hi all, im an owner of a sam.charge. I use the app called "System" and it lists about a dozen apps that are stored in my cache or that are using memory when I have not innitiaited the service or app...
I'm most familiar with computers so I'll relate it to that; is there some type of command line that I can use to stop some of these apps from auto start and being stored. For instance on windows you can 'msconfig' what programs are allowed to start on boot up.
Here is a list of apps that I want to stop: AccuWeather.com, Android Booster, Google Voice, HeyTell, Amazon's Appstore, Market, Music, etc.
Most are cached/ inactive but none the less in my task manager when freeing up memory when I notice things to be lagging I'd imagine these to be guilty. Android Booster always lists these as killed apps as well when optimizing...
Im familiar somewhat with how android works being that it often fills a large portion of your memory with what it wants to and frees space as it is needed but these apps for me are rarely used...
Im big on battery life being Im in and out of Sales accounts and rely on my phone heavily so I dont want these things running in the background sucking up resources. Not to mention I like a snappy phone...
If anyone could educate me on this topic Id really appreciate it... I may be mistaken on a few things so call me out on it, since im sure I am... Also, I know their are app freezers and applications you can program to kill apps at a set interval but again I would like the least amount of garbage running as I can
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Some of the basic services are must to be initiated/running all the time such as launcher, keyboard, google voice, market, etc.. so as to run your phone smoothly . This is the default setting of android os. And anyway why do you want to close/stop the services case restarting services uses more battery than kepping them running on the memory ....
mlm2588 said:
hi all, im an owner of a sam.charge. I use the app called "System" and it lists about a dozen apps that are stored in my cache or that are using memory when I have not innitiaited the service or app...
I'm most familiar with computers so I'll relate it to that; is there some type of command line that I can use to stop some of these apps from auto start and being stored. For instance on windows you can 'msconfig' what programs are allowed to start on boot up.
Here is a list of apps that I want to stop: AccuWeather.com, Android Booster, Google Voice, HeyTell, Amazon's Appstore, Market, Music, etc.
Most are cached/ inactive but none the less in my task manager when freeing up memory when I notice things to be lagging I'd imagine these to be guilty. Android Booster always lists these as killed apps as well when optimizing...
Im familiar somewhat with how android works being that it often fills a large portion of your memory with what it wants to and frees space as it is needed but these apps for me are rarely used...
Im big on battery life being Im in and out of Sales accounts and rely on my phone heavily so I dont want these things running in the background sucking up resources. Not to mention I like a snappy phone...
If anyone could educate me on this topic Id really appreciate it... I may be mistaken on a few things so call me out on it, since im sure I am... Also, I know their are app freezers and applications you can program to kill apps at a set interval but again I would like the least amount of garbage running as I can
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you find apps that you don't use, you can use a program to freeze them. Just search for freeze in the market. I personally use a free app called System Tuner. Freezing prevent them from starting up and therefore you cannot use them, but later on you can un-freeze them if you need to.
Optimize toolbox
I use this one, had a bunch of other features.https://market.android.com/details?id=cn.opda.a.phonoalbumshoushou&feature=search_result
Thanks all for the feedback...
To reply to the first response; I have read that about battery life. That, the more you kill apps and reopen them that it takes longer for the app to start up and thus sucking up battery life... I probably should not have mentioned battery life in my post being that I have a car charger and that it contradicts what im trying to accomplish (going over my post, it was stupid of me given what you just mentioned). Also, I'm not so much concerned with market apps or google voice as I am about the apps I installed myself. Those ones are the ones that bother me.
To the other posts thanks for the recommendations I will like into those options. I'm just trying to prevent extra apps from running in the background so freezing them is a last resort.
I'm looking for something that I can type in terminal possibly on program into the OS or app itself to keep it from auto starting... possibly a command line?!
Any developers input? Can this even be done. I'm still very much a beginner but its not beyond my comprehension to do something like this... I know its different but I play around with linux, web design, c++ stuff so if you post directions I can follow smoothly our atleast figure it out if you point me in the right direction
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
It's not exactly what your asking for but have you tried Gemini App Manager:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.seasmind.android.gmappmgr
You can use it to disable/re-enable an app's autorun settings. When you first open it it will list all user apps currently in memory. Clicking menu then expert mode will give you a list of all apps. Long press an app then click configure autorun.
Just be careful with changing the autorun settings of system apps like market.
"preventing apps from autostarting"
I like this topic a lot!
I think the question(s) and "assumptions" the OP holds are all valid. So I'd really like to hear the answer to the actual question, not a spew of why the question isn't valid.
