How can I reclaim wasted memory in the Messaging system?
Applications, Performance, Troubleshooting UIQQ. I've had a message saying that my P800 is running low on memory. When I checked in the Storage Manager, just 0.8MB was available. My messages used the most space (4.4MB), even after I deleted everything in my Inbox, Outbox, Draft and Sent folders. How can I reclaim this space?
A. Messaging on some Symbian smartphones does have its 'off' days and it's possible for the \System\Mail folder to grow and grow, even if you've done your best to clear things out and have (in theory) deleted everything. As usual when talking about folders in \System, it's not usually possible to just delete things as you see fit, as the Operating System will get very confused.
The solution is to wipe and then rebuild the internal (C:) disk, but don't be too worried as this isn't an emergency situation and you have full access to everything in order to back things up. Note that simply backing up and restoring the internal disk wouldn't do any good as it would just replace the problem folder. Instead, sync with your desktop (for PIM items), make a note of shareware registration codes, and copy across any important pictures, documents or saved emails onto your PC (or onto your Memory Stick Duo, of course). It's also worth making a paper note of the settings in 'Control panel | Connections', writing down Internet, Email and SMS/MMS settings.
Now, with the flip closed, use the 'secret' Service menu keypress sequence ('Jog-Up', '*', 'Jog-Down', 'Jog-Down', '*', 'Jog-Down', '*'), choosing 'Service functions' and then 'Yes', to format the internal disk. Once wiped, you can start syncing and copying back the files, applications and settings needed. This may all seem long winded, but it should only take an hour or so, and in addition to fixing the folder/space problem you'll also now have a smartphone that's free from years of clutter and which should zip along faster than before (for a while, at least!)