How to View the Available Hard Drive Storage Space on a MacBook. The steps in this article were performed on a MacBook Air running the macOS Sierra operating system. However, these same steps will work for most other versions of the Mac operating system as well. Step 1: Click the Apple icon at the top-left corner of your screen. Simply, Other storage on Mac consists of files that do not easily fall into the clearer category labels like 'Audio.' The types of 'Other' files would include: Documents like PDF.psd.doc, etc. MacOS system and temporary files. Wireless Endoscope, DEPSTECH Upgrade 5.0MP HD Inspection Camera, Scope Camera with Light, 16 inch Focal Distance, Semi-Rigid Snake Waterproof Borescope with 2200mAh Battery for iPhone & Android-16.5FT: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific.
What is 'Other' on your Mac's storage and how to remove or clear it?
Computer storage or disk space is the amount of data (measured in 'bytes') that a drive is capable of holding. Mac computer users can check how much disk space is available on their systems by clicking the Apple menu () at the top left of the screen and selecting 'About this Mac', and then selecting the 'Storage' tab. Despite this, even basic information can seem confusing at first, especially with regard to Mac hard drive categories. Mac users often become aware of disk space when a message stating that 'there is not enough free space' appears when downloading files from the Internet. When checking the status of storage on your system, you may notice the category 'Other' occupies a great deal of space.
Files under this section may seem redundant, not important, and can be deleted, but we recommend that you read through this article before removing any files. Commonly, third-party applications invite you to clean the hard drive quickly, but if the 'Other' category is targeted, you might lose important files. In fact, this particular section does store files that are junk files (for example, cache and temporary files), so you need to differentiate between those and the important files. In this article, we describe files listed under the 'Other' category and show how to safely remove some unnecessary data.
Table of Contents:
It is recommended to run a free scan with Malwarebytes - a tool to detect malware and fix computer errors. You will need to purchase the full version to remove infections and eliminate computer errors. Free trial available.
How to check the storage status on your Mac?
If you are running low on free space, we recommend that you check how much space each category consumes - this will help you to decide what to clean to achieve the best results. To check Mac hard drive usage, click the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen, and then select About this Mac. Choose the Storage tab. You will see a line with different colors indicating the categories - hover over each to check its title and amount of storage consumed.
What contains in the Other category?
Many users report that this confusing category consumes a lot of hard drive memory, thus prompting them to seek methods to clear the category or reduce the amount of space taken. Before proceeding, you must determine what data is hidden within this particular group of content. The title ('Other') can be misleading, since there are not only junk files, but also important personal files. Below, we clarify this category and include some examples of what 'Other' contains:
These files are just a small sample of those that might be contained within the Other category. You might prefer not to lose certain file types, whereas others can be removed without any particular consequences (for example, system caches, temporary files, and other junk files). So, the 'Other' category is a collection of data that includes miscellaneous file types not suitable for any other existing category. Now we have a clear view of this category, we can use methods to clean this group of junk files.
How to clear Other category on Mac running macOS Sierra or later
Some users believe that newer versions of the Mac operating system are well optimized and never run out of free space, but this is not actually correct. Although Sierra and later versions are much better optimized, these system do run out of free space, especially when small capacity hard drives are installed. Even if you are running a system with considerable hard drive space, overfilling it will result in reduced system performance. Fortunately, mac OS Sierra and all later versions include a useful feature called Optimized Storage. Once this tool enabled, the Mac will automatically cleans its hard drive from old or unused files by transferring data to iCloud. All files moved from your computer to cloud storage will be accessible through a website (from which you can later download them to your Mac). Additionally, if you experience significant loss of storage space on macOS High Sierra, read this guide.
Manually clear Cache files on your Mac computer
To remove cache data from your computer, you simply need to visit a specified destination where the files are stored. Launch Finder, which can be found in the Dock. Click Go in the menu at top of the screen and select Go to Folder. Type the following destination, ~/Library/caches and click Go.
In the new window, you will see a list of caches saved from active applications. Select the folder of the program from which the cache you wish to remove. Right-click or control-click on it. In the menu, select Move to Trash. Repeat this procedure with all applications.
