A2SD; am I getting the full benefits?

[Guest Titas]

Having read quite a bit about A2SD I'm still a bit hazy :unsure: about the benefits but as I understand it it's mainly:- 1. All apps are installed to SD ext partition (more space on internal storage) and 2. This is automatic (no need to manually move apps). Now I'm sure I also read somewhere that after flashing a new ROM apps would be immediately available again. Have I got this last bit right because it isn't happening - I guess the SD extn is being wiped too or am I missing a setting somewhere? Is there a way of preserving the apps & data on the SD extn & only wiping the Internal system & storage? (BTW I used ROM Manager to create a1Gb A2SD extn which seems fine). Thanks in anticipation to anyone who can shine a light into my darkness. From what I've read there's a lot of confusion out there so it might help a few others too :)

[Guest Lister Of Smeg]

Hi Titas,

I am glad you bought this up, as its something that has puzzled me too.... as we know, the Blades dont have too much free internal space and it soon disappears after a few apps. Currently its only feasable to work well under CM7, with the use of S2E using Ext2 on SD Card.

There is nothing similar on FroYo Roms, as the only other thing is Apps2SD (which appears similar to A2SD) and will only copy the bulk of the App and not all of it. Say an App is 10Mb, it will move 8Mb to SD, and leave 2Mb on internal....

...... that is, until a read a review by someone, who was very informative, did a good review on YouTube. Will link to it later if needs be, but the one that works really well on all ROMS it will appear is.

Link2SD: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.buak.Link2SD&feature=search_result

This works much like S2E for CM7, and moves it all over.....

As for will your Apps still be there, I think the answer is.... NO!! the partition stays the same, but the Apps get wiped I think with a Rom/Wipe....???

Cheers, Lister

[Guest flshg]

I used a2sd on swedish spring, it pretty much sets itself up automatically as long as the ext2 partition is correctly formatted. I imagine it should also work the same on newer roms, I think there are automatic scripts that move apps to the ext2 partition on bootup, otherwise a A2SD gui app will allow you to enable or disable the feature.

The issue that I find with a2sd is that you get wasted space on your internal storage - it moves all apps to the ext partition, you cant pick and choose. I think the link2sd system does allow for that though so it may be worth persevering with that.

The ext partition gets wiped during a full wipe/factory reset, just like the normal data partition. Its also backed up during a clockworkmod nandroid.

[Guest Yuccaman]

as we know, the Blades dont have too much free internal space and it soon disappears after a few apps. Currently its only feasable to work well under CM7, with the use of S2E using Ext2 on SD Card.

There is nothing similar on FroYo Roms, as the only other thing is Apps2SD (which appears similar to A2SD) and will only copy the bulk of the App and not all of it. Say an App is 10Mb, it will move 8Mb to SD, and leave 2Mb on internal....

How much gets moved is entirely dependent on the app....

I don't have an ext partition on my SD card, but I have over 500mb of apps on SD using the standard Apps2SD feature. My Data partition is 329mb thanks to repartitioning and I have 191mb of that free...

I have 64 apps on the phone, including a Sat Nav and many large games.

If you go down the Apps2SD Route, check out Move2SD Enabler on the market. This allows you to move ANY app to SD, albeit some of it will always remain in the data partition....

[Guest Titas]

Thanks for your replies; they were very helpful. It's great to be able to call on the experience & expertise of fellow forum members! Well, I now know that I cannot protect / isolate my apps in the A2SD extn & "auto restore" after a full wipe as I had hoped :( . So it seems to me that A2SD has little benefit unless internal space is running low. I have repartitioned to create a 329mb data partition of which 246Mb is still free so having A2SD now seems pointless (& I also find it a bit confusing that the partition is hidden, that is, not redable in file explorer). The apps you suggested - Link2SD or Move2SD enabler - seem a much simpler option. Perhaps A2SD will soon pass into history but I guess I'll leave mine there now I've created it! Whilst it's not really needed & has no real benefit at least it's not doing any harm either. Thanks again to you all for taking the time to explain it - I'll sleep better tonight :D

[Guest mitridate]

How much gets moved is entirely dependent on the app....

I don't have an ext partition on my SD card, but I have over 500mb of apps on SD using the standard Apps2SD feature. My Data partition is 329mb thanks to repartitioning and I have 191mb of that free...

I have 64 apps on the phone, including a Sat Nav and many large games.

If you go down the Apps2SD Route, check out Move2SD Enabler on the market. This allows you to move ANY app to SD, albeit some of it will always remain in the data partition....

I use the same app as you and have 10gb of a 16gb card left but 9/10 times I get an "out of space" message when trying to move apps to SD.

Any idea why?

[Guest Yuccaman]

I use the same app as you and have 10gb of a 16gb card left but 9/10 times I get an "out of space" message when trying to move apps to SD.

Any idea why?

Not the first clue I'm afraid. I have only moved a handful of apps with Move2SD Enabler (couple of games and a Sat Nav). What you could try is leaving Move2SD Enabler set to External and then download / install the app again as that way, it should ONLY try to install to SD.

Of course, only do this for apps that can be put on SD, i.e nothing that had a widget etc.

For info, I downloaded a further 4 games today to try out. One went straight to SD on install, but the other 3 moved without error....