30 Gigs used up on new Macbook

[Dynamyk]

I open my new Blackbook and it says 94.7 GB free. I don't remember my iBook or iMac having that much space in use. What can I delete to free up some space?

[Spanky Deluxe]

Is it brand new and newly opened? New Macs come with various stuff on them already - not quite the same magnitude of rubbish that come on most systems but some is there and some of it takes up a fair bit of space e.g. Microsoft Office Trial. Also although it may be a 120GB hard drive (I'm guessing), you don't actually get the full 120GB to start off with. A formatted 120GB drive would only give you about 110GB actual usuable space I believe.

Edit: Hard drive manufacturers don't count gigabytes and megabytes like operating systems do. To OS X and Windows etc, 1GB = 1024MB, 1MB = 1024KB, 1KB = 1024B. Manufacturers prefer to use the following sytem, 1GB = 1000MB, 1MB = 1000KB, 1KB=1000B. They do this purely because it sounds bigger. Just like internet providers use Megabit/second rather than Megabytes/second. This means that a 120GB hard drive is actually 111.76GB in size in real use numbers. Some of that goes off for the partition table, file structure etc.

So you've got ~95GB free of what would be 110GB normally. 15GB sounds pretty common for OS X + Trial software stuff. The first thing I do, like many people, is to whip out the reinstall disks and reinstall the machine first off, choosing only the things I want.

I hope that helps!! :)

[psychofreak]

1. You're mistaking Gigabits and Gigabytes...

2. You can do a re-install, and not install printer drivers etc.
You can get XSlimmer (http://www.xslimmer.com/) to save a few hundred MBs (and even a few GBs in the long run!)
You can run Monolingual (http://monolingual.sourceforge.net/) to get rid of languages you don't use (be careful not to delete architectures though!)

I used AppZapper (http://appzapper.com/) to get rid of iDVD which saved quite a lot of space, and if you don't need an iApp, this is the way to go :)

[Scarlet Fever]

Sounds like you have a 120GB HDD. The actual capacity is really around 111 GB (they use 1000 bytes = 1KB, whereas the real world use 1024 bytes = 1KB).
The default install takes up several gigs. I reckon backup any docs, wipe the drive, and re-install only what you want and need.

[Vidd]

1. You're mistaking Gigabits and Gigabytes...


Do you not mean GB and GiB?

You can get XSlimmer to save a few hundred MBs (and even a few GBs in the long run!)
Thanks for pointing out this app! I was wondering about all the wasted space generated by universal code.

[plinden]

New BlackBooks come with 160GB drives minimum.

[Spanky Deluxe]

New BlackBooks come with 160GB drives minimum.

Since his is a 2.0Ghz Blackbook, we're assuming its from before the update i.e. a refurb. I think before the update they came with 120GB hard drives.

[devilot]

If you don't already have a lot of documents/ apps/ folders/ etc. that you'd need to backup and put back on your HD, and you'd really like to reclaim HD space, then I'd do what he suggests here: 2. You can do a re-install, and not install printer drivers etc.But I would strongly urge you NOT to use Monolingual especially if you're already going to do an "Erase and Install." You'll have the option to delete unnecessary printer drivers, and yes, delete unnecessary languages, and even apps (for example, I got rid of iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, Garageband, etc.). It's much safer, tidier, and simpler than doing it after the fact.

If you don't decide to do an Erase and Install, and you do decide to delete apps such as Garageband, iDVD, and iMovie, be aware that the apps themselves aren't very space consuming, it's the accompanying folders and support files (such as sound loops, templates, etc.) that take up GBs of space.

[verticalforce]

Can anyone show step by step calculation of changing 120 gigabits into gigabytes....because somehow my calculation just don't add up... I thought you have to divide 120 by 8 to get gigabyte but that figure's a bit too low...

[psychofreak]

Thanks for pointing out this app! I was wondering about all the wasted space generated by universal code.
I saved 1.38 GB, I'm surprised that this isn't built into OSX...

[psychofreak]

Can anyone show step by step calculation of changing 120 gigabits into gigabytes....because somehow my calculation just don't add up... I thought you have to divide 120 by 8 to get gigabyte but that figure's a bit too low...

Here (http://www.easycalculation.com/bandwidth-calculator.php) is a good tool :)

[Spanky Deluxe]

Can anyone show step by step calculation of changing 120 gigabits into gigabytes....because somehow my calculation just don't add up... I thought you have to divide 120 by 8 to get gigabyte but that figure's a bit too low...

To convert from giga[b]bit[/i] to what we usually call gigabyte (i.e. converting download bandwidth to maximum available download speed), you divide by 8. I.e. a 10 Mbit internet connection would have a maximum download speed of 10 / 8 = 1.25 MB/s.

To convert from Hard Drive Manufacturer's GigaBytes to what most people call Gigabytes but are actually Gigibytes you have to get a bit more complicated. What I do is first work out how many bytes there are. I.e. 120GB specified would be 120 x 1000 x 1000 x 1000 bytes. Then convert back by dividing by 1024, 1024, 1024. This gives you 111.75 Gigibytes, which is what most people refer to as gigabytes.

[Dynamyk]

Thanks guys I'm doing a erase and install as we speak. Hopefully I'll get some more space. :).

I love the look of the new Macbooks, although I still prefer the keyboard of my iBook, but I'm assuming that's just because I've had it for 2 years :)

[verticalforce]

To convert from giga[b]bit[/i] to what we usually call gigabyte (i.e. converting download bandwidth to maximum available download speed), you divide by 8. I.e. a 10 Mbit internet connection would have a maximum download speed of 10 / 8 = 1.25 MB/s.

To convert from Hard Drive Manufacturer's GigaBytes to what most people call Gigabytes but are actually Gigibytes you have to get a bit more complicated. What I do is first work out how many bytes there are. I.e. 120GB specified would be 120 x 1000 x 1000 x 1000 bytes. Then convert back by dividing by 1024, 1024, 1024. This gives you 111.75 Gigibytes, which is what most people refer to as gigabytes.

Wth..first time that I've ever heard of Gigibytes..lol...thanks..

[Spanky Deluxe]

Wth..first time that I've ever heard of Gigibytes..lol...thanks..

Yeah I know, its crazy, I hadn't heard of them for years. Everyone just calls them gigabytes. Although I made a mistake, its actually gibibyte. Not that I will ever call them that.

[robby818]

Reinstall OSX but do a custom install and leave out extra languages & printer drivers & anything else you do not need. This will save several GBs of space.