SYSTEM storage space and iMovie space

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Level 1

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SYSTEM storage space and iMovie space

Really need some help here! I think there is WAY too much stuff in my SYSTEM storage. Screen prints attached. In most googled queries online, system storage examples show a lot less “system” storage being used. I’m at 108GB where I see other info online only in the 10’s, 20’s, etc.

2nd screen print... If I go to Mac HD > System > Library, there are 98 folders in there. Is this “System” the same as SYSTEM storage? If so, how the heck do I know what to clean out and delete?

3rd screen print... Please clear this up for me. My cache is cleaned, history is cleared, but there was mention in several places re iMovie files taking up the space? This then becomes my next, or contiguous, issue. To “Reduce Clutter” when I look at storage recommendations, I have all these movies sitting here, but the Apple feedback responses online about what to delete in iMovies is obnoxiously confusing at best. We’re being told to delete the “Events” - so bottom line, what if I want to go back and edit a previously-finished movie and resend the newer version; will I still have that movie to work on?

MacBook Pro 15″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jan 29, 2022 1:16 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

MartinR

Level 7

21,817 points

Jan 29, 2022 2:53 PM in response to lmerritt

Just checking (because it may make a difference in any responses) ...

You posted your question here in the High Sierra forum (macOS 10.13) ... but at the bottom of your post you indicate El Capitan (macOS 10.11).

Which version of macOS are you actually using?

To answer at least one of your questions, Mac HD > System > Library is an essential part of the system and is counted as part of the system. In general, users should not attempt to modify the System Library. Don't go deleting anything there.

And ... your iMovie files are in your Documents folder inside your user home folder (/Users/yourusername/Documents). While they take up space, it is not part of the space counted as "System."

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,555 points

Jan 29, 2022 2:07 PM in response to lmerritt

We cannot trust the Storage report as to where the usage really is, 4 suggestions, especially what “Other” is…

And apparently Apple has a new way of hiding files & more than a few find out the only way is to Backup, then Erase the Drive!?

Have you emptied the trash lately?

Terminal code to clean DocumentRevisionsfolder…

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/313102/what-will-occur-if-the-documentrevisions-v100-folder-is-deleted

macos - What will occur if the .DocumentRevisions-V100 folder is deleted? - Ask Different (stackexchange.com)

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253231342?answerId=256043117022#256043117022

System Memory OS 10.12.6 Sierra - Apple Community

Look for iOS backups…

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup

OmniDiskSweeper shows you the files on your drive, largest to smallest, and lets you quickly Trash or open them.

https://www.omnigroup.com/more/

Purging local backups

Please note that although this doesn't affect your remote backup from Time Machine, this will get rid of the redundancy (at least until the next Time Machine backup) that a local backup disk will provide. If you need such redundancy or are worried about the recovery of your data then you would be best served to let macOS determine when to purge these files.

Start Terminal from spotlight.

At the terminal type tmutil listlocalsnapshotdates.

Hit enter.

Here, you'll now see a list of all of the locally stored Time Machine backup snapshots stored on your disk.

Next you can remove the snapshots based on their date. I prefer to delete them one at at time. Once my "System" disk usage is at an acceptable level, I stop deleting but you can delete all of them if you want to reclaim all of the disk space.

Back at the terminal, type tmutil deletelocalsnapshots YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS , where will be one of the dates from your backup. This will be in the form of xxx-yy-zz-abcdef. Try to start with the oldest snapshot.

Hit enter.

Repeat for as many snapshot dates as required

http://www.thagomizer.com/blog/2018/03/27/cleaning-up-time-machine-local-snapshots.html

tmutil deletelocalsnapshots / # deletes all the snapshots

And a fifth...

Mail >Window>Connection Doctor, uncheck Log Connection Activity.

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Answer 3

MartinR

Level 7

21,817 points

Jan 29, 2022 3:11 PM in response to MartinR

Regarding iMovie, your iMovie Library contains all your iMovie Events, Projects and editing. In your case your iMovie Library is in its default location in your Documents folder (and can be seen in your screenshot).

Each Event in iMovie is associated with a movie clip (a file) that resides on disk. If you delete any of the clip files that are represented as Events in iMovie you will no longer be able to re-edit because the clips you deleted from disk are gone. So, you'll have to figure out what you want or need to keep before deleting any iMovie Events or their associated clip files on disk.

When you export a finished movie from iMovie you create a new file on disk of your completed movie. That finished movie is separate from the clip files.

Read Difference between Events and Projects for a bit more info.

There is also an iMovie forum here where you can explore and get help with iMovie.

