What is the 152 GB of "Other" in my storage space?

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What is the 152 GB of "Other" in my storage space?

I'm running out of storage space on my 250 GB MacBook Pro.

"About This Mac" shows 152 GB of "Other." This includes the "Users" folder. I'm "TDK." My folder totals 130 GB. Totaling up the folders in my user account is 6.5 GB. That leaves 123.5 GB of unknown stuff in my user account. That's half my storage space.

"Other" is 152 GB. The user accounts total 130 GB. What's the 22 GB of unknown stuff in "Users" that's not in my user account?

I ran "Manage" and I ran "Clean My Mac."

What would happen if I copied the entire 6.5 GB from my user account to my backup drive, made a new user account for myself, copied my 6.5 GB back into the new user account, and deleted my old user account?

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on May 28, 2021 10:20 AM

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Answer 1

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leroydouglas

Community+ 2024

Level 10

188,286 points

May 28, 2021 10:28 AM in response to Thomas Kehoe

Thomas Kehoe wrote:

What is the 152 GB of "Other" in my storage space?

I'm running out of storage space on my 250 GB MacBook Pro.

"About This Mac" shows 152 GB of "Other." This includes the "Users" folder. I'm "TDK." My folder totals 130 GB. Totaling up the folders in my user account is 6.5 GB. That leaves 123.5 GB of unknown stuff in my user account. That's half my storage space.

"Other" is 152 GB. The user accounts total 130 GB. What's the 22 GB of unknown stuff in "Users" that's not in my user account?

I ran "Manage" and I ran "Clean My Mac."

Good question—you tell me...

Empty your Trash — Delete files and folders on Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/delete-files-and-folders-on-mac-mchlp1093/mac

How to free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206996

See used and available storage space on your Mac

https://support.apple.com/guide/system-information/see-available-storage-space-syspf9b375b9/10.14/mac/10.15

User tip: "Other and What Can I Do About It ?"

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5142

Try something like OmniDiskSweeper for a GUI to get a good look at itemized file size and location:

OmniDiskSweeper http://www.omnigroup.com/more

I will add CleanMyMac is one of the worst and is known to cause nothing but added issues.

Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/Anti-Virus/VPN

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Answer 2

Thomas Kehoe Author

Level 1

80 points

May 29, 2021 7:00 PM in response to Thomas Kehoe

I figured it out. The 152 GB of "Other" is hidden files. Key shift-command-period in a folder and the hidden files appear.

I found all sorts of stuff. 7 GB was taken up by 25 old versions of MongoDB. I haven't used MongoDB since 2015.

Microsoft Outlook's email messages took up 18 GB. I cleared spam and took out the trash, clearing 4 GB.

The Apple Podcast app's old podcasts took up 5 GB. I listen to podcasts on my phone, not my laptop. Deleted that.

Every attachment to a text anyone has every sent me, or I've sent to anyone, is stored under "Messages." That's 10 GB.

I cleared 32 GB. I'll stop here, as I have enough room now. I could keep going and clear more space but it gets more time consuming to clear smaller files.

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What is the 152 GB of "Other" in my storage space?

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