MacBook Pro SSD drive: need to free up space

Hi,
I have a MacBook Pro (late 2011), running OSX 10.7.5, with a 128GB SSD drive. The problem I have is that I am running out of space on my drive, even though I don't appear to be storing that much on it. When I view my usage in 'About This Mac', I get the following:
Audio=38.2 GB; Movies=0 GB; Photos=7.64 GB; Apps=12.73 GB; Other 41.06 GB
Backups are 0 and my Documents folder is only around 5 GB; my Trash and Downloads are empty too.
So the question I have is, what is this 41.06 GB (or minus the Documents folder around 36 GB)? I have searched through the system folders and I can't find anything that is accounting for this data.
I seem to recall from day 1 of owning this MacBook (my first MacBook I admit), that my drive has been filling up somewhere with gigs of data, and I can't seems to account for it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah I always forget about the sleepimage file. I turned that off a long time ago.
I have been running Lion for just over a year, and Mt Lion for part of that (Now back to Lion) and have never had this problem. As most Mac users don't. It is a glitch in the OS, is all I can think of.
You could use the Recovery HD, or the Online Recovery system, to Wipe (Re-Partition if you use the Online system) the drive and then reinstall Lion and restore only settings, programs and files from your TM backup at the first boot of the newly install OS.
ikeshima wrote:
I've managed to account for 17 GB which is being used in the 'sleepimage' file. Still another 20 GB to go.....
It would probably be easier to buy a 512 GB disc and install this. However, from what I have read with other people having the same problem, some people are losing a whopping >200 GB in space, which they can't account for in Lion.

Similar Messages

Hi, I was wondering if someone can help me. I have a MacBook Pro, it has came up saying I need to free up space on the disk as it full every time it starts up, so I log in and no icons or applications show up on the screen just my background wallpaper, t

Hi,
I was wondering if someone can help me. I have a MacBook Pro, it has came up saying I need to free up space on the disk as it full every time it starts up, so I log in and no icons or applications show up on the screen just my background wallpaper, the only thing I can do is the force quit keyboard shortcut but there is nothing to quit, I have tried to start up in safe mode but again there is no icons in the desktop,
I have my disks that came with my laptop I have went into disk utility to repair disk and I still seem to have the same problem .. No icons or apps or anything lol just the cursor I can only shut down the laptop via power but and the press shut down.
Please help I am going out my mind with this thing :(
Thanks x jade

This can be used to boot the machine and delelte enough files to get it to boot normally.
.Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
Read about storage drive so you can store your extra stuff.
Most commonly used backup methods
Also here to see how a full boot drive slows the machine down
Why is my computer slow?

I recently bought the newest macbook pro with only 120 GB of disk space I need to upgrade and was wondering if this would work with my computer 500GB New Sata 2.5" hard drive?

I bought the newest macbook pro 13" with only 120 GB of space. I quickly used all of the space up and need a lot more. I was wondering if this disk is compatible with the model i have.
500GB New Sata 2.5" hard drive

Your best practical option is buying a 1TB external HD for $65
The "low" capacity of the SSD on the Air and entry level Retina are meant to be working platforms for these computers.
Meaning ALL your programs and your working data (stuff you use at least every week).
To try to use either the Air or Retina as a storage platform of any king (lots of pics, music, movies etc.) is both not indicated or practical.
external storage, quality too, is absurdly cheap right now.
You asked:
These are very expensive theres no way that an hdd drive would be compatible with my Mac?
yes, a superslim external HD.
see this: only 7mm thick
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
Or better still this HUGE HD, which is very small, very reliable and very cheap:
2 Terabytes, 2.5" and only $119
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Basics-Portable-HDTB120XK3CA/dp/B00ARJD56K

Can someone please help me... i'm about to buy a new macbook pro and i need some pros and cons of SSD

hi.. i'm about to buy a new macbook pro and i need some pros and cons of SSD.... i'm not sure which is really better, the regular hard drive or the SSD... because if i buy the mac with SSD it would be the 128GB, so i want to know how would that affect the overall performance of the computer...
Thanks!