How do you stop apps from starting up on their own? (like microsofts msconfig)
Pretty simple question and I cannot find the answer! I've been in software for many year and I'm rather stunned by the responses people are giving - which basically say "who cares, android O/S handles it for you".
Well, lets face it:
*If* the user didn't call for the app, and had no desire to use it, then the "system" loading it even ONCE, is one too many.
*If* the app is a DESIRED app, (OR device required), *BUT* uses data - then if the user didn't want to use it; "yet" - then thats DATA & BATTERY life --> **WASTED**
If the user suspects the APP is misbehaving; one sure fire way would be to SEE it running, when they didn't ask it to!
If you are pure paranoid, or simply want extreme app control....
The kinds of answers people are giving is truly along the the lines of "we dont know, but you're silly for caring"
SOYLENT GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:cyclops:
jr67 said:
It's not exactly what your asking for but have you tried Gemini App Manager:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.seasmind.android.gmappmgr
You can use it to disable/re-enable an app's autorun settings. When you first open it it will list all user apps currently in memory. Clicking menu then expert mode will give you a list of all apps. Long press an app then click configure autorun.
Just be careful with changing the autorun settings of system apps like market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to test this out too! And I'll post success if it does well!!!
Related
Hey Everyone,
Just got my Droid Eris yesterday and I'm having fun exploring the phone and checking everything out.
One question, I noticed that many apps (in fact, almost all) don't have a direct "Quit" or "Exit" command. So I'm usually pressing "back" or "home" when I'm done with something. This left me wondering though... when I use "back" or "home", does the app actually exit? From what I can tell, it doesn't... so does the OS automatically clean up these apps from time to time? I came from WinMo 6.1, and it was irritating that everything defaulted to running in the background. How does Android treat it? Is there something special in this regard with the HTC Sense UI? I've seen there are some third-party task manager apps you can get... are they worth getting? Or just "let the phone do it's thing" and i will be fine?
Thanks!
I use a Task Manager from the Market called "Taskiller." But I'm still trying to figure out how the Hero handles the apps because sometimes it gets sluggish and taskiller helps out but then theres other times when I have all sorts of apps open and it runs smoothly, lol, I guess it just works sometimes.
I wonder if it's like the iPhone, where it kills the task when you hit the "Home" button. It doesn't seem like it, as some apps seem to just come up instantly when go back in them, as if I was "switching" to them, and no re-opening them...
false_apology said:
I wonder if it's like the iPhone, where it kills the task when you hit the "Home" button. It doesn't seem like it, as some apps seem to just come up instantly when go back in them, as if I was "switching" to them, and no re-opening them...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I dont think thats the case because Android has a special way of "Multitasking," though I'm not completely informed so you might have to research that on your own. But like I said download a Task Manager from the market so you can see how much available memory there is.
By default, Android applications never really "close" as their components can be called upon at any time. (Android applications are structured to be very modular, allowing individual components to be used from each.) When an application needs memory immediately, and another hasn't used it for a while, it shoves the old app into what's called swap space (presumably it's on your SD card) while the new one takes over. This is why you'll occasionally see a delay while performing a "hard" operation (like opening an app) while the system is under heavy load. That's the old app's memory getting written out to temporary storage and the other one taking it over.
At least this is my understanding of the situation.
From what I've heard Android (linux) does a much better job of managing the memory used by our apps. And, that we "...shouldn't have to use a task killer..." to close out apps that are running in the background, especially on our phones.
For instance, the myTouch 3G usually only gets about 20-30 MB of RAM freed after a full clean up of background apps, the Eris will have about 80+ MB after a cleanup and they both feel about the same to me.
I still use Task Panel to close my apps sometimes because I just like starting fresh in an app from time to time. Also if things start getting fishy (screen stuttering, touch screen not working properly) I'll kill all running apps to see if it fixes the problem which in some cases it just does not and a reboot is still required.
I have found that by holding the home key it will bring up all the apps so you can switch to the one that you want so it is still running them in the background.
refthemc said:
I use a Task Manager from the Market called "Taskiller." But I'm still trying to figure out how the Hero handles the apps because sometimes it gets sluggish and taskiller helps out but then theres other times when I have all sorts of apps open and it runs smoothly, lol, I guess it just works sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use a Task application called Task Manager. It gives lists of all Applications running, all process and even has an uninstall feature. It also has a auto end application feature but on my eris it's greyed out(maybe Pro only?)
