Reduce size of a massive sparsebundle?

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Level 1

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Reduce size of a massive sparsebundle?

I have a sparsebundle, which I'm fairly certain was created by my older macBook Time Machine. It is huge, at 850GB. I'm not sure how this was possible, because the backup drive for this MacBook was never that large.

Anyway, I now have this on a thumb drive, and I'm trying to transfer it to my main iMac. There are some files in this backup I need to access. But my iMac only has a 500GB internal drive.

Is it possible for me to edit this massive sparsebundle and delete everything I don't need?

Thanks!

Time Capsule

Posted on Jul 12, 2023 6:34 PM

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Answer 1

ku4hx

Level 7

23,700 points

Jul 13, 2023 3:40 AM in response to bentStaple

Don't do anything to it, if it's TM, and you attempt to edit with Finder or some other app other than TM itself, you can easily damage the dataset. Just keep it on an actual HDD for future possible use. You don't want to store a file that size on your main drive.

You can just leave it on the thumb drive, but they are not nearly as "damage proof" as an actual HDD. Or SSD for that matter.

Over time, a TM backup will grow larger. That's by design.

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Answer 2

Jul 13, 2023 1:39 PM in response to bentStaple

Here is an excellent post from a respected forum contributor who recently provided detailed instructions for accessing an old TM backup on a Mac which was not directly associated with that backup. Sounds like it may apply here, but even if it does not, I would probably use these instructions to access the old TM backup.

Accessing Files Backup to Time Machine Ex… - Apple Community

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Answer 3

bentStaple Author

Level 1

20 points

Jul 13, 2023 8:59 AM in response to ku4hx

Okay, but I just need some old emails from this large file, and then the whole thing can be deleted. What is the best way to do this? I've read somewhere that these files reserve empty space, and that there is likely NOT 800GB worth of data in the file. Is this true? If so, how can I at least eliminate this extra space?

Sparsebundles seem like a pain in the *** to deal with!

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Answer 4

ku4hx

Level 7

23,700 points

Jul 13, 2023 9:22 AM in response to bentStaple

Related post: How to access sparsebundle - Apple Community

You're right, they are a pain in the ... . But if that's what you have to deal with, that's what you have. I never created now with TM.

For backups, I now use Carbon Copy Cloner's TM-like backup facility. Thay're just plain old files that can be access by Finder and mored about as desired. And the entire process is feature rich.

TM always worked flawlessly, I just wanted greater control and "easier" access.

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Reduce size of a massive sparsebundle?

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