Startup disk has 0 bytes of available space. How can I clear up room on it (without erasing it entirely)?

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Level 1

8 points

Startup disk has 0 bytes of available space. How can I clear up room on it (without erasing it entirely)?

I have a MacBook Pro with a 256 (250.79) GB internal SSD. It was showing the folder icon with a question mark whenever it powered on. Following the startup instructions, I rebooted it into Recovery Mode and launched Disk Utility. What I learned is that there is not a single byte of space available, as it has used all 251,000,193,024 bytes of its total capacity.

The computer does not boot into Safe Mode or even Single-User Mode, and I don't know how to access the data on the disk in order to clear up space so that it can run normally.

What are my options?

P.S.: I am very savvy working on the device without a GUI, but I don't know how to do that when it won't even boot into Single-User Mode.

Posted on Sep 28, 2022 8:02 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Opstellar Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 28, 2022 8:19 AM in response to Opstellar

I've learned that Target Disk Mode is an option.

I'm able to boot it into Target Disk Mode (powering on while holding 'T') and chaining it with a USB-C to USB-A (female) dongle, followed by a USB-A (male) to USB-C (female) adapter, a USB-C cable, and another USB-A (male) to USB-C (female) adapter. Without the dongle, it only recognized it as a power source.

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Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

60,644 points

Sep 29, 2022 1:44 PM in response to Opstellar

Opstellar wrote:

Ok while I was sitting here the SSD disappeared. YIKES

This may indicate the SSD is failing. Within Disk Utility click "View" and select "Show All Devices" so that the physical drives appear on the left pane of Disk Utility. If that physical SSD is not seen, but it was moments ago, then it means one of the following:

Ejected the SSD (using Finder, Disk Utility, or command line)
Cable became disconnected (or partially disconnected)
SSD failed and disappeared from the bus
Possible Logic Board issue (or other hardware issue with the Mac)

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Answer 3

Opstellar Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 28, 2022 9:21 AM in response to Opstellar

I think I figured out the problem.

Not only is the disk full, but also Macintosh HD does not exist. It shows the Internal SSD (APPLE SSD SM0256G Media) but unlike the Disk Utility on my newer MacBook Pro and any screenshots I can find of Disk Utility windows on other Macs, it has no drop-down menu showing "Container disk1", much less one showing "Macintosh HD"!

The only instance I found online where this occurred was when somebody managed to delete Macintosh HD, but even they still had a subfolder where Macintosh HD used to be located.

Ok while I was sitting here the SSD disappeared. YIKES

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Answer 4

Opstellar Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 28, 2022 10:26 AM in response to Opstellar

After a call with Apple Support, the issue has been determined as follows:

The OS got uninstalled, so it must be reinstalled.

Two solutions:

Get it serviced for data recovery

Wipe the SSD to reinstall the OS

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Answer 5

Opstellar Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 30, 2022 8:39 AM in response to HWTech

It's the internal SSD. I opened up the back, carefully removed the SSD and re-inserted it. When I rebooted, not only did it reboot faster than before, but the SSD showed up again. Still no Macintosh HD, though.

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