Help For: System Data Enormous Sizes On Macbook Pro's & Cleaning App Questions!

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

My profound apologies for not responding sooner - I had taken videos of the issue occurring so you all could see in real time what is happening in mail so we can help identify what is happening.

Sadly, the video attachment option on the forums is not working at all over the last many days & forum moderator are is trying to resolve but I just tried now & the issue still remains.

Will post videos as soon as the system allows me to!

Many Thanks!

 

[Bazzy]

Error Post

 

[ForkHandles]

Account vacated.

 

[Bazzy]

Try something like OnyX.
It's free and seems reliable to use.

I also found another utility named "PrettyClean" that can clean out caches, etc. I run it at night, just before shut down. No problems from it that I can see.

The following won't help you with the problems you're having now, but I've never had problems with cache files or other app-related files that just grow to enormous sizes.

How I do it:
First, I TURN OFF virtual memory disk swapping. Completely. My Mac runs in "live memory", or it won't run it all. It's always run fine this way and doesn't crash (because I NEVER use "tabs" and control what apps I leave open).

Next, I TURN OFF spotlight. No "indexes", ever. I use EasyFind and Find Any File if I need to search for something.

Finally, I buy Macs with enough RAM so I don't have to worry about VM in the first place.
My m4 Mini has 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD.

No files of enormous size being created, RAM never gets clogged up, either.
Works for me.

My opinion only
Others will disagree
Some will disagree vehemently

Hi Again,

How can I turn off Spotlight please?

I have EasyFind but may also get the Find Any File app you mention

Many Thanks!

 

[Bazzy]

There is an excellent free open source program (Mole) available on GitHub here.

GitHub - tw93/Mole: 🐹 Clean, uninstall, analyze, optimize, and monitor your Mac from the terminal.

🐹 Clean, uninstall, analyze, optimize, and monitor your Mac from the terminal. - tw93/Mole

github.com

Hi,

How do I download this please as there does not seem to be a download button/option that I can see?

Is this app easy to use may I ask?

Thanks!

 

[Bazzy]

It seems as thought you're using both POP and IMAP with Gmail at the same time. Might that be the problem?
POP is a protocol that downloads e-mails to the local machine from the server, but IMAP lets you keep your e-mails on the server and syncs read, delete and archive states and so on both ways. You might have a legitimate reason to use both at the same time, but in most cases I would choose one or the other.

Hi,

Yes - you are most correct & my Mail is an absolute mess - it really is. It started when I first moved to Mac from Windows & had no idea what I was doing & how to do things properly - I was on OS X Tiger at the time.

When trying too figure out Mail, I had no idea what a POP or IMAP was so just installed them hoping that one of them will work.

As Mail is been the App that has always given me the most hassle (even took it to Apple Store & the Genuises there really did not want to deal with it) so I have just kept everything as it was in the hope not to cause any further issues.

Now that this huge Mail System Data issue is happening, I need to find a way to clean up my Mail & emails as I have duplicate accounts in both IMAP & POP & also I think emails being stored on my Mac.

It is a mess!

Thanks!

 

[Bazzy]

This isn't what you were asking but is all of your media on an sd card? They fail much more often than a hard disk or SSD. Not a good idea.

Hi,

When My main Mac 1TB SSD was hitting 800GB, I needed more space so then bought a Transcend JetDrive Lite 256GB Drive that I use via the SD Card Slot & another 32GB USB Drive that I use on one of the USB Ports.

If System Data was not taking up so much space, I would not have even needed them or have had to spend money on them!

Once my SSD is free of this System Data space of about 312GB, then I will be able to transfer everything back!

Many Thanks

 

[Bazzy]

Turning of swap is a disaster waiting to happen especially with problems you are facing and usage patterns.

Hi,

Thank you kindly for that - I think that for now until I get this issue sorted, I will not do anything with regards to this - especially if it might cause further issues!

Many Thanks!

 

[Bazzy]

how much % of ssd space are you using? Unless you are in 90% are close to it, you shouldn’t see beachbsll or fans going off. If you are on an Intel Mac something else could be going on. The system dusk space could be a symptom not the root cause:

Hi,

I am on a Mid 2015 15" Retina MacBook Pro - 2.8Ghz Quad Core Intel i7, 16GB 1600Mhz DDR 3 RAM & Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB with AMD Radeon R9 M370X Graphics.

TBH, my fans go off many times & I do suffer beach balls fairly regularly.

You say, something else might be going on - any idea of what ot might be?

Many Thanks

 

[Fishrrman]

The OP asked how to disable spotlight.

First, you have to disable SIP (system integrity protection).
You do it by booting to recovery, opening terminal, and then entering:
csrutil disable

Then, reboot to the finder.
Check that SIP is disabled with this command:
csrutil status

It should return "disabled".

