Sparsebundle file size - no more free space

The user permissions of the imported files differ and that is probably a reason
why the items duplicated from the desktop in the machine you moved them
into; and made the copy into your user account's file folder.

The permissions differ and so the items are not of the same privilege levels
in that computer, as they were in the machine and account that created them.

So, while I have an idea of what is wrong, since I don't have that problem,
the fix to this issue is another matter. This problem to some degree or an-
other has bothered some users who've tried file sharing and have issue
with privileged ownership on moved files. You can try and change their
ownership to see if you can handle them more normally in the second Mac.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

this is all happening because you have filevault enabled on your account. the big hidden folder you found with Grandperspective is the encrypted sparse bundle with your home directory. DO NOT try to delete it. when you log into your account the sparse bundle is mounted as a virtual volume. so when you drag something from the desktop to, say, the top level of the hard drive you are moving between two separate volumes. in that case the correct behavior is to copy if you simply drag. to move files between different volumes you need to hold command while dragging. as for the drive space issues I'm really confused by your description. select the main hard drive of the MBP and enter command+i. what does it say about total space, used space and available space?

{Since I don't use a File Vault or encryption, etc, on my computer's volumes,
this is an area I naturally - and sometimes erroneously assume - is not an
issue when a topic or user does not specify. My knowledge is getting more
dated, so sometimes what I've stated is conditional or general, not specific.}

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

andresoares wrote:
Hi,

so, two things about your help.
1- How can I change this thing about copying between volumes?

you can't. the only way to do that is to turn off filevault which you won't be able to do now as you have so little free space.

They are all the same HD, but as I understood, they are mounted in a way that I can't use as one?

that's right.

I was moving the files using the command, but that's not really a move, it's a "copy and delete" process right?

don't see any difference between copy+delete and move.

I tried right now it and it says again about the free space.

what were you trying to move and where? with so little fee space it's no wonder it's giving you problems.

2- so, I used the command + i on my main driver "MacintoshHD". It says
. Capacity: 232.57GB
. Available: 8.76GB
. Used: 223.8GB

But I went deep into every folder to find the big files. And if I sum them all, I get to 59.77GB as the andresoares.sparsebundle has 164.03GB by itself (on the hidden folder .andresoares (my username)).

this all adds up so I don't see what the problem is. 60+164=224
what we have here is that you have too much stuff on your hard drive and need to free up space asap. your computer won't function well unless you do so and you can have serious issues due to disk fragmentation. you should always keep at least 10-15% drive space free at all times.

Thanks for your help guys. I read about deleting it, and I'm not doing this. I also copied it to my external HD for precautions.

Hope there is a solution other than re-image or format it, as this is from my work!

you may need to compact the sparse bundle with your home directory to reclaim the free space inside it. normally, this happens automatically when you log out. so log out. it should say "reclaiming free space". let it finish and then log back in. you should have a much smaller sparse bundle and quite a bit more free space on the hard drive.

Apparently, as noted, when you try to turn off the File Vault, the files stored in
your user folder will need their size in additional hard disk drive capacity to be
able to be opened, converted to non-Vault status, so they could be deleted.

Mac OS X 10.5 Help: Turning off FileVault:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8738.html

And the hard disk drive has nowhere near that kind of free space available to
perform the operation. And, too, while it is doing such an operation normally,
with adequate free space and in an ideal world, it takes considerable time.
Also, while un-Vaulting files, little or nothing else can be done with the Mac.

Mac OS X 10.5 Help: Increasing the size of a FileVault home directory:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/9035.html

• Note in the above ^ linked page, the last paragraph at the bottom:
"If you don’t have enough free space on your hard disk, reduce the size of your home directory
by copying some of its contents to another location and then deleting those files from your home
directory. Log out and log in again for FileVault to reclaim the unused space."

{Now, I recall why I never sought to use a
File Vault or encryption. Didn't need them.}

If you can get and use an externally enclosed hard disk drive capable of
making a clone of your computer's contents (with plenty of space to spare)
you could later run the computer from the bootable clone and then give
FileVault the free space it needs to function and unlock those files. And
then with the files gone from the clone (if desired) you could re-clone the
content from the external into the computer, again. Less the FileVault.

Some clone utilities make it easy to not clone some drive contents over
into the external or clone destination; you may be able to clone the main
stuff and not the FileVault... Then test the clone for bootability, if it is OK,
then wipe the computer's drive & clone back the remainder. - Some risk.

(There should be an easier way. Maybe do what VK suggests.)

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

{ edited 2x }

andresoares wrote:
Man, I hope this doesn't sound gay, but you are the man!! hahahaha

🙂

Thanks for it!! I didn't know that if I log out and login again would be different than restart or shut it down.

actually, there isn't. normally, it should compact the sparse bundle when you restart too. I don't know why it wasn't doing this for you. I suspect the system was misbehaving because your hard drive was so full.
I suggest you verify the internal drive using disk utility and if it reports any errors boot from the leopard install DVd and repair the drive using disk utility there. repair disk, not permissions.

Now I have a sparsebundle file with 13gb and 160gb free on my MacBook Pro!!

Thanks for all the help you guys and the patience.

Happy holidays for you and the family!

you are welcome!