When you check the storage on your Mac, you might see a significant percentage of space occupied by something called ‘Other.' macOS does not go into much detail. You may wonder what is Other storage on Mac, why it eats up so much space, and how can I delete it? Let me help by telling you more about this to free space on your Mac.
How to Check Storage on Mac
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- Click on the Apple logo from the top-left and choose About This Mac.
- Click on Storage. Wait for a few seconds.
- Take the mouse pointer to colored sections. You will see how much space is occupied by different categories like Apps, Photos, System, Trash, Other, etc.
What is Other on Mac Storage?
Clean my Macbook air software to clean up system junk files Jean updated on Sep 15, 2020 to Mac Cleanup Solution How-to Articles The MacBook Air family is a line of ultraportable Macintosh notebook computers created by Apple Inc. If you don't have the time, patience or skills to identify and clean the junk files yourself, you can use MacClean. MacClean is a cleaning utility that can help you clean your Mac computer. It will scan your system and identify the junk files or caches that may slow down or crash your computer. This wikiHow teaches you how to clear the cache of temporary system files that your Mac stores as you use it, as well as how to clear the Safari browser's cache of temporary Internet files. Keep in mind that clearing the system cache can cause your Mac to freeze or crash unexpectedly; this is a normal response to clearing the cache.
Just like the ‘Other' on iPhone and iPad, it is home to several files, cached data, and more. This section houses a mix of junk and important files.
In the simplest of terms, the 'Other' category is a combination of files that are not recognized as one of the other file types. Here are some examples:-
- Common documents and file types, including PDF, doc, PSD, etc.
- Any type of archives and disk images, including zips, dmg, iso, tar, etc.
- Files in the system folders of macOS, including temporary files, swap, voices, etc.
- Application Support files, iCloud files, Screensavers, etc.
- Cache items, including browser cache and locally stored message media files.
- Fonts, app accessories, application plugins, and app extensions.
- Various file and file types not recognized by Spotlight, for example, a virtual machine hard drive, Windows Boot Camp partitions, etc.
How to Delete Other on Mac Storage
Delete Cache Files on Mac
In typical situations, you do not need to worry much about cache. macOS handles them smartly. But if you are too low on storage or believe in having the cache of unused/uninstalled apps, here is how to delete them.
Note: Caches are there to make your Mac experience better and faster. Make sure you remove only the unnecessary ones.
- From Finder, click on Go.
- Press the option key. You will see a new option for the Library. Click on it.
- Click on Caches.
- Right-click on unnecessary app/service folders and choose Move to Trash.
- Right-click on the Trash icon and choose Empty Trash.
Note + Tip: With regular use, macOS will recreate these caches. If you do not understand what to delete, go back and copy the entire Caches folder to desktop (for backup). Next, open the Caches folder, press Command + A, right-click, and then Move to Trash. Finally, empty the Trash. See if everything works properly or not. In case not, copy the contents of the backup Caches folder from desktop inside the actual Caches folder.
Clearing browser cache and website files for Safari also reduce the Other storage.
Clear Temporary Files Located in Other Storage on Mac
- From Finder, click on Go.
- Press the option key.
- Click on Library.
- Click on Application Support.
- Delete files from here that you do not need. For example, old app folders that you do not need or have.
Remove Safari Extensions on Mac
At times, we install a browser extension for a purpose, and then do not reuse them or simply forget that it exists. The extension continues to occupy space (shown differently than the application itself. It is thus categorized under Other)
To remove an extension:
- Safari: Open Safari → Click on Safari from top left → Preferences → Extensions → Click on an extension → Choose Uninstall.
- Chrome: Open Chrome → Extensions icon (puzzle icon next to account picture) → Manage Extensions → Remove those you do not use.
Remove Old Downloads
Downloads are usually saved in the Downloads folder (unless you changed them). We often download .dmg files, large packages, videos, zip files, and leave them there. For example, many people do not delete the .dmg file even after app installation. Same for zip files.
- Open Finder and click on Downloads from the left sidebar.
- Click on the word ‘Size' to arrange the items by size. This will help you locate the large files quickly.
- To delete, right-click on the file and choose Move to Trash. You may also select the files(s) and press Command + Delete.
Tip: Use Spotlight Search to search for big file types like – .dmg, .zip, .mp4, .mkv, .avi, etc. Then click on Show all in Finder… from the lower-left of the Spotlight Search screen. Next, you can delete them easily.
