Full of "other"

my mac is completely full, when i checked what it is full of it said "other." what specifically is other, and how can i delete it?

Have a look at these excellent Links by Pondini...
Where did my Disk Space go?
Lion's Storage Display

Similar Messages

  • My mac air says hard drive full and 90% is full of 'other' which I cant work out what 'other' is as i Have transferred most to my external hard drive

    My mac air says hard drive full and 90% is full of 'other' which I cant work out what 'other' is as i Have transferred most to my external hard drive.
    Do you know how I can tell how large each file is taking up and what my 'other' category could be?
    thanks

    Initial easy steps to gain disk space:
    - Delete all files in the Downloads folder.
      Empty the Trash.
    - Start iPhoto.
      Empty its trash.
      Restart.
    Backup:
    Run a Time Machine (or other) backup since you are about to delete and move files and you may need to recover from any inadvertent mistakes or decisions.  You will need one external hard drive for your Time Machine (or other) backup and a second if you plan to offload some files.  (See suggestions for where to purchase hard drives at the end of this message.)
    For more about backups:
    Time Machine Basics: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427
    Most commonly used backup methods:
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045
    Methodology to protect your data.  Backups vs. Archives.  Long-term data protection:
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6031
    Deleting files:
    Then use the free application OmniDiskSweeper http://www.omnigroup.com/more to explore your volume in descending order by size so you can attack the problem from the top down, deleting the largest unwanted files first.  Delete with caution and do not delete any system files.  Remember to empty the trash after trashing the files.
    Additional reference on freeing disk space:
    http://pondini.org/OSX/DiskSpace.html
    Offloading files:
    Consider moving some of the no-often-used large files or directories to an external disk.  Use ODS again to find them.  This will be at least your second hard drive.  Your first one(s) is/are for your Time Machine (or other) backup(s).  Do not offload files onto a Time Machine disk.
    Format the second drive as Mac OS Extended (journaled).  Using OWS to find large files/folders and copy them from the system drive to the external hard drive and delete them from your internal drive.
    Then  > System Preferences > Time Machine > Options… > Remove the offload HD name from the exclusions list.
    Now both your system disk and your external offload disk will be backed up onto your Time Machine disk.
    From: http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/freeingspace.html
    To move your iTunes Music folder to another disk or partition:
    To change the location of your iTunes Music folder, carefully follow the instructions in the AppleCare® Knowledge Base document "iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Music folder."Additional information can be found in iTunes Help.
    http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.thexlab.com/105/ 00000849.html
    Laptop users may want to consider having two iTunes libraries: a small library of current favorites on their computer, while their complete library resides on an external hard drive. Utilities like iTunes Library Manager enable you to easily have multiple iTunes libraries you can use with your account.  https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7689/itunes-library-manager
    To move your iPhoto Library folder to another disk or partition:
    To move the iPhoto Library folder to a new location, employ the instructions in the AppleCare Knowledge Base document from http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506 corresponding to the version of iPhoto you are using. Additional information can be found in iPhoto Help.
    Laptop users may want to consider having two iPhoto libraries: a small library of current, favorite photographs on their computer, while their complete library, or archives of older photos are saved on an external hard drive. Utilities such as iPhoto Buddy and iPhoto Library Manager enable you to have multiple iPhoto libraries that you can use with your account.
    https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/12175/iphoto-buddy
    https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7158/iphoto-library-manager
    Hardware — Bigger disk/SSD:
    OWC sells 120, 240 and 480 GB SSD upgrades for MacBook Airs.  A 240 GB upgrade costs $265.   http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/ .  If your Mac is under warranty or AppleCare replacing the SSD will void the warranty.

  • Why does my Macbook memory show full in other

    why does my Macbook memory show full in other

    If you are a Lion user, this may offer an explanation:
    http://pondini.org/TM/30.html
    Ciao.

  • My memory is full of "other" what files need to be deleted to free up more memory?

    My memory is full of "other" what files need to be deleted to free up more memory?

    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5142
    MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9), i7 500GB 16GB RAM iPhone5 iOS7.0.4

  • My iphone storage is full of "other" . how can i get rid of it?

    My iphone storage is full of "other" . how can i get rid of it?

