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"Other storage" is huge

kilcross

iPF Noob
I have just bought a retina iPad and set it up from a backup from my original iPad 1 (which I still use). Both are 32 GB.
"Other storage" on the iPad one which I have used for 2 years is 1 GB. On the new retina, it's 5 GB!!!! with the. Same photos, apps, books etc.

Obviously it's using up my valuable space - any ideas?
 
kilcross said:
I have just bought a retina iPad and set it up from a backup from my original iPad 1 (which I still use). Both are 32 GB.
"Other storage" on the iPad one which I have used for 2 years is 1 GB. On the new retina, it's 5 GB!!!! with the. Same photos, apps, books etc.

Obviously it's using up my valuable space - any ideas?

Among other things, Other contains the operating system, app data, settings, text and email messages, browsing history, bookmarks, notes, calendar entries, etc..
 
scifan57 said:
Among other things, Other contains the operating system, app data, settings, text and email messages, browsing history, bookmarks, notes, calendar entries, etc..

Thanks, but I can't see that being 5gb, particularly when it's a brand new iPad and the old one with the same apps, files, emails, pictures etc was only 1 GB.
 
kilcross said:
Thanks, but I can't see that being 5gb, particularly when it's a brand new iPad and the old one with the same apps, files, emails, pictures etc was only 1 GB.

All the stock apps, included with the iPad are also in Other.
 
I have registered for iCloud but don't use it. I assume its not that as I have no data up there.

Any chance it's bad sectors on the new drive?
 
Check out this excerpt from a techradar iPad Retina review. It may explain what's happening with your device.

AA

[Retina apps can be hungry as well, not for power but for storage space. Retina-friendly versions of apps can be significantly larger than non-Retina ones: Pages went from 95MB to 269MB, Numbers from 109MB to 283MB and iMovie from 70MB to 404MB. The difference isn't just higher resolution textures, icons and media, but there is a real danger that for graphically rich apps, Retina-friendly content could quickly overwhelm even the roomiest new iPad.
The problem is particularly annoying when an app uses pictures, such as JPEG images, to render text. Not only is that bad for accessibility - VoiceOver can't read it out, it can't be copied and so on - but it's bad for app size: the new iPad has four times the pixels of the iPad 2, and that means images need to be four times larger to look good.
That could be disastrous for apps such as some digital magazines, whose creators export the whole publication as a series of images. As Christopher Phin, editor of our Retina-friendly and distinctly un-bloated sister title Tap! explains, "If you're rasterising text to pixels rather than just letting it be text, your issues are going to bloat even more once you adopt Retina. If your issue is 650MB now, an issue built for Retina display could be 2.5GB."
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Find out more about MacFormat magazine
As Chris notes, apps will contain the graphics for both Retina and non-Retina displays, so that 650MB app could easily go past 3GB. Tap! doesn't use images to display text, and we sincerely hope other publications follow its lead. Otherwise there are going to be a lot of unhappy iPad owners out there.
Even if you don't subscribe to digital magazines, the Retina display could cause you some storage problems: videos and photos that have been optimised for previous iPads running 1024x768 resolutions don't look so good on the new iPad, and that means you'll have to decide whether upping the quality is worth sacrificing space for. If you think you'll be watching a lot of HD video or storing lots of high-resolution photographs, you might regret buying a new iPad with just 16GB of storage space.]

AA

Sent from my iPad using iPF
 
I guess there may be something in the previous note - thanks.
However, all my apps are the same as was on the iPad1. In fact having compared both the iPad1 and iPad Retina with exactly the same content (immediately after using the iPad1 backup to set up the new Retina - which is an option in setup), everything was the same size except "other storage" I.e.

Audio 7.3 GB
Photos 10.3 GB
Apps 3.7 GB
Books 70 MB
Other 4.4 GB (was 1 GB on iPad1)

Still puzzled!!!! (and want my space back).
Both iPads are 32GB. If this other storage grows to any great extent and new apps are massive, looks like the iPad1 was be more useful!

Still want to try some things to reduce the "other storage". So any comments welcome.
 
This is interesting.........iPhone article but same difference.

Fixing "other files" eating up iPhone storage


How to fix problem with “other files†eating up iPhone storage

Step 1: Turn of sync music in iTunes

When you have synced your iPhone and noticed that “other files†have taken up a lot of storage space on the iPhone, un-tick the “sync music†alternative in iTunes before un-connecting your iPhone.

Step 2: Install DiskAid software on computer/mac

DiskAid is a neat little software that allows you transfer files to your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, treating it as a USB drive. They offer a free trial of the software so no need to purchase it first time you have to use it at least.

Make sure your iPhone is connected with the USB when you open up DiskAid. When the program is running, at the bottom left corner it says “DiskAid folderâ€, click on the drop down list and choose “media foldersâ€.

Step 3: Go into iTunes Control folder and then the Music folder

In DiskAid you will see an overview of all the folders and files on your iPhone. Go to the iTunes Control Folder and then the subfolder called Music. Under the Music folder you will likely see a lot of subfolders starting with “fâ€.

Step 4: Delete/remove all subfolders in Music

Delete all the subfolders under the Music folder. They include the files that are hogging your iPhone memory under “other filesâ€.

Step 5: Open iTunes and sync your iPhone

With “music sync†still turned off in iTunes, sync your iPhone. This will remove all music files from your iPhone, but keep all other content. Don’t worry about this though, as in the next steps you will sync the music back onto your iPhone.

Step 6: Unplug iPhone and reboot it

Once the iPhone has finished syncing, unplug it and perform a reboot. The reboot is done by holding down the “power down†button at the top right at the same times as holding down the control button. Hold both of them until the iPhone has switched off and the Apple logo appears on the screen before releasing both buttons. This action will reboot your iPhone.

Step 7: Reconnect your iPhone to iTunes and recheck “sync musicâ€

This will put your music back onto the iPhone, and you should not see any of the “other files†taking up any of the iPhone memory. Once the sync is complete your iPhone should be all sorted again.

If you still see “other files†taking up memory on your iPhone you have likely done something wrong or left out subfolders in step 4.

Hope you find this guide as useful as our guide on unfreezing and restoring iPhone and iPod Touch.
 

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