Urgent: macbook air storage issues

[lori5060]

Hi
I have Macbook Air (early 2015) 120gb flash storage drive, 8gb RAM. My MS Word was running sluggish and I was advised to run ONYX on my laptop I did and the result was the storage showing went down about 10gb...i was pleased. I keep putting my own files etc on an external drive as MAC flash storage fills up quickly.

i recently re install MS Office Word for Mac as new version was out. tho i did not remove the older version and hoped that all would work out. all seems to work ok and response was much better.

to day i ran into another problem and so I checked my storage and it has jumped up to 84.96...now i know there is something wrong because I did not do any other downloads. my system is soooo slow, will not load some site in google nor fire fox.
I looked in APPs folder and even tho there are several apps there...none that jumped out with huge GB sizes.
don't know what else to do.
can anyone help? what can I do to fix this.

 

[honestone]

I have a mid 2013 13" Mac Book Air, with a 252 gig SSD. I got that model for just the reason you are encountering: the 120 gig SSD is really not sufficient. I do, though, keep my machines (I also have a late 2012 Mac Mini) "lean, mean, and clean". In fact, on both machines, I am utilizing about 35 to 40% of the space (I have a 256 gig Samsung 840 Pro SSD inside the Mac Mini).

Need some more information:

1. What exact Mac OS are you running?

2. Are you using Word 2016/Office 2016? I use Office 2016, and I am not having issues with Outlook (my primary EMail client), Word, or Excel. If you are using Word 2016/Office 2016, what version? Microsoft released Version 15.40 on Wednesday for Office 2016.

3. Besides Onyx (an excellent product, by the way. In fact, I rely on it, as well as the excellent disk cleanup/maintenance/repair program Tech Tool Pro, and SuperDuper!, for my backups), have you ever done any disk cleanup on your own? You can actually do a good amount yourself. You recent upgrade of Word is a good example. When I installed V15.40 of Outlook 2016, Word 2016, and Excel 2016, after insuring each of them worked fine, I then immediately removed the prior versions of each of them. I also removed the copy of the prior versions I had also. No need to waste space with stuff I do not need.

4. This is critical. Are you making backups to an external device? If you are, what software are you using for that?

5. An excellent free program for seeing, graphically, how much space is being occupied by files, is Grand Perspective. You can get it from here:

http://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net/

Once you answer those questions, we can help you some more.

 

[lori5060]

many thanks for replying. i am getting so frustrated.
because of my drive and power issues, i am seriously considering getting MacBookPro 15" 2016 with Sierra on it. will see if I can get more ram and large storage on SSD drive. Am opting not for 2016 as it probably has High Sierra on it and i understand that not all apps have been updated to be accommodated.

1. I am running Yosemite 10.10.1.... i believe that is the number of newest update.

2. i am using MS Office 2016 for Mac...the standalone version and not subscription to 365. I had version 15.1 but discovered i was way behind in updating so was advised to download the newest update 15.4. I did not remove the older ones and when I looked in my APPs folder it seemed they were replaced by new ones. I had previously deleted One Note, Outlook and Power Point and that could be why I was having problems updating from the actual component. I now have set my Office to auto update.

3. Other than running Malware Byes on my Mac, i do not and have not done anything else, I have AdBlocker installed tho. I was advised when running Onyx to just click on Automation and let the program do its thing and don't do individual tabs.

4. I just did a backup in fact...i don't normally do that...using Time Machine app.

5. Grand perspectives intrigues me as I like to SEE where my space is being taken up..
tho am leery in downloading a bunch of apps not from the original creators. and I have heard source forge programs may not always be SAFE and/or free of other undesired things.
i had a quick peek and I think I have tried that some time ago but with all the colored blocks it was confusing and not easy for me to figure out. so i got rid of it.
maybe will have to look into it a bit more.

BUT first got to solve my issue at hand.

hope i have not been too wordy.

