Macbook Pro 13" - Hard Disk Space Keeps on decreasing

[SweeneyD24]

Hey guys!

I have 12GB free space on my HDD and it seems to be constantly decreasing the more i use my MBP.
It is currently at 9GB and keeps on decreasing.

I went to applications>utilities>disk utility and checked the S.M.A.R.T. Status : Verified

Is there a problem with my HDD??..or maybe it's a virus??
Can anyone help me fix this??

Thnx

MBP 13" 2.26Ghz, 160 HDD, 2GB Ram, Mac Os X 10.6.6

[grawk]

It's PROBABLY either logs filling up or swap space filling up.

http://hints.macworld.com/article.ph...ard+disk+space

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by SweeneyD24

I have 12GB free space on my HDD and it seems to be constantly decreasing the more i use my MBP.
It is currently at 9GB and keeps on decreasing.

Is there a problem with my HDD??..or maybe it's a virus??

First, it can't be a virus, since none exist that can run on current Mac OS X.

Mac Virus/Malware Info

Next, open Activity Monitor and look at your Page Outs under the System Memory tab at the bottom. What does it show? Also, have you rebooted and does the available space change when you reboot?

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by grawk

It's PROBABLY either logs filling up or swap space filling up.

http://hints.macworld.com/article.ph...ard+disk+space

i read about the log files but i'm still not sure what to do..should i delete the logs or keep them!??..how do i delete the logs!??

thnx man!

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by SweeneyD24

i read about the log files but i'm still not sure what to do..should i delete the logs or keep them!??..how do i delete the logs!??

thnx man!

You don't need to delete them, unless they're abnormal in size. Did you read my post?

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

First, it can't be a virus, since none exist that can run on current Mac OS X.

Mac Virus/Malware Info

Next, open Activity Monitor and look at your Page Outs under the System Memory tab at the bottom. What does it show? Also, have you rebooted and does the available space change when you reboot?

OK!

page outs: 54.4 MB

Yes!!!i first had this problem yesterday, i retrieve all the missing space after reboot..but somehow i still have this problem!the space keeps decreasing!

thnx!

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by SweeneyD24

OK!

page outs: 54.4 MB

Yes!!!i first had this problem yesterday, i retrieve all the missing space after reboot..but somehow i still have this problem!the space keeps decreasing!

thnx!

I see you only have 2GB of RAM. If you routinely max out your RAM, Mac OS X begins paging memory to your hard drive. The swap files created by this process grow as your paging activity increases. Rebooting removes swap files and you start over again with freed up hard drive space. If this happens frequently, you should consider increasing RAM. If swap files are, indeed, the culprit here, increasing RAM will not only free up hard drive space, but will give you faster overall performance, since paging activity slows down your system.

You can also look at Activity Monitor's System Memory tab and make note of "Swap used:", which tells you how much of your disk space is currently used up by swap files.

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

I see you only have 2GB of RAM. If you routinely max out your RAM, Mac OS X begins paging memory to your hard drive. The swap files created by this process grow as your paging activity increases. Rebooting removes swap files and you start over again with freed up hard drive space. If this happens frequently, you should consider increasing RAM. If swap files are, indeed, the culprit here, increasing RAM will not only free up hard drive space, but will give you faster overall performance, since paging activity slows down your system.

I'm starting to think that these swap files are the problem! I use skype(approx. 95mb) , itunes(approx. 80mb) and safari(approx. 260mb) almost daily and there's also flash player safari plug in(approx. 141mb)!!
So what should i do by the time i upgrade my ram!??

thnx for your time and the advices!

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by SweeneyD24

So what should i do by the time i upgrade my ram!??

I don't understand your question. By the way, what do you show for "Swap used:" in Activity Monitor?

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

I don't understand your question. By the way, what do you show for "Swap used:" in Activity Monitor?

Is there anything i can do(for the time being) besides upgrading my ram to prevent this from happening again!!??i'll hav to wait for at least another month before i can upgrade my ram!

Swap used: 263.7 MB

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by SweeneyD24

Is there anything i can do(for the time being) besides upgrading my ram to prevent this from happening again!!??i'll hav to wait for at least another month before i can upgrade my ram!

Swap used: 263.7 MB

Well, currently your swap used is only 263MB, but you said you have 3GB missing, so swap files are less than 10% of your problem. Keep an eye on it and see how much it grows over time.

Use Disk Inventory X or Grand Perspective to see where the extra space is going.

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

Well, currently your swap used is only 263MB, but you said you have 3GB missing, so swap files are less than 10% of your problem. Keep an eye on it and see how much it grows over time.

Use Disk Inventory X or Grand Perspective to see where the extra space is going.

yes..and it keeps increasing!!

I'll try the disk inventory x!!

[grawk]

Just upgrade your drive. It's simple to do, and drives are cheap. It can't possibly be worth this much heartache over whether or not 3gb is full.

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by grawk

Just upgrade your drive. It's simple to do, and drives are cheap. It can't possibly be worth this much heartache over whether or not 3gb is full.

... except upgrading the drive doesn't give the performance boost that upgrading RAM would give, and the RAM is cheaper and easier to upgrade.

[ReelAction]

Originally Posted by SweeneyD24

Hey guys!

I have 12GB free space on my 250GB HDD and it seems to be constantly decreasing the more i use my MBP.
It is currently at 9GB and keeps on decreasing.

Is there a problem with my HDD??..or maybe it's a virus??
Can anyone help me fix this??

