Develop Bugs

HTC Desire phone storage.....why so low?

I come from a HD2, and whilst I think the Desire is a much more enjoyable device the only thing that disappoints me is the small amount of available phone storage. Granted I have a bloat free ROM on my HD2 but my Desire, with only one or two small apps installed, has only 89.75mb free versus the HD2's 271.97mb. As far as I know the two devices have the same amount of ROM.....
Is Android with Sense that much more bloated than Windows Mobile??

no offense, but thats self-answering, isnt it? you said it yourself: they have the same amount of rom.

Sense is the bloat. My stock N1, when freshly booted up with no apps, had over 120 MB (it's been a looong time, maybe as much as 130-140 MB) free. When I first flashed a Desire ROM and first booted up, it reported about 95 MB free.

that still isnt much of a difference in comparism to the ~270MB the HD2 has. so in the end id rather say that android is the bloat, taking 130MB more than wm65.

So Android with Sense takes up 425mb?? That seems an awful lot.

leoni1980 said:
So Android with Sense takes up 425mb?? That seems an awful lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once it gets rooted I am sure that will get reduced, and once Apps2SD (either rooted or official) becomes a reality this will not be a problem?

That's comparable to the size of Windows xp though isn't it. Just shows how far mobiles have become. I'm hoping Android gets an update soon to allow installation to SD without rooting as I'm sure this was promised, unless I'm mistaken. If you install a few apps like Google earth and other weighty, cache heavy apps I can imagine the Rom space would run out very quickly

leoni1980 said:
That's comparable to the size of Windows xp though isn't it. Just shows how far mobiles have become. I'm hoping Android gets an update soon to allow installation to SD without rooting as I'm sure this was promised, unless I'm mistaken. If you install a few apps like Google earth and other weighty, cache heavy apps I can imagine the Rom space would run out very quickly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes there was an official statement from google that theyre working on an update for it. Apart from the heavy apps such as GEarth and games the available rom will let you install about 30-50 apps so not that bad me thinks

If you've only installed small applications how is it that you have used over 30mb of free space the handset comes with, try clearing your caches.

This has surprised me too. Only having 150mb to store applications when I was used to Windows Mobile sticking them all on my 16Gb SD card, or my GF's iPhone seemingly having endless storage. After 2 days I had run out.
It's like going back to PalmOS 5!
Having said that I love the device to bits.

Hi
just done wipe on my rooted Desire. on first boot got 130Mb free... did a restore and again low on space .. apps installed on internal memory sums up 60mb .. and i have only 10mb free space left ... how is that??? cant download/install anything now, not even some updates..
p.s. tried to install a2sd+ but didnt found good thread on how to do it..if anyone can help with this?!
thanks

probably your apps only install to the phone memory and you get left with only a few MB to spare,you can try and force them to install on the sd card and you will have enough space,i have about 30 apps installed inclusind rock plyaer,adobe flash which make 20mb and i still got 70 mb left.

I got 1.6Gb free
Data2ext....
R
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

no, they install on sdcard. but anyway they consume some internal memory too (cache and stuff) anyway it's a downside of Desire ... too little internal memory..

managed to make ext2 partition and i can see it in quick info but it shows only 90mb A2SD and if i look in paragon partition manager i have 512mb on ext2 partition ... wth??

Will phone manufacturers even listen and get it right ?

Hi
this is basically going to be a rant and rave but hopefully a constuctive one
For years i have had smartphones, mainly WM but have strayed to Symbian once and now Android with the Desire
I remember upgrading from the TYTN to the TYTNII and HTC not supplying the drivers we had no proper divx playback and this continued onto the Touch HD which is pretty much why i dediced to go to Android.
Now i have the Desire which i must admit is a very good phone but the storage spce is laughable even with Froyo update which helps a bit it's pathetic
Now i cant wholly blame HTC for this as it's the Android OS that is causing the issue but having more Internal Memory would help.
Strange that the reason for Android not having all data on the sd was to help with piracy and i must admit i have been very conciencous through the years and always bought what i used but now googles policy is forcing me the other way, why pay for apps that i have to uninstall so i can install something else.
Windows Mobile has allowed SD card installs since my first 2003 device, Android has taken a massive step back in my opinion. So much for the 1000's of apps on the android market, it does not say you can only browse them but dont install many as your phone will grind to a halt.
so not so long ago i thought i would get rid of the desire and try another android device only with more internal mem.
i looked at the X10 , looks a good phone but it's still on 1.6 and the promised updates are still just promises.
the Galaxy s looks excellent and has loads of space but it looking around it seems to have quite a few issues with lagging and the GPS issues.
So i thought about looking at the Desire HD but i have problems with the Battery life on the Desire and as the HD battery is smaller there is no way i could live with it.
It seems as if the Maunfacturers are just happy to churn these things out without too much thought , maybe it's cause they always want us to upgrade but just think if one actually made a phone that does what is is supposed to do and do them well they may end up with making a killing.
Rant mode over apart from now that i dont use sense i still cant find a 4x4 rss widget