Now, to disable spotlight:
Enter this command:
sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
(your password will be required with a "sudo" command)
(what you see above is one line, there is no carriage return after the "-w"

I would reboot to the finder again.

If you ever want to restart spotlight, use the above command but change "unload" to "load".

 

[TechnoMonk]

Hi,

I am on a Mid 2015 15" Retina MacBook Pro - 2.8Ghz Quad Core Intel i7, 16GB 1600Mhz DDR 3 RAM & Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB with AMD Radeon R9 M370X Graphics.

TBH, my fans go off many times & I do suffer beach balls fairly regularly.

You say, something else might be going on - any idea of what ot might be?

Many Thanks

Are you running Microsoft Teams? Can you post your processes and activity screenshots during that time? Intel chips had fans going off in idle. My 2019 Intel MBP did that a lot, especially for teams and certain websites.

 

[benwiggy]

I would strongly recommend against disabling normal parts of the OS's operation, such as Spotlight. While there may be examples of Spotlight running wild, it is a fairly essential part of the OS, and every Mac uses it by default.

Similarly, emptying caches is a temporary solution at best. Caches are a critical part of the OS's function, and it will just start filling them up again.

 

[gspannu]

Deleted…

 

[gspannu]

Hi,

How do I download this please as there does not seem to be a download button/option that I can see?

Is this app easy to use may I ask?

Thanks!

Read the Quick Start section on the webpage: https://github.com/tw93/Mole for installation options.

I assume you are comfortable using terminal commands on macOS; as this is a CLI application and not a macOS GUI based app.
It is very easy to use, and the CLI application is quite intuitive.

 

[Bazzy]

Are you running Microsoft Teams? Can you post your processes and activity screenshots during that time? Intel chips had fans going off in idle. My 2019 Intel MBP did that a lot, especially for teams and certain websites.

Hi,

No, I am not running Microsoft Teams - would you like me to post my processes & activity screen-shots anyway in case it might offer any clues please?

Thanks!

 

[Bazzy]

Read the Quick Start section on the webpage: https://github.com/tw93/Mole for installation options.

I assume you are comfortable using terminal commands on macOS; as this is a CLI application and not a macOS GUI based app.
It is very easy to use, and the CLI application is quite intuitive.

Hi,

TBH, I rarely if ever go into Terminal as I just do not know much or anything about it - when I do go there, it is at the instruction of others & only when given step by step instructions & exactly what to enter & how.

As you say this programme is very easy to use, I think I will have to learn how to use Terminal just for this item so I do not mess anything up - is there some sort of instruction guide I can refer to may I ask?

Thanks!

 

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

1) Please now see screen-shots of before & after with most of the space hogging "System Data" removed on both my MBP's. What a massive reclamation of space - I will see now if things run somewhat better in terms of RAM usage, Beachballs, Fans etc.

2) The video upload feature on this site still is not working so sorry to have to keep you guys waiting. I have now uploaded 4 small videos to Youtube (links below) so you all can see in real time what is happening with the "Log Connection Activity" Box unticked.

As Mail.app is for some reason still logging all connection activity in the background, I am concerned that the same issue will keep happening - taking up massive space via System Data & dearly wish to negate this.

I hope the videos are able to explain things better than I have tried to do!

Many Kind Thanks!

 

[Fishrrman]

benwiggy wrote:
"I would strongly recommend against disabling normal parts of the OS's operation, such as Spotlight. While there may be examples of Spotlight running wild, it is a fairly essential part of the OS, and every Mac uses it by default."

I stand by my earlier posts on how and why to do this.

I've been running my Macs at least 10 years now this way (maybe it's more like 15, can't remember when spotlight was first introduced). If spotlight is essential to the OS, you wouldn't know that by how my Macs run -- and they run GREAT.

As a matter of principle, I DISABLE all the security junk that Apple has introduced, such as SIP, startup security, etc. I don't want it. I don't need it. And I've never had a problem after doing so.

Please explain to me WHERE spotlight is "essential".
If that's the case, why do my Macs run so well WITHOUT it...?

 

[MayflyMaven]

As Mail.app is for some reason still logging all connection activity in the background, I am concerned that the same issue will keep happening - taking up massive space via System Data & dearly wish to negate this.

• If you click that "Show Detail" button, Mail will show the activity in the Activity drawer. That doesn't mean that it is logging that activity to disk.
• If you check the "Log Connection Activity" box and Mail generates any activity, that activity will be logged to disk.
• If you subsequently uncheck the "Log Connection Activity" box, Mail will not delete the previously-created activity logs.
• If you subsequently click that "Show Detail" button again, Mail will show the activity in the Activity drawer, but it will not (in my experience) log that activity to the previously-created logs (because "Log Connection Activity" is now disabled).

