yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Hero CDMA Android Development] Bielinsk:
Few questions as this is new to me and I am not sure I made a mistake going to a2sd. I read a bunch and can't seem to fully get my head around a2sd.

I tend to try different roms a lot, and always make a backup of my current before wiping and reflashing.

Will any of my old backups work now that my apps are moved?

If I make a backup, then wipe and flash to a new rom, install apps etc, will I be able to restore my backup to get me back to where I am now?

Does Titanium back care about locations? a2sd seems to link the /data/app to my SD card. Will I need to make new TB Backups?

If I want to remove ap2sd is there a procedure anywhere to do so?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Most ROMS that I have tried have some form of A2SD installed. If you have apps on your sd card, they should work.

Restoring backups: When you make a backup, make sure the backup includes the ext partition. Nandroid will do that if you tell it to backup system + ext. If you restore (especially from Nandroid), it will restore your ext card.

If you are using a2sd version 2.5, you can use a2sd remove to put everything back on the internal memory and place a flag to prevent loading. That method works for a2sd version 2.5. To truly keep a2sd from running, remove the ext3 partition.

If you are going to do this manually, perform the following steps:

On your computer's terminal window:

1. Type adb remount

2. Type adb shell

In ADB shell, type the following:

cd /data

rm app

rm app-private

rm dalvik-cache

mkdir app

mkdir app-private

mkdir dalvik-cache

chmod 777 app

chmod 777 app-private

chmod 777 dalvik-cache

cp /system/sd/app /data/app

cp /system/sd/app-private /data/app-private

reboot recovery

Once you are in recovery, remove the ext3 partition.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Okay...I added instructions and expanded some troubleshooting steps.

Any feedback to making this a better product would be greatly appreciated.

Seems like a lot of people suddenly are having issues with the program. I will help all I can and will make modifications to the program if needed.

Thanks, everyone.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] azn1:
Let see. First time I did it, everything went fine. But then I realized that I removed gtalk.apk so it prevented me from downloading things from the market. So I did a fresh Damagecontrol rom again, and now my internal space is at 79mb. Before it was at 125, my apps are still on my sd. what is goin on?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] Glod:
_________________________________________________
[Hero CDMA Android Development] amallama:
Weird problem

okay so for the first sew days this was working on my phone. i had 124 mb free up from around 42mb. now today i install an app that was about 6mb and it took it away from the internal storage bringing me to about 114. i uninstalled the app, but it still said i only had 114mb free. i did it with another program now im down to 108. does anyone know what went wrong?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] bobr0949:
Works great installed on fresh 2.0d went from 55 to 130 free.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
'

Davlik-cache. DamageControl uses A2SD 2.0, which doesn't move Dalvik-cache.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] drbgotenks:
Installed on Fresh 2.0d. Works perfectly. 16gb Class 4 Topram card.

I went from around 40 free to 138mb.

Thanks!
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smoother2010:
this doesn't seem to work on the pancake 1.5 rom at all. is this just for 2.1 roms? after i flashed i was stuck on the first htc boot screen for over 20 minutes. i have to restore my backup. :(
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
That's good to know...it's working okay with a Class 4 card.

I'm suspecting that some of the issues that people are having is moving the dalvik-cache to a Class 2 card...the card may not be fast enough to handle the demands of dalvik.

I know it definitely works on a Class 6 card (I have a 16GB Class 6).
[Hero CDMA Android Development] drbgotenks:
It seems to be working fine on the class 4. I had never heard of the brand before I purchased (Topram...I bought it because it was inexpensive). I have been using the phone and have tested most apps and all seems well.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
What would be cool is if I can find a way to get the speed of the card before I move the dalvik-cache. If it doesn't meet requirements, it doesn't move it.

