Develop Bugs

"ReadyBoost" for Android?

Hello,
Why isnt it possible to use SDCRAM as sort of RAM in android? same as VISA/7 Using ReadyBoost to expand the ram with an USB disk on keys?
thanks!

Why would you want that?

since you only use flash based memory anyway: that's called swaping

And is Swap enabled in all froyo roms today?

rommark said:
And is Swap enabled in all froyo roms today?
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But why would you need it? You have 512MB of RAM, with a clean boot you have around 200-220MB of it free for whatever you want to do with it. Not enough for you?

martino2k6 said:
But why would you need it? You have 512MB of RAM, with a clean boot you have around 200-220MB of it free for whatever you want to do with it. Not enough for you?
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won't heavy 3d games eat that?

rommark said:
won't heavy 3d games eat that?
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No. Smartphones =/= PCs. And if you are really out of space for a short amount of time, unneeded processes get killed automatically. Swap was only really needed on the G1 but definitely not on the Desire.

rommark said:
won't heavy 3d games eat that?
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No, that's a bit too much even for a game... unless the code has memory leaks. With so much RAM it'd make more sense to use ramdisk (but who knows for what good use)

martino2k6 said:
No, that's a bit too much even for a game... unless the code has memory leaks. With so much RAM it'd make more sense to use ramdisk (but who knows for what good use)
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RamDisk could be insane for 3d gaming as then the textures would have fast extraction means less delay in rendering....

What Readyboost is NOT
Hey folks. I've only recently discovered Readyboost as I'm primarily a Linux guy. I got all hot and bothered about it immediately as well as it is (despite Microsofts constant onslaught of horrific failures) an absolutely brilliant and elegant technology/idea.
HOWEVER!!!
Nearly everyone is confused about what RB actually does, so I thought I'd take a minute to explain.
ReadyBoost is NOT swap. NOT SWAP!, not swap.
Swap is not something to get excited about, it is a last resort for when you're out of RAM and it's excruciatingly slow. In the land of IT, one of the first things we check for when a server is experiencing horrible performance, is "IS THIS MACHINE SWAPPING". Everyone's gotta learn that swap, while it is more useful than "not enough memory" it is nor more useful than utilizing the memory you already have, and it will always result in poor performance.
ReadyBoost is an additional disc cache for small, non-sequential reads/writes. It works with your existing FS cache but is faster in some cases because FLASH has a much lower seek time. Most FLASH chips have a seek time of <1ms while most rotational discs have a seek time of around 8ms. This adds up on a large number of small non-sequential r/w.
ReadyBoost takes any caching operations which fit it's strength profile (small, non-sequential) and offloads them to your FLASH device. This can increase load speed of some files/application dramatically (2-20x faster).
So, when someone asks you if they can use Readyboost because they don't have enough memory, please, take a moment to explain that RB is not swap, but is in fact a supplementary disc cache for small, non-sequential reads and writes.
That said, I haven't had time to dig into the question of whether or not RB would benefit Linux FS's.

I know this is a really old thread but I just wanted to put my two cents in. Memory boosting apps like ReadyBoost do have a viable purpose. That is keeping older hardware viable as minimum specs increase. There is an Android app that is equivilant to ReadyBoost called Roehsoft RAM Expander. There are mixed reviews for its performance but that is to be expected. If this app helps my aging 8227_Demo head unit work well enough for me to not replace it I will update this post.

[SOLVED][Q] Where's the RAM?

My phone shows 370Mb Total, 198Mb Free. Not the 512Mb as promised.
I don't get it. Is some of this RAM blocked off and dedicated to some obscure backgrounded processes?
How much RAM do you guys have?

reserved for system

I read around a bit. So does the GPU share in the 512? How come my G1 showed the full advertised 192Mb and this does not?

funkeee said:
I read around a bit. So does the GPU share in the 512? How come my G1 showed the full advertised 192Mb and this does not?
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Yes, the GPU (and the radio) shares in the 512MB. That's normal.

believe the radio/gpu are using 128mb or close to that

larryccf said:
believe the radio/gpu are using 128mb or close to that
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Is this configurable? Some users might want to be able to switch between two profiles: Gamin/Business

funkeee said:
I read around a bit. So does the GPU share in the 512? How come my G1 showed the full advertised 192Mb and this does not?
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different cpu/gpu combo.
thats y the g2 has better graphics.
No bigger tho you wont have a problem with it

