Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!

In reality the OS does not have a memory issue, if you want a memory issue get a Windows Mobile Device :smileyvery-happy: , the main issue with android is that too many trust the memory managment system to handle freeing up memory as need but I can say it does better than other OS but it is far from perfect and it does need assistance.... I Know, I know, so many say a Task Killer isnt needed and causes issues but I have used it without issues and havent seen any restarts due to low memory because if the app is used as designed it still can be a useful tool.

Basically dont use it to keep a app closed but in fact use it to close unused apps to restore the memory to the system for use, if you follow these instruction you will notice a minimal amount of FC and restarts.

This is just my view and I am sure other would beg to differ and I accept that but I am a user that test before making judgment and use what has proved to best for my device, all devices do not run the same apps so the memry use will differ.

Wildman wrote:
In reality the OS does not have a memory issue, if you want a memory issue get a Windows Mobile Device , the main issue with android is that too many trust the memory managment system to handle freeing up memory as need but I can say it does better than other OS but it is far from perfect and it does need assistance.... I Know, I know, so many say a Task Killer isnt needed and causes issues but I have used it without issues and havent seen any restarts due to low memory because if the app is used as designed it still can be a useful tool.

Basically dont use it to keep a app closed but in fact use it to close unused apps to restore the memory to the system for use, if you follow these instruction you will notice a minimal amount of FC and restarts.

This is just my view and I am sure other would beg to differ and I accept that but I am a user that test before making judgment and use what has proved to best for my device, all devices do not run the same apps so the memry use will differ.

You are right on target Wildman. The biggest issue is MANY apps cannot be closed they simply go to the background and hangout. There are also apps which freeze up and it takes minutes for the force close to kick in.

Like you Wildman, I can't remember the last time my phone restart itself and I have over 300 apps installed. I've also had my GPS turned on since day one, and I run Performance mode, I end the night with 60-70% charge left and have occassionally had the wall plug unplugged during overnight charges and made it through the 2nd day with 20-30% charge left. My best was 1day 17 hours between charges with 30% remaining.

MrMRM513

Sounds interesting, and I'd like to give task killing as you described it a try. Any recommended apps? Seems by their descriptions many task management apps kill by default and require users to block exceptions. Are there any that leave other apps alone except those you choose to restrict?

Thanks for the advice.

Honestly, I've had issues with Google maps freezing and rebooting my phone, on Froyo AND Gingerbread. I don't know what the deal is with maps, but there is some issue there. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling, but no luck. I hope your issues get resolved. I deal with random reboots several times a week, but I don't make a big deal about it. Sometimes, it's good to reboot the system. If it becomes too much though, like rebooting repeatedly in a short period of time, or becomes persistent, then there is a valid problem that needs to be resolved. How many apps are you running? Under running services, how many processes are using more than 10mb? I noticed that the super mario live wallpaper I had and yahoo mail were taking 12-15mb ea, so I uninstalled them and have noticed a decent improvement on the speed and stability of my phone. Are you using a task killer? Those do more harm than good. It is highly recommended that you uninstall if running a task killer..

MrMRM513 wrote:
Being the slob I am, I kept no records of where I'd read that Android 2.2.x ( Froyo) had memory management issues. These issues, in turn, caused the Droid X to reboot on occasion.

Mine did that. A lot. My Droid X would reboot about every other day. Sometimes it would reboot without warning, and other times the unit would slow to a crawl before crashing.

I had hoped these alleged memory issues would disappear with Gingerbread. So far, I'm not so sure.

My phone rebooted twice today, only a day after I'd factory reset it to fix another problem. The first time it crashed under Google Maps. Apparently, it couldn't handle the traffic layer for Washington D.C. on an early Saturday morning.

The second time, it crashed when I loaded an audio file from the NPR News program into its own player.

Okay, I realize that, despite the somewhat misleading 2.x motif, this is a fairly comprehensive rebuild, and much of the code of this allegedly open software has yet to be released to developers. If it had, Quick Settings would work like it did under 2.2. So it's possible that NPR News has some work to do to bring their audio player into line with GingerB. So we'll see.

But Maps? That's Gogle, too. And it's a huge resource hog. Despite the fact Google switched to vector graphics, it now caches more of the data on the phone, so either way it's both processor and memory hungry. And I wonder if 2.3 has the same problem moving unused programs out of RAM fast enough so necessary data won't load so fast as to collide with that being evacuated. Further, I can't be sure if Maps crashed the phone due to some hinky bit of code, or because its RAM demands bumped the phone into disaster mode.