    Restore the phone through iTunes and setup as new. Make sure you have everything you need off the phone first because this process will wipe it.
    This will free up all available space and you can then start again.

  • HT1339 My iPod classic shows that memory full in "other" category however there is nothing on it. I have left it connected all day and over night trying to restore it but the progress bar  never goes away.

    My iPod classic shows that memory full in other category however there is nothing on it. I have left it connected all day and over night trying to restore it but the progress bar  never goes away. Is it shot or are there other options to restore to factory settings?

    Hi pbworth,
    When troubleshooting issues with iPod classic, it may be helpful to place the iPod into Disk Mode. For information on how to do so:
    Putting iPod into Disk Mode
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1363
    Thanks,
    Matt M.

  • My start up disc is full i have a macbook air, i back everuthing up with time capsule and  have movies all my music libraries and photos onto that too so as i have free space, but my max still says my startup disc is full with "other"

    my start up disc is full i have a macbook air, i back everuthing up with time capsule and  have movies all my music libraries and photos onto that too so as i have free space, but my max still says my startup disc is full with "other"

    First, empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. Then reboot. That will temporarily free up some space.
    According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of your data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
    If you're using Time Machine to back up a portable Mac, some of the available space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of files you've recently deleted. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as "Backups." The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself.
    To locate large files, you can use Spotlight as described here. That method may not find large folders that contain a lot of small files.
    You can also use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one.
    Proceed further only if the problem hasn't been solved.
    ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
    Back up all data now.
    Install ODS in the Applications folder as usual.
    Triple-click the line of text below to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
    Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
    I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything while running ODS as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means.
    When you're done with ODS, quit it and also quit Terminal.

  • My Itunes "Capacity" bar says my ipod is full of "other" witch is the yellow bar,  When i sync it says i only have 7GBs left, WHAT IS THIS "OTHER" and how do i get rid of it??

    Please help me answer this QUestion-
    My Itunes "Capacity" bar says my ipod is full of "other" witch is the yellow bar,  When i sync it says i only have 7GBs left, WHAT IS THIS "OTHER" and how do i get rid of it??

    Please help me answer this QUestion-
    My Itunes "Capacity" bar says my ipod is full of "other" witch is the yellow bar,  When i sync it says i only have 7GBs left, WHAT IS THIS "OTHER" and how do i get rid of it??

  • IPOD Freezes Itunes and Memory is full of "Other"

    I have an 80g Ipod classic and i recently updated my itunes to version 10.6.1 (7).  After my latest sync, my ipod now has no music but 1/2 the memory is full with "other".  I have reset my ipod several times but the music fails to appear.  I cannot restore my Ipod because when I connect it to itunes, the program freezes up.  The application stops responding and I have to close Itunes all together.  All of my music is saved in my itunes library and I dont want to lose any of it.  Someone please help!!! 
    I also noticed that since the most recent itunes update I am having problems connecting to the itunes store.  It keeps saying check the internet connection and try again.  My internet works fine but for some reason itunes will not allow me to connect to the itunes store.  PLEASE HELP!!!

    I have a similar problem with my 120gb classic, my ipod shows no music or any data but states that memory is full of other, I've tried everything I can think of, rebooting does nothing, connecting to pc freezes itunes and I am unable to access in disk mode either, it shows in my computer but just hangs when trying to access it, so a reformat or restore is not an option, diagnostics shows an error when checking harddrive with HDSMARTdata. I'm sorry to say that I have a feeling that our hard drives are buggered cos surely if you cant access it you can fix it. Very dissapointed with apples service as mine was an under warranty replacent which was resseting itself randomly exessively often, sometimes up to 6 times a day from when I received it, I sent it back within two days stating it had a fault only to have it sent back the next day being told its fine! It is obvious that apple have sent me a replacement ipod with a recycled hard drive which was obviously faulty from day one and now its given up the ghost, I very much regret not holding my ground and demanding a fully working replacement at the time as now I have to fork out for yet another ipod!

  • Hard drive full of "other"  Is iMovie the culprit?