I had a similar problem, HDD went from 84GB used to 120GB used over a months period of time, without loading many downloads. This situation was accompanied by many "pinwheels" when opening or switching application. And size of Time Machine BU was staying about 90-95GB.

Ran the Apple Hardware test, and found that my optical drive needed repair, but it did not report anything regarding the HDD.
Made arrangements to have the Genius Bar troubleshoot the optical drive, which they did and it was replaced.
I told them about the excessive pinwheels, and they diagnosed that my HDD was stating to go bad, which they eventually replaced under warranty. I asked for failure details and all they said was that it was starting to fail. So I am just guessing that my HDD had bad sectors and data was being moved/copied to what the system thought were good sectors.

My advice - if it is not too inconvenient, make an appointment at the Genius Bar and see if they can diagnose the problem, otherwise contact Apple care.

And make sure that you have backed up your system.

[grawk]

with 9gb free, I think you will get more bang for your buck replacing the drive. Personally, I'd add memory AND replace the drive, but with 9gb free, that'd be the highest priority.

[dblessin]

Just curious.... Have you emptied your trash lately? You wouldnt believe how many times I've suggested that and people go "oohhhhh yaaaaaa...."
Just a thought...

[balamw]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

... except upgrading the drive doesn't give the performance boost that upgrading RAM would give, and the RAM is cheaper and easier to upgrade.

Not really. RAM will run you $50-$100 for 4-8GB while a HDD will set you back $50-$100 for 320 GB to 750 GB.

Both require you to take the whole back cover off since it is a unibody 13" MBP.

Like grawk, I'd say go the middle route and get both a RAM and HDD upgrade each for ~$50 and end up doubling both your RAM and HDD space.

B

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by grawk

with 9gb free, I think you will get more bang for your buck replacing the drive. Personally, I'd add memory AND replace the drive, but with 9gb free, that'd be the highest priority.

I wanted to upgrade my ram but the local retailer said it'd cost me around 170£ for two 2GB RAM modules...i can't imagine what the HDD would cost me!!

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by dblessin

Just curious.... Have you emptied your trash lately? You wouldnt believe how many times I've suggested that and people go "oohhhhh yaaaaaa...."
Just a thought...

EVERYTIME!!I never leave the trash full!!
thnx anyway!

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by ReelAction

I had a similar problem, HDD went from 84GB used to 120GB used over a months period of time, without loading many downloads. This situation was accompanied by many "pinwheels" when opening or switching application. And size of Time Machine BU was staying about 90-95GB.

Ran the Apple Hardware test, and found that my optical drive needed repair, but it did not report anything regarding the HDD.
Made arrangements to have the Genius Bar troubleshoot the optical drive, which they did and it was replaced.
I told them about the excessive pinwheels, and they diagnosed that my HDD was stating to go bad, which they eventually replaced under warranty. I asked for failure details and all they said was that it was starting to fail. So I am just guessing that my HDD had bad sectors and data was being moved/copied to what the system thought were good sectors.

My advice - if it is not too inconvenient, make an appointment at the Genius Bar and see if they can diagnose the problem, otherwise contact Apple care.

And make sure that you have backed up your system.

So your optical drive was faulty!??
i can't find the link between the decreasing HDD space and the optical drive!!
:|
Does that mean that there's a probability i hav a faulty optical drive too and a faulty HDD!??

I'll try the Apple Harware Test!

Thnx!!

[richard.mac]

in addition to swap files it also could also be the sleep image which is your RAM contents which is stored when the MacBook sleeps. so 2GB in size for your RAM size.

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by richard.mac

in addition to swap files it also could also be the sleep image which is your RAM contents which is stored when the MacBook sleeps. so 2GB in size for your RAM size.

Can you tell me more about the sleep image?

I wanna get rid of the swap files and the log files too!
do you hav any idea where i can find these and how can i safely delete them?..i don't want to cause any permanent damage on my MBP!!

thnx!

[balamw]

Originally Posted by SweeneyD24

I wanna get rid of the swap files and the log files too!

Get rid of the log files, but leave the sleep/swap files alone. The OS depends on them being there and will have a cow if you mess with them too much.

Note that if you upgrade the RAM without upgrading your HDD more space will be used up by the sleep image and swap files so you will end up wil less swapping, but also less free space on the HDD.

Don't have your retailer do the upgrades, you can actually do them yourself without any issues. Just follow the guides at iFixit. http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook...ibody_Mid_2009

This HDD would set you back less than GBP40 e.g. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/136790

And the RAM can be had for GBP40 http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...L/A%20Mid-2009 (I think I got the right model though you should double check).

B

[SweeneyD24]

Originally Posted by balamw

Get rid of the log files, but leave the sleep/swap files alone. The OS depends on them being there and will have a cow if you mess with them too much.

Note that if you upgrade the RAM without upgrading your HDD more space will be used up by the sleep image and swap files so you will end up wil less swapping, but also less free space on the HDD.

Don't have your retailer do the upgrades, you can actually do them yourself without any issues. Just follow the guides at iFixit. http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBook...ibody_Mid_2009

This HDD would set you back less than GBP40 e.g. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/136790

And the RAM can be had for GBP40 http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...L/A%20Mid-2009 (I think I got the right model though you should double check).

B

ok but where do i find the log files??..

I'm still not sure whether my HDD is faulty or not!..do i really need to buy another one!??

If i updrage my ram, i'll definitely have to buy another HDD!??


Thnx for the tips man!