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What is 'Other' on your Mac's storage and how to remove or clear it?
Mac OS Extended (or HFS+) is still a good option for older drives, but only if you plan on using it with a Mac or for Time Machine backups. If you need a cross-platform option, consider using ExFAT for your drive instead—both Windows and macOS can read these drives without any additional software.
Computer storage or disk space is the amount of data (measured in 'bytes') that a drive is capable of holding. Mac computer users can check how much disk space is available on their systems by clicking the Apple menu () at the top left of the screen and selecting 'About this Mac', and then selecting the 'Storage' tab. Despite this, even basic information can seem confusing at first, especially with regard to Mac hard drive categories. Mac users often become aware of disk space when a message stating that 'there is not enough free space' appears when downloading files from the Internet. When checking the status of storage on your system, you may notice the category 'Other' occupies a great deal of space.
Files under this section may seem redundant, not important, and can be deleted, but we recommend that you read through this article before removing any files. Commonly, third-party applications invite you to clean the hard drive quickly, but if the 'Other' category is targeted, you might lose important files. In fact, this particular section does store files that are junk files (for example, cache and temporary files), so you need to differentiate between those and the important files. In this article, we describe files listed under the 'Other' category and show how to safely remove some unnecessary data.
- Connect an external drive (USB, ThunderBolt, or FireWire) to your Mac. You can also connect a new Mac computer in the target mode. Launch Drive Copy for Mac OS X. Select your Mac’s disk on the left, while the connected external drive on the right. By clicking on a disk’s name.
- To do this, open Disk Utility and connect the drive to your Mac. Under External in the left hand menu, click on your external hard drive and then click on the Erase button. Make sure you backup any data before you erase the drive. When you click Erase, a dialog will pop up where you can configure some options.
- Bootable USB Stick - macOS X El Capitan 10.11 - Full OS Install, Reinstall, Recovery and Upgrade.
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How to check the storage status on your Mac?
If you are running low on free space, we recommend that you check how much space each category consumes - this will help you to decide what to clean to achieve the best results. To check Mac hard drive usage, click the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen, and then select About this Mac. Choose the Storage tab. You will see a line with different colors indicating the categories - hover over each to check its title and amount of storage consumed.
What contains in the Other category?
Many users report that this confusing category consumes a lot of hard drive memory, thus prompting them to seek methods to clear the category or reduce the amount of space taken. Before proceeding, you must determine what data is hidden within this particular group of content. The title ('Other') can be misleading, since there are not only junk files, but also important personal files. Below, we clarify this category and include some examples of what 'Other' contains:
- Common documents and file types, such as PDF, doc, PSD and some others.
- Any type of compressed files, including disk images, zips, dmg, iso, tar and many more archive type files.
- User's personal data.
- Some files in the system folders of Mac OS, such as temporary files, swap, voices, etc.
- Files such as application support, iCloud files, screen captures, and similar.
- Cache items, including browser cache and locally-stored message media content.
- Fonts, app accessories, application plug-ins, and extensions.
- Various data and file types that are not recognized by Spotlight, such as virtual machine hard drive, Windows boot camp partition, and a number of other type files.
These files are just a small sample of those that might be contained within the Other category. You might prefer not to lose certain file types, whereas others can be removed without any particular consequences (for example, system caches, temporary files, and other junk files). So, the 'Other' category is a collection of data that includes miscellaneous file types not suitable for any other existing category. Now we have a clear view of this category, we can use methods to clean this group of junk files.
How to clear Other category on Mac running macOS Sierra or later
Some users believe that newer versions of the Mac operating system are well optimized and never run out of free space, but this is not actually correct. Although Sierra and later versions are much better optimized, these system do run out of free space, especially when small capacity hard drives are installed. Even if you are running a system with considerable hard drive space, overfilling it will result in reduced system performance. Fortunately, mac OS Sierra and all later versions include a useful feature called Optimized Storage. Once this tool enabled, the Mac will automatically cleans its hard drive from old or unused files by transferring data to iCloud. All files moved from your computer to cloud storage will be accessible through a website (from which you can later download them to your Mac). Additionally, if you experience significant loss of storage space on macOS High Sierra, read this guide.
