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SolidState HD with OSX10.11.6 is always full

I had a problem with my iMac HD & the tech suggested putting a SSD into the superdrive slot as the operating system. It's running El Capitan 10.11.6

But I'm constantly getting as message: your HD is near full or IS full. As a result I can't do updates or download any new applications.

Can I move the Applications Folder onto to my internal HD or will that be a problem at startup or with general operations? Thanks

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on May 19, 2019 6:30 PM

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Posted on May 19, 2019 7:04 PM

If you had problems with the hard drive is the drive even healthy? If the hard drive is healthy, then I'm surprised the tech didn't setup a Fusion Drive for you so you wouldn't have this problem. I personally don't recommend custom setups as you are suggesting because it is so easy to break something even if you know what you are doing. If you are able to backup all your stuff to an external drive, then I would suggest creating a Fusion Drive by combining the SSD & HD so you get the speed of an SSD and the storage space of the hard drive. Here are the instructions to create a Fusion Drive. Just make sure to create a bootable macOS USB installer first and verify it will boot your system before trying to create a Fusion Drive.


In answer to your question, it would be possible to do what you want, but I'm not the one to instruct you. If you are that low on space, then I'm not sure moving the Applications will free up enough space for you. It would be better to have your home folder on the hard drive so all the large files from photos, videos, music, etc. are stored on the larger hard drive, but then they would be on a slower drive. Personally I suggest you look into setting up the Fusion Drive.


Make sure to clear out your Downloads folder and empty the Trash to free up space. Rebooting your computer will also help remove some temp & cache files which might be building up on your system.


I'm not a fan of installing an SSD into the optical drive bay of a Mac since the SATA controllers for the optical drives do not always work well with an SSD. The reliability varies greatly depending on the exact computer model.


What size SSD was installed? SSDs are relatively inexpensive today and it is fairly affordable to use a 1TB or 2TB SSD which is a much better option than using a slow hard drive even in a Fusion Drive setup especially in an iMac where the drives are hard to access and replace. If you need more than 2TB of storage, then using an external Thunderbolt or USB3.1 drive would be a good option to store your large files.

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May 19, 2019 7:04 PM in response to MysticShaman44

If you had problems with the hard drive is the drive even healthy? If the hard drive is healthy, then I'm surprised the tech didn't setup a Fusion Drive for you so you wouldn't have this problem. I personally don't recommend custom setups as you are suggesting because it is so easy to break something even if you know what you are doing. If you are able to backup all your stuff to an external drive, then I would suggest creating a Fusion Drive by combining the SSD & HD so you get the speed of an SSD and the storage space of the hard drive. Here are the instructions to create a Fusion Drive. Just make sure to create a bootable macOS USB installer first and verify it will boot your system before trying to create a Fusion Drive.


In answer to your question, it would be possible to do what you want, but I'm not the one to instruct you. If you are that low on space, then I'm not sure moving the Applications will free up enough space for you. It would be better to have your home folder on the hard drive so all the large files from photos, videos, music, etc. are stored on the larger hard drive, but then they would be on a slower drive. Personally I suggest you look into setting up the Fusion Drive.


Make sure to clear out your Downloads folder and empty the Trash to free up space. Rebooting your computer will also help remove some temp & cache files which might be building up on your system.


I'm not a fan of installing an SSD into the optical drive bay of a Mac since the SATA controllers for the optical drives do not always work well with an SSD. The reliability varies greatly depending on the exact computer model.


What size SSD was installed? SSDs are relatively inexpensive today and it is fairly affordable to use a 1TB or 2TB SSD which is a much better option than using a slow hard drive even in a Fusion Drive setup especially in an iMac where the drives are hard to access and replace. If you need more than 2TB of storage, then using an external Thunderbolt or USB3.1 drive would be a good option to store your large files.

May 19, 2019 7:21 PM in response to HWTech

Thank you for the information.

It's an old series iMac (2010) but got a new HD 4 years ago. What happened is that I had a brownout & it fried the HD & I almost lost everything on both my external backup HDs as well. Most files were salvaged.

The tech didn't recommend running anything newer than OSX10.11 because of the computer's age & I can't remember the logic behind the SSD but it's only 120Gb but was all I could afford at the time. I'm in Australia so they are a lot more expensive here than in the US.

Sounds like I need to save up for a bigger one & make do till then.

I will research the Fusion Drive

Thanks again

May 20, 2019 6:18 AM in response to MysticShaman44

If the hard drive is in good condition, then no need to replace it. I just wasn't sure from the original post. Just back everything up and create the Fusion Drive and you will have the best of both worlds there at no cost.


It is always good to keep at least one of the backup solutions off line just for those types of failures and even better when one backup is stored at another location.


Good luck.

May 20, 2019 6:34 AM in response to HWTech

Thank you again for the information. The Fusion Drive sounds like a great option.


I looked up your link to the Fusion Drive after reading your last reply & it said that it became available in some iMacs & Minis after 2012. Since mine is a 2010 model it sounds like I would not be able to create it. I will research further though. Otherwise I will just have to save up for a bigger SSD.


Thanks again, I really appreciate you advice.

SolidState HD with OSX10.11.6 is always full

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