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View Full Version : Free HD Space?



theman5725
Dec 21, 2006, 09:24 PM
I'm running out of space on my MacBooks internal HD, and need to free some space. I heard there was a way to delete languages and extra drivers to get several GB of space. I've also heard this destroys Rosetta, which I certainly don't to be destroyed. Suggestions?


aspro
Dec 21, 2006, 09:28 PM
I am fairly certain you can delete the extra languages without ruining Rosetta (using http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/.) You could also strip out the unneeded parts of universal binaries using monolingual or http://xslimmer.com/.
theman5725
Dec 21, 2006, 09:30 PM
Wow, Xslimmer looks great! I'm downloading it right now.
PSUchris
Dec 22, 2006, 12:14 AM
Wow, Xslimmer looks great! I'm downloading it right now.

Just DON'T delete any of the architectures using monolingual.
theman5725
Dec 22, 2006, 09:47 AM
Just DON'T delete any of the architectures using monolingual.

How do you prevent that? My xSlimmer trial already ran out so I'd like to use Monolingual. I haven't downloaded it yet though.
Maxwell Smart
Dec 22, 2006, 11:40 AM
Yeah seriously, I deleted the architecture on my Macbook and couldn't figure out why Rosetta wouldn't run. Then I had to reinstall Tiger to get it working again :-/
Shadow
Dec 22, 2006, 01:19 PM
How do you prevent that? My xSlimmer trial already ran out so I'd like to use Monolingual. I haven't downloaded it yet though.

Uncheck EVERYTHING in the Architecture tab.
pianoman
Dec 22, 2006, 01:42 PM
also, you can delete the iDVD themes (Macintosh HD > Library > Application Support > iDVD > Themes) and GarageBand loops (Macintosh HD > Library > Audio > Apple Loops > Apple).
psychofreak
Dec 22, 2006, 01:44 PM
also, you can delete the iDVD themes and GarageBand loops.

and iWeb if you don't use it.
mkrishnan
Dec 22, 2006, 01:45 PM
Considering that there's a post from someone who did that about once a week on MR, you'd think the authors of these programs would put in big blatant warnings against stripping architecture.... It's almost become a dead giveaway now when someone complains that no programs will run on their new Mac and they cannot install anything.

I personally have to say that I think getting rid of GB and iWeb are much better choices if you don't use them. Doesn't iMovie HD also take up a fair amount of space? Between the three you get back... what.... well over 2 gigs?
balamw
Dec 22, 2006, 02:12 PM
Don't forget printer drivers.

I freed up a couple of gigs on my iBook by removing all the Epson printer drivers since I don't have an Epson printer.

B
mkrishnan
Dec 22, 2006, 02:16 PM
I freed up a couple of gigs on my iBook by removing all the Epson printer drivers since I don't have an Epson printer.

I thought the footprint of the whole default OS X install (not including iLife, etc) was only about 3-4 gigs... are you sure there are really 2 gigs of Epson drivers?
balamw
Dec 22, 2006, 02:20 PM
I thought the footprint of the whole default OS X install (not including iLife, etc) was only about 3-4 gigs... are you sure there are really 2 gigs of Epson drivers?
It was definitely around a gig for just the Epson drivers. I was shocked. I eliminated a few other brands as well.

B
~Shard~
Dec 22, 2006, 02:45 PM
Here are my recommendations:

- remove GarageBand, iDVD and iWeb if you do not need them - that should free up around 6 GB right there
- check out /Library/Printers/ - 2 GB of printer drivers that you may or may not need
- use OmniDiskSweeper (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/8667) (not free) or my personal favorite WhatSize (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13006) (free) to determine what all is taking up room on your HDD and where it is
- use Monolingual (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/7758) to remove the unnecessary language resources from your Mac
- lastly, you could always use AppZapper (http://appzapper.com/) to ensure that when you uninstall any programs that all those pesky sub-folders, etc. are deleted

And with Monolingual, yes, if you are using an Intel-based mac, uncheck all the Architectures selections or else Rosetta, among other things, will simply not work.

That should just about do it. :cool:
mkrishnan
Dec 22, 2006, 02:59 PM
It was definitely around a gig for just the Epson drivers. I was shocked. I eliminated a few other brands as well.

I checked and stand corrected... my Tiger 10.4.8 /library/printers on my iMac is 1.55 gigs and 640MB in the Epson folder alone.
theman5725
Dec 22, 2006, 11:03 PM
I'm going to delete languages and printer drivers, but I use the iLife suite so I'm not deleting them. I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
Xavier
Dec 22, 2006, 11:05 PM
Everything is taking up so much space these days..
~Shard~
Dec 22, 2006, 11:38 PM
Everything is taking up so much space these days..

Yep, it's just the way it is. I remember back when I wondered how on Earth I would ever fill up the 1 GB HD on my PC... in a few years it will all be about terabytes... :cool:
xUKHCx
Dec 23, 2006, 03:05 PM
In my first year at Uni i only have a 12 Gb harddrive and now 3 years later I have about 800Gbs of harddrive space in total, crazy.
balamw
Dec 23, 2006, 06:52 PM
In my first year at Uni i only have a 12 Gb harddrive and now 3 years later I have about 800Gbs of harddrive space in total, crazy.
There are plenty of us around who remember 5 MB hard drives being a luxury item, back in the day of 400 KB floppies. :p It wasn't that long ago...

B
emptyCup
Dec 23, 2006, 07:47 PM
There are plenty of us around who remember 5 MB hard drives being a luxury item, back in the day of 400 KB floppies. :p It wasn't that long ago...

Actually, it was. We just don't think so because we're old. If it makes you feel better, I remember running a whole hospital off a 20 MB drive. It was the size of a washing machine and shook like one too.
balamw
Dec 23, 2006, 07:55 PM
Actually, it was. We just don't think so because we're old. If it makes you feel better, I remember running a whole hospital off a 20 MB drive. It was the size of a washing machine and shook like one too.

LOL. It was only 20 years ago or so, still within the Macintosh era.... OK, so that's probably older than most users on MR...

I've still got some 160K 8" floppies around somewhere.... :p

B
PYR0M310N
Dec 24, 2006, 08:49 AM
Actually, it was. We just don't think so because we're old. If it makes you feel better, I remember running a whole hospital off a 20 MB drive. It was the size of a washing machine and shook like one too.

I was listening to a story the other day of somebody who just did some work for the Geogian health service, and they still run a 300 bed hosital of a PC no bigger than that!