2020 M1 Mac mini Out of Application Memory Error

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Level 1

48 points

2020 M1 Mac mini Out of Application Memory Error

2020 M1 Mac Mini 8GB memory. I have been experiencing this problem for almost two years now, but it has gotten worse, to the point that I can't use Mail.app anymore. The issue was discussed in depth here:

m1 out of memory - Apple Community

but no solution was brought forth. Unfortunately, I'm only using my Mac mini for Music.app and Netflix pretty much when I used to be running seven applications all day and night with no problems. I am a student and use pretty undemanding programs, Office, Apple Numbers and Pages, the Affinity Suite, and I use Chrome a lot when studying. I have an M1 MBP from around the same time and have never had a problem with it though it's loaded with pretty much the same software.

Will the Mac mini end up an iPod or is there a fix? I can't even get the Mac Mini to show up properly here as a device (it's a 2020 M1 Mac mini, though it reads 'Planet...s Computer (4)'.

Mac mini, macOS 14.5

Posted on Oct 19, 2024 6:10 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 20, 2024 1:48 AM in response to bluetortilla

Whilst RAM and disk space are 2 separate things they are connected in that with your small amount of RAM there will be quite a lot of memory swapping and if the SSD is fairly full this will affect performance.

You should never let your SSD get more than 80% full - I get worried if mine approaches 50%.

So how full is it and how much free space do you have?

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,507 points

Oct 22, 2024 8:46 PM in response to bluetortilla

Good work, you might enjoy this App, which sws all folder sizes.

OmniDiskSweeper shows you the files on your drive, largest to smallest, and lets you quickly Trash or open them.

https://www.omnigroup.com/more/

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

82,636 points

Oct 19, 2024 7:02 PM in response to bluetortilla

Some of those App's like Office, Chrome and Affinity require a lot of RAM.

An excellent tool for sorting out high RAM usage and other issues is EtreCheckPro.

Download and run the free version of EtreCheckPro, from > https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html

Then post your Report, as per > How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

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Answer 4

den.thed

Level 10

82,636 points

Oct 20, 2024 10:52 AM in response to bluetortilla

To get to the bottom of this problem, please run and post your EtreCheckPro Report.

Download and run the free version of EtreCheckPro, from > https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html

Then post your Report, as per > How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

Sounds like maybe the Mac mini has a smaller internal storage drive than the MBP...? If so, you can easily move and store your Photos, Music or Movie Libraries on an external hard drive to free up space.

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

Change where your music files are stored on Mac - Apple Support

Move your iMovie for Mac library - Apple Support

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Answer 5

bluetortilla Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 20, 2024 9:28 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

It's terrible. Less than 20 GB left. So I reduce it by emptying the cache and restarting but it just fills up again. I've thrown away everything I OK with throwing away. Honestly, I can get it down to 60~70% but it just fills up again in no time. My MBP basically has the same software and never does this.

Memory hog apps were mentioned but I don't even bother trying to use them on my mini anymore. I use them on my MBP.

It seems like a leak to me- that's been mentioned in archived threads multiple times.

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Answer 6

bluetortilla Author

Level 1

48 points

Oct 22, 2024 11:05 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

I found the problem. 80 GB of Quicktime Screen Capture from when I did a class project was in my library. There is still more to clean out, but that helped A LOT. A big problem with the Finder view that I was not able to solve is that I couldn't get Library folders to display by size. I had to open them individually for View Options to work. I think there maybe should be warnings when huge files are being loaded into our User Library, but live and learn.

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