 

[honestone]

Sorry you are having so many issues! Here are some answers to your statements/questions, along with some more suggestions:

1. The last version of Yosemite was 10.10.5. So you are 4 versions behind. The "fastest" (and easiest) way for you to get to OS 10.10.5 is to download and install the Yosemite OS 10.10.5 Combo Update, available from here (a trusted Apple site):

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1832?viewlocale=en_MK&locale=en_MK

2. You should be able to use just one of the "modules" from Office 2016. However, just dragging an application to the trash and deleting it does not get rid of all the "associated" files with the application. The newest version of Word 2016 is V15.40, released on Wednesday, and available from here:

https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...542-9954-7e3209681a41?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

3. It is always best to download software directly from the company's/developer's site. Rarely, if ever, is software from such locations "bad", "infected", etc. So, downloading Grand Perspective from the link I provided will be fine.

Regarding High Sierra, for the most part, I agree with your reluctance to get a machine with it installed on it (or upgrading to High Sierra). I am very careful with any OS upgrades, and I have been keeping real close tabs on the developments associated with High Sierra. This includes visiting two sites for two of the critical applications I have, Tech Tool Pro and SuperDuper! (for my backups), and I have found out a number of interesting "things" about High Sierra from those sites. Also, a number of folks here are reporting "some" issues with High Sierra. Some of them are surprising, but I cannot verify how "valid" they are. Still, High Sierra has a number of significant changes. In actuality, with how careful I am, and also by already downloading (and in some cases, installing) High Sierra updates for almost all of my third party software I use, I am close to being able to upgrade. Just waiting for an update for Tech Tool Pro, and getting some issues cleared up with my Logitech mice (I use two different models). However, based on issues being reported here, I am still somewhat reluctant. I am using the latest version of Sierra, OS 10.12.6, and everything is fine and stable.

I would suspect that for any "pre-2017" Mac you purchase, it should not have High Sierra on it. Not sure, though, about 2017 models. But there are some things you can do to handle such a High Sierra "situation".

Good you made a backup. What exact kind of external device do you have, and how is it connected to your Mac Book Air?

Regarding your machine, and more generally what you use it for, what type of information do you have stored on it? Since you stated you use Word 2016, do you store quite a few Word documents on the machine? Also, another thing that can take up space is deleted EMails. Just because you delete an EMail does not permanently remove it. As I mentioned, I use Outlook 2016 as my EMail client, and I do have deleted EMails permanently removed. In fact, I do it just about every time I launch Outlook 2016, as I (and maybe others) tend to get a fair amount of "useless" EMails. There are two ways of having deleted EMails permanently removed in Outlook 2016, but I am unsure how to do it with other EMail clients.

Additionally, just to make sure, you said that you have Word 2016, Malwarebytes (an excellent program, by the way), Onyx, and AdBloicker (that one of course is browser specific). Are those the only third party apps you have so far? Also, I run Onyx every week myself on both of my Macs, but I go through the "applicable" tasks step by step. There are some task sin Onyx that are not useful, nor applicable, with SSDs.

I guess the main thing I am getting at is how much "non-OS" space do you need? Also, now that you have an external drive (assuming it is large enough, in terms of capacity), you could partition it, using one of the partitions for backups, and the other for storing "stuff".

Finally, if there is any "stuff" you could remove from your machine (either via Grand Perspective, or on your own), that will help. For example, if you have a Word document saved, if you have prior versions of that same document saved, do you need the old one?

In any event, if you could answer those questions, I (and maybe others) can provide some additional guidance/assistance/suggestions.

 

[lori5060]

thnx again...
1. i misquoted yosemite version, i already have the latest one.

2. i just downloaded version on Nov 16th so i probably have the most recent. your comment about 'dragging apps to trash and deleting does not always get rid of all associated file' how do i get rid of those?
I know when I used windows PC...i was always was cleaning up those files but did not know how to do on MAC.

