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Help Memory management advice needed (by newbie)

S

ship69

Well-Known Member
Hi

I need some advice about memory management on brand new my Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

1.
My system storage (according to task manager) is already 9.09GB/10.22GB. Is that bad?
i.e. is Andriod like windows in that it needs about 10-15% of disk space free in order to stay efficient?

2.
I have inserted the memory card from my old Galaxy Note 1, but how do I make all the applications use it instead of the main system?
e.g. All my emails, downloaded podcasts etc...

3.
If I hit the "Back" button (bottom right, yes?) most applications will close, however what are we supposed to do about browsers - they just go back by 1 page!

4. Is it okay to close applications by brute force? e.g. Hold down home button > task manager > RAM > Clear memory
Or will this cause data loss/corruption problems?
And if so, how the heck else are we supposed to close browsers?

5.
No matter what I do Google Play Music keeps reappearing in the task manager. Is there any way to kill it off permanently? (I am not 'rooted').

6.
Can anyone point me to a really good video introduction on how to do all this general mainenance stuff?

7. On my Galaxy Note 1 I have a widget that shows in real time how many "Active Applications" I have running. But I cant find where I got it from so I am unable to download it for my new phone (note2). Can anyone help?

8. Is there any where (or any recommended app) to help me delete all the temporary files and cached stuff? (i.e. something equivalent to the excellent CCleaner in windows)

Btw, the entire reason why I ditched my Galaxy Note 1 was because it became far too slow and unresponsive, and I am nervous that the same thing will happen to my Note 2 ... (!)

Many thanks

J (Newbie)
 
1. My system storage (according to task manager) is already 9.09GB/10.22GB. Is that bad? i.e. is Andriod like windows in that it needs about 10-15% of disk space free in order to stay efficient?
Click to expand...
Yes. Android will actually warn you when you hit 'dangerous' levels where the system may misbehave and need to free space as it won't have the resources to run efficiently.

2. I have inserted the memory card from my old Galaxy Note 1, but how do I make all the applications use it instead of the main system? e.g. All my emails, downloaded podcasts etc...
Click to expand...
You'll need to check in the settings of each app. Unfortunately, most don't support external card storage. And if they do, it'll be hidden within the settings. You'll need to dig in the app's settings. Also, some apps require you to know the path to the external card to use it. In most cases, it will need you to set the path (eg. /storage/extSdCard/App Name; LectureNotes does this). And the path name is case sensitive too.

3. If I hit the "Back" button (bottom right, yes?) most applications will close, however what are we supposed to do about browsers - they just go back by 1 page!
Click to expand...
Only way around it, I found, is to close all tabs and then press the back button. However, sometimes that doesn't work. In which case, press and hold the home button. Hit the circle pie chart icon and Active applications. This will show a list of apps running in background. Press the end button and confirm to kill the app.

4. Is it okay to close applications by brute force? e.g. Hold down home button > task manager > RAM > Clear memory Or will this cause data loss/corruption problems? And if so, how the heck else are we supposed to close browsers?
Click to expand...
See answer above. Don't clear the RAM memory as that will also end live widgets on the home screen. So when you go back to your home screen, it may take some time for the widgets to reload again.

5. No matter what I do Google Play Music keeps reappearing in the task manager. Is there any way to kill it off permanently? (I am not 'rooted').
Click to expand...
I have the same issue. I don't use Google Play Music at all and for some reason, it always loads in the background. Since I don't use it, I decided to uninstall all the updates and disable the app. That kills it permanently. But you won't have access to this app as well as it's equivalent to uninstalling it.

6. Can anyone point me to a really good video introduction on how to do all this general mainenance stuff?
Click to expand...
Don't know. I figured most of this stuff on my own... :p

7. On my Galaxy Note 1 I have a widget that shows in real time how many "Active Applications" I have running. But I cant find where I got it from so I am unable to download it for my new phone (note2). Can anyone help?
Click to expand...
The widget is called "Application monitor" on the Note 2. It is already pre-installed on mine. Though you can also find this in the Samsung app store under the same name (but don't install it if you have it already pre-installed on your device). I made that mistake and now I constantly get a reminder in the Samsung notification within the store. It fails to update and gives an error. I also can't remove it from the list. It's annoying.

8. Is there any where (or any recommended app) to help me delete all the temporary files and cached stuff? (i.e. something equivalent to the excellent CCleaner in windows)
Click to expand...
I use Clean Master. It keeps my cache clean. But be careful as the app can also delete videos and pics in residual files tab.

