Hi, I was wondering. My Galaxy S3 had little space left on internal storage, but I have plenty on my external SD card. If I move game files, like Gameloft for example, to my external SD and symlink the files, would that work? Any disadvantages to this method? I have a rooted phone and ROM Toolbox.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I don't symlink the files, but bind-mounting the game directories work for me (Jet Set Radio, GTA III, ShadowGun). I use DirectoryBind for this. There's a guide in this forum on how to use it, but it's not to pick up on its own - just make sure you have the alternate dbase mgmt option ticked so that the program actually saves your mounts.
Alternative mgmt? Can you elaborate? I have this app, but I don't really get along with it, and it gave new a few errors now and then, I was worried of losing game saves and stuff.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
OhMrBigshot said:
Alternative mgmt? Can you elaborate? I have this app, but I don't really get along with it, and it gave new a few errors now and then, I was worried of losing game saves and stuff.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, for the application to actually retain the bind points you set after a reboot, you have to open the settings of Directory Bind and tick the "Alternate dbase mgmt" option.
Honestly, I haven't had any problems using it. After setting it up (Bind on boot enabled, Handle USB connection enabled, the default data path set to "/storage/extSdCard", default target path set to "/storage/sdcard0/", alternate dbase mgmt ticked and, I forgot to mention this earlier, sorry, Bypass path verification ticked because /storage is a JB thing, and Directory Bind, from the Gingerbread era, doesn't recognise /storage), my typical workflow with it goes like this:
I use Solid Explorer to move the game directory from the internal eMMC to the external microSD: I navigate to /storage/sdcard0/Android/data, find the game folder and move it to /storage/extSdCard/Android/data. I don't use Directory Bind's option for it because game files can take a while to copy and Solid Explorer puts up an ongoing notification while it's copying the files so that you can do other stuff meanwhile without worrying that the phone will close Solid Explorer
I then create an empty folder with the same name as the folder I moved in the original place
Add a new entry in Directory Bind: in the source data path, I select the folder I copied to the external SD by holding the text field; in the the target path, I select the empty folder which used to host the files on the internal eMMC
I then click add, tick the checkbox to the right so that Directory Bind will activate the bind mount on boot and press the floppy disk icon to the left so that I get the bind mount activated now
That's all I do. Only issue I have is that the delete option when removing a bind mount doesn't really work. No biggie. I just open up Solid Explorer.
Regarding your saves: This probably isn't true for all games, but I think most don't save to your SD card - they use the normal area designated by Android for this stuff in /data/data/app.name.
qwerty12 said:
Ah, for the application to actually retain the bind points you set after a reboot, you have to open the settings of Directory Bind and tick the "Alternate dbase mgmt" option.
Honestly, I haven't had any problems using it. After setting it up (Bind on boot enabled, Handle USB connection enabled, the default data path set to "/storage/extSdCard", default target path set to "/storage/sdcard0/" and alternate dbase mgmt ticked), my typical workflow with it goes like this:
I use Solid Explorer to move the game directory from the internal eMMC to the external microSD: I navigate to /storage/sdcard0/Android/data, find the game folder and move it to /storage/extSdCard/Android/data. I don't use Directory Bind's option for it because game files can take a while to copy and Solid Explorer puts up an ongoing notification while it's copying the files so that you can do other stuff meanwhile without worrying that the phone will close Solid Explorer
I then create an empty folder with the same name as the folder I moved in the original place
Add a new entry in Directory Bind: in the source data path, I select the folder I copied to the external SD by holding the text field; in the the target path, I select the empty folder which used to host the files on the internal eMMC
I then click add, tick the checkbox to the right so that Directory Bind will activate the bind mount on boot and press the floppy disk icon to the left so that I get the bind mount activated now
That's all I do. Only issue I have is that the delete option when removing a bind mount doesn't really work. No biggie. I just open up Solid Explorer.
Regarding your saves: This probably isn't true for all games, but I think most don't save to your SD card - they use the normal area designated by Android for this stuff in /data/data/app.name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see, thanks for the explanation! I'll try this in a few hours and say how it works. Thanks!
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I use the app GL to SD - works fine for me.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Related
Im updating the first post so everyone can see how to do this u can get the updated vold.fstab from chevy on pg 2.
Basically you must be rooted before doing this.
Download above file posted by chevy
Use a file explorer program like root explorer browse to your download folder or wherever you downloaded the above file. Extract it and when it says go to extracted folder say take me there.
Once there click on the vold.fstab and long press it and select copy from the menu that pops up.
