Jujuohay

Q: Why does my brand new MBP Retina come with only 100gb as opposed to 120gb as stated. (It says 20gb has already been used but I just bought the laptop) is 100gb enough space. I'm not a gamer or anything. Just need the computer for college

Why does my brand new MBP Retina come with only 100gb as opposed to 120gb as stated. (It says 20gb has already been used but I just bought the laptop) is 100gb enough space. I'm not a gamer or anything. Just need the computer for college

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Dec 8, 2015 12:34 AM

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Q: Why does my brand new MBP Retina come with only 100gb as opposed to 120gb as stated. (It says 20gb has already been used but I jus ... more

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  • by It's me Luigi,

    It's me Luigi It's me Luigi Dec 8, 2015 12:41 AM in response to Jujuohay
    Level 3 (781 points)
    Dec 8, 2015 12:41 AM in response to Jujuohay

    How OS X and iOS report storage capacity - Apple Support

     

    If you purchased the MBP from Apple, you have 14 days to exchange for a more appropriate mac.

    If purchased from a different retailer, you would need to contact them regarding the exchange / return policy.

  • by Roger Wilmut1,

    Roger Wilmut1 Roger Wilmut1 Dec 8, 2015 12:50 AM in response to Jujuohay
    Level 9 (78,248 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 8, 2015 12:50 AM in response to Jujuohay

    The operating system, system and user libraries, and built-in applications will take up some of your storage space. Double-click the hard disk icon and choose the list view:

     

    Screen Shot 2015-12-08 at 08.48.19.jpg

     

    to see a list of the folders with their sizes. If you have 100GB free it's going to take you a long time to fill that unless you are going to download a lot of HD films.

  • by BobTheFisherman,

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Dec 8, 2015 7:40 AM in response to Jujuohay
    Level 6 (15,376 points)
    Dec 8, 2015 7:40 AM in response to Jujuohay

    Jujuohay wrote:

     

    Why does my brand new MBP Retina come with only 100gb as opposed to 120gb as stated. (It says 20gb has already been used but I just bought the laptop) is 100gb enough space. I'm not a gamer or anything. Just need the computer for college

    Is 100GB enough space for what? If you are storing a lot of Movies, creating a library of all the world's literature, are writing a lot of papers, installing a lot of course related applications, are storing your audio library, installing a lot of productivity apps, installing a lot of games, etc. then 100GB is not nearly enough. If you are browsing the web and reading the occasional email 100GB is sufficient.

     

    In my personal opinion a 128GB computer is minimal and barely adequate for anything these days. Return it for another computer with a lot more storage.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Dec 8, 2015 7:42 AM in response to BobTheFisherman
    Level 9 (50,546 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 8, 2015 7:42 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

    Totally agree, 120GB is too small for much of anything these days. 256GB is a useable working minimum, 512GB makes far more sense.

  • by FoxFifth,

    FoxFifth FoxFifth Dec 8, 2015 8:37 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 7 (26,409 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 8, 2015 8:37 AM in response to Csound1

    Csound1 wrote:

     

    Totally agree, 120GB is too small for much of anything these days. 256GB is a useable working minimum, 512GB makes far more sense.

    Are you saying I'm not working (or minimally working)? Are you saying I have little sense?   I have a 128 GB MacBook Air that I have used for over 3 years as my only computer and I still have 72 GB free. --- But I'm not typical so I'm really not disagreeing.

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Dec 8, 2015 8:52 AM in response to Jujuohay
    Level 9 (61,016 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 8, 2015 8:52 AM in response to Jujuohay

    20GB or so is the size of Mac OS X and the installed Applications, so you are not missing anything.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Dec 8, 2015 9:06 AM in response to FoxFifth
    Level 9 (50,556 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 8, 2015 9:06 AM in response to FoxFifth

    Whether you agree or not (and I am not talking to you anyway) 128GB is far too small for general use.

  • by FoxFifth,

    FoxFifth FoxFifth Dec 8, 2015 12:53 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 7 (26,409 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 8, 2015 12:53 PM in response to Csound1

    Csound1 wrote:

     

    Whether you agree or not (and I am not talking to you anyway) 128GB is far too small for general use.

    Sorry -- that was an admittedly poor attempt at humor.

  • by K Shaffer,Solvedanswer

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Dec 8, 2015 1:05 PM in response to Jujuohay
    Level 6 (14,367 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 8, 2015 1:05 PM in response to Jujuohay

    You could also consider an externally enclosed storage drive and use a method of

    off-computer archive or storing of your files, so the limited internal capacity of the

    computer is not compromised; also choose a backup external device or medium

    for system backups and Time Machine archives. These should be separate devices.

     

    Given the cost of built-in SSD or other modern storage in computers and in Macs,

    the cost of buying the larger storage option may not be in a student budget with

    the model you have chosen. An older style (design 2012) non-retina MacBook/Pro

    13-inch as sometimes seen in the Apple Store online refurbished section, is a low

    cost option and it has a 500GB rotational hard drive; also it may see a user upgrade

    in the memory chip capacity. If you don't need the lighter quicker one and storage

    is a priority, the old style also has an optical drive. Quaint, but it's there.

     

    However if you use an external storage drive or two, or three; and learn how to make

    backup full system clones on a separate boot-capable hard drive or SSD unit, that

    would likely suffice. There also are ways to move the libraries of iTunes music and

    others so they do not live on the computer. But their archive in external drive must be

    available to the computer for them to access it; likely a problem for a portable Mac.

     

    You do have choices, but the limit of internal capacities for storage and system are

    not that great. Be careful if you have to create or store large file sizes, and because

    internal stored items may eventually be compromised should the device or drive fail

    backups are your best bet. Also, a second computer that you could use, is an idea.

    To have spares can be helpful. (and ones that don't look worth stealing can be good)

    an older MacBook that runs Snow Leopard 10.6.8 can be ideal, and a bargain.

     

    In any event...

    Good luck & happy computing!