My FileVaulted home folder is really big, but can't find the source

[XJ-Tim]

So i recently started getting "startup disk full" notifications on my Macbook Pro. did a bit of research and found OmniDiskSweeper. ran it and found this.

what is this folder "bands"? is it ok to delete everything inside it?

 

[swiftaw]

No, that's the entire contents of your home folder (which i assume is encrypted).

Delete those and your files will be gone.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Have you enabled FileVault, if so, deleting those files will delete you entire home folder's contents.

 

[XJ-Tim]

yes i think i have enabled filevault.

so how do i clear up this space. i dont think i need all 50GB of the files. when im going through finder i cant find any excessively large files.

EDIT: i dont really even know if i need filevault. not sure exactly what it does. if i disable it will that fix the problem?

 

[XJ-Tim]

i also found this

delete this?

 

[GGJstudios]

i also found this

delete this?

No. If you don't know what something is, don't delete it. In general, restrict your deletion to user files and stay away from system files.

If you're wondering what "Other" category in the Lion storage tab is about, this may help explain:

What is this "Other" in the storage tab? What is eating my space​

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.
  
  
• Use OmniDiskSweeper, JDisk Report, Disk Inventory X, DaisyDisk 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.
• Check your drive with Disk Utility: Using Disk Utility to verify or repair disks
• Try re-indexing your drive: Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes

Here are a few resolutions found by others with the same question:

• Encrypted drive
• Time Machine backup files and needed disk repair
• App filling log file
• App or file was 89GB
• Drive needed to be re-indexed
• Time Machine backup file
• Large app cache file
• Garageband files and video podcasts
• Oversized email being duplicated
• Another email issue

 

[simsaladimbamba]

yes i think i have enabled filevault.

so how do i clear up this space. i dont think i need all 50GB of the files. when im going through finder i cant find any excessively large files.

You could press CMD+J to "Show View Options" when you files and folders in your home folder are visible and then check "Calculate all sizes" and look for big folders/files that way. It might take a while until all the sizes are calculated though.

Since search is not an option here: sleepimage – the Mac OS X sleepimage file explained

 

[XJ-Tim]

ok so i did simsaladimbamba's recommendation.

couldn't find much of anything



still working on GGJstudios's suggestion

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Maybe it is hidden?
Mac OS X – Show / Hide Hidden Files in Finder

 

[XJ-Tim]

Maybe it is hidden?
Mac OS X – Show / Hide Hidden Files in Finder

really useful thanks for that,

look in the attached pic.

i tried opening that "sparsebundle" thing but can't. dont know what the hell it is. where to go from here?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

What happens, when you are inside your home folder (CMD+SHIFT+H)?

To edit your thread title to a descriptive one, maybe "My FileVaulted home folder is really big, but can't find the source", just click on the

button on the bottom right of your original post and then click the

button below your message.

 

[XJ-Tim]

What happens, when you are inside your home folder (CMD+SHIFT+H)?

it takes me here.

also, should i just disable filevault? i dont think i really need it..

 

[GGJstudios]

it takes me here.

also, should i just disable filevault? i dont think i really need it..

That's a good idea. You don't need it.

 

[XJ-Tim]

disabling filevault fixed it. i have 50GB available now. thanks for the help!!