Hi,
there is an "Other Volumes" section on my storage that is taking up 236GB. I saw other questions about this, but couldn't really get a clear answer on what to do from them.
I need to update my computer and can't delete anything else for the space I need, completely cleaning my computer isn't an option for me.
Is there anyway to get rid of this? 200GB feels extreme
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
MacBook Air (2018 – 2020)
Part 1 of 2
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.
Part 2 of 2
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.
There is Purgeable Space and there is Empty Space.
Purgeable Space which is Controlled by the Operating System. When the Operating Systems decides the computer needs additional Empty Space, it will move a portion of the Purgeable to Empty space
AFAIK - there is no User Actions to hasten this transition from Purgeable to Empty Space
It can day or longer before this will occur
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
GrandPerspective
➡️ How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac.
Often caused if the Time Machine Drive has not been attached to the computer and TM Backup is set to run on a Schedule.
TM Backup will make Snap Shot on the Internal Drive awaiting the TM Backup Drive to be attached.
Only then will the Snaps Shots be transferred to the External Drive and deleted the Internal Drive. ⬅️
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
Part 1 of 2
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.
Part 2 of 2
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.
There is Purgeable Space and there is Empty Space.
Purgeable Space which is Controlled by the Operating System. When the Operating Systems decides the computer needs additional Empty Space, it will move a portion of the Purgeable to Empty space
AFAIK - there is no User Actions to hasten this transition from Purgeable to Empty Space
It can day or longer before this will occur
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
GrandPerspective
➡️ How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac.
Often caused if the Time Machine Drive has not been attached to the computer and TM Backup is set to run on a Schedule.
TM Backup will make Snap Shot on the Internal Drive awaiting the TM Backup Drive to be attached.
Only then will the Snaps Shots be transferred to the External Drive and deleted the Internal Drive. ⬅️
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
Do you have more than a single partition on this Mac including more than one OS? Or other APFS volumes that you may have added?
Do you have more than one macOS user account on this Mac?
Are you using any Virtual Machines to run another OS within macOS? Or do you store any of their drive images?
It really helps to know the exact model of the computer and version of macOS being used. You can get this information by clicking the Apple menu and selecting "About This Mac".
May be useful to see the full drive layout by running the following command in the Terminal app (assuming an internal drive):
diskutil list internal
Edit: You can try using OmniDiskSweeper to locate the largest files & folders on the drive. However, it won't reveal any hidden APFS snapshots if you are using macOS 10.13+. If there are APFS snapshots, then any recent files you deleted may still be stored within the APFS snapshot(s) until they are automatically deleted by the system...usually after the backups have successfully transferred to external media.
Details:
1) Open Disk Utility
2) Make sure that View->All Devices is selected
3) In the sidebar, select each of the TWO Data volumes and post a screenshot.
4) One of them is what you will want to delete, but you have to be careful.
The Data volume that is actually in use is mounted on /System/Volumes/Data
The one you want to delete is PROBABLY in /Volumes/Macintosh HD - Data (or similar).
Post these screenshots so we can confirm, and I will tell you how to recover that space.
Scorched Earth Method
This method will WIPE ALL Data and there is No DATA Recovery - Period.
>> Only works on Intel Based Apple Computer <<
To perform this action will require booting from a Bootable Installer.
The Bootable Installer can Only be performed on an Apple Computer
This will have to be performed from a Qualifying Computer to run the version of macOS to be made on the Bootable Installer.
Example : Bootable Installer of Big Sur would have to be done on a computer that Qualifies to run Big Sur.
Notation: If the computer being used to perform this action is Too New or Too Old to qualify to run the version of macOS - this computer can not be used.
Alternative is, to gain access to a Qualifying Apple Computer from a family member, friend or associate.
1 - Shutdown computer and disconnect all external drive Except the newly created Bootable Installer.
2- Restart and immediately hold the OPTION key until the Startup Manager appears and choose the USB Drive.
3 - It will present options >> Disk Utilities >> View >> View ALL attached Drives.
4 - Choose the Upper Most Drive ( not the volumes indented and list below ).
5 - The drive normally is called Apple Media or Apple SSD - that is the drive to Erase and format as APFS with the GUID Partition Map. This applies to macOS 10.14 Mojave and above.
6 - Once that is done >> backup out of Disk Utilities and choose install macOS.
7 - Follow the prompts and it may automatically reboot several time.
8 - Upon a final reboot - Setup Assist will present .
The last "Data" volume in the last (third) screenshot is the one not being used with your current installation of macOS. For some reason that volume is not mounted. That is the "Data" volume (disk1s1) you want to delete assuming you don't need the data on it. That "Data" volume (disk1s1) contains about 215GB of data.
Sorry I didn't get back sooner, but I've had some personal things to take care of and I saw the others were assisting you.
To add to what HWTech wrote: to delete the last one, control-click on it in the sidebar of Disk Utility and choose Delete APFS Volume.
It looks like you have two "Data" volumes on that drive. Please run the Terminal command I provided in my previous post so we can see the actual drive layout. The Disk Utility app does not always provide a clear picture.
Did you check to see if there are any APFS snapshots?
FYI, when you receive a used computer you should always perform a clean install of macOS so that you know that the OS is clean without any remnants or worries of what the previous owner may have done to the OS. In fact, here is what the previous owner should have done prior to selling the Mac:
What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support
Personally I would take the time to perform the clean install so that you don't have to worry about discovering something else that is wrong with the OS later on when you may have a critical deadline. If you perform a clean install, make sure to use Disk Utility to erase the whole physical SSD (Intel Macs only) as GUID partition and APFS (top option). Within Disk Utility you may need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the physical SSD appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. You do this while booted to the macOS installer either in Internet Recovery Mode using Command + Option + R, or with a bootable macOS USB installer.
Hi thank you for responding,
There are two accounts because this is a personal computer that I have to transition to a work computer for part of the time. Is it possible that deleting the other account on here will free up space?
I can see the "other user" section on the storage break down and it says that it's only consuming 5GB.
Its a MacBook Air 2013, MacOS BigSur 11.7.1
I personally have not added anything onto this computer besides the second work account. It was given to me by someone else and I don't know if they did anything.
Sorry that I can't provide better answers
Here is a picture of what my storage looks like.
I ran what you suggested in terminal and this is what came up.
About how long will a clean install take?
I'm hesitant to completely start from a blank slate but if its the only way to fix the problem I will.
I couldn't find snapshots, the only option was to view volumes or all.
I concur with the suggestion from Luis S above.
That may work and save any Radical Move I suggested earlier
Though, should this be required sometime in the future, worth keeping the instructions around where you could refer back to it.
This is fortunately easy to fix! Don't go for any drastic move. Wait a second.
I just posted that last one also because I don't know if it is important.
wow, thank you all so much.
It worked and cleared up my space on my computer, slightly embarrassing that it was such an easy fix but also relieved!
There is an "Other Volumes" section on my storage that is taking up 236GB
