Help Internal Storage not adding up

[SouthofOttawa]

Hi,
I have been getting a warning on my A500 that I am low on storage space. When I go into the file manager it shows 12.5 GB total space available but when I add up all the other things that are listed I only come up to about 7 GB as being used. Yet my system is saying that I have less than 300 MB left.
Any ideas where the other 5GB is and what is taking up this space?

Thanks,

 

[RMinMN]

What has been the main usage of the tablet? There may be some hidden files that are eating space without being shown. I had that happen on a trip where I used a GPS mapping program and it kept a log of my travel that kept eating space.

 

[SouthofOttawa]

What has been the main usage of the tablet? There may be some hidden files that are eating space without being shown. I had that happen on a trip where I used a GPS mapping program and it kept a log of my travel that kept eating space.

Mainly just browsing and watching movies and reading books. Haven't used the GPS at all.

 

[Mrhelper]

You can install and use Disk Usage app from Play Store to help diagnose this.

Note that you don't have to use the GPS but merely have it turned on to encounter the GPS file leak problem. It may be worth checking to see if it was accidentally turned on at some point. If that is what is happening, numerous .txt files are likely building up in /data/gps, and can only be accessed by root. If your device is not rooted, the only way to clear the buildup of files is to perform the Factory data reset. You can prevent the file leakage by turning off the GPS. If GPS has never/rarely been running though, then the problem is likely somewhere else.

I would install Disk Usage first and take a look. If the green System Data area is where the growth is, then suspect the GPS file leak problem. The System Data area should typically be less than 200MB. Hopefully though the problem is somewhere else where you can easily get to it with an app like ES File Explorer and clean it up.

Even if the cause was not the GPS, if you cannot find the files, then Factory data reset will clean that up regardless.

 

[SouthofOttawa]

You can install and use Disk Usage app from Play Store to help diagnose this.

Note that you don't have to use the GPS but merely have it turned on to encounter the GPS file leak problem. It may be worth checking to see if it was accidentally turned on at some point. If that is what is happening, numerous .txt files are likely building up in /data/gps, and can only be accessed by root. If your device is not rooted, the only way to clear the buildup of files is to perform the Factory data reset. You can prevent the file leakage by turning off the GPS. If GPS has never/rarely been running though, then the problem is likely somewhere else.

I would install Disk Usage first and take a look. If the green System Data area is where the growth is, then suspect the GPS file leak problem. The System Data area should typically be less than 200MB. Hopefully though the problem is somewhere else where you can easily get to it with an app like ES File Explorer and clean it up.

Even if the cause was not the GPS, if you cannot find the files, then Factory data reset will clean that up regardless.

I installed the Disk Usage app and my System Data showed 6 GB of space used. I did some searching and basically the only recommended solution was to reset and hopefully this will get rid of some rogue app that caused this.
So I did a reset (no big deal) and now have over 7 GB free on my tablet after I copied my music and video files back on and added various apps.
Would like to know if anyone has more info on how you can find out what is in the System Data area and how to get rid of it if need be.

 

[Mrhelper]

The only way you can look into that area and see everything is to root the device. Rooting has advantages, risks, and drawbacks -- e.g., use of root can let you see in the System data area, but use of root access can also cause severe OS damage. Some video streaming services will block rooted devices.

Just wanted to get that caution in there. Now if you are certain that you did not use the GPS at some point to eat up all that space, then there is apparently some other cause. I have not heard of any OS-based cause for that problem other than the GPS. What this may mean is that you could have had an application causing this. In that case, if it happens again, what you can do is look through your applications one at a time under Settings > Apps. What I suggest is that you look at the Data usage for each app. That may be where the loss is. If it does not show up in there, you can also try removing apps one at a time and see which one if any returns the "lost" space.