Then browse to the root of your system device and select the system folder
Once there select the etc folder
Once in there at the top right of the screen if your using root explorer change the r/o to r/w and paste the file in here.
It will ask you to overnight the file. Select yes to overright
Then at the top right of your screen change the r/w to r/o
Finally reboot your phone and you should be good to go.
To verify just go to settings and select sd card and storage and you should see your external sd card showing up as the main sd card now.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
I haven't had time to make the change myself, but it can be done if you are rooted.
I've attached the files that need to be changed as a rar file.
"init.rc" is a initialization file that will create the directories /mnt/sdcard/ & /mnt/sdcard-ext/ on the system partition. It will also create a symbolic link to those directories as /sdcard/ and /sdcard-ext/ respectively.
Then, "vold.fstab" is used to mount the internal memory to /mnt/sdcard/ & mount sdcard to /mnt/sdcard-ext/
You should back up the original files from your device, the vold.fstab I attached has been edited to switch the internal memory to /sdcard-ext/ & sdcard to /sdcard/
Thank you ill try this when I get off of work.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
Bigdragon2k3 said:
Thank you ill try this when I get off of work.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know how it goes. I'm interested in this as well.
Ok well I tried this but I guess I messed up some where I ran the init.rc first. Then I backed up the vold.fstab and put it in a folder. I then put the new vold.fstab in etc/ now neither of my sd cards are being mounted. Maybe im trying something too advanced for me. But hopefully there's an easy fix. Was I supposed to push the file with adb
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
I wouldn't be messing with critical system files like that until an SBF is available for our phone. Just my 2c.
You can adb the original files you backed up onto the device and reboot and it will remount the partitions. I did the same thing when I tried and made the mistake of overwriting the backup I made when I saved the edits in RootExplorer, so I had to grab the files off my wifes phone and push them onto mine to get it back up. Other than the devices not mounting, there isn't much harm in editing these files.
Did you edit both files at the same time to match the directories and reboot? If they don't match the devices won't mount when the vold.fstab is called. The edit needs to be done at the same time. In init.rc make sure the paths for the export & mkdir are the same. I was able to get it to create the directory /mnt/sdcard/ext/ so the external sdcard would have been in a directory inside the internal sdcard, but couldn't get it to mount to that directory.
Where I got hung up was on the vold.fstab edit, the formatting kept getting messed up and the file wouldn't work.
I was able to change the symbolic links around which helps if the sdcard path is hardcoded in the app to be /sdcard/, but when getExternalStorage is called by the app to get the path it will return the mnt/sdcard/ path, so that only helped get certain apps to store their files on the real sdcard.
The link below is how this edit is done on the Galaxy S, it was successful on that device so thats how I know it can be done on ours if we figure it out.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1094090
Well I got it back to default now. Im not sure if you have taken a look at the original one posted for the i9003 here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1088474. When I went to edit yours it seeemed like you had extra stuff in there. Also on the other post it diddnt say anything about the init.rc. Not saying that your wrong I just diddnt see it mentioned. But hopefully we can figure this out and get it working.
Yeah, the vold.fstab I attached had the formatting messed up when I saved it in notepad and after that it didn't seem to accept any changes I made. I need to replace it with a fresh original file, I attached it to reference what I was saying, but should have been more clear to start with a clean copy. Sorry about that.
If our goal is just to swap the two cards, editing the vold.fstab is all that is needed, but if we want to combine the cards we need to edit the init.rc to make the /ext/ directory inside of /sdcard/, that way the apps that are setup to only work with the 1 card will be able to use both as the internal card would be mounted inside a directory of the real SDcard. Ideally I was thinking of mounting the internal storage to the /sdcard/data/ folder so app2SD stuff would go there, but started by trying to set it as /sdcard/ext/ as that wasn't a preexisting directory on my SDcard so it wouldn't be an additional monkey fighting the mod.
Ok I understand now. Hopefully we could get those files coded so we can try this out. This would be a great addition.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
you needed a better text editor. i did the exact same thing to vold.fstab and it works.
use the attached file.
I got it working as well (just swapping partitions). These were my steps:
1. attached the phone to my PC and made sure both the internal and external storage locations that mounted on my PC contained the same information. Just copied files back and forth until they were equal
2. disconnected the phone from the PC.
3. Used Root Explorer (RE) to copy vold.fstab to a few different places on both internal and external storage (just in case)
4. Mounted the /etc folder R/W in RE and did my edits on vold.fstab via the text editor in RE. Stored my changes and this automatically created a .bak file.
