Time Machine > how to back up to a sparse bundle
Hello
A few days ago I connected an external 8TB drive to a Mac mini running Ventura. I followed this article, Backup disks you can use with Time Machine - Apple Support, section Mac shared as a Time Machine backup destination.
There are no issues with backing up two Macs from the LAN, a High Sierra and a Big Sur Mac.
When it came time to backup the Mac mini, which hosts the Time Machine destination, I discovered that erase the entire drive is a required prerequisite. I thought about partitioning the drive but I don't like the risks.
I am open to using a disk image however. From what I understand from the Disk Utility Help, a disk image can be created but I unclear on which of the two I should choose when creating the blank disk image for storage;
- Sparse bundle disk image: Same as a sparse disk image (below), but the directory data for the image is stored differently. Uses the .sparsebundle file extension.
- Sparse disk image: Creates an expandable file that shrinks and grows as needed. No additional space is used. Uses the .sparseimage file extension.
I can't determine which is appropriate because help mentions this "the directory data for the image is stored differently" without any detail.
Disk Utility Help also mentions:
- If the disk image will be used with a Mac that has a solid state drive (SSD) and uses macOS 10.13 or later, choose APFS or APFS (Case-sensitive).
- If the disk image will be used with a Mac with macOS 10.12 or earlier, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled).
- If the disk image will be used with a Mac or Windows computer and is 32 GB or less, choose MS-DOS (FAT); if it’s over 32 GB, choose ExFAT.
It would appear that I should follow the recommendation in the first bullet point because the Mac mini does have an internal solid state drive and uses macOS Ventura.
I would need some guidance on what to choose from the options above.
I am guessing that after the requirements above are understood, that the image should be mounted on the desktop so that I can choose it when setting up Time Machine correct? The same would apply, mounting to desktop, when I need to restore.
I would appreciate any assistance.
Thank you!
reference: Create a disk image using Disk Utility on Mac – Apple Support (AU)
Mac mini