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MacBookAir Disk Full - but my files aren't that big...

I have the 128MB MacBookAir which i recently bought whilst in the US, it is the most recent hardware and came with Lion installed originally. Now, some 2 months on I find the hard drive is full, however my documents etc aren't that big:



Audio 14.5 GB

Movies 10 GB

Photos 3.5 GB

Apps 6 GB

Other 85 GB


Clearly this "Other" is the problem. Looking through Finder at "All my Files" I have around 30 documents etc ranging between 40KB to a max of 6MB, so I really don't know what this "Other" consists of. I can't find it to delete it, but it is getting in the way of my MacBookAir functionning properly; I have insufficient room to download updates.


Can anyone help?

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Nov 7, 2011 12:44 PM

Reply
12 replies

Nov 12, 2011 2:47 AM in response to NickMcC21

Thanks for the link, however I haven't managed to find a solution by going through all these means!


I think I have narrowed the problem down a bit, it's my own user folder which appears to be huge and therefore causing the problem. The conundrum is that the overall size seems to be more than double the size of the constituent parts:


Nick Folder: 99.82GB

Made up of Desktop: 8KB

Documents 50MB

Downloads 50 MB

Movies 918 KB

Music 26GB

Pictures 5GB

Public 8KB

So all in all this accounts for say 32GB of the 99.82GB which the system tells me is the size....does anyone have any idea what the other 67GB is, where it is hiding and how i can get rid of it?


Thanks for any help!

Nov 12, 2011 3:34 AM in response to NickMcC21

Hi, I have had the same problem, al of sudden 40 GB were occupied - but totaly senseless.


Go and download Mac Keeper from Zeobit. Your can find that here: http://mackeeper.zeobit.com/ . You can try this application for free during 15 days. It analizes the structure of your HDD, shows you exactly how your memory is used and will help you to arrange and repair your HDD.

Once this is done, use s the HDD Servicetool, provided with your OS Lion. Analyze your disk and have it repaired. Certainly your issue can be arranged like this easily.


Good luck!

Nov 12, 2011 6:50 AM in response to NickMcC21

NickMcC21 wrote:

. . .

I think I have narrowed the problem down a bit, it's my own user folder which appears to be huge and therefore causing the problem. The conundrum is that the overall size seems to be more than double the size of the constituent parts:

Two possibilities:


  • A problem with the system directory. Try Verifying your internal HD, per #6 in Using Disk Utility. (I've added that to the new version of Where did my Disk Space go?)
  • Something in your home folder that's hidden, and that you're not authorized to see. The free TinkerTool app will show hidden files; the $13 version of the Whatsizeapp has a feature that will allow you to see everything at once (the "As Admin/As User" icon in the toolbar).


Nov 15, 2011 2:34 AM in response to Loscollies

If you value your system please do not install MacKeeper under any circumstances. It has caused untold system

havoc for many people and there are no kind words to be found for the developer or their sleazy marketing tactics. It would be my strong suggestion that anyone who has installed MacKeeper remove it ASAP.

How to uninstall MacKeeper « Phil Stokes

Jun 16, 2014 2:37 AM in response to NickMcC21

i had the same problem with my 128GB hard disk MacBook Air too. I used Finder to identify that it's my Users folder that contained invisible folders or files excessive in sizes. They accounted for some 80GB of the hard disk while the sizes of files in viewable folders totaled less than 6GB (including music and photo files). The culprit folders and files must have been hidden within the Users folder, I concluded.


I downloaded TinkerTool successfully - be sure to download the corrrect version to match your Mac OS X version - and in thet General tab, I selected "Show hidden and system files", then I selected "Relaunch Finder" and using the relaunched Finder I was able to see a hugh hidden folder named "Library" within my Users folder. Probing further, I discovered hugh back up files in a "Back Up" folder within an "Application Support" folder inside the "Library" folder. The back up files numbered in the ten thousands, had cryptic file names, but were viewable by opening them with Textedit. I decided I don't need them and trashed the "Back Up" folder files to recover 70+GB.


I read from TinkerTool FAQ that the Mac OS X originated from NeXT so many of the advanced file management features have been "deactivated" for the general user migrating up to OS X from the previous Mac OS. The simplicity, cleaniness, and user friendliness have been retained. It thus takes the use of tools like TinkerTool to accomplish additional tasks at times.


Thanks all for the TinkerTool tips above! Just to share my own success story.

MacBookAir Disk Full - but my files aren't that big...

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