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Why is the system folder so big?

I bought a mac mini with 250GB but really, I only have 100GB usable storage. The manage option does not help as System is greyed out. Also there is a discrepancy, the below screenshot says 147 but under the manage panel it says 100GB.

How do you clear that out without using softwares like DaisyDisk? Even with DaisyDisk, how do I know what to delete?

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on May 21, 2020 2:18 PM

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Posted on May 21, 2020 2:30 PM

It could be local snapshots. Anything that the operating system can't immediately classify as an "app", or "video", "picture", or "document" gets classified as "System".


In theory, you don't need to clear anything out. The idea is that unused storage is wasted storage. But if you run out, the operating system will delete what it doesn't need to make room for your files. In practice, this often doesn't work that well.


Unfortunately, I don't know of any method to get storage back under control without using a 3rd party storage analysis tool.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 21, 2020 2:30 PM in response to cyril162

It could be local snapshots. Anything that the operating system can't immediately classify as an "app", or "video", "picture", or "document" gets classified as "System".


In theory, you don't need to clear anything out. The idea is that unused storage is wasted storage. But if you run out, the operating system will delete what it doesn't need to make room for your files. In practice, this often doesn't work that well.


Unfortunately, I don't know of any method to get storage back under control without using a 3rd party storage analysis tool.

Why is the system folder so big?

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