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 image
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.
Three types of Disk Image, encrypted or not, tested when freshly made or used and remounted. So many variations, but only one type of Disk Image can be trusted for writing.
A Mac Studio Max has an SSD delivering up to 7.4 GB/s, and a CPU up to 50% faster than a 16-core Xeon. Why does it write an encrypted disk image at the speed of a slow hard disk?
Securing sensitive data from access by others, and safeguarding it from loss of damage, is common. Solutions range from encrypted images to specialist external disks.
The Eclectic Light Company 