Why does "Other" category constantly increase in size on iMac hard drive?

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Level 1

4 points

Why does "Other" category constantly increase in size on iMac hard drive?

Hello 🙂

I am new to Macs and bought my iMac a couple of years ago. Since that time, I have not installed any programs and have all of my photos, music, and documents on an external hard drive. Whenever I use my computer, I mainly use iTunes, Safari,and DVD player, though not all at once. I also do not use the Mail app and currently have Time Machine turned off. So, for the most part, I try to keep my usage minimal and maintain it properly (i.e., installing new updates, emptying the trash, not using any anti-virus programs, etc.).

As of today, I have 485.77 GB free out of 499.25 GB on my hard drive. It might seem silly to even bring up this topic, since space is not really something I have to worry about at this time; however, I do get concerned about the constant increase of the "Other" space. As I have already mentioned, I do not have any other apps/programs installed aside from the ones that originally came with the computer, and all other categories do not change in size.

This is my first time submitting a question, and I have tried my best to search the help community for answers. Although I have come across many discussions closely related to this topic and have tried to read different websites--such as http://pondini.org/OSX/DiskSpace.html--I still feel frustrated that I still don't know what's going on. 😕 Could anyone explain why this is happening with the "Other" category? Is there a way to prevent it?

I know little about computers and even less about Macs, so I would appreciate any help. 🙂 Also, I have copied down some information that might be helpful to know. Please let me know if there's anything else I can provide. Thank you!

Mac OS X

Version 10.7.5

Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Core 15

Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Storage:

Audio 4.3 MB

Movies 42.3 MB

Photos 133.7 MB

Apps 2.57 GB

Backups Zero KB

Other 10.72 GB (this constantly increases)

PS. If I added more memory, would it help my situation?

Posted on Jul 10, 2014 6:04 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 10, 2014 8:23 PM in response to grayneko

Do you have Time Machine setup but don't always have the drive attached?

About Time Machine local snapshots

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Answer 2

grayneko Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 10, 2014 9:29 PM in response to dianeoforegon

dianeoforegon,

Actually, I have never used Time Machine before. I know it must be bad to do that, though…So, I'm pretty sure it's not related to that.

Does this same thing happen to your computer, too?

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Answer 3

Jul 10, 2014 10:29 PM in response to grayneko

Time Machine is a very good thing. Local backups is just not understood and confuses some users.

Download OmniDiskSweeper (free). It will help show you where all the large files are on your drive.

http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnidisksweeper/

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Answer 4

grayneko Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 11, 2014 1:21 PM in response to dianeoforegon

I agree about Time Machine and how it is confusing to use.

I downloaded and installed OmniDiskSweeper, but to be honest, I don't quite understand any of it. I see that it shows files and their sizes, except I don't know what each file is (it doesn't seem to be clear to me what each one is for). I don't want to touch anything either and mess up the computer. Maybe because I'm not used to Macs, things seem a bit more complicated...

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Answer 5

Jul 11, 2014 1:57 PM in response to grayneko

You can post a screen shot of the OmniSweeper results. We can start there. However, with the free space you have on your drive, I wouldn't worry about "other" storage.

Command-Shift-3 takes the entire screen

Command-Shift-4 takes a portion of the screen. <--use this one

Click on the camera icon in the toolbar of the reply window to post. Select image to upload.

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Answer 6

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jul 11, 2014 2:03 PM in response to grayneko

In the storage readout there are 6 categories, the first 5 (audio, movies, photos etc) are self explanatory. The last category (other) contains everything that is not in the first 5. This includes (but is not limited to) Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Documents and other data files, OSX, and so on and so on.

Be very careful what you delete.

Frankly you should ignore it.

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Answer 7

grayneko Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 11, 2014 8:49 PM in response to dianeoforegon

Thank you for the directions. I hope I captured the correct information. I wasn't sure which one to further select.

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Answer 8

grayneko Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 11, 2014 8:54 PM in response to Csound1

Csound1,

I agree. That's why I haven't deleted anything other than Safari cache from time to time. After doing so, I do see the space change again but it doesn't make a difference overall.

