Storage space and Other Users

Well, I played around on the computer and discovered something.  I went to Macintosh HD -> Users and there was a Deleted Users folder.  It was 157G!   I deleted it.  And deleted the trash too.  I restarted the computer and there is still only 117G available on my HD.  But I noticed that although the Other Users folder is now 2.7G, the System Data folder has suddenly grown from 29G to 196G.  It is as if I have taken 159G from Other Users and moved it to System Data!  How can this be?

I got tired of trying to figure this out, so I walked away from the computer. I came back about a half hour later and looked at the storage space again. Now is says 275G available space and 40G System Data. It seems to be ok now. Other Users is 2.7G, which is more or less normal. It seems to have needed time to readjust to me deleting the deleted users folder! Weird. Anyway, it all seems to be closer to normal now.

[Image Edited by Moderator to Remove Personal Information]

Hi P. Phillips,

Thank you for showing such interest in this problem. I have found int he past that nobody really cares about any questions I ask. So I am very grateful to you for trying to resolve this issue. To answer your question, there was never another person on this computer, however, I had a problem a while back, with pop-up notifications appearing endlessly.  The solution was to restore from back up.  So I chose a date from Time Machine and went through the process.  This meant that I had to link a lot of programs again to my "new self" as the links were no longer valid.  Sorry for the long-winded answer, but I guess technically, yes, there was another user on this machine.  It was me, but in a different “version” of the computer.   But that was just me.  Just ONE user.  Why would it appear as 159G?  That’s pretty huge. I am the only user on this computer and the Guest User is turned off.  So, who or what is using up 159G of space and how to I free up that space?  I have to admit I am a little scared to delete my own account as described in Delete a user or group on Mac - Apple Support (CA)

Thanks.

.....Mike.....

Hi leroydouglas

I have a separate BU drive.  But I went to the folder you suggested, and this is what I found.  Only 20G. So that is not the problem.

Hi P. Phillips.

I also looked at the sharing and all sharing is turned off.

Hi, I hope I have captured the correct screen. I wasn't sure so I took all three volumes within container disk1, as you can see below:

Hi léonie

There are no other users on this Mac. That's why this is such a mystery.

.....Mike.....