Very Low Disk Warning

I recently received a Very Low Disk warning. I have seen this before on other macs when I perform a "Erase Free Space" operation on the Disk Utility. However, I was not doing that now. I appear to have about 45 gig of free space on my MacBook Pro. It appears that the warning came about 17 minutes after a Time Machine backup completed. Any ideas as to why this might pop up.
Here is my free space:
$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/disk0s2 186Gi 140Gi 46Gi 76% /
devfs 108Ki 108Ki 0Bi 100% /dev
fdesc 1.0Ki 1.0Ki 0Bi 100% /dev
map -hosts 0Bi 0Bi 0Bi 100% /net
map auto_home 0Bi 0Bi 0Bi 100% /home
/dev/disk1s3 931Gi 445Gi 487Gi 48% /Volumes/Backup1
Here is the last bunch of messages from my Console (All Messages):
2/11/09 8:20:02 AM /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[6621] Copied 15611 files (17.0 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
2/11/09 8:20:13 AM /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[6621] No pre-backup thinning needed: 1.25 GB requested (including padding), 486.50 GB available
2/11/09 8:20:48 AM /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[6621] Copied 15800 files (5.0 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
2/11/09 8:20:57 AM /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[6621] Starting post-backup thinning
2/11/09 8:22:13 AM /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[6621] Deleted backup /Volumes/Backup1/Backups.backupdb/burns/2009-02-10-072449: 486.52 GB now available
2/11/09 8:22:46 AM iChatAgent[179] [SASL] Level 5: DIGEST-MD5 client step 2
2/11/09 8:23:32 AM /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[6621] Deleted backup /Volumes/Backup1/Backups.backupdb/burns/2009-02-10-062810: 486.54 GB now available
2/11/09 8:23:32 AM /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[6621] Post-back up thinning complete: 2 expired backups removed
2/11/09 8:23:32 AM /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[6621] Backup completed successfully.
2/11/09 8:40:27 AM KernelEventAgent[36] tid 00000000 received VQ_LOWDISK event (4)
2/11/09 8:40:27 AM KernelEventAgent[36] tid 00000000 type 'hfs', mounted on '/', from '/dev/disk0s2', low disk
2/11/09 8:40:27 AM KernelEventAgent[36] tid 00000000 found 1 filesystem(s) with problem(s)
2/11/09 8:40:27 AM KernelEventAgent[36] tid 00000001 displaylowdiskwarning: generating warning for volume 'Macintosh HD'
2/11/09 8:40:57 AM KernelEventAgent[36] tid 00000001 displaylowdiskwarning: warning for volume 'Macintosh HD' removed
Thanks.

Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda3 9.4G 8.8G 152M 99% /
I would say that it's pretty low disk space.
Partitioning is a personal thing, it depends on how much you install. Some need only 5 GB, some need e.g. 40 GB.
Last edited by karol (2011-01-19 04:27:22)

Similar Messages

  • Could Very Low Disk Space Cause problems?

    Hi, my 600 GB Hard Drive only had around 5 GB of space left . I purchased a new 1 TB Hard Drive in order to delete media so that I could gain the space back. I've since gained back 200 GB of Space but Could very low disk space cause issues? What kind of issues could occur? Thanks
    Message was edited by: Stuart Lawrence

    There are any number of reasons for occasional beachballs to appear. They will appear when some programs are involved in heavy disk I/O which tends to be processor dependent and causes the program to suspend all other activity until the disk activity has completed. This is more often the case when writing to the disk. Beachballs may also appear if the OS has to use disk I/O and is slowed down by an over-filled and/or fragmented hard drive. The fuller a drive gets the greater the likelihood that fragmentation will become a more noticeable problem. Beachballs can appear if you are low on physical memory so applications must resort to disk-based virtual memory which is considerably slower and tends to cause the computer to become slow or unresponsive for a period of time. It can also cause disk-thrashing. Beachballs can occur if the disk has become corrupted causing applications to have difficulty reading from or writing to the disk.
    It is possible to repair a drive's directory, and it's even possible to identify corrupted files, but it's not possible to repair corrupted files nor repair a corrupted drive. If a drive develops corrupted files either the files will need to be replaced or deleted. If a drive develops soft sector errors these can be repaired by erasing the drive (reformatting.) If a drive develops hard sector errors these may or may not be repairable, but if they are repairable it requires zeroing the data during a disk formatting operation. If the disk directory becomes corrupted that can be repaired using Disk Utility or one of the various third-party utilities such as Disk Warrior. Disk Utility can repair many but not all directory corruption problems. What DU cannot fix Disk Warrior usually can.
    You can start repairing a drive as follows;
    Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
    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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger and Leopard.) 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. Now restart normally.
    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.
    This applies to your startup volume. No need to repair permissions on any but a startup volume.

