Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
MrMRM513
Newbie

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

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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
Wildman
Legend

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.

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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
crb79
Specialist - Level 2

Wildman wrote:

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.


 

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.

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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
MrMRM513
Newbie
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.
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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
Galaxy80
Enthusiast - Level 3

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


 

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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
crb79
Specialist - Level 2

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.

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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
Galaxy80
Enthusiast - Level 3

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..

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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
Galaxy80
Enthusiast - Level 3

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

 

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

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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
Cody21
Master - Level 2

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. 

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Re: Reboots, Reboots, RAM RAM RAM !!!
Galaxy80
Enthusiast - Level 3

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

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