How to Delete Old Time Machine Backups?

Summary – Are you finding ways How to delete Time Machine Backups? Then, this piece of information is befitting for you. Here, we will be covering the manual and automated methods for removing old time machine backups.

The Time Machine feature is quite useful for users who regularly use Mac. As this enables the users to prepare for emergencies by backing up their crucial files. But, in the long run, these files get adds up to the storage. Thereby, consuming the disk space. In this regard, if your Mac is running out of space or you no longer need any Time Machine backups – then you could decide to delete them. Generally, the time machine Backups are stored in an external drive, a network drive, or a time capsule. Besides this, check this page if you are facing problems like Time Machine Mac not working.

Now, to remove these backups correctly, make sure to know the right methods without affecting the system’s integrity. With this much being said, let’s get into the main context.

Why Time Machine Backups are Stored in External Storage Not Internal?

For most purposes, backups from the Time machine are typically not saved on the Mac’s internal drive. Rather, they are kept on an external drive, network drive, or a Time Capsule. This is done for a few reasons:

• Avoiding Information Destruction: In the event of an internal hard drive being faulty, it would be pointless to keep any backups on that same hard drive. Backing up data to a different and external storage device means even when the primary hard disk fails, you still have backups intact.
• Available Memory: Time Machine saves very many backups over time, and that is quite a lot of space used up. Should the internal hard drive be utilized in that manner, it would not be long before the space runs out, which would in turn lower the operational efficiency of the computer.
• Concentrated Backup Maintenance: Any information stored in the backups does not interfere with how the internal drive operates. Therefore, the user can better control how full the backups are by removing the backup storage device, removing the backup storage device and replacing it, and so on.

Nonetheless, there is a functionality present in macOS known as local snapshots, which saves temporary copies of backups to the internal hard disk only when the external Time Machine drives are not available. This feature offers the additional benefit of keeping the internal storage free, although the recovery files are still kept, but they are cleaned up periodically when space becomes a necessity.

How to Delete Time Machine Backups?

Several methods can be used to delete Time Machine backups. We will discuss them accordingly with their respective step-by-step guide.

1. How to Delete Backups on Time Machine​ Using the Instant Solution

Before moving to the other methods, please note that data wiping through manual methods has certain disadvantages, so your data might still be recoverable. To handle such disadvantages, we would recommend using SysTools Mac Data Destruction Software, a powerful solution and an absolute answer to “How to delete Time Machine backups” without leaving any traces or even a possibility of data recovery.

In Mac, generally, Time Machine backups are stored on an external drive or network drive. The folder containing the backup data is known as Backups.backupdb.

For an External Drive (e.g., USB or Thunderbolt drive), the location is:

/Volumes/[ExternalDriveName]/Backups.backupdb

For a Network Drive (e.g., NAS or Time Capsule):

Time Machine stores backups as a sparsebundle file, which is a type of disk image. The path is – /[NetworkDriveName]/[ComputerName].sparsebundle

Here are the steps to initiate the software.

Step 1. Open and launch the software on your system.

Step 2. Click the Select Folder button to add the folder you intend to erase.

Step 3. Now select the source folder that contains the backup i.e. Backups.backupdb present in external storage.

Step 4. Now, click Next and start scanning the folders/files.

Step 5. Now, select the file, and upon reaching the wipe method click on Wipe.

Step 6. Now, you will see a message, just click YES, and once the process is over, click OK.

2. How to Delete Old Backups from Time Machine Backups via the Time Machine App

The Time Machine app has a useful feature that allows users to erase select backups at will. This is advantageous when one does not wish to retain all the backups and simply wants to delete them from the entire collection. Associated steps:

Step 1. Connect your Time Machine backup External hard drive to your Mac.

Step 2. Click on the icon in the menu bar system preferences → Time Machine → and check or uncheck Show Time Machine in the menu bar.

