How to extend the SSD with a SDHC card ?

I use a SDHC card EMTEC SDHC class4 16GB in the expansion slot, the card is detected but not merged with the ssd... How could I merge the SDHC card with the SSD ?

 

It will only work in that fashion if your using Linpus. You didn't specify which OS your using.

 

Hi webvince18
It depends what you mean by merged? The SSD and the SD remain as 2 physical drives and are not merged into one contrary to the impression that sales literature may give. Each is capable of storing data and each can be individually written to. In File Manager you will see the SD card as an individual entity. When an SD card is mounted it is merged into a Virtual directory with the data contained in the SSD.

See my post in the following thread of what is created when you mount an SD card.
viewtopic.php?f=39&t=4931&p=65095#p65095

Hope this helps and best wishes.

 

I use linpus with a XFCE Desktop.
I saw somewhere that when you add the SDHC ine the storage expansion, the One detect it and display a message telling the storage has been expanded. I had no message...
I believed the additional storage space will be "virtually" added to the SSD space as you say...
But in fact, in Thunar, I see the card separately from other directories like "user", "Desktop", "file system"... When I select one of these directories, the space remaining is the same before I addded the SDHC card.
Is it possible to install new applications on the SDHC card ? Or what I can only do is to use the SDHC card to store "working files" like documents or pictures ? I must manually store my files on the SDHC, or could I move directories from the SSD to the SDHC (for example Documents, Pictures, Music, Downloads, Videos...) ?

 

Hi webvince18
In file manager there is a small spanner icon and if you click that it should show a combined storage (Using View option then Side Pane then Shortcuts). Mine seems to happen automatically.
Using View option and selecting Side Pane then Tree you will see;

home
Trash
SD/MMC Drive

I don't know if you looked at the link I gave you but the home directory is the merged virtual one. If you look in File System for the Media directory, that is your SD/MMC Drive and will contain folders for documents etc. If you look for home/user that is the SSD directory and it will also contain folders for documents etc..
Try pasting a file into say the Pictures folder under the Media directory and then look at the pictures folder in under home (not the one under file system) and you will see the picture file you have just saved under Media.
Then do the same but with a different picture file and this time to the home/user directory under File system.
When you now look at the home directory and picture folder you will now see both picture files. The Home directory is merging the other two into one. In Windows terms think SSD is "C" drive and SD/MMC is "D" drive but the one creates a virtual "E" drive (home) by merging the other two.
I do not think you can start applications from the SD card but there are probably advantages in ensuring that most of your data is written to the SD there bye leaving the max space on the SSD to run programs.

If you are interested google "macles" he has a technical explanation of what is going on. His blog also contains a lot of good tips and "how to" on the One.

I hope I have not repeated the obvious and that it provides some help.

 

I don't fInd the small spanner icon...

Using the tree view in file manager I have :
user
trash
SD/MMC
file system

When I go to the media directory I have a directory called "disk" but it doesn't contain other directories...

That's why I think something is not OK with my SDHC card... Or is it a problem with the xfce Desktop ? I saw your post about problems with automount after installing the xfce desktop...

 

Hi webvince18

May be a silly question but you do have the SD card in the LH slot? If you have it in the RH slot with none in the LH what you see is correct, assuming you have no files on the card.

If you remove the card and select View/Side Pane/Shortcuts do you see the following and the little spanner?
[attachment=1:2edy70q8]FileManager1.png[/attachment:2edy70q8]
When the card is mounted in the LH slot you should see the following if you select the /mount/disk; NB the various folders are created automatically.
[attachment=0:2edy70q8]FileManager3.png[/attachment:2edy70q8]
Did you try to copy a file to the SD card? Then try it in both slots and see what happens.

Best wishes.

 

I'm affraid the problem is due to the XFCE desktop, because since I installed it, I don't have anymore icons you show in your file manager.

