Thankfully my original post was caught in time, the first file I uploaded had the wrong boot.img in it for the V.2 rom and the Turbo4 kernel. Thankfully we where able to catch this in time and I asked for the thread to be removed. But I was able to redo the file and make it work for each different rom.
First off again i can not stress how much thanks we owe trident and drellisdee for all the hard work and time they have put into the ally community. With out them and the great community we have here none of this would be possible. Also a huge amount of thanks goes to tkirton for his amazing darktremor a2sd script.
Now to the files to get a2sd to work on the ally!
a2sd_ally_OC.zip Use this file if you are useing drellisdee's Turbo4 kernel
a2sd_ally_VZB.zip Use this file if you are using any stock or modified VZB rom other than two listed above.
1.) Download the appropriate a2sd_lly_***>zip for your system
2.) Backup your EVERYTHING!!! on your sdcard to your computer
3.) Reboot in to recovery (You can format the sdcard from rom manager)
4.) Format your sdcard to ext2/ext3 both clockwork and drellisdee' recovery have this option.
5.) reboot phone and place the a2sd_ally_***.zip on the root of the sd card
6.) Reboot phone into recovery and flash a2sd_ally***.zip
7.) Wipe cache and dalvik
8.) Reboot phone and enjoy!
Common Questions:
I noticed your file has a boot.img in it, will it affect my existing one?
Well yes and no, yes because it will over right your current one, no because I used the boot.img from each ROM to build the new files, this is why we now have three file to choose and to make sure each rom stays the way the dev intended them to be, just with the added benefit of a2sd.
How do i know if a2sd is working?
You can check internal stoage via Settings>SDcard and Phone storage
or
From terminal u can run:
su
#/system/bin/a2sd check
My memory is still going down why is that?
the most common cause of this that the dalvik-cache is not set to the sdcard. To make sure dvalik-cache is going to the sdcard open terminal and type:
su
#ls -l /data
(look for a line that shows dalvik-chace if it does not show:dalvik-chace -> /system/sd/dalvick-chace, then its not going to the sdcard)
Mine doesn't show that, how do i fix it?
From terminal:
su
# /system/bin/a2sd cachesd
Caution: Some phones do not have enough space to put the dalvik-cache on the cache partition. Also, some roms that have SenseUI installed may not work well with the dalvik-cache on the cache partition (although this issue appears to be fixed starting with Darktremor 2.7.5.1). If you experience issues such as force closes, try moving the dalvik-cache to the SD card (a2sd cachesd) or internal storage (a2sd nocache) instead.
Special thanks goes to:
Trident and drellsidee for everything they have done for us.
Dots for testing and always being in the irc room helping people
Savoxis for all the work he has done and all the help he has given me.
a2sd_ally_VZB.zip Use this file if you are using any stock or modified VZB rom other than two listed above.
This sounds awesome! I am running stock VZB rom with clockworkmod recovery and drellisdee's Turbo4 kernel. Should I use the version for the Turbo4 kernel or the version for the stock rom?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by p3tr01d
This sounds awesome! I am running stock VZB rom with clockworkmod recovery and drellisdee's Turbo4 kernel. Should I use the version for the Turbo4 kernel or the version for the stock rom?
If you plan on using apps2sd and wanna use the Turbo4 kernel then yes you would flash this one.
When I set darktremor to app2sd, if I have an app on the internal and I get an update for that internal app, will it put that app on the SD card forcefully or will it make sure to keep it in the same place?
Which one do you use if you have Velocity.2 with Turbo4 flashed over it? I'm assuming the first one?
Yes the first one would be used then.
Quote:
When I set darktremor to app2sd, if I have an app on the internal and I get an update for that internal app, will it put that app on the SD card forcefully or will it make sure to keep it in the same place?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by p3tr01d
I have backed up sd card and rebooted into recovery. When I try to format the sdcard ext it errors out and says no app2sd partition found.
Code:
mount: mounting /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 on /sd-ext failed: Invalid argument
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
(File exists)
That is what I get in clockwork recovery, it cannot format the ext partition correctly. a2sd should still work, but if you reflash a rom after having a2sd installed it keeps all the old apks, which causes issues.
