Lack of storage

[Guest T4ylor]

Is anyone or has anyone else had any storage problems when moving apps etc to SD card?

All of a sudden I seem to be getting an error message "Failed to move application. There is not enough storage left" even though when checked it shows 1.65GB available space.

Anyone got any ideas please because I am seriously running out of internal storage.

Thanks

[Guest trevor432990]

Just a thought but maybe Android is a bit like other OS's in that it does not copy the file directly but moves it somewhere else first before attempting to put it onto the SD card and perhaps it is this holding area (wherever it is) that it thinks is not big enough and giving you the misleading message?

[Guest debs626]

Is anyone or has anyone else had any storage problems when moving apps etc to SD card?

All of a sudden I seem to be getting an error message "Failed to move application. There is not enough storage left" even though when checked it shows 1.65GB available space.

Anyone got any ideas please because I am seriously running out of internal storage.

Thanks

I've just started to see that too I have about 1.2 gb left on card, some apps move fine its just the odd one or two "/

English for smart KB Pro being one of the ones displaying the error

Edited December 19, 2010 by debs626

[Guest T4ylor]

I've just started to see that too I have about 1.2 gb left on card, some apps move fine its just the odd one or two "/

At first I thought it was all of them bit then a couple moved ok. I don't know if it just a coincidence but I have only been getting these errors since putting v1.06 and r5 on.

Are you still running v1.04 and r4 or did you change?

[Guest debs626]

At first I thought it was all of them bit then a couple moved ok. I don't know if it just a coincidence but I have only been getting these errors since putting v1.06 and r5 on.

Are you still running v1.04 and r4 or did you change?

No, I'm all up to date now v1.06 r5

I'm thinking its an app/android problem rather than a Vega one, one or two other apps wouldn't move to SD card but tried again after a reboot and they went over fine. It just does seem to be the English for Smart KB Pro that's the stubbon one.

[Guest lnux9898]

The answer to the initial question is a little tricky and requires a little background. The error message 'Failed to move application. There is not enough storage left' is one of generic messages that drive you since. The technique, introduced in Froyo aka Android 2.2, which is used to move the application is SD works something like:

1) Create/check for .android_secure directory on the SD.

2) Create a mount pointing to this location, marked as asec.

3) Move the app into this directory.

4) Create a mount point for the app. If you have a lot of apps that startup on boot, it can take a while before they are available.

Some gotcha's with Froyo A2SD to be aware:

1. Apps aren’t automatically stored here, you have to manually move them. Custom ROMs, like CyanogenMod, have support to automatically move the app if possible. Also, there are some apps available in the Market, which will point out apps which can moved upon installation aka SDWatch.

2. Not all apps are capable of being moved, in fact at this stage most apps aren’t, the developer needs to update their app and allow it. Mostly system apps.

3. All the data is not moved, most of it is but some data is left on the main memory so you can still run out of internal storage quickly. For example, before the move, the app reports to take 3.0MB, after the move, it says 1.5MB is used. That means 1.5MB is stored on internal memory while 1.5MB is stored on the SD.

4. You can force all apps to be moved to this area by default, but it breaks incompatible ones. Generally not a good idea.

5. When you switch the device into USB Mount mode, apps on the SD card will be unavailable. Once out of USB mode, these apps will be remounted.

General rule of thumb: To see which location is full, connect the device to your computer and via adb, review the space on partitions using 'df'. Clean up space, such as remove unwanted apps, other files, if possible.

[Guest trevor432990]

I think we've all been struck dumb by your knowledge of the topic hehe :)

Out of interest besides connecting the Vega to the PC is there not an app which gives us an accurate figure on space being used? I did a compare of one app that I use called Titanium Backup with the standard Android 'SD Card & Device storage' the results of which were as follows:-

Titanium reports Internal = 347mb with 222mb Free Android reports Internal = no total size 213mb Free

" " SD Card= 3.94gb with 3.34gb Free " " SD Card= 3.67gb with 3.11gb Free

Can you explain the difference in results and which is likely to be more accurate out of interest?

[Guest T4ylor]

I thought that I had narrowed this down to the same type of app from the same dev but then I could move 1 out of 4 so am no closer. I cannot remember having this problem pre v1.06 and r5.

There appears to be plenty of room but for some reason it just does not want to play ball.

[Guest lnux9898]

I think we've all been struck dumb by your knowledge of the topic hehe :)

Can you explain the difference in results and which is likely to be more accurate out of interest?

