Unable to update MacBook Pro due to excess Macintosh HD data

My affected device is a 2017 Macbook, this is the issue:


I haven't been able to update it for a long time so its still using Monterey (2021). I can't update it because my disk is full, specifically the Macintosh HD Data is what takes up 85% of the storage on my laptop. I've gotten a hard drive and uploaded all of my non-essential photos, videos and large files onto it. I tried to backup my laptop using Time Machine, but it said I had to erase everything on my hard drive to use it, which I'm obviously not going to do. I had plenty of storage (30 GB available) until I downloaded the Ventura MacOs, and now I need about 8 GB to download the next update. Thing is, I've decluttered seemingly everything using CleanMyMac, but theres still so much Macintosh HD Data.


How do I make enough space for the update?



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Feb 18, 2025 4:38 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 19, 2025 8:06 AM

"Macintosh HD - Data" is the drive volume that houses all of your user data. Everything. So it's no surprise that the bulk of your storage capacity is used there. This is normal and as it should be.


The erasure that Time Machine is prompting you to do is to the external drive that you want to back up to. It must be properly formatted for Time Machine's use. Time Machine prefers its own dedicated drive, so buy one to use now and in the future. Buy an external that is 2x-3x the total capacity of your Mac's startup drive. Trust me when I tell you that you will have a bad day when you'll wish you had done that.


FYI, 30 GB is not "plenty of storage". Plenty of storage is a minimum of 10%-15% of the startup drive's capacity at all times. What is the capacity of your startup drive?


I'm sure you know this, but once you have copied your photos, vids and large files to your external drive, you must delete those files from the internal drive to free up that disk space.


CleanMyMac is considered by many veteran users to be nothing more than malware itself. Many users discover CMM and similar anti-virus, cleaning, optimizing and VPN apps to be the source of problems that they experience. You'd be wise to uninstall that and don't look back. These apps are neither required nor recommended to be used on the Mac.


Since your goal here is to reclaim enough space to upgrade your computer, I'd suggest simply copying ALL of your files from the Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders onto your external drive and then deleting them from the startup disk. I'm confident that will free up a more than generous amount of drive space and let you get on with your upgrade. When that is accomplished you can copy the files from those folder back to your Mac's startup drive.

Similar questions

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 19, 2025 8:06 AM in response to Mcr777

"Macintosh HD - Data" is the drive volume that houses all of your user data. Everything. So it's no surprise that the bulk of your storage capacity is used there. This is normal and as it should be.


The erasure that Time Machine is prompting you to do is to the external drive that you want to back up to. It must be properly formatted for Time Machine's use. Time Machine prefers its own dedicated drive, so buy one to use now and in the future. Buy an external that is 2x-3x the total capacity of your Mac's startup drive. Trust me when I tell you that you will have a bad day when you'll wish you had done that.


FYI, 30 GB is not "plenty of storage". Plenty of storage is a minimum of 10%-15% of the startup drive's capacity at all times. What is the capacity of your startup drive?


I'm sure you know this, but once you have copied your photos, vids and large files to your external drive, you must delete those files from the internal drive to free up that disk space.


CleanMyMac is considered by many veteran users to be nothing more than malware itself. Many users discover CMM and similar anti-virus, cleaning, optimizing and VPN apps to be the source of problems that they experience. You'd be wise to uninstall that and don't look back. These apps are neither required nor recommended to be used on the Mac.


Since your goal here is to reclaim enough space to upgrade your computer, I'd suggest simply copying ALL of your files from the Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders onto your external drive and then deleting them from the startup disk. I'm confident that will free up a more than generous amount of drive space and let you get on with your upgrade. When that is accomplished you can copy the files from those folder back to your Mac's startup drive.

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.

Unable to update MacBook Pro due to excess Macintosh HD data

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