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Digiland 10.1 tablet APP memory capacity problem

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TomR

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Jan 27, 2015, 2:23:31 PM1/27/15
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I bought a 16 GB Digiland 10.1 inch tablet for a 6 year-old as a Christmas
gift. Here is what I bought:


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/digiland-10-1-16gb-black/8610249.p?id=1219354100499



It says that the Operating System is Android 4.4 KitKat.

It was on sale for under $70 and, as far as I was concerned, it would be
good enough since it was for a 6 year-old who only wanted to be able to play
free game Apps on it. I thought that when it said "16 GB", that meant that
it would have more than enough memory for his purposes.

Here's the problem: It has run out of memory, so he cannot download more
game Apps and he cannot download any updates for the Apps that he has now.
I have tried uninstalling existing Apps to make more room for new Apps but
that isn't working.

Then, I did a search online and I found this person's review of the Digiland
10.1 tablet:

He wrote,

"I wish my tablet was as advertised. Seems to run fine. I would have given
it at least 4 stars. But for some unknown reason, the system splits the
internal storage into two partitions, both labeled "internal storage". One
of those has only 2GB of the 16GB of space. And, you guessed it, all the
apps go to that small space! So, this isn't really a 16GB tablet, it's a
2GB! I only noticed this after I got a warning that I was running out of
space, after installing only a few apps. Really disappointing. No, I would
not recommend this to a friend."

When I look in the tablet that I bought, it does show the internal storage
to be in 2 sections just like the reviewer said. And, all of the Apps are
on the 2 GB part of the internal storage and that is maxed out. I cannot
find any way to move the Apps elsewhere, or even to free up space by
uninstalling them.

So, I went out and I bought a 16 GB Micro SD card and added that. The
tablet shows the new 16 GB Micro SD card, and it gives an option to set the
tablet to write to the SD card by default.

The problem is, I still cannot download any new Apps because it says that it
is out of internal storage memory. And, there does not appear to be any way
to move any of the existing Apps to the new SD card.

My next step is to try to re-set the tablet back to the factory default
settings and start over in setting up the tablet -- but this time with the
SD card in place and the default set to write to the SD card. I don't know
if I will be able to do that or, if I am, if that will work.

I know there is something about "rooting" the device, but I mostly doubt
that I have the skills or knowledge to do that correctly. And, I don't want
to kill the tablet altogether since it is at least working now with the game
Apps that he now has on it.

Does anyone have any other suggestions that I could try before doing the
factory re-set etc.?


SC Tom

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Jan 28, 2015, 8:15:35 AM1/28/15
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"TomR" <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> wrote in message
news:ma8oih$opv$1...@dont-email.me...
Go into Settings> General> Application manager. Tap one of the apps you want
to move. There should be an option under the Storage heading to "Move to SD
card". Or at least there is on my Android 4.4.2 tablet.
--
SC Tom


TJ

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Jan 28, 2015, 9:42:12 AM1/28/15
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Not on mine. That feature is on my Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean tablet, but
Google officially removed it when they updated to Kit Kat. But being
open-source, many if not most manufacturers have tweaked their own
versions of Android.

At one time my Jelly Bean tablet gave me the same out-of-memory message
that the OP is seeing. Examining how my storage was being used, I
discovered that the culprit was one app in particular, the one for my
local newspaper. The paper was holding three days-worth in memory, The
lowest setting for that option. But, it was holding all of it in the 1GB
of what I assumed was equivalent to RAM in a PC. The app was poorly
written, and wasn't properly freeing up that storage when it no longer
needed it, so the storage it was using eventually got larger and larger
until it was using nearly two-thirds of it. The "cure" (really a
workaround) suggested by the paper's tech was to clear the app's data
and change a setting from "Read Offline" to "Read Online." That did seem
to work, as I never again saw that dreaded out-of-memory message.

But within a month, only a year after purchasing it, that tablet
developed battery problems and I replaced it with a Kit Kat (Android
4.4.2) tablet of a different brand. That one shows storage as being
handled differently. Going to Settings/Storage/apps in the Jelly Bean
tablet, I'd see that all apps, running or not, take up some space in
that precious 1GB area. That of course is really, really dumb, but
that's the way they were doing it. On the Kit Kat tablet, however, only
the apps that are actually running are using that precious space. Apps
that *aren't* running show as being in the 16GB of "Internal Storage"
(3.36GB of which is shown as reserved for "Firmware") where they belong.
Oh, and the newspaper app is behaving itself *MUCH* better on the Kit
Kat tablet, not using anywhere near the storage it did on the other one.

