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A while ago, I posted another question here when I had plenty of free internal storage but was getting the following warning:

Low on space: Phone storage space is getting low.

The problem was apparently a bug during the upgrade to Gingerbread, and following the steps in the accepted answer to get the hotfix resolved the issue for several months.

However, recently I've been getting that same message again. Even though it complains about low internal storage, clicking on the warning brings me to a screen that shows me:

Internal storage: 348MB used, 400MB free

I'm using a Verizon HTC Incredible running Gingerbread. I have followed the steps in the other question (clearing system cache) and rebooted the phone several times. I have moved many apps to the SD card which seems to resolve the issue for a few days, but then the warning comes back. It seems like 47% full should not be triggering a low space warning (which has other ramifications, like my email not refreshing).

Any ideas what's wrong this time?

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    This error could be from your /cache, /data, or /datadata partitions being almost full. Even though you have 400MB free total, these locations do not have access to all that space. YOu can try moving some of the larger apps to the SDCard, but if it is /cache or /datadata the only solution would be to remove some of the apps or deleting their data.
    – Ryan Conrad
    Commented Apr 2, 2012 at 20:01
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    @RyanConrad: Is there any way to figure out the used/available space on each of those partitions without being rooted?
    – jrdioko
    Commented Apr 2, 2012 at 20:45
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    @jrdioko - I don't believe I've ever run against that particular error - when mine has trouble I just get tons of force closes :-/. However, my app settings screen shows me what must be the /data usage (never close to full, numbers match /data size reported by DiskUsage) even though my apps are actually constrained by the much smaller /data/data (where I run out of room often). I think it's giving you an error because of /data/data but showing you details from /data instead. That's confusing as hell.
    – Mr. Buster
    Commented Apr 4, 2012 at 22:23
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    @jrdioko - My dinc's /data is 748 MB and my /data/data is 149 MB. Sounds like that should be the same for yours (and others').
    – Mr. Buster
    Commented Apr 4, 2012 at 22:33
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    @jrdioko - FWIW I was just fighting again with this same issue and found that telling Dolphin (my browser of choice) to Cache to SD Card really helped free up some space.
    – Mr. Buster
    Commented Apr 11, 2012 at 0:37

3 Answers 3

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+50

To consolidate comments:

I've found a fantastic guide to Android partitions and basics here via WIW's XDA post. /data is all your personal settings, messages, and information, while /data/data is specifically for your apps' private data. My guess is that wiping /cache as described above does not wipe /data or its child directories (otherwise you would've lost all your apps and settings).

I don't believe I've ever run against the particular error you're seeing - when mine has trouble I just get tons of force closes :-/. However, my app settings screen shows me what must be the /data usage (never close to full, numbers match /data size reported by DiskUsage) even though my apps are actually constrained by the much smaller /data/data (where I run out of room often). I think it's giving you an error because of /data/data but showing you details from /data instead. That's confusing as hell.

My dinc's /data is 748 MB and my /data/data is 149 MB. Sounds like that should be the same for yours (and others'). Until you give in to the dark side and root your Incredible (and are then able to see specific usage) you'll want to keep things below 149 MB (ish). FWIW, my biggest disk-hogs are Facebook and Dolphin Browser.

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  • if you have rooted then what's the solution?
    – Muhammad Umer
    Commented Jun 4, 2014 at 3:37
  • I was never able to find a solution. That is, I never found a way to fix the small /data/data partition. Rooting gives you access to see the usage of that partition that is otherwise hidden, which is helpful in trying to manage things, but it doesn't solve any problems. When I wrote this back in 2012 I researched the idea of enlarging that partition but decided it wasn't worth the risk.
    – Mr. Buster
    Commented Jun 4, 2014 at 16:57
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Check this answer to a similar problem. Basically delete from /data/log. Before you do, if you have the chance (phone still operational) then check the files to see what the errors being logged are.

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The total space shown in memory is not all being used for apps. Android might have allotted a part of your internal memory for installation of apps. When that allotted space is over you can't install new apps and get low memory warning. You can try following:

  1. Uninstall Apps
  2. Move apps to external storage or money card. You can do that by going to app settings. You may be able to move some apps by app settings option.
  3. If you're still getting low memory issue, then you use This app. This is only app I found on play store which can move those apps to SD card which android app settings couldn't. But to use this, you need to be rooted.
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