Fix this by using drellisdee's recovery until koush makes an update
Head to the section under manual install, you can do these steps from either your phone or an adb shell. It just a little harder to type it all out on the phone
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i am soo having problems getting rid of clockworks.. for some reason its the default app and everytime i try to install Drellisdee recovery it wont let me because of clockwork ugh...
i am soo having problems getting rid of clockworks.. for some reason its the default app and everytime i try to install Drellisdee recovery it wont let me because of clockwork ugh...
I was in the same boat. Stuck with clock work, now you want amon-ra (Drellisdee's recovery.) Here's what I did which will work for you...
Now here is the only semi-hard part...
Open up the AllyRR folder and Open Resources.
So it should be AllyRR>Resources.
Now find the file "recovery-RA_GNM_1.13.img"
Copy and paste that file name onto the new recovery you downloaded.
Then Take the newly renamed recovery, and replace the old with the new.
THen simply run AllyRR.
Note: If on vista or 7, run as administrator
Hope that helped.
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mount: mounting /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 on /sd-ext failed: Invalid argument
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
(File exists)
That is what I get in clockwork recovery, it cannot format the ext partition correctly. a2sd should still work, but if you reflash a rom after having a2sd installed it keeps all the old apks, which causes issues.
Fix this by using drellisdee's recovery until koush makes an update
got it fixed. had to partition sd in rom manager before boot into recovery
I got it to work with clockworkmod. When formatting just choose the format sd option (not the format sd-ext option). Chose 512MB ext partition and 32MB swap. Then reboot into recovery. Format the cache and format the cache-davlik thing (advanced options). Then apply the zip file. I got all the apps installed I had to take off before cause of no space. Life is good.
Just a heads up if you use both a later model recovery of mine and turbo4 kernel you can partition to ext4 and turbo kernel supports ext4 fs too. You really need a class 6 memory card to get the best results from apps2sd however. Stock kernel only supports ext2 and ext3 & 4 have to be built into recovery and rom kernel. If koush used my kernel for clockwork which I think he did it supports ext3 & 4 too if not you can flash my recovery to partition it then flash back clockwork if you prefer. Check with your rom chef to see if their kernel supports ext 3 and 4 or you can use turbo4 which has it.
Is your recovery bigger than clockwork? I have 2 bad sectors in my recovery partition, which are skipped when installing any recovery, but clockwork's goes through fine despite these warning messages and yours says there is not enough room to close the partition.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo1007
This may be a noob can i check my memory on the partition so i know how much i have used?
From the command line (either an on-device terminal or adb shell) you can type 'df' (for disk full) and see how much space is available on every mounted partition of the device.
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I'm running Velocity 0.2 and using the a2sd for velocity (which works amazingly, btw, thanks!). How will my apps be affected if I load Velocity 0.3? If I load drellisdee's latest kernel? I'm beginning to piece together how these things fit, but I am by no means an expert - I'd say I'm just shy of a noob (maybe. hopefully).
You can check internal stoage via Settings>SDcard and Phone storage
or
From terminal u can run:
su
#/system/bin/a2sd check
My memory is still going down why is that?
the most common cause of this that the dalvik-cache is not set to the sdcard. To make sure dvalik-cache is going to the sdcard open terminal and type:
su
#ls -l /data
(look for a line that shows dalvik-chace if it does not show:dalvik-chace -> /system/sd/dalvick-chace, then its not going to the sdcard)
Now thanks to Titanium Back up you can do this even easier.
I got it to work with clockworkmod. When formatting just choose the format sd option (not the format sd-ext option). Chose 512MB ext partition and 32MB swap. Then reboot into recovery. Format the cache and format the cache-davlik thing (advanced options). Then apply the zip file. I got all the apps installed I had to take off before cause of no space. Life is good.
This part of this post was not quite clear to me......"When formatting just choose the format sd option (not the format sd-ext option)."
Where is this "option"? (Is it in the Clockwork Recovery section, or within the Clockwork App...since you typed THIS after that part..."Then reboot into recovery"
After those two parts...the rest of the post is straight forward.
So what is the process if you are using V .3... everytime I try and partition through Rom Manager after the reboot I lose mostly all my apps... the ones which came with .3 and the ones I downloaded. I have tried wiping cache and dalvik cache, and also flashing each of the zips directed, yet still with no success.
Not to drag this one up from the basement, but do you have to have the VZB update or higher for this to work? I'm still on VZ8 (rooted), with no kernel changes and was curious if the last ROM would work with VZ8.