Your screenshot of the logs omitted the file sizes, so it is hard to point to that as "proof" that this is what's happening on your Mac. Try this simple test:

1. Open Mail
2. Open Connection Doctor
3. Verify that the "Log Connection Activity" box is not checked
4. Click the Show Logs button
5. Move all of the log files to the Trash and empty the Trash
6. Back in Mail, click "Show Details"

When I tried that just now, the log files are not regenerated in the Finder.

 

[Bazzy]

• If you click that "Show Detail" button, Mail will show the activity in the Activity drawer. That doesn't mean that it is logging that activity to disk.
• If you check the "Log Connection Activity" box and Mail generates any activity, that activity will be logged to disk.
• If you subsequently uncheck the "Log Connection Activity" box, Mail will not delete the previously-created activity logs.
• If you subsequently click that "Show Detail" button again, Mail will show the activity in the Activity drawer, but it will not (in my experience) log that activity to the previously-created logs (because "Log Connection Activity" is now disabled).

Your screenshot of the logs omitted the file sizes, so it is hard to point to that as "proof" that this is what's happening on your Mac. Try this simple test:

1. Open Mail
2. Open Connection Doctor
3. Verify that the "Log Connection Activity" box is not checked
4. Click the Show Logs button
5. Move all of the log files to the Trash and empty the Trash
6. Back in Mail, click "Show Details"

When I tried that just now, the log files are not regenerated in the Finder.

Hi,

Thanks most kindly for that! Just did exactly what you said in points 1-6.

After moving all the files in Show Logs to the Bin & then emptying Bin - the Show Logs pane is blank.

However, when checking, it still shows logs being generated just as before & as in the videos posted prior?

Many Thanks!

 

[MayflyMaven]

After moving all the files in Show Logs to the Bin & then emptying Bin - the Show Logs pane is blank.

However, when checking, it still shows logs being generated just as before & as in the videos posted prior?

If "the Show Logs pane is blank", then that means the logs are not being generated, correct? I'm not quite following what's happening here. If you're seeing logs appearing in the "Mail" folder that is revealed when you click "Show Logs", how large are they now?

I still have the "Log Connection Activity" box unchecked, and I still see no logs in the revealed "Mail" folder. The "Show Detail" drawer shows lots of activity, and none of it is getting retained in a log file.

If you're getting logs in that folder despite having the "Log Connection Activity" box unchecked... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Bazzy]

If "the Show Logs pane is blank", then that means the logs are not being generated, correct? I'm not quite following what's happening here. If you're seeing logs appearing in the "Mail" folder that is revealed when you click "Show Logs", how large are they now?

Hi - Just checked again - the "Show Logs" Pane is now showing blank (I presume that is a good thing & what we want?)

I still have the "Log Connection Activity" box unchecked, and I still see no logs in the revealed "Mail" folder. The "Show Detail" drawer shows lots of activity, and none of it is getting retained in a log file.

This is the same thing that currently seems to now also be happening with me - "Mail" Pane is blank but "Show Detail" has lots of activity.

Does that mean (Pray!) that the issue has now been solved & everything is back to normal & how it should be?

Just so I know for the future, when selecting the "Show Detail" - in the drawer that drops down, is there supposed to be all that convoluted data activity running there all the time?

Many Thanks!

 

[gspannu]

Hi,

TBH, I rarely if ever go into Terminal as I just do not know much or anything about it - when I do go there, it is at the instruction of others & only when given step by step instructions & exactly what to enter & how.

As you say this programme is very easy to use, I think I will have to learn how to use Terminal just for this item so I do not mess anything up - is there some sort of instruction guide I can refer to may I ask?

Thanks!

Install the app as per the web link, play around with it; and if you do not understand - then ping me a message and I can assist.

 

[Ben J.]

Hi All,

1) Please now see screen-shots of before & after with most of the space hogging "System Data" removed on both my MBP's. What a massive reclamation of space - I will see now if things run somewhat better in terms of RAM usage, Beachballs, Fans etc.

Sorry if I missed it, but what did you do to reduce the system data disk usage?

 

[Bazzy]

Sorry if I missed it, but what did you do to reduce the system data disk usage?

Hi Ben J,

Being a novice & not computer tech savvy, I always had no way of ever finding out what was this System Data that was taking up so much space & even if I found out, much seem written in code form so I would still be clueless.

Due to this, I bought an App that is an absolute Life Saver for a novice like me as it was able to identify exactly what is on your drive & where/what size & also identify each individual file/thing. That App is called "DaisyDisk" - it is a paid app but very affordable indeed - about $10. It is very easy to use & can also do deep scans to find hidden files.

It was with this, that I found out that in my case on both my Mac's - nearly all of this mysterious System Data was taken up by mainly Mail files & hence this thread for help/advice.

I hope this helps!