What do I need to do if my startup disk space is full

what do I need to do if my startup disk space is full

Here are a couple of good primers:
Where  did  my  Disk  Space  go?
http://macmost.com/what-to-do-when-your-hard-drive-is-full.html

Similar Messages

  • HT1222 My update won't verify. What do I need to do? I have enough space for the update.

    My update won't verify. What do I need to do? I have enough space for the update.

    Authetication servers are being hammered.  Wait.

  • My MacBook air's startup disk is almost full, what do I do?

    A message has been popping up that my startup disk is almost full and that I need to delete files. I've deleted items in my trash but I only have 8.66 GB available. I have gone through a lot of my files and when I go into my Macintosh hd it has those lines for what is taking up the most space and it is other. The blue audio says 3.48 GB the purple movies says 3.65 GB the orange (photos) says 780.5 MB the green (apps) says 4.29 GB and it says zero KB for back ups. So this other thing is taking up the most room how do I delete stuff from the other column.  I would like to update my software but I need to free up space.

    For information about the Other category in the Storage display, see this support article. If the Storage display seems to be inaccurate, try rebuilding the Spotlight index.
    Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash first:
              iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
    Do the same in other applications, such as Aperture, that have an internal Trash feature. Then restart the computer. That will temporarily free up some space.
    According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of the data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
    When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as  Backups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Ask for instructions in that case.
    See this support article for some simple ways to free up storage space.
    You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) or GrandPerspective (GP) to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one. Note that ODS only works with OS X 10.8 or later. If you're running an older OS version, use GP.
    Deleting files inside an iPhoto or Aperture library will corrupt the library. Any changes to a photo library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
    Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
    ODS or GP can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
    Back up all data now.
    If you have more than one user account, make sure you're logged in as an administrator. The administrator account is the one that was created automatically when you first set up the computer.
    Install the app you downloaded in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
    Triple-click anywhere in the corresponding line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:
    sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
    sudo /Applications/GrandPerspective.app/Contents/MacOS/GrandPerspective
    Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator. Ignore any other messages that appear in the Terminal window.
    The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.
    I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
    When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

  • I am getting a message that sys startup disk is almost full. I cleaned all my old emails out, archived old ones i needed and erased most files on the computer. I restarted but I'm still getting the message

    I am getting a message that sys startup disk is almost full. I cleaned all my old emails out, archived old ones i needed and erased most files on the computer. I restarted but I'm still getting the message

    Reindex Spotlight again.
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201716
    Do not concern yourself about the backups.  They will be deleted automatically if space is needed for other data:
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202301
    Ciao.

  • Startup disk is almost full message- what can I do to delete files for more space?

    I'm getting a msg saying my startup disk is almost full, what should I do?? to delete fuiles for more space??

    Music... Video... Photos take up a lot of space...
    See here for tips on 
    Free Disc Space
    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/freeingspace.html

  • What do i do if Your startup disk is almost full?

    what do i do if Your startup disk is almost full?

    About “Other”
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6047
    Try these steps.
    1. Startup in Safe Mode
        http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14204
    2. Increase Disk Space
        http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13806?viewlocale=en_US
    3. Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
        Hold the option key down and click "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.
        Select "Library" from the dropdown.
        Library > Mail > V2 > Mailboxes
        Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
        Empty Trash. Restart.
    4. Repair Disk
        Steps 1 through 7
        http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
    5. Local Time Machine Snap Shots
        http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14329
    6. 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
    7. Re-index Macintosh HD
       System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy
       http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2409
    If this does not help, you have to move iPhoto, iMovie and iTunes data to an external HD.

  • My Macbook Pro keeps on saying that my disk space is full (startup Disk space) how or what do I need to do to resolve this as it is preventing me downloading all software updates?

    Can someone help?

    it actually says this "You need 5.34 GB of available space to download and install the updates. To increase available space, remove files from your startup disk, and then try again."
    Don't even know how to do what it is asking me to do, can I get some direction?