Hehe I didn't mean to go over anyone's head. If you have questions, please ask.

I suspect that the difference in numbers is down to the definition of a KB - 1000 vs a 1024.

[Guest lnux9898]

I thought that I had narrowed this down to the same type of app from the same dev but then I could move 1 out of 4 so am no closer. I cannot remember having this problem pre v1.06 and r5.

There appears to be plenty of room but for some reason it just does not want to play ball.

Try running DDMS while moving the app and see if any errors are thrown. Again, the memory message is a generic and may not be related to a lack of space.

Edited December 21, 2010 by lnux9898

[Guest T4ylor]

Try running DDMS while moving the app and see if any errors are thrown. Again, the memory message is a generic and may not be related to a lack of space.

I may new you to hold my hand while I do this if you don't mind. First what is DDMS and how do I run it?

Just give a little further info I still have a Vega running v1.04 with r4 and the same apps transfer ok so I do not know if that make any difference or not.

[Guest lnux9898]

I may new you to hold my hand while I do this if you don't mind. First what is DDMS and how do I run it?

Just give a little further info I still have a Vega running v1.04 with r4 and the same apps transfer ok so I do not know if that make any difference or not.

Sure, I will try. DDMS stands for Dalvik Debug Monitor Server and it is just that; a tool to capture info from your android device(s). Also, lets you take screen shots.

Firstly, you will need to install Java on your computer, if not already installed. After that, download the Android SDK from Google. Unpack the zip file and via Explorer (I am assuming you are running Windows; adjust accordingly for your platform), double-click the ddms.bat file. After a short while, you should see a window pop-up.

Place your Vega into USB Debug mode: Settings > Applications > Development > select USB Debugging. Then connect your Vega to your computer. The Vega should register in the DDMS window.

Then, on your Vega, carry out the application move. If and when the move fails, in the log section of DDMS window, click the E button. That will filter the logs to show Error-level messages. See if anything makes sense or post the output (I think that cut and paste should work) here.

[Guest T4ylor]

Sure, I will try. DDMS stands for Dalvik Debug Monitor Server and it is just that; a tool to capture info from your android device(s). Also, lets you take screen shots.

Firstly, you will need to install Java on your computer, if not already installed. After that, download the Android SDK from Google. Unpack the zip file and via Explorer (I am assuming you are running Windows; adjust accordingly for your platform), double-click the ddms.bat file. After a short while, you should see a window pop-up.

Place your Vega into USB Debug mode: Settings > Applications > Development > select USB Debugging. Then connect your Vega to your computer. The Vega should register in the DDMS window.

Then, on your Vega, carry out the application move. If and when the move fails, in the log section of DDMS window, click the E button. That will filter the logs to show Error-level messages. See if anything makes sense or post the output (I think that cut and paste should work) here.

Thanks for your help with this. I have downloaded Android SDK etc but when i run ddms.bat i get the following error "Failed to get adb version:Cannot run program "adb": CreateProcess error=2, The system cannot find the file specified"

Any idea?

[Guest T4ylor]

Right I’ve sussed the adb problem and this is what the log showed:

12-21 20:31:43.086: ERROR/PackageManager(973): Couldn't rename dex file: /mnt/asec/com.hiapk.doraexplorerpuzzle-1/pkg.apk

This means absolutely nothing to me but I am hoping it does you

[Guest lnux9898]

Right I’ve sussed the adb problem and this is what the log showed:

12-21 20:31:43.086: ERROR/PackageManager(973): Couldn't rename dex file: /mnt/asec/com.hiapk.doraexplorerpuzzle-1/pkg.apk

This means absolutely nothing to me but I am hoping it does you

Glad you solved the ADB issue! Could you post the solution as it could help others?

Interesting message - it seems that the apk file or the directory has the wrong permissions. Two possible solutions:

1) if you have ClockWorkMod enabled, go into that image. Select Advanced > Fix Permissions.

2) Enter the ADB shell. Type

cd /mnt/asec/

Then type

ls -l

The output will look like:

dr-xr-xr-x system   root						1970-01-01 00:00 mobi.mgeek.BookmarkPlugin-1

dr-xr-xr-x system   root						1970-01-01 00:00 com.reader.books.laputa.ui-1

The key info is the system and root. That is the user and group owner of the file/directory. Look at the owner of /mnt/asec/com.hiapk.doraexplorerpuzzle-1 directory and pkg.apk file.

