Deleting Apple apps.

[lpshean]

Hey guys, i ran WhatSize to see what are the apps that are hogging my computer, and i found that certain data i didnt need are taking up space! I have a few questions.

1) What is this "private" folder with a subfolder called "vm" taking over 1.42Gb? I suspect its virtual memory? And that i shouldnt mess with it?

2) Under Library-> Application support, i realise i have 1.35Gb of Garageband loops which i never use! Is it ok for me to directly delete this folder? And if i do need it back (for whatever reason), will i be able to retrieve it by reinstalling Garageband from the Apple installation CD? Also, will garageband continue to work?

3) I've got 1.5Gb of Printer stuff also under application support, and most printers i never use! So can i delete that as well safely?

4) Also Library-> Appplication support -> Audio -> Apple Loops -> Apple loops for Garageband...... over 2Gb of loops! again?? This is weird, i have 2 folders of garaband loops. Can i delete this safely?

5) If i delete World Book 2005, can i retrieve it back should i need it again, from the Apple CD given to me when i bought my iBook? Its taking over 1.35Gb and i rarely use it.

6) Lastly, what are Quicktime caches? Its over 100Mb in, Users->Myname -> Library -> Caches -> Quicktime.


THANKS for answering these questions!!! Ive only got like 720Mb of hd space left out of a possible 40Gb, and last ive read, i *should* have over 4Gb of free space to enable osx to be as responsive as possible!

 

[robbieduncan]

1. Don't touch it! Don't even look at it. If you mess with this your computer will crash.

2,3,4,5. Yes you can get these back from the system restore CDs using something like Pacifist.

6. They are used by QuickTime to smooth playback. Don't mess with them.

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

Hey guys, i ran WhatSize to see what are the apps that are hogging my computer, and i found that certain data i didnt need are taking up space! I have a few questions.

1) What is this "private" folder with a subfolder called "vm" taking over 1.42Gb? I suspect its virtual memory? And that i shouldnt mess with it?

2) Under Library-> Application support, i realise i have 1.35Gb of Garageband loops which i never use! Is it ok for me to directly delete this folder? And if i do need it back (for whatever reason), will i be able to retrieve it by reinstalling Garageband from the Apple installation CD? Also, will garageband continue to work?

3) I've got 1.5Gb of Printer stuff also under application support, and most printers i never use! So can i delete that as well safely?

4) Also Library-> Appplication support -> Audio -> Apple Loops -> Apple loops for Garageband...... over 2Gb of loops! again?? This is weird, i have 2 folders of garaband loops. Can i delete this safely?

5) If i delete World Book 2005, can i retrieve it back should i need it again, from the Apple CD given to me when i bought my iBook? Its taking over 1.35Gb and i rarely use it.

6) Lastly, what are Quicktime caches? Its over 100Mb in, Users->Myname -> Library -> Caches -> Quicktime.


THANKS for answering these questions!!! Ive only got like 720Mb of hd space left out of a possible 40Gb, and last ive read, i *should* have over 4Gb of free space to enable osx to be as responsive as possible!

1. No idea

2. Yes, thats fine. Delete it.

3. Yes

4. Yes, delete them if you like

5. Not too sure, it was on my iMac G5 restore CD, should be on yours too.

6. No idea

My advice is too run the application called ONYX, and delete unused apps with AppZapper.

 

[mad jew]

1) What is this "private" folder with a subfolder called "vm" taking over 1.42Gb? I suspect its virtual memory? And that i shouldnt mess with it?

Spot on. Don't mess with it although restarting should bring that figure down a touch.

2) Under Library-> Application support, i realise i have 1.35Gb of Garageband loops which i never use! Is it ok for me to directly delete this folder? And if i do need it back (for whatever reason), will i be able to retrieve it by reinstalling Garageband from the Apple installation CD? Also, will garageband continue to work?