5. Mounted /etc RO and rebooted.
6. Both storage areas got prepared and mounted after reboot and were swapped as expected. Now I just need to copy the 8G SD contents to my 32G and I'll be back to where I was with the OG Droid!
Corey
Well thank you that definitely worked, thats so awesom.
Is it XMas morning, feels like Santa just visited! Now I have to order up that 32g card I've been drooling over, thanks!
Can someone post these instructions step by step in simple-man terms? Thanks!
Basically you must be rooted before doing this.
Download above file posted by chevy
Use a file explorer program like root explorer browse to your download folder or wherever you downloaded the above file. Extract it and when it says go to extracted folder say take me there.
Once there click on the vold.fstab and long press it and select copy from the menu that pops up.
Then browse to the root of your system device and select the system folder
Once there select the etc folder
Once in there at the top right of the screen if your using root explorer change the r/o to r/w and paste the file in here.
It will ask you to overnight the file. Select yes to overright
Then at the top right of your screen change the r/w to r/o
Finally reboot your phone and you should be good to go.
To verify just go to settings and select sd card and storage and you should see your external sd card showing up as the main sd card now.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
coreywilner said:
I got it working as well (just swapping partitions). These were my steps:
1. attached the phone to my PC and made sure both the internal and external storage locations that mounted on my PC contained the same information. Just copied files back and forth until they were equal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Explain, please? How do you get both the internal and external storage locations to show up on the computer?
usb mode will show both sd cards in your computer screen.
Bigdragon2k3 said:
usb mode will show both sd cards in your computer screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was able to figure it out, sleep is a wonderful thing when it comes down to thinking clearly! LOL
Thanks cvmaas and Bigdragon, it's great being able to fully use my SD card again!
Sent from my DROID X2 using XDA App
Not trying to hijack, but have any of you done this and purchased a 32gb card? Maybe a class 10 card? If so which one and how is it working?
Sent from my DROID X2 using XDA App
After rooting I can create folders, move files into, etc in the "hidden storage" using root explorer. Problem is I can't get apps to see anything there.
Example: Created Music folder and moved files into it. They will play by going there with root explorer and tapping on one, but music player will not see them on its own.
So far I have not found a music player that will allow me to designate that folder as the one containing the music.
To my knowledge, third party apps still do not see the storage area mounted there. Hopefully with the CM7 ROM, that can be rectified!
ok - thanks. I have put a couple of movies in that space as it is not much trouble to drill to them and tap the one I want to play - saves sd card space. For now will use it for movies and storage of little used material.
hi cdo5
check it here
you will get all "hidden storage" to use
edwardxi - Tried both methods (rename/copy) and manually adding with the same results - in root explorer /mnt/internal opens and has all the files I placed in /data/usrdata, but neither of two music players on the system see them. Someway I am missing how to tie them to the /mnt/internal folder. Additional direction please.
Take a look at the end of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1355969&page=10 -- the thread on accessing the whole filesystem.
cfoesch discovered that parted is a viable tool for resizing (well, deleting and recreating) partitions on the device.
I used a nook OS sideboot card with a modified vold.conf (commented out all the lines, essentially) that did not mount any of the internal partitions and had parted on board, then used the ADB interface to delete partitions 10 and 11 and resized them.
parition 10 is 1 gig and called media;
paritition 11 is 13 gig and called userdata
I recreated them, tried to put filesystems on them and reassigned the default names in parted, powered down, removed my card, and forced a hard reset (8 failed boots.) This completely reformats and reinstalls, but leaves the partition sizes alone.
Before I started, still booted from the rooted internal OS, I used dd to make copies of the first 8 partitions
/dev/block/mmcblk0pX of=/data/X.img
and copied those out to an sdcard.
http://nookdevs.com/Dump_NookTablet_Partitions explains who is who.
If the hard reset won't work, you can copy those 7 dd images to your boot card, boot, and use dd to put them back - in fact, I did that preemptively, but I suspect I didn't need to.
The command there would be dd if=X.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0pX
A hard reset after restoring the first 8 does work. (It would probably work to do only the first 7.)
My NT now has 4 gig for BN stuff and close to 10 gig for my files manageable by Calibre, etc.
The last thing I did was, after rooting, to remove the directory
/data/media/B&N Downloads and symlink it to the directory
/media/B&N Downloads
Now, my books and magazines from B&N download to media and I can manage those in Calibre as well.
At first, I tried doing that last step by linking to a directory on the sdcard.
I had two issues with just using the sdcard, which (in addition to being annoyed by the partitioning scheme on general principles) made me very interested in resizing /media:
- the sdcard I'm using fails to mount at boot some of the time. So the library gacks some of the time.
