Start up disk full

Recently, I have been getting a message saying my start up disk is full of application memory. I have checked my available memory and I've got loads! And to my knowledge, I don't have anything big running in the background. Does anyone know why the message keeps popping up and how I address the issue?
Thanks

hangitontheline said:

Recently, I have been getting a message saying my start up disk is full of application memory. I have checked my available memory and I've got loads! And to my knowledge, I don't have anything big running in the background. Does anyone know why the message keeps popping up and how I address the issue?
Thanks

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Please tell us EXACTLY what the message says. "Start up disk is full of application memory" makes no sense whatsoever. And when you say you have loads of memory... how much EXACTLY? More specifically... tell us how much hard drive space is used and how much is free, and how much RAM you have installed. Also tell us what model Mac you have and what version OS X you are running.

The message is entitled "Force Quit Applications" and says, "Your Mac OS X startup disk has no more space available for application memory. To avoid problems with your computer, quit any applications that you are not using. Closing windows and removing files from your startup disk will also help."

There is then a list of applications I can choose to force quit (Firefox, Mail, Finder).

I am running OS X 10.7.2

I have a capacity of 499.25 GB and I have 368.2GB available.

To my knowledge I am not running anything large.
Thanks

Something is odd here. Are those the only programs running when you get that message? It usually occurs when there is only a few GB available not undress.

Sometimes the list of things to force quit also includes microsoft Word or iTunes, but not always.

Is there some kind of maintenance utility I should run? Or is there something else I can do?

I should also note that the computer is noticeably slower lately.

hangitontheline said:

The message is entitled "Force Quit Applications" and says, "Your Mac OS X startup disk has no more space available for application memory. To avoid problems with your computer, quit any applications that you are not using. Closing windows and removing files from your startup disk will also help."

There is then a list of applications I can choose to force quit (Firefox, Mail, Finder).

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That is rather odd. Are there any other apps you are running or have installed that may not be in that list? Specifically, any "cleaning" software or antivirus software?

I am running OS X 10.7.2

I have a capacity of 499.25 GB and I have 368.2GB available.

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And how much RAM? And what Mac (model and year)?

EDIT: If you run Activity Monitor, click on System Memory at the bottom and either list the details provided down there, or post a screen cap.

And has the drive been partitioned say with Bootcamp Assistant at any stage?

It's an iMac 12,1 with 4 GB RAM - It's either 2010 or 2011 I can't remember.

I have not run any cleaning, antivirus or Bootcamp software. I'm just a basic user. But I would think that with a computer like this I should be able to keep 5 or 6 applications open at the same time, especially since I am only using a very tiny fraction of the computer's capacity. This is getting frustrating! Please help!

hangitontheline said:

It's an iMac 12,1 with 4 GB RAM - It's either 2010 or 2011 I can't remember.

I have not run any cleaning, antivirus or Bootcamp software. I'm just a basic user. But I would think that with a computer like this I should be able to keep 5 or 6 applications open at the same time, especially since I am only using a very tiny fraction of the computer's capacity. This is getting frustrating! Please help!

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Stop screaming at us to help you. We're trying, but it's taken you a full month to respond to my request for information.

Are you running a virtual machine like Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox?

The next time you get this message, run Activity Monitor; go to File > Save and save a plain text file of those processes running. Also make a note of all the information at the bottom under the System Memory tab. ALL of it. Or just make a screen cap and post that along with the contents of the text file.

You should also test your RAM and your hard drive. To test the RAM, follow the instructions on this page to run the Apple Hardware Test. Pay special attention to the directions regarding running it in Loop Mode.

If you are unable to run the AHT for any reason, you can use Rember instead. In the options, click on "Maximum" to run the maximum number of loops. Plan on running this overnight.

To test your drive… first run Onyx. Use it to check the SMART status of your drive. If it checks out, then run its complete suite of maintenance and cleaning tools.

Next tool to try is SMART Utility. It does a more thorough analysis of the SMART data to try and see if the drive may be showing early signs of failure. It's not free, but has a free trial so take advantage of it. When you run it, select your drive; on the right, select More Info at the bottom in the Tests section. In the pop-up, change from Short to Long, then run it.

Report back your results.

Sorry about that - my frustration isn't directed at you guys/gals! It was just a general comment about the computer. Please know that I do appreciate your help and am thankful for the time you have taken to help me sort out the problem. Also, your last reply a month ago got sorted into my mail elsewhere, so I wasn't aware of it.

I'm not sure I know how to run Activity Monitor. Is it something that would normally be already installed on my computer?

I will attempt to run the apple hardware test, but will need to track down the CD. I will report back when I've figured that out.

Again - thanks.

hangitontheline said:

Sorry about that - my frustration isn't directed at you guys/gals! It was just a general comment about the computer. Please know that I do appreciate your help and am thankful for the time you have taken to help me sort out the problem. Also, your last reply a month ago got sorted into my mail elsewhere, so I wasn't aware of it.

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No sweat. Adding unnecessary pleas just makes replies harder to read. But we get the frustration.

I'm not sure I know how to run Activity Monitor. Is it something that would normally be already installed on my computer?

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Yes. It may be in the Utilities subfolder in Applications.

I will attempt to run the apple hardware test, but will need to track down the CD. I will report back when I've figured that out.

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Just remember to download and run Rember if you can't find the CD. Or go ahead and just do that tonight for starters.