[TUT]How to Create Partition in SDcard/MicroSD for Windows user

stpdkid · Jan 25, 2013

hello guys,
i wanna share to you guys how to make a partition in external sdcard/MicroSD for Windows user. Dunno if this already post in XDA, didn't do a research
just to remind, do this with your own risk!

now, what we need :
1. PC/Laptop
2. microsd/sdcard with capacity 2gb/4gb/8gb/16gb/32gb
3. microsd adapter or card reader.
4. Minitool Partition Wizard http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html
there's another tool called gparted but this tut only use Minitool Partition
5. a ciggy and a cup of coffee

before we go through, don't do this while you're drunk, so sleepy or in hurry..

now, i assume that the minitool partition already installed on your pc/laptop and the sdcard is empty.
let's begin....
1. put your sdcard into adapter or card reader
2. open the minitool partition wizard software.(pic 1)
3. right click in sdcard (pic 2--i use 8Gb) and click delete. after that your sdcard will look like pic 2-1 as "unallocated" (becareful to choose the drive!!)
4. right click and click create (pic 3)
5. in create new partition choose "primary" (dont use logical) and change the "file system" to "Fat32".(pic 4 & pic 4-1)
6. in partition size you change to what you need. if you want to swap 1gb then change the "partition size" make your "unallocated space after" to 1024mb(pic 4-2).
(i dunno exactly the space that fit with but i use 1gb, if you dont know either you can ask to our dev or mr. pep) after that click ok
7. now you can see the 1gb seen as unallocated(pic 4-3)
8. right click and click create again at the unallocated(1gb) will be a warning that "the new created partition cannot b used in windows" click "yes" (pic 5)
9. now change the "logical" to "primary" (if you choose logical then your phone will probably got a black screen or black screen with battery icon+lock icon after you flash a new cusrom) (pic 6)
10. Change the NTFS to ext2/ext3/ext4 (if you want to install link2sd/s2e from market you can choose ext2 and/or ext4, for me i choose ext4 because i use s2e) and click ok. (pic 6-1)
now there are 3 operations pending in the left side (pic 6-2)
11. click "apply" and "yes". (pic 6-3)
12. now take your ciggy and drink your coffee and wait 1-2 minute untill the successfull pop up then click ok(pic 6-4). close minitool program.

- this ext* will not shown on windows, only on linux base OS.(you can see it on Windows by using some software, i.e : linux reader or raise data recovery, etc)
- use sdcard adapter/card reader
- if you wanna move your app just use link2sd or s2e free on market.
- in this tut i use ext4 just for example to you guys if you choose s2e, but it is not a must for you to choose ext4,.for faster read/write sd choose ext2(see post 2 by pep)

this is just a tutorial for those who dont know and dont understand how to make partition/swap and for those who dont want to swap the phone's internal<-->external. do this before go to Pristine Method
swap thing is too risky for class4 microsd,

credits to :
- minitool partition wizard (useful tools)
- mr. pep (this guide related to Pristine Method ) http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2044861
- all Wonders
- XDA

if this help just click the Thanks button if there's something i forgot to write or i'm wrong please correct me..

pepoluan · Jan 26, 2013

Great tutorial!

If I may, I'd like to add some tips:

When making the very first partition (from an empty-card condition), make sure:
- It's Aligned to MB instead of Cylinder
- There's a 1 MB 'gap' in front of the partition
Also, make sure that all partitions' sizes (in sectors) are divisible by 256 (or, in other words, the partition size is a multiple of 128 KiB).
.
The reason for this is that some SD cards allocate their storage capacity in 'blocks', and the largest known block size is 128 KiB (128 * 1024 bytes). 256 sectors = 128 KiB. By ensuring that all partitions' sizes are divisible by 256, you are ensuring that no block is split between two partitions, thus keeping performance high (as the SD card no longer need to read a block and perform a seek just to find the beginning of a partition), and help lengthening the life of your SD card.
.
(Other SD cards might have smaller block sizes, but all a binary fraction of 128 KiB, i.e., 64 KiB or 32 KiB or 16 KiB or 8 KiB or 4 KiB. Thus, if partitions are multiples of 128 KiB, they are certainly multiples of the smaller block sizes.)

