Instead of moving all applications to SD card with app2sd, I want to move only selected applications.
Because I don't want to move my launcher, soft keyboard and dialer application to SD and make them unavaliable on boot if my SD card has problem or not inserted.
In order to resolve this I developed an application called Link2SD.
The idea behind is same, linking to SD card's second partition but differs in two ways.
One, instead of linking /data/app folder (that means moving all applications), you can select applications that you want to move.
Two, it's an application which means has a user interface. You can manage your applications, create or remove links with just one click.
Features:
Creates and removes link for application you select
Lists applications, shows their link status
Sorts and filters applications
Displays available space information of internal storage, SD card and SD card 2nd partition.
What you need:
root permission.
a second partition on your SD card. You should have two partitions on SD card and both should be primary.
The first FAT partition is your standard SD card storage. The second partition is used for application files and can be ext2, ext3, ext4 or FAT32.
ext4 is the latest ext format but several ROMs have issues with it while fewer have issues with ext3 and ext2. FAT works on all ROMs.
I use free "MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition" (windows application) for this.
You can create the second partition without repartitioning, formatting or deleting your existing partition with this tool. Connect your SD card to PC with a card reader or phone itself and make it visible as a drive. Open Minitool select this drive and resize down FAT partition, you will see an unallocated area at the end of the card. Create ext2, ext3 or FAT32 partition in that area (create as primary, not logical), click apply. Unplug from the PC and reboot the phone. (To be on the safe side backup your data before starting)
That's all. Just install Link2SD, it will do all necessary. No need to copy files or run scripts.*
* Some phones lack the ext2, ext3 or ext4 file system support and you may get mount errors like "no such device", "invalid argument". These phones need a matching ext2.ko or ext3.ko modules and even some additional modules to be able to mount.
Using FAT32 on the second partition will eleminate such problems, because FAT32 is supported on all phones.
How it works:
Link2SD mounts the second partition of your SD card as /data/sdext2 and makes OS mounts it at boot time.
When you select an application and press "Create Link" button it moves apk file and dalvik-cache file (if you select) to SD card's second partition and creates symbolic links in original directories (/data/app and /data/dalvik-cache).
Note: After this step, application icon disappears from the phone on Android 1.6 and 2.1, but after reboot you can see and run without problems. On 2.2+ this is not the case.
Can I remove the link and put application back to phone storage?
Yes, just click on application which is linked and press "Remove Link" button. Link2SD removes symbolic links and moves apk and dex files to orginal directories.
What happens if I uninstall a linked application?
If you uninstall a linked application apk and dex files will be automatically deleted from the SD card by Link2SD.
What happens if I update a linked application?
If you update a linked application new apk and dex files will be placed in the internal memory at first and then they will be automatically relinked by Link2SD in the background.
You don't have to manually relink after updating applications.
Note: Since it is linked again application icon disappears from the phone on Android 1.6 and 2.1, you need to reboot.
Android Market and Link2SD
Android Market doesn't see applications that have been link to SD card. Because vending process marks them as "UNINSTALLED" when the link created.
To repair their state use "Market Fix" menu.
This will synchronize Android Market database with installed applications and missing market apps will be repaired.
Note: Before starting, make sure market is not running and you're not downloading anything from the market.
Some points
If you applied App2sd, please uninstall App2sd and revert to original. Otherwise you cannot create link with Link2SD. Link2SD detects this and warns you at startup.
Link2SD detects applications which are already moved to SD card on Android 2.2+ natively and disables "create link" for them.
System applications should not be linked to SD card. Link2SD does not allow these applications to be linked.
When you connect your phone to PC as mass storage, Android unmounts FAT partition but the second partition remains mounted. Therefore linked applications are not affected and can be run without problems.
Link2SD does not move application data directory, it moves apk and dex (dalvik-cache) files.
DISCLAIMER: It is made available for use at your own risk with no warranty of any kind.
It's avaliable on Android Market. Search the market for "Link2SD" or scan the QR here.
UPDATE:
1.5.1
- fixed background message
1.5.0
- added ext3, ext4 and FAT32 support for the second partition of SD card
- added refresh menu
- added "Not Linked" filter option
- changed App2sd checking
- added support in linking protected (/data/app-private) apps
- added support in detecting and mounting the second partition for some roms
- some bugfixes
1.4.2
- disabled automatic Market status fix after linking
1.4.1
- added option to link dalvik-cache (.dex) files along with apk files
- added automatic re-linking after app upgrade
- added automatic deleting from SD card after app uninstall
- added "Reinstall" button
- added "Link dalvik-cache files" menu which links dex files of all existing linked applications all at once
- added automatic Market status fix after linking
- better froyo support
- added dex file size and link status information
1.3.1
- added support in detecting and mounting ext2 partition for some roms
- some minor bugfixes
1.3.0
- added uninstall feature which deletes apk file also from ext2 for linked apps
- added launch and manage buttons
- added detailed size information of applications
- added support in detecting and mounting ext2 partition for some roms
- some minor bugfixes
1.2.1
- added info message to show which applications have been repaired after "Market Fix"
1.2.0
- added "Market Fix" feature to repair missing Market applications
- added support in detecting and mounting ext2 partition for some roms
- removed "ext2 found" info message at startup
- some minor bugfixes
1.0.5
- added support for some roms which install-recovery.sh is not operational
- added ext2.ko module installation on boot (if exists) for Motorola phones
1.0.4
- changed mount method at startup to be much safer
- some minor bugfixes
1.0.3
- initial release