    Issue: Friend's macbook pro is full of "other". The hard-drive capacity is 319.21GB.  Other accounts for 262 GBs.
    The macbook is running OS X 10.7.5 Time machine settings are ok – no screenshot problems. 
    I ran omni disk sweeper and the biggest area taking space is movies at 170 GB. iMovie Events.localized accounts for 158GB. 
    My friend says that she has noticed when she imports videos from her flip video camera they are larger than the capacity of the video camera.  i.e. the flip 4GB capacity but when she imports the footage it takes up much more space on the computer. 
    So my first guess is that the issue is related to iMovie.  I’m wondering if there is an import setting that is off.  Any thoughts?

    “Other” Storage:
    A commonly asked question is what is included in the "Other” storage category reported in the About This Mac Storage display.  Other includes everything that is not audio, movies, photos, apps and backups.  In other words it includes the OS, mail, documents...  See http://pondini.org/OSX/LionStorage.html and What is "Other" and What Can I Do About It? and Apple Support Communities https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5142
    Also see Where did my disk space go:  http://pondini.org/OSX/DiskSpace.html
    For hints on how to create more free disk space see https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5779274?tstart=0

  • I have nothing on this macbook air just iPhoto and iTunes and the error startup dic full message keeps coming up and the storage is full of other i don't know what to do.

    i have nothing on this macbook air just iPhoto and iTunes and the error startup dic full message keeps coming up and the storage is full of other i don't know what to do.how do i delete all of this?

    First, empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. Then reboot. That will temporarily free up some space.
    According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of your data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
    To locate large files, you can use Spotlight as described here. That method may not find large folders that contain a lot of small files.
    You can also use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one.
    Proceed further only if the problem hasn't been solved.
    ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
    Back up all data now.
    Install ODS in the Applications folder as usual.
    Triple-click the line of text below to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
    Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
    I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything while running ODS as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means.
    When you're done with ODS, quit it and also quit Terminal.

  • Iphone storage full with other

    Hello,
    I have an iPhone 5 and my storage is full with other. I don't have many apps on my phone but still it's full.
    What can I do?
    I already emptied my phone & put the back up on my phone, but now it's fuller than it was.

    Sometimes this is caused by a corrupted iTunes metadata file and gets fixed by downloading a new song. More likely, you'll have to restore.

  • My Macintosh HD is almost full of 'other' files?

    Hey.
    I have a 13" Macbook Pro that has 4 GB of memory, and recently it has been notifying me that my disk space is almost full. I thought this to be rather odd, seeing as I barely save anything onto my computer except for music and any necessary files. Everything else goes onto flash drives and external memory disks. I looked at the space on my Macintosh HD drive (which was the drive that was nearing capacity) and almost the entire disk drive was full of 'other' files. I have no idea what to do, because I can't find these 'other' files and it's starting to concern me.
    Thanks.

    I don't think you are correct with the drive size? My guess is the drive size is 500 GB.
    If you have only 2.31 GB free on a 500 GB drive, no wonder your Mac is having troubles. You should never let the free space go below 15 % which in your case is 75 GB.
    Do you have Time Machine enabled?
    Allan

  • I'm new Macbook air11", 128 the problem is Storage is full by other

    Dear Sirs
    i've problem in my storage i've only 23GB free. and the other area is full by other yellow
    how can i solve this problem it's just 1 or 2 month age i've buy it
    best regards
    Osama

    Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash as well:
    iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
    If you're using Time Machine to back up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of files you've recently deleted. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as "Backups." The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself.
    To locate large files, you can use Spotlight. That method may not find large folders that contain a lot of small files.
    You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one.
    Deleting files inside an iPhoto or Aperture library will corrupt the library. Any changes to a photo library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
    Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
    ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
    Back up all data now.
    Install ODS in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
    Triple-click the line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
    Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
    The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders. It may take some minutes for ODS to list all the files.
    I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything while running ODS as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
    When you're done with ODS, quit it and also quit Terminal.

  • My hard driver is apparently full - but it is full of "other" files.  I have cleared downloads and removed my music and pictures, but it still thinks it is full - how do I access and delete the files?

