"Other" Category eating up memory

I've had my 4GB iPod Nano for about two years now, and since I've gotten it, I've always had the "Other" category of my iPod fill up more memory space than it should. When I had my old iPod Mini, the "Other" category was tiny, like about 2-5 percent of the iPod's total memory. With my iPod Nano, the "Other" category is taking up between 50-60 percent of the iPod's memory. I believe the cause stems from updating songs because when I try to add a couple songs, and the upload fails, the "Other" category still increases while the music space does not.
Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you.

I am having the same problem with the "other" category taking up all of my space. I believe that my music files have been corrupted and that I need to reformat. However, I have some pictures on my iPod that I dont have on this computer. Is there any way to get these photos off before I reformat? Or is there any way to get my corrupted music files back without having to reformat and sync it again, because the computer with those files is 4,000 miles away from me right now.
Also, I had the problem where the other category was taking up much room in an iPod Mini. It had to do with having not formated WAV files properly and then loading them on anyways. I had to clear them off and reformat them.

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IPhone bloated "Other" category

Using an older iPhone 4, current iOS and iTunes (for ML).
Recently when I "sync" the iPhone to iTunes the "other" category in the memory bar bloats to many times the normal size. The best I can tell it seems to duplicate the used memory of all the music, apps, photos, etc on the phone. For example if I have 12gig music, 2gig apps 1.5 gig photos for total of 16.5gig the "other" category will bloat to 16.5gig and create an out of memory situation on the phone, basically "crashes" the sync operation.
I was thinking it was something on the phone itself, and performed a "restore". First using a previous database then again as a new phone. In both situations the bloated "other category" returned.
I'm begriming to think this is an iTunes issue (this is posted on the iTunes forum too).
So my questions are: anyone have a similar situation? is it a phone (iOS) problem or iTunes? And if iTunes what PLIST or "other" files need to be culled?
Thanks for the help

OK, technically it is hacked to unlock it, not jailbroken. That doesn't change the fact that the internal firmware is not standard, and the baseband cannot be replaced during a restore. If you restore a phone as New and do no setup at all Other will be small. If it isn't then there is something seriously wrong; some sort of memory corruption.

How to clear the 'Other' category in my Blackberry Curve memory?

So, I have found that on my device memory, 50% of the memory is being used. That's fine of course - I have a ton of pictures and loads of music, so it only makes sense - but I recently found that 26% of that 50% is being used up by a white category labeled "Other".
Seeing this, I cleared /everything/. Everything to do with my browser, the languages I didn't need deleted off of my phone, the documents I didn't need, all but one of my games (brickbreaker) and nearly all uneeded files.
After doing all this, I checked the memory again, and found that the "other" category had gone /up/ by 1%. So I'm really puxxled by that and it's bugging the hell outta me.
Anyone know how else I can clear this "other" category?
P.S
My memory statistics are as follows:
Music: 20%
Pictures: 2%
Ringtones: <1%
Other: 27%
Free: 49%
Halp please.

I've tried all these and Firefox still won't load the current image. I know it's there because Internet Explorer does load it. Is there anything else I can try or look at?

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.

I updated to iOS 5.0. Now each time I sync the "other" category of memory grows. It is now up to 7.5 GB and I don't have room for videos.

I updated to iOS 5.0. Now each time I sync the "other" category of memory grows. It is now up to 7.5 GB and I don't have room for videos. I deleted a .3 GB video and the tried to put it back on. Now it says the memory is full. It seems to not release memory once something is deleted.

You need to restore your iPad now since "other" continues to grow with each sync. Something got corrupted when you were syncing and that is what probably caused this. This will explain how to restore.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1414
You can restore from a backup at the very end of the process - but if you restore from the backup and then the problem does not go away, you will have to restore to factory settings and then add all of your content back onto the device.
BTW ... Other contains all of your app data, bookmarks, contacts, emails, text messages, some game save data and things of that nature.

The "Other" memory on my ipad2 keeps growing. What is in the other category? It is now up to 3GB

When synching my iPad2 I am trying to stay within the 32GB of memory but this is filling up fast. I have a lot of music and pictures...
I was wondering about the 3GB of "Other" that shows up as yellow on the usage bar. What is in the "Other" category that I could manage?
Is it files used by various apps? Or ??
Appreciate any feedback on this.
Thanks

Hi King_Pinguin,
I have the same issue, my other category has grown to 7GB. Deleted the cache, cookies, but that removed 500kB. My books are 0. I am going app by app to see if I can delete data, but it is not clear where the problem is. Removed all games - didn't impact the other category at all. Any advice? Do I just totally remove everything, and then resync everything after that? Any advice welcome, right now I can barely use my iPad.