I would suggest that you purchase the SSD through a third party source. You will save money that way.
Regarding the performance, go to the OWC web site. They have bench tested their SSD vs conventional HDD and have published the results for anyone to see,
The difference between the 128GB and the 256GB drives is capacity, no practical change to performance.
Ciao.

What is the exact name of the cable I need to connect my old hard drive from my macbook pro (it has been taken out of the computer) to my new macbook pro? I need to transfer files from the old hard drive to the new computer.

What is the exact name of the cable I need to connect my old hard drive from my macbook pro, which has been removed from the computer, to my new macbook pro? I need to transfere files from the old hard drive to the new computer.

No eSATA to USB. Just a SATA/IDE to USB adapter. Google SATA/IDE to USB adapter and you will get tons of links to buy them. Most likely your local computer electronics store has them, although they might be more expensive buying locally than online.
I have several. You can get either USB 2, which what I recommend, or USB 3. USB is backward compatible so a USB 3 adapter will work on a USB 2 port and a USB 2 adapter will work on a USB 3 port. Backward compatible in both directions.
I suggest a USB 2 type because there have been some problems with certain USB 3 devices, the USB 3 interface used isn't all that good in those certain devices. USB 3 is still fairly new where as USB 2 has been around for over 10 years.
synghem wrote:
Thank you LowLuster,
At the apple store they said I needed an esata to usb wire. But looking at wires on line has been confusing. Is sata the same as esata? How do I know if I need a usb 3 or usb 2?

My MacBook Pro hard drive is almost full and I wish to store my Aperture Library on an external drive, how do I do this and is the use of USB2 suitable or do I need to use a Firewire external hard drive?

My MacBook Pro hard drive is almost full and I wish to store my Aperture Library on an external drive, how do I do this and is the use of USB2 suitable or do I need to use a Firewire external hard drive?

You'll get better performance if you use a Firewire hard drive (especially if you buy a 7200 RPM drive). Firewire's IO speed is significantly faster than USB 2. USB 2 has a theoretical max speed of 480 Mbps except that it has extremely high over-head. The fastest speeds you can typically get are about 300 Mbps. Firewire, on the other hand, has very little overhead. The fastest speeds you can get are very nearly 800 Mbps. You will typically be constrained by the maximum read/write speed of the drive, not the speed of the I/O on the Firewire bus. Now if you had one of those nice shiny new Macs with the Thunderbolt I/O and a Thunderbolt drive (Light Peak) ... I think they alter space and time so that your data arrives before you know you want it.
Also... unless you want to buy a solid state drive (very expensive), try to keep your hard drives from becoming much more than about 60% full if you want great performance. A nearly "full" hard drive is, on average, only about half as fast as the same hard drive when nearly empty.
USB 2 will work perfectly fine... just not as fast.
Also... it's much safer to move the entire Aperture library than to "relocate masters". Your images must be managed. You can Aperture manage them, or you can manage them. But someone has to manage them. If you "relocate" them so that they are no longer stored inside the Aperture library then you'll need to work out a system of how you decide to organize things and it's critically important that you don't start moving files around or deleting things without Aperture's knowledge. If you do, you'll break the links to your masters and start having problems with missing masters. If you have Aperture manage the library then you don't need to worry about any of that stuff.... it's safer.
Do make backups (use the Aperture Vault or use some other backup program, but make sure you back up your work if you care about it.) There are only two kinds of hard drives in the world: (1) those that have failed and (2) those that are going to fail. There are no exceptions to this rule. Hard drives are cheap. Backup software is built into Aperture and into your Mac.

Should I get a 2.0 or 3.0 USB external hard drive for my 2011 Macbook Pro? I need it to be compatible with the USB ports of both a PC and a Mac.

Should I get a 2.0 or 3.0 USB external hard drive for my 2011 Macbook Pro? I need it to be compatible with the USB ports of both a PC and a Mac. I was thinking of getting a Seagate becuase apparently it is compatible with both systems, but I want to know which would be a better investment.

