disappearing storage with Safari el capitan

Question

I have a macbook air 13" mid 2011 running version 10.11.4 El Capitan.  It has about 17 GB of free space for HDD Storage.When I run Safari (9.1) and leave the system and Safari open my HDD space gradually drops and eventually will drop to 0 GB!  This of course pauses Applications and I have to force quit.  The "Other" Storage category is the culprit which grows as the HDD space gets smaller.  If I exit Safari the HDD space returns to ~17GB.This happens sometimes but not all of the time???I have reindexed Spotlight and cleared the History and Cache in Safari but to no avail.

Allan Eckert · Answer

Is Time Machine enabled and the external disk disconnected when this happens?

Carolyn Samit · Answer

17GB&#x27;s of available storage is cutting it close. OS X El Capitan needs 8.8GB&#x27;s itself to run.Doubtful it&#x27;s Safari causing the available storage problem.How to check, "Other" here &gt;  OS X Tips The Storage Display

johnnybarcelona · Answer

yes time machine is enabled and connected to external storage.

Allan Eckert · Answer

Please download and install EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com/Run it and post the report here.

Linc Davis · Answer

There is excessive swapping of data between physical memory (that is, the memory chips on the logic board) and virtual memory (one or more files on the startup volume.) That activity is relatively slow and causes the whole system to be less responsive. It can happen for two reasons:          A long-running process with a memory leak (a kind of bug)          Not enough memory for your usage patternPlease note that if the cause is a memory leak, installing more memory will not help. That&#x27;s likely if you already have more than 4 GB of memory. Tracking down a memory leak can be difficult, and it may come down to a process of elimination.These instructions are for OS X 10.9 and later. Some details may be slightly different for earlier versions of OS X.When you notice the slowdown, open the Activity Monitor application and select All Processes from the View menu, if it&#x27;s not already selected. Select the Memory tab. Click the heading of the Real Mem column in the process table twice to sort the table with the highest value at the top. If you don&#x27;t see that column, select          View ▹ Columns ▹ Real Memoryfrom the menu bar.If one process (excluding "kernel_task") is using much more memory than all the others, that could be an indication of a leak. A better indication would be a process that continually grabs more and more real memory over time without ever releasing it. Here is an example of how it&#x27;s done."Wired" memory should be less than half of the total. That memory is not swapped, but it makes less physical memory available which may then result in swapping. If most of the memory is wired, that may be an indication of a memory leak in a third-party program that modifies the operating system at a low level. Ask for guidance in that case.If you don&#x27;t have an obvious memory leak, the options are to install more memory (if possible) or to run fewer programs simultaneously.The next suggestion is only for users familiar with the shell. For a more precise, but potentially misleading, test, run the following command:sudo leaks -nocontext -nostacks process | grep totalwhere process is the name of a process you suspect of leaking memory. Almost every process will leak some memory; the question is how much, and especially how much the leak increases with time. I can’t be more specific. See the leaks(1) man page and the Apple developer documentation for details.