    I am having real trouble with the mac book air and i dont know what to do.  It thinks it is full, i get warning messages every day, but when i check how the storage is being used it is 45.79 GB of "other" and I can't work out where to locate and delete these files.  I have removed all my music and pictures, there are nearly no documents on the bloody thing, i have cleared the downloads, I have run a cc cleaner programme but nothing seems to touch this "other" amount.  Its so annoying as it is getting to a point where i can't use the computer properly anymore.  Do you have any clue what it could be or how i can deal with it?
    It did this last year but not as bad, i never solved it then i just removed all my own files but now "other" is taking that space too.  On a windows computer you would be able to click through and view what was taking up the space but you can't seem to do that on a mac. could it be a virus that makes the hard driver think it is full?
    Any ideas what I can do?

    For information about the Other category in the Storage display, see this support article.
    Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash first:
    iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
    Do the same in other applications, such as Aperture, that have an internal Trash feature. Then reboot. That will temporarily free up some space.
    According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of the data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
    When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown asBackups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Reboot and it should go away.
    See this support article for some simple ways to free up storage space.
    You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one.
    Deleting files inside an iPhoto or Aperture library will corrupt the library. Any changes to a photo library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
    Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
    ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
    Back up all data now.
    If you have more than one user account, make sure you're logged in as an administrator. The administrator account is the one that was created automatically when you first set up the computer.
    Install ODS in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
    Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:
    sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
    Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
    The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders, sorted by size with the largest at the top. It may take a few minutes for ODS to finish scanning.
    I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything while running ODS as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
    When you're done with ODS, quit it and also quit Terminal.

  • Hard drive is full with 'other'

    i am trying to figure out why my computer is running slow.
    I saw that my Hard Drive is almost full.
    most of it is filled up with "Other". how can i find out whats taking up almost 450GB on my computer?
    thanks

    What is "Other" and What Can I Do About It?- Apple Support Communities
    Things You Can Do To Resolve Slow Downs
    If your computer seems to be running slower here are some things you can do:
    Start with a visit to: OS X Maintenance - MacAttorney.
    Boot into Safe Mode then repair your hard drive and permissions:
    Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions Pre-Lion/Mountain Lion
    Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    Repair the Hard Drive - Lion/Mountain Lion
    Boot from your Lion Recovery HD. When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
    Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Restart your computer normally and see if this has helped any. Next do some maintenance:
    Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
    For situations Disk Utility cannot handle the best third-party utility is Disk Warrior;  DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.x is now Intel Mac compatible.
    OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep.  Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts was significantly reduced since Tiger.  These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard or Lion and should not be installed.
    OS X automatically defragments files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive. As for virus protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. You can protect the computer easily using the freeware Open Source virus protection software ClamXAV. Personally I would avoid most commercial anti-virus software because of their potential for causing problems. For more about malware see Macintosh Virus Guide.
    I would also recommend downloading a utility such as TinkerTool System, OnyX 2.4.3, or Cocktail 5.1.1 that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old log files and archives, clearing caches, etc.
    For emergency repairs install the freeware utility Applejack.  If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the command line.  Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard. There is no confirmation that this version also works with Lion.
    When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand.
    Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
      1. Carbon Copy Cloner
      2. Data Backup
      3. Deja Vu
      4. SuperDuper!
      5. SyncTwoFolders
      6. Synk Pro
      7. Synk Standard
      8. Tri-Backup
    Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore.
    Additional suggestions will be found in Mac maintenance Quick Assist.
    Referenced software can be found at CNet Downloads or MacUpdate.
    Additional Hints
    Be sure you have an adequate amount of RAM installed for the number of applications you run concurrently. Be sure you leave a minimum of 10% of the hard drive's capacity as free space.
    Add more RAM. If your computer has less than 2 GBs of RAM and you are using OS X Leopard or later, then you can do with more RAM. Snow Leopard and Lion work much better with 4 GBs of RAM than their system minimums. The more concurrent applications you tend to use the more RAM you should have.
    Always maintain at least 15 GBs or 10% of your hard drive's capacity as free space, whichever is greater. OS X is frequently accessing your hard drive, so providing adequate free space will keep things from slowing down.
    Check for applications that may be hogging the CPU:
    Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder.  Select All Processes from the Processes dropdown menu.  Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order.  If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time, then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar.  Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process.  See if that helps.  Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.
    Often this problem occurs because of a corrupted cache or preferences file or an attempt to write to a corrupted log file.

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