Can't figure out what is taking the space

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Level 1

8 points

Can't figure out what is taking the space

So I bought a new MacBook Air m1 two weeks ago. The only stuff I downloaded and used is Intellij IDEA (around 2gbs), VS code (500mb), Steam, MS Office and Xcode. I uninstalled Xcode because it was taking more than 30gbs and I didn't really need it. I have no photos, music, games, videos, documents etc. on my Mac.

But after the latest macOS update I have only 150 gb out of 250gb free. It says that the system takes around 15 gbs. But other than that, I have a couple of apps which are no bigger than a couple of gbs. When I open disk overview it says that the 50gbs is "other". I installed Disk Inventory X and omnisweeper but they don't even recognize these 50 gbs, they act like I have only 40-50 gbs taken on the disk.

I tried disk daisy trial version and it classified it as hidden. I checked if it was time machine. It's not. I have no idea what it anymore.

Here are the pictures:

https://i.imgur.com/MYU56ba.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vgvHESD.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/zAeTN3e.jpg

Thanks in advance!

Posted on Sep 23, 2021 9:08 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

HWTech

Level 9

69,134 points

Sep 24, 2021 10:11 AM in response to jca146

Do you have any backups that have not yet been transferred to external media? If so, then make sure to let those backups completely transfer. Any files that you may delete and empty from the Trash may still exist within the backup snapshots or an APFS system snapshot (the latter are normally automatically deleted within a week). You can use this article to see if you have any APFS snapshots that have not automatically been by using the information in this article:

https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2018/04/07/reclaiming-drive-space-by-thinning-apple-file-system-snapshot-backups/

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Answer 2

jca146 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 26, 2021 2:58 AM in response to HWTech

I found out. I had to sudo run OmniDiskSweeper.

Here's the pic.

https://i.imgur.com/QUNvMBG.jpg

It's .PKInstallSandboxManager. I am not sure what it is, 40 gb, I don't know if I can delete this. I am by default not allowed to access these folders.

I googled it and found that it is used for software updates and sandboxing and that it shouldn't be deleted? But I am supposed to leave 40 GBs out of 250 to "sandboxing". I am still not sure what's it's use and why is it taking so much space and why others don't have it the same way. I tried to boot in safe mode but nothing happened.

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Answer 3

HWTech

Level 9

69,134 points

Sep 25, 2021 10:11 AM in response to jca146

What does the Finder indicate? I know that the macOS Storage Management numbers can be incorrect. If the Finder reports the same amount of free space as OmniDiskSweeper, then macOS Storage Management is mis-reporting the storage allocation.

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Answer 4

Owl-53

Level 10

102,949 points

Sep 26, 2021 7:45 AM in response to jca146

Start up a Mac with Apple silicon in safe mode

On your Mac, choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
After your Mac shuts down, wait 10 seconds.
Press and hold the power button on your Mac until the startup options window appears showing available startup disks and Options.
Select a startup disk.
Press and hold the Shift key, click Continue in Safe Mode, then release the Shift key.

What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?

Free up storage space on your Mac

OmniDiskSweeper

See used and available storage space on your Mac

From above link

Other: Contains files that don’t fall into the categories listed here. This category primarily includes files and data used by the system, such as log files, caches, VM files, and other runtime system resources. Also included are temporary files, fonts, app support files, and plug-ins. You can't manage the contents of this category. The contents are managed by macOS, and the category varies in size depending on the current state of your Mac.

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Answer 5

jca146 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 26, 2021 10:17 AM in response to Owl-53

Thank you for taking your time to help me. I tried to boot it in safe mode but it didn't help unfortunately.

You wrote: You can't manage the contents of this category. The contents are managed by macOS, and the category varies in size depending on the current state of your Mac.

Could you elaborate? What does that mean exactly?

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