Macbook start up disk full problem

[DieselDragn]

...And people say that Macs don't get "cluttered" like PCs do!

Stab in the dark guess at a cause: In the case where the disk actually fills up despite little/no addition of user files and the MacOS installation is a couple of years old, is it possible that the disk is being filled by old files downloaded for OS and app updates?
I don't know if MacOS provides a means for clearing old update files and archived apps off of the disk (It should do...Look for something similar to Window's "Disk cleanup" in Finder) but if it does, give it a bash...You'll probably free up 2-10GB of HDD space in an instant!
Note: This does mean however that you won't be able to "rollback" to an earlier version of an application or MacOS as the files to do this will be deleted by the cleanup. Of course, that's assuming Steve Jobs actually lets his fans perform software rollbacks... )

[chrismacboo]

Maxx and Arcticfox, Here is the result of the disk utility using the Application>Utilities>Disk Utility:

Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
Reading permissions database.
Reading the permissions database can take several minutes.

Permissions differ on "private/var/log/secure.log", should be -rw------- , they are -rw-r----- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/DVD.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSettings.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSources.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Movies.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Music.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Photos.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Podcasts.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/TV.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BackRow.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Group differs on "Library/PreferencePanes", should be 0, group is 80.
Permissions differ on "Library/PreferencePanes", should be drwxr-xr-x , they are drwxrwxr-x .
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/Filesystems/AppleShare/afpLoad" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/Resources/DiskManagementTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "sbin/umount" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/quota" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/sbin/pppd" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/sbin/vpnd" has been modified and will not be repaired.

Permissions repair complete

Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”

Performing live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 685600 instead of 685601)
Invalid volume directory count
(It should be 168340 instead of 168339)
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.

Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.


What does this mean? Now, I will boot the installation disc and hopefully "Repair disk" would be available because using that first option, "Repair disk" was unavailable.

Thanks, guys!

[chrismacboo]

Picture 1

done both ur advice, arcticfox and maxx. arcticfox's suggestion worked! thanks!!

but my hdd is still full.

[DieselDragn]

First off, the (Presumed) screen grab in your post above wasn't coded in properly. Could ye provide the link, please?

Regarding the output that you posted from Disk Util, I saw several things in there that rang a few alarm bells in my mind:
(Note: The concerning bits in the permissions fields below have been highlighted in bold.)

Originally Posted by chrismacboo

Permissions differ on "private/var/log/secure.log", should be -rw------- , they are -rw-r-----.
Permissions differ on "Sys[...]nts/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x.
Permissions differ on "Sys[...]nce/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x.
[And so on]

Looking at the above with the *NIX users eye, I can see that someone (Or something) seems to have gained read permissions on your security log...A file that only the "root" user should ever have access to.
Also, some of the components on your Front Row application look to me to have been hijacked, presumably by a trojan - They should be simple datafiles that only app itself can change...But what they actually are are links to a file elsewhere in the system (I can't say where) that are set to allow any user to execute the linked file as a program.

Originally Posted by chrismacboo

Warning: SUID file "System/Library/Filesystems/AppleShare/afpLoad" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/Pri[...]ces/DiskManagementTool" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "sbin/umount" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/bin/quota" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/sbin/pppd" has been modified and will not be repaired.
Warning: SUID file "usr/sbin/vpnd" has been modified and will not be repaired.

This output is even more of a concern from my perspective...Going on given names, some of those modified files deal with important, security sensitive things including disk management/control, user control, internet connectivity (PPPoE networking) and VPN access!

Originally Posted by chrismacboo

What does this mean?

I'll admit I'm known for being quite paranoid when it comes to security matters and I tend to jump to conclusions...But when I see output with mysterious changes to critical system files like that mentioned within, I strongly suspect that your Mac may have a rootkit or malware present.

My recommended course of action would be to get hold of a decent security package for a Macintosh (I know Symantec do one, and AVG might come in a Mac variant too) run it over thy Mac using the most thorough scan settings possible, and follow any recommendations given. I would only advise using recognised mainstream security suites though...A lot of the lesser known ones for Windows have often proven themselves to be malware in their own right!

And I know that 95% of Mac users are currently screaming "...But Macs don't get viruses and malware!" at me, but I'm afraid the harsh reality of the situation is that Macs are just as vulnerable to malware as any Windows PC.
Although Apple do make a good effort with the "Steve Jobs Sandbox" to try and prevent malicious applications from overrunning the system (And also making like impossible for the technically adept! ) it only takes a single wrong click in a "Do you want to let [SomeDownloadedApp] access a system file..." prompt for a malware program to do something damaging on a Mac or send your personal data out only the Gods know where...

[jessicas158]

Usually Mac users encountered this issue because of lack of space in the system drive which causes several issues when people try to start their Mac. Unwanted, useless, duplicate files causes several problems during startup of Mac. In order to fix this issue user have to clean their Mac hard drive and need to eliminate out useless and duplicate files and folders. This can be done manually but it is very complicated and time taking task which is really very hard for normal people to perform. So, it is better that user go with the second option and try any third party software for the same purpose. This will help them out for sure.

[Ojaser6]

This thread loves getting bumped doesn't it

[ryan1087]

Originally Posted by Ojaser6

This thread loves getting bumped doesn't it

Probably popular in google.

[arcticfox]

They are just doing the same as what some of our members do. Looking for relevant posts/blogs to comment on to get a backlink. I wonder how far up google exceem is for "spam" lol