If the owner of these two items is something else, here are the steps to change:

1) Exit the shell.

2) Type

adb remount

which makes the system partition writable.

3) Type

adb shell

4) Navigate to the /mnt/asec/

5) Type

chown system:root com.hiapk.doraexplorerpuzzle-1

. Do the same for the contained apk file.

You should now be able to uninstall and install the app.

[Guest T4ylor]

Glad you solved the ADB issue! Could you post the solution as it could help others?

Interesting message - it seems that the apk file or the directory has the wrong permissions. Two possible solutions:

1) if you have ClockWorkMod enabled, go into that image. Select Advanced > Fix Permissions.

2) Enter the ADB shell. Type

Then type

The output will look like:

dr-xr-xr-x system   root						1970-01-01 00:00 mobi.mgeek.BookmarkPlugin-1

dr-xr-xr-x system   root						1970-01-01 00:00 com.reader.books.laputa.ui-1

The key info is the system and root. That is the user and group owner of the file/directory. Look at the owner of /mnt/asec/com.hiapk.doraexplorerpuzzle-1 directory and pkg.apk file.

If the owner of these two items is something else, here are the steps to change:

1) Exit the shell.

2) Type which makes the system partition writable.

3) Type

4) Navigate to the /mnt/asec/

5) Type . Do the same for the contained apk file.

You should now be able to uninstall and install the app.

Wow as that just gone over my head or what. I do not understand the Clockwork Mod stuff so I have never bothered with it so what other options is there if any?

Also I am confused by the term "Shell" is this something contained within the clockwork mod?

Sorry for maybe not being the most android literate person around and I like to think I am ok with computers in general but you and some other peoples knowledge just blows me away.

Thanks for your help anyway I really appreciate it.

[Guest lnux9898]

I made a pig's ear of my post. Sorry.

The post should say that you can either use the ClockWorkMod recovery image or the adb tool. The ClockWorkMod approach is simple once you have it installed. As you went to the trouble to install the Android SDK and get ADB running, use those steps. The Shell lets you access the android device below the User Interface; think of the command prompt in Windows.

And forget to share your solution to fix the ADB issue. It will help someone with the same problem.

[Guest warriorscot]

@T4ylor

It sometimes helps me when trying to understand what is going on with adb and the vega that it is at heart a linux system or at least linux derivative. So if you think of how a linux system would behave and the kind of commands you use it sometimes helps me. Although that might not necessarily help if you have never used a linux machine at all but I thought it worth mentioning as I occasionally get turned around especially when running adb on a windows command line as to me its two different methods of thinking and it confuses me and I end up typing the wrong commands.

[Guest T4ylor]

I made a pig's ear of my post. Sorry.

The post should say that you can either use the ClockWorkMod recovery image or the adb tool. The ClockWorkMod approach is simple once you have it installed. As you went to the trouble to install the Android SDK and get ADB running, use those steps. The Shell lets you access the android device below the User Interface; think of the command prompt in Windows.

And forget to share your solution to fix the ADB issue. It will help someone with the same problem.

Right you will not be surprised by the fact that I have hit a stumbling block yet again, but this is where I have got too.

1, Open cmd.exe

2, Type "adb shell."

3, Type "cd /mnt/asec/" - well this is my stumbling block because it says "the system cannot find the path specified"

When I have got my head round this I will post the solution to the adb problem but just need to retrace my steps and write it down.

[Guest trevor432990]

I am not worthy :)

[Guest arad85]

Right you will not be surprised by the fact that I have hit a stumbling block yet again, but this is where I have got too.

1, Open cmd.exe

2, Type "adb shell."

3, Type "cd /mnt/asec/" - well this is my stumbling block because it says "the system cannot find the path specified"

When I have got my head round this I will post the solution to the adb problem but just need to retrace my steps and write it down.

Can you cut and paste the complete text from typing "adb shell" (no full stop BTW) please.

[Guest arad85]

When you type "adb shell" at the command line, you should get back a prompt which is just:

#

If you get this, can you type the commands

df

mount

and paste the output.

[Guest ThomasAstor]

HI All

I have the same problem which nearly cost me two sd cards. I get: "Failed to move application. There is not enough storage left" even though when checked it shows 7.35GB available space.

Someone mention in another post to format the sd card from the vega, but that is when the cards got corrupted. Unless someone could explain how exactly to do it.

If it is done from "settings" it corrupts the card. With Rom manager?

I have 58mb left on the Vega :(

Thanks

T.