To ensure that partitions are divisible by 256, just before you click on the "Apply" button, do the following for each partition created:

Right-click on the partition
Choose Properties (the bottom option)
Click on "Partition Info" tab
The size of partition (in sectors) is "Last Physical Sector" - "First Physical Sector" + 1

For example, in my case (see the attached image), the "Last Physical Sector" is 29003775, while the "First Physical Sector" is 2048. Thus, the size of the partition is 29003775 - 2048 + 1 = 29001728. Divide 29001728 by 256 and you have the nice integer value of 113288, meaning that the partition is an exact multiple of 128 KiB.

As for the filesystem type for the second partition, I myself prefer ext2 because I reasoned:

This is an SD Card; employing journaling (implemented by ext3 / ext4) will result in too much writing -- shortening SD Card life
Writes are (nearly) instantaneous anyways; journaling are helpful if writes take some time to finish (e.g., writing to a spinning disk, which needs the track-seek and sector-seek plus track-shift plus ECC generation)
The only way a write to SD Card can get interrupted is if power was removed immediately. Aside from dropping your phone and inadvertently ejecting the battery (in which case, SD Card corruption should be the least of your concern), smartphones can't suddenly lose power. When power gets too low, Android performs an orderly shutdown ensuring that all buffers are flushed
ext2 code in the kernel is simple, making reads & writes faster, and less intrusive to foreground apps (no need to generate/manipulate a checksummed journal)

--- Posted from Opera on Lenovo T420 ---

stpdkid · Jan 26, 2013

thank you bro for rhe additional tips..i forget bout that..

that'very useful for us.

yes, ext2 is better to choose..

i use ext4 because i install s2e not link2sd..and sometimes ext2 cannot be read by s2e but it's not a must for everbody to use ext4..

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killeeeeer · Jan 29, 2013

What are the advantages to making portion

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stpdkid · Jan 29, 2013

killeeeeer said:
What are the advantages to making portion

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- no need to swap..do this and install app link2sd or s2e free on market..
- make your microsd card read/write better..
- can hide anything in the partition

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killeeeeer · Jan 29, 2013

stpdkid said:
- no need to swap..do this and install app link2sd or s2e free on market..
- make your microsd card read/write better..
- can hide anything in the partition

Sent from my GT-I8150 using xda premium

Nice well try it next time i update my android build, thanks for the info

eza azami · Feb 13, 2013

I have partition my external_sd with format "ext4".,
it's work but when I reboot my SGW i got hardbrick

sent from nokia 3310

stpdkid · Feb 13, 2013

eza azami said:
I have partition my external_sd with format "ext4".,
it's work but when I reboot my SGW i got hardbrick

sent from nokia 3310

did you swap your internal sd-external sd after partition to ext4 and using the app(i.e link2sd or s2e)?
what apps that you use to swap?link2sd or s2e?what app tools (beside those two app) that you use?

it wont get hardbrick if you follow the tut carefully,,
i do this with my 4 microsdcards, 2microsd with size 8gb, 1microsd with size 4gb and 1microsd with size 16gb and all of it just class4.
i use this method since 2011.
this tut will not hardbrick your phone.

eza azami · Feb 13, 2013

stpdkid said:
did you swap your internal sd-external sd after partition to ext4 and using the app(i.e link2sd or s2e)?
what apps that you use to swap?link2sd or s2e?what app tools (beside those two app) that you use?

it wont get hardbrick if you follow the tut carefully,,
i do this with my 4 microsdcards, 2microsd with size 8gb, 1microsd with size 4gb and 1microsd with size 16gb and all of it just class4.
i use this method since 2011.
this tut will not hardbrick your phone.

