Memory Question

[Big JV]

I've just switched from a PC so if this is a dumb question blame Bill Gates!

If I go into "Get Info" on my Mac HD it shows total disk space used as 60gbs. Knowing the files I've added this struck me as a bit high, but when I then look at all the applications/files (including iTues, movies, apps etc) I can see they only add up to 37gbs of space - so what is taking up the other 23Gbs, and how do I get rid of it?

I'm using a Black MacBook if it makes any difference?

Cheers
Big JV

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Hi Big JV and welcome .... I recommend WhatSize to find out exactly what's what on your hard drive as far as file sizes go, and you'll find a link to it on this page:

WhatSize is simple and works well. It’s fast and small but could use an extra warning or two regarding deletion of valuable Mac files. Other than that, free is just hard to beat.

Free Mac Tool Lets You Find Files, Save Disk Space.

The OS takes up about 3 - 4 GBs usually and apps like iPhoto and iMovie have their own inbuilt trash which you need to manually empty ...

I have a Digital USB Television receiver on my iMac and if I record movies to my HD, the file sizes are absolutely huge ...

I also recommend downloading a maintenance app to clean out the caches and optimise your MacBook every once in a while ... I use OnyX, but there are plenty of freebies out there, just google maintenance apps for Mac OS X and you can take your pick...

If you have any other questions regarding your switch, feel free to ask ... enjoy your Mac!

 

[Walrus666]

I highly recommend taking Spawn's advice and run a maintenance app. Here's a few more for you to check out. The first two are free.
1.MainMenu- http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25902
2.AppleJack- http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19596
3.Cocktail (For Tiger)- http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/26516
By the way, there have been many posts by people having issues with incredibly large log files. You can check into this by going to your Library folder and getting info on the Logs folder located within.
P.S. Incidentally, memory & hard drive space are two different things. :wink:

 

[alsadr]

hi Big JV
download this file DotFiles
http://www.soft32.com/Download/Free/DotFiles/4-206189-1.html
then install it ( you can get it from many location on the net)
after you install it some new menu will be in service menu ... or you can use @+command (command+Shift+2) you will see all hidden files on your HD ...
don't delete any file if you R not sure that it is your own file .. some folder cold private but is is part of the system ...
I did it and delete it the the system didn't start I reinstall it .. but I save about 8 GB
so be sure don't delete or you can delete any big hidden folders and reinstall the system if you need to do it.