Mac will not run beyond booting due to full startup disc

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Level 1

5 points

Mac will not run beyond booting due to full startup disc

So for a while my startup disc has been warning me that it was full on my MacMini Mid 2011 running Yosemite. I limped it along removing some items here and there waiting to buy a large external to store iPhoto and iMovie libraries on because this is where most of my space is being tied up. I bought the drives last night but since I plugged one in to move the libraries, the MacMini will not do a thing. I have restarted and it will boot up but then it's done. Even when I try to open my OmniDiskSweeper to remove some stuff, like email files, it won't run. Nothing will run. It won't even empty the trash.

So now what? Can I boot in safe mode and be able to move the files from iMovie to the external? I am beyond my scope of knowledge now. I would appreciate any help I can get.

Thank you!

Mac mini (Mid 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jul 10, 2015 4:35 PM

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Answer 1

K Shaffer

Level 8

36,052 points

Jul 10, 2015 5:58 PM in response to fouse

Were you able to format the externally enclosed hard disk drives by use of Disk Utility, so they

can handle OS X files without issue? Most new drives ship with windows format (FAT.) OK

for certain shared files between systems; not so useful in OS X files or copies of system files.

GUID and Extended (journaled) are options in Disk Utility to format hard drives.

•Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture - Apple Support

That may be part of the problem. You can also look into your computer's help viewer to get

ideas on resolving problems in the OS X version installed in your Mac. A good idea is to

always have methods on hand to backup the computer, its OS X and your created works;

not all in the same place. Separate drives for Time Machine, separate ones for external

iTunes, & photo. movie libraries, + separate drives for a bootable system clone/copy OS X.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

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Answer 2

fouse Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 10, 2015 8:05 PM in response to K Shaffer

I haven't been able to format the drive yet. Once the MacMini boots up and the picture of Yosemite appears on the screen it essentially freezes. It's working hard too because the fan is in overdrive on the Mini. The desktop icons appear but that you can't do anything with them. I can right click the trash bin but it won't do anything from there, meaning I can select to Empty Trash but it won't do it. It just locks down at that point. I can format the drive with my Air but I have a greater problem at hand than formatting. I have too much computing tied up and it won't do anything else 😟

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Answer 3

lllaass

Level 10

210,519 points

Jul 11, 2015 1:51 AM in response to fouse

What happens when you startup in Safe mode?

That usually allows you to start with a "full" disk that prevent normal boot. If so then delete/move stuff to external drive.

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Answer 4

fouse Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 11, 2015 1:12 PM in response to lllaass

I haven't boot in safe mode yet. I have never done that so I wasn't sure what I could do while in safe mode. So, that said, can I boot in safe mode and then move the files from the hard drive to the external drive? Am I reading your statement correctly? That was my thought yesterday was to boot in safe mode and then transfer files but I wasn't sure what I could/couldn't do in safe mode since I haven't done that before. Thanks in advance. I appreciate the help.

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Answer 5

lllaass

Level 10

210,519 points

Jul 11, 2015 1:23 PM in response to fouse

Yes, Safe ode should allow you to move file to another disk

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