"Not Enough Free Disk Space" error message, but Finder shows plenty of disk space available

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Level 1

40 points

"Not Enough Free Disk Space" error message, but Finder shows plenty of disk space available

Apologies if this is a double post, but I have been searching all over and can't seem to find this issue in the forums.

I have a 256GB Macbook with a fresh copy of Lion installed, am going through the process of migrating files back over, after which I have approximately 125GB free. However, whenever I go online and try to download any type of file (PDF, sofware install files, etc.), an error message displays saying:

Safari could not download the file “blahblahblah.dmg” because there is not enough free disk space.

Not sure how this is possible since the .dmg file is 18MB and Finder is saying there is over 125GB free. I've tried repairing disk permissions, booting off the Lion recovery disk and repairing the startup disk, all to no avail. Anyone had this issue before?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Oct 8, 2011 11:31 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 5, 2017 8:45 PM in response to Zipman55

Have you checked out the suggestions, observations, and solutions mentioned above in this thread?

In particular - when trying to save the small file, change the destination in the Save/Save As screen to the Desktop (assuming it's not set to save there already) or to the same folder you use for downloads. If it can be saved to that location, then like as not there's something amiss with the permissions settings for the original destination (probably a folder); and if this is the case, the solution is to reset the permissions for that location.

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Answer 2

Oct 8, 2011 11:39 AM in response to Sean D

Check in Safari's Preferences (in the Safari menu) to see what has been designated as the destination for downloads. If that has somehow been set to a disk image or a CD/DVD location, you'll get that 'not enough space' message.

The same may occur if the download target location is set to a non-available drive. This can happen when aliases are used and things have been copied (migrated) from another drive.

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Answer 3

meStaq

Level 1

4 points

Apr 27, 2012 9:23 AM in response to Sean D

I got the same error message (and I have 618GB free). My problem was user error. I thought that my download was complete, and I dragged it out of the Download folder to the desktop. When I retried the process in slow motion, and I noticed that it was really a completed download, then all worked as expected.

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Answer 4

Sean D Author

Level 1

40 points

Oct 8, 2011 12:00 PM in response to Don Archibald

Don Archibald wrote:

Check in Safari's Preferences (in the Safari menu) to see what has been designated as the destination for downloads. If that has somehow been set to a disk image or a CD/DVD location, you'll get that 'not enough space' message.

The same may occur if the download target location is set to a non-available drive. This can happen when aliases are used and things have been copied (migrated) from another drive.

Thanks for the suggestion. That wasn't the problem, but your suggestion did shed light on something else. I was able to perform a right-click action and Save File As... to my Documents folder. On further analysis, it appears that the "Macintosh HD", Downloads folder, and Desktop are showing the "pencil with a line through it" icon in the bottom left of the Finder window, which would suggest those areas are read-only for some reason.

My user account is the only one on the machine and it's an admin account. Any guesses as to why that might have set itself that way, or any suggestions on how to change it? I've already tried repairing permissions on the startup disk in Disk Utility.

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Answer 5

Sean D Author

Level 1

40 points

Oct 8, 2011 12:03 PM in response to Sean D

Ok, so I've figured out how to set Read and Write permissions for these folders, but I'm a little nervous about security and user accounts. For some reason I had Custom settings in the permissions, and the only users listed are 'System', 'wheel', and 'everyone'. Is there a correct way this should be set for security purposes?

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Answer 6

Zipman55

Level 1

13 points

Nov 5, 2017 4:29 PM in response to Sean D

I'm currently having the same problem. I've downloaded files that are over 50GB but can't seem to save a file that's only 4GB. Any thoughts?

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Answer 7

Oct 8, 2011 1:37 PM in response to Sean D

Since I am the only possible user of this Mac, I'm not concerned about physical security, i.e. preventing an unauthorized user from gaining access to or changing data. So, I have everything set to allow me (admin user) access to everything.

What this means is that I have not figured out the distinctions between groups of users, what the difference is between "Staff" and "Wheel" and "Everyone", etc. I'm curious, too - so with luck, someone who knows and can explain it simply will post in with that info.

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Answer 8

ZHENGGER

Level 1

0 points

Oct 14, 2012 10:25 PM in response to meStaq

Maybe you can check up the infomation of your Download folder( Get Info), see if it's privilege has been set to allow Read&Write instead of only Read.

And I solved my problem by this means.

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Answer 9

Feb 26, 2016 10:04 AM in response to Sean D

You are my hero!!

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