iPad2/iOS 5 upgrade and MacBook startup disc issue - crippled MacBook-lost iPad data

I was able to install the iOS 5 upgrade to my iPad 2 but it wiped out all my old apps and data.

I did backup the iPad before the upgrade so attempted to perform a restore.

The restore failed because I ran out of space on the MacBook's startup disc to save the backup file.

So i moved files to an external drive.

Tried the restore again. Same (non)result.

Then I notice that the startup disc has less free space than before I moved the files to the external drive.

Moved more files, tried restore again. Runs out of SU disc space again, and the SU drive remains FULL!

I can not find any large files on the drive, visible or invisible.

At this point, I do not have my old data on the iPad and my MacBook is nearly crippled.

Web searches for similar issues found nothing.

HELP! How can I recover the space on my MacBook's startup disc? (at least until I can install a larger drive)


TIA
-shiggy

You'll find there's another thread on the Forum where Members are discussing this problem. Probably worth looking at their experiences - though, when I read that thread a couple of minutes ago, no one seemed to know how to fix the problem.

Tim

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tim SPRACKLEN

You'll find there's another thread on the Forum where Members are discussing this problem. Probably worth looking at their experiences - though, when I read that thread a couple of minutes ago, no one seemed to know how to fix the problem.

Tim

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I saw a similar, but different problem discussed. Do not know if it is the same (unlinked) thread you are referring to.

What is confusing me the most is having the free space on my MacBook startup disc disappear.

SU drive with 500MB free. Delete/move files to have 3.5GB free.
Try restore. Run out of space. SU drive now has 300MB free. Delete/move move file to have 3.0GB free.
Try restore. Run out of space. SU drive then has 150MB free. There are no more files to delete/move.
What happened to all the disc space I opened up? The only thing "added" to the drive is the backup file that could not be completely copied to the SU drive, but there are no findable files that could be that partial backup.