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Why Is So Much Of My Space In Other Volumes In Container?

Hey,

I have a 2017 13 inch Macbook pro.

I have a bit of an issue where 80.94 GB of my 121.02 GB are taken from Other volumes in container.

Have had the laptop for just over 2 years and I have only noticed this come up recently. I thought it could've maybe come up from the 'Macintosh HD ---- Data' drive. I don't know where that came from either and if thats what the problem is. Is there a way I can remove most of the space that the Other Volumes in Container is taking? Thanks


MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on May 4, 2020 9:00 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 4, 2020 10:32 PM

Catalina has some major security changes; one of them is that your "hard drive" is now considered a "container". It contains the Macintosh HD volume which is small and not accessible - sort of quarantined containing your OS and system so no malware ro whatever has any access to it. Then there is another volume - Macintosh HD - Data which has read/write privileges and contains your apps and all other data. They do not show separately (except in Disk Utility) and share the space in your hard drive. You just ignore the new setup and know that your system is safe.


As for the "other" category - that display is notoriously incorrect; check the get info windows (highlight whatever and press the Command + I keys) to get the actual size.


And, it looks like you only have 3+ GB of storage left; you have a very small drive, so you have to be conservative and move some stuff to an external drive. You need to maintain an absolute minimum of 10 - 12 GB of empty space at all times for your OS to work properly. Your drive isn't just "storage", it is also the place for your OS and any/everything you do with the computer takes place, so you need to give it some breathing room.

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 4, 2020 10:32 PM in response to Fuzzy2010

Catalina has some major security changes; one of them is that your "hard drive" is now considered a "container". It contains the Macintosh HD volume which is small and not accessible - sort of quarantined containing your OS and system so no malware ro whatever has any access to it. Then there is another volume - Macintosh HD - Data which has read/write privileges and contains your apps and all other data. They do not show separately (except in Disk Utility) and share the space in your hard drive. You just ignore the new setup and know that your system is safe.


As for the "other" category - that display is notoriously incorrect; check the get info windows (highlight whatever and press the Command + I keys) to get the actual size.


And, it looks like you only have 3+ GB of storage left; you have a very small drive, so you have to be conservative and move some stuff to an external drive. You need to maintain an absolute minimum of 10 - 12 GB of empty space at all times for your OS to work properly. Your drive isn't just "storage", it is also the place for your OS and any/everything you do with the computer takes place, so you need to give it some breathing room.

Why Is So Much Of My Space In Other Volumes In Container?

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