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evol_kesh

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 29, 2017
4
0
So, I have a 2014 Macbook Air and I only have 10gb left out of my 128GB SSD and I don't know why. I've constantly been deleting things and I'm pretty sure i've deleted everything expect my most important files but still, there is 118gb worth of stuff on there. WHY!!!! I went everywhere in the Libraries and System files (no i didn't delete anything important) and still I can't find what is taking up so much space. Help!
 

Glmnet1

macrumors 6502a
Oct 21, 2017
973
1,093
Step 1: Calm down ;)
Step 2: Click on the Apple at the top left of your screen and click on About This Mac. Then click on the Storage tab. You should see what is taking up most of the storage. Share the screenshot of that tab if you want so we can help more.

128gb is not a lot so it's normal you'll have to be careful with what you store on it. Maybe an external disk could help you.
 

evol_kesh

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 29, 2017
4
0
Step 1: Calm down ;)
Step 2: Click on the Apple at the top left of your screen and click on About This Mac. Then click on the Storage tab. You should see what is taking up most of the storage. Share the screenshot of that tab if you want so we can help more.

128gb is not a lot so it's normal you'll have to be careful with what you store on it. Maybe an external disk could help you.

Screen Shot 2018-01-28 at 3.47.37 PM.png

uuuuuuuuuhm. i think theres a problem. yeah its broken and I don't know why
 

northernmunky

macrumors 6502a
Jan 19, 2007
847
323
London, Taipei
Its not 'broken', you've just got files taking up space. Occasionally large files end up in hidden directories, sometimes root directories that you wont find unless you know what you're looking for.

Daisydisk is a great tool to help you visualise where your space has gone.
https://daisydiskapp.com

And yes 128Gb is peanuts so filling up shouldn't be surprising so dont panic.
 

MacDawg

Moderator emeritus
Mar 20, 2004
19,823
4,504
"Between the Hedges"
I use Grand Perspective to give me an indication of what files are using my space
Its free and you can get it here: http://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net/
The results can sometimes be surprising

If you need access to everything you have on your drive, I would suggest using some type of cloud storage: DropBox, Google Drive, One Drive, Box, etc.
You can selectively sync to your local drive, store the files in the cloud and only download as you need access to them
If you are adventurous, you can set up your own personal cloud storage for this
 

evol_kesh

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 29, 2017
4
0
Thank you guys for all your replies. I'll make sure to take in all your suggestions. Thank you!!
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
Download and use OmniDiskSweeper. It will provide a sorted list of what's consuming your space.

I like this app over the others because of how it produces your space usage report. To me a sorted list by size is best approach to seeing your utilization.
 

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,489
16,217
California
View attachment 748881
uuuuuuuuuhm. i think theres a problem. yeah its broken and I don't know why
Your Spotlight index is borked and that causes that readout to be all wrong. Run the command below in Terminal to reindex Spotlight them look at the storage readout again. It takes a half hour or so to complete the reindex, so wait for it to finish.

Code:
sudo mdutil -E /

Then if you still think you have something off, run this command and tell us the output. This will show the space used by the base folders, including system and hidden files not shown by some of the utilities mentioned.

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

Also tell us what macOS version you are on and if you have Time Machine turned on.
 
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lambertjohn

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2012
1,655
1,720
So, I have a 2014 Macbook Air and I only have 10gb left out of my 128GB SSD and I don't know why. I've constantly been deleting things and I'm pretty sure i've deleted everything expect my most important files but still, there is 118gb worth of stuff on there. WHY!!!! I went everywhere in the Libraries and System files (no i didn't delete anything important) and still I can't find what is taking up so much space. Help!
you should get you a SANDISK EXTREME PORTABLE SSD. Fabulous little external flash drive that's perfect for Macs that have small internal hard drives. 500GB for $99.
 

Howard2k

macrumors 603
Mar 10, 2016
5,715
5,672
Thread is almost a year old. I suspect the OP figured out the space issue.
 

Lioness~

macrumors 68040
Apr 26, 2017
3,408
4,247
Thread is almost a year old. I suspect the OP figured out the space issue.
Or he could got lost in space? :D
Doesn’t seem like the guy have posted since last time in this thread.

@lambertjohn Some other peeps with similar problem may show up and read your advice.
The MR time machine is something of its own.
 
Last edited:

trifid

macrumors 68020
May 10, 2011
2,078
4,950
I didn't realize the date either, well hopefully this might be useful for someone else coming across this thread :D
 

maxgts

macrumors regular
Jul 16, 2013
118
96
Sunnyvale, CA
I can’t understand why people buy their MacBooks with only 128GB of internal storage. Thankfully my 2015 rMBP is upgradable so I was able to replace the 256GB for a 1TB NVMe SSD.
 

ssl0408

macrumors 65816
Sep 22, 2013
1,233
555
New York
I can’t understand why people buy their MacBooks with only 128GB of internal storage. Thankfully my 2015 rMBP is upgradable so I was able to replace the 256GB for a 1TB NVMe SSD.
Is the 2015 rMPB 13 inch base model upragradebale? I’m also running out of space on mine.
 

maxgts

macrumors regular
Jul 16, 2013
118
96
Sunnyvale, CA
Is the 2015 rMPB 13 inch base model upragradebale? I’m also running out of space on mine.

This in the info I used to help me do it. It's actually pretty easy. The video shows step-by-step. I used the Intel 760p SSD because of it's lower power consumption compared to the Samsung 970 EVO SSD.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/upgrading-2013-2014-macbook-pro-ssd-to-m-2-nvme.2034976/



Yes. But it may be difficult to find a drive that will retain performance of the original.

The Intel 760p SSD 1TB I used is equal to the performance of the original 256GB SSD. The replacement drives offered by OWC are double the price of standard m.2 SSD and run very hot along with high power consumption.
 
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