(Speculation: On *my* Jelly Bean tablet, the 16GB of internal
non-RAM-like storage is called the "Internal SD Card." On that tablet,
an app that's "moved to SD card" is placed in *that* storage, not the
external card. Not all apps could be moved, however. The newspaper app
is one of them. On *my* Kit Kat tablet, all apps are stored in the
internal non-RAM-like storage when they aren't actually being run,
eliminating the need for a "move to SD card" option. Actually, a much
better system.)

If I were the OP, I'd take a look at how his "2GB" of storage is
actually being used. He'll probably find one or two apps that are
locking up most of the used space between them. Removing one or more of
them, if he can (he probably won't be able to remove many of the
bloatware apps that came on his tablet when he bought it), should free
up enough space to get his tablet going again. Alternatively, he can
clear the data and cache for the offending apps from time to time, but
that usually clears any settings/passwords/paused games, and the like as
well.

He can rant on about how the advertising for tablets is misleading if he
wants - many do. But that isn't going to solve his problem.

TJ

TomR

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Jan 28, 2015, 10:49:03 AM1/28/15
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In news:maancl$87c$1...@dont-email.me,
SC Tom <s...@tom.net> typed:
> "TomR" <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> wrote in message
> news:ma8oih$opv$1...@dont-email.me...
>> I bought a 16 GB Digiland 10.1 inch tablet for a 6 year-old as a
>> Christmas gift. Here is what I bought:
>> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/digiland-10-1-16gb-black/8610249.p?id=1219354100499
>>
>> It says that the Operating System is Android 4.4 KitKat.
>> .........,
>> Here's the problem: It has run out of memory, so he cannot download
>> more game Apps and he cannot download any updates for the Apps that
>> he has now. I have tried uninstalling existing Apps to make more
>> room for new Apps but that isn't working.
>> ........,
>> So, I went out and I bought a 16 GB Micro SD card and added that. The
>> tablet shows the new 16 GB Micro SD card, and it gives an option
>> to set the tablet to write to the SD card by default.
>>
>> The problem is, I still cannot download any new Apps because it says
>> that it is out of internal storage memory. And, there does not
>> appear to be any way to move any of the existing Apps to the new SD
>> card.

> Go into Settings> General> Application manager. Tap one of the apps
> you want to move. There should be an option under the Storage heading
> to "Move to SD card". Or at least there is on my Android 4.4.2 tablet.

Thanks. I don't have the tablet with me, but when I get it I'll try what you
wrote. I don't think this tablet has those options, but I'll post back here
after I try it.


TomR

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Jan 28, 2015, 11:00:00 AM1/28/15
to
In news:maasf3$ua4$1...@dont-email.me,
TJ <T...@noneofyour.business> typed:
> On 01/28/2015 08:15 AM, SC Tom wrote:
>> "TomR" <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> wrote in message
>> news:ma8oih$opv$1...@dont-email.me...
>>> I bought a 16 GB Digiland 10.1 inch tablet for a 6 year-old as a
>>> Christmas gift. Here is what I bought:
>>> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/digiland-10-1-16gb-black/8610249.p?id=1219354100499
>>>
>>> It says that the Operating System is Android 4.4 KitKat.
>>> ....,
>>> Here's the problem: It has run out of memory, so he cannot download
>>> more game Apps and he cannot download any updates for the Apps that
>>> he has now. I have tried uninstalling existing Apps to make more
>>> room for new Apps but that isn't working.
>>> ......,
>>> So, I went out and I bought a 16 GB Micro SD card and added that. The
>>> tablet shows the new 16 GB Micro SD card, and it gives an
>>> option to set the tablet to write to the SD card by default.
>>>
>>> The problem is, I still cannot download any new Apps because it says
>>> that it is out of internal storage memory. And, there does not
>>> appear to be any way to move any of the existing Apps to the new SD
>>> card. ...,
Thanks TJ. I'll spare everyone the rant although the online review that I
posted that was someone else's review was a rant about that.

I'll try all of the things that you said and then I'll post back here what
happened or how well any of those tricks may have worked.

For some strange reason, I think that I recall seeing the option to "move to
SD card" on some Apps before I actually bought and put in an SD card. Now I
don't think I see that option. I'll try taking the SD card back out and
check again to see if any of the Apps say "move to SD card". I honestly
don't remember if I tried that option before because I knew that I didn't
have an SD card at that time. But, if as you mentioned, that option may not
have been referring to a new external SD card (which I knew it didn't have
at the time), I should may sure that I try that.


