Hi!
I know, that this question has been asked many times, so I'll try to formulate it a little different. I know, that Google wants to abandon USB Mass Storage (UMS) with Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) and focus on MTP / PTP.
This is however a pain in the @ss for most users. Since the Transformer Prime (TF-201) has only 1 partition, which can not be "exported" via UMS - because it has the system on it - would it be possible to modify ICS so, that the internal storage will be partitioned? Let's say 5GB for ICS and Apps, the rest on a separate partition. And the second partition could act like an "SD Card", like it's on most phones?
Would this somehow be possible?
I prefer UMS over MTP/PTP, since the latter 2 are not usable on Linux, and even in Windows Total Commander does not show the MTP/PTP devices (no official support, no plugins that work...) and I'm "forced" to use Windows Explorer
Thats what i though too when i connected my prime to the pc.
Was expecting to connect it in UMS.
Usually partitions are defined by the bootloader, so this would need a bootloader edit which nobody really wants to try due to the lack of nvflash access
Would it be possible with root?
brantje said:
Would it be possible with root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, because UMS would require having an actual "sdcard" partition on the device, and this is not the case. As Diamondback said, to change the partitioning of the storage would require full bootloader access which is not possible without the likes of nvflash.
Personally I think you are better to figure out a way to use the MTP. I use Linux so ?I know what a pain it is, but for the very occasional times I need to access sdcard from my PC MTP works "well enough".
Android 4.0 Compatibility Definition at 7.6.2. Application Shared Storage says
Regardless of the form of shared storage used, device implementations MUST provide some mechanism to access the contents of shared storage from a host computer, such as USB mass storage (UMS) or Media Transfer Protocol (MTP). Device implementations MAY use USB mass storage, but SHOULD use Media Transfer Protocol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read that as saying the method used is down to the developer. I think if mtp was required then the word "MUST" would be used and "SHOULD" is "do this unless there are valid reasons not to do it"
peterk-1 said:
Android 4.0 Compatibility Definition at 7.6.2. Application Shared Storage says
I read that as saying the method used is down to the developer. I think if mtp was required then the word "MUST" would be used and "SHOULD" is "do this unless there are valid reasons not to do it"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it is down to the "developer" as in the ROM chef. Your quote clearly says "Device implementations" - i.e. the way the device is set up. So, a device manufacturer who is creating an ICS device could either configure the device with a separate partition or card for /sdcard and use UMS or they have a single shared partition and use MTP.
The problem with UMS as I understand it is that it requires a dedicated partition, and when that partition is mounted on the host PC, it cannot be accessible to Android (remember all the issues with widgets which were installed on the sdcard on previous android versions not working ?).
The MTP method, on the other hand, does not have this restriction and also allows the dynamic sharing of a single partition between /data and /sdcard which makes much more efficient use of available storage.
So basically this was a design decision which the manufacturer made at design time. In order for a ROM developer to change that, they would need access to be able to split the current /data partition into two chunks: one for /data and one for /sdcard. That capability does not exist with the Prime.
Then again, I could be totally wrong
barryflanagan: Quite right in what you say. It's such an easy mistake to type developer instead of manufacturer!!
Cheers
Diamondback said:
Usually partitions are defined by the bootloader, so this would need a bootloader edit which nobody really wants to try due to the lack of nvflash access
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
barryflanagan said:
No, because UMS would require having an actual "sdcard" partition on the device, and this is not the case. As Diamondback said, to change the partitioning of the storage would require full bootloader access which is not possible without the likes of nvflash.
Personally I think you are better to figure out a way to use the MTP. I use Linux so ?I know what a pain it is, but for the very occasional times I need to access sdcard from my PC MTP works "well enough".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Guys!
First, thanks for the answers.
Second: "well enough" is not what I would aim for in a high quality and premium device like the TF Prime...
So, if I'm interpreting this right, "we" (the geeks & developers at XDA) need only nvflash for the Prime. That doesn't sound too hard. Personally I don't know nvflash, or how to get it working on the Prime (I'm not a developer), but since we already have root access and an unlocked bootloader it should be no problem.
I ran into the following site after a quick Google search: http://androidroot.mobi/2011/06/13/nvflash-on-asus-transformer/
I think I'm not alone, when I say, that UMS is better than MTP/PTP. Personally I don't care about a shared storage. When I want to copy music or movies to my phone or tablet I'm prefer the UMS method (umount on device, mount on PC).
