A few days ago I got a "new" windows mobile phone in, and I decided that I would cook a rom for it myself to get all the functionality I wanted, but after testing a few of my own and other roms I've got some questions about the different memories of my phone.
- It's a Sony Ericsson Xperia x1i, but I think my questions would also apply to other windows mobile phones.
- I'm cooking and running other peoples windows mobile 6.5.3 roms
- The phone has 512MB of flash and 256MB of RAM built in.
- I'm using Twinge Kitchen 1.10 for cooking the rom and importing cab's of the apps I want to use
I've tried roms of vastly different sizes, but the storage memory always remains the same. My question is, how is the flash memory on a windows mobile device used? I'm assuming the bootloader, radio and some other things might have their own partition, and then a partition for the rom, and one partition is for storage memory. Am I correct?
If I flash my phone to a small rom will the space I save on that be wasted? Is there a way to make the free space available as storage memory?
I've tried putting all the apps I wanted to install into the rom, and that worked fine, but on first boot they installed themselves into the storage memory, so I would have been just as well off by installing them after flashing the rom. Is there a way to add apps to a rom, and have them integrated in it in such a way that they don't require further installing after flashing, just running the apps from the rom like all the regular stuff is. (this is probably done by people who know how to cook roms, but I can't find an explanation on how to do it anywhere)
I would rather cook a minimalistic rom and use the freed up space as storage memory, and then install my apps manually, that way I could uninstall them whenever I wanted. Or would having those apps intergrated into the rom save me more space because they would be compressed?
Either way I would like to know if there was a way to increase the storage space, and make the rom space smaller. I guess I would need a partition manager for windows mobile/CE that can resize without data loss, and resize the rom and storage partition with the phone running, or perhaps on the PC, with the phone connected with the USB cable and running in bootloader mode.
I have another question about RAM, my phone has 256MB RAM, but it shows as about 200MB program memory of which about 50 in use with no apps running. What is the remaining 56MB used for? Is there a way to change this amount?
I have used Windows Mobile for quite a while now, but this is the first time I've tried cooking a rom, or even thought about partitioning the built-in flash, so to the more experience people the awnsers to my questions might be obvious, but to me they are not.
I have thought of one possible way to re-partition the built-in flash, but I don't know if this can be done this way without messing anything up.
I could run Android from the sdcard, and resize the partitions on the phone-flash while in Android, but is there even an app that will let you resize those partitions in Android? Would this work without data loss, or if not would the bootloader be ok so I could flash the rom again in the newly resized partition?
I've had three WinMo 6.x devices (1 GPS and 2 phones) and both were able to have things stored on its flash memory. In fact, isn't that where the "My Documents" folder is?
JamesDisbrow said:
I've had three WinMo 6.x devices (1 GPS and 2 phones) and both were able to have things stored on its flash memory. In fact, isn't that where the "My Documents" folder is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but I think you are mis-understanding my questions, I don't want to just store things in it's flash memory, that's no problem. I want to resize the partitions on the flash memory, using less flash for the rom, and more available as storage space.
I have been researching further, but I keep coming up empty. I can't find any android or windows mobile app that'll even let me see the different NAND flash partitions, let alone manipulate them.
I could try and get a linux partition manager to work on android, but the more I think of it, the riskier it seems.
I've also been looking into using MTTY, but I can't find any information on what the commands are, except for tasks 28,29 and 32, and none of those will help me. I don't know if MTTY even has the capabilities to manipulate the partitioning.
Related
Hi, I'm looking for more info on how the memory is partitioned between storage and programs. I don't quite understand how a hard reset is equivalent to a reinstall, and how it works.
Is there a site or book with more information on this? Any help or pointer would be greatly appreciated!
a pocketpc have ram and rom
rom is read only memory
the os is located in rom
and storage and application memory is in ram
how much you want to have free for application ram
and how much you want to use as storage is up to you using the memory slider
a hardreset or too long without batt
clear the ram leaving the os which is in rom
as the only thing on the pocketpc
which is why it's the same thing as a reinstall
because all the stuff you put on it are gon
leaving what the maker of the device put in the rom
but with 2005 things have changed a bit
here some of the flash rom is used for storage
and all ram is used for application memory
(though buzz and the lads made it so some of the ram can be used for stroage on older HTC devices which otherwise only have 32MB)
here a hardreset dont mean a reinstall
if you want to clear the device to default you have to format
the storage from inside the bootloader
I think what he meant is the one shown in "Settings"->"Memory"->"Main"
Think of the "Storage" as the hardisk of your PC and "Program" as the RAM of your PC. For WM5, when you soft reset your unit, the "Program" memory will be cleared off and program will be loaded again into this "Program" memory.
