Disk Almost Full Error

[steviebuzz]

I have a brand new MacBook Pro with Mac OS 10.12.2. Every so often I get a "Disk almost full" error,. When I check I still have almost 400GB out of 500GB available. Anyone else having a similar problem?

Stevie

 

[Weaselboy]

Run the command below in Terminal then post the results. This will show us all the base folders and their size in GB, including system and hidden folders.

sudo du -d 1 -x -c -g /

Give it a minute or so to complete.

 

[happyslayer]

Just checking, but is it at all possible you have and external USB drive plugged in or (if it is 2015 or older) an SD card plugged in? Could they be full? Otherwise, kind of strange.

On a side note, thanks, Wesselboy for that terminal command. A useful tool to have for the future.

 

[steviebuzz]

Thanks for the replies.

Run the command below in Terminal then post the results. This will show us all the base folders and their size in GB, including system and hidden folders.

sudo du -d 1 -x -c -g /

Give it a minute or so to complete.

I've run the command, Weaselboy, and the results are:

119 /

119 total

Just checking, but is it at all possible you have and external USB drive plugged in or (if it is 2015 or older) an SD card plugged in? Could they be full? Otherwise, kind of strange.

I didn't have any external USB devices plugged in each time the message appeared, happyslayer. The machine is a 2016 model.

Cheers

Stevie

 

[DeltaMac]

...
I've run the command, Weaselboy, and the results are:

119 /

119 total
...

I think Weaselboy would want you to post the complete list of the results from that command, not just the last two lines.
What else was in the results list? It should show every folder's total size, including hidden folders.

 

[steviebuzz]

I think Weaselboy would want you to post the complete list of the results from that command, not just the last two lines.
What else was in the results list? It should show every folder's total size, including hidden folders.

Hi DeltaMac,

That was the total output from the command.

Cheers

Stevie

 

[DeltaMac]

Ah, OK.
It's easy to mis-type those terminal commands
There is a number 1 in the middle of that command. If you type the letter l (el) instead, you get the result that you saw, and not the correct multiple folder result.
Try a copy-n-paste of that command.

 

[Weaselboy]

Hi DeltaMac,

That was the total output from the command.

Cheers

Stevie

It should look something like this. I think maybe the entire results scrolled by and you missed it with your copy/paste.

Edit: Ninja'd... I think DM hit on the issue.

1    /.DocumentRevisions-V100
1    /.fseventsd
0    /.PKInstallSandboxManager
0    /.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware
1    /.Spotlight-V100
0    /.vol
7    /Applications
1    /bin
0    /cores
1    /dev
1    /home
8    /Library
1    /net
0    /Network
4    /private
1    /sbin
9    /System
33    /Users
1    /usr
1    /Volumes
59    /
59    total

 

[steviebuzz]

Ah, thanks, DeltaMac, that's exactly what happened. I've run the command (properly this time) and the results are:

1    /.DocumentRevisions-V100

1    /.fseventsd

3    /.MobileBackups

0    /.PKInstallSandboxManager

0    /.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware

1    /.Spotlight-V100

0    /.vol

25    /Applications

1    /bin

0    /cores

1    /dev

1    /home

29    /Library

1    /net

0    /Network

1    /opt

6    /private

1    /sbin

6    /System

80    /Users

2    /usr

1    /Volumes

149    /

149    total

 

[maflynn]

Ah, thanks, DeltaMac, that's exactly what happened. I've run the command (properly this time) and the results are:

So the listing backs up your original post, you're not really consuming that much space. Odd that you're getting this error.

Do you have any other drives attached to your computer? Does this occur with a specific app?

 

[Weaselboy]

So the listing backs up your original post, you're not really consuming that much space. Odd that you're getting this error.

Do you have any other drives attached to your computer? Does this occur with a specific app?

Yep... nothing wrong there.

OP> Do you think maybe this is a web popup you are getting disguised to look like a real message? Can you grab a screenshot of it (shift-command-4) next time it happens and post it here.

 

[maflynn]

OP> Do you think maybe this is a web popup you are getting disguised to look like a real message?

Yeah something like this could be occurring.

 

[circatee]

I'm curious to know what is causing this, too...

 

[steviebuzz]

Thanks very much all. I haven't seen the error in the past couple of days (but admittedly I haven't had much time on my Mac); I'll grab a screenshot if/when it happens again. It did look like a genuine Mac OS message and not like a web popup.

Cheers

Stevie

 

[BaggieBoy]

I've seen it too intermittently, hadn't seen it for several weeks but it popped up again a few days ago. I have around 740GB free (out of 960GB).

 

[MarkBearSF]

Same here. Here's my output from the command (DIsk has 633.77 GB free of 999.33 GB - No other attached drives)

1 /(null)

1 /.DocumentRevisions-V100

1 /.fseventsd

5 /.MobileBackups

0 /.PKInstallSandboxManager

0 /.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware

2 /.Spotlight-V100

0 /.Trashes

0 /.vol

16 /Applications

1 /bin

0 /cores

1 /dev

1 /home

1 /IDriveLocal

6 /Library

1 /net

0 /Network

6 /private

1 /sbin

9 /System

321 /Users

1 /usr

1 /Volumes

363 /

363 total

 

[DeltaMac]

Same here. Here's my output from the command (DIsk has 633.77 GB free of 999.33 GB - No other attached drives)

1 /(null)

1 /.DocumentRevisions-V100

1 /.fseventsd

5 /.MobileBackups

0 /.PKInstallSandboxManager

0 /.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware

2 /.Spotlight-V100

0 /.Trashes

0 /.vol

16 /Applications

1 /bin

0 /cores

1 /dev

1 /home

1 /IDriveLocal

6 /Library

1 /net

0 /Network

6 /private

1 /sbin

9 /System

321 /Users

1 /usr

1 /Volumes

363 /

363 total

Have you tried a disk first aid repair in your Disk Utility?
Boot to your recovery system (Restart, holding Command-R. Run Disk Utility from the menu. Choose the drive, then run First Aid)
If that does not pass the first time, run it again.
If there are no errors, and the test reports no problems, restart to your normal system.