I've removed "Cleanmymac" application (which on another thread was a suggested issue) and rebooted. The rate at which storage (hard drive) availability declines, which may not be a constant, is about 8GB every 30 mins.
EtreCheckPro identified many outdated files, which though "probably legitimate" I deleted. Mysteriously, my storage availability improved by about 33GB (my drive is 256GB) after I restarted, so a big difference. Photos and System Data are still spinning/calculating but my storage availability appears to be steady. I'm happy with this "solution".
EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.2 (68031)
Report generated: 2023-11-02 18:21:07
Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com
Runtime: 3:26
Performance: Good
Problem: Storage problems
Description:
Photos and System Data keep spinning when I do a storage check.
Major Issues:
Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.
Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed that could be malicious and should be reviewed.
Minor Issues:
These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.
More than one antivirus app - This computer has multiple antivirus apps installed.
System extensions installed - This computer has system extensions installed. System extensions can be difficult to uninstall.
Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.
Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.
Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems. They should be reviewed.
System modifications - There are a large number of system modifications running in the background.
Limited permissions - More information may be available with Full Disk Access.
Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future.
Sharing enabled - This computer has sharing services enabled that could be a security risk.
Hardware Information:
Mac mini (M1, 2020)
Status: Supported
Mac mini Model: Macmini9,1
2.40 GHz Apple M1 (m1) CPU: 8-core
8 GB RAM - Not upgradeable
Video Information:
Apple M1
T22C350 1920 x 1080
Drives:
disk0 - APPLE SSD AP0256Q 251.00 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)
Internal Apple Fabric NVM Express
disk0s1 [APFS Container] 524 MB
disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 524 MB (Shared by 4 volumes)
disk1s1 - iSCPreboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (6 MB used)
disk1s2 - xART (APFS) (6 MB used)
disk1s3 - Hardware (APFS) (1 MB used)
disk1s4 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (20 KB used)
disk0s2 [APFS Container] 245.11 GB
disk3 [APFS Virtual drive] 245.11 GB (Shared by 6 volumes)
disk3s1 (APFS) [APFS Container] (9.90 GB used)
disk3s1s1 - M*********D (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (9.90 GB used)
disk3s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (5.72 GB used)
disk3s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (870 MB used)
disk3s4 - Update (APFS) (102 MB used)
disk3s5 - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (167.11 GB used)
disk3s6 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (25 KB used)
disk0s3 [APFS Container] 5.37 GB
disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 5.37 GB (Shared by 2 volumes)
disk2s1 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.56 GB used)
disk2s2 - Update (APFS) (4 MB used)
First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac. This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.
There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs. There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.
Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear. They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware. Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.
There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it. The free version is more than adequate for most users.
Unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's, school's or bank's servers, they provide false security from a privacy standpoint. Read these two articles: Public VPN's are anything but private and Former Malware Distributor Kape Technologies Now Owns a Number of Public VPNs and a Collection of VPN “Review” Websites.
That being said you should uninstall Microsoft Defender, Symantec/Norton A/V and PureVPN according to the developers instructions.
You can check to see if you've removed all of the supporting files by downloading and running the shareware app Find Any File to search for any files with the application's or the developer's name in the file name. For the mentioned software you'd do the following search(es):
1 - Name contains symantec
2 - Name contains norton
3 - Name contaihs purevpn
4 - Name contains defender (Make sure that any of the files from this search scan are not used by the other Microsoft apps. If there's any question just use the developer's instructions and then rerun Etrecheck and look for Microsoft Defender files
Any files that are found can be dragged from the search results window to the Desktop or Trash bin in the Dock for deletion.
FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages.
If you get warnings that the file can't be deleted because it is in use or used by another app boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and delete from there.
NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.
The Storage category for Photos might calculate endlessly if the "cleaning" app corrupted the Photos Library. That is known to be one of its more destructive qualities, and there is no "undo" associated with using it.
If it bothers you, it can probably be fixed by exporting all your photos to a separate, differently named Photos Library. Then, only after confirming you recovered all recoverable photos (in other words, those not corrupted or otherwise rendered unrecoverable by "CleanMyMac") you can trash the original Photos Library.