Here are a couple of links that I found on this subject. Don't mind that it says Hero in the thread title it talks about android phones in general. Also something to look into once we get the Eris rooted in the second link.
Task Managers and your Hero by romeosidvicious @androidforums.com
How to configure Android's *internal* taskkiller by androcheck @xda-developers.com
Dear Friends!
Glad to be here today (after 2 days! )
My dear Streaker is here!!
As the norm is, I have been busy tinkering with the stock material for couple o days, and I will continue to do so for some more time!
___________________________________________________________
Query: There are too many apps running (background) all the time!! I kill them, they resurrect!, How to do away with that?
Solution applied: Used Advanced task killer (but, apps resurrect!)
Another Solution tried: In Settings>Account & Sync settings> Unchecked Background data and Auto sync options. (Now, they dont connect to the net, but, they still restart!!)
Another Solution: Force close (from Manage apps) .. (Still same issue!)
Now, How can I tell the apps to come up only when I call them!?
(And some other apps I want to schedule them to come up every hour or so.. like my Gmail/FB)
____________________________________________________________
And, So far has been amazing experience!!
The screen is football field sized!! (Monster! yikes Scooby!)
Digging up all old posts to read some problems faced by new users..
Current hobby: Market and apps.
Future hobby: Roms and Flash!
Thank you all for your help!
care,
Sony.
Welcome to the cool kids club! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, I got my streak just before the massive snowstorm hit. Some of those apps need to be running... if you close some of them you may not get updates/notifications, or you can shut down your phone/data connection, or lose the use of multitouch.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
from what i understand, froyo is really good with resource management and there is no need to constantly kill processes or apps, its best to just leave them unless your streak is slow like a snail
Telal said:
Welcome to the cool kids club! I'm in a somewhat similar situation, I got my streak just before the massive snowstorm hit. Some of those apps need to be running... if you close some of them you may not get updates/notifications, or you can shut down your phone/data connection, or lose the use of multitouch.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lose multi touch!
How?
@rptw
So, It wouldnt really matter if there are apps running in the BG, and they start by themselves too!?
care,
Sony.
well in terms of the laws of nature (in most cases) stuff doesnt happen spontaneously so i think its safe to assume that your app that "started by themselves" were probably opened somehow either by you directly or indirectly by something else. if, however, you have a large number of apps that have started that you dont recall opening, maybe something is wrong with your software and you shouldnt try to cover the problem with a task killer.
So, what next!?
rptw said:
well in terms of the laws of nature (in most cases) stuff doesnt happen spontaneously so i think its safe to assume that your app that "started by themselves" were probably opened somehow either by you directly or indirectly by something else. if, however, you have a large number of apps that have started that you dont recall opening, maybe something is wrong with your software and you shouldnt try to cover the problem with a task killer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, Now, can you or other guys here please suggest how to go to the "root" of this problem!?
Ok.
Look, these apps are open right now!
Voice Search
Email
Messaging
Maps
Astro
Assistant free
I use the Adv Task Killer free.
(It says 7 apps killed and 180 MB free)
I open Adv task killer after 5 seconds.
and these apps are running!
Email
astro
Voice Search
Assistant Free
and I am sure, If I wait for some more time, the other apps will join in too!
(Now it says, 3 Apps killed, 171 MB free!!)
care,
Sony.
have you tried using the stock app manager and killing the apps there? i just checked my phone and i have the same apps under the running tab using the stock manager, i think email and messaging are always running since you have push features on them, in terms of the others im not sure. whats so bad about email and messaging running anyways? im sure you use them often enough to not want to have to open and close them right?
Hey, you posted the same question over at Pocketables forum.
As stated earlier, 2.2 is really good at managing back ground tasks.
I can tell you if you use a task killer and you have a problem with an APP, which currently you do not, the programmer for the app probably will not help you till you remove the APP killer program.
What you might try to do is run though your menus and see what you have selected to run, such as locations and sync services and disable what you can. Also if you do not want some thing running, you may want to just uninstall it. I do understand that you want some programs but you only want them to run when you ask, not sure how to tell you to handle that.
But, are you seeing any difference when you have the background tasks disabled. Try to find the APK for the programs and rename them just to see if you have any issues.
Hi,
I installed Amazon App Store app to get one of the free app of the days. But now, it keeps running in the background. Probably collecting info.
I added the app to the Auto-End list (where it SHOULD kill the app after 2 minutes of screen off). The Amazon app seems to start when phone boots up. It also someone resurrects itself. I've made sure to not use it, and at some point during the day I checked running tasks and there it is.
