Are we limited to a certain number of apps?

[sweetlittleblue1]

Hi, I am running a NookC with the latest (as of Sept 2012) software. It seems I am limited to a certain number of apps. It doesnt seem to be a space issue as I have all my books stored on a memory card. I have some apps that will not install. They get stuck in a download/install - download/install cycle and always end with the green download banner. After contacting customer service they had me reset my Nook and reinstall apps. I can install any app but once I reach that certain number none of the others will install. I have played around several times and know that the apps that wont install when I reach this number will install if I do them instead of others. I also take it that the apps will not save and function from the memory card. Anyone have any advice?

 

[J515OP]

There is a limit to how many apps can be installed. This is different for every device since it is up to the manufacturer to arrange the Android partitions for their build of Android. B&N has a few different partition arrangements if you have an original Nook Color, a blue dot Nook Color or a Nook Tablet. Some have more space reserved for the system to save apps and less for the user's files (Nook Tablet) and some have a larger amount for the user's files and less for the system apps (Nook Color).

There are several ways to fix this. One way is with ClockWork Mod Recovery (either on internal memory or a bootable SD card) and you can then repartition the internal memory. If you are rooted or running a custom ROM (CM7 for example) then you can use an app like Apps2SD which will allow you to move some of your apps to the SD card to free up more space for others. Only some apps can be moved to the SD card but it they are big ones like plants vs. zombies or other games that can make a big difference in available space for apps that can only go in internal memory.

Search "blue dot Nook" and "repartition Nook" and you should get a few threads with the details about the default allocations and an idea of how you may want to repartition the space so it makes the most sense for your use.

JP

 

[tragidy]

Hi, I am running a NookC with the latest (as of Sept 2012) software. It seems I am limited to a certain number of apps. It doesnt seem to be a space issue as I have all my books stored on a memory card. I have some apps that will not install. They get stuck in a download/install - download/install cycle and always end with the green download banner. After contacting customer service they had me reset my Nook and reinstall apps. I can install any app but once I reach that certain number none of the others will install. I have played around several times and know that the apps that wont install when I reach this number will install if I do them instead of others. I also take it that the apps will not save and function from the memory card. Anyone have any advice?

There is a limit to how many apps can be installed. This is different for every device since it is up to the manufacturer to arrange the Android partitions for their build of Android. B&N has a few different partition arrangements if you have an original Nook Color, a blue dot Nook Color or a Nook Tablet. Some have more space reserved for the system to save apps and less for the user's files (Nook Tablet) and some have a larger amount for the user's files and less for the system apps (Nook Color).

There are several ways to fix this. One way is with ClockWork Mod Recovery (either on internal memory or a bootable SD card) and you can then repartition the internal memory. If you are rooted or running a custom ROM (CM7 for example) then you can use an app like Apps2SD which will allow you to move some of your apps to the SD card to free up more space for others. Only some apps can be moved to the SD card but it they are big ones like plants vs. zombies or other games that can make a big difference in available space for apps that can only go in internal memory.

Search "blue dot Nook" and "repartition Nook" and you should get a few threads with the details about the default allocations and an idea of how you may want to repartition the space so it makes the most sense for your use.

JP

Indeed you are limited by your NAND/Space, you can also look into rooting your device to zipalign and remove unwanted items.

 

[sweetlittleblue1]

Indeed you are limited by your NAND/Space, you can also look into rooting your device to zipalign and remove unwanted items.

Will this affect the way the books I have on my memory card and the way Calibre works? I cuurently have several thousand books on a 32gb card that maybe 4 are B&N content that I have used Calibre to load. Also am I correct in thinking it will take a separate card to do all the other and if so isnt it a pain to have to switch cards back and forth? Sorry if I am asking stupid questions, I never knew this was even an issue till today.

 

[sweetlittleblue1]

B&N has a few different partition arrangements if you have an original Nook Color, a blue dot Nook Color or a Nook Tablet. Some have more space reserved for the system to save apps and less for the user's files (Nook Tablet) and some have a larger amount for the user's files and less for the system apps (Nook Color).



JP

I am taking a leap here and assuming that because in my device info settings it says 0.92GB for B&N content & 5.00GB other storage available then that means I have a blue dot Nook.

 

[J515OP]

So actually just the opposite.

Original NC: 1GB apps and 5GB user

Blue Dot NC: 5GB apps and 1GB user

So you would actually want to repartition to blue dot if you wanted max app space. I suspect you must have games on your NC to use up that space. While 1GB isn't huge it is usually plenty for most people.

Short of repartitioning there are a couple of other things you can try, like zipalign mentioned by tragidy. First though I would start by removing all apps that you don't use. For many of us it is easy to download dozens of apps to try them out but never end up using them. Deleting these will certainly free up space for apps you do use. Before deleting any apps though you should go into settings and clear the cache and data for each app this will ensure that you get back any space the app was using for keeping things like level progress or high score for example on games that you are going to remove anyway. Of course doing this for apps you are using will clear any info or settings you may want them to have, so use caution.

You may find that clearing the cache and data of apps will be enough. It is entirely possible that just one app has a memory leak of some sort that wrote a huge amount to the data. For example maybe a picture editing app saved 5 copies of each image on your device. So start by clearing the cache and data for each app you know doesn't have information that is important to keep, then delete the apps you aren't using.

 

[agila61]

Also, if you root the stock Nook system with "manual nooter" (see xda-developers), you can install a modified kernel that will support apps2sd. For apps that support apps2sd, that allows part of the app to be stored on the card, conserving the use of the built-in flash.