Using the External sd card as main memory

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Re: Scroll Elite pretty much the same as Extreme?

Postby madmatt30 » May 28th, 2012, 8:04 pm

suggsy89 wrote:http://scrolltabletforum.co.uk/site/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=2228&p=17606&hilit=vold.fstab#p17606


should have known there would be info on here as per on xda,being a new member on here yesterday due to only getting my scroll tablet 3 days ago I havent had time to peruse properly,always used xda as Ive had android phones the last few years & their htc/se specialist threads are the best around

I would recommend copying the original file to external sd first,when you change the priorities then if yo do want to change back the external becomes the internal to the tablet (if you know what I mean) & its easier to replace the original file if need be
I would do a cmw backup first (this works on a day to day basis for installation of apps ,the only problem I had is that the internal flash (now external to the tablet) becomes invisible when connecting as a mass storage to pc) - which means that the only way to get music & videos on there (which is all it becomes useful for) is to copy stuff to microsd or usb flash (using the otg cable) & use a android file manager to copy back to internal manually - a little long winded but the benefits of having a 16gb/32gb microsd card for app installation far outweighs this .
I am also not sure how this affects using cmw to restore/flash roms - never tried it - should not imagine there being a problem but not sure if it switches priorities in cmw as it done once booted into ics.
All this is on a momo 9 as I said but it should be the same,am currently in the process of flashing cm9 to mine so it will be the first thing I do once its finished
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Re: Scroll Elite pretty much the same as Extreme?

Postby KLRichards » May 28th, 2012, 11:28 pm

Cheers madmatt, i'll have to take a look at this.

If this allows the external sd card to be used for apps, then great.... cheers.


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Re: Scroll Elite pretty much the same as Extreme?

Postby danskmacabre » May 29th, 2012, 2:57 pm

Did anyone have any luck swapping around the internal SD card with the external card for apps?
I'm quite interested in doing this.
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Re: Scroll Elite pretty much the same as Extreme?

Postby KLRichards » May 30th, 2012, 12:02 am

madmatt30 wrote:on my momo9 clone (which is still an allwinner a10 chipset same as the scroll) you can edit the /system/etc/vold.fstab file to change extsd & internal flash (sdcard) priotities ,this lets use use whatever size microsd card for installation of all apps instead of the internal flash - worked pretty flawlessly with a 32gb sandisk (28.8gb of useable space) - should be the same on the scroll (cant actually test as at the moment as per my other posts I have no root access at all)
there is a post on xda forums with full instructions


So if I get this correct, and it does sound logical, all I need to do is edit the file so tht the extsd below is the sdcard nd vice versa. Then the sdcard will point to the external card...

*** GUYS DONT DO THIS UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, AS NOT SURE MYSELF ***
Code: Select all
# Mounts the first usable partition of the specified device
#/devices/platform/awsmc.3/mmc_host for sdio
dev_mount   sdcard   /mnt/sdcard   auto   /devices/virtual/block/nandi
dev_mount   extsd   /mnt/extsd   auto   /devices/platform/sunxi-mmc.1/mmc_host   /devices/platform/sunxi-mmc.0/mmc_host




DO NOT DO THIS UNTIL SOME ONE WITH REAL TECHNICAL ABILITIES SAYS HOW IT CAN BE DONE.

Looks like someone tried my simple suggested change with dire consequences....

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthr ... ?t=1658619

You do this at your own peril.............




Ok confirmed by Matt that this does work, but please read the rest of the posts before doing this to ensure you have a full understanding..... I take no responsibility for any mistakes...
Last edited by KLRichards on May 31st, 2012, 11:45 am, edited 2 times in total.


Regards

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Re: Scroll Elite pretty much the same as Extreme?

Postby madmatt30 » May 30th, 2012, 8:18 pm

danskmacabre wrote:Did anyone have any luck swapping around the internal SD card with the external card for apps?
I'm quite interested in doing this.


yes it works fine,however if using cyanogen firmware it breaks updateme for some reson ,apart from this no problems at all
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Re: Scroll Elite pretty much the same as Extreme?

Postby madmatt30 » May 30th, 2012, 8:42 pm

KLRichards wrote:
madmatt30 wrote:on my momo9 clone (which is still an allwinner a10 chipset same as the scroll) you can edit the /system/etc/vold.fstab file to change extsd & internal flash (sdcard) priotities ,this lets use use whatever size microsd card for installation of all apps instead of the internal flash - worked pretty flawlessly with a 32gb sandisk (28.8gb of useable space) - should be the same on the scroll (cant actually test as at the moment as per my other posts I have no root access at all)
there is a post on xda forums with full instructions


So if I get this correct, and it does sound logical, all I need to do is edit the file so tht the extsd below is the sdcard nd vice versa. Then the sdcard will point to the external card...

*** GUYS DONT DO THIS UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, AS NOT SURE MYSELF ***
Code: Select all
# Mounts the first usable partition of the specified device
#/devices/platform/awsmc.3/mmc_host for sdio
dev_mount   sdcard   /mnt/sdcard   auto   /devices/virtual/block/nandi
dev_mount   extsd   /mnt/extsd   auto   /devices/platform/sunxi-mmc.1/mmc_host   /devices/platform/sunxi-mmc.0/mmc_host




DO NOT DO THIS UNTIL SOME ONE WITH REAL TECHNICAL ABILITIES SAYS HOW IT CAN BE DONE.