- the /media partition on internal memory supports permissions assignment enough that magazines can be read when they're downloaded to it. The sdcard does not support permissions, or at least mine didn't (despite some attempts to force it to by changing values in vold.conf) and so magazines would download there, but could not be read if they were on the sdcard.
I've tried fiddling with those permissions in vold.fstab, without luck, before doing my resize.
dev_mount sdcard /mnt/sdcard auto auto /device/platform/usb/mass/storage/lun1 /devices/platform/mmci-omap-hs.0/mmc_host/mmc1
dev_mount media /mnt/media 10 002 /devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0 /devices/platform/mmci-omap-hs.1/mmc_host/mmc0
Looking at the introductory stanzas in vold.fstab it looks to me as if the magic is in that auto auto versus 10 002 -- somehow, the NT is able to assign a permissions mask to a vfat partition, which I had thought was not possible. But when I've tried assigning those values to /sdcard it hasn't worked. I'm forgetting the failure mode now - that is, I can't remember if they just didn't work, or if the sdcard became unmountable.
cdo5 said:
edwardxi - Tried both methods (rename/copy) and manually adding with the same results - in root explorer /mnt/internal opens and has all the files I placed in /data/usrdata, but neither of two music players on the system see them. Someway I am missing how to tie them to the /mnt/internal folder. Additional direction please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot one thing
when you copy sth to /mnt/internal
you should set right permissions(I got 9 "√" all)
I use TTpod player
it can access to /mnt/internal and play music well
Many thanks! The TTpod player did the job - I was able to select the folder and get play lists. Great.
edwardxi said:
hi cdo5
check it here
you will get all "hidden storage" to use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this method and got stuck in a reboot loop.
porthos75 said:
I tried this method and got stuck in a reboot loop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im sorry to here that
but make sure you set right permissions
pls note that VERY IMPORTANT: change the File Permission using Root Explorer same as the old file too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been searching for answers on this and so far found nothing. Sorry if its already been covered somewhere I didn't find.
The SD card is working fine in the pone.
When I put it in a usb adapter to plug into my pc it mounts fine and I can copy files to it without any errors but when I put it back in the phone I cant see the files?
Same thing happens when I plug the phone into a pc with USB and copy the files.
The files are still there because when I plug back into the pc I can see them.
Anyone know why I have this issue please?
Many thanks
Ben
Try unmounting an remounting the sdcard in the Settings menu.
Have you tried other filemanagers than the stock one?
I can't confirm your issue but it sounds like a caching issue.
Have you tried turning it off and on again? =)
I have a similar issue , I have files that I have copied over to the phone sd card and wanted to use a file manager to move them around into different files however none of the file managers seem to see the files
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
d4fseeker said:
Try unmounting an remounting the sdcard in the Settings menu.
Have you tried other filemanagers than the stock one?
I can't confirm your issue but it sounds like a caching issue.
Have you tried turning it off and on again? =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using ES File Explorer
I have tried rebooting the phone and also (after you said) mounting and unmounting the SD card. The Issue remains the same.
Does anyone else have this issue or any ideas?
If you're connected to PC as MTP mode, try to switch to camera transfer mode..
Maybe this will help?
External and internal sdcard mount points
After some more investigating I have discovered that what is displayed as /sdcard/ is in fact the phones internal flash memory and the actual SD card is mounted as something else.
There you have 2 folders in /mnt
/mnt/sdcard >> taht is the internal flash storage
/mnt/sdextcard >> that is the inserted sd card
http://mono-for-android.1047100.n5.nabble.com/detect-SD-Card-path-td5710218.html
This explains why I could see the files i copied to my sd card on my phone as my phone wont enable me to see the actual external SD card.
Was surprised I couldn't find an actual thread about this on the forum.
I can see that creating a mount point for called SDCARD within the internal memory will allow apps that default large content files to use this space without complaining but this means that although Samsung allow SD cards to be inserted they cannot be used with a standard set up?
So is there any way for me to get to this other mount point without root access?
I thought, for a change, I might hold off rooting my phone but this might spur me on...
Afaik Android does not have a concept of "internal" SD card. (Which is the or at least a reason why most phones have a separate data partition)
However when phone manufacturer's started offering internal storage capacity for normal files, they just used the sdcard.
The name of the external sdcard varies from phone to phone and manufacturer.
I can remember that the name of the external sd card on my S1 was /sdcard/external_sd/ (no /mnt as with the S3 !)
