Finder is claiming that 45GB > 98GB

By crazzy88ss
in Apple (macOS)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grand Master

Gerowen

Posted
Posted

Is that a single file that is 45 GB? If so it may be an issue with the file system that the external is formatted in. For example, a drive formatted in FAT32 cannot have a single file larger than 4 GB, and other file systems have limitations as well.

Grand Master

CPressland

Posted
Posted

Had the same issue a few weeks ago.

Turning off Time Machine and running Onyx's automated scripts to run Maintenance / Clear Kernel Cache / LaunchServices etc seams to have resolved the issue. Naturally I turned TM back on after.

No idea how this is related, but it did resolve the issue.

Mentor

winrez

Posted
Posted

It might be http://reviews.cnet....g-large-drives/#!

If you have Windows installed use Macdrive in Windows to copy the file so you avoid the bug http://www.mediafour...ducts/macdrive/

you can also use Disc Falcon to find out where your space is going on your Mac http://www.macworld.com/article/1160443/diskfalcon1.html

Grand Master

crazzy88ss

Posted
  • Author
Posted

1.) I repaired permissions with no changes.

2.) I found this little nugget (see photo).

So... I don't have time machine enabled... so 1.) What are these "back ups"? 2.) Where are they and how do I delete them? 3.) Why is Finder reporting different numbers from System Information?

post-119755-0-33553100-1354389927.jpg

Grand Master

.Neo

Posted
Posted

Backups are Time Machine snapshots stored locally. OS X does this so recent backups are still available to you when you're on the go and don't have your external drive with you. Are you sure you didn't have Time Machine turned on at some point? Versions snapshots are part of the "backup" section too. This accounts for the difference in available space in the Finder and About This Mac, which I agree on is strange.

They should have been purged though after a week. Not sure why that didn't happen. Anyway, check this link to disable local snapshots:

http://osxdaily.com/...-mac-os-x-lion/

I think this thread is the perfect example of why Apple products are no longer "easy" to use. I love how over half of your disk space is consumed by "Backups" and "Other" stuff... So informative.

Every OS is going to have its problems, OS X is no exception. You taking this as an opportunity to rip on Apple is a bit sad really. Why not go over to the Windows section and see how many issues people are having there?

Collaborator

mrmomoman

Posted
Posted

The backups could be the Mobile Backup area when iTunes backs up your iDevices. The back ups don't get deleted and will get larger in size. At least in my experience.

Look for the Back Ups for the Devices in iTunes and delete the old backups. iTunes -> Preferences -> Devices - or something similar. Recalling from the top of my head.

Also check this area out.

~/Library/Application Support/Mobile Sync/Backup

Community Regular

Breakthrough

Posted
Posted
Every OS is going to have its problems, OS X is no exception. You taking this as an opportunity to rip on Apple is a bit sad really. Why not go over to the Windows section and see how many issues people are having there?

I didn't say any operating system was perfect, but there's clearly an intuitive and a non-intuitive way to do things. And on the machine I'm writing this reply on (Linux), if it says I have 40GB of free space on my HDD, that's how much (sans filesystem overhead) I can put on the drive.

Files are files. That's all I want taking up my disk space, not all that "Other" stuff.

Grand Master

crazzy88ss

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I double checked TM... it was turned on. what. the. duck. I don't use TM on this computer.

I'm guessing it was activated when I downgraded to OS 10.8. I'm so tired of these crappy OSX updates.

That being said... WHY would these backups overwrite my ability to use my HDD how I want?! As Breakthrough pointed out, I really feel Apple's slipping these days.

Grand Master

.Neo

Posted
Posted

There you have it. And yeah, bad Apple! There's just no way this could have been user error huh?

Here's the thing: If Time Machine allowed backups to be automatically overwritten people would go berserk over loosing their precious backups. If Time Machine doesn't, people (like you) go insane over loosing disk space.

Files are files. That's all I want taking up my disk space, not all that "Other" stuff.

