snappler

Q: why is my drive almost full? & Can I delete library,caches containers and app support files?

I have emptied my system pretty much onto an external drive, updated my computer and I still have the same data usage showing in disk utility.

 

using el capitan.

 

I don`t know where the bulk of the photos are as it reads 8 GB but they must be dispersed in my note taking application.

the movies at 7.88 GB must be in my iTunes music videos, the "other" I don`t know about actually, that`s what i`m questioning.

 

driveusage.jpg

 

looking at my applications folder that adds another 70GB.

 

appssize.jpg

 

as for my LIBRARY/

 

logs 195 mb

application support 25 GB

caches 3 GB

containers 6.65 GB

 

Can I delete everything in containers, caches and applications support ?

logs.jpg

 

appsupport.jpg

 

caches.jpg

 

containers.jpg

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), 2.3Ghz, i7, 16GB ram, 256GB flash

Posted on Jan 28, 2016 8:54 PM

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Q: why is my drive almost full? & Can I delete library,caches containers and app support files?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jan 29, 2016 12:41 AM in response to snappler
    Level 10 (139,572 points)
    iLife
    Jan 29, 2016 12:41 AM in response to snappler

    Well it's your Mac and you can do anything you like on it, but if you do delete all of those just be aware you'll delete a significant portion of your own data, most - if not all - of your apps won't work and you'll have a right old mess on your hands.

     

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

  • by snappler,

    snappler snappler Jan 29, 2016 2:00 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2016 2:00 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    ok so the go is I cannot delete anything here ? (cache?, containers?)

  • by Terence Devlin,Helpful

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jan 29, 2016 3:03 PM in response to snappler
    Level 10 (139,572 points)
    iLife
    Jan 29, 2016 3:03 PM in response to snappler

    Cache files are required by the OS and if you delete them they will simply be recreated. The net effect is that it will slow your Mac down for a while.

     

    Here's a rule of thumb: If you don't know what it is and why it's there, don't delete it. Would you open the hood of your car and start throwing out bits of the engine as you thought they Might be unnecessary? The article I linked to tells you what can be removed in safety.

  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jan 29, 2016 3:04 PM in response to snappler
    Level 9 (52,521 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 29, 2016 3:04 PM in response to snappler

    Download from the Internet OmniDiskSweeper and Grand Perspective (both free) and open them. They will show all of your files and the respective sizes. Transfer to an external HDD or delete files you no longer want on your MBP.

     

    Do not forget to empty trash. Only then is space allocated for new data.

     

    Ciao.

  • by dwb,Solvedanswer

    dwb dwb Jan 29, 2016 11:05 AM in response to snappler
    Level 7 (24,231 points)
    Notebooks
    Jan 29, 2016 11:05 AM in response to snappler

    My rules for freeing up drive space:

     

    1. Unless you are a Mac expert touch only the Applications folder and the User’s folder
      1. System and Library folders are off limits.
      2. Even Mac experts are very cautious about deleting files from System and Library folders
    2. There is a second Library folder within your own user’s folder. Consider it nearly as sacrosanct as the top level one
      1. The good news is you cannot totally screw up your computer if you delete the wrong file(s) from your own Library
      2. The bad news is you can totally screw up your own account
    3. Before you consider deleting anything make sure you have a backup

     

    The safest and most beneficial files most people should consider deleting are music and video files. They are huge. Delete a one hour TV show or one movie and you can retrieve 1-2GB of space. A a few CDs can also free up a large amount of space. Some programs are quite large but others not so much but they are worth considering especially since Apple has made it much more difficult (though not impossible) to delete programs you absolutely need.

  • by snappler,

    snappler snappler Jan 29, 2016 3:06 PM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2016 3:06 PM in response to dwb

    Thanks guys, all good advice, I appreciate it.

     

    Terence thanks for the link I didnt notice that as a link when you posted it.

     

    Ogel, Dwb thanks.

     

    my itunes is 32GB, how do I move that to an external drive?, (I dont really listen to music when I leave home with my mac).

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Jan 29, 2016 3:31 PM in response to snappler
    Level 10 (139,572 points)
    iLife
    Jan 29, 2016 3:31 PM in response to snappler
  • by Barry Hemphill,

    Barry Hemphill Barry Hemphill Jan 29, 2016 3:44 PM in response to snappler
    Level 8 (38,062 points)
    Peripherals
    Jan 29, 2016 3:44 PM in response to snappler

    Read this article - I think it will help you:

     

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

     

    Also, follow the good advice above and NEVER delete system files.

