Swap issues

[Guest Totyasrác]

Hi there!

Since I've ran into some problems with A2SD's swap handling I thought it would be a good idea to have one specific topic for the swap experiences. This is it :lol:

Now there are some ways to use swap (once it is enabled by using the appropriate kernel):

- Darktremor's app2sd supports it if you have created a swap partition

- Swapper2 (as the recommended app) can use the created swap partition OR create a swap file on your SD.

Feel free to share your experiences, tips&tricks, ideas or whatever comes to mind - about swap (hear that, Dan? :))

------------------------------

Okay, apparently so far whoever is satisfied with Apps2sd swap is uses the latest version of Darktremor Apps2sd - not the 2.7.5 RC2 one.

Please also mention in your posts:

- what ROM are you using

- what version of apps2sd is used (if any) -> <in terminal emulator type the following commands to figure out> su and the a2sd check

- are you using Swapper2 or apps2sd's swap functionality

- what are the settings (file or partiton, size, swappiness factor).

Thanks!

Edited September 16, 2010 by Totyasrác

[Guest Totyasrác]

Interesting thought (thanks Azurren):

'You can install A2SD without SWAP and SWAP without A2SD. If your SD card is below a "Class 6" then it is highly recommended that you install SWAP without A2SD.'

Now it makes sense NOT to use both on SD. I'll also give this a try...

Otherwise now Swapper2 uses the swap partition on SD while apps2sd puts apps to SD (no surprise :(). Might be the problem of apps2sd itself being too slow? :lol:

Okay, I have done the tests. Following Azurren mate's description results in a just perfect Pulse:

- I am using Apps2SD 2.7.5 rc2

- Created 32MBs swap partition (haven't tried this with 64megs though)

- Moved apps back to device (turned out that all required and liked apps on internal memory still leave me 20megs of free space... good enough :) )

- Using swap offered by apps2sd while stopped uninstalled Swapper2

- Did the lowmwm-moderate setting

Now at the moment I have 28megs of free RAM (according to SysMonitor and settings/applications/running apps) while having all used apps running (twitter, gmail, weather widget etc.). No signs of home ever being shut down... So pretty satisfied with the results. Will give a shot at Auto-killer app to see if the phone can be tuned even more :)

Edited September 22, 2010 by Totyasrác

[Guest flip360]

i have mine with darktremors latest 2.7.5 a2sd and a swap partition of 32Mb and everything is ok, no hangs, smooth. I tried the swapper thing and it didnt mount the swap partition right so i gave up :lol:

[Guest hungary]

For me (FroYo 0.51 with tweaks) the Swap file with Swapper2 is the best option: 32MB Swap file, 10 Swapper! I try Darktremors A2SD's swap, but the system not stable (some restarts and swap not used - checked it with emulator 'free' command)

But with swap file, if i mount the sd card, the swap dropped and needed to create manually after unmount. :lol:

[Guest ambrozija]

i'm using swapper2 with swap file. i had problems when setting the swapiness value to 60(slowish phone). now i've settled to 15 and it looks ok. my sd card is C4 and on the tests i get r: 3.6, w: 10.0 but i have no problems running swap or aps2sd. one (kind of) problem: when disabling and then enabling "usb mass storage", takes a while until swapper2 enables swap again. cheers!

edit: yeah, and i'm using flb 1.3 with 32mb swap file.

Edited September 15, 2010 by ambrozija

[Guest Totyasrác]

i have mine with darktremors latest 2.7.5 a2sd and a swap partition of 32Mb and everything is ok, no hangs, smooth. I tried the swapper thing and it didnt mount the swap partition right so i gave up :lol:

Interesting... I have Apps2SD version 2.7.5 RC2 2010-08-09 and with swap enabled my phone became terribly slow. Even the "... app is not responding" message took 5-10 seconds to appear, then pressing a button took another 6-7 seconds...

Disabled that one, started Swapper2 (using the very same swap partition) resulted in a smooth, multitasking Pulse-experience... This is why I want to track down if anyone else had the same issue...

[Guest DanWilson]

about swap (hear that, Dan? :lol:)

Please also mention in your posts:

- what ROM are you using

- what version of apps2sd is used (if any) -> <in terminal emulator type the following commands to figure out> su and the a2sd check

- are you using Swapper2 or apps2sd's swap functionality

- what are the settings (file or partiton, size, swappiness factor).

Listen, if Jamie comes here, we're boned.

But,

Froyo 0.51

Erm - The one Flib posted for Froyo? (I don't use FLB 2)

Swapper 2

File, 128MB, Swappiness 60.

It's excellent.

It took me a while to get it to work though, I had to create the file through Menu -> Swap -> Create, then I pressed on.

Works like a charm. And I think I could beat my dad's Desire with an OverClock (He has stock O2 Froyo. OLOL!)

EDIT - I can't seem to be able to get USB mass storage working, anyone else get this?

