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Hello. I've been using a 2020 M1 Macbook Air for 2 years. I just noticed my storage is about to run out, and a big portion of it says "system information". I would like to know what is in this tab, and how I can cut it down. Thanks!
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.2
Follow the previous advise ➡️ First
Manage Storage
It is generally a good computer practice to alway keep at least 15% to 20% of the Total Drive Capacity’s as Empty Space.
Allowing the computer to drop below these guidelines may eventually, cause unintended consequences.
The links below will assist in identifying what is taking up space on the Internal Drive and provide possible ways to remove data that is under the direct control of the User ( Home Folder ) .
Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac
What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?
Free up storage space 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 additional 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.
Follow the previous advise ➡️ First
Manage Storage
It is generally a good computer practice to alway keep at least 15% to 20% of the Total Drive Capacity’s as Empty Space.
Allowing the computer to drop below these guidelines may eventually, cause unintended consequences.
The links below will assist in identifying what is taking up space on the Internal Drive and provide possible ways to remove data that is under the direct control of the User ( Home Folder ) .
Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac
What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how can I clean it out?
Free up storage space 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 additional 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.
One of the most common reason for this is Time Machine snapshots.
Open Terminal and paste the following line, then tell us what the output is:
tmutil listlocalsnapshots
One other thing is that it is possible that some caches have been growing too much.
Restart in Safe Mode, log in to your account, and then restart normally once again.
This should clear some caches.
Excuse me for the late reply...
Thank you so much, and especially for introducing me to Desk Inventory, it's simply brilliant!
Turns out system files of a game I have not played for a long time was the fault, honestly couldn't have found it out without your help.
Now I can upgrade to Ventura OS!
Thanks again from Japan
Welcome from 🇨🇦
System Information on Storage
