MacBook Pro Hardrive storage double the size it should be

Unfortunately your screen shot does not show. There is a bug in the software program and this often happens.

Here are two links that describe OTHER:

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

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5142

This link describes Time Machine Snapshots:

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

For practical purposes, you may ignore them.

If you click on the HDD icon on your desk top, COMMAND+I, how does that compare with OmniDiskSweeper?

Ciao.

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 you downloaded 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 by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. 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. Ignore any other messages that appear in the Terminal window.

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.

Download and open Grand Perspective and see if that affords any clues:

http://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net

I see the image you just downloaded. Note that this is not a fault of yours but a bug in the forum software.

Ciao

OmniDiskSweeper didn't discover anything untoward.

Did you run it as root?

Re-index Spotlight:

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

What are the results?

Ciao.

Did you start ODS from a Terminal window, as I indicated?

It's unusual, but the volume structure seems to be corrupt in a way that Disk Utility doesn't detect.

Back up all data to at least two different storage devices, if you haven't already done so. One backup is not enough to be safe. The backups can be made with Time Machine or with Disk Utility. Preferably both.

Erase and install OS X. This operation will destroy all data on the startup volume, so you had be better be sure of the backups. If you upgraded from an older version of OS X, you'll need the Apple ID and password that you used, so make a note of those before you begin.

When you restart, you'll be prompted to go through the initial setup process in Setup Assistant. That’s when you transfer the data from a backup.

Don't transfer the Guest account, if it was enabled.

After that, run Software Update.

If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it.

I´m having the same problem. I went to the apple store and did as they told me: I backed up my laptop with Time Machine and erased my hard drive, then restored my computer and the problem was resolved. However, the info has once again doubled and I´m back with the same problem again. Any suggestions?

In my experience this is related to Time Machine.

Turn off Time Machine

Reboot

Turn on Time Machine

this fixes it for me every time. I think it may have to do with how Time Machine indexes and when you shutdown/sleep the system.

After I do this I always run a Verify Disk and Repair Disk Permissions via Disk Utility.

That was not the issue, as I had not used the Time Machine. I still tried it out and did not work.

Once again, I backed up the laptop with Time Machine, erased the hard drive and restored the computer. Again, the problem was resolved. I´m just wondering for how long will it work. I also tried erasing the free space...

I wonder why is the computer doing this...