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Answer 4

MartinR

Level 7

21,817 points

Jan 30, 2022 1:32 PM in response to lmerritt

lmerritt wrote:

To MartinR’s second reply - Again, thanks for the assistance re: iMovies. Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I have saved these files to other locations (i.e. separate external HD’s; I typically back up photos and movie to more than 1 EXT), then I can safely delete these from my Mac's Documents, right? I mean just the Quicktime movies, NOT the iMovie Library. And even if I delete these Quicktime movies, it will NOT result in reduction of my dilemma of SYSTEM storage. Bummer.

If you have copies of all the the source media files (video & audio clips & photos) on backup drives then yes you could delete the copies in your Documents folder. But first make sure about what you are deleting so you don't inadvertently delete the only copy of something.

The only issue there would be later ... to the extent that your iMovie projects were built using the source media files in /Documents, once you delete them from that location they would go offline in iMovie. Later, if you re-open an iMovie project that used those files, in iMovie you would have to reconnect (aka relocate, relink) to copies on whatever drive they are on at that point.

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Answer 5

lmerritt Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 1, 2022 3:13 AM in response to BDAqua

BDAqua - at this time, trying to address what you’ve mentioned in your first reply:

user cache deleted (Develop>Empty Caches), history cleared, used Omni Disk Sweeper to clean out more and found other Library caches files to delete (lots of junk there!).
I don’t quite understand the Terminal code to clean the DocumentsRevisions folder. While the link suggests how to delete it, when I insert this on Terminal:

sudo du -sh /.DocumentRevisions-V100, it asks for a password (i.e. a ? in a small box), so I don't know where to go from there.

There is nothing in my iOS Backups.
Again, the “tmutil...” from Terminal yielded nothing in the way of snapshots. I did a Time Machine Backup on my External HD (per your second reply), so don’t see where there is anything on my Mac (internal) that greatly affects the size of my SYSTEM storage (which did drop down from 108 to 99, which is nothing substantial).
Re your “fifth” suggestion, where does this start - Users, Library, Utilities (or what is the full path)? - I could not find it anywhere.

Sincere apologies for my zero-tech-knowledge abilities, but could use a bit more clarification. Many thanks again for your time and patience!

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Answer 6

lmerritt Author

Level 1

15 points

Jan 30, 2022 10:42 AM in response to BDAqua

Wow! I really appreciate these responses from everyone; the answers provided are a huge help re: not only precise clarifications, but also options to test, as well as what NOT to do. But do you agree that SYSTEM storage seems ridiculously high??

To BDAqua - I have and always do empty trash, I clear the cache often (hence done). I do NOT do Time Machine backups on my Mac - I use an Ext HD for this, so am not sure why any snapshots would be on the Mac?! I have also done BOTH Terminal “tmutil...”, and no list was produced from either (but I will check out the blog link your provided). I have OmniDiskSweeper, but when I've use it, even tho I’ll see the list, I’m still not sure of what can safely be deleted without shutting down or deleting something else.

To MartinR’s first reply - This Mac I currently use IS High Sierra 10.13. Not sure why the El Capitan 10.11 is showing up other than we do have a older second laptop which is the El Capitan version. Thank you very much for your clarification re: the System Library. I really appreciate knowing that!! I kind of thought these were NOT one in the same, but hope this group understands why I had to ask.

To MartinR’s second reply - Again, thanks for the assistance re: iMovies. Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I have saved these files to other locations (i.e. separate external HD’s; I typically back up photos and movie to more than 1 EXT), then I can safely delete these from my Mac's Documents, right? I mean just the Quicktime movies, NOT the iMovie Library. And even if I delete these Quicktime movies, it will NOT result in reduction of my dilemma of SYSTEM storage. Bummer.

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

245,555 points

Jan 30, 2022 10:50 AM in response to lmerritt

I do NOT do Time Machine backups on my Mac - I use an Ext HD for this, so am not sure why any snapshots would be on the Mac?!

Apple builds the backup for the external on the internal before backing it up to the external drive. :)

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Answer 8

lmerritt Author

Level 1

15 points

Feb 1, 2022 3:37 AM in response to MartinR

Hello once again, MartinR! Thank you for your response. I will check out the iMovie forum shortly. I read the link re: differences between E’s & P’s, but when I look at my iMovies Events and Projects folders separately, they don’t “sync up”. Is it possible to have Events but no Projects and/or Projects but no Events?? If I am creating a video combining both video clips as well as single photos, does this make it BOTH an Event and a Project? Do “clips” only relate to VIDEOS I’ve recorded (and NOT photos)? Sorry, my brain just exploded, I think...

I sincerely appreciate your time and patience!

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