3. have downloaded grand perspectives and also some of their help screen. guess i will have to do some learning after I get this issue of large APP content on my mac.

RE: High Sierra vs Sierra. for the upgrade from my lil ol Macbook air...i think Sierra will be just fine. I am not too tech and don't understand a lot of the tech explanations online. so if i don't understand nor feel comfortable, back out of doing what is suggested.

Initially i did not want to upgrade to Sierra cuz I read that there were some apps that were not supported. i had purchased a few and wanted to make sure. so i did nothing. hence i cannot even download the app now from app store even if i wanted to. would have liked to put on my macbook air for new owner...when I decide to sell, after I purchase macbook pro.

RE: My backup is currently residing on a Western Digestion 320GB drive with a 2.0 usb connection which I plug into my Macs 3.0 connection.

RE: My Machine does a lot of things and the more and more i get comfortable with it...the more i want to try to do things like i did on my windows PC.
I work with many word docs, some excel, pictures, video taken on phone, downloaded videos from youtube, i enjoy editing pictures (image capture), editing audio (audacity) and video (still working on that.) I just love to do creative things!
I want to create DVD with all my video clips and include pics and text...I did a fair bit of that on Windows PC as I took courses in Adobe Photo Shop and Adobe Premier Elements. finally found an app (GIMP) which is close to that and am playing with it.

tho like i said...my drive gets filled up some times so i am continually copying (dragging and dropping) files to external drives. I have three 2tb drive and one 1tb drive...all of which i use for different stages of saving.... I have many duplicates on these and am in process of organizing that. it is a huge task and of course, as I am organizing, i am still working on my mac with other NEW stuff.

RE email:i use gmail and don't use outlook at all. never had and I don't really like it as I have tried helping others with their issues using it. I have deleted old emails (gmail.com) with their attachments etc..and try to keep them tidy.

so you say...Just because you delete an EMail does not permanently remove it....how do I know it is permanently removed ... ru talking about mail server site or on mac.

RE: Malwarebytes anti malware, AdBlocker and ONYX are the only things I use. Had heard that MACS don't really NEED a lot of checking..I still feel they could use a bit. I don't know enough about tech stuff of ONYX so just did the automation button.

re: space non OS space....I don't really know how much space I need....it was not long ago that I had a warning that my drive was almost full...i had a huge amount of files on it and promptly copied to external drives. Now i watch closely to see how much space i have left. when I had windows PC i have 4TB or something like that and I never had to worry.
no matter how much i played around and downloaded programs and played to my satisfaction.

re: partitioning....Basically i understand partitioning but not comfortable with it. so i stay away from that. got mixed upon and thought I had lost some files but someone helped and said oh, they are in this partition.

Stuff on my Mac..like i said from the apple info..storage....
84.94 gb is taken up for APPs, photos 2.2gb, audio 1.59gb, movies 98.7mb and backups 7.5gb....
so you can see it is not my files that are taking up the space. it is APPS!!!

I think it will be a tremendous job to learn and use grand perspectives to see what APPs are taking up so much space.
there must be another way to check this out.

 

[honestone]

Whew, that's a lot of information, and I appreciate you taking the time to "write" all that. I can try and "answer" some of it.

First, the tasks I use my Macs for are much "easier" and "less demanding" than yours. I use Outlook for my EMail, and I am on the internet a fair amount also. My use of Word and Excel are for occasional things, but certainly not every day. I use VLC a "good amount" to view videos, both on line and on my external drives (Movies and TV series, and they are on SSDs). I also use Quicken 2017 (still have Quicken 2007) for keeping track of my checking account transactions.

