Hello there,
I've had a couple of sessions with Mac Support, but they have not helped me with sorting out my disc memory problems.
I pay for iCloud, and have a 4 TB external hard drive. Yet for some reason the Apps and System use up the best part of my hard disc, with the result that I can't upgrade to Mac OS Monterey.
If you have any suggestions as to what to do I would be grateful.
Kind regards,
Ixo
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.14
To clarify iCloud is Not Intended nor is it designed to be like an External Drive to Archive or Off load unused documents, music, photo, podcasts or videos.
It is a conduit to upload from the computer to iCloud so Other Apple Devices signed into the same Apple ID can access the some files.
Any changes made on device one can be accessed by Device Two and Device Two will see what changes were done from Device One.
Any changes made by Device Two and later seen on Device One will also see the changes made by Device Two.
Important factor - Copies of what is stored on iCloud and the correspond copy on the Internal Drive of each Device.
That is so, when an Internal Connection is not available, the work can continue to work on the file. Once an Internet Connection is Re-Established - those changes will be uploaded to iCloud.
If the issue is Internal Drive Space >>
What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?
Free up storage space on your Mac
How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac
See used and available storage space on your Mac
Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
The final word from Apple on Managing the " Other " Category
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.
To clarify iCloud is Not Intended nor is it designed to be like an External Drive to Archive or Off load unused documents, music, photo, podcasts or videos.
It is a conduit to upload from the computer to iCloud so Other Apple Devices signed into the same Apple ID can access the some files.
Any changes made on device one can be accessed by Device Two and Device Two will see what changes were done from Device One.
Any changes made by Device Two and later seen on Device One will also see the changes made by Device Two.
Important factor - Copies of what is stored on iCloud and the correspond copy on the Internal Drive of each Device.
That is so, when an Internal Connection is not available, the work can continue to work on the file. Once an Internet Connection is Re-Established - those changes will be uploaded to iCloud.
If the issue is Internal Drive Space >>
What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?
Free up storage space on your Mac
How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac
See used and available storage space on your Mac
Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
The final word from Apple on Managing the " Other " Category
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.
Dear P Phillips,
While I understand what you are saying about iCloud, it does advertise itself as a data storage facility, in the same way as Google Drive does.
Upgrade to iCloud+ – Apple Support (UK)
I am having a good housekeeping session meanwhile, and am finding out that there are apps, such as Creative Cloud, which I don't reallly understand. Perhaps it is THAT that I am paying for...
Many thanks once again for your help.
Isobel
In the Context of what was written refer to below Copy and Paste from Introduction to iCloud
iCloud is the service from Apple that securely stores your photos, files, notes, passwords, and other data in the cloud and keeps it up to date across all your devices, automatically. iCloud also makes it easy to share photos, files, notes, and more with friends and family. You can also back up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iCloud.
iCloud includes a free email account and 5 GB of free storage for your data. For more storage and additional features, you can subscribe to iCloud+.
In addition to the excellent comments above, I offer the following thoughts. You should also know that if your hard drive gets too full it will stop functioning. What you now need to do is to purchase and connect an external disk. Then you can copy files onto it, then erase them from your hard drive to clear needed space.These days external drives are easily available, cost effective, compact and easily installed with vendor provided USB cables. Most do not require any external power source. This is an easy solution for you.
Dear P Phillips,
Thanks very much for your time posting this reply. There is a lot to try here. Especially useful is what can be found in the 'other' category, and how to reduce Yes, I had not fully understood what iCloud actually did.
You have been most kind and helpful.
Warmest wishes,
Ixo
Thanks so much to both of you for your replies. I thought I would let you know what the end result was, as I can only laugh about it.
It turns out that having done the housekeeping you both suggested, I can now upgrade to Monteray. But this then means I won't be able to use CS5, in particular Dreamweaver, (with which I write a website for my grandfather, the composer Martin Shaw). There are no more upgrades for Dreamweaver CS5, only a monthly fee of £20 or so to Adobe for their whizzed up version of it people don't even like.
Oh golly! I'm happy as I am. The built-in obsolescence with these things is so quick.
I just needed to tell someone about the upshot of it all.
Kind regards
Ixo.
You are welcome and thank you too.
Do come back to the Apple Support Communities ( ASC ) in the future, if / or when additional question may arise
Thanks Ronsara!
I must be brave and move those files onto my external drive....
Ixo
I assure you that it will be an easy and safe process. Many of us do it.
Running out of memory
