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Root [Boost Mobile] [ROM] n00b (B10 based) VIII.II FULL Install 1/23/2013

Okay, I figured out how to change swap. I used Root Explorer.


  1. Download zip from here .
  2. Open Root Explorer and go to the folder that contains the zip you just downloaded.
  3. Long press the zip and select Extract All.
  4. Now go into to mnt/sdcard/SpeedSoftware/Extracted/512mbSwap/system/etc/init.d.
  5. Edit S03swap file to the swap size and swappiness you want. Make sure your changes are saved.**
  6. Delete the backup .bak file
  7. Go back to mnt/sdcard/SpeedSoftware/Extracted long press 512mbSwap folder. Select Zip this Folder.
  8. Now go into recovery and flash the zip. it is located in SpeedSoftware/Zip
Hope this helps.

** Step 5 explained:
Ypu should see the followng when you open it in text editor.
#!/system/bin/sh
# Modified by downthemachine and MrBobo
# for the zte warp
# original credits where not listed
# 02swap - creates /data/swap (if necessary) and enables swap
# Also adjusts minfree accordingly. Swap file is 512MB
#
if [ ! -f /data/swap ]; then
busybox dd if=/dev/zero of=/data/swap bs=1k count=512000
busybox mkswap /data/swap
fi
# This turns the swap on
swapon /data/swap
# This tells the system to set swappiness
sysctl -w vm.swappiness=80
# And this adjusts lmk for better performance
echo "500,1000,20000,20000,20000,25000" > /sys/module/lowmemorykiller/parameters/minfree
​
I put the things we are focusing on in bold and underlined. The first two numbers, 512MB & 512000. Represent the swap size, say I want the swap to be 256MB. I would change the numbers to, 256MB & 256000. The next number, 80, is the swappiness value. Default is normally 60. Swappiness is how often the system goes to use the swap file. the lower the swappiness value the less the system uses the swap file. Swapiness can be set between 1 to 100.
 
croy2007 said:
Okay, I figured out how to change swap. I used Root Explorer.


  1. Download zip from here .
  2. Open Root Explorer and go to the folder that contains the zip you just downloaded.
  3. Long press the zip and select Extract All.
  4. Now go into to mnt/sdcard/SpeedSoftware/Extracted/512mbSwap/system/etc/init.d.
  5. Edit S03swap file to the swap size and swappiness you want. Make sure your changes are saved.
  6. Delete the backup .bak file
  7. Go back to mnt/sdcard/SpeedSoftware/Extracted long press 512mbSwap folder. Select Zip this Folder.
  8. Now go into recovery and flash the zip. it is located in SpeedSoftware/Zip
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
I got lost at step 5. can you help a brother out? thanks
 
croy2007 said:
What do you need help with please explain
Click to expand...
I didn't know how to edit the swap file once I opened it. I hit menu, and then I ws stuck. Sorry still a newb. (But willing to learn) You can PM me if you like. Not doin much just sitting here fumbling around.
I open everything up to SO3swap then, I'm stuck. ???
 
Have you guys ever used so much ram that you hit swap and started using it? It's not like extra ram for you guys that are really new to this. It is extremely slow. So slow that you will probably just end up rebooting your phone anyways to save yourself the headache. Even on my quad I7 desktop if I hit swap it freezes up the system (probably dependent of your swappiness settings etc..). The only reason I still use swap on my desktop system is in case I want to hibernate my system. As far as I know android does not really hibernate in this way. It's neat to have the feature / option (certainly shows MrBobo knows a thing or two about GNU/Linux); but before you chase after it really hard I would look into it a little more (maybe even try to hit your current swap for any real period of time and you'll see what I mean surely).
 
dodo3773 said:
Have you guys ever used so much ram that you hit swap and started using it? It's not like extra ram for you guys that are really new to this. It is extremely slow. So slow that you will probably just end up rebooting your phone anyways to save yourself the headache. Even on my quad I7 desktop if I hit swap it freezes up the system (probably dependent of your swappiness settings etc..). The only reason I still use swap on my desktop system is in case I want to hibernate my system. As far as I know android does not really hibernate in this way. It's neat to have the feature / option (certainly shows MrBobo knows a thing or two about GNU/Linux); but before you chase after it really hard I would look into it a little more (maybe even try to hit your current swap for any real period of time and you'll see what I mean surely).
Click to expand...

You cant compare the warp to a desktop. They act completely different. With swap it allows for more smoothness and less lagginess, especially during gaming.
 
croy2007 said:
You cant compare the warp to a desktop. They act completely different. With swap it allows for more smoothness and less lagginess, especially during gaming.
Click to expand...

Hey croy do you game a lot on the warp? I'm assuming yes based on your comments. What do you have snappiness set at? It could provide a nice guide for others interested.
 
