Sry if this has been asked before as I'm a newb but is there a way to use virtual memory or create a swap partition like in ubuntu to be used when memory runs low. My wife has this phone (htc hero-cdma) and is always complaining how it's so slow and how much she hates it. i believe it is due to ram running low as I have already overclocked to 768 mhz and running froyo which did make it faster but it still slows down. And untill I have the money to get her own htc evo I at least want to make it bareable. any help would be appreciated.
You have to be running a rom that supports it - read each ones details and it will tell you. I think most of the 2.1's do.
But to set it up - when you are in recovery partition your SDCard. It asks how much for Swap/Ext remainder is Fat.
Too much Swap tends to slow things down though.
Kcarpenter said:
You have to be running a rom that supports it - read each ones details and it will tell you. I think most of the 2.1's do.
But to set it up - when you are in recovery partition your SDCard. It asks how much for Swap/Ext remainder is Fat.
Too much Swap tends to slow things down though.
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Thanks for the reply. She is running cyanogen 6.0.0 rc1. Ill look into the notes to see if there is anything about adding a swap file under cyanogen. Btw if I add a partition for swap what should it be? Ext2 or ext3, how much is recommended and once done will the phone reconize automaticly? Thanks for help.
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Hi all, been lurking for a while now. Fantastic community here, lots of useful advice, files etc
I've been playing with ramdisks on my desktop lately and was wandering if there is such a thing that works well on xperia, and if its a worthwhile thing to do. I've seen a few cabs about the net, but most seem to be rather old and under-developed.
Is there a ramdisk utility that has been test with xperia? this thing has plenty of ram and i would expect dedicating 32mb or so to caches / temp files would be useful, reduce checkerboard effect on browser, help with buffering vid's etc.
thanks all.
What good is it if the software isn't looking/optimized for it?
X1 has 256MB, far more than most WinMo phones. How is putting a virtual drive in RAM going to make things faster? You'd just be lowering system RAM. The whole idea seems pointless...even on desktops nowadays.
This is actually a good way to improve Opera's performance if you tell it to use the RAM disk as cache.
JKingDev said:
This is actually a good way to improve Opera's performance if you tell it to use the RAM disk as cache.
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...as opposed to?
WhyBe said:
...as opposed to?
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He didn't insinuate a comparison, why do you ask for one? Jking just said it's a good way to deal with Opera loading, nothing else. Smartass.
Angelusz said:
He didn't insinuate a comparison, why do you ask for one? Jking just said it's a good way to deal with Opera loading, nothing else. Smartass.
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lol thanks. Opera uses storage memory (which is flash memory) as cache when loading webpages. Therefore uing a RAMdisk is faster than regular storage.
Angelusz said:
He didn't insinuate a comparison, why do you ask for one? Jking just said it's a good way to deal with Opera loading, nothing else. Smartass.
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Yes he did, because he is talking about using RAM disk technique which isn't currently used by Opera. The comparison was implied...dumbass!
JKingDev said:
lol thanks. Opera uses storage memory (which is flash memory) as cache when loading webpages. Therefore uing a RAMdisk is faster than regular storage.
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Do you think internal RAM would be that much faster in this case? I think the data connection is the bottleneck when it comes to web browsing, not RAM speed. Besides, you're going to sacrifice system RAM in order to have the RAM disk. So would you even be getting a net gain in speed?
WhyBe said:
Yes he did, because he is talking about using RAM disk technique which isn't currently used by Opera. The comparison was implied...dumbass!
Do you think internal RAM would be that much faster in this case? I think the data connection is the bottleneck when it comes to web browsing, not RAM speed. Besides, you're going to sacrifice system RAM in order to have the RAM disk. So would you even be getting a net gain in speed?
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I've been using ramdisk on my rom since half year ago (v2.x). And both IE and Opera could take advantage of it after some tweak. RAM is definitely a lot faster if you did some benchmark on both. And if you really understand how caching works, it won't help in your first visit where data connection is the bottleneck. But it does help if you reload/revisit the same page since caching from ram is faster from flash memory.
And there are side benefit like security (all content/cookie are gone after reset), and prolong yr flash memory life (flash memory is not as good for I/O wearing but may not be a big deal since most of us change phone so often).
