can't save files - plenty of space

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Level 1

4 points

can't save files - plenty of space

First question ever - go easy on me!

My Mac has a 1Tb hd for storage. I started getting a message that it was full and I was unable to save anything to it. I checked going to the Apple menu/about this Mac/storage and I had about 25Gb free. The files I was trying to save were less than 100Mb so I don't know why they wouldn't save but I didn't realize I had let things get that close.

I tried clearing out some and freed about 15Gb more and I was able to save that couple of files but only those couple. Almost immediately I got the "disk full" message again although I now had 40Gb free. I got into a routine of "disk full" message, delete some files, save a couple of new ones, "disk full" message, delete some files, save a couple of new ones, but each time my available storage was going up more. I would delete several Gb and only save small files but the "disk full" message would come right back.

Finally I took the time to try to get rid of as much as I could. Now I have 140Gb free according to the Apple Menu/about this Mac/storage but I still get the "disk full" message" and can't save anything. On a whim, I tried checking hard drive space using the System Information app in Applications/Utilities. That says I only have 18.88Gb free.

Why the difference and how do I get my Mac to recognize that I actually have 140Gb of free space on my hard drive?

Posted on Feb 24, 2021 7:30 AM

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Answer 1

MrHoffman

Level 10

149,931 points

Feb 24, 2021 8:06 AM in response to tommy0732

Your disk is stuffed full.

140 GB is a decent minimal about of free space with a TB HDD or SSD, but 25 GB free space is ~full.

Reboot through Safe Mode, and see if that cures some of this.

Safe Mode rebuilds caches, and purges temporary storage.

Apps and services can get tangled when they can’t write to storage, and can start crashing and restarting. Safe Mode can sometimes resolve that, whether by rebooting, and by rebuilding, and by purging.

I’d not go looking for cleaner apps, as those can cause as many problems as they might cure.

I’d tend to expect at least one 4 to 8 TB backup device is present here too, if Time Machine is in use.

There are some tools around useful for determining what is consuming storage.

Here’s one such tool:

http://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grandperspective/id1111570163?mt=12

Here’s another:

https://www.omnigroup.com/more

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Answer 2

tommy0732 Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 2, 2021 4:31 AM in response to tommy0732

Update: I'm pleased to report my problem has been resolved! I'm not sure what actually fixed the problem, but here's what I did:

Deleted as many files as I could
Booted to safe mode (this is the step where I got nervous because my Mac still did not show the free space it should have per MrHoffman's previous reply when checking through the Utility)
Booted normally
Ran a full backup
Booted to safe mode again
Booted normally

Not only is my Mac showing the correct amount of free space through both the Apple menu and the Utility but it seems to be working faster as well.

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Answer 3

MrHoffman

Level 10

149,931 points

Feb 24, 2021 10:18 AM in response to tommy0732

100 GB is a reasonable hunk of free space.

20 GB of a terabyte disk is a pittance, a dearth, a paucity, a woefully inadequate amount. Full.

Use the tools linked earlier. Keep cleaning.

And see if you can find what—if anything—is filling your storage. See the storage-viewing tools linked earlier.

One way to spot run-away I/O activity is to use Activity Monitor app, select the Disk display, and see what process(es) are busy with write I/O.

For a different approach, here's what Apple recommends: How to free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

Most of what I've encountered filling storage has been, well, "clutter", as Apple calls it. Once in a while I've met apps that hit some error and commenced looping and spewing garbage, and that then filled storage.

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Answer 4

tommy0732 Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 24, 2021 8:35 AM in response to MrHoffman

Thanks for the suggestion, but it didn't work. I booted in Safe Mode, and according to the Utility my free hard drive space actually went down from 18.88Gb to 17.82 so I lost a Gb. Going through the Mac menu it shows I have 140Gb free.

As I said in my original post, I realize my hard drive WAS full, but I deleted about 120Gb of files and my machine is not recognizing that that has been done. I can't save even small files.

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Answer 5

MrHoffman

Level 10

149,931 points

Mar 2, 2021 5:49 AM in response to tommy0732

Good that it’s working better...

I/O performance tanks with no free space. As you’ve gotten to discover.

iPad and iPhone react similarly with inadequate free space. As do some other platforms.

Depending on the Mac involved, an HDD-to-SSD upgrade will be a massive performance boost.

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can't save files - plenty of space

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