Using USB 3 devices on Mac computers FAQ

I erased my 2012 MacBook Pro hard drive, what version OSX do I need to reload ?

I erased my 2012 MacBook Pro hard drive, what version OSX do I need to reload ?

Mac OS X 10.7.5 or newer, or see below. Press the Command and R keys at startup to load the recovery partition, or the Option, Command, and R keys to reinstall the computer's original OS.
(106272)

I need to free up space on my hard drive. How do you move photo's to my external?

I need to free up space on my hard drive in order to complete a new update. How do I move photo's from my macbook air to my external hard drive?

You need to backup your Iphoto library to Time Machine first (if you havent already done so)
THEN you need to copy your Iphoto library to another HD before deleting from your Macbook ,....because 1 copy only is = NO COPY in case of HD failure!
To move an iPhoto liobrary -
quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto from LarryHN
As to your AIr and its SSD =
You need to change the premise of your SSD use.
see here:
Your Solid State Drive and having enough space inside your Macbook Air & Pro
Solid State Drive usage premise, or the “more space / upgrade SSD” question
There have been questions posed and positions taken by many people who are trying to use their Macbook Air or Pro’s solid state drive (SSD) as a mass media storage device, for either pictures, videos, massive music collections or all three combined; but this should not be the working premise of a ‘limited’ SSD and its use.
In which, it’s the case of those users with either 128GB, 256GB, or even 512GB of internal SSD space, that have or are running “out of space”, that questions are raised. The immediate premise of some users can sometimes be “(how to / if) upgrading my SSD” when in fact in nearly all instances another approach is the logical and sensible one that needs to be looked into and exercised.
Any Macbook containing a SSD should be idealized as a ‘working platform’ notebook containing all your applications, documents, and weekly or bi-weekly necessary files. All collections of media files such as pictures, music, and videos, unless directly needed should be kept off the notebook and on an external hard drive or likewise. While the ‘working platform’ premise is also the case with larger internal conventional hard drives of 1TB+, its implementation isn't as critical except in terms of data protection.
Realistically, you should at most coordinate roughly 20 to 25% of your total SSD space to all audio-video personal use media (picture / music / video collections), leaving the remaining amount on an external HD.
Nobody should consider any notebook a data storage device at any time under any circumstance, rather a data creation, sending, and manipulation device; and in the case of a SSD, this is more important for purposes of having sufficient working space on the SSD and reducing SSD ‘bloat’ in which cases someone is wrongly attempting to use the SSD space as a large media storage nexus.
The rare exception to the collective usage and premise of SSD use in which a much larger SSD is truly needed are for those in video and photography professions that require both the extremely fast speeds of the SSD and the onboard storage for large and or many video and photography files. However this also falls under the premise of a ‘working platform’ for such peoples rather than the intent of many who are using the SSD as passive and static data storage for media files very infrequently needed or accessed.
All on-notebook data collections should be logically approached as to necessity, and evaluated as to whether it is active or passive data that likely doesn’t need to be on the notebook, allocations of space-percentages to as-needed work and use, apportioning space for your entertainment media, and questioning whether it should it be on the notebook for more than short-term consumption.
Considerations should be made in the mind of any user in differentiating the necessary system data (System hub) comprising the Mac OSX, applications, necessary documents that both must and should be on your internal SSD, and that of the users personal data (Data hub) comprising created files, pictures, music, videos, PDF files, data created or being created and otherwise, that likely unless being used soon or often should be parked on an external hard drive for consumption, or temporarily loading onto the internal SSD.
You both can and should purchase whichever SSD size you need or see fit, but even in the case of the largest of SSD, unless use-considerations are made, and SSD spaces are allocated as should be the case indicated above, one can easily and immediately run into this quandary of “needing more internal SSD space”, in which instance a different approach in usage must then be implemented.
However it is almost always the case, that such large media files are wanted to be stored internally rather than actually needed, in which case the external HD is both prudent as well as necessary. Additionally costs per MB are infinitely less on an external HD than an internal SSD in any consideration of data expansion needs.
A Professional Example
In the case of a Macbook Air or Macbook Pro Retina with ‘limited’ storage on the SSD, this distinction becomes more important in that in an ever rapidly increasing file-size world, you keep vital large media files, pics, video, PDF collections, music off your SSD and archived on external storage, for sake of the necessary room for your system to have free space to operate, store future applications and general workspace.
You should also never be put in the position of considering “deleting things” on your Macbook SSD in order to ‘make space’. This is especially what your external HD is for.
Professionals who create and import very large amounts of data have almost no change in the available space on their notebooks internal SSD because they are constantly archiving data to arrays of external or networked HD.
Or in the case of the consumer this means you keep folders for large imported or created data and you ritually offload and archive this data for safekeeping, not only to safeguard the data in case your Macbook has a SSD crash, or gets stolen, but importantly in keeping the ‘breathing room’ open for your notebook to operate, expand, create files, add applications, for your APPS to create temp files, and for general operation.
Slim USB3 1TB external hard drive
External Hard Drives
External hard drives are both extremely cheap and regardless of the size of your internal SSD (or even internal hard drive if the case), you need an external hard drive with your SSD equipped Macbook for several reasons:
1. Data backup and protection.
2. Redundancy for important data.
3. Necessitated ideal space for large media files for collections of pictures, videos, and music etc.
While ever changing in price, typical portable 2.5” external hard drives in USB3 run roughly $65 for 1TB or $120 for 2TB small portable USB3 hard drives. Such drives range in thickness between 5mm and 15mm, with recent improvements in storage of 500GB drives in 5mm profiles.
There is almost no premise in which a small 12mm thick 1 Terabyte USB hard drive cannot be taken along with any Macbook as an external large storage extension inside any Macbook carry case or pouch. Typically such external HD profiles are not much bigger than a deck of cards.
External hard drives are a foregone necessity for purchase with any Macbook for at the very least Time Machine backups, data redundancies, and ideally for large media storage.

