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hdiutil

Which disk image format?

Plain read/write (UDRW), sparse image (UDSP), and sparse bundle (UDSB) compared for storage efficiency, performance, and convenience.

January 12, 2023 Macs, Technology

Sparse disk images in virtual machines

All you need to know about the sparse RAW disk images used inside lightweight VMs on Apple silicon Macs.

January 10, 2023 Macs, Technology

How plain disk images went sparse in Monterey

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.

January 9, 2023 Macs, Technology

Should you use a disk image or a volume?

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.

January 7, 2023 Macs, Technology

A user’s guide to Disk Images

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.

July 11, 2022 Macs, Technology

A brief guide to disk image files

So many different types, from read-only disk image .dmg files, to sparse bundles and DVD/CD-R masters. Which to use, and how to create them?

September 19, 2020 Macs, Technology

Imaging APFS storage in Disk Utility, and size of the VM volume

T T Read More

Disk Utility can’t image APFS volumes, and normally returns an error if you try to image a container. Here’s the workaround.

September 18, 2020 Macs, Technology

Limits to size of sparse bundles, and bugs fixed in Spundle 1.2

T T Read More

Important update for all users, which addresses several bugs in setting the maximum size of sparse bundles.

June 22, 2020 Macs, Technology

Selecting sizes for sparse bundles

How to set the total size, and band size, for your sparse bundles, with calculation of the critical band size.

June 18, 2020 Macs, Technology

Spundle: a new utility for creating and adjusting sparse bundles

T T Read More

Saves you from having to learn how to use hdiutil, and supports 6 different file systems and custom band sizes.

May 18, 2020 Macs, Technology

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