yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Fire TV General] sacwoo:
I'm actually installing this on a 3.0 USB stick, I'll report back once it's finished.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Thanks, it seems the only difference I've read from one of the few that has not seen major sluggishness. is that most of those folks seem to had been on 1TB passport like USB drives with USB 3.0. Wondering about a 3.0 USBStick. Grasping at straws...
[Fire TV General] AFTVnews.com:
It wouldn't make a difference since the port is USB 2.0. The 64GB stick I used was USB 3.0 and it was sluggish with v2.

The ultimate solution would be to have an interface to choose what stayed on internal storage and what went on the USB drive. If that wasn't feasible, I think it's best to leave all the default Amazon apps (plus maybe XBMC and Plex) on internal and make everything else go the the USB drive. That way the "core" functionality stays snappy and everything else just loads slower but would be fine once it gets loaded into RAM.
[Fire TV General] rotor00ter:
Yup, that would definitely be the best option but I just don't see that as being feasible at this time. Maybe in the future with custom kernel development and things like that.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Right.. I was just reacting at one of the few that mention he didn't see the sluggishness. Yeah.. Would love the Jekyll & Hyde option. If I remember correctly this was very possible on the HD2 when Android was added to it. I hope it is feasible.

The only things that would be needed on the main system would be...

Stock Amazon UI & settings

SuperSU

BusyBox

GooglePlay Store

XBMC + Any scripts, etc.

Plex

VPN

Lanscape mode app

VirusScanner

Once the FTV was setup with those thing. Then we would need a way from that point on we can either choose where (internal or USB) we want to fully install an app. Or if from that point on everything gets install to the USB.

I do wonder if this would make CWM backups only half-backups. Also we would need to be able to mod things on either storage & save to same storage. Wouldn't want a mod on one storage to get save to another.

Hope it is doable. I think it has been possible on other Android devices.
[Fire TV General] AQKhanTheOne:
That's exactly what Link2SD offers. Admittedly not as clean to install and setup and use as this method (and the ability to move an app's data files only comes with the paid version) but you have granular control over exactly what gets put onto the USB drive, and perhaps more importantly, not as great a performance hit and, the ability to use more than one stick or drive concurrently.

I'm using a USB 3.0 stick but will buy and try a USB hard drive. Hopefully the hard drive will be a better option and eliminate or at least minimize the sluggishness.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
[Xposed][MODULE][4.0+] XInternalSD

[MENTION=2205195]jmandawg[/MENTION] [MENTION=5957312]AFTVnews.com[/MENTION] [MENTION=522653]collindv[/MENTION]

Right... Trying to go thru that thread and read up on Link2SD. Amazon FireTV Utility App v0.27 helps with the installation & mounting for Link2SD. So that might simplify things. Will check how stable that is.

There is also another possible option related to [Xposed] posted by collindv. Seems to be as messy as Link2SD but wonder if it might be possible to clean it up faster compare to Link2SD. And there seems to be an UI-less app too.

http://xdaforums.com/fire-tv/general/xinternalsd-exposed-module-t2914974/post56212545#post56212545

Interesting... Something to try [MENTION=2205195]jmandawg[/MENTION] while waiting for kernal testing ;)

[MENTION=3885882]AQKhanTheOne[/MENTION] - I don't think the type of drive or version of USB will make a difference. Was just a hail mary thing to try. It has not been replicable as a solution.
[Fire TV General] AQKhanTheOne:
I was using Link2SD and it worked almost flawlessly for me, and to be honest the one issue I was having was more something I screwed up than anything else. I just wanted to try this out and see if it was an improvement.

And yes Imtiaj Meah's utility is great and makes setting up Link2SD very easy.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Well after reading the thread which the #1 post has not updated since August to deal with all the new prerooted FW issues + others. It seems to me you would either have to downgrade to set it up. App or no app. OR/AND you would have to rename/replace/copy over some files for it work correctly. And there is still the issue of loosing the links if the FireTV ever does a hard reboot. And there is no set way of getting things right. Just different folks trying different options. Am I wrong on any of this ???

