What does wiping dalvik cache do?

rolo143 · Jul 5, 2012

I was getting out of space on my internal phone, so I decided to clear wipe cache and dalvik cache through CWM, but I find i save a lot of space BUT some apps stop working, maybe they are lost. So was does this actually do? Why are the apps there, but can't work? :crying:

Ok, after rebooting they are actually working again, i didn't even lost any data (progress on games) but I am really concerned what does this really do??

Feanor88 · Jul 5, 2012

rolo143 said:
I was getting out of space on my internal phone, so I decided to clear wipe cache and dalvik cache through CWM, but I find i save a lot of space BUT some apps stop working, maybe they are lost. So was does this actually do? Why are the apps there, but can't work? :crying:

Ok, after rebooting they are actually working again, i didn't even lost any data (progress on games) but I am really concerned what does this really do??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalvik_(software)

When you reboot, Dalvik cache and Cache are re-created. So no space saved this way.

daihard · Oct 26, 2012

Feanor88 said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalvik_(software)

When you reboot, Dalvik cache and Cache are re-created. So no space saved this way.

I was wondering what wiping the Dalvik cache did, too. I installed an inverted app and someone told me I needed to wipe the Dalvik cache in order for it to remain in place after a reboot, so I did that. Now my phone says "Optimizing apps..." It must rbe e-creating the cache.

Saqib Nazm · Oct 27, 2012

As far as I know, when a rom boots up for the first time Dalvik goes through each & every apk's & extract the Dex & put it in the cache. So probably it is a location of all apks. If dalvik cache is not wiped after a new rom is installed,dalvik cache will skip because it founds the dexed cache files attach to the directory. The result is "Force close" issues.
So wiping dalvik cache can be done without any problem many times within the same rom & that's why is shows "optiming apps" after a dalvik cache wipe.

daihard · Oct 27, 2012

saqib nazm said:
As far as I know, when a rom boots up for the first time Dalvik goes through each & every apk's & extract the Dex & put it in the cache. So probably it is a location of all apks. If dalvik cache is not wiped after a new rom is installed,dalvik cache will skip because it founds the dexed cache files attach to the directory. The result is "Force close" issues.
So wiping dalvik cache can be done without any problem many times within the same rom & that's why is shows "optiming apps" after a dalvik cache wipe.

Thanks! That's in line with my suspicion, except I didn't know when I posted my question that an apk file was nothing but a zip file that contains a dex (Dalvik executable) and a bunch of other files. Your explanation makes sense. I also noticed that if I install an individual app from a zip file using CWM Recovery, then it clears the relevant part of the Dalvik cache for me. That doesn't happen when I install an apk file directly using Root Explorer.

deepankarbu · Nov 23, 2012

guys one line question i am performing "Wipe cache and dalvik-cache" will my phone internal memory be deleted ? thanks a ton

daydu19 · Nov 23, 2012

deepankarbu said:
guys one line question i am performing "Wipe cache and dalvik-cache" will my phone internal memory be deleted ? thanks a ton

Nop, it will not

Sent from my SK17i using xda premium

Koptanov · Apr 8, 2013

Phone didn't boot after wiping Dalvik Cache

Hi Geeks

i have an Xperia Arc S modded with Cyanogenmod JellyBean 4.1.2 Cooked ROM

i had alot of memory issues as applications keep closing whenever system runs out of memory, it is always obvious in the DSP application with the walkman in addition to visualizations inside the walkman

i searched for a solution and some told me that wiping the dalvik cache might solve the problem, so i gave it a try and rebooted in CWM recovery mode "built inside ROM" , cleared the Dalvik cache , and the phone keeps displaying the Xperia Logo without any further progress, as if it's in somekinda loop !

any idea what to do next without wiping my Data ? thank you all

BR
AMR

SXUsr · Apr 8, 2013

Koptanov said:
Hi Geeks

i have an Xperia Arc S modded with Cyanogenmod JellyBean 4.1.2 Cooked ROM

i had alot of memory issues as applications keep closing whenever system runs out of memory, it is always obvious in the DSP application with the walkman in addition to visualizations inside the walkman

i searched for a solution and some told me that wiping the dalvik cache might solve the problem, so i gave it a try and rebooted in CWM recovery mode "built inside ROM" , cleared the Dalvik cache , and the phone keeps displaying the Xperia Logo without any further progress, as if it's in somekinda loop !

any idea what to do next without wiping my Data ? thank you all

BR
AMR

Are you sure you only wiped the dalvik?