The Real Bev

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Jan 28, 2015, 2:08:11 PM1/28/15
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Make sure that "sdcard" actually means your external sd card. BLU calls
the smaller chunk of memory -- the part designed to hold apps -- sdcard.
I have 4 GB of internal memory, but only 1 GB of that is available for
apps. I can put some apps in the 'phone' area of the internal memory,
but BLU says that area was designed for "data' -- pictures, music, etc.
-- so I can't actually use as much of it as I want to. Right now I have
1.2 GB of 'phone' memory and 55 MB of 'sdcard' memory available, and
playstore refuses to download or update apps because of "insufficient
memory".

I can, however, install FREE apps using 1MobileMarket or APK downloader.
I'm hosed as far as updating one of my apps with the $7 "upgrade" I
bought. The upgrade works on my 16GB Samsung tablet, but not my BLU 4GB
phone.

I've been going round and round with the playstore helpdroids for a
couple of weeks now. The only solution they have so far is to do a
factory reset, the equivalent of windows' "reformat and reinstall"
solution to problems. Given that backups don't save personalization,
the most time-consuming task when dealing with apps, this is a piss-poor
suggestion.

I've ranted about this before, but newcomers don't know that :-(


--
Cheers, Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
If you have one lawyer in town, he goes hungry.
If you have two lawyers in town, they both get rich.

Frank Slootweg

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Jan 28, 2015, 3:31:25 PM1/28/15
to
The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
[...]
> Make sure that "sdcard" actually means your external sd card. BLU calls
> the smaller chunk of memory -- the part designed to hold apps -- sdcard.
> I have 4 GB of internal memory, but only 1 GB of that is available for
> apps. I can put some apps in the 'phone' area of the internal memory,
> but BLU says that area was designed for "data' -- pictures, music, etc.
> -- so I can't actually use as much of it as I want to. Right now I have
> 1.2 GB of 'phone' memory and 55 MB of 'sdcard' memory available, and
> playstore refuses to download or update apps because of "insufficient
> memory".
>
> I can, however, install FREE apps using 1MobileMarket or APK downloader.
> I'm hosed as far as updating one of my apps with the $7 "upgrade" I
> bought. The upgrade works on my 16GB Samsung tablet, but not my BLU 4GB
> phone.

I don't know if you've already tried this:

- Save the APK of the purchased app on the Samsung.
- Copy the APK to the BLU.
- Side-load the APK on the BLU.

I don't see a reason why that shouldn't work (unless this is a
pay-per-device app).

If it works, you'll probably have to redo it for every update of the
app.

> I've been going round and round with the playstore helpdroids for a
> couple of weeks now. The only solution they have so far is to do a
> factory reset, the equivalent of windows' "reformat and reinstall"
> solution to problems. Given that backups don't save personalization,
> the most time-consuming task when dealing with apps, this is a piss-poor
> suggestion.

Have you already done a 'Uninstall updates' and 'Disable' of all the
factory-installed stuff which you don't need?

As you might remember, I have a '4GB' (read: 300MB) phone as well and
also had the "Insufficient storage available" problem, but now [1] for
quite some time have some 200MB free and no Play Store related problems/
errors.

> I've ranted about this before, but newcomers don't know that :-(

It's not a rant, but the clueless loons in this group don't know that!

[1] After moving as many files and apps as possible to the 'external' SD
card and doing the above mentioned 'Uninstall updates' and 'Disable'.

The Real Bev

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Jan 28, 2015, 8:03:27 PM1/28/15
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Google gave up. My only solution is the factory reset. Unacceptable,
but nothing I can do about it. I guess google figures it can do a
little bit of evil...

John B. Slocomb

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Jan 28, 2015, 11:31:33 PM1/28/15
to
Generally "Move to Sd" means to move the App to the internal "sd card"
not to an external sd card. Secondly, many, maybe most, maker
installed Apps can't be moved. Using 4.2.2, for example, I cannot move
the first two Apps in the "Settings > apps > Downloaded" list which
are ACalendar and Adobe Flash. The third App listed is App Backup &
Restore which is movable and the fourth, "AuroraBorealis" is not.
ACalendar, App Backup and Aurora I downloaded and Adobe came with the
phone.

While it is not a cure-all a partial solution is to go to the
"Settings > apps > All" listing and some of the Apps listed there can
be "Disabled" which does not remove the App totally but does seem to
reduce its size considerably
With a Tablet, using 4.4.2, I don't seem to be able to move some of
the same Apps that were movable in 4.2.2 however generally
non-critical system Apps can be disabled as in 4.2.2.

--
Cheers,

John B.

