How much RAM really? - Galaxy Tab 2 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I have a 7" Galaxy Tab 2 and my understanding was that it has a Gig of RAM, but all my task management apps report a max of just under 700 megs of RAM. I know some is probably locked and reserved for the system but that seems like a lot... Anyone know where the rest has gone?

titanshadow said:
I have a 7" Galaxy Tab 2 and my understanding was that it has a Gig of RAM, but all my task management apps report a max of just under 700 megs of RAM. I know some is probably locked and reserved for the system but that seems like a lot... Anyone know where the rest has gone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you said, it's reserved for system, but if you find too much RAM used, you can click the clear memory button in task manager.

I was wondering the same thing for awhile I thought it was an issue with my tab because on stock my performance was vile compared to how I thought it should perform. Rooted it and flashed today and there is definately an improvement in my benchmarks.

titanshadow said:
I have a 7" Galaxy Tab 2 and my understanding was that it has a Gig of RAM, but all my task management apps report a max of just under 700 megs of RAM. I know some is probably locked and reserved for the system but that seems like a lot... Anyone know where the rest has gone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds about right to me. The default system on a lot of devices uses more RAM than you would think. Flashing to a custom rom will definitely help with that. I flashed mine to CM9 last night and I noticed a big difference in performance. I like it even more now.

I think this is a common thing for all things stock android... my JB (4.1.1) Galaxy Nexus phone (takju build) does the same thing... quite annoying really.

1gbyte but as i know the kernel reserves some memory for system use
Sent from Galaxy S2 or Galaxy Tab2

batkinson001 said:
I think this is a common thing for all things stock android... my JB (4.1.1) Galaxy Nexus phone (takju build) does the same thing... quite annoying really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the difference if it doesn't show you system reserved RAM, or it shows it to you, but it's always fully used?

imnuts said:
What's the difference if it doesn't show you system reserved RAM, or it shows it to you, but it's always fully used?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it would be nice if they would put a notification or something to indicate this in the menu area as most will not know where their ram went & probably complain about false advertising or something.

