Apple Vision Pro is now available in the U.S.

My Operating System is using 82.9 Gigs of data. (That's about 60 Gigs too high!) HELP!!

I'm using Mojave 10.14.6.

I'm trying to upgrade to Monterey

I'm ready to roll but...

My system is (apparently) using 82.9 gigabytes of storage space-

Leaving no space for the system update!


What is world is happening- and how do I correct it?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Oct 22, 2023 8:55 AM

Reply
2 replies

Oct 22, 2023 10:30 AM in response to john lindauer

Hi!


Here to help.


Let's first find out what the 80+ GB is all about! Maybe we can delete some of it.


Open Finder.


Finder > File > New Finder Window

Go to folder "Macintosh HD"

and choose:

"Show items in a list" (> view > "as list")

Then: > View > Show view options.

> tick "calculate all sizes"


Now for the tricky part:

On the keyboard, simultaneously, press


CMD + SHIFT + . (=period)


This should show all hidden files.


Check these folders:


Finder > Go > Go to Folder > enter: ~/Library/Mail/ (then press return)


  • Do you see a Folder named "Logs"? If not: great! If so: Logs can be safely deleted.
  • How large is that folder "Mail"? You can safely delete those, AFTER you make a backup.


You can check other Folders, but I do not recommend deleting/moving anything from System Folders.

Third party applications can sometimes take up a big chunk of storage (eg, Outlook and Adobe).


If you find large Folders or files and you are not sure if you can delete those safely, let me know.


Another, more radical option is to create a backup of the Mac and then erase and reinstall ;)


Kind regards,

RRD




Oct 22, 2023 11:36 AM in response to john lindauer

Your hard drive is full. That is what is causing the problem. Once you get the hard drive good and full, the system isn't able to clean up these local snapshots, cache files, "purgeable" files and other things that get lumped into the "System" category. There are various ways that you can clean out these "system" files, but those are always temporary. If you do all of that just so you can download another 12 GB and install a new operating system, I can guarantee you'll have a bad experience. You'll be running out of space all the time.


You haven't said anything about your existing computer or hard drive size. That makes it difficult to make recommendations.


If your current hard drive is less than 500 GB, then you need a new computer. End of story.


If your current hard drive is 500 GB or larger, then you'll need to delete some files. A lot files! No, not those files! Confused yet? You can only delete files that you created, on purpose. Never attempt to delete any files in a hidden directory or a "Library" directory. Don't bother wasting time trying to delete apps. They don't take much space and you'll only cause even worse problems. Don't try using any of those "file finding" apps. Most of them are scams. A few aren't scams, but they will still allow you do find and delete the files that you shouldn't be touching.


Anyway. If you value those files, you should get an external hard drive and copy them off to archive them. Don't use your Time Machine drive. Get a new hard drive. If you don't have a Time Machine drive, then go ahead and get two hard drives - one for Time Machine and one for your archives.


Move the big documents that you probably won't need onto the archive drive. You want to archive at least 200 GB. Otherwise, you'll be right back here with the same problem in a few months. Then delete the originals from your boot drive. And then wait a couple of days for then system to clean up the mess. If you can't find that much data to archive and delete, then go back to step one and get that new computer with a bigger hard drive.


If all else fails, you can erase the hard drive and reinstall a fresh operating system. I recommend turning on all iCloud options first and then just enable iCloud after reinstallation.


And if you were still running Mojave, then your best experience is going to be a new computer regardless.

My Operating System is using 82.9 Gigs of data. (That's about 60 Gigs too high!) HELP!!

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.