Storage details - other category

[Urobe73]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I found another piece for the never ending puzzle of the "Other" storage issue:

I own a Nokia 820 (i like it!) with 8GB of internal memory, 2GB of this used by the OS.

I bought a 32GB microSD and copied 13GB of photos in 480 folders on the card (maybe insane but otherwise why is there the possibility of having 32GB SD card?) ... done with normal Windows explorer copy, not with W8 app.

After entering the card to the phone the Photo Hub comes up with a small update message on top, this tooks 2-3 hours and during this process the "Other" slowly fills up. I started after a factory reset (to be sure) with 400MB in "Other". After the updating process it uses nearly 4GB. So only having that much photos on an SD card cost you more than 3GB of internal memory!!

I think it's for caching the preview images in the Photo Hub, but why do we have the SD card. It should be clear that users fill them up with pictures, videos and music.

In my case together with some Nokia offline maps, a big Exchange mail account and some apps my memory reaches the 8GB ... and that's it! Not even possible to take phone calls anymore!!

Can anyone confirm?

 

[blegate]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

@ Urobe72, I had to reload mp3 files on my SD card since the "reset" literary wiped the *.mp3 from the card- talk about weird. The photos, video and album jpgs, etc all remained intact. I re-loaded my music the very same way you did (via explore) and monitored "other" and saw no change. In fact just to test your scenario out I loaded 45mb of photos just now onto the SD card via explore and had no change in "other"...still at 1.24GB "Other". BTW, my download errors cleared out as previously mentioned in my last post. This "photo hub" I'm not sure what you are referring to. Is this just the photo viewer in WP8? 2 to 3 hours to process? I've never had anything like that occur when loading photos on the SD card and I've added over 1000 shots to the card; however, the bulk of the photos were added using a SD card reader. Still I had no thumbnail process initiated when the card was installed in the phone. The picture appeared immediately on the phone once powered on.

 

[blegate]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

So, is the mystery finally solved ?

According to blegate, Other is where files are prepared to be sent, either to SkyDrive or other ways.
When they are sent, space is freed in Other.

According to klkriz, when the phone need more space, it automatically delete those files to free some space.

So now, let's enable SkyDrive save. I'll see what will it do ^^


EDIT: Well, nope, it didn't do anything to my Other, even after pressing the Save now button (talking about the apps settings save).
I don't get any photos to sync, just some pictures that I transfered from my PC. My Other folder currently weighs around 1GB.

Try going into the photos and flagging them for uploading to Skydrive and then see what happens with other. Curious to know if any change in the size...


EDIT2: A large part of Other is actually reserved to apps. When we install or use apps, it fills Other. Is there anything to sync with those apps ? It is maybe a way to clean it, by saving all the thing that are in. But except the settings that we can save into the cloud (it made my Other drops from 1014MB to 1013MB), is it anything else ?

Try going into the photos and flagging them for uploading to Skydrive and then see what happens with other. Curious to know if any change in the size...

 

[Dragule]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I tried to upload my 17MB photo folder and my Other went from 1003MB to 1022MB.
So, doesn't seem to work, actually


By the way, strange fact: When I don't use my phone, Other decreases. It was around 1013MB this morning (GMT+1 ^^), and now it weighs 1003MB (well, at least it did before I saved my pictures).

What's happening in there ?

 

[R42]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

My other sits at 4 gigs
My apps at 1 gig
and
My music at 8 gigs

Before I reset it, it was at 2 gigs. Now after I erased everything it sits at 4 gigs.

I dont know what to think

 

[blegate]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I tried to upload my 17MB photo folder and my Other went from 1003MB to 1022MB.
So, doesn't seem to work, actually

By the way, strange fact: When I don't use my phone, Other decreases. It was around 1013MB this morning (GMT+1 ^^), and now it weighs 1003MB (well, at least it did before I saved my pictures).

What's happening in there ?

Beginning to think this phone has a swap file similar to Windows desktop which dynamically changes . RE: the change @ night, I've noticed the same. Perhaps a "scheduled job" runs that optimizes the phone space, indexing, etc, etc, Just guessing considering this phone is using the same Win 8 kernel- this is assuming you leave your phone powered up at night on the charger.

My wife has been downloading an extensive amount of apps - installing/uninstalling- on her phone yet the "Other" really isn't going out of control like some folks post here. Last I looked it was at 1.5GB.
I'm beginning to think it's related to certain apps. Perhaps poorly written apps are causing "issues" with the 'other' folder.

Mine is still @ 1.24~ 1.25GB- holding steady.

 

[Dragule]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

Mine currently is 1.06GB. It doesn't grow anymore, but I didn't install any app until my previous test.

It fluctuates between 1GB and 1.06GB now. Sometimes growing, sometimes slowly decreasing.

 

[KFlaps]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

Yeah i'm having a terrible problem with my "Other" folder - it's currently at ~7Gb! Two things i've noticed...

