Sparse Bundle Image not shrinking when I take file out

Question

Sparse Bundle Image not shrinking when I take file out

Hey all,
I want to use encrypted disk images to keep some of my files safe. My understanding was that using a Sparse Bundle Image means that the image resizes itself to the contents of what's in it. It seems to expand when I put files in, but it does not contract when I remove files. I made an image, put a 1gb file in it, then deleted it (and emptied the trash can, too). When I checked the size of the disk image, it was still 1 gb. That is going on here? How do I get the image to size back down after taking files out?

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Nov 1, 2008 8:38 AM

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Answer 1

V.K.

Level 9

56,174 points

Nov 1, 2008 9:00 AM in response to random1destiny

that's normal behavior. sparse bundles don't shrink automatically when you take stuff out (it would be nice if they did though). you have to compact them. unmount the sparse bundle and run the following command in terminal

hdiutil compact path/to/sparsebundle

put the unix path to the sparse bundle in the above.

P.S. filevault compacts the sparse bundle with user's home directory automatically when that user logs out.

Message was edited by: V.K.

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