JemNic
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Mac memory full, cannot delete files as keeps crashing! HELP

Hi

I was downloading and transferring files today, and a message popped up saying memory was full. I tried to delete files or transfer them to my hard drivehowever computer   keeps showing the beachball and keeps shutting down the Finder window! Please help! I don't know what to do!

MacBook Pro, iOS 7.1.2

Posted on Jul 27, 2014 6:12 PM

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JemNic

Q: Mac memory full, cannot delete files as keeps crashing! HELP

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jul 27, 2014 6:16 PM in response to JemNic
    Level 10 (271,850 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 27, 2014 6:16 PM in response to JemNic

    You've corrupted your computer's disk drive so that it no longer starts up the computer. The only recourse you now have is to erase the drive and reinstall OS X.

     

    It may be possible to recover files from the drive if it is still accessible. You will need another Mac computer. Both need to have Firewire and/or Thunderbolt ports. Then you can use Target Disk Mode to recover your data and transfer it to another drive.

     

    It would be useful to know what version of OS X is installed as well as the exact model that you have.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 27, 2014 6:32 PM in response to JemNic
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Jul 27, 2014 6:32 PM in response to JemNic

    Did the alert say there was "no more space for application memory?" What backups do you have?

  • by Rick Blythin,

    Rick Blythin Rick Blythin Jul 27, 2014 9:14 PM in response to JemNic
    Level 4 (1,070 points)
    Jul 27, 2014 9:14 PM in response to JemNic

    How much RAM does the system have ?. After boot up, in activity monitor, how much is listed is free ?. How large are the files you're trying to transfer ?.

     

    I would load up activity monitor, then copy one or two files to see how much is being used. It sounds like all available memory is being used, causing a swap to disk (i.e beach ball) and finder to crash.