As a result the storage on our Mac is predominantly given to Apps (red, 16.61GB), Photos (yellow, 5.17GB), iTunes (purple, 2.29GB), Mail (dark blue, 1GB) and Music Creation (light blue 1GB).

• Apps Storage On A Mac Computer

So, your Mac is running out of storage. You try to figure out what’s taking up your disk space by clicking the Apple logo on the top-left of the screen, selecting About This Mac, and hitting the Storage tab.

To your surprise, you see a yellow bar representing “System” that seems to occupy way more space than you think it should. In the example above, it only shows 207 GB, but take a look at this Apple discussion — some Mac users report that System Storage takes an astonishing 250 GB.

Worse yet, you have no idea what’s included in “System” storage, because clicking the “Manage” button brings you to this System Information window… and the “System” row is greyed out.

Why does my Mac system require so much space?

What does it contain?

Is it safe to remove some of those system files?

How do I regain more storage space?

Questions like these may easily get to your head. Although my Mac now has a good amount of disk space available, I’m always wary of files that are taking up more space than they should.

I have no idea why “System” is greyed out while “Documents,” “System Junk,” “Trash,” etc. allow you to review the files based on size and type. My hunch is that Apple does this on purpose to prevent users from deleting system files that could lead to serious issues. Best transcription software for mac 2014.

What Files Are Included in System Storage on Mac?

Apps Storage On A Mac Computer

During my research, I found many people report that Apple counts iTunes backup files and app caches (e.g. Adobe video cache files) in the System category.

Since it’s greyed out and we are unable to click on that category for deeper analysis, we’ll have to use a third-party app to assist.

CleanMyMac X is perfect for this kind of analysis. Since I tested the app in our best Mac cleaner review, it immediately came to my head when I saw “System” was greyed out in Storage. Note that CleanMyMac isn’t freeware, but the new “Space Lens” feature is free to use and it allows you to scan your Macintosh HD, and then show you an in-depth overview of what’s taking up disk space on your Mac.

In combination with the to-do module you can schedule and check-off all sales processes. Summary of your contact information. Small business security software mac. You can generate reports for your specific needs.

Step 1:Download CleanMyMac and install the app on your Mac. Open it, under “Space Lens” module, first click the yellow “Grant Access” button to allow the app to access your Mac files and then select “Scan” to get started.

Step 2: Soon it’ll show you a folder/file tree and you can hover your cursor over each block (i.e. a folder). There you can find more details. In this case, I clicked “System” folder to continue.

Step 3: The file breakdown below indicates that some Library and iOS Support files are the culprits.

The interesting part is that the System file size shown in CleanMyMac is much smaller than the size shown in System Information. This puzzles me and makes me believe that Apple definitely has counted some other files (not real system files) in the System category.

What are they? I have no clue, honestly. But as reported by other Mac users who experienced the same issue, they said Apple also considers app caches and iTunes backup files as System files.

Out of curiosity, I ran CleanMyMac again for a quick scan. That app found 13.92 GB in iTunes Junk. Further review revealed that the junk files are old iOS device backups, software updates, broken downloads, etc.

But even after adding this amount to the original system files returned by CleanMyMac X, the total size is still a bit less than what’s returned in System Information.

If cleaning the System Storage is still not enough to bring your Mac available disk space to a normal level (i.e. 20% or more), see below.

What Else Can I Do to Reclaim More Disk Space?

There are tons of ways out there. Here are a few of my favorites that should help you get back a decent amount of space quickly.

1. Sort all files by size and delete old large files.

Open Finder, go to Recents and look at the Size column. Click on it to sort all recent files by file size (from large to small). You’ll have a clear overview of what items are eating up a large amount of space, e.g. From 1 GB to 10 GB, and from 100 MB to 1 GB.

On my MacBook Pro, I found a few large videos that could be transferred to an external drive.

Note: If the Size column doesn’t show up, click on the Settings icon and select Arrange By > Size.

2. Remove duplicate files.

Don’t forget those duplicates and similar files! They can stack up without you being aware of it. Finding them is sometimes time-consuming. That’s what Gemini 2 is designed for. Simply select a few frequently used folders (e.g. Documents, Downloads, etc.) in the main zone of Gemini.

