6680 memory specs

[AnnaThon]

Hi everyone

I'm trying to complete my understanding of the memory organisation of the Nokia 6680. I'd really appreciate it if you could fill in any gaps or correct any mistakes I have made.

It's been quite difficult to find the data, since the official Nokia specs only say this about memory:
- unlimited heapsize
- 10MB of shared memory for storage (RAM)
- 64MB flash memory

So it seems there's four drives on the 6680 (copied from a posting by petrib - thanks!):
- C: Non-volatile/persistent (survives power off), writable storage. "Phone memory". What type of RAM is this? However does it really survive power off? I thought it is RAM used as long-term storage but data persists because when the phone is switched off it still receives enough power to retain the data.

- D: volatile, temporary files for applications, content lost when phone powered off (RAM disk allocated from dynamic RAM)

- E: memory card

- Z: ROM (Read Only Memory), built-in applications, the Symbian OS and Series 60 (S60) software.

The E: drive is the 64MB flash memory mentioned in the phone specs. What about the other drives and their sizes? How big is Z:? Do C: and D: together make up the "10MB of shared memory for storage" or does that just mean C:? If so, how big is the D: drive? So, if C: and D: are allocated from the same RAM (are they?) then what is the total size of this memory?

Sorry if the answers to some of the questions should be obvious, I'm still a newbie... I'd be very grateful for any info you might have!

Cheers

Anna

[petrib]

You can also install and use apps like TaskSpy (http://www.pushl.com) or FExplorer (http://www.gosymbian.com/) to see more memory, and other, details of the phone.

[AnnaThon]

Brilliant, those programs look like they'll be able to tell me a lot!

Thanks petrib!

[AnnaThon]

I downloaded FExplorer and run it on my 6260 (don't have my 6680 here). In the root directory it lists the expected drives, with these sizes (total, not just what's available):

C: 8 MB <flash>
D: 1.37 MB <ram>
E: 30.4 MB <disk>
Z: 29 MB <rom>

Interestingly, the Nokia spec for 6260 says "Shared Memory for Storage: 4 MB". This leaves me even more confused! It would sort of make sense if this was the data for the 6680, since 8MB+1.37MB ~ 10MB, but it's not, it's for the 6260! Also, I have a 32 MB RS-MMC (the E: drive). Where have the remaining 1.6 MB disappeared to? There's clearly something hidden in there...

Oh well, I always thought there wasn't going to be a straightforward answer (easily found). Help pleeaaseee?

Anna

[antonypr]

There is another example from Forum Nokia that displays many system information, including memory, at http://www.forum.nokia.com/info/sw.n...le_v1.zip.html

I agree, there are some confusing terms in the S60 (I had similar problems too).

C:\ drive is persistent (sometimes it is called flash memory).
D:\ drive is not persistent.
E:\ drive is the "Flash Memory Card" (don't get confuse with flash memory in c:\ drive).
RAM is just like volatile memory in our PC. Perhaps it is used by D:\ drive too (I am not sure about this, may be some of experts in this forum can help).

Does 6680 has only 10 MB of RAM? Very interesting, because I ran the SysInfo example above, my 6680 has 20 MB of total RAM. I am confused too now....

Antony

[AnnaThon]

Does 6680 has only 10 MB of RAM? Very interesting, because I ran the SysInfo example above, my 6680 has 20 MB of total RAM. I am confused too now....

Well, that's what the Nokia 6680 specs say... V confusing. At least I'm not alone in being confused

[AnnaThon]

Thanks for that Antony, it's really useful to have an example where I can actually look at the code.

C: 8 MB <flash>
D: 1.37 MB <ram>
E: 30.4 MB <disk>
Z: 29 MB <rom>

Have now run SysInfo on the same 6260 and got this data: EMemoryROM 32MB, EMemoryRAM 16MB, EMemoryRAMFree 3.59MB, EMaxRAMDriveSize 1.5MB

I found this by putting EMemoryRAMFree into Google. Seems to sort of explain some of these issues (if they do apply to the 6680 too)...

Anna

[petrib]

As to the memory card, the reported capacity (e.g., 32MB) is unformatted capacity and putting a file system there reserves space for directory entries, volume label, etc., which gets you the end result of what's available after formatting it, but not yet storing any actual files.

[AnnaThon]

Yes, that makes sense. Though I have to point out that it is a bit confusing by the developers of FExplorer to write in the application E: (4909/31068 KB), because that to me implies that there is 4909 KB available out of the total which is 31068 KB. It feels that instead it should say E: (4909/32768 KB). Anyway that's a bit OT, thanks for clearing that up for me.

[FN_Moderator]

The Nokia 6260 does indeed have 8 MB of shared memory. There is a mistake in the 6260 device specification page and it will be corrected soon.