On current Cyanogenmod for the S1 it's /mnt/emmc/ which seems to be introduced as some sort of "standard".
This variety in naming shemes and the possibility of a phone not having internal SD-card storage, only having internal SD-card storage or having both _SHOULD_ make app developers give you the option where to store it.
If it doesn't it's a restriction in the app, not the sdcard.
Solution[/b[
If you are rooted you can easily bypass these restrictions with a simple trick. Make sure the app is terminated before attempting this!
Go to the terminal emulator and type:
Code:
su
mkdir /mnt/sdcardext/APPFOLDER
cp -rvf /mnt/sdcard/APPFOLDER /mnt/sdcardext/APPFOLDER
mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard/APPFOLDER /mnt/sdcardext/APPFOLDER
You've now told Android to re-route all filesystem access'es transparently to the external SDcard while the app still believes it's on the internal one.
Note that you'll have to run the following after every boot (or have it run as auto-start) since mount's are not persistant.
Code:
su
mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard/APPFOLDER /mnt/sdcardext/APPFOLDER
Thank you for the explanation on this d4fseeker. Really all I wanted to do at this time was be able to access the external SD or point to it as a content location. But I will bookmark the solution for forcing apps to use it.
No I know what I know I have rooted my phone, curtesy of Chainfires guide here and can now see the extSDCard directory
houseofcutler said:
I am using ES File Explorer
I have tried rebooting the phone and also (after you said) mounting and unmounting the SD card. The Issue remains the same.
Does anyone else have this issue or any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In ES file explorer, you can go to your external SDcard by open Menu (left capacitive button), then select Manager and then SD card Analyst.
it will show /sdcard,,, it means internal SDcard. You have to touch "Disks" icon (the second from the left), then select /mnt/extSdCard. Eventually you can browse your external SD.
I don't know if there is the easier way. Or you can use the stock explorer app "My files", it is easier to browse the external card but with less function than 3rd party app.
That does work thanks - Turns out I purchased Root Explorer a while back so I have installed that and set the home directory to be the external SD mount point. Still need ES though for when I am copying across my network
jackie_jerk said:
In ES file explorer, you can go to your external SDcard by open Menu (left capacitive button), then select Manager and then SD card Analyst.
it will show /sdcard,,, it means internal SDcard. You have to touch "Disks" icon (the second from the left), then select /mnt/extSdCard. Eventually you can browse your external SD.
I don't know if there is the easier way. Or you can use the stock explorer app "My files", it is easier to browse the external card but with less function than 3rd party app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have quite the same problem but another way around. I can see all the (music)files in the phone but when I connect the phone via USB to my PC I can only see a few (about 30) of the files in the folder. I have booted the PC and the phone, took the SDcard also out and in. Also when I insert the SDCard to the PC's cardreader I can see all the files, so I quess the problem is in the phone. Any ideas how to solve this?
Not sure what your issue is but my advise is to confirm you a definitely looking at what you think you are - that was my problem before.
For example when the Phone is connected to your PC:
Create a text file called phone.txt in the 'Phone' Directory
Create one called card.txt in the 'Card' directory
Then use the built in 'my files' browser or whatever app you use to see if the files are where you think they are.
Might help...
d4fseeker said:
Afaik Android does not have a concept of "internal" SD card. (Which is the or at least a reason why most phones have a separate data partition)
However when phone manufacturer's started offering internal storage capacity for normal files, they just used the sdcard.
The name of the external sdcard varies from phone to phone and manufacturer.
I can remember that the name of the external sd card on my S1 was /sdcard/external_sd/ (no /mnt as with the S3 !)
On current Cyanogenmod for the S1 it's /mnt/emmc/ which seems to be introduced as some sort of "standard".
This variety in naming shemes and the possibility of a phone not having internal SD-card storage, only having internal SD-card storage or having both _SHOULD_ make app developers give you the option where to store it.
If it doesn't it's a restriction in the app, not the sdcard.
Solution[/b[
If you are rooted you can easily bypass these restrictions with a simple trick. Make sure the app is terminated before attempting this!
Go to the terminal emulator and type:
Code:
su
mkdir /mnt/sdcardext/APPFOLDER
cp -rvf /mnt/sdcard/APPFOLDER /mnt/sdcardext/APPFOLDER
mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard/APPFOLDER /mnt/sdcardext/APPFOLDER
You've now told Android to re-route all filesystem access'es transparently to the external SDcard while the app still believes it's on the internal one.
Note that you'll have to run the following after every boot (or have it run as auto-start) since mount's are not persistant.