<rant>On another note, why I dislike MTP: many years ago I had a Creative Zen Touch (20GB), which used MTP. On 2 out of 3 PC's I could not get it work, no matter what I had done, and even the rare times it worked, I could not copy bigger file (I think 1GB or larger) to the device, the transfer always broke up.
After I got the TF Prime, I was really disappointed to see, that ASUS chose this path too (since it's not mandatory, only recommended - I think some ICS Phones have a partitioned internal storage, where 1 partition can act like an SD card). The first thing that happened to me after I got the Prime: I copied a directory from my work notebook on the TF Prime. After some time I deleted that directory (I used the File Manager that came with the device). Then (after the directory was deleted) I connected the Prime to my home PC (the TF Prime was *never* connected to that PC before), and the first thing I saw, was the previously deleted directory - though I did *not* see the directory in the File Manager anymore! So that's why I'm against MTP/PTP. </rant>
drunken_m said:
Hi Guys!
First, thanks for the answers.
Second: "well enough" is not what I would aim for in a high quality and premium device like the TF Prime...
So, if I'm interpreting this right, "we" (the geeks & developers at XDA) need only nvflash for the Prime. That doesn't sound too hard. Personally I don't know nvflash, or how to get it working on the Prime (I'm not a developer), but since we already have root access and an unlocked bootloader it should be no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If only it were that simple. Let me know when you have it ready
As for the whole MTP issue, I agree with you but the reality is it ain't going to change any time soon, at least not in the Prime.
The Galaxy Nexus (Google's own flagship device) I think shows the strategy being pursued, which is not only MTP-only, but also has no storage expansion. What Google, Apple and the rest want is to force us all onto the dreaded Cloud and wean us off local storage all together.
BTW, even on the GNex, I am not aware of any ROMs which have implemented UMS, and that phone IS totally unlocked, unlike the Prime.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2 Beta-4
I've been very frustrated with this issue, but it does make a bit of sense. It sounds like the underlying issue here, going forward, is that what we really need better support across the board. If MTS is going to be the future, it will need to be much more robustly supported on other devices, and we'll need android tools to manage what is available on those devices.
I'm currently looking into other methods of network file access, which will allow me to transfer what I want where I want it, to and from TF201, files of large size and small, with decently high throughput. Running an SFTP server on my tablet looks to be the most likely candidate for what I'm trying to do.
The worst part for me is that MTP volumes are not detected in file recovery programs.. I recently accidentally lost a small lot of pictures and couldn recover them as a result of MTP...
Related
can someone tell me if is possible port Android on this amazing device??
someone is working on this???
I wuold like a lot if someone port Andoid on oHD!!!
lukas_ita said:
can someone tell me if is possible port Android on this amazing device??
someone is working on this???
I wuold like a lot if someone port Andoid on oHD!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was working on it for a long time. Unfortunately it is impossible, due to limited bootloader space (not enough for an android one) and no recovery partition. Also it would need a totally new partition layout (as it only has two accessable internal and one external drive, so no cache, recovery access, nor swap.
And also do not forget about the hardware incompatibility. Even if we manage to boot it, you will hardly be able to even make a phone call. Not to say use WiFi, or GPS, BT, or anything.
hi i joined because of some interest in this,
first of all let met tell you that i own a samsoung i8320 (vodafone h1).
this in some way helps because we now have a 'working' limo kernel, in my opinion it might help us out here.
the problem i have is that i never ever yet have been able to do 'any of the work here under' - the fact that i know howto doesn't make me capable of doing, (its like the fact that you know a plain fly's because of big wings and an engine, doesn't make you a pilot)
---------
the H1 uses a rather standard linux kernel as far as i can tell from the source could, though i havn't been able to run it inside quemu yet..
some guys allready interested in porting android say that they got android running but without functions like phone or wifi. this is because thay used an android kernel rather than the samsung one.
step 1:
so what if you would strip the samsung rom from all 'userland' software, keeping only the kernel, its drivers and busybox stuf.
creating a root shell only - you may even be able to make it mount as /boot rather than /
step 2:
now ad ad adtional filesystem on the internal phone memory or an external sdcard ... format it as you like (ext3 with noadtime could do, but other options are also availible).
this should now be where the remaining of the android rom should be. you could now always update most of your your android and apps exept for your linux kernel or drivers. without reflashing. this idea is largely based on apps-2-sd so we all know its been done before.
fonix232 said:
I was working on it for a long time. Unfortunately it is impossible, due to limited bootloader space (not enough for an android one) and no recovery partition. Also it would need a totally new partition layout (as it only has two accessable internal and one external drive, so no cache, recovery access, nor swap.