Looks like someone tried my simple suggested change with dire consequences....

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthr ... ?t=1658619

You do this at your own peril.............



there is no peril imo,it works absolutely fine,as above post I have tried it on cyanogen mod the only thing it does do is break updateme for some reason -have no idea why though

it is easiest by far on a clean install with minimal apps installed to the flash memory as you will need to duplicate all apps from flash to the microsd card first
I did it with around a gb of data on the internal flash & using a file manager it took the best part of 2 hours to copy data to the microsd

will run through the steps I did
download file manager (rhythm software) from the play store
open it ,open settings (3 dots bottom left of screen)
tick the root explorer box & the mount system folders box
go up through the directories until the up box turns grey & you will be in the system folders area
open system directory,then etc directory
long press the vold.fstab file
select copy,then go up a directory & press paste
go back to etc directory,long press the vold.fastab file again & select rename,rename to something like vold.fstabbak or similar (it doesnt really matter what)
go up a directory again (to where you copied the file) short press it,open as text with text editor

change the 2 lines to

dev_mount sdcard /mnt/extsd auto /devices/virtual/block/nandi
dev_mount extsd /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/platform/sunxi-mmc.1/mmc_host /devices/platform/sunxi-mmc.0/mmc_host

press escape/back button (next to volume on top of tab) twice to save
long press the file again,select copy
go back to the etc folder & press paste
,the above copy/rename steps above are
1. to give you a backup file
2.because you cannot edit the vold.fastab file while it is in the system directory for some reason (I know you can rename it but for some reason it cant be edited until it is outside of the etc folder - at least not in my experience)

you now need to copy all the data from your flash memory to the microsd card,either by using file manager again,or by disabling usb debugging,connecting to pc & using windows.

once done ,reboot the tab,your internal memory should show as whatever size sd card you are using,try a few apps etc,if all seems good you can delete all data from the 8b onboard flash- it is now only good for media files as the microsd card was before

please, though even I consider this safe,make a backup using cmw before doing any of the above - for the sake of 10 minutes its well worth it
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Re: Scroll Elite pretty much the same as Extreme?

Postby KLRichards » May 30th, 2012, 9:19 pm

Cheers, I will give that a go soon in that case as i have a backup and have been installing suggsys builds from zip file, so should be able to rebuild if it all goes pair shaped.

Just for clarity though.

What this will do, is

1. Keep the internal storage used for the system untouched
2. Make the tablet think the external SD card is the internal SD card, so this can then be exoanded to 32gb
3. Make the tablet think the internal SD card is the external SD card, so this can be writen off or used for CWM backups.


Those 3 assumptions above are correct ?

Also, if it is screwed up it can be reverted by doing a CWM restore or just a CWM rom install from a zip file.

Sorry to be a doubting Thomas, but if those could be confirmed...thanks.

And thanks for a gem of info there matt.


Regards

Kevin

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Using the External sd card as main memory

Postby Mitre » May 30th, 2012, 10:53 pm

just moved all the sd card related posts to here :D
WHAT DO WE WANT?
A TIME MACHINE!
WHEN DO WE WANT IT?
IT DOESN'T MATTER
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Re: Using the External sd card as main memory

Postby KLRichards » May 31st, 2012, 12:56 am

Cheers Mitre, a busy bee tidying our threads up for us ;)


Regards

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Re: Scroll Elite pretty much the same as Extreme?

Postby madmatt30 » May 31st, 2012, 5:24 am

KLRichards wrote:Cheers, I will give that a go soon in that case as i have a backup and have been installing suggsys builds from zip file, so should be able to rebuild if it all goes pair shaped.

Just for clarity though.

What this will do, is

1. Keep the internal storage used for the system untouched
2. Make the tablet think the external SD card is the internal SD card, so this can then be exoanded to 32gb
3. Make the tablet think the internal SD card is the external SD card, so this can be writen off or used for CWM backups.


Those 3 assumptions above are correct ?

Also, if it is screwed up it can be reverted by doing a CWM restore or just a CWM rom install from a zip file.

Sorry to be a doubting Thomas, but if those could be confirmed...thanks.

And thanks for a gem of info there matt.


yep all of your assumptions are correct,clockwork recovery/installation is unaffected ,though it will still see the mounts as they physically are as it runs before the system has booted.
I have now changed to suggsys RC1, too many niggles with cm9, and this is running fine with the modded file.
tried a 32gb card & no problems,app install / booting is a little slower than before but is to be expected.
all my cards are official SanDisk ones so cannot vouch for other makes.
obviously if you install/reinstall a new or backup Rom this all reverts back again,I cannot see myself moving from the RC1 build personally as everything just works now,I have most of my gameloft stuff up & running & still have 7gb of space left,the internal 8gb is now being used for music/video & I'm pretty happy,I now have a tablet with around 34gb of memory ;)
I would recommend the RC1 build used in conjunction with allwinner mod,you'll get 99% compatibility with market apps/games now.
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