Database Develop

Where is all the memory?

Hello all,
I have the Rogers Wireless HTC Touch Diamond, which is advertised with 192 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM and 4 GB internal storage.
When viewing the memory page via Settings-->System (or the drop down menu on the Today screen), it shows total storage memory to be 91.8 MB and total program memory to be 115.0 MB. This doesn't add up to either of the amounts of advertised memory.
I was curious if anyone knows which portion of the memory this information represents - i.e. the RAM or ROM - and where you can find the usage information of the other. I understand the basic concept of RAM vs. ROM, but neither of these figures add up to the advertised 192 MB RAM or 256 MB ROM.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Regards,

Rom
All your data is stored in flash and the flash is not erased if your battery runs flat.
This is called persistent storage.
Flash space in the Pocket PC is split between storage and ROM.
The amount of data or programs you install is limited by the amount of free storage (flash) on your device.
Storage in flash is not compressed.
Due to this design, programs that are installed / stored in flash are copied to RAM to be executed - they occupy twice the space.
The directory of data stored in the boot ROM is merged with the storage flash so the user sees the file system as one.
If a file in the boot ROM is replaced by a file in storage flash the storage flash file is used.
RAM
RAM is dedicated to running programs.
If you attempt to run multiple programs that are "hogs", they may not run or the operating system may close some of them.
The memory management for programs flushes pages of programs that are no longer needed, thus optimizing the use of RAM in the system for other programs to execute.
RAM Cache for Flash Storage
A portion of the RAM is used as a write cache to increase the performance of the mobile device when writing to the flash.
This RAM cache is fixed in size by the OEM and the RAM is not usable for any other purpose.
So before performing a soft reset or removing the battery you must turn the unit off and wait 5-10 seconds. If you fail to do this you may corrupt your internal flash storage.
Condensed by mikechannon from Windows Mobile 5.0 Memory Management Op cit: Chris De Herrera
Mike

Thanks for the reply, Mike; that's some really good info. However, I still don't understand why my memory page is only accounting for 92 MB (storage) + 115 MB (program) when there's supposed to be 192 MB + 256 MB (as listed in the Diamond specs). Where's the balance? I've attached an image for clarification.
Any insight into this would be much appreciated.
Regards,

Out of the 192MB ram (program), 64MB is dedicated GPU (video) memory. So in fact usable ram is around 128mb.
Out of the 256MB Rom, usually about 80-100mb can be attributed to the ROM image (firmware) of the phone and especially since you're is branded (rogers), there are pre-installed goodies (ya right) that are taking up your space as well.
For your reference my phone shows the following:
Storage
Total: 105.17mb
In Use: 82.54mb
Free: 22.63mb
Program:
Total 107.02mb
In use: 76.67MB
Free: 30.35MB
Keep in mind that i'm on a custom ROM so the numbers will be a little off right off the bat.

Perfect! That's the info I was after. I had a feeling the 'missing' memory was attributed to something like this, but now it's all cleared up.
Thanks again.

[Q] Changed SD, cache left on phone

Hi people,
I have a Nexus One with Cyanogenmod 7, and I recently got an error saying that the SD card is blank or has f*cked filesystem (Sandisk SDHC 8GB). I managed to format the motherf*cker but now I still have cache left on the phone from the apps I had on my SD card.
On phone, with only some basic apps.
Available : 31.98 MB
Total Space: 196 MB
So how can I clear that cache, or leftovers from the apps I had on the SD ?
Thank's in advance.

Well, any of the apps that you had moved to the sdcard will still require removing from your phone. Using Froyo's app2sd moves only a portion of the app to the sdcard, so parts of it still remain along with the dalvik cache and the data for that app. So go into Settings -> Applications -> Manage and remove the apps that you no longer want (or were originally stored on the sdcard).

Oh, you're right, I found the apps that were on the SD and I can delete them from there. It's kinda silly, I've tried all sorts of different things but I didn't look in that section.
Thanks alot mate !

No problem. Glad you got it working.

I uninstalled everything that had leftovers on the phone but that only gave me about 12 mb space on the phone, so now I have 45 mb free out of 192. Is this normal ?
Thank you.