Bob Martin

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Jan 29, 2015, 2:49:50 AM1/29/15
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in 16990 20150128 131536 "SC Tom" <s...@tom.net> wrote:

>Go into Settings> General> Application manager. Tap one of the apps you want
>to move. There should be an option under the Storage heading to "Move to SD
>card". Or at least there is on my Android 4.4.2 tablet.

16GB should be more than enough for most purposes.

Recently my grand-daughter's 16GB tablet said it was out of memory.
When my son investigated he found that one of her games had 11GB in the cache!
He cleared that and problem solved.

SC Tom

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Jan 29, 2015, 9:03:14 AM1/29/15
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"John B. Slocomb" <sloc...@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:87bjcadjh5t8p2kno...@4ax.com...
On my Samsung Galaxy Tab4, "Move to SD card" means just that- move to the
external card. Storage on the Tab is listed as Device Memory and SD Card. If
I do a Move to SD Card, I see my Used Space under Device Memory decrease and
the Available Space on the SD card decrease by nearly the same amount.
Granted, not everything from an installed app is moved, but a goodly portion
of it is moved. As a test, I moved one of my apps (a Mahjong game) from
Device memory to SD card, and here's what I got:

Application 64.93MB --> 18.24MB
SD card app 0 --> 63.02MB

Total storage went up slightly, but the majority of the space used by the
app is now on the external SD card. If my card ever goes bad, I'm screwed
big time since most of my downloaded apps are there. I checked a number of
system apps, but as you stated, they can't be moved, and some of them can't
be disabled either (I'm sure there's a good reason for that, so I'm not
pushing it). With 16GB total, with ~12GB useable, I don't think I'll be
running out of space any time soon. My biggest hogs are a couple of racing
games, and by the time I'm ready for something new, I'll be done and will
uninstall them :-)
--
SC Tom


SC Tom

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Jan 29, 2015, 11:38:10 AM1/29/15
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"John B. Slocomb" <sloc...@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:87bjcadjh5t8p2kno...@4ax.com...

TJ

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Jan 29, 2015, 11:44:04 AM1/29/15
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On 01/29/2015 09:03 AM, SC Tom wrote:
>
>
> "John B. Slocomb" <sloc...@invalid.com> wrote in message
> news:87bjcadjh5t8p2kno...@4ax.com...
>> On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 10:59:57 -0500, "TomR" <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> wrote:
>>
>>> In news:maasf3$ua4$1...@dont-email.me,
>>> TJ <T...@noneofyour.business> typed:
>>>> On 01/28/2015 08:15 AM, SC Tom wrote:
>>>>> "TomR" <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> wrote in message
>>>>> news:ma8oih$opv$1...@dont-email.me...

(no need to quote all that stuff yet again...)

Each example only backs up my point that a lot depends on how much the
individual manufacturer has modified the "stock" Android. Devices from
different manufacturers may work similarly, but probably won't be
exactly the same, even with the same Android version.

It is at once the biggest advantage and biggest disadvantage of an
open-source OS.

TJ

John B. Slocomb

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Jan 29, 2015, 9:21:50 PM1/29/15
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I can't comment on the Tab4 but my wife's Galaxy III (Android 4.3)
lists System Memory and SD Card, but of the Apps on the phone allows
only three to be moved and they were User installed games. None of the
other Apps, whether Maker installed or User installed can be moved.

But my old Galaxy II (Android 4.1.2) lists Device Memory (RAM), USB
Storage (which in the internal fixed storage) and SD Card (which is
the external SD Card) and allows some Apps to be moved into the USB
Memory but not the external SD Card memory.

A newer THL phone (Android 4.2.2) lists Internal Storage (RAM), Phone
Storage( internal fixed storage) and SD Card (external SD Card) and
allows some Apps to be moved to "external memory", but none to the
external sd card..

My ACER Tablet (Android 4.4.2) shows Internal Storage (All internal
storage) and SD Card which is the external SD Card storage and a
grayed out entry "External USB Storage" which is literally that, if
you plug in a USB memory Stick it's capacity shows here. No Apps can
be "moved to sd card", only uninstalled for User installed Apps or
"Uninstall Updates" or "Disabled" for Maker installed.

My old Galaxy Pocket (Android 4.1.2) shows System Storage (RAM), SD
Card and USB Storage(Internal fixed memory). Again only some Apps can
be moved and they seem to be limited to one game that I downloaded.

As for moving Apps to the external, User supplied, SD Card. I have
removed the SD Card and mounted it to a PC running Linux, which will
read a storage device down to the byte level, and I cannot find
anything on the external SD Card that appears to be an App. I do find,
for example, some downloaded maps that were stored by a navigation
program to the external card but the program was configured to use
"external memory" to store data.

