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Hard driving showing full, but only half the space is used

iMac mid 2011 with 1 TB internal drive


It is being reported I only have 70gb of space left. From looking at my files, I know I have used about 465gb, I scanned my computer using Omni Disksweep and I could not find anything that appears to be bloating the number to almost double my use. My timemachine backups were to an external drive, so I don;t think that could be the issue. How can I determine what is using the other 400+ GB of space?

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), Other OS

Posted on Mar 28, 2014 3:53 AM

Reply
7 replies

Mar 28, 2014 5:21 AM in response to Brett456

About “Other”:


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6047


Try these tips.


1. Start up in Safe Mode.


http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11212



2. Empty Trash.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10677




3. Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.


Hold the option key down and click "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.


Select "Library" from the dropdown.


Library > Mail > V2 > Mailboxes

Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.

Empty Trash. Restart.



4. Repair Disk


Steps 1 through 7


http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836



5. Disk space / Time Machine ?/ Local Snapshots

Local backups


http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4878



6. Delete old iOS Devices Backup.


iTunes > Preferences > Devices

Highlight the old Backups , press “Delete Backup” and then “OK”.


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US



7. Re-index Macintosh HD


System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy


http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2409

Mar 28, 2014 6:35 AM in response to Brett456

Some great tips here.


http://pondini.org/OSX/DiskSpace.html


Also, OmniDisk won't be able to scan any other users besides the one you're logged into, but there is a way.


Get free OmniDisk Sweeper (needs minimum 10.8) and run as root. Open Terminal and copy/paste and hit return. Give your admin pword when requested, which won't appear as you type it in. Hit return again. But be very careful what you delete, since you will have unfettered access to all the critical system files.



sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper

Mar 28, 2014 6:35 AM in response to Brett456

ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.


Back up all data now.


If you have more than one user account, make sure you're logged in as an administrator. The administrator account is the one that was created automatically when you first set up the computer.

Install the app in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.


Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:

sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper

Launch the built-in Terminal 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 Terminal in the icon grid.


Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.


The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.


I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.


When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

Hard driving showing full, but only half the space is used

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