Any chance you can write a quick how to. for installation using the v27 App on a Rooted + CWM + PreRooted 51.1.3.0_513011820 device... ?? There doesn't seem to be one that is up-to-date with all of the issues on the latest FW. The [Exposed] option seems to be just as complicated.
[Fire TV General] jmandawg:
I don't think that Exposed module is a good idea, because depending when exposed starts up some apps may have already accessed the real external storage location. I think I may make a version of my script that only mounts the /media & /sdcard to usb drive. Most games store their obb data there, which will free up more space on the internal storage and keep the amazon apps fast. If anyone is interested in this, let me know.
[Fire TV General] cd2022:
Follow up: 10-23

So I dug up an old external Seagate expansion 250G, USB 2.0, this time I used the newer script, cwm 6.0.5.1.3, and went through the same exact steps, no pixelate, no issue. Installed and restored SPMC, experienced no lagging with SPMC menus, the only issue was SPMC did not fully restore my skin and shortcuts I had with CCM skin. I used llama to launch SPMC btw. Happy camper here, my guest is that the external has built in cache that speeds things up? I also have another FTV with SPMC icon in "Recent" to launch SPMC, I don't want to lose it by factory reset.

Thanks again to rbox and jmandawg.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Did you try it. Any feedback on it ?

Are you still running that setup. Any updates in performance ?

I am wondering if the built in cache (8mb) on this type 2.5"/3.5" HDD's (My Passport/Seagate expansion) might be making a difference in performance... It shouldn't since there is still the USB 2.0 bottleneck. But still wonder. Any other folks running on external HDD's without any problems/sluggishness ?
[Fire TV General] sacwoo:
Ok, my experience last night using a 3.0 USB stick was sub-par at noticeable slowness however I had it connected to a non powered 2.0 USB hub due to my logitech wireless keyboard (which works in CWM btw). So today I went and picked up a 3.0 USB hub and all the slowness is gone.

3.0 USB stick + 3.0 USB hub worked for me.

Much much thanks to the creator of this, I have been waiting for something like this for sometime!
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Can't you do one more test(s)... Connect the 3.0 USB stick that is working fine right now directly into the AFTV. And see if anything changes. That way we can establish if the 3.0 USB hub is making that big a difference... And please post the 3.0 USB hub's & USBStick make/model number & if powered or not. Thanks for the feedback...

Also if you have a 2.0 USB stick to test. Can you test it with & without the 3.0 USB hub ??? It seems more and more folks are finding the sweet spot with this script... Hopping..:cyclops:
[Fire TV General] sacwoo:
The 3.0 USB stick works great without the 3.0 Hub, I just have to have the hub for my keyboard. Sorry I didn't mention that. The 3.0 USB hub is by Targus, I don't see a model number but it was purchased at Staples.

I do get this error message when I attempt to side load an APK through AFTV Utility,

670 KB/s (60128848 bytes in 87.526s)

pkg: /data/local/tmp/spmc-armeabi-v7a_13.3.2.apk

Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE]

Also if I try to install the APK manually on the Fire TV I get a message that says I'm out of space however I have 23 GB free under system/about.

Could that be something with the script?

Thanks
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
On the Fail. It is probably the app trying to send things to the old system address. The scripts change the address & hides the old system (old address) therefore "INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE". At least its the way I understand it. One way to test that would be to try to send it manually ( http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-sideload-apps-to-your-amazon-fire-tv-using-a-windows-pc/ ). The AFTV Utility would probably need a tweak about the scripts. But only if we can find a stable one for most. Before we request script compatibility. It can also be that AFTV can/does not see the EXT4 format drive.

Update: Try sideloading it manually to "/data_fire/local/tmp/" or wait for [MENTION=2205195]jmandawg[/MENTION] to confirm this is the right address to try.

1. What is the make/model of the 3.0 USBStick ?? Some others have tried some 3.0 USBSticks but failed.

2. Which version of the script did you try out ??

3. What FW version are you running on your rooted FTV ?

4. Is this the 3.0 USB hub that worked for you.... http://www.staples.com/Targus-SuperSpeed-ACH119US-USB-30-Hub-4-Ports/product_IM1LB3957 ???
[Fire TV General] jmandawg:
Which script did you use?

Can you post the output of these 2 command from adb shell:

busybox df -h
mount
[Fire TV General] sacwoo:
I messed with it all night last night and I was getting mixed issues and results. I am in the process of starting over and wiping the USB stick and starting from scratch. I will try v2 of the script since I was using v3 last night.

I will post when it's either working or I have more issues to troubleshoot.

