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APPLE, please re-enable local backup to be disabled
- Thread starter Sciuriware
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1) I checked: snapshots on APFS DO TAKE EXTRA SPACE!
2) Ordinary users like me are not allowed to report on 'bugreport.apple.com';
if you can, you're welcome.
;JOOP!
Actually they do... I had to disable TM and remove all backups manually to regain the space on my wife's MBP. They claim that it manages itself, but it doesn't. I have moved all her stuff to a cloud solution and killed TM because it just sucks.
Of course you can report at bugreport.apple.com, just a normal Apple ID will let you login and report, I did that many times already.
The Local backup itself should not occupy too much extra storage IF the original is still there.
AFAIK, the logic is a bit complicated.
e.g. If you have a 1GB file on your SSD. It will of course occupy 1GB on your SSD. However, local TM should not take any extra space other than making a pointer let the TM local backup "share use" original file's 1GB data. That means, effectively still only take up 1GB space with your original file + TM local backup.
However, if you delete that 1GB file. Now problem comes. Because the original file is no longer there. But the TM local backup need it (the pointer still there). APFS will not free up the space even though you empty trash, but let that 1GB data now belongs to the local TM backup. At this point, I personally will consider TM local backup take up 1GB disk space.
So, for a user that has lots of files movements. Their local TM backup can getting large quickly and occupy lots of disk space even with APFS.
Has anyone tried turning off Time Machine and just running a backup when the TM drive is connected?
I think that’s the same thing I’m saying. If a user doesn’t want TM snapshots on their Mac the user can just turn TM off. “Back Up Now” still works when the TM disk is connected whether TM is off or on.
Although I don't like solutions like "problem?stop using it", I think it's a good idea for laptops:
every time I connect to my local network I have to wait till the TM backup finishes, which is sometimes
unpredictable: ever since LION OSX/macOS randomly freezes applications and TM is not immune to this.
OK, I'll take this way; thanks.
;JOOP!
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BAD NEWS: TM still makes snapshots when 'Back Up Automatically' is [ ] off.
So, .........
;JOOP!
On my system, snapshots aren’t kept for that long, a couple of days at most. If the computer hasn’t been on in a day, it will still purge the older snapshots regardless. Currently, I have just four snapshots (first one created a couple of hours ago).
So with “Back Up Automatically” OFF and the TM drive disconnected, TM backs up automatically. Makes sense in California, I guess.