Edited September 15, 2010 by DanWilson

[Guest David Horvath]

I made a 128meg Swap partition, and now i had 19 running tasks :lol: I did not even feel it. Cool. I wonder if the phone uses the partition or made a swap file. Does anybody know how could i check it other than in a terminal?

[Guest DanWilson]

I made a 128meg Swap partition, and now i had 19 running tasks :lol: I did not even feel it. Cool. I wonder if the phone uses the partition or made a swap file. Does anybody know how could i check it other than in a terminal?

Did you partition the SD Card? - You have a partition.

Do you use Swapper 2? - You have a file.

:)

[Guest David Horvath]

Did you partition the SD Card? - You have a partition.

Do you use Swapper 2? - You have a file.

:)

I made a partition with gparted under ubuntu, but i had to turn on that to use at the swapper 2 options. Now i have a lot of "memory" :lol: Cool.

[Guest TaiwanCHT8k]

regarding swapper2,

I tried to redirect swap place to /dev/block/mtdblock3 but got an error

should accessing swap on an independent partition make any difference?

Edited September 15, 2010 by TaiwanCHT8k

[Guest DanWilson]

regarding swapper2,

I tried to redirect swap place to /dev/block/mtdblock3 but got an error

should accessing swap on an independent partition make any difference?

That is if you have a SWAP partition, but it's not in the normal place.

As in, if it's supposed to be in partition x, but instead it's in partition y, you can set it so that it's correct.

Or do you have a SWAP partition?

[Guest Azurren]

Using default FLB A2sd the phone was sluggish (But could start Angery Birds)

Using the same swap partition with swapper2 and the same swappiness (60) it runs a little better (But can't start angry birds)

Draw your own conclusions :lol:

Oh and this is my first time using A2SD.. Can't tell if the sluggishness is caused by this or swap

Edited September 15, 2010 by Azurren

[Guest TaiwanCHT8k]

That is if you have a SWAP partition, but it's not in the normal place.

As in, if it's supposed to be in partition x, but instead it's in partition y, you can set it so that it's correct.

Or do you have a SWAP partition?

lmao you're right

mtdblock3 is the system cache partition, which is clearly NOT on my sdcard

[Guest Narsil]

I haven't tried using SWAP yet, but will do at the weekend when I've got more time to fiddle about with it. I just have a couple of questions if anyone can indulge me.

Firstly, using swapper2 with a swap file. Do you need to specify a specific file size, or is it 'fluid' so that android just makes the swap file size as big as it needs to be at any given time? Is it better than using a fixed size swap partition?

Secondly, this USB mass storage problem that seems to be creeping up. Does swapper2 have some kind of SWAP 'toggle' that would allow you to turn SWAP on and off to allow mounting of the SD card, or would that require a reboot? The idea of having to power down the phone to remove the card, then reboot, just so I can put an mp3 or whatever on it isn't a particularly attractive one.

Lastly, would it be better to have have swapper2 running from the phone's internal storage rather than from the sd card, in case the sd card fails and messes everything up? If that's even possible. Or am I being too paranoid :lol: ?

[Guest DanWilson]

I haven't tried using SWAP yet, but will do at the weekend when I've got more time to fiddle about with it. I just have a couple of questions if anyone can indulge me.

Firstly, using swapper2 with a swap file. Do you need to specify a specific file size, or is it 'fluid' so that android just makes the swap file size as big as it needs to be at any given time? Is it better than using a fixed size swap partition?

Secondly, this USB mass storage problem that seems to be creeping up. Does swapper2 have some kind of SWAP 'toggle' that would allow you to turn SWAP on and off to allow mounting of the SD card, or would that require a reboot? The idea of having to power down the phone to remove the card, then reboot, just so I can put an mp3 or whatever on it isn't a particularly attractive one.

Lastly, would it be better to have have swapper2 running from the phone's internal storage rather than from the sd card, in case the sd card fails and messes everything up? If that's even possible. Or am I being too paranoid :lol: ?

1. You must set a SWAP file size. Some people say not to use too much. Others say it doesn't matter. You be the judge of that (You can't mess up, so don't worry)

2. I really don't know. I couldn't enable USB Mass Storage at all, or adb push to the SD card. But there is a SWAP toggle. (On / Off)

You also need to open Swapper2 and enable SWAP every time you boot. Meh.

3. Erm whut? Just a bit too paranoid. But SWAP will kill your SD card quicker than normal use. If you use A2SD, the difference isn't much (Apparently)

Edited September 15, 2010 by DanWilson

[Guest Narsil]

1. You must set a SWAP file size. Some people say not to use too much. Others say it doesn't matter. You be the judge of that (You can't mess up, so don't worry)

2. I really don't know. I couldn't enable USB Mass Storage at all, or adb push to the SD card. But there is a SWAP toggle. (On / Off)

You also need to open Swapper2 and enable SWAP every time you boot. Meh.