And also do not forget about the hardware incompatibility. Even if we manage to boot it, you will hardly be able to even make a phone call. Not to say use WiFi, or GPS, BT, or anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The i8910 community is great....this phone is great...a porting of android on this phone wuold mean a great number of donations!
cannot you use E\ (massmemory...8Gb or 16Gb) like partition?
I am using Truecrypt on my PC as well as Ubuntu 10.10.
I am looking for a similar technology in Android.
Like you can mount and unmount a container like a SD card.
Nearest I reached was, people suggesting hiding files, which is not secure, simply put the card in another machine, you will see everything.
Another suggestion was to use some secure files, but it can store some information only.
I cannot see any evidence in truecrypt forums, they are working on any android version.
I was just checking Folder Lock, they do have a iPhone version. Not that impressive idea. Needs to upload data online to see in iPhone!!!
We need better and safer ideas from Androids.
Crack on...
I have the same problem for Android.
The only programs I found that you can use are secretvault pro en FileCrypter.
I use the last one. It encrypts the folder you want, but it's a little bit slow for maps above 100 MB.
I don't understand that with more than 250.000 apps, nobody comes out with a program like truecrypt, etc, where you can mount the map as a container with his own driveletter.
Berny Boss said:
I have the same problem for Android.
The only programs I found that you can use are secretvault pro en FileCrypter.
I use the last one. It encrypts the folder you want, but it's a little bit slow for maps above 100 MB.
I don't understand that with more than 250.000 apps, nobody comes out with a program like truecrypt, etc, where you can mount the map as a container with his own driveletter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
technical limits maybe?
Just manually encrypting folders and files might be no problem, but truecrypt is different. files from a truecrypt storage are decrypted in memory and there's a driver that makes the native file functions of the OS think that the files are coming from a real storage.
I don't think you can develop such drivers for Android, at least not on non-rooted phones. It would have been possible on Windows Mobile. I mean, it has existed already: SafeGuard for instance.
Thank you very much for your suggestions
I tried both Filecrypter and secretvault pro on Samsung Galaxy S, but encrypted files were visible on gallery!!.
This was after encrypting the folder.
Does android 2.2 saves gallery viewed files in any cache or tmp folder?
Yes we are in a desperate need for encrypted containers, which can store anything.
If we loose phone, nobody will return it, we need to safeguard our personel files.
Let the thief format the sdcard and use it.
Encrypted Container for Android
Hi,
I did a project for a client implementing encrypted container for the android phone. Unfortunately I can't release any source. But, if somebody is willing to recreate this I can guide them. PM me for details.
i know this post is old, but is there anything available today that can mount veracrypt containers? i know of eds but its just awful. android should do this by now.
Just a quick note for anyone strolling in. I am still supporting this modification. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post.
Hello everyone. Hopefully this hasn't been done before. This mod is a bit more of a fun one (In my humble opinion ).
You may have noticed that when you connect your phone up to a computer, while booted into a Sense-based ROM, the phone will mount two drives -- one being a mass storage device, and the other being a CD-ROM drive. Interestingly enough, when you select HTC Sync Manager from the USB connection type list, it makes the computer think that you inserted a CD-ROM.
That's interesting because that means that you could essentially hook the phone up to just about any computer, and it would recognize that "CD-ROM drive."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Background
I found that you can actually change that CD-ROM to just about anything you could possibly want (having some trouble with bootable ISOs though).
There is a file named PCTOOL.ISO inside the /system/etc directory that normally contains the HTC Sync Manager Software. By replacing that ISO with another, it'll mount that one instead. Because there isn't too much room to spare in the /system partition, the file should probably be kept relatively small.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay. Why does this matter? I can think of two reasons:
1. ROM Developers can include a package that contains a copy of the ADB and Fastboot executables within their ROM. ADB would be useful while the device is on; Fastboot would probably have to be copied to the computer.