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Trying to wrap my head around preparing for A2SD here. When you guys mention "Stock VZB" ROM, are you referring to a "stock" ROM version that the Ally would have either from the box or an OTA update? My Ally is stock, and I can't seem to find any reference to "VZ" and B or a numeral in its information utilities.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoandroid
Trying to wrap my head around preparing for A2SD here. When you guys mention "Stock VZB" ROM, are you referring to a "stock" ROM version that the Ally would have either from the box or an OTA update? My Ally is stock, and I can't seem to find any reference to "VZ" and B or a numeral in its information utilities.
Zoandroid
Check SW Version in "Settings > About Phone"
And in order to flash an the apps2sd kernel you will need to first flash a custom recovery then partion your sdcard, then flash the kernel per instructions above.
Read this if you don't know about recoveriers Android Ally
Always remeber to make a backup before flashing anything.
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Thanks for the quick reply! My Ally says VS740ZVC under "Settings > About Phone". I don't see how that compares to the "VZB" I keep seeing in the forum posts.
So in order to move apps to my SD card I "must" install a custom ROM?? I did not think that was the case.
I have read for hours on here tonight and sure found a lot of folks having no end of "can of worms" complications in their attempts to do that. Not sure I want to go down that path at all. Most of the accounts are filled with references to Linux commands. I gave Linux a serious try last year, and after a few weeks came to the conclusion it is not for me. Probably the most unfriendly and counter-intuitive thing I have ever done with computers or electronics. I had flashbacks just reading these forum posts, and it reminded me of long hours of frustration, for sure. I followed the advice of a few on here and used Z4Root because it is 'easy'. But now it seems like that first step still requires several more measures just as hard as manually rooting a phone in order to be able to DO anything once it is rooted.
Isn't there a simpler way? I just tried Root Tools from the Forum which in all appearances seemed like manna from heaven, except that it won't run after I installed it. to my rooted Ally.
Zoandroid
Last edited by Zoandroid; December 9th, 2010 at 10:49 PM.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoandroid
Thanks for the quick reply! My Ally says VS740ZVC under "Settings > About Phone". I don't see how that compares to the "VZB" I keep seeing in the forum posts.
So in order to move apps to my SD card I "must" install a custom ROM?? I did not think that was the case.
I have read for hours on here tonight and sure found a lot of folks having no end of "can of worms" complications in their attempts to do that. Not sure I want to go down that path at all. Most of the accounts are filled with references to Linux commands. I gave Linux a serious try last year, and after a few weeks came to the conclusion it is not for me. Probably the most unfriendly and counter-intuitive thing I have ever done with computers or electronics. I had flashbacks just reading these forum posts, and it reminded me of long hours of frustration, for sure. I followed the advice of a few on here and used Z4Root because it is 'easy'. But now it seems like that first step still requires several more measures just as hard as manually rooting a phone in order to be able to DO anything once it is rooted.
Isn't there a simpler way? I just tried Root Tools from the Forum which in all appearances seemed like manna from heaven, except that it won't run after I installed it. to my rooted Ally.
Zoandroid
You do not need a custom rom for apps2sd in this case. I'll talk to the dev tommarow as he comes in IRC and see what he says about flashing the ZVB a2sd on ZVC.
Honeslty i have never heard of root tools nor i do know if its even compbailable with the Ally.
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Maybe Rooting is not so scary after all. :-)
After the last post I did go to the link you provided and read about recoveries. I admit that nice website, and the tools available there, helped explain that:
A recovery is not the same thing as a ROM (but I am still a bit confused as to just what it IS?) Do I lose all the settings and data currently stored within the phone's memory?
I would not have to flash a ROM, as you pointed out in your reply above.
Your statement showed me what people are referring to as "VZB", when you said I have "VZC". It's the last segment of the software code. So I presume the "C" refers to that last small OTA update they pushed out the day after Thanksgiving?
Root Tools was something I found on the Market on my Ally when I searched for "move apps". It appears to be a very nice compilation of several tools for use on a rooted phone. But if installing A2SD actually requires flashing code into the phone (my understanding from what you said) then I don't see how this app could possibly provide that function. I am wondering if it is actually supposed to simply be a front end for all those tools IF you already have them installed? If so, they are NOT saying that in the advertising. I got a refund because the time it took to install, and discover it did not work, and request the refund all happened within 15 minutes.
So, this is starting to come together in my mind, and perhaps is not as "scary" as it looks to be at first blush. On that recoeries site are listed some rather easy looking options, such as the Windows based tools to flash a recovery onto the phone.