Related

LG Optimus 3D coming to AT&T as LG Thrill 4G

http://androidandme.com/2011/03/pho...erience-discomfort-while-watching-3d-content/
Looks like the Optimus 3D will be heading to AT&T as LG Thrill 4G. While I'm not sure if I would get this over the SG2, but I'm glad to see AT&T selection for Android phones are getting bigger.
Its the quickest phone so far according to these benchmarks my only beef is that it only has 512mb of ram, i was hoping for a gig. If the bootloader is unlocked this will probably be my next phone, no more samsung for me.
The wife and I are up for upgrades now, it will be this or the SGSII. You guys may not like Samsung, but mine ( captivate ) works great.
Hope they both release soon.
peachpuff said:
Its the quickest phone so far according to these benchmarks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know, I've seen similar benches w/ the same result. The Atrix & the Galaxy II both have more RAM then the 3D. I guess 512 is really all any Android dual core phone needs?
fen_nyc said:
You know, I've seen similar benches w/ the same result. The Atrix & the Galaxy II both have more RAM then the 3D. I guess 512 is really all any Android dual core phone needs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all it needs to run a single benchmark app. It needs more when you start running a couple of apps that use more memory and it starts closing apps you were using but sent to background. I'll fall back to my old example on my Captivate. When playing poker, I'd set a timer on my phone for blinds, but then I'd go to the browser and watch a live sporting event using Flash which obviously uses quite a bit of memory. The browser alone would use enough memory to close my timer app in order to get more memory, which would mean the timer would never go off.
That's just one time where it was really noticeable, but as apps get bigger and more complex, this will continue to happen more and more frequently. I'm really torn now because I like the idea of the 3D screen, but the 512 MB of memory is a big big negative to me. SGS2 or Thrill? Might just have to wait for the next big thing after that.
AJerman said:
It's all it needs to run a single benchmark app. It needs more when you start running a couple of apps that use more memory and it starts closing apps you were using but sent to background. I'll fall back to my old example on my Captivate. When playing poker, I'd set a timer on my phone for blinds, but then I'd go to the browser and watch a live sporting event using Flash which obviously uses quite a bit of memory. The browser alone would use enough memory to close my timer app in order to get more memory, which would mean the timer would never go off.
That's just one time where it was really noticeable, but as apps get bigger and more complex, this will continue to happen more and more frequently. I'm really torn now because I like the idea of the 3D screen, but the 512 MB of memory is a big big negative to me. SGS2 or Thrill? Might just have to wait for the next big thing after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see exactly what you mean. Then I suppose all the benches I've seen are restricted to a device's CPU & graphical abilities? I know that desktop benches test everything- I guess that's not the case here w/ smart-phones & their integrated RAM?
fen_nyc said:
I see exactly what you mean. Then I suppose all the benches I've seen are restricted to a device's CPU & graphical abilities? I know that desktop benches test everything- I guess that's not the case here w/ smart-phones & their integrated RAM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most benchmarks test memory performance, but there isn't really a test for memory capacity since it already has a set value (the total capacity). The memory performance on this phone will probably be great since they said they are doing dual channel, but I just worry if 512 is enough.
AJerman, thanks for the explanation. I'll need to look into this a bit more in terms of what benchmark the media selects to adequately test smart phones. Considering the small footprint apps take in mobile OSs, I suppose apps will eventually list on their product page that a certain amount of free memory must be available in order for it to function properly.
Wait why would you rather get the GS2 over the Thrill? They both have daul core processors, and TI processor in the Thrill seems to be very good. Not only that, they are both 4g. Is the only reason you would prefer the GS2 the RAM? The Thrill had 512 MB RAM, right? how much do you expect form the GS2? 712 MB? I mean, how much of a difference will that make?
aaaLT said:
Wait why would you rather get the GS2 over the Thrill? They both have daul core processors, and TI processor in the Thrill seems to be very good. Not only that, they are both 4g. Is the only reason you would prefer the GS2 the RAM? The Thrill had 512 MB RAM, right? how much do you expect form the GS2? 712 MB? I mean, how much of a difference will that make?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The SGS2 will have 1GB. I have 512 MB in my Captivate right now and I run out of memory, thus, I can only assume with 512 in the Thrill, I would run out of memory.
If you are running out of memory with 512mb ram then something is very wrong.
Are you using a task-killer or custom rom?
I have the vibrant and after owning the nexus one I feel my vibrant is more nicer lol. I don't plan on getting rid.of.it.
Pinepig said:
The wife and I are up for upgrades now, it will be this or the SGSII. You guys may not like Samsung, but mine ( captivate ) works great.
Hope they both release soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Burko said:
If you are running out of memory with 512mb ram then something is very wrong.
Are you using a task-killer or custom rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Negative, lets do a little breakdown on Android memory here.
512 MB in the phone. A large chunk of that is reserved and the user never sees it. As it stands, I see 342 MB of RAM available for use. Now, that 342 is spread across all running services. Lots of apps stay resident unless the memory is needed. This improves load time for the apps, but they will close if memory starts getting low. Then you have your background services. These are still running and will stay running even in low memory unless you reach a critical point where they have to close too. So it's hard to tell how much you really have free. Right now my phone says I have about ~100 MB free.
Now, open up your web browser and load a Flash video. Good ole Adobe and the memory hogging Flash Player. Flash uses a TON of memory, so you can go ahead and say goodbye to most of what you have free. If you have something else running in the background and it's staying resident in the memory for quick start up, there's a good chance it's going to get killed to free memory for the web browser/Flash Player. If you need memory enough, some background services might even get killed as in the example where my timer app was getting killed when I ran a live flash video from the browser.
Thus, 512 MB isn't enough for phones now and the future. It was okay in the last generation of phones, but these new phones with dual core CPUs are only going to have more and more complex apps, and it's going to be more than Flash that's using a large chunk of memory.