With no card in expansion slot I see the following in file manager :
[attachment=1:3s7fdrao]Capture1.jpg[/attachment:3s7fdrao]

Inserting the card in the LEFT expansion slot I have the following in file manager :
[attachment=0:3s7fdrao]Capture2.jpg[/attachment:3s7fdrao]

Nothing on the card...

I hope you will understand, I have a french version...

 

Threre is a known problem with the "10 steps.." desktop mod breaking automount (see here), so I guess that breaking aufs (the utility that is used for the storage expansion) is another side effect.

 

On my One automount still work. Is there a fix for this aufs problem ?

 

Hi markh

I have a full Xfce desktop after having carried out "The 10 steps etc." and do not have the problem. My file manager works OK.

So I am not sure that is the problem. What interests me is "webvince18" File manager screen is different from mine apart from the French. The top line contains different symbols and also it appears file manager defaults to the /home/user directory. Mine defaults to home, the virtual directory /mnt/home.

Also on the picture of the Carte SD/MMC it shows /media/disk in the command line as against mine that shows Removable:///disk.

Why?

 

Hi webvince18

The link below is about the most easily understood write up I have found with regard to auf's

http://macles.blogspot.com/search?updat ... results=12

Look for "about the Storage expansion".

I have implemented the Terminal line near the bottom of Macles description and it is possible that may be the difference though I am not sure why it will make any difference to the File System structure.

i.e. this one

sudo sed -e'63s/mfs/tdp/;99s/append/prepend/' -i.1 /etc/aufs.act

Do you have any reason for the top line of your file manager being different from mine?
This is also the default screen I see when I open File Manager or the Home icon on my desktop.
[attachment=0:3hcez20o]Screenshot5.png[/attachment:3hcez20o]

 

Hi webvince18

I looked at other posts you have made and I noticed "Custom desktop scripts" is one you have followed.

I therefore assume that is what you carried out on your Aspire. In trawling through the posts there I found the following on page 8 and it looks as though this is the reason you cannot get the "merge" of the 2 directories.


eruhuan wrotereviously there was this feature of the thunar file mangeer that merges your SD card expansion slot with your main SSD HD, now i dont know if its missing or gone, but any way to bring it back? (its not a big deal, im just curious)


I think this is a feature provided by Linpus' hacked Thunar which makes use of unionfs/aufs. Since we still have support for this special FS in the kernel, it's possible to manually configure it. But, IMHO, using unionfs/aufs is a bad idea for the One, since it imposes a considerable amount of overhead over a native filesystem (like ext2).

There are several references within other posts to the "Merge" no longer working.

This is the change desktop option I followed.

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=4310

Best wishes

 

Thanks a lot Solpuerto for your investigations. It seems you're right, the XFCE Desktop should be the problem root...
Reading a lot of posts about the merge functionality, now I think it's a chance the merge doesn't work !!!
The merge is virtual, isn't it ? So you don't know where your files are really stored ? I don't think it's a good way to manage disk space, and it could be dangerous if, as I saw somewhere, you can't install applications on the SDHC.
So I think I will use my SDHC card (physically /media/disk on my One, isn't it ? ) as I use my D: on my Windows computer, to store files like documents, pictures or to install tools like XAMP I can manually configure.
And I will use the SSD only to install applications !

 

Hi webvince18

At least we know why it was not working. In many ways it does not matter as the use of the SD card is much the same. I am not very clear as to what advantage there is with the Acer merge other than it is possible to see all your data files in one directory, but if you only use the SD for data it is all in the one place anyway.

By the way I assume you are French and your English must be very good to be able to write as you do. I have a Spanish friend who can speak English very well but has a difficulty writing it. Me I am just hopeless at any other language and some say even at English

Best wishes.

 

Thanks, I'm french but I don't think my english is so good :mrgreen:
Well, no merge is a good thing at least !
Now I just have to configure applications to write data on the SDHC...
Is it possible to install some applications on the SDHC using the Package Manager ? I don't remember it asked me to choice the install directory...