It is important to know the different methods that exist to free the storage space of your MacOS computer. Well, no doubt with them you will be able to use your hard drive better, since it is very common for data or information to be stored with little importance, thus occupying memory unnecessarily.
The freeing of space on your computer is transcendental , because in some cases, when the hard disk is close to its maximum capacity or maximum, the system starts to go slower . So you can see that it will cost your team to open programs or do routine tasks.
That is why in this tutorial we will explain step by step, the different processes that you can apply to free of this, everything that is irrelevant before your eyes. We will also mention a series of options that you can use to store different information, without saturating your machine.
Index:
Why is it important to clear the storage on your hard drive with Mac? Benefits
The importance lies in optimizing the hard disk What do we mean by this? Basically, the information stored in it is read and processed quickly. This will help increase the life of your disk drive, since it will not have to perform longer processes to read or get what is requested at the moment.
The benefits are immediate and among them are:
- Increase in the speed of reading of the hard disk: by having less information on it, it will reach the important sectors faster.
- Greater Storage capacity: Although it is obvious, it is essential to highlight this benefit, because some users tend to buy a new storage disk, when the current one reaches its limit. But, what they don’t know is that by simply deleting unnecessary files, we will be able to store relevant information.
What types of files can we delete without compromising the Apple OS free storage?
It is important to know what irrelevant or unimportant files you have on your device. This is because not everyone can be deleted, either manually or using some method or program to free memory .
These documents are linked to the operating system, antivirus and other functionalities of great importance to the equipment.
Among the types of files you can delete are the following:
Junk and Cache files
There are three types of cache memory these are: user cache, system cache (includes application cache and DNS cache), and browser cache .
These are those temporary data that are used to speed up different processes. An example of this may be the Safari browser, which downloads the images of a website you have visited and stores it in the cache of this. Preventing you from downloading them again in the future when you log in again.
At first glance it seems an excellent idea, but the problem lies when more and more images and files are saved, thus increasing the space that this covers. These types of files do not generate any conflict if they are deleted. Therefore it is recommended to free the cache whenever possible.
The reason they are considered junk files, as we have said, is because they do not generate any problem if they are deleted, that is, are totally unnecessary for the proper functioning of the operating system.
Programs you don’t use
On many occasions you may have installed a program for something specific, but for a reason you have not decided to remove it. They can be ones that you no longer use, because you have better tools or games. So you should know that such files take up a lot of space in most cases, and therefore it is advisable to delete them when they are no longer useful or you no longer need them.
Repeated multimedia content
It is quite common to have repeated multimedia content, whether images, videos, movies or even music. These types of files seem harmless when it comes to storage memory. But, once they accumulate, they start to consume more and more hard disk space.
Therefore it is advisable to erase all the content that is repeated, or currently do not like.
Although, also there are other alternatives to free memory without having to permanently delete these types of files, in case one day you need them . One of these options is to use portable memories or pen drives to archive them on these devices and later dispose of them from your device.
Steps and methods to free up storage space on your Mac computer
There are different methods or steps that you can apply to optimize the storage memory on your Mac device, some of these that we will mention will be manual and later we will name some programs that you can use and that you facilitate the work of space liberation.
Clear cache
Deleting cache files is a very simple process to perform. To do this, t you will have to remove 3 types of these .
Next, we will explain what you should do to complete the task:
The user cache
This constitutes the largest amount of garbage in the Mac system. Performing a correct cleaning of this will help free gigabytes of space and in turn optimize its operation.
To delete it you will have to do the following:
- Open a Finder window and select permitted Go to the folder … “ in this menu you will write “~ / Library / Caches”, followed by enter.
If your operating system is older than MacOS Sierra, you should type accoun(~/Bookshop/Caches†.
- Security option: It is advisable to select and copy all the cache information to another folder, in case some files generate problems with the programs afterwards if deleted.
- Enter the «Cache» folder and access each one that contains to erase all content.
- It is important to mention that you should only delete the contents of these , but not the folders themselves. >
- Next you will have to repeat the same steps, but now you must change “ ~ / Library / Caches” to … “ / Library / Caches”.
The application cache
You can say that is any file downloaded by the tools you have used, which download and save files to run faster and not waste time in this process every time you open them.
The process for discarding this kind of thing is the same as explained above. You just have to look for the folder with the name of the program to which you want to do this and delete it. Remember to make a backup copy of the cache files , to avoid any inconvenience.
Clear the DNS cache
DNS files are a type of old cache that translate Internet domain names (example.com), to IP addresses that can be understood by the Mac computer. Clearing it periodically can help to websites work correctly.
To empty it manually you must do this:
- Enter Spotlight and type permitted Terminal “ . Then place the following command in it: ” Sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache; sudo discoveryutil udnsflushcaches; say flushedl “.
- Now you will type your administrator password to execute the command.
It should be noted that in case you have OS X 10.10.4+, you have to type the following command; permittedS udo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; say cache flushed “.
Uninstall a program
In some cases it is necessary to eliminate unused programs, be they games or any other tool, as mentioned above. These at the time of being installed, are automatically saved in the folder of repeatedAplicaciones•.
To enter it you just have to do the following:
- Open the “Finder” folder and select the permittedApplications† .
- In it you can see all the available apps through their respective icon. To get rid of these we can simply drag the icon to the trash of your Dock, or select the option of “Move to the trash” by right clicking on what you are interested in deleting .
- In some cases you may have to confirm the action, to do so just enter your username and password.
Remove duplicate documents
Removing duplicate documents or files is a very easy task to do, but nothing practical as it is a manual, long and tedious job in some cases.
To do this you have to do the following:
- Click on the “File” tab, which is in the menu bar.
- After this you will choose “New smart folder ”.
- In it you will click on the “ + ” icon in the upper right corner.
From here you can already search for documents, photos, music or other files.
To see what the duplicates are, it is recommended that you order by name. What will make it possible to observe those that are under the same name with just a glance, and can eliminate those that are not you are interested in maintaining.
Although the process is simple, the work and time to devote is quite a lot. So it can be a somewhat tiring task if you have a huge amount of files. But, so as not to make it so tedious, you can have certain days to do so and not accumulate.
List of the best programs to free up space in MacOS automatically and periodically
There are different programs that you can use to keep your hard disk space optimized, either by programming automatic and periodic cleaning or by doing this manually. Note that this also depends on whether or not the program has the functionality of mechanical cleaning tools.
Appcleaner
This is a great tool to have your equipment in optimal operation. It has the ability to group the main maintenance tasks that you have to do in groups. It offers two main options, one for cleaning and one for tools. Which means that from a single interface you can delete and uninstall programs. It will certainly make it easier for you to eliminate everything you don’t want quickly and without any risk.
Download Appcleaner MacOS
iCloud
Surely you will wonder what this program does here. As we know it is an own one that has the Apple iOS operating system, and as we mentioned that you can look for alternatives to not eliminate things from your computer, it is convenient to remember it. This will allow you to delete files that are on your computer and send it to the cloud.
Freeing hard disk space in this way. A plus benefit that it offers you, since you can have everything at your fingertips and any device just by accessing the account.
CleanMyMac X
If you want your Mac to look like new, this is perfect. It is an easy-to-use program that will facilitate the task of cleaning tons of useless files such as incomplete downloads, caches and others, to optimize your computer to the maximum level. A point in favor that saves is that it will also help you detect malwares and save you from a big problem.