If I kill it manually, it eventually shows up again some time during the day.
There are other apps that turn on by themselves on startup, but don't resurrect themselves. On windows, it's easy to manage auto-startup services. It's in the administrative tool. Is there the equivalent of this on Android?
Amazon is annoying like that; it does the same thing with me. Its really not hurting your battery or phone but just looking at it can be annoying so i understand. If it really bothers you that much get "titanium backup" from the market and freeze it when you aren't using it. Also your phone is smart enough to close apps/end processes on its own, moto just put the task killer there as it really serves no purpose. Also auto killing apps isnt smart; your phone probably uses more battery when it has to open up a new process everytime you open an app since you autokill and dont let it manage process/apps on its own. Android likes to let apps that aren't being used rest in memory in the background...id suggest you stop auto killing apps and do some research for yourself on how the android linux kernel works.
Thanks.
I did read into Android developer's way of thinking about how apps on a smart phone should behave, and their philosophy regarding memory management.
However, this philosophy opens up the possibility for abuse by app developers (Amazon). Programs that I use maybe once a month really don't need to be running (especially on startup), regardless of how little memory they use up, or how awesome Android's memory management scheme is.
I don't intend on micromanaging every process. Just those that are obvious wastes.
coachclass said:
Thanks.
I did read into Android developer's way of thinking about how apps on a smart phone should behave, and their philosophy regarding memory management.
However, this philosophy opens up the possibility for abuse by app developers (Amazon). Programs that I use maybe once a month really don't need to be running (especially on startup), regardless of how little memory they use up, or how awesome Android's memory management scheme is.
I don't intend on micromanaging every process. Just those that are obvious wastes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you. Try out bloatware freezer or other apps in the market that blk apps from starting up when the phone turns on. Android definitely needs to get small issues like this fixed in future builds for sure.
So I've noticed that even after using the "close all programs" option in the "running" portion of the app drawer, apps start popping up there even if i haven't used them. The nook contacts for instance, i never use, yet it still shows up in "running." It seems to be using storage space, and i certainly don't want those extra apps draining the battery. Has anyone else encountered this?
ETA: So i was mistaking memory for storage, my bad, but i still don' t want apps running on the RAM when i don't want them to. The ones that seem to always pop up are nook contacts, nook shop, pandora, amazon app store, and pulse. Why are these apps initializing? Is it an update/being connected to the internet thing?
I take it this is your first Android device. Check the link to see how memory is managed in Android.
http://mobworld.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/memory-management-in-android/
Yep, first android device, thank you so much, couldnt find anything by searching the forum.
I'm still not 100% sure why apps i'm not using would show up like that, the impression i got from that article was that android has unusual priorities in killing apps in use, why are apps i never use showing up?
Some apps are programmed to stay partially resident in memory because they are used by other apps. Contacts would be used by Email, etc.
Just because it says they're running, though, does not mean that they will affect how your tablet runs at all.
In a nutshell, taskkillers are ineffective and unnecessary in Android. A lot of us come from a Windows-mindset that says "kill tasks to free up memory!" but this does nothing for Android. (The exceptions seem to be rogue processes).
All I know is I was driving myself nuts when I first got my Android phone using task killers, and worrying about apps I'd 'killed' popping right back up again. I was actually slowing down the system, not speeding it up. When I finally read about it, and then got rid of the task killer stuff, my performance actually improved. My limited understanding of this, is that a killed app will actually expend more memory opening itself back up again to run idle, than if you just leave it running idle.
Thank you zaptoons, that makes sense. I hadnt really noticed much ofa difference with the apps killed or not, so very helpful info. Still getting used to my tab, think rooting may be in my future.
I have kinda nooby question... i am using a phone with stock gingerbread and i am using an advanced task killer. I know a lot of people say that I shouldn't do it, but it just makes my phone a lot faster and smoother. As a noob, i have one question: is task killer really harmful to my phone and is it better for me to not use it? If you say yes, please provide me some specific reason why. Thank you ask much guys!
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
its not that bad... but u should not kill background services!
keep settings on safe... don't use aggressive mode
applications u know u use often for example- browser or music player... u can add to excluded section... currently im using ZDBox and it works perfect... it also has additional features that you will need... hope this helps
I only use the ATK to kill an app that's not responding well.
For example, when I was using CM7, sometimes my Google Reader app would hang and display a loading symbol for a long time instead of displaying my articles, and the arrow that shows transmission over the network wasn't displaying so I knew it wasn't waiting on data, I would use ATK to kill ONLY Google Reader. Then I could go back into the app and it would load very quickly.
