What To Do When Your Mac's Drive Is Full (7 Steps)

[@antocovsaraya]

This is literally the best tutorial channel. I watch a lot of tutorials all the time, and this channel has the best

[@BrentD.]

Agreed👌

[@liz2959]

I agree! He is my go to person for anything having to do with Mac...

[@omarjun9044]

Thank you, sir! I can be able to finish my editing after I watched your tutorial. Thanks for sharingbyournidea. I appreciate it.👍❤️👌

[@socalplantmama]

ive been trying to figure out for weeks how to clear up space thank you so much for all the tips! defiantly helped me

[@SpencerprattENTREPRENEUR]

Dawg thank you so much Gary! your Channel is my go to for mac problems!

[@loisskiathitis8926]

A very useful and informative video tutorial today! Thank you, Gary!👏🏻❤️

[@helpfulcommenter]

Even though I don't have a current OS I was able to use this to get into my library and delete about 50G out of caches for programs I no longer use on this machine, thanks Gary

[@qqbre]

Extremely useful. Till now i was only deleting caches folders

[@JPHannibal]

Always helpful. Thanks.

[@eightwheels]

Very helpful! Thanks, Gary!

[@solomon1021]

Best help on this topic I've found thus far. Absolutely incredible I was about to wipe clean. Didn't have to with these 7 steps.

[@happyhedgehog6450]

Fantastic video. Way better than the others that I watched. Thank you for your help.

[@andrewsema359]

Great help. Thanks Gary

[@LukeFrazierArt]

Gary is the best source for everything Mac

[@neninho69]

I don't have much on my Imac but still im really glad to know how I can organize my drive! thanks Gary!!

[@derekbarkham2314]

Very useful, thank you.

[@PJsAllDayFR]

An excellent tutorial. Thanks for this essential information.

[@peacefulscape2448]

Thank you so much! You saved me! Couldn't understand why my disk was still full yet I removed a lot of apps! Subscribed!

[@donisgarverick5541]

I'm doning a clean out of a imac running Monterey before upgradeing to a new M1/M2. I can't find anything equivalent to the Storage screen you start with. Am I just missing it or do you have an older video covering Monterey ?

[@haraldmuethel7546]

In Monterey: Apple menue > About this mac > ((overview tab) (display tab) (storage tab) (etc)). At storage tab you´ll find the SSD- or HDD-partitions. Next to the system drive it says (manage...). Or "About this mac" and hit CMD-U. Servus

[@60beats44]

Thank you Gary as always. On a related matter and running an external 4TB SSD* to back up my MacBook 4TB internal SSD I am always disappointed when the former* eventually gives me an indication that it is now full and that a "backup could not be completed". I was under the impression that older files would automatically be deleted by the Time Machine app once it gets to this stage. Instead, I am now resetting the external drive once this happens and start all over again with no historical back-ups.

[@macmost]

Older versions of files, yes. But it won't delete an old file entirely. Defeats the purpose of a backup if you can't rely on it to have your old files. That's why you need a bigger backup drive than what you are backing up.

[@60beats44]

Thank you Gary. I purchased my Macbook Pro 16 (4TB) with foresight and so far only used 1.2TB of the internal 4TB SSD. I initially bought an 8TB HDD as a backup device, but given the silence of the MacBook, with the fans rarely engaging, the constant clicking of the external HDD was annoying and I am sensitive to sounds. 4TB was the maximum size for an external SSD at the time. Although it takes a little while for the external SSD to fill up, but once it does, Time Machine indicates that the drive is full and backups can no longer be completed. Therefore and in my own experience, older files are not automatically deleted to make room for newer files and I am not in a financial position to afford a second external SSD with the same capacity.

[@macmost]

@@60beats44 There's a difference between older files and older VERSIONS of files. Let's say you have a file A that takes up X space and you change it 10 times over 10 days, making edits to this file. You now have 11 versions of this file stored on Time Machine, taking up 11X space. Then you start to run out of space on the drive, so some of those versions are removed. Eventually you end up with only the most recent version of that file, the other 10 versions being sacrificed. But then you also have file B. Same deal, but this time you delete file B completely. The first 10 versions of B get sacrificed, but the final version of B does not. It is saved in your backup in case you deleted that file in error. So 1 copy of B hangs around forever. That's how backing up 4TB will eventually exceed a 4TB backup drive.

