How to install new updates - Touch HD General

I want to know how to install new updates ?
There are many files that is usually updated
modules-xxxxxxx.tar.gz
zImage
rootfs.img
system.ext2
froyo.user.conf
my question is .. it it enough to just replace files to memory card and when pre-installed Andriod starts it will use the new file
or I have to format the memory card and paste the files before install Andriod ?
Also it would be nice if someone can share any tutorial about these files and the role of each one ?

Updates that should not require formatting SD card (or other changes):
-> zImage and modules-xxxxxx.tar.gz - linux kernel image and the corresponding modules, they need to be updated both at the same time
-> rootfs.img - root file system image
-> initrd.gz - initial ram disk
-> XXXX.user.conf - additional boot options (swap/compcache/other stuff)
You don't have to but I would say it is better to remove the data.img file (data partition image) prior to updating system.ext2 (Android system). Android will create a new one in this case but all your personal data and settings will be lost.
You should be able to update pretty much everything w/o problems but in some cases something may go wrong. Always backup your data.img before updates - just to be safe.
Formatting SD card is required only when the file system is broken (one of the symptoms is Android's inability to read anything from the SD card).

Related

Very slow on SDCard with partitions

I will apologize if this has been asked before. But I have been search for while and still have no clue.
The situation is: I normally run android with haret on sdcard without partition. (Thanks to all the developers). Every build is very fast except the most recent mssmison eclair (the new way). So, I tried to run the mssmison eclare on sdcard with partitions. It turns out to be even slower. I then tried most of the other releases which were fast without partition. All of them became very slow on partitions.
I guess it is possibly because I have a sd card without any "class x" label, (maybe class 2). But anyway, shouldn't android be faster with partitions than w/o?
or is there something related to permission fix?
Here is my settings:
Htc vogue
3 partitions: fat32+ext2(system)+ext2(data), I also tried fat32+ext2(system)+ext2(data)+swap, all very slow
Thanks
make sure you are choosing the right options in the installer. if you have system.img and data.img in your /andboot folder, then you are not running off the ext2 partitions and choosing the wrong default install location options.
tatnai said:
make sure you are choosing the right options in the installer. if you have system.img and data.img in your /andboot folder, then you are not running off the ext2 partitions and choosing the wrong default install location options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After install , I have no sytem or data in my /andboot or /android folder. The system is renamed and moved to a backup folder by the installer. with the new way, I can choose where to put the system and data, "system on sdcard" and "data on sdcard", which are default, are selected.
Yes I also noticed that Eclair wasn't running fast even though I was using two Ext2 partitions. I didn't notice any speed difference between having the files stored directly in the android folder as opposed to Ext2.
definitely thought I noted a speed increase running on ext2 instead of regular sd card.
i really wana know which partition is better ext 2 3 or 4? n also if u can move songs etc to the partitioned space??

[HACK] Apps2SD improvement

For those people who are still using the Apps2SD approach, I have made a few modifications to some of the scripts. Primarily it adds the capability of users to remove/change their SD card without causing the phone to go on a boot loop.
The file can be found here:
https://github.com/trajano/xt720opt/blob/master/pkgexec/system/etc/install-recovery.sh
Readme can be found here:
https://github.com/trajano/xt720opt/tree/master/pkgexec/system/etc
This one gets put into /system/etc and the existing mot_boot_mode.bin should be put back to mot_boot_mode
This is the approach that link2sd used. so it saves one modification from the existing apps2sd/apps2card approach.
It also supports ext3 if you have the required kos loaded into the /system/lib/modules folder.
NOTE: The fix is to allow you to change and replace your SD card after an app2sd without having to deal with reflashing, but it will *try* to get your applications working again if you try to put back your original SD card. There are problems with the apps not loading after doing the reload most likely permissions problems in the data/data folder.
the link is not working dude.

[Q] How can I tell if my partitioned SD is being used properly?

Thank you to anyone who can assist with this. I have tried searching the other threads for an answer, but have been unsuccessful.
My configuration is as follows...I partitioned my SD as follows:
1st - PRIMARY - FAT32 (Approx 10GB)
2nd - PRIMARY - EXT2 (2GB)
3rd - PRIMARY - SWAP (2GB)
I extracted and copied the Desire_DL folder (new v4.0) to the newly created FAT32 partition.
I then extracted and copied the Desire_DL and Update_DL folders (from the bugfix.DLZ4.0 patch). I also changed the config.txt.sd to config.txt (though I made no edits).
I rebooted the phone, and once in WM 6.5 I loaded booted Android. Everything booted OK, but I am not sure if it is utilizing the 2nd & 3rd partitions, or if it is just running on the FAT32 partition only. I'd like to ensure I am getting the best performance I can out of the build, so how do I check to see if everything is configured properly and using these partitions?
open MiniTool and see if it uses them.. It says how much it uses. As long as you don't have data_img=1 then it can't remember anything if it doesn't use them.
Thanks for the repsonse.
I used mintool to partition the SD card originally, but how do I use it to see if the partitions are being utilized?
Also, the default settings of the config.txt includes a line that reads: data_img=1
Should I delete that line to force it to utilize the other partitions?
ccrobin said:
Thanks for the repsonse.
I used mintool to partition the SD card originally, but how do I use it to see if the partitions are being utilized?
Also, the default settings of the config.txt includes a line that reads: data_img=1
Should I delete that line to force it to utilize the other partitions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
plz see http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11398763&postcount=3602
set the data_img=0 to use the ext4 ! no need for data.img anymore

