What is the Yellow "Others" in Macintosh Hard Drive

I'm using a Macbook Pro 13 inch mid 2009 running OS Lion. I'm making movie and doing graphic so the space of the hard drive is very important to me. I have no ideas what is the so-called "other" takes me 41gb and as 2 times higher than music, movie, apps combined. Please help me to solve this problem.

Credit to Pondini.
You may find relevant information in these articles.
http://pondini.org/OSX/DiskSpace.html
http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
Hope this helps.

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What is the proceedure for replacing a hard drive (after failure) for RAID 5 with IX4-300D?

I have the IX4-300D with 4 hard drives (identical Seagate drives) using RAID 5.
Someday a hard drive will fail and I and I have to replace it. I read through the users manual briefly and I didn't see any documentation on how to perform a hard drive replacement and not lose any data.
So here are my questions:
1) I know per the instructions that Lenovo prefers using identical hard drives. Let's say in 2 years, 1 hard drive fails. Most likely, the same model Seagate hard drive will not be available. So will using a replacement hard drive by the same manufacturer with similar specifications work?
2) Will the front panel (or the software) tell me which hard drive has failed?
3) What is the proceedure for replacing a hard drive after a failure occurs? I read that the IX4-300D is not hot-swappable. So do I just power the IX4-300D down, replace the hard drive, and turn it back on?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi exceptionalht,
It is best to replace the hard drive with one that is the same manufacturer, rotational speed, and capacity, so it does not have to be exactly the same model.
The front panel should show which drive has failed. If not you can check the web interface to find out.
That is the basic procedure for replacing a hard drive. You can see a more detailed instructions here: Installing hard drives in an ix4-300d
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What does the yellow "other" category mean when syncing my iPhone

i am trying to sync my iPhone with my itunes on my computer. there is not enough space to sync my iphone. i know i can limit the amount of music i sync but i don't understand what the yellow "other" category means and it is taking up a lot of space. please help if you know what that means

It represents something that iTunes doesn't recognize as music, videos, books, podcasts, etc. Normally, the "other" is limited to a few hundred MBs (operating system, app data, etc). If it grows to a GB or more, it probably indicates corrupted data from an interrupted sync. Sometimes adding a new song or app will clear up the problem. You can always restore from your backup to regain a normal amount of "other".
Note: During a sync, you'll see the "other" bar grow and shrink. It doesn't mean anything until the sync is finished.

What is the yellow "other" in storage

I've deleted my iPhotos Trash, my Computer Trash and all items in my downloads folder. What else could make up the yellow "other" in storage?

If you're using Time Machine to back up a portable Mac, some of the available space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of files you've recently deleted. 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.
To locate large files, you can use Spotlight as described here. That method may not find large folders that contain a lot of small files.
You can also use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can 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.
Proceed further only if the problem hasn't been solved.
ODS 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.
Install ODS in the Applications folder as usual.
Triple-click the line of text below to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
Launch the 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 (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything while running ODS 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 you're done with ODS, quit it and also quit Terminal.

What is the opt folder in my hard drive?

What is the opt folder used for in my hard drive? All I know it has some files for GIMP and gutenprint.
Should I leave that folder alone?

Many open-source software projects (like gimp) use the /opt folder. If it's not there, they will create it when you install them.
In a standard unix-like operating system (and darwin, the unix-like foundation of mac os x is no different), the core binaries are installed in /usr/bin or /usr/sbin, and core libraries are installed in /usr/lib, and there are specific directories where the system looks for specific types of information... However there are lots of dependencies amongst this core functionality: more than one binary application can use the same library.
If the user decided to install some additional software, (and usually the admin password is needed to do it, right), the user has authorized the installer to do what it needs to do to get the software installed, even if this means updating one of the libraries to the most recent version. In this case, what happens to all the other software already installed that used the old library? Well... what happens, is none of the old programs work anymore.
The workaround has been to create a separate directory for additional software installs, so that the core functionality in /usr won't be threatened. Many software projects created a directory inside /usr called /usr/local in which they install their components. Other projects use the /opt directory. Others use /opt/local.
This is why, in unix-like operating systems, you find repititions of the same folders in other folders (i.e., there is a /usr/bin and a /usr/local/bin and an /opt/bin). The "bin" is a common name for folders that contain binaries (commands and applications that are executable and built for the specific operating system that they are running under), and "lib" is a common name for folders that contain libraries. You can find "bin" and "lib" folders throughout your system.
One downside to this is that additional programs installed into the "opt" directory could interfere with the ones that are already there, and for this reason, some programs will create their own directory all to themselves and install everything they need there, even if most of it is a copy of libraries that are already present somewhere else on the system--space is less and less of an issue in the age of terrabytes.
If you learn make your own binaries by compiling them from source code (way easier than it sounds, as you usually only have to type "./configure" and wait an hour for it to finish, "make", wait another hour, and then "make install"--really that's all there is to it) then you can control which directories the software uses (whether to use /usr, /opt, or to create a new directory entirely) plus you can run lots of cool free software.
So that's what the opt folder on your hard drive is for.

