• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Root Link2SD and you (a tutorial)

Hello!
I rooted my Samsung GALAXY Xcover, GT-S5690. Now i installed link2sd, created second partition on my sd card, but phones system storage does not became bigger even after quick reboot, as said in the tutorial. Why?
And one more problem - ANYTHING that i do in link2sd takes hours of time. It just says "Please wait..." and progress/loading round bar just goes round and round and nothing changes or happens. Why?
I have gained "SU" permission to "link2sd" app.

Although, if i select some app that can be moved to sd card and press "Move to sd" button, the only thing what i see is green progress bar, just going on and on for infinite time. Why?
 
Archy87 said:
created second partition on my sd card, but phones system storage does not became bigger even after quick reboot, as said in the tutorial. Why?
Click to expand...
Did you follow the guide to creating the second partition? The space is only going to increase if the second partition is made and the apps are linked.

What size is your uSD card and what size is your second partition?

Archy87 said:
And one more problem - ANYTHING that i do in link2sd takes hours of time. It just says "Please wait..." and progress/loading round bar just goes round and round and nothing changes or happens. Why?
I have gained "SU" permission to "link2sd" app.

Although, if i select some app that can be moved to sd card and press "Move to sd" button, the only thing what i see is green progress bar, just going on and on for infinite time. Why?
Click to expand...
Have you tried to uninstall Link2SD and reinstall it? Have you had any other problems with your uSD card?
 
MacFett said:
Did you follow the guide to creating the second partition? The space is only going to increase if the second partition is made and the apps are linked.

What size is your uSD card and what size is your second partition?


Have you tried to uninstall Link2SD and reinstall it? Have you had any other problems with your uSD card?
Click to expand...

Yes i followed the guide. I made two partitions - 12.8 Gb and 1.5 Gb. Both of them are primary partitions, file system - FAT32. When i rebooted my phone, link2sd asked something about that smaller partition, i pressed yes or ok, don't remember now. I thought that after reboot my phone's internal memory will be default memory PLUS 1.5 Gb. But there was no changes.

SD card's capacity is 16 Gb.
 
You have to actually link stuff for there to be any change. And it won't add that extra 1.5gb to your internal. It moves virtually all of the app freeing more space on the internal memory. Once apps are linked that is when you will notice a change after the reboot.
 
MacFett said:
You have to actually link stuff for there to be any change. And it won't add that extra 1.5gb to your internal. It moves virtually all of the app freeing more space on the internal memory. Once apps are linked that is when you will notice a change after the reboot.
Click to expand...
Oh, i thought that my internal memory will raise up to 1.5 gigs :D
Thanks, man :)
 
I've been using the phone but I have a good bit of data there but I have a backup of the SD card.

From the sounds of it you will lose all data on the SD card and it would be good if that was made clear from the start. I resized my partition and i have no option to reformat the unallocated space with minitool but that sounds like it's normal.

Just my 2 cents and I think it would make it clearer.
 
daithidearg said:
From the sounds of it you will lose all data on the SD card and it would be good if that was made clear from the start.
Click to expand...
You mean like at the 2nd bullet where I say to backup everything and make sure you have a backup of the card not on the card?
 
I took that those backups were needed in case of problems but that's the least of my problems.

I'm using a Galaxy Ace in case that makes any difference.

At the moment I have the following in minitool:
5.45 GB FAT32 Primary partition that is active
1.95 GB unallocated space which is a logical partition

Nothing seems to work.

Steps I have tried:
1. Wipe Partition with Fill Sectors with Zeros seems to have no affect although perhaps that's completely normal as space is unallocated.

2. Delete Primary Partition completes in a matter of seconds and has no change.

3. Format Primary Partition has no affect and completes in seconds.

I'm nearly certain at the start I had both partitions set to Primary and FAT32 but after applying that it never came back correctly.

I'm running out of options and would appreciate any ideas you have.
 
Both have to be primary partitions. Ensure that your rom will read FAT32 some need ext3 or 4. Link2Sd is not compatible with all devices.

Many things in this app have changed. I haven't used it in over 18 months.
 
daithidearg, as MacFett points out, Link2SD doesn't work the same on all devices.

I only post here because part of a "guide's" job is to keep the site organized, moving posts and/or threads so the poster can get more help. And as such, would you like me to move your posts in this thread over to the Samsung Galaxy Ace section? Please either drop me a PM or reply here and I would be happy to do so.



