what just happend? apps on sdcard - Fascinate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have the CM10 [skang jellybro] fascinate rom installed, and coming from a cm9 rom, all my apps didn't fit because they switched the partition around [making the app partition only 468MB, and the system partition 1.5 GB].
So anyway I had to move a lot of apps to the sdcard. So I just downloaded a newer version of my rom, and wiped cache/dalvik, nandroid backup, then I installed the new zip.
Then I rebooted, and it had to 'optimize' apps [create dalvik cache?] and after that finished...I only had about 15-20 apps show up in my app drawer. [I have probably around 40] So I clicked on Zedge, on my homescreen, and it said "App isn't installed." I then started to worry..:S I googled apps on sdcard disappearing.. and so I opened titanium backup, and under Batch operations, it said "Restore missing apps (6)," and they were 6 apps that I'd uninstalled but didn't delete the backup. so then I wasn't sure what to do next, because I did not create a fresh titanium backup prior to updating my rom [because I did a nandroid instead..] so then I went to Manage Apps, and then.. for some reason, all my apps showed up again! all the ones on my sdcard.
I tapped Zedge again on my homescreen, and it loaded up! So my question is, what happened? Why did my apps disappear, and then just show up again? was it loading titanium backup? or did the rom just scan the sdcard for apps?

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Sounds like it just messed up the media scan of the sdcard which I have heard happens from time to time... not sure if that's related to your issue, but now are all your apps installed or are you still missing some? Next time I would just reboot again and let it re-scan to see if it helps

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Crawshayi said:
Sounds like it just messed up the media scan of the sdcard which I have heard happens from time to time... not sure if that's related to your issue, but now are all your apps installed or are you still missing some? Next time I would just reboot again and let it re-scan to see if it helps
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ah.. yes they are all there, but I was just wondering why did they disappear, and then why did they just show up all of a sudden?
I guess if it is the media scan thing, that would explain it.

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Fast Boot option may be the culprit
mvmacd said:
ah.. yes the [apps] are all there, but I was just wondering why did they disappear, and then why did they just show up all of a sudden?
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CUT TO THE SOLUTION BELOW -- SEARCH FOR ////
Some (not all) of my apps moved to SD (all by Titanium Backup Pro) have begun to disappear and (sometimes) reappear without warning after I began to add and delete large Virtual Machines created in QEMU from my 16GB SanDisc class 10 microSD card on my HTC Droid Incredible running rooted stock Verizon Android Froyo 2.2.3. I know this thread is far from my phone's "home base", but from what I can tell this problem with disappearing apps located on an sdcard is NOT determined by hardware or even Android version.
I also happen to use LauncherPro by Federico Carnales instead of the built-in HTC Sense launcher. I noted elsewhere on XDA that a user had suggested that because at least some (maybe all) launchers start before the SD Card that this may be a problem, especially if changes are made to the sdcard that the launcher did not perform, or was not active during their performance by other apps such as Titanium Backup. That fits my situation, because I unmounted the SD, physically removed it to a PC, and added/deleted large VM files to save (lots) of time. No problems of this sort before I did this, so there must be some connection.
I noted that other users have tried reformatting SD, substituting different brands of SD, using newer/older SD etc. None of these reliably helped. So I skipped these options.
//// The (simple!) solution I tried that SEEMS to work (only time will tell!) is buried in the main Android Settings (accessed from the Menu button while in Home screen). Under "Applications" there is a setting "Fast Boot" that I checked long ago and forgot about (it seemed like a good thing to do at the time). The text warns "Turn off to use some Market apps" (that shows the age of my 2-yr old used phone and Android OS -- ohmygosh!-- because it refers to Market rather than Google Play Store!) Anyway, I unchecked the option and rebooted the phone.
Yes, it took a bit longer to boot (maybe a whole minute!), but after waiting about another minute ALL my home screen apps had normal icons and loaded properly. Titanium Backup Pro batch scenarios confirmed there were no apps in a forced uninstalled state (i.e. I had not done the deed, the system somehow had done it or at least rendered the apps "invisible" to Titanium, which decided they needed reinstallation).
The only odd behaviour was that auto brightness was turned off after I unchecked Fast Boot and rebooted. Going into Android Settings > Display and rechecking "auto brightness" took care of that. No other oddities or strange behaviours thus far (but it has only been about an hour).
I will report back here on this thread only (Samsung Fascinate > Fascinate Q&A > What just happend? apps on sdcard) if anything else requires reporting. Silence implies success!
link: https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...ds-cse&usg=AFQjCNE3D5NrpiSqCRSof-ou1mn6iyeGVg
(I am copying this original post (without edits) to other relevant threads, but will not post anything further elsewhere -- only here. This is a bit arbitrary (although this thread appears to be the most recent active one on this topic), but I hope this approach pleases the XDA sysops/admins) :angel:
EDIT 2012-12-26-a:
Nearly all of the 100+ apps on my HTC DINC (Droid Incredible) continue to behave normally after the "fast boot OFF" fix. (No disappearing act.) However, I did find one that appeared to be installed but really was not: ASTRO File Manager. I used Titanium Backup Pro to reinstall app+data from a backup. It only took a couple of minutes, and after that all went normally.
The only other noticeable issue right after the fix is that nearly all of my installed, functioning apps were listed as "missing" by Titanium Backup in its Batch scenario list (although they were NOT counted in the total number of apps listed with the scenario -- that number was 61, and it should have been nearly 170 based on the number of apps actually in the physical list). After about a day or so of regular usage, a re-check of the "missing apps" Batch scenario found all the functioning apps no longer listed; the 61 missing apps were valid -- they were all from earlier ROMs belonging to the original HTC setup and another phone (MOTO OG Droid). Since I have kept the MOTO as an emergency backup smartphone, I might conceivably want to revive some of these apps.
EDIT 12-26-b:
Some other potentially useful points I have gathered in my survey of this topic across XDA:
1. This problem happens most often when using the "Disk drive" option in the USB Debugger system app. It also happens after physically returning the sdcard to the phone after removing and inserting it into a PC.
2. Those who have wiped the app data cache also report serious problems.
3. Wiping the dalvic cache while in Recovery mode automatically triggers a rebuild of that cache, which may make apps behave oddly or disappear until the rebuild is complete, which reportedly "takes time"
Personally, I did only #1 myself, and the fast boot removal fix seems to work well for that one.
I cannot confirm the others, but they seem to make sense to me, and I doubt the fast boot removal fix would have any influence on them.
4. There are some signs that apps installed to internal phone storage can behave in the same way. This may mean that the fast boot OFF tweak may prove beneficial to any storage area, since they all come on-line after the OS loads from phone memory.