Code:
su
mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard/APPFOLDER /mnt/sdcardext/APPFOLDER
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But doesn't this simply relocate 100% of APPFOLDER to the microSD card and still leave no option to have Apps in both flash locations? Or will programs like App 2 SD somehow now be able to relocate apps back to the internal flash partition (aka "internal sdcard")?
Ah, nevermind. "APPFOLDER" is a single application's appfolder, not a directory with all the apps. So this should be something an app could do on any rooted S3 with a nice gui and persistence through some service mod in init.d or whatever Android uses in its place, yes?
Ok, was just digging around in /mnt/sdcard and while a few apps have obvious directories there, most do not. What's more, being an android noob, I'm not sure where their directories would be located (app manager doesn't say either).
Anyone care to point me in the right direction? Also, is there a way to install some other standard linux shell commands like more and grep?
Thanks.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA
UPDATE:
I now recommend using FolderMount instead of the scripts below.
Forum Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2192122
Market Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/...251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5kZXZhc3F1ZS5mbW91bnQiXQ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PART 1: obb "Game Data" to external_sd
Simple script that binds the internal obb folder to an external Gamedata folder on your sd to save space on Internal SD Card.
Use at your own risk.
1. Create a folder on the external_sd called "Gamedata"
2. Move all folders located in sdcard/android/obb to the newly created folder "Gamedata" (This takes a long time using Root Explorer, be patient. I recommend using Solid Explorer so that you can see the progress.)
3. Download the txt file and rename the extension to .sh OR Create a new script using:
Stock ICS:
Code:
mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard/external_sd/Gamedata /mnt/sdcard/Android/obb/
SnowJB (may or may not work on other JB ROMS) - Credit:
Code:
mount -o bind /storage/external_SD/Gamedata /storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
4. Download Smanager from the playstore.
5. Find the script you created and set it to run with SU, make sure to save.
6. You can run it now to see if it worked. (If it did, make sure to edit the script to run at boot)
Notes:
I reclaimed about 6GB+ and was able to download several new games after doing this.
Occasional a folder called /Android/data/ gets created in Gamedata but it stays empty and doesn't effect anything. Just ignore it.
Newly downloaded game data will automatically be downloaded to the Gamedata folder. (As long as the addition data is downloaded through Google Play)
Works with Link2SD
This should work on every device that has an external sd card, however you might have to edit the paths to make sure they match up with how your device has the external sd card implemented (emmc, sdcard1, extSdCard). You may also have to edit the internal sd path for 4.2 and above to because of multi-user support.
Thanks to DeathmonkeyGTX! His music cache script gave me the idea to do the same for obb game data. They could probably be combined into one script, should you want to.
PART 2: Link2SD Info - for even more space saving
You can also use Link2Sd (found on the market) to store apps on the external sd card.
I formatted my external sd into two partitions. One 55 GB partition (For user data) and another 4 GB partition (for Link2SD).
Notes:
The highest app that I linked only saved about 50 MBs. Not really saving that much space, but after I linked several 50 MBs and under apps, I recovered about 1.2 GBs of space on the Internal.
The second partition can only be used for Link2SD.
To Set Up:
Backup your SD, format it to Fat32, use MiniTool to resize the first partition, then create a second partition (FAT 32 and make sure it is Primary) using the remaining space. You should now have two partitions. Now just launch the Link2SD app and create the start-up mount scripts. Reboot, launch the app once more, and finally start linking apps to your external sd card.
More info here: http://www.link2sd.info/home
I recommend reading the description and FAQ.
Both "PARTS" can be used together or separately just fine on ICS. However, I was not able to get Link2Sd working on SnowJB.
Seems to be working great! We now have so much more room for activities!
This is what I call a WIN: http://imgur.com/a/WBtHP
as far as I know I did everything I was supposed to but I went and deleted the files on my internal sd card and it deleted the ones on external sd card. I downloaded the app again and it saved the files in both locations and I deleted the internal one and it deleted both again. What could be causing this?
mws1986 said:
as far as I know I did everything I was supposed to but I went and deleted the files on my internal sd card and it deleted the ones on external sd card. I downloaded the app again and it saved the files in both locations and I deleted the internal one and it deleted both again. What could be causing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to delete the files before you set the script to run at boot. Otherwise you will be deleting the files on the external sd since the script tricks the system into thinking they are on the internal. I'm also think that your misunderstanding when you say they are on both. If you look at the total space when tapping the obb folder on your internal you will notice it goes from 11GB to whatever size you external sd card is. The two folders are binded so it would appear that they are on both but they are only on your external.