It then scans them and returns all the duplicate files that might be worth removing. Of course, it’s always a good practice to review them before doing so. You can also read more from our detailed Gemini review here.

Wrapping It Up

Ever since Apple introduced the Optimized Storage feature, Mac users got the option of saving space by storing content in the cloud. Apple also has several new tools that make it easy to find and remove unneeded files.

That bar under the Storage tab is beautiful. It does allow you to get a quick overview of what’s taking up the most space on our hard drive. However, it still lacks insights into the “System” category as it’s greyed out.

Hopefully, the guides above have helped you figure out the reasons you’ve got so much “System” data, and most importantly you’ve reclaimed some disk space — especially for new MacBooks pre-installed with flash storage — every gigabyte is precious!

The App Store on your Mac is your gateway to expanding your program library. Gone are the days of buying computer programs from electronics stores; you can just download whatever you need from the App Store. Some stuff is free; other stuff you'll have to pay for. All it takes is an Apple ID and away you go.

Here's how to get started with the Mac App Store!

How to sign in with your Apple ID

Before you can download any apps, you'll need to sign in with your Apple ID.

1. Launch the App Store from the Dock or Finder under Applications.
2. Click Sign In in the lower left corner
3. Enter your Apple ID and password.

4. Click Sign In or hit return on your keyboard.

Boom. You're in.

How to view and edit your Apple ID account

Before downloading apps, you'll want to make sure you payment and country information are in order so that you don't have to bother with that stuff while you're excitedly downloading apps.

1. Launch the App Store from the Dock or Finder.

2. Click Your name on the left side of the screen. It should be in the corner.

3. Click View Information in the upper right corner. From here you can edit your credit card information, billing address, country, and nickname. If you edit your nickname, it'll appear that way in Game Center.
4. Type the required information into the fields of the item you're editing.

Click the blue Done button when you're happy with your edits!

How to download an app or game

Whether the goal is productivity or time-wasting, the App Store has the app for you; you just have to download it. Here's how:

1. Launch the App Store from the Dock or Finder.
2. Search for the app you want to download. You can view Featured apps or search via category, title, and more.
3. Click the price if it's a paid app, or click Get if it's a free app.
4. Click Buy App if it's a paid app, or click Install App if it's free.
5. Enter your Apple ID password.

6. Click Buy. (Buy will appear even if the app is free).

How to set up automatic downloads of apps or games on another Mac

If you download apps and games on several different Macs, you can enable automatic downloads so that you have all of your apps with you on all of your Macs!

1. Launch the App Store from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click App Store in the menu bar on the top left of your screen.
3. Click Preferences.

4. Click the checkbox next to Automatically download apps purchased on other Macs.

How to find an app or game after it's been installed

After you download an app, you obviously want to find it and use it. Here's how!

1. Open a Finder window.
2. Click Applications in the folders on the left.
3. Click the settings button at the top of the window. It looks like a gear.
4. Click Arrange By.

5. Click Date Added. This will move your most recently downloaded apps to the top of the list.

How to view and re-download your previously purchased apps and games

If you've already paid for an app, you don't need to pay for it again. So if it goes missing, you can just re-download it and you won't have to look far!

1. Launch the App Store from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click Your name at the bottom left corner of the window.

3. Click Download next to the app or game you'd like to re-download.

How to check for updates to Mac App Store apps

It's a good idea to make sure you have the most recent version of every app you download. Here's how to check:

1. Launch the App Store from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click Updates at the left side bar of the window.
3. Click Update next to each app you'd like to update, or click Update All.

4. Enter your Apple ID password if prompted.

How to enable automatic updates

If you have many apps, it can be a pain to keep track of them all and constantly check for updates. You can set up automatic updates to do that for you!

1. Launch the App Store from the Dock or Finder.
2. Click App Store in the menu bar on the top left of your screen.
3. Click Preferences.
4. Click the checkbox next to Automatically check for updates.

5. Click the checkbox next to each update setting you'd like to enable:

   • Download newly available updates in the background
   • Install app updates
   • Install macOS updates

   • Install system data files and security updates

Questions?

Let us know in the comments below!

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