Were you running any app2sdext or just using the Froyo method of putting apps on there?
If you run
Code:
su
cd /data
du -hd 1
It will show you the size of each folder. If you go into those folders and run that command again, it will show you the sizes of those as well. If you change the command slightly to
Code:
du -hd 1 | grep M
It will only show you things that have a capital M in it (which is what is used to designate MB, so it will weed out some of the smaller folders).
This might give you an idea of what is taking up your space. I assume you have already sorted your apps by size in Settings -> Applications -> Manage?

I was using the App2SD free app from the market.
I ran the commands you said and this is what I've got (only high values here) :
31.1M ./data
94.6M ./dalvik-cache
28.7M ./app
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App

I would wipe your dalvik cache (can be done in the advanced section of recovery). You might be able to manually do it yourself, but it is easier in the recovery). There are probably caches from previous programs that haven't been erased. Android will regenerate any caches that it needs when it boots back up.

Seems like wiping dalvik's cache did the trick, now I've got over 100mb free on the phone.
Thank you very much brother.

If you are in need of more space on your phone, I can highly recommend using an app2sdext option. This can make the phone think it has much more internal memory. I am using a 1GB partition on my sdcard to store all my apps and dalvik cache. I use S2E which is an extremely easy app that is on the market. All you have to do is partition your sdcard (which does require it to be wiped again) and install this app. Then you just check what you want moved over to this new partition, the phone will reboot, and you will now have space to have everything installed that you want.

[Q] Where is my internal memory being used?

First of all, i have a S5830i rooted, odexed phone. I have linked ALL my apps to SD via Link2SD app.
I used to have around 100mb free but after a few days that became 90mb. I thought to try a wipe dalvik cache and after the reboot i had 78mb free!
I saw in many other screenshots that there are people with 130+ or even 150+ mb of free space internal memory.
How do they achieve that? Why i have only 78mb of free internal memory while i don't have any apps installed there?
I hope someone can assist me with that.
Thanks in advance.

AntrikoS said:
I saw in many other screenshots that there are people with 130+ or even 15+ mb of free space internal memory.
How do they achieve that? Why i have only 78mb of free internal memory while i don't have any apps installed there?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are not clear with your question
u saw people have 15 mb free.. and when you have 78 mb free. you should be happy

i'm sorry i misstyped i mean 150mb not 15... 78mb free space seems too low since i don't have any apps installed in my internal storage.

As far as i know, Not all app data is copied to sd card with link 2sd. Did u think about trying a Script like "cronmod" or amarullz? Or s2e app which is, in my opinion, better than link2sd.
Gesendet von meinem GT-S5830 mit Tapatalk 2

link to sd never moves your dalvik cache and data to sd partition..
I would recommend you to use s2e if you are on CM7.x

A
charlessxavier said:
link to sd never moves your dalvik cache and data to sd partition..
I would recommend you to use s2e if you are on CM7.x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link2sd moves apps apk, dalvik-cache dex, and libraries lib to the partition. Data of apps stay on internal /data.
Wiping dalvik cache (from recovery for example, or with adb) causes link2sd to loose the symbolic links used to store data, which messes up your app's location in a pretty nasty way.
Open link2sd, filter your linked apps, select all of them with menu > multi select > select all, then link app+dex+lib. If there were parts of an app that weren't linked this fixes it. Reboot. Also from link2sd clean app cache.
Finally, check your data/local address with a root explorer and make sure there aren't copies of apk files you already linked. If there are copies, delete them, reboot.
Edit: moving /data of apps to the partition frees up more memory, but lowers performance, specially with sdcards class 6 and below, and partitions which are ext2 or fat32.

[Q] How is memory managed on my Note?