machmandp said:
Hi
this is basically going to be a rant and rave but hopefully a constuctive one
For years i have had smartphones, mainly WM but have strayed to Symbian once and now Android with the Desire
I remember upgrading from the TYTN to the TYTNII and HTC not supplying the drivers we had no proper divx playback and this continued onto the Touch HD which is pretty much why i dediced to go to Android.
Now i have the Desire which i must admit is a very good phone but the storage spce is laughable even with Froyo update which helps a bit it's pathetic
Now i cant wholly blame HTC for this as it's the Android OS that is causing the issue but having more Internal Memory would help.
Strange that the reason for Android not having all data on the sd was to help with piracy and i must admit i have been very conciencous through the years and always bought what i used but now googles policy is forcing me the other way, why pay for apps that i have to uninstall so i can install something else.
Windows Mobile has allowed SD card installs since my first 2003 device, Android has taken a massive step back in my opinion. So much for the 1000's of apps on the android market, it does not say you can only browse them but dont install many as your phone will grind to a halt.
so not so long ago i thought i would get rid of the desire and try another android device only with more internal mem.
i looked at the X10 , looks a good phone but it's still on 1.6 and the promised updates are still just promises.
the Galaxy s looks excellent and has loads of space but it looking around it seems to have quite a few issues with lagging and the GPS issues.
So i thought about looking at the Desire HD but i have problems with the Battery life on the Desire and as the HD battery is smaller there is no way i could live with it.
It seems as if the Maunfacturers are just happy to churn these things out without too much thought , maybe it's cause they always want us to upgrade but just think if one actually made a phone that does what is is supposed to do and do them well they may end up with making a killing.
Rant mode over apart from now that i dont use sense i still cant find a 4x4 rss widget
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, the battery is smaller on the desire HD because the 2nd generation snapdragon it has, has much improved battery performance so its not needed

sigh...here we go again...root your device, root your device
you are willing to go as far as buying a new handset?? but your not willing to root?
root your device, install A2SD+ and SD speed fix and you will never look back, it runs flawless
if you cant be bothered learning how, ask someone to do it for you
Tech magazines are choosing the HTC desire as phone as the year as one of the most balanced android phones available
issues like app storage, music/video stutter (due to slow SD read) and even gaming performance can be fixed or improved by rooting your device

hamdir said:
sigh...here we go again...root your device, root your device
you are willing to go as far as buying a new handset?? but your not willing to root?
root your device, install A2SD+ and SD speed fix and you will never look back, it runs flawless
if you cant be bothered learning how, ask someone to do it for you
Tech magazines are choosing the HTC desire as phone as the year as one of the most balanced android phones available
issues like app storage, music/video stutter (due to slow SD read) and even gaming performance can be fixed or improved by rooting your device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The point is you shouldn't HAVE to root your Desire. Look at the Desire HD - 1.5GB of internal space. HTC realised they made a mistake and have now corrected this.
Just cause A2SD is available if you root some people don't WANT to root as it's shouldn't have been needed. For some warranty is actually important

