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SD Card - System Memory - Internal Memory !

Hi all,
I've got some questions regarding the phone's memory.
When I open the App Manager and I click on "Storage" it shows me that the phone has:
System Memory
Internal Memory
SD Card
Using the app "App 2 SD" my apps are transferred only from either System memory to Internal memory or vice-versa.
This App 2 SD seems not to send my apps to my EXTERNAL SD Card (where I have plenty of memory).
Could someone please explain the different between system and internal memory?
And, once and for all, how can I move/transfer ALL apps downloaded from the market to my EXTERNAL SD Card?
Can I do that manually? how?
Another app from the market? which one?
And how about the Gameloft games? is there any way to move them?
Another question is that after updating for the GB some apps seem to open themselves and they keep running on the background (i.e. Google Maps, LG Smart etc), is there anything that can be done to stop them to start?
Thanks in advance,
J

tourjefferson said:
Hi all,
I've got some questions regarding the phone's memory.
When I open the App Manager and I click on "Storage" it shows me that the phone has:
System Memory
Internal Memory
SD Card
Using the app "App 2 SD" my apps are transferred only from either System memory to Internal memory or vice-versa.
This App 2 SD seems not to send my apps to my EXTERNAL SD Card (where I have plenty of memory).
Could someone please explain the different between system and internal memory?
And, once and for all, how can I move/transfer ALL apps downloaded from the market to my EXTERNAL SD Card?
Can I do that manually? how?
Another app from the market? which one?
And how about the Gameloft games? is there any way to move them?
Another question is that after updating for the GB some apps seem to open themselves and they keep running on the background (i.e. Google Maps, LG Smart etc), is there anything that can be done to stop them to start?
Thanks in advance,
J
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
system memory is the memory reserved for the OS and its applications. Internal memory is the rest of the phones memory that is used to store anything else (included apps you move with app2sd)
To move gameloft games to the external sd there is a thread so look it up a bit.
As for apps running themselves it is the way android works. It keeps running apps it "thinks" you might use so when you actually use them the load a lot faster. No worries there as when your phone needs the extra memory (running an HD game for example) it shuts down all apps that are not necessary. If you still want to prevent them from running you can use a task manager to freeze them but you need root.

jimakos29 said:
system memory is the memory reserved for the OS and its applications. Internal memory is the rest of the phones memory that is used to store anything else (included apps you move with app2sd)
To move gameloft games to the external sd there is a thread so look it up a bit.
As for apps running themselves it is the way android works. It keeps running apps it "thinks" you might use so when you actually use them the load a lot faster. No worries there as when your phone needs the extra memory (running an HD game for example) it shuts down all apps that are not necessary. If you still want to prevent them from running you can use a task manager to freeze them but you need root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for your reply.
I have seen the thread regarding Gameloft games, but if I'm not mistaken my phone need to be rooted, which I'm not planning to do any time soon. So that thread doesn't help me to get rid of the games from my internal memory.
Also, the App 2 SD app doesn't send the apps that I have in the internal memory to the external SD. It keeps sending the apps to(or from) internal and system memory.
So, I've got an empty external SD card that I can't transfer anything there even using an app that supposed to do that.
Is there anyway that I can move the apps manually?
Regarding the apps that keep running without need, that didn't happen when I had Froyo and it seems to me that running several apps on the background can cost my battery juice, so this is not so clever.

Apps did run in background on froyo as I rooted specifically to stop some but maybe they were not doing so when you checked as they stop in certain circumstances.
As for the sd thing you are right and it sucks but for some reason lg made it so when we choose install to sd it goes to internal sd card and I have yet to find way around this though for me its not a problem as I use my actual external sd card as storage for camera app and backups instead but the internal one will fit plenty of apps on.
Dave
Sent from my LG-P920 using Tapatalk

I noticed too my 32gb external card is not used by app2sd apps.
Now i swapped the cards in a configfile, and after restart i have 32gb internal sd and 8gb external so it is working.
I got this from the folloing thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1189701