How to remove old iOS device backups in iTunes
Creating a backup of the iDevice regularly is a good idea, however, this can result in significant space being occupied by old, unnecessary drive images - especially when backups can take up to 5 Gigabytes. Therefore, removing outdated disk images is advisable. Launch the iTunes application and open Preferences by clicking iTunes in the menu at the top of the screen. In the new window, select the Devices tab. You will find a list with all stored backups of your iDevice. Items in list will have the name of your mobile device and date the backup was created. We recommend that you keep the latest backup, but if you have a copy in the iCloud, you may proceed to complete cleanup. To finish the process, select one of the items and click the Delete Backup button.
Clear up your downloads folder on Mac
The Download folder does not apply any tools for automatic clean-up. Furthermore, clicking it in the Dock only displays a number of recent files. Therefore, many users forget to remove unused data from this area, resulting in a build-up of occupied storage space. To remove files stored under the Downloads folder, launch Finder. Click Go in the menu at top of the screen and select Downloads. Alternatively, click the keyboard shortcut: Option, Command, and L, when finder is launched. A list with all remaining files under Download the folder will appear. Select the content you no longer require and right-click or control-click to enter the menu. Select move to trash, or if you wish to save some content, you can move it to an external drive. When you have finished moving your data, remember to empty the Trash. To perform this action, simply right-click on the Trash bin icon in Dock and select Empty Trash.
Use Combo Cleaner to clean up your computer faster
Using third-party software to clean up your computer is quick and simple. We suggest using Combo Cleaner, which offers features such as disk cleaner, big files and duplicates detector, and others.
Video Showing how to clear 'Other' storage category on Mac:
The ability to know how to check up on key maintenance and operational functions on your MacBook Pro can help you understand how your computer works and give you insight into any problems that may arise.
Apple products are designed to allow you to access many key insights that will give you a look into the inner-workings of your computer. Some of this may seem complex at first, but it really is straightforward to figure out.
One of these key insights that are good to know is how to check the storage capacity of your MacBook Pro.
This will let you know how much room you have on your computer to keep any type of file and data you wish. This could be photos, videos, games, apps or any other piece of data that you want to store directly on the computer.
It’s good to keep track of this so you know when you might be running out of disk space.
![]() Why is Storage Space Important?
Many of you might not pay that much attention to storage space anymore.
This is probably because you have a very large hard drive that has more than enough space to store anything and everything you want to have on your computer. Storage technology has really improved and now allows us to have very large hard drives and storage capacities on our computers.
This isn’t always the case, however, and some of you might be nearing storage capacity. As you approach storage capacity, your computer may begin to function poorly as all of the files and programs start to eat up CPU and available RAM. You also might try to download a large or important file only to find out that you do not have enough storage space available.
By keeping an eye on your storage space, you will be able to better understand the state of your computer. It’s an easy check-up that you can use to troubleshoot slow performance or glitchy operations.
While you might want to keep every piece of data you have on your computer, you can easily back up files to an external hard drive or to the cloud and free up valuable storage space.
How to Check Storage on MacBook Pro
There are a couple of different ways to check the storage on your MacBook Pro and we will take a look at them here. You can also set up your computer to have storage details always listed on the top of your screen if you wish to do so. Games for macbook 12.
Method 1 – Use the Finder
Method 2 – About This Mac
If you are running a newer macOS, Yosemite or above, you can easily check on storage space using the About This Mac method. This is the method I personally use the most and it is a really easy way to get this information quickly.
Method 3 – Disk Utility
Another method to finding out how much storage you have on your MacBook is to use the Disk Utility function.
Disk Utility gives you access to a bunch of critical information about your MacBook Pro so it is good to know how to access it. This is not the fastest method to check your storage but is good to know so you can also access the utility for any other reason.
Method 4 – Storage Status BarHow To Find Out What Other Is On Macbook Storage Space
If you want to constantly keep track of your storage, you can put a status bar on the main menu of your Finder that will pop up every time you open the Finder. To do this:
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are a handful of different methods to go about checking the storage on your MacBook Pro.
How To Find Out What Other Is On Macbook Storage
It is easy to do and a good habit to get into every now and then while you are working on your computer. If you have a large hard drive, you may never have to worry about filling it up but if you want to keep a lot of data and have your computer functioning at full speed and capacity, it’s good to keep track of.
How To Find Out What Other Is On Macbook Storage Expansion
Have you ever filled up your storage completely?
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |