Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

ode2joy

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 6, 2012
48
0
I have a macbook pro, 160GB drive, running OSX10.6.8. I supposedly have only 1.5 GB of disc space free, but am lost on what's on it! I have about 45GB of music on iTunes, and about 30GB of pictures, and am a novice home user, no large programs installed or used. How do i find out what's eating all of my space? I tried to launch disc utility and verify/repair disc, but it stops and tells me i need to run my recovery disc, and when i do that, it says i don't have room to run it.

How do i clean this up without deleting my pics and music?

I do have a 2TB time capsule, running fine, but i don't understand it completely.

thanks
 
Last edited:
If you're wondering what "Other" category in the Lion storage tab is about, this may help explain:
For space issues not explained by the above, there are a few things you can try, some of which may or may not apply:
  • Begin by restarting your computer as a first step. This sometimes resolves issues.
  • For Time Machine users on notebooks running Lion, space may being consumed by Time Machine local snapshots, which can be disabled.
    OS X Lion: About Time Machine's "local snapshots" on portable Macs
  • 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, Disk Inventory X 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.

How to post an image.
 
What's eating my hard drive space?

I have a macbook pro, 160GB drive, running OSX10.6.8. I supposedly have only 1.5 GB of disc space free, but am lost on what's on it! I have about 45GB of music on iTunes, and about 30GB of pictures, and am a novice home user, no large programs installed or used. How do i find out what's eating all of my space? I tried to launch disc utility and verify/repair disc, but it stops and tells me i need to run my recovery disc, and when i do that, it says i don't have room to run it.
Screen shot 2012-02-23 at 2-23-121140AM.png
How do i clean this up without deleting my pics and music?

I do have a 2TB time capsule, running fine, but i don't understand it completely.

thanks
 
ok, i tried again with screenshot of what i'm getting. Disregard this post, it won't delete. Sorry and thanks
 
Try searching your mac for "." and File Size + is greater than + 50 + MB. See if anything comes up there. Also, you can Quick Look some folders on your HD, to locate where the space is being taken up.
 
ok, i tried again with screenshot of what i'm getting. Disregard this post, it won't delete. Sorry and thanks
You don't need to start a new thread. You can edit your first post in this thread to add a pic. Click Edit, then "Go Advanced" to access the paperclip icon to add a pic. If you want a post deleted, click the report post button
report.gif
to the left of that post and ask a moderator to delete the post.

Using Disk Utility to verify or repair disks
 
Thanks, thought about Daisydisk but just downloaded Disk Inventory X instead, at least first anyway. Any idea on repairing problem?
 
Ah, thanks GG. I was trying to delete and repost because i couldn't figure out find the attatchment paper clip in 'edit'. You've taught me two or three things here. I'll attempt to muck things up no more.

Oh, and i'm not running Lion so i don't have the option to see what's in the 'other' category.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.