"Other" Taking up 50% of my Disk Space.

I have been checking out various ways to make sure I don't bog down my new Mac Mini 2.5Ghz i5 with loads of junk files. I am using time machine to backup to an external USB hard drive that is partitioned. I have about 70% of 840 GB for Time Machine and the rest for files storage, iTunes Library, photos & RAW files, etc. Well I notice that with the nifty graphics in OS X 10.7.1 "Lion" that My Time Machine is backing up as "Other" (didn't know if this is the norm) and also my Internal Hard Drive has over 40GB of "Other" on it Are these System files? If so how in the world could you install a 64 GB SSD as a boot drive with any room to spare for apps etc? Im thinking I have some cleaning to do, but WHERE? Oh I guess you have figured out I am a MAC Newbie. I am LOVING life with my new Mac Mini though and wouldn't go back to Windows for anything for my use. I will try to attach an image of what I am seeing....

Is there no one with any experience with this? I am a MAC Newbie so I don;t know maybe I am just being daft, but it seems like a boatload of extra data to be written as "Other" and it seems like time machine would be labeled as backup.

Other is anything that isn't one of the listed files. System files, config files, documents, all can be labelled as 'other'.

Please don't cross post.

Dysfunction said:

Other is anything that isn't one of the listed files. System files, config files, documents, all can be labelled as 'other'.

Please don't cross post.

Click to expand...

Yes I assumed that, but 42GB worth? Im thinking it must have somehting to do with CS5.5 but i dont know what is OK to get rid of in there, So I may just have to live with it, or maybe remove all of it and reinstall the Collection, but with limited programs installed. I'm just thinking out loud.
As for the cross post, I figured I wasn't getting any responses so I would try in another area. Doesn't seem like many people are keen on helping Mac newcomers around here...

CS would be a app. The OS is going to be close to 5-6GB alone. FWIW, my install is 40.6GB of 'Other'. So be it. It's data OTHER than the above format types. CS5.5 (design standard), with the lens profiler application (which is additional) is about 4.6GB.

A couple hours on a Sunday is really not a long time for a thread to go unanswered.

Other is anything that does not fall into the 5 other categories listed audio ,movies,photos,apps and backups don't mess with it.

Download Grand Perspective or something like it (it's free, there are a few other similar apps) and have a look at the map it produces.

But what you're almost certain to find is the bulk of "Other" is stuff you need -- like your email (and its attachments) for example. There might be some undeleted temp files and such, but more likely your system is perfectly normal.

@DigiDan

Do not cross post. Only post to one forum and continue posting back to the same thread. Your cross post has been merged together here.

As for the cross post, I figured I wasn't getting any responses so I would try in another area. Doesn't seem like many people are keen on helping Mac newcomers around here...

Click to expand...

These forums are loaded with countless thousands of posts of people helping other people. Folks who post here are not paid support personnel, they do it because they want to do it. When you post a question don't expect an immediate answer. It may take awhile before you get responses. Be patient.

Thanks for your cooperation.

DigiDan said:

As for the cross post, I figured I wasn't getting any responses so I would try in another area. Doesn't seem like many people are keen on helping Mac newcomers around here...

Click to expand...

First, this is Sunday. People have families and lives. Like was said here already, the Staff does not get paid and we need to do things with family, friends also. I would have jumped all over your thread but was out of town with close friends in the mountains where the only internet I had access to is a 26400 dialup that is so slow even opening Mac Forums takes 2-3 minutes!

Also we DO welcome newcomers here. The staff and seasoned members really do not need much help at all. 90% of the help is to new people. Next time, give it a bit of time for people who understand your issue to read and reply.

I think you were given some excellent advice by others. Just be careful and do not start deleting stuff unless you are sure what is it as you might destroy OSX or some other important App.

@DigiDan, you need to just let it be. You have a ton of free space on the drives, which is what is important for performance. Unless you encounter performance problems, don't worry about it.

My thanks to everyone for the info. I gues I am just tused to the iPad forums where there are dozens of replys to a new thread almost immediately, depending on whe its posted. As for the data, i am still thinking of slimming down the installed ADOBE CS5 apps that are installed (there are about 25 or so in the Master Collection these days) as i really only use aboout 8 of them. My concern for space isn't really an issue at my current setup, but i plan on installing a SSD for boot drive and i know space will be limited to my budget there. I am thinknig 128GB SSD plus a 7200rpm drive for storage etc.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone!

DigiDan said:

I am thinknig 128GB SSD plus a 7200rpm drive for storage etc.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone!

Click to expand...

Take some advice from me, if you want. I tried pretty much all the hdd/ssd combinations. Had a hybrid ssd(Seagate XT) in the caddy, along with an OCZ ssd for the OS. Controlling the files from being downloaded in the wrong area is a pain. Some file don't give you controls at all because they're required to be on the same drive as the OS.

I also had dual OWC ssd setup(60/120), single OWC ssd setup($400! 240gb), which was not consistent. Just buy the best hdd you can buy, and hold on till better stuff comes out for better prices.

The other problem with having dual drives is that time machine can't do a single backup of your setup. So, if you split your OS and files, you are pretty much out of luck. What I actually did with the 120/60(caddy) setup was use the 120 for everything, and place copies of data(pics/documents in the 60gb as a permanent storage. 120gb is more than enough for my use, but the problem is that in an SSD, the more you fill it up, the quicker you start to notice slow downs because it has no open/empty blocks to replace a damaged one with. That's why I didn't keep it. I now use a single Western Digital Black 500gb 7200rpm. The performance is perfectly fine for my needs.

Just my 2 pennies.

OTHER taking up over 200GB on my Macbook Pro

My macbook pro is saying my disk is full. My storage says I have 17MB available. That's it. My iPhone 4S also did the same thing, and I had to restore it in order to be able to even take a picture. My first trip to the Apple store didn't help. They told me to delete my pictures. It didn't help. Now my MacBook is doing the exact same thing. This is so frustrating! I'm back at the Apple store, but not sure they are going to be able to help me. Anyone else experience the same problem?

Other can be all sorts of things, the best thing to do in this case IMO is to get DaisyDisk involved.
It makes it super easy to see what data is taking up space and where.

Not free, but it has a uncrippled demo from what I hear. I don't know for sure because I've been buying major versions it since it's release
DaisyDisk - Analyze disk usage and free up disk space on Mac

And yes, there are free solutions out there. But, they use slower searching engines and don't look as pretty ;D
Download Disk Inventory X for Mac - Disk usage utility. MacUpdate.com

Thanks, McYukon! Disk Inventory X worked (downloaded it while waiting for the Genius Bar rep) and the Apple store was able to help me clear out a part of my AOL mail that was taking up over 178GB.

Wow, 178GB of AOL email? Are you the postmaster general for all of AOL or something??

Glad you found a fix!

Do you remember what you did?

about 700 GB out of my 1TB hard drive is under the "other" file category. Do you know what the Apple STore did exactly to free up space? I have been on the phone with 800 number numerous times. They are still working on it, but in case you anyone knows how to "fix" this apparent TIme Machine issue, that would be great. It's apparently a hidden file?

If you are using Time Machine with a laptop running Lion that might be part of the problem. Read this post http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os-x-operating-system/269881-startup-disk-full.html#post1386958 for additional details.

Thread moved to OSX Operating System.