You can just drag the loops to the trash and it's pretty easy to get them back through reinstalling Garageband either the OSX disks that came with your Mac or iLife disks. Garageband should still work properly, apart from having less loops. If you're not sure whether Garageband will work like you want it to, drag the Loops folder to the Trash without emptying it. See how Garageband acts for the next week or so without access to the Loops folder and if you're happy with it, then trash the folder.

3) I've got 1.5Gb of Printer stuff also under application support, and most printers i never use! So can i delete that as well safely?

Yep, that's fine.

4) Also Library-> Appplication support -> Audio -> Apple Loops -> Apple loops for Garageband...... over 2Gb of loops! again?? This is weird, i have 2 folders of garaband loops. Can i delete this safely?

AFAIK, it's the same deal as the other Loops folder.

5) If i delete World Book 2005, can i retrieve it back should i need it again, from the Apple CD given to me when i bought my iBook? Its taking over 1.35Gb and i rarely use it.

Yep, once again you can get it back from the OSX disks.

6) Lastly, what are Quicktime caches? Its over 100Mb in, Users->Myname -> Library -> Caches -> Quicktime.

I'm pretty sure that's the folder that QuickTime downloads to when it streams. I'd leave it alone but if you have a brilliant internet connection and really need that extra space, you can reduce the cache in the QuickTime settings in System Preferences, under Streaming.

Aim for 8GB free if possible, although 4GB is better than nothing.

Gee, I'm getting slow in my old age. I blame the hot and humid weather.

 

[lpshean]

I'm not sure about the printers tho?

Coz if i trash the whole folder, and in the future if i get a new printer, wouldnt there be a problem then? Since i do not have that folder containing all the bits and bobs of printer plugins and stuff?

 

[mad jew]

New printers will come with their own drivers plus you'll be able to get them back from the OSX disks if need be.

 

[lpshean]

Right.... peace of mind.

Free space, here i come! Thanks!

Hope osx runs midly faster now! Trying to see whether having more hd space will speed up osx a bit compared to buying and installing an extra 512Mb of ram. We'll see.

 

[mad jew]

If you have less than 4GB free at the moment, clearing some room on the hard drive will speed OSX up far more than any amount of RAM could.

 

[lpshean]

Thats what i wanted to hear!

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

A few extra tips:

Onyx - run everything!
AppZapper = Delete unused applications
Disk Utility - Repair Permissions
iPhoto & iTunes - Clean them up
iPhoto - Empty trash, it uses a separate trash can from the default.
Mail - Clean it out

 

[lpshean]

Well... in that case, i do not need to fork out money for RAM to speed up my iBook? Sweet!

 

[mad jew]

See how things go, but I reckon the speed increase from freeing up space will be significant enough for you to rethink any upcoming RAM purchases.

 

[lpshean]

Its seriousllllllyy a ton smoother now. I can see it especially when i load expose. Now i have 4.3Gb of free space! From only 750Mb!! Can you believe that?? I think its realllly advisable for people who don't use Garageband all that much to delete those audio loops.

 

[lpshean]

Sorry, one more question.

Under Applications -> Installers -> XCode Tools. What is that? Its over 550Mb and i don't use em at all. Will i be able to get rid of that? Or is it an integral part of osx?

 

[gekko513]

You don't need Xcode Tools unless you plan on developing or compiling apps from scratch.

 

[lpshean]

Cool. Deleted it. Thanks everyone! 'Preciate it!

 

[robbieduncan]

You don't need Xcode Tools unless you plan on developing or compiling apps from scratch.

And even then you'd be better downloading the current ones. Those are almost certainly out of date.

 

[croshtique]

A few extra tips:

Onyx - run everything!
AppZapper = Delete unused applications
Disk Utility - Repair Permissions
iPhoto & iTunes - Clean them up
iPhoto - Empty trash, it uses a separate trash can from the default.
Mail - Clean it out

You could also use a utility like Monolingual to remove unwanted language localisations. When I used it on my iBook I shedded over 1GB of unnecessary files!