Installing apps on my SD card

[jbginz]

Is there a way to install apps to my SD card to save space?

 

[dylanthecat]

Not until 2.2 comes out unless you root.

 

[Sam]

search "apps2sd"

 

[mithu]

Root is only way. You have to Partion ur SD card to install to apps to Card.

 

[gotbst05]

So, how do we go about doing the root? Is it like jailbreaking the iPhone? (Sorry for using that God foresaken word on the forums... lol!)

 

[mithu]

Lol. Well first find out which Android version you are running, 2.0.1 or 2.1.

I can help u with 2.1, I rooted my phone with in 10min. Very very simple. haha.

 

[Sam]

yeah, kinda like jailbreaking an iphone.. in that you can screw something up. just do some reading first and know what you are getting into before you go blindly following instructions. it makes getting out of a mess a WHOLE lot easier...

 

[tcrews]

Not only will you need to "root" your phone, you will also need to install a custom Rom that supports Apps2SD (cyanogenMod or those that copied it).

Then you'll need to format your SD card with a partition for Apps2SD (max 512meg) and the rest a standard Fat32 partition for your music, pics, etc....

Rom Manager makes it very easy to get both CyanogenMod 5.0.7.1 Rom and partition your card for Apps2SD.

It works very well, I had no issues with it at all.

I am running the Release Candidate of Froyo (OS 2.2) now which has it's own "version" of Apps2Sd which is not anywhere near as nice as CyanogenMod's version. It uses your standard Fat32 formatted SD Card and requires the Devs to code their apps to support it. I've also found that the ones that are supported...if you move them to the SD Card, they disappear from your App Drawer and if you have shortcuts...you get a generic Android shortcut.

Apps2SD on CyanogenMod is transparent....you have the Rom, the partition and you put a check in your settings "Enable Apps2Sd" and it just works. I really liked his setup.

 

[gotbst05]

Not only will you need to "root" your phone, you will also need to install a custom Rom that supports Apps2SD (cyanogenMod or those that copied it).

Then you'll need to format your SD card with a partition for Apps2SD (max 512meg) and the rest a standard Fat32 partition for your music, pics, etc....

Rom Manager makes it very easy to get both CyanogenMod 5.0.7.1 Rom and partition your card for Apps2SD.

It works very well, I had no issues with it at all.

I am running the Release Candidate of Froyo (OS 2.2) now which has it's own "version" of Apps2Sd which is not anywhere near as nice as CyanogenMod's version. It uses your standard Fat32 formatted SD Card and requires the Devs to code their apps to support it. I've also found that the ones that are supported...if you move them to the SD Card, they disappear from your App Drawer and if you have shortcuts...you get a generic Android shortcut.

Apps2SD on CyanogenMod is transparent....you have the Rom, the partition and you put a check in your settings "Enable Apps2Sd" and it just works. I really liked his setup.

Ok... nice write up, but can you please break it down to "stupid people" terms... lol! i would really appreciate it... lol!

 

[tcrews]

Ok... nice write up, but can you please break it down to "stupid people" terms... lol! i would really appreciate it... lol!

LOL..I'll try...

You need to root your phone.

You need to install Rom Manager from the Market (may need the purchased premium version to setup your SD Card for Apps2SD)

You need to install CyanogenMod Rom version 5.0.7.1 (latest) from Rom Manager

You need to copy any files you want off your SD card to your computer.

You need to format your card via Rom Manager to prepare it for Apps2SD (choose the largest partition size for apps (512meg) and 0meg for Cache).

After the phone has done all this, in CyanogenMod Rom there is a new setting to enable in your menus.......put a check in the box for Apps2SD.

Copy anything back to your SD Card that you had copied off to your computer (pictures you've taken, .mp3s you put on, etc...).

Done.

Apps will automatically install on the SD Card.

Will take you probably and hour or two do have everything about where you have things configured now...possibly more since you'll have to root first.

Lots of threads on rooting on this board. You do NOT have to flash back to 2.0.1 but you do have to flash a recovery image to your system using the same tools (RSDLite and an .sbf file). Directions are in the threads...I would suggest looking in the "hacking" section.

 

[gotbst05]

much easier to understand... lol! thanks tcrews for the insight. sorry for all the questions, but i guess that's what happens when you're new to the tech world.

any insight on the different roms that are available? i've tried reading about them to understand them, but once again, the "dumb" syndrome is kicking in... lol!

 

[tcrews]

CyanogenMod (Koush on this forum) is the only one that supports App2SD and then there are themed versions of his rom that others have done. CyanogenMod itself is a plain Jane looking Rom but has a lot of features within. The themed versions are more flashy looking with lots of touches done to make it look unique.

Cyanogen works directly with the code as it's released from Google and Koush ports Cyanogen's work to the Droid.

I really liked the rom when I was using it....but I wanted to try Froyo 2.2 (the next official Droid OS) so installed the leaked RC that's all the news on the main page.

 

[hookbill]

Everybody makes it seem so complicated. If you get the latest Froyo it will root for you. No fuss no muss. Just get RSD Lite, SPRecovery, download the Motorola drivers and follow the instructions for non rooters. It's all here in the forum. Just got to track it down a bit. Use Google for what you're looking for followed by the words "Droid Forum" in your search and you will find everything.

 

[tcrews]

This...

"Just get RSD Lite, SPRecovery, download the Motorola drivers and follow the instructions for non rooters."

Is the same exact process to root, this is what you have to do to 2.1-update1 to root it. The only difference is instead of running the "update.zip" to gain root access and do what you want from there.....you are running a restore of a rooted system replacing your current system with an already rooted system. End results are both are rooted...though one is still your system exactly like it was before and the other is running a beta of OS 2.2.

The Apps2SD sucks in 2.2 compared to CyanogenMod's 2.1 rom though....Google dropped the ball and should have incorporated this method instead of what they used.