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ac3320

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 20, 2011
127
0
CA
How can I clear this up? I need the space!

Any idea what it could be? If it was *just* local TM "snapshots," shouldn't DaisyDisk be able to tell that much?

Per the DaisyDisk website I did run Disk Utility and perform a "Repair Permissions" on the boot volume, but it still shows the hidden space...

I also turned TM off, but I suppose I didn't really expect that to do anything : /
 

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GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
For space issues, there are a few things you can try:
  • Begin by restarting your computer as a first step. This sometimes resolves issues.
  • For Time Machine users on Lion, space may being consumed by Time Machine local snapshots, which can be disabled.
  • Search with Finder to see if the space is being consumed by a very large file or several large files. Adjust the 50GB in the illustration to whatever size you deem appropriate.
    attachment.php
  • Use OmniDiskSweeper, JDisk Report or GrandPerspective to see how space is being used on your drive. Some of these apps may show more detail than others, so try several.
 

thundersteele

macrumors 68030
Oct 19, 2011
2,984
9
Switzerland
DaisyDisc runs as user application, so it doesn't have access to all files. In particular local backups are stored in /.MobileBackups and are not visible to the program.

You can compare the output of "About this Mac" -> "More Info" -> "Storage" with DaisyDiscs results. The former usually tells you how big the local backups are.
 

IvanOhio

macrumors newbie
Jan 7, 2012
24
0
Question

So I can understand this. You have a 500 GB hard drive.

If I am reading your picture right there is 343 GB space for Users. Is your hard drive full already? :confused:

There is 60 Gb of space hidden. Could that be reserved for programs or system use?
 

ac3320

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 20, 2011
127
0
CA
if it is the local tm backup, you can solve the disk problem in two ways:

a) enable time meachine and connect an external disk and make a time machine backup.

b) disable local tm copies, to do so you need a terminal command,

http://osxdaily.com/2011/09/28/disable-time-machine-local-backups-in-mac-os-x-lion/

I back up all the time, so that is not the issue (I think). Also local TM backups should delete themselves as space is needed, and I do find them a particularly useful feature. Moreover, local TM backups show up as "/Mobilebackups" or something to that effect. You can see that they are shown alongside the "hidden space" nonsense. SO that makes me think it has nothing to do with TM. Could be wrong though...

----------

So I can understand this. You have a 500 GB hard drive.

If I am reading your picture right there is 343 GB space for Users. Is your hard drive full already? :confused:

There is 60 Gb of space hidden. Could that be reserved for programs or system use?

What are you confused about? My HD is at 420 something, 60 of which is this hidden space. It is clearly not full. My post was not about whether my HD was full or not. Obviously, if it was full the HD would be at 500.

I really don't know what it is. That's why I am asking if any of the smart people here know what it could be.

DaisyDisk shows all the other programs and things constituting "system use," as you put it, so I am just not really sure what the "hidden space" is.

----------

DaisyDisc runs as user application, so it doesn't have access to all files. In particular local backups are stored in /.MobileBackups and are not visible to the program.

You can compare the output of "About this Mac" -> "More Info" -> "Storage" with DaisyDiscs results. The former usually tells you how big the local backups are.

If you are using the standalone version, yes they are visible as "/.MobileBackups," if you run as an admin (which is only available in the standalone, not the MAS version). So I can see the local TM snapshots just fine, and can confirm that they do not constitute any of the ~60 GB of "hidden space."
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
DaisyDisk shows all the other programs and things constituting "system use," as you put it, so I am just not really sure what the "hidden space" is.
Did you restart your computer, as I suggested?
Did you try the other apps, as I suggested? As I said, they don't all show the same level of detail.
Also, have you tried the Finder search I recommended?
 

ac3320

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 20, 2011
127
0
CA
Did you restart your computer, as I suggested?
Did you try the other apps, as I suggested? As I said, they don't all show the same level of detail.
Also, have you tried the Finder search I recommended?

Yes of course I restarted, and I haven't tried the other apps yet, but will do so in a little bit.

The finder search wasn't really worth anything, and I expected as much, since I doubt there would be one single file ~60 GB, ya know? But I did it anyways lol
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
Yes of course I restarted, and I haven't tried the other apps yet, but will do so in a little bit.