My brief perusal in the Samsung Galaxy Ace section made me look at a thread about forcing apps to sdcard without root, not sure if it will help you but here it is:

http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...-force-install-apps-sd-card-without-root.html

I am only trying to help; they tell us guides to look all over this site for ways to help, so don't take any of my post as any type of a correction.

good luck and let me know.
 
daithidearg said:
I took that those backups were needed in case of problems but that's the least of my problems.

I'm using a Galaxy Ace in case that makes any difference.

At the moment I have the following in minitool:
5.45 GB FAT32 Primary partition that is active
1.95 GB unallocated space which is a logical partition

Nothing seems to work.

Steps I have tried:
1. Wipe Partition with Fill Sectors with Zeros seems to have no affect although perhaps that's completely normal as space is unallocated.

2. Delete Primary Partition completes in a matter of seconds and has no change.

3. Format Primary Partition has no affect and completes in seconds.

I'm nearly certain at the start I had both partitions set to Primary and FAT32 but after applying that it never came back correctly.

I'm running out of options and would appreciate any ideas you have.
Click to expand...


Use a windows utility called "Boot It". This will put your SD card back in order. Check by putting in phone and seeing if phone mounts it and adds the normal folders.
This should have restored SD card to full capacity with no partition.
Using a custom recovery, partition SD card ( will be in the advanced section). Then use Mini Tool just to change partition formate to whatever is best for your phone and ROM.
Leave partitions set at whatever primary/logic the recovery set them to.

I have had success doing this twice now as I used my micro SD card to flash Linux distros (worked for those to big to burn to a CD), so I had to use Boot It and repartition again. It might work on your phone. Link2SD works flawlessly on my phone/SD card.

Note: Wiping SD card with Mini Tool will Bork the SD card, just reformat. This is the style of wipe you need to do without messing up the SD card. That's the main reason I needed Boot It to fix the SD card. I used the wipe option in Mini Tool Partition Wizard.

Note #2: I think you can only use no more than 20% of the actual space on the SD card for the partition if memory serves me correctly.
Link2SD will work with as low as a 1GB partition so you might think about scalling down the partition size as well.
 
@teddyearp that other tutorial doesn't really address what I'm trying to do. It's more for app2sd. I can start a new message in Acer section if that's required.

@AndieOpie150 Thanks for the help. I have that tool "Boot It" installed now but I'm stuck at the section doing a "custom recovery".

Also in Boot It I see the full 7G partition now. I tried double clicking on it and it gives a message "Invalid Head and SPT values exist in the BPB. Fix it?". I'm not sure should I just proceed with that.

In spite of that if I look on mini tool I just see the one partition of 7 GB.

Then I do the format so I have the one disk of 7 GB.
I went to resize this to 6 GB so I have the rest of the space for the second partition which is unallocated but I can't do a format or create a partition on this so I'm back to square one.

Have I done something wrong again?

Thanks for your help by the way.
 
Yes fix it. Then you should see almost 7.5 GB on SD card.
With that done, go to Start/Computer and right click the SD card icon. Select to format. Select FAT32 or default settings.
When done insert into phone and mount. Then choose erase. Reboot phone. Use a file manager to verify that it made the proper folders (android secure and a couple others). If yes
When done go to custom recovery and make a partition that's as close to 1.5 GB without going over 20% of that 7.?GB.
If you want to use Link2SD with the stock ROM go back to MiniTool Partition Wizard and format partition to FAT32. Don't change anything else.

If you want to use with a custom ROM check with the Developer of the ROM to see what the best format for the partition is and if it's ext.3 don't change anything as the recovery already formatted it to that.
I'm on a slow 3G/1X connection that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. As soon as I'm able I will respond to any questions.
 
Booted into "Boot It" but I never needed to fix anything here.

Formatted card to fat32.

Verified with file manager on phone that I have files:
Android
DCIM
LOST.DIR

Went to Settings --> SD Card & Phone Storage --> Format SD Card is greyed out

Pressed power and home to get to custom recovery and unless I'm missing something there are no options to create partitions. Options here are:
reboot system now
apply update from sdcard
wipe data/factory reset (Perhaps this is something I could but sounded like I'd do lasting damage and I've have to rest up alot from scratch again especially rooting the phone)
wipe cache partition
test redbend fota[FS]

Also tried wipe cache partition but it made no difference.

In minitool I now have a 6.42 GB primary partition and 1 GB that is unallocated.

Create partition fails with:
If you like to create several partitions on this removable disk, you need to delete all the partitions first.

Wipe partition is only other option and this brings me no closer either.

Tried Wipe Entire Disk and create both partitions within "Boot It" but that also fails.

Wipe Entire Disk and then options for creating partitions aren't available via minitool.