I have to be honest and say I am a bit baffled when I look at the 'Storage' breakdown on my Note. So I have a few questions as to how RAM and flash memory work together.
From looking at some threads on the forums here I understand of the 16GB of flash memory on my Note :
2GB is reserved for the ROM
2GB is reserved for apps, actually my phone says I have 1.97GB
The rest (11.06 GB) as general storage e.g. music, movies, documents, etc.
Wondering what happened to the other c1MB as I have only accounted for 15GB?
So in settings when I go to 'Storage' it is broken down into 2 sections, 'Device Memory' and 'USB Storage' now I find this screen a little bit confusing. So, is the 'USB Storage' the 11.06GB flash memory I have for general storage and the 'Device Memory' the 2GB (1.97GB) of flash memory for storing apps I download?
I find it strange that my phone says I have 1.97GB device memory (flash memory) total for apps, and my apps seem to be taking up 1.47GB but I only have 228MB available. That doesn't add up?? Even more confusing is the fact that when I try to download a 40MB app I am told 'Can't download to default location'!!
Also do I ever see what the 1GB of RAM is up to on my phone or is this managed secretly by Android?
Thanks for anyone willing to set me straight

*Bump*
Anyone willing to help pls

Ram can't be accesed by u that's what your device uses to store processes so u can't save files or anything on it but anyways assuming your on gingerbread to "see what your ram is up to" go into system settings/applications/running services this what u see is runnning processes stored on your ram
Your note then has system internal and external memory
System memory is where your rom and system apps are installed (platystore youtube etc) you can't access this unless your rooted
Internal memory is the memory u get with your phone where u can store pics movies files etc and install apps I don't own this device but i doubt that it allocates a section of internal memory for apps
Then there's USB or external storage which is your memory card or flash drive (yes u can do that) u can store apps (which have app2sd support unless your rooted then u can move everything) movies files whatevever you want
_____________________________________
This post uses the patented TingTingin®™ method I would teach it to you but you are not yet worthy (come back in a hundred years)

Ferg8080 said:
I have to be honest and say I am a bit baffled when I look at the 'Storage' breakdown on my Note. So I have a few questions as to how RAM and flash memory work together.
From looking at some threads on the forums here I understand of the 16GB of flash memory on my Note :
2GB is reserved for the ROM
2GB is reserved for apps, actually my phone says I have 1.97GB
The rest (11.06 GB) as general storage e.g. music, movies, documents, etc.
Wondering what happened to the other c1MB as I have only accounted for 15GB?
So in settings when I go to 'Storage' it is broken down into 2 sections, 'Device Memory' and 'USB Storage' now I find this screen a little bit confusing. So, is the 'USB Storage' the 11.06GB flash memory I have for general storage and the 'Device Memory' the 2GB (1.97GB) of flash memory for storing apps I download?
I find it strange that my phone says I have 1.97GB device memory (flash memory) total for apps, and my apps seem to be taking up 1.47GB but I only have 228MB available. That doesn't add up?? Even more confusing is the fact that when I try to download a 40MB app I am told 'Can't download to default location'!!
Also do I ever see what the 1GB of RAM is up to on my phone or is this managed secretly by Android?
Thanks for anyone willing to set me straight
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are a lil bit lucky than me.. my 1.97GB device memory is only used around 0.8GB but the available space is only around 200mb:crying:... and the droid started to give me storage space running out error...

Ram can't be accesed by u that's what your device............
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I guessed that, but when I view RAM stats I get:
604MB used and 260MB free, yet I have 1GB RAM. Does anything add up memory wise on this phone?!
System memory is where your rom and system apps ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again I guessed there was an area reserved for Rocket ROM and the associated system apps, I assume this is called the system partition. And I believe this is 2GB!?
Internal memory is the memory u get with your phone where u can store pics movies files etc and install apps I don't own this device but i doubt that it allocates a section of internal memory for apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I seem to have 'device memory' which is some kind of App partition of about 2GB but again its telling me I have over 200MB free but when I try to install another app I am told I have run out of space!?
I also seem to have USB storage which is referring to the remaining general storage partition which is about 11GB which I can't install apps to.
Thank you for trying to answer my query but I'm afraid I'm none the wiser. I though it would be easy to find a Wiki on the device which would explain how the 16GB is partitioned up and used like a memory map but I can't find anything. And the figures don't add up.
Isn't anyone else curious?

