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SD 2nd partition doesn't work - miniTool Partition Wizard

G

gugg1

Newbie
Hey,

I'm have been trying to create a second partition on my sd card using miniTool Partition Wizard.
But in the end I never get a 2nd partition but just a smaller first one.

I tried 2 HowTos.

My approach is as follows:

insert empty SD card (FAT32, 4GB)
open miniTool Partition Wizard
right click on SD card - "Move/Resize"
choose 1gb for unallocated space after - click ok
right click on 2nd partition and choose "create"
create 2nd partition with FAT32/Ext2/Ext3 (tried all options already) and "primary" and Cluster 4KB - click ok
Apply

Afterwards my SD card is still shown as one partition, but this has just 1gb less capacity then before.
Neither the Wizard nor the phone detects the 2nd partition then.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance - I'm really desperate.
 
Hi gugg1, and welcome to AF :)

People whose opinions I respect tell me that minitool partition wizard does a bad job with ext partitions (I'm not a Windows user, and so have no experience with this tool). Certainly in my home device forum we've fixed a number of problems by getting people to redo the partitioning using GParted.

However, before we go there, let's see whether there really is a problem.

What are you planning to use the partition for, and how do you look for it on the phone? If you are rooted and using it to extend your internal memory it needs to be ext3 or ext4, not fat32. Otherwise, what you need might depend on what you wish to use it for (and whether your ROM supports that).

Then the second question, what are you using to look for it on the phone? Sometimes people think it's missing because they are using the wrong app or expect it to be visible in a way that it isn't (such as the internal storage reported by the phone menu increasing). A root capable file explorer such as ES File Explorer or Root Explorer should see it if you look from the top of the file tree ("/"), where it will appear as "sd-ext" or similar.
 
First of all: Thank you so much for your time.

I want to use the partition to increase my phone memory (Samsung Galaxy Ace) using the app "Link2SD".
My phone is already rooted and if I looked into Link2SD it said: No 2nd partition found
Even in the minitool partition wizard the second partition did not show up.

I will download and burn the gParted image now and try the process tomorrow.
I am gonna post my results then.

those are the howtos i used:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/SD_card_partitioning
http://www.xperiablog.net/2011/12/12/link2sd-guide-never-worry-about-internal-memory-limits-again/
 
I tried the whole process again, using gParted this time.

I have created two partitions on my 32gb SD-card.
1. with 2GB - Ext4
2. with rest - Fat32

both as primary drives.

When I plugged this SD into windows then, one (unreadable; "do you want to format this drive?") drive with 30GB was shown.

When I pluuged it into my Galaxy Ace, Link2SD asked for the format of my 2nd partition. But whenever I choose Ext4 (or any other option) it says "Couldn't be mounted".

Is there anything that I might have done wrong ?

Thanks in advance.
 
A pc will only see the fat32 partition. That bit is normal.

As for the phone, what is the order of the partitions? Should be fat first, then ext.

Edit: Just a thought - the pc reported a capacity of 30GB? The reason I ask is that the real capacity of a "32GB" card is 29.8GB, so that sounds like how an unpartitioned card would appear to a computer. So it's possible that the partition wasn't made.
 
Thanks for your immediate reply.

The order is Fat first, ext4 second.

I attached two screenshots of my partition.

Since I did the whole process twice now, It seems as if a space of 2GB is "lost" now. I can't see the full capacity of my sd card anymore (neither in gparted nor in partitionTool Wizard or the Windows Explorer).

One image shows window's format screen (full capacity about 30gb).
The other image shows the SD card in partitionToolwizard.

I made the screenshot in partitionTool Wizard but I created the partition using gparted (usb boot) before.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8aefigfrssw6z5/formatexplorer.PNG
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r1zsr5ra2e751ej/partitionTool.PNG
 
I made a step forward today.
Apparently I did not check trying ext2 before.

Using ext2 the card gets accepted by my phone.

However, when I open Link2SD after the restart a info screen appears and it restarts again.

I got:
SD Card 32GB with 1.partition 27GB FAT32 primary - 2.part 2GB ext2 primary
Samsung Galaxy Ace with Link2SD
When I started Link2SD the first time, I chose ext2 and an info screen appeared (attached imagehttps://dl.dropbox.com/u/42121592/CIMG4215.JPG), and the phone restarted automatically.
Unfortunately the same screen keeps showing up in Link2SD after each restart, right before another automatic restart occurs.

Is there any chance to link my sd card in the Galaxy Ace properly ?

Thanks in advance


Regarding the partitioning:

If I insert the partitioned SD card in my laptop and go to "My Computer" in windows: Should I be able to open/get access to the drive?
If I try to get access via "My Computer" windows offers me to format the device instead of opening the drive.
 
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