to encrypted partition when I install a new ROM? Can it still be mounted (will the rom ask me for password), or is the data lost and device needs to be reencrypted each time new ROM is installed??
impactor said:
Moreover, I doubt it would mount anyway because AFAIK a device in linux can only be mounted once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can multi mount as long as you specify the same mount options. I imagine it's technically the same as bind mounts.
impactor said:
Can you elaborate more on why a card mounted under /data/media/0/ would not get encrypted when /data is being encrypted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it's not the /data directory tree which gets encrypted, but the whole file system of the underlying partition. Linked locations or external mount points are are not part of that file system, so they are not regarded.
impactor said:
Also, what happens to encrypted partition when I install a new ROM? Can it still be mounted (will the rom ask me for password)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Android checks the data partition for an encryption footer and if found will ask for a password. So as long as you don't wipe/format that partition even a freshly installed ROM is supposed to recognize it.
aguaz said:
Actually it's not the /data directory tree which gets encrypted, but the whole file system of the underlying partition (as referenced by fstab). Linked locations or external mount points are are not part of that file system, so they are not regarded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. Are you aware whether it's possible to use cross-device virtual devices (like LVM vgroups or BTRFS raid options) on android?
aguaz said:
Yes, Android checks the data partition for an encryption footer and if found will ask for a password. So as long as you don't wipe/format that partition even a freshly installed ROM is supposed to recognize it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it still the case (4.4 CM roms) that if encrypted, the password must be the same as screenlock AND you have to tape it every time you unlock the screen AND the screenlock cannot be pattern?
BTW, what SD card model/spec are you using on your device for mounting as /data?
---------- Post added at 10:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------
One more thing. The tool I have been using seems to have proglems with boot.img fot KitKat. Where can I find this abootimage, and what options/operators are you using while (de)compressing with gzip, cpio & abootimage?
impactor said:
I see. Are you aware whether it's possible to use cross-device virtual devices (like LVM vgroups or BTRFS raid options) on android?
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I'm not sure. Android tends to make things complicated, but at the end it's still just Linux.
impactor said:
Is it still the case (4.4 CM roms) that if encrypted, the password must be the same as screenlock AND you have to tape it every time you unlock the screen AND the screenlock cannot be pattern?
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This is all by memory, but I think I might not be too far off:
- screenlock initially has to be either pin or pwd
- encryption password will be set the same as the current screenlock and cannot be changed once encrypted.
- screenlock however can be changed anytime.
- screenlock can also be completely removed by e.g. removing lock offline or installing a fresh ROM.
You can then choose whatever lock, or skip lock completely doh.
impactor said:
BTW, what SD card model/spec are you using on your device for mounting as /data?
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I believe I got a Transcend 64GB UHS. But the S4 Minis controller is probably hooked to a slow USB line anyway, so It does not achieve advertised sequencial speeds.
aguaz said:
I'm not sure. Android tends to make things complicated, but at the end it's still just Linux.
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Tis true, but it is quite gutted to achieve smaller footprint (among other reasons). Which is why, for example, we have so very few filesystems in kernels. I doubt getting LVM support is doable, but BTRFS should be less outlandish, as it's just a filesystem.
The thing is, hardly anyone here talks about it, which is strange as it offers features that scream "AWESOME" for uses in mobile phones - for example with transparent data compression: on an old HDD with interface capped at 50MB/s, I am able to reach transfers of up to 600MB/s with BTRFS. Imagine how that'd change the performance of internal memory and SD card in the phone...
aguaz said:
This is all by memory, but I think I might not be too far off:
- screenlock initially has to be either pin or pwd
- encryption password will be set the same as the current screenlock and cannot be changed once encrypted.
- screenlock however can be changed anytime.
- screenlock can also be completely removed by e.g. removing lock offline or installing a fresh ROM.
You can then choose whatever lock, or skip lock completely doh.
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Click to collapse
Now, this is interesting, because that would mean there were some serious changes since JellyBean 4.1.
See this bug: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=29468
Its status is still "NEW" instead of "Closed", so I wonder if anything has been done about it. If I had to type in the pin every time I unlock the screen, that would make encryption unusable for me due to practicality.
aguaz said:
I believe I got a Transcend 64GB UHS. But the S4 Minis controller is probably hooked to a slow USB line anyway, so It does not achieve advertised sequencial speeds.
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UHS speeds are not achievable for mobile phones, but there is a difference in speed between various UHS-1 cards when used in such devices.
