Hi, I need support with my MacBook Air. It was making duplicates of all my files and now there are at least 10 or more of each file and if I drag just one of the multiple files to the trash, all of them disappear not just the one. I am also getting a recurring notification that my disk is almost full which I assume is because of this. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.12
andriana25,
Thanks for the information. Let's continue with trying a few other steps.
Try using your Mac in safe mode and see if the files continue to duplicate.
How to use safe mode on your Mac
"If the issue continues in safe mode
If the issue continues while in safe mode, or your Mac restarts several times and then shuts down while starting up in safe mode, you should reinstall macOS and make sure that your Apple software and third-party apps are up to date.
If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode
If the issue doesn't continue while in safe mode, leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally. Then test for the issue again. The issue might be resolved.
If the issue returns after leaving safe mode, startup items are probably at fault. Apps can install such items in numerous places, and they aren't always easy to find or recognize. For that reason, you should first make sure that you've installed any available updates for your Apple software and third-party apps.
If updating your software doesn't help, try any of these solutions:
Please let us know if that resolves your issue or you need additional assistance.
Have a great day.
andriana25,
Thanks for the information. Let's continue with trying a few other steps.
Try using your Mac in safe mode and see if the files continue to duplicate.
How to use safe mode on your Mac
"If the issue continues in safe mode
If the issue continues while in safe mode, or your Mac restarts several times and then shuts down while starting up in safe mode, you should reinstall macOS and make sure that your Apple software and third-party apps are up to date.
If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode
If the issue doesn't continue while in safe mode, leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally. Then test for the issue again. The issue might be resolved.
If the issue returns after leaving safe mode, startup items are probably at fault. Apps can install such items in numerous places, and they aren't always easy to find or recognize. For that reason, you should first make sure that you've installed any available updates for your Apple software and third-party apps.
If updating your software doesn't help, try any of these solutions:
Please let us know if that resolves your issue or you need additional assistance.
Have a great day.
Hello andriana25,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities! We see you're having an issue with duplicate files and running out of storage on your Mac. We'd like to help.
Are the files that are duplicating in your iCloud Drive? If so, go to the iCloud website, and see if you can manually delete them there.
Also, please follow How to free up storage space on your Mac.
Kind regards.
Thank you for the reply, I checked and they are not duplicating in my iCloud Drive. They are just in 'All My Files' and includes screenshots, word documents etc. I thought maybe this happened because I've been starting to use QuickTime Player a lot more recently but I don't know. These duplicates appear to be all the same entity so when I delete one, all of them go.
Thanks for all the help, it appears to be fixed for now.
andriana25,
Excellent news. Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Kind regards.*
Multiple Files on MacBook Air
