Memory on Macbook Pro keeps decreasing like crazy!

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Memory on Macbook Pro keeps decreasing like crazy!

Okay, Ever since I installed OS X Mavericks onto my Macbook Pro (Early 2011, 320 gb if that helps anyone?) , I've started to notice a big decrease in my hard drive space, even when I'm not downloading anything? I've even moved a couple of movies to my external hard drive and then had them deleted from my mac and the memory decreased even more!

But the strange thing is, I turned off my macbook and then turned it back on to see if something would happen (before I turned it off, I had near 143 gb of free space). After I turned it on I checked the amount of memory to see if it had changed, and it went to 155 gb of free space. BUT-- I checked again about 15 minutes later after checking some emails and it went down to 151!

Can anyone PLEASE help me with this?!

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 30, 2013 11:14 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 30, 2013 11:19 PM in response to mishacolons

Your title says Memory, but your description refers to your HD storage space. The two are different..

" and it went to 155 gb of free space. BUT-- I checked again about 15 minutes later after checking some emails and it went down to 151!"

SMC reset

Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

Read: About Time Machine's 'local snapshots' on Mac notebooks

As for Memory / RAM

Mavericks is designed to use RAM differently for good reason. Normal

http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/06/12/compressed-memory-in-os-x-109-maverick s-aims-to-free-ram-extend-battery-life

Mavericks uses RAM much more efficiently than any other previous version of OS X. Mavericks now has a memory compression feature that will compress the memory occupied by applications that aren't being actively used and give the freed up RAM to the application that needs it the most.

Memory Pressure graph that tells you how stressed is the system in terms of memory.

Fore more information about OS X Mavericks new system management technologies visit:

http://www.apple.com/osx/advanced-technologies/

See page 5 here:

http://images.apple.com/media/us/osx/2013/docs/OSX_Mavericks_Core_Technology_Ove rview.pdf

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Answer 2

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

Nov 30, 2013 11:18 PM in response to mishacolons

Welcome to Apple Support Communities

Are you using Time Machine? If so, you should know OS X is making local snapshots on your internal hard drive > http://pondini.org/TM/30.html

Local snapshots are backups stored in the internal drive, and they are deleted when your hard drive gets full. You can check how much space they take in  > About this Mac > More Info > Storage.

You have the steps to disable them in the link above, but you do not need to do this. If you want to delete them, open System Preferences > Time Machine, and turn off and on Time Machine again.

PlotinusVeritas' reply covers RAM consume, which has nothing to do with your issue

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Dec 1, 2013 8:05 AM in response to mishacolons

When you notice the problem, launch the Activity Monitor application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Activity Monitor in the icon grid.

Select the Memory tab. What value is shown in the bottom part of the window for Swap used?

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