But, that will have to hold until I can figure out why I can't mount an EXT4 partition.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] wmfg:
Finally

Man I have been trying to get this ap2sd to work for a while now. I am new to the droid world. Recently switched from the iphone world and I have to say I am enjoying the droid.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Okay...tell me what you've done so far. I'm sure I can help you.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smoother2010:
will this work on a 1.5 rom already running an old version of apps2sd?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smoother2010:
i can confirm this does not work on the pancake 1.5 rom. i manually pushed everything and it worked like a charm, freed up a ton of memory but after restart my phone is frozen. i also tried to flash and had the same result. would this be considered a bug?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] fallentimm:
treve helped me get his new superharged apps2sd script working on gumbo even his script is sweeeeet
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smoother2010:
this runs a gumbo kernel, do you have that script or something i can flash?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] fallentimm:
he was running out when he gave instructions, basically i downloaded his full mod, took:

/system/bin/a2sd

/system/etc/dc.conf

/system/etc/dcbanned.conf

i renamed dc.conf to gumbo.sh and replaced it in 1.5, i took a2sd and overwrote the one from this rom, and i left dcbannd.conf in /system/etc.

he didn't think JIT would work so we didn't even copy it over, but ifrom what he said on gtalk to test we copy /system/etc/jit/ in place on the new rom the escript would do the rest.

*edit* we also needed getprop/setprop & zipalign from /system/bin, but he said those most likely would be there in 1.5.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] NewYorkLaw:
I could not get this to work and tried to manually (from RA) move the dalvik to sd. Now I cannot get the phone to start without sense force closing. It's an endless loop. I wiped EVERYTHING and started over, re-installing Fresh 2.0d, but it still does the same loop of force closing. I'll admit it, my nandroid backups are not current. How can I just re-do fresh 2.0d and make it work?

Pete

EDIT: I wiped everything again, and the last time it worked. A2sd also is working. I have a lot of re-installing to do!
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smoother2010:
i have no idea what your telling me to do. :confused:
[Hero CDMA Android Development] fixxxer2008:
can the maker of this or a dev please make this compatible with 1.5 roms, alot of us don't use 2.1 because of bugs and id like to free up some memory. i can confirm if you install this on pancake 1.5 it freezes the phone up. is this up to the rom devs to do or the app creator?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] izix:
Help, I get an error!

Im a virgin rooter, HTC Hero. I've done the Flashrec recovery image, done the Nandroid backup, backed up the content to my PC, Partitioned the SD card, selected ext2-ext3, DID NOT do the ext3-4. Transferred the A2SD zipfile via USB-MS toggle in the Recoverystartup. (I also transferred the zipfile of a custom rom that i am going to run, i realized that might be the issue so i also removed it and tried again)

I get the following error:

Installing from sdcard...

Finding update package...

Opening update package...

Verifying update package...

Copying files...

E:Error in install.sh

(Status 256)

E:failure at line 4:

run_program Package:install.sh

Installation aborted.

Did i do anything wrong, something i skipped to do that needed to be done?

cheers

//Erik

EDIT: Oh snap, maybe i need to install the 2.1 ROM first? (Actually I'm pretty sure i need to do that, but im gonna wait for a reply just to be safe.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] fixxxer2008:
i have no clue what he said either, we need a flashable zip that works.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] TrevE:
ill have my version that works on anything with gumbo or 2.1 out later, check out ?t=667011

It was originally meant to work on just damage but ive ported it all around with success. it also will let you cut down roms, enable swapping or JIT, zipalign stuff on boot, blabalbalh. just finishing up the GUI :) not really a java guy so be patient.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] fixxxer2008:
awesome, when will it be out?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] TrevE:
couple hours probably - it already writes out configs properly just been testing it a bit. I wanted to make it properly read options back on startup but i hate programming with a passion.

I plan on initially releasing 3 versions, a 1.5c gumbo one, a fresh 2.0d or whatevers latest and a damage. stay tuned to that other post i get instant alerts & wont really be cecking this one much.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] kyouko:
Awesome looks pretty sweet. :D can't wait to try it out
[Hero CDMA Android Development] fixxxer2008:
im glad you are giving us 1.5c users sum love with this. if it works ill throw some $$ your way!
[Hero CDMA Android Development] jUgGsY:
Market keeps FC'ing whenever I go to download something, or go to the downloads page.

Running a freshly wiped and flashed Ic3Rom v2.0.4.

Flashed a2sd after the initial boot of Ic3rom.. Market worked fine previously.