  • Low disk warning

    Hello, I recently was given a warning that / has only a low amount of space left, although my system less than half full.
    Here is the current output of df -h:
    Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
    udev                   10M  276K  9.8M   3% /dev
    /dev/sda3             9.4G  8.8G  152M  99% /
    shm                   2.0G  140K  2.0G   1% /dev/shm
    /dev/sda2              92M   20M   68M  23% /boot
    /dev/sda6              31G  3.0G   27G  11% /home
    I basically followed the beginner's guide when partitioning. Is this a problem? Should I repartition some of /home's space onto / ?

    Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
    /dev/sda3 9.4G 8.8G 152M 99% /
    I would say that it's pretty low disk space.
    Partitioning is a personal thing, it depends on how much you install. Some need only 5 GB, some need e.g. 40 GB.
    Last edited by karol (2011-01-19 04:27:22)

  • Toggle low disk warning preference

    While busy working I got a warning about free space on my startup disk. I'm so desensitized to warnings that I had barely read the dialog before I closed it. But as soon as I did this I realized I'd clicked a checkbox on the warning that would suppress future warnings.
    This isn't what I wanted to do.
    If I get close to the limit on my startup disk again, I want that same warning to come up again. But apparently now it won't, and I can't find any way to reverse what's been done. I looked in System Preferences, Finder preferences, Disk Utility, and various plists, but found nothing related to low disk warnings.
    As for my disk space, I quickly discovered that it was just a video buffer I was saving to the startup disk by mistake. I've already fixed that, so my disk space is no longer an issue. I just want to have the dialog come back if I ever make a similar mistake again. Any ideas? TIA

    Michael,
    You are tempting fate, by waiting for a free space warning. This will inevitably result in poor performance and the the loss of your precious data. OS X needs at least 10-15% free space for the proper use of virtual memory.
    I would recommend that you read Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk, and Tuning Mac OS X Performance by Dr. Smoke as the ultimate solution to your problem.
    ;~)

  • Please wait. Very Low battery warning but wont charge

    I have a message with a greyed out screen saying "Please Wait. Very Low Battery" but the ipod will not charge.
    Any suggestions? 

    You're sure the cable is working as well, are you? (I have a cable that has a torn plastic sleeve and now the inner wires are showing. It won't be long before it fails to work.)
    Have you tried another cable, perhaps try someone else's cable and they try yours? Also, have you tried the reset procedure? Hold the Menu and Select (centre) buttons down for at least ten seconds to see if the iPod re-starts.

  • HT1435 very low battery warning..new battery..still reads same.have left plugged in for hours,nothing .?

    Older 5th gen 30 gb. worked fine when i bought it used.was set up for mac before I received it. battery warning light came on..but wouldnt recharge. so I replaced the battery and still reads same messgae after repeatedly trying to charge it. ??

    No, it does not matter if it was previously used with a Mac.  That's just a matter of the hard drive disk format being used.  It just gets reformatted during a Restore.
    It sounds like the problem is more than just the battery not charging.  At the very least, you need it to complete a Restore.  Try putting into Disk Mode
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1363
    Optionally, shut down your computer and disconnect all of your USB devices.  Start up with only standard keyboard and mouse connected.
    Run iTunes and connect iPod to a direct USB on computer.  If the iPod's battery is too low to put into Disk Mode while disconnected, connect it first, then try to put it into Disk Mode.  If iTunes sees the iPod in Disk Mode, it may say something about "recovery" and prompt you to do a Restore.

  • Please wait.  Very low battery..Help

    I just bought an 80gb iPod and I was able to charge it and transfer music to it and now it won't charge at my computer at all. It does charge fully on our car adapter, but as soon as I take it out of the dock it has the very low battery warning.

    That sounds like a bad battery - it won't hold a charge. Take the iPod back to the retailer.

  • Warning about low disk space on drive E

    Hi,
    I'm running Windows 7 on a HP Pavilion Elite HPE. My main drive i s C and there is also D (Factory image) and then the HP(E: ) one which is giving the warning about low disk space. When I look at what there is in drive E there is a folder called "my name"-PC with a lot of "Backup Set" folders/files in it, and then there is a folder called WindowsImageBackup and subfolder "my name"-PC.
    I know I have to clean out these folders but I ma very insecure as to what I can delete.
    I'd be very thankful if you could give me some advice in this matter!
    This question was solved.
    View Solution.

