Mac Not Enough Disk Space: Reason, Solution, Alternatives

Pretty much everything you do with a Mac requires disk space. When you install a new app, you must have sufficient disk space to store its files. When you visit a site on your browser, it creates a new set of files in the cache so that a particular site loads faster. Even when you do something as simple as opening a folder, the system automatically creates files that keep information about what you did. That’s why aside from CPU, GPU, and RAM, disk space is one of the most important resources in a computer. And unfortunately, it’s also a resource that can eventually run out if you just leave it be.

When that happens, you’ll often encounter the Mac not enough disk space error. Naturally, the solution for that is to simply free up space on your Mac, but how can you do that without deleting potentially important files? Read on to find out.

Method #1: Empty The Trash

The Trash contains the files you deleted for the past 30 days. Though they’re not usable, they still take up storage space, so basically, they’re freeloading on your computer. That’s why you must empty the Trash regularly by following these steps:

1. On your computer, open the Trash app by clicking on it from the Dock. Its icon should look like a trash bin.
2. Find the files you want to delete.
3. Click the file while holding the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
4. Select Delete immediately from the resulting dropdown menu.
5. Do this for all the files you want to delete.
6. If you want to delete all files, you can instead just click the Empty button from the top menu bar of Trash.

Note: Alternatively, you can control-click the Trash icon from the Dock and select Empty Trash.

Method #2: Clear The System Cache

The second method involves the system cache, which should be filled with files that you don’t need. These files are relatively large, so they’re probably taking up a considerable amount of storage space. Here’s how you can clear the system cache:

1. Open a session of Finder on your computer.
2. Click the Go tab from the top menu bar.
3. Select Go to Folder… from the dropdown menu.
4. A popup menu will appear. There, type in the following text: ~/Library/Caches
5. Click Go to go to that folder.
6. The Caches folder contains your system cache files. Find the files that you think are no longer necessary.
7. Drag these files to the Trash to delete them.

While this can potentially solve the Mac not enough disk space error, it has the downside of being risky. After all, you can potentially erase a cache file that’s important to your computer, though that rarely happens since cache files are typically just there to speed up things. They’re not vital to Mac operations.

Method #3: Uninstall Unused Apps

If you’ve been using your computer for a while, there’s a good chance it has an app installed that you’re no longer using. The app most likely takes up a considerable amount of storage space, so uninstalling it will help contribute to fixing the Mac not enough disk space issue. With that in mind, here’s how you can uninstall unused apps on your macOS computer:

1. Open the Launchpad from the Dock. Its icon should either be a rocket or a square with nine squares inside.
2. On Launchpad, you can find all the apps currently installed on your computer. Find the ones you want to delete by scrolling through the app. You can also search for it by typing the app’s name on the search bar at the top.
3. Once you’ve found the app, hold the Option key on your keyboard until the apps start jiggling.
4. Click the X icon at the corner of the app you want to delete.
5. A popup menu will appear. Click Delete to finalize the action.

Method #4: Use Mac Cleaner

While there are several ways to free up space on your Mac, you should have known by now that performing all the aforementioned methods would take several hours. While that may not be an issue if this is a one-time thing, if you’re encountering the  Mac not enough disk space error, chances are you’ll have to free up space regularly. Of course, this means you’ll have to spare several hours of your time every day. But that shouldn’t be the case if you have Mac Cleaner.

Mac Cleaner is software that detects and deletes unnecessary files from your computer. Basically, it can free up space on your computer almost automatically within a few seconds, making it the perfect solution for your predicament.

If you wish to use this software, here’s what you need to do:

Step #1: Download, Install, and Open Mac Cleaner On Your Computer

Before you can free up space on our computer, you must first gain access to the software. To do go, open a browser and head to the Mac Cleaner download site. Click the Download Now button and wait for the download to complete. Next, open the downloaded file, which should be in the DMG format, and follow the onscreen instructions.

Step #2: Pick a Cleaner Module

To the left of the software, you’ll find a sidebar consisting of six options. These options correspond to the six modules Mac Cleaner has, and they include  (1) Clean Up Junk, (2) Delete Large Files, (3) Delete Duplicate Files, (4) Erase Private Data, (5) Speed Up Your Mac, and (6) Manage Apps & Extensions. Since your objective is to free up disk space on your computer,  you’ll mostly need to use the first three modules as they focus on cleaning files. Here’s what these modules do:

• Clean Up Junk detects unnecessary files on your Mac storage disks, also known as junk files. Examples of junk files include the system and app cache, files in the Trash and Downloads folders, unused disk images, and more.
• Delete Large Files scans your computer for any file that has a size exceeding 50MB. It doesn’t matter what file type those files have. It’s an excellent way to free up space and it only detects unnecessary large files.
• Delete Duplicate Files checks each file within a directory to see if there’s a copy of itself in other folders. If that file does have a copy, the software detects them and it creates a list of the duplicate files for you to delete.

Since you can only use one module at a time, you must select a module by clicking on it from the left sidebar of the software.

Step #3: Scan Your Mac for Files

Once you select a module out of the three, you need to scan your computer for files accordingly. The way to do this will differ for each module as the interface will have different appearances. Here’s what you need to do for each module:

• Clean Up Junk: The software will have two options, Quick Clean and Deep Clean. Quick Clean scans for System Junk, App Junk, iTunes Junk, and Trash Bin. Deep Clean scans for all that as well as Downloads, Unused Disk Images, and iOS Junk. Select an option between the two and click the Scan button once you do.
• Delete Large Files: You simply have to click the Scan button promptly after selecting the module.
• Delete Duplicate Files: Click the Browse button at the center of the software. A popup menu will appear after you do so. There, navigate to the folder that you want to scan. Click Scan once you’ve specified a directory.

Step #4: Pick a File/s

Next, you must select the files you want to delete from your Mac. The way to go about it will also vary according to the module, much like the previous step. For modules Delete Large Files and Delete Duplicate Files, you’ll get a list of files you can delete. You simply have to click the checkbox of the files that you want to delete. As for Clean Up Junk, you must first select a file category, be that System Junk, Downloads, Trash Bin, and the likes. Once you select a file category, another list will appear on the right side of the software, and that’s where you can select the actual files to delete. You can do so in the same way you select files for the other modules, by clicking their checkboxes. You can click Select All to include all items.

Step #5: Delete the File/s

Finally, to delete the files you’ve selected, you simply have to click the blue button located at the top-right corner of the interface, which should say either Clean or Delete. Once you click the button, you simply have to wait until it’s finished.

As you can see, you don’t have to jump from one folder to another to delete unnecessary files and free up storage space to fix the Mac not enough disk space error. With a software like Mac Cleaner, you only need to click a few buttons and you’re all good. Of course, keep in mind that not all cleaner tools are this easy to use.

Parting Words

The Mac not enough disk space error is not that common, but it’s not rare either. It happens for a reason, that is, if your physical storage has run out of space, so you can at least monitor when it’ll happen. So, rather than waiting for the error to show up, you should instead keep track of your current disk space and take steps to maximize it by eliminating unnecessary files from your computer regularly. It might be difficult, but with this guide, that shouldn’t be much of an issue.