What are the symptons of macbook pro hard drive not running fast enough

what are the symptons of the hard drive not running fast enough

Physically the drive will be as fast as any other of its class, and if not then it's experiencing a mechanical issue that should prompt a warning or two in the system, especially if you use a drive management tool like Disk Utility that checks the drive's built-in "S.M.A.R.T." diagnostics.
As for "logical speed," if there are bad blocks on the drive where sectors cannot be read or written to because of a breakdown of the storage medium, then this can result in a program or the entire system crashing or hanging (generally the latter is the case), where it usually pauses for a number of seconds at a time. This is usually accompanied by messages that state "I/O Error" or other similar warning in the OS X Console (in the Applications > Utilities folder).
Beyond this, drive formatting errors such as might happen after a crash or power outage can result in similar hang-like behavior, though this is usually not as distinct of a hanging behavior as is seen with bad blocks.
Finally, if the drive is simply full of files or highly fragmented (not as much of a problem in OS X, but it can happen), then this can reduce access time for reading and writing files, and prevent the system from optimizing the use of RAM, which can result in overall slowdowns. Heavy drive use can also cause similar bottlenecks, but this is ususally only an intermittent issue during a time when you are performing a heavy file transfer or copying process, or other task that occupies access to the drive's index and formatting (e.g., if you check it for errors with Disk Utility, then you may see the system pause or slow down during the check).

What is the best pre-installed external hard drive for my macbook pro?

I need advise on what kind of pre-enstalled external hard drive which supports both usb and firewire to get for my new macbook pro? I would like to stay in the $100. range but am willing to go higher .

giftshopgurl wrote:
pre-enstalled external hard drive
Pre-installed with what?
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What is the warranty on a replacement hard drive in a Macbook Pro.

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I'm not sure exactly what the tech at the apple store was referring to when he mentioned the hd bracket. But I do know he said it includes replacing the wire that connects to the hd which sometimes becomes kinked and causes problems. When I asked him why they didn't replace it at the time of the last hd replacement he said it was not standard procedure at the time, but now Apple wants it replaced anytime a hd is replaced. In my opinion they are admitting that there is a problem and it should be replaced for free, but they don't seem to feel the same. They also said there isn't a known issue with the hd in these units, but it seems kinda weird that if that is whats wrong with mine, it will be the second time and I'm sure I don't have over 100 hours of use on it since it was replaced last time.

What is the yellow, "other" category which is taking up 1.90gb of space?

Hi there,
I have a 6g nano, 16gb.
In iTunes I can see that out of the 14.98gb capacity, 12.4gb is audio, 0.75gb is free, and 1.90gb is "other". It shows up as yellow in the bar down the bottom in the capacity window.
My question is: what does "other" consist of?
I don't sync any photos, I don't sync any iTunes U. I don't have "enable disk use" checked, and I never have.
Anything I try to transfer off the ipod (eg podcasts, music, even audio books) decreases the audio content, but not the "other". So, what IS taking up 1.90gb of space on my nano?

How Do I Get Rid Of The “Other” Data Stored On My iPad Or iPhone?
http://tinyurl.com/85w6xwn
With an iOS device, the “Other” space in iTunes is used to store things like documents, settings, caches, and a few other important items. If you sync lots of documents to apps like GoodReader, DropCopy, or anything else that reads external files, your storage use can skyrocket. With iOS 5, you can see exactly which applications are taking up the most space. Just head to Settings > General > Usage, and tap the button labeled Show All Apps. The storage section will show you the app and how much storage space it is taking up. Tap on the app name to get a description of the additional storage space being used by the app’s documents and data. You can remove the storage-hogging application and all of its data directly from this screen, or manually remove the data by opening the app. Some applications, especially those designed by Apple, will allow you to remove stored data by swiping from left to right on the item to reveal a Delete button.
 Cheers, Tom

What is the yellow 'other' tab made up of?