My MacBook Pro Hard Drive recently gave me the gray folder with the question mark of death. Even as

My MacBook Pro Hard Drive recently gave me the gray folder with the question mark of death. Even as a Mac Newbie/Novice, I successfully installed a new hard drive and the OS (10.6.8) software from my installation discs. I have, however, lost the ability to play video using the spacebar and I have no idea on the steps necessary to correct this seemingly simple technical blip. .Here's my system overview:Model Name: MacBook Pro Model Identifier: MacBookPro6,2 Processor Name: Intel Core i5 Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz Number Of Processors: 1 Total Number Of Cores: 2 L2 Cache (per core): 256 KB L3 Cache: 3 MB Memory: 4 GB Processor Interconnect Speed: 4.8 GT/s.
I am using the Premiere Pro CS5 NLE (with the 5.0.4 updates), and I have tried to reinstall the software (which is actually the Production Premium package) several times, but I still cannot use the spacebar (or any method) to play any of my imported videos.
PLEASE HELP in any way you can!
Prior to having to replace my hard drive, my software was working just fine. No problems at all. But now, it seems that I can't get it to play whatever type of file I import.
Again, I am a newbie to the Mac, so any and all correctional/repair assistance needs to be expalined as if I were a child : )
I would hate to try to revert to considering the sophmoric Final Cut Pro X editing software package, but I've got to do something to be able to get back to my editing activities.
zionhall
[email protected]

Jorge242 wrote:
@FatMac the internet recovery doesnt work. It goes into recovery mode and then when i try to reinstall it cant find a disk to install it to. So what would be a good choice to take now?
Recovery Mode presents you with, among other things, Disk Utility. When you open that, if the internal shows up at all, first try to "Repair DIsk." If that doesn't work but if the "Media" line is present, try to format and partition it with a GUID partition table (understand that you will be erasing the contents of your internal). Then try to reinstall the OS. If that doesn't work, and since your Retina MBP didn't come with a DVD drive or DVDs, you'll need to try a hardware test using these instructions from Apple (short version: shut down, press the power button and hold down the "D" key). If none of those things work, let's hope you either have AppleCare or your warranty has some life left because the SSD in your rMBP is proprietary and expensive. You'll need to bring it to an Apple Genius for evaluation.

