I chose not to update in some cases, like the latest Itunes and Raw Camera. Now I want to download the update for OS X El Capitan and the response is that I don't have enough space on the HD. I looked at its content, and there's a lot that I would like to erase in order to create space on my HD.
How can I do so safely?
I do have an external drive.
Thanks a lot!
Cecilia
MAC OS X
Cecilla ..
You can use the Time Machine app in your Applications folder to store data on your external drive so you can free up storage space on your Mac.
Instructions here > Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support
There's an easy to keep track of available storage on your Mac.
Click your Apple menu top left in your screen. From the drop down menu click About This Mac then select the Storage tab.
Well, the most obvious would be your videos, movies, pics, etc. Those take up a lot of space.
You always need to maintain a very minimum of 10 - 15 GB of empty space so your OS can work properly. So, since you need about 6 GB for the installer, I'd suggest you get rid of about 20 - 25 GB worth of stuff.
Do not mess with the Applications folder (unless you installed them; but they do not take up a lot of room) or the System folders. Check your user folder for other things.
Make sure you have a backup before deleting or moving anything. If you use Time Machine, remember that it will just copy things - it does not delete anything from your hard drive. And, if you delete stuff, then it will eventually be gone from your backups as well.
Thank you for your help.
I don't have any movies on my laptop. However, I bought a refurbished one from Apple, and I found quite a bit that I had not uploaded/installed.
Could you please tell me how delete items from my User folder? I don't even know how to find it. I just looked at my Disk Utility and I see that there's a lot of space taken by I don't know what; it says "other".
Thank you for your help.
I am not very educated about the Time Machine. I use the external drive to protect my documents, etc… in case my laptop crashes.
I did what you said and I found the Storage tab. How am I supposed to choose what to delete in order to increase available storage?
Don't let the "other" confuse you - that just means everything except apps and the OS.
Now, what exactly did you download that you found at the app store?
You will need to look for folders and what they contain - open a Finder window in either column or list view, click on the different folders on the left including your User/home folder (usually your name - it shows a little house as the icon) and then see what's in them. That is how you can see it and then delete it. Here is an example of what is in my Movies folder:
Remember that if you throw out anything from Time Machine, it is gone forever. Time Machine backs up what is currently on your hard drive; it does not delete anything (which is what you need to do).
How did you get the menu you sent me as an example? Is it part of the dropdown with "documents", "downloads", etc…? That's where there's the little house icon is. Is that where I should delete folders? I don't think it will free 20 to 25 GB though.
I did not download much in anything, about 25 songs in iTunes. I have iPhoto as well as Photos because I lost some when I migrated to Photos, so I kept both.
I want to see what is in the "other" folder so I can see what I know I can safely delete.
Thank you very much for taking the time to help me.
The one thing you absolutely must not do is rely on Time Machine to save any files permanently. That's a recipe for certain data loss.
Time Machine is a backup tool, not an archiving tool. It gives you a window of time in which to recover data that has been lost from the backup sources. You can't rely on it to preserve files that you want to keep indefinitely. Any such files must be backed up along with the rest of your original data. Files that you delete from the source volume(s) will eventually be deleted from the backups, after a variable delay that depends on your usage pattern and the size of the backup volume.
Thank you very much. I used the Disk Space Free up and I managed to get enough storage for the OS X El Capitan update.
You are welcome.
To open a Finder window, click on the Finder icon (far left corner of your dock) and then choose how to display the contents clicking on the little icons in the toolbar of the window. (look at my screenshot to see which one is highlighted).
To find out how much empty space your hard drive has, how about you click on your hard drive icon once and then use the keys Command + I - that will pop open a get info window. Please take a screenshot or copy the numbers showing total capacity, space used and space remaining.
Remember that you should not just make enough room for your download. The OS needs space to operate properly. Your hard drive is much like a spinning CD or DVD - every time you do anything, it will be written to it taking up space. It is not considered storage as it is a "working environment" that contains all the files that make your computer work as well as anything you add to it.
New OS X El Capitan update - HELP!