But since I switched to an ICS ROM, I haven't had that same issue and haven't had a need for ATK.
Also, do note that it does take processing power, and therefore battery power, when your phone decides to restart any of those apps you are killing, and it will restart apps.
For a great explanatory article, see here:
http://androidandme.com/2011/11/app...lers-still-dont-give-you-better-battery-life/
and also the links in the phrase "(see here, and here, and here)".
So in short, they are not exactly "harmful" but they don't provide any real benefit if you "kill everything, every time."
It is a common myth that more RAM = better performance, and this is a result of the market being dominated by Microsoft for so long. Android does not equal a desktop OS. Free RAM literally does nothing. In fact, it is wasteful to have bunch of free RAM. Android manages RAM very effectively and aggressively works to ensure that you have sufficient resources to do whatever it is you want to do. If you notice an increase in performance with a task killer, it is because you have a misbehaving app. Watchdog is the only task manager I would recommend, all it does is watch for apps that are using an abnormal amount of resources and alerts you. Part of the Android experience is the emulated multi-tasking, or having several apps saved to memory simultaneously to facilitate ease of switching between them. An app in the background will not affect the performance of your device, it is not using any resources. Aside from that, if you end a task, it will usually just start right up again, using more resources, because that is how Android is designed to work.
So, I would say finding the misbehaving app is a much better option than a task killer. They were important in eclair, maybe even FroYo. But anything above that they are unnecessary.
i dont really believe in android"s app managmentbut task killers make it only worst IMHO
I have to agree with member devator22.
Android is not Windows. Android is basically Linux and Linux is using a different memory management than Windows does. (Although Windows has got a lot of improvements during the last years)
RAM which isn't used, is wasted! That's a fact.
So, if you run a specific application, some of its data my be cached. Linux is reporting this as "buffered" (you can see the amount by running the 'top' command)
There might be a more or less big chance to hit this cache. If so, the data is loaded much faster ( definetly > 10 ) than if it had to be requested from the file system.
By killing your application by a task manger you are releasing this buffered resources (actually you are forcing the OS to release it). In the worst case you are wasting your advantage of loading already cached data from the RAM. In the best case you are gaining nothing because your device has to load it from the file system anyway.
(sorry for my english )
Get watchdog!
/end
*just because nobody understands you, doesn't make you an artist..
Thank you so much for these replies! I really appreciate it! I decided to keep my task killer but not use it aggressively. I probably will use it to end apps that i really find it pointless. And also to the people who said android dies it's own task managing, you're right but wrong at the same time. When i didn't use my task killer, android did killed some apps in in order to launch more apps, but it left only like 10mb of 300mb, which i found little odd and also it mainly killed launchers which was very annoying.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Task killer will speed up your phone if you know what you're doing. Only kill tasks that you are familiar with...e.g. apps that you know you have launched and won't be using anymore. Those apps running in the background can slow down your device.
If I'm on ICS, its better to use the bult-in task killer, or download one from the market?
Guys, he's not saying he does it for the memory. He says the phone's smoother. I don't know whether this is true, but if there are background tasks performing operations that he doesn't want them to do, it's *absolutely appropriate* to kill them.
The flip side of that is that the applications will eventually be automatically started again, and that startup takes extra CPU time. As long as the process startup and process killing happens when the screen is off, I would think this could improve the responsiveness.
But I think on most people's phones, the background processes really don't use a lot of CPU...
I know by default even Gbs memory management isn't the best. The app priorities are a bit weird aand the launcher gets killed to easily. Running the v6 supercharger scripts and making the launcher hard to kill and fixing the priorities and changing the oom settings makes any from wicked fast
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
I am not rooted, so I can't do anything that involves rooting.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Instead of killing an app over and over again install something like Gemini App Manager and disable the app's autostart permissions. For example, dropbox and dropbox sync are set to automatically start at boot or when there's a connectivity change. I understand why they're set to do that but for my purposes I only needed them to start when I actually used them.
Having said that, I no longer use Gemini and have never used an automatic task killer. I think android (ICS) does a good enough job managing it's memory that I don't need to be anal about micromanaging it myself. I think it also helps that I'm not an appaholic. I'm very picky about what I install and will only keep an app installed if I regularly use it.
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A
Jinx Lumos Joke said:
If I'm on ICS, its better to use the bult-in task killer, or download one from the market?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Built-In is much better
im on ics on my captivate and it runs beyond smooth
like stated before having free RAM with not do anything
android has a good way of muti tasking