Disk spaced is used up but my files are small

Question

Level 1

5 points

Disk spaced is used up but my files are small

So, I bought a Mac Mini brand new 2 weeks ago, 256 GB one.

And I have transferred all of my files from my old PC to this Mac mini, the total size of all files is about 120 GB, including documents and music etc.

But today I receive a notification from my Mac that the disk space is all used up whiles I was downloading some stuff.

I checked system information and I was shocked that it's true and I don't know why.

This is ridiculous, I'm supposed to have at least 100 GB left out of the 256 GB drive.

I checked every folder again and again and I realise there is another folder containing all music files I played. So these files are doubled file but I don't know if I should delete them. Only songs I played are listed here. (but this folder is only 25 GB).

I still don't know why my disk space is used up, WHY IS IT HAPPENING TO ME?

Posted on Dec 11, 2021 12:28 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

den.thed

Level 10

91,708 points

Dec 12, 2021 8:55 AM in response to PuzzIes

The "Storage" bar in info is not always accurate and I've see misreads where Music & Photo files have end up in Doc's section. At this point, the 70GB in the System Data section is a little more concerning.

What I suggest, is to forget about the eye candy "Storage" info and use OmniDiskSweeper, which will allow you to dig a little deeper into usage and look for duplicate data. https://www.omnigroup.com/more/

Reply

Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

91,708 points

Dec 11, 2021 7:18 AM in response to PuzzIes

Did you migrate during the initial setup or after the initial setup?

If you setup the Mac Mini first and then migrated, you may have two User Accounts which could explain the lack of space.

Reply

Answer 3

Dec 11, 2021 4:24 AM in response to PuzzIes

First there is the system, Monterey takes up 12.1 GB alone with all of it's bells and whistles, then there is formatting and separate volumes to consider. 256 GB is not much room for your own files after this. You say approximately 120GB, there will be space between files of course. If you use any additional applications that adds up. Check your volumes by going to About under the Apple Icon, upper left hand corner you will be surprised. Mine looks like this with a 500GB drive.:

Volumes:

EFI:

Capacity: 209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)

File System: MS-DOS FAT32

BSD Name: disk0s1

Content: EFI

Volume UUID: 0E239BC6-F960-3107-89CF-1C97F78BB46B

disk0s2:

Capacity: 499.9 GB (499,898,105,856 bytes)

BSD Name: disk0s2

Content: Apple_APFS

Reply

Answer 4

Dec 12, 2021 10:50 AM in response to PuzzIes

How do you access system data on a Mac?

Open a Finder window and go to your Home folder. Within the Finder menu, click View > Show View Options. Place a checkmark next to Show System or Library Folder.

Reply