Hey there! I'm experiencing a frustrating issue with my 2020 MacBook Air. My hard drive seems to fill up on its own, and I've been unable to figure out why. A couple of weeks ago, I deleted about 20 GB of music and photos, but despite not creating or downloading significant files since then, I've noticed over 15 GB has mysteriously reappeared. This isn't the first time this has happened. Currently, I see that I have 171 GB of 'System Data,' which feels excessive. I'm wondering if this is due to something I did, if there's a virus involved, or if my device is simply designed to have this issue. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated! Aside from the storage situation, my computer runs smoothly.
6 Answers
If you have iCloud Photo Library or another syncing feature turned on, that might be bringing back files even after you delete them. Double-check your settings for anything that's syncing with your other Apple devices. You could also consider clearing out cache files periodically, as they can accumulate over time and eat into your storage.
Have you considered disabling any syncing options? If Time Machine backups are off, that's good, but make sure nothing else is sending data back and forth—you might be surprised! Taking a close look at what's enabled could save you from these mysterious space fillers.
It's worth mentioning that sometimes the Photos app keeps deleted items in a 'Recently Deleted' folder for about 30 days. So if you're deleting photos, they might still be taking up space until that period is over. Just a thought!
If you want something more robust, OnyX is a great tool for cleaning up system files and caches. But if you're looking for something simpler, a basic manual cleanup might also do the trick!
I noticed something similar myself. The best move is to regularly check what’s actually consuming space on your drive. You could find that some unwanted files linger without you even realizing it. Cleaning more often really helps!
It sounds like there might be a lot of cached data on your Mac that's piling up. Apple computers tend to store temporary files to speed things up, and while some of these files can accumulate, you can clean them out without any issues. Consider looking for a disk space analyzer to see exactly what's taking up room. Tools like OmniDiskSweeper could help you identify the junk files and clear them out!
I've tried that app before, and it really helps find the hidden stuff that takes up space!
I only have my iPhone syncing, but it's something I hadn't thought about. I'll look into that!