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snapshot

Free space on an APFS volume is an illusion

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.

December 30, 2022 Macs, Technology

Explainer: The arithmetic of snapshot size

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A simple worked example showing the effect of snapshots and changes in hidden system files in consuming free space on APFS.

July 23, 2022 Macs, Technology

What can you do with Time Machine backups on APFS?

When Time Machine makes its backups to APFS storage, just what can and can’t you do? How can you prevent large temporary files from stealing space on storage?

July 19, 2022 Macs, Technology

Last Week on My Mac: Will Disk Utility ever work properly?

Apple could have chosen to make APFS open source or to document it fully, to help third parties develop maintenance tools. It chose not to, but Disk Utility still doesn’t work as it should.

May 22, 2022 Macs, Technology

How much free space does an APFS disk need?

It depends whether you’re going to boot macOS from it, on the space required for snapshots, and how large they could become. And there’s more.

May 18, 2022 Macs, Technology

Last Week on My Mac: Do we have custom access?

Have you found Time Machine docs helpful in solving problems? Do you know what “custom access” means in the Permissions section of Get Info?

February 20, 2022 Macs, Technology

Understanding and managing Time Machine snapshots

Why Time Machine makes snapshots, and how they can grow and apparently consume free space. What you can and should do to manage this.

February 15, 2022 Macs, Technology

Last Week on My Mac: Still struggling with snapshots

One likely cause of vanishing free space are large snapshots. So how can you tell why a snapshot is large, and how can you avoid it?

February 13, 2022 Macs, Technology

Managing snapshots: how to stop them eating free space

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Snapshots are of great value, but can grow large if you don’t keep an eye on them. If you find Time Machine or another backup utility is storing large snapshots, here’s what to do.

February 10, 2022 Macs, Technology

Explainer: Disk free space

Confused by this on APFS? So you should be, as it’s complicated by features like snapshots, sparse files, and the file system itself. There’s no single figure.

December 4, 2021 Macs, Technology

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