johnnybarcelona · Answer

Here is the report.  overnight my storage had diminished from 16 GB to around 2 GB with several applications open.EtreCheck version: 2.9.11 (264)Report generated 2016-04-28 06:30:44Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.comRuntime 2:00Performance: ExcellentClick the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.Problem: Other problemDescription:storage slowly disappears to 0 without any user activity with OS X el capitanHardware Information:ⓘ    MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011)     [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty &amp; Service]    MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir4,2    1 1.8 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2-core    4 GB RAM Not upgradeable        BANK 0/DIMM0            2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok        BANK 1/DIMM0            2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported    Wireless:  en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n    Battery: Health &#x3D; Normal - Cycle count &#x3D; 264Video Information:ⓘ    Intel HD Graphics 3000        Color LCD 1440 x 900System Software:ⓘ    OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 (15E65) - Time since boot: about one day Disk Information:ⓘ    APPLE SSD SM256C disk0 : (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)        EFI (disk0s1) &lt;not mounted&gt; : 210 MB         Recovery HD (disk0s3) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [Recovery]: 650 MB         Macintosh HD (disk1) /  [Startup]: 249.77 GB (1.82 GB free) (Low!)            Core Storage: disk0s2 250.14 GB OnlineUSB Information:ⓘ    Apple Inc. FaceTime Camera (Built-in)     Seagate FreeAgent Pro 320.07 GB        AirBackup (disk2s1) /Volumes/AirBackup : 236.36 GB (6.19 GB free)        MOM_BACKUP (disk2s2) /Volumes/MOM_BACKUP : 39.94 GB (26.44 GB free)        FULF_COMMON (disk2s3) /Volumes/FULF_COMMON : 43.77 GB (15.01 GB free)    Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad     Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub         Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller     Apple Card Reader Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_busGatekeeper:ⓘ    Mac App Store and identified developersKernel Extensions:ⓘ        /Library/Application Support/Roxio    [not loaded]    com.roxio.TDIXController (1.4 - 2014-10-22) [Support]        /Library/Extensions    [not loaded]    com.microsoft.VirtualPC.Networking (7.0.0 - 2016-03-21) [Support]    [not loaded]    com.microsoft.VirtualPC.OSServices (7.0.0 - 2016-03-21) [Support]        /System/Library/Extensions    [not loaded]    com.logitech.iokit.quickcam (1.0.7 - 2016-03-21) [Support]    [not loaded]    com.m-audio.driver.firewire (1.2.4 - 2016-03-21) [Support]Startup Items:ⓘ    M-Audio FireWire Audio Helper: Path: /Library/StartupItems/M-Audio FireWire Audio Helper    PACESupport: Path: /Library/StartupItems/PACESupport    Qmaster: Path: /Library/StartupItems/Qmaster    QuickBackStartupItem: Path: /Library/StartupItems/QuickBackStartupItem    SpeedToolsDTStartupItem: Path: /Library/StartupItems/SpeedToolsDTStartupItem    VirtualPCOSServices: Path: /Library/StartupItems/VirtualPCOSServices    Startup items are obsolete in OS X YosemiteSystem Launch Agents:ⓘ    [not loaded]    8 Apple tasks    [loaded]    151 Apple tasks    [running]    56 Apple tasks    [killed]    23 Apple tasks    23 processes killed due to insufficient RAMSystem Launch Daemons:ⓘ    [not loaded]    43 Apple tasks    [loaded]    156 Apple tasks    [running]    75 Apple tasks    [killed]    15 Apple tasks    15 processes killed due to insufficient RAMLaunch Agents:ⓘ    [failed]    com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist (2015-11-29) [Support]    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-03-04) [Support]    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2015-03-29) [Support]Launch Daemons:ⓘ    [failed]    PACESupport.plist (2008-01-17) [Support]    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2015-11-29) [Support]    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2015-11-29) [Support]    [failed]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-04-15) [Support]    [loaded]    com.bombich.ccchelper.plist (2014-11-30) [Support]    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-03-04) [Support]    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2011-03-10) [Support]    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2015-03-29) [Support]    [loaded]    com.wdc.WDPrivilegedHelper.plist (2015-11-12) [Support]User Launch Agents:ⓘ    [failed]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2012-10-08) [Support]User Login Items:ⓘ    iTunesHelper    Application  (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)    Dropbox    Application  (/Applications/Dropbox.app)    WDDriveUtilityHelper    Application  (/Applications/WD Drive Utilities.app/Contents/WDDriveUtilityHelper.app)    WDSecurityHelper    Application  (/Applications/WD Security.app/Contents/WDSecurityHelper.app)    Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector EX    Application Hidden (/Applications/Canon Utilities/IJ Network Scanner Selector EX/Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector EX.app)Other Apps:ⓘ    [running]    com.getdropbox.dropbox.47712    [running]    com.microsoft.alerts.daemon.56352    [running]    com.microsoft.autoupdate.fba.89952    [running]    com.microsoft.outlook.databasedaemon.57312    [running]    com.westerndigital.WDDriveUtilityHelper.104672    [running]    com.westerndigital.WDSecurityHelper.88992    [running]    jp.co.canon.ij.CNSSelectorAgent.89632    [loaded]    398 Apple tasks    [running]    159 Apple tasks    [killed]    37 Apple tasksInternet Plug-ins:ⓘ    o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-11) [Support]    Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-03-21)    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 3.0.0.126   - SDK 10.8 (2013-02-22) [Support]    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.010.20060 - SDK 10.8 (2016-03-12) [Support]    FlashPlayer-10.6: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-21) [Support]    Silverlight: 5.1.41212.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-03) [Support]    QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-03-21)    Flash Player: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-21) [Support]    googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-11) [Support]    SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.6.3 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-15) [Support]    AdobePDFViewer: 15.010.20060 - SDK 10.8 (2016-03-12) [Support]    GarminGpsControl: 4.2.0.0 - SDK 10.8 (2014-03-31) [Support]    EPPEX Plugin: 4.1.0.0 (2011-07-26) [Support]    eMusic: Unknown (2006-04-01) [Support]    JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 91 build 14 (2016-04-20) Check versionUser internet Plug-ins:ⓘ    WebEx64: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-10-10) [Support]Safari Extensions:ⓘ    AdBlock - BetaFish, Inc. - https://getadblock.com (2015-09-26)    ClickToFlash - Marc Hoyois - http://hoyois.github.com/safariextensions/clicktoplugin/ (2015-07-30)3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ    Déjà Vu (2005-12-21) [Support]    Flash Player (2016-04-15) [Support]    Flip4Mac WMV (2012-09-14) [Support]    Java (2016-04-20) [Support]    PreferencesPane (2006-10-01) [Support]    Microsoft Mouse (2005-02-15)Time Machine:ⓘ    Skip System Files: NO    Mobile backups: ON    Auto backup: YES    Volumes being backed up:        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 249.77 GB Disk used: 247.95 GB    Destinations:        AirBackup [Local]         Total size: 236.36 GB         Total number of backups: 42         Oldest backup: 2016-01-18, 8:48 AM         Last backup: 2016-04-28, 6:06 AM         Size of backup disk: Too small            Backup size 236.36 GB &lt; (Disk used 247.95 GB X 3)Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ         4%    WindowServer         1%    fontd         0%    kernel_task         0%    askpermissiondTop Processes by Memory:ⓘ    1.35 GB    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(8)    548 MB    kernel_task    147 MB    Safari    115 MB    mdworker(8)    53 MB    DropboxVirtual Memory Information:ⓘ    93 MB    Free RAM     3.91 GB    Used RAM (755 MB Cached)    14.03 GB    Swap Used Diagnostics Information:ⓘ    Apr 27, 2016, 10:34:15 AM    Self test - passed    Apr 26, 2016, 01:39:15 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/System Preferences_2016-04-26-133915_[redacted].hang        /Applications/System Preferences.app/Contents/MacOS/System Preferences    Apr 26, 2016, 01:36:57 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/System Preferences_2016-04-26-133657_[redacted].hang    Apr 26, 2016, 12:33:47 PM    ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent_2016-04-26-123347_ [redacted].crash        /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.We bKit.WebContent.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent    Apr 25, 2016, 09:55:47 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Microsoft Outlook_2016-04-25-095547_[redacted].hang        /Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Microsoft Outlook.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Outlook

