[PRJ] apps2sd discussion

pvella

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2010
392
38
$ busybox fsck -t ext2 /dev/block/vold/179:2
busybox fsck -t ext2 /dev/block/vold/179:2
fsck (busybox 1.17.2, 2010-09-05 03:37:08 CDT)
fsck: can't read '/etc/fstab': No such file or directory
fsck: fsck.ext2: No such file or directory
$
 

Celtus

Member
Jan 14, 2011
14
9
You could probably create an fstab without too much trouble. The real problem is that it is not a good thing to run fsck on a mounted ext2 filesystem. The results could be very bad. Most *nix systems run fsck from init, before any daemons are running (also before the switch from single user to multi-user, etc), which avoids most of the issues that might arise from having inode clean-up or repair taking place. It's a tricky one for sure. There are some things that are done in embedded systems that could minimize the need (fsck on the target fs before pivot-root), but I don't know enough about the boot process that has been used on this system to say if they are possible here. Do you run your ext2 for apps read-only? That would tend to make for a lot less need for fsck (that's maybe also why /system is a r/o filesystem). It also helps to mount with a noatime flag so that you don't have access time resulting in the filesystem getting updated.

Edit: Oops. I just saw that you busybox doesn't have fsck.ext2. Bummer. We could probably cross-compile a new one. It's an easy build. I'll check it out tomorrow, time permitting (work has teeth on Mondays).
 
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ivyvisors

Senior Member
Dec 29, 2010
233
52
Celtus, I was thinking of doing a new build of busybox for this purpose. Just haven't had time to do so as of yet.

~Ivy
 

ivyvisors

Senior Member
Dec 29, 2010
233
52
I just looked at the source for busybox, and unfortunately it doesn't appear that there is a fsck for ext2fs available.

~ivy
 

Celtus

Member
Jan 14, 2011
14
9
You're right, ivy. The last embedded build I did, I had to make a static e2fsck (from e2fsprogs source). Makes it a bit less convenient, but it still should be possible, I hope. I haven't tried it, of course, but I will as soon as I have a chance.

Edit: I just looked at the bb source, and it seems that perhaps it has been added. There is an e2fsprogs dir, and it has fsck source in it. I'll give it a closer look... Looks like it's been there awhile. I didn't think it had been so long since I was cramming 10 pounds of system into those 5 pound boxes, but then I have no sense of time really - lol.
 
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ivyvisors

Senior Member
Dec 29, 2010
233
52
Cool cool Celtus, I might have a closer look into busybox this evening once home.

I just am wondering if ext2 is best suited for this. As running an fsck on boot would slow things down quite a lot.

~Ivy
 

50cals

Member
Jan 5, 2011
250
18
well i just went thru the process and believe i got it all working ! Titanium now shows :

Internal : 183mb (92.4mb free)
SD card : 6.79GB
SD card (a2sd): 1.26GB (933mb free)

have installed google earth and angry birds and they both went to my sdcard and not my internal as it would before this mod .

have rebooted and no errors programs still working ! woot

Thanks all for getting this going , and very well written even I could follow it heheh

GJ !
 

rictec

Member
Jan 30, 2011
127
24
Pvella :hum makes sense since busybox fsck is for embeded systems most don t use ext2 i didn t test the command really.
before correcting the file system one must find out why the machine crashed or reboot i think first or and/if it get umounted at shutdown/reboot.
 

pvella

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2010
392
38
Now that I only mount the /data/app directory, I have not had any problems at all. I have a feeling that it is related to mounting the cache, but that is just my gut feeling. If the device reboots overnight (which sometimes happens) how can I tell in the morning why this might have happened? Is there a log file I can check. I am used to being able to check /var/messages on a linux box, is there an Android equivalent?
 

rictec

Member
Jan 30, 2011
127
24
i think only logcat can do it not enough info too i leave mine with the cable connected and /adb logcat > logs.txt
an i test the fsck you put on the zip and got
./fsck -t ext2 /dev/block/vold/179:1
[1] Segmentation fault ./fsck -t ext2 /dev/block/vold/179:1

does not work :( that is a 2GB sd card made ext2 and touch forcefsck maybe its for some other arm or i did something wrong
 
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rictec

Member
Jan 30, 2011
127
24
i can use my huawei u8120 mic/headphone cord with the s7 so no need for a more expensive bluetooth headset
 

Martian

Member
Jan 28, 2011
8
4
This is my first post though have been reading for quite some time. Thank you so much to all of you specially Pvella, Ivy. Kev.

I got a S7 in Dec and ofcourse had plan to root and do App2SD from begining. But, while I have been flashing for WM for several years have no idea of android at all. WM I can flash and setup within 15 min but it took me >4 days to finally get the things working on S7. Rooting and titanium backup was easy but App2SD took long time.

Here I want to mention some important points where I was stuck and hope it will help others, I remember buzzman and some others had the glitches which were similar. I followed Kev and Pvella's writeups.
In Kev's post on creating a partition, he mentioned creat as PRIMARY and not logical, I formated with ext2 probably does not need to be. I had problem mounting the vol 179:18 and this is what I did different. After remount and making /system/sd
mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system
mkdir /system/sd
ls -l /dev/block/vold

If you don't see 179:18 (for US) Or 179:2 (for Aus) then something wrong with your partition or you did not reboot or not have SD card 2 etc, your next mounting not going to work.

If it is showing you the vol 179:18 or 179:2 (forgive me if this is not the right term) then follow.
The mount statement that worked for me is what I found on XDA forum
mount -t ext2 /dev/block//vold/179:18 /system/sd
or 179:2 if Aus ver. Remember the '//vold'. This was key for me. Verify your mount with
mount # as suggested by Pvella's post. If you see the mount as he suggested, GO AHEAD AND CHANGE it in the FILE init-sd.sh same way.

mount -t ext2 /dev/block//vold/179:18 /system/sd 1>>$MYLOG 2>>$MYLOG

Follow the instructions and you should be fine. I have no idea why ther has to be '/' or '//' slash, Hope one of the linux guru here will explain.

My setup is win7 ult x64, I used "QtADB_0.7.6_windows_with_libs" for ADB ), just found it simpler(tried droid explorer and ADB shell), you can do drag drop copy etc and then run the shell for superuser, also Ctrl+V works great. You can also browse the /system or /dev folder. And yes I put all /app, /data and catche to sd on a 1.5 GB patition. So far working great with ofcourse C61B011 ROM.

Pvella, May you please put a link to yours and Kevs post in your first post so a noobee like me don't go trying all the ideas in between.
 

buzzman

Senior Member
Dec 8, 2010
235
15
I haven't tried apps2sd again. Still hoping for 2.2 or better to arrive. Martian, very glad you found a work around the sticking point. If I get impatient I'll remember your post!

You guys are certainly making huge progress in making this a great piece of hardware. Keep up the great work. What I'm ultimately hoping for since I'm technically challenged is for all the blocks to fall into place and a cooked rom from this site to be the ultimate hack with all the great improvements incorporated. Now the question is will it be 2.2 or 3.0? I'm always the optimist! ;)
 

pvella

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2010
392
38
I have updated the initial post, with shortcuts to the most relevant parts of this discussion. Let me know if you think anything else should be linked.
 

Martian

Member
Jan 28, 2011
8
4
Count me in. I am in the same hope for a perfect coocked 2.2 /3.0. But cann't resist will keep trying, so far I am very happy with the singapore ROM and the APP2SD work around. I will monitor and report if I land up into problems that has been reported by some. BTW I am a novice for linux, I use it only rarely when I have to.

@Pvella Thanks for the links, it will be great help to many users.
 
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