"Other" are all the documents that don't fit in the other categories. Shouldn't really be hard to figure out...

Grand Master

.Neo

Posted
Posted

Sorry to sound silly (never used OSX) but surely it should remove old backups with the newest backup taking precedence instead of hogging your hard drive with an 'archive' of backups?

I believe backups are automatically deleted after a week.

Proficient

srbeen

Posted
Posted

98GB isn't enough space for a 45GB file, and 62.4GB isn't enough space to do a 3.1GB time machine backup? Whats going on here?! Permissions?

I vouch OSX knows what its limits are, so it has a reason not to do the copies.. but its such a simple command. Would doing the copy in terminal offer more details?

Sorry to sound silly (never used OSX) but surely it should remove old backups with the newest backup taking precedence instead of hogging your hard drive with an 'archive' of backups?

I think it can merge the newer backups with the old and update any new/modified files, So you have one continuous backup (say daily backups) or it can do a set amount of backups (like save five, which would be a month at one a week) or a set file size limit (backup until 50GB used, then start deleting the oldest files)

Pretty sure you set this up when you setup time machine. Maybe I'm getting confused with rsync.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Microsoft finally launches WSL Containers in public preview

      By sphbecker · Posted

      I honestly think WSL is one of the coolest things about Windows. The fact that you can type one command and now your computer also runs Linux, without any VM or OS setup is impressive. Yes, it is a VM under the covers, but what is impressive is how seamless and simple it all is.
    • WhatsApp is getting usernames, and you can reserve your preferred one now

      By +Good Bot, Bad Bot · Posted

      You still shouldn’t want a WhatsApp account. You made it this long why would you need one now?
    • Microsoft Edge gets tons of security features, including AI model that can see your screen

      By ad47uk · Posted

      Zen is based on Firefox anbd don't have any A.I at all
    • Microsoft Edge gets tons of security features, including AI model that can see your screen

      By ad47uk · Posted

      I don't use Edge, I don't even use Windows these days as my main driver. Mac these days I use and Zen browser
    • Apple releases iOS 26.5.2 with dozens of security fixes for iPhone

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Apple releases iOS 26.5.2 with dozens of security fixes for iPhone by Karthik Mudaliar Apple has released iOS 26.5.2 and iPadOS 26.5.2, which are security-only updates for the iPhone and the iPad. The update brings a bunch of security fixes for WebKit, WebRTC, WebKit Storage, WebKit Canvas, Web Extensions, libxslt, IOGPUFamily, and even the kernel. Some of the WebKit issues that were fixed could have allowed malicious web content to disclose sensitive user information, exfiltrate cross-origin data, crash Safari, or process restricted web content outside the browser sandbox. One notable WebKit Storage bug could let a malicious website to silently hijack clipboard data, according to Apple’s description. Other WebKit-related flaws involved memory corruption, use-after-free bugs, type confusion, out-of-bounds writes, permissions problems, and cross-origin data handling issues. The update also includes three kernel-related fixes. Apple says one of the flaws could let an app write kernel memory or cause unexpected system termination, while another may leak sensitive kernel state, and a third could corrupt kernel memory or terminate the system unexpectedly. Although Apple hasn't described them as remote web attacks, kernel bugs are still important to fix, as they can sometimes be chained with other flaws to escape app or browser restrictions. The updates are available for iPhone 11 and later, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 8th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later. Similar security fixes also came with the latest update to macOS Tahoe 26.5.2, which Apple released on the same day. That overlap is not surprising, since Safari, WebKit, WebRTC, and other underlying components are shared across Apple’s platforms. Users are advised to update their devices sooner rather than later as these security fixes are crucial. iOS 26.5.2 can be installed from Settings > General > Software Update. Similarly, Mac users can find macOS Tahoe 26.5.2 through System Settings > General > Software Update.

  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      535
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      266
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      149
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      97
    5. 5
      macoman
      61
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!