You can open a locally available file anytime, even without internet access. If you need more space, you can change the file back to online only. Just right-click the file and select Free up space. Only files that you select as Always keep on this device appear with the icon that includes a circle with a checkmark. About this Mac includes a storage feature to see a snapshot of your storage usage, but it also offers up recommendations to free up space and more. Head to → About this Mac. If you need to clear off space from your Mac's hard drive, there are some places you should look first. You may have some old iPhone backups, installers,.
Also, recently users often ask how to clear out the “Other” storage category and thus free up space on Mac. Actually, there is nothing complicated and one just need to remember a few simple techniques. In this article, we will show you how to remove “Other” files and reclaim hard disk space on Mac OS X. Dumping old downloads is a tried-and-true way to reduce clutter on your Mac and free up disk space for your vacation photos and other useful files. Here’s how to do it: Open Finder. Select Downloads on the left. Right-click the useless files and select the Move to Trash option from the drop-down menu. Empty the Trash.
I have a confession to make: I am really good at managing my storage space. Full disclosure: on my private devices. I would go for an 8GB iPhone if there was one, as I don’t have many apps and games installed, and I’m not a huge photo nerd.
That sadly doesn’t translate to my work from my private life. I’m not lucky enough to have a work computer and a private computer — like I have two smartphones — and this is where it becomes a problem. A storage problem.
Emails, attachments, documents, pictures, backups, drafts, sheets, videos pile up really fast. You know it gets serious the moment you realize that anything you want to delete in order to free up storage space is absolutely necessary to hold on to. Like someone lost at sea gasping for air, you’re desperately trying to find those extra megabytes and gigs (if you’re lucky) to get you going for another month or so.
What is Other in Mac storage?
Some of you might know this, most of you might not. When you’re analyzing your Mac storage, macOS visually represents stuff that’s eating space up. You might see color-coded bars for Documents, Apps, Mail, Photos, and System, but there’s a sizeable chunk labeled Other, represented in gloomy dark gray.
It usually tends to be rather big, in some cases among the biggest space wasters on your Mac. What is it?
To put it simply, macOS puts all files which don’t fall under the aforementioned categories inside the Other storage. These files can vary in type and can be anything from temporary files to macOS system files, plugins, extensions, archive (zip) files, and even documents like PDFs, docs, or Photoshop files.
Often times you can come across files you don’t even recognize neither by name nor by type, but you realize it weighs several hundred megs, enough to get rid of that low space notification for a day or two.
Where is the Other Storage on Mac?
You are right to ask this question because Other Storage is hidden from you. Why? Because this Other Storage can, and it most likely does, contain critical files that can break some apps, and, in some instances, your Mac.
If you fire up Finder, click Go in the menu, and go to~/Library/Caches, that’s where you find your Other Storage. All those folders make up your Other Storage, and take up all that space.
CleanMyMac X
- Delete megatons of junk, malware, and make your Mac faster and more organized.
How to delete Other Storage on Mac
Well, there’s a hard (and risky) way, and there’s an easy way.
The risky way first requires you to identify or find large Other Storage files. While the process is fairly simple, the challenge is knowing what’s safe to delete and what’s not.
Follow these steps to find files:
- Press Command-F on your Desktop;
- Select This Mac on the top left next to Search;
- Click the dropdown menu field under Search, and select Other;
- In the Search Attributes list, check File Size and File Extension;
- Here you can instruct Search what type of file (PDF, Photoshop, etc.) to look for, and what size threshold to report beyond (works best if you choose “greater than”).
Carefully review the results and delete accordingly.
…or you can do this the easy way, with Macpaw’s CleanMyMac X. The steps are easy and safe:
- Download and install CleanMyMac X;
- Chose the option Large and Old files, towards the bottom of the list on the left, and hit Scan;
- The software categorizes everything it deems worthy to be part of the list, so you can easily go through categories and files;
- Delete the files you no longer need.
Pro tip: Sort results by size to be more efficient in deleting one larger file rather than 10 smaller ones.
CleanMyMac X can also help you get rid of temporary files and caches that are safe to delete in order to free up space while keeping your Mac in top-notch shape. The procedure is similar but, this time, you select the System Junk from the list, hit Scan, and let it do its job. Once the scan is complete, you just hit Clear and you’re done! We’ve detailed this in a previous article you can read here.
Not just an effective Mac cleaner
CleanMyMac X also offers the option to delete other files, like browser extensions, disk images, installation files, etc. It offers an all-around solution to reclaim space on your Mac.
Not only that, but the software offers Malware removal, a Privacy checkup, optimizations, maintenance, pretty much a Swiss army knife to keep your Mac happy.