Btw, the entire reason why I ditched my Galaxy Note 1 was because it became far too slow and unresponsive, and I am nervous that the same thing will happen to my Note 2 ... (!)
Click to expand...
Fear not. I also owned a Note LTE and the Note 2 is truly a worthy successor. It truly is a huge improvement and upgrade. :D
 
Thanks

Re Point 3:
"In which case, press and hold the home button. Hit the circle pie chart icon and Active applications. This will show a list of apps running in background. Press the end button and confirm to kill the app."
Wont that damage the app or it's data. I think it give warning messages if you do this which makes me nervous...

Re point 5:
" I don't use Google Play Music at all and for some reason, it always loads in the background. Since I don't use it, I decided to uninstall all the updates and disable the app."
I managed to uninstall updates. (Settings > Application Manager > Google Play Magazines > Uninstall updates). Here I can "clear data", untick "Show notification", and even "force stop". But how do I 'disable' the app? It keeps running again! It as a setting called "Launch by default" that I dont seem to be able to change...

J
 
Re Point 3:
"In which case, press and hold the home button. Hit the circle pie chart icon and Active applications. This will show a list of apps running in background. Press the end button and confirm to kill the app."
Wont that damage the app or it's data. I think it give warning messages if you do this which makes me nervous...
Click to expand...
It'll most likely damage data that is not backed up or saved. But as it's the browsers, I tend to clean history and what not over time, so it's not really a worry. At most, I lose the page I was on or the open tabs. I do it frequently and have not seen any ill effects yet.

Re point 5:
" I don't use Google Play Music at all and for some reason, it always loads in the background. Since I don't use it, I decided to uninstall all the updates and disable the app."
I managed to uninstall updates. (Settings > Application Manager > Google Play Magazines > Uninstall updates). Here I can "clear data", untick "Show notification", and even "force stop". But how do I 'disable' the app? It keeps running again! It as a setting called "Launch by default" that I dont seem to be able to change...
Click to expand...
Did you mean Music and not Magazines? Either case, when you uninstall updates, that button should have turned to 'disable'. Press it to disable the app.
 
Hi

Re point 3

You could use a browser with an exit function such as "naked browser" (not what it sounds like! )

Roger
 
Ok I managed to disable that Google App - thanx

But I still cant believe that there isnt a 'correct' way of closing down a browser other than by brute force!

If I'm right, any other app will close if you hit the back button. But effing browsers just go back a page. This is quite irritating, particularly as browsers seem to generate quite a lot of heat (i.e. and therefore battery power) when I use them.

J
 
That Application monitor is useful as it shows how many apps are running, without me opening it.

BUT is there another one that shows the processor usage (i.e. battery drain rate!) without opening the app behind the widget. Also it takes up too much screen space.

Any other suggestions?

J


P.S. Or is using a *widget* for this sort of thing a really bad idea, in that they may be draining resources and/or potentially causing other apps to crash?
 
Most apps do close the moment you hit the back button. But some apps are poorly designed that you need to kill the app because there is no other method. Some devs fix the issue immediately, while others don't really bother.

Widgets, I found, don't consume much power. But I only use 2 home screens and a live wallpaper that changes every 2 hours. The widgets auto update every hour or so on mine. Weather, barometer, battery monitor, app monitor. Haven't had an issue with battery life yet.

From my understanding, Android handles tasks much more efficiently and apps in background don't have a huge impact on battery life. Unless they are constantly active looking for updates. The battery monitor I have shows me running time, voltage and temperature on my home screen.

The reason why browsers may run as little hotter is because of the radios being active too. The signal strength will also have an impact on battery life as well as an LTE network. These combinations can kill the battery a little more quickly. I think I drain about 10% easily within 20-30 minutes of use on LTE.
 
You don't need to close applications. They only consume resources in the background when they need to - for instance, my podcast app checks for updates every hour even if it's 'closed', and the music player keeps playing music even when you're running another app.

So you don't need to kill or even close things like browsers - Android manages all that for you. You don't need a task killer app.

Very occasionally an app will go wrong and start consuming resources in the background and need killing, but you can do this via Settings/Application Manager/Running, tap the rogue app and press 'Stop'. I've only ever needed to do this once.
 
What about the option in Settings/Developer Tools. If you put ON Dev tools, there is an option to check to kill apps when you stop using them. Is that advisable, or inadvisable?
 
