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    #1

    Macbook help

    Okay, so I've been arsing around on my Macbook this morning. I checked the storage remaining earlier, and it was about seven or eight gigabytes.

    But a few minutes ago, the dialogue box flashes up telling me my startup disk is almost full. I check the storage and it has somehow dwindled to 520 megabytes! This is without having downloaded anything at all in the meantime, and nothing open except six or seven Firefox tabs.

    So I restart the machine, and check the storage. It now says 2.7 gigabytes are free.

    WTF has happened? Any ideas how I can rectify this and/or find out where did the other four or five gigs go?
    Tags: None
    #2
    Macbook help

    I've had the issue before. It's usually a cache issue and versions of old programs. One of the browsers...I think it's Chrome...reintstalls full new versions instead of just a version upgrade. The Mac system holds onto the full old version. If you go into the system, you can delete them manually.

    If you google around for "Macbook startup disk full", you'll find tons of tips. Usually very straightforward. Mainly deleted cached shit and old versions.

    Also, make sure you do a full shutdown/start every couple of days. Sounds counter-intuitive based on what I said above, but sometimes a buggy memory issue will be solved by a next-day update.

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      #3
      Macbook help

      Not specific to your question, but Disk Cleanup Pro is a good free app that scans for duplicate files and other things that can be deleted.

      Comment

        #4
        Macbook help

        Incandenza wrote: Not specific to your question, but Disk Cleanup Pro is a good free* app that scans for duplicate files and other things that can be deleted.
        *$4.99

        Comment

          #5
          Macbook help

          Thanks Inca and WOM.

          I "solved" the problem by placing my entire music library (72GB) somewhere else. But I'm still wondering what on earth caused the guts of 5GB to disappear from my system in a matter of minutes.

          I followed WOM's advice and ended up running a thing called CleanMyMac, but it only got rid of 600MB of phantom rubbish.

          Comment

            #6
            Macbook help

            WOM wrote:
            Originally posted by Incandenza
            Not specific to your question, but Disk Cleanup Pro is a good free* app that scans for duplicate files and other things that can be deleted.
            *$4.99
            Hmm...was free when I got it. Or maybe I'm only running a lite version.

            Comment

              #7
              Macbook help

              There's an awesome Windows app called WinDirStat which gives a visual representation of what's eating up your drive space, making it much easier to pinpoint rogue data hogs. There are some Mac equivalents listed here.

              Comment

                #8
                Macbook help

                DaisyDisk is a beautifully designed space analyser, almost a pleasure to use, but it's not free and I'm sure there are free Mac utilities that'll do the same job.

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                  #9
                  Macbook help

                  Thanks lads. The only drawback with those things is that I'm worried they would give me a big long list of folders and I might end up accidentally deleting something that's vital to the machine's innards.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Macbook help

                    The problem is Firefox. Are you running an older OS? Firefox does this on my old Mac desktop that is running Snow Leopard. Basically, I have to keep Firefox closed except when I am actually using the program and even then by the time an upload or download is finished, it will show very little space left. There are multiple threads about this on the Net and after reading some of the Mozilla discussion threads where the problem is raised, it is clear that Mozilla has no plans to fix the problem. I don't have this problem with a newer Macbook that is running Lion but then I have other problems with Firefox only quitting with a force quit.

                    Anyway, this is your problem; I am 100% confident since you noted that the only thing you were running was Firefox and the space reappeared after you quit Firefox. My recommendation: upgrade your OS if you can. If not, just quit Firefox when not using it and know that you have to quit it no matter what every so often. Then give your computer a minute or so to re-assess the space. If the full space does not reappear, force quit the Finder (click in desktop, go to Apple and drag down to Force Quit, then select the finder). Your space will return.

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                      #11
                      Macbook help

                      One more thing. I've found that when I have problems with Firefox, I also have problems with the OS emptying the trash. There is a program called TrashIT that is great. I use 4.0 on my older computer and 5.0 on the newer computer. It's a donationware program.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Macbook help

                        I think if you've filled your hard drive and you're down to your last few GB, you should look at moving files to the cloud or a NAS.

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