But won't that mean that mess up apps or cause problems, for example if you click to format or unmount external sd wont it try doing that to the internal one?
Dave

Of course, you should not take out the sd or format it after the switch. If you format internal sd, it would in fact format the external sd. Flashing to a new rom wil just use the internal sd again. Just be carefull. You can copy data to your computer as backup before you try this.
I like this sofar, my downloads, photos, films and music is placed directly on the big sd now.
Peter

Pjedr said:
Of course, you should not take out the sd or format it after the switch. If you format internal sd, it would in fact format the external sd. Flashing to a new rom wil just use the internal sd again. Just be carefull. You can copy data to your computer as backup before you try this.
I like this sofar, my downloads, photos, films and music is placed directly on the big sd now.
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All my photos films and music are on external sd already and I still have four gigabytes of the internal sd card free so will stick with things as they are rather than hack it though is nice to know it is possible
Dave

mistermentality said:
All my photos films and music are on external sd already and I still have four gigabytes of the internal sd card free so will stick with things as they are rather than hack it though is nice to know it is possible
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, but I don't have space lol
Anyway, found out that the problem with app running themselves on the background are worst than I first thought.
All kinds of apps seem to start themselves and keep running, that caused my phone to loose a 100% battery over the night!
Is anyone having this problem?

Are you sure its the apps? I had severe battery drain and had to calibrate it then let it die and recharge while off to sort it.
I also rooted and use gemini app manager to stop apps auto running.
Sent from my LG-P920 using Tapatalk

mistermentality said:
Are you sure its the apps? I had severe battery drain and had to calibrate it then let it die and recharge while off to sort it.
I also rooted and use gemini app manager to stop apps auto running.
Sent from my LG-P920 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm 99% sure that the problem are the apps running.
Before, with Froyo, I didn't have this problem (apps starting themselves) and the battery was just fine.
I've realised something recently though, when I was using the app "App 2 SD" I was sending some apps to my System Memory in order to free space on Internal Memory.
What I noticed was that the apps in the System memory were the ones starting up themselves, so I moved them back to internal memory and they seem not to be starting again.
I'm keeping an eye on it because it's weird, but it's been almost one full day and my battery is doing okay, or that is what least seems to appear on my screen.

Pjedr said:
I noticed too my 32gb external card is not used by app2sd apps.
Now i swapped the cards in a configfile, and after restart i have 32gb internal sd and 8gb external so it is working.
I got this from the folloing thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1189701
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi,
Which config file is this? Is this the config file for apps2sd or the vold.stab file? (I could no longer the thread in your link)
Thanks

I think apps auto running in background is the major bug in GB, and i also have this problem so you are not alone or the only one having this problem

[Q] Swapping SD cards very often without app problems

I have HTC sensation 4G. I bought a 16 GB SD micro card and also have an 8GB card. Both my cards are full with videos which I need to access often for my exam purposes. But each time I change the cards, the applications don’t run properly and I have to re install the apps. Also I doubt that frequently changing the SD card would age my phone quicker. Does anyone here have any experience with this? What is the best way to keep swapping sd cards frequently without any hassles?

Are your apps located on the SD Card when you go into Settings > Applications > Apps on SD Card?
If so, move them to internal memory.

switching sd cards very often
Like everyone knows HTC Sensation has a very low internal memory which will not be enough to move all apps to internal memory. Moreover I swap sd cards at least twice a day and I don't want to move apps each time. So is there any way I can just swap SD cads without moving apps to internal memory.

switching sd cards very often
k0zmic said:
Are your apps located on the SD Card when you go into Settings > Applications > Apps on SD Card?
If so, move them to internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like everyone knows HTC Sensation has a very low internal memory which will not be enough to move all apps to internal memory. Moreover I swap sd cards at least twice a day and I don't want to move apps each time. So is there any way I can just swap SD cads without moving apps to internal memory.