Interesting bug....involving the RAM

I didn't notice this in my first 16GB Tab, but on the 32GB tab, if I open the Task Manager through the minibar, it shows 775 MB total ram I know we are supposed to have 1GB ram, so I figure the 225MB missing is due to god knows what, that's not an issue.
If you go to Settings, Applications, Running Applications, it shows you have only 512 MB ram......the real question is, which one is it?
I also noticed that in the 16gb, but ignored it since the usage of ram in the ram manager exceeds 512mb. What's bothering me is why do the usage of ram differ between the ram manager and the one in running applications.
This was the first thing I noticed when I turned on my 7.0 plus for the first time when I got it on Christmas day. I just disregarded it but I am happy I am not the only one who is curious as to why it is saying 775 MB of ram.
If you take a look at /proc/meminfo you can see the kernel only recognizes 775 MB of memory. Guess that explains why it felt like apps were closing more frequently than on my 1 GB phone.
Question is, why are we getting less than memory than was advertised?
On mine:
Code:
# cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 794900 kB
We are getting all the memory "adverstised", but you have to remember that things like the kernel itself and certain other things take memory before hand. The same thing happens on android phones.
Well wouldn't that still show it as being "used" so to speak out of the total 1GB or 1024 MB? Or does the kernal just allocate itself and then let everything else take over from there?
Zadeis said:
Well wouldn't that still show it as being "used" so to speak out of the total 1GB or 1024 MB? Or does the kernal just allocate itself and then let everything else take over from there?
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Click to collapse
I honestly don't remember. I wouldn't be concerned, however, about the lower number. It's perfectly normal on the few android devices I have.
garyd9 said:
I honestly don't remember. I wouldn't be concerned, however, about the lower number. It's perfectly normal on the few android devices I have.
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Click to collapse
could it be that some of the ram preserved for the GPU?
dewadewi said:
could it be that some of the ram preserved for the GPU?
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Click to collapse
Ah... Never thought of that, but at the same time (IMHO) I think it's unlikely it would use THAT much.
Though I guess if other android devices do it according to garyd it's nothing we should worry about.
dewadewi said:
could it be that some of the ram preserved for the GPU?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe it's RAM reserved for GPU and a few other things, like the Samsung MFC and camera interface.
On Captivate, some of the "speedmod" kernels changed the reserved memory sizes to free up user RAM - but often reducing the reserved memory can break stuff. (For example, trying to port those changes to Infuse caused the camera to stop working, along with video decoding acceleration.)
Zadeis said:
Well wouldn't that still show it as being "used" so to speak out of the total 1GB or 1024 MB? Or does the kernal just allocate itself and then let everything else take over from there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind this is the Linux kernel plus android.
In this case the system shows how much memory is available after the Linux kernel and android overlay are loaded. the galaxy 7 plus has 1GB of ram.
Now if this was straight Linux without android you would see the full amount of ram listed.

Opinions On 1gb Ram Performance in Android?

