Help "System Data" takes up 6GB of space?!

[MysteryShadow]

Hi,

As said above, "System data", in the "Miscellanous" tab of my storage settings takes up 6GB. I tried wiping cache, as someone said it might help. It did not. This is definitely not normal, and I'm sure that there is a way to solve this - PREFERRABLY WITHOUT ROOTING OR FACTORY RESETING MY PHONE, as I have some stuff on it that I don't want to lose because of this one silly thing. Please help, it's really annoying!

Cheers,
Matt

 

[svim]

This thread had an interesting suggestion to solve a similar issue:
http://androidforums.com/threads/low-on-space-system-data-huge.278837/

And just to add, if doing anything like a Factory Reset is an issue because of losing personal data you really, really need to implement some kind of backup solution. Even if it's not a matter of a reset you could lose your phone or it could be stolen. Be sure 'Android Device Manager' is turned on or install a similar third-party service like Prey or Cerberus, and set up an online backup/sync service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Don't forget to backup your SMS too.
Prey
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prey
Cerberus
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus
Dropbox
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dropbox.android
Google Drive
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs
OneDrive
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.skydrive
SMS Backup & Restore
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en

 

[MysteryShadow]

This thread had an interesting suggestion to solve a similar issue:
http://androidforums.com/threads/low-on-space-system-data-huge.278837/

And just to add, if doing anything like a Factory Reset is an issue because of losing personal data you really, really need to implement some kind of backup solution. Even if it's not a matter of a reset you could lose your phone or it could be stolen. Be sure 'Android Device Manager' is turned on or install a similar third-party service like Prey or Cerberus, and set up an online backup/sync service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive. Don't forget to backup your SMS too.
Prey
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prey
Cerberus
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus
Dropbox
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dropbox.android
Google Drive
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs
OneDrive
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.skydrive
SMS Backup & Restore
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en

Yeah, that solution was to clear the cache - which I already did. As with the backups, I could make one and factory resetting is not TOO much of a problem, I would just rather not do it, and if factory reseting my phone is the only way to solve this issue, then that would mean that I would have to rest my phone every 3 months - something I don not want to do...

 

[androidmachine]

Download Disk Usage and see what the system data actually is.

 

[svim]

Yeah, that solution was to clear the cache - which I already did. As with the backups, I could make one and factory resetting is not TOO much of a problem, I would just rather not do it, and if factory reseting my phone is the only way to solve this issue, then that would mean that I would have to rest my phone every 3 months - something I don not want to do...

Actually that link was in reference to clearing the dumpstate/log, which is different than clearing the system cache partition or common app caches.
Also discussed here:
http://tripoverit.blogspot.com/2013/09/fix-for-android-phones-running-low-on.html

 

[MysteryShadow]

Hmm... Diskusage says that "System Data" is only 500MB, however "Android" takes up 4GB. It doesn't say what the system data is, though... Weird.

 

[MysteryShadow]

Also, the code in the "Trip over IT" article doesn't work on my phone, it only works on Samsung phones.

 

[androidmachine]

4 gb for the Android system is not unheard of. I have a 16 gb tablet and only have about 12 gb available for use. Using DiskUsage, have you found any humongous files?

 

[MysteryShadow]

No, just reular size files, except for android... what I meant by my last post is that android only takes up 4GB, but in settings, "System data" is still 6GB, so system data must be something else...