Manually clear Cache files on your Mac computer
To remove cache data from your computer, you simply need to visit a specified destination where the files are stored. Launch Finder, which can be found in the Dock. Click Go in the menu at top of the screen and select Go to Folder. Type the following destination, ~/Library/caches and click Go.
In the new window, you will see a list of caches saved from active applications. Select the folder of the program from which the cache you wish to remove. Right-click or control-click on it. In the menu, select Move to Trash. Repeat this procedure with all applications.
How to remove old iOS device backups in iTunes
Creating a backup of the iDevice regularly is a good idea, however, this can result in significant space being occupied by old, unnecessary drive images - especially when backups can take up to 5 Gigabytes. Therefore, removing outdated disk images is advisable. Launch the iTunes application and open Preferences by clicking iTunes in the menu at the top of the screen. In the new window, select the Devices tab. You will find a list with all stored backups of your iDevice. Items in list will have the name of your mobile device and date the backup was created. We recommend that you keep the latest backup, but if you have a copy in the iCloud, you may proceed to complete cleanup. To finish the process, select one of the items and click the Delete Backup button.
Clear up your downloads folder on Mac
The Download folder does not apply any tools for automatic clean-up. Furthermore, clicking it in the Dock only displays a number of recent files. Therefore, many users forget to remove unused data from this area, resulting in a build-up of occupied storage space. To remove files stored under the Downloads folder, launch Finder. Click Go in the menu at top of the screen and select Downloads. Alternatively, click the keyboard shortcut: Option, Command, and L, when finder is launched. A list with all remaining files under Download the folder will appear. Select the content you no longer require and right-click or control-click to enter the menu. Select move to trash, or if you wish to save some content, you can move it to an external drive. When you have finished moving your data, remember to empty the Trash. To perform this action, simply right-click on the Trash bin icon in Dock and select Empty Trash.
Use Combo Cleaner to clean up your computer faster
Using third-party software to clean up your computer is quick and simple. We suggest using Combo Cleaner, which offers features such as disk cleaner, big files and duplicates detector, and others.
Video Showing how to clear 'Other' storage category on Mac:
Dec 21, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
Skate Or Drive Mac Os Download
There is no doubt that getting quick access to the Mac HD directory can be quite helpful in many situations. You can easily access several folders, such as System, Users, Applications, and Library. All these folders contain data that any Mac user access on a regular basis. Sadly, macOS High Sierra may not display you the Macintosh HD folder on your desktop or Finder by default. It makes access to files difficult.
The good news is that there are some ways to show the hard drive on Mac. Here, in this post, you will get to learn that, and also, you get to know how to find the external hard drive on Mac.
Part 1. Why You Can't See Hard Drive on Mac?
Well, there are a number of reasons why you can't see the hard drive on your Mac. Here, we are going to mention the most common ones:
- Preference Issue: You may have not set preferences that make the hard drive visible on your Mac Finder or desktop.
- Connector Issue: It might be the case that you fail to connect the hard drive to your Mac USB port correctly. And maybe the cable you're using for connection is damaged or non-functional.
- Corruption of File system: It might also case that the file system of the hard drive is corrupt due to bad sectors, logical errors, etc. Sometimes, your hard drive file system damage leads to non-mounting HD in Finder.
- Hard drive failure: It might be the case that your drive is physically damaged due to component failure, head crash, or etc.
Part 2. How to Show Hard Drive Icon on Mac Desktop?
It is the Finder's job for displaying the desktop and its icons, which include storage devices icon too. You can show or hide Mac's main hard drive from the desktop of your Mac with ease and all you need to do is to adjust some of the Finder options. If you want to keep your hard drives icon on the desktop so that you can access the data easily, then here's what you have to do to show HD on Mac.
To begin with, you need to first have the Finder option in the foreground. For this, check if there is the word 'Finder' in your Mac menu bar. If no, then all you have to do is to tap on the 'Finder' icon from the Dock of your Mac to appear it in the foreground.
Once you are able to do it, follow the below steps to show the hard drive on a Mac desktop:
- Go to the Menu bar, and then, move to 'Finder'. Next, click on the 'Preferences' option.