I moved the Dalvik-Cache back to the internal memory, and turned off swap.. I also did the "fix apk uid mismatches" option in recovery.. for ****s and giggles.

Anybody else experiencing this issue?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] sbuxhtchero:
No longer want App2sd

I have Fresh 2.0d. I just partitioned my SD Card and Apps2sd is working BUT it SLOWED down my phone. LWP and transitions are chopppy. I have my SD card backed up already. I want to undo what I did.

What steps do I take to undo the SD card partitioning and go back to just having the Fresh 2.0d rom?

.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smw6180:
boot recovery

go back into partition

Select 0 for swap and 0 for ext

That should put it back to normal.

Umm..you said you backed up your SD card...just a warning: This will erase your SD card, so make sure your backup is good.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
If there is something different about the ROM I certainly can make adjustments...I did for Fresh 2.0d.

What errors did you get when you flashed it?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
You still have symlinks that will cause the boot to crash.

Additional steps:

In recovery, go into ADB shell:

Type the following:

/sbin/busybox mount -o rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

/sbin/busybox mount -o rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /data

/sbin/busybox mount -o rw -t auto /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /system/sd

cd /data

rm app

mkdir app

chmod 777 app

cp /system/sd/app/* /data/app

rm app-private

mkdir app-private

chmod 777 app-private

cp /system/sd/app-private/* /data/app-private

rm dalvik-cache

mkdir dalvik-cache

mkdir 777 dalvik-cache

cd /

/sbin/busybox umount /dev/block/mtdblock3

/sbin/busybox umount /dev/block/mtdblock5

/sbin/busybox umount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2

reboot

This will restore the directories to pre-apps2sd and reboot your phone. It will take a while to reboot, as dalvik-cache will have to be recreated.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
What recovery are you using? I'm using RA 1.6.2 and it works for me. It may not work for earlier versions of recovery (though I don't see why...the line I use is valid for android installs).

It shouldn't matter which rom you are using since it is coming from recovery.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
I would be more than happy to make it compatible with 1.5. I'll test it on Fresh 1.1. Any other ROM you would like to me to test on?

Also, the one that will be compatible will be A2SD 2.6 (that's the one I'm currently working on).
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
New version 2.6 does work on Pancake. I tested it this morning.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=670087
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Version 2.6 is compatible with most 1.5 Roms (maybe all of them...I didn't test Souffle and Gutted).

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=670087
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Hi there. I need some help as I think Apps2sd is configured okay, but maybe my apps aren't going to the SD card. Using a GSM Hero.

Here is EVERYTHING (quite literally) I did last night (app and command names might be a little off, bad memory hehe):

1. Wiped data/davlik/sd-ext (I'm using RA-1.6.2 recovery)

2. Created sdcard partitions (128 swap, 512 ext2, remainder FAT), then did ext2->ext3. Wiped data + davlik again, but not sd-ext this time.

3. Downloaded + flashed 'VillainROM 4.2 beta2' via recovery,rebooted, let everything load, rebooted, installed an app (checking), rebooted + rebooted again for lack of life.

4. Downloaded and flashed Apps2sd 2.6.1 from the top link in the first post (the 'newer' DarkTremor version), rebooted. Boot-up time was completely normal, though its supposed to take quite a while after installation I think...didn't seem like anything was moved.

5. Let everything load, rebooted. Checked internal memory: 102MB.

6. Installed 3 apps, total data: ~7MB. Internal memory down to about 94.xx Hmmm...thinking maybe its not working, went into recovery, used option OTHER->MOVE APPS + DAV TO SD. Rebooted.

7. Boot-up time took about a full 5 minutes esp. at the 'quietly brilliant' loading screen. Happy something's happening.

8. Checked internal memory, still at 94.xx Thought it might be Davlik cache left on phone memory (read about it in this thread). Uninstalled 3MB application to test hypothesis.

9. Internal memory: 97.xx Hypothesis failed apparently. Swore out loud.

10. Remembered the test from first post to check if Apps2sd is working: downloaded 'Android Terminal Emulator', allowed root (Always allow), then entered:

su

ls -l /data

Checked directories; both present:

app-private -> system/sd/app-private

app -> system/sd/app

11. Swore loudly. Friend glanced. Pretended to be angry at flies. Used command 'system/sd/a2sd install'

12. Something happened in a sec. Got some report, no errors apparently. Rebooted. Boot-up time normal. Checked internal memory by downloading/removing app; its still being used. (92 free). Contemplated swearing, but laughed bitterly instead.

