Why does "About This Mac" say I am using so much space for backups on my flash drive? I have an external drive I use for my time machine backup, that's the only backup I should have. Is there a way to see the what those files are and where they are located?
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)
Read: OS X Mavericks: About local snapshots
If you have a portable Mac, Time Machine makes copies, each hour, of files that have changed. These “local snapshots” are stored on your computer’s internal drive, and are separate from backups stored on your backup disk. (Local snapshots are not saved on desktop Macs.)
A single daily snapshot is saved every 24 hours, counting from the time you start or restart your computer. A single weekly snapshot is saved for one week.
If disk space becomes very low, additional thinning is done:
To stop saving local snapshots, open Time Machine preferences and slide the switch to Off. Snapshots resume when you turn Time Machine back on.
... Is there a way to see the what those files are and where they are located?
Simply "Enter Time Machine" from the TM icon. Local Snapshots will appear even without the Time Machine backup device connected.
Emmons1983,
by default, Time Machine will group incremental backup updates on your internal disk before applying them to your external drive; it should remove those incremental updates from your internal disk once your external drive has them. Have you recently added a lot of data to your internal drive that has not yet been backed up?
Alternatively, have you ever accidentally selected your internal disk as a destination for Time Machine backups?
EDIT: Automatic removal of the incremental updates requires a command to be run in Terminal to configure it that way.
Thanks, John. Why would I want to keep local snapshots on? What is it doing for me? I understand that it will patrol itself in terms of disk space, but it still makes me uncomfortable having so (relatively) little disk space.
I did install Parallels and Windows 7 today, so maybe that's it. I'm sure I never accidentally selected the internal drive as the backup drive. Thanks!
Emmons1983,
I don’t think that Windows 7 will be backed up by Time Machine. The combination of the new installation of Parallels Desktop and the local snapshots that John Galt noted would likely explain your current usage.
Emmons1983 wrote:
Thanks, John. Why would I want to keep local snapshots on? What is it doing for me? I understand that it will patrol itself in terms of disk space, but it still makes me uncomfortable having so (relatively) little disk space.
Local Snapshots enable you to recover deleted or altered files in the same manner as if you needed to restore them from the Time Machine backup device, if that device is not available.
As the Apple Support document explains, there is no need to be concerned about reduced disk space due to Local Snapshots. OS X will accelerate their deletion if free space falls below predetermined thresholds. If you don't like it you can always turn off Time Machine, and that space will be released. Turn Time Machine back on again and it will pick up where it left off.
You may find users eager to post Terminal commands that will disable creation of Local Snapshots. I suggest you ignore them.
Why are there so many backup files on my hard drive?
