Over 100 Million people use Mac computers. These computers support everyone from bloggers, to artists, to business workers, to students. Apple designs its computers with very specific parts that can be hard for the average user to understand.
Mac hard drives are one of those components that many people may not even think about until problems occur. The hard drives are built in a very specific way that can make trying to fix things yourself hard to understand.
There are 5 important things you should know to better understand your mac hard drives. These things can help your computer run faster and last longer.
Table of Contents
1. How to Free Up Storage Space
Many people live their lives on their Mac computers. The more things we do on our computers, the more space we use on our computers. Computers only have a finite about of space on their hard drive.
There are a few signs for when you need to free up space. The biggest sign is that your computer will be running slower than usual. Sometimes, you will also receive an alert.
When you select the Apple at the top of your computer screen, then select Storage, you’ll see the amount of storage you have available on your computer. Each file type will be grouped into different colors and you can hover your mouse over them to see what is taking up the most space. You can select Storage Management to see this breakdown in more detail.
You can move some files from your computer onto iCloud or another external hard drive or server. These files can be deleted from your computer.
The optimize storage button will automatically clear out files you no longer need, like movies or TV shows you’ve already watched.
Emptying your trashcan automatically is another great way to maximize storage solutions. Files sent to the trashcan aren’t deleted until the trash is emptied. Doing so automatically can help clear up space quickly.
2. How to Reinstall the macOS on Your Hard Drive
If your Mac is having a serious problem, like constant errors or still being slow after clearing documents, you may need to reinstall the macOS onto your hard drive. This will essentially act as a ‘restart.’ You will have a clean, clear computer that is ready to go.
If you are using an Apple Silicon Mac, you will hold the power button until you see the startup options window. The intel processor mac will require you to press and hold Command R after you turn it on.
Both of these will toggle the utility window. Selecting ‘Reinstall macOS’ will reinstall your OS. Follow the prompts to complete the update.
If you have any important files on your hard drive, make sure that you back them up to either iCloud or another external drive. If you do not, those files will be lost forever.
3. Unpartitioning Your Hard Drive
Many people will partition their Mac hard drives to create two different drives from one. This allows the user to run more than one operating system, separate files to minimize corruption risks, and make backing up your computer easier.
If you want to delete partitions on a Mac, there are a few steps you should follow. Always back up all of your data in case something goes wrong and you lose your main computer files. Delete any unused files as you back up.
The first thing you want to do to delete partitions on a Mac is picking the partition you don’t need under the ‘Utilities Menu.’ Click ‘Erase,’ follow the prompts, and hit done.
When you finish that step, go back into Disk Utility, select the partition you want to be deleted, and hit the minus button. Follow the prompts and the process will be complete.
If you’re trying to delete partitions on a Mac and you worry that you’re doing something wrong, there are many resources out there to walk you through the process. It’s not as complicated as it seems, and a guiding hand can help ensure you do it right without damaging your computer.
4. Why Your Mac Hard Drive Is Making a Clicking Noise
We all fear the mysterious noise coming from our computers. We may be used to the occasional whirring noise of the fans, but sometimes a clicking noise might appear. This clicking noise can cause you to panic, but staying calm will make dealing with it easier.
Your hard drive is made of many moving parts that work together to save your data. If your computer is booting up and you begin to hear a clicking noise, then part of that hardware is damaged.
Like most issues, always back up your data before attempting any solutions. If you don’t and something goes wrong, you could lose everything.
Apple has a hardware test available on their computers. If you run it, it can clarify that the problem is your hard drive.
There is no easy way to fix a Mac hard drive. The best thing you can do is take it to a professional and have them replace the hard drive with a new one. An expert may also be able to repair the hard drive.
It may be tempting to fix it yourself, but it isn’t recommended. You could potentially do more damage to both the hard drive and the computer.
5. Hard Drive Space Is Disappearing
If you feel like your hard drive is losing space faster than it should be, there is an easy solution to this problem. Errors like ‘startup disk are almost full’ or your computer is running slow, can be a sign that your hard drive is losing space.
One of the biggest causes for hard drive space vanishing is an increased cache, or too many junk files, filling up your drive.
If you open the finder, the menu bar will have a GO option. Select ‘home,’ then pick the cog icon and ‘Show View Options.’ The ‘Show library folder’ box, then going to the Library and selecting ‘caches’ will bring up the full cache. You can delete the cache from this window.
Take Care of Your Mac Hard Drives so Your Mac can Take Care of You
Many people live their lives on their Macs. The heart of this lifestyle is your Mac hard drive. This hard drive holds everything from heartwarming photos to your tax information.
If you take care of your hard drive and look out for these problems that can occur, it can extend the life of your computer. Taking care of your computer will keep it running for years to come.
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