If anyone can move an App to the external sd card please advise the
manufacturer of the device, the Android version, and how you
determined that the App was actually moved to the external, user
installed, memory, and to what directory on the external memory the
app was moved to.

This , by the way, is not intended as a challenge. I would really like
to know what is actually possible on these confounded devices.

--
Cheers,

John B.

Frank Slootweg

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Jan 30, 2015, 3:50:32 PM1/30/15
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John B. Slocomb <sloc...@invalid.com> wrote:
[...]
> If anyone can move an App to the external sd card please advise the
> manufacturer of the device, the Android version, and how you
> determined that the App was actually moved to the external, user
> installed, memory, and to what directory on the external memory the
> app was moved to.
>
> This , by the way, is not intended as a challenge. I would really like
> to know what is actually possible on these confounded devices.

As I've mentioned several times before, my Huawei (Ascend Y300) with
(stock) Android 4.1.1 can do this, provided of course that the app is
written to be able to do this.

The most convincing proof that (the biggest part of) the app is
actually moved to the 'external' SD-card, is that the moved parts are in
the .android_secure folder on the 'external' SD-card. These moved parts
are the .asec files of the apps.

Note that the *content* of this folder is *not* shown by the file
manager (at least not the supplied file manager (called 'File
Manager')). The folder itself is shown, but says '[Files:0, Folders:0]'.

To be able to see the contents of the folder, I had to connect the
phone to my laptop in 'Connect as USB mass storage' mode. (In MTP mode,
the folder is shown, but not its contents.) (Of course one could also
take the SD-card out of the phone and insert it in a card-reader of a
computer, but that's quite a hassle and not needed.)

When connected to the laptop, it's very clear as to which folder/file
is in which storage area ('Internal storage' or ('external') 'SD card'),
because these areas have different drive letters. I.e. while there might
be confusion when looking at these areas from the Android side, there is
no such confusion when looking at them from the laptop/Windows side.

But even stronger than that, I know for sure that the files are on the
SD-card, because at one time I changed from a 8GB card to a 32GB and
when copying everything, the contents of the .android_secure folder were
copied from the old to the new card.

A specfic example (of one of my about ten moved apps):

- "GPS Navigation BE-ON-ROAD"
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.aponia.bor3>

- The .asec file is cz.aponia.bor3-2.asec. That's similar for other
.asec files: the Google play 'id', followed by a minus sign, followed
by a digit and followed by '.asec'.

- The cz.aponia.bor3-2.asec file is 21,862 KB, 21.3 MB.

- On the Android side, the 'App info' page says:

"Storage
Total 25.16MB
App 3.04MB
USB storage app 21.38MB
Data 756KB
SD card 0.00B"

- 'App' is the *un*-moved part, which is in the 'Internal storage',
i.e. the internal memory of the phone. I.e. very little in the
'precious' storage area.

- 'USB storage app' is the part of the *app*, which is moved to the
'external' SD-card. It matches quite closely with the size of the
.asec file. I.e. most of the app has been moved to the 'external'
SD-card.

- 'Data' is the data area in 'Internal storage'.

- 'SD card' is the *data* area on the 'external' SD-card.

N.B. For *this* (kind of) app - an offline GPS navigation app - the
sizes of 'Data' and 'SD card' data are not very relevant, because the
bulk of the data - hundreds of megabytes and sometimes even gigabytes
of offline maps - is in normal files on the 'external' SD-card. For
example for another navigation app - Navfree - the 'SD card' data area
is 572MB, so for that app, the big maps are not in normal files.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any questions.

TomR

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Jan 31, 2015, 5:01:32 PM1/31/15
to
In news:ma8oih$opv$1...@dont-email.me,
TomR <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> typed:
> I bought a 16 GB Digiland 10.1 inch tablet for a 6 year-old as a
> Christmas gift. Here is what I bought:
> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/digiland-10-1-16gb-black/8610249.p?id=1219354100499
> It says that the Operating System is Android 4.4 KitKat.
> ........,
> Here's the problem: It has run out of memory, so he cannot download
> more game Apps and he cannot download any updates for the Apps that
> he has now. I have tried uninstalling existing Apps to make more room
> for new Apps but that isn't working.
> .....,
> Does anyone have any other suggestions that I could try before doing
> the factory re-set etc.?

Thanks everyone for all of the ideas and suggestions. Here's a partial
update.