hi again
I dont want to start arguments but as EddyOS wrote why should we have to root ?
to get the desire running well you have to invalidate the warranty does not sound too good.
anyhow i am rooted and use the Move2SDEnabler to move as many apps as possible but kept the stock rom as no orange rom is available as yet in case of warranty issues.
but some cannot be moved and i have 22mb free
a brief list of some of the app sizes i have
Google Maps 8.81mb
Swype 6.03mb
paypal 4.79mb
Ndrive 4.39mb
Gmail 4.1mb
Folder Org 3.88mb
launcher Pro 3.73mb
titanium Backup 2.88mb
Moblox 2.88
beautiful widgets 2.11mb
angry birds 1.92mb
just with these thats 45mb i obviously have more apps installed but as each one takes up anywhere from a few k to 2 mb then how are we expected to be able to install a good amount apps
can i do without any of the above maybe but the point is why should i have to - i purchased them and dont forget the main advertising points about Android are the Market and Customising the Launcher with Widgets.
And as regards to the desire having been chosen as the best phone i wonder how many of the reviewers actually use the phone daily or is it based on a few days usage.
I was under the impression that how i use Froyo Apps2SD was pretty much the same as Apps2SD+ but if you now different then please point me in the right direction
Thanks

A2SD in FroYo only moves the app itself and not the data accociated with it. This only works on apps that have been enabled by the developer to be moved. A2SD+ differs by actually using the EXT3 partition on the SD card as internal memory so all the app data is stored on the SD card (bar some data which has to remain on the device).
HTC have since addressed things with their new handsets by giving them a LOT more internal memory so this should be a thing of the past BUT it doesn't help Desire owners who, like you, can't root as there isn't a stock RUU to revert to for warranty issues (which is a whole different matter and why I only get generic handsets). The only way to incrase memory is to root

machmandp said:
i am rooted and use the Move2SDEnabler to move as many apps as possible but kept the stock rom as no orange rom is available as yet in case of warranty issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You already have a 'void' warranty because you have root, you may aswell go the whole 9 yards and flash a custom rom. just make a nandroid backup of your current rom so you can go back to it if the worst happens.
Having a void warranty never stopped orange from swapping my phone.
I do agree that you shouldn't have to root your phone to make it work, but that's just the way it is

EddyOS said:
A2SD in FroYo only moves the app itself and not the data accociated with it. This only works on apps that have been enabled by the developer to be moved. A2SD+ differs by actually using the EXT3 partition on the SD card as internal memory so all the app data is stored on the SD card (bar some data which has to remain on the device).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not entirely correct!
If you ModInstallLocation (which does not require root) you can force most apps to move to SD with FROYO A2SD - as far as I'm aware the exceptions to this have explicity disallowed this.
The main difference between FROYO A2SD and A2SD+ is that A2SD+ relocates the Dalvik cache to SD. Both methods leave /data/data on the device which in the case of some apps (e.g. Google Earth) can be quite substantial.
Personally I use FROYO A2SD, but I've repartitioned to reclaim space from /system and I use Fusecompress to compression the Dalvik cache.
To the OP, you can argue that this is an Android OS issue, but in my opinion this was always an issue with poorly specified hardware rather than the Oscar itself.
My Galaxy Tab has 2GB set aside for applications and the Desire Z/HD have 1.5GB, which rather renders any form of A2SD obsolete.
Regards,
Dave

Well,if you manage to break your phone somehow make sure you break it badly enough for rendering them unable to detect if you have it rooted!

mercianary said:
You already have a 'void' warranty because you have root, you may aswell go the whole 9 yards and flash a custom rom. just make a nandroid backup of your current rom so you can go back to it if the worst happens.
Having a void warranty never stopped orange from swapping my phone.
I do agree that you shouldn't have to root your phone to make it work, but that's just the way it is
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you can remove the root right?
Because my Desire started up with the "rebootloop by itself" issue a month ago while I had LeeDroid 2.2x running, and so I removed root by installing a RUU and then sent it away for service like yesterday.
And then they can't void the warranty then right? RIGHT??? :S

Yes but the point is that Orange (the OPs operator) don't have an RUU so you can't do that

EddyOS said:
Yes but the point is that Orange (the OPs operator) don't have an RUU so you can't do that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, didn't think about that at all.
Hmm, well then he does have some valid complaints. My biggest problem with the unrooted Desire is the internal memory, and I certainly didn't have any idea how small it was prior to purchase and just took for granted that you could store apps on the SD.

