shamalk

Q: Mac OS X 10.8.2 Shows wrong available disk space

Hi,

The free disk space (available disk space) reported in Disk Utility, About My Mac and Finder is inconsitent. I have attached a screenshot. Please help me to resolve this issue.

 

Notice that the free space reported:

  • About This Mac - 26.75 GB
  • Disk Utility - 26.75
  • Finder - 120.97 GB

 

If you add all the used space as shown in 'About This Mac' it adds up to a 142.38 GB which is greater than my disk size 120.47 GB.

 

Calculation: 3.41 (Audio) + 2.97 (Movies) + 2.01 (Photos) + 13.02 (Apps) + 94.22 (Backups) + 26.75 (Free) = 142.38 GB.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Screen Shot 2012-10-25 at 3.51.15 PM.png

MacBook Air, MID 2012

Posted on Oct 25, 2012 1:23 AM

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Q: Mac OS X 10.8.2 Shows wrong available disk space

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  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Apr 11, 2015 9:08 AM in response to Phil 1960
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 11, 2015 9:08 AM in response to Phil 1960

    Phil 1960 wrote:

     

    The only issue is that this does not seem to be a permanent solution, after a while my "PetaByte" drive reappeared and I had to apply the same fix again. Let's hope the guys at Apple have this sorted in the next update.

     

    They won't, because it's not a problem, as has been pointed out several times earlier in this topic.

     

    Anyone here who is having an actual problem, such as crashes, slow performance, messages about insufficient free space, etc, needs to start their own topic. Describe the problem. Whatever those problems are, they are not the result of a completely normal discrepancy between the Finder and the Storage display accessed through About This Mac.

     

    Those who are simply worrying over the discrepancy, I say again that it is completely normal. Compromising your computer's backups is a very poor solution to something that is not a problem.

  • by adaszerman,

    adaszerman adaszerman Apr 12, 2015 7:14 PM in response to Van4130
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 12, 2015 7:14 PM in response to Van4130

    Had this issue and your solution just worked for me.

    I don't explain it but big thank you !

  • by Nikolaus Heger,

    Nikolaus Heger Nikolaus Heger May 12, 2015 8:22 PM in response to Van4130
    Level 1 (30 points)
    May 12, 2015 8:22 PM in response to Van4130

    Thanks! Would never have guessed but TimeMachine OFF, relaunch Finder, and TimeMachine back ON fixed it.

     

    I had the Finder report 236 TB of free space... if only

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. May 13, 2015 4:01 AM in response to Nikolaus Heger
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 13, 2015 4:01 AM in response to Nikolaus Heger

    Nikolaus Heger wrote:

     

    I had the Finder report 236 TB of free space... if only

     

     

    That's a very different issue than the one described here. That could be nothing more than a one-time glitch, or it could be a symptom of something more serious, such as corruption of the hard drive in question, which could also mean impending drive failure. I'd advise you to take your backups very seriously, and if you only keep one backup, make at least one other, on a different hard drive, preferably using a different tool than Time Machine, such as Carbon Copy Cloner. (Not that there's anything wrong with Time Machine, it's just best to have all bases covered, and using two different backup programs for multiple backups gives you the best redundancy and the least chance that something will go wrong with your backups when you need them most.)

     

    If the problem comes back, I'd recommend starting a new topic for assistance.

  • by Phil 1960,

    Phil 1960 Phil 1960 May 13, 2015 4:24 AM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 13, 2015 4:24 AM in response to thomas_r.

    Thomas,

     

    This is not a one time glitch, many seem to have the same repeatable issue with the storage report saying that their disk contains Peta Bytes of Backup. The temporary work around is to turn off the Time Machine and then go into "About This Mac" and get a sensible breakdown of disk usage under the Storage tab. I then turn the Time Machine back on again. I don't think anyone is recommending turning the Time Machine off permanently.

     

    The storage report continues to show the correct information for a while after the Time Machine is turned back on but eventually the buggy behaviour returns. I am not sure what prompts the bug to reappear. Apple do need to sort this bug out but I guess it is a low priority.

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. May 13, 2015 5:04 AM in response to Phil 1960
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 13, 2015 5:04 AM in response to Phil 1960

    What you describe is not what is being discussed here. I've said repeatedly on this topic that what's being discussed here is not actually a problem... in your case, though, you do have a problem. Your issue isn't as simple as the perfectly normal difference between the storage display including local snapshots in its calculations and the Finder not doing so. You're seeing a completely bogus, impossible number. That may not seem like a big deal, but it makes a very big difference... like the difference between not remembering where you parked your car and your car not actually being where you parked it! Small difference in details, big difference in end result.

     

    Since your problem has been repeating, and there seems to be some kind of involvement (I'm not sure exactly what) with your backups, you need to make absolutely sure that you have a working backup system, and shouldn't assume that the backups you already have are still good. As I mentioned, one possible cause of your problem is that either your system drive or your backup drive is failing.

  • by arodichevski,

    arodichevski arodichevski May 26, 2015 4:20 AM in response to ebernetPhD
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 26, 2015 4:20 AM in response to ebernetPhD

    I did the same (DISK UTILITY and REPAIR DISK), but without reboot. It worked.

  • by Phil 1960,

    Phil 1960 Phil 1960 Jul 7, 2015 3:58 AM in response to Phil 1960
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 7, 2015 3:58 AM in response to Phil 1960

    blank

  • by Phil 1960,

    Phil 1960 Phil 1960 Jul 7, 2015 3:57 AM in response to shamalk
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 7, 2015 3:57 AM in response to shamalk

    Apple have fixed this bug in release 10.10.4

     

    Phil.

  • by thomas_r.,

    thomas_r. thomas_r. Jul 7, 2015 5:24 AM in response to Phil 1960
    Level 7 (30,924 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 7, 2015 5:24 AM in response to Phil 1960

    Phil 1960 wrote:

     

    Apple have fixed this bug in release 10.10.4

     

    No they haven't. First, because it's not a bug, as has been stated multiple times here. Second, because I just checked on my own 10.10.4 system, and it still shows the same behavior: a discrepancy between the storage display and the Finder, caused by inclusion of the local snapshots in the former and its exclusion in the latter.

     

    Edit: I refreshed my memory by looking at your previous posts, and now recall that what you were seeing was not the same as the problem described by shamalk and the other folks here. What was causing your particular issue is still unclear. In any case, 10.10.4 most assuredly does not change the behavior that the other people here have described.

  • by Phil 1960,

    Phil 1960 Phil 1960 Jul 7, 2015 5:23 AM in response to thomas_r.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 7, 2015 5:23 AM in response to thomas_r.

    Thomas,

     

    All I can say is that - for me - this issue disappeared the moment I upgraded to 10.10.4

     

    I think we must be talking about different issues.

     

    Phil.

  • by deborinquen,

    deborinquen deborinquen Sep 16, 2016 6:26 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 16, 2016 6:26 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Worked on Yosemite (10.10.5) on Sep 16, '16 just as sweetly.  Thank you.

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