I have a problem since installing ios6 when backing up to a laptop I got a message stating there was not enough room on the c: drive, the iTunes bar indicated that apps, etc were using space, but the yellow 'others' category was eating up all the space

I'm running out of space on the bar that shows the usage split (how many gb's for apps photos, music etc) the yellow 'others' category seems to be taking up all the available space. This is happening after updating to ios6. I don't seem to be able to get the backup on my laptop to complete successfully. I'm also unable to get Music to work on the phone. The picture of the cloud appears on screen, sometimes the blue bar appears, but after a while it bombs out and nothing else happens. Any ideas?

It does not immediately delete the files that are missing.. it merely tries to backup the new files it has discovered on the external drive. Since you moved the files there, the backup at least for a while will contain both copies.. and that is why it doesn't have enough space to backup.
Fixing the problem.. hmm pondini is the expert.. you should be able to delete the backup of the photos in existing backup.. there are instructions to do it.. but it is a very poor way to do things.
Much better. .archive off the existing backup.. this is long and slow but worth it. you need a usb drive of the same size as the TC drive. Then erase the TC and start a fresh set of backups.
The alternative is to use the USB drive as a new target.. but it is much slower than the TC internal drive.
http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

Other category is eating up my whole phone

I have the iPhone 4S, 16 gb. Shortly after I bought it about a year ago, the Other category ballooned up to 8 gb. There were dozens of proposed methods to get the Other category down to normal size but nothing worked so I completely reset my phone. The other category stayed at normal size for several months and then for no reason at all jumped to 4gb. Now it's at 6 gb. I am really disappointed that Apple has not corrected this problem despite endless posts from people like me explaining the problem. We shouldn't have to flatten our phones every few months and start over.
If anyone has a method that works I'm all ears.

I think "other" is App Data and corrupted files.
Maybe some apps have many data in.
You can check this in Settings>iCloud>Storage and Backup>Manage storage>"your" iPhone and look at the "Backup options" list. Except the "Camera roll" all others are the "App Data".
Go to iTunes plug your iPhone then go to apps tab and scroll down under the apps box. Here are some of the apps that contains data. You can't see here data of a game or some others apps here.
If you are running iOS 5 you can check one by one your apps in Settings>General>Usage. These sizes are the apps sizes (except "Music" and "Photos & Camera") but if you tap on them you can see the "documents and data" size.
I believe there are also data from email accounts (especially POP accounts), caches from apps, maybe thumbnails from photos or albums artwork.
Check all these and then make a backup and restore from that.

Why does "Other" category constantly increase in size on iMac hard drive?

Hello
I am new to Macs and bought my iMac a couple of years ago. Since that time, I have not installed any programs and have all of my photos, music, and documents on an external hard drive. Whenever I use my computer, I mainly use iTunes, Safari,and DVD player, though not all at once. I also do not use the Mail app and currently have Time Machine turned off. So, for the most part, I try to keep my usage minimal and maintain it properly (i.e., installing new updates, emptying the trash, not using any anti-virus programs, etc.).
As of today, I have 485.77 GB free out of 499.25 GB on my hard drive. It might seem silly to even bring up this topic, since space is not really something I have to worry about at this time; however, I do get concerned about the constant increase of the "Other" space. As I have already mentioned, I do not have any other apps/programs installed aside from the ones that originally came with the computer, and all other categories do not change in size.
This is my first time submitting a question, and I have tried my best to search the help community for answers. Although I have come across many discussions closely related to this topic and have tried to read different websites--such as http://pondini.org/OSX/DiskSpace.html--I still feel frustrated that I still don't know what's going on. Could anyone explain why this is happening with the "Other" category? Is there a way to prevent it?
I know little about computers and even less about Macs, so I would appreciate any help. Also, I have copied down some information that might be helpful to know. Please let me know if there's anything else I can provide. Thank you!
Mac OS X
Version 10.7.5
Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core 15
Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Storage:
Audio 4.3 MB
Movies 42.3 MB
Photos 133.7 MB
Apps 2.57 GB
Backups Zero KB
Other 10.72 GB (this constantly increases)
PS. If I added more memory, would it help my situation?

The best advice I can give a new user that is not familiar with the Mac is do nothing. The Mac will pretty much take care of itself. You don't need cleaners or virus protection.
Backup is key. As long as you have backup, if you make a mistake you can always restore from your backup. Just like a seat belt and an air bag protect you in different ways when driving, you need both Time Machine and a clone for full protection.
Try to learn the basics. You can learn a lot from reading about other user's issues here on Apple Discussions.
If in doubt, ask first. We're here to help you. Some actions are hard to undo.
As Csound1 mentioned don't delete anything from /var, /system or /library. BTW, var is for invisible files. They are invisible for a reason. System and Library contain the files that run your computer. No need to muck around in here to save a few kb of space.
Macintosh HD Root folders
Applications
Library
System
Users <---your user's folder is located here. It's OK to delete your files.

I want to upgrade my software, but it says I need more start up memory. I keep my stuff on an external hard drive so I don't know what is eating my memory. How can I check this?

How can I figure out what is eating my memory so I can upgrade my software?