• When i marked a load of photos for backup to skydrive, my Other folder jumped in size, and hasn't gone down since...
  
• I bluetoothed a couple of videos to myself from my old N8 (around 500mb each), but didn't hit Tap to View immediately... I now can't see the videos anywhere (saved pics or video folder), but the amount of free space has reduced accordingly!! I can't see the videos when i browse on a PC either!! The videos are in a compatible format as i've re-sent them one at a time and hit Tap to View straight-away and they work fine... So these videos (or temp files for videos) are sitting somewhere on my phone, but i have no way of clearing them.

It's been a pain as i've been on holiday with no computer, and so been relying on bluetoothing files from my N8 (with it's 48Gb of memory!) for stuff to watch... I love my Lumia 920...buti really miss the file-browser from my N8!

I really don't want to hard-reset my phone just to free space!!!

 

[richard_c]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I think this is a serious problem with Windows Phone 8 and im shocked MS hasnt addressed it over even sorted it before release. With phones like the HTC 8S you only get like 1.5GB of free space for apps and with the bloody "other" section growing out of control it really limits how many apps you can have installed and with no file management system its just an utter joke. I want an 8S so bad and I only want to install like 15 essential apps (all productivity apps) and I feel I wont be able to because of this bloody stupid "other" section.

 

[richard_c]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I do have one question though. Are you able to clear the cache for each app manually? When I used a friends Windows Phone some apps had options to clear the cache for that specific app. Would this help in reducing the "other" folder?

 

[anon(5408460)]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I do have one question though. Are you able to clear the cache for each app manually? When I used a friends Windows Phone some apps had options to clear the cache for that specific app. Would this help in reducing the "other" folder?

I tried clearing the cache on several apps and it only made a tiny difference to the other memory.

 

[Dragule]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

This is what I know think about this issue:

So, we know that in Other are stored some apps settings, and the major part of the storage is filled with temporary files.
When we download an app, Other grows, but decrease a just a little when we uninstall.

When we download an app, we actually download an installation file, and then, the phone automatically install the app from this file.
It seems logical that this file is stored with the temporary files, because it should be deleted right after being used.
But I'm pretty sure that it is not, and stay on the phone.

That's why:
• When we uninstall an app, it doesn't decrease by more than a few MB. It actually remove the settings file, and some other app datas, but not the big install file.
• When we download the app again, after uninstalling, Other does not grow much. The installation file is already ready to use.

In that case, we just need a way to clean these installation files, and everything should get better ^^
But we don't have one

 

[Simpson Bart]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I have a fairly large Other section, but it's stable at about 3G. It doesn't grow significantly with installs, but I did notice that some things fall through the cracks. For example, an email had an attachment I downloaded, but couldn't be opened because the phone didn't like the format (it was correct to refuse) but it never went anywhere. Also, stuff from the internet, NFC, BT, and loads of other stuff, they get downloaded and lost.

I'm not shocked that I have a large "other" section, I know that images are instant, that FB and Skydrive files are all cached, complete with thumbs, that FB app itself cached all the pictures ever taken, and so on. It's that without some form of management any buggy app can kill the phone.

I'm on a Lumia 920, so I have 32 GB in which to float, and with 18G available it's not urgent. Still, I'd like the ability to manage this. ideally, via PC and cable, where I can see what I'm cleaning up, not with a phone I already know can't open the file.

 

[Dragule]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

So finally, we got an official response, from someone who posted on an other thread !

Here was the response I received in chat.

Aled D.: The Other section holds program files, and some programs leave behind files even when you've deleted them. Updating the phone will clear this. Have you updated recently?
Me: not sure how to update. I always install all market updates. Is there another way?
Aled D.: Go to settings > updates and see if there is an update pending.
Me: After checking for updates, it says "your phone is up to date"
Aled D.: In that case the only way to clear the Other section is to hard reset the phone. Or you could wait for the next update.
Me: ok, I think I will wait as long as I can. Is there any way to tell which apps take up the the most space?
Aled D.: When you install an app, you can see how big it is. There is no other way unfortunately.
Me: Ok, lastly are there any scheduled updates coming up?
Aled D.: I'm not made aware of an update until it's about to be released, so I couldn't tell you, sorry.
Me: OK, thanks for your time.

Well, that's not really satisfying. But at least, now we are sure that Microsoft is aware about it.
Is it an issue, or is it normal ? In any case, I guess it will be fixed soon.

Wait & See

 

[BCL_WA]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

Doesn't seem like a valid response to me. That's not right to count on an "update" or hard reset to clear out this directory.

 

[Dragule]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I had a little discussion about it with the famous Windows Phone Hacker, he is aware of this issue too, but doesn't think it will be an OS update soon, to fix it, except if more people ask for it.
It is just his point of view though, and maybe Microsoft is already working on this issue

 

[Florin Nitulescu]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

already had my first hard reset of my HTC 8S, I hope I won't need to do it again.