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EXT4ALL (aka Convert2ext4) = final fix for dalvik cache related bugs (?)
Further investigation of the Dalvik cache reveals a significant connection between it and a number of odd and unpleasant behaviours, including Low Disk Space warnings and disappearing apps.
Fortunately, there are some excellent XDA forum threads about dealing with the Dalvik cache.
The best recent place to start seems to be here:
[Q] Incredible running CM7.2 "Low on space" message (launched 2012-12-14)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2047424
It is not because of the focus on the Droid Incredible or CyanoModGen in this thread, but the attention paid to the more universal fix "EXT4 4 ALL" aka "EXT4ALL" or "Convert2Ext4". (Thanks to Senior Member cmlusco for his post #9 on the thread that got me started in the right direction!)
Files can be found at these locations:
Goo.im site http://goo.im/devs/tiny4579/mods
DINC.does-it site http://dinc.does-it.net/EXT4_Mods/
One version of this fix (Convert2Ext4_no_data_limit_normal_dalvik.v2.0.zip) moves the Dalvik cache from the default, limited 150MB internal partition to the "unlimited" (or at least maximum) 750MB internal partition.
Any phone with a kernal installed that supports ext4 can utilise this fix.
[ I personally use gingertiny 2.6.35.14-v2+ (2012-02-13), which has supported ext4 since late 2011]
My own experience has been to flash the "no data limit normal dalvik" zip file using ClockworkMod 5.x Recovery -- this was entirely painless. I just downloaded the file into my phone's downloads folder on the sdcard using a web browser, then ran CM Recovery (with a little assist from ROM Manager), selected "install a zip from sdcard" and navigated to the file. It was all done in 5 minutes. After manually rebooting a second time, everything seems to be working normally after about half a day of regular use.
For those who flash a new or updated ROM sometime in the future, you would need to flash this fix after doing so.
There is plenty of information contained on the main threads of this topic. Links aplenty can be found; just follow the ones provided in the thread I suggest here to get started.
Hopefully, this brings an end to my struggles with my phone's storage issues, and to others of you reading this post and following the links to the threads and downloads.
FYI -- My storage values changed as follows after running the fix:
Total Internal memory: 748MB --> 770MB (22MB increase)
ROM free space: <1MB --> 20MB (close to the value change of total internal memory)
Used internal memory: ~335MB --> 464MB (close to 128MB increase)
Remaining internal memory: ~420MB --> 306MB (close to 128MB decrease)
So, it seems that my ROM was being used to cache app data, which would explain why the value kept declining even though I NEVER added anything to it (using Titanium Backup Pro or anything like it). When free space on my ROM literally ran out, Android OS hit the proverbial panic button and warned me to free 512kb minimum to allow Gmail to download new mail. Now, it has 20MB free (and will hopefully stay that way, since I NEVER intend to transfer anything into the ROM!) -- The internal memory usage jump of 128MB probably indicates the Dalvik cache.
SUMMARY:
1. Turning off "fast boot" in Android settings helps some, but it does not get to the heart of the issue. It will NOT make a Low Disk Storage warning go away.
2. Once you have a Low Disk Storage warning, you MUST uninstall enough apps to make it go away (keep track of what you take away, because you can reinstall them very soon!)
3. With no LDS warnings showing, flash the "Convert2ext4 no data limit normal dalvik" zip file. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE REAL SOLUTION!
4. Reinstall your recently removed apps, and you should be good to go! :fingers-crossed:
PS>>> One last unresolved issue: I am still unclear exactly WHERE the dalvik-cache ends up, since my Astro file browser cannot locate anything containing the word "cache" that does not now report "EMPTY". There are a large number of "com." folders containing software I have installed found in the /mnt/asec/ folder. The total size of the contents of this folder (362 MB) is within 100MB of the amount of internal memory reported in use. Does that 100MB represent the current size of the Dalvik cache files, or at least include them? If so, where are they located? If anyone can help me figure this bit out, I would be grateful! :fingers-crossed: