We feel so elated while seeing that there’s an empty bar of space on our desktop and anxious when we have to limit ourselves when the bar is full. The Other storage may take up to 75% of the total amount of space on your HDD and that can be really frustrating. So let’s figure this out.
What Is Other Storage
The memory of the MacBook in some aspects works in a mysterious way and we have to understand why. And it’s especially unusual for those who have just started using the macOS right after Windows. The Other part of the memory is not a shelter for tons of unnecessary trash. We should understand its essence before getting rid of it.
To open a summary, select an option About this Mac in the Menu and then click the Storage Tab. Each section of the bar shows the amount of storage used by a certain category of files. Other files are those that can’t be recognized by Mac as they do not belong to any of the categories but that doesn’t change the fact that it occupies lots of space. Those include:
- · Mac OS system data, swap, voices etc
- · User, browser and system cache
- · Disk imagines and archives like ZIP and DMG
- · Personal data
- · Application Support, Cloud files
After looking through this list, it does not seem that Other files folder is useless trash. If you want to delete them anyway, see the instructions on how to delete Other on Mac.
- Step 1
It may sound a bit silly, but when you move a file to the trash bin, it is not factually deleted. Consider trash bin as a temporary folder with files that should be deleted – go to the menu bar, hit Finder and then choose Empty Trash option. That action will send a signal that space is available to be rewritten.
- Step 2
The great thing about new Photos app is that it allows you to import unwittingly all the photos you take from your mobile devices on Mac. But it may also cause problems – you can fix it by disabling My photo stream option. This will keep new photos on the Cloud Service and will not download it to the computer.
- Step 3
An important part of deleting large files is finding them; oftentimes, you do not realize what items are taking up too much space. Here you will find a comprehensive guide on this matter:
Open Finder, press the combination Cmd+Shift+G and then follow the algorithm stated below.
/Downloads/Library/Caches/Documents/Logs
Delete all the unnecessary folders and keep everything that you are in need of. Check out this video guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBiXCNRdiGA
Another way is removing Other with the Smart Folder Finder – in order to perform this you have to click Cmd+F. The search will be passed in This Mac. Then select Other and choose File size and press OK. Inscribe the size of the file and Voila – here is the list with the files you were looking for; now say Goodbye and more it to Trash.
It might be possible that your laptop hadn’t been cleaned for ages. If you had not done the reinstallations of your Mac for quite long, some apps could have created huge folders of system files. To clear up the disk you can use a special app, which can be downloaded for free. It can be an App Cleaner and Uninstaller.
You won’t manage to clean up Other storage with no trace. But your space is full only with useful items and the memory aren’t wasted.