  • I am getting a message that states "startup disk is almost full.  What does that mean and how do I fix it?

    I am getting a message that states "startup disk is full".  What does this mean and how do I fix it?

    For information about the Other category in the Storage display, see this support article. If the Storage display seems to be inaccurate, try rebuilding the Spotlight index.
    Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash first:
              iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
    Do the same in other applications, such as Aperture, that have an internal Trash feature. Then restart the computer. That will temporarily free up some space.
    According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation—not the mythical 10%, 15%, or any other percentage. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of the data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
    When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as  Backups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Ask for instructions in that case.
    See this support article for some simple ways to free up storage space.
    You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) or GrandPerspective (GP) to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one. Note that ODS only works with OS X 10.8 or later. If you're running an older OS version, use GP.
    Deleting files inside an iPhoto or Aperture library will corrupt the library. Any changes to a photo library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
    Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
    ODS or GP can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
    Back up all data now.
    If you have more than one user account, make sure you're logged in as an administrator. The administrator account is the one that was created automatically when you first set up the computer.
    Install the app you downloaded in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
    Triple-click anywhere in the corresponding line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:
    sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
    sudo /Applications/GrandPerspective.app/Contents/MacOS/GrandPerspective
    Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator. Ignore any other messages that appear in the Terminal window.
    The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.
    I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
    When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

  • I need help choosing a different startup disk

    I've recently replaced my MacBook hard drive, and am now unable to choose a partitioned section for my startup disk.
    I created two partitions on the new hd, then copied all files from my old hd onto one of the partitions. Everything works wonderfully...as long as the old hd is attached as an external hd. System Preferences->Startup Disk shows only the old hd and a network as an option. The new hd does not appear in the Startup Disk at all.
    I've restarted holding down the option key with the same result. I can choose from the old hd or EFI (which does nothing). If I detach the old hd while the power is off, I am given no options on restart. Mac just freaks out.
    Any help will be greatly appreciate.

    Hi
    I created two partitions on the new hd, then copied all files from my old hd onto one of the partitions
    You can't do it this way. A large part of what makes your OS System bootable is the underlying Unix Structure. This would not have been copied. To facilitate a bootable copy you can use a number of methods. Disk Utility > Restore will do it for you as will CarbonCopyCloner. Both of which are free. If you want to spend money SuperDuper is something you should consider.
    Tony

  • HT201210 my startup disk is full - it seems to contain all of my pics and videos ever taken, is this what I need to erase to get more disk space?

    what do I do?

    You can move your libraries to an external drive (see Ralph's post) - please note: in order for the OS to operate properly, it needs an absolute minimum of 10 - 15 GB of empty space available at all times - more is better. Here are the instructions for moving your libraries (once they're moved and you know everything works, delete them on your internal drive):
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2302
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449

  • What do I need to make a bootable external disk?

    I got a response from Apple support that said I could make an external disk a bootable one, like a flash drive or ext hard disk, by using an OS X Installer app that was supposed to be available at the Mac App Store.  I looked and couldn't find it.  Since we no longer get a hard-copy of the system install disk, I was trying to figure out what to do to make a 500Gb external disk one I could boot using the MacBook Air with its limited GB storage.
    So if anyone can give me the simple solution I'd appreciate it.

    Get an external disk drive. Start by partitioning and formatting it:
    Drive Partition and Format
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
    Next, clone your existing system disk to the external one:
    Clone Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
    Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
         1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
             button.
         2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
         3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
         4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
             to the Destination entry field.
         5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
             the Source entry field.
         6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
    Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
    Test the new clone by:
    Boot Using OPTION key:
      1. Restart the computer.
      2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the
          "OPTION" key.
      3. Release the key when the boot manager appears.
      4. Select the external disk's icon.
      5. Click on the arrow button below the icon.

  • What is the "Other" taking up all my iPod disk space?