Sent from Myushi

prankyhavai · Apr 8, 2013

clears app cache

rolo143 said:
I was getting out of space on my internal phone, so I decided to clear wipe cache and dalvik cache through CWM, but I find i save a lot of space BUT some apps stop working, maybe they are lost. So was does this actually do? Why are the apps there, but can't work? :crying:

Ok, after rebooting they are actually working again, i didn't even lost any data (progress on games) but I am really concerned what does this really do??

it clears the app running cache stored in os.

Koptanov · Apr 10, 2013

absolutely ..

XperienceD said:
Are you sure you only wiped the dalvik?

Sent from Myushi

Yes sir it's only the dalvik cache, both ways this ROM was pretty heavy and i'm not satisfied with the reboot every 2 or 3 hours of use, i will install xperia ultimate HD ROM, they say it's pretty stable and has no problems, and it has the sound enhancements i needed in the Jellybean cooked ROM

thanks for your reply

v265963 · Apr 29, 2013

alcatel 918n

XperienceD said:
Are you sure you only wiped the dalvik?

Sent from Myushi

My phone also has those options built-in. If you did the dalvik only it should get back to where you have the icons. BUT, if you did something else aside from the dalvik, my guess would be goodbye data and hello to phone repairs. Please research first before you do anything on your phone. Your phone and my phone have very powerful built-in tools. It could brick the phone. I hope you did not wipe data and flash.

SheShiiSaySii · Oct 20, 2013

help! my phone's boot taking too long

i wiped /cache and dalvik cache and format /cache. it's taking took long. been waiting for almost 1 hour.

Gamekeeper408 · Dec 7, 2013

Lucky Patcher Dalvik-cache

I am getting out of space msg when using Lucky Patcher.....apk will be patched on boot......it says to clear dalvik cache to save space.....is this a good idea(will I loose any data from game etc?) or this a issue with lucky patcher?

K80theSHADE · Feb 22, 2014

Clearing Dalvik

Feanor88 said:
When you reboot, Dalvik cache and Cache are re-created. So no space saved this way.

Um, that would involve the re- "optimization" process at each boot. Depending on the number of apps you have installed, this process can take an hour.

Simply put, the Dalvik cache is where a virtual machine program (like VMware Player, Workstation or Fusion or MSVM) called "Dalvik" stores information the applications on your device request it to. This storage is for the purpose of making app load times shorter, but because it's all low-level stuff, it has to be loaded prior to the AndroidOS frontend...Fortunately, this cache only needs to be rebuilt when a flag has been set indicating the need, which is set whenever the cache is cleared. Note the distinction between "loading" and "rebuilding" this cache. "Load" is synonymous with "read" and "rebuild" means "write." So time-wise it is the distinction in effort between reading a book and writing one.

Typically I only clear it for troubleshooting reasons; if something is not working. The latest Cyanogenmod has a major problem where the desktop data is liable to randomly corrupt.

Typically, the only solution is a Dalvik wipe in CM or whatever. If you have recently installed a large number of apps(over twenty)then it might be best to clear the cache via recovery at the next cold boot, especially if your device does weird stuff like getting hot, discharging while plugged in to the OEM charger, widgets crash spontaneously, wallpapers are replaced by defaults, etc....Some of these symptoms can also indicate a virus or malware infection,(especially on custom ROMs or rooted devices) so diagnosis is differential.

But essentially there is no harm in re-building the Dalvik cache, other than the time taken to do so.

