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Q: Why does 'other' on my mac keep increasing when I delete things?

The 'other' part of the mac storage keeps increasing every time I empty the trash so whenever I try and free up space on my Mac I can't because the amount of stuff I delete winds up in other. I've tried restarting my laptop and that didn't work. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why this happens and how I can fix it?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Dec 21, 2015 11:51 PM

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Q: Why does 'other' on my mac keep increasing when I delete things?

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  • by kaz-k,Helpful

    kaz-k kaz-k Dec 22, 2015 12:52 AM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY
    Level 5 (5,975 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 22, 2015 12:52 AM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY
  • by HCR_TW_PAWTY,

    HCR_TW_PAWTY HCR_TW_PAWTY Dec 22, 2015 12:57 AM in response to kaz-k
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 22, 2015 12:57 AM in response to kaz-k

    that thread kinda helped but I don't sync any devices to my laptop, so there are no backups to delete. I also deleted the message archives but still have a bit over 61GB of other. There never used to be this much (about a week ago it was at around 10GB) then it just sky rocketed up to 60 after I cleared out some old photos/videos I no longer needed.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Dec 22, 2015 7:19 AM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Dec 22, 2015 7:19 AM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY

    If you've installed third-party software called "Disk Drill," I suggest you remove it according to the developer's  instructions. If you prefer to keep the software, refer to the developer for support. Other software that automatically copies files moved to the Trash could have the same effect.

  • by HCR_TW_PAWTY,

    HCR_TW_PAWTY HCR_TW_PAWTY Dec 22, 2015 4:51 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 22, 2015 4:51 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I have never installed any software like that. I feel like it may be best to go see Apple. Thank you anyways.

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Dec 22, 2015 4:58 PM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Dec 22, 2015 4:58 PM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY

    You cleared out old photos and videos. Did you do it from apps themselves or some other way? If if was done in Photos and Itunes. Did you empty the trash in them.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Dec 22, 2015 5:02 PM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Dec 22, 2015 5:02 PM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY

    I feel like it may be best to go see Apple.

    That's fine, as long as you understand what they will do. They'll erase the internal drive and install OS X, then give the machine back to you. The "other" stuff will be gone, so they'll tell you the problem is solved. Then you'll go home and restore your data from a backup. The "other" stuff will either be restored immediately or will come back over time.

  • by HCR_TW_PAWTY,

    HCR_TW_PAWTY HCR_TW_PAWTY Dec 22, 2015 6:43 PM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 22, 2015 6:43 PM in response to my ginger

    I delete them from the app and always empty the trash because I have very limited space on my laptop. But 'other' increased after deleting my iPhoto library because I no longer needed it since I now use photos.

  • by HCR_TW_PAWTY,

    HCR_TW_PAWTY HCR_TW_PAWTY Dec 22, 2015 6:47 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 22, 2015 6:47 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Do they have any other way besides erasing my drive to fix this? Or is that all they're going to do?

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Dec 22, 2015 7:47 PM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Dec 22, 2015 7:47 PM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY

    For information about the Other category in the Storage display, please see this support article. If the 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

    In Photos:

              File Show Recently Deleted Delete All

    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. A common waste of space is old iTunes backups of mobile devices. As illustrated in this support article, select the Devices tab in the iTunes preferences window, select the backups you want to delete, and click Delete Backups. Keep at least one backup of each device that you still use.

    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 a photo or iTunes library will corrupt the library. Changes to such a 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.

    Install the app 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.

    For ODS:

    security execute-with-privileges /A*/OmniDiskSweeper.app/*/M*/* 2>&-

    For GP:

    security execute-with-privileges /A*/GrandPerspective.app/*/M*/* 2>&-

    Launch the built-in Terminal application in any one 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 and start typing the name.

    Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password.

    The application window will open behind other open windows. When you scan a volume, the window will eventually show 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.

  • by HCR_TW_PAWTY,

    HCR_TW_PAWTY HCR_TW_PAWTY Dec 22, 2015 7:50 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 22, 2015 7:50 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you for this, I did switch off time machine about a week ago and did notice that the 'backups' bit disappeared, that's probably why I have so much 'other' now. Is there a way to fix this or will I need to restore from the backup I did prior to switching off time machine the first time?

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Dec 22, 2015 8:00 PM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Dec 22, 2015 8:00 PM in response to HCR_TW_PAWTY

    Merely turning off Time Machine would not cause "other" storage to increase. Please do what I suggested in my last comment.

  • by HCR_TW_PAWTY,

    HCR_TW_PAWTY HCR_TW_PAWTY Dec 23, 2015 4:05 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 23, 2015 4:05 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Okay I'm going to run ODS and see if I find anything.