My hard disk space keeps depleting before my eyes

[seared.ahi]

My SSD space keeps going down even as I'm not doing anything. I can see the bytes under "Used" in my Macintosh HD Info go up every few seconds, for no apparent reason. It's been doing this since 2 days ago when I received my Macbook Air. At this rate I'm going to run out of HD space by Labor Day. Why is this happening?

(Moderators, please don't delete this thread or close it. That's extremely rude. As a result of closing my last thread for no reason, you've left me no other option than to start this one.)

 

[korbearus10]

If you're so concerned, go into an Apple Store to ask a genius to figure out what's taking up your hard drive space. I'm going to assume it's either mail, photos, or such. I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

To find out, where you storage capacity is being used, you can use the following free applications:

• DiskInventory X
• OmniDiskSweeper
• JDisk Report
• GrandPerspective

Maybe try a combination of several, if you still can't find the "missing" capacity.

 

[eagandale4114]

My SSD space keeps going down even as I'm not doing anything. I can see the bytes under "Used" in my Macintosh HD Info go up every few seconds, for no apparent reason. It's been doing this since 2 days ago when I received my Macbook Air. At this rate I'm going to run out of HD space by Labor Day. Why is this happening?

(Moderators, please don't delete this thread or close it. That's extremely rude. As a result of closing my last thread for no reason, you've left me no other option than to start this one.)

Go to system preferences> time machine
If it is enabled make sure local snapshots are disabled.

 

[seared.ahi]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I really appreciate it.

To find out, where you storage capacity is being used, you can use the following free applications:

• DiskInventory X
• OmniDiskSweeper
• JDisk Report
• GrandPerspective

Maybe try a combination of several, if you still can't find the "missing" capacity.

I downloaded Omni Disk Sweeper already. Nice little tool. I deleted the Safari Cache> Webpage Previews and got 100 mb back. However, I don't know what other files are safe to delete. And that doesn't explain why my bytes/HD is still moving.

Go to system preferences> time machine
If it is enabled make sure local snapshots are disabled.

Time Machine has always been turned off.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

T
I downloaded Omni Disk Sweeper already. Nice little tool. I deleted the Safari Cache> Webpage Previews and got 100 mb back. However, I don't know what other files are safe to delete. And that doesn't explain why my bytes/HD is still moving.

The deleted cache will just be recreated (they also make loading faster).
What other folders/files did OmniDiskSweeper show you to be quite big? Have you tried another application like GrandPerspective or DiskInventory X to see, if they find something else?
And if OmniDiskSweeper found other big files, and you don't know, if you can delete them safely, you either do a www search for them to get an explanation or tell us, what those files are.

 

[GGJstudios]

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: About Time Machine's "local snapshots" on portable Macs
  
  
• Check to see if some of the space is being used by your sleepimage file.
  
  
• 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

Freeing up space in Mac OS X

 

[seared.ahi]

The deleted cache will just be recreated (they also make loading faster).
What other folders/files did OmniDiskSweeper show you to be quite big? Have you tried another application like GrandPerspective or DiskInventory X to see, if they find something else?
And if OmniDiskSweeper found other big files, and you don't know, if you can delete them safely, you either do a www search for them to get an explanation or tell us, what those files are.

There really seems to be nothing else I can delete without screwing up parts of my apps or deleting apps altogether. For example, Private > Sleep Image seems to take up 8.6GB and I've already deleted that but it just comes back. I understand it's not a good idea to delete it permanently. Library > Application Support also looks like a big one - the main culprits being GarageBand (1.5GB) and Adobe (1.1GB) - but again, I don't want to screw up features in those programs. Well, in Adobe the main culprit is CameraRaw and Common. Not sure what those do....

Again, I can live with this stuff. The worst part is how I bleed HD space over time. I have 35,566,799,360 bytes used. Take note. I'll let you know what that number is in an hour.

 

[GGJstudios]

Again, I can live with this stuff. The worst part is how I bleed HD space over time. I have 35,566,799,360 bytes used. Take note. I'll let you know what that number is in an hour.

It sounds like you haven't read my post and the links, even though it's been posted in a couple of the threads you've started.

 

[manhattanboy]

There really seems to be nothing else I can delete

Your solution is simple:
Step 1) Stop downloading pron.
Step 2) Delete that nasty pron you downloaded along time ago

 

[seared.ahi]

@ OP: You created three threads about the same issue, you ignore advise given to you. How exactly do you want to solve your "problem" then?