Probably the most "intense" thing I do (in terms of time and resources) is that every Saturday (sometimes on Fridays if we are going somewhere on a Saturday), I go through my disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, and backups, processing for both of my Macs. Even though I do a good amount of disk cleanup on my own between Saturdays, I perform the following tasks on Saturdays, for both of my Macs:

1. Run Onyx to primarily do disk cleanup. The tasks I run are the following:

- under the "Maintenance" tab, I run Permissions (it's actually Repair Permissions, and I have to run it at least twice), Scripts, and Rebuilding

- under the "Cleaning" tab, I run Misc., Logs, Fonts, Internet, User, and System (except for Logs, just about the rest of them primarily clean up caches)

2. Run Tech Tool Pro for more "intense" disk cleanup, along with disk maintenance, and repairs (although I rarely, if ever, need to do any actual software repairs).

3. Run SuperDuper! to create two bootable backups for each of my Macs to the two external SSDs.

Secondly, I actually do not know how to tell where deleted EMails are. I actually learned about this "permanent deletion" business (on my Macs) first with Outlook 2011, and now Outlook 2016. Maybe someone with more knowledge than I can answer your question. However, if your EMail "client: is gmail on the internet, that's a different situation. I also use gmail for "non-important" EMails, and just about all of them are spam, which I delete immediately. I've often wondered if they do get permanently removed (I really do not think such EMails are stored on my internal drive (SSDs in both cases).

Third, as far as upgrading to Sierra (that would be "jumping" past El Capitan, which is/was actually a good, stable OS) and compatibility of software, this site can be of assistance with that:

https://roaringapps.com/apps

Given that I do not use any Apple software (except, of course, the Finder), I rely on my own initiative to insure that all my third party software that I use is compatible with whatever Mac OS I am planning to upgrade to (along, of course, with keeping such software up to date). As it is, regarding High Sierra, the following critical third party software that I have is either already compatible, or already have/had upgrades available:

1Password
Office 2016
Onyx
Quicken 2017
SuperDuper!
AppCleaner (nifty free application that helps with finding all associated "stuff" when deleting an application)
VLC
HandBrake
Transmission
GrandPerspective

The critical one I am waiting on is Tech Tool Pro. In my "visits" to Micromat's site (they develop Tech Tool Pro), I have seen all the issues they are having with High Sierra. Shirt Pocket Software (they make SuperDuper!) also had a number of issues with High Sierra before they came out with V3.0 of SuperDuper! earlier this week.

Third, given that you use a good amount of software that need some space, you might want to consider purchasing a new Mac with at least a 500 gig SSD. Yes, it could be expensive, but it seems like a Mac with a 252 gig SSD still might not be enough for your processing needs.

However, you can take another route. It is not too "difficult" to take the SSD out of your Mac, and install a new one. This site shows how to do it for the early 2015 Mac Book Air models:

13 Inch: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+13-Inch+Early+2015+SSD+Replacement/38535

11 inch: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+11-Inch+Early+2015+SSD+Replacement/38511

(It looks like the steps are similar). And within the link for the 13" model, there is this link, which shows where you can purchase replacement SSDs:

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/macbook-air/2013-2014-2015

OWC is an excellent company, with a stellar reputation.

Finally, it seems like you have a lot of external storage available. If you want to continue using it (managing it the best way you can; I know that is difficult, especially with all the things you do), maybe a 240 gig SSD from OWC might be enough. But if it were me, even with all that external space, I would go for the 480 gig SSD.

Whew! OK, I think that's enough for now. This discourse is certainly helpful and educational. Please continue to ask questions and/or seek advice. Besides myself, some other knowledgeable folks (and I know there are at least 2 "super genius" folks here) might "chime in".

 

[lori5060]

goodmorning.
thanks you for being so diligent in replying with all your suggestions.
will try to keep this as clear as possible and shorter.....

first and foremost, my main task is to reduce the APP storage showing in Apple Info cuz if I were to decide to update to High Sierra (or Sierra, if i can find/get a copy) there may not be enough room on my flash drive and my system loads some stuff quite slow. so I know there is an issue.

