Develop Bugs

[Q] Pros and Cons of sd-ext?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FC's from S2E under CM7.1

Hello!
I have a GSM HTC Desire and half a year ago I installed CM7.1. I like the mod and the only real problem was induced by Voice Dialer. Since the internal memory available became critical, I tried S2E, however approximatelly once a day(YMMV) I have to reboot since most of the android processes give FC's. The SD card is an 8 GB class 6 card with a 1GB ext4 partition.
Another issue I had since moving to the SD card is a visible drop in battery performance (~2 times less battery life).
Is there any workaround this issue? I tried searching on the forum but I had no luck.
p.s. I tried upgrading to CM7.2 but after a failled first try, things were worse. So I decided to restore the NAND from back-up and I am back at 7.1.

I've been using CM7 and S2E and never had any issues. Possible factors to consider.
-sd-ext partition is corrupted or not properly aligned. try to format again.
-some app is messing with your set up causing battery drain
-wipe everything and reflash rom. start clean.

stankyou said:
I've been using CM7 and S2E and never had any issues. Possible factors to consider.
-sd-ext partition is corrupted or not properly aligned. try to format again.
-some app is messing with your set up causing battery drain
-wipe everything and reflash rom. start clean.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried multiple formating.: Firs time I used the ClockworModRecovery and second time gparted under Ubuntu. I asked specifically on this forum because searching through the threads I haven't seen anyone with CM7 and S2E on Desire so I thought it might be a conflict.
I suspected the card since I grabbed a card from a supermarket one day in an impulse buy. I made sure that it wasn't class 10 (since I heard that is not supported) and I went for the next bext thing - class 6.
However I don't understand why it works for 12+ hours and then all of the sudden i have to reboot.
I also want to try a CM9 build so I think I will make a NANDroid back-up and see how things work.
Thanks for the reply.

S2E was made specifically for CM7 (I think it supports CM9 now). What exactly did you move to the ext partition? I usually leave Application Data and Dalvik on nand. If I really needed space, I move Dalvik cache first. Reboot can happen when the read speed is slow. Even if the advertised class is 6 it might not be really a class 6 card. lol
I would also recommend that you use 4EXT recovery instead of CWM. (S-off required)

stankyou said:
S2E was made specifically for CM7 (I think it supports CM9 now). What exactly did you move to the ext partition? I usually leave Application Data and Dalvik on nand. If I really needed space, I move Dalvik cache first. Reboot can happen when the read speed is slow. Even if the advertised class is 6 it might not be really a class 6 card. lol
I would also recommend that you use 4EXT recovery instead of CWM. (S-off required)
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I actually moved everything on the SD card.
There is no reboot happening. I just need to reboot in order to solve the FCs. Most of the apps give FCs after like a day or so. However I lasted even 2 days without having to reboot and sometimes I need to reboot more often.
I haven't tried 4EXT recovery. Usually I stick with something that works, especially if there is a modification on the low level partitions (boot, recovery etc.)
Have you tried any of the ICS builds? Would you recommend one that is reasonably stable (a reboot once a week or something like this)? Some people say they are very stable, while others have issues even with the data or other important features.

I've flashed some ICS builds just to see what's up with the development but haven't really used one for daily use as I prefer a stable Gingerbread rom for my Desire. That being said, sorry but i can't recommend any ICS builds for ya.

[Q] Swap partion Help

Is there a possible way to use a swap partion on my buzz?

Yes, of course you can if your kernel supports swap partition, after you create the partition using the recovery (or better with Gparted) to configure I use the application "swapper2" (the market puts it as incompatible but installing the apk everything works.
there are no major performance improvements (actually with our processor can be seen slowdowns if you do not use a micro sd class 6-8) in fact is quite unwise but if you want to try ...

good

F2FS on OnePlus 3?

I did this on my old nexus 5 and it worked great but is it still a good idea to do this for a modern phone? Has anyone actually done this? If so, can anyone provide performance benchmarks between ext4 (please indicate if you have disabled journaling) and F2FS? Are there any potential adverse effects to formatting the Data and Cache partitions as F2FS (I'd recommend leaving the system partition as Ext4 for stability reasons as it is supposed to be read only)?
Any additional information, thoughts, or comments?

PeopleProgrammer said:
I did this on my old nexus 5 and it worked great but is it still a good idea to do this for a modern phone? Has anyone actually done this? If so, can anyone provide performance benchmarks between ext4 (please indicate if you have disabled journaling) and F2FS? Are there any potential adverse effects to formatting the Data and Cache partitions as F2FS (I'd recommend leaving the system partition as Ext4 for stability reasons as it is supposed to be read only)?
Any additional information, thoughts, or comments?
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afaik ... op3 uses ufs 2.0

I'm pretty sure the oneplus3 uses Ext4. There is a mod for the phone that explicitly disables ext4 journaling. Every android phone I have ever used has had Ext4 as the default file system. Even if it was Ufs, the point of this thread is to discuss the cost/benefit of switching to F2FS.

delete

Invisible Data Taking Up Space?

I have a OnePlus 3. It's currently running VertexOS, but I've been having this problem for a while and just barely put 2 and 2 together.
I only have about 10GB free after a complete wipe of the phone. I used TWRP and wiped everything off the phone. Full factory reset and internal storage and all that. It should have been a blank slate except for the OS I transferred afterwards.
I boot up after installing my GAPPS and the Rom and I still have barely any space left. I'm generally pretty Android savvy, but this has me at a loss. Screenshots below. I am rooted.
https://imgur.com/a/0cbxX
edit: ADB Pull of / only pulls 2.32GB of data.

LightTheEntertainer said:
I have a OnePlus 3. It's currently running VertexOS, but I've been having this problem for a while and just barely put 2 and 2 together.
I only have about 10GB free after a complete wipe of the phone. I used TWRP and wiped everything off the phone. Full factory reset and internal storage and all that. It should have been a blank slate except for the OS I transferred afterwards.
I boot up after installing my GAPPS and the Rom and I still have barely any space left. I'm generally pretty Android savvy, but this has me at a loss. Screenshots below. I am rooted.
https://imgur.com/a/0cbxX
edit: ADB Pull of / only pulls 2.32GB of data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried another app? Perhaps this is just a bug.

Check out an app called DiskUsage. I found I didn't have much space and it showed there was folders called OEM logs that were taking up 15GB or so. May not be what is happening to you but that app is great to see what's using storage.

I do not believe this is a bug. I only know that I'm low on space because I ran out so fast.

Are you on f2fs or ext4? Are you encrypted or unencrypted?

Fobos531 said:
Are you on f2fs or ext4? Are you encrypted or unencrypted?
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F2fs and unencrypted.

LightTheEntertainer said:
F2fs and unencrypted.
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Sometimes messing with encryption and filesystems caused me to experience a similar issue. What I'd suggest is, if you can, wipe everything in TWRP, change /data filesystem to ext4 (the dev of VertexOS encourages it), and do a clean flash of VertexOS once again. I think you should be good to go in that case. Make sure to take a backup beforehand though (if you have anything to backup).

Fobos531 said:
Sometimes messing with encryption and filesystems caused me to experience a similar issue. What I'd suggest is, if you can, wipe everything in TWRP, change /data filesystem to ext4 (the dev of VertexOS encourages it), and do a clean flash of VertexOS once again. I think you should be good to go in that case. Make sure to take a backup beforehand though (if you have anything to backup).
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This solved my problem. I must have have changed the filesystem without thinking about it at some point and forgotten all about it.
Thanks man.