It sounds like you haven't read my post and the links, even though it's been posted in a couple of the threads you've started.

Actually I did read your post entirely, clicked all the links, and tried some stuff in between, and nothing has worked (not even deleting the mdworker in spotlight). You know what I learned from your posts in other people's threads? That you post the same exact thing every time and it never seems to help. I know you're proud of your work compiling all that information, but here's some general life advice: try tailoring your answer to someone's individual problem, instead of pretending to help with the same, lengthy and irrelevant solutions.

 

[GGJstudios]

Actually I did read your post entirely, clicked all the links, and tried some stuff in between, and nothing has worked (not even deleting the mdworker in spotlight).

Where does it say anything about deleting mdworker in spotlight?

You know what I learned from your posts in other people's threads? That you post the same thing every time to everybody and it never seems to help.

Actually, it has helped a great number of people.

try tailoring your answer to someone's individual problem, instead of pretending to help with the same, lengthy and irrelevant solutions.

As there are many possibilities for space consumption, it makes no sense to offer possible solutions one at a time, making an endless thread. It makes much more sense to offer many possible solutions in one post, giving the OP the opportunity to try what applies to them.

The problem arises when someone skims over the list without reading it carefully, as is evident in your case, based on the posts you've made.

(Moderators, please don't delete this thread or close it. That's extremely rude. As a result of closing my last thread for no reason, you've left me no other option than to start this one.)

If you followed the rules, they wouldn't close your threads. There is a rule against posting multiple threads on the same topic. Stick to your original thread.

 

[seared.ahi]

Where does it say anything about deleting mdworker in spotlight?

Here:https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/831784/

Do you even know what threads you are linking people to?

 

[GGJstudios]

Can't. They closed it several hours ago. That's why I had to make this one. LOL.

No, this one: I NEED HELP!!!!! Mysterious loss of SSD capacity??

Here:https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/831784/

Do you even know what threads you are linking people to?

There is nothing in that thread that suggests deleting mdworker in spotlight. Read again.

 

[seared.ahi]

There is nothing in that thread that suggests deleting mdworker in spotlight. Read again.

Sorry I meant I deleted mdimporter. This is what they suggested:

mdworker is the process that archives the index for Spotlight search. It's triggered when you have a 32-bit .mdimporter in either /Library/Spotlight/ or ~/Library/Spotlight/.

I've found that some people have issues with it when it indexes Office 2008 files. You might want to check those above folders I mentioned and see if there's something called "Microsoft Office.mdimporter" in there. Delete it.

----------

No, this one: I NEED HELP!!!!! Mysterious loss of SSD capacity??

Actually thanks, I went to lunch and completely forgot about that thread. Alan Shutko had the right answer to that question.

When you imported photos, it created a lot of thumbnails and previews of different sizes. I bet the movies were also conformed to different formats, if you imported them into iMovie.

But here I ask a completely different question. I'm not worried about the iPhoto/iTunes space anymore, just the disappearing harddrive space - UNLESS iPhoto/iTunes is part of the problem...

 

[GGJstudios]

Sorry I meant I deleted mdimporter.

You missed the whole reason for linking to that thread, which is described in the link in my post "Another email issue":

Grand Perspective helped out a lot. There was a recovered email that's been self replicating and causing all sorts of havoc. I tried everything I could think of and it kept respawning. I finally had to delete the account.

Ten minutes later it figured out the account wasn't there and I've got 30GB instead of my original 20GB!

The portion of the thread you focused on is from 3 years ago and the OP never posted the resolution.

 

[seared.ahi]

You missed the whole reason for linking to that thread, which is described in the link in my post "Another email issue":

The portion of the thread you focused on is from 3 years ago and the OP never posted the resolution.

Ok, I downloaded Grand Perspective and scanned my entire HD. I'm not sure how looking at a bunch of colored squares helps me, because it basically is only a visual representation of everything that Omni Disc Sweeper already told me.

FYI, I don't think I have a respawning email. (And if I did how would I know?) My Mail folder matches the actual amount of emails I have imported in my Mail, both Received and Sent (about 1GB total).

The biggest squares are Sleep Image and iPhoto Library and then iMovie and iPhoto applications. I already knew this.

----------

Someone's giving all my posts thumbs up. I think I have a secret admirer.