So how yall liking 1gb of ram on your android devices? I wanna hear some opinions from you guys plus this is an interesting topic lol. I own an Acer Iconia A100. It has 1gb of Ram but 512mb is what's recognized in the OS. I personally think 1gb is fine for a tablet but I would love more lol as sometimes my background tasks get killed for no reason. And btw 512mb of ram is just horrible on android (I own a galaxy s n man ram is such a down side on that phone). So tell me ur opinions
P.S this thread is intended for people who have devices with 1gb ram. But your more than welcomed to post opinions if your device has less or more ram
Love it. Not really to much more to say.
Device - Razr.
On phones it's more than enough but tablets should have 2gb.
Sleek69 said:
On phones it's more than enough but tablets should have 2gb.
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Click to collapse
I disagree. No matter the device, you can never have enough ram IMHO.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
HarmonyFlame said:
I disagree. No matter the device, you can never have enough ram IMHO.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Meh, you can go overkill like I did.
My gaming rig has 32GB of RAM (it was a sale, 4x8GB, I couldn't resist), which is total overkill.
But I can keep like 10 million programs open.. amazing.
.
Thread moved to Q&A due to it being a question. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
helikido said:
So how yall liking 1gb of ram on your android devices? I wanna hear some opinions from you guys plus this is an interesting topic lol. I own an Acer Iconia A100. It has 1gb of Ram but 512mb is what's recognized in the OS. I personally think 1gb is fine for a tablet but I would love more lol as sometimes my background tasks get killed for no reason. And btw 512mb of ram is just horrible on android (I own a galaxy s n man ram is such a down side on that phone). So tell me ur opinions
P.S this thread is intended for people who have devices with 1gb ram. But your more than welcomed to post opinions if your device has less or more ram
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own an Iconia A100 and it does in fact have 1GB of RAM, 512MB of it is used for the tegra graphics. My Nexus S has 512MB of RAM and it runs I've Cream Sandwich perfectly.
More RAM is always nice but thanks to Android being based on the great Linux, RAM goes further than you'd think.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium
Hi guys
I've a Galaxy Note whit 1gb of Ram, and for me is quite ok, but ram is never enough
512mb used for graphics is retarded in my opinion. The tegra gpu is super weak.
Longcat14 said:
Meh, you can go overkill like I did.
My gaming rig has 32GB of RAM (it was a sale, 4x8GB, I couldn't resist), which is total overkill.
But I can keep like 10 million programs open.. amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But can your CPU process 10 million apps?
HarmonyFlame said:
I disagree. No matter the device, you can never have enough ram IMHO.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well as long as your processor is fast enough.
I think the trick is to make a lighter and less demanding OS and not to play catch up with the ram and CPU speeds. Eventually a phone will be 10core, 10 gig ram etc lol I definitely don't think that is the way to go
Agreed, its comparable to the O.S. and what is running. You could have 2 gigs but have a hog of an O.S. and it will seem sluggish.
random155 said:
Agreed, its comparable to the O.S. and what is running. You could have 2 gigs but have a hog of an O.S. and it will seem sluggish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True lol but the real problem here is that the ram is shared all the time which means you have less accesable ram. For example my tablet has 1gb of ram but only 512mb is recognized cuz the rest is reserved for the gpu.

