Start up disk is full!

I've looked up videos how to solve the "startup disk" pop-up, but it doesn't really help. My mac doesn't have another hard drive attached to it, I'm guessing the "Untitled" is a second hard drive my mac has in addition to the Macintosh one. My computer is running really slow because of this. Advice?

Let's go hunting for the missing space...
Login as user with administrative capabilities,
start
a Terminal (Applications -> Utilities ->
Terminal),
enter the following command:
sudo du -sckx /
and report back with the resulting output (it will
ask you for your password, and might take a minute
or
two to complete). Depending on the output we can
then
refine the search.
Ok, I feel like an idiot about now...but I don't know
how to log in as you have suggested. Remember, I'm
basically a PC person. But, I do appreciate your
help. I'm logged in and the only one using this
mac...I'm trying to find out what you have told me to
do. THANKS SO MUCH. Sandy
ok, I got in this area, but when I type in what u have suggested, I get nothing...not even a place for my password. Thanks....still looking.

Similar Messages

I have an iMac 5.1 with Mac OSX 10.6.8 and 2 GB memory and an L2 cache of 4 GB. lately I have been receiving error messages of " start up disk almost full; please delete files." is the start up disk the same thing as the hard drive?

I have an iMac 5.1 with Mac OSX 10.6.8 and 2 GB memory and an L2 cache of 4 GB. lately I have been receiving error messages of " start up disk almost full; please delete files." is the start up disk the same thing as the hard drive? I opened the hard drive and from the column on the left of the menu I've selected "search for" and under that " all images" then "all documents" I've deleted a few files from each. Are documents and images that I have deleted from here also deleted from the folders on my desktop?

You should never, EVER let a conputer hard drive get completely full, EVER!
With Macs and OS X, you shouldn't let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space.
If it does, it's time for some hard drive housecleaning.
Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.
Have you emptied your iMac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto, iPhoto has its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you store images in other locations other than iPhoto, then you will have to weed through these to determine what to archive and what to delete.
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.
Delete any other mail in your Junk folders. Also, look through your Sent Mail to see if there is anything that can be deleted.
Other things you can do to gain space.
Once you have around 15 GBs regained, do a search, download and install OmniDisk Sweeper.
This app will help you locate files that you can move/archive and/or delete from your system.
STAY AWAY FROM DELETING ANY FILES FROM OS X SYSTEM FOLDER!
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
When you install and launch it, let it do its initial automatic tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the maintenance tabs that let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Good Luck!

I can't download anything as it keeps telling me my start up disk is full. I have deleted loads of files and it still keeps popping up with the same messge??

Please help - I am not too computer savvi and my computer keeps telling me my start up disk is full. I have purchased a passport and transferred loads of images and files onto that and then deleted them from my computer but the message is still the same and I can't download anything.

How big is your hard drive, and how much space is used/free?
To find out, click once on the hard drive icon on your desktop to highlight it (it will be called Macintosh HD unless you renamed it). Click the command and I keys on your keyboard to open the information window. In "General", you will see Capacity and Available. What are those figures?
If you have a little bit of space left, I recommend that you install Omnidisksweeper (it's free) to tell you what folders are using up the most room.
Be careful when you transfer files - only move files that you know are yours. Don't move or delete any system files unless you're specifically recommended to do so (some files are safe to delete; some are not).
Matt

I am having problems gettting my mail to work ... Mac telling me that my start up disk id full and to delete some files to free up space ... have done this but when i open mail from the dock it just brings up the colour wheel and nothing happening

I am having problems gettting my mail to work ... Mac telling me that my start up disk id full and to delete some files to free up space ... have done this but when i open mail from the dock it just brings up the colour wheel and nothing happening ... it shows when you right click on the mail icon that " application not responding"

If your hard drive is getting full, you need to free up, at least, 20 GBs of space on your iMac's hard drive.
If your Mac is running a fairly recent version of OS X, here are some general guidelines.
Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.
Have you emptied your iMac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto, iPhoto has its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Other things you can do to gain space.
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
When you install and launch it, let it run the automatic ans S.M,A.R.T. tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the tabs that have the ability to clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Good Luck!