As for the "Storage", it is the `hardisk` where you have your OS installed. The OS is kept in the ROM (which I don't think is part of the "Storage"), and it is installed into your "Storage" everytime you perform a hard reset. (e.g. the "Storage" will be wipe clearn upon a hard reset). Anything that you do, e.g. edit file, add contact, etc. will be recorded/saved into this "Storage".
Thanks for the replies. So what I see when I browse the device, including the 'windows' folder, that's a copy of the operating system, and the original master copy is in the ROM?
So theoretically, I could go and delete the whole windows folder, perform a hard reset, and everything would be fine?
Has anyone already tried to see what could be reasonnably removed from the windows folder in order save 'storage' space?
Cheers!
no whats in the windows dir is the os which is stored in the rom
you cant remove things in the rom
no whats in the windows dir is the os which is stored in the rom
you cant remove things in the rom
I'll reply to my own question in order to close this thread and make it useful to others:
(from pocketpcdubai)
The Universal comes with 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM as compared to its predecessors who had the exact opposite.
The 128MB ROM is divided into 2 parts:
1) OS + Extended ROM (around 84MB)
2) Storage (remaining 43.5MB as shown above
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And this:
http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2005/11/17/494177.aspx
In my Asus P320 box, it says the device has 128Mb ROM, and 64Mb RAM. However, on the memory settings it says I only have a total of 30Mb for Strorage and also 30Mb of Total RAM. Any fix or it is a problem of the PDA ?
Well, what do you think where your OS is running
To make it clear: the ROM is the place you install your programs and also where your OS is installed, the RAM is just like in PC the place where the os and other software stores data for quick access, so you will never get the full ROM and RAM free!
ruebyi
ruebyi said:
Well, what do you think where your OS is running
To make it clear: the ROM is the place you install your programs and also where your OS is installed, the RAM is just like in PC the place where the os and other software stores data for quick access, so you will never get the full ROM and RAM free!
ruebyi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, know any programm that unnistall the applications, some of those i've installed put files I dont know where and the windows unnistall program do not delete them. My apps dont install on the storage card, i tell to install there, but they keep on being installed on the mobile memory. =\
Lately, I've been flashing a bunch of different ROMs, and in each one, they require you to have a certain amount of your memory partitioned. I'm not too experienced in this particular area and I've been wondering what is the point of all the partitioning?
Why can't we just have one partition and run things off of that like with a computer running on windows??
What are the differences between ext2 and ext3 and so on?
So far, I've only been able to find out that the swap partition is for memory extension when the phone is currently using all of its ram, it can convert some of the sd card's memory to use for programs. Can anyone provide more insight on this?
I've asked myself the same questions .... hope someone will explain...
hacker01 said:
Lately, I've been flashing a bunch of different ROMs, and in each one, they require you to have a certain amount of your memory partitioned. I'm not too experienced in this particular area and I've been wondering what is the point of all the partitioning?
Why can't we just have one partition and run things off of that like with a computer running on windows??
What are the differences between ext2 and ext3 and so on?
So far, I've only been able to find out that the swap partition is for memory extension when the phone is currently using all of its ram, it can convert some of the sd card's memory to use for programs. Can anyone provide more insight on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be helpful if you mentioned what phone you're using.
Generally the reason you have a /data and /system partition separately are so that you can either upgrade or reinstall Android without losing your data. If you reflashed whatever ROM you're on right now again, without wiping anything, all of your apps and settings would still be there (although any mods you flashed to modify the ROM itself would need to be flashed again).
System - Holds Android itself and any apps that came with the ROM. Some ROMs (or rather updater scripts inside of ZIP files) will install some apps in the data partition to save space.
Data - Your settings and any applications you installed.
Sometimes you WILL have to wipe everything to go to a different ROM, but for the most part if you're on an official ROM that came with your phone, and your carrier pushes an update, you don't have to.
I'm guessing you have an older phone if you need to make a swap file. A swap file is like RAM in the form of a file; if your phone runs out of usable RAM, it can use the [slower, but useful] swap file, which is like memory you reserve from storage [your MicroSD card]. Windows and other OS's use swap files too, but given how much RAM we have in computers today, we hardly ever use it.
EXT 2 fs - A non-journaling file system. It's quicker than EXT 3 and takes up less space for itself in memory (not for files, just for itself), but it's more susceptible to corruption if you randomly turn off the phone while a file is being accessed.
EXT 3 fs - A journaling file system, which means that it keeps track of any file operations within itself. While it's slower than EXT 2 and takes up more space, it is more reliable and is safer in terms of file integrity.