I using s2e, but maybe I forget some step.

last month I try it again and succesful..

sent from nokia 3310

sandroidnz01 · Feb 14, 2013

Hi stpdkid.

Okay,I've got a 32gb class 10 SD card.
I tried doing the partition last night.
It the SD card which I had been using on my Xperia Arc for nearly a year so you can imagine the amount of garbage on it.
Copied everything to my PC and went ahead with the partition.
First partition Primary/ Fat32/9gb
Second partition also named as Primary/Ext2/21gb.
Done.
Copied my files back onto the sdcard and inserted it back into my device which only recognized the 9gb.
Used link2sd and it reads only the first partition of the sdcard.
I think I did everything correctly.But why is it that I'm missing the 21gb?
Should I have named it as NTFS/Ext2/21gb?

Sent from my Xperia Arc using xda app-developers app

stpdkid · Feb 14, 2013

sandroidnz01 said:
Hi stpdkid.

Okay,I've got a 32gb class 10 SD card.
I tried doing the partition last night.
It the SD card which I had been using on my Xperia Arc for nearly a year so you can imagine the amount of garbage on it.
Copied everything to my PC and went ahead with the partition.
First partition Primary/ Fat32/9gb
Second partition also named as Primary/Ext2/21gb.
Done.
Copied my files back onto the sdcard and inserted it back into my device which only recognized the 9gb.
Used link2sd and it reads only the first partition of the sdcard.
I think I did everything correctly.But why is it that I'm missing the 21gb?
Should I have named it as NTFS/Ext2/21gb?

Sent from my Xperia Arc using xda app-developers app

you're missing the 21gb because you use it as ext2..change it as fat32 and the 9gb as ext2..
Sent from my GT-I8150 using xda premium

sandroidnz01 · Feb 14, 2013

stpdkid said:
you're missing the 21gb because you use it as ext2..change it as fat32 and the 9gb as ext2..
Sent from my GT-I8150 using xda premium

So to do this just run the partition wizard and edit the partitions?
And setting both to Primary is not a problem?

Sent from my Xperia Arc using xda app-developers app

stpdkid · Feb 14, 2013

sandroidnz01 said:
So to do this just run the partition wizard and edit the partitions?
And setting both to Primary is not a problem?

Sent from my Xperia Arc using xda app-developers app

backup first and follow the step on first post.
big size partition as fat32(primary) and for ext2(primary) the small size partition..

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sandroidnz01 · Feb 16, 2013

Done.
But there's still something which is not right.

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stpdkid · Feb 16, 2013

sandroidnz01 said:
Done.
But there's still something which is not right.

Sent from my Xperia Arc using xda app-developers app

what do you mean something's not right?

sandroidnz01 · Feb 16, 2013

I'm sure I did not create one partition for cache.Yet its there.
Moreover,the cache has been building up progressively and I had been unable to clear it with link2sd.Neither via CWM Recovery.

Sent from my Xperia Arc S using xda app-developers app

stpdkid · Feb 16, 2013

sandroidnz01 said:
I'm sure I did not create one partition for cache.Yet its there.
Moreover,the cache has been building up progressively and I had been unable to clear it with link2sd.Neither via CWM Recovery.

Sent from my Xperia Arc S using xda app-developers app

its ok. just a cache from your app..

Sent from my GT-I8150 using xda app-developers app

danielferratti · Feb 18, 2013

Really good! Thanks for the post Bro!

Nikhil Pathak · Mar 11, 2013

Can i do Partition Using USB Cord

hey bro .. is it necessary to do partition using card reader... can i continue with USB cord... ???

replzz

pepoluan · Mar 11, 2013

Nikhil Pathak said:
hey bro .. is it necessary to do partition using card reader... can i continue with USB cord... ???

replzz

You mean, using your phone as an SD Card reader?

You can't. Your phone exposes the first partition to the PC. The PC doesn't have access to the all-important partition table.

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[TUT]How to Create Partition in SDcard/MicroSD for Windows user

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