I have a mid 2015 MacBook Pro and it has a 256 HD. I am trying to free up some space. System Data is 40G. I downloaded Onyx and did the usual maintenance and it only freed up 2G.
I did manage to get it down to 26G Then I deleted an EZdrummer folder which was 15G and after deleting it, it raised the system Data back to 39G. Is there a way to lower system data back down to 10-15Gs?
MacBook Pro Retina
Deleting is one thing but was the Trash Taken Out too - had to ask.
There is Purgeable Space and Empty Space.
The two are not the same.
Purgeable space is managed by the Operating System.
When It deems additional Space is Required, the OS will release some of the space back to the Empty Space Category
The Purgeable Space can take s few days before it will become Empty Space
Manage Storage
It is generally a good computer practice to alway keep at least 15% to 20% of the Total Drive Capacity’s as Empty Space. Allowing the computer to drop below these guidelines may eventually, cause unintended consequences.
The links below will assist in identifying what is taking up space on the Internal Drive and provide possible ways to remove data that is under the direct control of the User ( Home Folder ) .
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
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 additional 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.
Deleting is one thing but was the Trash Taken Out too - had to ask.
There is Purgeable Space and Empty Space.
The two are not the same.
Purgeable space is managed by the Operating System.
When It deems additional Space is Required, the OS will release some of the space back to the Empty Space Category
The Purgeable Space can take s few days before it will become Empty Space
Manage Storage
It is generally a good computer practice to alway keep at least 15% to 20% of the Total Drive Capacity’s as Empty Space. Allowing the computer to drop below these guidelines may eventually, cause unintended consequences.
The links below will assist in identifying what is taking up space on the Internal Drive and provide possible ways to remove data that is under the direct control of the User ( Home Folder ) .
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
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 additional 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.
Anything that does not fall into the Categories that Spotlight will not classify.
It will also include the accumulated affect of the Updates and or UpGrades this computer has experience in the lifespan of this computer.
In this specific case a computer of 2015 may have started with OS X 10.12 Sierra, upGraded to macOS 10.13 High Sierra, to Mojave 10.14, to Catalina 10.15, to Big Sur 11 and now Monterey 12
Additionally, specific to Big Sur macOS 11 and above.
The Operating System resides in a Sealed and Read Only Volume that can not be opened by the User - period.
Thank you for the detailed response. I did empty the trash. I did move a lot of files that i'm not using to an external drive. I currently have 165G of available space out of 250G and 38G of that is system data. So I'm not in need of space at the moment. It would still be nice to figure out the system data part of it.
As of last year I went from Sierra to Catalina to Monterey. After the Monterey update, the system data was at 12G. It just kept rising from there.
Think that has been covered
Not really understanding last response. Just letting you know how I updated the MacBook and how the system data has risen since Monterey. I do appreciate your time and input.
Have asked a Senior Contributor @Old Toad to join this question and specifically regarding the Contents of System Data
Thanks again
Question about large system data files
