deleting files goes to "system" folder

[jasonfodor]

Had the annoying running out of storage on macbook. deleted iphoto, imovie (never use them), had about 25gb of music/videos on itunes (never use itunes) so deleted those off itunes. emptied trashed. restarted computer. I am still at 3 GB free. system folder went from 45 to 80 GB....

yeah I know i can move my ios to external but what's the point? it's just going to save it to my system folder too

 

[DeltaMac]

Why do you keep "iOS files" on your Mac?
Are you a developer?

 

[jasonfodor]

Why do you keep "iOS files" on your Mac?
Are you a developer?

just deleted ios files, as predicted it just moved them to "system" storage

 

[Nermal]

Try using something like OmniDiskSweeper to see where your space is going.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Do you use Time Machine to back up your computer? Could be a TM local snapshot that’s taking the space.

 

[jasonfodor]

Do you use Time Machine to back up your computer? Could be a TM local snapshot that’s taking the space.

someone mentioned something about time machine.

yes i use it. tried to backup 30gb the other day said like an hour left but i was going to sleep so i just cancelled it... not sure if that's relevant. time machine does take up 360gb on my external and my macbook is only 120gb....

 

[BrianBaughn]

someone mentioned something about time machine.

yes i use it. tried to backup 30gb the other day said like an hour left but i was going to sleep so i just cancelled it... not sure if that's relevant. time machine does take up 360gb on my external and my macbook is only 120gb....

It's relevant. The files you deleted are in the TM snapshot...waiting to be backed up to TM. If the space hasn't been freed up after a TM backup is complete then more investigation is required.

 

[DeltaMac]

Turn off Time Machine.
Restart your Mac.
Turn Time Machine back on (if you want to continue to use it)
Make sure your external storage that you use for Time Machine is connected. Let the backup finish. (I don't recommend allowing a long backup when on battery, so make sure you have your power adapter plugged in.)
That should clear out your space.

 

[Weaselboy]

someone mentioned something about time machine.

Yeah... that is the problem. With TM on when you delete files they get moved to a hidden local snapshots folder that shows up there as "System".

If you are on Sierra or earlier, just turn TM off then back on and they will be erased as @DeltaMac said. If you are on High Sierra, run the command below in Terminal and the files will be removed.

tmutil  listlocalsnapshotdates / |grep 20|while read f; do tmutil deletelocalsnapshots $f; done

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202301

 

[jasonfodor]

I tried that terminal code and it doesn't do anything.

Last timemachine backup was 2 weeks ago, I tried doing a time machine back up now but it says my external doesn't have enough space. external has 130gb available (HD is 120gb on macbook, besides the fact it should only backup data for the past 2 weeks).

It seems like it's not calculating my data correctly, like a gas gauge saying it's empty when you just got gas. Should I just reinstall the mac os? do I need to make backups or should my data not be affected?

ps also ran malwarebytes found a few things, but it removed it, and the issue still exist

 

[DeltaMac]

Did you also turn off your Time Machine, then turn it on again?

 

[jasonfodor]

Did you also turn off your Time Machine, then turn it on again?

yes

 

[jasonfodor]

won't let me reinstall OS because not enough room.

used "clean my mac 3" to delete 500mb of data...and it actually deleted it. not just moved it to system. 500mb is the limit without paying $40 for the program.

seems like when i delete and empty trash it moves to system, when clean my mac 3 does it, it removes it for good

 

[826317]

won't let me reinstall OS because not enough room.

used "clean my mac 3" to delete 500mb of data...and it actually deleted it. not just moved it to system. 500mb is the limit without paying $40 for the program.

seems like when i delete and empty trash it moves to system, when clean my mac 3 does it, it removes it for good

Save everything you need to keep on an external hard drive. Then reboot your laptop into recovery mode. Wipe the disk and re-install High Sierra

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

STOP using Time Machine and try CarbonCopyCloner instead.
Your "space problems" on the internal drive will vanish into thin air.
Same for space problems on your backup drive as well.

Try it... free to download and try for 30 days.
Then get back to us with your impressions.