EddyOS said:
Yes but the point is that Orange (the OPs operator) don't have an RUU so you can't do that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep that's a big problem for me
As i said i have root but i thought (right or wrong) that if i ever have a problem there is more chance of the service centre not spotting anything if i still have the stock orange rom.
Also when i looked into flashing roms i'm sure that there was an issue with the Orange radio that caused massive problems and that really put me off from doing that.
I must admit i now have 19mb free and have had to delete some apps today after installing the flash update (Another 10mb) and it seems that updates are slowly eating all of the memory and surely HTC must have known this was going to be a problem.
Still i'll now try to look into maybe flashing a rom with APPS2SD+ and see if it's ok to do. i'll also hope for an Orange RUU to be leaked soon
Thanks all

This is what I'd do...
Remove all apps from the phone (uninstall them). And then reboot into recovery. Do a backup so you can revert back to it should you need to send it in (they may not realise you're rooted) but then you can go to a custom ROM using A2SD+ and see how you get on

EddyOS said:
This is what I'd do...
Remove all apps from the phone (uninstall them). And then reboot into recovery. Do a backup so you can revert back to it should you need to send it in (they may not realise you're rooted) but then you can go to a custom ROM using A2SD+ and see how you get on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks
sounds like my only choice to avoid the low space
just need to double check the Orange radio thing first
Thanks all

The newer radios should work OK, if not you can use the radio you're on at present assuming you're on Android 2.2 at the moment (albeit the Orange version) - flashing a custom won't touch the radio unless it's included in the ROM file

The radio hasn't been a problem for a while. The newer radios wont lock your device.
My first orange desire was locked by a radio update. I had to fix it with an unlock code.
My second orange desire (warranty replacement) was not locked when I flashed the most recent radio.

Excellent thanks
One more quick question if I may
In your experience would I be better getting a fast mem card as I only have class 2 at the moment
Sent from my HTC Desire

I use a class 2 16GB card and have no issues

hi
well i finally got round to flashing a new rom
went for the leedroid in the end with A2SD+
I had a few issues but read up and worked around them although i read about a gold card but never created one so i hope i'm not setting myself up for a fall without it.
anyhow i'm glad i did it with loads of apps installed i still have 85mb free and nowhere near filled up my 1gb ext3 partition
thanks for the advice all

Running Out of Space? (CM7)

I have been running out of space lately, even with my CM7 a2sd+
Was considering getting another ROM which has data2sd, but luckily I found another way. A much better way.
There is a free app on the Android Market called simple2ext.
Now if you are running CM7 and have an ext4 partition, use this app to transfer all your apps, your davlik and cache (data is possible, but not recommended) to that ext4 partition, and your phone will think everything is still on phone memory. That means, yes, widgets can be used while they are installed on your SD. I now run 80% free phone memory
Well happy. I even donated the gold donation ($5) to the developer of simple2ext.

Thanks for the tipp. Will try it!
Klewe

In the thread for cyanogenmod 7 you find a nice thread for this program:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=917377
There is also given another possibility, which i would prefer:
Legacy App2SD Addon Script

This is an absolutely priceless app! It has saved me the nightmare of constantly seeing the low memory warning. Now I can save as many apps to my Desire as I want!
Note: make sure you set your target destination for app downloads to internal. The app takes care of the rest for you.
Many thanks to the Dev

Excellent!
At some points I was thinking about throwing my Desire out the window. Now it's like a completely different phone.

It helps, but if u try another HBOOT, you will get more space without slowing the phone down. But its more risky

My handset is still lightning fast without another hboot
I think this is quicker, neater and easier for the same result
Personal preference though
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

[Q] Root Memory Savings

First time rooter, planning to get this done in the next few days. The biggest complaint I'd have about the slide is the lack of internal memory and how it's impossible to utilize new apps with the phone.
How much internal memory can I expect will be saved by going vanilla Android?

MT3G Slide said:
First time rooter, planning to get this done in the next few days. The biggest complaint I'd have about the slide is the lack of internal memory and how it's impossible to utilize new apps with the phone.
How much internal memory can I expect will be saved by going vanilla Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you root and you use a slimmed down rom like the xm rom, you'll save some space but you won't get as much till you use a script that puts the dalvik cache into your sd card. If you use a cm7 mod, like xm, you can use the app s2e that does it rather easily. https://market.android.com/details?id=ru.krikun.s2e
I also found that even using s2e, moving apps 2 sd (which cyanogen will let you move even more than stock) gives you even more space.

