Macs are wonderful. They are fast, they look good and they are of excellent quality. They don't get along so well with a full hard drive though. This guide will help you free up some disk space.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Regular Maintenance
Step 1. Delete the applications you don't use
Drag unwanted applications to the trash. Manually search and remove application preferences and support files, or try using uninstall tools like CleanGenius or AppZapper.
To make sure you delete all applications, read this article to find out how
Step 2. Empty the trash
It may seem obvious to you, but emptying the recycle bin can improve your computer's performance. Do not use the recycle bin as a repository for temporary files, only put files in it that you are sure you want to delete.
You may need to restart your computer for the freed space to show properly on your disk
Step 3. Use programs like XSlimmer to remove obsolete code from applications
Maintenance programs like this one check which parts of the code are required for a program to run and remove the rest. This will reduce the disk space occupied and make your computer faster.
Step 4. Compress and archive your old files
If your files aren't already compressed, this will make them much smaller, freeing up some disk space.
Once your files have been compressed, copy them to an external drive or CD for storage. Keeping files you don't use regularly on your computer will slow it down
Step 5. Periodically clean system registries and temporary files
Your system should automatically run UNIX maintenance scripts, but some older versions of OS X schedule them to run between 3 and 5 in the morning, when computers are usually on standby or turned off. This way your computer is deprived of regular maintenance.
- Download a free application like OnyX to schedule maintenance, clean system logs and temporary files.
- If you want to manually clean system logs and temporary files:
- Log in to the terminal from Applications > Utility > Terminal.
- In the terminal, type "sudo periodic daily weekly monthly" and press Enter.
- Enter your Mac's administrator password.
- Wait for the system to perform maintenance, after which the terminal will open again.
- Delete DMGs: DMG files are disk images. Once you have mounted the disk image and installed an application, you are free to eject and delete the DMG file. To eject it, drag the mounted volume to the trash.
- To remove the IPSW go to Bookshelf > iTunes > IPhone Software Updates and find the files you don't use.
- Open the Finder window and locate your hard drive icon in the left sidebar.
- Once selected, you should see a folder called "Library". Select it.
- Next, find the folder named "Application Support" and look at the list of program folders that have not been deleted from the recycle bin.
- Drag the files you haven't deleted yet to the trash, and finally empty it.
- Launch Disk Utility (Finder Applications Utilities (folder))
- Select your hard drive and tick "check permissions" (if you do this once a month, it should take 9 minutes. If it's your first time in two years, it might take 30 minutes).
- Once the verification process is finished, select "Repair permissions" (also in this case the time taken is as described above).
- If you plan to use it with other computers, reformat the device using the Disc Utility first.
- If you only use it on Mac: Choose Mac OSX Journaled
- If you use it on both Windows and Mac machines: choose exFAT - older macs may not have this option and you can choose MS-DOS (FAT), which doesn't accept files larger than 4GB. Keep this in mind, because if you have files larger than that limit, you won't be able to transfer them. exFat has no limitations.
- Access the terminal by navigating to Applications > Utility > Terminal.
- Type "sudo tmutil disablelocal" and hit Enter.
- When prompted for a password, enter the administrator password.
- If you can't delete a file or folder, close all applications that may be using it and restart.
- Don't use it? Delete it.
- Anything that has the status bar icon uses some RAM.
- Always be careful when deleting files.
- Make a backup copy before starting.
Step 6. Delete iOS backups that are out of date
IPods, iPhones and iPads will automatically save a backup copy of some files when you sync with your computer. Deleting older and outdated backups will allow you to free up space on your computer.
To access the backups, go to Home > Bookshelf > Application Support > MobileSync > Backup. Find the oldest backups and delete them.
Step 7. Check your Videos, Music and Downloads folders periodically
Drag the files you no longer use to the trash. Many applications save files in these folders, so be careful of their contents.
Step 8. Erase all old or unused DMGs, iPhone software files (IPSW) and similar files
Often these files are useless and take up valuable space on your device. Delete them if you no longer need them.
Step 9. Verify that the information of a removed application has indeed been deleted
Often, dragging software to the trash still leaves related files on your computer.
Step 10. Run the Disk Utility to check and repair permissions to speed up the system
It is well known that in the long run, installing and uninstalling software on Macs can lead to changes related to program permissions. Sometimes this becomes obsolete and time-consuming. This process will not affect the size of the space occupied on your disk, but it will increase its efficiency… that is, greater speed.
Step 11. Shut down / restart your computer and let it update itself (optional)
Some changes take effect immediately, but others take effect when the computer is shut down and restarted. If you use your computer very intensively, be sure to update it in the most appropriate way.
Method 2 of 2: Occasional Maintenance
Step 1. Erase iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand if you don't use them
They take up around 3GB, and many people don't use them. iPhoto has a dedicated recycle bin, so be sure to find and empty it as well as remove the program.
Step 2. Purchase an external storage device
You can use an external drive or USB stick, although an external hard drive will often be required for large files.
Step 3. Reboot before making backups
Some backup programs will save huge virtual memory files. This is a potential danger. Avoid backup programs that save the disk in sector-by-sector mode.
Step 4. Create a Dropbox account for the files you need to access wherever you are
Dropbox is a cloud-based file storage service, which allows you to access your files from any device connected to the internet. Dropbox will save you disk space by letting you stop downloading multiple copies of files across platforms.
Regularly clear the Dropbox cache. Dropbox cache is hidden and keeps deleted files. Instead of downloading the information from Dropbox's servers, it saves the deleted files in the cache so you can retrieve them if you change your mind. Delete files that are no longer needed
Step 5. Use programs like DiskInventoryX to view the programs that are saved on your disk
It performs a disk mapping and shows you the size of files and folders, with a graphical display called "treemaps". See which files take up the most space on your computer in relation to how you use them. Delete, compress or archive files you don't use regularly.
Step 6. Run CCleaner
CCleaner allows you to free up around 200MB of disk space each time you run it, removing unnecessary files and registry entries that are no longer valid.
Step 7. Disable Time Machine's local backup feature
Local backups have obvious benefits, but if you're looking to free up disk space they can be cumbersome and unnecessary. By disabling local backups you can free up 100GB up to one TB of space. After doing this, wait 20-30 minutes (just to be safe), then you should notice the difference. To disable this feature:
Step 8. If you get the chance, buy your next iMac with a 64GB solid-state boot disk and a 2TB drive for your applications and files
Use symlinks for all directories in ~ /.
