start up disk full - can I just wipe disk clean?

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Irene1967 Author

Level 1

8 points

start up disk full - can I just wipe disk clean?

I have a Macbook Pro - early 2015 model. My start up disk has been FULL forever. I clean up my downloads, apps, desktop, cache, but that does almost nothing. Almost all of the space is used by "other" folders - whatever that is. I keep pretty much everything on external hard drives. I can't upgrade my OS because I don't have enough space.

I am thinking I should just give up and wipe my entire computer clean and start from scratch since I have no idea what is taking up so much space, but whatever it is, I don't think I need it. Would that help solve my problem? And any suggestions on how to go about doing that?

Posted on Oct 7, 2019 12:27 PM

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Answer 1

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Oct 9, 2019 7:00 AM in response to Irene1967

Hi Irene1967,

Thanks for posting. I understand you have a concern about your Mac storage.

Before considering erasing your device, you might check out the suggestions here to see if you can Optimize storage space on your Mac. This might help you free up storage.

Erasing your startup disk and reinstalling macOS is an option as well, as long as you have all of your data backed up or otherwise stored on an external drive: Back up your Mac with Time Machine

If you did want to erase your startup disk, you can do this using the steps below:

How to erase a disk for Mac

How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery

Hopefully the information above helps you. Cheers.

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Answer 2

Irene1967 Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 10, 2019 11:40 AM in response to chris_g1

Unfortunately I still have the old El Capitan OS system because my HD is too full to install the newer versions - so the "manage storage" option isn't there. But thank you!

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Answer 3

Oct 9, 2019 5:53 PM in response to Irene1967

The Storage tab on macOS is known to be inaccurate. A less drastic option than erasing the SSD is to use OmniDiskSweeper to locate the folders and items taking up the most space on your SSD. Make sure you have emptied the Trash and rebooted your computer.

If you decide to erase the SSD and perform a clean install, then make sure to have good verified working backups before you erase the SSD.

Another option is to upgrade your original Apple SSD with a larger and faster SSD from OWC. Just make sure to keep your original Apple SSD in case it is ever needed to install a system firmware update.

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start up disk full - can I just wipe disk clean?

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