Mac Mini 9.1 (2020) Storage

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Level 1

5 points

Mac Mini 9.1 (2020) Storage

I am having to operate my M1 Mac mini from primarily external HDD's. By the time everything was up and rolling after the changeover, I found that I was 'out of space' alerts on the 250SSD. My problem is that I believed Apple advertising, which has turned out to be a bit disingenuous regarding memory and space. So...what is the absolute minimum number and types of files required on the internal SSD. I am aware that System files and the main Library file are required (Why are there so many Libraries?) Also why can't I delete files from Time Machine ? I'd I am able to do that, how do I do it?

Thanks,

Grace Prof

Mac mini, macOS 11.6

Posted on Dec 27, 2021 7:12 PM

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Answer 1

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Matti Haveri

Level 6

14,724 points

Dec 27, 2021 10:50 PM in response to GraceProf

The clean macOS install is about 30-50 GB.

You can store large user files (from Photos.app, Music.app. Final Cut Pro.app etc) on external disks (APFS or Mac OS Extended), if necessary.

Or, get a large bootable external SSD and store everything on it. A little clumsy to turn it on and boot it every time, though.

Whatever you do, have a good backup plan for user data files (either via TimeMachine or apps like Carbon Copy Cloner).

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Answer 2

GraceProf Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 28, 2021 7:19 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Matti Haven

Thanks for the advice. This will help a great deal because from what you say, all I need to do is move the larger files from my user file to the external disc.

Thanks again,

Grace Prof

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Mac Mini 9.1 (2020) Storage

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