Software Failure

[Moose Prince]

Hi, my mac has been behaving increasingly erratically. First it started with not being able to download anything from the internet, I just got an error message saying there was not enough space free on the harddrive, despite there being free space. Then apps stopped beign able to save files, saying the same messege or that the directory could not be located, or that the file type could not be read.

Firefox has started to crash now, and constantly wipe its online cache and data, the bookmarks have stopped working. Final Cut has stopped being able to read files. Quicktime player can not save files.

Could anybody tell me what the heck is happening with it? If I reinstalled the OS would that solve the problem?? I have back ups from before this occurred, though when I tried to restore to one migrate assistant crashed aswell !! I suppose if need be I could wipe the mac completely clean then boot it up from the backup if needed.

Any ideas??
Thanks !
Cerny.

 

[Apple_Robert]

It sounds like your hard drive is too full. Even if you see a little free space left, the OS still needs room to operate and allow apps to run and create data etc.

On the main screen, click on the Apple icon in the left corner of the screen > About this Mac > Storage > and post what you see.

 

[Moose Prince]

Hi Robert, I actually put some files onto an external drive to be sure it wasnt this, currently I have 264 GB of available space on the internal drive with no change.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Hi Robert, I actually put some files onto an external drive to be sure it wasnt this, currently I have 264 GB of available space on the internal drive with no change.

You could have a conflicting app or app process that is causing the trouble. If there is a conflict, the following free app should be able to let you know. If the program doesn't find anything, I would wipe the drive and set up as new. I would also slowly install one app at a time and use that app several times to see if there is any conflict. If there isn't, proceed to installing the next app etc. A lot of times a clean install will fix problems like you are seeing. Just make sure not to migrate otherwise, you could reintroduce the problem(s).

EtreCheck

etrecheck.com

 

[Moose Prince]

I downloaded and ran Etrecheck, and it could not find any problems, as I expected I will have to wipe the drive then reinstall everything gradually as you say. Would time machine be the best means of doing this? So rather than restoring everything from a back up just individually going through all of the files and apps and reinstalling them that way?

I have had the same machine running continuously for about 10 years on different computers, so it has probably accumulated a lot of information on it that is not helping it run well. Going thorugh it all and getting rid of anything I dont need is probably a good idea anyway !

 

[upgradeordie]

I downloaded and ran Etrecheck, and it could not find any problems, as I expected I will have to wipe the drive then reinstall everything gradually as you say. Would time machine be the best means of doing this? So rather than restoring everything from a back up just individually going through all of the files and apps and reinstalling them that way?

I have had the same machine running continuously for about 10 years on different computers, so it has probably accumulated a lot of information on it that is not helping it run well. Going thorugh it all and getting rid of anything I dont need is probably a good idea anyway !

Moose, what do you mean by 'same machine running on different computers'?

Thanks

 

[Moose Prince]

Sorry, I mean i've moved onto a new computer with a time machine back up, so it has transfered the old computer over to the new one in effect