Dan Sherman2
Level 1 (4 points)
iPhone

Q: Get Info/Disk Utility show drive full - calculate folders does not....?

Got message my boot drive is almost full. Capacity 479.24 GB and only 16GB left. I checked calculate folder sizes to see where the bulk was and found:

Applications     53.84GB

Library             10.68GB

System              8.34GB

Users               45.44GB

Total               118.30GB (350GB difference from what is reported)

 

Checked iCloud Drive and it only had about 3GB on it. Went on Apple Support and found several trash cans to empty in email, photos, etc. but only got about 1GB back. Some suggested running reindex, but Disk Utility is different than before and it doesn't give me that option.

 

iMac 24" Early 2009

3.06 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo

8GB 1067 MHz DDR3

El Capitan 10.11.4

OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD 480GB

 

I ran First Aid and it came back no errors. I have put in a support request with OWC to see if there is something I can run to regain that space.

 

Any ideas?

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11), Late 2013

Posted on Jan 29, 2016 6:52 PM

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Dan Sherman2

Q: Get Info/Disk Utility show drive full - calculate folders does not....?

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  • by sterling r,

    sterling r sterling r Jan 31, 2016 6:56 AM in response to Dan Sherman2
    Community Specialists
    Jan 31, 2016 6:56 AM in response to Dan Sherman2

    Hello there Dan Sherman2,

     

    It sounds like you have used Disk Utility to scan and repair your hard drive but it is still mis reporting your available disk space. I would first try reindexing Spotlight with this article:

     

    Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes

     

    Then leave safe mode and check the space available again. If the issue persists I would boot to safe mode so that some system level caches can be flushed.

    Follow these steps to start up into safe mode.

    1. Start or restart your Mac. 
    2. Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key.
    3. Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

    After the Apple logo appears, it might take longer than usual to reach the login screen or your desktop. This is because your Mac performs a directory check of your startup disk as part of safe mode.

    To leave safe mode, restart your computer without pressing any keys during startup.

    From: Try safe mode if your Mac doesn‘t finish starting up

     

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities, let us know how that goes!