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How do I clear OTHER storage on my macbook air? 40 GB?

I am being told that my disk is full, to the extent that I can't even update the operating system. When I try to manage my storage, it appears that 40GB+ is marked as OTHER but there is no way for me to see what it is or remove unnecessary items. How can I clean up my OTHER storage please?


MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Oct 10, 2020 8:22 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 10, 2020 10:48 AM

The Other category is a potpourri of files which include:

• System temporary files
• macOS system folders
• Archives and disk images (.zip, .iso, etc. - often found in the Downloads folder)
• Personal user data
• Files from the user’s library (Application Support, iCloud files, screensavers, etc.)
• Cache files
• Fonts, plugins, extensions
• Other files that are not recognized by a Spotlight search
• Media files that cannot be classified by Spotlight as a media file because they are located inside of a package

You can use either GrandPerspective  or OmniDiscSweeper to find the largest files on your drive and so you can determine if they can be deleted or moved to an external HD for storage.  

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 10, 2020 10:48 AM in response to getholdofmimi

The Other category is a potpourri of files which include:

• System temporary files
• macOS system folders
• Archives and disk images (.zip, .iso, etc. - often found in the Downloads folder)
• Personal user data
• Files from the user’s library (Application Support, iCloud files, screensavers, etc.)
• Cache files
• Fonts, plugins, extensions
• Other files that are not recognized by a Spotlight search
• Media files that cannot be classified by Spotlight as a media file because they are located inside of a package

You can use either GrandPerspective  or OmniDiscSweeper to find the largest files on your drive and so you can determine if they can be deleted or moved to an external HD for storage.  

How do I clear OTHER storage on my macbook air? 40 GB?

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