That is just one suggestion, and if you want to pursue it you should post a new question with that subject in the Photos Community. Its active participants are familiar with the damage those "cleaning" apps can inflict upon Photos, and are likely to have more detailed instructions.
"CleanMyMac" claims another victim.
Uninstalling scam "cleaning" apps does not undo the damage they are capable of inflicting on a Photos Library. Most likely, it corrupted the Photos Library to the point that is has become unusable. Restore it from a backup that you presumably created prior to the onset of corruption.
Download and run Etrecheck. Be sure to give it Full Disk access before running.
Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.
Copy the report
and use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.
Then we can evaluate the report to see if we can determine the cause of the problem.
The only result of installing non-Apple "cleaning" and / or "anti-virus" junk will be to reduce an otherwise exquisitely designed and well-functioning Mac into a steaming heap of slag. Remove anything and everything you installed in that broad category of junk, namely:
Microsoft Defender for example doesn't seem to be doing anything other than crashing a lot. There may be other contributing factors. "CleanMyMac" may have already inflicted enough damage that it may need to be erased and reconfigured, but that Mac has been modified to the point it is unreasonable to expect proper operation from it.
Apple builds Macs completely equipped with everything they need to serve as a basic productivity / creativity / entertainment / and communications device. Professional users may need to install various other products from Apple, Adobe, Microsoft and other professional software developers. But no one needs things that do nothing other than get in the way of using your Mac for the reasons you presumably purchased it to accomplish.
That's the reason I typically write "Rule 1 of Macs is don't install junk". That Mac has a lot of junk. Fix it. You have a lot of work ahead of you.
Just download and ran Malwarebytes (catchy):
Ran all the software recommended by Old Toad, and following his and John Galt's recommendations removed as much "junk" as possible. Used memory (hard drive) is now stable at around 150 GB. Also reformatted both my SanDisk 1 TB external SSDs to APFS. Both these drives now appear be transferring data at optimal speed and correctly display used data and (data on disk); that is, data is correlated. But--and this is no longer an operational problem--Photos continue to spin when General>Storage is accessed :-); however, I consider my issue resolved to (my) operational requirements. Thank you!
Please sue the Additional Text button to add the entire report.
Hi Old Toad: There's a limit on the amount of text that can be inserted (5000 letters . . . hence the abridged insertion). Though Photos and System Data are still "calculating" (spinning), my memory used -- since removal of "Cleanmymac" and running EtreCheckPro (and deleting old files recommended for attention) -- has remained stable between 142-144 GB. My Mac Mini (M1, 256 GB) now appears to be running satisfactorily. I appreciate the feedback I've received. A big thank you! It was useful and will be useful in the future.
Incidental to this issue I've been having, after off-loading several applications to my SanDisk 1 TB Extreme (in an attempt to relieve hard disk pressure), I found the SanDisk slow on data transfer and reports (Finder>Get Info) many times (> 10 times) the memory actually stored. But that's another problem :-) Beware when you see SanDisk sold at a big discount.
Thanks again,
Thank you for your input. Notwithstanding "You have a lot of work ahead of you" and the continued "calculating", my Mac *appears* to now be stable. I will, however, follow your and Old Toad's advice with respect to some clean up of redundant or unnecessary software.
On the VPN . . . I wasn't using it to mask my IP address, simply to watch some programs as if I was really there.
WantMMHelp wrote:
On the VPN . . . I wasn't using it to mask my IP address, simply to watch some programs as if I was really there.
That's OK but just so you know that public VPNs are not secure as they'd like you to think. NordVPN is reported to be one the the more private of the public VPNs.
Thanks, John. The spinning isn't bothering me right now (memory is stable). I've been using Google photos for storage. But I will follow your advice--post again on photos-specific community site--should I decide to resolve this completely. Mixing Apple and Google products (I use an inexpensive Motorola phone) does have its issues.
If you use the Additional Text feature correctly there's no reason you can get the report added in one go. See my report above.
Photos keep spinning when I check storage on my Mac Mini (M1 Sonoma 14.1); as a result, system data keeps spinning and memory availability is used up to the point of unavailability. What is the cause/problem?
