In the following, 4 ways are introduced for you to figure out what kind of files you can delete to free up space and how to fix deleting files that don’t free up space on Mac. However, many people still face the issue 'deleting files does not increase free space on Mac'. If you cannot fix the drive with Disk Utility, then it may be best to format it and restore your entire system from your backup.Updated to Troubleshooting Tips by Nancy on | Approved by Cesar Cĭeleting files is a great way to free up space, especially deleting large-size files, like email attachments, photos, and videos. If there are errors in the formatting, then you can try fixing the boot drive by booting into recovery mode and then running Disk Utility to repair your boot drive however, be sure to fully back up your system beforehand using Time Machine or similar full-system backup routine.

Therefore, first open Disk Utility and check your hard drive for errors.

The space used on a hard drive comes from the format's database files, and if these are damaged then the free space on the drive can be incorrectly reported.

However, first be sure the drive's formatting is not showing any errors. If the Information window shows your drive only has a few gigabytes of space left, then your drive is nearly full. To do this, add your hard drive to the Spotlight Privacy list in the Spotlight system preferences, and then remove it. Note that this graphical representation is derived from a Spotlight index of your drive, so if the total space used is significantly different than that reported in the information window, it suggests your Spotlight index may need to be rebuilt.

Clear up space on mac