Remember: just as it is important to clean your Mac on the outside, it’s also important to clean your Mac on the inside. If gaining back that performance and wasted storage space come along as a side effect (and they will), you’re winning!
Go check CleanMyMac X out over at Macpaw!
CleanMyMac X
- Delete megatons of junk, malware, and make your Mac faster and more organized.
We thank Macpaw for sponsoring this post!
Summary :
How to resize Bootcamp partition? How do increase Bootcamp partition? How do I reduce Bootcamp partition? Now, this post shows how to effectively and quickly change Bootcamp partition size.
Quick Navigation :
Overview of Bootcamp Partition
A reader had a Windows issue, and didn't know how to solve it. He wrote:
Hi, I’m running Windows in a Boot Camp partition on my Mac computer. When I first configured Boot Camp I underestimated how much I’d use Windows. However, recently I'm quickly running out of space on my Bootcamp partition. How can I expand the size of the Boot Camp partition?
Have you ever run into the same problem?
Do you know how to effectively resize Bootcamp partition?
Do you know how to change the size of Bootcamp partition without data loss?
Do you know whether there are free yet professional tools to help to extend or shrink Bootcamp partition? Now, if you haven’t found a suitable solution, you could read this post to find answers. On the other hand, if you had solved this problem, you might also like this post since it offers effective yet free solutions.
In general, when it comes to talking about resizing Bootcamp partition, these following questions would be asked: what is Bootcamp partition, when need to change Bootcamp partition size, how to increase/ decrease Bootcamp partition effectively. Next, let's answer these problems in detail.
What Is Bootcamp
Boot Camp Assistant is a multi-boot utility included with Apple Inc.'s OS X that assists users in installing Microsoft Windows operating systems on Intel-based Macintosh computers.
The utility guides users through non-destructive disk partitioning (including resizing of an existing HFS+ partition, if necessary) of their hard disk drive and installation of Windows device drivers for the Apple hardware.
The utility also installs a Windows Control Panel applet for selecting the boot operating system.
In a word, Boot Camp can help partition your hard drive into 2 partitions. One partition will be used by your Mac to run Mac OS X and the other one will be used to run Windows OS.
However, do you know why we have to make a new partition to install Windows? Well, the reason is that Windows and Mac don’t run in the same format. Mac runs on Mac OS X (Journaled), and Windows runs on NTFS.
Partitioning splits your hard drive into 2 separate sections, each with its own format. This means that you can run Windows OS on NTFS and run Mac on Mac OS X (Journaled) on the same hard drive. Of course, this NTFS partition is called Bootcamp partition which is used to install Windows.
You can read How to install Windows using Boot Camp to know details about installing Windows OS on Mac computer.
When Need to Resize Bootcamp Partition
You can firstly specific the size of Bootcamp partition, and then install Windows on it. However, after running Windows, you may find that your Bootcamp partition is running out of space, and you need to increase its size to continue running Windows OS.
Now, the question is: “How to change the size of Bootcamp partition to meet the needs of Windows?”
Well today, I’m going to make it easy for you.
How to Resize Bootcamp Partition
As we know, if you want to resize Mac partition, you can directly turn to the Disk Utility tool, located in /Applications/Utilities. With this tool, you can grow or shrink HFS+ (Mac OS X) partitions on the fly, with the resizing done live regardless of whether the drive is internal or an external drive, or even the boot volume.
However, Disk Utility can not be used to extend or shrink Bootcamp partition since it is Windows NTFS file system partition. So, it is not an easy task to resize Bootcamp partition.
According to Apple: “If your Windows partition is too small, back up the information on it, delete it, create a larger partition, and then reinstall Windows.” Details are shown here.
Traditional Method: Delete Bootcamp Partition, then Create a New Large One
Step 1: Back up all the information on your Windows partition.
Step 2: Delete Windows from your Mac.
- Start up your Mac in OS X.
- Open Disk Utility. (To access the Disk Utility in Mac OS X, just press Command+Space to open Spotlight search, type Disk Utility, and press Enter. You can also click the Launchpad icon on your dock, click the Other folder, and click Disk Utility.)
- Select the Windows disk, click Erase, choose the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format, and then click the Erase button. (picture is below)
Step 3: Shrink Mac partition to release more free space.
Step 4: Create a new large Windows partition in the free space.
- Select the drive.
- Select the Partition tab
- Click + to add a partition
Step 5: Restore the information you backed up.
On the other hand, with the development of software technology, some software (like Camptune X, Winclone) can help you to resize Bootcamp Partition. And, each tool has its advantages.
