I am trying to install Snow Leapord and I get a response that I do not have enough memoroy. I recently bought a 2TB WD backup drive. I backed up the iMac. Now how do I free up more memory?

Question

I am trying to upgrade from 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard 10.6.3 and I get a message that I do not have enough memory. I recently bought a 2TB WD back-up drive and backed up the entire computer.  Now how do I free up more memory to allow me to install the new software?

Answer 1

First thing to try is emptying the trash to get more space.
Go to the Finder -> File Menu -> Empty Trash.
This will free up some space.
Next look at your Download folder. Click on "Size" to sort by largest to smallest. This is where you have downloaded files over time and you should be able to delete a good amount of them, if you don't need them any more, to clear up space. Select the files you want to get rid of and hit "Command-Delete". This will move them to the Trash. You will then need to Empty the Trash again.
You can also look through your documents for large files. Do the same think, click on "Size" in the finder window to sort by largest to smallest.
Lastly, look at your applications folder. Unlike a PC, you can just Delete applications. Now certain data will still remain, but the bulky items will go away by doing the same "Command-Delete" on the applications you don't want.
Don't forget, after you have deleted things, you need to Empty the Trash.