Help Text Message memory full / low on space notification without cause

[AndroidTourist]

I am a smart guy with above-average computer literacy, but I had never tried to mess with my smartphone before, apart from installing a few apps. I have no interest in becoming an Android hacker or even a power-user. I was forced to enter that world a bit to fix the "low on space" issue with my Triumph. To succeed I needed to read through several different comment threads (which I will list below). No single post gave me what I needed to get the job done; indeed, one of the things I needed to do wasn't listed in any post. The post immediately above this one, "fix fix fix," is impressive but is mostly gobbledygook to me. I am making my first-ever Android bulletin board post, and probably my last, to try to lay out as simply as possible the steps that finally worked for me. Other posts in this thread and the others I list will explain why these steps are necessary and why they work.

1. "Root" your phone so you will be able to get to the offending data file, which is otherwise off-limits. There are several methods to root a Triumph, listed here: http://androidforums.com/triumph-all-things-root/455603-guide-rooting-your-motorola-triumph.html. The easiest by far is the one first posted here: http://androidforums.com/triumph-al...od-triumph-no-root-app-computer-involved.html. For ease of use I will give the steps here:

Download Android Terminal Emulator from the market.

Open up the Emulator and type in sudo, you should get the # symbol.

Type in the following code:

ln -s /system/xbin/sudo /system/bin/su
ln -s /system/xbin/sudo /system/xbin/su

Reboot and you should have root access.

2. Delete the enormous data-log file that your Triumph keeps adding to, which is eating up all your memory.

a. Download and install ES File Explorer from the market. Note: several other posts in this thread recommended using Yaff Explorer. Yaff did not work for me because it the setting to work with root access would not toggle on for me. Also, from my own poking around both programs and my quick look at some reviews, ES File Explorer is by far the superior program.

b. Start up ES File Explorer. In ES File Explorer, go to "Settings" using your phone's menu button (the same way you get to your Android "Settings"). Most of the way down the list, select "Root settings." Click to enable "Root Explorer" and "Up to Root." Exit Settings.

c. Still in ES File Explorer, navigate to the "/data" folder. "/" is the uppermost level of your phone's internal workings. The top middle bar in ES shows your location. When ES starts up, it will likely either be showing you "/" or showing your SD card. If it shows your SD card, you should be able to use the "up" button at the top to get to "/". Then within "/", one of the folders is "data"; click on that.

d. Within "/data," scroll down to "alog_events"; that is the offending file. Unlike in most other programs, you do not first click on the file to delete it. Instead, touch the "select" button at the top, then touch "alog_events," then touch the "delete" button.

That's it -- you're done! You will have to re-delete this file periodically as your Triumph recreates it and continues to add new data to it. I deleted mine 24 hours ago, and it already has 1mb of new data in it. But having done it once, doing it again is far easier.

For bonus points, if you want to see the size of the "alog_events" file: When ES File Explorer first loads, it only shows the file and folder names, with icons. To see more, go into "Settings" and select "View," then select the "Details" option. When you are back to viewing the files, you may also have to click the button at the top far right that toggles between "Icons" and Details."

Here are two other threads with information on this topic:

http://androidforums.com/motorola-triumph/482497-leaking-internal-memory.html#post3798144

http://androidforums.com/motorola-triumph/404997-internal-storage-issue.html

 

[thangfish]

To fix this permanently, navigate to the offending log file in ES file explorer, long press, scroll down to the bottom of menu and click Properties and then click the Change button for permissions and remove the w.

This action revokes write permission to the file so it can no longer be written to.

Do this after deleting the file, after it has been recreated and while it is still small.

Hint - the Select button in ES file explorer is actually multi-select. It is for performing actions on multiple files at once... Just long press on a file or directory to get the action menu for single files.

 

[ChetLee]

rooting the Triumph is very easy....it's practically pre-rooted from the factory.

you could easily root it, delete the .alog & .plog files in /data/ then unroot it back as it was.

The first time I removed the .alog & .plog files it cleared 175MB off.

It seems a lot of Triumph users are having this low space problem. I'm new to this smart phone data manipulation thing. What are the steps to root my phone? And how do I remove .alog files? I think I might go to the Moto Droid3 with 10 times the internal mem and running ver. 2.3.4.

 

[ChetLee]

I down loaded the emulator but when I opened it I got a "$" and there was no keyboard to type on. What did I do wrong?

 

[thangfish]

I down loaded the emulator but when I opened it I got a "$" and there was no keyboard to type on. What did I do wrong?

Tap screen to open (or close) keyboard.
Tap menu key for more options.