Delete Unnecessary iPhone and iPad Backups
iOS and iPadOS device backups might run into various gigabytes. If you have several archived backups or unnecessary backups of old devices, make sure to delete them.
- Click on the Apple logo and choose About This Mac.
- Click on Storage → Manage.
- Select iOS Files from the sidebar.
- Click on the files and choose Delete.
Note: If you accidentally delete a backup, go ahead and easily create a new one now.
Delete Unused Applications
Applications, when combined with their data, folders, etc. might be vast and occupy significant space. If you have several apps that are sitting idle, go ahead and delete them. Additionally, remove macOS install files, if any.
- Click on the Apple logo from the top-left and choose About This Mac.
- Click on Storage. Next, click on Manage.
- Select Applications from the sidebar.
- Click on an unnecessary one and then click on Delete.
Note: You may also use apps like App Cleaner for perfect uninstallation.
Use Third-Party Software to Free Storage on Your Mac
Apart from the inbuilt solutions, several third-party apps do almost the same thing but in an easier way. Best macbook pro apps for students. You launch them, and in a minute or so, they will help you free significant space. The interface for most is visually pleasing. If you have difficulty following the above methods, you may try one of the apps listed below. Google chrome software download for laptop.
- DaisyDisk ($9.99)
- Onyx (free)
- CleanMyMac (free download with paid version $39.95)
Signing Off…
These are some of the effective ways to delete Other storage on Mac. As stated earlier, it has lots of useful files, too (that are different from listed categories). Thus it is tough to remove Otherdata entirely. But the above ways, help you declutter it. Next, it would be an excellent idea to know how to use optimized storage on Mac.
You may also read:
I have been an Apple user for over seven years now. At iGeeksBlog, I love creating how-tos and troubleshooting guides that help people do more with their iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch. In my free time, I like to watch stand up comedy videos, tech documentaries, news debates, and political speeches.
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Many Mac computer users have recently experienced an error while trying to rename or move files, empty trash or use Time Machine. What usually happens is an error message pops up that says 'error code -8062'.
If this is happening to you, you're no doubt very frustrated. But the good news is you should be able to fix it quite easily. We've put together some suggestions to help you fix the error. Here are a few things you can try.
Try these fixes
You may not have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.
Method 1: Unlock your files
You may see this 8062 error because the files you're renaming or moving are locked. You should check the settings of your files and make sure they're not locked. To do so:
1) Select the file or folder you're going to rename or move. Then press the Command key and i on your keyboard at the same time.
2) Make sure Locked is not checked.
Then try renaming or moving it again to see if this fixes your error.
Method 2: Moving the files out from your Trash
You may be having this error when emptying Trash because there are too many files in it and your system can't erase them all at once. To see if that's the case for you, you should move the content out of your Trash. Then put a small number of files back in it and erase them. Do this until you erase all the files.
Hopefully, this fixes your error in your Trash.
Clean Junk Files Macbook Air 13.3
Method 3: Erase your Time Machine backup disk
The 8062 error may occur while using Time Machine because there are issues with your backup disk. To fix those issues, try erasing your Time Machine backup disk. Here's how you can do it:
How To Clean A Macbook
Note: This will erase everything in your disk.
1) On your desktop, click Go, then select Utilities.
2) Double click Disk Utility.
3) In the left pane of the Disk Utility window, right click your backup disk, then select Erase to erase this disk.
4) Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen, then select System Preferences.
5) Click Time Machine.
6) Set your erased disk as the Time Machine backup disk. Then check to see if this fixes your error.
If it does, great! But if not you may need to…
Method 4: Clean your Mac computer
You may get the 8062 error because there are too much junk on your Mac computer. You should clean the junk and see if this fixes your error. If you don't have the time, patience or skills to identify and clean the junk files yourself, you can use MacClean.
MacClean is a cleaning utility that can help you clean your Mac computer. It will scan your system and identify the junk files or caches that may slow down or crash your computer. And then you will be able to remove those files very quickly with this program. It takes only a few clicks to clean your system:
1)Download and install MacClean.
2) Run MacClean.
3) Click System Junk, then click the Scan button. MacClean will then scan your MacBook Air and find all your junk file.
4) Click Clean to clean all your system junk files (this requires the registered version, you'll be prompted to register your program when you click the Clean button).
