Clean Up Mac Hard Drive Free
Even with all of the space some Mac users can enjoy - depending on the size of the hard drive you bought — they always run out of room eventually. Sooner or later, a Mac starts to slow down, even overheat, and the space you need is no longer there. Here are ways you can free up space when your Mac hard drive is full.
Nov 20, 2020 Even these days, MacBooks still have tiny hard drives that fill up quickly. Luckily there are quick and easy ways to free up space on your hard drive. Here’s how to clean up your Mac and reclaim some drive space. Jun 24, 2020 Why clean your Mac’s hard drive? The most obvious reason is that you're running out of space on your boot disk. And, while there are many things you can do to free up disk space, including using Apple’s own storage management tools, it’s a good idea to start by getting rid of the junk that’s accumulated and that you don’t need. May 17, 2019 How to clean up Mac hard drive space? Here are few tips that would help you to unload your hard drive. Delete unnecessary apps and games. Most of us will have games, apps and other content that is no longer needed taking up hard drive space. Even Mac’s, with as much memory as some of them are equipped with, run out of space eventually.
How to check Mac hard drive space
To start with, it always helps to know what is taking up so much space on your Mac before you start deleting files and folders.
Click on the Apple icon in the top left corner
Select About this Mac > Storage
Another way to see what is taking up space is within System and User files. Next to every folder and application your Mac displays how much space everything uses and therefore makes it easier to judge what to delete.
What system files can be deleted safely?
Depending on your user habits, there could be tons of various junk on your Mac. Some of it can be safely destroyed because these files are either outdated or never been used.
How to find your biggest space hoggers
Yes, you could spend a few hours in Finder sorting your archives and documents. The problem is all folders in Finder look the same. Is there a quicker way to find out where is your space going? Yes, and it's called 'Space Lens.'
Space Lens is an amazing little tool that is part of CleanMyMac X. It creates the interactive map of your storage so you can explore it and at a glance see the largest space wasters. A quick way to see what is taking up so much space, and then in a few clicks, remove and delete anything taking up too much room, or that you've forgotten about and need to clear out.
- Get a free version of CleanMyMac X
- Launch the app and click Space Lens in the sidebar
These 'bubbles' are your folders of different size. You can even find the folders that are regularly hidden away.
How to clean up Mac hard drive space?
Here are few tips that would help you to unload your hard drive.
1. Delete unnecessary apps and games
Most of us will have games, apps and other content that is no longer needed taking up hard drive space. Even Mac’s, with as much memory as some of them are equipped with, run out of space eventually. If “Your disk is almost full” is a problem you’ve encountered, you need to follow these steps to free hard drive space on a Mac.
Go to the Applications folder.
Search through and see what you don't need anymore. Make a list of these, because once they're out of the Applications folder there is a chance you need to check in other places around your Mac to find other traces of the same apps, in case there are folders and system files stored elsewhere.
Drag-and-drop the unwanted apps and games into the Trash.
And then search in Library and other hidden folders for other traces and elements of the apps and games that you’ve deleted. Once you’re sure you’ve got everything, empty the Trash. It is also worth restarting your Mac, just to make sure you've removed everything and your Mac is operating at peak performance again.
2. Clear out duplicates
Duplicates can be lurking around hard drives in a number of ways.
Usually this is a problem when you’ve copied multiple documents, or more often than not, when you’ve got more than one of the same picture. Or many pictures that are very similar. Another way this is an issue is when you’ve got a Mac that used to have - or inherited from a previous Mac — an iPhotos album. Whereas macOS comes equipped with the Photos app, so there is a risk that your Mac is full of duplicate photos.
Before you delete the ones you don't need, make sure the ones you want are saved in the right folder, or moved over into an external or cloud-based hard drive. Then delete everything that is taking up too much space.
BTW, our favorite app to delete duplicates is Gemini 2 — give it a try.
3. Watch out for backups
Another problem that is commonly encountered on Mac’s are backups from iOS devices. Although most backups are now done in the cloud, there are still millions of Mac’s with iPod, iPhone and iPad backups still taking up hard drive space.
You should be able to find these within iTunes. If you want to delete them, close iTunes then go to the following folder within Library: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup.
Now you can take all of these unnecessary backups to the Trash, then empty it to free up space.
4. Empty Trash and email downloads
Clean Up Mac Hard Drive Free Program
Another way to free up much-needed space is to empty to Trash, and clear out months or years worth of email Downloads. Once you’ve emptied the main Trash in the right-hand side of the Dock, it is also worth checking in the iTunes, Photos, Mail and iMovie applications - if you've used any of those recently - as they also have their own Trash functions, so make sure to clear those out too.
Whether or not you use Mail, or a third-party or browser-based email application, downloads go into the same folder. You could be sitting on months or years worth of downloads.
To see your Mail Downloads:
Open Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder...
Type in: ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.<strong>mail</strong>/Data/Library/<strong>Mail Downloads</strong>/
See what's inside and delete it if necessary.