There's also EXT 4, but only certain phones are compatible with that, mostly Samsung Galaxy S phones.
tl;dr: It keeps everything modular.
Thanks for the explanation. It helped
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
I have installed CM 10.1 in my GT-P3113 and it works great, I like the interface better than Samsung. But the internal memory shows up as about 4.5gb with 500mb used by apps, and about 400mb free. That doesn't sound right, I don't have very many apps, but I am having trouble downloading some of the larger games, like Asphalt7. Can I do anything to fix this? Am I missing some step, like a nand flash or format? I have a 32gb sdhc card but use it for music and videos. Don't want to start moving apps to it.
fast96 said:
I have installed CM 10.1 in my GT-P3113 and it works great, I like the interface better than Samsung. But the internal memory shows up as about 4.5gb with 500mb used by apps, and about 400mb free. That doesn't sound right, I don't have very many apps, but I am having trouble downloading some of the larger games, like Asphalt7. Can I do anything to fix this? Am I missing some step, like a nand flash or format? I have a 32gb sdhc card but use it for music and videos. Don't want to start moving apps to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now does your device initially had 11.85 GB internal memory?
if yes, then you could free up your memory.
well, i am just sharing my experience with CM 10.1 on tab 2 but p3100(almost same as p3113, with extra calling facility). b4 flashing cm10.1 i had some 7 GB internal memory with my stock ROM(4.1.2). if i would ve flashed that stock rom again, then my internal memory would ve gone to around 10.9-11.2 GB, as it formats the device completely.
but when i flashed with CM 10.1, i had internal memory less than 7 GB now, it is just because it doesn't formats your device, but removes your installed applications. let me explain you in other way---->lets go with installing windows 7 in your PC.
if you install windows without booting by using some virtual disks or some DVD, your old programs gets stored in windows.old folder, the same happens here, its just that you are using the CM recovery as your virtual disk thing, it overwrites your systems keeping your old files(BUT NOT IN ANY SINGLE FOLDER) they are kept as it is. the apps you installed earlier with your OLD FIRMWIRE WILL NOT GET REMOVED, BUT ALSO WILL NOT WORK.
in this case the only way to get rid of this memory issue is to remember those folders where your programs get installed with yous OLD OS(firmwire) and DELETE them directly(just like deleting WINDOWS.old folder if you dont need it). well for some huge games like NFS MW or ASPHALT, dont delete those folders where it got installed previously, as these are downloaded data, so with your new firwire you just install the game with the reqd apk file and your game will run without downloading data again, if you delete them, u ve to download again. but its better if you keep a backup of such huge games in your PC)
but in the other way if you install windows from the boot using your DVD, you ve an option to format and reinstall(the formatting drive option, you ll not get if you are not booting from the CD and directly running the installer from within an OS). the same happens here too, if you flash your firmwire from the download mode, your device is completely formatted(additionally u may need to clear wipe cache/wipe dalvik cache too, from the recovery).
SO IF YOU FLASH CM 10.1 FROM THE DOWNLOAD MODE YOU CAN GET ALL YOUR MEMORY BACK, but i don't know if there is any method to install CMs or AOKPs or any custom ROM from the download mode, as these files are in zip format and not *tar.md5. so we install them from the recovery mode.
LETS SEE IF THERE IS ANY METHOD TO INSTALL CUSTOM ROMS VIA DOWNLOAD MODE USING ODIN DIRECTLY(but i dont think so).
Skyrocket, rooted, CM10 (older version). Please see attached screenshot showing available memory. Will not update or load new apps. Please reply.
Vincom! You are the king and savior of all skyrocket users. So many thanks for your monumental efforts on our behalf. I would never have had the courage to root my phone without your concise, thorough and voluminous advice. Thank you.
...The best cellphone is the one you have...
Using your file manager go to( /data/log/) you will need to do this as root. In that folder you will probably find a bunch of dump files which are eating up your space. Delete the dump files. I personally changed the permission to read only and never had that problem again
I too am having this problem. I viewed the location suggested using CoolMuster Android Assist program. I only had the trial version son so I'm having to buy the full version to actually delete these dump files. I had only 4 files, but they are rather large. Being a novice at this Android stuff, I have a dumb question. How do you interpret the storage information in the phone settings? I'm seeing that my phone has almost 2 GB of "device" storage, a little over 11.2 GB of "usb" storage and I have a 16 GB SD card. I have moved all possible apps, pictures, videos, etc. to the SD card and phone shows there is almost 10 GB of free usb space. Therefore, I don't understand how I can keep getting these insufficient memory messages when I try to download new apps or even when I try to update existing apps.
use a android 6.x.x rom,