Cant update, and storage full of system files

Hei,

I got a MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014), 121,12GB. It is currently on macOS High Sierra Versjon 10.13.6, and have not been updated for a while. Is this the latest update for this MacBook, or am I missing something? When I press the update button, it only shows 4 non-compatible updates for iMovie, Keynote, Pages and Numbers, that requiers versjon 13.2 or later.


Also storage is closing to max. 68.81 GB out of 121.12 GB is system files, so well over 50% of the storage files. Other files are apps and files. I got 5.14 GB free storage left. Is it possible to remove some of the old system files that dont need to be there, to free up some space?

MacBook Air 11″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Jan 30, 2024 11:16 AM

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Jan 30, 2024 12:40 PM in response to RArna

RArna wrote:

Hei,
I got a MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014), 121,12GB. It is currently on macOS High Sierra Versjon 10.13.6, and have not been updated for a while. Is this the latest update for this MacBook, or am I missing something?

You are. It can be upgraded up to macOS Big Sur.

Ref: macOS Big Sur is compatible with these computers - Apple Support


Is it possible to remove some of the old system files that dont need to be there, to free up some space?

Potentially, yes.

Ref:


Feb 1, 2024 7:56 PM in response to RArna

The second link I provided definitely does cover "system" files. Please re-read it again.


Regardless, system files are managed by macOS. System includes:

  • Time Machine local snapshots, but are marked as 'purgeable' and should not be removed manually. However, if you wish to do so, use the following commands in the Terminal app:
    • To get a list of current snapshots: sudo tmutil listlocalsnapshots /
    • To delete individual snapshots: tmutil deletelocalsnapshots <enter the snapshot>
  • Spotlight Indexing
  • iCloud Storage of infrequently-used files.


Try booting up your Mac in Safe Mode (to reduce the amount of "System Data" storage used,) and then, try upgrading it again.


Jan 31, 2024 10:43 AM in response to RArna

You need to clear some storage so you can install any wanted updates. Also, if the HD gets too full the Mac will stop functioning and then you have a serious problem. Purchase an external disk so you can copy files onto it and then delete them from the HD to clear needed storage space. These disks are reasonably priced and easily connected with a USB cable normally provided by the vendor. Sometimes they need to be reformatted before use. If so, only use Disk Utility to do so, not any maintenance app that comes with the disk. They always cause problems for Macs.

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Cant update, and storage full of system files

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