system data

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Level 1

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system data

The System Data file is exceptionally large at 167.42 GB. I have a 250 GB hard drive on a MacBook Pro using an Apple M2 chip, 16 GB memory, and Sonoma 14.6.1 OS. I currently have 19.8 MB of disk space left. I used Disk Utility and no issues were reported. I used Apple's optimized storage and it dropped the System Data file down to 91 GB for a few minutes before the number went back up to the current number.

At this point, I can do little with the computer other than use it as a paper weight. Without any memory, most apps and functions have ceased to work.

Any suggestions in solving this issue?

MacBook Pro (M2, 2022)

Posted on Sep 26, 2024 12:56 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9

56,901 points

Sep 26, 2024 8:05 PM in response to shadow2350

I would not recommend a system cleanup program, the apps linked in the user tip I wrote years ago (Disk Inventory X still runs on current Macs, though you have to secondary-click on the app and select Open to launch it) are tools to tell you what is taking up the space in a more granular way. It's still up to you to clean it up, usually the method for that is dependent on the app that handles the data.

If you had OneDrive installed and you have data stored on Microsoft's OneDrive servers, those data were probably copied to your local storage. That's one of those things that is under System Data, to find the actual files you can select Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder and enter ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive.

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Answer 2

Sep 26, 2024 1:07 PM in response to shadow2350

What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how… - Apple Community

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Answer 3

shadow2350 Author

Level 1

16 points

Sep 26, 2024 5:08 PM in response to neuroanatomist

Hello Neuroanatomist,

I thank you for taking the trouble to pass on the link. I have seen on other sites recommendations for using a cleanup program. That might be the way to go. However, there is something else going on that seems odd to me.

I found recently installed in applications Microsoft OneDrive. I deleted it. Right after, the System Data amounts fluctuated greatly from 3 GB to 60 GB before finally going into permanent Calculating mode. In addition, the amount of space in Applications went from 77 GB to 99 GB. I would think the space used should drop, not increase. In Finder, it shows a download of 31 GB but progress seems stuck at zero KB. I have no idea what this download is and I assume it is coming from iCloud.

I am ignorant in troubleshooting. However, it seems like there is something that is trying to max out the storage space on the computer. I put very little on this computer. The documents I use come from iCloud. There are only a few third party productive programs installed. There should be lots of storage space on this computer.

Any thoughts?

Mike

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system data

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