 

[thangfish]

It seems a lot of Triumph users are having this low space problem. I'm new to this smart phone data manipulation thing. What are the steps to root my phone? And how do I remove .alog files? I think I might go to the Moto Droid3 with 10 times the internal mem and running ver. 2.3.4.

Triumph - All Things Root - Android Forums

The very first thread at the top of the page, called:
[Guide] Rooting Your Motorola Triumph.

To delete the alog files, you navigate to the directory they are in using a file manager (ES File Explorer is the best) select and delete.

 

[ChetLee]

It seems a lot of Triumph users are having this low space problem. I'm new to this smart phone data manipulation thing. What are the steps to root my phone? And how do I remove .alog files? I think I might go to the Moto Droid3 with 10 times the internal mem and running ver. 2.3.4.

I downloaded ES File Explorer. The data folder was empty. I did a search for .alog and .plog files and got nothing. Is there a specific location to look for the .alog files?

 

[ChetLee]

Tap screen to open (or close) keyboard.
Tap menu key for more options.

Taping the screen does not work. Hitting the menu key and then the Toggle Soft Keyboard also yields a black screen with the "$" and a non flashing white cursor.

 

[thangfish]

I downloaded ES File Explorer. The data folder was empty. I did a search for .alog and .plog files and got nothing. Is there a specific location to look for the .alog files?

Oh, it's not empty to be sure.
My guess would be that you are not rooted?
Also, you have to enable read/write access on esfile explorer, under tools-> root explorer.

correct folder is /data

 

[thangfish]

Taping the screen does not work. Hitting the menu key and then the Toggle Soft Keyboard also yields a black screen with the "$" and a non flashing white cursor.

No clue what could be wrong. there isn't really anything you could do to screw it up. Maybe try uninstalling/reinstalling?

 

[ChetLee]

Oh, it's not empty to be sure.
My guess would be that you are not rooted?
Also, you have to enable read/write access on esfile explorer, under tools-> root explorer.

correct folder is /data

Went to TOOLS hit "Root Explorer", got "Sorry, Test Failed. This action cannot run of this phone." I'm done. All this crap should not be necessary for a $250.00 phone. I'm dumping it and going back to Samsung.

 

[thangfish]

Went to TOOLS hit "Root Explorer", got "Sorry, Test Failed. This action cannot run of this phone." I'm done. All this crap should not be necessary for a $250.00 phone. I'm dumping it and going back to Samsung.

It failed because you aren't rooted, as I mentioned before.

You are absolutely correct about the shouldn't be necessary part.

 

[Lesha619]

Download Android Terminal Emulator from the market.

Open up the Emulator and type in sudo, you should get the # symbol.

Type in the following code:

ln -s /system/xbin/sudo /system/bin/su
ln -s /system/xbin/sudo /system/xbin/su

Reboot and you should have root access.

So Ive done this part, but it says "Link Failed File Exists"
Now, Ive done this before about a year ago, is that why its saying that because its ready for the next steps? Or am I doing something wrong because when I open up the ES File app and go to settings I don't see the /data I only see /devices /sd and a few others. I see a data but the folder is empty.

Thanks

 

[thangfish]

So Ive done this part, but it says "Link Failed File Exists"
Now, Ive done this before about a year ago, is that why its saying that because its ready for the next steps? Or am I doing something wrong because when I open up the ES File app and go to settings I don't see the /data I only see /devices /sd and a few others. I see a data but the folder is empty.

Thanks

Yes, you are already rooted.
Your issue with es file explorer:
You must first enable root explorer in settings.
Menu-> Tools-> Root Explorer-> Mount R/W-> tick the r/w box for /
That should get you what you need.

 

[Lesha619]

Yes, you are already rooted.
Your issue with es file explorer:
You must first enable root explorer in settings.
Menu-> Tools-> Root Explorer-> Mount R/W-> tick the r/w box for /
That should get you what you need.

Yay!!! I did it!! I went ahead and deleted the folder "alog events" however, my memory is still at 21mb of space. In another thread, I read that you may delete any files with the "alog" title. Is that true? There is about 10 other folders with the name "alog" and a few folders with the name "pmlog" in it. Can these also get wiped out? My phone is still without memory.

Thank You So Much!!

 

[thangfish]

Yay!!! I did it!! I went ahead and deleted the folder "alog events" however, my memory is still at 21mb of space. In another thread, I read that you may delete any files with the "alog" title. Is that true? There is about 10 other folders with the name "alog" and a few folders with the name "pmlog" in it. Can these also get wiped out? My phone is still without memory.

Thank You So Much!!