I am doing this with phone connected via a USB cable and I wonder could that have an impact.

Android version is 2.3.3 and kernel is 2.6.35.7 and it's Gingerbread.

Running out of things I can try but if you have other ideas let me know.
 
Advanced section of recovery. Scroll down to " partition SD card" option. Choose the 1028 MB ext size.
Leave disconnected from computer.
 
I have a feeling he is using a stock recovery.

I am out of town for a family funeral for a few days. When I get home I can team viewer and set it up for you.
 
Sure enough! He doesn't have enough options for it to be a custom recovery.

Well...he definitely needs a custom flash_image and recovery for sure.

Daithidearg,
This should help: http://androidforums.com/optimus-v-...ry-reset-your-rooted-phone-3.html#post3263770
Read thru this a couple of times before MacFett helps.
If you think you can handle, go for it. I tried as best I could to make it as easy to understand as possible.
Try the Touch Screen Recovery for now as it's pretty easy to navigate and use plus it will work with most all ROMs (early Froyo ROMs won't work with it, that's all).
Then if you want you can make the move to COT or ZenGarden recoverys.
 
Ok I think I've followed what you've asked. I took flash_image.zip from the post you pointed me to and I got the Touch Screen Recovery from:
http://androidforums.com/optimus-v-...ll-things-root-guide-updated-12-2-2012-a.html

and then:
[RECOVERY] CWMT Recovery 5.0.2.7-th7 (T is for TOUCH!) OV - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com
recovery-th7.img

Hopefully I was in the right place. It fails as follows:
C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb.exe shell
$ su
su
# mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /system /system
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /system /system
# flash_image_recovery /sdcard/flash_image
flash_image_recovery /sdcard/flash_image
flash_image_recovery: not found
# flash_image recovery /sdcard/flash_image
flash_image recovery /sdcard/flash_image
flash_image: not found
# flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-th7.img
flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-th7.img
flash_image: not found

Contents of sdcard:
C:\Users\David>dir g:
Volume in drive G has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 449C-1AFD

Directory of G:\

08/01/2013 00:15 <DIR> .android_secure
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> .data
30/07/2012 22:17 <DIR> .downloadTemp
20/10/2012 01:57 <DIR> .mmsyscache
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> .thinkfree
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> Android
25/12/2011 14:11 <DIR> bluetooth
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> cities
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> com.irishtimes.news
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> data
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> DCIM
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> download
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> ie.myhome.android.app
15/05/2012 19:15 <DIR> Images
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> LOST.DIR
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> media
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> redlaser
01/01/2013 23:20 <DIR> Ringtones
08/01/2013 00:15 <DIR> RootUninstaller
01/01/2013 23:21 <DIR> ScreenCapture
01/01/2013 23:22 <DIR> TitaniumBackup
01/01/2013 23:22 <DIR> Torrent Files
01/01/2013 23:22 <DIR> viber
29/12/2010 22:01 <DIR> Video clips
25/01/2010 19:24 177 qf
08/11/2012 18:48 721 twc.err
08/01/2013 18:02 9,640 flash_image
08/01/2013 17:44 6,387,712 recovery-th7.img
4 File(s) 6,398,250 bytes
24 Dir(s) 6,929,940,480 bytes free

Hopefully I've followed that correctly but probably not.

Really appreciate your help on this and again I'm using an Samsung Galaxy Ace if that is to make any difference.
 
Woh! OK! Absolutly, the recovery is probably all wrong for your phone. The mnt block could be all wrong, as well as the custom flash_image. Etc. Etc.

As you can see, it is best to seek advice from those that truly know your phone. There is a forum just for your phone.
Wow! Most everything here could be wrong and harmful to your phone.
 
If his phone is a Samsung, then the boot, recovery and kernel are in one image file and Samsung phones do not use a zImage for the kernel.
 
Appreciate all the help here.

Problem turned out to be quite simple. When I put USB directly in computer I recreated fat32 partitions and it now works perfectly. Appreciate your efforts.
 
I know this is an old thread, but I'm not really sure where else to go and time is of the essence. I used MiniTool to create a 2nd partition. Made it primary and FAT. Everything looks good, but now phone will not boot past splash screen. LG Optimus V BACKside Rom. Please help if you can, this is my wife's phone and she can't live without it.
 
Did the ROM work fine before the partitioning? Have you tried to boot without the uSD card in the device?
 
Yeah, everything worked fine, been running BACKside for about 2 years. Without sd, boots into Google setup, but crashes before completion. Then I'm stuck with nothing more than a status bar and black screen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom