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Macintosh HD Data Other Storage Full

My laptop updated a few months ago (and I didn't use it for quite some time in between), and now my "Other" storage is full? I don't know where those files are, what they are, or how they got there- but now my computer storage is completely full. I rarely use this laptop, and even more rarely save anything to it. I don't know how my storage could be full.

MacBook Air

Posted on Sep 28, 2022 7:58 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 29, 2022 6:02 PM

Hi tutneytater,


We'd like to help you find the best resolution for your storage. The best starting steps will be the article for Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support which covers what to check and how to check and resolve some steps in freeing up the storage. With Other storage, this can also relate to files that may have not met a specific category for the break down and cache data from apps and web browser. If you continue to have storage issues after what we shared, you'll want to reach out to Apple Support


Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

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12 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 29, 2022 6:02 PM in response to tutneytater

Hi tutneytater,


We'd like to help you find the best resolution for your storage. The best starting steps will be the article for Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support which covers what to check and how to check and resolve some steps in freeing up the storage. With Other storage, this can also relate to files that may have not met a specific category for the break down and cache data from apps and web browser. If you continue to have storage issues after what we shared, you'll want to reach out to Apple Support


Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

Sep 30, 2022 2:48 PM in response to tutneytater

Thanks for getting back with us about this, tutneytater.


Let's see if we can find the folders that might not be readily visible but contain large amounts of data, so you can decide how to address those. Please follow these steps:


    1. Open the Storage Management Window (About This Mac > Storage > Manage).
    2. Select "Recommendations" in the sidebar.
    3. In the "Reduce Clutter" section click on the "Review Files" button. 
    4. Select the "File Browser" tab located across the top of the window.
    5. Click on any folder listed in the left most column to highlight it.
    6. Press the keyboard shortcut Shift-Command-. (period) to show hidden files including the Library folder.


From there, you can review the files and folders to see if you can spot any outliers. Please let us know how this goes and we can continue investigating with you. Take care.


Oct 1, 2022 9:01 PM in response to tutneytater

Unfortunately, you will not find that category, which is now called system data. In any case,you cannot control it as it,explains in the article I linked to. Two things can help: a restart or deleting snapshots if there are any. The amount will change dynamically; a restart on mine reduced the total amount from about 45 to 21.

Oct 2, 2022 11:08 PM in response to tutneytater

The 'Other' storage on a Mac consists of different types of files that don't fall into any particular storage category (like videos, photos, music, apps, or mail). The ‘Other’ category also includes junk files and personal files such as .pdf, .psd, .doc, browser caches, voice files, message media files stored locally, system caches, archive files like .zip and .dmg disk images, fonts, extensions, app plugins, etc. Other storage spaces on Mac is something to be taken care of since an increased 'Other' storage reduces the available free spaces on the Mac hard drive.

 

Further, I suggest you to check the below link that will take you through the methods to clear the 'other' storage on your Mac:

 

https://mackeeper.com/blog/what-is-other-on-mac-storage-and-how-to-clean-it/

 

Hope it helps!

Oct 3, 2022 9:50 AM in response to allen_31

It does not matter much what you do - Apple created and coded it and tells you that you cannot control it, You may be able to get rid of a few GB, but that is not "controlling" it. Additionally, a lot of the files in the other category are in the read only volume of the OS which means no one (including MacKeeper) and do anything there except read.


And I would certainly not trust anything at all from that company - and that includes never installing it on any of my devices.

Oct 3, 2022 11:40 AM in response to Henderson_86

This was the best answer- and only because it was suggested I contact Apple Support. I was told by Apple Support that this issue is not normal- and that it can only be fixed with a full erase and reinstall of my OS. I've been instructed to backup my files onto an external hard drive and take the steps necessary to fully erase my Mac. I hope that this answer might help someone else.

Oct 3, 2022 5:02 PM in response to babowa

My hard drive is 120GB, and “Other” is taking up 91GB 😅. Erasing and reinstalling is the only option I’ve been told would even remotely fix that. I’ve tried clearing caches and lots of little back door things, but nothing has touched it. I understand what you’re saying about how dynamic it is- I’ve witnessed it change in front of me, but only by a very very small amount.


Thank you for your continued help though!

Macintosh HD Data Other Storage Full

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