Freeing more ram on Galaxy S

Hypothesis:
The memory for this device is contiguous with memory holes. This holes are for DMA for front/back camera, video decoding/encoding, etc. In 99.99% of time this is wasted memory.
Proposal:
Why not allocating all ram and dynamically allocating memory for DMA only when needed?
For example this could be like this:
1.The phone boots and the mm allocates all memory but lies the driver for camera that he could use a portion of ram for DMA
2.The system use normally all memory (maybe allocating last the reserved memory)
3.The user starts the camera
4.A hook in camera's driver instruct the mm that he needs the reserved memory
5.The MM frees a portion of ram(other than the one needed by the camera and equal with that) and moves everything from the reserved memory in that
6.The MM updates it's maps(virtual memory ↔ real memory)
7.The camera uses normally in DMA the reserved memory
8.The user closes the camera, the camera driver notifies the MM that he doesn't need memory anymore
9.The MM allocates normally the reserved memory
Pros: You'll have like 50% more ram in user space
Cons: Some lag when starting camera
I'm ready to start implementing this but I don't have lots of experience with the linux's mm and I don't really know if this is possible so I'm asking:
How crazy this idea is and it could be implemented? And if yes, how hard?

WOW! Your the first to suggest it. After everybody else here on forum, that is.

dupel said:
WOW! Your the first to suggest it. After everybody else here on forum, that is.
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Yes, I know, the idea is not revolutionary or smth ) but I'm ready to try to implement it...
So please respond only if you can provide some useful information.

Not sure anyone really knows how easy it is to do for sure, but it has been mentioned a few times (but sounds like you have done it in further detail).
Personally, I've always believed that it's something which Samsung is working on, but maybe not. Could be awesome if you managed to make it work reliably.

Check out Hardcore's Speedmod kernel here in the development section.
His kernel gives you 341 RAM instead of the default 304. Might give you some ideas.

I know this isn't a bounty thread, but I would be willing to donate $20 if you could get this working. I wouldn't mind a slightly delay when launcher camera. I'd much rather have more free RAM.

andars05 said:
I know this isn't a bounty thread, but I would be willing to donate $20 if you could get this working. I wouldn't mind a slightly delay when launcher camera. I'd much rather have more free RAM.
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I seriously think Samsung messed up a very good phone by allotting ONLY 512 MB ram. With 16/8 GB at their disposal, they could have easily allotted at least 1 gb

ragin said:
I seriously think Samsung messed up a very good phone by allotting ONLY 512 MB ram. With 16/8 GB at their disposal, they could have easily allotted at least 1 gb
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+1 here!
I have the 16GB version so I wish Sammy gave this version at least 2GB RAM and 1 GB ROM

android.francis said:
+1 here!
I have the 16GB version so I wish Sammy gave this version at least 2GB RAM and 1 GB ROM
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Can any developer DO THIS?
Seems simple. I think you need hack the pit file.

hi . . .
I dont want to be rude, but seeing these comments I couldn't stop myself -
Dudes, if you dont know what you are talking about STFU!!!
Seriously?? Allocate more to RAM from 16/8 GB??????? And edit the PIT file for this???? I am assuming that you all would've used computers, are you allocating more to RAM from the free space in your Hard Disk?? What you are suggesting is the same!!!
Please think for a moment before you post stuff.
And to the original query regarding how hard this would be - it would be pretty hard. You will have to touch upon everything that uses and reserves RAM. And this would also include modifying firmware of individual components on the phone. And if there are parts in this for which Samsung has not released source code, it would be very difficult. Not to say that - you could end up damaging the phone.
Good thoughts - but it would need a lot of work to get going.
Cheerios!!

Actually, using a swap partition on flash isn't that bad an idea, they are low latency. It would be pretty slow compared to physical ram though
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

coooolboyz said:
hi . . .
I dont want to be rude, but seeing these comments I couldn't stop myself -
Dudes, if you dont know what you are talking about STFU!!!
Seriously?? Allocate more to RAM from 16/8 GB??????? And edit the PIT file for this???? I am assuming that you all would've used computers, are you allocating more to RAM from the free space in your Hard Disk?? What you are suggesting is the same!!!
Please think for a moment before you post stuff.
And to the original query regarding how hard this would be - it would be pretty hard. You will have to touch upon everything that uses and reserves RAM. And this would also include modifying firmware of individual components on the phone. And if there are parts in this for which Samsung has not released source code, it would be very difficult. Not to say that - you could end up damaging the phone.
Good thoughts - but it would need a lot of work to get going.
Cheerios!!
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My response: VIRTUAL RAM. And yes, I think before I post. My response was more of wishful thinking. So as an added response: ANALYZE and comprehend BEFORE you react. And I orginally was not suppose to reply but similar to you, I JUST COULDN'T STOP MYSELF
Now as for the topic of more RAM, I said before to check out Hardcore's SPEEDMOD KERNEL. It is fully functional and your RAM goes from 304MB to 341MB. Yes, it is hard but Hardcore already did it.

[Q to devs and everyone]what is the max RAM amount we can get from galaxy s?

i have started my own and read every topic about why we could not see all the ram as user available (329 instead of 512) .. first i compared galaxy s with tab but it turned out tab has 640 Mb of real memory in total.. but i also have seen it was possible to add more memory about 40 Mb to the user available ram .. and i also learned there is also a part which is not used and called "blackhole" approximitely another 40 Mb..
so i believe it is possible to make some adjustments to improve the weakest (according to me) part of our galaxy s.. would some devs please mind trying this for us and share it?

