Help Running out of int. memory ..HUH?

[Lnb]

Occasionally I get a message that I'm running low on internal memory, then it goes away.

1. How does it go away on it's own and why am I running out of internal memory. I don't have a zillion apps like some folks, I've actually added less than 5. No, I don't have movies, music or pics stored. I've tried to uninstall the crap games and stuff I don't need or want but some just won't go away.

2. How do I move stuff to the memory card?

I know this is quite .... *yawn*boring for most peeps here but unfortunately, I come from the generation that invented television .... yes, I can see the rolling of eyes through my screen.

Your patience and expertise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Blue218]

Settings>applications>manage applications> select application and move to sd card

 

[lordbear]

Keep in mind, there are three kinds of "memory".
* RAM system memory - this is where the system puts application code that is currently in use. There is approximately 320MB available to applications, but most of that will be taken up by services and background processes (just like on your PC - you'll use a LOT of RAM being used before launching even one app). Currently, with several apps running I have only 44MB free RAM. This is normal but not ideal.
* Internal Memory - this is where applications are installed (like a hard drive) by default. This is where application data goes also (saved SMS messages, the cache for your web browser, etc., etc., etc. On the Droid Charge this is a 2GB space and cannot be upgraded. Unfortunately, Verizon uses 1GB of this for pre-installed applications (bloatware) so you really have only 1GB to work with. However, this is, realistically, a fairly large space. I have about 50 apps installed and still have 800MB free, e.g., I using only 200MB.
* SDCard storage (32GB on Droid Charge).

To have some visibility "under the hood" here I recommend the "Android System Info" app from the Market.

I do NOT recommend moving apps to the SDCard. It's not likely to recover much actual capacity on your Internal Memory (nickels and dimes' worth) but it will complicate a number of other things like backup and recovery. Realistically, your apps are probably not the problem - they MIGHT be using 100-200MB. You may have something else taking up that space. But, that error might be misleading

 

[Lnb]

@ lordbear ........ thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to me. = )

 

[Shane2943]

The stock task manager app on the Charge is actually pretty good. Add to that Go Launcher amd you have a pretty darn effective way of reclaiming memory. With go launcher, you can kill running apps and of course free up memory in the task manager by killing apps. What I do several times a day (until I'm rooted and running Gummy and don't need to anymore ) is first go to the "running" tab of the Go Launcher app drawer and kill all apps, then I go to the task manager (which I have linked on my home screen), go to the memory tab and kill apps there too. After that, I usualy have at least 150mb free and the phone runs smoother. Whole process takes 6 seconds and I do it probably 10 times a day. Keeps my Charge running nicely.