Root How 2 A2SD (via DarkTremor and Joneidy's Custom Recovery)

[dannymur]

Dudness, just another question arises I my mind.

SD back-up strategy under DT A2SD....using Windows.

Ya'know without ext 2/3 Partition..... easy to copy full contents to PC/Comp.

Everything is visible in Fat32..... using Windows.

with A2SD.... the ext partition invisible to Windows.

So, if you lose/ blow up your SD card.... no backup of Apps.

Is there a solution without using a Linux Distro?

Nandroid backup.... including ext partition backup... save on PC??

plus backup of SD Fat32??

use to recover all SD data to new SD?

messy??

Any suggestions..... Also when upgrading to new ROM

TIA

 

[alfick3]

Dudness, just another question arises I my mind.

SD back-up strategy under DT A2SD....using Windows.

Ya'know without ext 2/3 Partition..... easy to copy full contents to PC/Comp.

Everything is visible in Fat32..... using Windows.

with A2SD.... the ext partition invisible to Windows.

So, if you lose/ blow up your SD card.... no backup of Apps.

Is there a solution without using a Linux Distro?

Nandroid backup.... including ext partition backup... save on PC??

plus backup of SD Fat32??

use to recover all SD data to new SD?

messy??

Any suggestions..... Also when upgrading to new ROM

TIA

I can answer this. What I have done, and do, is make the nand and ext back up.

 

[teh_dude]

I can answer this. What I have done, and do, is make the nand and ext back up.

I concur. And thanks for catching this one alfick. Just boot into recovery into nand backup, and do both nandroid backup plus sd-ext backup. it'll be big, fat, and take while to do, but then just copy the backup image to your PC when you're done. it'll be on your SD card's fat32 partition in a folder called "nandroid". under that is one more folder, "mem=477M" or w/e, and then inside are your backups you've made. The letters refer to what the backup contains, and the numbers are a date and time stamp, starting with the year.

When you're just wanting to backup apps alone because you're switching ROMs, Titanium Backup is the way to go--just press Menu, then tap Batch. You can back up all user apps at once, or uncheck the ones you wanna skip. You'll see.

 

[tripdoc79]

I concur. And thanks for catching this one alfick. Just boot into recovery into nand backup, and do both nandroid backup plus sd-ext backup. it'll be big, fat, and take while to do, but then just copy the backup image to your PC when you're done. it'll be on your SD card's fat32 partition in a folder called "nandroid". under that is one more folder, "mem=477M" or w/e, and then inside are your backups you've made. The letters refer to what the backup contains, and the numbers are a date and time stamp, starting with the year.

When you're just wanting to backup apps alone because you're switching ROMs, Titanium Backup is the way to go--just press Menu, then tap Batch. You can back up all user apps at once, or uncheck the ones you wanna skip. You'll see.

lol.. thanx for quoting me in ur sig.. lmao.. but seriulsy.. i know i write some pretty lengthy posts.. but this thread is nutz lol.. plus i was at work lol.. btw.. just set up ubuntu and put the android kitchen in it from xda.. gonna try messing with some roms to see what all it entales.. gonna decompile some roms and see where it leads me..

 

[teh_dude]

Cool stuff, hope you have fun with it. Unless you have a strong objection, I'll likely leave that in my sig for awhile. I didn't attribute it to you because that seemed inappropriate. I wanted to capture the general idea. Though I'm long winded, I believe my thoroughness is necessary to make sure all details of all steps are included. It reduces confusion later on for those who read it lol.

 

[dannymur]

I can answer this. What I have done, and do, is make the nand and ext back up.

I concur. And thanks for catching this one alfick. Just boot into recovery into nand backup, and do both nandroid backup plus sd-ext backup. it'll be big, fat, and take while to do, but then just copy the backup image to your PC when you're done. it'll be on your SD card's fat32 partition in a folder called "nandroid". under that is one more folder, "mem=477M" or w/e, and then inside are your backups you've made. The letters refer to what the backup contains, and the numbers are a date and time stamp, starting with the year.