My macbook pro hard drive died. I only have a windows hard drive and an old powerbook G4 which of course you can't use to create a boot disk for my macbook. How can I solve this?

I can't get app store on my old power book to download OS X, My macbook pro hard drive died and all I have is a windows hard drive, still has windows os on it, a 500 Gb USB drive and this power book. How can I get my macbook back up without spending money? Thanks

And what happens if the OPs Mac is of a newer version that came with a version of Snow Leopard above the 10.6.3 version that is on that Retail, meant for Upgrade, disc? Like if it came with 10.6.4/.5/.6/.7? That disc you linked to would not work.
He needs to contact Apple and get a replacement set of Original System Reinstall Discs. That is the only way he can be assured it will work and he would also get the iLife apps which he wouldn't buying that DVD disc you linked to.
dwb wrote:
The Snow Leopard DVD is $20 from Apple. You'll just have to wait a few days. BTW this is a full installer that works with any model computer that can run SL. Apple used to ship recovery/installation disks that were tied to specific computer models so that a 15" MBP installer disk coudn't be used on a 13" MBP computer. So you need either full installer or the recovery disks for your specific model.
And BTW, I have a 2009 13" MBP w/8GB RAM that is running Mavericks. With a 5400 RPM drive I used to experience a bit of beach balling (think hour glassing) but an SSD has given it new life. It feels now slower than the newest MBPs - it obviously benchmarks considerably slower but in everyday use it doesn't feel like a 4 1/2 year old computer at all.

Trouble re-formatting Macbook Pro Hard drive

I've recently had to reformat my 13" Macbook Pro Unibody and have been unable to do so. I've done it previous times before however now, I recieve a POSIX error as well as others regarding an "input/output error" or that it is "unable to allocate the memory."
So far I've tried booting from the disk and used disk utility (that's where I get the errors) and I've tried to format using terminal to no avail. I recieve the same errors. I've come across suggestions to use "gparted." I was able to create a partition however it is not recognized when I go into terminal or try to install OSX 10.6. Can someone walk me through or point me in the right direction to re-format my hard drive? I'd appreciate the help and would rather resolve the problem my self with the help of others rather than going to the Apple store and spending loads of money I don't have. Should you need more information feel free to ask and I will provide.
Message was edited by: CapKid

I found a ton of other threads and posts about this problem... most of them were talking about external drives connected via USB (which worked fine with FireWire for some reason), but I found one who had the same exact problem as you with a 13" MacBook Pro internal drive.
That guy said that he replaced the hard drive cable (the one that connects the drive to the logic board) and everything worked fine.
It seems to be some type of firmware issue. And now that I think about it, I had a client machine with a similar problem at one point. We ended up sending the machine to Apple (it was still under AppleCare) and they did in fact replace the hard drive cable due to "firmware issues."
I would give that a try. It seems to be most logical being that you had the same problem with two different hard drives.

I own both an imac and a MacBook Pro - do I need to purchase an upgrade for each?

I own both an imac and a MacBook Pro - do I need to purchase an upgrade for each?