2. Because the ISO is mounted as Read-Only media, it could be incredibly useful for field technicians who need to run portable software, without the risk of being infected with a virus on the host machine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Info/Download
It's not hard to create these ISOs, and flash them to the phone. I can put up a how-to in the second post if anybody would like me to.
For now, here's a flashable zip containing ADB and Fastboot executables for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
Just flash the file like you would flash any other.
There is an old version of the PCSC.apk in this file. A newer version is here for the time being.
Download
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to use
To use it, while booted, change the device-connection type to HTC Sync Manager. Tap 'Done'. You'll likely see a message on the phone that says "Connecting to HTC Sync Manager ..." Just tap the back button on your phone to clear that message.
On your computer:
If you're running Windows, you may get an AutoPlay window that gives you the option to launch the "ADB and Fastboot Command Prompt." If you click that, you'll get a Command Prompt Window that's pointed at the drive already. To use any of the commands, just type adb [COMMAND], or fastboot [COMMAND] (again, fastboot may be useless unless copied to the computer).
If you don't get an AutoPlay window, open up the CD-ROM drive, and double-click on the 'ADB_FASTBOOT_SHELL.BAT' icon to bring up the window. That batch file contains only one command (just to launch the Command Prompt to the CD location).
If you're running Linux, you may have to copy the binaries over to your computer to use them (they may not have correct permissions).
On Mac OS X, you'll likely have to open a terminal window and navigate to the CD-ROM drive to use them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that this isn't anything huge, but I'll put this down here anyways. Developers, if you are interested in the ADB/Fastboot ISO or flashable ZIP, and would like to include it in your ROM, please feel free to do so. Modify it however you like. Only thing that I would ask of you is that you post here (or even PM me) saying that you used it. I'd just love to see if/where it's being used. This isn't a strict requirement though. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for anything that happens (including, but not limited) to your phone, computer, Sprint contract, etc. This is provided free of charge without any warranty.
Reserved
This is extremely interesting to me my friend. I ordered a 64gb sd so i could store pc repair programs such as hiren or others. So i woild always have with me. If i could just load a iso. God that would kick but. Id have a few o.s so ready at all times lol
Sent from my ice cream powered Evo Lte!
I definitely like the idea and possibilities this has. Good find, Closeone! I am goin to download just to keep for future. As I am only rooted stock, but I do plan to unlock soon. Was waiting on s-off but doubt that'll happen anytime soon, being that u can still flash kernels n etc with just unlocked bootloader.
Sent from my LTEVO via Tapatapa
When I connect my EVO to my PC running Windows 7 64 bit , it doesn't recognize it as MTP (Thank God, by the way....IMO), it mounts as a normal USB flash drive. I didn't install HTC Sync, so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it.
Are you referring to bone stock and you click on the Disk drive icon or the HTC Sync Manager when you plug in?
Just curious if I am using drivers that maybe others might get use of...
kaos420 said:
This is extremely interesting to me my friend. I ordered a 64gb sd so i could store pc repair programs such as hiren or others. So i woild always have with me. If i could just load a iso. God that would kick but. Id have a few o.s so ready at all times lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I'm not sure about the ability to boot. I did try a bootable ISO, which unfortunately was unable to boot. I may have to look closer into this. Also, the size restriction might hold you back. I wouldn't load a huge ISO into the /system partition, but there is one of two different things might be able to be done. One would be to possibly symlink the ISO and have it load from another place, the second would be to modify where the software would load the ISO from. Humm...
drewski83 said:
I definitely like the idea and possibilities this has. Good find, Closeone! I am goin to download just to keep for future. As I am only rooted stock, but I do plan to unlock soon. Was waiting on s-off but doubt that'll happen anytime soon, being that u can still flash kernels n etc with just unlocked bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, drewski83!
pinky059 said:
When I connect my EVO to my PC running Windows 7 64 bit , it doesn't recognize it as MTP (Thank God, by the way....IMO), it mounts as a normal USB flash drive. I didn't install HTC Sync, so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it.
Are you referring to bone stock and you click on the Disk drive icon or the HTC Sync Manager when you plug in?
