How to save space on your Windows Mobile device

Over the years, I've installed thousands of applications on handheld devices. In fact, I may have one of the most "memory-constrained" devices around, because I'm always looking for new Windows Mobile software solutions. Today, we're going to look at a few tips that will help better manage the existing space on your Windows Mobile device.

Instantly regain memory with a soft reset

If you've been using Windows Mobile for a while, you know that soft resets are a great way to "refresh" your system when it begins acting sluggishly. A soft reset is like rebooting your desktop PC, meaning it clears the portion of the memory which we call "program" memory. Program memory is the temporary memory space that Windows Mobile uses to run applications and use for "crunching numbers" or processing. Unfortunately, this memory only gets what's "left over" from the storage memory, which we'll talk about next. But, the best way to free up available program memory is to soft reset. You may consult your manual or search the web for instructions on how to do so on your device. Usually, it can be accomplished by inserting the stylus into a small hole on the back or bottom of your Windows Mobile device and depressing a recessed button.

Uninstall old applications

Since program memory can only use a portion of the memory that's left over from storage memory, it makes sense to clear up as much storage memory as possible. The fastest way to do that is to remove old applications. On your device, select Start->Settings->System tab->Remove Programs. Shown below, the Remove Programs window allows you to tap on any application and uninstall it by clicking the Remove button. At the bottom of the screen, you'll also see the actual amount of storage memory available on your device. This number is updated in real-time as you remove additional programs.

Remove Programs window, lets you pick which applications you'd like to uninstall and gives you a real-time status of the amount of storage memory available on your device.

Remove large documents

One of the biggest storage hog culprits on my device is large files. These documents, created in Pocket Office or any of the 3rd party applications installed on my device, are often as large as 1/2 megabyte. This is especially true of voice recordings on my Pocket PC. Because I use the Notes application as a personal reminder system, I often end up recording a very long "rant" into my handheld. (Recently, I found that I had several recordings from a single day that totaled 2.7 MB.)

The fastest way to locate these files is to launch File Explorer on your Windows Mobile device. By default, it should open in your My Documents folder. If it doesn't, simply use the dropdown in the upper-left to navigate to that folder. To make it even easier to find the biggest files on your device, use the upper-right dropdown to change the file sorting to Size (see screenshot below) and scroll to the bottom of the list. Because the largest files are at the end of the list, you can examine them (a single tap on any file will open it) and delete them (tap-and-hold, then select Delete from the pop-up menu) if they are no longer needed.

Sorting by size will help you to quickly identify the largest files on your Windows Mobile device.

Tip: Sometimes, 3rd party applications don't save the files they create in the My Documents folder. To find the largest documents quickly, select Start->Search on your Windows Mobile device. Change the Type dropdown to "Larger than 64 KB" (see screenshot below) and click the Search button. You'll still need to go into File Explorer to delete them, but this technique will uncover the largest files on your device.

With these three tips, you can easily manage the memory on your Windows Mobile device. And, just like cleaning your office at work, if you follow these steps to maintain your device frequently, you'll find that you never have to do a thorough "spring cleaning," Doing this will help your device to run smoother and also ensure that you don't have any files (or applications) on your device that you do not need.