Gulfcoastowl said:
Like everyone knows HTC Sensation has a very low internal memory which will not be enough to move all apps to internal memory. Moreover I swap sd cards at least twice a day and I don't want to move apps each time. So is there any way I can just swap SD cads without moving apps to internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must have big apps or a lot of apps! I have around 78 and around 50% remaining. 1GB isn't a lot but it's not 'very low' either IMO.

Gulfcoastowl said:
Like everyone knows HTC Sensation has a very low internal memory which will not be enough to move all apps to internal memory. Moreover I swap sd cards at least twice a day and I don't want to move apps each time. So is there any way I can just swap SD cads without moving apps to internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well without magic, no. You have two options. Apps go to the internal memory, or the SD card. If you can't put them on internal and you take out the SD, then they won't be there.
Possible Solution 1: Remove some apps? I use like 12 third party apps total.
Possible Solution 2: Download a converter such as Mobile Media Converter or SUPER and re-encode the videos at a lower quality - allowing for less storage to be used.
Possible Solution 3: Deal with it.

Move the app data to both of your SD cards.

Get a 32GB card? lol
I used to use an 8GB card, then I bought a 16GB one. I just copy all the data from the old card to the new one, insert it in my phone and all the apps works.

When we get ics will it change the way our tab reads the sd card?

I think I read that the way our tab combines the stuff that would normally go in the external memory with our internal memory is a honeycomb thing, if so does ics add the stuff that normally would go on the sd card to internal memory also? If not is there a chance that our tablets will be able to add stuff to the sd card like normal or is it hard wired in our tabs & changing the OS won't make a difference? is the 7.7 tab with ics also set up this way?
For example when we download stuff it would go on the real/external sd card or have the option to add apps to sd from settings menu? ...I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I feel cheated on memory cuz alot of the space that's being used should be on my sd card like music & pictures. Thankfully now I can copy stuff to my sd card thanks to the sd tweak I found here so I can at least manually add pictures to the sd card now without having to do it from the computer all the time. I think that's the dumbest set up they could have added on an Android.
Thank you to everyone for all of your contributions, it is really appreciated.
Sent from my galaxy 7+ using taptalk

kcerica said:
I think I read that the way our tab combines the stuff that would normally go in the external memory with our internal memory is a honeycomb thing, if so does ics add the stuff that normally would go on the sd card to internal memory also? If not is there a chance that our tablets will be able to add stuff to the sd card like normal or is it hard wired in our tabs & changing the OS won't make a difference? is the 7.7 tab with ics also set up this way?
For example when we download stuff it would go on the real/external sd card or have the option to add apps to sd from settings menu? ...I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I feel cheated on memory cuz alot of the space that's being used should be on my sd card like music & pictures. Thankfully now I can copy stuff to my sd card thanks to the sd tweak I found here so I can at least manually add pictures to the sd card now without having to do it from the computer all the time. I think that's the dumbest set up they could have added on an Android.
Thank you to everyone for all of your contributions, it is really appreciated.
Sent from my galaxy 7+ using taptalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, Samsung likes MTP.

You did the tweak, but did you understand what it was?
On honeycomb the apps that write to the external need a new permission. The older apps dont have it, so you got a error if you try.
I think it is very probable it stays on ICS.
But we never needed to connect to PC to do this transfer. The built in file browser has this permission.