Sorry, I don't know a direct answer to your question, so hope this helps. Before my flex ribbon went bad on my slide, I was running XMv1.1 with darktremor apps2sd ( apps & dalvik moved to SD ), along with custom partition tables, and I had about 250MB-300MB of total internal memory available.
Then again, moving dalvik to SD frees up enough space for I think anyone besides me, lol. I had about 300 applications installed according to Titanium ( I'm guessing that's including system apps ), and I had about 150MB free of internal memory still with my setup.

there's always a2ext/data2ext if you're feeling frisky...

[Q] Any Threads For Troubleshooting/Improving System Speed?

I'm running a stock, rooted Sense ROM (2.3.3) with Go Launcher (Sense kept re-launching every time I closed an app).
I have close to 140 apps installed, including the stock EVO apps, and 21 megs free. The low storage space alert is always in the notification bar.
My phone runs pretty slow: screen updates, opening apps, etc. Often, if I try to switch screens or go into settings, I have to wait... and wait.
This has been going on for months, and is constant - it never runs fast anymore.
I'm guessing it has to do with only having 21 megs available for apps? As far as what might be running in the background, in typical android fashion, if I open a task manager it will usually show eight to ten apps running. Apps I haven't used in days or weeks! Who knows why these apps are open.
Does anyone know of a thread or source for tracking down what might make these phones run so slow? Am I not allowed to have that many apps installed?

Well you say that you are rooted. So the first thing I would do is download Titanium backup from the market and "freeze" or uninstall all the sprint apps that you don't use. This will free up some space and help. Then go and find out about "V6 Supercharger". It is a script that will speed up your phone and stop the home screen from having to load every time. It's awesome.
Now if you are fully rooted, I would recomment flashing a new ROM. This will solve all of your problems at once. You can use titanium backup to backup all your apps and data then flash a ROM. Restore your apps, and use the V6 supercharger. It will be very zippy. I would recommend MikG for ya.

leebo said:
I'm running a stock, rooted Sense ROM (2.3.3) with Go Launcher (Sense kept re-launching every time I closed an app).
I have close to 140 apps installed, including the stock EVO apps, and 21 megs free. The low storage space alert is always in the notification bar.
My phone runs pretty slow: screen updates, opening apps, etc. Often, if I try to switch screens or go into settings, I have to wait... and wait.
This has been going on for months, and is constant - it never runs fast anymore.
I'm guessing it has to do with only having 21 megs available for apps? As far as what might be running in the background, in typical android fashion, if I open a task manager it will usually show eight to ten apps running. Apps I haven't used in days or weeks! Who knows why these apps are open.
Does anyone know of a thread or source for tracking down what might make these phones run so slow? Am I not allowed to have that many apps installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This should help you out.... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1386911

Thanks.
Rocket, I forgot to mention that I already had Titanium BU installed and had removed many of the Sprint bloatware (been using TBU ever since I rooted over a year ago).
Will check out V6 Supercharger, however, I still don't know if remaining storage space is related to a phone's system speed.
Diablo, I saw that thread a few days ago. I didn't read it in detail though, just skimmed it.
I guess I will read it in detail and try out all those suggestions. My main desire is to have 4G, wireless tether, and the camera all work. That prevents me from using some of the ROM's out there that break those features. Oh, and having it respond quickly.
Getting rid of those annoying "Low on storage space" messages would also be great, but I guess I'll have to wait till my next phone for that!

Have you tries partitionong your sd card and using darktremora apps2sd I have 140 apps installed and over 200 megs of internal memory left

tha23kidd said:
Have you tries partitionong your sd card and using darktremora apps2sd I have 140 apps installed and over 200 megs of internal memory left
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed Brads updated Sprint V3 beta 4 last week. It has DT baked in I think.
I have yet to partition, but now I have about 80 Meg's free and the system speed is back!
I guess internal free space does indeed affect system speed.

leebo said:
I installed Brads updated Sprint V3 beta 4 last week. It has DT baked in I think.
I have yet to partition, but now I have about 80 Meg's free and the system speed is back!
I guess internal free space does indeed affect system speed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your best bet is to hit that thread and partition your sd card,its essential fo newer roms trust me and leave at least 32MB of swap when doing a partition.