I keep getting an error message stating 'my start up disk is full'

Hello. I am a new mac user with a macbook with 120 gb. I was copying my itunes over to my mac from my ipod when I got the message 'start up disk is full' I am not sure if I understand..how can my disk be full when I just purchased my computer and don't really have anything on it. How can I fix this and why is it happening? Surely, I don't need more memory.
I really would appreciate any advice.
thank you,
Lena
macbook Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Download this and scan your hard drive. It will show you what exactly is take up all the space.
WhatSize >>
-Bmer
Mac Owners Support Group
Join Us @ MacOSG.com
iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
 An Apple User Group 
Note: I receive no compensation for product endorsements.

I keep on getting message that my start up disk is full. How do i resolve this?

i keep on getting message that my start up disk is full. How do i resolve this?

Move items you don't need on it, such as the iTunes and iPhoto libraries, to another drive, verify they work in the new location, and then delete them from the internal drive. If you don't need something at all, drag it to the Trash and empty it.
(91713)

My start up disk is full and I need to move my files to an external hard drive, how do i do so?

My start up disk is full and i need to move my files to an external hard drive, how do i do so?

Ensure that the external is correctly formatted
Drag and dropped the files
Test to be sure that the moved files work
Once the moved files work delete the originals
Allan

My start up disk is full, and i can no longer log in to my username to remedy it. i am abroad and my coverage is about to expire. what to do?

My start up disk is full, and I can no longer access my username to remedy it or remove files. I can only access the guest user profile in safari only mode. I am currently overseas and my coverage expired the day this problem happened. sos what do i do? i need to access iphoto and itunes. and everything else I have

My start up disk is full, and I can no longer access my username to remedy it or remove files. I can only access the guest user profile in safari only mode. I am currently overseas and my coverage expired the day this problem happened. sos what do i do? i need to access iphoto and itunes. and everything else I have

I have a mid 2007 iMac.    2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, OSX 10.9.5.   I attempted to do the latest update and got the message: Start up disk is full. Delete files. How do I do that?

I have a mid 2007 iMac.    2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, OSX 10.9.5.   I attempted to do the latest update and got the message: Start up disk is full. Delete files. How do I do that?

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. Get an external hard drive on which to store some of your files after which you can
      erase the data from your internal drive to free up space.
5. Also see Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk.
6. See Where did my Disk Space go?.
7. 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.

Macbook air won't turn on and the screen will go white. It says that the start up disk is full. HELP

When I turn my macbook air on it sends me a message saying that my start up disk is full and that I have to free up some space. When I log in into my account the screen will go white and I won't be able to do anything. I tried to restart my computer in safemode holding down the shift key while restarting it but it won't work. HELP PLEASE.

If you could boot from an external OS X boot drive then you could delete some files. You probably don't have such a HDD/Thumb drive but a Genius at an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider could help you. This is not a hardware repair so a Genius should not need to charge you for this service.
Genius reservation http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/ .
or find an Apple Authorized Service Provider https://locate.apple.com/country
After it is healthy again I would buy a new external HDD and use Carbon Copy Clone or Super Duper! to create a bootable clone. Keeping a clone current is also an excellent backup methodology in addition to Time Machine.
Commonly used backup methods:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045
Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection

My start up disk is full, i'd like to move itunes from my IMac to my Time Capsule

Hey people, My Imac start up disk is full so i have bought a 2TB Time Capsule in the hope that i can move my Itunes from the IMac to the Time Capsule so i can free up space on the IMac hard disk. Help pleeeeeease

Hey people, My Imac start up disk is full so i have bought a 2TB Time Capsule in the hope that i can move my Itunes from the IMac to the Time Capsule so i can free up space on the IMac hard disk. Help pleeeeeease

