Disk space disappearing The kernel_task process is at 567MB of RAM, and my hard disk space keeps disappearing. I just synced an iPhone 4S with iTunes like ~2 days ago, and now every couple hours I get the message that the startup disk is low on space. I've tried using Grand Perspective to no avail, as well as Disk Doctor.



What might be consuming my space or causing these results?
My guess is you have a stuck process that is impairing the ability of the OS to tell you what amount of space is actually used from Applications, audio-movies-photo rather than categorizing everything as "other". 


Make a back up of the Mac in case it's corruption or a serious problem. 
Power off the Mac. 
Boot to safe mode - hold the shift key as soon as you hear the startup chime and release it 20 seconds after the grey screen is drawn. 


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564



That should free up a stuck process and also repair any disk corruption at is easily fixable. Please let us know if you continue to get bad information from the space allocation image. Surely Applications take up more than zero K.