Joecascio2000 said:
You have to delete the files before you set the script to run at boot. Otherwise you will be deleting the files on the external sd since the script tricks the system into thinking they are on the internal. I'm also think that your misunderstanding when you say they are on both. If you look at the total space when tapping the obb folder on your internal you will notice it goes from 11GB to whatever size you external sd card is. The two folders are binded so it would appear that they are on both but they are only on your external.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just noticed this today, I ran this correctly (thank you for adapting it btw) and saw that I had "duplicates" on my internal. Then I saw that the total space was listed as 32 gigs... and it clicked, lol.
For a little clarification, you will see the folder in both places, the one on the internal card is just a link, it shouldn't actually take up any room on the internal card.
I was also able to get this to work for another folder created by a game that didn't put the files in obb folder.
(Just make a copy of the script and edit the pathways in it and run as root at boot.)
bleached45 said:
I just noticed this today, I ran this correctly (thank you for adapting it btw) and saw that I had "duplicates" on my internal. Then I saw that the total space was listed as 32 gigs... and it clicked, lol.
For a little clarification, you will see the folder in both places, the one on the internal card is just a link, it shouldn't actually take up any room on the internal card.
I was also able to get this to work for another folder created by a game that didn't put the files in obb folder.
(Just make a copy of the script and edit the pathways in it and run as root at boot.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it bugs me big time that some apps download files to different places. I noticed some apps that download additional files through the play store, download the data to the /android/data/ folder instead of /android/obb/. Google really needs to make that uniform, where all additional game data get downloaded to one place. I did, however, adapt my script to link the whole /android/ folder to the external sdcard.
I won't release that one because there is way more things that can go wrong. The /android/data folder is used for so much more than just games and if it's not set up just right you could get force closes and blank widgets on boot. But just FYI, it is possible and is working well for me.
Worked! Thanks a lot for the script man helped save a lot of data!
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda app-developers app
Well, I can't get this post deleted, but I was able to figure out my problem!
Thanks for posting this solution! So happy to have it!
Re: obb "Game Data" to external_sd and Link2Sd Info
I used both methods here, obb and links2sd and it helped me out tremendously. Nice work and thanks for posting this.
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda premium
Hey Joecascio2000,
Do you know how one would modify this script to work on the Stock 4.1.2 Jelly Bean LG-E973/1/5/0 CANADA / ATT / INTERNATIONAL rom?
I've read in that thread that the sdcard locations are different for Jellybean.
I've tried the following path to no avail.
mount -o bind /mnt/storage/external_SD/Gamedata /mnt/storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
Using that path will have smanager error out stating the following:
card0:/AndroidObbSwap.sh'
mount: No such file or directory
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Yoreo said:
Hey Joecascio2000,
Do you know how one would modify this script to work on the Stock 4.1.2 Jelly Bean LG-E973/1/5/0 CANADA / ATT / INTERNATIONAL rom?
I've read in that thread that the sdcard locations are different for Jellybean.
I've tried the following path to no avail.
mount -o bind /mnt/storage/external_SD/Gamedata /mnt/storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
Using that path will have smanager error out stating the following:
card0:/AndroidObbSwap.sh'
mount: No such file or directory
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have JB installed yet so I don't know exactly how the sd card and external sd card are mount. I'm assuming your paths are correct. But I suggest making sure that the script is running from the internal SD card. Also, I would add a "sleep" line just to make sure the external sd is mounted properly before running the bind.
Try:
#start
sleep 30
mount -o bind /mnt/storage/external_SD/Gamedata /mnt/storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
#end
Joecascio2000 said:
I don't have JB installed yet so I don't know exactly how the sd card and external sd card are mount. I'm assuming your paths are correct. But I suggest making sure that the script is running from the internal SD card. Also, I would add a "sleep" line just to make sure the external sd is mounted properly before running the bind.
Try:
#start
sleep 30
mount -o bind /mnt/storage/external_SD/Gamedata /mnt/storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
#end
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave that a shot, and it's still kicking out the same error. I think I'm going to post in that thread and see if anyone there can tell me if my path names are incorrect.
Well Joecascio2000, I figured it out after getting a good nights sleep. My paths weren't correct.
Anyhow, the correct path/command is as follows:
Code:
mount -o bind /storage/external_SD/Gamedata /storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
Feel free to update your OP to notify anyone who may be using that rom to use the above script for things to work properly.
What would be the code to get this working with the new cm 10.1 conversion?
I tried
mount -o bind /storage/sdcard1/Gamedata /storage/emulated/0/Android/obb/
and a few others
Yoreo said:
Well Joecascio2000, I figured it out after getting a good nights sleep. My paths weren't correct.