After all, X1 has 256mb of ram which is a lot for mobile device and I selfdom running out of it. Then why not making good use of them? Maybe seeing big chunk of free memory (and slow everything down) make you feel happy? Unlike desktop, the main component contribut to speed is CPU where free memory only contribute for how many program/process you can open concurrently. Seeing lot of free memory without utilize them is simply stupid.
BTW, I use 3Gig ramdisk on my 8Gig Vista64 and it HELPS a GREAT DEAL in rom cooking since rom cooking involved lots of read/write over thousands (TF3D alone is ~ 2000) of small files. A cooking process that takes 3 mins with HD reduces to 1 mins with ramdisk in my experience. The same reason I listed above holds true for desktop + using ramdisk for /Temp helps a lot for IE and winrar since they use /TEMP to process the files.
^^^ OK, I understand what you are saying. But if RAM disk were really an advantage in mobiles, why wouldn't mobile browser developers utilize their own RAMDisk routines in their browsers (since speed seems to be the main comparison between browsers)?
for me totally none use!
WhyBe said:
^^^ OK, I understand what you are saying. But if RAM disk were really an advantage in mobiles, why wouldn't mobile browser developers utilize their own RAMDisk routines in their browsers (since speed seems to be the main comparison between browsers)?
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It could be they are developing a "generic" browsers that serve PDAs with different size of RAM. And many of the older devices still have 64mb physical memory and 20-30mb left after boot (e.g. My P525 and x51v) . Those machines simple don't have any ram left for that.
And they can simply use malloc (C programming) to allocate a chunk of memory and don't have to use external driver like ramdisk to accomplish this. But if the browser itself don't support this feature and we know we have enough ram to spend, we can take advantage of it if needed.
Developers always have priorities in features and there are other means to speed things up to more users (e.g. server side compression like Opera 9.7)
ok so i didnt really know what swap was or compcache with backing was so i spent the day lookin it up and i just want to know if what im getting out of my info is correct.
swap, basically instead of your phone just seeing ram it also sees your swap partition as part of the ram. so it stores app data and etc. to the swap partition thus making your phone run faster and not taking up all your internal ram and make it run slower. and it is managed by linux. by changing your swappiness setting either higher or lower will change how often swap is used.
compcache, basically creates a sort of swap partition inside the ram itself. it compresses what it swaps into this partition to create more space in the ram. im guessing people like this with backing swap because the compressed info can be brought up quicker because its compressed in the phones ram rather than like swap were its on the sd.
backing swap, when compcache is full it uses the swap partition on my sd. but rather than being like linux swap were its controlled by linux, backing swap is managed by compcahe wich works together better than compcache and linux swap.
im a complete noob here lol so if i got something wrong you gotta explain it to me in laymans terms thanx for the help
Yes, that's right. Did you copy and paste those definitions lol?
lol no i did a lot of google searching its all other peoples info but i put it into words that i can understand.lol
Amack that almost deserve a sticky
this post help me understand the way the partition works alittle better now, thanks!
I've been searching and haven't really found a definitive thread or answer...
I'm using CM 4.1.999 currently (4.0.4 previously) with linux-swap exclusively, and have tried other ROMs as well.
Right now I have an 8gb class 6 SD with 4 partitions: FAT32 remainder, 500MB ext3, ~40MB linux-swap, and ~200MB linux-swap. I created the two swap partitions as several of the threads I've read adamantly state not to go above 32MB (without explanation), but others also adamantly state to use about 200MB for Hero ROMs.
So, my question is, which is it, and why? Why the 32MB limit? Why not 196MB? Why the disparity between "basic" ROM recommendations and Hero ROM recommendations? Besides "it goes slower", is there an answer to why specifically it causes it to perform slower with certain ROM types, and is there a way to mitigate it?
Also, regarding swappiness, how do we calibrate it? What does swappiness mean? I've seen that in user.conf the default is 60, but I've seen some people use 32MB swap partitions with 40 swappiness, or 200MB with 100 swappiness, as well as 96MB with 80 swappiness. So, which is it, and how do we know what is right for us besides countless iterations of setting, rebooting, testing, setting, rebooting, testing, etc..?