To be specific, those familiar with Winclone are aware that with its help you can create a larger Bootcamp partition without losing your original Windows data.
The process involves creating an image of the partition for safe keeping, deleting the original Bootcamp partition with Disk Utility, creating a new, more expansive partition, and then moving the data from the imaged partition to the new one with WinClone.
Although this method is capable enough to enlarge your Bootcamp partition size, you have to delete Windows at first.
Now, you might be wondering:
“Is it possible to resize Bootcamp partition without deleting Windows?”
The answer is positive!
Alternatively: Resize Bootcamp Partition without Deleting Windows
According to a survey, MiniTool Partition Wizard, a piece of free yet professional partitioning software, proves to be an excellent tool for increasing/shrinking Bootcamp partition without deleting Windows. Next, let’s see the detailed steps.
How To Free Up Other Space On Macbook
A step-by-step guide to increasing the size of Bootcamp partition
Step 1: Backup all your files (optional but strongly recommended).
Step 2: Use Disk Utility to shrink your Mac partition to release some unallocated space as much as you need to add to the Bootcamp partition.
- Open Disk Utility app from /Applications/Utilities/.
- From the left side of the app, select the hard drive you want to partition.
- On the “Partition” tab, drag the separator bar up and down to resize your hard drive partition. (Alternatively, select the partition you want to resize. Enter size value in GB in Size box.)
- Click the “Apply” button to resize the partition.
Step 3: Set Boot camp as Boot Disk and restart the Mac.
- Turn on or restart your Mac.
- Immediately press and hold the Option key. After a few seconds, the Startup Manager appears. If you don't see the volume you want to use, wait a few moments for Startup Manager to finish scanning connected drives.
- Use your mouse or trackpad, or left and right arrow keys to select the volume (Boot Camp) you want to use.
- Double-click or press the Return key to start up your Mac from the volume you selected.
Step 4: Download MiniTool Partition Wizard Free edition from its official website, install it on your computer according to prompts and then launch it to get its main interface.
Step 5: Select the Bootcamp partition and then click “Extend Partition” from the left action panel.
Step 6: Choose the unallocated space from the Take Free Space from and then drag the sliding button to decide how much free space to take. After getting desired space, click “OK” button to go back to the main interface of this free partitioning software.
Step 7: At this time, click “Apply” button on the top left corner and tap “Yes” to apply the change.
You will be asked to restart your computer to apply the task since the Bootcamp partition is being used now by Windows. Now, just please choose “Restart now,” and MiniTool Partition Wizard will automatically finish rest of pending jobs.
After all operations done, you have finished increasing the size of Bootcamp partition without deleting Windows.
Video tutorial for resizing your Bootcamp partition without deleting Windows disk partitioning
In addition to extending partition without data loss, MiniTool Partition Wizard can also help to shrink the size of Bootcamp partition. But, how do I reduce the size of a bootcamp partition? Keep reading to find details!
A step-by-step guide to shrinking the size of Bootcamp partition
Step 1: Set Bootcamp as Boot Disk and restart the Mac.
Step 2: Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard in Windows.
Step 3: Select the Bootcamp partition and then click “Move/Resize” in the toolbar or “Move/Resize Partition” from the left Actions and Wizards.
Step 4: Change the length of partition handle to resize partition. After getting desired partition size, click “OK” to go back to the main interface.
Step 5: Click “Apply” button on the top left corner to apply the very change.
However, here we also want to share another tool, MiniTool Mac Data Recovery, for you since you cannot ensure absolute data security all the time. For instance, you may accidentally delete some data and empty the Trash, format/delete your hard drive partition by mistake, and more.
Mac Data Recovery
Now, lots of Mac users choose to run Windows on their Mac with Boot Camp assistance. However, no matter how wonderful an OS is, Mac data loss caused by various reasons happens more and more frequently.
How To Clear Space On Your Mac
Therefore, Mac lost data recovery has become a big problem annoying many computer users, especially some users have not backed up their data with Time Machine. (Note; you can use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac. )
Fortunately, MiniTool Mac Data recovery, developed by famous data recovery solution providers based in Canada, can help to recover data that have been lost in a variety of ways like accidental deletion, partition formatting, etc.
Also, this tool offers wizard-based operation and simple interface, so even a new user can easily handle this Mac data recovery software to recover lost photos, music, videos, emails, documents, and other types of data. What's more, its operations are read-only, so you can use it to recover lost Mac data without affecting the original data.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article would help to change the size of Bootcamp partition.
If you have any other suggestions about how to resize Bootcamp partition, please leave it in the following comments below. Thanks in advance!
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