A full startup disk is something that every Mac user will experience. This problem used to be known as 'Startup disk full' notification. However, on newer macOS versions this message has been changed to 'Your disk is almost full.' But luckily, it's a problem that has many solutions. And in this article, we'll go over. If you stop using the disk it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten by using recovery software such as MAC Data Recovery, Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on a bootable CD to enable use without risk of writing more data to the disk. I know this is thread is old, but I was experiencing the same problem on my Macbook Pro on El Capitan. Using OmniDiskSweeper was awesome but I found the high quality transcoded media files from Final Cut Pro X were massive, so I did a huge project clean up and it gave me an extra 200gb of free space. Hi, Im trying to delete files to create space on my MacBook Pro. I am moving files to the trash can but it isn't allowing me to delete it. It keeps saying 'The operation can't be completed because the disk is full'. It's recommended that you keep at least 15-20% of your Mac's memory free to keep it running smoothly. Optimizing storage is an efficient way to do this. But there are also several other steps you can take to free up space on MacBook Air, Pro, or any other macOS device.
The reflexive way of deleting any item is to drag or move the item to the Trash. You can press 'Command + Delete' to move files to the Trash, or right click on it to choose 'Move to Trash'. But the files still remain within your system which won't take up space without your knowing until you delete them from the Trash can also for good.
Though Trash utility is a good reminder of checking if you have accidentally or mistakenly deleted something or not, but when it comes to the storage issues, you should know how to get rid of heaps of items from the Trash folder as well.
We would take two types of approaches to empty trash on mac when disk is full or when the data that won't delete, one manually and other using a Software. You can choose any of it according to your preferences.
#1: Delete Items from Trash Manually on Mac
If you know where is Trash icon on your system, then deleting files from the Trash will not be that a difficult task. This is exactly the place where you would find many on purpose deleted files and mistakenly deleted files. So before you head out to the process of deletion, check thoroughly for once to see if there is any useful file item that you need to keep in your system.
Firstly click on 'Trash' icon. Here; choose the 'Empty Trash' button to empty the entire Trash section. You can empty the Trash also by pressing three key combination- 'Command+Shift+Delete'.
This method would undoubtedly avail a lot of space back to you, but there are still many other methods that can be employed to do the same job. To know them, continue with your reading down the article.
#2: Securely Empty Trash on Mac
Deleting the unused files from Trash is not enough to get rid of the problem permanently. Most of the time, the deleted files or items remain on the Hard disk even after being deleted. They are marked for getting overwritten the next time your Mac needs space. Thus they are not fully destroyed and can be restored later on by any anonymous users using disk recovery softwares. Emptying your Trash Securely gives you the opportunity to delete the items from the Trash can without any scope of finding them in the hard drive anymore.
To perform the task, begin it with clicking and holding the Trash icon in the dock. And at the same time, hold the command key and click on the Trash icon once again. 'Empty Trash' label will be changed into 'Secure Empty Trash' label. So now choose it by giving a click on it.
You can also do the same job of turning 'Empty Trash' to 'Secure empty trash' by opening the 'Finder' menu and choose 'Preferences'. Here tick the checkbox 'Empty Trash Securely'.
Once the Secure Empty Trash is selected, follow the first method to delete the files from the Trash can.
#3: Force Empty Trash on Mac with CleanGeeker
In case you are not fully satisfied with the manual methods of securely emptying the Trash section, then using a software to perform the same job would not be a bad idea. In fact using software will enable you to delete all types of files. CleanGeeker is the primal software of today's discussion. It has been verified and authenticated by many users and experts for its unparallel junk file cleaning capability. It can clean any type of file on a Mac including the ones stored in your Trash. In fact when you delete all types of files using it, Trash becomes automatically empty. Few important features of this wonderful tool is elaborated here. Read them before attempting to emptying your trash using it.
Specifications:
- It can clean all types of junk files, including duplicate files, large sized junk files, unused and damaged applications.
- Three types of scanning are available- Junk Scan; App Scan; Deep Scan.
- Additional tools are provided, which includes, File Shredder; Compress PDF; Open Winmail.Dat; Extensions, etc.
- It is compatible with all the Mac OS versions.
- Memory Optimization with 100% is guaranteed.
Use of CleanGeeker :
Download and install the tool from its official website, where you can find the exact version of the tool. Once the tool screen turns up, click on 'Home' button from the left hand side list of options. At the same time on the right hand wider screen, you can check out the usage of CPU and disk space, the last scanning time, etc.
Click on 'Junk Clean' button below on the left, and tick the checkboxes on the right to select the garbage files and click on 'Delete' to flush them out.
Go to 'Duplicate Clean' button to scan the duplicate files which unnecessarily take the storage space, select them, and then click 'Delete' to clean them.
In this way you can delete the large sized junk files from the option 'Large Files Clean' and applications from the 'App Clean' button.
