{"id":"freeing-space.what-is-the-on-your-fast-drive-chart","url":"/faq/freeing-space/what-is-the-on-your-fast-drive-chart","category":{"id":"freeing-space","title":"Freeing up space"},"subcategory":{"id":"profile-and-charts","title":"Storage Profile, charts and Home"},"question":"What does the \"On your fast drive, not this Mac\" chart show?","alt_questions":["On your fast drive chart","Why did the fast drive chart go down?","Space saved chart Storage Studio","Data moved off my Mac chart"],"short_answer":"It shows how much of your data is on your fast drive instead of this Mac, measured from the drive. It goes down if you move something back, so it can fall as well as rise.","answer_markdown":"It shows how much of your data lives on your fast drive instead of on this Mac, measured from the drive itself. It sits under the free-space chart and shares its zoom, so you can compare the same window.\n\nBecause it's a measurement rather than a running tally, it can fall as well as rise: move something back to your Mac and the line goes down. That makes it the clearest place to see the effect of moves, while the free-space line shows everything else happening on your Mac at once. See [why the free-space chart may barely move](/faq/freeing-space/why-didnt-the-chart-go-up-after-a-clean-up).","answer_html":"

It shows how much of your data lives on your fast drive instead of on this Mac, measured from the drive itself. It sits under the free-space chart and shares its zoom, so you can compare the same window.

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Because it's a measurement rather than a running tally, it can fall as well as rise: move something back to your Mac and the line goes down. That makes it the clearest place to see the effect of moves, while the free-space line shows everything else happening on your Mac at once. See why the free-space chart may barely move.

","answer_text":"It shows how much of your data lives on your fast drive instead of on this Mac, measured from the drive itself. It sits under the free-space chart and shares its zoom, so you can compare the same window.\n\nBecause it's a measurement rather than a running tally, it can fall as well as rise: move something back to your Mac and the line goes down. That makes it the clearest place to see the effect of moves, while the free-space line shows everything else happening on your Mac at once. See why the free-space chart may barely move.","tags":["charts","external drive","measurement"],"related":[{"id":"freeing-space.what-are-the-storage-charts","question":"What do Storage Studio's storage charts show?","url":"/faq/freeing-space/what-are-the-storage-charts"},{"id":"freeing-space.why-didnt-the-chart-go-up-after-a-clean-up","question":"I freed space but the free-space chart barely moved — why?","url":"/faq/freeing-space/why-didnt-the-chart-go-up-after-a-clean-up"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"What does the \"On your fast drive, not this Mac\" chart show? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"It shows how much of your data is on your fast drive instead of this Mac, measured from the drive. It goes down if you move something back, so it can fall as well as rise.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Freeing up space","path":"/faq/freeing-space/"},{"name":"What does the \"On your fast drive, not this Mac\" chart show?","path":"/faq/freeing-space/what-is-the-on-your-fast-drive-chart"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-is-the-on-your-fast-drive-chart","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does the \"On your fast drive, not this Mac\" chart show?","alternateName":["On your fast drive chart","Why did the fast drive chart go down?","Space saved chart Storage Studio","Data moved off my Mac chart"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It shows how much of your data lives on your fast drive instead of on this Mac, measured from the drive itself. It sits under the free-space chart and shares its zoom, so you can compare the same window.\n\nBecause it's a measurement rather than a running tally, it can fall as well as rise: move something back to your Mac and the line goes down. That makes it the clearest place to see the effect of moves, while the free-space line shows everything else happening on your Mac at once. See why the free-space chart may barely move.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/what-is-the-on-your-fast-drive-chart"}}]},"fragment":"
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Freeing up space · Storage Profile, charts and Home

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What does the "On your fast drive, not this Mac" chart show?

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Short answer: It shows how much of your data is on your fast drive instead of this Mac, measured from the drive. It goes down if you move something back, so it can fall as well as rise.

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It shows how much of your data lives on your fast drive instead of on this Mac, measured from the drive itself. It sits under the free-space chart and shares its zoom, so you can compare the same window.

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Because it's a measurement rather than a running tally, it can fall as well as rise: move something back to your Mac and the line goes down. That makes it the clearest place to see the effect of moves, while the free-space line shows everything else happening on your Mac at once. See why the free-space chart may barely move.

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Last reviewed

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