When you're just wanting to backup apps alone because you're switching ROMs, Titanium Backup is the way to go--just press Menu, then tap Batch. You can back up all user apps at once, or uncheck the ones you wanna skip. You'll see.

OK, thanks Guys.....I just need to transcribe what you have said to work for my phone, with ClockworkMod Recovery....(sorry again, I know different phone and recovery).

So back-up strategy to recover from SD Card Catastrophe is:

• Make Nandroid Back-up in Recovery, which will/should include the sd-ext.
  
• In CWR, you will be prompted for a name, and the default is yyyy-mm-dd.hr.min.sec
  
• Again in CWR, this will be in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/as above
  
• Copy this folder to PC....again in CWR it will include 8 xxx.img files, which is a snapshot of your phone’s entire internal memory including all partitions.
  
• Also copy to PC the complete contents of the FAT32 Partition, including all hidden folders and files.
  
• When you have to replace your SD Card, for whatever reason, copy the Nandroid Folder to the FAT32 Partition, and Start Phone in Recovery mode.

Here.... now I'm stuck....Do you need to Partition the SD card first, with the same or approx size sd-ext Partition as on the original card? Before restoring the Backup in Recovery?

Of course, TiBU will have your backups stored on the SD Card, so in the event of new ROM, restoring Apps, not System, is the way to go. As you said before, ensure TiBU is set to restore Apps to Internal for A2SD.....

Thanks again, and I hope my mentioning of ClockworkMod Recovery does not confuse others......

 

[alfick3]

OK, thanks Guys.....I just need to transcribe what you have said to work for my phone, with ClockworkMod Recovery....(sorry again, I know different phone and recovery).

So back-up strategy to recover from SD Card Catastrophe is:

• Make Nandroid Back-up in Recovery, which will/should include the sd-ext.
  
• In CWR, you will be prompted for a name, and the default is [COLOR="DarkRed"]yyyy-mm-dd.hr.min.sec[/COLOR]
  
• Again in CWR, this will be in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/[COLOR="DarkRed"]as above[/COLOR]
  
• Copy this folder to PC....again in CWR it will include 8 xxx.img files, which is a snapshot of your phone’s entire internal memory including all partitions.
  
• Also copy to PC the complete contents of the FAT32 Partition, including all hidden folders and files.
  
• When you have to replace your SD Card, for whatever reason, copy the Nandroid Folder to the FAT32 Partition, and Start Phone in Recovery mode.

Here.... now I'm stuck....Do you need to Partition the SD card first, with the same or approx size sd-ext Partition as on the original card? Before restoring the Backup in Recovery?

Of course, TiBU will have your backups stored on the SD Card, so in the event of new ROM, restoring Apps, not System, is the way to go. As you said before, ensure TiBU is set to restore Apps to Internal for A2SD.....

Thanks again, and I hope my mentioning of ClockworkMod Recovery does not confuse others......

From everything I've read about the dark tremor a2sd, you will need to partition the new sd card just like the old one. If you are going to a bigger sd card, the size of the fat32 partition won't matter. I believe though that you could even increase the size of the ext partition, but don't quote me on that one.

 

[teh_dude]

FAT32 is always just whatever is left over after swap and ext partitions. I attest to the switch to a bigger card in that you can make a bigger (or even smaller) ext partition if you like. The system won't care as long as there's enough room. When I switched from the original 2GB card to an 8GB card, i upgraded the sd-ext partition from 512 MB to 1GB.

Beyond that, here's a screenshot tutorial of how you would make a backup in the Amon RA type recovery (Getitnowmarketing's recovery) that I'm using. Each thing to select is highlighted, and on the screen of backup choices, notice that everything with an X is selected, including the sd-ext partition:

 

[Lukaslukasm]

my a2sd seems to mess up.... its messed up on me twice im running the sense rom and when i reboot my apps don't show up and when adb into my phone and do a2sd check it says applet not found a lot of times....

 

[teh_dude]

on the first part, I'd say give it a minute, but on the second part, I dunno. haven't had that problem. I'll say ask Joneidy just to make sure, ...