What's the best way to verify everything is cleaned on the FireTV in CWM?
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Factory Reset in CWM or in the System Menu (both do the same thing when you have CWM installed). Not sure if wipe/cleaning cache is important or encourage on the FTV. But Factory Reset should do the trick. Remember the "Disable OTA updates" setting gets wipe out with a Factory Reset. Would be the first thing I would reset.

What brand/model is the USBStick you are working on ?

What issues did you have ??
[Fire TV General] jmandawg:
Yes, try v2, that is what i'm currently using and report back. I'm going to take all the other ones down. I might make one that just mounts /media and /sdcard (where all the obb files go) to usb. I just hate to have to keep watching that stupid video everytime i factory reset.

From CWM:

Factory Reset

Advance->wipe davaik cache

Mount & storage->format /data and /media (this will erase EVERYTHING you have on there)

Flash v2 and reboot.
[Fire TV General] AFTVnews.com:
Thanks for your effort on these scripts. May I suggest you begin to give each update a version number and keep them all available with a change history in the original post, instead of taking the old ones down. Similar to how rbox organizes his releases. Its alot easier to follow and debug issues that way.
[Fire TV General] rotor00ter:
Quote:

Originally Posted by rotor00ter

I haven't noticed any slowdowns or glitches with XBMC or with the FireTV menus or any apps since I installed this script. I'm pretty sure I installed the second one that mounts everything but I was trying a bunch of stuff so I don't remember for sure. How can I confirm which script is installed? I am using a 1TB Western Digital MY Passport drive. I'll do some more testing with installing a few games and other apps and see what happens but so far so good.

Are you still running that setup. Any updates in performance ?

I am still running this setup. I installed some other games and apps and no issues at all with performance, no lagging on the menus or anything. I am going to stick with this for the setup on this FireTV and likely use it when I set up my second one for my bedroom very shortly.

---------- Post added at 05:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:24 PM ----------

Thanks, just confirmed that I am on Version 2.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
K.. Just see it as a very pricey option since one would possible need a $50+ external HDD for every FTV. Three in my case. So would have to be completely sure it worked before deciding on it. Are you running any USB Hub or direct ??? Guess we can use the virtual keyboard to run it direct. Thanks for the feedback. Keep us updated. You are giving us hope, yet..:good:
[Fire TV General] jmandawg:
I will try to gather them all together when i have time and post them on the front page. Too bad i just removed them all earlier, i just didn't want anyone to use the wrong script.
[Fire TV General] rotor00ter:
Good point about the added expense of the hard drives. In my case I have quite a few available as I recently loaded all my media onto a 15TB NAS system. I could see if you don't already have the drives that there may be better options available such as one of the new quad-core android boxes. Personally I really like the Fire TV because it offers many of the apps and services I already use (HULU, Amazon Prime, Netflix,etc.) as well as being able to install google play store apps and services (NHL Gamecentre, Google Play Music,etc.) plus the extra added benefit of XBMC and all its plugins. There is a little more work involved to get it all up and running perfectly but that is part of the fun.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Great detailed info. Hope you keep testing/tweaking your setup & posting back.

Have you tried the setup without the Hub to see if that speeds things noticeably enough ??

mSata or SSD just seems way over kill with the FTV's USB 2.0 limitation. It will probably work but come on. :silly: I mean it is worth the test to know either way though.

As for the MicroSD or any other type of card with USB card reader. Brilliant!!! Specially since this is so much like the phone setups. Hopefully it is fast enough. Would be a very cheap alternative. Even cheaper then old laptop HDD's & enclosures.

Please keep reporting on your progress & experiences. The more specific folks get the better chance to a replicable option for everybody.

I have a couple of available externals too but I usually use them on a XBox360/Wii or as a offline storage space for large files. Since one can NAS or Samba files to the FTV's I do see having 500GB to 1TB drives attached as a waste of the drive. Might become worth it if we could partition the drive. Give EXT4 like 30GB & the rest to Fat32 or NTFS & have access to both.

I am definitely not giving up on my FTV's. I got 3 of them (now rooted) for what one of the new quad-core android boxes are selling for. Plus I like the FTV community. I think I've spent more time dealing with FTV threads & issues then I have actually watching TV the last couple of weeks. Might be a good thing. But it's definitely not a bad thing.

