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bergy · Oct 13, 2003, 06:36 PM

Thanks to the helpful responses on my previous question, I was able to go to the terminal, and according to it I have 1.8 GB free on my 19.1 GB Hard Drive.

Both OmniSweeper and WhatSize say I have used only 6.6 GB. Some have suggested they do not take into account System requirements.

I guess what I'm asking is .. is it normal that my machine would need 19GB - 6GB = 13GB to run without anything on it?
If not, how do I find out where all my memory is going?

Jim_MDP · Oct 13, 2003, 07:08 PM

Oh, what the hell... I've got a minute.

I wish you were on right now, I'd like to see this fix work for someone.

Ok... no terminal. In the finder, have a window open showing your top level... your hard drive.

Then, from the 'Go' menu select 'Go to folder'

In the dialog that pops up type "/cores" (no quotes, remember, just slash and cores).

This will make the 'Cores' folder visible. Select it and tell us if there is anything in it and how big. If you've had many crashes it will have a ton of 'recovery' type temp files in it.

Hopefully it's empty and we can start looking for regular temp and cache files for you to delete. You need to free up some hard disk space and real soon.

bergy · Oct 13, 2003, 07:13 PM

Hi and thanks for responding,

I went to the cores folder .. and it's empty.

Jim_MDP · Oct 13, 2003, 07:28 PM

Great... not.

The first simple thing would be to check that you don't have your browser cache set to some insane size.

Check that and I'll start thinking about what huge invisible directories might not be counted by those GUI tools you've mentioned. Sorry, this isn't my bag, hopefully someone will pop in with a clue we can buy.

We are looking for INVISIBLE dirs/files right? You added up the sizes of your top level directories already, right?

bergy · Oct 13, 2003, 07:39 PM

Originally posted by Jim_MDP:
Great... not.

The first simple thing would be to check that you don't have your browser cache set to some insane size.

Check that and I'll start thinking about what huge invisible directories might not be counted by those GUI tools you've mentioned. Sorry, this isn't my bag, hopefully someone will pop in with a clue we can buy.

We are looking for INVISIBLE dirs/files right? You added up the sizes of your top level directories already, right?

Hello .. I regularly clean out the cache of all the browsers. As far as adding up the sizes of my top level directories, all I have to go on are the results from OmniSweeper and WhatSize.

Jim_MDP · Oct 13, 2003, 07:51 PM

Did you install the Developer Tools?

Have you had the machine long?

Do you crash often?

Can you add the sizes of your top level folders (from the 'Get Info' window) to get a ballpark idea of where your missing 13 gig might be hiding?

bergy · 08:24 PM

Originally posted by Jim_MDP:
Did you install the Developer Tools?

Have you had the machine long?

Do you crash often?

Can you add the sizes of your top level folders (from the 'Get Info' window) to get a ballpark idea of where your missing 13 gig might be hiding?

I have not installed any developer tools.
The Machine is 3 years old as of Jan 2004.
I don't crash really at all since moving up to OSX. Just the occasional beach ball while surfing. Initially I had a lot of trouble which resulted in a new logic board and a new hard drive. Thank god for Applecare.
I did try using the "Find" function to see files larger than 10 megs .... not much showed up.

Jim_MDP · Oct 13, 2003, 08:22 PM

As was suggested in the other thread...

You should only have eight or so top level folders.

Is there something stopping you from doing a 'get info' on each one and adding up each folder size? Ballpark figures will suffice.

If one shows like 15 gig then you know where to start looking.

Or your system could be FUBAR.

bergy · Oct 13, 2003, 08:28 PM

Originally posted by Jim_MDP:
As was suggested in the other thread...

You should only have eight or so top level folders.

Is there something stopping you from doing a 'get info' on each one and adding up each folder size? Ballpark figures will suffice.

If one shows like 15 gig then you know where to start looking.

Or your system could be FUBAR.

Well, I've run Disk Warrior and everything is fine according to it. I guess I'll be phoning Apple.... thanks for the help anyway.

Jim_MDP · Oct 13, 2003, 08:35 PM

Is there any way in hell I could get you to answer the question... or better yet, actually do what has been asked?

bergy · Oct 13, 2003, 08:48 PM

Originally posted by Jim_MDP:
Is there any way in hell I could get you to answer the question... or better yet, actually do what has been asked?

What is it that you are asking that I haven't done? Doesn't OmniSweep and WhatSize give you the top level folder sizes?

Jim_MDP · Oct 13, 2003, 08:53 PM

I don't know what they do or do not do. I've never had need of them.

But something doesn't jibe between them and your OS X finder. Perhaps finding which folder (if any) the FINDER thinks has your 13 gig, would be a good start in tracking it down.

MmmmmK?

bergy · Oct 13, 2003, 09:21 PM

Originally posted by Jim_MDP:
I don't know what they do or do not do. I've never had need of them.

But something doesn't jibe between them and your OS X finder. Perhaps finding which folder (if any) the FINDER thinks has your 13 gig, would be a good start in tracking it down.

MmmmmK?

Yes, that's my dilemma (spelled right I hope)
For your further info .. I did go to Finder
get Info and indexed my drive, but that didn't change anything. Also, I think I know what you meant about get infoing the top level folders .. I just opened my HD icon .. then view options ... calculate all sizes ... once again it adds up to about 6.6 gigs.

Going to bed now ... I'll check in tomorrow for any further suggestions .. thanks and bye for now

Jim_MDP · Oct 13, 2003, 09:26 PM

I was afraid of that. you could probably settle this in twenty seconds with the terminal.

Not fix it, but find what the giant invisible directory is. Then decide if it's deleteable.

Please tell me you don't have 13 gig in your trash.

ccrider · Oct 14, 2003, 01:07 AM

Originally posted by Jim_MDP:
Please tell me you don't have 13 gig in your trash.

Now THAT would be friggin' hilarious...

Uncle Skeleton · Oct 14, 2003, 03:33 PM

I think what we're getting at is this. open the terminal and type

cd /

this will move you to the top level directory (called "root"). then type

ls -la

that will list all the files and folders in that directory, and their sizes (and permissions, but that doesn't really matter here). Copy that list into your next post so we can see where to look next.

PS. There are 3 basic parts to a computer. The Processor (brain, Central Processing Unit, or CPU), Memory (short-term memory, Random Access Memory, or RAM), and the Hard Drive/Disk (long-term memory). What you're talking about is the third one, but when you use the term "memory" you technically imply the second one. You should say Hard Disk if you mean Hard Disk.