[Q] Unable to sideload to sd card...help please?

Hi,
First off if this is answered I am sorry.
I did a lot of searching and was unable to see the answer to this...
I am running CM7.1 off uSD. Install went well, and have no issues. That being said, I am unable to find out where on the card to sideload books. I have booted into CM7.1, turned on USB storage, and have 2 drives appear in win: MYNOOK and CM7 SDCARD. I used the size agnostic image, and it appears that there is only the single partition on the card, and in file explorer, it shows the correct card size for memory, but only the single partition.
The only folders appearing on the card are:
.android_secure
Android
LOST.DIR
I tried to manually copy the books, media, etc. folders into a My Files folder on this drive, without success.
There is no other partition to repartition (shouldn't have to do that with size agnostic?). I have no problem loading books into the MYNOOK book folder, which I assume is the internal device memory.
Here is my question. How/where do I sideload books to use the storage on the uSD card? Do I have to create the folders somewhere? If so where?
My goal is to utilize the storage available on the card, but be able to read the titles in the stock software. Is it possible to do this without rooting, or do I need to root for any reason to access the right folders on the card for storage?
THANK YOU ALL!!
klewlessnoob said:
I tried to manually copy the books, media, etc. folders into a My Files folder on this drive, without success.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In what way was it not successful? Did the files copy and just can't find them with a reader? If so which reader?
The book I transferred over was not found in the stock software when I opened my library. Is there somewhere specific I am supposed to place it on the card for the Nook to see it? Thanks!
For the stock reader, I think you must use the 1gb area of the internal memory drive, which shows up as a separate drive on your PC when you plug it into the computer. When you are in CM7 and connect to the pc, cancel when it tries to install a device for the NC. Check the notifications on the NC, you need to click a button to enable copying files from your pc, and take care to properly safely remove/eject before disabling that and disconnecting the cable from your pc. Better to get a separate reader and install it from the market (e.g., Cool Reader). You can also install the Nook app from the market, but then books need to go within (possibly in a specific subdir) of the "Nook" folder on SDCARD.
So there is no way to use the card memory to store books if I want to use the stock reader??
Should there have been a "NOOK" folder created on the SD card as part of the CM7 process? Is that a file that the user needs to create? If so, does it go in the same partition as the CM7, as that is the only partition my machine is able to see?
thanks again
Hopefully you'll get more input on this, but I think the point of keeping the Nook stock available (aside from not voiding your warranty) relates to use of B&N books. However you can eject your CM sd card and use another sd card if you want more space for user media for use with the stock app. I thought the media drive was the 1gb area, but now I'm not so sure because on mine the MYNOOK disk is much smaller.
When you are in the stock firmware... you are seeing the boot partition of the uSD...
You can write the boot partition... resize it... then run the installer...
I have done it in the past... set up a 2GB boot partition... then setup the ROM on uSD. You then have a 2GB partition you can use when in stock.
Thanks for the info. I am a bit confused by your suggestion, can you please offer a bit more?
By writing the boot partition, then resizing it, does that mean I can resize now, after I have already set everything up? If so, what do you mean by the installer? Or do you mean I have to wipe the card and start over? If that is the case (start over) do you mean wipe the card, create a small partition for the boot to install on? Would that requre the use of an image that is not size agnostic?
Either way, how do I get the file structure in place on the non boot partition for the nook to see files that are saved there?
Thanks again for any help you can provide!
I have never had luck resizing it after it has been booted in the Nook and all the partitions created...
I have written the size agnostic image to the card... resized the only partition created at that point... then put the ROM on it and booted it in the nook so the installer script (size agnostic recovery) can do the partitioning and install the ROM.
For the question of getting the file structure... I'd have to ask how you wrote the files on the uSD... were you CM or stock?
I had always planned on running cm from the card, so when I wrote the files to the card, I was stock.
If I follow what you are saying, then steps for me to try at this point would be:
1. Reformat card
2. Write the disk image to the card
3. Shrink the single partition on the card (where the image is)
4. Add the CM ROM to same partition as the image
5. Install card and boot device
If this sounds right, I have 2 questions.
What size should the partition be for the image and CM ROM, maybe 2GB?
Will the Nook "see" the non-CM partition and create the file structure for saving files on the 2nd partition at some point? In my searches I saw that in early versions, there was a requirement that the 4th partition on the card be expanded to use for storage, won't I only have 2 at this point?
