I tried to free up storage, but it just changed the labeling of the space. Help!

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Level 1

8 points

I tried to free up storage, but it just changed the labeling of the space. Help!

Hi,

I'm on an IMac using OS X. I needed to free up space and so moved all my photos to an external drive. I then deleted my iPhoto library and emptied the trash, but now when I check my storage the amount of used space is the same it just changed it the labeling of it from 'Photos' to 'Other.' I then went and emptied the trash in the iPhoto library, but that hasn't made a difference. I have even turned off time machine even though I am using a separate backup drive for that, but nothing. And of course I have restarted the computer. How do I actually free up this space?

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.2), null

Posted on Apr 7, 2016 3:05 PM

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Answer 1

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Apr 7, 2016 3:17 PM in response to Clove13

Personally I think that Apple should shred that display since it is frequently wrong. You can reset Spotlight so it reindexes your drive and hopefully that display will show the correct information.

I like the old tried and true way to determine how much free space you have on your hard drive. Right-click on the hard drive icon and select "Get Info".

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Answer 2

theratter

Level 4

3,961 points

Apr 7, 2016 3:26 PM in response to Clove13

It would seem Duane forgot to tell you how to re-index your drive: Spotlight- How to re-index folders or volumes - Apple Support.

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Answer 3

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Apr 7, 2016 3:32 PM in response to theratter

I had to leave some mystery. 😉 Thanks theratter!

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Answer 4

Clove13 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 7, 2016 9:00 PM in response to theratter

Ah yes, good old google got me to directions, but even after I followed the directions nothing has changed. I also ran utility disk, but still nothing. And the numbers that I was seeing about the storage in "About this Mac" are the same numbers that show up when I right click the HD and "Get info." I'm not sure what else I can try...

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Answer 5

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Apr 7, 2016 9:18 PM in response to Clove13

How much space was the photos that you moved consuming?

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Answer 6

theratter

Level 4

3,961 points

Apr 7, 2016 9:18 PM in response to Clove13

They cannot really be the same. Get Info only displays three things - Capacity, Used, and Available memory - and no graphs. That is the only information I would rely on unless you have just re-indexed the drive. You are making a mystery out of nothing.

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Answer 7

Clove13 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 8, 2016 12:33 PM in response to Duane

The file that was moved was 444GB, my drive is a 1TB, and its still showing 926 GB used. There is clearly something going on that needs addressing

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Answer 8

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Apr 8, 2016 12:41 PM in response to Clove13

I suggest that you use OmniDiskSweeper, WhatSize, or DaisyDisk to determine the files or folders using a lot of space and could be moved to another disk or deleted.

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Answer 9

Old Toad

Level 10

216,112 points

Apr 8, 2016 1:35 PM in response to Clove13

Do you also have a Photos library on your drive.

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Answer 10

Clove13 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 9, 2016 3:21 PM in response to Duane

I had deleted iPhoto library, but didn't realize that two files were sharing the same information. So using OmniDiskSweeper (thanks Duane) I found the other library (thanks Old Toad) and that freed up the space. Problem solved.

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