another RAM consumption question

I am wondering if anyone of you feel suspicious about RAM consumption on android?
Here is an example:
Galaxy tab 2 7" listed with 1GB RAM, but when viewed with stock task manager in RAM manager section, the RAM available is not 1GB, but rather on some 687MB. Furthermore, from that 687MB there is some already used by apps. Even on newly bought device with no open apps, the amount of used RAM is around 200MB, so that leaves only approx 487MB left. Even after using task killers, there is still hundreds of MB used RAM
When I search for why the RAM is not 1GB, people answer its because its reserved by android.
When I search for why there are used RAM when there is no open apps and on newly bought device, people also answer its because its used by android.
So I would categorize the problem as "the missing RAM" and "the used RAM" and ask these question:
1. If the "missing RAM" is reserved by android, then what is using the "used RAM"?
2. If the "used RAM" is used by android, then what is causing the "missing RAM"?
Does that means android double use the RAM? or is it something else?
Please enlighten me.
Great question, and I have been wondering the same thing. :thumbup:
Sent from my GT-P3113 using xda premium
The problem with me is somewhat like you i found with stock rom that have alot of bloatware that i have about 680 mb after installing cm10 which do not have bloatware at all the same amount of memory is found !!!!
Sent from my GT-P5100 using xda app-developers app
It's easy in the world of IT 1gb is never 1024mb its 1,000mb in most cases(You can actually see your computers harddrive where they say 500gb = 500,000MB)(but it will probably maximum 998)Why? in the factory where these are made they cannot achieve 100% "capability" And where is the missing 300mb? its reserved for the ACTUAL Android system.In the task killers you can see that there are some apps running(samsung touchwiz,system-apps(not google) Which MAINTAIN the system ,and you can also see that the google apps and some other(fb,twitter etc which needs to check the intertnet to get notification etc are running too.Now to increase the ram you can install a custom rom/kernel to remove somethings(for e.g touchwiz) to get more RAM.
Now dont take these notes to serious I'm not working in these factories,places where they do this.But this is MY theory.
Tab2 should have 1 gb ram right
Galaxy s2 should also have 1 gb ram right
So why the hell when i install cm in both ram in s2 is 827 mb and in tab2 is 687 mb it is driving me mad !!!
Sent from my GT-P5100 using xda app-developers app
PX7 said:
It's easy in the world of IT 1gb is never 1024mb its 1,000mb in most cases(You can actually see your computers harddrive where they say 500gb = 500,000MB)(but it will probably maximum 998)Why? in the factory where these are made they cannot achieve 100% "capability" And where is the missing 300mb? its reserved for the ACTUAL Android system.In the task killers you can see that there are some apps running(samsung touchwiz,system-apps(not google) Which MAINTAIN the system ,and you can also see that the google apps and some other(fb,twitter etc which needs to check the intertnet to get notification etc are running too.Now to increase the ram you can install a custom rom/kernel to remove somethings(for e.g touchwiz) to get more RAM.
Now dont take these notes to serious I'm not working in these factories,places where they do this.But this is MY theory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do realize 1GB is not 1024MB, but at least task manager should show something around 900MB like you said.
For the Touchwiz theory, I also think that it might be the culprit of the "used RAM", but i don't think it would be that much, but that's because I'm not including google apps on that. So i think your theory might be right.
Selim already answer the "missing RAM" part, it is the same amount on custom ROM, which means they DO reserved by android. And that leads to how much is the "used RAM" part, is it more "sensible" without the bloatware running around?
Mohamedselim said:
The problem with me is somewhat like you i found with stock rom that have alot of bloatware that i have about 680 mb after installing cm10 which do not have bloatware at all the same amount of memory is found !!!!
Tab2 should have 1 gb ram right
Galaxy s2 should also have 1 gb ram right
So why the hell when i install cm in both ram in s2 is 827 mb and in tab2 is 687 mb it is driving me mad !!!
Sent from my GT-P5100 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[URL="http://www.androidcentral.com/ram-what-it-how-its-used-and-why-you-shouldnt-care"]Read this and chill out
[/URL]
There are settings (in Android we call them "minfree" settings) to tell the system how much RAM to leave free and available, but the rest is designed to fill up as fast as possible and stay that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For most android devices, the true available RAM is always less than the stated figure, like GT2 has only 687MB, HTC One X has 976MB even both devices has 1GB RAM
Those missing RAM are not stolen, instead they are reserved by the kernel for hardware of the devices. Don't blame anyone for this, this is crucial.
Sent from my GT-P3110
Sean_Seany said:
Read this and chill out
Note: link removed due to low post count
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is an interesting concept of memory management.
FYI, I'm not freaked out, just wondering where the memory goes, is it effectively used or eaten by some "rouge" apps.
Thanks anyway
However my Galaxy Tab plus with ics had about 800 mb ram in the task manager. Now (yes, my gtab plus has been stolen... grr) I have the tab 2 and I see only 687. Really strange, don't you think?
Sent from my GT-P3100 using xda app-developers app
RAM HELP
can someone who has well experienced with different ROMS for tab2 7.0(p3100) help me??
i originally had ICS 4.0.4 which displayed around 680 MB ram, then upgraded it to 4.1.2 jelly bean which displayed me 770 MB RAM.
i though as custom ROMS have seldom bloatwares, atleast they should display more memory, but to my surprise i found 691 MB RAM on the latest nightly build of Cyanogenmod 10.1(jelly bean 4.2). I ve not used the AOKP jelly bean ROM due to limited internet(downloading) at my place.
as i am having a LIMITED FREE INTERNET USAGE, i am not dowloading more ROMS until some one finally helps me with the fact that
"WHICH ROM DISPLAYS MORE MEMORY FOR TAB 2 P3100??????" so that i can download it the next month or via some other network
I don't think you for it, the missing ram is the system. The tab has 1 gig to start, but whennyou fire it up, the system has to use resources. The same way a computer says it has 2 gigs, but if you check, it is lower. The reason this changes from rom to rom is because each system has its own ram management. Does this help?
Sent from my GT-P3113 using xda app-developers app

RAM: is 1GB still enough?

