Huge Time Machine backups

I've set Parallels to allow Time Machine to backup the virtual machine. Here's the problem: if I've run Parallels since the last Time Machine backup took place, then the next backup is always quite large (on the order of 20GB or so). This happens even when I haven't loaded any new software or otherwise created/changed a large amount of data on the virtual machine. The Time Machine backups remain much smaller if I haven't run Parallels in between backups.

If anyone's experienced and found a way around this issue, please do share your solution. Thanks.

(In case it matters, I'm runnin OS X 10.6, Parallels 5, and Windows 7.)

 

That's because the virtual hard disk is modified when you work with the VM - think virtual memory files; even if you just open her up and shut her down again, Windows will have read from and in particular written to the virtual hard disk file, so it's been changed and Time Machine thinks it needs to back it up.

I'd exclude the VM from Time Machine and do manual backups of that one.

 

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

 

Hallo Shaddam IV
wie machst du das manuell, kopierst du die komplette pvm?

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Michael Buchta

 

Hallo Michael,
ich glaube, Shaddam IV meint Kopieren vom kompletten PVM Packet auf externe Festplatten. Das kann man regelmässig anstatt Time Machine Backups machen.

 

ja, genauso mach ich's - ich kopiere das komplette .pvm-Pagacke auf die externe Platte. Das ist einfach und schnell und kopiert nicht nur die virtuelle Platte, sondern auch alle settings.