13. Wrote mini-thesis. Hoping someone will read. Willing to start all over :-/
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smw6180:
For starters repartition and change your swap to no more than 32mb. Anything more than that actually starts slowing things down.

For the rest, I recommend quick system info.

That app will tell you what your a2sd is consuming, if it's configured. Sounds like it's fine, to me. If apps/apps-private are on your SD card, that's where your apps are being stored.

Also do an ls -l /data/dalvik-cache to be sure that's on your SD card as well.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Dalvik cache is where? Do the ls -l /data again and see where dalvik-cache is pointing to.

Core apps reside in /system/app, which is not moved. That varies depending on the ROM used.

Other than that, A2SD is working as designed.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Thank you both for the quick reply.

Dalvik cache shows (just realised I've been spelling it wrong lol):

6 dalvik-cache

lrwxrwxrwx root root

I installed 'Quick System Info', it shows A2SD info (total: 457 free:384).

When you say core apps will remain on the system, do you mean it will keep consuming phone memory whenever I install apps? I read people saying they had 130-160MB free in this thread. Isn't that what I'm supposed to get too, or are they talking about something else?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] smw6180:
There's two types of memory you're looking at here.

In quick system info check out 'Internal storage'. I'm sitting at 131 free of 160mb.

Then there's 'RAM', (which is shown under Memory, look at 'Free' under the Memory section) which is available memory for running applications. I'm sitting at 60mb free right now (that number goes up and down depending on what's running).

Internal storage is what's used for storing applications, dalvik-cache, etc. Without dalvik moved to the SD card, i'm sitting at 90mb Free (about) out of 131. The rest of my apps are on the SD card, but without a2sd they'd be taking up the space in Internal Storage, instead. When that's all gone, you don't install anymore apps. Since you have a2sd running you're only limited by the size of your SD card (more correctly, the size of the ext partition you created, which you stated is at 384mb free).

Now some apps do indeed write cache or data to internal storage instead of your SD storage. Nothing to be done about it.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] troyboytn:
the core apps spoken of consist of messaging, gmail, etc.....the ones that were factory installed on the stock original rom. your downloaded apps will now go to your sd though you will notice a small drop of internal storage along the way
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Internal storage: 166mb, free: 92mb

Memory: 192mb, free: 53mb

System cache (dalvik?): 130mb, free: 127mb

I understand the difference between storage memory and 'RAM' memory, but here is the thing that I'm confused about: if I install a 5MB app, the internal/phone storage decreases by 5mb; if I remove a 2mb app, internal/phone memory increases by the same amount.

Doesn't this mean that apps are being installed to my internal/phone memory?
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Core apps remain in internal storage...and they won't consume any more memory than they do now (apps are installed in either /data/app and /data/app-private...hence why those two are redirected to /system/sd/app and /system/sd/app-private)

Dalvik-cache will consume space. Since I'm unfamiliar with this ROM, I'm going to have you go through a series of step to make sure you are booting the Darktremor A2SD:

First, let's see if we can move the dalvik-cache. Go into adb shell and type:

/system/bin/a2sd cache

That should move dalvik-cache to the sd card.

Next, validate this by typing:

ls -l /data

Dalvik-cache should show: dalvik-cache -> /system/sd/dalvik-cache

Next: reboot the phone. Once the phone is rebooted, type the command above to check dalvik-cache.

If it remains the same, then it is loading Darktremor A2SD. If it reverts, another A2SD may be running (the Darktremor version is designed to move the dalvik-cache upon boot if it is not pointed to the sd card...unless a no cache flag is set).

Let me know the results.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Thanks for the instructions. I will try them now and let you know what happens.

By the way I don't have access to a PC these days, so I'm using a terminal emulator app on my phone for and commands. I hope that does not make a difference.

I'm doing the steps now, be back in a little while.

