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System Data

How and why is my System Data occupying so much space? I've had this M1 Macbook Air for a year only and noticed System Data occupies 165GB out of my 250GB storage and I have no idea how to fix it. It leaves me very little storage for things such a photos, videos, applications, etc. I have never had this issue with my previous MacBook so I don't know how to fix it. Tried external applications such as CleanMyMac and BuhoCleaner but none solved my problem. What do I do?


I appreciate any help!

MacBook Air

Posted on Sep 7, 2022 9:47 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 7, 2022 10:05 PM

One of the largest "contributors" to System Data are Time Machine (TM) local snapshots. Each snapshot is a copy of the volume being backed up. TM automatically saves one snapshot every hour, and keeps it for up to 24 hours.


To get a list of current snapshots, enter the following command in the Terminal app: sudo tmutil listlocalsnapshots /


The simplest way to delete these local snapshots would be to go to System Preferences > Time Machine. Then uncheck the "Back Up Automatically" option. This may take awhile, but after checking with the listlocalsnapshots command, once they are deleted, be sure to re-enable the option if you wish to have TM make automatic backups.


Ref:

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 7, 2022 10:05 PM in response to henryyoshizawa

One of the largest "contributors" to System Data are Time Machine (TM) local snapshots. Each snapshot is a copy of the volume being backed up. TM automatically saves one snapshot every hour, and keeps it for up to 24 hours.


To get a list of current snapshots, enter the following command in the Terminal app: sudo tmutil listlocalsnapshots /


The simplest way to delete these local snapshots would be to go to System Preferences > Time Machine. Then uncheck the "Back Up Automatically" option. This may take awhile, but after checking with the listlocalsnapshots command, once they are deleted, be sure to re-enable the option if you wish to have TM make automatic backups.


Ref:

Sep 8, 2022 2:36 AM in response to henryyoshizawa

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac


Free up storage space on your Mac


OmniDiskSweeper Safe to use


GrandPerspective 


How to delete Time Machine snapshots on your Mac


See used and available storage space on your Mac


Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch


Notation - If the user is using a cloning software like Carbon Copy Cloner - suggest tweaking the Safety Net Feature in this software. It may be making addition Snap Shots that are not being Cloned to the Eternal Drive. If this should be the case, these Snap Shot could be using additional space on the drive 


The final word from Apple on Managing the " Other/ System Data “ Category


Other / System Data: Contains files that don’t fall into the categories listed here. This category primarily includes files and data used by the system, such as log files, caches, VM files, and other runtime system resources. Also included are temporary files, fonts, app support files, and plug-ins. You can't manage the contents of this category. The contents are managed by macOS, and the category varies in size depending on the current state of your Mac.

System Data

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