Either way, it's still wait and see. But I'm not holding my breath.

Mike
Wishing I could read code like a newspaper

MrMRM513 wrote:
Sounds interesting, and I'd like to give task killing as you described it a try. Any recommended apps? Seems by their descriptions many task management apps kill by default and require users to block exceptions. Are there any that leave other apps alone except those you choose to restrict?

Thanks for the advice.

I've used Advanced Task Killer for almost the life of my phone. I don't recall which version I'm running but I suspect it's currently the latest Froyo release. It's default settings don't kill system programs, only apps.

crb79 wrote:
MrMRM513 wrote:
Sounds interesting, and I'd like to give task killing as you described it a try. Any recommended apps? Seems by their descriptions many task management apps kill by default and require users to block exceptions. Are there any that leave other apps alone except those you choose to restrict?

Thanks for the advice.

I've used Advanced Task Killer for almost the life of my phone. I don't recall which version I'm running but I suspect it's currently the latest Froyo release. It's default settings don't kill system programs, only apps.

I used Advance Task Killer for almost the life of my phone as well... Until I upgraded to Gingerbread. Task killers are a highly debated subject. But most people will tell you not to use them because they do more harm than good. Android manages its RAM differently than computers do. Computers will rely on the user to free up RAM. Android does this on its own. When you use task killers, it uses more battery and RAM than not using one. It takes processing power and RAM to kill apps. Gingerbread has a good manual task killer in the menu under Applications/Running Services. You can manually kill apps/services there. You can also click on the menu button and go to Cached Processes. There you can clear those..

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/02/revisiting-android-task-killers-and-why-you-dont-need-one/

I hope the moderators let me post this link. It's very informative about task killers and why you shouldn't use one on Android

Cody21

I'm on the side that has Never used a Task Killer (unlike Wildman who is a proponent of them :smileywink: ). This use=not=use=one discussion has been going on for almost a year. Personally, I believe and trust the Android OS to self-manage it's memory; swapping things in and out as needed by the phone. That being said, this does not preclude me from having a "monitoring tool" installed that I launch from time to time if my phone seems lethargic. It gives me the ability to drill down into the system tasks to try to identify if an APP or something is taking over the CPU. (It is called "System Panel"). Regarding Task Killers - I *really* believe that they are intended for those people with decent computer skills. You really need to understand what you're doing with them or you can just get yourself into more issues and frustrations. In most cases, you need to properly customize them, not just install one and hope for the best. Good luck everyone.

I'll have to check that one out. Thanks Cody!

Ann154

I prefer System Panel as well.

MrMRM513

Cody, agreed.

Task killers are not a solution taken lightly. And, for the record, I'm generally in the same camp: trust Android memory management, no blanket task kill, use a system app to kill rogue programs chewing up processor cycles.

Thinking about this from another angle, it could very well be an older app which hasn't been optimized for use with DXGB, and not GB itself.

Which means I shouldn't speculate, but gather evidence. Now, how does one go about that? Are there any system apps which create event logs? Does GB create its own event logs which I can pull using the developers kit (have a copy for taking screen shots)? And then how do I make sense of what I collect?

If I post my general setup, would anybody here be interested in looking at it and offering advice?

Or do I just say the hell with it and expect my phone to reboot at any time, like when I'm trying to navigate somewhere, or make a call, or read the news?

Nah, I'm going digging.

Mike

Decisions, decisions...

droidsw

This is my third X, after rebooting issues caused by external source (router) had me on the exchange merry-go-round, had been flawless since the Dec update, until GB. Now, it's a flaky, buggy device, including more rebooting than the previous 6 months.

There have been many threads about rebooting. There is a thread in the Moto X forum about rebooting with over 200K views. That is a red flag.

Debate, pontificate, offer solutions, but this phone has had rebooting issues from day one. Enter an update into the mix and there you go......

A level of prefrence is at hand on if a Task Killer is needed of not but I am one of the users that can report that I recieved more low memory reboots without one being used, so many use the agruement that Android has a memory manager and it is suppose to do this without a 3rd part app to handle this but then report to use a memory manger which is the same thing just marketed diffrently, they both are intended to closed unused files to restore memory to the system when needed, if I remember the System Panel is a task killer also with just a more detailed ui...