 

[kodeman53]

My SSD space keeps going down even as I'm not doing anything. I can see the bytes under "Used" in my Macintosh HD Info go up every few seconds, for no apparent reason. It's been doing this since 2 days ago when I received my Macbook Air. At this rate I'm going to run out of HD space by Labor Day. Why is this happening?

This thread is hilarious. Why are you sitting there watching your HD info?

News flash - as you use your MBA you will use more HD space. Deleting temporary files is a fool's errand. When you use the software that created them in the first place, they will get recreated. Follow the advice you've received in all the threads you started and delete those feature of OSX you don't, and won't, use, e.g., additional languages. That's ALL you can do. Remember, installing additional software to keep your HD clean uses more HD space.

 

[bullrat]

I recently purchased a MBA with 128GB SSD. After getting everything set up on my MBA I was down to only 30GB available. I needed some elbow room, as I still want to install Xcode and who knows what else. I've read all the threads on deleting the sleep image, languages, etc. and they're all good suggestions. I have a 64GB iPad gen3 and admittedly keep it loaded. I had over 2 dozen apps that were over 200MB and a half dozen over 1GB each!

Here's what I did, YMMV. I simply deleted my mobile apps from my MBA iTunes account and turned off the Preferences > Store > Sync Apps. I know that if Apple pulls an app that I use 2 years from now I won't be able to reload it, blah, blah but hey, they'll probably be a better app available by then anyway. I recovered a whopping 30GB on my MBA!

You could even save your mobile app folder on an external drive before you delete it if you really really can't stand the thought of deleting it, but I don't think its that big a deal and I choose not to do that. One last thing, be sure to disable automatic syncing of your iDevice and iTunes on your Mac, so that you don't start building another pile o' saved apps. Good luck.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

bullrat,

Also, go into iTunes preferences and see how many iDevice backups you have saved. You can delete the oldest ones via this screen.

 

[bullrat]

bullrat,

Also, go into iTunes preferences and see how many iDevice backups you have saved. You can delete the oldest ones via this screen.

True! I forgot to mention that one. After I get a new iDevice setup and running, I delete any BUs that don't apply, too. BUs can really eat up some storage.

 

[BenClement1978]

using iTunes match by any chance?

 

[seared.ahi]

I think I found the culprit!

I think I found out the answer. Today I lost another GB but I took screenshots from last night, and today, showing the difference. Take a look at the 2 pictures:

Today, "Private" is 1 GB larger than yesterday. What I think it is are the swapfiles (swapfile4, swapfile3, etc.) because sleepimage was always 8.6 GB and I didn't see those swap files there before. I think my computer's constantly filling up with swapfiles.

Are these safe to delete? How do I delete them? And will the come back if I delete it (like sleepimage does)? I'm glad I found the problem, but I need a solution now! Thanks!!

 

[GGJstudios]

I think I found out the answer. Today I lost another GB but I took screenshots from last night, and today, showing the difference. Take a look at the 2 pictures:

Today, "Private" is 1 GB larger than yesterday. What I think it is are the swapfiles (swapfile4, swapfile3, etc.) because sleepimage was always 8.6 GB and I didn't see those swap files there before. Here's my questions:

Are they safe to delete? How do I delete them? And will the come back if I delete it (like sleepimage does)? I'm glad I found the problem, but I need a solution now! Thanks!!

Mac OS X manages your swapfiles automatically. If you restart, they should all be gone. As your Mac exceeds its RAM capacity, it will page out, creating swapfiles. As your memory demands decrease, some of those swapfiles may be removed or reduced in size. Don't delete them manually. You can see the size of your swapfiles in Activity Monitor on the System Memory tab at the bottom, or in iStat Pro (free) or iStat Menus ($16).

 

[seared.ahi]

Mac OS X manages your swapfiles automatically. If you restart, they should all be gone. As your Mac exceeds its RAM capacity, it will page out, creating swapfiles. As your memory demands decrease, some of those swapfiles may be removed or reduced in size. Don't delete them manually. You can see the size of your swapfiles in Activity Monitor on the System Memory tab at the bottom, or in iStat Pro (free) or iStat Menus ($16).

Thanks! So I restarted and all the swapfiles, but swapfile0 (67mb), is gone! So swapfiles are created even when my computer was asleep (lid's been closed for the past 14 hrs)? And this means if I don't restart my computer for say 45 days (at a rate of losing 2gb/day), then my disk space can leak all the way down to 0 (in theory)?

On my Powerbook, I think I was restarting once every 6 months. Lol.