Step 3. From the menu bar select the option ‘ enter time machine ‘.

Step 4. Use the timeline on the right to scroll through older and wider backups and locate the one that can be deleted.

Step 5. Point to a folder that includes the backup that you want to eliminate and right-click on it. Next, select the ‘ Delete Backup’ option.

Step 6. Finally, you will be asked to confirm the deletion and also enter a root password.

This technique works perfectly for users who wish to remove backups through the interface only.

3. How to Delete Time Machine Backups from Finder

Using the Finder tool on Mac, you can find and delete the Time Machine backups from the external drive or NAS drive. Way to perform:

Step 1. Connect your external Time Machine hard drive to your Mac.

Step 2. Launch a Finder window and locate your Time Machine hard disk (typically labeled as “Backups.backupdb” or similar).

Step 3. Open the Backups.backupdb directory. Here, you’ll also notice a directory with the name of your Mac. Inside this, you’ll see all backups listed by date.

Step 4. Then, involve going to the dated backup folder that you would delete and dragging it into the Trash or right-clicking and then selecting Move to Trash.

Step 5. Move it to the Trash folder. When you have done this, right-click on the Trash icon, choose Empty Trash, and permanently delete your backup.

Step 6. As is the deletion process of the Time Machine app, removal requires an administrator’s login credentials to finalize.

This method is useful when you want to directly manage backups through Finder.

4. How to Delete Time Machine Local Snapshots via Terminal

macOS keeps local snapshots in files when the Time Machine drive is not connected. These are temporary Time machine backups that are saved even without the actual backup drive connected. These local time machine backups can also be removed manually by the user through the Terminal. Involved steps:

Step 1. Open the Applications folder, then Utilities, and then select Terminal.

Step 2. Use the command below to display the existing local Time Machine snapshots:

tmutil listlocalsnapshots /

This will generate a list of the snapshots along with their dates.

Step 3. If you want to remove a particular snapshot, you can execute the following:

sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS.

Replace the YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS with the actual date and time figure in the snapshots provided.

Step 4. If you wish to remove all the local snapshots in one command, type:

sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots /

Step 5. You will be prompted to provide your password for verification before proceeding.

This method is useful when you have all the local snapshots stored in your Mac’s internal storage system.

5. Disable and Delete Local Snapshots in Mac

If you prefer not to manage local snapshots at all, you can disable them to stop macOS from creating future local backups. Here are the steps to perform:

Step 1.  Again, launch the Terminal app from Applications > Utilities.

Step 2. Use the following command to turn off local snapshots:

sudo tmutil disablelocal

Step 3. If you want to turn the feature back on later, use:

sudo tmutil enablelocal

This option is useful if you don’t need local snapshots and want to free up space by preventing them from being created.

6. How to Delete Time Machine Backups via Disk Utility

If you want to erase all the drive backups, you can use Disk Utility to wipe the disk on which your Time Machine backs up all data. Let’s observe the steps:

Step 1. Click Applications → Utilities → Disk Utility.

Step 2. In the left panel, choose the external disk you configured for the Time Machine backups.

Step 3. At the Erase window’s upper section, click on the Erase icon. A window will launch requesting the desired format and name for the drive. Select a format such as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled) based on your choice.

Step 4. Click on the Erase button to finish the task. This action will erase all the data or backups that are contained in the external hard drive.

Use this method when you want to start over with a fresh Time Machine drive or completely clear it.

Conclusion

Maintaining the Time Machine backup should be essential in keeping your Mac clutter-free. In this respect, getting rid of old or unwanted backups does not only free up precious disk space in your computer but also makes the system run smoothly. You can choose to erase backups using Time Machine by performing selective erasure backups or any other methods mentioned above. Choose them according to your comfort and needs. Now, after going through the write-up on How to delete Time Machine backups, must have gotten the idea to enhance the prospects of your system.

Also Read: How to Erase and Reset Mac to Factory Settings?