How to purge purgeable space and have it reflected in the disk utility application

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How to purge purgeable space and have it reflected in the disk utility application

I have cleared old files and iphone backups to clear space on my HD, however when I go into my disk utility application it shows over 300 GB of purgeable data. How can I get my computer to actually purge this space? I need the space to decrease the size of one partition but cannot currently execute this as the tool says there's not enough space. With the purgeable space taking up over 300 GB I'm unable to complete this task, what options do I have? When I look at my About This Mac > Storage I do not see the purgeable space, but do see it in the disk utility, and when looking at my system information > storage it shows the availability including the purgeable data so there's only 30GB showing available. I've even downloaded a third party app that promises to help clean purgeable storage but it was not successful.

Posted on Jan 3, 2020 5:03 AM

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Answer 1

i_rina

Community Specialist

Jan 6, 2020 1:46 PM in response to Mnhamermesh

Hey there, Mnhamermesh,

Thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities. I understand that you see about 300GB of data under a "purgeable space" heading and want to know if you can remove it. I'm happy to help!

According to the information in Get detailed information about a disk in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support, purgeable space is space that macOS can free up as necessary, but you cannot delete it yourself:

"Get detailed information about a disk in Disk Utility on Mac

You can see detailed information about a disk or volume on your Mac, including:

Location of disk or volume (internal or external)
Format being used
Total capacity
Amount of space available, which can include both free space and “purgeable space”—or space that macOS can free up when needed by removing files from your computer. You can’t manually remove the files that are designated purgeable, but macOS removes them as space is required.
Where the volume is mounted
Number of folders and files the disk contains
Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) status, which is the disk’s general working condition"

While you cannot edit the files that are designated purgeable, you can use the steps in Optimize storage space on your Mac - Apple Support to otherwise make space on your machine.

Best!

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How to purge purgeable space and have it reflected in the disk utility application

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