memory issues

[jmg1975]

I know there have been lots of threads on this but I was hoping someone had a clear explanation. Since Froyo I've been seeing lots of memory issues on my Droid. What exactly does clearing data and cache in apps do anyway? I'm just wondering what information I will be losing. I'm surprised that doing this is something that needs to be done in the otherwise sophisticated Android OS. I don't see much of a difference between obsessively clearing data and cache than clearing memory and closing apps in Blackberry OS. I thought Android was supposed to have stable memory management. Any suggestions of the culprit here would be great....bad apps etc. I'm just looking to keep my phone running quickly and avoiding the low internal memory issue. My only guess so far has been adobe and the email app that I use for my Yahoo. Thank in advance for the help!

 

[terpitude71]

clearing caches in apps has nothing to do with clearing ram; that just frees storage space in that dedicated memory for apps

froyo is designed to keep most apps "running" in the background all the time. this allows you to open those apps faster when you do want to access them in the foreground. this is why task killers dont work well in froyo; the os just restarts the app again once you kill it off. the best advice is to not sweat it, as you shouldnt be seeing any slowdown, even if it looks like there is not a lot of available ram. experience with windows and BB has conditioned us to believe we have to kill of processes ourselves, but it just isnt that way in android

 

[jmg1975]

Thanks for the reply but I'm not talking about task killers at all. I've owned the original Droid since launch and I have never used one. I'm talking about the phone slowing down excessively and popping up low memory notifications and low internal storage notifications which make the phone virtually unusable. Is this due to a bad app I've installed? I've been unable to pinpoint the culprit. So now I've resorted to going through apps every few days and clearing data and cache every few days and I'm feeling like I own a Blackberry again. This is making my phone the very opposite of fun to use. It is also making me think my next device won't be on the Android platform as it now seems to be suffering the slowness and memory leaks and instability as the Blackberry platform. Very disappointing.

 

[terpitude71]

that explanation could certainly be from a bad app, because i have never seen either a low memory or a low storage notification pop up.

another question would be the number of apps you have installed. that could be causing an issue as well. you might also do well to take advantage of the option in froyo to install some apps to your sd card to free some space. keep in mind though that not every app can be moved to the card.

 

[takeshi]

I don't see much of a difference between obsessively clearing data and cache than clearing memory and closing apps in Blackberry OS.

Well, OCD is OCD. I've never had to obsessively clear data and cache on my Droid.

I thought Android was supposed to have stable memory management.

The memory management you're referring to doesn't apply to the storage space used for apps, cache and data. It applies to memory that apps use to run. It's apples versus oranges. Android can't manage storage space for you any more than Windows can decide what you do and don't need on your hard drive. A hard drive isn't a perfect analogy but it will have to do for what I'm referring to as "storage space".

Is this due to a bad app I've installed?

Impossible to answer. There are apps to analyze what's using your storage space. Rather than ask us to guess you should use one of these apps to see what's using your storage space and address the problem directly. If cache and data aren't the problem (again, I can't say if they are or aren't in your particular case) then it doesn't matter how much you clear them.

It is also making me think my next device won't be on the Android platform as it now seems to be suffering the slowness and memory leaks and instability as the Blackberry platform.

Memory leaks aren't going to reduce your storage space. They will affect the amount of memory available for apps to run. Again, apples and oranges.

that explanation could certainly be from a bad app, because i have never seen either a low memory or a low storage notification pop up.

A bad app isn't the only cause. I've seen the low storage warning after downloading an app that used up most of the remainder of my storage space. It's certainly possible that a bad app is to blame for the OP's situation but, again, it's impossible to say with any certainty until he looks into what's using up the space. It could be a bad app. It could be cache or data growing out of hand. It could be too many downloaded apps.

I don't have an app name handy for diagnosing but will post here if my memory is jogged or I run across one.

 

[jmg1975]

Thanks for the help. I have plenty of storage space left on my phone I think. 42 MB to be exact. I think it is the cache and data that is growing out of control. The only solution seems to be clearing these in each app which to me is a pain. But if I don't do it the phone slows to a crawl and low storage and memory warnings appear and I'm unable to accept text messages and emails. Just for the record, this isn't an OCD thing. The phone has a problem. I've never been remotely concerned about this until Froyo. Like I said, I can only liken it to closing apps on a Blackberry ...if I didn't do it the dreaded hourglass would appear and goodbye phone ....until a battery pull.