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Delete Time Machine backup - this is how it works

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How to delete individual backups of the Time Machine
1st step:
2nd step:
3rd step:
4th step:
5th step:
quick start Guide

Does Time Machine Automatic Backup take up too much space on your Mac? We'll show you how to delete it..

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Time Machine is the in-house backup function and is firmly integrated on the Mac. It backs up files, settings and programs on an external hard drive in the background . Time Machine automatically creates these backups at regular intervals, which can quickly run out of storage space. In our tips + tricks we show you how you can delete files from the Time Machine backup.

How to delete individual backups of the Time Machine

If you delete individual files on your Mac, the backup of that file will still be in Time Machine. In our step-by-step instructions and the brief instructions , we will show you how you can also delete the backup via the graphical user interface. The removed files then free up storage space, but are created again in later backups.

First, navigate to the folder on your Mac that you want to delete the Time Machine backup for. In the event that you backup the home folder or programs want to delete, simply open the appropriate folder. In this way you can also delete the entire backup of the user directory and not just individual files. In our instructions we will show you the deletion process using a single file in the download folder as an example..

1st step:

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Open the folder whose backup you want to delete. Then navigate to the Time Machine icon in the top right of the menu bar.

2nd step:

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Choose Open Time Machine .

3rd step:

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If several backups are saved, a timeline can be seen on the right-hand side . Select a point in time from which the backup should be deleted. Otherwise you keep the current date or backup.

4th step:

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Select the backup of the file to be deleted with a right click. Then click on " Delete all backups from ... " in the context menu .

5th step:

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Confirm the security question with " OK ". All backups of the file will be deleted from Time Machine starting on the selected date.

quick start Guide

  1. Click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and choose Open Time Machine .
  2. Select a desired point in time using the timeline .
  3. Right click on the file whose backup you want to delete and select " Delete all backups of file ".
  4. Confirm with " OK " .

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