Just curious if I am using drivers that maybe others might get use of...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way, I believe, that the system will mount the phone as MTP (or is it PTP in this implementation?) is by selecting the Media sync option when connecting. The two advantages I see to mounting it this way are that the SD Card doesn't have to be dismounted while connected, and the device shows both the "Internal SD" and the actual SD Card as separate drives that you can copy files to and from.
I haven't installed HTC Sync either. I'm referring to most any Sense-based ROMs for this device. If the phone doesn't give you a choice, it's possible that it's still hidden in the notification menu. If not, you can change that by going into Settings > Connect to PC, and tap Ask me, or you can change the default connection type from within that menu as well.
~co~
Closeone, you are awesome.
-Cupper- said:
Closeone, you are awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you -Cupper-. You are awesome, good sir!
~co~
bump for awesomeness
Quick question...if you flash this mod, do you have to reflash it every time a new ROM is flashed? Thanks in advance
bard77 said:
Quick question...if you flash this mod, do you have to reflash it every time a new ROM is flashed? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi bard77. Yes. When you flash a new ROM, system data will (should) typically be wiped. This is written there. It's simple to flash however.
Thanks,
~co~
good stuff!! thanks
Just freakin' sweetness man. Pure epic find!
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Androidious said:
Just freakin' sweetness man. Pure epic find!
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, nice work closeone. This is amazing.
evo401 said:
good stuff!! thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Androidious said:
Just freakin' sweetness man. Pure epic find!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
regaw_leinad said:
Agreed, nice work closeone. This is amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks guys.
~co~
Closeone, good job on finding this!
I do computer repair, and I currently have an external 2.5" drive set up to be bootable to a Grub bootloader. From Grub, I can boot any ISO or boot partition on the drive. With the Sync Manager emulating a CD-ROM drive instead of showing up as a disk drive, it would be a huge advantage for booting, letting any computer (especially older ones) recognize it.
If you could find a way to keep the phone in Sync Manager even when it's not connected, the computer's BIOS should be able to see it as a CD-ROM and boot from it. As it is now, my BIOS won't see it because it's not treating the phone like a USB device. It would be excellent if you could map to an ISO on a different partition. Another option is to have the loaded ISO simply bring up a bootloader to boot from any ISO/partition you want, though this takes away the advantage of the selected ISOs being recognized as a CD-ROM drive. Grub can have problems when you boot from an ISO of a live CD and the booted OS needs to access the disc. The OS can't find a CD-ROM, so it doesn't work.
If you could successfully map this to an ISO on the SD card, you could even build a little app to let you choose which ISO you want to be selected. You could simply have it remap to the different folders with the respective PCTOOL.ISO files. For example, if you select "Acronis" from the app menu, it would direct it to sdcard/acronis/PCTOOL.ISO, and if you select "Ubuntu," it would map to /sdcard/Ubuntu/PCTOOL.ISO.
I hope this is all clear enough. Once I read this, I got pretty excited about all the possibilities!
This is going to be awesome if things can be modified to make this a bootloader. I would even donate for this functionality if someone wanted to tackle it.
Having the ability to have things like UBCD, Win XP PE (With Antivirus / MalwareBytes), etc as options running straight from my phone would be a computer guy's dream.
jamiphar said:
Closeone, good job on finding this!
I do computer repair, and I currently have an external 2.5" drive set up to be bootable to a Grub bootloader. From Grub, I can boot any ISO or boot partition on the drive. With the Sync Manager emulating a CD-ROM drive instead of showing up as a disk drive, it would be a huge advantage for booting, letting any computer (especially older ones) recognize it.
If you could find a way to keep the phone in Sync Manager even when it's not connected, the computer's BIOS should be able to see it as a CD-ROM and boot from it. As it is now, my BIOS won't see it because it's not treating the phone like a USB device. It would be excellent if you could map to an ISO on a different partition. Another option is to have the loaded ISO simply bring up a bootloader to boot from any ISO/partition you want, though this takes away the advantage of the selected ISOs being recognized as a CD-ROM drive. Grub can have problems when you boot from an ISO of a live CD and the booted OS needs to access the disc. The OS can't find a CD-ROM, so it doesn't work.
