Startup disk 90% free, but get warning "startup disk almost full" ???

[cognus]

Gang I'm baffled again.
this is os x tiger - 10.4.11

I have been cleaning up this elder statesman and getting rid of a lot of files, after which wiping out the Trash bin, then zeroing out the Free Space. The 128GB disk has 118GB available according to disk utility.
BUT I am getting the warning "your startup disk is almost full".

I have combed the web but the answers are [pardon] boneheaded: "well, clean out more space!". the only thing left here is os x and the embedded apps!

Can someone explain how to either remedy a real condition or stop os x from thinking its running out of headroom?

 

[harryb2448]

Was the drive ever near full? Maybe you need to defrag the drive, or format and do a clean install from the Tiger discs.

 

[cognus]

Was the drive ever near full? Maybe you need to defrag the drive, or format and do a clean install from the Tiger discs.

No. the original disk [tiny] max'd out, and this drive was added and upgraded to Tiger.
it wasn't even half utilized before cleaning it up.

you can't clean install tiger. upgrade only. its a dart throw, not addressing the underlying issue. the Error warning seems to be an Error itself.

 

[harryb2448]

Of course you can clean install Tiger ~ just go to eBay etc and get the full retail install DVD. Format and clean install and no darts.

 

[cognus]

no need to clean install, the disk is 90% clear/open/available/loafing.
this shouldn't be hard... I've read countless threads on this with no real authoritative answers, so the OP goes unanswered, therefore many conclude that the error itself is in error - a bug in the particular version of OX X misreporting. Much of the time, the helpful folk responding the question assume that the poster is confused about what the system is showing, so give elaborate instructions about deleting things. There's nothing left to delete on this system except the os, and so the drive is, as said, 92.19% available. Or, the profiling utility is wrong. But going methodically through the system searching for all file types and sizes, there is nothing showing that could distort the figures. core os x stuff.

 

[pm-r]

There's a chance that some data is hidden and taking up space on the drive.

You could try several apps to find and locate them:
Find Any File
http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/

WhatSize
http://whatsizemac.com

my favorite for this type of thing:
GrandPerspective
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/19515/grandperspective

some prefer:
DaisyDisk
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/30689/daisydisk

If Time Machine was being used and went goofy, it's backups could be hiding and filling up the HD space.

Have a look. and maybe do some basic maintenance, and that includes shutting down and rebooting… that will purge some stuff and update some files…

 

[cognus]

thank you so much for this.
the only one I could find for os x Tiger was/is Whatsize.
got it installed and fired up and it confirms [I think... if I am understanding it] what I've been seeing: the largest file on the entire drive is only 2.84GB-LIbraray; next is 1.78GB-System; 1.52GB-iTunes; 1.45GB-Applications. After that it is truly trivial: 400mb and down.

???
so again, this leaves me at the "false warning" thesis I had read about from others over the past 7 years or so

There's a chance that some data is hidden and taking up space on the drive.

You could try several apps to find and locate them:
Find Any File
http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/

WhatSize
http://whatsizemac.com

my favorite for this type of thing:
GrandPerspective
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/19515/grandperspective

some prefer:
DaisyDisk
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/30689/daisydisk

If Time Machine was being used and went goofy, it's backups could be hiding and filling up the HD space.

Have a look. and maybe do some basic maintenance, and that includes shutting down and rebooting… that will purge some stuff and update some files…

 

[pm-r]

If you still want or need it, you'll probably find a compatible version of GrandPerspective at the developers site:
http://grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net

Not the easiest to figure out, but should be there…