IMAC hard drive available capacity incorrect

Question

Level 1

14 points

IMAC hard drive available capacity incorrect

I have a mid 2011 imac 27"- I moved files to OWC backup drive. Trash is empty- says i have 72 gb available. If i go to hard drive it says I have 72 gb avail, the "users" says 72 gb available. But if I open "USERS" and check the 8 items and add them - it is a total of 368gb....so i should have over 600 gb available?

How do i make it recalculate this. seems to be counting the external drive contents against the imac hard drive total.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), iOS 8.1.2, OWC external 500GB usb drive

Posted on Jan 3, 2015 9:12 AM

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Answer 1

justin-T

Level 2

210 points

Jan 3, 2015 9:22 AM in response to braininpa

There are lots of other files needed for the system, as well as applications. You can get a different view of what's on your drive by clicking "About this Mac" under the apple menu, then select the "storage" tab. You get a nice colorful chart of all your drives, with a breakdown of the amount of storage used by type - photos, movies, apps etc.

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Answer 2

braininpa Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 3, 2015 9:24 AM in response to braininpa

When i go to "storage it has 500gb in "other".

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Answer 3

braininpa Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 3, 2015 9:34 AM in response to braininpa

when I copied the files to the OWC disk- i tried to delete my old time machine backups. the trash would not empty- so i searched online and found a way to get rid of all the trash in a couple seconds. cant remember what i did - but i think those files are still being counted as protected somehow.

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Answer 4

justin-T

Level 2

210 points

Jan 3, 2015 9:39 AM in response to braininpa

The "other" category is basically stuff that doesn't fall clearly in the other categories, and can be quite large. You can read about it here:

OS X: What is "other" space in About This Mac? - Apple Support

Something that many people are unaware of that might help you gain space if you use iPhoto or Aperture a lot, is that they both have their own trash. Images you've deleted from iPhoto aren't actually removed from your HD unless you choose "Empty iPhoto trash", under the iPhoto menu. If you have a relatively recent SLR and shoot in RAW this can amount to a substantial amount of space recovered (many GB).

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Answer 5

braininpa Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 3, 2015 9:55 AM in response to justin-T

I have been a mac user for many years- i always keep the trash emptied in iphoto and on the machine- As i stated before- the USERS file is 920 GB- but the contents add up to 360 GB. it is not a small amount of hard disc space missing.

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Answer 6

justin-T

Level 2

210 points

Jan 3, 2015 9:58 AM in response to braininpa

The location of the "others" can be anywhere on the drive. I don't think there is anything unusual going on.

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Answer 7

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Jan 3, 2015 10:06 AM in response to braininpa

You should look only in Diskutility to get the "real" info. The colorful bars in About-this-Mac-moreInfo are just that and often totally wrong.

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Answer 8

justin-T

Level 2

210 points

Jan 3, 2015 10:36 AM in response to Lexiepex

Lex, what evidence do you have that the bars in About this Mac are "often totally wrong"?

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Answer 9

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Jan 3, 2015 10:45 AM in response to justin-T

Maybe it was not "often" but "several times" 😁. Had it myself also.

It happened regularly in Mavericks and also in Yosemite it is already reported. Most of the time a restart and/or SMC.PRAM reset helps.

Lex

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Answer 10

justin-T

Level 2

210 points

Jan 3, 2015 11:06 AM in response to Lexiepex

OK, I guess you learn something every day... 😀

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Answer 11

braininpa Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 3, 2015 11:20 AM in response to Lexiepex

I did a restart, reset SMC, tried to reset PRAM a couple days ago - I had a graphics error that was making my screen flash and then computer would auto restart. When I tried to reset PRAM i got a screen that was white and green striped- and the computer kept auto booting - would not stop. I started in safe mode and ran disk utility to correct errors, updated to yosemite also. Now at least the screen problem is fixed. Not sure I want to try the PRAM reset again - after what i saw last time!

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Answer 12

braininpa Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 3, 2015 11:24 AM in response to braininpa

I am getting a new bigger thunderbolt backup drive in a couple days- I would like to transfer all my files to it, totally wipe my hard drive and reinstall- but if I do that from time machine wont i get the same result- hard drive at 920 GB with only 360 GB of ACTUAL files on it?

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Answer 13

justin-T

Level 2

210 points

Jan 3, 2015 11:34 AM in response to braininpa

Whatever files are present in the backup will be present on the internal again. Of course, let us know if that isn't the case!

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Answer 14

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Jan 3, 2015 11:39 AM in response to braininpa

but if I do that from time machine wont i get the same result- hard drive at 920 GB with only 360 GB of ACTUAL files on it?

TimeMachine has everything in it, even the "impurities", so TM may not be the best way to go now.

If you copy only the user data (documents, music, movies, and so on) by hand the new disk must have larger size than that altogether. Nowadays disks are mostly 1TB or more so that must be more than enough.

Before use, FORMAT the new drive MAC OS Extended (journaled).

Do never install any "smart" software that comes with it: counterproductive (and sometimes even crippling) in a Mac.

Lex

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Answer 15

braininpa Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 3, 2015 11:52 AM in response to Lexiepex

I buy OWC drives- they come ready for use as a mac external drive- no need to do anything other than use it.

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