please help

[traceypsu]

Im fairly new to mac computers and i have a power book g4 and it says that i have used approx. 60 gb of the 74 gb that are on there. I cant figure out how i used that much space and i tried getting rid of programs and anything i could to get some space back..but nothing is working.Im not sure if i deleted things wrong or if i need to reformat my computer or what. and ideas?

[jbennet]

pleas refrain from entitling threads "please help" as we get thousands of theese and many people who would otherwise help ignore them for that reason

what do you have on your HDD?

videos?
music?
or just lots of programs?

no way programs alone could take up 60gb (40gb max maybe)

[traceypsu]

i have put alot of programs on my mac in the past but i got rid of them to try and create more space and I have an external harddrive so i put everything on there like pictures and things. so now i just have the basics on there and it still says i have almost no space left. I dont understand it. Im not sure if i deleted them wrong or what.. is there a way that i can just start over.. im so confused

[jbennet]

i dont have a clue about macs but maybe you just deleted the launcher instead of the actual files or something?

[John A]

You don't happen to have any GAMES do you? Those take up a lot of space, and when you "delete" them, there's often data files (which is what takes up so much space) left on your hard drive.

i dont have a clue about macs but maybe you just deleted the launcher instead of the actual files or something?

That's the other possibility. There's shortcuts, or "Aliases" often created by installation programs on the desktop. Simply deleting these aren't going to save you much space, so look in the Applications folder for the real data.

Hope this helps

[Lomoco]

There is a special program that you can download for free that gives you a visual map of your hard-drive so you can see what is taking up the most space. Here is the download link: http://www.derlien.com/download.php?file=DiskInventoryX

It shows you where all the files are too

Hope that solves your problem :)

[Junyah]

What programs do you use? iTunes easts up alot of space when you download video podcast? Programs Like protools, garage band and logic can eat up 20-30 gig a day easy. I your downloading from 10.1 mp didital cameras that are full you can eat up 2gi a session. I you're using brocast qual 3 chip video cameras you can eat up alot of space also and if ur using photshop cs2-3, Final Cut Pro HD, Adobe Preimeir or adobe illustrator project from those programs can eat up major drive space.

Tracey ... check you computer to see if you actually erased the programs and you emtied the trash good.

I thought I emptied the trash .. but I had some Logic Pro projects in there on time ... the minut e i emtied the trash ... I got 45 gig back.