    I have the 80GB Video iPod. I thought I had plenty of free space judging just by how little room the music and videos were taking up, but then I noticed that a large percentage of the remaining space was actually marked as "other" on the colored bar in iTunes rather than "Free Space". But I have no idea what all that "Other" is. I'm talking about 35.7GB of "Other", while my 3.3days of Audio and 17.5 hours of video is taking up less than half of that.
    I go through the different tabs in iTunes to see what's on my iPod, but it seems like it would all fall under either music or video (I had about 20 photos, but I stopped synching those up until I solve this mystery). What on earth could the "Other" be? As far as I know, that's all I've loaded on this thing is music and videos. I want to reclaim that space!

    I have the same issue. I know a restore will fix it, but I want to know what is actually taking up that space and why.
    Any ideas why gigs of space are taken up by "other", gigs of space which could be used for media?
    Apple, any answers or a fix here?

  • Disk space is full and I need to move and back up some movies to clear up space--suggestions?  I have a time capsule, but am afraid that if I delete the files from my laptop, they will subsequently be deleted from the time capsule.

    I also don't want to have a single copy of the movies.  Is buying an external hard drive for my movie files the only option?  Can I then use the time capsule to back-up the G Drive?
    Trish

    You can't depend on a Time Machine backup keeping copies of files that you've deleted from your Mac.  For one thing, those would be the only place those files were kept.  If the disk in the Time Capsule fails, you'd have lost them entirely.  For another thing, Time Machine will eventually delete those files.  See item 20 of Time Machine FAQs.
    A locally-connected external disk would be the best place to move those movies.

  • What is the best way to empty the startup disk

    My startup disk is full

    eww wrote:
    A word to the wise about Disk Inventory X, which I used to recommend for this purpose: the file sizes it reports do not agree with those reported in the Finder in Snow Leopard or Lion. This is because it has not been updated since before Snow Leopard was released, and it still reports the binary file sizes that were used by the Finder in Leopard and earlier OS versions. This can make it confusing to use in SL or Lion. GrandPerspective presents exactly the same kind of graphic file-size display, but it reports file sizes in decimal format, like the Finder in SL and Lion. OmniDiskSweeper also uses decimal reporting, but is not graphical. All three utilities are freeware.
    Ah, the eternal discussion. Both the Finder and Disk Inventory X report the exactly same number of bytes that a file occupies. However, to make the number easier to read it is customary to divide it by a prefix. Since computers work with binary numbers, a power of two was used: kilobyte was 2^10 (two elevated to the 10th power, or 1,024), megabyte was 2^20 (1,048,576), gigabyte was 2^30 (1,073,741,824) and so forth. However, to befuddle things and benefit hard drive makers, a chorus has risen to demand that the kilo/mega/giga/etc. prefixes be given their "pure" SI interpretation of being powers of 10 at all times, even when referring to things computer. So kilo is 10^3 (1,000), mega 10^6 (1,000,000), giga 10^9 (1,000,000,000) and so forth. And we're supposed to use the terms kibibyte, mebibyte, gibibyte and so forth to refer to powers of 2.  Apple had used powers of 2 since the beginning and up to the days of the Leopard; since then, they have fallen under the spell and went to the power-of-10 crowd.
    Storage makers are utmostly delighted with this. Cause now, instead of having to divide the raw size in bytes by 2^30 (1,073,741,824), they will divide by 10^9 (1,000,000,000) and get a bigger and more marketable number of Gigs to put on the box label.

  • What keys do I hold down to select startup disk?

    I want to erase my old hard drive. I stuck in my original install DVD to change start-up disks. I used System Preferences to choose my install DVD as my start-up disk. I restarted and that was fine. I tried to erase my hard drive but wasn't able to. Now I want to get back to my hard drive on rtestart biut the only choice I'm given is Network or Install Disc. How can I do a restart to get back to my hard drive?

    Boot from the Install Disc again & see if it'll innstall, at least an Archive & Install, which gives you a new/old OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space and no Disk corruption, and is relatively quick & painless...
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
    Just be sure to select Preserve Users & Settings.

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