My friend brought me the Digiland 10.1 inch tablet that his 6 year-old son
had so I could try some or all of the ideas suggested here. BUT, when he
brought it to me, there was a NEW problem -- it wouldn't turn on, no
boot-up, nothing -- just a completely dead tablet. Plus, he didn't bring
the 16 GB Micro SD card that I had bought and that I had put in the tablet.
He had taken that out and forgot to bring it -- duh. Now, they are away for
the weekend while I tried to work on the tablet.

At first, I could not get the tablet to do anything -- nothing, no screen,
nothing showing that the power supply was plugged in , nada -- just a
completely dead tablet. After trying everything else that I could think of,
I tried using a paper clip and pressing the "re-set" with the paper clip.
For some unknown reason, that caused the tablet to then show the power
supply being plugged in, and it also allowed me to turn the tablet on --
yippy!

After that, for some reason (I guess it was the re-set), it allowed me to
choose to "update the WiFi" -- but saying "yes" to that actually meant that
the entire system was updated, not just the WiFi. And, good news -- after
that system update, I had more options than I had before. I could uninstall
apps, which I did, and I was able to free up a lot of internal memory. And,
after that, I was then able to update any apps, download new apps, etc. So,
the whole tablet is back working again.

Unfortunately, until I get the 16 GB Micro SD card back and mount it, I
can't try any of the other ideas and suggestions that were posted here about
shifting the storage around to try to create more room for more apps etc. I
will post back here what happens once I get to try those ideas.

Thanks again to everyone. I will follow up again.


DMcCunney

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Feb 15, 2015, 3:28:18 PM2/15/15
to
On 1/29/2015 9:21 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
> If anyone can move an App to the external sd card please advise the
> manufacturer of the device, the Android version, and how you
> determined that the App was actually moved to the external, user
> installed, memory, and to what directory on the external memory the
> app was moved to.

> This , by the way, is not intended as a challenge. I would really like
> to know what is actually possible on these confounded devices.

It's possible, and I do it, but it requires a rooted device.

I have an Azpen A727 tablet. It's a low end device with a 7" screen in 800x480 resolution, a dual core 1.5ghz Allwinner23 CPU (and ARM Cortex 7 design), 512MB RAM, and 4GB internal storage, running 4.2.2 J
Jellybean. Of that 4GB, 768MB is available as app storage, and 1 GB is seen as an internal SD card. *Some* apps can be partially relocated to the internal SD. I have a 32GB microSD card installed.

I ran out of app storage *very* quickly, and started thinking about using the external card to expand storage. My device is rooted, so it was possible.

The problem is that external cards have the wrong file system. Mine as purchased came formatted as FAT32. Android needs a Linux file system to store and run apps from. FAT32 has no place to store the various metadata like ownership and permissions that Android uses.

I popped the card from the tablet, plugged it into an adapter, and plugged that into my Windows desktop. I used a freeware partition utility to carve out a 2GB slice on the card, and format it as Linux Ext4. I put the card back in the tablet, rebooted it, and Android saw and mounted the new filesystem.

A freeware app from the App Store called Link2SD was the second part of the solution. It can relocate internally stored apps to the external card, and place symlinks in the root filesystem pointing to them. Android doesn't care that they are actually on the card - it just follows the symlink and runs them. (There is an open source package called MountSD that also claims to be able to do this.)

At this point, I have everything *including* the kitchen sink installed, including massive apps like a beta Android port of Open Office, and Terminal IDE, which provides a complete GCC toolchain (and requires 150MB of app storage.) My tablet still thinks I have about 200MB of free app storage.

You *must* be rooted to do this, but if you are it works nicely.
______
Dennis

TomR

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Feb 15, 2015, 3:49:43 PM2/15/15
to
In news:mbqvfr$l3v$1...@dont-email.me,
DMcCunney <dennis....@gmail.com> typed:
Thanks for the info. I am the OP. Unfortunately, the person that I gave
the Digiland tablet to, along with a 16 GB Micro SD card, managed to take
out the SD card and now they can't find it! Duh. Very frustrating for me.
Otherwise, I would love to try what you wrote, but I refuse to buy another
SD card.

Also, I would be very nervous about trying to make the tablet "rooted". My
fear is that I wouldn't know what I was doing and I would mess it up, and
then the tablet wouldn't work.

Is there some way or a system to "root" this tablet that a novice like me
could follow and do that in a way that would not wreck the tablet?

Thanks.