3. Erm whut? Just a bit too paranoid. But SWAP will kill your SD card quicker than normal use. If you use A2SD, the difference isn't much (Apparently)

1. Ah, OK, so there's no real difference in how swap files and swap partitions are handled by swapper2. I guess it would be easier to change the size of a swap file than a swap partition if there's problems though?

2. Cheers, does that mean that SWAP isn't enabled after reboot by default? So you can reboot, enable mass storage to do your business, remount the card then enable SWAP before carrying on as normal? That would actually be easier than having to turn the phone off before physically removing then replacing the card to get a media file or whatever on it.

3. Sorry, didn't explain myself very well. What I meant to ask was is it better to have the swapper2 app running from the phone or from the sd card? If the sd card failed, which would leave you with a still-functioning phone?

[Guest DanWilson]

1. Ah, OK, so there's no real difference in how swap files and swap partitions are handled by swapper2. I guess it would be easier to change the size of a swap file than a swap partition if there's problems though?

2. Cheers, does that mean that SWAP isn't enabled after reboot by default? So you can reboot, enable mass storage to do your business, remount the card then enable SWAP before carrying on as normal? That would actually be easier than having to turn the phone off before physically removing then replacing the card to get a media file or whatever on it.

3. Sorry, didn't explain myself very well. What I meant to ask was is it better to have the swapper2 app running from the phone or from the sd card? If the sd card failed, which would leave you with a still-functioning phone?

1. If you want to chop and change the size of your SWAP, a file is better than a partition. And, you don't loose all your files with a SWAP file. (Making a partition normally erases everything, unless you use a certain program - I can't remember which)

2. Well, I think that SWAP isn't on by default, at least with Swapper2 it isn't. You can use recovery rather than removing the card all the time (Clockwork or Amon-RA. But I can live with needing to boot to recovery to put a file on the card.

3. Either would be fine. If the SD card failed, the phone might crash and reboot, and then be fine. But you'll probably loose your apps if it failed.

If that still didn't answer your question, I'll try again. :lol:

[Guest AJV]

I moved yesterday to the new kernel allowing swap and at the same time upgraded from FLB 1.2 to 1.5.

After wiping and moving to FLB 1.5 I used Rom Manager to create a swap partition. This did not work out well at all, lots of force closes, smooth closing and opening apps but massive 'hangs' and even a couple of reboots. I then got Swapper2 from the market and did the off/on/off/on/on/etc until I got the results I wanted and now things seem to be pretty smooth and working well.

- what ROM are you using

FLB 1.5

- what version of apps2sd is used (if any) -> <in terminal emulator type the following commands to figure out> su and the a2sd check

Dark tremor 2.7.5 rc 2 i think

- are you using Swapper2 or apps2sd's swap functionality

using the Swapper2 functionality as its the only one that works for me

- what are the settings (file or partiton, size, swappiness factor).

partition size set to 64mb and swappiness to 10 - I tried swappiness on 60 and felt it wasn't as stable for me

[Guest Narsil]

1. If you want to chop and change the size of your SWAP, a file is better than a partition. And, you don't loose all your files with a SWAP file. (Making a partition normally erases everything, unless you use a certain program - I can't remember which)

2. Well, I think that SWAP isn't on by default, at least with Swapper2 it isn't. You can use recovery rather than removing the card all the time (Clockwork or Amon-RA. But I can live with needing to boot to recovery to put a file on the card.

3. Either would be fine. If the SD card failed, the phone might crash and reboot, and then be fine. But you'll probably loose your apps if it failed.

If that still didn't answer your question, I'll try again. :)

Ahh, never thought of using recovery for putting files on the sd card. The other stuff was just me wondering if there was a 'right' way to try SWAP stuff out. I guess we're all still experimenting :( . I'm off for me night shift in a minute so I'll leave you in peace :lol:

Thanks for the help mate.

[Guest gusthy]

You cannot use mtdblk3 as swap partition since it is yaffs not swapfs. you could use internal memory by creating a swapfile there.

On the other hand I highly discourage this unless you want to kill your phone very fast...

[Guest DanWilson]

Ahh, never thought of using recovery for putting files on the sd card. The other stuff was just me wondering if there was a 'right' way to try SWAP stuff out. I guess we're all still experimenting :) . I'm off for me night shift in a minute so I'll leave you in peace :lol:

Thanks for the help mate.

You're welcome bro, glad I helped. And I hope that if you do, you enjoy using a Pulse with SWAP.

[Guest menno2]

with just clockworkd recovery can I make a swap partition?

[Guest peelie]

fyi i am using swapper (32Mb size, swapper 10) with a class 2 card - seems to have less FC than before on flib1.5 ROM

[Guest DanWilson]

with just clockworkd recovery can I make a swap partition?

Yup. But it'll erase EVERYTHING on your SD card. Any apps for A2SD, all your Nandroids, songs etc. Back it all up.