If all OS and software functions as advertised I think every one using Windows Mobile should be upset because it claims to have a memory manager and the devices are regularly crashing due to low memory, the developer will market a feature in a way that will confort the user to believe it will run smooth even if the option is flawed at best on handling the reported feature..

My suggestion is to read up on software functions to help you understand the app and then test the app yourself before deciding what works for you...

Since I havent tried System Panel on my device since GB update I think I will investigate this on my test unit while keeping ATK on my default device and see if I notice any diffrences...

Galaxy80 wrote:
crb79 wrote:
MrMRM513 wrote:
Sounds interesting, and I'd like to give task killing as you described it a try. Any recommended apps? Seems by their descriptions many task management apps kill by default and require users to block exceptions. Are there any that leave other apps alone except those you choose to restrict?

Thanks for the advice.

I've used Advanced Task Killer for almost the life of my phone. I don't recall which version I'm running but I suspect it's currently the latest Froyo release. It's default settings don't kill system programs, only apps.
I used Advance Task Killer for almost the life of my phone as well... Until I upgraded to Gingerbread. Task killers are a highly debated subject. But most people will tell you not to use them because they do more harm than good. Android manages its RAM differently than computers do. Computers will rely on the user to free up RAM. Android does this on its own. When you use task killers, it uses more battery and RAM than not using one. It takes processing power and RAM to kill apps. Gingerbread has a good manual task killer in the menu under Applications/Running Services. You can manually kill apps/services there. You can also click on the menu button and go to Cached Processes. There you can clear those..

Since installing ATK I easily get 2 full days out of 1 charge. Last night I finished night 2 with 30% left, my largest battery drain was 42% to talk time which was 4hrs 20mins. The next largest was 21% to display and then each other item was under 10%. Total elapsed time between charges was 1 day 19hours 22 mins.

One of these days I'll install a screenshot app and upload pictures.

As for those who say don't use one, you are more than free to never use one. I just question all the people who preach to never use one but have never tried them. I'll keep using mine and getting 2 days out of a charge when I need. Oh, and it's also been 6 months since I last had to do a battery pull reset with over 300 apps installed.

Ford tells me what alternator I'm supposed to use in my truck, yet I run a different one for higher amps to charge a dual battery system. Again Ford tells me I don't need 2 batteries, but where is Ford when my truck won't start because the single battery got drained using my winch? Same with Android, they have very little control over developers and can't factor the behavior of every app. Heck, Android continually messes up their own apps. Where's those Android developers who told you that you "shouldn't" need a task killer? I'll tell you, they are running to the bank to deposit your money into their accounts.

Oh, and I'd also like to point out that after over a year of being told we don't need a task killer; Android 2.3 features.... you guessed it.... a built in task killer..........

@crb79, I WISH I got even a full day of charge. I never got that with ATK. I have to charge my phone 2-3 times a day, but I do play on it all day long. I have about 25% left right now and I unplugged it from the charger at about 2:45 this afternoon. It is now almost 9:30. I downloaded System Panel. Thank you Cody for letting me know about this app! I will run the monitoring for a few days and see what's going on in my phone. I just received my 32gb Sandisk class 4 sd card in the mail today. I I copied everything over, and my phone seems to be running a lot faster and smoother now. It hasn't hung up yet and I've been using it for about 3hrs now..

Galaxy80 wrote:
@crb79, I WISH I got even a full day of charge. I never got that with ATK. I have to charge my phone 2-3 times a day, but I do play on it all day long. I have about 25% left right now and I unplugged it from the charger at about 2:45 this afternoon. It is now almost 9:30. I downloaded System Panel. Thank you Cody for letting me know about this app! I will run the monitoring for a few days and see what's going on in my phone. I just received my 32gb Sandisk class 4 sd card in the mail today. I I copied everything over, and my phone seems to be running a lot faster and smoother now. It hasn't hung up yet and I've been using it for about 3hrs now..

This is really surprising, sorry to hear it didnt work well for you, I have to agree with crb79 on battery life, mine goes over a day easy.. The only reason Kaspersky is high bacause I just completed a complete system scan and battery is still at 30% and you notice ATK isnt on the list of using any major power...