[Q] What EXACTLY does it mean to move an app to the SD Card

OK. So I know you can "move" apps to your SD card. Let me get straight to the point. On my Epic 4G Touch, I moved an app that was about 20MB in size and had about 1.2GB of downloaded data. I "moved" the app to the SD card and saw no space change on my Ext-SD card. My apps are installed in the phone, about 2GB. The downloaded data is saved on the USB storage, about 10GB. This is still part of the internal SD card. Meaning, I have about 12GB of actually personal usage. My apps save on a 2GB partition (Not too sure if I should call it a partition) and my other data saves on a 10GB partition aka USB Storage.
I guess I'm asking when an app is moved to the SD card, what is happening? Is it moving an app to my USB storage, or my Ext.SD card? I also ask this because I moved an app that was 1.2GB in size and saw no change in my Ext.SD card space. My USB Storage did change, but it was in MB, there was no GB difference. So now I'm wondering what exactly is happening when moving apps to the SD.
Also, is moving an app to the SD the same as installing an app on the SD or should those be referred to as 2 different things? And also, when referring to the "SD card" that apps are moving to, is the SD Card the USB Storage or the internal one, or is it the Ext.SD card?
I'm asking because I'm going to start using my phone as a console via MHL. LoL!! Sadly my Nexus 7 can't do it.:crying: So I'm going to start downloading all my big games again. I want to move most of those games to my 32GB SD card Class 10. Got it on sale for $25!! :highfive:
I'm sure it being a class 10, things wouldn't falter too much. I know apps' performance hinders when being on an Ext.SD card. My only issue is it doesn't seem like apps are actually being placed on my SD card. I have Apps2SD free from Amazon. Would that do the trick?
I want to have ALL my games. LoL!!
Batman
Spiderman
GTA 3
NOVA 2 and 3
Modern Combat 3
As you can see, that's probably 10GB already. LoL!! And I'm still not done with that list. =.P
EDIT: Oh yea, forgot to say thanks for anyone helping. Just in case I forget to hit the thanks button.

There is a method to install/move apps to SD?

I've been looking for a method to move or force installation of apps to my 128gb micro SD card and so far I haven't found anything that works correctly, is there some method that actually allows moving apps to the SD card? or any custom rom that allows this? would titanium backup "move to SD card" option work?

You can use adoptable storage. It binds an SD card to your phone so you won't be able to use it with any other devices, but it essentially extends your phone's storage space by that much. Make sure you back up everything on your external SD card somewhere if there's anything important on it because this will wipe it clean.
1.) Open the "Files" app (the Google app with the colorful folded rectangles).
2.) Go to Browse.
3.) Scroll down to the bottom where you see your SD card, and tap on it.
4.) Hit the three dots in the top right.
5.) Click "Storage Settings".
6.) And finally, "Format as internal".
Once you've "adopted" the storage space you can move apps to it freely by going to a specific app's "App Info" page, clicking Storage, and choosing "Change" for each app. If you want to move multiple apps you can use something like "Internal Storage To SD Card" from the Play Store, which helps streamline the process; or even go into Developer Options and enable the option "Force allow apps to write on external storage" near the bottom which will force the majority of apps to favor the external SD card over the phone's.
Here's a bit more info on where your files are kept after this process.
If you want to retain separate access to the external SD Card so that you can use it with your computer or other devices while also storing app data on there, I'm afraid it's not very simple to do so. Android 9/10 has made a lot of changes with file access and how things are managed and stored on your device. I'm still figuring it out for myself, too.

i have a question, it will lose performance?
because i think if the phone is using a UFS 2.0, is the same or better maximum speed of R/W of SDCARD?

Polakiyo87 said:
i have a question, it will lose performance?
because i think if the phone is using a UFS 2.0, is the same or better maximum speed of R/W of SDCARD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, the performance of the external drive will be lower.
However, don't underestimate them.
The performance of modern transflash is quite enough, for example, to run games like Doom, witcher or Skyrim(20+GB distros) from them on Nintendo consoles. The main thing is that the card is good. Like the same Sandisk extreme.

Not working for me. I've formatted the SD card as internal, but I can't move any apps to the SD card. When I go to the storage screen for an app, it only displays the total, app size, data and cache. There's no option to change storage location.
Yes, I've rebooted.

Same for me.
App mgr III and link2sd did not works even with Root :/
WTF nobody found a solution on a Android 10?

