In this article, we are going to show you how to free up space on Mac in both the easy way and the manual way. The fact that MacBook Air only comes with 128 gigabytes of storage doesn't make it any easier for you to conserve more space. It fills up even faster. If you have a MacBook Air, here are the same ways on how to free up space on Macbook. Downloads Folder. The Downloads folder is the default location on Mac that stores all the content. Just go to the Apple menu on your computer and choose 'About This Mac Storage'. Then you will see an overview of the free space as well as the occupied space. The storage is divided into different categories: Apps, Movies, Photos, Audio, Backups, the undescriptive category-Purgeable and so on. See what's taking up Mac. Click the clean up button to clear cache on macbook air. Clear purgeable space on mac without terminal command. When the recovery mode utilities window shows up, pick disk utility and click continue.select your main hard drive usually called macintosh hd. Step 2.erase your macbook pro's hard drive. Free Up Space on MacBook Air or MacBook Pro ( 12 Easy Ways) 1. Delete Large Files on your Mac. Instead of deleting a hundred small files and images, first of all, let us go for the big fish. Click on the Apple logo from the upper left and select About This Mac. Now, click on Storage and then click on Manage. Click Documents.
System cleanup in one click
Sometimes, you need to know how much storage space is on your Mac. Apple doesn’t make this info readily available because not many of us need to know about Mac storage often enough. It’s really easy to check, though – and there are even some alternatives that give you better options for managing your onboard memory!
People need to check their storage space for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s just good device management; sometimes your computer is running slowly, and storage is the first culprit you think of. Ideally, about ten percent of the storage space on your Mac should be free at all times so your computer can run smoothly.
Depending on which model you have, this can be tricky to accomplish routinely. Maybe you need to delete some older apps you’re not using, or the app isn’t supported anymore. Maybe you’re just holding onto old documents you no longer need.
Whatever your use-case, here’s how to check disk space on Mac.
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How To Check Storage on Mac
It’s actually really simple to check your device’s memory! Here’s how:
- On the menu bar, click the Apple logo in the top left
- Select ‘About this Mac’
- Select ‘Storage’
This is the easiest method for how to see storage on Mac – but you can go deeper! If you need a closer look at your Mac’s memory use, there are a few ways to go about it.
From the Storage screen, you can select ‘Manage,’ which takes you to a new window. Applications, Documents, Photos, and other sections can be found on the left of this window, and a detailed view of those files on the right.
You can also use Finder! To do so, open Finder, go to the View menu item in the menu bar, and select ‘Show toolbar.’ You’ll see a new bar at the bottom of the Finder window showing the number of items for the section you have selected on the left-hand pane and the total amount of storage your Mac has available.
Check out how to use Time Machine.
Disk Utility is another resource. Open Disk Utility, and it will launch into a view of the volume(s) on your Mac, which also shows how much space is used, and how much is free. (Keep in mind Disk Utility is meant for power users who want to manage their storage, and is a bit of overkill for most users.)
How To Manage Storage in macOS
There are also easy ways to manage the files or applications taking up room on your Mac.
In Finder, select the category from the left side pane, then the application or file you want to delete. Right-click on that file or app, select ‘delete,’ and it’ll be removed. From the System Information menu, simply select the file or app you want to get rid of, and select the ‘delete’ button on the bottom right of the window.
But these two methods often don’t solve the issue! One clever way to better manage the storage on your Mac is to use cloud storage options like iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Apple’s iCloud is woven into your AppleID, and using it is a very straightforward approach; it’s automatically added to the storage options for your Mac!
But iCloud is not the only solution for cloud storage on Mac. If you have something else, CloudMounter is the easiest and best way to manage all your cloud storage containers. It lives in your menu bar for easy access, and shows all your cloud storage options in Finder. It helps your Mac treat cloud storage as a local disk, making access and managing files really simple!
Best of all, CloudMounter uses 256-bit encryption, so your documents are always safe.
If all the menus and file size jargon of Apple’s Finder and System Information options is confusing, we’ve got a great solution for you. iStat Menus is a handy app that also lives in the Menu Bar, and gives a graphical overview of CPU and GPU use in real-time, network connections, and memory use. Instead of dipping and diving through Apple’s hierarchal menus, you can just click on iStat Menus to get the same information in a much better interface!
iStat Menus also allows you to keep the data surfaced directly on your menu bar. Instead of clicking the icon, you can choose to have things like CPU or memory usage as icons so the information is always available in real-time. Awesome!