The finder search wasn't really worth anything, and I expected as much, since I doubt there would be one single file ~60 GB, ya know? But I did it anyways lol
As that post says, "Adjust the 50GB in the illustration to whatever size you deem appropriate." That means don't only search for 50 or 60GB. Try searching for any files over 10GB or 5GB. Also as stated, you're searching for "a very large file or several large files."

You seem to be skimming over possible solutions, rather than trying them.
 

thundersteele

macrumors 68030
Oct 19, 2011
2,984
9
Switzerland
If you are using the standalone version, yes they are visible as "/.MobileBackups," if you run as an admin (which is only available in the standalone, not the MAS version). So I can see the local TM snapshots just fine, and can confirm that they do not constitute any of the ~60 GB of "hidden space."

Ok, I didn't know that.

Maybe something from this long post could be useful: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1302889/
 

IvanOhio

macrumors newbie
Jan 7, 2012
24
0
Reserved for System / Program use?

Could that 60 GB be a system reserved or program space? Some OS's and program's need a "hidden" space for it's operation. Example, Windows 7 OS takes 100 MB when you first install it. That space is used for installing and repair. You can access it but not erase it. Maybe this is what is going on.

Just my two cents worth of technobabble to add.
 
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ac3320

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 20, 2011
127
0
CA
As that post says, "Adjust the 50GB in the illustration to whatever size you deem appropriate." That means don't only search for 50 or 60GB. Try searching for any files over 10GB or 5GB. Also as stated, you're searching for "a very large file or several large files."

You seem to be skimming over possible solutions, rather than trying them.

I did try smaller file searches as well, and they turned up nothing useful. The only file over 4GB on my HD is my virtual machine, and that is only 27 GB, and is accounted for in DaisyDisk.

----------

Could that 60 GB be a system reserved or program space? Some OS's and program's need a "hidden" space for it's operation. Example, Windows 7 OS takes 100 MB when you first install it. That space is used for installing and repair. You can access it but not erase it. Maybe this is what is going on.

Just my two cents worth of technobabble to add.

Well if that was the case, everyone should be reporting massive amounts of hidden space with DaisyDisk, and that is not the case :/
 

ac3320

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 20, 2011
127
0
CA
As that post says, "Adjust the 50GB in the illustration to whatever size you deem appropriate." That means don't only search for 50 or 60GB. Try searching for any files over 10GB or 5GB. Also as stated, you're searching for "a very large file or several large files."

You seem to be skimming over possible solutions, rather than trying them.

I tried all three programs, and none of them even showed me that the ~60 GB of "hidden space" exists, so that's a bummer.
 

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ac3320

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 20, 2011
127
0
CA
Also downloaded WhatSize, and it was the same story as all the other programs.

So I booted into the Recovery HD, and did a "Repair Disk" from there. I forget the exact verbiage, but it was something to the effect of "incorrect free volume blocks reported," or something like that. So after doing that and a permissions repair for good measure, rebooted into OS X and now Disk Utility, Finder, and all the other 3rd party programs are reporting the actual amount of free space. Not sure what would have caused 80+ GB (at its biggest size) to show up as "Hidden space."

FWIW, I like DaisyDisk the best for all of that stuff, mostly because it seems to be the most esthetically pleasing, but I will probably keep WhatSize as it's a non-pretty way to check out everything.

Thanks everyone for your help!
 

chlear909

macrumors newbie
Dec 8, 2012
3
0
This works perfectly

This all happened to me and apple support call 3 times said it was app files ???.

I got the free ONYX program, checked on hidden files, and there was a 100GIG 18 month old file.

Deleted it ,gained 100Gigs instantly of my 256gig drive,crazy

Omnidisc 'did not' show the 100 GIG file
 

Macia400

macrumors newbie
Jun 26, 2012
1
0
I am using DaisyDisk as well and I had the exact same problem. By a chance, I used the following command to disable the time machine from making temporary local snapshots (usually deleted in a week time):

sudo tmutil disablelocal
and suddenly the hidden space disappeared and everything looks fine! ( see this link for more details about the above command).

HTH someone else.
 
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