My mac keeps warning me that my storage is nearly full, but i don't know which files to delete, it's taking up alot of space. & i also don't know what that superdrive thing is. Someone tell me what is taking up all this space, please reply >.<

Get rid of old iChat logs
Delete application backups
Get rid of Mail downloads
Delete log files
Weed out iTunes dupes
Reset Safari
try those that should considerably help

What is the yellow "other" content on my iPhone?

It takes up twice as much space as my apps, photo, and video combined. How can I delete some of this "other"?

It's application data (saved game information), and in some cases it's data that's been corrupted. The only way to get rid of it is to restore your device to factory settings and start over. If you restore from a backup, it'll come right back.

What is the exact type of internal hard drive I buy?

Hi all, I want to upgrade my 160GB drive, can someone advise me on what exactly it is I have to buy. And also th ebest name brands. I have macbook 13". I know western digital are pretty good, any other ideas?
Tracy

Any 2.5" notebook SATA drive up to 320 GBs will work. The Samsung 500 GB drive will also work as it's the only one that is 9.5 mm high and will fit in a MacBook.
Notebook drives are available from many different manufacturers: Seagate, Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Western Digital to name a few. You can find benchmarks, comparisons, and reviews at Bare Feats and Storage Review.

What does the "yellow section" "other" files mean under hard disk storage?

what does the "yellow section" "other" files mean under hard disk storage?

david just to right of your initial post is a column entitled "More Like This." Check out some of the posts that seem similar.

180 GB of my 639-GB Macintosh hard drive is used. 320 GB of my 498-GB Tie Capsule is used. Only one backup ("now") exists for the Time Capsule, which can no longer backup because of "insufficient space". How come? What is wrong?"

180 GB of my 639-GB Macintosh hard drive is used. 320 GB of my 498-GB Tie Capsule is used. Only one backup ("now") exists for the Time Capsule, which can no longer backup because of "insufficient space". How come? What is wrong?"

Thank you William for your most helpful response. I shall deal first with your three comments:
Not being tech savvy, I would not have been able to make that call myself but it sure makes sense.
I have updated my profiles as you suggest. Excellent tip.
This guidance is good. Being new to Apple Support Communities, I did not find the field a labeling and guidance to be clear, a point you make. Now I know, I shall do as you say and will use the small slim box as a header to the full message/question, which will place in the larger box below.
Secondly, I come to your question: Did anything change on your Mac recently, such as replacing the disk or main logic board?
The answer is “yes”. Two events have happened both of which concerned the Time Capsule:
The telephone company, with which I have access to the Internet and I have my email account, installed a new modum. After the technician left I had to try and get the Time Capsule and WiFi working again which ended with my having to call Apple for technical assistance. The Apple technician walked me through a number of procedural steps which effectively re-set up the Time Capsule.
Access to the Internet failed and the telephone company reset the modum. I had to call Apple again. This time the technician did not reset the Time Capsule but walked me through a number of steps tha included renaming the “site” (not the Time Capsule).
Another piece of information that may be relevant is that the MacBook Pro uses the Time Capsule for backup. Everything appears to be in order. When I enter the Time Capsule for this laptop I have backups going back for a long time.
Also, I do a weekly backup of the two computers onto another external hard drive using the Time Machine software. So I have another backup of both computers.

What is the yellow portion "other" when updating your phone on itunes? What makes up that category?

What is the yellow portion "other" when updating your phone on itunes? What makes up that category?

anything that's not music, photos, apps, etc. anything that is not whatever is shown next to the other on the bottom of your screen. for example, if you look on your phone at settings, general, usage and click on any of the apps it will show you how much the actual app takes up and also how much documents and data it has; that documents and data portion will be counted as other. most phones that are operating normally have around 1gb of other so if you have a lot more than that you probably have a corrupt file or something. in that case search "removing other from iphone" will help you, but usually restoring is what will fix it.

What is the Yellow "Others" in Macintosh Hard Drive

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