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Probably the best (and definitely the most powerful) option for managing your Mac’s memory is CleanMyMacX. Like iStat Menus, it has a drop-down window from the menu bar showing details like CPU or memory use, as well as which apps may be kicking your Mac into overdrive.
CleanMyMacX really shines when you open it up. The app scans your system and identifies unused files, random system junk, mail attachments – and also manages your trash bins. It scans for malware, checks for privacy leaks, optimizes your system for speedy performance, and does routine maintenance.
That’s a lot, but we’re not done! An option within CleanMyMacX named ‘Space Lens’ is a lot like Apple’s Finder, only better looking and much easier to use. Here you’ll see all your applications and files divided into sections, and broken into sub-menus. You can also manually delete apps or files.
‘Large & Old Files’ is a feature in CleanMyMacX which – you guessed it – finds large files and files you haven’t touched in a long time. The goal is to help you identify which files might be worth deleting, or at least shuffling off to cloud storage. It even tells you how long it's been since you used a file!
But let’s be honest: most of the space on your Mac is probably taken up by apps. And chances are, you don’t want or need most of those apps anyway. This is where CleanMyMacX shines bright! Under the ‘Applications’ menu, you can update and manage apps and extensions with ease.
How To Free Up Space On Mac Air Startup Disk
The ‘Uninstaller’ option is a lot like the ‘Large & Old Files’ option, just for apps. It shows you which apps are old, which may be abandoned (32-bit apps are no longer supported on Mac!), and which are just plain unused. It even shows you how large the apps are, letting you do the quick math on which will free up the most space when deleted.
To get rid of apps or files, simply select them from the CleanMyMacX menu, and select the ‘Uninstall’ or ‘Delete’ option at the bottom of the window. It’s that easy!
Keep your Mac in top shape
Checking and managing the storage on your Mac is simple. While viewing your Mac’s storage is easy to do without having a separate app, there are good reasons to have something beyond Apple’s own options to manage your Mac’s memory.
Apps often have files and folders embedded deep in your Mac’s memory, which don’t always go away when you simply delete the app from Apple’s menus. Sure, you got rid of the main offender, but many apps (like those from Adobe) have nuisance files that linger long after you delete the app.
Similarly, moving an app to the trash bin doesn’t actually delete it. The ‘Trash’ app is little more than a place you put apps you don’t want; it doesn’t delete them. You have to manage your trash bin separately, which can balloon out of control.
CleanMyMacX is a great bet for handling it all. It’s smarter at deleting files, folders, and apps, and gives you a much better view of what may be occupying your Mac’s storage. It also removes associated files for apps you delete.
There’s no silver-bullet solution, though! We also like CloudMounter for those with multiple cloud storage solutions, and iStat Menus is really sharp at surfacing the right data when you need it. Best of all, all three options are available for free as part of a 7-day free trial for Setapp, along with dozens of other great apps.
Contents
- How to free up space on a Mac?
- How to see the used Storage on a Mac?
- How to Fix Mac Startup Disk Full with pCloud Drive?
- Note: If you have very low disk storage you must do the following:
- Example:
If you are a Mac user and you have a smaller HDD Macbook, chances are you have seen this message at least once: “Your startup disk is almost full” or you want to know how to free up space.
In this article, I will explain why this happens and how to never see this warning ever again!
How to free up space on a Mac?
What is a “Mac Startup Disk”?
Your Mac startup disk is a volume or a partition of a drive that contains a usable operating system. You can set your Mac to automatically use a specific startup volume, or you can temporarily override this choice at startup.
What this means is that the startup disk is the “home” of all the files needed for starting your Mac and using it.
Without a startup disk, you will not be able to switch on your computer.
Why is my Mac “Startup Disk Full”?
In short, you have too many files. When this happens, it slows down all processes on your computer – see, in order to complete some tasks, your computer needs space to store temporary files and system files. When this happens and you run low on storage, the operating system needs to decide whether it can delete some files in order to complete the task. Most of the time this is not possible and the computer crashes or becomes very, very slow.
It is recommended that a startup disk should never be at above 85% of its capacity in order to work properly.
How to see the used Storage on a Mac?
If you want to see the exact types of files that are using the storage on your Mac:
Click the Apple in the top-left corner
Click on “Storage”
Currently, I have 73.9 GB used and 425.2 GB Free.
Most of my used storage is from “Other”
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What is “Other” in the Mac Storage?
According to Apple, in OS X El Capitan or earlier versions, “Other” files are those that your Mac doesn’t recognize as belonging to any other category. These include files within disk images or archives, data stored by apps such as Contacts or Calendar, and app plug-ins or extensions. When your Mac is running in Safe Mode, all files are categorized as Other.