We don't need the RAM (yet)
There are a lot of developers who try to get more out of our SGS's. For instance Juwe/ GingerReal increases the RAM to around 340MB.
Appearently Google thinks we don't need the full potential RAM and that's why they made it with a default of 300-330MB. Still still most developers agree on XDA that we should be able to acces the other 160MB because it doesn't do anything.
Until then we'll just have to wait.

even 340 Mb instead of 329 makes a difference .. i cant think what would happen with 380 or 400 or maybe even more..
because as far as i understood from what i have read; 128 memory is reserved for some drivers and capturing video is taking most of it.. i am taking a video maybe once in 2 monts.. but i am using my widgets, apps, playing my games everyday.. so if was asked to choose i would love to have that memory reserved for video taking..
edit:typo

First of all, the amount of RAM is NOT related to the ROM....
The kernel makes the difference...
In general the max amount of RAM in Gingerbread is 340MB, cuz if we go over the phone will become unstable and we'll break some functions like 720p recording....
In Froyo we used to reach max of 350MB without issues

just curiosity;
galaxy s2 and galaxy s has the same rams with different amounts.. what would happen if we soldered the 1gb ram to galaxy s? would it recognize it without any software tuning? or would we just kill the phone completely? or would still see 329 ?

simone201 said:
First of all, the amount of RAM is NOT related to the ROM....
The kernel makes the difference...
In general the max amount of RAM in Gingerbread is 340MB, cuz if we go over the phone will become unstable and we'll break some functions like 720p recording....
In Froyo we used to reach max of 350MB without issues
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so is it possible to disable video recording completely and having lots of more Mb?

_delice_doluca_ said:
just curiosity;
galaxy s2 and galaxy s has the same rams with different amounts.. what would happen if we soldered the 1gb ram to galaxy s? would it recognize it without any software tuning? or would we just kill the phone completely? or would still see 329 ?
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Do you want to instert 1GB ram into our SGS? I dunno sincerely what will happen.....
_delice_doluca_ said:
so is it possible to disable video recording completely and having lots of more Mb?
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Probably yes, i am not a kernel expert, i am only a rom cooker/recognised developer, so my knowledge on kernels is very basic....
Maybe you'd better directly ask to a kernel dev like hardcore, nikademus, chainfire....

simone201 said:
Do you want to instert 1GB ram into our SGS? I dunno sincerely what will happen.....
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i would really want that but i am sure its not as easy as soldering the gps antenna.. i have read about a HTC device getting a memory upgrade to 128Mb from 64 in xda forum.. so technically there is no impossible but i wonder what else need to be done after soldering the ram? software adjustments (kernel maybe?), or any more hardware changes ?
simone201 said:
Probably yes, i am not a kernel expert, i am only a rom cooker/recognised developer, so my knowledge on kernels is very basic....
Maybe you'd better directly ask to a kernel dev like hardcore, nikademus, chainfire....
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thanks for tip, i will ask them..

i am really feeling bad about this ram issue.. every web page is showing nexus, galaxy s, galaxy tab have 512 Mb of ram.. but the memory dedicated for users is far less than the other 2 phones in galaxy s ... so it bothers me.. is there anyone who returns their phones to samsung and gets the money back?
first i believed somehow it was possible to use most of the ram with some software adjustement but then i realised even quadrant shows the total amount of ram memory is only 384 mb (and there is a part which is not used at all) ..

NS4G's ram sized 512mb? or 345mb?

well... i just came from Evo4G and im very new with samsung with android..
i didn't bother to check when i first got the phone but right after my rooting process and installation of Miui 1.9.2, i installed perfect system monitor app and put the widget on my main screen and it showed 345mb of ram and only had 49mb free ram..
i was like WTF!! but is this normal? i thought NS4G came with 512mb?
is there a fix?

i do believe the Nexus comes with 512 ram. sounds like theres some setting displaying wrongly

It does have 512 RAM
I've read about this very issue on other forums before.
Some people speculated that it limited the RAM on purpose because the OS doesn't need it all and later versions of the OS would need it.
But ultimately I saw someone post that said that the GPU requires a certain amount of RAM, and so it is almost like partitioned and is unavailable for the rest of the system.

Development? Nope. Thread closed.
And for the record, Irrowley is correct. It is allocated to the SGX 540.
lrrowley said:
I've read about this very issue on other forums before.
Some people speculated that it limited the RAM on purpose because the OS doesn't need it all and later versions of the OS would need it.
But ultimately I saw someone post that said that the GPU requires a certain amount of RAM, and so it is almost like partitioned and is unavailable for the rest of the system.
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Click to collapse