How do I clear up backups space on Mac Book Pro hard drive

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Level 1

9 points

How do I clear up backups space on Mac Book Pro hard drive

I recently deleted some large photo files from Aperature that were backed up and stored offsite to free up space. My space did not free up even after removing and deleting from Aperature (That file reflects the delete) and emptying the trash - I then rebooted to see it if cleared up. It appears all these files are still taking space as Backups - see below - how do I clear that out? FYI - I also backup my Macbook on a portable external drive so I dont need this backup.

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iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Sep 30, 2013 4:13 PM

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Answer 1

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Carolyn Samit

Level 10

165,615 points

Sep 30, 2013 4:19 PM in response to Bailone

Check, "Other" > OSX Tips The Storage Display

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Sep 30, 2013 7:22 PM in response to Bailone

If you're using Time Machine to back up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of files you've recently deleted. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as "Backups." The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself.

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