5. Free up more space with CleanMyMac X
These are several third-party tools you can use to create more space on a Mac. It's entirely up to you to find the best cleaning partner for your Mac — but beware of scam Mac cleaners. When you see 'Your Mac is infected' message, don't fall for it — it's a trap.
But that said, there are also reliable junk removers, like CleanMyMac X. For example, CleanMyMac X is notarized by Apple and doesn't contain any malicious components.
Here is what CleanMyMac X can clean on your Mac:
- Large & Old files
- System Junk
- Unseen applications
- iTunes and Photo junk
The user interface looks like this:
According to the developer's site, an average user locates up to 74 GB of junk to clear out using the app.
CleanMyMac X is available for a free download here
Okay we've told you how to delete your apps, games, photos, and other folders taking up space. Hopefully, you can get your Mac working at peak performance again.
Aug 14, 2020 No.4 Free Mac cleaner: OmniDiskSweeper - Free hard drive cleaner. OmniDiskSweeper is one free Mac cleaner to find and delete big files that taking up hard drive space and also it can help you recover lost disk space. OmniDiskSweeper helps you sort every file on your Mac by size and you can identify the biggest file to delete it. Here are a few simple ways to clean up your Mac. Install the app, open it up, and click the Analyze button in the bottom-right corner. Check out our list of the best external hard drives.
Your trusty Macbook Air running low on disk space? The dreaded ‘Your disk is almost full’ message has popped up at the most inconvenient time? Happens to the best of us. Here is everything you need to know to easily tackle regular maintenance work and get your Mac back up and running.
Step 1: Empty Trash
The first thing you should do is empty your Trash. That is right, you might have been doing a decent job at maintaining you Mac clean, however, deleted files still take up space on your hard drive until your Trash is emptied. To do that simply navigate to your Trash, then right-click and choose ‘Empty Trash’.
Step 2: Clean up Desktop & Downloads
Once that is done, take the time to review what is going on in your Downloads folder as well as on your Desktop. Check up on all those files you have been downloading, sort away the ones you plan on keeping, and remove the unwanted rest by simply dragging-and-dropping the files to the Trash or hitting Command + Delete after selecting the files.
Step 3: Uninstall Rarely Used Apps
Follow up by sifting through the apps that you have installed on your Mac. Chances are that some of them have been sitting on your drive for a while without any use at all. Some apps tend to take up major space while other simply clutter your Apple computer with temporary files and unnecessary folders. If you want to keep your OS X cleaner, then there is no point in keeping the apps that you no longer need. Drag the out-of-use apps from the Applications folder and drop them into Trash. Make sure you Empty Trash once done.
Step 4: Delete or Move Large Media Files
Another quick disk clean-up solution is to delete or move to external drive large media files. After all, large files are the ones that take up big chunks of your Mac’s storage. Typically, those are movies, music, games, etc. For more info choose Apple Menu > About This Mac, then click Storage to see what takes up the space on your hard drive.
If you cannot set your heart on deleting that favorite TV series season that you rewatch every once in a while, but still need the disk space, then consider getting an external drive to store these kinds of files.
Last updated on November 15th, 2019 at 02:57 pm
You are definitely on the right place if you are looking for best Hard Drive wipe software (free and paid). There is so many software available online and it becomes really tough to choose one that suits you. For this reason, we are here to provide you with complete and comprehensive detail of hard drive cleaning software.
Recommended: How to uninstall Windows 10 built-in apps?
It is always recommended to go for paid software when it comes for privacy and security of your data as there is much-advanced software available that recover wiped data. But if you have used some of the top nothch hard drive cleaning software then it becomes almost impossible to recover any traces.
There is also a query related to deleting data from a dead computer, for all those who have a
Why use hard drive cleaning software?
Most of the people now switching to cloud storage and the demand for hard drive reducing day by day, those days are gone when everything was stored in hard drive. So people now removing all their personal information, privacy data from the hard drive and keeping them in more secure places. To completely remove everything from hard drive, cleaning software is a must.
Or there might be the reason to sell your old hard drive and you are looking to remove everything permanently from it. For this reason, you need to have a hard drive wipe software.
Most people think that deletion of files, folders, removing password, and other information is enough but the reality is different, you can reconstruct everything you have deleted.
10 Best Hard Drive Wipe Software in 2020
1. MacPaw CleanMyDrive
MacPaw is one of the top recommendations for Mac products. It is well known for CleanMyMac and CleanMyPC. You can use them to speed up your computer. And on the other side, it also offers CleanMyDrive to wipe out everything from your Mac. It has
No matters how tiny the file is, it wipe out everything and left no traces. Let is check some of its features
- Clean Junk files: CleanMyDrive intelligently remove every junk for your drive which are hard to locate.
- Copy your drive: Suppose if you are looking to transfer your important data to another hard drive, simply drag and drop the files to copy instantly.
- Multiple language support: CleanMyDrive works with different languages so you need not worry about this.
- Compatible with all hard drives: CleanMyDrive works with SSD, external hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives.