...but if it were me, i'd backup all my apps, uninstall them, reflash the darktremor scripts, and reinstall all my apps and follow the a2sd instructions above. if that still didn't work, i'd backup apps again if needed, wipe the phone, and install the latest sense rom again, and then put your apps back on.

 

[Lukaslukasm]

on the first part, I'd say give it a minute, but on the second part, I dunno. haven't had that problem. I'll say ask Joneidy just to make sure, ...

...but if it were me, i'd backup all my apps, uninstall them, reflash the darktremor scripts, and reinstall all my apps and follow the a2sd instructions above. if that still didn't work, i'd backup apps again if needed, wipe the phone, and install the latest sense rom again, and then put your apps back on.

thanks for the advice.... i just used TiBu to back them all up wipe the phone and reinstall my apps ... if it happens again i guess ill just reflash the scripts

 

[DaniellieeE]

Thanks - this thread really helped me with partitioning my sd-card and understanding more about partitioning overall. Also came in handy again yesterday when I went to flash CM7.1 which does not have the scripts in it. Since my sd-card had already been partitioned, after flashing ROM and DarkTremor.zip scripts, I just had to use A2sdGui app. and follow what you wrote. Went very smooth. (this time since scripts were not included in ROM, it read "files on system", had to tap move and "dalvik cache" also had to be moved). Everything worked great. Thanks again

 

[Lukaslukasm]

when i do a2sd check via adb i get a message on Dalvik running on int. storage and when i do a2sd repair there is an error saying
"umount: can't umount /data/dalvik-cache: Device or resource busy
[X] Unmount Failed.
[ ] Moving Dalvik-Cache to SD card
mv: can't rename '/cache/dc/*': No such file or directory"

and when i check a2sd gui it says my dalvik is running on sd-ext any advice/assistance?

 

[alfick3]

when i do a2sd check via adb i get a message on Dalvik running on int. storage and when i do a2sd repair there is an error saying
"umount: can't umount /data/dalvik-cache: Device or resource busy
[X] Unmount Failed.
[ ] Moving Dalvik-Cache to SD card
mv: can't rename '/cache/dc/*': No such file or directory"

and when i check a2sd gui it says my dalvik is running on sd-ext any advice/assistance?

I'm having the same issues. I'm not sure what might be the issue. I'm using the latest (dated the 19th) CM7 ROM by playfulgod.

 

[tripdoc79]

I'm having the same issues. I'm not sure what might be the issue. I'm using the latest (dated the 19th) CM7 ROM by playfulgod.

i to have also noticed that although my phone says that m,y dalvik is on the sd, my phones internal memory is decreasing at a much higher rate than before, im currently using a 1gb ext partition withabout 20% of it used, and my phones internal memory which b4 i never saw below 135mb and that was when i had 85 apps installed, is now at a measly 61mb qwith only about 30 apps installed.. only thing i can come up with is that the dalvik is running from the internal memory

 

[DaniellieeE]

i to have also noticed that although my phone says that m,y dalvik is on the sd, my phones internal memory is decreasing at a much higher rate than before, im currently using a 1gb ext partition withabout 20% of it used, and my phones internal memory which b4 i never saw below 135mb and that was when i had 85 apps installed, is now at a measly 61mb qwith only about 30 apps installed.. only thing i can come up with is that the dalvik is running from the internal memory

Hey all I'm seeing same thing "Dalvik runs from Internal Storage" and get error and the reboot when try and repair.

 

[tripdoc79]

i may just do a complete wipe and reflash.. may have to try the CWM recovery since it has the option to wipe the system partition and the GNM does not.. maybe some leftover remnants there conflicting with the new stuff..

 

[DaniellieeE]

i may just do a complete wipe and reflash.. may have to try the CWM recovery since it has the option to wipe the system partition and the GNM does not.. maybe some leftover remnants there conflicting with the new stuff..