1. I find battery life on my Note2 isnt brilliant. Too early to say exactly how bad. But I notice it gets v hot with certain things like browsing (and googleMap?).
But I am distressed to see that although Application Monitor says I have "0" applications running, that my CPU is running at about 30% (20-40%) even though the phone is apparently doing *nothing*. WTF?

2. Someone recommended the Juice Defender app?
Anyone got any views on this?
Is it better or worse than using "PowerSaving Mode"?
What are the pros and cons of each of the above?

J
 
ship69 said:
I am distressed to see that although Application Monitor says I have "0" applications running, that my CPU is running at about 30% (20-40%) even though the phone is apparently doing *nothing*. WTF?
Click to expand...
No foreground apps are running but the system itself is still running. That's normal.
 
ship69 said:
1. I find battery life on my Note2 isnt brilliant. Too early to say exactly how bad. But I notice it gets v hot with certain things like browsing (and googleMap?).
Click to expand...
It sounds like a rogue app causing the unprecedented battery drain. Users here suggest GSam Battery Monitor to find what app would be causing this. Is the battery still hot even when not in use? That would be a big concern as that is not normal operation.
 
Its a difficult concept to get used too, but you do not need to stop apps when you are finished with them. Android is designed to handle that type of thing and will end the app when it needs the memory freed up that is being used. Typically, if the app has an exit function, i.e. maps, navigation, etc..., then you should exit them when you are finished. So be happy and do your thing and don't concern yourself with making sure every app ends. I would suggest searching this sites forums for dissertations on app killers and memory managers, there are plenty and very few that recommend using these types of apps. Quite frequently, app killers are the worst culprit in battery life issues. They kill things that the phone needs to run and so the phone just has to start the app back up again.

As for the browser thing, it bothers the crap out of me that Android browsers don't go to a home page when you open them. It doesn't seem to bother some folks, but I don't typically want to return to where I was when I open the browser back up. I tend to close all the tabs before leaving the browser. I don't like it and after several years of using Android I still don't like it.

The app to SD Card thing is always an issue, but you will find that if apps use a lot of data, the data is typically movable to the SD Card. I don't know of any apps that will actually run from the SD Card. With the latest incarnations of Android, things typically get installed to the "internal SD Card" by default and you therefore only have two banks of memory, internal and external. Thank goodness that Android apps are usually very small and it takes a ton of them to eat up the 9ish GB that is free on the Note II.

The Galaxy series of phones seem to be fairly good with battery usage, but there is always the rogue app that you run across that you love, but isn't written very well, that can trash your battery life. I personally like GSAM to get to the bottom of those issues. Sometimes though, it isn't as easy as reading the statistics because a rogue app could be constantly calling on a built in function and so it looks like the built in function is the culprit, when it is actually an app calling on that function. Good luck in chasing down a battery hog.

In general, don't spend so much time worrying about your device and just enjoy it. With the latest version of Android, it has really gotten to the point where the phone can serve you and not vice versa.

BigRedGonzo
 
BigRedGonzo said:
I
As for the browser thing, it bothers the crap out of me that Android browsers don't go to a home page when you open them. It doesn't seem to bother some folks, but I don't typically want to return to where I was when I open the browser back up. I tend to close all the tabs before leaving the browser. I don't like it and after several years of using Android I still don't like it.
Click to expand...
I don't quite get what you're saying here. I use both the stock Samsung browser and Opera. Both go to a home page when opened. Opera also has an exit button which closes it completely (I agree all apps should have that).

Why do you say Android browsers don't do that?
 
TheOtherBill said:
I don't quite get what you're saying here. I use both the stock Samsung browser and Opera. Both go to a home page when opened. Opera also has an exit button which closes it completely (I agree all apps should have that).

Why do you say Android browsers don't do that?
Click to expand...
My stock browser opens up to a home page. But the other browsers don't. Just a history page or blank page (Chrome, Opera, Opera classic). Haven't had time to look into it (ie. Setting up a home page).

The stupid part about Opera is that their new browser removes the exit button. Even when all tabs are closed and the back button is pressed, it doesn't close the app. You have to kill it in task manager. :mad:

So currently jumping back to classic Opera. Only for sites that don't work with stock or Chrome. Though I just noticed Chrome does the same thing as the new Opera. Exit all tabs and leave the app only to see it's still running in background. Have to kill it.
 
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