Root Overwhelming Information on Forums, A2SD, LinkSD

[Xruptor]

Hey all just want to ask some question.

First off I want to say thank you to all those whom have contributed and have devoted their time to make this phone the best it can be.

I will have to admit the information on this forum is a bit DAUNTING at time. A lot of the information seems to be spread all over the place and sometimes fixes are deep within threads. The noob guide that was posted is great but sometime it's missing information related to other things you need to do first.

I keep hearing about partitioning the SD card and yet I really haven't come across any post that explains it, what it does, how to do it, and what benefits it gives.

I also come across stuff for A2SD and Link2SD. Aside from how to install it there isn't any deep descriptions about it or what they do. Which is better and or at least a comparison.

Sometimes I come across posts which explain what you need but don't provide information on how to perform the installation.

Any guidance or assistance to the above questions would be great. Like A2SD and Link2SD, SD partitioning, kernel differences, and benefits of CTMod over Shabby over the others mentioned.

Thanks all!

 

[76ford90lx]

Yes it all is very confusing, many times it is explained exactly the way you do it. BUT until you take the dive and do it for the first time it confuses you... after you do it once you realize how easy half of this stuff is and also realize that the way it was explained is %100 the way its done.

SD card partitoning is very easy. First you need to get CWM on your phone. once you have it

1.make sure the phone is shut off
2. hold down the power and volume up keys until it boots up into CWM and you see the menu
3.use the volume down and go down to "advanced"
4.press the camera button to select "advanced"
5.use the volume down and go to "Partition SD Card"
6.press the camera button to select "Partiton SD Card"
7.choose your ext size by using the volume down button and select what you want to allocate for the partition and press the camera button to select
8. once you select what you want the next screen pops up and you need to select "0M"
9. once you select that the process begins automaticaly
10. once you see its done, press the "back" button on the bottom of the touchscreen and you will see "reboot system now" once you see that then press the camera button.

thats it the phone reboots and you have a partitioned SD card.
After that I highly recommend the A2SD as I had the link2sd and went the other route, you will notice that almost everyone that used link2SD went to A2SD sooner or later so that speaks for itself.

 

[76ford90lx]

Oh and partitioning that SD card makes a sub folder, once you have that sub folder you use the A2SD to move all your apps to that sub folder, this frees up a ton of internal memory on the phone and lets you download as many apps as you want.

 

[Xruptor]

Oh and partitioning that SD card makes a sub folder, once you have that sub folder you use the A2SD to move all your apps to that sub folder, this frees up a ton of internal memory on the phone and lets you download as many apps as you want.

Thank you so much for that simple explanation! I'm assuming I have to run the A2SD script that is somewhere on this forum. I believe it was something about Darktremors script or some such. I do hope that's what you mean It seems like it really is worth my while to do this partitioning thing since it makes the phone a little more flexible.

The only concern I have is speed. Do the apps that run on the SD run slowly or load up slowly? Or do you not notice any particular difference?

Thanks again for taking the time to respond it's VERY appreciated!

 

[psp_noob]

The noob guide that was posted is great

you're welcome

but sometime it's missing information related to other things you need to do first.

such as? feel free to be as specific as you can, about your concerns

 

[Xruptor]

you're welcome



such as? feel free to be as specific as you can, about your concerns

Well the Link2SD stuff really. Though I just noticed you did mention some stuff your researching at the tips below. I didn't notice that until now.

Comparison stuff is missing a bit. Aside from that it just takes sometime to click on everything review the huge posts and then check for fixes and such in the post. Some stuff don't work with others... like I said a bit daunting.

 

[psp_noob]

Well the Link2SD stuff really. Though I just noticed you did mention some stuff your researching at the tips below. I didn't notice that until now.

Comparison stuff is missing a bit. Aside from that it just takes sometime to click on everything review the huge posts and then check for fixes and such in the post. Some stuff don't work with others... like I said a bit daunting.

yeah unfortunately i haven't been testing a lot of the stuff i "recommend" in the guide, but i try real hard not to sound like you SHOULD choose one or the other, if it is objective stuff like this one works better than that one then i will present it that way, otherwise most of this stuff comes down to personal choice and many choices produce very similar results and i'd rather not spend much time bickering about my own personal preferences

also there are a lot of variables that change from day to day, so i thought it would be better to just leave the info out there for the masses to play around with and report back on which combo they feel is best

most of the stuff i link has plenty of "how to" guides and the thread should contain some info on what it does and why people like it (or have problems with it) so i don't really feel the need to repeat that stuff

but i really feel your pain about some things not playing nice together, since i still have buggy software running my phone at the moment