Chris S

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Feb 15, 2015, 4:20:27 PM2/15/15
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"TomR" <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> wrote in message
news:mbr0o0$qag$1...@dont-email.me...
These folks say they can root digiland...
http://www.srsroot.com/

Chris

DMcCunney

unread,
Feb 15, 2015, 7:06:49 PM2/15/15
to
On 2/15/2015 3:51 PM, TomR wrote:
> In news:mbqvfr$l3v$1...@dont-email.me,
> DMcCunney <dennis....@gmail.com> typed:
>> On 1/29/2015 9:21 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
>>> If anyone can move an App to the external sd card please advise the
>>> manufacturer of the device, the Android version, and how you
>>> determined that the App was actually moved to the external, user
>>> installed, memory, and to what directory on the external memory the
>>> app was moved to.
>>
>>> This , by the way, is not intended as a challenge. I would really
>>> like to know what is actually possible on these confounded devices.
>>
>> It's possible, and I do it, but it requires a rooted device.

<...>

> Thanks for the info. I am the OP. Unfortunately, the person that I gave
> the Digiland tablet to, along with a 16 GB Micro SD card, managed to take
> out the SD card and now they can't find it! Duh. Very frustrating for me.
> Otherwise, I would love to try what you wrote, but I refuse to buy another
> SD card.

They're really cheap, at about $1/GB or less.

> Also, I would be very nervous about trying to make the tablet "rooted". My
> fear is that I wouldn't know what I was doing and I would mess it up, and
> then the tablet wouldn't work.

That's a valid fear. I proceeded slowly and carefully.

> Is there some way or a system to "root" this tablet that a novice like me
> could follow and do that in a way that would not wreck the tablet?

Probably. There are a variety of "one click root" solutions out there. You connect your tablet to your host PC, run the one-click-root program, and Presto!

It was a little more complicated for me, because Azpen isn't a well known popular brand. I found a website with rooting instructions that were Windows specific. The problem is that the rooting programs must push changes to the Android device, and the communications must exist to let that happen.

To permit the required communications, I had to download 560MB of the Google Android SDK and install it. This was solely to get the Google Android driver for Windows installed on my PC, so I could plug in the tablet and have it recognized as an Android device. Once the driver was in place, the rest could go away.

The first try failed. I was trying to do it from a 32 bit XP machine. XP flatly refused to install the driver when I plugged in the tablet, claiming it couldn't find suitable software, even though the driver was where I pointed. I assumed it was a Windows issue, and tried again with the 64 bit version of the SDK on my SO's 64 bit Win7 laptop. *That* worked, the driver installed, and I could connect the tablet and have it recognized as an Android device. I also had to enable debugging on the tablet, but that was done from Settings on the tablet.

With the tablet in debug mode and connected to the laptop, I could use the Kingo Root program to push the required changes to the tablet and root it. (After I was done, I had to turn debug mode off again, as it interferes with normal usage.)

The question is whether a one-click-root solution exists for the Digiland. If it does, the process should be straight forward.

> Thanks.

You're welcome.
______
Dennis

tlvp

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Feb 15, 2015, 7:58:47 PM2/15/15
to
On Sun, 15 Feb 2015 19:06:42 -0500, DMcCunney wrote:

> They're really cheap, at about $1/GB or less.

Yep, can be ... but not from, say, your local Walgreens :-) . At Staples,
too, you never know: sometimes they're > $2.GB, sometimes < $0.50/GB.
Likewise for WalMart, OfficeMax, OfficeDepot, ... . You pretty much have to
do a web or mail order (and wait for delivery) for a sure $0.50/GB or less.

There are also some offered at circa $0.10/MB, but very likely counterfeit.

Have to decide just where/how to get one, is all :-) . Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

DMcCunney

unread,
Feb 15, 2015, 11:54:05 PM2/15/15
to
On 2/15/2015 7:58 PM, tlvp wrote:
> On Sun, 15 Feb 2015 19:06:42 -0500, DMcCunney wrote:
>
>> They're really cheap, at about $1/GB or less.
>
> Yep, can be ... but not from, say, your local Walgreens :-) . At Staples,
> too, you never know: sometimes they're > $2.GB, sometimes < $0.50/GB.
> Likewise for WalMart, OfficeMax, OfficeDepot, ... . You pretty much have to
> do a web or mail order (and wait for delivery) for a sure $0.50/GB or less.

My source would be retailer MicroCenter, who have a store in reasonable distance of me in NYC by subway, and are big enough to have their own store brand. Their store brand class 10 16GB SDHC microSD card is $8. (I got a store brand 64GB USB thumbdrive for $20.)

There's a Staples in walking distance of me, but I wouldn't shop there because they wouldn't have it. Stuff like that doesn't sell for a high enough price or generate a sufficient margin to make stocking it in store worthwhile. Covering the overhead in Manhattan requires high sales per square foot of shelf space, so the stuff that costs more and has higher margins is what's on the shelf. If you want it cheap you order from their website and get it delivered.

