Storage

[shell94]

My daughter has a Mac book and I pay for extra storage. But it constantly says she has no storage left with a game she's playing on it. When you check it , it says there is a bunch of storage available. Help

 

[TonyAguila]

My daughter has a Mac book and I pay for extra storage. But it constantly says she has no storage left with a game she's playing on it. When you check it , it says there is a bunch of storage available. Help

What make and year is the Mac book? How much hard drive (or SSD) storage, and how much RAM? By “storage” I assume you were referring to iCloud storage. How much? And what version of macOS are you running?

If you can, launch Disk Utility. On the sidebar, click on the internal drive (probably “Macintosh HD”). The size should be indicated on the upper right corner of the window or on the second column of the table (as “capacity”). Make a note on the values shown in Available and Used. Let us know.

 

[shell94]

Im not computer savvy so hopefully this is correct.
Mac OS Ventura version 13.6.1
Processor 2.3 GH2 dualcore Intel core i5
Memory 8gb 2144 mhz lpddr3

Her storage reads
120.19gb of 121.02 used
Her icloud storage reads
51.09gb of 2TB used
So I do see the internal storage is pretty full but she has alot of icloud storage. Can her game file not go on the icloud?

 

[TonyAguila]

Im not computer savvy so hopefully this is correct.
Mac OS Ventura version 13.6.1
Processor 2.3 GH2 dualcore Intel core i5
Memory 8gb 2144 mhz lpddr3

Her storage reads
120.19gb of 121.02 used
Her icloud storage reads
51.09gb of 2TB used
So I do see the internal storage is pretty full but she has alot of icloud storage. Can her game file not go on the icloud?

You should be able to offload much of the local content to iCloud by synchronizing to iCloud. To save myself from typing the details, here is a passage I found online that pretty much detail the steps. By automatically syncing to iCloud, when your local storage starts to run out, some of your files will automatically be uploaded to iCloud instead of just being mirrored. Below is the text:

To save local data to iCloud on a Mac, go to System Settings > your Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Drive, then turn on "Sync this Mac" and optionally enable "Desktop & Documents Folders" to automatically store your Desktop and Documents folder contents in iCloud Drive; you can also manually drag and drop files directly into the iCloud Drive folder in Finder to save them to iCloud.

 

[shell94]

Do you know if that includes gaming files? I feel like that's what most of it is. Mods she downloads for a specific game? I really appreciate your help on this btw.

 

[TonyAguila]

Do you know if that includes gaming files? I feel like that's what most of it is. Mods she downloads for a specific game? I really appreciate your help on this btw.

As I understand it you need to load/install files in iCloud Drive (as shown in the sidebar of your Finder window). When you start to run low on free space, local iCloud Drive files will be removed and will only been in the iCloud server (as long as “Optimize”) is enabled. I never use this feature myself because, control freak that I am, I want to have local access to ALL my files.

Another solution is to add external storage to the Mac. For a laptop, though, it might be an issue as far as portability is concerned.

 

[willywilly]

One thing to check is whether the game is storing excessive temporary files or cache data that's taking up space without showing up clearly. Also, ensure that the MacBook is properly syncing with iCloud if that's where the extra storage is allocated. If you’re considering an upgrade or even a secondary device, mac of all trades is a great place to look for reliable refurbished Apple products at a good price. Hope this helps