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Dexuss

Lurker
Hi
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2, on Virgin (UK).
I haven't been able to update/download any apps for ages, as it comes up with the message "insufficient storage". I do have an SD card.
I have been trying to follow the suggestion on the internet - clear the cache with an app called App Cache Cleaner – 1Tap Clean. Part of the process is to make some additional space (so I can actually download that app).
My problem is that when I have followed some different instructions telling me how to use the USB cable to transfer my photos and videos to my laptop (running Windows), I am told that there are no videos or photos on my phone - yet in the gallery I can see a total of 99!
Anyone able to help please - it's driving me mad...
Thanks
 
Are the pics maybe on your sd card.
Even if you have an sd card, a huge part of the app stays on the phone storage so if that's running low you can't install anything.
Do you have enough storage to install this tiny app which will tell you what's going on with your storage?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sa.storagetruth

Depending on what Android version you're on you should be able to go to Settings, Storage, Cache (or "cached data") , tap cache and it should let you clear it. If that works you can get rid of the app
 
I'd try using webshare lite to navigate your device manually via your PC, then download each file via the interface to your computer. Once done, delete all the photos on your device.

This assumes you can make enough storage space to download and install said app. GL.
 
Hi again
Thanks for your replies.
I have downloaded the app as suggested funkylogik, and then went to settings and storage. However, there is then no option for cache or cached data.
AndroidTT, I do not have enough space to download webshare lite.
What else can I try please?
Anna
 
Can you post us the output of Storage Truth? I'd do that before even trying to remove photos, because the S2 might still have the old Gingerbread storage layout, where the /data partition (apps and app data) and the /sdcard (internal storage pretending to be an SD card, for media storage) are separate. If that is the case then removing stuff from /sdcard still won't solve the problem, so knowing what your storage layout is will help us give better advice.

For app installation what matters is the space on the device, specifically the /data partition. Android will always keep some space free (it needs some space to operate), so once your free space drops below the minimum you won't be able to install apps. I'd guess that when you get below 200MB free on /data you will have problems with installation (it can vary with device and OS version, but I remember that being about the point another S2 owner started having trouble a couple of years ago). Space on the SD card is irrelevant for this, since apps are installed to the device initially - even if you "move to SD" (on devices which allow this) only part of the app is moved, and app data always remain on device.

Unfortunately precise menu layouts vary with manufacturer and OS version, and since I've never owned an S2 I don't know exactly what your layout is. My Note 10.1 has "Cached data" as one of the items in its Settings > Storage - it just looks like an entry in a table, but clicking on that phrase gives me the option to clear it. But that's running 4.4.2 so may be quite different from your S2 (but it's the only Samsung Android I've ever owned, so the only thing I have to work from).

If you really can't find anything you can go to Settings > Apps, select some apps and clear cache for them individually. Browsers and social networking apps often cache a lot of data, news apps can too, so you may be able to free up enough that way. But the thing with caches is that they fill up again, so this is only a temporary fix.
 
Dexuss said:
I have followed some different instructions telling me how to use the USB cable to transfer my photos and videos to my laptop (running Windows), I am told that there are no videos or photos on my phone - yet in the gallery I can see a total of 99!
Click to expand...

I parted with my own S2 a couple of years ago, but iirc you need to connect it to the PC in 'USB Storage Mode' in order to access the internal storage.

From memory (which may be a bit rusty):

1. Go to Settings/Wireless and networks/USB utilities
2. Now you're at USB mass storage, select the button marked “connect storage to PC”
3. Connect the free end of the USB lead to your S2
4. An on-screen button “Connect USB storage” should appear. Press this and the device will appear in Windows Explorer as two separate removeable drives, mapped to the next-available drive letters. Camera photos can be found in /DCIM.
 
Yup. Do what slug said to connect phone to pc and look for your photos using Windows file explorer. (That way you don't have to Install any app on your phone)

I'm curious what method were you using before to look for photos that indicated no photos were present, and where did you look? If they are photos taken with stock camera, they are probably in the dcim/camera directory on either internal or external storage. If that fails, maybe go to top level directory and search for *.jpg in all suvdirectories. Assuming you could access and open the photos from your media gallery, then the photos are there somewhere. Btw opening the photo in gallery makes sure it's not just thumbnails you're looking at, and the display in gallery might give you a clue of their directory location if you can't find them other ways.
 
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