208 GB of Backups on my Macbook????

[Gala]

I got a Time Capsule, set up the Time Machine Backups with it then returned it a week later. I decided to get a WD Passport USB connected External HDD instead. I have that set up with the Time Machine Backups now. For the life of me I cannot get rid of these HUGE chunks of backup files on my Macbook HDD.

Below is what my storage situation is. I have read that these "backup" files are the scheduled Time Machine snapshots when the Passport isn't plugged in? And I have also read that you need to go in to terminal to deactivate the Time Machine's ability to save on the local HDD?

Is this right & how do I go about cleaning out these Backups from the MBPro and keep them updating only on the Passport.

 

[GGJstudios]

For Time Machine users on notebooks running Lion or later, space may be consumed by Time Machine local snapshots, which can be disabled. Disabling them should delete the existing backups. If they don't, you can delete them manually from /Volumes/MobileBackups

OS X: About Time Machine's "local snapshots" on portable Macs​

 

[Gala]

So should I even bother disabling them? After reading that it says that the space it takes up is directly related to how much free space I have & it will never restrict me from adding programs on my own. BUT will this large chunk of data being used for backups slow my computer down?

 

[Weaselboy]

So should I even bother disabling them? After reading that it says that the space it takes up is directly related to how much free space I have & it will never restrict me from adding programs on my own. BUT will this large chunk of data being used for backups slow my computer down?

It will not slow your computer down and I would not disable it. OS X will manage the space on its own. If it is bothering you, you can turn Time Machine off then back on and the space will be cleared.

It can be a nice feature if you are away from your backup source and want to access a previous version of a document, for example.