     

    Barry

  • by snappler,

    snappler snappler Jan 29, 2016 9:49 PM in response to Barry Hemphill
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2016 9:49 PM in response to Barry Hemphill

    thanks again everyone, I now have a very clear picture of what to do and not do, thanks for the links too. much appreciated for your time.

  • by snappler,

    snappler snappler Feb 18, 2016 11:19 PM in response to snappler
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 18, 2016 11:19 PM in response to snappler

    thought I would update this thread, as i`ve tried a couple of mac cleaning softwares,

     

    firstly I tried omnidisksweeper and grand perspective, which was interesting to see what files took up the most space. after grand perspective I decided to delete excess unused language files, and only kept those relevant to me.

     

    I used the following to clean my computer,

    firstly my "other" reading was 132gig and this is what I wanted to get rid of as much as possible,

     

    132disc.jpg

     

    after running  "cleanmymac 3" from macpaw, I got back about 27 gig, but my "other" went up to 162 gig, which was surprising but in hindsight that was due to the apps reading 3.37 gigs which is an error as you will see in the next screen cap.

     

    162disc.jpg

     

    so I then ran a software called "cocktail", which somehow cleared 80 gigs from "other" and gave back an extra 35 gigs totalling 66GB.

    as I mentioned apps was an error reading in the previous screen cap coz here it is at 52.22 gigs for apps after running "cocktail".

     

    In a nutshell I started with just over 2 gigs available and with "cleanmymac3"  and "cocktail" ended up with 66GB available. can`t complain.

    66gigafterclearing.jpg

     

    ** on another note regards my ipad3 I purchased "phoneclean" it did an ok job at clearing "other" and getting me back 5 gig of data space.

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Feb 19, 2016 12:10 AM in response to snappler
    Level 10 (139,572 points)
    iLife
    Feb 19, 2016 12:10 AM in response to snappler

    Amazing.

     

    You've erased 66 gigabytes of... what? Do you actually know that you've trashed? Or was it all just "stuff"?

     

    Sometime, search the forum for CleanMyMac. If you've an ounce of common sense get rid of it.

  • by snappler,

    snappler snappler Feb 19, 2016 9:37 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 19, 2016 9:37 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    Terence these are mainly system built up files from normal mac operations, when I uninstalled all languages except english and 3 others that took a long time. the rest were quite quick. There were also copies or legacy left overs from duplicated apps, installations and all that stuff built up from other operations.

     

    you can actually download cleanmymac3 and cocktail for free and run the tests, they will show you everything they are working on.

     

    clean my mac will then ask you for payment to actually delete the stuff. cocktail gives you 10 free cleans before asking for payment and its quite indepth.

     

    but both were easy to install and use, just a one click operation. happy with the result, I use a lot of adobe products so I can see why the "other" is still holding 70+ gigs, they hold a lot of cached data etc.

     

    cocktail

    cleanmymac3

     

     

    "grand perspective" was an interesting app to see a visual representation of every file and its physical occupation size on my mac.

     

    <Links Edited by Host>

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Feb 19, 2016 1:24 AM in response to snappler
    Level 10 (139,572 points)
    iLife
    Feb 19, 2016 1:24 AM in response to snappler
    Sometime, search the forum for CleanMyMac. If you've an ounce of common sense get rid of it
  • by snappler,

    snappler snappler Feb 19, 2016 2:17 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 19, 2016 2:17 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    here`s macpaws instructions as to how to remove it,


    You can remove CleanMyMac 3 is by simply dragging it to the Trash. However, by doing this, as with removing any other app, it will leave application leftovers on your Mac.

    It is recommended to use the Uninstaller module of CleanMyMac 3 for complete removal. And here's how you do that:

    1. Open CleanMyMac 3.
    2. Proceed to the Uninstaller module.
    3. Find CleanMyMac 3 in the list of apps found by the module.
    4. Click Complete Removal in the Smart Selector panel to mark the application file and all it related items for removal.
    5. Click Uninstall.
    6. Confirm that you are going to remove the app in the newly appeared message.

    We will be pleased if you drop us a note why you've decided not to use the application further and uninstall it from your Mac.

     

    and a good thread on removing other remnants...

    How do I remove Clean My Mac 3 from Mac book pro with OS 10.7.5