Can you delete old back-up files?

There tens of thousands of files in my iPhone backup area (Library>Application Support>Mobile Sync>Backup), most with old dates from previous back-ups. It doesn't appear that the backup process overwrites the old files.
Can I delete these old dated back-up files to free up space on my Mac? Can I assume the iPhone backup process is not incremental and a restore would not need these old files?
Thanks

I'm on 10.4.11.... forgot to update my sig (now updated).
I'm only concerned about it for eating too much (useless) space on my laptop, and perhaps running into some sort of file number limitations (if any).
I called Apple support on it and they said it's a result of me manually backing up (I don't auto sync backup due to the time involved, I right click the device to initiate the backup... maybe once a month).
When you manually backup, they said the system does not delete older backups. They said if you backup manually, the system also expects that you manage your old backup files manually. They said the manual backup files are not incremental - they stand alone each time you do it - so it safe to delete the older dated files, although advised to keep at least the two most recent backups intact.
Thanks for the input everyone.

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How can I delete old back-ups SAP/Oralce from TSM?

Hi all,
How can I set an expiration date for old back-ups so that they are deleted when reached that date? For our R/3 Enterprise 4.7 on Oracle 9.2.0.7 / AIX 5.2 we use TSM & Backint.
BR0278I Command output of '/usr/sap/<SID>/SYS/exe/run/backint
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         Interface between SAPDBA Utilities and Tivoli Storage Manager
               - Version 3, Release 3, Modification 1 for AIX LF 64-bit -
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        (c) Copyright IBM Corporation, 1996, 2003, All Rights Reserved.
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BKI2000I: Successfully connected to PROLE on port tdpr3ora64.
BKI0005I: Start of program at: Fri Mar 23 20:01:45 2007

expir_period will not work when using a SAP agent for backup (backint).
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check http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v1r1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.itsmerp.doc_5.3.3/fbrg53m039.htm
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How can I access old back up files?

I have a seagate back up drive where I pointed time machine to back up my files. I recently replaced my hard drive and was told I would be able to access the back up files to restore any old data I may want. I see the back ups but they are in a darker purple. I only have access to back ups on the external drive I have created since having the replacement drive installed. What is the purpose of backing up data if you can not get to it with another hard drive or computer?
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Was it made using Mountain Lion?
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http://www.tri-edre.com/english/backintime.html
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I got a new phone and it won't back up anything on to my icloud because it says there isn't enough storage space, can I delete old back ups?

I am not good with technology at all. I upgraded my 3GS to a 4S and now it won't back up to my iCloud. it keeps telling me that the icloud is full and I don't have enough room to back it up.I was wondering if there is away to delete the old back ups in order to free up space?

If you no longer need the backups, you can delete them by going to Settings>iCloud>Storage & Backup>Manage Storage, tap the name of device you want to delete the backup for (under Backups at the top), then tap Delete Backup. This will permanently delete it from your account, freeing up the storage it occupies.

How can i delete old RMAN backup files

Hi All
We have configured RMAN backup for one of our clients PROD instance[10.2.0.3] in 2010 Dec.
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kindly suggest me.
The parameters are :
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Regards
Shaik

Hello,
You can use this :
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Sylvie

How can you erase old back up from my external drive which i placed in the trash?

I removed some old back up from time machine which are on my external drive and it now in the trash. But the old back up is not erasing from my trash can. How can you removed this from the trash without reformatting the external drive.

You really should not remove any Time Machine backups using that or any other method.
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How can you delete old mail addresses?

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Thank you, Chris.
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How do you delete old time machine back ups?

I have a 2009 iMac (currently on Snow Leopard) that has been using Time Machine (TM) to back up to a 2009 Time Capsule (TC) since new. I have a 2011 Macbook Pro (currently on Snow Leopard soon to be Lion) that I would like to begin backing up using TM to the TC as well. The problem is that I recently did one back up of the MBP to the TC and it used almost all of the remaining space on the TC. Going forward the iMac has continued to back up to the TC creating space by deleting it's oldest back ups. The MBP however says there is not enough space to back it up. I am guessing that the TM for the MBP is unable to delete old back ups of the iMac to create space and since there is only 1 back up of the MBP it cannot delete that.
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djbrown

Is this more what you mean?
Re: Can not delete sparsebundle backup
Nov 17, 2009 8:30 PM (in response to Ricardo Blach)
+What I really need is to delete the old sparsebundle from the TC. How can I do that?+
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david

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rabidrabbit wrote:
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no
rabidrabbit wrote:
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I deleted my back up files from my external hard drive and my trash won't empty. I get an error code -22. Can anyone tell me how to fix this?

JLCruz wrote:
I deleted my back up files from my external hard drive ...
If this is related to Time Machine Backups...
See here > Should I delete old backups? If so, How?
From Here > http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
If the TRASH still won’t Empty...
See Here > http://pondini.org/TM/E6.html

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To get rid of "pop-up ads and other crap on my computer when I am on the internet", click on Safari in the Menu bar, and select Preferences. Next select Extensions. Delete all of them. Restart Safari.
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Excerpt from
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht39

HT4847 I can not delete old icloud back up from my old phone, keep receiving an error message "this back up can not be deleted because it's in use" it is not in use that phone is long gone!

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I have the same problem here and it wont let me do another back up or delete the old one.... Please help!!!! Anyone

I have moved old Back Up files from my external hard drive to the trash and as the Trash previews the files, i.e. counts them (over 850,000 files) it then begins to delete but then stops. Is it possible to move the files out of the Trash file and then onl

I have moved old Back Up files from my external hard drive to the trash and as the Trash previews the files, i.e. counts them (over 850,000 files) it then begins to delete but then stops. Is it possible to move the files out of the Trash file and then only delete a small amount at one time?

See
Deleting backups via the Finder on Lion 10.7.x or later:
http://pondini.org/TM/12.html
Hold option (alt) while emptying the Trash.
See also
http://pondini.org/TM/E6.html
Message was edited by: WZZZ

Can you delete old back-up files?

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