11-05-2010, 09:58 PM

I recently bought a macbook pro. I have been trying to convert old home videos to burn onto DVD and keep getting messages about not enough disc space. The activity monitor in Disc Space indicates that Space Utilized is 296.02 GB and Space Free 3.69 GB. I'm guessing this isn't good? Other than the home movies I have downloaded, I have installed Microsoft Word, InDesign, and Limewire so I didn't think the space should be filled up already. However, I'm a new mac user so I don't know if this sounds normal? Any thoughts?

11-05-2010, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by upaset

I recently bought a macbook pro. I have been trying to convert old home videos to burn onto DVD and keep getting messages about not enough disc space. The activity monitor in Disc Space indicates that Space Utilized is 296.02 GB and Space Free 3.69 GB. I'm guessing this isn't good? Other than the home movies I have downloaded, I have installed Microsoft Word, InDesign, and Limewire so I didn't think the space should be filled up already. However, I'm a new mac user so I don't know if this sounds normal? Any thoughts?

If your computer's hard drive contains 296 GB of files...with 3.69 free...that's 98.8% full. That pretty darn full!!! If you let it get closer to 100% full...you're going to run into some pretty serious problems...such as you may not be able to use your computer or access your hard drive at all!!!

The Mac OS NEEDS some hard drive space to operate properly...if there isn't any free space...the OS can't do what it needs to do!

Those home movies & the music you downloaded from Limewire...are obviously taking up more space than you estimate. "Burn" the bulk of those home movies & music to CD's or DVD's...then delete them from your hard drive to free up some space.

HTH,

- Nick

11-05-2010, 10:35 PM

Yes, either burn them to DVD/CD or invest in an external hard drive and move the majority of them to that external media.

11-06-2010, 04:43 AM

Actually, he'll have difficult burning them to DVD, because doing so requires LOADS of temporary space ... and he doesn't have any!

Better suggestion: dump the illegal movies you pirated. Just dump them. You can buy them back later. That should free up enough space for you to really save the things that are TRULY important, not the pirated stuff.

PS. Dump Limewire and never think of it again. It's a POS.

11-06-2010, 09:58 AM

Before we send the OP out to buy a new HD, how about starting by emptying the trash can? When you delete files, the space they were using is held up until you empty the trash can. This allows you the ability to restore them from the trash. Last week I just emptied my trash can for the first time in over a year and it freed up 120gb.

11-06-2010, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by Jaygray

Last week I just emptied my trash can for the first time in over a year and it freed up 120gb.

Yikes dude...your computer must have a pretty big HD to have 120 GB of stuff in the trash can...and not have any free space issues! You need to empty that trash can more often...once a year is a crime!!!

- Nick

11-06-2010, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Jaygray

Before we send the OP out to buy a new HD, how about starting by emptying the trash can? When you delete files, the space they were using is held up until you empty the trash can. This allows you the ability to restore them from the trash. Last week I just emptied my trash can for the first time in over a year and it freed up 120gb.

Haha... I Shift+Command+Delete every time I put something in the sucker. I don't believe in wasting precious space. Sometimes I'll even securely empty the trash, depending upon what is deleted (apps for instance).

My suggestion, and something I've maintained for years: Go external. I always say this, and no one ever seems to comment on it, perhaps because they think it's silly, but.. I keep nothing but documents on my internal hard drive(s). If I download something, it gets moved immediately to one of my few external HD's. I have a dedicated external for photos and music, one for movies and one for miscellaneous things like video tutorials, back up apps etc..

External drives are so cheap now days, it's almost stupid to NOT at least back things up on them. I plan on getting another couple of 1 TB drives to back my photos up on, redundantly and even remotely.

The only downside to keeping things on external drives is that the data access isn't as fast, but it's not so much of a difference that I take too much notice of it. Perhaps when I'm doing a serious editing job with a .tiff or NEF file it will pause a second here and there, but not enough to make me wince.

Doug

11-09-2010, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Yikes dude...your computer must have a pretty big HD to have 120 GB of stuff in the trash can...and not have any free space issues! You need to empty that trash can more often...once a year is a crime!!!

500GB drive. 200GB of data. 120GB in the trash. There's still 180GB of free space. That's respectable.

11-09-2010, 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by Jaygray

500GB drive. 200GB of data. 120GB in the trash. There's still 180GB of free space. That's respectable.

It's not really respectable to keep 120gig in the trash...and not emptying the trash for what you estimated was over a year (in your case).

I wasn't trying to give you a hard time in my previous post...I was just VERY surprised to hear of someone having 120gig in the trash & not have emptied their trash in over a year (something that is far from typical for most users).

It was a great idea that you mentioned to the OP to make sure their trash was emptied...cause you never know.

- Nick

11-09-2010, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by Doug b

Haha... I Shift+Command+Delete every time I put something in the sucker. I don't believe in wasting precious space. Sometimes I'll even securely empty the trash, depending upon what is deleted (apps for instance).

My suggestion, and something I've maintained for years: Go external. I always say this, and no one ever seems to comment on it, perhaps because they think it's silly, but.. I keep nothing but documents on my internal hard drive(s). If I download something, it gets moved immediately to one of my few external HD's. I have a dedicated external for photos and music, one for movies and one for miscellaneous things like video tutorials, back up apps etc..

External drives are so cheap now days, it's almost stupid to NOT at least back things up on them. I plan on getting another couple of 1 TB drives to back my photos up on, redundantly and even remotely.

The only downside to keeping things on external drives is that the data access isn't as fast, but it's not so much of a difference that I take too much notice of it. Perhaps when I'm doing a serious editing job with a .tiff or NEF file it will pause a second here and there, but not enough to make me wince.

Doug

Which external hard drive rands are recommended for Macbook Pro? I want to get a 1tb...

Are the wireless Mac ones any good?

11-09-2010, 04:55 PM

120GB in the trash!