- Next, select the 'General' tab when the Finder preferences window appears on your Mac screen.
- After that, check the box 'Hard disks' under 'Show these items on the desktop'.
- Finally, the Mac hard drive icon should now appear on your desktop as shown in the below figure.
As you can see how much it is easy to show and hide Mac hard disks or drives on your desktop. Whenever you want quick access to the data on your Mac, all you have to do is double-click on your Mac HD drive from the desktop and you'll be navigated to the place where all of your Mac data is stored.
Part 3. How to Find External Hard Drive on Mac?
Is your Mac not detecting the external hard drive? In many cases, an external hard drive doesn't show up on your Mac. There is no doubt that it is quite frustrating, especially when you want to transfer something very important right then. Besides this, there can be a change that data present on an external hard drive is corrupt, which is one of the reasons why your Mac can't detect an external drive.
The good news is that there are some solutions that can help you to come out of this problem with ease. Let's look at them:
Skate Or Drive Mac Os X
1. Mount the External Hard Drive on Mac
It could be the case that your Mac already detects an external hard drive, but it just not showing its icon on your desktop screen. If it is the case, then you can easily mount and access your drive again and all you have to do is to follow the below steps:
- To start with, move to the Finder menu and here, choose Preferences.
- In the Finder preferences window, choose the General tab.
- Here, you need to make sure that the 'External disks' option under 'Show these items on the desktop' is ticked.
Also, you can set your Mac to display an external hard drive in Finder. For this, go to 'Finder'>' Preferences'>' Sidebar'. Here, you need to tick the option 'External disks' under the 'Locations' menu.
This method will probably help you to show the connected external hard drive on your Mac. If it doesn't, then you can go for the next solution. And if you need to make a USB flash drive detected, the solutions might be more feasible: Fix USB not showing up on Mac.
2. Launch Disk Utility to Run First Aid
There might be a case that your external hard drive is going through some problems you are unaware of it. In this case, you can try to resolve them yourself using Disk Utility to run the First Aid tool. Afterward, you can even access your files. The tool will inspect the disk for issues and errors and then, try to repair it as required. It is quite helpful when it comes to verifying and repairing a wide range of problems related to external and HD drive.
Here is the step-by-step guide on how you can run First Aid on your external hard drive:
- To start with, launch Disk Utility. You can search for it using Spotlight Search or go to 'Finder'>' Application'>' Utility'
- After that, you need to check on an external hard drive. Next, click on the 'First Aid' tab and choose 'Run' to begin running diagnostics.
If First Aid tools become successful in fixing problems, then your external hard drive should now be available for you to mount. What if the tool fails to repair issues? Then, your drive is badly broken or maybe formatted through a file system that your Mac can't read. In this way, we recommended that you should recover data from the damaged hard drive. Check out the next section to learn how to get back and how hard disk data on Mac.
Part 4. How to Recover and Show Hard Drive Data on Mac?
Have you ever wondered what if you found that you can't access the data stored on your Mac hard drive due to sudden power failure, or virus attack? Or if the above methods fail to fix 'external hard drive not mounting Mac'. In such cases, data recovery software can help you to easily get back hard drive data on your Mac.
1. Recoverit - The Best Software to Recover Mac Files:
Whenever you experience a data loss situation, Recoverit Data Recovery Mac will help you to retrieve it. This data recovery software will come in handy even when you've never made a backup of your device. You now know how to partition Mac hard drive and un-partition it. But knowing how you can recover the lost or deleted files from the drive is also necessary.
2. How to Recover Lost Word Files on Mac:
Step 1: Select a Location
Launch the software and select the drive from where the data files are lost. If you don't know which drive to search, tap on the 'I can't find my partition' option, and hit the Start button.
Step 2: Scan the Location
Typically, the software will run an All-Around Recovery scan and search for the lost and deleted files on the entire drive.
Step 3: Preview and Recover
When the scan completes, the files will be listed on the screen. The software will sort out the files according to format to make the search easier. You can select multiple files at a time and have a preview of them.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that creating and removing a Mac drive partition is not that tough. You just have to careful during the process. And in case of a mishap, Recoverit is always here for your help so that you don't have to suffer from data loss situation.
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