Need to free up hard drive space on macbook air that won't start.

Question

Need to free up hard drive space on macbook air that won't start.

In trying to update to the latest version of Catalina, I was told midway through the installation that I lacked hard disk space. I can't remember what I did next, but I restarted the computer. It now crashes on boot. I start it in recovery mode and try to reinstall the OS, but it tells me I don't have enough hard drive space (I need 18GB and I only have 15 free GB). How can I free up hard drive space on my macbook air to reinstall the macOS?

MacBook Air

Posted on Oct 31, 2019 2:48 PM

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Answer 1

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Oct 31, 2019 2:59 PM in response to Jibbothelakerman

You actually need more than 18 GB. I would clear 30 to 35 GB for proper functioning of the system and your apps. If the Mac will not start the only way you could do that would be in Target Disk Mode and you'd need access to another Mac.

Transfer files between two Mac computers using target disk mode - Apple Support

Start by moving your larger, lesser used files first over to the other Mac or a connected external hard drive.

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Answer 2

Nov 2, 2019 10:27 AM in response to macjack

Okay, I hooked it up to another mac and used Target Disk Mode, but I can't find anything to delete. I can't find any pictures, applications, anything really other than the default programs which in total don't amount to much more than 1 GB. Is there any way to access my data? Also, thank you for your help so far!

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Answer 3

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Nov 2, 2019 10:42 AM in response to Jibbothelakerman

If that's all you're finding in the Users folder, it sounds like something happened during the install to cause corruption and loss of accounts and data. Hopefully you have a backup?

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