Boot HD Full due to MASSIVE 'Private Folder'

Question

Level 1

9 points

Boot HD Full due to MASSIVE 'Private Folder'

Hello Forum!! Please help:

Yesterday, I had 170GB of free space on my boot drive (256 SSD). Today, I have a warning that my boot drive is out of free space. (?) The finder is showing only 1GB of free space and I had to create that space by deleting my downloads folder.
I installed DaisyDisk and it is telling me that there is a folder (Macintosh HD/private) that is 170GB!
Macintosh HD/private/var/log/kernel.log.2 - is 102 GB
Macintosh HD/Private/var/log/asl - there are loads of files in here all 25 MB in size with much the same name (2011.04.02.U0.G80.172812781.asl)

1. So - can I delete these files?
2. If yes - how to I get to them in the finder - the only way I can see them is with this program called DaisyDisk. (IE - how to do you view hidden folders)
3. How did this happen? How do I make sure this doesn't happen again?

I use Aperture and iMovie quite a bit - the 2TB HD is more than half full with all the files associated with these programs including my itunes library. The boot drive is basically just for the applications.
I suppose I could 'Time Machine' back to yesterday but it would be simpler to delete them if permissible. I am unable to install the latest OSX update due to lack of space on the boot drive...

Reboot twice has not helped the situation...

Thanks in advance

iMac 27" i7, 256 SSD, 2TB, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Apr 2, 2011 6:19 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Apr 3, 2011 12:06 PM in response to Peter CR

Peter CR wrote:
I have a warning that my boot drive is out of free space. (?) The finder is showing only 1GB of free space and I had to create that space by deleting my downloads folder.
I installed DaisyDisk and it is telling me that there is a folder (Macintosh HD/private) that is 170GB!
Macintosh HD/private/var/log/kernel.log.2 - is 102 GB
Macintosh HD/Private/var/log/asl - there are loads of files in here all 25 MB in size with much the same name (2011.04.02.U0.G80.172812781.asl)

First launch the Console utility and look for messages that might explain your problem.

1. So - can I delete these files?

You can, but because those are system files, it might be easier to use commands in a Terminal session. See below.

2. If yes - how to I get to them in the finder - the only way I can see them is with this program called DaisyDisk. (IE - how to do you view hidden folders)

Launch Terminal, then type these commands:

cd /private/var/log
sudo rm -i kernel.log.2

You'll be prompted for your administrative password. The "-i" flag on that latter command tells it to inquire whether you really want to delete the file. Triple-check that it's the right one, then press the letter "i" and the <return> key.

3. How did this happen? How do I make sure this doesn't happen again?

The Console utility might have shown you messages that explained what was going on. If you see messages that might explain things but you don't understand them, post them in a reply to this thread.

Reply

Answer 2

Apr 19, 2011 3:56 PM in response to William-Boyd-Jr

I'm having a similar issue, /var/log/asl files are growing > 5GB a day. The same kernel error msg is printed over and over: (it changes slightly over time, but still says <something>?kernel?<something>

Y?????????r?kernel?kernr??tr?????M?

Y?????????r?kernel?kernr??tr?l???M?

Y?????????r?kernel?kernr?xtr?????M?

Y?????????r?kernel?kernr??tr?`???M?

Y?????????r?kernel?kernr?ltr?????M?

Any ideas? I am running OS X 10.5.8

killing aslmanager (which takes up 99% cpu) doesn't see to stop the logging. I have no idea what is happening and have exhaustively searched the web for suggestions. Please help before I have to do an OS wipe.

Thanks in advance!

-Kevin

Reply

Answer 3

Apr 19, 2011 4:04 PM in response to Peter CR

Open System Profiler and click your drive (in the ATA section). Does it have TRIM enabled? If not then you might try enabling it, as this helps with the "garbage collection" processes the drive uses to reset unused SSD write cells so they can be reliably written to again. TRIM can be enabled on older Macs by using tools such as Trim Support Enabler

Reply

Answer 4

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Apr 19, 2011 5:07 PM in response to KevinLBrown

See the green box in OSX Log Files

Reply

Answer 5

KJK555

Level 4

2,900 points

Apr 19, 2011 5:56 PM in response to Peter CR

Oddly enough, the one file that is most likely to be causing the problem is

the one that isn't in the asl folder. Here's its path:

/private/var/log/asl.db

Delete it first, then empty the /Private/var/log/asl/ directory.

In terminal:

sudo rm /private/var/log/asl.db

Kj

Reply

Answer 6

May 6, 2011 11:57 AM in response to Peter CR

hello, i am having a similar issue. i ahve tried to look at problem logs with console but i can't figure out whats doing the damage. theres so much gibberish about kernels and question marks, different apps with different errors. its too overwhelming for me. i am using omnidisksweeper to locate the 'problem files' (ie the ever-expanding asl log files in private/var/log).

Oddly enough, the one file that is most likely to be causing the problem is

the one that isn't in the asl folder. Here's its path:

/private/var/log/asl.db

Delete it first, then empty the /Private/var/log/asl/ directory.

as you can see below i am able to go ahead and destroy asl.db and the massive asl files in the asl directory by selecting them and hitting delete. my question is can i go ahead with the destruction of these files, or will doing so cause other problems me.

any help would be appreciated. thanx.

Reply