FAQs
Move or delete files
- Delete music, movies, podcasts, or other media, especially if it's media that you can stream or download again as needed.
- Delete files in your Downloads folder. ...
- If you use the Mail app for your email, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail from the menu bar in Mail.
Every app you've ever installed on your Mac leaves behind system-related files and user preferences that stay even once you get rid of the app itself. Over time, those files, referred to as caches, tend to accumulate and take up significant space on your startup disk.
Does freeing up space on Mac make it faster? ›
A quick and simple way to free up some storage space to help increase the speed of your Mac is by deleting old and unused files and emptying your Trash. It's a good idea to audit your Mac every now and then for old and unused files and documents.
How do I restore free space on my Mac? ›
How to free up space on a Mac
- Step 1: Clear your desktop. Check your desktop and remove the shortcuts for any apps and files that you no longer use. ...
- Step 2: Go through your folders. Check the Downloads folder for redundant files. ...
- Step 3: Remove duplicate items. ...
- Step 4: Use automatic tools. ...
- Step 5: Final cleanup.
When you get the message, “Your startup disk is almost full,” it means your Mac is running low on storage space. As a result, your Mac will experience slower performance and have issues saving files, updating apps, and browsing the internet.
How do I get more storage space on my Mac? ›
To free up disk space on your Mac:
- Empty the Trash: Right-click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.
- Delete Unused Apps: Go to the Applications folder, drag unused apps to the Trash, and empty it.
- Clear Cache: Open Finder, press Shift+Command+G, type ~/Library/Caches, and delete unnecessary files.
- Get rid of apps you don't need anymore.
- Update your software.
- Review Login items.
- Remove large files.
- Clear your Downloads folder.
- Check your iCloud settings.
- Delete temporary files from macOS and apps.
- Remove backups.
How to free up memory on a Mac
- Restart your Mac. ...
- Update your macOS. ...
- Examine the Activity Monitor. ...
- Clean your Desktop. ...
- Delete Cached files. ...
- Configure Chrome's Task Manager. ...
- Use a Mac memory cleaner.
- Close the Finder windows.As you know, every window in Finder utilizes memory.
If your Mac's drive is running low on space, you can't install applications and store files. A drive with limited free space also starts to slow down your system, so it's in your best interest to perform some house cleaning.
Why is my Mac storage full when I have iCloud? ›
Your iCloud storage is full because you have exceeded the 5 GB of free storage or reached the limit of your paid plan. This happens when you store too many photos, files, backups, and other data in iCloud.
Usually, junk files, along with large and old files, are the biggest space wasters on our Macs. Over time, they end up cluttering your storage. So, the best way to free up some space is to dig up this clutter and old massive files.
How do I clear my Mac so it runs faster? ›
Optimize the inside of your Mac with a clean-up
- Update your software. Install any patches, security updates, and application updates. ...
- Tidy your start-up. ...
- Clean out un-used apps. ...
- Clean out the downloads folder. ...
- Tidy up your storage disk. ...
- Clean out the cache. ...
- Remove resource-hungry programs. ...
- Take out the trash.
Erasing Free Space on Hard Drives in Mac OS X
- Launch Disk Utility, found within /Applications/Utilities/ or through Launchpad.
- Connect the hard drive if it's an external disk, and then select the hard drive from the left side menu.
- Choose the "Erase" tab, then choose the "Erase Free Space" option.
How to clean up Other storage on Mac
- Remove large and old files. ...
- Clean up system and temporary files. ...
- Delete cache files. ...
- Remove Time Machine backups and snapshots. ...
- Remove app plug-ins and extensions. ...
- Clear disk images and archives. ...
- Remove application logs and support files. ...
- Get rid of everything else from Other disk space.
There is a shortcut to delete browser cache. In Safari, it is Option + Command + E. If it doesn't work for your Mac, check what it is by clicking Develop in the menu bar with Safari open and looking next to Empty Caches. For Chrome and Firefox, it is Command + Shift + Delete.
Why is my Mac storage so high? ›
Why does System Data take up so much space on Mac? The easiest answer is that you use your Mac quite a lot and haven't cleaned it in a while. Or it may be that some apps, like photo and video editors, generate a lot of cache.
How do you clear the cache on your Mac? ›
In Safari, it is Option + Command + E. If it doesn't work for your Mac, check what it is by clicking Develop in the menu bar with Safari open and looking next to Empty Caches. For Chrome and Firefox, it is Command + Shift + Delete. It should bring up the Clear data window.
How do I clear out other storage on my Mac? ›
How to clean up Other storage on Mac
- From your desktop, press Command-F.
- Click This Mac.
- Click the first dropdown menu field and select Other.
- From the Search Attributes window, tick File Size and File Extension.
- Now, you can input different document file types (. pdf, . ...
- Review the items and then delete them as needed.
Part 2. How Do I Free up System Data On Android
- Open Settings on your Android device.
- Scroll down and tap on “Storage & Memory”.
- Click on the “Cache data” option.
- From the pop-up option, tap “o*k” to confirm that you want to clear the cache data.
