Gusme

Q: How do I delete 200Gb from my computer?

I own an IMac, Macintosh early 2008, with a storage capacity of 250 GB, and a memory of 4GB. I can not use the computer right now because a pop up message keeps telling that the start up disk is full,   delete some files.

iMac, operating system Yosemite 10.10.5

Posted on Mar 16, 2016 1:14 AM

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Q: How do I delete 200Gb from my computer?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by OGELTHORPE,Apple recommended

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Mar 16, 2016 4:51 AM in response to Gusme
    Level 9 (52,360 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 16, 2016 4:51 AM in response to Gusme

    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 BobHarris,Apple recommended

    BobHarris BobHarris Mar 16, 2016 6:00 AM in response to Gusme
    Level 6 (19,457 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 16, 2016 6:00 AM in response to Gusme

    When using these utilities to find files to delete please observe the following warnings:

     

    Boiler Plate Warnings:

     

    DO NOT delete files in your Home Folder -> Library tree as there are things like your iPhone backups, your email messages, your application preferences, etc…  If you think you have found something in your Home Folder -> Library that can be deleted, you should ask first.

     

    DO NOT delete files outside your home folder, as you may end up deleting something essential to Mac OS X, and turn your Mac into an expensive “Door Stop”.

     

    I will point out that you will find some very large files in private -> var -> vm (these are the Mac OS X virtual memory paging files (swapfiles) and where Mac OS X stores the copy of RAM when your Mac is put to sleep).  The swapfile(s) get deleted on reboot, and the sleep image is just going to be created again when you put your Mac to sleep.

     

    If you think you have found something to delete outside your home folder, it would be best to ask first before deleting.  There are many examples of people deleting files outside their home folder, or renaming files, or changing the ownership or file permissions, and then their Mac stops running.  Do not be one of those people.  Ask first.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Mar 16, 2016 12:19 PM in response to Gusme
    Level 9 (71,487 points)
    iTunes
    Mar 16, 2016 12:19 PM in response to Gusme