Why is my storage already full?

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Level 1

15 points

Why is my storage already full?

So I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) that I got about 4 months ago in December. I started off new, this was my first Mac and I didn't transfer any data from any other computer. I was recently downloading some footage from my go pro, and the computer gave me a heads up saying that the storage is almost full. At first I didn't believe it because my Mac has 512 GB of storage, and the only major thing that should be in the storage was the 30 GB of music I have, and maybe about 20 GB of footage, it was impossible for me to use all of it already. So I checked the Storage and it gave me this

I had lost 350 GB of other, and over 100 GB of movies, which makes no sense because I only have 5 movies downloaded.

Why does is my storage already full and what the heck is "Other"?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Apr 10, 2016 5:09 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 10, 2016 5:27 PM in response to mabmac20

First try to empty your Trash.

Then try downloading and installing OmniDiskSweeper: OmniDiskSweeper

OmniDiskSweeper will sort your files by size and show you where they are located. This should allow you to determine exactly what you have on your MBP.

See the following video on OmniDiskSweeper. Using OmniDiskSweeper

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

Kim

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Answer 2

mabmac20 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 10, 2016 5:31 PM in response to KimUserName

So I emptied my trash bin and the Macintosh HD still said that I had 4 GB left. I then restarted the computer and everything was fine and I had about 30 GB left, so that worked a little bit. I also deleted a few Final Cut Pro exports which were ridiculously big, like a 5 min video was about 3 GB. But before i do this omnisweeper, i would like to know if there is a way to see absolutely everything that is on your computer, just in case the is anything weird dowloaded that I never knew about.

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Answer 3

Apr 10, 2016 5:39 PM in response to mabmac20

Watch the video included.

One of the weird things I found when I was testing Omnidisksweeper was a large video file from one of the holidays I was on.

It seemed very large compared to the other videos from the same holiday.

When I watched the video I found it was 2 minutes of video, and 28 minutes of video of my wife walking around after forgetting to turn the camera off.

Deleted it of course.

Kim

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Answer 4

mabmac20 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 10, 2016 5:38 PM in response to KimUserName

What video?

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Answer 5

Apr 10, 2016 5:44 PM in response to mabmac20

The part that says "See the following video".

Kim

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Answer 6

Cunnla

Level 6

8,263 points

Apr 10, 2016 5:46 PM in response to mabmac20

i would like to know if there is a way to see absolutely everything that is on your computer

Open a Finder window, and in the sidebar, tick All my files at the top. In View, select View as list, and in Show View Options, select Arrange by size and Sort by size, and check the box for Size lower down.

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Answer 7

mabmac20 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 10, 2016 5:48 PM in response to KimUserName

Ok that makes sense, so it just tells you what is on your HD, it doesn't delete things.

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Answer 8

mabmac20 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 10, 2016 5:50 PM in response to Cunnla

Did that, and wow, are go pro files big!

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Answer 9

mabmac20 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 10, 2016 5:53 PM in response to Cunnla

Is there a way to compress them?

I don't think that it the problem though because a few go pro files, about 2 GB each cannot make up 330 BG of "other"

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Answer 10

Apr 10, 2016 5:55 PM in response to mabmac20

Yes, do not delete anything unless you know what it is.

Large files like videos you can move to an external drive.

Kim

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Answer 11

mabmac20 Author

Level 1

15 points

Apr 10, 2016 6:26 PM in response to KimUserName

OH MY GOD, I JUST USED OMNIMINESWEEPER AND THERE WAS AN EVENT SITTING IN FINAL CUT PRO THAT WAS OVER 300 GB. So I opened FCP and deleted it and now i am all good. thank you so much for the help.

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