Right now I have SanDisk Ultra, but I've been digging around and decided this would be the option, especially if I have to use it as /data mountpoint: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-Adapter-MB-MP64DA-AM/dp/B00IVPU7AO#customerReviews
By the way: The tool I have been using for operations on boot.img seems to have proglems with boot.img fot KitKat. Where can I find this abootimage, and what options/operators are you using while (de)compressing with gzip, cpio & abootimage?
impactor said:
Now, this is interesting, because that would mean there were some serious changes since JellyBean 4.1.
See this bug: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=29468
Its status is still "NEW" instead of "Closed", so I wonder if anything has been done about it. If I had to type in the pin every time I unlock the screen, that would make encryption unusable for me due to practicality.
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As mentioned above Android (I'm speaking for kitkat) lets you change the screenlocks pwd / pin after encryption. So the lock eventually can become independent of the pwd you enter for encryption at boot. If you want to use another kind of screenlock or remove it alltogether you can e.g. replace it offline or make a fresh ROM installation.
impactor said:
By the way: The tool I have been using for operations on boot.img seems to have proglems with boot.img fot KitKat. Where can I find this abootimage, and what options/operators are you using while (de)compressing with gzip, cpio & abootimage?
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Click to collapse
It's called abootimg, I've corrected that. All those tools are generally included in your distribution, so you can easily install them with the package manager.
unpacking ramdisk
Code:
$ abootimg -x boot.img
$ mkdir ramdisk && cd ramdisk
$ cat ../initrd.img | gunzip | cpio -idv
repacking boot.img
Code:
$ find . | cpio -o -H newc | gzip > ../initrd.img
$ cd ..
$ abootimg --create boot.img -f bootimg.cfg -k zImage -r initrd.img
Thanks. I have another problem, though. Whatever changes I make to fstab, they are being ignored by KitKat. Here's the details: http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/wrong-fstab-qcom-kitkat-changes-effect-t2898184
Do you know what might be causing it?
aguaz said:
When formatting a data partition to be used for Android encryption, make sure the filesystem doesn't extend into the last 16 Kbytes of the partition where the crypto footer is kept. See https://community.freescale.com/docs/DOC-93753
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Something occurred to me. Later on, you said to drop the "length=-16384" from mount options. Is it the same thing as the above? If so, then is it no longer necessary to leave the extra space?
I can't recall why the mount flag was removed from CM. I expect the footer to be still in use though.
Run logcat via adb then start encryption for error messages.
impactor said:
I doubt getting LVM support is doable, but BTRFS should be less outlandish...
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No sign of lvm, but btrfs is in the official samsung kernel sources.
Technically it should even work with encryption since the file system is on top of dm-crypt. But then again, it's Androids implementation...
Interesting. But still, it needs kernel module for BTRFS, and judging from the rarity of F2FS kernels, I am extremely doubtful we will get BTRFS one anytime soon, unless we compile it ourselves.
On the subject of encryption - I think I found a way to encrypt the external SD card mounted on /data/media/0 independently on /data encryption:
http://www.guyrutenberg.com/2012/06...isk-encryption/comment-page-1/#comment-357674
Read the comment from January 14, 2013 at 05:28.
impactor said:
I am extremely doubtful we will get BTRFS one anytime soon, unless we compile it ourselves.
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Obviousely someone has to do it. But if nobody would do stuff like that there was no xda and we all use stock ROMs
impactor said:
On the subject of encryption - I think I found a way to encrypt the external SD card mounted on /data/media/0 independently on /data encryption:
http://www.guyrutenberg.com/2012/06...isk-encryption/comment-page-1/#comment-357674
Read the comment from January 14, 2013 at 05:28.
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Yes, but this approach uses luks, another variant of dm-crypt used in stock encryption. There is nothing wrong with luks, in fact it'd be desirable if stock used luks as it is the de facto standard.
But as it's not the standard in Android a few downsides come to mind:
- requires 3rd party app/tool
- luks is not supported by recovery
- is that a plain text password in the init.d script!? If true you might as well skip encryption altogether.
Another approach could be:
- temporarily use sdcard as data just to encrypt it
- change again to desired mount point via fstab with "wait,check,encryptable=footer" options
- find out whether Android is smart enough to ask for password and mount it (even if it's not used for /data anymore)
Keep in mind that by hanging the sdcard in /data/media/0 most stuff gets written on the card anyway, so internal /data would not be of great use.
There is other good stuff you can do with it.
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