System taking majority of storage on macOS High Sierra

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System taking majority of storage on macOS High Sierra

Hello, I've seen multiple articles on this topic however I have yet to solve this problem. My system is taking up 82 of 121 GB, however I have:

Deleted multiple applications
Used Dr. Cleaner to get rid of many cache files
Deleted my local snapshots
Fiddled with TimeMachine, terminal, and /library/caches to deactivate this nuisance

I recently installed CS:GO (20GB) then uninstalled it including Steam. I tried to see if there were a backup hidden somewhere that kept these files, but I thought I deleted them. Performed multiple restarts, file digging, and still unable to update the Mac due to not having enough space. Is there a solution to this?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015), macOS High Sierra (10.13.4)

Posted on Aug 5, 2018 2:09 PM

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Answer 1

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Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Aug 5, 2018 3:08 PM in response to Primp

There is no way to know where files are stored on the drive using macOS.

How to Free Up Space on The Hard Drive

You can remove data from your Home folder except for the /Home/Library/ folder.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on freeing up space on your hard drive.
Also, see Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk.
What is 'Other' and 'Purgeable' in About This Mac?
Files That Make Up the 'Other' Storage Category, and How to Remove Them
Free up storage space on your Mac.
See Where did my Disk Space go?.
Be sure to Empty the Trash to recover the space.
Replace the drive with a larger one. Check out OWC for drives, tutorials, and toolkits.
Use OmniDiskSweeper or GrandPerspective to search your drive for large files and where they are located.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

207,577 points

Aug 5, 2018 2:51 PM in response to Primp

I strongly suggest you do not use Dr. Cleaner any further. Cleaning apps for Macs are a waste of money and can do more harm than good. Only use the manual method described in this web page; Uninstall Dr. Cleaner from Mac: When Cleaner Becomes a Junk Itself

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Answer 3

Primp Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 5, 2018 3:10 PM in response to Kappy

Solved. Started going down your list and found what solved it for me:

1. Purged multiple files, majority of the closed ones have little to nothing in them.

2 & 3. Emptied the trash. Archived & compressed multiple files in an external drive. Cleaned up system logs & temporary files manually via terminal as shown below. Removed unused localization files including "languages". The console isn't telling me much about storage.

What fixed it: Downloaded OmniDiskSweeper and manually went through the files to find what was hidden. Despite having deleted these already, they were floating around some imaginary folder that was nearly impossible to reach without tearing my hair out. Thank you, Kappy, for helping me out with this. Now I just wish Mac made it easier for users to map WHERE EVERYTHING IS. System now takes 10.43GB compared to the 80GB it was taking before.

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Answer 4

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Aug 5, 2018 2:26 PM in response to Primp

Get Correct Storage Information

Do not use the information from the Storage section of the About This Mac dialog. Ignore the Storage information as it is typically wrong. To find out the correct information for any disk: Select a Desktop disk icon. Press Command-I to open the Get Info window and look at the topmost panel displayed. You will find the disk information displayed for Capacity, Available, and Used. If you have more than one disk/partition then repeat for each one on your Desktop.

The categories found in the Storage section of About This Mac is simply an arbitrary way of displaying files on your drive. There are no such categories actually on the drive.

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Answer 5

Primp Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 5, 2018 2:34 PM in response to Kappy

I think I saw a previous post of yours with that reply and tried it before, and these are my results; similar. No partitions, no other drives. Not sure where the system is being used.

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System taking majority of storage on macOS High Sierra

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