Phantom uninstalled program?

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Phantom uninstalled program?

So, here's my dilemma. I have a 128 GB SSD MacBook Pro 13" retina display. As of Monday, I had 37 GB free space. Most of my memory is taken up by photos and music. I got a wild hair and tried to install a program - namely WoW - and immediately regretted it. That program normally takes up 25 GB of hard drive space; I uninstalled it halfway through the 16-hour installation process.

After performing the uninstall, I went and did a drag-and-trash for all of the Battle.net and WoW files and applications I could find. Just out of curiosity, I tried to check my memory using Disk Utility, and it says I now have 12 GB of memory. I've tried everything I can think of besides a system restore - verify disk, restart, shut down, restart into safe mode, repair disk permissions, disk doctor, daisy disk. Nothing. Daisy Disk reports I have only 85 GB of "Stuff", but only 12.6 GB free. So where'd the rest go?

How do I get my missing memory back? Is this just a problem with how my memory is being reported? Please help!

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012), iOS 7.1.2

Posted on Sep 10, 2014 6:25 PM

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Answer 1

CMCSK

Level 6

11,452 points

Sep 10, 2014 6:50 PM in response to cdtew

After performing the uninstall, I went and did a drag-and-trash for all of the Battle.net and WoW files and applications I could find.

Did you also empty the trash?

Disconnect all peripherals from your computer and run recovery - OS X: About OS X Recovery. When you see the Mac OS X Utilities" window, select Disk Utility & run the repair disk setting. Restart when done and repair permissions after you reach the desktop-http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2963 and restart your computer. If you are still lacking space try one of the space checker utilities....

Where did my Disk Space go?

Slimming your hard drive

Seven ways to free up drive space

OmniDiskSweeperis a free utility that checks HD space.

FreeSpace

SpaceControlis a free utility that checks HD space.

Disk Inventory X

WhatSize

SpaceControl

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Answer 2

cdtew Author

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Sep 10, 2014 7:31 PM in response to CMCSK

So, yes, I had emptied the trash before posting here.

I tried your OX Recovery - repair disk - restart - repair permissions - restart method, and that didn't work. Now it says I have less GB of HD space than before.

As for the other suggestions, I've tried Daisy Disk, WhatSize, and Disk Doctor - they all show that my HD is actually full of 85 or so GB of "stuff", but only show me as having 12.4 GB of free space. So the remaining 25 is still just...gone.

Any other suggestions?

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Answer 3

CMCSK

Level 6

11,452 points

Sep 10, 2014 7:49 PM in response to cdtew

Did you try the suggestions mentioned in the Where did my Disk Space go?, Slimming your hard drive& the

Seven ways to free up drive spacelinks?

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Answer 4

Sep 10, 2014 7:57 PM in response to cdtew

Seems like you are looking at memory, not storage. What OS are you running? You say you have iOS 7.1.2, but that's not for mac. Go to the  in the top-left of the screen, then go to About this Mac. Click on more info and look under the storage tab.

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Answer 5

cdtew Author

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Sep 10, 2014 8:01 PM in response to AppleMan001

I'm not precisely sure what you mean by looking at memory versus storage, but what I'm talking about is the amount of GB shown as being "free space" on my hard drive. Normally it's at ~ 37 GB, now it's at 12.

Sorry, it must have autofilled for my iOS version. I'm running OS X 10.9.4 on my MacBook.

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Answer 6

cdtew Author

Level 1

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Sep 10, 2014 8:03 PM in response to CMCSK

CMCSK, I did do all of the relevant-seeming tasks on those links, but to no avail. It appears that the vast majority of tasks on those lists, however, are garden-variety "declutter your hard drive" tasks. This is not that. This is about a 25 GB program that was not fully downloaded, that was uninstalled, and that has left a 25 GB-sized hole in my hard drive. I declined to do tasks such as deleting my Mail Downloads or rotating my logs, which are unrelated to the issue at hand.

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