A) if I were to delete all the MS Office that I just installed, remove from Trash, maybe that would reduce the APP storage content. If not, I could run ONYX again and see what happens...any idea?

tho it seems that ONYX is what may have caused the problem to begin with due to my automation button selection. don't know for sure.

B) OR i could download and run APPCleaner and see if that helps.

would you send me a 'safe' link to get that...there are so many sites out there and don't need any more issues.

For not doing many tasks on your devices, you sure do thorough cleanup etc. I guess I should be more diligent in this area.
1. can't hurt to run ONYX the same options you use...my system needs help.
2. Tech Tool Pro is wee bit expensive for me.
3. Super Duper! i read is basically a disk copying program but i also see that the cloning option sounds marvelous...can roll back system to particular time if unexpected occurs. Used to that all the time in Windows when I was downloading and trying out new programs.
would you send me a 'safe' link for that also?
4. Am not going to worry about emails now.
5. i have viewed roaring site...to view if my programs compatible...thnx
6. still looking into GrandPerspective......will check out transmission but don't use handbrake,

7. thanks for advice as to SSD size...was exactly what i was thinking AND i will consider all my external drives storage before I make a decision.
tho time is short and I thought i could get a goof black friday deal, tho with wanted increased RAM and Storage probably not an option for black friday dead!
8. I will not be removing any SSD from my laptop as it has a flash drive and beside I am not comfortable opening it up and playing around with the guts.

thanks again and please advise if my ideas in A or B seems logical. tho i guess at this point i have to do something...else take it to a computer tech to fix for me.

if I don't hear from you today, i realize it is Sunday...not an issue.

 

[honestone]

Thanks for the reply. Actually, it is Saturday morning. As I mentioned in my first response to your "welcome" post, I am located near Seattle, and given that you are in Canada (what part/city?), at the most there would be a 3 hour time difference.

Now, I would do both A and B. That is, first download AppCleaner to remove all the "pieces" associated with MS Office (I assume you mean Office 2016). (You can use AppCleaner on ANY app you want to completely remove). Then, you could re-install only the "pieces" of Office 2016 that you need, ie, from what you said above, that would be Word and Excel. Not sure which version you would start with in that case, but the latest version available is V15.40, available from here:

https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...542-9954-7e3209681a41?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

However, I vaguely remember something about needing to start with at least an "earlier" version of Office 2016 and/or specific "modules" before applying the V15.40 updates. In looking at what I have, my "base"/starting version is 15.24. I also have the 15.26 and 15.27 update packages, and now the recent V15.40 modules. You'll need to read the information on that site as to which version you need to have before upgrading to V15.40.

Then, when you use Onyx (you do have the correct version, right?), run each module on its own, like I stated above. Given that you have an SSD, you can safely run the same modules as I run, in the order indicated.

Now, even if you remove/re-install Office 2016/Word and Excel, other applications could be taking up a good amount of space.

Also, while it might seem like SuperDuper! is basically a "disk copying" program, it does a lot more. As I stated above, it makes a bootable backup/clone of your existing system. The beauty of that is that it is just like having another computer on the external drive. I find it invaluable for recovery, managing the installation of a new Mac OS, etc. Believe me when I say it has "saved my bacon" on more than one occasion.

Now, here are the "safe" links you requested:

SuperDuper! - http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

AppCleaner - https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/

Onyx - https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
(Make sure you have version 3.0.2 ONLY, as that is the one which is specific to Yosemite. If you upgrade to a newer Mac OS, you'll need to download and use the appropriate version of Onyx)

(As I mentioned above, it is always best to go directly to the company's/developer's site for downloads.

Regarding "hardware" updates for your Mac Book Air, I don't believe you can upgrade the RAM, as it is soldered to the motherboard. But the SSD upgrade is not that difficult.

While Tech Tool Pro seems "expensive", it is an excellent tool to have. Just like Onyx and SuperDuper!, I depend upon it (and as I have mentioned, until a High Sierra update is available for it, I will not upgrade to High Sierra).