    File History in Windows 7 is an extensive image backup of your drive which will steadily increase over time and needs to be cleared and suggest that you turn the feature off.  It is not very efficient.
    If you wish to delete this  Windows Image Backup file, you should disable  the automatic backup feature of Windows.
    Click on Start button > Control Panel > System and Maintenance> Backup and Restore.
    In the left pane, click on "Turn Off Schedule".
    From there you can delete the backup files on your E drive.
    I also suggest as an alternative, use Macrium Reflect Free every so often as it is more efficient and reliable.  It will make a complete image back up of your entire hard drive to an external hard drive.  Don't forget to create a rescue disk.
    Go to this site and do a Custom Install:
    http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
    I personally use the Professional Edition which gives me more flexibility and features.
    Please mark my post as SOLVED if it has resolved your problem. It helps others with similar situations.

  • Very low on system memory warning with plenty of memory left

    Hi,
    I am using Premiere Elements 7 on Windows XP, AMD 3GHz dual core with 4GB memory. I create DVDs based on AVCHD files from a Canon HF100, almost no editing, 1 hour of DVD content (8 GB worth of AVCHD files) . I have done this with the same configuration in the past without problems, but lately Premiere has been very unstable, either crashing outright or giving me the following warning:
    Adobe Premiere Elements is running very low on system memory. Please save your project and proceed with caution.
    When I try to burn a DVD, this warning is always shows within minutes, followed by a transcoding error. I tried everything to free up more space, nothing else significant is running on my machine, and I have exited most other background processes. When the above warning is shown, physical memory consumption is is reported as following:
    Commit Charge: 1.8 GB
    Premiere Elements process: 1.1 GB
    Free memory: 1.5 GB
    I also have virtual memory set to 8GB. Premiere scratch directories are on a disk with 500GB free space. I uninstalled and reinstalled Premiere, but no improvement.
    Other relevant software on my machine, some of it installed after I had my last successful DVD burn:
    Norton 360 2010 (Disabled Firewall and Autoprotect)
    Adobe Web Premium CS3
    Adobe Lightroom 2.5
    Copernic Desktop Search (Disabled)
    A number of free video tools, like HandBrake, AutoGK, AVISynth, VobSub, DVD Decrypter, Xvid
    Tivo Desktop (Disabled)
    iTunes (Disabled)
    Could there be any side effect from the other software? Any potential hardware problems I should investigate? Everything else works perfectly, including the other Adobe products.
    I very much appreciate your help, Premiere is unusable at the moment and I have some DVDs I desperately want to create.
    Thanks,
    Alex

    Have you rendered your timeline?
    If you're sceneline mode, switch to timeline mode. Is there a red line above your clips? If so, press Enter and let the program render your timeline (the red line will turn green).
    This should greatly improve your program's stability and performance.
    Also, ensure that the disc where you are storing your video files is formatted NTFS and not FAT32 (as they are when they come from the factory). FAT32 drives have a file size limit that can choke video work.
    And, if this 500 gig drive is not your C drive, ensure that your C drive also has at least 30-50 gigs of free space, freshly defragmented and with its temp files regularly cleared.

  • Incorrect Low Disk Space Warning from HP Support Assistant

    I have an HP Envy m7 notebook. I am getting a warning from the HP Support Assistant that the Primary Drive C:  has low disk space. However, my Windows 8.1 Properties box for the C: drive says more that 90% of the drive is free, as I guessed. Why am I getting this seemingly incorrect warning?

    Hi sheryltoo,
    Thank you for your query, I will do my best to assist you.
    I understand the HP support assistant is giving you a low disk space error, but you have plenty of free space available.
    Did the error pertain to a different drive letter other then you main drive?
    I suggest you uninstall and reinstall the  The HP Support Assistant.  If you have an older versions installed that may be why you are getting a false error.
    Please let me know the outcome.
    Sparkles1
    I work on behalf of HP
    Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
    Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

  • What to do with low disk space warning?

    My Time Capsule is blinking amber because of low disk space. Isn't it supposed to delete the oldest files to make more room? What should I do at this point?

    Nothing. That warning is separate from Time Machine.
    It's useful if you're using your Time Capsule for other data, but Time Machine will take care of running out of room for backups all by itself.

