Suprised: get phone space by deleting SD apps!?

[Rainbow Snake]

This is really weird ... but I couldn't find it mentioned in the forum.

I've struggled for a long time with having so little space on my phone that usually I can't add any others unless I delete another. *EVERY* time I update my apps I get low memory errors.

When the ability to move apps to SD came out I moved every one that I possibly could. Unfortunately not all apps let you move, and widget apps shouldn't be. At least I could download new apps if they were "SD" ones, but any phone-only ones would have to be weighed up against the existing phone apps.

Recently frustrated with phone space constraints I was looking at the "DiskUsage" app and saw some "on SD" apps taking up space in my valuable phone storage. Weird. I went on a rampage and deleted heaps of my more frivolous apps from the SD card. I got heaps of phone storage back!

I don't really understand why the SD apps were taking up space on the phone app storage. It feels like they "weren't really on the SD" but I expect the answer is more technical than that!

I hope this helps someone get more phone app space back!

 

[Mubble]

Moving an app to SD retains aspects of the data on the phone. It needs to do this in order for the app to still work. You can see how much of the app remains on the phone after it's been moved to SD by going to settings > apps > manage apps > then select an SD app.

When you delete the SD app, it'll also delete the data that was present on the phone.

 

[Rainbow Snake]

Okay, I'm looking at the info of an app that's installed to the SD card ... which bit tells me how much is actually still in the phone's app storage?

Application, data or cache? I would have hoped that all of those would have been on the SD card.

edit: oh I assume you meant *literally* ... the "data" storage section ... seems so small tho

 

[Hadron]

What's it's showing for "application" is the bit that's on internal - try moving the app back to phone and watch what happens.

While you are at it, try clearing cache for something like a browser and see what that does to your internal space.

What that menu is showing you is the internal space that's used, not the SD space.

There are ways of moving the lot to SD (data2sd methods), but you need to be rooted and have a fast card, and even then most of us don't do that (though with root you can do a more comprehensive apps2sd).

 

[geemacd]

here is another trick ... Delete the apps you have then re-install them

For example /
I use Handcent and although it states on its page in the market that the file size is 2.02mb, the file size on my phone was 5.63mb.
So i deleted the app and then re-installed it, yes I lost my settings etc, but easily reset and it is now taking up 4.95mb.

Now 0.68mb might not seem like much, but if you can eeek back a bit from each app you have, how much space would that end up saving ????

 

[Casual Pete]

here is another trick ... Delete the apps you have then re-install them

For example /
I use Handcent and although it states on its page in the market that the file size is 2.02mb, the file size on my phone was 5.63mb.
So i deleted the app and then re-installed it, yes I lost my settings etc, but easily reset and it is now taking up 4.95mb.

Now 0.68mb might not seem like much, but if you can eeek back a bit from each app you have, how much space would that end up saving ????

That 0.68mb is probably just the data or cache,you would be better off clearing the data rather than un-installing and re-installing.

 

[geemacd]

That 0.68mb is probably just the data or cache,you would be better off clearing the data rather than un-installing and re-installing.

I regularly clear the cache on all my apps, even with the apps to sd in the tips section i constantly waiver around the warning notice coming on with 2 little space, especially while waiting for gingerbread if it decides to show its face, I know i am going to have to free up memory to install it as froyo required 25mb of free space or it wouldnt install.

As i said, with all the settings back in place that where there before, so the data portion showing is the same size as previous (or thereabouts), the actual overall package size has come down by 0.6mb

 

[Hadron]

Well I can give you one bit of good news: Google's apps to sd implementation in gingerbread moves a bit more of the app than in froyo (the app's lib directory if you want to know details), so you should have a bit more space after it arrives. Not all apps have anything significant in there, but there are a few where it is quite noticeable.

 

[Usta]

Well I can give you one bit of good news: Google's apps to sd implementation in gingerbread moves a bit more of the app than in froyo (the app's lib directory if you want to know details), so you should have a bit more space after it arrives. Not all apps have anything significant in there, but there are a few where it is quite noticeable.

Strangely, the DT script on Gingerbread ROM (a2sd+) is not (yet?) updated to move the lib as well...

 

[Hadron]

I think that feature is in the beta, though from memory that one looked like it would move the whole of /data/data, not just the lib directories (which I can understand - I reckon it's easier to do). But it's been in beta for a long time - I'm afraid I'm not really following that story at the moment.

 

[SUroot]

theres not been much of an update on the beta.

 

[Usta]

Link2SD has implemented moving lib files in the latest version.
Perhaps, it is time to replace DT with Link2SD?