Finally, I would not upgrade to High Sierra yet. Sierra would be a good choice. When you "upgrade", it would be best if you do a fresh, clean, "virgin" installation of Sierra. (This is where SuperDuper! would come in handy, and be invaluable). However, from what I have read on some forums here, Sierra is not available "directly" from the App Store. Via a Catch 22, you would need to download and install High Sierra first, and then you can get Sierra! Yeah, seems crazy, but that is what Apple is doing.

I always advise folks that whenever they download a "full" version of the Mac OS from the App Store, that they immediately make a copy of that downloaded file in another location. I actually have the full Sierra V10.12.6 file in at least 3 locations, and if you were closer to me, I could "give" it to you, ie, make a copy and "pass" it to you (one way would be via a USB Flash Drive). But alas, unless you are close to Seattle (or know someone in the Seattle area), that is not possible.

 

[lori5060]

goodmorning...
sorry .... yes i realize it now its not sunday...where is my head...when one is retired and not working m-f..days go by quickly. actually i live in the Okanagan just north of you.

thanks for the links. i did find super duper! on macupdate site and thought that would be ok. but if you think shirt-pocket is safe, will go with that.

i shall download and proceed. it would be so much easier to contact my computer tech who i am sure could fix this in a snap....but I really like to TRY to fix things on my own.
I've known to be a big of 'dog with a bone' when it comes to some things....lol lol lol

so i would
1...move all MS Office to trash and empty trash.
2...Run Appcleaner
3...then run ONYX...yes i have correct version for yosemite, i know i need a correct version for sierra etc. future.
4...then install new MS Office 2016....hopefully that should do it.

so i think the only thing that concerns me is after I have removed hopefully all signs of MS Office on my laptop and when I install version of MS Office 2016 Installer.pkg that is still in my downloads and as there is no other copy on my laptop...how will it know it know to install without requiring purchase again?
i guess i will have to enter my product key code. correct?

 

[honestone]

Yeah, Okanagan county, the site of that "strange" incident yesterday with the Navy jet from Whidbey Island!

Now, one thing regarding MS Office and AppDelete: FIRST, download and install AppDelete. Then, launch it, and drag the icon for MS Office contained inside your Applications folder to the "window" for AppDelete. In that little window for AppDelete, scroll down it. Sometimes some of the additional "stuff" connected with the application is not checked off for deletion. I would check those boxes if I were you. Then, proceed with the deletion of MS Office. AppDelete will ask for confirmation, and for you to enter your admin password, and then it will remove all that stuff.

Now, regarding stuff you download to the downloads folder, if I were you (and it is what I have always done), make a folder called "Useful Applications" (or whatever you want to call it) within the Documents folder (or wherever you want), and move any such downloads to that folder. That way, the downloads folder will be kept "lean and clean".

Yes, when you go to install/re-install Office 2016, you'll (most likely) need to enter your product key code. Once that is complete, there will be a folder entitled Microsoft Office 2016 within your Applications folder. If you only want to keep Word and Excel, you can use AppDelete to remove the other Office 2016 Apps (like Outlook, OneNote, and Powerpoint). That will definitely save space. Then, when you go to the Microsoft update page I provided above, you can just select the apps you want (like just Word and Excel) to update.

Running Onyx before or after the Office 2016 (selective apps) installation is fine. Before is perfectly acceptable.

Again, the links I provided above for SuperDuper!, AppCleaner, and Onyx are the company's sites. They are definitely the safest. Example: I downloaded SuperDuper! V3.0 the other day from the Shirt Pocket software site (the link I provided above), and that is what you want to do. (In fact, EVERY time an update for ANY app comes out, I first go to the company's/developer's site, and then download the update).

Finally, what OS do you plan to upgrade to? As I mentioned, you cannot get Sierra from the App Store (except via that cumbersome way I mentioned above, ie, download and install High Sierra).

