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I have deleted bunches of photos and videos from my Macbook Pro. It says (About This Mac>Storage) that I have 22 GB free. I'm trying to install Monterey and it keeps saying I do not have enough room. Help please!

My Macbook Pro has 22 GB of storage available out of 121 GB. But Monterey says it needs 12 GB yet it won't install. How can I get it to install? Thanks!

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 5, 2022 1:28 PM

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Posted on Jun 6, 2022 4:37 AM

You can delete all your photos, and still have 30 days to un-delete them before they are permanently gone.


Manage your iCloud storage - Apple Support


It comes down to personal choice, but with that many photos I advocate a backup solution that does not depend on a subscription service:


  • Move some of your files to external storage, such as iCloud Drive* or an external drive connected to your Mac.


Do I just need a new laptop?


No, but that's another personal choice only you can make. Apple offers Macs with different storage capacities so that you can decide what's best for you. If all you need to do is communicate with email and messaging and to use Safari, that sort of thing, then you don't need a lot of storage.


On the other hand, if you intend to use a Mac to store a lot of photos and videos as you have been doing, then you will want more than the minimum amount of storage.


Nobody ever regrets buying a Mac with too much storage, or too much memory.

8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 6, 2022 4:37 AM in response to sst3lla

You can delete all your photos, and still have 30 days to un-delete them before they are permanently gone.


Manage your iCloud storage - Apple Support


It comes down to personal choice, but with that many photos I advocate a backup solution that does not depend on a subscription service:


  • Move some of your files to external storage, such as iCloud Drive* or an external drive connected to your Mac.


Do I just need a new laptop?


No, but that's another personal choice only you can make. Apple offers Macs with different storage capacities so that you can decide what's best for you. If all you need to do is communicate with email and messaging and to use Safari, that sort of thing, then you don't need a lot of storage.


On the other hand, if you intend to use a Mac to store a lot of photos and videos as you have been doing, then you will want more than the minimum amount of storage.


Nobody ever regrets buying a Mac with too much storage, or too much memory.

Jun 5, 2022 7:40 PM in response to sst3lla

You have an exceptionally small hard drive and will need to get used to not "parking" a lot of anything on it - you also need to remember that the OS needs space to function properly - a very minimum of 10 - 15 GB should be empty at all times for the OS to function trouble free. If it fills up completely, it will stop functioning. Here are Monterey's reuirements


How to upgrade to macOS Monterey - Apple Support


I suggest you keep most of your files on an external drive.

Jun 5, 2022 8:03 PM in response to John Galt

My laptop is running Catalina. I have (pay for) 2TB of iCloud storage and I get a msg saying that things are being stored in the cloud. There’s still a load of photos on my laptop (like 7 GB worth). But if I try to delete any, I get a msg saying it will delete from all devices AND from iCloud as well. I’m so confused!

And even if I get rid of the 7 GB of photos, I will only have about 28GB of available space. Do I just need a new laptop?

Jun 5, 2022 8:54 PM in response to sst3lla

121GB of storage space (it is not memory) is considered minimal nowadays. And, icloud is not a backup for Mac, it is considered more of a syncing process so you can have access to your files from all your devices. That means that if you delete something from one device, it will be deleted from all of them. So, an external drive to hold all your photos, movies, or other files will keep your stuff safe.


Also, if you will only have 28 GB free, you must have other stuff on that laptop that you could move to an external drive.

I have deleted bunches of photos and videos from my Macbook Pro. It says (About This Mac>Storage) that I have 22 GB free. I'm trying to install Monterey and it keeps saying I do not have enough room. Help please!

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