PLEASE MICROSOFT, GIVE US THAT UPDATE! :unhappy:

 

[TheXFather]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

Got my 8S for Christmas. i only got small apps installed.
Can't install any games cause of lack of space. even smaller games like 120 MB can't be installed cause it pops me an error .. something about not enough space even tho i have 200 MB free
Just thought i'd share


OT: I'm also from Romania and i like my phone.

 

[Benoit35000]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

Why isn't this issue getting more attention ? I came to WP yesterday when I received my 8S. I knew that the available space would be small when I bought it and I accepted it, which seemed ok considering my usage. But now I have less than 10 apps installed, no major game and I already reach the limit because of this "others" section. 4 gb of space - 2 for OS - 1 for others indeed doesn't leave much left. MS needs to act on this, I love WP and my 8S so far but this issue is a deal breaker for me. I know I am just whining and not bringing much to the case here, except for my voice. I have faith this issue will be adressed, I hope MS dosn't fail on this because I feel like many people are like me, who had iphone and android already, and consider switching to WP

 

[blegate]

Re: What about the "Other" storage section ?

I did a test. I'm not having the same issue as most of you..please read.

I performed a little test on my 810. I installed 18 new applications totaling 372MB
Part 1 - installing apps
I started out with Other = 2.03GB and Free Space = 2.23GB I had installed several apps prior to this test. As I installed the apps I recorded the changes in Free and Other folder sizes - see below.
Each app was opened and used to ensure changes to 'Other' and 'Free' were valid (to my best knowledge).

NOTE- In the middle of my test I went on a drive and used City Lens and Nokia DRIVE twice - no change in other or free space size occurred.

Part - 2 -de-installing apps
I de-installed the 18 apps by installation size and took notes on 'other' and 'free' space. The end result is 1.86GB free and Other = 2.41GB. Doesn't look so great right? Read on...
NOTE (this is important) -- After a shutdown/reboot 'Free' changed to 2.26GB and 'Other' is 2.34GB I still have 924MB of apps installed. I did another shutdown/reboot Other = 2.33 and Free = 2.27GB - a slight increase.
If I did my math right, it's a wash with regards to storage loss when considering before and after changes; however, 'Other' is larger by .3 which is not easily reclaimed.

What I learned:
1) When apps are installed, in most cases some goes into "application storage" and some into "Other" folder categories. For the most part the size of the install actually will equal the change in 'Other' and 'Free' Space; however, some apps (smaller ones) seem to take additional space- perhaps a notation error on the app description? Some apps do not appear to use Other.
2) It took a considerable amount of time to do this and really I pondered is this really is an issue to be concerned about? I do not store video and photos on my internal storage since it makes more sense to do this on the SD Card. I still had a little over 1GB Free space when I stopped the test. Frankly I got tired of looking for large apps to install....at least apps that interested me.
3) for the most part, I didn't lose much of anything doing this test.
4) Reboots seem to help reclaim Other and Free as noted above, especially after uninstalling apps. Reboots are important...they have and will always be required with anything running Windows or Apple.

OTHER Notes: I did a tap and send test between two 810 phones. I used a 32sec video. Initially Other was at 2.33GB and Free at 2.27GB. During the transfer Other jumped to 2.44GB and Free changed to 2.16GB. Once the transfer was over it all went back to the original values. I did a similar test like this last week with a 2min+ video and it bombed, meaning no transfer. I could not clear out Other and had to reset. So be careful on "tap and send" transfers for now...my $.02

Punch holes in this test if you like. For the most part the install/de-install process worked; however, I would be leery of tap and send of large files for the time being due to my problem earlier this week.

List of apps installed for this mini-test
1 Install Car locator Other 2.03, free 2.23 2mb and other is 2.04
2 Installing pocket dic, 8mb, and other is 2.05, free 2,19
3 Installing star map 8mb, and other is 2.06 free 2,15
4 Installing zombie dreed, 24mb, other is 2.09 free 2.10
5 Installing deal or no deal with 9mb other is Now 2.10 free 2.07
6 Installing Rise of Glory 34mb, and other is 2.14, free 1.97
7 Installing ae skeet 10mb, and other is 2.17 free is 1.89
8 Installing casino crazy 9mb and other is 2.18 free 1.87
9 Installing guns bro 187mb and other is 2.37 and free 1.47
10 Installing ms battleship 15mb and other is 2.39, free is 1.42
11 Install pro speed 49mb and other is 2.44 free is 1.21
12 Installing unit conversion tool 1mb, and other is 2.44 free 1.21
13 Install level of 1mb, other is 2.44 free free is 1.20
14 Install Media Center remote 3mb, other is 2.46, free 1.19
15 Cooking timer. 3mb, other is 2.47 free 1.17
16 PayPal 6mb other is 2.49, free 1.14
17 Drudge reader 2mb and other is 2.49, free 1.13
18 Phone tracker less than 1mb, other is 2.50, free 1.12