K80theSHADE · Mar 3, 2014

Koptanov said:
Yes sir it's only the dalvik cache, both ways this ROM was pretty heavy and i'm not satisfied with the reboot every 2 or 3 hours of use, i will install xperia ultimate HD ROM, they say it's pretty stable and has no problems, and it has the sound enhancements i needed in the Jellybean cooked ROM

thanks for your reply

CM has this new MAJOR stability issue, it seems. The random crashes and reboots will soon combine(if they haven't already)with the deletion of your desktop customizations and your widgets will begin vanishing forever. Not even a full wipe and rebuild will bring them back.
Been using AOKP on Nexus 7 2013 for a month now. It is based on CM, but it is way more stable.....haven't needed to re-boot in two weeks! Uptime, baby!

UPDATE 04/05/2014: Been running without rebooting for over a month, now. AOKP is definitely WAY more stable than any other ROM I've used.

Tiberius Jonez · Jul 17, 2014

Dalvik explained

Saqib Nazm said:
As far as I know, when a rom boots up for the first time Dalvik goes through each & every apk's & extract the Dex & put it in the cache. So probably it is a location of all apks. If dalvik cache is not wiped after a new rom is installed,dalvik cache will skip because it founds the dexed cache files attach to the directory. The result is "Force close" issues.
So wiping dalvik cache can be done without any problem many times within the same rom & that's why is shows "optiming apps" after a dalvik cache wipe.

There is a full explanation of the dalvik cache on wikipedia.

The wiki entry fully explains dalvik cache and the integral part it plays in your android system. In very simple terms, it is a cache that allows the system to talk to the exe of a program without the need to load the cache on each and every start. The dalvik is is loaded once, and then never again (unless you wipe the dalvik cache, in which case, it is rebuilt upon reboot). There is no affect on any given program when the dalvik cache is wiped, other than starting slower the first time it is started after the wipe.

kingfishbc · Jun 14, 2015

Related (I think) - Samsung Galaxy S5 running CM 12.1 latest nightly (6-14). I started on CM 12.0 nightlies in March or April and transitioned to 12.1 within a day or two acter it showed up. That was a relatively noticeable transition requiring new gapps and a factory reset as I recall. I read somewhere that wiping cache and dalvik cache was unnecessary between one 12.0 nightly to another and between one 12.1 nightly to another, so I typically have not performed the cache and dalvik wipe during nightly upgrades, of which I've probably done 30 or 40 since I started on 12.0. After each nightly update flash, when I ask TWRP to reboot the system, without wipes, all my 160 or so apps are optimized, taking some time, before the noot is compete. This morning out of curiosity, after the nee ROM was flashed, I chose the option in TWRP to wipe the cache and dalvik cache before I askefasked TWRP to reboot the system. The wipe process took at least as long to complete as a typical optimization, and when I rebooted, I still got the lengthy optimization. So I'm tbinking either there's no relationship berween app optimization and wiping the caches, or CM and/or TWRP automatically wipes the caches whether I do or not.

---------- Post added at 12:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 PM ----------

Please forgive typos in my previous post - SwiftKey or something is making proofreading and editing difficult today.

Eversmile23 · Aug 17, 2015

Not the exact answer, but may interests u.

Koptanov said:
Hi Geeks

i have an Xperia Arc S modded with Cyanogenmod JellyBean 4.1.2 Cooked ROM

i had alot of memory issues as applications keep closing whenever system runs out of memory, it is always obvious in the DSP application with the walkman in addition to visualizations inside the walkman
AMR

Hi, I do not have the exact answer. But I wanted to share my own observation. When I wipe dalvik caches through CWM recovery, I find my phone taking a long time to finish booting every time. Sometimes I thought it would not boot up, I removed the battery and tried to swith on and my phone boots up. I do not know why it happens, may be I had installed a large no of apps.

sankarsh16 · Mar 18, 2016

I've got Nexus 5 with bootloader unlocked , after few weeks security patch arrived and after the phone switched off and showed error symbol and when I entered recovery mode it showed that error in system/bin.sh files need some help here

What does wiping dalvik cache do?

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