The same factors apply to everyone, and explain why your comments above are true. If the brick and mortar retailer *does* have stuff like that, it will cost rather more than the online sites, and you are paying for convenience and being able to get it same day.

(The MicroCenter outlet is in a former industrial space in Brooklyn, and essentially a "warehouse store" stocking pretty much everything computer related. The location means their overhead is far lower than midtown, and they can carry stuff like that. I shop there precisely because I *can* get all the fiddly bits same day.)

> There are also some offered at circa $0.10/MB, but very likely counterfeit.

I assume you get what you pay for, and wouldn't touch such things with a stick.

> Have to decide just where/how to get one, is all :-) . Cheers, -- tlvp

Yep.
______
Dennis

lisatow...@gmail.com

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Feb 17, 2015, 9:37:42 PM2/17/15
to
Hi. I was recently having this problem. If u have never found out how to move files... When you two on the file you have to choose cut. (The scissors on top right) then go to SD files and touch the paper looking button (copy) also in top right. It is a long drawn out process but that's the only way I have figured out to move them. There are absolutely no instructions when u buy this tablet. I bought this particular one because it was on sale for under $50 and it was a birthday present for my 3 year old. Hope this helps you. :-D

tesh...@gmail.com

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Nov 29, 2015, 2:29:05 PM11/29/15
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DigiLand 10.1″ Tablet 16GB KitKat Quad-Core WiFi Touchscreen http://www.cheapshopstoresonline.com/digiland-10-1-tablet-16gb-kitkat-quad-core-wifi-touchscreen/

The Real Bev

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Nov 29, 2015, 3:11:08 PM11/29/15
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Try deleting some of them. At the same place where you would uninstall
a given app, are you also given the choice to movie it to your new
sdcard? Makes sure that it's the EXTERNAL sdcard it's moved to;
sometimes they call one of the internal memory partitions 'sdcard' and
the external one something else.

>> My next step is to try to re-set the tablet back to the factory default
>> settings and start over in setting up the tablet -- but this time with the
>> SD card in place and the default set to write to the SD card. I don't know
>> if I will be able to do that or, if I am, if that will work.
>>
>> I know there is something about "rooting" the device, but I mostly doubt
>> that I have the skills or knowledge to do that correctly. And, I don't want
>> to kill the tablet altogether since it is at least working now with the game
>> Apps that he now has on it.
>>
>> Does anyone have any other suggestions that I could try before doing the
>> factory re-set etc.?
>
> DigiLand 10.1″ Tablet 16GB KitKat Quad-Core WiFi Touchscreen http://www.cheapshopstoresonline.com/digiland-10-1-tablet-16gb-kitkat-quad-core-wifi-touchscreen/




--
Cheers,
Bev
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
Some mornings it's just not worth chewing through the straps.

Whiskers

unread,
Nov 30, 2015, 1:44:10 PM11/30/15
to
On 2015-11-29, The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/29/2015 11:29 AM, tesh...@gmail.com wrote:
>> On Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 7:23:31 PM UTC, TomR wrote:

[...]

>>> So, I went out and I bought a 16 GB Micro SD card and added that. The
>>> tablet shows the new 16 GB Micro SD card, and it gives an option to set the
>>> tablet to write to the SD card by default.
>>>
>>> The problem is, I still cannot download any new Apps because it says that it
>>> is out of internal storage memory. And, there does not appear to be any way
>>> to move any of the existing Apps to the new SD card.
>
> Try deleting some of them. At the same place where you would uninstall
> a given app, are you also given the choice to movie it to your new
> sdcard? Makes sure that it's the EXTERNAL sdcard it's moved to;
> sometimes they call one of the internal memory partitions 'sdcard' and
> the external one something else.

[...]

Apps which can't be uninstalled, eg the Google bloat, can be 'disabled'
so that they don't run and so don't try to store any data. You may need
to 'uninstall updates' before you get the 'disable' option.

Don't expect too much from 'moving apps to the SDCard'; significant
parts of those apps have to remain in the system's limited main memory
space.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

TherealMrX

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Jan 18, 2016, 6:28:00 AM1/18/16
to
Pretty simple figuring out that when you installed a 16gb sd memory card on an 8gb device, and the device manager shows a 16gb sd memory card, Thats your external memory,lol.
Well this was a waste of 15mins reading, to bad people have to turn a thread about a Digiland tablet into a show and tell all about them and they’re various brands and OS's.



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