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I want to upgrade my macOS from Mojave to Big Sur. I've downloaded the OS update by following these steps:

  1. Go to Apple.
  2. Go to System Preferences.
  3. Go to upgrade Software.
  4. Click Upgrade Software.
  5. Choose Big Sur.
  6. Click Install Big Sur.
  7. Agree the License.

However, I blocked to choose the available disk and I get this message:

“There's not enough free space on the selected volume to upgrade the os. An additional 12.87 GB is required.”

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What should I do to free up the space and install Big Sur?

I've checked my available space on my system and this what I found:

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  1. Apps: 12.89 GB
  2. System: 83.22 GB
  3. Available: 22.61 GB

And this is the content of my drive:

enter image description here

I am confused why the system takes up 83.22 GB of space!

Giacomo1968
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Menai Ala Eddine - Aladdin
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  • If you want to see what's using most space, see https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/5353/how-can-i-figure-out-whats-slowly-eating-my-hd-space but long term, if your disk is that full you are in desperate need of more storage. Running SSDs at capacity will seriously shorten their life. – Tetsujin Jul 05 '21 at 12:01
  • Most of the space was consumed by the old OS. I want to delete the old OS and install the new one ( BIG SUR ) – Menai Ala Eddine - Aladdin Jul 05 '21 at 12:11
  • To 'delete' the old OS, first you would have to format the entire drive. I'm pretty sure that's not your actual intention. – Tetsujin Jul 05 '21 at 12:12
  • Is installing an SSD with more capacity an option? – Andrew Morton Jul 05 '21 at 12:34
  • Perhaps [How much storage should be taken up by 'System' in MacOS Sierra](https://superuser.com/questions/1136012/how-much-storage-should-be-taken-up-by-system-in-macos-sierra) will let you free up enough space. Do make sure to have an external backup before starting. – Andrew Morton Jul 05 '21 at 12:35
  • According to [Apple’s official macOS Big Sur tech specs](https://support.apple.com/kb/sp833?locale=en_US): “If upgrading from macOS Sierra or later, macOS Big Sur requires 35.5GB of available storage to upgrade. If upgrading from an earlier release, macOS Big Sur requires up to 44.5GB of available storage.” Download [Onyx](https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html) and try cleaning up all of your caches to see what gets freed up. (1/2) – Giacomo1968 Jul 05 '21 at 15:53
  • Also, I would recommend downloading [AppCleaner](https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/) and truly delete the applications you don’t use. Like, for example, GarageBand takes up of a ton of space; especially in OS Library content. If you just delete the GarageBand app you will not get all of that content. By using AppCleaner you will definitely free up gigs of space. Ditto with other core Apple bloatware that is installed and not used by some: Like iMovie, Pages and such. Try Onyx to clear caches and AppCleaner to selectively cleanly remove bloatware and see if that helps. (2/2) – Giacomo1968 Jul 05 '21 at 15:58
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    @Giacomo1968, I'll try it and give you the feedback. – Menai Ala Eddine - Aladdin Jul 05 '21 at 16:11
  • @MenaiAlaEddine-Aladdin Good luck! And FWIW, I just checked the storage report on my macOS Big Sur system and it takes up 15.31 GB of space. I have run AppCleaner when I first got this MacBook to remove the Apple bloatware apps I have and space slimmed down. Hopefully you see similar results… Or at least get that 12.87 GB of space cleared up so you can upgrade! – Giacomo1968 Jul 05 '21 at 16:21
  • @Giacomo1968 - at the other end of the scale, my System is 220GB, & that's without Garage Band etc. It actually contains no bloatware', except things I've intentionally installed & use. Even my 'slim' system on the HTPC Mac has 140gb ;)) Personally, I blame the manufacturers [not just Apple, they all did it when SSDs were expensive] for selling machines with simply too little storage for even the 'ordinary' user. – Tetsujin Jul 05 '21 at 17:56
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    Hmm, just checked a Big Sur Mac & it shows 15.31GB too - which is bizarre, as it's a clone & migrate of the 'slim' Mac. They're measuring it differently it would seem. It has 104GB of "other". I bet you'd need to add them together to equal the way it used to be measured. – Tetsujin Jul 05 '21 at 18:00
  • Well, I guess 15-31 is our number! (To borrow and bastardize the title of a “Toots and the Maytals” classic.) – Giacomo1968 Jul 05 '21 at 18:44
  • @MenaiAlaEddine-Aladdin Any update on how this all worked out? – Giacomo1968 Jul 16 '21 at 04:48

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