Anyone else ain't curious because they use the search tool
But since xda is all about helping eachother, here you go :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1667886
All info you seek is in that thread

friedje said:
Anyone else ain't curious because they use the search tool
But since xda is all about helping eachother, here you go :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1667886
All info you seek is in that thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay smart ass let me point out a few things....
I am a complete novice to Unix and how their filesystems are organised but I am trying.
Pointing me to a thread of partition tables with what I presume are hex values that I've never seen before is a bit too low level and confusing.
I am not asking for a programmers spec table for the Note memory just a simple breakdown of partitions, GB/MB sizing and what the purpose of the partition is?
And if you don't know enough to do that then don't bother posting because your not being helpful and your post has as much value as a troll

Actually my post was extremely helpful, and just saved you the bother to search for yourself. However 'mr. smart ass' assumed you had a bit of basic knowledge of the subject, which you just made clear isn't exactly the case.
So to try and tell it disney style :
Your phone has 1Gb of ram, used to run system and apps in realtime.
Android manages it and you can look at what is currently running and
if that makes you happy, even kill processes in taks manager.
Then your phone has flash memory, in general 16Gb, allthough 32Gb
devices exist.
Your Total 16Gb of memory actually has 12 partitions that each have
their proper reason of existence.
Number Size Name
1 21.0MB EFS: Holds device specific info like imei number
2 1311kB SBL1 : 1st bootloader, the devices uses this to boot
3 1311kB SBL2 : 2nd bootloader, see above
4 8389kB PARAM : Forgot what they put inside, guess you will have to read up.
5 8389kB KERNEL : Here goes your Hardware layer, drivers etc....
6 8389kB RECOVERY : here goes the little program to recover your phone when it's messed up
7 210MB CACHE : guess the name says it all
8 16.8MB MODEM : here goes the radio program for voice+data
9 893MB FACTORYFS : here go your android system files
10 2147MB DATAFS : here goes the data for your android system, like your apps
11 11.9GB fat32 UMS : your famous internal storage free to fill with disney movies
12 537MB HIDDEN : space reserved for samsung to put their bloatware
Hope the above is mashed enough to understand

HD2 Internal Memory

Despite all the posts and solutions on this subject I must admit a level of frustration at my continuing low internal memory on my HD2, I am running Pacman/ xylograph jb which has plenty of ROM space (most other ROMS take much bigger partitions), Link2SD, Apps2ROM and Clean Master. Link2SD tells me I have no apps on internal, Apps2Rom also confirms all apps either on ROM or SD.
When I look at the storage values I get:
Internal: 146MB used 106 free 40.1
SD card 10.98GB Used 3.91 Free 7.08
SD 2nd partition 3.81GB Used 30.3MB Free 3.77GB
System 260MB Used 177 Free 83.5
Cache 146MB Used 106 Free 40.1
Why is it that despite linking all apps to 2nd partition and having spare space on ROM my internal space is so low, cache is cleaned out every day.
What is using 106MB of internal space?
Any useful thoughts would be appreciated.

hardav said:
Despite all the posts and solutions on this subject I must admit a level of frustration at my continuing low internal memory on my HD2, I am running Pacman/ xylograph jb which has plenty of ROM space (most other ROMS take much bigger partitions), Link2SD, Apps2ROM and Clean Master. Link2SD tells me I have no apps on internal, Apps2Rom also confirms all apps either on ROM or SD.
When I look at the storage values I get:
Internal: 146MB used 106 free 40.1
SD card 10.98GB Used 3.91 Free 7.08
SD 2nd partition 3.81GB Used 30.3MB Free 3.77GB
System 260MB Used 177 Free 83.5
Cache 146MB Used 106 Free 40.1
Why is it that despite linking all apps to 2nd partition and having spare space on ROM my internal space is so low, cache is cleaned out every day.
What is using 106MB of internal space?
Any useful thoughts would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your system partition is way too big, 260mb with 83.5mb free.
You don't need that, 185 mb should be fine for system partition.
Check out the rom thread for recommended partition size.

You can also run roms with DataOnExt. You won't ever run out of memory then. Format an ext4 partition of 1 to 2 GB on your SD card and you have plenty memory.
Or do you have a specific reason to run on Nand?
Sent from my NexusHD2 using xda app-developers app

jvzijp said:
You can also run roms with DataOnExt. You won't ever run out of memory then. Format an ext4 partition of 1 to 2 GB on your SD card and you have plenty memory.
Or do you have a specific reason to run on Nand?
Sent from my NexusHD2 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this.
DataOnEXT is definitely the best solution for problems regarding running out of memory quickly.