How APFS can trim free space in a read/write disk image and transform it into a sparse file, so it uses storage more efficiently.
disk image
Plain read/write (UDRW), sparse image (UDSP), and sparse bundle (UDSB) compared for storage efficiency, performance, and convenience.
All you need to know about the sparse RAW disk images used inside lightweight VMs on Apple silicon Macs.
In Monterey and Ventura, regular read-write UDRW disk images can now be APFS sparse files, and work more efficiently than sparse images or sparse bundles.
Disk images originated in the 1960s, and are still valuable tools in modern macOS. They have their limitations, though, and in some cases should be replaced by APFS volumes.
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.
Download some vital free software, mount its disk image, run the Installer package there – but why does Ventura refuse to install it, and what you do?
Writing to the Data volume in a VM is dismally slow. Is using shared storage any quicker? What happens when you copy a VM to an external SSD, or to another Mac?
It’s all too easy to lose all previous versions of a document: one false move to another volume, to iCloud, or shared over a network and they’ve gone. How can you preserve them?
They have more options than most new cars. What are they, how do you use them, how to pick the most appropriate, and which tools to use.
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