Smoothkaos said:
Hey croy do you game a lot on the warp? I'm assuming yes based on your comments. What do you have snappiness set at? It could provide a nice guide for others interested.
Click to expand...
I have
my swap size at 256MB and swappiness a 65. For me once the game starts there is some lag, but after about 15 seconds it is very smooth.
 
croy2007 said:
you cant compare the warp to a desktop. They act completely diffrent. With swap it allows for more smoothness andless lagginess especially during gaming.
Click to expand...

The underlying technology seems the same to me (should have mentioned I run GNU/Linux not Windows on my box at home). I understand this issue goes back and forth and on and on and on though. If you feel like it helps do it I guess. I do not think I will though because of the increased read write cycles / wear to storage (it's really not that much though so don't let this scare you off (sdcards have good wear leveling anyways as far as I know)). I do not think it is a good trade off. Also, I do not notice any difference when using vs not using swap space so I disabled it on my phone completely. I still do not know that much about Android though (still learning). Maybe this is beneficial if you use all of your real ram but I don't see how it could be really (I don't see how it could possibly make a game less laggy because of the speed of swap space (it's not as quick as real ram (not even close))). All that being said why is 256MB not enough (seems like there must eventually be diminishing returns on this approach (like any other))?


Edit: My reply was too slow croy2007 (wanted to do more research on this subject). I see that you are using 256MB.
 
croy2007 said:
I have
my swap size at 256MB and swappiness a 65. For me once the game starts there is some lag, but after about 15 seconds it is very smooth.
Click to expand...

So you didnt change swap but you bumped up swappiness from 60, got it thanks. FYI to those that don't truly understand swap/swappiness, MrBobo has set the ROM @ 256/60. It's good to know because if you go and play around with it, it can cause waaaaaay more problems than fix. I encourage playing around with it because it will make you learn but just want you to be aware. When we all first got these two tweaks many of us, myself included, didn't really know much about it. I personally jacked my phone up lol. But nothing too serious :D
 
dodo3773 said:
The underlying technology seems the same to me (should have mentioned I run GNU/Linux not Windows on my box at home). I understand this issue goes back and forth and on and on and on though. If you feel like it helps do it I guess. I do not think I will though because of the increased read write cycles / wear to storage (it's really not that much though so don't let this scare you off (sdcards have good wear leveling anyways as far as I know)). I do not think it is a good trade off. Also, I do not notice any difference when using vs not using swap space so I disabled it on my phone completely. I still do not know that much about Android though (still learning). Maybe this is beneficial if you use all of your real ram but I don't see how it could be really (I don't see how it could possibly make a game less laggy because of the speed of swap space (it's not as quick as real ram (not even close))). All that being said why is 256MB not enough (seems like there must eventually be diminishing returns on this approach (like any other))?


Edit: My reply was too slow croy2007 (wanted to do more research on this subject). I see that you are using 256MB.
Click to expand...
well that is what is nice about android you can customize it to yourself. And just so you know in n00b rom the swap file is in the internal memory not the sd card.
 
croy2007 said:
well that is what is nice about android you can customize it to yourself. And just so you know in n00b rom the swap file is in the internal memory not the sd card.
Click to expand...

Oh gotcha. Yeah the internal memory is probably faster than the external for sure. Guess it all comes down to needs / habits in the end. I agree with you completely on the Android comment. Us even being able to have this discussion says a lot to how open the system is.
 
how do i get the extended power menu bak?i had the b10 rom.flashed noob and all updates...rebooted..and now when i power down its just the stock menu..no reboot to recovery or anything.only power off,ect. wat can i do??
 
The reason the zip works to increase swap is it deletes the swap partition, didn't think about that, but it's necessary.
 
mikegmoney said:
how do i get the extended power menu bak?i had the b10 rom.flashed noob and all updates...rebooted..and now when i power down its just the stock menu..no reboot to recovery or anything.only power off,ect. wat can i do??
Click to expand...

If you are doing a full install just download and flash the full install zip in post one it includes all updates. Sounds like youmay have over complicated it... first you could try wiping cache and dalvik
 
MrBobo said:
The reason the zip works to increase swap is it deletes the swap partition, didn't think about that, but it's necessary.
Click to expand...
I guess it was a good thing I made a little tutorial. You may want to post a link to my post in post #3. So anyone can edit the swap if they want to.
 
For those that are interested, this is the app that I use to check up on my swap memory usage.

MemoryInfo - SwapCheck

The most that I've ever used of swap memory is 260 mb. I do experience SOME lag at this point, but I suspect that it has nothing to do with swap, but more to do with the cpu. I notice that whenever there is lag, smartassv2 usually has my clock speed running much lower than what I set as my max clock speed. Switching governors (to smoothass) resolves the issue.

I didn't read all of the messages above, so I'm not sure if this was discussed or not, but you can't compare swap on a phone to swap on a desktop. The main reason, in my opinion, is the fact that internal memory on a desktop is on a traditional hard drive (moving parts) and the internal memory for a phone is on flash memory (no moving parts). Moving parts make processing a lot slower, so when used as ram, it'll just crawl.
 
rps20130203_174218_304.jpgi'll upload in a second, sorry bout the dog pic
 

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