If I missed a link or thread somewhere with the information I'm looking for, please let me know so I can do my research ; ) A simple explanation or recommendation would be key, though... just trying to learn as much as I can!
Thanks! As a long-time XDA user, I still appreciate the community involvement and innovation that happens here!!
I have never seen ANYWHERE where it asks for 200mb swap partitions. having two swap partitions does absolutely nothing for you.
the 32mb limits were imposed due to stability. However, you should use 64 or 96mb for hero roms.
anything more may cause unnecessary instability
Swappiness just refers to how often the phone will write to the swap file (the tendency for the ROM to place data on the swap) the higher the number, the more likely data will be sent to the swap partition. anywhere from 30-80 is ok.
If youd like to learn more about good swap settings, go to the user.conf threads in the dev section where they discuss performance benefits/hits from different configurations
Excellent, thanks!
I've looked at the user.conf thread and seen several recommendations, but had not seen a single definitive "these are the best agreed-upon settings"..
I'd think that since the hardware is the same, we should be able to say, "With SPL x and ROM y on Device z, these settings are ideal" -- but I haven't seen that.
I kept two swap partitions in case I switched to a Hero ROM in the future so I wouldn't have to repartition again..
Are there major stability issues if I were to use a 64 or 96MB swap with a non-Hero ROM? I don't understand why it's OK with Hero, but not with others... why the disparity?
grivad said:
Excellent, thanks!
I've looked at the user.conf thread and seen several recommendations, but had not seen a single definitive "these are the best agreed-upon settings"..
I'd think that since the hardware is the same, we should be able to say, "With SPL x and ROM y on Device z, these settings are ideal" -- but I haven't seen that.
I kept two swap partitions in case I switched to a Hero ROM in the future so I wouldn't have to repartition again..
Are there major stability issues if I were to use a 64 or 96MB swap with a non-Hero ROM? I don't understand why it's OK with Hero, but not with others... why the disparity?
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I dont like repartitioning either haha but i use 96mb on cyan's rom (i switch between hero and cyan) I havent had any issues with them
the 32mb limit was more or less an experimental guess made quite a while ago. it seems dated.
make sure you only have 1 swap partition. that could potentially cause problems
So you should be fine with 64-96mb
the reason there is no definitive setting that maximizes performance is due to differences in ROM's. What works on one rom may not work so well in another. Also, many people perceive the speed of their settings differently and suggest what they believe to be fast.
The best way to find what works best for you is to experiment with different settings and see what matches your needs
Thanks for the info!
Per your comments, I repartitioned with one swap partition set at 96MB..
Previously I had a 32MB partition with swappiness at 30 and it ran lickety split. Now that I've gone to 96MB, I increased swappiness to 60 and I'm seeing some weird performance issues..
Do you have a recommendation for the swappiness value for a 96MB swap partition?
Hola
I don't have any other Androids around me so I never felt that my G1 is actually pretty slow compared to the hero I had a fiddle with yesterday (animation speed and felt response time of programs).
Is there anything wrong with my configuration? (I'm using a stock CM 3.7.1 with swapper, no swap partition though)
I'm a frequent reader here but it is hard to keep track of all the tweaks and tricks some people do... so here my question in a nutshell: Can a G1 be as fast as a hero?
Yes there are a couple of things u can do
1. Apps2sd
2. Swap partition with swapper
3. Compcache
4. Zipaline
5. 10mb Hack (adds 10 mb to internal memory)
Thats all i can think of right now
yeah.. knowing basic knowledge of computer stuff.. its used for memory and stuff.. but what is the point of having it for ROM's?
I use 192MB of Swap.. how will that effect anything..
There is a TONNE of information already on this...
The search button is your friend.
ElChibo said:
yeah.. knowing basic knowledge of computer stuff.. its used for memory and stuff.. but what is the point of having it for ROM's?
I use 192MB of Swap.. how will that effect anything..
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It allows you to keep more processes active in memory by using disk space as fake memory, thus increasing the load on your CPU and slowing it way down.
If you like your phone slow, enable swap. If you like it fast, don't.