If you could successfully map this to an ISO on the SD card, you could even build a little app to let you choose which ISO you want to be selected. You could simply have it remap to the different folders with the respective PCTOOL.ISO files. For example, if you select "Acronis" from the app menu, it would direct it to sdcard/acronis/PCTOOL.ISO, and if you select "Ubuntu," it would map to /sdcard/Ubuntu/PCTOOL.ISO.
I hope this is all clear enough. Once I read this, I got pretty excited about all the possibilities!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
webdude12 said:
This is going to be awesome if things can be modified to make this a bootloader. I would even donate for this functionality if someone wanted to tackle it.
Having the ability to have things like UBCD, Win XP PE (With Antivirus / MalwareBytes), etc as options running straight from my phone would be a computer guy's dream.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apologies for my late response. I've been... tied up for the last couple weeks.
Thanks. Precisely. I thought that it would be a nice tool for technicians. I work in that field myself. There are a few problems that I noticed with how the PCTOOL.ISO is accessed. From my understanding, I believe that the problem with reading it from the SD Card (Internal Memory or External) is that it doesn't expect that it's going to be reading from a FAT32 formatted partition. It gets a bit more difficult with the fact that a huge ISO really probably shouldn't be placed in your system partition. Making it bootable is messy (I mean, it was intended for a completely different use in the first place though ). At the very least, an ISO with your favorite portable applications can be put in there and loaded up when needed. That alone is very valuable because it acts as read-only media, the phone can't be infected with anything nasty from the computer you plug it into.
Thanks again!
~co~
Why could we not partition a section of the SD card as EXT3 or whatever PCTOOL.ISO wants to see, then create a symalink as mentioned? Nothing says the entire SD card has to be partitioned FAT32. I actually had part of mine partitioned as EXT2 for the longest time, because the card wasnt always in my phone.
webdude12 said:
Why could we not partition a section of the SD card as EXT3 or whatever PCTOOL.ISO wants to see, then create a symalink as mentioned? Nothing says the entire SD card has to be partitioned FAT32. I actually had part of mine partitioned as EXT2 for the longest time, because the card wasnt always in my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. True. I didn't think about that. The first thing that's got to be done though is making the phone mount the ISO, or at least not wait for a request from the computer to go ahead and make the phone pop up with the menu of actions, and in turn say to the computer "Hi there, I see that you're booting. I'm a USB CD-ROM drive. Oh yeah, and you can boot from me now." Easier said than done, at least for myself.
~co~
I've created a single primary Ext2 partition in my phone's external SD card but Android refuses to mount it automatically. Whenever I attempted to mount it manually it kept throwing the error "mount operation not supported on transport endpoint".
How can I mount it?
Using (SlimKat) Android 4.4.2.
EDIT: I'm now able to mount it only manually but have to specify ext4 as its filesystem -- why and will it make a difference since ext2 is non-journalled? Also, I tried adding a mount entry in /fstab.smdk4x12 but it was deleted upon reboot; does this mean no manual entries are allowed in that file and I will instead have to hack my own /init-xx.rc file to manually mount the partition at boot time?
miguelg_ said:
I've created a single primary Ext2 partition in my phone's external SD card but Android refuses to mount it automatically. Whenever I attempted to mount it manually it kept throwing the error "mount operation not supported on transport endpoint".
How can I mount it?
Using (SlimKat) Android 4.4.2.
EDIT: I'm now able to mount it only manually but have to specify ext4 as its filesystem -- why and will it make a difference since ext2 is non-journalled? Also, I tried adding a mount entry in /fstab.smdk4x12 but it was deleted upon reboot; does this mean no manual entries are allowed in that file and I will instead have to hack my own /init-xx.rc file to manually mount the partition at boot time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not just reformat to ext4?
es0tericcha0s said:
Why not just reformat to ext4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ultimately that's what I'll need to do but was hoping to use the non-journalled ext2. Is it not supported by Android or it the case that only some versions support it (in which case, what idiocy!)?
Have to say I'm beginning to truly hate Android. They might as well build their own kernel such that Linux (and by implication UNIX) is removed from the mix for they have completely butchered this OS. I suppose this is what happens when egos larger than the world are responsible for designing software; NIH syndrome.
Answering myself: if anyone is wondering how to automount a partition at boot time, you'll have to create your own init script and place in /system/etc/init.d/.
