sdpg
Level 1 (18 points)
Desktops

Q: 1/3 of iMac HD taken by "Other"; How to find & delete?

Hello.

 

Screenshots below showing nearly 700 GB of "Other" via Info, Disk Utility & About This Mac. 

 

I also used Omni Disk Sweeper & it showed about 1 TB being used; did not show the "Other" 700 GB.

 

(Frustratingly, reminds me of a similar frequent situation with my iPhone.... space shown as "Other" or "Docs & Data", with no clear way to identify & delete)

 

  • Why is this happening?
  • How do I find & delete?
  • How do I prevent it from happening again?

 

Thank you!

 

Screen Shot 2016-07-04 at 12.48.11 PM.jpg

 

Screen Shot 2016-07-04 at 12.48.59 PM.jpg

 

Screen Shot 2016-07-04 at 1.01.38 PM.jpg

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), '10 2.8 GHz i5, 20GB ram, 480GB SSD

Posted on Jul 4, 2016 1:04 PM

by dialabrain,Solvedanswer
dialabrain dialabrain
Level 5 (6,280 points)
Mac App Store
A:

Try running OmniDiskSweeper as root. Assuming it's in /Applications…

Copy and paste this command in the Terminal

sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper

See if there is something in the hidden folders.

Posted on Jul 6, 2016 3:26 PM

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sdpg

Q: 1/3 of iMac HD taken by "Other"; How to find & delete?

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  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 6, 2016 4:10 PM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 6, 2016 4:10 PM in response to dialabrain

    DIALABRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     

    Thanks so much for putting in the effort to follow my description, AND FOR PROVIDING THE ANSWER!!!  

     

    Screenshot below of Omni Disk Sweeper results (picture was taken after I already selected to delete the .Trashes folder).

    Screenshot below that showing those 554 GB of invisible files GONE.

     

    I can end here happily, but it does raise questions for me.  Would appreciate it if you (or anyone) are willing to answer.  No big deal if not.

     

    I had emptied Trash several times, and these invisible files have been showing up for a few days.

    • Where were these ".Trashes" files / this ".Trashes" folder?
    • Why were they there - as a back up Trash, to give a person one more chance to retrieve them?
    • How could I find that folder via FInder, etc? 
    • Or would I need a 3rd party app to see them, like Omni?
    • I'm curious now about "root" - any cliff notes for me on what else I could be / should be using Terminal & root for?


    THANK YOU!!!


    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 3.44.45 PM.jpg

    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 3.49.58 PM.jpg

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 6, 2016 4:54 PM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 6, 2016 4:54 PM in response to dialabrain

    DIALABRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     

    Thanks so much for putting in the effort to follow my description, AND FOR PROVIDING THE ANSWER!!! 

     

    Screenshot below of Omni Disk Sweeper results (picture was taken after I already selected to delete the .Trashes folder).

    Screenshot below that showing those 554 GB of invisible files GONE.

     

    I can end here happily, but it does raise questions for me.  Would appreciate it if you (or anyone) are willing to answer.  No big deal if not.

     

    I had emptied Trash several times, and these invisible files have been showing up for a few days.

    • Where were these ".Trashes" files / this ".Trashes" folder?
    • Why were they there - as a back up Trash, to give a person one more chance to retrieve them?
    • How could I find that folder via FInder, etc?
    • Or would I need a 3rd party app to see them, like Omni?
    • I'm curious now about "root" - any cliff notes for me on what else I could be / should be using Terminal & root for?


    THANK YOU!!!


    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 3.44.45 PM.jpg

    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 3.49.58 PM.jpg

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Jul 6, 2016 4:57 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 5 (6,280 points)
    Mac App Store
    Jul 6, 2016 4:57 PM in response to sdpg

    You're welcome. I am not a touch typist so I'm not prepared to answer all your other questions but perhaps someone else will.

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 6, 2016 5:04 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 6, 2016 5:04 PM in response to sdpg

    Dialabrain, et. al, while I have you - it feels like something similar is going on with my iPhone (5s)... 

     

    When I add up all files shown, it equals 6.9 GB, but phone (& via iTunes) are showing that I've used over 9 GB used. 

     

    2 GB = nearly 20% of total storage.  Does that seem normal? 

     

    Is that simply the iOS, etc?

     

    Or some hidden deadweight that could be deleted?

     

    Thank you!

     

     

    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 4.52.17 PM.jpg

     

    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 4.52.08 PM.jpg

     

    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 4.52.38 PM.jpg

     

    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 4.52.29 PM.jpg

     

    Screen Shot 2016-07-06 at 4.48.32 PM.jpg

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Jul 6, 2016 5:07 PM in response to sdpg
    Level 5 (6,280 points)
    Mac App Store
    Jul 6, 2016 5:07 PM in response to sdpg

    No idea. I don't have an iPhone or a smartphone of any kind. You should ask in the iPhone community.

    iPhone

  • by sdpg,

    sdpg sdpg Jul 6, 2016 10:19 PM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 6, 2016 10:19 PM in response to dialabrain

    Fair enough, Dialabrain - thanks again!!  I like your style.

     

    Standing by for any other knowledge-sharers that could answer the questions above about .Trashes files.

     

    I'll post the iPhone question elsewhere..

     

    Have a nice night.

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