Upgrading to OS X 10.7 FAQ
Backup your user files and folders manually (drag and drop) from all partitions/OS's installed to a external powered drive and disconnect this drive, before proceeding in addition to TimeMachine, Bootable Clones etc.
You need to make sure you're running the latest version of Snow Leopard10.6.8
Click the "Apple" symbol in the top left corner of your screen and select "About This Mac."
Make sure you're running version 10.6.8.
If not, click "Software Update" from the same Apple menu and update your system.
Then when that's finished launch the MacAppStore from the same menu.
You'll see the giant Lion banner across the top. Click on it.
This brings you to the app page for Lion. It costs $29.99 -- click the price, then click "Buy App."
Free Lion? check here
http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/
You'll be prompted to sign in with your iTunes ID. After that, yourdownload / upgrade begins.
BackupLion
http://www.eggfreckles.net/tech/burning-a-lion-boot-disc/
http://eggfreckles.net/tech/installing-lion-clean/
Check Apple's license details throughly before usingorinstalling Lion.
This is what binds you legally, notwhat users say or sites suggest you can do.
Other Lion FAQ's answered.
No"Rosetta" sorry.
Someof your older programs (like Appleworks) that depend upon it will notwork.
OS X Lion cannot be installed on these Macs:
1:Any PowerPC processor Mac (G3, G4, G5)
2:Any Intel Mac on this list:
iMac4,1Early(Jan-Sept) 2006 17"
iMac4,1Early(Jan-Sept) 2006 20"
iMac4,2Mid(July-Sept) 2006 17"
MacMini1,1(Feb-Sept) Early 2006
MacMini1,1(Sept-Aug) Late 2006
MacBook1,113"(May-Nov 2006)
MacBookPro1,115" A1150 (Jan-May 2006)
MacBookPro1,217" A1151 (Aprl-Oct 2006)
MacBookPro1,115" A1175 (May-Oct 2006)
Look under the Apple Menu > About this Mac > More information for you rmachine details.
(there are reports of hacking Lion to work on 32 bit Intel Core DuoMac's, it's unsupported by Apple and not advised)
Didn't get Lion?
These are user to user support forums and Apple doesn't respond here,
We users can't speak for Apple about your free Lion status or problems downloading, reissuing a download.
It's possible Apple could be spacing out the downloads as not to knock theservers offline. So be patient.
If after a week or so when the initial rush is over, and you still haven't gotten your Lion, I suggest you contact Apple.
Mission critical
If your using Mac's in a mission critical type environment or have third party hardware or software you must rely upon working correctly. It's advised to wait until all the bugs, driver updates, third party software and other issues are resolved before upgrading. This might take several months. Then if you do so, do one machine at a time andcarefully test everything before full deployment.

I believe my macbook pro hard drive is bad. I erased the drive and reinstalled the OS and the macbook still runs really slow. I dont know if the hard drive is the issue.

I believe my macbook pro hard drive is bad. I erased the drive and reinstalled the OS and the macbook still runs really slow. I dont know if the hard drive is the issue.

Did you try an SMC reset too? It's easily done and none of those resets to the best of my knowledge hurt anything. When I was fooling with my system, which at one point was a home made Fusion setup, I needed to reset the SMC sometimes to get the drives recognized. Reading the documentation the sudden motion sensor is drive related but that seems to be about it.
Some more specifics may be needed about the drive itself, the model number of your unit, and the OS version you're running.
At present, the problem seems sort of odd to me. FWIW cable problems can be quite intermittent. I used Scannerz to find some of the problems on my original system that I later converted to a new HD and SSD combo. It can find lots of problems if you learn how to use it right (HD problems, logic board system faults, and cable problems) but you need to get a system at least partially up and running to use it, and it doesn't sound to me like your there right now (in other words, don't go out and buy it because at this point I don't know how it could help you)
Another word of advice would be to not go out and start throwing parts at a problem unless you have a good idea what the source of the problem is. If you have a logic board problem, new drives and new cables won't make it go away, you'll just be wasting your money. Logic board problems, cable problems, and drive problems can all have very similar end user symptoms. The article that I linked above named "Hard Drive Problems" has a section on general symptoms of problems and if you read the article it becomes clear there's a lot of overlap associated with different types of problems.
I assume that your unit isn't under warranty. If, by chance it is I wouldn't even fool with it and I'd take it to Apple and let them deal with the problem. You also might want to check with whatever Apple sources you have available to test your system, like an Apple store, and see how much they'll charge (if anything) to evaluate the system.
I certainly hope this helps.

What configuration of the new macbook pro do I need to run FCS 3 without choppy playback.

Yep, just wondering what configuration of the new macbook pro do I need to run FCS 3 without choppy playback or lagging. I'm thinking about the 7200rpm, 2.2ghz, antiglare, 4gb ram, with 1gb GPU graphics card configuration

Nothing wrong with the computer. Playback is dependent on the media and the drives.

MacBook Pro SSD drive: need to free up space

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