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Apps in storage at Macbook-again

Hi!


I know this has been asked before but none of the answers has helped me. My storage says that I have 159 GB of Apps and my applications folder says 12 GB...

Some indicated that it could be hidden files in Library but that totals only 3,7 GB, Documents totals 1,4 GB and System totals 31,6 GB.

Where are those excess 147 GB located and how do I get rid of them?


Macbook Pro 2020

OS Monterey 12.3.1

MacBook Pro

Posted on Aug 31, 2022 12:30 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 31, 2022 2:48 AM

Sense the user maybe running low on Empty Space thusly attempting to understand Applications report in one area of the OS and a different report from another.


The overall objective appears t create Empty Space on the drive - right ?


Restart in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts. The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.


Sometimes a Safe Boot followed by a Normal Boot will just put things right.


Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac


What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?


Free up storage space on your Mac


OmniDiskSweeper Safe to use


GrandPerspective 


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


Notation - If the user is using a cloning software like Carbon Copy Cloner - suggest tweaking the Safety Net Feature in this software. It may be making addition Snap Shots that are not being Cloned to the Eternal Drive. If this should be the case, these Snap Shot could be using additional space on the drive 


The final word from Apple on Managing the " Other/ System Data “ Category


Other / System Data: 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.


Lastly, Macbook Pro 2020 OS Monterey 12.3.1


The current stable version, as of Aug 17, 2022 , is Monterey 12.5.1 and does bring a Security Update



3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 31, 2022 2:48 AM in response to michael14

Sense the user maybe running low on Empty Space thusly attempting to understand Applications report in one area of the OS and a different report from another.


The overall objective appears t create Empty Space on the drive - right ?


Restart in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts. The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.


Sometimes a Safe Boot followed by a Normal Boot will just put things right.


Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac


What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?


Free up storage space on your Mac


OmniDiskSweeper Safe to use


GrandPerspective 


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


Notation - If the user is using a cloning software like Carbon Copy Cloner - suggest tweaking the Safety Net Feature in this software. It may be making addition Snap Shots that are not being Cloned to the Eternal Drive. If this should be the case, these Snap Shot could be using additional space on the drive 


The final word from Apple on Managing the " Other/ System Data “ Category


Other / System Data: 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.


Lastly, Macbook Pro 2020 OS Monterey 12.3.1


The current stable version, as of Aug 17, 2022 , is Monterey 12.5.1 and does bring a Security Update



Aug 31, 2022 9:18 AM in response to PRP_53

Thank you for your reply!


You are correct, the main issue is to get more space on the drive. But, it would also be nice to understand why 12 GB of applications end up taking 159 GB on the drive and I think I found it;

In Library-Application Support-MobileSync theres a 142 GB back up that explains the main difference between what's listed in "Storage" compared with the Application folder itself.


Thanks for the other tips and links, now I will try to clean up as much as possible!





Apps in storage at Macbook-again

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