Removed data is not reflected in Storage in MacBook Pro

i was editing video on final cut pro when suddenly it showed low storage message, so i went to settings and went on to delete 88gb worh of my music library but when i deleted it the storage didn’t free'd up. now the system data holds 121.52 gb. Searched all of the internet couldn't find any solution to this problem. Anything would help thanks!! laptop Macbook pro 13 inch late 2020 two thunderbolt ports running latest mac os


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 15.1

Posted on Feb 3, 2025 8:48 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 5, 2025 8:04 PM

The files you deleted are likely still contained within the hidden APFS snapshot used by whatever backup software you use. These APFS snapshots will be deleted automatically at some point depending on the configuration of the backup software and what backup software is being used.


With Time Machine, those backup APFS snapshots are usually deleted once a day.

View APFS snapshots in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support



Make sure to always maintain at least 20GB+ of Free storage space at all times (just for very basic macOS usage). Since you are editing videos, you will need to always have much more Free space at all times.....probably 300GB-500GB minimum (may need more) depending on the type of video content you are using. Ignore the Available storage value since it is very misleading....it is unfortunately the Available space is the value macOS displays everywhere. The Free space value is only shown in Disk Utility and the System Profiler.


I hope you have good backups. When an APFS completely runs out of Free space it may become impossible to delete anything in order to free up storage space. If that happens you will need to start over by erasing the disk, reinstalling macOS & restoring from a backup.

Similar questions

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 5, 2025 8:04 PM in response to skyleader278

The files you deleted are likely still contained within the hidden APFS snapshot used by whatever backup software you use. These APFS snapshots will be deleted automatically at some point depending on the configuration of the backup software and what backup software is being used.


With Time Machine, those backup APFS snapshots are usually deleted once a day.

View APFS snapshots in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support



Make sure to always maintain at least 20GB+ of Free storage space at all times (just for very basic macOS usage). Since you are editing videos, you will need to always have much more Free space at all times.....probably 300GB-500GB minimum (may need more) depending on the type of video content you are using. Ignore the Available storage value since it is very misleading....it is unfortunately the Available space is the value macOS displays everywhere. The Free space value is only shown in Disk Utility and the System Profiler.


I hope you have good backups. When an APFS completely runs out of Free space it may become impossible to delete anything in order to free up storage space. If that happens you will need to start over by erasing the disk, reinstalling macOS & restoring from a backup.

Mar 1, 2025 5:28 PM in response to HWTech

So what i did is i installed a free version of a daisy disk then i did a quick scan which told me that the 80gb was holding in one drive folder (similar to a apfs snapshot) i then noticed the path and went on to the specific folder, enabled to show hidden files and there it was in folders of folders a stubborn one drive backup which had all the music library I deleted it and boom! The space got free. Thanks bro for your guidance cheers!

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Removed data is not reflected in Storage in MacBook Pro

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