Finder says hard drive nearly full... but it's not actually full?

Question

Level 1

4 points

Finder says hard drive nearly full... but it's not actually full?

Hello everyone,

I have a strange problem that I can't seem to solve, even with all my own searches into similar issues.

Basically:

1. Finder says that out of 1,000 GB on my hard drive, I have 50 or so remaining free (950 or so in use), which shouldn't be the case.

2. Just in case I was mistaken, I ran OmniDiskSweeper and DiskSweeper X to see what files are taking up what space, and both are in agreement that 560 or gb are being used, meaning I should still have about 340 gb left, but it's all being eaten up by something mysterious.

Is there anything else I could do to investigate and solve this problem and get that space back? Any help would be appreciated.

Time Machine has been deactivated for years, and remains so, if that offers any help.

Thanks!

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Mar 13, 2016 9:43 PM

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Answer 1

ManSinha

Level 6

12,183 points

Mar 13, 2016 9:49 PM in response to MrCanadian

What is other and what can I do about it - Apple Support

Also you may need to rebuild your Spotlight search as it may not be indexing items correctly

Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes - Apple Support

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Answer 2

MrCanadian Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 13, 2016 9:56 PM in response to ManSinha

I actually read that first article prior to coming here, but sadly it doesn't offer any help with my situation, which is that Finder says the hard drive is full when it isn't, and disk analysis software agrees with that. Something has convinced my computer that it has used up 300 gb of space when that isn't the case.

I rebuilt my Spotlight as suggested, but unfortunately the same problem remains.

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Answer 3

ManSinha

Level 6

12,183 points

Mar 13, 2016 9:59 PM in response to MrCanadian

There may be intermediate steps - we can await input from the more (than me) experienced posters - if that is not forthcoming - the next steps to consider would be a re install of the OS or a trip to the nearby  store

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Answer 4

MrCanadian Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 13, 2016 10:12 PM in response to ManSinha

I appreciate your response nonetheless, so thank you.

If I did reinstall the OS, does that mean I lose everything on my computer? As in, all my photos and files?

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Answer 5

ManSinha

Level 6

12,183 points

Mar 13, 2016 10:15 PM in response to MrCanadian

MrCanadian wrote:

I appreciate your response nonetheless, so thank you.

If I did reinstall the OS, does that mean I lose everything on my computer? As in, all my photos and files?

There is always that risk - in any case one is always advised to backup their important music, images and documents

You have a window here should you decide to do that

You can back up to an external hard drive or use a cloud service like Carbonite

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Answer 6

To_Mi

Level 4

1,202 points

Mar 13, 2016 11:34 PM in response to MrCanadian

Just to be sure, have you run First Aid on the boot volume?

The below will be my (first) action if my mac get the same situation as yours.

Boot in Recovery mode. — OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support
Select Disk Utility from Utilities menu.
Select the boot volume, usually it is Macintosh HD.
Click First Aid, then Run.
Check Detail to see any error is detected.

Shut down and reboot in Safe mode — OS X El Capitan: Start up in safe mode

Check the usage of the boot volume in the Storage tab of “About This Mac”
Also Check the Capacity/Available/Used of the boot volume — In Finder, 1: type shift-command-C to open “Computer” window, 2: select the boot volume, 3: type command-I to bring up Info window. The numbers should be shown in the General section.

Then reboot in normal mode, and repeat the steps as in Safe mode to see any difference.

If I did reinstall the OS, does that mean I lose everything on my computer? As in, all my photos and files?

Your applications and datas should be kept untouched if you choose over-write install, like OS upgrade, but you may loose them if you get some trouble in its process.

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Answer 7

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Mar 14, 2016 5:07 AM in response to MrCanadian

What is the exact, complete text of the alerts?

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Answer 8

MrCanadian Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 14, 2016 8:08 AM in response to To_Mi

I have not in fact tried this yet - I'll give this a go when I return home this evening and report on the results.

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Answer 9

MrCanadian Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 14, 2016 8:11 AM in response to Linc Davis

There's no actual error message, just a strange disagreement in numbers regarding the available space on my hard drive.

Finder says:

"940 gb used" (out of 1000 gb)

But OmniDiskSweeper and DiskSweeper X say:

"560 gb used"

Having checked Finder not too long ago and finding that it, too, once said I had hundreds of gigs left in space, I'm trying to figure out why Finder suddenly thinks my hard drive to be full, and how to get that space back.

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Answer 10

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Mar 14, 2016 8:20 AM in response to MrCanadian

Run OmniDiskSweeper as root. That may disclose what the discrepancy is. Do not perform any updates or changes while OmniDiskSweeper is running:

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/how_to_recover_missing_hard_drive_space

Read the link carefully.

Ciao.

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Answer 11

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Mar 14, 2016 9:47 AM in response to MrCanadian

ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.

Back up all data now.

Install the app in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.

Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

security execute-with-privileges /A*/OmniDiskSweeper.app/*/M*/* 2>&-

Launch the built-in Terminal application in any one of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password.

The application window will open behind other open windows. When you scan a volume, the window will eventually show all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.

I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.

When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

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Answer 12

MrCanadian Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 14, 2016 2:37 PM in response to Linc Davis

Alright everyone (and Oglethorpe / Linc Davis in particular):

I ran OmniDiskSweeper using the "sudo" terminal command as suggested, and it indeed displayed the culprit, a folder called:

.DocumentRevisions-v100

...which is taking up a staggering 386 gb and growing. I totalled the other folders combined size and they show the ~560 gb of use that I expected, and which originally existed prior to this great gobbling of space.

So, I suppose my next questions are:

1. What should I do next to free up this space?

2. How can I prevent this from happening again?

Again, all your help is greatly appreciated. I'm not very familiar with the innards of a Mac computer, so this information really helps out a great deal.

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Answer 13

Mar 14, 2016 3:19 PM in response to MrCanadian

Hi MrCanadian:

Here is another post about the same issue.

Maybe it will be of some help.Can I delete "/.DocumentRevisions-V100" "

Kim

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Answer 14

MrCanadian Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 14, 2016 3:33 PM in response to KimUserName

Thanks for sharing that link, Kim, but I have no idea what's going on there. In one post, someone says to go ahead and delete that folder, and then in the next, someone else is shouting that doing so will bring down fire and brimstone from the sky. The original poster says his issue is solved, but never actually reveals what he did to resolve it. There's some mention of a "versions browser", but I have no idea what that is or how to access it, or if that's even my particular issue.

So, is it being suggested then that I can go ahead and delete the .DocumentRevisions-V100 folder without any ill effect?

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Answer 15

MrCanadian Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 14, 2016 3:46 PM in response to KimUserName

From my limited knowledge of what's going on, it seems he deleted the contents of that folder, but not the entire folder itself, had no ill effects, and it at least partially solved his problem (and would likely solve mine entirely).

Am I correct in stating that deleting the contents of the .DocumentRevisions-v100 folder (without deleting the folder itself) is a safe thing to do and would solve my issue?

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