How do I rectify start up disk almost full. I am new to Macs and struggling

How do I rectify a start up disk almost full message? Never had this until I put a load of photos on to my Mac book air

Hello Kirkcaldy Ronnie,
As Plotinus Veritas said take a backup for your Images on External Hard Disk.
As your Macbook Air Startup disk is full and if you are unable to do anything on your Mac follow the below process to boot your Mac in Safe Mode and then delete some files on your Mac to free up some disk space and then you should be able to boot in Normal Mode.
Steps : > Turn of your Macbook completely by holding the Power On/Off key on your Mac's keyboard > Turn On your Mac again and simultaneously press and hold the Left Shift key on your keyboard and this should take your Macbook in Safe Mode. ( Note : You will see a loading bar at startup when you boot your Mac in safe mode and your Mac will take some time to boot) > Once you login to the User Account on your Mac go ahead an delete as many files as you can from your Mac to free up some space (try to delete and make as much space as you can and keep at least 20% space free of the total amount of your disk space on your Mac Disk) and also empty the Trash of your Mac to completely remove the files from your Mac. > Now you can restart your Mac and let it start in Normal mode and check of you are able to login. If you are able to login in normal mode then try to transfer the data which you do not use regularly on an external hard disk and keep internal space free as much as you can as that will help you to get a better performance of your Mac. Hope this helps you.

My iMac does not start up as usual. Start up disk is full message and I do not get normal desk top. Please can you help? Thanks

My iMac does not start up as usual. I now get a ' start up disk is full. You need to make space available on your start up disk by deleting files' message.
I am able to key my log on password however I just get the purple galaxy screen with no desktop.
If I try to use the keyboard I get a tone when pressing the keys.
Has worked perfectly well up until I got this dusk full message.
Can anyone help please. Thanks

Your going to have to follow the Data Recovery Efforts page here to be able to access your drive and remove files without booting the computer.
You can't open the iMac so you will need OS X booted from a external drive or via Firewire Target Disk Mode using another Mac.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3172
I would concentrate on Movies as this is a big source of large files to free up room.
Read Storage Drive here
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045
If you not handy with computers, your going to have to hire a local service or provide the info above to someone you know who can, it's not easy.

My start up disk is full on mac book pro, how do I empty it?

My start up disk is full and I need to empty it or remove some data in order to install Daisy Disk, as advise by apple, so i can see whether i need more storage. Can anyone advise how I remove some in order to make space?

Go step by step and test.
1. Start up in Safe Mode.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11212
2. Empty Trash.
   http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13806
3. Disk space / Time Machine ?/ Local Snapshots
Local backups
   http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4878
4. Delete old iOS Devices Backup.
    iTunes > Preferences > Devices
    Highlight the old Backups , press “Delete Backup” and then “OK”.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
5. Re-index Macintosh HD.
    This will take a while. Wait until it is finished.
    System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2409
6.Try OmniDiskSweeper. This will give the storage size details of the items.
   https://www.omnigroup.com/more
   Select Macintosh HD and click “Sweep Selected Drive” at the bottom.
   Delete the files you don’t want to keep.
   Be careful. Delete only the files that can be safely deleted.
7. Move iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie media folders to an external drive.
    iTunes
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201562
    iPhoto
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506
    iMovie
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2289

Hello, I have a problem with my start up disk is full. I have cleared the movies and non relevant items from my computer, but when I check my storage in About tho mac, the movie in the storage indicate still 178 GB of movies. So How can I get read of that

Hello, I have the alarm Start up disk is full. I have cleared everything, I have removed all the movies from itune. But when I check via the apple icon , About this mac and then more info and then storage, the graphic shows movies still at 178 GB. How can I clear that so that I can free my start up disc?
Thank you.

Dear Allan,
Here is the status of my storage.,
Cheers

Why is my computer telling me my start up disk is full?

Why is my computer telling me my start up disk is full? and What do I do about it? Please help - Linda

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.

Start up disk is full!

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