 

[lori5060]

thnx
good thing i decided to check here before i began....

this may be a very silly question....where do I find AppDelete..is it an MS product?
i googled and there a several sites offering that...softonic,cnet etc

so I am assuming by just dragging MS Office to trash and deleting does not necessarily do the trick?

great idea...about separate folder in Docs..useful apps...just a copy right...and original is still in apps folder.


was looking around in my apps folder and found file:
MS Office 2016.pkg....size 1.26 but date is Nov 10/15....maybe this is the issue.
so i moved to trash and empty...no difference in app storage

 

[honestone]

Oops! My bad! It is AppCleaner (there is a similar product called AppDelete, but it is not free). Here is the direct link for AppCleaner:

https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/

As for another, separate folder inside the Docs for "storing" downloads (and anything else, if you want), it depends on how you "move" the item from the Downloads folder. If you just drag the file from the Applications folder to the folder you made within the Documents folder, a copy of the file is made, and the original is still inside the Applications Folder. If instead you hold down the Command Key while dragging the file, it will be moved to the new folder, and will be removed from the Applications folder. I always move it, and when I make my SuperDuper! backups, it is also on both of those backups. Thus, I have such a file in 3 locations.

As for Office 2016, you still have the original file, correct?

And yes, just dragging MS Office to the trash does not get rid of all the files associated with the apps.

 

[lori5060]

yes thanks. i still have the original link for MS Office 2016.
was getting confused between APP Delete and APP Cleaner.
will get rid of APP Delete as it is only a trial copy.
will go ahead with App Cleaner.
done with AppCleaners..worked pretty neat....tho in some tabs there were some boxes checked and others unchecked...i just left as is and ran.
ran ONYX
checked storage for Apps and now down to 76.97 but far from 29.46 which is what it was before I had this issue.
I have not yet installed MS Office yet...think i will run either Grand Perspective...did so but not really sure what to look for. all the boxes are apps i know are there. looked in drawer and it gave me more info. the amount of storage used and available is different than i see when i click apple info storage see image ...this is so confusing. i feel there is something just not right but can't figure out what.

 

[honestone]

Sounds good.

Regarding AppCleaner and any unchecked tabs, I always check them, and then proceed with the deletion. It does not do any harm.

 

[lori5060]

many thanks to you for helping me with good advice and info that I may or may not have been on the ball enough to take notice in my frustration!

good news ....I am stopping this run around about macbook air issues .....

I thought to myself...last nite when I wasn't sleeping...why not just restore it back to manufacture state and begin again?
this would clear up several other issues i have been having and have not really addressed on this forum.
...and maybe installing High Sierra.

I did this process several times on Windows when I was having issues.....copyied all my important files to external drives, restore to mfg state and re installing OS and then proceeded to reinstall my programs and my personal files. worked pretty well....so I figure I could do the same on MAC.

am i correct?

i would then use macbook air with either Yosemite or High Sierra until I get my macbook pro.
and continue to do so until I am comfortable with macbook pro and will then clean all off and sell macbook air.
sounds like a great plan if this is feasible?

 

[honestone]

That is actually a good plan, although you'll need to install all your third party software (like Office 2016) one by one. Time consuming, but efficient.

I actually have never done that, in terms of restoring a Mac back to its manufacture state. But before you begin, I suspect this is the way one would proceed:

https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/how-reset-mac-factory-settings-3494564/

Unfortunately, that process involves downloading and installing the Mac OS (not sure which one you will get) via your internet connection. For the Mac OS you'll get, you might want to read this discussion:

https://www.mac-help.com/threads/which-mac-os-does-one-get.223986/

Yes, I initially posed the question, but it was mainly for the benefit of others, as I would go about this in a different way.

Additionally, it's still good that you downloaded AppCleaner and SuperDuper!, as you can even use them when you purchase your MacBook Pro.