i might do a "noob's choice" kinda setup at some point, but i really don't think that would be appropriate in a stickied universal guide. for now i'm still waiting to see where the development goes from here, otherwise any recommendation i make might sound a bit outdated, since i haven't tested all the latest bells and whistles

feel free to post in the guide what you've done so far and which parts you're stuck on, or overall how you think the guide could use some improvement

thanks for the feedback

so to answer some of your quick questions,

currently i'm using A2SD instead of link2sd, and i'd be really happy if CWM wouldn't wipe my sd-ext everytime i make a backup

but overall i haven't noticed a great amount of improvement of A2SD over link2sd, so if you like it just keep it

as for "which stuff doesn't work with others?" hopefully the linked thread for each item will detail which setup you should be using and if you have a question about a particular item, that isn't obvious to me (and is already in the guide) you should probably ask the developer in their thread, after all i'm just a noob

 

[chin checka]

My CWM doesn't delete The SD-EXT when making a backup?

Been flashing the CWM Since created & I never seem to have that problem with it deleting the SD-Ext.

For Me, I just cant use EXT-4 For some reason on mines & i know others are using ext4 for a2sd. But it wont work @ all. i Have to use ext2/3. but ext3 seems to run & load everything fine..

 

[Xruptor]

My CWM doesn't delete The SD-EXT when making a backup?

Been flashing the CWM Since created & I never seem to have that problem with it deleting the SD-Ext.

For Me, I just cant use EXT-4 For some reason on mines & i know others are using ext4 for a2sd. But it wont work @ all. i Have to use ext2/3. but ext3 seems to run & load everything fine..

Yeah that's what I don't get. It's the same phone the exact same hardware and yet some things work for some that don't for others. Its odd I tell you.

 

[x432hz]

I find all of this extremely confusing as well. What messes me up is, well here is a good example, above it is stated that

SD card partitoning is very easy. First you need to get CWM on your phone. once you have it

, but what is CWM?, so now I have to go searching around for that, then I get tied up for 2 or 3 hours reading about that, all to come back to what I was first reading about, then I find something else and have to go research, next thing I know a week went by and I grew a beard.

I'm learning, but someone tell me, what/where is the best place here to learn about the ins and outs of the Recovery screen during initial bootup on Android 2.2 - I kind of threw myself into Android for the 1st time 6 months ago but did so in a more advanced fashion, and I think I'm paying for it now:

When I bought my Samsung Galaxy Prevail, I wasted no time and Rooted it with the One Touch Root, got it the 1st time, all was good. Then learned that Superuser was installed by it (had no idea), then I learned way after that how to get into the recovery screen by holding volume up and power button during phone turn on.

But I dont understand how to use those screens, and I see it referenced to a lot on these here forums. Problem is, is what I am seeing the original way it looks or am I seeing something that the Root process put on the phone?

I have Factory-Reset my phone a dozen times already (partly due to OCD), and just recently accidently self taught, myself, how to factory reset starting with the phone off 1st method, just trial and error, the whole time worried if I was going to brick it, as they say.

See where I'm going here? - It seems like I have to be a Dev or Programmer or have a Pre-Android understanding, in order to Understand Android. It feels like the first time I was introduced to Windows, it's like I am already supposed to know these things in order to understand it at all. But everywhere on the web I go it all explained the same way it seems, very technicaly. Now I am actually a Tech, but I'm a windows guy, never even seen Linux, but I'm currently trying through VirtualBox, not much luck, in fact got more confused. I'm getting confused again, sorry. lol

PLEASE STEER ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ON WHERE TO LEARN WHAT I NEED TO LEARN 1ST (Android 101, etc.) - I did search and read and still I feel like I'm being talked to like a Dev, I need simple lamens terms or something .....

 

[psp_noob]

PLEASE STEER ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ON WHERE TO LEARN WHAT I NEED TO LEARN 1ST (Android 101, etc.)

101 at your service, mostly in layman's terms http://androidforums.com/galaxy-pre...ide-galaxy-prevail-all-things-root-0-2-a.html

it's not anywhere near a final version, but it's good enough for where this forum is currently at during the development phase

 

[psp_noob]

My CWM doesn't delete The SD-EXT when making a backup?

the version i'm currently using (rev4? i think) doesn't DELETE the the sd-ext when making backups, but it does wipe it, which isn't the worst thing in the world, just very annoying because A2SD uses the ext to store your apps, so everytime i do a backup i have to go and reinstall all the apps i had on my system

the really annoying part is that a backup shouldn't WIPE ANYTHING, it is supposed to MAKE A BACKUP (copy existing)

just one of the many bugs one has to deal with while being a guinea pig for the developers

which i try to avoid in the guide, since most noobs don't want to spend a lot of time trying out the latest test software for the devs and reporting bugs n' such

 

[76ford90lx]

I find all of this extremely confusing as well. What messes me up is, well here is a good example, above it is stated that , but what is CWM?, so now I have to go searching around for that, then I get tied up for 2 or 3 hours reading about that, all to come back to what I was first reading about, then I find something else and have to go research, next thing I know a week went by and I grew a beard.....