[@60beats44]

Thanks again Gary. I am still not sure if and how I should modify my Time Machine backup behaviour, thinking that even if I had a larger external backup device, the same situation would eventually arise, be it after some additional time. My main aim is to be able restore my Mac should it ever fail, be it on the repaired or new device. Retrieving files that I might have created a long time ago would be a secondary benefit. Always looking forward to your next presentation and Apple for me would not be the same without you.

[@macmost]

@@60beats44 Just get a larger drive. No drive will last forever, but 4TB clearly wasn't enough for you. A 12TB or more drive isn't that much more expensive. That's what I use. That could last you many many years without filling up.

[@mariuszarszylo1476]

THANK YOU! I never knew you could change the folder view settings to check off the box that said "Calculate all sizes". That is what I was missing this whole time.

[@Kialno]

where

[@Kialno]

nvm

[@g.r.2985]

Another great video Gary!! Had to back page to add a Like and comment. Would love for you to make a video about storage in Photos. I have a large photo library but only 500GB on my SDD so would like to save the most recent photos (say, since my kids were born) and then everything before on a separate external backup, to be accessed whenever I needed it. Thanks again, mate and keep up the great work!

[@macmost]

Using iCloud Photos with "Optimize" turned on as a simple way to add more photos using only some of your drive space, and still have everything in one library. Otherwise, you'll need to create a new library and move photos to it, but from then on it will be harder to access them as you'll always be switching libraries and trying to remember where things are.

[@vidvertise001]

The one thing That I haven’t seen yet in any storage clearing tutorial is that the storage will not reflect any deleted trash until the System Settings > General > Storage is closed and then reopened. That will also update the available memory on the “Macintosh HD” icon.

[@artmaltman]

Superb overview. Question: One time a couple years ago, I found that Apple Mail had built up a 120gig cache! Taking a risk I deleted it, and weeks later it was a reasonable size. Very odd.

[@macmost]

Not sure what could have caused that. Remember that email is usually a cloud service (iCloud, Gmail, Yahoo, IMAP, etc) so which messages are cached for quick access depends on the service and your settings. For instance, with Google you can set a limit and only have the most recent 5,000 or 10,000 messages cached, etc.

[@artmaltman]

@@macmost I always suspected a mail cache bug.

[@macmost]

Maybe? But you said it was a couple of years ago. So not sure how you'd figure out today if that was the case. Not sure why it would matter since we are a few versions of Mail and macOS down the road. Could have been a bug in your mail service too. That also could be long gone.

[@iPhone-Cinematograhy]

Thank you for all you do!!!

[@chucksaeger7500]

You are brilliant!

[@knunn552]

Gary's 2TB of storage is intimidating me.

[@Doughboy123x]

Wasn't aware of the "Calculate all sizes" option. Thanks!

[@yanyuhan212]

helps a lot! thank you so much

[@EricsonHerbas]

This is super helpful. I'm currently clearing my dad's iMac and I wasn't sure which files to delete.

[@kellybass7766]

Which external hard drive do you recommend for a 2018 Sonoma 14.6.1 MacBook Pro?

[@macmost]

Sorry, I don't do product reviews and I've only ever tried the devices I actually own. So it is hard to recommend one over another. Just look for one that meets your needs and gets decent reviews.

[@haralddoerr]

Cool as usual ❤

[@keithdiamond1294]

Thanks

[@back-seat-driver1355]

Always lots of good infos, Gary! One question though - i do not see the size of the several files although my size row is on, but empty! Any idea for that? thanks a lot

[@macmost]

Sorry, I'm not sure why you aren't seeing the size for some files. Perhaps you just need to wait longer? Or, perhaps try a restart? Maybe those are files from iCloud Drive that are not currently cached locally?

