1. Empty the trash. Could be lots of files in the trash that aren’t fully deleted.
2. This isn’t normal. I’ve inadvertently filled up my boot drive and was able to delete files without issue. You need to boot into Safe Mode and try to delete files there.
3. If you’re concerned about losing data, boot to Target Disk Mode and use another machine to copy files.
4. If your on an Intel Mac, reset the SMC.
5. Reset the PRAM.
Restarting into Safe Mode will probably be your answer. Just booting into Safe Mode does a lot of good.
Here is a list of steps I made a few years ago. All are still good for Intel based Mac’s and most are good for Apple Silicon too.
1. Disable unused login items:
1. Open System Preferences
2. Click the Users & Groups preference pane
3. Click the Login Items tap on the top of the window.
4. Remove all unnecessary items by click on the item and then clicking the minus button
at the bottom.
2. Delete unnecessary launch files (Library)
1. Open your primary hard drive (you might be able do this by clicking on the Finder icon
in the dock.
2. Double-Click to open the Library folder.
3. Delete all unnecessary files in the following four folders:
• Inputmanagers - delete the entire folder
• LaunchAgents
• LaunchDaemons
• StartupItems
3. Delete unnecessary launch files (User Library)
1. While in the finder, click on the Go menu tap on the top of the screen.
2. Hold down the Option key and click on Library.
3. Delete all unnecessary files in the following four folders:
• Inputmanagers - delete the entire folder
• LaunchAgents
4. Run Disk Utility on your start up drive:
1. Choose Apple menu > Restart. After your Mac restarts (some Mac computers play a
startup sound), press and hold the Command and R keys until the Apple logo appears,
then release the keys.
2. Click Disk Utility, then click Continue.
3. Choose View > Show All Devices.
4. In the sidebar, select the disk you want to repair.
5. Click the First Aid button .
If Disk Utility tells you the disk is about to fail, back up your data and replace the disk.
You can’t repair it. Otherwise, continue to the next step.
6. Click Run.
If Disk Utility reports that the disk appears to be OK or has been repaired, you’re done.
You can click Show Details to see more information about the repairs. Otherwise, you
may need to do one of the following.
7. If Disk Utility reports “overlapped extent allocation” errors, two or more files occupy the
same space on your disk, and at least one of them is likely to be corrupted. You need to
check each file in the list of affected files. Most of the files in the list have aliases in a
DamagedFiles folder at the top level of your disk.
8. If you can replace a file or re-create it, delete it.
9. If it contains information you need, open it and examine its data to make sure it hasn’t
been corrupted.
10. If Disk Utility can’t repair your disk or it reports “The underlying task reported failure,”
try to repair the disk or partition again. If that doesn’t work, back up as much of your
data as possible, reformat the disk, reinstall macOS, then restore your backed-up data.
5. Reset the SMC (System Management Controller):
1. For a desktop:
1. Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
2. After your Mac shuts down, unplug the power cord.
3. Wait 15 seconds.
4. Plug the power cord back in.
5. Wait 5 seconds, then press the power button again to turn on your Mac.
2. For a Laptop:
1. Choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
2. After your Mac shuts down, press Shift-Control-Option on the left side of the built-in
keyboard, then press the power button at the same time. Hold these keys and the
power button for 10 seconds. If you have a MacBook Pro with Touch ID, the Touch
ID button is also the power button.
3. Release all keys.
4. Press the power button again to turn on your Mac.
6. Reset the NVRAM (nonvolatile random-access memory) & PRAM (Parameter RAM):
1. Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys
together: Option, Command, P, and R. You can release the keys after about 20
seconds, during which your Mac might appear to restart.
• On Mac computers that play a startup sound, you can release the keys after the
second startup sound.
• On Mac computers that have the Apple T2 Security Chip, you can release the keys
after the Apple logo appears and disappears for the second time.
• If your Mac is using a firmware password, this key combination does nothing
or causes your Mac to start up from macOS Recovery. To reset NVRAM, first turn off
the firmware password.
• When your Mac finishes starting up, you might want to open System Preferences
and adjust any settings that were reset, such as sound volume, display resolution,
startup disk selection, or time zone.
7. Start up in safe mode:
1. Start or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key. The Apple logo
appears on your display. If you don't see the Apple logo, learn what to do.
2. Release the Shift key when you see the login window. If your startup disk is encrypted
with FileVault, you might be asked to log in twice: once to unlock the startup disk, and
again to log in to the Finder.
3. To leave safe mode, restart your Mac without pressing any keys during startup.