If you want to pursue this project in an alternate, faster way, along with not relying on the internet and having much more control, I can provide a detailed plan for you. Just let me know.

 

[lori5060]

while i was getting my macbook and all its files copied to external drives,
and making sure that my third party apps were all in order...

i decided to run ONYX again...this time though i checked off 'spotlight index' as read that this index could have caused the problem.
and what do you know.....amazing....the storage is now down to 25.82...

still working on gathering my files, product codes, bookmarks etc for a new setup of macbook air. lots to do and want to make sure all is in order. lots of advice out there as to how to do it also.

 

[honestone]

I have never used Spotlight, with one of the reasons being that it can take up space. Also, it tends to slow things down. I use the excellent freeware program EasyFind instead for my searches.

Now, if I were you, besides all the copying/saving important stuff like you are doing, here is the way I would approach this "complete" Erase of your internal drive:

1. Decide which Mac OS you want. Not sure why you would want to "leave" Yosemite, as it is a solid OS. Most likely, you will be able to download the installation file for either Yosemite or El Capitan from the App Store. Whichever one you decide on, download it. When the download completes, a file entitled "Install Mad OS Yosemite" or "Install Mad OS El Capitan" will be inside your Applications folder. Immediately make a copy of it in another location, both on your internal drive (but within the same partition that the Mac OS is on) and on one of your external drives. If you decide on El Capitan, make sure all your third party apps are compatible with El Capitan.

2. A new version of SuperDuper!, V3.0.1, came out today. You can get it form here:

https://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

3. Install SuperDuper! V3.0.1 and AppCleaner on your Mac.

4. Assuming you have completed copying all your needed "stuff", and that you have all your third party applications saved off, use AppCleaner to remove every third party app (except SuperDuper!) from your Mac. That will cut down on the space in preparation for the SuperDuper! backup.

5. Make a partition on one of your external drives that is close to the size of your internal drive. Give it a name like "SuperDuper Backup", or whatever, so that you'll recognize it.

6. Launch SuperDuper!, and back up the contents of your "now less space" internal drive, but with both the OS (Yosemite in your case) and two copies of the "Install Mac OS Yosemite" or "Install Mac OS El Capitan" file.

7. Restart you Mac from that just completed SuperDuper! backup.

8. Use Disk Utility there to Erase and Format your internal drive.

9. Locate the "Install Mac OS Yosemite" or "Install Mac OS El Capitan" file, start it up, and perform a clean, fresh installation of Yosemite or El Capitan onto your internal drive.

10. When that installation completes, you'll be offered the opportunity to "migrate"/copy "stuff" from your SuperDuper! backup. You should at least select your account "stuff" to be migrated/copied. You can also select anything else you want (maybe your Apps, as you should have only AppCleaner and SuperDuper! left to copy).

11. Restart your Mac, and then you can proceed with the one by one installation of your apps.

 

[lori5060]

FYI....
I purchased a MBA 15" 2017 with Sierra on it (lucky they had one in stock that did not not have High Sierra on it and am busy getting that all in order and so far all is going well..

am not creating many new docs nor don't have copied over all my personal data on it yet but when I do and all the apps installed and loaded....

backup backup backup...i know.....

for now, i am leaving my macbook air restore alone....as it will be my backup whilst i get all MBA as I want it.

 

[honestone]

Congratulations on your new machine! And it has Sierra on it! If I were you, I'd wait a while to "upgrade" to High Sierra, as there are still issues with it. Sierra is "modern enough", and stable.

I am actually waiting for a good sale on the newest 13" Mac Book Air, with a 252 SSD. My current one is actually OK, but I want more memory. Those newer ones come with 8 Gig of memory, whereas mine has only 4 gig (and id not upgradable). We'll see.

If I were you, I would still install SuperDuper! and AppCleaner on your new MBA. They are both compatible with Sierra (and High Sierra also).

Again, congratulations!