[@back-seat-driver1355]

@@macmost no solution so far but i will search more on that. Thanks so much, Gary!

[@camilaboys5532]

Hi Gary. Thanks so much for all of your Mac tutorials. My largest application file is "Install macOS Montery" using 12.43 GB of storage. I'm running Ventura 13.6.7. Do I still need that or is it safe to delete it?

[@macmost]

Delete it.

[@OlivesD]

Thank you for this video tutorial. I am noticing that my applications take up over 426 GBs but the actual numbers do not add up. Besides the Affinity suite which takes up a total of about 8 GBs, there are no other apps on my laptop that takes up much space. What can be the cause of this? Are there hidden application files?

[@macmost]

Sounds like some of your applications have large libraries of data. The measurement is more than just the app file itself in some cases. Graphics apps, video apps and games typically have a lot of extra items. Look in your Library folders to see what is there.

[@SockBandito]

It should be a folder in Clouddocs called "session" Just free'd up over 400+gbs of space a

[@OlivesD]

@@macmost Thank you so much for this suggestion, it worked! You're so kind for responding to every comment that asks for help. I moved some things from the Library to the Trash and watched as the storage went from 426 to 17GB. Crazy amazing.

[@jabamabe]

you just saved me 130gb in my 250gb drive. thank you so much🙏

[@fueyou]

Is there an updated version of this? In Monterey, there’s not ‘System Settings’ under the apple. There is System Preferences, but there’s no ‘Storage’ under ‘General’. I’m lost before I start.

[@macmost]

This IS the updated version. Monterey is three years old though. So here's an older version that may help you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zl7bpYJ8rp2LnLc

[@tftcride]

If you have done a similar video for older versions, can you post the link? Thank you.

[@macmost]

Which version?

[@georgee3401]

As usual, a very useful and important tutorial. Many thanks!

[@MichelleBoldman]

If I delete all the videos and pictures from messages does it delete it from the cloud as well? I have my iCloud turned on for messages. I've researched this but I keep getting mixed information. Please help!

[@macmost]

If you have Messages, Settings, iMessage, Enable Messages in iCloud turned on, then yes.

[@movimox]

I have just deleted 500 GO of useless After Effect cache...THANK YOUUUUUUU

[@qwertyqart]

out of 1TB on my M1, I have about 380GB stuck in perpetually calculating mode on macOS storage setting then never gets completed. I used OmniDisk sweeper to sift through but still can't identify. any suggestion what else can I do?

[@macmost]

Try a restart. See if it works after that. If it is still stuck by tomorrow, try going right to steps 6 and 7 and clear some things out that way first.

[@qwertyqart]

@ I’ve restarted many times, it has been happening over a year. it is a work computer with unidirectional copying (I can copy to the Mac but can’t copy anything to HD, Time Machine backups are blocked as well), is there a feature on Mac that makes Time Machine accumulates backups? Or how to check it

[@macmost]

@@qwertyqart So there is something installed on it that is blocking regular use? Then it is being managed by an IT department. Contact them for support on this. What they are doing is likely causing issues.

[@helpfulcommenter]

Thanks Gary

[@helpfulcommenter]

I'm most curious about the category that's just called "Other" that doesn't seem to have any way to access or understand what it is or where the data is. Catalina.

[@macmost]

Don't focus on that. It is just a category. Use these techniques to free up space and you should find it frees some of that up.

[@Answering123]

Thank you

[@voyagerman22]

My iMac M1 has over 415 GB of System Data. I don't see anything in folders mentioned that would indicate such a larger amount of data being used. Any suggestions?

[@macmost]

You tried all of these options? Even number 7 didn't shine a light on it?

[@voyagerman22]

@@macmost I reviewed #7 again. The Library folder shows: Messages 44GB, Containers 19GB, Photos 18GB, Group Containers 12GB, Mail 7GB, Application Support 7GB, Logs 6GB, Cache 5GB, Metadata 3GB iCloud Drive 1.7GB then everything else in folder is

[@macmost]

@@voyagerman22 Did you check in your system library too? I wonder if you have something there.