Thanks again so much for the help!
When you write the image to the card... it will only be about 114 MB.... you will probably want to increase the size to avoid any possible size issues later (with ROM's getting larger)
If you plan to use the stock nook ROM as well as CM7... you will probably want 2 GB boot partition... otherwise if you plan to only run CM7 you probably only want about 250 MB.
You can modify vold.fstab on the stock ROM to use partition 4 of the SD for its SD use... then you could avoid the 2 GB boot partition.
What happens when you use VG's SASD... the boot image is about 114 MB... when you boot it in the nook it creates partitions 2, 3 and 4... 2 and 3 are ext3 partitions, partition 4 is fat... partition 4 is the one set for sdcard in the ROM booted from SD...
This is why you can modify stock vold.fstab to point to partition 4... then both ROM's will be putting stuff on the same partition for "SD Card"
I think I follow that, but my issue is that currently I am unable to see partition 2,3 or 4 which I think is part of my problem.
When I set up the card, I used the SASD method, and all I can see in both win explorer and partition software is the single partition on the card. Should there also be partitions 2,3, and 4? Do I have to do something to make those partitions viewable?
I am not comfortable enough with my skill level to attempt to modify the stock vold.fstab file on the device, and was hopeful that by properly setting up the card, I would be able to keep stock as is, and use the card to multipurpose, ie run cm7 on part and use the remaining space on card to store books to be read in stock firmware. I am still hoping to do that....thanks
As far as only seeing partition 1.... that is a limitation of Windows.
By following the advice pertaining to starting over and increasing the size of the Boot partition immediately after writing the image... before doing anything else... you can provide more space for the stock ROM to use on the SD... it will use partiton 1 (the boot partition) without the other modifications to vold.fstab
ok, confused again
If I start over, write image, then resize that partition with the image, am I going to use the "rest" of the card, NOT in that partition to use with storage? OR am I going to resize the partition with the image to be big enough to use as the partition to put books on?
If it is the former, don't I again run into the problem of how to find the other partitions, or will I create them when resize the first partition after writing the image?
Thank you!
You will only ever see the first partition of the sd card when booting from the stock OS. Also with the card inserted in a usb flash card reader on Windows you can only mount the first partition as a drive letter. But you can see and resize partitions with contiguous unallocated space using MiniTools Partition Wizard.
OK thats good to know. Do you know if the SASD install should have created other partitions when I installed to the card? The reason I ask is that even in Partition Wizard, I am still only able to see the 1 large partition with everything in it.
If I start over again, will I need to use the wizard to create partitions first, then write the image to the resized 2 GB first partition, or should I write image to card, resize the first partition? If the latter, will resizing the first partition autmatically force the other partitions to be seen? I am not sure of this option, as I can't see where in the process the other partitions are created? Is this part of the process when CM7 boots?
Thanks!
Write the image. Safely remove from pc. Reinsert to pc. Use minitool partition to resize the (only, at that point) partition to the size you want. Use Apply in minitool software. Quit minitool and resume with the card setup.
does the minitool at that point (resizing) create the other partitions, or will the card setup do that? Do I have to do anything else to the other partitions to make them visable to the stock nook so that they can be used to access books while in stock os?
The card setup will create the other partitions. The stock os is never going to see anything but the 1st partition. You would need a terminal emulator or rooted file explorer installed in the stock os in order to mount another partition.
If that is the case, that stock os will never see anything other than the 1st partition, then there really is no way to accomplish what I am trying to do, correct?
In other words, put CM7 on the card, then when I want to use stock, boot into stock and have the reader find books saved on the card?

[Q] EXT on Internal SD Card

I need to use symbolic links and UNIX permissions on some of the sub-directories under my main directory (/storage/emulated/0/). I have C4Droid and GCC installed, and I want to be able to compile and execute apps through a terminal emulator. I can compile just fine inside the app and export, but I cannot run the exported binaries. After tearing apart the internet in searching why, it appears that the internal SD card is FAT and not EXT4 (or 3).
I don't care if I have to delete my files or if I will need to reinstall apps or whatever, I have backups and root, but I don't want to trip KNOX.
So how does one go about to format this? Other threads indicate that plugging into a computer and formatting will not work since it will be reformatted on the next boot. Android has native EXT support, so surely this can't be impossible...

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