High Sierra update filled my drive and froze my keychain

Question

High Sierra update filled my drive and froze my keychain

I installed High Sierra and left the computer for the night... did not turn it off. When I returned the next day, the drive is totally full (it shouldn't be, it was less than 25% full) and I am locked out of my local keychains. My master password does still work, but it's the same as my local keychain password and it won't work there. I can do nothing. I've worked like mad deleting files, etc., but I'm not able to free any space... it's obviously High Sierra that's the problem.

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013), OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Dec 11, 2017 11:39 AM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

148,435 points

Dec 11, 2017 12:00 PM in response to dorothyfromchico

Unfortunately, CleanMyMac is most likely the culprit here. We get numerous posts at the ASC about this utility's antics and folks wanting to remove it from their systems.

At this point, I can only recommend that you perform a "clean" install of macOS, and then, use Time Machine to restore your data from the latest backup that was performed BEFORE you upgraded.

Ref:

About macOS Recovery - Apple Support
How to Clean Install MacOS High Sierra - OSXDaily

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

148,435 points

Dec 11, 2017 12:23 PM in response to dorothyfromchico

The key here is your backups. Using Apple's Recovery Mode should get your Mac up-and-running with a "clean" install of the operating system ... but your data will be based on the quality of your backups.

Some recommendations to try to make this "less scary:"

Use a cloning utility, like Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! to make a complete clone copy of your Mac's internal drive to an external one. This way should anything go wrong with using Recovery Mode, you would still have the original data. If you don't already have an external drive, I would suggest something like the WD My Passport drives. Be sure to get one that is larger capacity-wise than your Mac's internal drive.
Stop using Time Machine in the mean time. You do not want it to make backups of what's on the current drive.
Read through the steps to using Recovery Mode BEFORE actually attempting to use it. We can help answer any questions you may have.

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Answer 3

Dec 11, 2017 11:46 AM in response to Tesserax

I did an upgrade... no special backup first but I do have Time Machine backing up to an external disk. I do want to add, also, that I can get into and use Safari and several applications (Pages, Adobe Acrobat Reader, for instance) but I cannot open/load Mail.

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Answer 4

Dec 11, 2017 11:53 AM in response to dorothyfromchico

Also, I have done a Smart Cleanup with CleanMyMac and I've done a Maintenance that Flushed DNA Cache, Rebuile Lance Services Database, Repaired Disk Permissions, Verified the Disk, and is still in process of Verifying the fourth of my four external disks (it's the one with Time Machine backups).

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Answer 5

Dec 11, 2017 12:13 PM in response to Tesserax

I used Clean My Mac to try to fix what happened so I have a difficult problem understanding how it could have caused the problem. The problem was there immediately after installing High Sierra. I am definitely listening to what you say about using Clean My Mac again in the future, however. Any further hints will be greatly appreciated. I'm a retired high school business teacher who taught a lot of computer classes, but they were classes in using the computer, not fixing problems. I feel like a nervous baby on this kind of thing.

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Answer 6

Tesserax

Level 10

148,435 points

Dec 11, 2017 11:42 AM in response to dorothyfromchico

Did you make a backup BEFORE you installed macOS High Sierra? Did you perform an upgrade or a "clean" installation?

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Answer 7

Dec 11, 2017 11:57 AM in response to dorothyfromchico

That's supposed to say Rebuilt Launch Services

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