[@voyagerman22]

@@macmost Yes, I did. The largest item was Application Support folder with 25GB. After that the next largest was 542MB. Would a clean install of OSX and restoring from TIme Machine help? Don't want to do that, but feel like I have to do something to address this storage issue. I intentionally got the 1TB so I would have plenty of space for years to come, but it frustrating to see the computer using nearly half of my drive.

[@macmost]

@@voyagerman22 A clean install of macOS should do nothing as the system would be the same. Keep investigating. Go through the steps in this video again. If there is 415GB of system data then it would appear using one of these methods.

[@andrewjones-productions]

Is there a way to download files directly from iCloud to an external drive without putting it on the internal storage of a Mac?

[@macmost]

Yes, using the iCloud.com web site.

[@richardmitchell2257]

What about adding more internal drive !!

[@AngeldustxLea]

ik im late but it dosent show the same settings for my mag and there is no storage option in general (im on maccbook air if that matters)

[@macmost]

Go to System Settings, General, Storage.

[@blindwage]

i accidentally turned on screen record for 5 days. I didnt realize it until it records up to 200GB. Now i wonder if my battery still doing good, since i never shut down my mac for that 5 days, my macbook felt warm during those days, but the fan never turned on. OMG

[@flyest173]

Hello. so every-time when i wanna check my storage System Data and Photos are just calculating the whole time what do i do?

[@macmost]

How long do you wait?

[@flyest173]

@@macmost I've been waiting for like 10 minutes now

[@macmost]

@@flyest173 It shouldn't take that long, but I don't know what you've got (an old Mac with an HDD may take a while). Just let it do its thing in the background as you work on other stuff and see. Your only other option is to call Apple Support and work with them on it.

[@Coldlaces]

hey how do you remove storage for other users and shared? and i have one account on my mac

[@macmost]

Are you very sure you only have one user? Check by using Go, Computer in the Finder. Go into your HD. Then go into Users. Then see what users you have. You can also find the Shared folder there.

[@Coldlaces]

nevermind i fixed it i just had some files in the shared folder thanks@@macmost

[@zoltanzana]

@@macmost I have Shared folders there I didn't know about: Previously relocated items. Can I delete those?

[@macmost]

@@zoltanzana kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmGxmWiPdq-jf6s

[@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jk]

I want to move my entire picture and video library from photos app to an external drive. MacBook Pro 4TB storage iCloud 2 TB storage iPhone 1 TB storage. I keep maxing out phone storage, so it’s time to move things out. Restoring a phone is a pain when you have too much data

[@macmost]

If the iPhone is the problem, then that won't do anything to help. Instead just turn on the "Optimize" feature of iCloud Photos. That is what it is for.

[@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jk]

@@macmost I have travel in my future with extremely limited wireless/wifi access. I can’t have files in the cloud that I can’t access, or off load files into the cloud. Even now some files are only in the cloud with placeholder thumbnails on computer and iPhone. It gets frustrating fast.

[@GaryRosenzweig]

@@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jkI thought it was photos we were talking about, not files.

[@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jk]

@@GaryRosenzweig sorry, yes, photo and video.

[@macmost]

@@GaryRosenzweig Yes, if you need ALL your photos available all the time, but you have more photos than you can fit, then I'm not sure what to suggest.

[@axlent123]

So in the process of cleaning my mac, I am deleting about 60 gigs of photo video files... what is basically on the cloud already, and on an external harddrive. (side note, another issue is that I transferred my photo library to that (exfat) drive, which now does not recognize that library, and I cant open it.. help?). I am trying to delete that 60 gig photo library from my mac (not the external, at this point), and it has been deleting actively for about 8 hours, showing that it has not even deleted 1 item yet... what is wrong, if anything?

[@macmost]

You shouldn't try to put a Mac Photos library on a Windows-formatted disk. Why is it formatted for Windows if you are using for Mac? Hopefully you still have your Photos library on your Internal drive or somewhere else and can erase and reformat the drive APFS properly. I don't know about your other issue, sorry. Can't tell from just that info what is going on.