Well, realistically, the amount of people that have any use for mounting ext2/3/4 etc partitions is a very small % of users. Most people with android phones don't even know what Linux is, much less know about different kinds of partitions and what they are used for - or have a need for it. 99% of things you would NEED to do on a phone would be covered by the fat32 and exFat types. Of course, here on XDA, you'll find plenty of posts, guides, complaints about it, etc but there's obviously a certain type of user that seeks out or finds XDA and are more inclined to know of or have use for more technical things like this.
As far as auto-mounting the script on boot, you have to be rooted with init.d enabled and not all phones have full /system RW capabilities to even add stuff like that even when rooted. This is rare, but there's some HTCs and others like that. Often times there are ways around, but just saying, it's not a universal thing.
es0tericcha0s said:
Well, realistically, the amount of people that have any use for mounting ext2/3/4 etc partitions is a very small % of users. Most people with android phones don't even know what Linux is, much less know about different kinds of partitions and what they are used for - or have a need for it. 99% of things you would NEED to do on a phone would be covered by the fat32 and exFat types. Of course, here on XDA, you'll find plenty of posts, guides, complaints about it, etc but there's obviously a certain type of user that seeks out or finds XDA and are more inclined to know of or have use for more technical things like this.
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That doesn't excuse the fact that they've deliberately crippled the OS. As an example, the FAT filesystems don't support symbolic links, which means that if you want to move any data outside of internal storage for whatever reason, you pretty much need an extX partition. Besides, those people (the vast majority) who don't know and don't care about the internals of their devices aren't the ones creating software for said devices in the first place. We are. And so these technical aspects matter and are relevant to us, not the masses.
es0tericcha0s said:
As far as auto-mounting the script on boot, you have to be rooted with init.d enabled and not all phones have full /system RW capabilities to even add stuff like that even when rooted. This is rare, but there's some HTCs and others like that. Often times there are ways around, but just saying, it's not a universal thing.
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Didn't know about that limitation. Can you not remount the rootfs with RW privileges? And do you mean to say that some devices don't even support init.d; if so, what mechanism do they have in place?
miguelg_ said:
That doesn't excuse the fact that they've deliberately crippled the OS. As an example, the FAT filesystems don't support symbolic links, which means that if you want to move any data outside of internal storage for whatever reason, you pretty much need an extX partition. Besides, those people (the vast majority) who don't know and don't care about the internals of their devices aren't the ones creating software for said devices in the first place. We are. And so these technical aspects matter and are relevant to us, not the masses.
Didn't know about that limitation. Can you not remount the rootfs with RW privileges? And do you mean to say that some devices don't even support init.d; if so, what mechanism do they have in place?
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Well, cripple might be a bit of hyperbole considering it's not something most people would need. I get your point though, it is weird that it's not native since it works with Linux generally. You can link symbolically to FAT systems while rooted with something like this:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devasque.fmount
And yes, the tech people are creating software for these devices, but they are made for the general public, because that's who buy 90% of these things.
Could you please clarify what you said earlier on the read-only init.d and even some devices not supporting it? Again, thanks for your input, es0tericcha0s.
miguelg_ said:
Could you please clarify what you said earlier on the read-only init.d and even some devices not supporting it? Again, thanks for your input, es0tericcha0s.
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Sure. Most android devices, actually I can't think of any of the top of my head, don't come with native init.d support or even have init.d that is not accessible. It's just not there. It's enabled in almost all custom roms, or you can add it yourself to many stock roms via a couple different ways like this:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androguide.universal.init.d
As far as the system RW issue, some phones, like many newer HTCs, have the system protected so that you can make changes to the /system while booted, no problem, but once you reboot, all the changes will get undone. Very annoying. Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV3YaMBnEYI
Summary
Uses an external micro sd as "internal storage". Accomplished by a ramdisk edit to the boot image. The bootloader must be unlocked to use this tool and unlocking the bootloader will erase all personal data, game saves, etc on your device. For devices that already have their bootloader unlocked there is an option to transfer the current data to the external microsd card.
Considerations
-The bootloader needs to be unlocked. The unlocking procedure erases all data on the device. If games saves, etc, are important use a tool that can back them up first.
