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Can't save GarageBand sessions

I recently started recording a podcast on GarageBand and lately I get the spinning wheel of death when I go to save a project. I assume it due to lack of space somewhere along the way. I use Dropbox (long story) with 1TB of space and I have a2TB external hard drive that backs up everything automatically. I guess I assumed I had plenty of storage. I'm using a 2015 MacBook Air with 4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 memory and Monterey 12.6.7


The Untitled files have a cloud with the exclamation point. Hope the recording is not corrupted.


Can someone help me sort through? Thanks.



MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Jul 5, 2023 6:35 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 6, 2023 4:45 PM

Hi JimMoonJr,


Thanks for providing that update. If you haven't tried yet, let's go ahead and restart your Mac in safe mode and see if you can save the file. What safe mode does is that it helps to verify your startup disk, clear some system caches and more. This is a step that may help you. Now if you're unable to save the file in safe mode, please restart the Mac as normal and attempt to save your file. If needed, here are the steps on how to restart your Mac in safe mode:

1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.
2. Release the key when you see the login window, then log in to your Mac. 
3. You might be asked to log in again. On either the first or second login window, you should see ”Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner of the window. If you can't start up in safe mode, make sure that your Mac isn't using a firmware password.

Following these steps may help and is outlined in this article: Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


We look forward to hearing back from you with an update.


Kind regards.



Similar questions

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 6, 2023 4:45 PM in response to JimMoonJr

Hi JimMoonJr,


Thanks for providing that update. If you haven't tried yet, let's go ahead and restart your Mac in safe mode and see if you can save the file. What safe mode does is that it helps to verify your startup disk, clear some system caches and more. This is a step that may help you. Now if you're unable to save the file in safe mode, please restart the Mac as normal and attempt to save your file. If needed, here are the steps on how to restart your Mac in safe mode:

1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.
2. Release the key when you see the login window, then log in to your Mac. 
3. You might be asked to log in again. On either the first or second login window, you should see ”Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner of the window. If you can't start up in safe mode, make sure that your Mac isn't using a firmware password.

Following these steps may help and is outlined in this article: Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


We look forward to hearing back from you with an update.


Kind regards.



Jul 6, 2023 2:45 PM in response to JimMoonJr

Hi JimMoonJr,


Thanks for posting in Apple Support Communities.


You mentioned that your project isn't loading due to storage and that other storage amounts are available, but the internal storage of your Mac may be full. You can back up your computer using Time Machine with your external hard drive and then remove any content that could be filling up your Mac.


Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

Find out how much storage space is available

Your Mac can show you how much storage space is being used by various categories of files, and how much space is available for additional files. As you take the steps in this article to free up storage space, this storage information updates automatically. 
* macOS Ventura or later: Choose Apple menu  > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Storage on the right.
* Earlier versions of macOS: Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then click Storage.

Optimize storage space

Your Mac can optimize storage by using iCloud to automatically make more storage space available when needed.* And you can use built-in utilities to quickly find and delete files, apps, books, movies, and other items that are taking up space, then delete items you no longer need.
* macOS Ventura or later: Learn how to optimize storage space
* Earlier versions of macOS: Learn how to optimize storage space

Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support


Regards.



Jul 6, 2023 4:33 PM in response to ASTRO24

Thanks Astro24,

Appreciate your help with this issue. I cleared out more than a few files and podcasts that I had saved in Music. I now I have 60.24 GB available of 121.12 GB.


is that closer to what I need to do?


When I opened GarageBand and tried to save a simple file, I still couldn’t save the file.


I appreciate your help and would be willing to try something else you would recommend.


Thanks so much

Jim

Can't save GarageBand sessions

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