Storage space on any computer or Mac is one of the most important factors that decide how the machine performs. If there is sufficient free space available your Mac will function smoothly, on the contrary, if the space is scarce, you will end up having a slow and poor performing Mac.
Even if we are technically not sound we should all know how to check the storage on Mac and how to free up storage on Mac. Doing so helps in creating extra space and hence improve the overall functioning of the Mac.
One can keep on finding large files and deleting them to free up disk space, however, it is only going to help a bit. What you need is to dig in different corners of the Mac and locate old downloads, duplicate files, unused applications, unused language packs, log files, cache, and old iTunes backups, etc.
This is an effective way of how you can check the storage on Mac and hence gives a clear idea of where the storage space is wasted and how you can restore it.
How To Check Storage Space On Mac And Then Clear The Wasted Space:
Below are some of the possible solutions you can rely upon to restore precious disk space.
1. Locate And Delete Duplicate Files:
This sounds easy but is the most difficult task of all. If you believe that you can achieve the same manually it is nearly impossible as duplicate files sit in the deepest corners of your Mac without the slightest idea of how to locate and delete them. For this, a better option is to use a duplicate file finder tool for Mac like Duplicate Files Fixer by Systweak Software.
Duplicate Files Fixer scans your entire Mac for similar-looking and duplicate images, files, folders, videos, etc, and removes them effectively to restore large chunks of wasted disk space.
It also scans external storage and lets you preview the data before deletion. Not only this, the simple and easy to use interface makes it usable by even novice users.
2. Trash Your Trash:
The trash in Mac is similar to Windows Recycle Bin. If you believe that moving anything to Trash deletes them permanently, you are mistaken. It only transfers the data to the Trash and occupies the same amount of space. So, if you want to delete data from Trash and free up space on Mac, you will have to empty the Trash.
In order to do this, locate the Trash icon from the Dock and right-click on it. Choose the Empty Trash option to delete the content of Trash and restore storage space.
3. Uninstall Or Remove Unwanted Applications:
This is again one of the major culprits behind storage space filling up. In our search for how to check disk space on Mac and restore it, locating applications that are unused and sits idle occupying precious storage space becomes crucial.
We all download innumerable applications without knowing the use of them in later times. This leads to wastage of storage space if we do not remove the unwanted applications regularly.
In order to look for the unused applications and delete them, navigate to the Application folder. Here look for the reading named “Show items in a list”. Sort the application based on Size and then see which ones are no longer in use. Once you have located the unwanted application, uninstall them to restore storage space.
4. Check The Downloads Folder:
Another solution in our search of how to free up space on Mac is to have a close look at the download folder and see what all files are required and which ones are simply sitting without any use.
We all download different files and attachments, folders from time to time and most of them are of importance for single use. Hence, clearing these old downloads and files/data from Mac helps in recovering disk space and improve the overall performance.
To navigate to the Download Folder, launch Finder and then type Downloads to open the Downloads folder. This will take you to the Download folder where you can locate all the downloaded files. You can sort these files by name, date, size, etc, and start deleting the unwanted ones.
5. Upload Data on iCloud:
This is yet another effective solution to storage space filling up in Mac. You can easily upload your data to the cloud storage facility and free up space on Mac.
Having some knowledge about how to check the storage on Mac and how to free up disk space on Mac is important to have your Mac in a healthy shape. If we just keep on stuffing our machine blindly it starts to behave poorly and at last, leaves us with no other option of upgrading the storage space which itself is an extremely expensive affair and we surely do not want to dig a hole this big on our pockets.