How to clean hard drive on Macs?

[Jnardis]

I've converted to Mac about 6 months ago and I'm loving it. When I was running windows I periodically cleaned out my hard drive. I would like to do the same on my Mac, but don't see any applications? How do you guys go about this?

Thanks

 

[MacDawg]

Exactly what are you attempting to clean out?

Old files can be just deleted, and so can most programs, just by dragging to the trash
If you want to delete apps more thoroughly (usually not necessary), you can use the uninstaller that came with it (if it has one) or one of the 3rd party app deletion utilities

If it is maintenance you want, you can run Onyx, but honestly it really isn't necessary

Nor is it necessary to defrag your system except in unusual conditions

 

[Hellhammer]

I think you mean defragmentation or what ever it is. That's not really needed. There is nothing you have to do unless you have issues. You could run Disk Utility if you're paranoid

 

[Jnardis]

Thanks for the help. I was just looking more into files that are stored that I don't ever use (example. Pictures, music clips etc.).

 

[Hellhammer]

Thanks for the help. I was just looking more into files that are stored that I don't ever use (example. Pictures, music clips etc.).

You can use e.g. OmniDiskSweeper to see what files are taking space on your HD but as you said pics and music, maybe you should just go through your files manually and delete the stuff you don't need anymore.

 

[Macmel]

If you mean getting rid of unnecessary programs or files, yo can do it manually, but there are some apps that do it for you in a more consistent way, for example eliminating unused languages from other applications, etc. You can save a few Gb with this programs. I personally use Drive Genius, but there are free apps out there.
Regarding defragmentation, it's a common myth that Mac hard drives don't need it, and I agree that under normal circumstances it's true. The same is also true in Windows Vista or 7 (have a PC for over 2 years and I haven't needed to defrag it yet). Only when you work with large files and your HDD is reasonably full, you start running into problems. In my case, I have an Early 2008 MBP with 200 Gb HDD that was a little over 60% full. Fragmentation reached around 30 % and I noticed because the computer was getting slower than normal, so I got Drive Genius. After getting rid of a few Gb of unused files and defragmenting the unit, everything came back to normal.
The problem is that there are no free Defrag utilities for Mac that I know of, while Windows has a built-in utility.

 

[Jnardis]

You can use e.g. OmniDiskSweeper to see what files are taking space on your HD but as you said pics and music, maybe you should just go through your files manually and delete the stuff you don't need anymore.

TY - Will do. I thought there was an easier way. I have 6,822 items. LOL

 

[tehpwnerer1918]

Macs don't have software like "Disk Cleanup" and "Disk Defragmenter" mainly because they don't need it. The Mac file system, HFS+, is a self optimizing file system and doesn't need help from software to keep things running smoothly. Windows copies everything else from OS X, you'd think they'd pick that up sooner or later. If you want to run some routine maintenance so you feel better though, I would recommend OnyX. It will repair permissions and clear unnecessary caches, etc., and is free, but again, it is not needed. Best of luck.

 

[old-wiz]

Don't forget that under the hood, a lot of OSx is *NIX and monkeying around deleting things that you might think you don't need can result in an unbootable mess. This is especially the case if you try to go into terminal and use command line.