You don't want the apps running off the SD card as it's bandwidth is a lot slower than internal memory! It's a bottleneck to avoid.
Use the SD card as a data drive only.
Internal memory: OS, apps, temporary data and downloads.
SD card: all critical data, backups, music, vids, etc. Everything you need to fully restore the phone after a factory reset should be on it including copies of the apks.
Always redundantly backup the data drive on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically separated! Or you will lose your data sooner... or latter.

blackhawk said:
You don't want the apps running off the SD card as it's bandwidth is a lot slower than internal memory! It's a bottleneck to avoid.
Use the SD card as a data drive only.
Internal memory: OS, apps, temporary data and downloads.
SD card: all critical data, backups, music, vids, etc. Everything you need to fully restore the phone after a factory reset should be on it including copies of the apks.
Always redundantly backup the data drive on at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically separated! Or you will lose your data sooner... or latter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes i know ... All my pictures, videos etc are on SD ...
But you don't reply, do you have a solution?
Like millions of android users, i have not enough space for games in the phone. I don't care about slow speed of game. Genshin inpact for example take more of 7gB !
OS takes 15gB ... App takes often many hundred of mB it's WTF...
App are crazy to cache, and snapchat instagram facebook etc can take 1gB each.
The sd limitation is a programmed obsolescence for smartphones (256 gB of microsd are cheap). All people don't care about low performance of specifics app, it's better than the impossiblity to install then.
Normally we should be able to make symbolic links between linux partititons.
That's the same on windows, i install my terabytes of games on an hard drive because my sdd is not enought ... And it works well.

raysar said:
Yes i know ... All my pictures, videos etc are on SD ...
But you don't reply, do you have a solution?
Like millions of android users, i have not enough space for games in the phone. I don't care about slow speed of game. Genshin inpact for example take more of 7gB !
OS takes 15gB ... App takes often many hundred of mB it's WTF...
App are crazy to cache, and snapchat instagram facebook etc can take 1gB each.
The sd limitation is a programmed obsolescence for smartphones (256 gB of microsd are cheap). All people don't care about low performance of specifics app, it's better than the impossiblity to install then.
Normally we should be able to make symbolic links between linux partititons.
That's the same on windows, i install my terabytes of games on an hard drive because my sdd is not enought ... And it works well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be happy for the bump...
You should also post your OS version for solutions.
Maybe a ADB edit could get it.
Lol, I have one game loaded. Most are fair to high privacy/security risks... that could really keep you amused.

I used App2sd earlier with android 7 and devices with 8GB flash , where only 3.5GB we ahve for applications. The result, I was able to install 100 or more apps and games without problem. It will not work in modern android.
I use a script which move all pictures , movies, call recordings to the sd card when I plug in usb-c cable. The card is a place of storing multimedia, nandroid backup and titantium backup.
Modern devices with 64GB+ flash are able to keep all apps inside , of course if all media files will be moved to sd card.

raysar said:
Same for me.
App mgr III and link2sd did not works even with Root :/
WTF nobody found a solution on a Android 10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess xda developers not the same. It is ****. They can't brake a **** Xiaomi? It seems that I have to buy an old phone not Xiaomi and brake it.

Hi, I know I'm late to this but hopefully it will help someone having the same problem.
Tested on Redmi 9a, android 10
1- After you format your sd card as
SeekerofLight.iz said, download this app from Google store: this app basically shows all the hidden settings on all Xiaomi phones.
2- Open the app and type storage in the search bar located at the top.
3- you will see several results, tap at
"Storage Use: Storage use
com.android.settings.applications.StorageUse".
4- A new window will open with a list of all apps installed on your phone. Tap the app you want to move to sd card then "storage and cashe" and you will find the da** "Change" button we all have been looking for tap it and select sd card.
I've attached screenshots for those who prefer them.
And about performance, there was a slight lag almost unnoticeable but games were playable in general.

AngryYoungMan said:
Not working for me. I've formatted the SD card as internal, but I can't move any apps to the SD card. When I go to the storage screen for an app, it only displays the total, app size, data and cache. There's no option to change storage location.
Yes, I've rebooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all apps will support installation on sd card... If u want force it to be on sd card, u can use App2SD Pro app but root needed