Pls let us know ur outcome thanx

 

[tripdoc79]

well.. i get a "Could Not Mount sd-ext. sd-ext backup may not be supported on this device Skipping backup of sd-ext." error when making a backup in CWM. But im going to try to just wipe the system partition, cache and dalvik, and reflash the rom, and then reflash the a2sd and see what happens

EDIT: mmkay.. so the flash went fine.. but due to the fact it was not a totally clean install, when moving dalvik to sd, had some boot issues.. when it finally came back up.. a2sdgui says its on sd.. terminal says its running from internal.. and the repair is unsucessful, so when i get home.. ill try a complete wipe.. after i put gnm back on so i can make a backup of everything, then switch back to CWM so i can wipe the system partition.. and then flash everything.... ill let ya know what happens.

 

[alfick3]

well.. i get a "Could Not Mount sd-ext. sd-ext backup may not be supported on this device Skipping backup of sd-ext." error when making a backup in CWM. But im going to try to just wipe the system partition, cache and dalvik, and reflash the rom, and then reflash the a2sd and see what happens

EDIT: mmkay.. so the flash went fine.. but due to the fact it was not a totally clean install, when moving dalvik to sd, had some boot issues.. when it finally came back up.. a2sdgui says its on sd.. terminal says its running from internal.. and the repair is unsucessful, so when i get home.. ill try a complete wipe.. after i put gnm back on so i can make a backup of everything, then switch back to CWM so i can wipe the system partition.. and then flash everything.... ill let ya know what happens.

You can make the back up in CWM as well. I've looked into in and it also allows for the restore of specific partitions or the who kit and kaboodle.

 

[PlayfulGod]

You can make the back up in CWM as well. I've looked into in and it also allows for the restore of specific partitions or the who kit and kaboodle.

that it does, thats how I restore my apps and stuff with a fresh install by restoring the data.img. CWM also backups n restores the sd-ext.

 

[asheehanjr]

Has anyone tried the a2sd, with the team_chickeneater rom? and Is there a way someone can implement the a2sd support into the rom it self? I'm going to take a crack at this later, after I get some school work done. Just find this type of stuff interesting.

 

[tripdoc79]

You can make the back up in CWM as well. I've looked into in and it also allows for the restore of specific partitions or the who kit and kaboodle.

that it does, thats how I restore my apps and stuff with a fresh install by restoring the data.img. CWM also backups n restores the sd-ext.

well.. i get a "Could Not Mount sd-ext. sd-ext backup may not be supported on this device Skipping backup of sd-ext." error when making a backup in CWM.

i usually make a backup and restore my data as well.. but for whatever reason.. CWM recovery will not backup my sd-ext.. i gotta do things the hard way.. flash GNM make a backup.. Flash CWM wipe my system, reflash rom, flash GNM restore my backup, as im not sure whether or not cwm will restore it. maybe if i copied it fromt he nandroid folder to the cwm folder on my sd.. maybe.. GNM recovery does not have a Wipe Sytem option.. as per why i need to flash the CWM recovery.. so i can wipe the system on a fresh install and do a complete wipe of phone, complete format and re-partition of my sd card.. and we'll see what happens with the dalvik cache...

 

[Lukaslukasm]

I'm having the same issues. I'm not sure what might be the issue. I'm using the latest (dated the 19th) CM7 ROM by playfulgod.

i to have also noticed that although my phone says that m,y dalvik is on the sd, my phones internal memory is decreasing at a much higher rate than before, im currently using a 1gb ext partition withabout 20% of it used, and my phones internal memory which b4 i never saw below 135mb and that was when i had 85 apps installed, is now at a measly 61mb qwith only about 30 apps installed.. only thing i can come up with is that the dalvik is running from the internal memory

Hey all I'm seeing same thing "Dalvik runs from Internal Storage" and get error and the reboot when try and repair.

i reflashed dt a2sd 2.7.5.3 beta 4 and now my dalvik cache is in my sd card and my internal memory is good again

 

[DaniellieeE]

i reflashed dt a2sd 2.7.5.3 beta 4 and now my dalvik cache is in my sd card and my internal memory is good again

Thought about this -- thanks much for confirming.

Edited to add: Did you only wipe cache n dalvik cache - TIA