Disk cleanup for Mac

jamiemacjamiemac
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Hi All,



My apologies if this issue has already been addressed elsewhere.



I've just purchased my first Mac ever and am slowly learning the differences. The one thing I'm struggling with is the the process for removal of software etc.



I've read quite a few articles on just moving the application to the trash etc, but can anyone recommend a piece of software that does a cleanup ie. finds remaining files etc.



I've tried out a few, but nothing that really just identifies the folders no longer needed and deletes them.



Any suggestions.



JamieMac

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Why? There are just two reasons to remove files from your Mac--to delete obsolete documents and to free-up space. As your computer is new, you have more than enough free space. Deleting obsolete documents is easy enough. You are on a new computer running an OS and applications which are new to you. Apple included a treasure trove of apps, utilities, and demos on your computer. You don't have a clue what much of this stuff is or does. Before you delete things, learn to use your computer as it shipped. Add apps as you need them, be they commercial, shareware, freeware, or whatever. You have no idea how many newbies post requests to this and other Mac fan sites requesting help in restoring things that they deleted in haste. Don't be one of them. Don't delete stuff until you are familiar with it and can state with some assurance that you will not want it in the future.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    sherman homansherman homan Posts: 167member
    Quote:

    I've tried out a few, but nothing that really just identifies the folders no longer needed and deletes them.



    I think that process is too subjective. No program can intuit what you don't need. Besides, most Mac programs are pretty much self-contained. With a few exceptions, if you delete the program it is gone. There may be little plist files rattling around but they are tiny and they do not interact with any other process.

    While certainly appreciate the need to try to keep a computer organized, I wouldn't toss anything that I didn't understand. Short of extra drive space, which you probably don't need yet, you won't gain anything!
  • Reply 3 of 8
    jamiemacjamiemac Posts: 2member
    Thank you for the advice.



    Simply trashing software just seemed too simple after using a PC for so many years, but at least now I know I'm doing it correctly.



    Cheers
  • Reply 4 of 8
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JamieMac View Post


    Hi All,



    My apologies if this issue has already been addressed elsewhere.



    I've just purchased my first Mac ever and am slowly learning the differences. The one thing I'm struggling with is the the process for removal of software etc.



    I've read quite a few articles on just moving the application to the trash etc, but can anyone recommend a piece of software that does a cleanup ie. finds remaining files etc.



    I've tried out a few, but nothing that really just identifies the folders no longer needed and deletes them.



    Any suggestions.



    JamieMac





    Have you tried AppZapper?



    http://www.appzapper.com/



    Works great for me..



    Dave
  • Reply 5 of 8
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Avoid cleaning utilities like the plague. They are not needed. If a particular software title needs special uninstalling, then it probably ships with an uninstaller. Use the uninstaller. In the case of these general cleaning utilities, they are notorious for leaving the stuff that you want to delete and deleting stuff that you need to keep.



    This was soap21's very first post. It is clear that he is SPAMming the forum. Don't reward him.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    Avoid cleaning utilities like the plague. They are not needed. If a particular software title needs special uninstalling, then it probably ships with an uninstaller.



    I use AppZapper. It's great at removing the folders from Library/Application Support and /Preferences. Whenever I see an uninstaller, I ignore it and specifically use AppZapper. Uninstallers, I've found, either do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING or they only remove the application itself.



    Quote:

    This was soap21's very first post. It is clear that he is SPAMming the forum. Don't reward him.



    Well, probably, but he's not completely wrong.



    OH, GOSH, 2007.



    Yeah, he's a spammer. I'll take care of that.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    sbucursbucur Posts: 1member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JamieMac View Post


    Hi All,



    My apologies if this issue has already been addressed elsewhere.



    I've just purchased my first Mac ever and am slowly learning the differences. The one thing I'm struggling with is the the process for removal of software etc.



    I've read quite a few articles on just moving the application to the trash etc, but can anyone recommend a piece of software that does a cleanup ie. finds remaining files etc.



    I've tried out a few, but nothing that really just identifies the folders no longer needed and deletes them.



    Any suggestions.



    JamieMac



    I have used both AppCleaner and AppTrap for years (between them they don't miss a beat) so that thousands of associated files also get trashed (uninstalled) instead of orphaned, when the one file in the Applications folder is deleted.



    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/25276/appcleaner



    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/25323/apptrap
  • Reply 8 of 8
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sbucur View Post


    I have used both AppCleaner and AppTrap for years (between them they don't miss a beat) so that thousands of associated files also get tra



    This thread's from 2007. He won't be reading it. Please don't keep posting in it.
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