How can I clean out 'other' space on my mac. Its currently taking up 120GB of space.

I am running OS X 10.8.3.

And recently ive been having trouble with space on my computer.

Storage appears as follows:

33.02 GB - Audio

100 GB - Movies

17.72 GB - Photos

29.08 GB - Apps

Zero GB - Backups

120.61 GB - Other

18.79 GB free out of 319.21 GB

Ive cleaned up as much as I could and looked at other forums for suggestions.

Most said that 'other' was just program files. I cant help feeling like 120 GB is way too much for 'other'

So far I've tried deleting applications and their program files but there has not been much difference.

Where should I look to free up space?

How can I keep the space clean?

Thanks for any help.

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on May 11, 2013 3:13 PM

23 replies

M3L B33

Level 1

0 points

Mar 1, 2016 8:05 PM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

Thank you very helpful!

Jun 4, 2016 8:04 PM in response to Shadowwolf6tails

The Apps section in my computer has consumed about 150 GB. I jus have Xcode and other regular applications. And since my computer said that the startup disk is full, i had to delete to delete other stuffs like music, movies etc., But am wondering about the 'Apps' section. How could this consume around 150 GB. Is there any way to clean it up? Please suggest.

ktya

Level 1

4 points

Jun 9, 2016 9:20 PM in response to kilewis10

I have the same problem, 86GB for other out of 128GB and I don't have any device on itunes, would you have another solution for me ? 😕

Sep 21, 2016 10:45 AM in response to Shadowwolf6tails

go to google, type in "Disk Inventor X"

download that program. I went to the Apple Store for this same reason and that's what they did for me. Then I found out I had 3 copies of my photos library. and a phone backup that I thought I had deleted already, was still on there. 18 gb (which seems extreme but??) and it solved like all my problems. when I emptied my trash can (which is necessary) I only emptied 3 things. But my 180 GB of other Went down to like 40 GB

CPCjr

Level 1

4 points

Oct 11, 2016 12:35 PM in response to kilewis10

This did the trick!

Nov 2, 2016 6:59 AM in response to RickyCross

The response from Shadowwolf6tails was helpful to me. Deleting old iphone backups from itunes cleared 30 more GB in the Other category on my storage. Terrific! Thanks.

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Dec 26, 2015 1:47 PM Re: How can I clean out 'other' space on my mac. Its currently taking up 120GB of space.in response to Shadowwolf6tails

THIS IS MY CASE:

(I DID NOT USE ANY SOFTWARE)

OTHER SPACE WAS USING 94 GB

I WENT TO ITUNES AND DELETE ALL THE OLD IPHONE BACKUPS, SAME FOR IPAD BACKUPS. EMPTY THE TRASH....

APPARENTLY NOTHING HAPPENS BUT AFTER RESTART MY MAC WENT TO DISK UTILITY AND CHECK OTHER SPACE THIS WAS REDUCE TO 300 MB..

Mar 14, 2017 5:30 PM in response to kilewis10

Thank you !! I had 60 GB of iphone back up on my itunes that I didn't know. Seriously Apple needs to do something about this. Warn users about this

Dec 3, 2017 5:16 AM in response to Shadowwolf6tails

Apparently iphone backups created through iTunes are stored in “Other”. If you have backed up several phones and any of those are no longer needed, try eliminating them.

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How can I clean out 'other' space on my mac. Its currently taking up 120GB of space.