Pricing
CleanMyDrive is free to use and available in the
2. CCleaner Drive Wiper
CCleaner is another one of the top-rated software recommended to wipe out hard drive data. CCleaner is widely use for removing junk, hidden, temporary, duplicate files to remove unnecessary data from your computer. It also offers Drive Wiper to remove everything from your hard drive.
CCleaner Drive Wiper uses advanced algorithms to permanently delete everything. Once you download CCleaner, go to tools tab, Choose the type of wipe you require: Free Space Only or Entire Drive, it will warn you before proceeding.
You can either clean a specific partition of the entire drive as per your need. Complete wiping of the
Pricing and plans from CCleaner
CCleaner Drive Wiper is a part of CCleaner application and you can get if for free. CCleaner comes in the paid and free version, but for unlocking its feature, Pro version is the
3. Eraser
Eraser is an advanced security tool specifically designed for Windows to remove sensitive data from your hard drive. It overwrites it several times with carefully selected patterns to ensure complete data removal. It also supports Windows file systems including FAT32 and NTFS. Along with your PC’s hard drive, it also works with other drives that work with Windows PC.
It offers you a feature that let users schedule disk wiping as per there timings. User can set up a data destruction task to repeat itself.
Pricing
Eraser is a free and open-source software for hard drive data cleaner. Download it for free from the official website. Eraser update the
4. KillDisk
KillDisk is a paid software that has tons of feature along with just erasing hard drive. So far we concluded that KillDisk is one of the fastest cleaning software and the best thing is its ability to work in erasing disks parallel. KillDisk works for Windows and some of its version works for LINUX Operating System. It has the ability to start programming form the bootable disk or the USB to erase the disk.
KillDisk shows the current status of disk health and this is good for Disk Examination for bad sectors & Examine Grading.
KillDisk Features
- Supports 32-bit PC architecture
- Erasing disks in parallel
- Business usage
- Automatic Mode allows to discover & erase hot-swappable disks
- Disk Wipe sanitation of unused clusters on live volumes for most file systems
Pricing and Plans
KillDisk comes with different plans such as [email protected] KillDisk, Industrial Software, Desktop / System. You can check out the latest pricing. You can also try the demo version for free to test KillDisk.
5. Disk Wipe
Disk Wipe is a free and portable Windows application for permanent data removal. It also uses advanced algorithms to destroy every trace of data such that recovery is almost impossible. The best thing is, it does not contain adware or malware. Let us check out some of its feature here
Best Mac Hard Drive Clean Up App Computer
Disk Wipe Features
- Delete data permanently from volume disk
- No installation required to delete data
- Works with NTFS, Fat, Fat32 (all major File Systems)
- Lightweight, add free application
- Works with external hard drive
Pricing
As already discussed, Disk Wipe is completely free to use and you can download it from the official website.
6. DBAN
DBAN is widely used open
Pricing
There are two plans, first DBAN and secondly Blancco. DBAN is completely free to use and recommended for personal use. On the other side, Blancco is recommended for business purpose and you can use its trial version.
7. PCDiskEraser
Wiping Mac Hard Drive Clean
Free Hard Drive Cleaning Software
PCDiskEraser is another free application that wipe out hard drive permanently in the for of partition or completely. It is fast in process, easy to use and one of the best tool in its category. You do not worry if you have erased your data through PCDiskEraser. It permanently deletes the information by actually overwriting all of the data on your hard drive.
Best Mac Hard Drive Clean Up App Setup
PCDiskEraser Feature
- Runs Offline
- Supports File System NTFS, FAT16, FAT32, EXT3, EXT2, Linux swap, Reiser FS and so on.
- Easy to use and processes quickly
- Wipe in a
partition and complete drive
Pricing
As already discussed, PCDiskEraser is completely free to use and you can download the latest version from the official website.
8. Super File Shredder
Super File Shredder keeps its place under top 10 best hard drive wipe software. The reason is its advanced security tool for Windows that removes all the data by overwriting it many times. All you need is to install this amazing application and remove all your sensitive data and stay with peace of mind.
Pricing
Super File Shredder is completely free to use and you can download it from here.
9. Windows Built in hard drive wiper
Most of us are not known about the in-built option for hard drive wipe tool. Windows offers this feature to completely erase the hard drive data. You do not require to download any external application once you use security tool from Windows 10.
Follow some simple steps to erase hard drive completely
- Open Settings> Update & Security > Recovery.
- Under Reset this PC, go to Get Started button.
- From the following options, tap on Remove everything.
This completely remove your hard drive data and your computer works as it is new.
10. Disk Utility for macOS
Disk Utility is an option for macOS to remove data completely from hard drive. You can also check the storage consumption and delete them in partition also. Follow some simple steps here.
- Go to Spotlight search and type Disk Utility.
- Select your Drive and tap on Erase button.
This completely erase your drive on MacBook.
Best Mac Hard Drive Cleaner App
Conclusion
These are the list of Best Hard Drive Wipe Software. I hope you find the information here useful and definitely found the right choice as per your need. For the latest tech tutorial and software deals, follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Best Mac Hard Drive Clean Up Apps
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