Edit: can you tell me of a 2.1 rom w/Sense that is compatible with this ver. of apps2sd? I'm willing to try one just to get this working :P

Edit 2: I followed your instructions. It said 'moving dalvik cache to system/sd'. Then I entered 'ls -l /data', dalvik cache shows:

dalvik-cache system/sd/dalvik-cache

Rebooting.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Maybe...then again, it could be dalvik-cache as well.

Go into the shell of the phone (adb shell) and type ls -l /data. What do you see for app and app-private
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
I wrote apps and apps-private detail in my first post. Kindly check there, I'll reboot meanwhile :)

Edit: Rebooted. It took a while to boot-up.

Now terminal shows:

dalvik-cache

drwx----- system system

app system/sd/app

app-private system/sd/app-private
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
My apologies...it's been a long day and it looks like I'm overposting.

What's happening is that the /data/dalvik-cache appears to be resetting. Had this issue with Fresh 2.0d.

Villain ROM is a GSM Rom. I developed this version for a CDMA Hero, not a GSM Hero (although the script is based on Cyanogen's script, so it should work).

The rom maker is using an apps2sd that is resetting dalvik-cache (which also means it is in a different location than /system/bin).

I'll download Villain rom, break it down, and issue an update (2.6.2).

Give me about an hour or two to do this. But the A2SD is working as originally designed.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Oh WOW! You're going to go through all that trouble for one user (little old me)?! Thanks so much.

In the meantime I think I will re-flash my phone with your new script, because Market has stopped working for some reason (constant Network error, but I'm sitting 3 feet from WiFi router :-/ ).

Thanks again! I'll keep an eye here for your next post.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Why not? I would like to make this as compatible amongst all different phones, not just the Hero CDMA.

Once you get everything setup, go into the adb shell and type the following:

ls -l /system/etc/init.d

According to the rom, you should have a file called 04apps2sd (which looks like the same setup as Fresh 2.0d). Tell me if the 04apps2sd looks like the following:

04apps2sd -> /system/bin/a2sd

If not and the flash doesn't put that in (it should), then we'll need to create the symbolic link.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Do you want me to check this now, or after flashing again?

If you want me to flash again, should I keep the partitions the same, swap:128mb, ext:512mb? smw6180 suggested lowering the swap size because a large swap can slow phones down.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Check after you flash. As for the swap partition, 128MB is a bit excessive (it will slow the phone down...had personal experience with it). 32MB is optimal, 64MB is the max you should go.

Ext minimum would be 512MB. I have mine set at 4GB, but you don't need to set it that high. Even with dalvik-cache installed, you can run it at 512MB. If you need more, repartition later for 1GB.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Okay, thank you so much for your help.

I'll begin now and probably be done in about a half-hour or so.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Okay, you can PM me, leave a message here, or e-mail me at rtkirton at gmail.com once you are done.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
I'll keep bugging you on the forum for now (hehe) so that others can also troubleshoot if they have similar problems.

Okay, here's what I did this time:

1. Wiped data/dalvik/sd-ext

2. Created new partitions, swap: 32mb, ext2:512mb, remainder as FAT

3. Wiped data/dalvik again, not sd-ext

4. Flashed VillainROM 4 Beta2, let everything load, rebooted (also got small update for Google Voice Search from Villain4 B2 thread, first post; flashed that, rebooted)

5. For now, I have NOT flashed Apps2sd 2.6.1, I'm just running the untouched ROM itself

6. Downloaded Android Terminal Emulator

7. Checked init.d, check screenshot (easy for you now, huh?) :D

8. Checked app, app-private and dalvik-cache, check screenshot

Please tell me if you need more info.

Awaiting your reply, no hurries :)
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Sorry, I think I can only attach 1 file per post from phone. Here's the second shot.
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Okay..go ahead and flash the 2.6.1 and then we'll check the directories again to make sure everything took.

So far, the stock A2SD is working (/system/sd/app and /system/sd/app-private)
[Hero CDMA Android Development] shahid.malik:
Just downloaded A2SD 2.6.1, going to flash. Be right back :)
[Hero CDMA Android Development] tkirton:
Let me know...I'm concerned about the script that is used. I'm working on a version that is much friendlier with recovery.