Hello,
I'm thinking about buying a new phone and I want it to last some time without lags.
After some research, I realized that most phones on the market have 1GB RAM. Even the new Moto G, considered one of the best phones below 200€, has 1GB RAM.
Do you think that 1GB is enough to run smoothly the upcoming Android L with a decent amount of multitasking (Facebook, Tapatalk, Phone, Messaging...) and with minimum lag? How long do you think that this amount of RAM is going to be enough?
Hello Duarteman.. Are you the one from Redondo?
bcuraman said:
Hello Duarteman.. Are you the one from Redondo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello bcuraman, I'm sorry but I don't know what you meant. I don't know what/where is Redondo...
That's fine.I just thought you were someone that I know.
About your question: it depends on what you're planning to use it for.if its for heavy usage and apps,I would say that 1gb won't be enough. I'm now on Oppo Find 7,and my previous phone was a SGS3, amazing phone but with only 1gb of ram.. It didn't lag that much,but it was noticeable unresponsive with some heavy apps...
If you're one of those people who just intend to use phone,messaging and Facebook,then 1gb is enough... Android L might be a lighter system but that's just the OS.. The apps is what makes the difference...How long the 1gb of ram lasts will depend on the ammount of apps you'd have open and how you feel with the phone itself..
i think 1 GB ram not enough, i have my S890 with 1 GB ram, it had litte lag with JB 4.2 .
Duarteman said:
Hello,
I'm thinking about buying a new phone and I want it to last some time without lags.
After some research, I realized that most phones on the market have 1GB RAM. Even the new Moto G, considered one of the best phones below 200€, has 1GB RAM.
Do you think that 1GB is enough to run smoothly the upcoming Android L with a decent amount of multitasking (Facebook, Tapatalk, Phone, Messaging...) and with minimum lag? How long do you think that this amount of RAM is going to be enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on the phone. Moto G? Yeah, 1GB is enough, because it runs (nearly) stock Android. A phone with a heavy ROM like a Samsung with TouchWiz? 1GB is barely adequate, and you'll see lag.
If you've got 200€ to spend, look at a Nexus 4. 2GB RAM and the processor is still very capable. Especially running stock Android or any custom ROM you can find. No LTE in Europe though, but 42.2Mb/s HSPA+ is still pretty fast.
1 GB RAM is very common now
Depends on what you will use your phone for. 1GB will let you easily do the day to day tasks.
Planterz said:
It depends on the phone. Moto G? Yeah, 1GB is enough, because it runs (nearly) stock Android. A phone with a heavy ROM like a Samsung with TouchWiz? 1GB is barely adequate, and you'll see lag.
If you've got 200€ to spend, look at a Nexus 4. 2GB RAM and the processor is still very capable. Especially running stock Android or any custom ROM you can find. No LTE in Europe though, but 42.2Mb/s HSPA+ is still pretty fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm looking for a phone with Pure Android but that is not a very important issue. For example, if I buy a Samsung I can change the Stock ROM by a clean AOSP one. The essential thing here is the Hardware. Is 1GB enough for a fluent experience doing the main tasks (Fb, phone, sms, ...) for a few years?
The Nexus 4 is one of the phones I'm thinking about. The only thing that I don't like in it is the camera, it's weak. Other phones I'm thinking about are the HTC One M7 (unfortunately they are still a bit expensive) and the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE (comes with a Quad Core and 2GB RAM). Other phones like the Moto G seem to be a nice deal and I can buy it new for less than 200€ but I'm really afraid that the (lack of) RAM.
MikeyStonebridge said:
Depends on what you will use your phone for. 1GB will let you easily do the day to day tasks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but that is for now... The question is how long will that last.
Thanks for all the replies btw!

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