Storage space and Other Users

I just checked the available space on my Mac.  I see that “Other Users” are taking up 159G of space.  There are no other users on this Mac.  Only me.  Can I delete this somehow? If so, how do I do it? Will it impact my use of the computer if I do?


Thanks.


.....Mike.....



MacBook Air (2018 – 2020)

Posted on Apr 21, 2023 12:42 AM

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Posted on Apr 26, 2023 02:34 AM

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?






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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 26, 2023 02:34 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

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?






Apr 21, 2023 07:19 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

mikefromcaledon wrote:

I just checked the available space on my Mac.  I see that “Other Users” are taking up 159G of space.  There are no other users on this Mac.  Only me.  Can I delete this somehow? If so, how do I do it? Will it impact my use of the computer if I do?

Thanks.

.....Mike.....
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/c1bc1f91-c704-41ab-95cc-ee8d44736a7e


https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/5761ed06-b326-40a7-8d8e-10b56b41a7ac


https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/2cec7c63-e7e4-47f0-a918-f5f391ed146a



I suspect this could be your iOS backup files.. mis-labeled.






ref: iOS Backups


Finder>Go>Go To Folder, copy & paste:


~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup





Apr 24, 2023 01:55 PM in response to mikefromcaledon

Thank you for the important additional information


Go to Disk Utilities >> View and Show all Devices like in image below


Remember to Expand any Downwards Arrows to expose every volume on this drive


Do a Screen Shot as per these instruction of Apple Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac - Apple Support (CA)


Post back the screen shot using the " Image Insert " = second to last icon when posting back




Apr 24, 2023 11:50 AM in response to Owl-53

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.....


Apr 25, 2023 01:41 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

Thank you for above images.


To be honest am somewhat stumped.


Was thinking that " 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. "


It may have added an addition Macintosh HD-Data volume with the added to Macintosh HD-Data 1


At this point, I must defer to my More Learned Colleague @ leroydouglas for additional insights on this issue

Apr 26, 2023 06:37 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

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]


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Storage space and Other Users

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