Do you know why Other increases every day? As I have mentioned, I only use Safari and iTunes whenever I use my computer. Maybe this is too far ahead to determine, but what should I do if it gets too big? I've read in other discussions that there are some that have grown so large that people need to reboot their computers, though I know it also depends on how each person uses it.

Do you think installing larger memory will help?

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Answer 9

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jul 12, 2014 1:57 AM in response to grayneko

Every save has to go somewhere, so some space is used every day.

What will help is if you stop obsessing, you have no problem. Don't create one for yourself.

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Answer 10

Jul 12, 2014 9:46 AM in response to grayneko

Click on Users. Does it pop to the top and show a different size? If yes, then do the same for Applications, Library. System.

Users is normally at the top as largest. Click on each and drill down to see where the large files are in each folder.

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Answer 11

grayneko Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 12, 2014 11:08 AM in response to Csound1

First of all, I'm not obsessing, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't assume I was. Yes, I understand my computer doesn't have a problem, but I've been wondering about this, since I'm very new to Macs. All I wanted to do was to ask about this in the Apple discussions and not be met with comments like yours. You may be more experienced and knowledgable, but not everyone is.

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Answer 12

grayneko Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 12, 2014 11:22 AM in response to dianeoforegon

It seems like the folders with the largest files are private (with var at 4.9 GB), System (with Library at 3.1 GB), and Library (with Application Support at 1.1 GB). As for my Users folder, it seems like the largest file within that is very close that that size, so I think that one's okay (?).

Whether I end up understanding all of this better or not, I just want to say thank you for helping to answer my question. It might be obvious to some people, but it helps to read simple instructions like yours for people like me. So, again, thank you for your time.

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Answer 13

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jul 12, 2014 11:27 AM in response to grayneko

Do not delete anything from /var, /system or /library. Only delete from the user (you) folder.

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Answer 14

Jul 12, 2014 12:10 PM in response to grayneko

The best advice I can give a new user that is not familiar with the Mac is do nothing. The Mac will pretty much take care of itself. You don't need cleaners or virus protection.

Backup is key. As long as you have backup, if you make a mistake you can always restore from your backup. Just like a seat belt and an air bag protect you in different ways when driving, you need both Time Machine and a clone for full protection.

Try to learn the basics. You can learn a lot from reading about other user's issues here on Apple Discussions.

If in doubt, ask first. We're here to help you. Some actions are hard to undo.

As Csound1 mentioned don't delete anything from /var, /system or /library. BTW, var is for invisible files. They are invisible for a reason. System and Library contain the files that run your computer. No need to muck around in here to save a few kb of space.

Macintosh HD Root folders

Applications

Library

System

Users <---your user's folder is located here. It's OK to delete your files.

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Answer 15

BobHarris

Level 9

53,147 points

Jul 12, 2014 2:49 PM in response to grayneko

You have so little space being used on your boot disk, that ANY change in the file system usage is amplified, and would be noise if you were actually putting stuff on your boot disk.

If you shutdown your Mac, the /privar/var/vm/swapfile files will be deleted, on the next boot and then grow an initial 64MB file, and add more swapfiles as you run more concurrent programs all needing RAM that you do not have, or when you run any memory hungry app that wants more memory than you have RAM to satisfy (photo and video editing apps are notorious for wanting lots of memory).

The operating system will also build caches to improve its performance. These caches will eventually cap out and stop growing, but some of them can also be cleared by doing things like booting into "Safe Mode" or running a cache clearing utility.

The operating system maintains logs (and some 3rd party utilities as well). The logs get purged over time, but if there is a period of time when a lot of information got logged, it will increase the log file consumption until that set of logs ages out and gets purged. For example, an app could go bonkers and generate a lot of events, such as not being able to access some network resource, or an app tries to access a library that is not installed, and is so poorly written that it keeps trying (I've seen it happen). If this was a laptop and it was taken outside the home, I might speculate something in the internet was probing the Mac and these probe events would be logged, but as you have an iMac, and it is most likely behind a router, that is unlikely to happen.

Apps that crash, will generate crash logs.

Some apps keep information in Library -> Applications Support.

Many of these things reach a cap and it would be so small compared to a system that was using the boot disk for their storage, that they would not really notice this. But you are using so little of your boot disk, and anything the operating system does is amplified.

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