Comments on: Mystery of the disappearing disk space http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/ A blog about Macs and that Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:36:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Matt http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11398 Matt Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:51:50 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11398 @Flameboy: Glad you sorted out the problem! :) Thanks for posting your solution - I hope it helps others. @Flameboy: Glad you sorted out the problem! :) Thanks for posting your solution - I hope it helps others.

]]> By: Flameboy http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11379 Flameboy Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:07:00 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11379 I figured it out! The problem is caused by a bad mount. When a mount process fails, the system automaticly create a mount and saves the data under /Volumes/NAME_OF_THE _MOUNT. So, what I did was only to delete this directory (with ´sudo rm -rf /Volumes/NAME_OF_THE _MOUNT´), and boom, my free space was back again! Thanks for taking time helping me, hopefully someone else will be able to use this. I figured it out!

The problem is caused by a bad mount. When a mount process fails, the system automaticly create a mount and saves the data under /Volumes/NAME_OF_THE _MOUNT.

So, what I did was only to delete this directory (with ´sudo rm -rf /Volumes/NAME_OF_THE _MOUNT´), and boom, my free space was back again!

Thanks for taking time helping me, hopefully someone else will be able to use this.

]]> By: Matt http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11203 Matt Fri, 26 Sep 2008 07:49:51 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11203 @Flameboy: Hmm good point. Trawling through the output of 'sudo lsof' might be a better bet than WKM, though it would be a tedious process. You'd need to locate suspect files, then 'ls' or 'tail -f' them to see if they're growing. Then you could use lsof again or WKM to identify the process that's writing to the file. @Flameboy: Hmm good point. Trawling through the output of ’sudo lsof’ might be a better bet than WKM, though it would be a tedious process. You’d need to locate suspect files, then ‘ls’ or ‘tail -f’ them to see if they’re growing. Then you could use lsof again or WKM to identify the process that’s writing to the file.

]]> By: Flameboy http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11093 Flameboy Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:17:17 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11093 Matt: Thanks for the hint, but I don´t really se how "What’s Keeping Me?" would help me here? The problem seems to be that reported disc use differs from my actual use. None of the things above did help me out. I ran a utlility called "What size", and if I summarize the files, I don´t get the same result as Finder do... Weird! Matt: Thanks for the hint, but I don´t really se how “What’s Keeping Me?” would help me here?
The problem seems to be that reported disc use differs from my actual use.

None of the things above did help me out.

I ran a utlility called “What size”, and if I summarize the files, I don´t get the same result as Finder do… Weird!

]]> By: Matt http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11058 Matt Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:15:56 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11058 @Flameboy: One app that might help is What's Keeping Me?, which I plan to review soon: http://www.hamsoftengineering.com/products/wkm/wkm.html This tells you what processes are using what files, which may help to track it down. and/or try lsof as I describe in my post above. Does that help? @Flameboy: One app that might help is What’s Keeping Me?, which I plan to review soon: http://www.hamsoftengineering.com/products/wkm/wkm.html

This tells you what processes are using what files, which may help to track it down.

and/or try lsof as I describe in my post above.

Does that help?

]]> By: Flameboy http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11030 Flameboy Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:57:12 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-11030 Ok, this isn´t a quick answer, but I´m having the same problem right now, and it appeared meanwhile running rsync. After rebooting, the problem remains. What to do? Ok, this isn´t a quick answer, but I´m having the same problem right now, and it appeared meanwhile running rsync.

After rebooting, the problem remains. What to do?

]]> By: Matt http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-2207 Matt Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:38:05 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-2207 Yes, I was thinking virtual memory too. As I say, I shut down the network and the disk space still went down, which rules out P2P. Thanks for the tips re OmniDiskSweeper and Activity Monitor. If it happens again, I'll check them out! Actually OmniDiskSweeper sounds like a useful bit of kit regardless. Yes, I was thinking virtual memory too. As I say, I shut down the network and the disk space still went down, which rules out P2P.

Thanks for the tips re OmniDiskSweeper and Activity Monitor. If it happens again, I’ll check them out! Actually OmniDiskSweeper sounds like a useful bit of kit regardless.

]]> By: Gideon http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-2195 Gideon Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:43:33 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-2195 Though it's possible it was Virtual Memory going absolutely nuts. Therefore a restart was going to be pretty much the only remedy. I've never heard of this before though. Check out Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder to see the virtual memory usage for each process running on your Mac Gideon Though it’s possible it was Virtual Memory going absolutely nuts. Therefore a restart was going to be pretty much the only remedy. I’ve never heard of this before though.

Check out Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder to see the virtual memory usage for each process running on your Mac

Gideon

]]> By: Gideon http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-2194 Gideon Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:40:49 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-2194 I highly doubt it was a worm/virus etc. I've had problems in the past with P2P programs that were meant to be downloading to an external HDD, but instead they downloaded to an invisible folder of the same name as my external HDD but on my internal drive. It also failed to move the files over to the external once they had completed downloading. I discovered this using OmniDiskSweeper program. Though you could do the same thing in teminal I though this program was much faster at showing me EVERYTHING on my HDD, including invisible folders and the sizes of each. It's shareware so you have to pay to get it to delete stuff for you.. but it sounds like you know what you're doing in Terminal, so you could probably do what I did, and just use OmniDiskSweeper to find the files/folders in question and use Terminal to delete. Gideon I highly doubt it was a worm/virus etc. I’ve had problems in the past with P2P programs that were meant to be downloading to an external HDD, but instead they downloaded to an invisible folder of the same name as my external HDD but on my internal drive. It also failed to move the files over to the external once they had completed downloading.

I discovered this using OmniDiskSweeper program. Though you could do the same thing in teminal I though this program was much faster at showing me EVERYTHING on my HDD, including invisible folders and the sizes of each. It’s shareware so you have to pay to get it to delete stuff for you.. but it sounds like you know what you’re doing in Terminal, so you could probably do what I did, and just use OmniDiskSweeper to find the files/folders in question and use Terminal to delete.

Gideon

]]> By: Greg http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-2192 Greg Sat, 08 Dec 2007 12:44:40 +0000 http://mac.elated.com/2007/12/08/mystery-of-the-disappearing-disk-space/#comment-2192 didn't duplicate everything and purge it? didn’t duplicate everything and purge it?

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