Since the app uses external drives or flash memory cards to store files, they’re not normally plugged in 24/7. Snapshots are there because Time Machine isn’t always connected to the main backup disk. How Do You Delete Time Machine Snapshots to Save Space? The time may vary depending on the size and amount of files. Wait a few seconds until the process is complete. Drag your cursor over the files you want to back up and move them to the external drive folder.Ħ. Open the local computer disk and select the “Users” folder.ĥ. The distinction lies in the method, meaning whether you use the app or a Terminal command to prevent automatic backups.Ĥ. Time Machine Backup FAQs Is There a Difference Between Disabling and Turning Off Time Machine?Īpart from the semantics, there’s not much difference between turning off and disabling Time Machine.
If the last command doesn’t work, it might be because Terminal doesn’t have full access to the external drive.
You’ll probably be asked to enter a password after running the command, so don’t be surprised. Since the tmutil command requires administrative privileges, you’ll have to use the sudo command as well.
Apart from the standard commands, you can also use Terminal to disable Time Machine backups. You can locate it in the Applications folder in Finder or by using Spotlight Search. The Terminal app is the built-in command-line tool for Apple devices. But what happens if you’re working on a remote Mac or want to run some scripts?
You can turn the app off with ease and even delete unnecessary backup files to free up storage space. Option 2: Use the Terminal to Turn Off Time Machine BackupsĪs you can see, the Time Machine interface is pretty straightforward. You have to do it manually by deleting the files within the app. However, you won’t free up any space on your external drive this way. Turn off Time Machine by clicking on the big slider on the left-hand side.Īfter turning it off, Time Machine will no longer automatically back up your files.
In this article, we’ll show you how to turn off Time Machine by using the app or a nifty Terminal command.
You might want to free up some of that space and switch to doing manual backups. However, since the program is so thorough, the backup files can quickly overload your external drive.