Do you mean disk storage space or physical RAM? The latter is memory, not the former. If you mean the former:
Freeing Up Space on The Hard Drive
1. See Lion/Mountain Lion/Mavericks' Storage Display.
2. You can remove data from your Home folder except for the /Home/Library/ folder.
3. Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on freeing up space on your hard drive.
4. Also see Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk.
5. See Where did my Disk Space go?.
6. See The Storage Display.
You must Empty the Trash in order to recover the space they occupied on the hard drive.
You should consider replacing the drive with a larger one. Check out OWC for drives, tutorials, and toolkits.
Try using OmniDiskSweeper 1.8 or GrandPerspective to search your drive for large files and where they are located.
If you mean RAM, then you have to add more to the computer which is not possible on Air models.

How to remove "other" files from iphone memory

Concerning how the memory is used on the Iphones under the "other" category, I have found that the biggest culprit is text messages that include photos and videos sent and received. Think about it, when you take a picture and then send it, even though you delete it from your camera roll, it is still necessary to hold in memeory as being part of the text history. It is only removed from the phone when you delete it from the text message as well. This also applies to text messages received. This is a large hidden area to most people!
good luck.
Armand S.
Phila.

Restore the iOS. You may have to do this as a new phone (without using a backup). Note that "other" contains messages and emails - if you have a lot of these, especially with photos/videos, that would account for the other usage.

Something is eating the memory!

I used to have 30g of memory, and today I only have 500mb!
I got my first message: 'Your start up disk is almost full' yesterday.
Over the past few months something has slowly been eating it. I upgraded to Panther a good 6 months ago and also downloaded Office:Mac. I have a couple of third party games on the system, such as GameHouse. Could any of these have given me a bug that eats the memory?
Please help!
Cheers,
Maria

Hello Adam ( or Maria )
Running a disk with so little space is asking for trouble. A minimum of 10 - 15% is generally considered the safe level of free space.
I would strongly suggest that you ditch some file you know can be easily replaced. ( Music for example ) Repair permissions from disk utilities, re-start, then download this Application to tell you what has eaten all the space...
whatsize
Post back if you need more.
Regards
Ian

What is the "other" category of data on an ipod?

I just inherited one of my kid's iPod 4gb mini. After restoring to facotry specs, it shows a capacity of 3.77 GB with free space of 3.75 GB. I created a playlist that is 3.74 GB in size. When I try to load it on the ipod, it says the playlist is too large. I noticed that as the playlist is loading the "other" category grows at a ratio of 1 to 3 with the audio category. In other words for ever 3 MB of audio, 1 MB of "other" is created. What is this? Why is it eating up my space?

Other can be files that are on there if you are using the iPod as a removable storage device or Album Artwork, Notes, Contacts, Firmware etc. If you feel that Other is being incorrectly reported then try restoring your iPod. Restoring will erase the iPod's hard drive, reload the software and put it back to default settings. Once the restore is complete follow the on screen instructions to name the iPod and automatically sync your songs and videos onto the fresh installation. Press Done and the iPod will appear in iTunes and start to sync. If you want to update manually or using selected playlists uncheck the box beside the sync automatically instruction and press Done, it will default to manual mode and you can choose whatever setting you like: Restoring iPod to factory settings with iTunes 7

Does repeated use of the same addSubView eat up memory?

Inside viewDidLoad I'm created an array of button objects. When I click on another button in my app, I'm looping through the array, placing the buttons in frames and adding them to the view with the following code:
[self.view addSubview:[buttonsArray objectAtIndex: i]];
[self.view bringSubviewToFront:[buttonsArray objectAtIndex: i]];
When testing on an iPhone, after a while an out of memory error occurs. I am wondering if it is perhaps because of the way I am doing this.
Would repeated occurrences of addSubview and bringSubViewToFriend gradually eat up memory? Or do these overwrite existing items I've previously added to the subview?
Would it be best if I do this just one time inside viewDidLoad and hide the buttons until needed?
Or after clicking on a button, is there something better I should do to release the memory used until needed again?
Does this sound like a likely cause of a memory problem?
Thanks,
doug

I'll check out the subviews property.
In the meantime, programmatically, how would I add the buttons to a single UIView as a container? That sounds very useful.
I did notice that for UIToolbar I could hide and unhide the entire UIToolbar at once with a single property setting of hidden to YES or NO. But I set up the UIToolbar in the Interface Builder.
It would be great to figure out how to add the buttons to a UIView. In fact, what I'd like to do is add them to a scrolling view container at some point.
I just haven't been able to figure out the syntax yet.
Thanks,
doug

How do get rid of this webkit2webprocess file eating up memory and crashing my browser every time

This file is definitely bugging me I have tried everything but every time this file starts eating up memory and slowing down the computer isthere a solution for this we have the i5 coming out nowbut this has been constantly nagging and isee somany issues with so many people is apple doing anything about it???

Thank you for your assistance. It was a corrupted preference file and your post resolved my problem. I have had a number of problems with preference file under lion.

"Other" Category eating up memory

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