Virtual Machines for lightweight virtualisation on Apple silicon Macs rely on sparse files. Here are tips to ensure they stay small and don’t explode to full size.
APFS
How APFS containers and volumes work. What hard links, clones and sparse files are, and when they break down.
You’re in control of a traditional file system, but with snapshots, clones, sparse files and other volumes sharing free space, APFS isn’t as simple.
Making sense of the SMART indicators for NVMe SSDs, including all recent models fitted by Apple to Macs.
The iPad Pro has the same M2 chip as a MacBook Air, a keyboard and trackpad, and a single Thunderbolt/USB4 port, but there the similarities end.
The life of an SSD should be more predictable than a hard disk. All you need is its TBW, and the total amount of data written to it so far.
Using version numbers, it’s possible to track changes in critical sub-systems like APFS within macOS. According to those, APFS was updated twice while Catalina was in security-only maintenance. Why?
True or false? Apple supports macOS for three years. Apple’s security updates are sufficient. New versions of macOS are full of bugs. It’s safer to delay upgrading.
From High Sierra’s four-volume group to macOS 12 on Apple silicon with three containers and 11 volumes, and both regular and fallback Recovery volumes.
A simple worked example showing the effect of snapshots and changes in hidden system files in consuming free space on APFS.
The Eclectic Light Company 