Allan Eckert · Answer

It appears the amount of free space on the disk drive is being used for swap space.You should seriously consider increasing the amount of RAM.You should also look into increasing the size of the disk drive being used to store the Time Machine backups.

johnnybarcelona · Answer

Thanks to Allen and Linc for what I learned from the tools, information and analysis.  The swap space issue is clear from the Etrecheck run.  My usage had evolved whereby I had about 6-8 applications running all the time including 6-8 web pages open in tabs in Safari.  This was expensive in RAM and made the swap space use necessary.  I have reduced RAM use by keeping fewer web pages open in Safari and reduced the number of simultaneously open applications when I am not using the machine.I still don&#x27;t really understand how the system calculates the swap space needs because at no time did I have 14Gb of applications and documents/pages open simultaneously?  How could the swap space expand so much when I am not using it?I have no option to upgrade my present RAM from 4GB as far as I understand (5 year old machine).I will see what I learn with the new use pattern  (which is not arduous) and if I learn anything new I will let you know.

johnnybarcelona · Answer

I have learned what was using my Storage.  Using Etrecheck and with help from Allen and Linc it was determined that the SWAP space was gradually growing in the way I previously used my machine.  I learned that one website was the cause of the SWAP space increases - The Weather Network.  I have sent this information to TWN.  I observed with only TWN on my Safari and the system idle over the course of 7 hours the website grew from 134.8 MB of memory and 273.3MB of SWAP to 6.22 GB of memory and 5.11 GB of SWAP space.