Glad you (almost) got it working.
The reason you don't see much space yet is probably because the one you deleted was just a small one. In ESFile Explorer you should be able to see the size of each file (not folder btw). If not, you may have to change the view to "details". When you see the sizes you will see one particular alog file that is HUGE. That is the one to delete (however you can just delete all alog files, if you want) that will give you the most space back. Not sure about pmlog files... probably ok, but you won't need to.

After you get you're space back, the alog files will be recreated and begin to grow again.

Don't forget to go back later and select the files and under properties, change permissions to read only (remove the w) so they will be stuck at a small size... and then reboot.

 

[Lesha619]

Glad you (almost) got it working.
The reason you don't see much space yet is probably because the one you deleted was just a small one. In ESFile Explorer you should be able to see the size of each file (not folder btw). If not, you may have to change the view to "details". When you see the sizes you will see one particular alog file that is HUGE. That is the one to delete (however you can just delete all alog files, if you want) that will give you the most space back. Not sure about pmlog files... probably ok, but you won't need to.

After you get you're space back, the alog files will be recreated and begin to grow again.

Don't forget to go back later and select the files and under properties, change permissions to read only (remove the w) so they will be stuck at a small size... and then reboot.

It worked It WORKED!!!! Lol! Finally I have space again! Thank You SOOOOO Much!!! You have no idea how much you helped! Right as I was about to throw this crappy phone away! Glad I don't have to! Thank You again! :smokingsomb:

 

[thangfish]

You're welcome. Glad you got it.

 

[lsismor]

A million thanks to Thangfish for the instructions for using ES file (writing and non-writing requirements) to find and delete alog_events file (got back over 450mb). Should I leave my phone rooted? I'm only interested in text, voice, minimal browser and app usage. Thanks again for your help!!

 

[thangfish]

It's fine to leave rooted. Maybe you'll find an app or 2 that you like, that require root access. Other than that, you won't notice a difference.

...and you're welcome

 

[lsismor]

Thanks again and again. Well, now that I have fixed my space problem (and have plenty) I tried to update a few of my apps but cannot. Getting an error message stating: "Can't install on USB storage or SD card" Aye yay yay. If it's not one thing... Suggestion?

 

[thangfish]

Thanks again and again. Well, now that I have fixed my space problem (and have plenty) I tried to update a few of my apps but cannot. Getting an error message stating: "Can't install on USB storage or SD card" Aye yay yay. If it's not one thing... Suggestion?

Not sure about that.
Maybe sd card is full? Check that.
Many people start moving stuff to sd card to get space after getting the low space warnings you were getting. If you did that, maybe move apps back to internal storage?
Maybe app install is set to default to sd card?
Maybe usb was plugged to computer? If so, your sd card would be mounted on computer and unavailable to the phone.
That's all I can think of right now.

 

[lsismor]

I used to get this message often and thought it was due to the fact that I had no space, so I simply stopped updating apps.

Prior to deleting the "alog_events" file I deleted some apps and files freeing up .89GB on the sd card and now have 475MB on my internal phone memory, so I don't think it's a memory issue.

I moved the app to the phone and was able to update it, but was told I could not move it back to the sd card for lack of space afterward. The sd card showed .90GB, while the internal went to 466MB. The app was stating that it was 8.64MB.

Turning the phone on and off allowed me to move the app back to the SD card where it "magically" went back to being only 1.26MB. Internal phone went to 474MB and the sd card went back to .89GB.

I guess I simply have to do all kinds of calisthenics with my phone whenever I simply want to update an app, but wish I understood why. :-(

Thank you thangfish for sharing your amazing knowledge and helping so many of us out.

 

[lsismor]

Okay as stated earlier I figured out the calisthenics for updating my apps. Now I found yet ANOTHER problem.
A bit of history: this all started with the "low on space notification". I resolved it following the steps posted on this forum.
1. Downloaded Terminal Emulator and rooted phone.
2. Downloaded ES File Explorer and used it to delete the "alog_events" file.
3. Went on my (not so merry) way as I could not unroot the phone again, but decided to live with it.
BUT NOW...
I tried to send a photo from my gallery via text message (which I do a lot) but can no longer do so. The option for sharing via text is gone and has been replaced with "Send by LAN" which I suspect is related to the addition of ES File Explorer on the phone. The ES File Ap is not running.
Can anyone help? This is a huge feature (sharing via text messaging) that I suddenly can't access. Thanks in advance.

 

[thangfish]

Send by lan is indeed added by es file ex, but it does not replace the text option. Something is getting really glitchy.
Try this, power down phone. Pull battery.
with battery out, hold the power button for 4 or 5 seconds. Replace battery and reboot.
See if that helps. Let the phone boot completely.
The sd card is mounted after the operating system loads.