That's it!
Conclusion:
Emptying your trash securely as mentioned in the second method of this article is the most secured and suitable to secure empty trash on mac. But there are many other files like duplicate files, app cache, etc. hidden in the backdrop which can take up a lot of space and are not verily shown in the Trash folder. To delete all such files use the software depicted in the third method. Try to empty Trash on Mac once in every week to keep your system tidy and clean.
Robby Fester,
It's quite normal to encounter such a problem as a full startup disk. To tell you the truth, this is one of the most popular problems among Mac users. The latest Mac models come with only 128 GB of space, which means very soon you will notice that your startup drive is full. Therefore, if you've already purchased or plan to buy a PC, do not be stingy and buy an external hard drive or any secondary storage device. There, you could store all your photos, videos, music, movies, and other necessary files.
Now, let's figure out what to do when Mac says startup disk is full. Today, we will present you several effective ways to free up space and make your Mac work better.
Do This When Your Mac Startup Disk is Full
Manual disk cleaning is a time-consuming process, so you can take advantage of new technology, precisely of different Mac cleaning tools. For example, MacFly Pro is a nice solution when you need to deal with a full Mac hard drive. This useful cleaning software boosts Mac's performance by removing all unnecessary files including cache, duplicates, temporary files, language files, downloads, and unwanted applications. It also has a user-friendly design and guarantees full optimization of your Mac. So, if you don't have time for manual cleaning, don't forget about those helpful cleaners.
1. Empty the Trash
The first option that comes to mind is to empty the Trash. Usually, people forget to empty their Trash cans from time to time, which may lead to gigabytes of junk occupying space on a hard disk. To prevent this situation, remember to clear out your Trash several times a week.
To do this, go to the Finder, and then press Command-Shift-Delete.
2. Clean the Desktop and Downloads folder
The second step to do when your Mac startup disk is full is to clear out Downloads folder and your Desktop. They usually contain a large amount of data and quickly accumulate a lot of files that you should get rid of. First of all, how can you find your Downloads folder?
There are two ways: you can do it through the Finder of through your menu. In the first case, click on the Finder icon > find the Downloads folder on the left-hand Sidebar > if it's not there click on the Go menu at the top of your screen and choose Downloads. In the latter case, click on the Finder > Go menu > choose Go to Folder > in the window that appears type in ~/Downloads.
Once you've found the Downloads folder, it's time to clean it up. Here you also have two options: if you want to delete all the files in this folder press Command+A. Or you can choose your downloads one at a time and remove them by dragging into the Trash. This way you can keep those that you still need or that are important for your computer performance.
A lot of people have messy and cluttered Desktops not even thinking that it can take up a significant amount of the startup disk space. To avoid this, you should clean icons and other unnecessary documents on your desktop on the regular basis. All you have to do is to drag them to the Trash. After that don't forget to emty the Trash bin to get rid of the files completely.
3. Check out Your Movies Folder
The movies folder is another great file storage that takes much space on the hard drive. To open it, you should go to Users/YourUserName and then tap on the Movies folder. After that, press Command-I and in the upper right corner of the window you will see how much space this particular folder occupies.
Of course, there are many media files you need, like for example, movies or videos that you downloaded but forgot to watch. Therefore, drag-and-drop to the Trash any files that you're sure you don't need anymore and do not forget to empty your Trash.
4. Clear up Pictures, Music, and Apps
Another way to clean your full hard disk on Mac is to clean up music, pictures, and applications. Folders with your images (iPhoto or Photoshop data), audiobooks, music, games, and mobile apps usually take up much space on a startup disk, just as that Movies folder. So firstly, try to sort all your media carefully by size so that you will see the greatest storage space eaters. Secondly, don't hesitate and move files, especially mobile apps and games, that you haven't even tried to the external drive or Trash. And also, try to prioritize correctly and not download everything that attracts you.
5. Remove Cache
Cache files are not actually harmful to your hard drive or Mac, but they accumulate so fast that you'll soon face slowdowns and lags. To avoid any inconveniences, I recommend you to dispose of them. There are three different types of cache – user, system, and browser cache, and all of them should be cleaned from time to time.
To do this manually, you need to open the Finder app, hold down the Option key, and then tap 'Go' in the menu bar. Next, you click on the hidden user Library folder to find the 'Caches' folder. After that, you may sort the folders by size to detect the biggest folders.
If you find it difficult to delete cache files manually, download a free cleaning application that will care of your Mac.
6. Scan Your Mac
The last step to follow if you notice your Mac drive is full is to scan the system after you complete all the operations mentioned above. This will not only speed the PC up but also contribute to your macOS security.
To run a scanning, you may have a try of some cleaning tools like MacFly Pro. So that in the future you don't ask about 'What to do if your startup disk is full on Mac?'.
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