Anyhow, the correct path/command is as follows:
Code:
mount -o bind /storage/external_SD/Gamedata /storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
Feel free to update your OP to notify anyone who may be using that rom to use the above script for things to work properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I updated to OP to include your code and put a link to your post.
whoamanwtf said:
What would be the code to get this working with the new cm 10.1 conversion?
I tried
mount -o bind /storage/sdcard1/Gamedata /storage/emulated/0/Android/obb/
and a few others
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, not really sure how CM10.1 handles the external sd. Did you try the code directly above your post? It works for the JB port so it may work for the CM10.1 ROM.
EDIT:
Try:
mount -o bind /storage/sdcard1/Gamedata /storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
That is what I have on my Captivate running CM10.1.
Re: obb "Game Data" to external_sd and Link2Sd Info
I'm not 100% for sure on this but doesn't cm10 handle the external sd as emmc?
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda premium
Re: obb "Game Data" to external_sd and Link2Sd Info
tmease1 said:
I'm not 100% for sure on this but doesn't cm10 handle the external sd as emmc?
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know they used too on my Captivate but with the multiple users in 10.1 I think they might have changed it. And again it could be different for every device. I recommend using solid explorer to just search around. If you tap the little android icon in the top left it gives you the exact path of the folder you are in.
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda premium
Joecascio2000 said:
I know they used too on my Captivate but with the multiple users in 10.1 I think they might have changed it. And again it could be different for every device. I recommend using solid explorer to just search around. If you tap the little android icon in the top left it gives you the exact path of the folder you are in.
Sent from my LG-E970 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it is weird I found the exact paths and changed the script but it still doesnt work, even got it to where it looked like it worked, went green and no mount error but no data
whoamanwtf said:
Yeah it is weird I found the exact paths and changed the script but it still doesnt work, even got it to where it looked like it worked, went green and no mount error but no data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you add the sleep line? Some ROMS take longer to mount the sd card than others. If the sd card isn't mounted before the script runs nothing will happen.
Code:
#start
sleep 30
mount -o bind /storage/external_SD/Gamedata /storage/sdcard0/Android/obb/
#end
This will wait 30 seconds before running the script. If the paths are correct, I don't see why it wouldn't work. Under smanager, click menu>more> advanced>configuration, and turn on "Show On Boot Script Log". That should give you an idea as to what is happening.
Great mod I found and modified slightly for the Note II. Saves the music you download from Google Play to your external SD card instead of your coveted internal space which never seems enough. This is easy to do trust me I'm by no means an expert. Credit to skittles who actually credits someone else in his post.
--First off use Root Explorer or something likewise to create a folder on your external SD card named "MusicCache" (It's important to remember CAPS matters during this MOD).
--Next using Root Explorer again create a file named "MusicScript.txt" on your INTERNAL SD card. (Differentiate the two by using Root Explorer to navigate to storage. extSdCard is your external card. sdcard0 is your internal card.
--Download SManager from Google Play (Scripts Manager app). Use Root Explorer to navigate to the file you just created on your internal Sd card "MusicScript.txt" and open into a text editor (your choice doesn't matter, I use TED on Google Play). Type this exactly in "mount -o bind /storage/extSdCard/MusicCache/ /data/data/com.google.android.music/" Save it. IMPORTANT- Depending on what ROM your using your extSdCard may be called something different. Just use Root Explorer to navigate to the specific folders your binding together here and look at the top of the screen when your there. The entire path is written out there for you. This will show you if your card is named something different. CAPS matter!
--Open SManager and navigate to the "MusicScript.txt" file you just got done working on. Make sure the first time you open it you click the Search with Root option and grant it root access. You'll need root access for this. Click on the file and select "Su" (Superuser) and "Boot" (Boot option) located near the top and save it.
--Open settings and go into application manager. Find your Play Music (Google's music app) and force stop and clear data on it.
--Lastly, Reboot. If you did everything correctly you'll open Play Music app and have to reselect your account. Next go into select music for device and it should have your external Sd card space on the bottom instead of your internals.
Good Luck
This is sweet worked perfect! Is there a way to do the same for movies off google play?
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium HD app
If you guys are using the xposed framework there is a module called music2sd and it works flawlessly. A little easier to use thank this.
Sent from my VZW GALAXY note 2
This is cool.
I was using 1106K version of Play Music, because it was the last version that had support for the Nova Launcher SD selector activity. Now I can upgrade my Play Music version.