LOL. Welcome to the club I have hours upon hours invested in reading and I'm still lost half the time. Its a hobby and you wont learn it all in an afternoon. For sure. Its just the way it is just like anything else. But I feel ya there are times I just want to Odin to stock and give up. Other times I want to bouncy my phone off the wall Lmao.there is a lot to learn. Here and most these guys say oh its easy you just have to this this and this and your done. These guys doing all this and making all these themes and mods are way smarter than they give themselves credit for.

 

[3characters]

101 at your service, mostly in layman's terms http://androidforums.com/galaxy-pre...ide-galaxy-prevail-all-things-root-0-2-a.html

it's not anywhere near a final version, but it's good enough for where this forum is currently at during the development phase

Hu? I've gone over that a couple of times but it really isn't written for people with no experience with all this. Seems that when people get a lot of experience with technology they are no longer capable of grasping with no experience is :/ Wish there was a translation program.

 

[Xruptor]

Hu? I've gone over that a couple of times but it really isn't written for people with no experience with all this. Seems that when people get a lot of experience with technology they are no longer capable of grasping with no experience is :/ Wish there was a translation program.

Don't feel bad it took me hours and hours to read through everything and get an understand of what people were talking about. Once I understood it's really not that bad. Though it would be nice if people were a little clearer when they explained things .

 

[psp_noob]

Hu? I've gone over that a couple of times but it really isn't written for people with no experience with all this. Seems that when people get a lot of experience with technology they are no longer capable of grasping with no experience is :/ Wish there was a translation program.

which part of the guide were you not able to understand?

or do you have a specific question about what you want to do?

 

[psp_noob]

Don't feel bad it took me hours and hours to read through everything and get an understand of what people were talking about. Once I understood it's really not that bad. Though it would be nice if people were a little clearer when they explained things .

the problem is that ultra noobs (aka people with NO experience) really shouldn't be messing around in an "all things root" forum to begin with, however i am trying to give some noobs a boost by at least pointing them in the right direction, and IF they can figure it out for themselves then more power to them, if not then i'm afraid they either have to be happy with stock or send their phone to a buddy that does have some experience

i was contemplating doing a "noob's choice" setup (especially for ultra noobs) that would not require any research or knowledge on their part, however this would mean that i would be picking EXACTLY what would be going on their phone and how it will look and perform, and probably give them the impression that i fully endorse all components of it and will answer any technical questions, including stuff i don't know about

i might do it, but first i'm waiting to see how rock solid the stuff we do have available is before i'd even humor such a thing

my stuff is still buggy, so if i had to make a solid choice right at this time, it would be a boring old shabby 0.9 fat (with stock fonts), with gen 1 CWM, etc..

and then everyone would be all like "dude why aren't you including all the bells and whistles.... "

 

[3characters]

which part of the guide were you not able to understand?

or do you have a specific question about what you want to do?

At this point I just wish there was reputable business that would do the root for me and would guarantee their services. I cannot afford to buy a new phone if it gets messed up. All I really want is a way to remove some of the useless junk that came with the phone (Hookt, UberSocial, Layar, ThinkFree etc, etc) and not have the "Low Storage" problem. And if there were a way to do that without rooting the phone I would skip rooting all together.

 

[transitoyspace]

At this point I just wish there was reputable business that would do the root for me and would guarantee their services. I cannot afford to buy a new phone if it gets messed up. All I really want is a way to remove some of the useless junk that came with the phone (Hookt, UberSocial, Layar, ThinkFree etc, etc) and not have the "Low Storage" problem. And if there were a way to do that without rooting the phone I would skip rooting all together.

This isnt the forum for that. Please talk with your carrier and/or manufacturer. (i.e boost mobile, samsung).
Android is very minimal...usually carriers add all the "junk"...same as best buy add "value" software with new/all computers.

You have odin. You wont mess up your phone. This isnt motorola.
As long as you follow the steps....super easy btw and make a backup...youll be fine.
If you are indeed to scaried to even touch the device...i suggest switching over to a different carrier or buying a new phone.

Craigslist is full of people offering services to root. But you can DIY. FREE.
Think of it this way....$150 phone...$50(pay to root)=$200...the ZTE warp is that much...and with alot more ram and rom space you wont have to delete the unwanted apps.

I really suggest you try rooting..etc before you give up.