Did you set ATK to only do when backlight tuen off or set a time limit?

Galaxy80 wrote:
@crb79, I WISH I got even a full day of charge. I never got that with ATK. I have to charge my phone 2-3 times a day, but I do play on it all day long. I have about 25% left right now and I unplugged it from the charger at about 2:45 this afternoon. It is now almost 9:30. I downloaded System Panel. Thank you Cody for letting me know about this app! I will run the monitoring for a few days and see what's going on in my phone. I just received my 32gb Sandisk class 4 sd card in the mail today. I I copied everything over, and my phone seems to be running a lot faster and smoother now. It hasn't hung up yet and I've been using it for about 3hrs now..

Glad to hear the Class 4 is working better for you. I've been mocked a couple times when I mention that as a possible issue but everyone I know in person who have issues with their DX had class 2 cards when we checked them. Upgrading to the class 4 helped every single one of them.

As for the ATK, I turned off auto-kill today just to see what kind of difference I'd notice so far I've been 11 hours and @ 80% with 2hrs call time.

Wildman, I never ran autokill. The I would always manually kill apps to free up memory.

Crb79, I've had an issue in the past with an off-brand SD card that totally messed with my phone. When I went back to the card that came with the phone, it worked fine. I stick with Sandisk. That's what comes in the phones. I just put my phone charging before typing this at about 10:25. It was at 5%. I really do use my phone for hours a day though. All night at work. Being a CNC machinist comes with a lot of down time all night long waiting while the machine does its thing.

I'm running Juice Defender. What are your thoughts on this app? Is it any good? How should I set it up? It's on balanced right now. Should I use the custom setting? System Panel is also running. Along with Widget Locker and Open Home, which I HIGHLY recommended to anyone who uses a launcher. Just try it. You will love it! I've used LPP, ADW, and Go Launcher, and Open Home 6 blows them all out of the water! You can use all ADW, LPP, and GL icon packs and themes with OH too..

I can burn through my battery if I try. Any time that I am going to sit and play games on it or listen to music I plug it in. For various browsing thru the day 5-15mins at a time I don't bother with the plug though. I can burn up about 40% of the battery really fast with a 1-1 1/2 hour show on Netflix though.

I wish I knew how to post a screenshot. OH is the only app for a stock phone that I've found that can take screenshot. I know it must sound like I'm in cahoots with the dev for this launcher, and but I assure you I'm not lol. I just really, really, really, really, really love this app!

Galaxy80 wrote:
I'm running Juice Defender. What are your thoughts on this app? Is it any good? How should I set it up? It's on balanced right now. Should I use the custom setting? System Panel is also running. Along with Widget Locker and Open Home, which I HIGHLY recommended to anyone who uses a launcher. Just try it. You will love it! I've used LPP, ADW, and Go Launcher, and Open Home 6 blows them all out of the water! You can use all ADW, LPP, and GL icon packs and themes with OH too..

Did you get the full version or just the free one because settings options are a bit diffrent, I have ultimate version and I use the custom settings and configured each apps to have there priority.

I have the Ultimate version. I try to buy paid versions of good apps instead of being cheap lol. Most paid apps are cheap anyway. What's $2? I think most apps are definitely worth a couple of bucks. The istore's prices on apps is WAY higher...

Galaxy80 wrote:
I have the Ultimate version. I try to buy paid versions of good apps instead of being cheap lol. Most paid apps are cheap anyway. What's $2? I think most apps are definitely worth a couple of bucks. The istore's prices on apps is WAY higher...

I've actually seen games proving the other way around. Games that run $0.99 on Iphone have been coming into android market anywhere from $3-6.99. That's pretty outrageous since Apple announced their 33% take on all apps sold for Iphone. I have noticed that some of the major developer companies are dropping prices to match Iphone versions though.

I don't own an iphone so I don't know much about them or their market, but I have seen apps before for $10-30, and though, Wow! That's crazy that someone would pay that much for an app. But this was a good while back. It might have changed since then.

I'm not sure if this will work, or if VZW will let me, but here's the screenshot of my phone using Open Home. The icons are folders I made...

*edit* - I just checked it out. The picture didn't pop up in the message, but I right clicked on it and clicked on open in new tab. It's a link to my Picasa, which I just set up lol

unknown

Since a factory reset was attempted the next step would be go to into a local store and get the phone flashed. Thank you.