Question - I already have ADB drivers installed, but not via PDANet. I chose to install Easy Tether instead (which works great on the Ally). Would that still meet the requirement of having the ADB drivers mentioned to use the Windows tool to flash the recovery? I also have USB debugging turned on because Easy Tether needs that too.
I presume backing up the whole SD card is a given first step. Is there anything else it would be wise to do before I try the Ally Flasher Tool on that site. Once I run it, is the Ally still going to be fully operational even before I try to run A2SD or take any further steps? I really rely on it for the calendar functions and alarms, and of course it is my phone, too.
I hope you don't mind all these questions, but I like to have a clear notion of what I am getting into before I leap.
Thanks!!!
Zoandroid
Last edited by Zoandroid; December 9th, 2010 at 11:19 PM.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoandroid
After the last post I did go to the link you provided and read about recoveries. I admit that nice website, and the tools available there, helped explain that:
A recovery is not the same thing as a ROM (but I am still a bit confused as to just what it IS?)
I would not have to flash a ROM, as you pointed out in your reply above.
Your statement showed me what people are referring to as "VZB", when you said I have "VZC". It's the last segment of the software code. So I presume the "C" refers to that last small OTA update they pushed out the day after Thanksgiving?
Root Tools was something I found on the Market on my Ally when I searched for "move apps". It appears to be a very nice compilation of several tools for use on a rooted phone. But if installing A2SD actually requires flashing code into the phone (my understanding from what you said) then I don't see how this app could possibly provide that function. I am wondering if it is actually supposed to simply be a front end for all those tools IF you already have them installed? If so, they are NOT saying that in the advertising. I got a refund because the time it took to install, and discover it did not work, and request the refund all happened within 15 minutes.
So, this is starting to come together in my mind, and perhaps is not as "scary" as it looks to be at first blush. On that recoeries site are listed some rather easy looking options, such as the Windows based tools to flash a recovery onto the phone.
Question - I already have ADB drivers installed, but not via PDANet. I chose to install Easy Tether instead (which works great on the Ally). Would that still meet the requirement of having the ADB drivers mentioned to use the Windows tool to flash the recovery? I also have USB debugging turned on because Easy Tether needs that too.
I presume backing up the whole SD card is a given first step. Is there anything else it would be wise to do before I try the Ally Flasher Tool on that site. Once I run it, is the Ally still going to be fully operational even before I try to run A2SD or take any further steps? I really rely on it for the calendar functions and alarms, and of course it is my phone, too.
I hope you don't mind all these questions, but I like to have a clear notion of what I am getting into before I leap.
Thanks!!!
Zoandroid
O.o
I'll try answeting hoping i don't miss anything.
Think of a custom recovery like a set of recovery tools for a PC. You can make/restore backups, wipe data/cache/dalvik cache and other things, flash roms and kernels and other stuff.
Yes ZVC (VS740ZVC) was the latest OTA.
Maybe the root tools version of apps2sd is for 2.2 only? I honestly don't know.
If you already have the ADB drivers installed you shouldnt need PDAnet. Only reason we say install PDAnet is to install the ADB drivers.
You backup your sdcard before you go to Partion It. Which you would do in recovery. Afaik calendar and alram stuff aren't saved to the sdcard but i could be wrong. So for now do not worry about backing up your sdcard until you have a custom recovery flashed and would flash the a2sd kernel.
Feel fee to come to IRC if you have even more questions. (Info in my sig)
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I see. Well it really isn't all that different from rebuilding a PC then, is it? just different terminology not yet familiar to me. I guess that's why it seemed such a large obstacle in my path.
I look forward to hearing from you on whether that A2SD version for VZB can work in VZC. Once I get past that I can start over and hopefully get things completed.
As it turns out, I had chosen the "temporary" root in Z4Root, so this morning's daily power down and restart should have undone that. But what happens if you try to run that Windows routine for root & recovery (Ally RR I think it was called on the page you linked above) if the phone is already rooted? Is that OK to do? I am guessing that what really happens when you use Z4root is that some code gets rearranged so as to allow an inroad to the system files which by default would be prevented. If so it seems to me overlaying that process a second time would be safe and still effective?
A2SD--For Multi roms on Ally
Thanks.
The mAndroid Connection
Maybe Rooting is not so scary after all. :-)
