Disk space mysteriously being used up?

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Level 1

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Disk space mysteriously being used up?

Hi All-
I hope someone can offer guidance on this. Recently when I returned to my Macbook after a brief absence I noted that I had 10 gb of free hard drive space. Totally normal. I did a few things over the next couple days including downloading photos from a couple digital cameras and downloading a few podcasts. It was after this that I started getting the disk full message. Strange, I thought since everything I added to the computer didn't amount to more than a GB. So, I removed the photos and the podcasts and regained a few GBs but not as much as I should have. After restarting the computer and leaving it for a day I was back to hovering around a GB of space and getting the disk full warning.
I ran a virus scan and it came back clean.
So, I've reset the PRAM, removed the battery and held down the power button for 5 secs, neither of which have helped. I've tried going in and doing an archive and install but I need at least 15gb free to do that. I do have a backup on an external hard drive (made with SuperDuper) but am not sure how to go about restoring from that (or even if it would help with the space problem). The backup isn't a disk image, its pretty much a copy of the Macintosh HD.
Thanks in advance for your help, at this point I'm more than a little confused!

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Apr 7, 2008 7:29 PM

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Answer 1

Whit555 Author

Level 1

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Apr 7, 2008 7:32 PM in response to Whit555

Oh, and I've also tried repairing the disk using Disk Utility...

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Answer 2

cornelius

Level 6

17,826 points

Apr 7, 2008 7:46 PM in response to Whit555

Whit555:

The article Where Did My Disk Space Go? deals with some of the most common causes for running out of spaces errors, and suggestions of how you may go about dealing with them.

In addition, go to Applications > Utilities > Console and check for recurring entries. Copy and post any such that you find.

Good luck.

cornelius

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

239,435 points

Apr 7, 2008 8:09 PM in response to Whit555

I had 10 gb of free hard drive space. Totally normal.

10 GB is not enough, it'll make Tiger very nervous and accident prone! You need 30 or more GB.

Restoring won't likely help, follow the great advice given above by cornelius.

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Answer 4

Limnos

Level 10

411,259 points

Apr 7, 2008 8:15 PM in response to cornelius

Some more resources:

Disk Inventory (free) [http://www.derlien.com>

WhatSize (shareware) [http://www.id-design.com/software/whatsize>

Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk
[http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/freeingspace.html]

Amazing Disappearing Drive Space
[http://www.pinkmutant.com/articles/TigerMisc.html]

Increase HD Free Space
[http://macosx.com/forums/howto-faqs/275191-how-easily-increase-hd free-space-laptop.html]

How to free up my disk space
[http://www.macmaps.com/diskfull.html]

The two utilities help you see what is using up drive space, and is useful in diagnosing drive space loss.

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Answer 5

cornelius

Level 6

17,826 points

Apr 7, 2008 8:47 PM in response to Limnos

Limnos:

Thanks for the list of resources.

I did not list specific resources as I want the OP to begin with an overview of the issue. I started to link WhatSize, which is, incidentally, referenced in the article I linked, and discovered that unless one is willing to pay for it, you can only examine 20 GB of files. It used to be free at one time, but I guess is no longer so. I did not want to suggest that the OP pay for something until we had explored other avenues.

The OP's issue is not merely a matter of freeing up space in the HDD. The problem is that as space is freed it is eaten up again. That indicates that some process going on in the OS is replicating entries and filling up the disk. At this point my intention is to try to identify that process and deal with it.

The separate issue, which you mentioned, that the amount of free space OS X needs for efficient functioning. That is a significant factor that must be addressed, although it more often results in directory issues rather than the startup disk running out of space syndrome.

There are some respondents whose methodology is to throw out a lot of resources/links right at the outset. I may be misjudging OPs, but my feeling that this is can be more confusing than helpful. I try to begin with a single task and work through a process, and by the process of elimination, arriving at a diagnosis which lends itself to resolution.

OK, long lecture, but just by way of outlining my MO in these forums. Again, I appreciate being reminded of the resources, and they are all useful. It's just that I had not yet gotten to that point.

Cheers 😉
cornelius

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Answer 6

Whit555 Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 8, 2008 12:19 PM in response to Whit555

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I'm not using any of the offending applications that were mentioned. The trashes are all showing empty and I haven't found anything in the /private... folders larger than a gb. Also, the console log doesn't show any recurring entries.
So, would an erase and install be my next step?

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Answer 7

cornelius

Level 6

17,826 points

Apr 8, 2008 12:38 PM in response to Whit555

Whit555:

So, would an erase and install be my next step?

Before you do that, I suggest that you download and run Disk Inventory. This will give you a glimpse into you HDD, and show the large files/folders. Look through the list and see if there is anything that seems unusual.

Cheers 😉

cornelius

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