How to Fix Mac Startup Disk Full with pCloud Drive?
What is pCloud Drive
pCloud Drive is a desktop application that creates a secure virtual drive on your computer, which you can use to easily store, access and work with your files in the cloud.
To add files and folders to your pCloud Drive, simply drag and drop* your data into your virtual drive. You can then be sure that they are safely stored in the cloud and synchronized on all of your devices.
*for this to work fast you need to have at least some free storage on your startup disk. If you don’t, keep reading!
pCloud Drive provides a number of additional functionalities, such as integrated file sharing and synchronization through your computer.
Note: If you have very low disk storage you must do the following:
Choose the folder you want to Sync with pCloud:
Click on the pCloud icon and choose Sync to pCloud:
Create a folder on pCloud Drive:
Wait for the Sync to be completed:
This is very Important! After the Sync is finished, you must stop it with the cross icon:
After you stopped the Sync you can delete the files you just synchronized:
You can go to pCloud Drive and see the files you synced and use them as if they are on your computer! (A green icon means everything is synced.)
The app significantly eases your work upon performing file operations in the cloud, because with pCloud Drive you can work with your files using any software on your computer.
What this means is that if I have a vacation video in pCloud Drive I can watch it with no problem with the default video player on my computer. In my case VLC Player.
The best thing is that since the video is in pCloud Drive it is not actually on my computer but it’s in the cloud and does not take ANY of my Startup Disk Space!
Another awesome thing is that I can watch this video also on my phone with the pCloud mobile apps OR if I’m using a different computer that does not have pCloud Drive, I can watch it via Chrome, Firefox or any other internet browser. I just need to go to my.pcloud.com and sign in. Here is what I see:
Same thing works for:
– Documents – I can open and edit them with any text editor with pCloud Drive or access them from any of the other apps. The same works for worksheets, PDFs, presentations etc.
– Photos – I can open them, see them or edit them with Photoshop or any other image editor.
– Audio files – I can listen to them on my default music player or with pCloud mobile and web apps music player. I can even create playlists within pCloud.
– Every other type of file – As long as I have an app or a program to open the file with, there is no problem for pCloud Drive.
Nice right?!
What this means is that you can move all the files that are using your Mac Startup Disk Storage in pCloud Drive.
That way they WILL NOT use any of the space on your computer and you will still have access to them and use them with the apps installed.
Example:
I have a 512GB SSD Macbook Pro Retina. I also have a pCloud Premium account which is 500GB of storage. This makes my Macbook capable of storing 1TB worth of files.
Sharing with pCloud Drive
You can share any file or folder that you have in pCloud Drive.
You just right-click on the file or folder you want to share and choose if you want to invite someone to the folder or create a so called Download link.
This way you can collaborate with people or share the vacation photos and videos with your friends for example.
pCloud Speed
When you use pCloud Drive, you don’t even understand that your files are not stored locally. That’s because of the super high speed that we offer for uploading and downloading files. We compared our upload and download speed with the ones of Dropbox and here are the results for 1.12GB file:
pCloud Security
To guarantee your files’ safety, pCloud uses TLS/SSL encryption, applied when information is transferred from your device to the pCloud servers.
Your files are stored on at least three server locations in a highly secure data storage area.
Optionally, you can subscribe for pCloud Crypto and have your most important files encrypted and password protected. We provide the so-called client-side encryption, which, unlike server-side encryption, means that no one except you will have the keys for file decryption.
Conclusion
A lot of Mac users have the same frustrating problem. Startup Disk Storage fills up quickly on smaller versions (128GB and 256GB) and if you use it for work, you can fill up a 512GB Mac very fast too. Especially if you are a designer or a video editor for example, and work with large files. And even if you are not creating huge files, with the pace we are creating information is growing very fast:
Just think about this: smartphones and cameras that can shoot RAW files and in 4K, which means you’ll have photos and videos of amazing quality – but they will also take a lot of memory so the more space you have, the better.
pCloud Drive helps you virtually add storage to your Mac (or any PC for that matter). You can move your photos, videos, music, documents any other kinds of files there and use them as if they are on your device with the apps you are used to. Also, you can access them on a smartphone via the pCloud mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows 10 Mobile, and in a web browser when you go to the website and sign in.
How To Free Up Space On Macbook Air 2014
P.S.
Erase Free Space Macbook
If you never want to run out of storage on your iPhone too, read this.