www.chinaphonearena.com

Thanks NexusTrix! You laid out my use case exactly. So it is possible, hope one of the gurus here can help out with a maxed out EBR ;)

Added 3.5GB for Burs. Actually I think this is about good for me as well. Though perhaps will add some Gameloft game in the future, so will just leave my phone at 6 for now.

(2014-01-08, 23:35)cityfun Wrote: [ -> ]Maybe I'm wrong, I have a Galaxy Note 2 with 16GB of device storage (10GB usable) and 4.3 rooted stock firmware installed which allows for moving the apps to SD card, and I max that out, thought this would be the same.

What you've maxed out is your application data partition. For example, your Note's 16GB by manufacturer's notation equals 16 billion bytes which is in fact 14.9GB. About 50-100MB is used by the file system, so let's say you've got 14.8GB of usable free space. If you say you can use only 10GB for saving your files, you're left with 4.8GB. Out of this 4.8GB, part of the available space takes the ROM (Android OS) which can be about 1-2GB, and what you have left is the application data space I've been talking about this whole time. If you have no space left on it, you can have 1TB of internal memory and 5TB sd card, and you still wouldn't be able to install even a 1MB application.

Many of the customized Android installations (even the stock ones) can move apps from application data partition to internal memory or sd card. There's a root folder named '.android_secure' where applications are moved to (one .asec file for each app). You're always left with some files on the application data partition, but at least you can install new ones. And that's good space-wise, but not performance-wise.

(2014-01-08, 23:35)cityfun Wrote: [ -> ]There are some apps like Sygic which will crash when moved to SD card and needs to be kept in the phone storage together with their map data.

That's nothing to do with the subject. Application is coded (or better say hard-coded) to look for its files on the phone storage and not on the sd card storage. Other navigation apps (like Navitel) have an option where you can change the folder for storing your maps, and that is more user-friendly. What you can do with Sygic is first install FolderMount or some app with the same functionality, and move Sygic folder to sd card with that app, and mount the folders, so when Sygic looks into its folder on internal memory, it will in fact looking at the sd card.

(2014-01-08, 23:35)cityfun Wrote: [ -> ]Is there a setting to default the installs to the SD card?

Yes, there is an option. But that vary by the case, not all phones have it. It should be at the top when you go to Settings/Storage. If you don't have it, Clean Master do its job more than well (it's used for freeing up space, but it also moves files to sd card).

(2014-01-09, 00:09)NexusTrix Wrote: [ -> ]the only real reason to do this is for huge games that force you to install on system storage, such as gameloft games. there's no other real purpose to having so much space there.

Again... (why nobody understand me?!)
I will explain on Gameloft's "The Dark Knight Rises" title. The game weigs about 1.8GB. Do you know how much space does it take on your internal memory? Let me tell you: 1.79GB! That is the amount of space that will be deducted from your 10.5GB partition! And do you know how much it will be deducted from your 3.5GB application data partition? I will tell that too: less than 10MB (megabytes)! Get it? So what you're doing with 6GB application data partition (or God forsake, 13GB) is utterly wrong with the opposite effect. 3.5GB is more than enough even for an Android guru user. Anything more than that, and you're probably end up with lots of free space never used (which can be used only for app data and not by you), and on the other partition you'll have little free space because of all the game's data/obb folders that occupy it.

Sorry for the long post...

Burs, you have a point, but NexusTrix and City are correct here regarding the possibility of allocating all space to internal system storage without any problems.

For whatever reason it may be, it's possible to set the EBR so that all space is allocated to internal system storage, then set install location to SD. Your phone storage will never be touched nor required by any apps. There will be zero problems.

In the past this wasn't the case. But now that install location is selectable within Android, it causes no problems at all to do as City wishes/needs.

(2014-01-09, 01:54)Gizbeat Wrote: [ -> ]For whatever reason it may be, it's possible to set the EBR so that all space is allocated to internal system storage, then set install location to SD. Your phone storage will never be touched nor required by any apps. There will be zero problems.

I hear that for the first time. So one must have an sd card or else?
And there are other stuff on the application data partition other than our apps (even before first boot up), so where would be those if one wouldn't have an sd card. I think I'll have to google that a bit. Great if it's possible, but I've never heard of or used such a modified rom.

(2014-01-09, 01:55)Burs Wrote: [ -> ]

(2014-01-09, 00:49)Gizbeat Wrote: [ -> ]Added 3.5GB for Burs.

Thanks. But I think many of the users will end up with bricked phones, because there's a "factory reset" step in instructions, and there's nowhere noted that will format the system partition too, and that they should first back it up. Correct me if I'm wrong.

This factory reset really creeps me out. I think I'm safer with zatycz's instructions using cwm, restoring backup after the patch, and formating the storage.

This is only if they're using the touch recovery, which is plenty of warning in the thread with the recovery, and on the download at ge.tt.

The standard CWM 5.5 recovery in this forum doesn't format /system.

There's always more than one way to do things. You can follow whichever instructions you like.

(2014-01-09, 01:55)Burs Wrote: [ -> ]

(2014-01-09, 01:54)Gizbeat Wrote: [ -> ]For whatever reason it may be, it's possible to set the EBR so that all space is allocated to internal system storage, then set install location to SD. Your phone storage will never be touched nor required by any apps. There will be zero problems.

I hear that for the first time. So one must have an sd card or else?
And there are other stuff on the application data partition other than our apps (even before first boot up), so where would be those if one wouldn't have an sd card. I think I'll have to google that a bit. Great if it's possible, but I've never heard of or used such a modified rom.

All the important data is stored in the internal storage as it normally would be. Everything else is on SD. It's not complicated. There's no modifications to firmware made other than EBR and setting Android default write disk to SD.

Yes, if you don't have an SD card, you won't be able to set the default write to SD.

Hi GizBeat, I made the following changes to the EBR files [snip], as this is my first time using HEX calculators, I'm not sure if the following change list is correct, would be really grateful if you can help me look these over, thanks so much:

EBR1
====
Location 000001ec: 20 -> 1a (+24 steps of 500MB = +12 GB)

EBR2
====
Location 000001c8: 3a -> 52 (+24 steps of 500MB = +12 GB)
Location 000001cc: c4 -> dc (-24 steps of 500MB = -12 GB)

Quick note: I'm keen on doing this because I have no interest in using the phone memory as a data storage, I usually plug in the largest micro SD that the phone will support and direct all my Dropbox data (via DropSync) to it.

pls somebody help mee I'm trying to install Asphalt8, but GPlay sais I don't have enough space. When I go to apps, the phone shows I have 5 Gig(or more I don't remember) free space

(2014-01-08, 02:37)zatycz Wrote: [Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register] and place it on SD card
3. Boot into CWM recovery (Turn on phone, while holding Volume Up)
4. Make complete backup (backup and restore - backup)
5. Install dowloaded iNew_V3_6GB_data.zip (Install zip from sdcard - choose zip from sdcard)
6. Restore from backup (backup and restore - restore)
7. Reboot
8. When phone write that Phone memory is corrupted, just format it as reccomended
9. Now you have 5,91 GB for apps and 7,85GB as Phone memory

Hello, i have a problem.
Whenever i try to install the zip it fails (Installation aborted)
I have Android system recovery (3e)
Do i need to install something else first?
Thank you