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Willypeg

Q: what is the best way to make room on my start up disk

What is the best way to make room on my start up disk so that I can download the latest upgrades?

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Nov 24, 2014 12:28 PM

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Q: what is the best way to make room on my start up disk

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  • by baltwo,

    baltwo baltwo Nov 24, 2014 12:43 PM in response to Willypeg
    Level 9 (62,256 points)
    Nov 24, 2014 12:43 PM in response to Willypeg

    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/freeingspace.html

    http://www.macmaps.com/diskfull.html

     

    27" i7 iMac (Mid 2011) refurb, OS X Yo (10.10.1), Mavs, ML & SL, G4 450 MP w/10.5 & 9.2.2

  • by MRZBKMAN,

    MRZBKMAN MRZBKMAN Nov 24, 2014 1:21 PM in response to Willypeg
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Nov 24, 2014 1:21 PM in response to Willypeg

    try deleting files that you don't need.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Nov 24, 2014 2:48 PM in response to Willypeg
    Level 6 (14,082 points)
    iPad
    Nov 24, 2014 2:48 PM in response to Willypeg

    Here are some general tips to keep your Mac's hard drive trim and slim as possible

     

    You should never, EVER let a computer 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 Mac's Trash icon in the Dock?

    If you use iPhoto or Aperture, both have 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 are an iMovie/ Final Cut user, both apps have their own individual Trash location that needs to be emptied, too!

    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.

    Look through your other Mailboxes and other Mail categories to see If there is other mail you can archive and/or delete.

    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.

    To find other large files, download an app called Omni Disk Sweeper.

     

    http://www.omnigroup.com/more

     

    Also, Find Any File

     

    http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/

     

    Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.

     

    http://www.titanium.free.fr/downloadonyx.php

     

    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.

     

    Moving iTunes library

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449

     

    Moving iPhoto library

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506

     

    Moving iMovie projects folder

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2289

     

     

    Good Luck!

  • by Network 23,

    Network 23 Network 23 Nov 24, 2014 3:13 PM in response to MRZBKMAN
    Level 6 (12,043 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 24, 2014 3:13 PM in response to MRZBKMAN

    MRZBKMAN wrote:

     

    try deleting files that you don't need.

    To be efficient with your time, you want to have a good idea of what you should and shouldn't spend time deleting. There are many users who try to free up disk space by deleting 52 fonts or 310 text files. But that is often a waste of time because those files take up almost no space, so they won't free up space very much or very fast. Use the tools listed in the links in the post by baltwo (like WhatSize, Grand Perspective, Omni Disk Sweeper, etc) to help you quickly and visually identify the largest consumers of disk space, that can be measured in gigabytes or hundreds of MB, not merely KB or a few MB. For example, a single half-hour HD video that you don't need to watch again can equal the space taken up by hundreds or thousands of files in other formats. Go for the biggest wins in the shortest time.