Help I think my A500 is dying :(

mplevy · May 3, 2013

Here's what's going on.

For the last few days I've been trying to see what's consuming all my space (I had about 400 MB free on the internal memory). It would NEVER finish calculating, even if left on that screen overnight.

Last night, while trying to clear space I was removing a couple apps I never use and even the smallest of apps took FOREVER to uninstall.

I had a couple apps that needed updating, I attempted to start the updates, 5 minutes later they had gone nowhere. Figuring it was due to the update to the Play Store (I JUST got it) I rebooted the device and both apps updated instantly.

I tried to install an app that would allow me to see what space is used by what, it wouldn't download. I tried several times, it never even started the download. Another reboot and it installed instantly.

The last bit of info. During all this, at one point I had gone back into the settings menu to look at the storage and the internal storage was MISSING. This is why I'm fairly certain it's a hardware issue and not something that would be fixed with a wipe. Does anyone else agree?

My plan is to limp it along until I see what Google I/O brings as far as announcements of new tablets, otherwise it looks like a Nexus 10 is in my future. Once I see what the announcements are, I'll back up what I can and wipe it to see if that helps matters any.

Adding a couple screenshots.

Internal storage missing:

Constant calculating space usage:

LTCSZ · May 4, 2013

Do you use the internal GPS often? It creates all sorts of junk files that can eat up your storage and slow the tablet down...Acer has a fix for this problem...Contact this guy for the file...It worked for me...

Blayn.Scott@acer.com

mplevy · May 5, 2013

I don't use the GPS. In fact I hardly ever turn it on, if I have ever turned it on.

MahaloCat · May 7, 2013

Are you rooted?
You could try a FULL format and install a Custom rom?

mplevy · May 8, 2013

Not rooted, don't need to be.

Some other symptoms. When I try to load Google Earth, the globe loads and the image just sits there "shaking". Similar thing happens with a couple other apps. Reboot clears those.

MahaloCat · May 14, 2013

mplevy said:
Not rooted, don't need to be.

Some other symptoms. When I try to load Google Earth, the globe loads and the image just sits there "shaking". Similar thing happens with a couple other apps. Reboot clears those.

If you are having all these issues and then Say you don't need to be rooted - you may not understand the limitation this device comes with and what Rooting it can do for you.
Not trying to be all preachy - but acer has dropped support. there is still a few good devs putting out amazing Roms on this....Im just sayin'

mplevy · May 14, 2013

Just because Acer has dropped support doesn't mean that what I have shouldn't still work properly without rooting. Rooting isn't for everyone, and it won't fix a suspected hardware issue.

Mrhelper · May 20, 2013

I agree 100% with your points about not rooting. I see "custom" ROMs in the same light. Stock ROMs have some quirks, but modified ROMs have problems also. No solution is perfect for all users. There are always tradeoffs. It's been my observation that stock ROMs are the better choice for people who prefer to spend more time just using apps on a device than playing with the OS.

Regardless, I am not convinced that you are encountering a hardware problem. If you have not tried cleaning up with a factory data reset, it's hard to prove that you don't have some software issue causing this. I suspect the first responder to your post was closest to the mark. If some app turned on location services, the GPS reciever may have been running. If that is the case, then the tablet has likely been afflicted with the notorious GPS log file leak. The small amount of free space you reported, and the apparent difficulty you have encountered in finding the cause is a very common symptom of that problem. 400MB free space is too small of a reserve to support normal tablet operation. You are fortunate that it even boots completely, or does anything at all. The Factory data reset will clear the leaked log files and restore all of your lost user file space. You can then turn off location services and the problem will not recur as long as the GPS receiver stays off.

mplevy · May 21, 2013

I can count on one hand the number of times I've turned on the GPS receiver.

That still doesn't explain the internal storage disappearing from the Settings menu as pictured in the first post. Or the inability to resolve what content is consuming how much space.

tazman2 · May 28, 2013

Just wanted to let you know that I have exactly the same problem on my Samsung Note II / Note 2. I have not found a solution either and are about to do a cold reset.

mplevy · May 28, 2013

I looked over on acertabletforum.com, I see a thread where some people are reporting issues with the emmc (flash ROM storage chip) failing. They explained certain circumstances where it would fail, different from my usage but mine seems to be exhibiting a flaky ROM chip as well.

My A500 Died, any ideas what to do??

Mrhelper · May 29, 2013

mplevy said:
I can count on one hand the number of times I've turned on the GPS receiver.

That still doesn't explain the internal storage disappearing from the Settings menu as pictured in the first post. Or the inability to resolve what content is consuming how much space.

One point I tried to make is that some apps will turn on the receiver for you, and you may not know it. Regardless of that, unless you have tried the Factory data reset, then you won't know whether or not the problem is hardware related. If it persists or worsens after the reset, then the problem may be hardware, but what you have shown so far appear to be merely signs of a user filesystem problem, not necessarily a hardware problem. It is possible that you are seeing a flash ROM chip failure, but you have not eliminated soft causes yet ...at least not based on what you have written in these posts.

AliLand · Jul 23, 2013

I've had a similar sounding problem, no expert by any means so this might not make sense.
First I deleted every app I had installed
Next I loaded elixir and clean master (I think clean master was the big help)
As I reloaded apps, I did it slowly- putting only a few at a time, then running it for a few days.
I'm pretty sure that a Greek keyboard I was using was clashing with something else. I could have the keyboard on its own, or with lots of stuff, however the keyboard was always in app combinations when the whole system started becoming unstable.
good luck

Help I think my A500 is dying :(

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