MacBook Pro Storage question.

[AVBeatMan]

Can anyone give me some tips to free up some space on my 2013 MacBook Pro? I have 21GB available of 250 GB. My last iPad Pro back up could not be done. What I was thinking of doing is moving my iTunes to an external hard drive. This would free up enough space but is it safe to do so?

Are there any "quick fixes" to free up more storage? Also, if an external hard drive is the answer, which one do you recommend?

I do have a 2TB Time Machine. Can I not just move my iTunes there? Or is iTunes Match something that might work? Sorry for my ignorance but can someone please advise? Thanks.

 

[KrisLord]

Check if you have any iOS apps downloaded. There’s no point keeping them on your Mac unless they’ve since been removed from the App Store.

 

[AVBeatMan]

Check if you have any iOS apps downloaded. There’s no point keeping them on your Mac unless they’ve since been removed from the App Store.

It says that there 34.12 GB of iOS Files. Aren't these my iPad backups?

When I open up the iPad one it shows this?

 

[BrianBaughn]

KrisLord is right. If you go to iTunes>Apps [in the popup list] and select "Library" at the top you can "Select All" on those apps, delete them and move them to the trash. Once you empty the trash you'll get your 34GB additional free space.

Those files are for restoring an iOS device from backup but they're not necessary. If you restore after they're deleted your device will just download the apps directly from Apple and put them on your device as they were when you backed up. With most folks and decent internet speed this isn't an issue. You'll have to consider all the scenarios to determine if you might need to keep them.

 

[AVBeatMan]

OK. Thanks for your help. In regulars to iTunes, is it advisable to move them to an external hard drive? I have a 1TB WD "My Passport" hard drive where they could live?

 

[KrisLord]

It says that there 34.12 GB of iOS Files. Aren't these my iPad backups?

When I open up the iPad one it shows this?

That’s showing your data backup (not the apps themselves) and 2 installers for iOS/TVOS.

 

[Mobster1983]

OK. Thanks for your help. In regulars to iTunes, is it advisable to move them to an external hard drive? I have a 1TB WD "My Passport" hard drive where they could live?

ITunes works great on an external drive and I would highly recommend it. My iTunes library is over 2TB, so I always keep it on an external with no issues. All you have to do to move it is go to iTunes preferences>advanced and change the location. Can then sync your library to transfer the files.

 

[HiRez]

If you use Xcode, there can be some very large folders in there (~/Library/Developer/Xcode/), especially if you've been using it on that machine for years. You can delete everything in DerivedData for example. There can also be a lot of old iOS SDKs that are no longer needed.

Also stuff in ~/Library/Caches/ can take up space. Adobe Raw, Safari, and CloudKit are notorious storage hogs there.

 

[AVBeatMan]

KrisLord is right. If you go to iTunes>Apps [in the popup list] and select "Library" at the top you can "Select All" on those apps, delete them and move them to the trash. Once you empty the trash you'll get your 34GB additional free space.

Those files are for restoring an iOS device from backup but they're not necessary. If you restore after they're deleted your device will just download the apps directly from Apple and put them on your device as they were when you backed up. With most folks and decent internet speed this isn't an issue. You'll have to consider all the scenarios to determine if you might need to keep them.

Thanks