'Missing' GB's on MacBook Air 11"2014 121GB OS 10.14.6

Thank you, but let me go one step further as an example:

Since the 'Available' shows 11GB, if I want to import a 12GB folder, it will NOT allow it. Same thing, by the way, because it will NOT allow me to download and upgrade to Catalina OS because not enough Free space.

So whatever the 'real' space available is, let's say 28GB, it does not matter.

Alternatively, if the 'real' available is only 11GB, then all of the folder sizes listed are UNDERSTATED.

Steve (maclanta)

Thank You:

I downloaded and installed the https://www.omnigroup.com/more/

It shows a HIDDEN Library within my User name (steve) of 15.6GB.

'steve' is 53.9 GB including the 15.6 GB Library, which is what the Files inside steve add up to.

Unfortunately the top-level of steve in the Users list shows 79.1GB, which is a 25.2GB discrepancy of unknown source.

Very strange that Apple would not be aware of, or care about fixing, this HUGE discrepancy in available disk space.

I'm going to mark this as 'solved' because of your excellent suggestion to download the OmniDiskSweeper app.

steve (maclanta)

Thanks for the reply:

Now it’s about 66.GB at ‘steve’ top level but about 38GB added-up by folder within ‘steve’, a difference of about 28 phantom GB. By deleting files/folders within ‘Steve’ I now have about 28GB ‘Free’ of the 121GB MacBook Air Internal Flash storage. I appreciate your help but I am giving up on trying to understand the discrepancies.

PS: I have a 128GB USB3 drive Mac format with NO OS that correctly shows all the file and folder sizes, so it must be an issue with the Mac OS. Unfortunately the OS uses the presumably ‘False and less available size’ to decide how much I can add to the internal storage, including not being able to upgrade the OS without deleting some folders.