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Huge Library (60GB)!!!

Hi everyone,


Lately I noticed that there was a big difference between the available space on my hard drive and the amount of space used by my apps, docs, home folder etc. So I discovered that my library was taking up to 60 GB of space!! There are big audio files from previous apps that I removed from my Macbook pro a long time a go (Logic for example) but I don't realy know how to safely remove all the useless files and folders without making a mess of mac os...

I use a macbook pro 15" mid 2012 with mountain lion 10.8.4. Appart from that, the laptop works pretty well, I just want to free some space.


Thank you all


Benoit Manil

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Aug 17, 2013 1:40 AM

Reply
5 replies

Aug 17, 2013 1:50 AM in response to manilben

Your root Library or your user Library? Your root Library will be, usually, about 3x the size as your user Library (my root Library folder, for example, is 35.23GB whereas my user Library is 11.44GB).


I tend not to mess around with either my root or user Library folders, so I'm not sure how to tell you how to go about trimming files therein. You might want to use something such as OmniDiskSweeper to see if there are any large (and unnecessary) files enclosed in those folders.


Clinton

Aug 17, 2013 7:53 AM in response to manilben

You shouldn't use anything for what I call "periodic maintenance," running utilities to prevent problems that aren't ocurring.

Some third-party tools have useful routines to fix specific problems, but a shotgun approach, running all the tools in its arsenal, is never advisable.


OmniDiskSweeper just displays where all your storage is located in a graphical format.


My System/Library is only 6GB. Nothing should be growing in that folder. Nothing should be added to that folder by any programs.

Aug 17, 2013 8:52 AM in response to manilben

"Maintenance" should only be done if your system is experiencing slowdowns, and does not need to be done on any regular schedule. The use of third-party utilities is fine, provided they are vetted to work with your version of OS X (some are, and some arent--Onyx is one of the more reputable ones though). Apple cannot guarantee their compatibility, so from their perspective you'll have to use these tools at your own risk, etc.


As for the large library, sometimes programs you install will keep massive databases of support files in folders like the "Application Support" directory, or at other times massive log files might be generated in the "Logs" directory.


Another option besides OmniDiskSweeper, is to use a graphical representation of file sizes in your specific folder, which can be done using a tool like GrandPerspective (displays relative file sized in a square grid), or DaisyDisk.

Aug 17, 2013 9:36 AM in response to manilben

Having read your posts again, let's clear something up.

There are three Library directoryies.

The System Library is in /System/Library -- nothing should be adding to that directory

The "All User" Library is at the root of the hard drive /Library -- this is normally used for Library items that all users need access to.

The user Library is in your home folder, and is hidden in Mountain Lion -- user support files.


Which one is growing?

Huge Library (60GB)!!!

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