I do wonder if we can proof that the script just works fast enough on any HDD setup with a 8mb cache. Then I would probably try to get a hold of some cheap 20GB+ 2.5HDD's (Got one right now from an old laptop) & a cheap 2.5" enclosure ($7) to hook up to each FTV. But only once it's replicable. Another great cheap solution if it bares out is a EXT4 MicroSD card on a USB adapter. No matter what there is going to be some fun testing ahead. :cyclops:
[Fire TV General] Tinwarble:
I don't really think it would make much difference. As I stated the speed difference from having the data on the internal storage is negligible, if there is a slow down then it's so minor that it's not really noticeable.

Well, you might think that (and in reality yes it probably is), however, the transfer speed over USB 2.0 isn't the issue. By using a HDD one can already confirm that the USB 2.0 port doesn't have an ill effect on performance, so you have to make sure that your bottleneck is not at the drive.

So the issue becomes what type of drive to use. As I stated, thumbdrives aren't meant for this type of data access and HDD's, although they work, have the problem that the AFTV doesn't allow the drive to spin down. Which in my case at least, since the AFTV is a "always on" system, is going to eventually wear out the drive motor.

So the best thing to use, in my opinion, would be a mSATA or SSD. And you can pick up a 32 - 64GB around $30 - $50 (sometimes even cheaper), which is more space than what most anyone would need.

Some people may say that the cost isn't justified, but I look at it this way, if the AFTV had come with 32GB or 64GB of internal storage instead of just 8GB then it would have easily been $30 - $50 more.

Thanks, I thought so. ;) But seriously, if anyone wants to give it a try I did find this which might work: http://www.amazon.com/Saicoo®-Digit...id=1414267100&sr=1-5&keywords=usb+card+reader if you already have a SD Card, this would be a cheap option to try.
[Fire TV General] AQKhanTheOne:
Or, if one has to have a hub as well to plug in other stuff such as the Flirc dongle or the dongle that comes with the K400r keyboard, the hub/reader combo linked to below seems ideal for only a few bucks more. I've got one on the way and I'll be using a spare 32 gb SD card I had laying around.

http://www.amazon.com/Inateck%C2%AE-Bus-Powered-Ultrabooks-Compatible-Smartphone/dp/B00JKALWH6/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1414280130&sr=1-6&keywords=usb+card+reader+hub
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Would still be interested on verifying this. If you ever get bored would appreciate checking it out. But Yeah. If it works very close to normal on a hub then it should only get better off the hub. But not all hubs are equal even before you factor in the powered or not-powered variance.

True. But if you have some old HDD's around it would make sense to put them to use while they can handle it. So when the FTV goes to sleep after 15 minutes of inactivity. The HDD's will still be spinning away like you where still running XBMC on it... Humn.... I would not buy any new drives for it but I think I found 3x 2.5 HDD's & one crappy old External Enclosure to try out. Might be a good short term solution for now if it can keep a good speed. Not sure how soon I'll be able to test it out. But hopefully soon enough.

64GB for $30 sounds very reasonable. Not sure they make them smaller but if they do I don't think the price would be that much lower. Guess it would be a pretty good setup (no spin). Some one must already own some small SATA drives to test it out. Guess the biggest prob might come from a SATA to USB adapter.

I was thinking even cheaper.. Like this: http://www.meritline.com/usb-sd-sdhc-mmc-mini-sd-ms-m2-reader-writer---p-89616.aspx or http://www.meritline.com/multi-in-one-memory-card-reader-for-microsd-sdhc-m2---p-53738.aspx OR if one needs the whole package like this: http://slickdeals.net/f/7258938-16gb-lexar-600x-microsd-card-usb-3-0-reader-10-free-shipping (catch the next $10 deal for it) or now at $15 http://www.rakuten.com/prod/lexar-1...094&siteID=lw9MynSeamY-FoZ42PEwX7HjelfqI5HjmQ .

Let us know how that goes. MicroSD + USB 3.0 should = SSD at least on the no spin down side of it.
[Fire TV General] Tinwarble:
I have and no real difference. Like I said though, there really isn't a difference (even using the HUB) in speed from having everything on the internal flash. Any difference would be in in the 10ths - 100ths of a second.

