Tag Archives: Hard Drive

Address available hard drive space skyrocketing after installing OS X 10.10.3

HardDriveIconXAn issue may occur on some Mac systems where after installing the OS X 10.10.3 update, the Finder and other services that report drive space may show an increasing level of available space. This may be accompanied by the Storage tab in the About This Mac window showing your hard drive’s space is being used only for backups.

In general, when this type of oddity appears in the About This Mac window, it suggests your drive’s Spotlight index needs to be rebuilt; however, this issue will likely survive a forced index rebuild. Continue reading

Unable to boot to a secondary hard drive? This may help

HardDriveIconXOne long-standing and useful feature in OS X is its ability to boot from practically any mountable partition, including external drives. This allows for quick ways to test an installation, isolate different uses of your Mac to separate boot drives, troubleshoot aspects of your Mac’s hardware and internal storage, and create bootable backups of your Mac’s hard drive. While useful, there are times when your Mac will not boot to such partitions, even if they are perfectly healthy. If so, then here is what to do about it. Continue reading

How to fix unexpected error -50 in OS X when deleting or moving files

FinderIconYosemiteXDespite its user-friendly interface, OS X sometimes gives no more information than an error code when something goes wrong. One of these is error code -50, which may occur when you attempt to copy, move, or delete files from external hard drives. If this occurs and you are stuck with a file you cannot manage, then you can likely overcome this error with a few possible approaches. Continue reading

How to handle multiple disks simultaneously with Disk Utility

DiskUtilityIconXRegardless of the number of storage devices you have attached or built into your Mac, you will likely use Disk Utility for formatting them when necessary, to partition and resize them for various purposes, and otherwise managing them. However, one limitation you might find when using Disk Utility is that it will only act on one drive or volume at a time. Continue reading

Fix inaccessible and grayed out folders in the OS X Finder

FinderIconYosemiteXAll files and folders that you encounter when browsing the Finder in OS X should be displayed in regular font and icon color; however, there may be times when this is not the case, and one or more folders may appear grayed out and otherwise faded. When this happens, you will not be able to open the folder, and unlike other folders that may show a small entry triangle next to them in list view, these will not have options for viewing what is inside. Continue reading

How to determine when your Spotlight index needs to be rebuilt

SpotlightIconXThe Spotlight index in OS X is the database used for quickly accessing file information on your Mac. While this is primarily used for finding files on your system, there are several other services that use Spotlight’s information, and if there is any damage to Spotlight then you might see odd problems and behaviors dotted throughout your system. Continue reading

How to speed up a slow Yosemite upgrade

YosemiteInstallerIconXWhenever you upgrade a system there will always be times when configuration errors or incompatibilities may prevent specific features from working properly, such as a WiFi connection that is constantly dropping, but at other times more nondescript slowdowns may occur that have you questioning whether or not upgrading was worth it.

If you have just upgraded your Mac to OS X Yosemite and are noticing your system is running notably slower or choppier, then there are several steps you can take before you go about extensive troubleshooting efforts. Continue reading

Show missing hard disks in the Finder sidebar

FinderIconYosemiteXThe Finder sidebar is a convenient location to access frequently used items such as hard drives, various folders in your home directory, network shares, and any custom items you drag there. If you use the sidebar for accessing hard disks, then there may be times when certain hard disks do not show up here, while others do.

The likely reason for this occurring is if you have removed that specific hard drive Continue reading

How to hide a hard drive partition on your Mac

HardDriveIconXGenerally when you either partition your Mac’s boot drive, or attach a secondary drive to your Mac, then provided the partition’s formatting is compatible with OS X, you should see it mount and be available in the Finder. However, there may be times when you might wish to keep a partition hidden, either because you do not use it, or because it is not intended to be shown in the first place. Continue reading

How to speed up your old Mac

FinderIconXDo you have a Mac that is gaining a few years on it and is not performing the same as you remember when you first bought it? While you might not be able to pinpoint it, you might simply notice programs take longer to launch, or you now have to wait a few extra moments for other tasks to complete.

Sometimes such slowdowns are caused by errors Continue reading