Difference between revisions of "Checking hard drive capacity and folder size on your Mac laptop"

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[[File:Mac hard drive capacity.jpg|right|frame|Fig 2. Checking hard drive capacity in Mac OS X]]
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[[File:Mac hard drive capacity.jpg|right|frame|Fig 1. Checking hard drive capacity]]
==What do I need to know about my laptop hard drive?==
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[[File:Mac folder size.jpg|right|frame|Fig 2. Checking folder size]]
You don't need to understand how your hard drive works on a molecular level, but everyone who uses a laptop should be able to answer the following:
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[[File:Mac home folder size.jpg|right|frame|Fig 3. Checking Home folder size]]
*Does my laptop have more than one physical hard drive?
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==About this article==
*Is my hard drive divided into partitions? What's a partition? What's the difference between a partition and a volume?
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This article includes instructions for determining the capacity of the hard drive of the Apple MacBook laptop provided through the [[E-Warrior Digital Life and Learning Program]]. It also covers how to determine the size of folders on your laptop's hard drive. This is useful for routine monitoring purposes and when preparing for an exchange or re-image. It is intended for both '''students''' and '''employees'''.
*What is the maximum capacity of my hard drive?
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==Checking used and free space on your hard drive==
*How much hard drive space do I have left?
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Every hard drive has a maximum storage capacity. As you install programs and save files, the drive fills up. To check the maximum capacity, how much space you have used, and how much space you have left, do the following:
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*Control-click the hard drive icon labeled MacBook Pro ## (e.g., MackBook 12) on your desktop and select '''Get Info'''
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*Listed in the box under the General heading will be the capacity and available drive space (Fig 1)
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==Checking folder size==
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===Basic steps===
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You can check the size of a single folder in the same way you check the capacity of your hard drive:
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#Control-click on the name of the folder and select '''Get Info'''
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#The size of the folder will be listed under '''Size''' (Fig 2)
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===Checking the size of your Home folder===
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You can use the same method to check the size of your entire Home folder, the one that probably holds all of your school-related and personal files. You access your Home folder buy double-clicking your hard drive icon and selecting the Users folder. Your Home folder is the one with the house icon with your username underneath it.
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#Control-click on the name of the folder and select '''Get Info'''
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#The size of the folder will be listed under '''Size''' (Fig 3)
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===Important information about folder sizes===
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*It may take a few seconds for the folder size to be calculated, especially for larger folders.
  
==What's a hard drive partition and volume?==
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==Pro tips==
*On a MacBook, all of the space on the hard drive is assigned to a single partition. The formatted volume is called MacBook Pro ## where the number represents the year it was distributed (e.g., MacBook Pro 13).
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*The new Apple MacBook Air has a 256 GB hard drive. You may have to save some of your data to network, external, or cloud storage.
==Checking the amount of used and free space==
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*Before you restore data to your new hard drive, check how large your backup data folder is compared to how much hard drive space you have left.
Every hard drive has a maximum storage capacity. As you install programs and save files, the drive fills up. To check the maximum capacity, how much space you have used, and how much space you have left, do the following:
 
===In Mac OS X===
 
*Control-click the hard drive icon labeled MacBook Pro ## (e.g., MackBook 12) on your desktop
 
*Select '''Get Info'''
 
*Listed in the box under the General heading will be the capacity and available drive space (Figure 2)
 
  
 
==Related articles==
 
==Related articles==
*[[New laptop and tablet features|New laptop and tablet features for 2014]]
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*[[Mac laptop backup]]
*[[Understanding what is stored on your laptop hard drive|Understanding what's stored on your laptop hard drive]]
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*[[Backing up files on your Mac]]
 
*[[Receiving your laptop and tablet]]
 
*[[Receiving your laptop and tablet]]
*[[Windows 8]]
 
*[[New 2012 PC Directory Structure|PC Directory Structure]]
 
*[[Mac OS X Mavericks]]
 
*[[Printing/Setup_Printers_on_a_PC| Restoring Printers On A PC]]
 
*[[Printing/Setup_Printers_on_a_Mac| Restoring Printers On A Mac]]
 
*[[Installing_Software_From_The_Network| Installing Software From The Network]]
 
*[[MAC File Management]]
 
*[[PC File Management]]
 
 
*[[Student Laptop Distribution Training]]
 
*[[Student Laptop Distribution Training]]
  
[[Category:E-Warrior: Digital Life & Learning Program]][[Category: Laptop Exchange]][[Category: Featured]]
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[[Category:Mac]][[Category:Laptop Exchange]][[Category:Backup]]
 
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Revision as of 19:30, 20 April 2017

Fig 1. Checking hard drive capacity
Fig 2. Checking folder size
Fig 3. Checking Home folder size

About this article

This article includes instructions for determining the capacity of the hard drive of the Apple MacBook laptop provided through the E-Warrior Digital Life and Learning Program. It also covers how to determine the size of folders on your laptop's hard drive. This is useful for routine monitoring purposes and when preparing for an exchange or re-image. It is intended for both students and employees.

Checking used and free space on your hard drive

Every hard drive has a maximum storage capacity. As you install programs and save files, the drive fills up. To check the maximum capacity, how much space you have used, and how much space you have left, do the following:

  • Control-click the hard drive icon labeled MacBook Pro ## (e.g., MackBook 12) on your desktop and select Get Info
  • Listed in the box under the General heading will be the capacity and available drive space (Fig 1)

Checking folder size

Basic steps

You can check the size of a single folder in the same way you check the capacity of your hard drive:

  1. Control-click on the name of the folder and select Get Info
  2. The size of the folder will be listed under Size (Fig 2)

Checking the size of your Home folder

You can use the same method to check the size of your entire Home folder, the one that probably holds all of your school-related and personal files. You access your Home folder buy double-clicking your hard drive icon and selecting the Users folder. Your Home folder is the one with the house icon with your username underneath it.

  1. Control-click on the name of the folder and select Get Info
  2. The size of the folder will be listed under Size (Fig 3)

Important information about folder sizes

  • It may take a few seconds for the folder size to be calculated, especially for larger folders.

Pro tips

  • The new Apple MacBook Air has a 256 GB hard drive. You may have to save some of your data to network, external, or cloud storage.
  • Before you restore data to your new hard drive, check how large your backup data folder is compared to how much hard drive space you have left.

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