-If you already have an unlocked bootloader the script allows you to transfer the data over and it should be like nothing ever happened but an increase in space. However, scripts are not perfect, nor can I take in to account every situation that might arise. If you have an unlocked bootloader and your data is important, please, please, please make a backup before trying this script.
-Micro SD card quality. All data will be read and written to the micro sd card. Not all cards are created the same. Many have very poor write performance, especially 4K writes. I tested about 6 or 7 cards and found the Samsung EVO+ as the best performing card. I didn't test the SanDisk extreme but it will likely be good as well. Increasing the size available is of no use if the speed is terrible and the tablet is laggy.
-Drivers. You must have fastboot and ADB drivers already set up and ready to go. The drivers are always a pain because so many different computers have different setups, previous drivers installed, conflicting drivers, etc. I attached the NabiLab2017 drivers to the post, even they can be buggy but provided an option if you choose. More about driver setup can be found here https://forum.xda-developers.com/nabi-2/general/nabi-information-t3229119
Procedure
ONLY FOR NVIDIA NV08B
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aka8nUu7qQY
Video with data transfer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbxqtzV33jI
ADB and fastboot drivers setup and tested
Micro SD card you want to use installed
Device connected and booted to Android
Unzip and run convert.bat
________________________
Thanks (again) @aicjofs for all the work you continue to do on these Nabi Dreamtab HD8s. TWRP, fsck fixes, stock 137 TWRP backups, and now this (which cures my biggest gripe about these tablets).
My kids are rough on them, but, because of the work you do, I've been able to keep them going & they grow with my kids. I just picked up 2 more refurbs from eBay today for $50 each. I'll be applying this internal storage fix as soon as they arrive.
I'm a Linux guy, not Windows. Would it help if I contributed a bash script that mimics your convert.bat? I'd have to assume that adb & fastboot are already installed & running, but I could probably script most of if from that point.
jvonhoff said:
Thanks (again) @aicjofs for all the work you continue to do on these Nabi Dreamtab HD8s. TWRP, fsck fixes, stock 137 TWRP backups, and now this (which cures my biggest gripe about these tablets).
My kids are rough on them, but, because of the work you do, I've been able to keep them going & they grow with my kids. I just picked up 2 more refurbs from eBay today for $50 each. I'll be applying this internal storage fix as soon as they arrive.
I'm a Linux guy, not Windows. Would it help if I contributed a bash script that mimics your convert.bat? I'd have to assume that adb & fastboot are already installed & running, but I could probably script most of if from that point.
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Absolutely contribute, I don't do this for fame or money, just try to help others. Any and all additions are always welcome.
It should be easy enough to convert as most of the magic happens on the tablet itself, I think I only pushed a couple files to the tablet and made the ramdisk changes on the tablet too to keep the file size down. Weird how TWRP, the kernel, the tablet itself is all done in Linux but I only make windows scripts/apps.
I have quite a few of these tablets too, 5 maybe?. Kind of weird because Fuhu/Nabi screwed up that fsck thing so many people dump the tablet for next to nothing because they seem like garbage and crash all the time with loss of all the kids data but they are really a solid tablet. Try and find a screen of the HD8 quality on a modern kids tablet for $50. Shame about the crappy source code, if I could have got the camera to work right in the kernel I think I would have pressed on with the lollipop ROM and instead lost interest. This mod though breathes a lot of life into it still though. I have 3 of these running the mod and the kids still use it all the time with 64GB cards as their main storage and have had no issues.
aicjofs said:
Any and all additions are always welcome.
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I've attached my attempt at a bash script for the swap. I got time to run one of my tablets through the gauntlet with this version, and only hit a snag at the check for fsck. Since I was that far, I just fixed the bug & applied the rest by hand. So, beware.
aicjofs said:
if I could have got the camera to work right in the kernel I think I would have pressed on with the lollipop ROM and instead lost interest.
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I hear you there. I was hoping to see you get Lollipop going (even w/o a camera), just to have the battery saver. But, Greenify does a pretty good job keeping the battery going a while. So, again, thank you, and let me know if this script needs fixing.
Thanks for the work on this tablet. I am trying to salvage our dreamtab with your method. Unfortunately, I have a card inserted but the convert.bat never gave me any information about the sdcard like it did for you in the youtube video. Any idea what I might be doing wrong?
Thanks again!