  • TMS Low Disk Space Warning Threshold

    Does anyone know what the threshold is for TMS to warn about Low Disk Space?  I can't find it in the documentation.
    Mine is giving me this warning now, and I'm wondering how much space I have to give it before it will be happy, likely by increasing the virtual disk size, so it would be nice to know my target, since that sort of thing requires some paperwork and I'd rather not have to do it twice.
    Thanks.

    Depending on the deployment size, it's recommended for the hard drive to be around 60-80GB per the TMS Install Guide.  You could move your SQL database off the server, if it's hosted on the same server as TMS, as well as deleting old server logs.  Here are some suggestions on how you can free up some disc space on the TMS server.
    tms-low-disk-space
    tms-diskspace-lower
    free-space-tms-windows-server

  • Warning very low battery

    Ok well my friend's Video Ipod just spazzed out on her. When she plugs it into her computer it says "Warning very low battery". Then she plugged it into her wall charger and it charges and works like a charm. Then she charged it, took it off and it DOESNT WORK!! So she plugged it into her computer and it still comes up with the same message. I did the 5 r's (which really never work) and then I noticed a lot of people are having problems with their ipods after downloading Itunes 7. Could the two be related? please help??

    I have determined that the firmware 1.2.1 is the causing this issue. I tried restoring my ipod using the 1.2.1 firmware, but the same thing was happening (no charge via usb). After reading the speculation here and exhausting my all my options I went to the apple store and discussed this behavior. Of course they had never heard of this issue before. I mentioned that I this started happening only after the 1.2.1 update. So what we did was downgraded the firmware to 1.2. This can be done be deleting the newer firmware downloads from this location:
    /users/[home]/library/iTunes/iPod Software Updates/
    After the 1.2.1 files have been deleted (don't delete the 1.2 files) it should be possible to install the 1.2 firmware. After doing so....guess what...MY IPOD STARTED CHARGING VIA USB. This problem doesn't seem to be effecting everyone. If anyone else is having this issue, point out this post to the people at the genius bar. Apple should be made aware this is an issue.

  • How do I clean my mid 2007 iMac? The disk space is running VERY low and I would love an idea. I make videos and upload them to youtube and I need space to do that. Thanks for your time!

    How do I clean my mid 2007 iMac?
         The disk space is running VERY low and I would love an idea. I make videos and upload them to youtube and I need space to do that. Thanks for your time!                              
                                       If you have an idea please respond!

    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!
    Look though other Apple Mail folders like the junk mail and delete the mail that is in there. Look through your sent items folders and see there is any mail in there that can be deieted.
    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.
    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!

  • Blue sceen appeared after low disk space warning

    Hi Everyone, just seen a message stating a low disk space on my Mac pro bought last November and tried plugging in an external hard drive to remove some pictures to free up some space but it seems that the computer did not have enough space left to start up and run the hard drive. I then tried to restart and ended up with a blue screen and have no knowledge now how to fix this problem. I phoned support but they say I have no technical support left but do have warranty and I would need to either try with the community here or take the unit to an apple store for an appointment. The store is an 1 and 1/2 from me and I really want o see if there is another fix that could allow me to start again then remove some files and then add external drive to remove more. I was blown away at the low amount of storage.....looked for the icloud option last night to upload there as i was told about this by a UK client of mine and now see it is not up and running. Any advice or help by the communtiy would be greatly appreciated as this is my business and travelling laptop. Cheers, Dean <")))><

    Hi Dean,
    You may be able to access it via FireWire Target Disk Mode: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583
    If so, move and delete enough so you have at least 15% free space on the MBP's HD. After that, run Repair Disk:
    First check the S.M.A.R.T. status on your HD: Boot from install disc (insert disc > restart > immediately hold down the c key and keep holding it until you see “Preparing Installation”) > at first screen select the language and click Continue > click on theUtilities Menu in the menu bar > select Disk Utility > select your HD in the panel on the left side (the name of the HD’s manufacturer and the model number, usually the top item in the list) > look at the bottom of the main window next to S.M.A.R.T. status and see if it says “Verified” (good) or something more ominous like “Failing.”
    If S.M.A.R.T. status is "Verified," run Repair Disk > click Repair Disk at bottom of main window. Run this at least twice, and keep running it until it says “appears ok” twice in a row. If that doesn’t happen, you may need a stronger utility (such as DriveGenius, TechToolPro, DiskWarrior) or if the directory is damaged beyond repair, you may need to reinstall the OS, or you may have a damaged HD (repair utilities can only repair the directory structure, not the HD itself). When this is finished, quit Disk Utility, quit the installer, and restart. Once booted normally, go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility and run Repair Permissions.

Maybe you are looking for