[@cf3619]

I’ve moved my photos library to an external ssd. How do I do the same with my music?

[@macmost]

You can move your library, or just keep your music media there. A lot depends on what "my music" is -- like is it ripped CDs, purchased from iTunes, or Apple Music? See kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6utnKhriZJoeK8

[@helpfulcommenter]

This seems useful. Unfortunately I can't update my OS beyond Catalina so I can't use the information :(

[@brandonwood8971]

please help ive been confused for over a year since i signed into my apple id on my 2023 15in macbook air m2 my ~200gigs of photos/videos filled up its harddrive immediately and every video or help page i read says if i delete photos/vids off my mac it will delete them PERMANENTLY off my icloud please help how do i keep all photos/vide off my mac and only on my icloud i turned my setting on my mac to not sync with icloud and delete some to free up space and now im scared it will update then auto sync and delete off the cloud what i deleted off my mac

[@macmost]

Just turn on the "Optimized" setting in Photos, Settings, iCloud. That is what it is for. If you still have the photos in iCloud Photos, then turning iCloud Photos back on for your Mac will re-sync and everything should be there.

[@brandonwood8971]

@@macmost it only went from 39gigs to 27gig of on disk storage. i want it to go to 0 stored on disk is there a way?🙏🏻

[@macmost]

@@brandonwood8971 It will never go down to 0, of course. It "optimizes." SO it made some room for you. It will make more room if you need it or over time there are photos you haven't looked at recently.

[@danielmayer888]

I am new to Apple. I have no idea what to do, I have 1.75TB of a 2TB drive taken up by documents. What do I do? Is that all my iCloud too? Can I delete all of that. Please help.

[@macmost]

Try some of the things I show here. Step 4 should be your main tool if it is documents that are using space.

[@stephenandracki3371]

great!

[@JCF072344]

What about the Time Machine drive? Mine is almost full.

[@macmost]

It will automatically remove old versions of files to make room. But you can also just get a new one if you want a longer history in the future.

[@cataclysmic911]

People, back up your stuff.

[@brandonwood8971]

literally been researching so hard how i backup the 40gigs of photos and videos off photos but i can just right click and send to hardrive i have plugged in and i also cant click and drag into harddrive .... because mac os is retarded and low quality

[@augustojordao785]

CloudKit keeps using almost 75% of my storage and makes it goes full. What can I do?

[@macmost]

Look at your iCloud settings and see what you have in storage there.

[@Luigiano]

My applications are 16gb but it shows 90gb. Where is the missing unaccounted space?

[@macmost]

Where is it that you see 16 GB? Is that accounting for all apps and all library items associated with those apps?

[@Safestassets]

I cleared everything and I still have 800GB of System Data. I can't find it anywhere.

[@TopGyrlOfficial]

Umm....there's a lot of files that I didn’t put there and I don't understand what they are?

[@macmost]

Like what? Apps and the system will store a lot of data in different ways. Don't delete something unless you know what it is and that you absolutely don't need it anymore.

[@auxer_edits]

200gb of storage is in my users but i cant find where its coming from

[@macmost]

"Other" users?

[@auxer_edits]

@@macmost I found out over 100gb was in containers I think it was called but this video still helped

[@androidphone6972]

Solution: buy a Mac with larger internal storage! Terrabyte:

[@JNicoleCustom]

pretty sure my computer is broken

[@jeremyjdl713]

I’ve changed the podcast settings to not download automatically. But even after deleting a bunch of pods it downloads new ones. Frustrating 😂

[@designmorsels]

haha. I can't organize my downloads folder. So silly (too late for that).

[@nigelmark]

❤

[@daviddahl8562]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4DQgKmDbJxqjZo My disk utility is full I use to have a external hard drive connected and that crashed. I don't have that disk anymore. Now I can not find away to clear up the space. I think this is what's messing up my computer. I am cleaning up my computer but nothing happening in the disk utility.

[@HeyNiagraFalls]

A lady had 1TB full -FULL