Deleting files from time machine dataset

[dradovsky]

My time machine backups to FreeNAS had been working just fine with until I changed partition sizes on my iMac's hard drive. Before re-partitioning, I was well under 50% full on my FreeNAS storage. After re-partitioning, I received a warning on the web GUI that I was now 82% full.

What is the best way to delete the Time Machine's backup of my iMac's sparsebundle, which now shows it to be 3.58 GB in the finder, when that 1 TB drive actually uses only 730 GB of data?

I am running FreeNAS 9.10.2-US, with four 3TB mirrored drives, so I should have 6 TB of available storage. My iMac is running OS X El Capitan. I also back up to the same dataset via Time Machine two external drives of 1 TB and 2 TB capacities, plus a Mac laptop with a 160 GB drive. Total data to be stored from all machines and drives is approximately 2.4 TB.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

After re-partitioning, I received a warning on the web GUI that I was now 82% full.

If you repartitioned, that would have made the next Time Machine backup a full instead of an incremental.

What is the best way to delete the Time Machine's backup of my iMac's sparsebundle

The simplest thing is probably to navigate into the volume in Finder and delete the backups for the iMac from before the repartition.

 

[dradovsky]

If you repartitioned, that would have made the next Time Machine backup a full instead of an incremental.

The simplest thing is probably to navigate into the volume in Finder and delete the backups for the iMac from before the repartition.

Robert, thank you for your reply. By "Finder" you must mean the Finder in Time Machine, is that correct?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

I'm referring to macOS Finder, the file and folder browser with the smiley face icon.

 

[fracai]

Specifically, navigate to where your TimeMachine volume is mounted on your Mac. Open the Backups folder and delete the directories that are named with dates prior to your re-partition.