System Data taking up a lot of my storage space

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Level 1

4 points

System Data taking up a lot of my storage space

I'm having issues when importing videos/photos from my photography events due to my storage saying that System Data is using 388 GB of my 500GB of my data. All of my photos/videos that I import I put directly onto OneDrive, so don't see why it's using up so much of my storage.

Is anyone able to help? I've tried searching the community and found a few other people having these issues, but when I've tried to follow the instructions, this hasn't helped me at all. I don't have any backups used for restoring, and have AVG TuneUp which I've run and have cleared as much as possible. My recycle bin is also empty, so I'm at a loss.

Please help

MacBook Pro (M1, 2020)

Posted on Mar 2, 2024 10:42 AM

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Answer 1

stellakebab Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 8, 2024 3:38 AM in response to stellakebab

Thank you both for your comments.

I have spoken to someone in Apple Support and they have advised on what I need to do, apparently it's because my data is still uploading to OneDrive (large video files), because this is taking so long it is using my System Data to store this data until it's moved to OneDrive.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

69,140 points

Mar 2, 2024 12:44 PM in response to stellakebab

System Data is controlled by macOS so there is not a lot you can do about lowering it. macOS storage is complicated especially with APFS volumes. Plus the information in the macOS Storage Management section can be incorrect many times since I believe it may be related to Spotlight indexing of the system. Here is another thread with some more detailed explanations & suggestions of where to look for the items that you may be able to manage & affect (be sure to look at the later responses as well):

System data taking up 115GB - Apple Community

Edit: removed unnecessary paragraph.

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Answer 3

Ronasara

Level 6

15,519 points

Mar 3, 2024 10:13 AM in response to stellakebab

It is good that you are watching how much storage you are using. The following information explains what system data includes.

The Other Category can not be altered, modified, move or deleted since it is part of the Mac’s operating system. Doing so would corrupt the OS and render the OS inoperative requiring a Wipe and Re-Installation.

The Other category is a potpourri of files which include:

• System temporary files

• macOS system folders

• Archives and disk images (.zip, .iso, etc. - often found in the Downloads folder)

• Personal user data

• Files from the user’s library (Application Support, iCloud files, screensavers, etc.)

• Cache files

• Fonts, plugins, extensions

• Other files that are not recognized by a Spotlight search

• Media files that cannot be classified by Spotlight as a media file because they are located inside of a package

They can be located anywhere on your hard drive. The files that you have control over are located in the Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music and Movies folders.

Also, if your OS becomes too full your computer will stop functioning. This may be a good time to seriously consider adding an external drive for storage. Then you can move files onto it and then delete them from your HD to clear needed space. Easy to do and problem solved.

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