RAM and ROM

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Rickles

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#190998 19-Jan-2016 13:48

I notice that tablets are often advertised with specific amounts of ROM and RAM, e.g. 1GB ROM and 16GB RAM.

I assume that the ROM part is equivalent to a PC's BIOS, and that the RAM likewise loads all the Apps that run by default.

So, where does the Android Operating System reside (usually there is no no mention of HDD space) ... in the ROM too? Where do the added Apps reside?

Behodar

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#1474640 19-Jan-2016 13:58

It's not really "ROM" per se; it's flash storage like an SSD. You have RAM for holding running apps (1 GB), and the persistent flash storage (16 GB) for your apps, music, and yes, the OS.

There is technically still a boot ROM, like the BIOS, to kick off the main OS. However, you typically don't need to worry about this.

macuser

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#1474647 19-Jan-2016 14:04

Or if you're used to the Pocket PC days of 'keep it charged or lose it' - ROM was volatile like ram and needed to be constantly powered otherwise you'd lose all your data back to factory settings.

Rickles

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#1474691 19-Jan-2016 14:31

Behoder ... thanks, makes sense now