Which is why I'm currently using a HDD myself. ;)

But no, because the AFTV doesn't actually go to "sleep", it's more of a "standby" mode, so it's actually always active which in turn keeps the HDD active. Keep in mind the the script just "links" the external drive to the internal flash so the AFTV thinks it is the internal flash and it is always accessing the internal flash even when in sleep/standby mode.

For 64GB your probably talking more around the $40-$50 range, although I have seen them cheaper, and you can pick up a used/referb one less. But they do make them as small as 8GB, and I have seen 32GB SSD/mSATAs for as little as $20.

But yes, hopefully someone has a spare laying around to test (reason for me stating it in the first place). As for the SATA to USB being a problem, I wouldn't think so since all your talking about is connecting it just like it would be in a portable enclosure, just without a box. ;) The only issue that I would worry about is just like with any thing else, depending on the one you use, results may vary.

Any of those might work, truthfully I just posted the link to the first one I came across as an example. But I don't think that $11 would be that big of a deal, plus the one I linked to has a lot more reviews, so I might be more confident in it working.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Well got a 12GB HDD ready to go (EXT4). Hopefully it runs smooth & makes it until there is a deal to good to pass on a 64GB or smaller SSD. Also found my old MicroSD & adapter. Will test that out after testing the 12GB HDD. Wills see how it does being only a 8GB Class 2 MicroSD card.

The FTV I plan to test on is rooted, OTA updates are disable, CWM is intalled & latest PreRooted 513011820 FW is on it. That is where I stopped. So got nothing that will be lost.

Guess my instructions will be...

Format HDD to EXT4 using a Partition Tool. Make it Primary & Active.

Use a hub to have keyboard plugged in for CWM control.

Download the “v2” version of [MENTION=2205195]jmandawg[/MENTION] script.

Sideload script to the AFTV’s /SDCard/Download with one of the apps.

From same app reboot to recovery.

Once booted into CWM , Install from zip. Find the script in SDCard/Download.

Once the script is installed, “Wipe Data/Factory reset” & “Wipe cache”. Then format /data & /media & wipe dalvik cache. Then plug in the EXT4 formatted HDD, then “Reboot”.

The AFTV will reboot, then you will see the amazon logo, it may stay on the logo for a minute or 2.

You may then see a pixelated screen (don’t panic). It may stay like that for a few minutes, but it will eventually finish booting.

Once booted make sure to use the app to disable OTA updates again to block updates.

Now start installing and sideloading apps. Starting with SuperSU/BusyBox & on thru the guides.

Did I missed anything ?
[Fire TV General] Tinwarble:
No, didn't see anything you missed.

However, as I stated, I didn't format data or media nor dalvik and didn't see any issues.

You can if you want, but I didn't see it necessary.

Oh, wait....................you did forget one important thing.

When you start Step 8, you need to hold your breath until you loose consciousness. :laugh:

Very important step, something may go wrong if you don't.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
:crying:.. Didn't forget... Was planning on holding my breath as step 0 & keep holding it until step 12. That way I will have the David Carradine & Robin Williams guaranty of success. :laugh:
[Fire TV General] jmandawg:
Updated with new version that only mount /data/media (/sdcard). It should run almost as fast as stock with the downside that /data/apps is still limited to internal storage space.
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
You mean on usbsticks. Seems HDD's do fine on v2 .

Seems v2 has been added to one of the apps. http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=56323655&postcount=402
[Fire TV General] jmandawg:
cool, did you get yours all setup?
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Not yet.. Got sidetrack with the Fire Stick & some other stuff. But it's on my next thing to finish...
[Fire TV General] Y314K:
Still sidetracked.. So haven't been able to test my old HDD..

But this has made things interesting... Thanks [MENTION=2205195]jmandawg[/MENTION] & [MENTION=5957312]AFTVnews.com[/MENTION] and all that didn't give up on the little script that could with the right USB drive... :highfive:

How to use a USB Drive as the Fire TV’s Internal Storage - I would of gone with the v2 & only use v2.5 if v2 seems to slow though... Not straight to v2.5 . Since the rewards of a working v2 a much grater.

Never mind. Had to re-read to figuire out that v2.5 is just an updated/better v2 ...

It will be interesting to see if we have to go back to 0 (Factory Reset) once there is a PreRooted update in the future. But CWM EXT4 support is coming (possibly) so.. Should make things easier... FW upgrades are cover in the guide:fingers-crossed: