MobileMe: Computer has less free disk space after turning on iDisk Syncing

Additional Information

Mac OS X 10.5

iDisk Syncing in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard creates a disk image of your iDisk locally (meaning, it keeps a copy of your iDisk on your computer). This image takes up space on your hard drive. The amount of space used depends on the amount of data that is in the folders of your iDisk that are synced (Backup, Web, Library, Groups, Shared, and Library are not synced). For example, if you have 5 GB of files in your Documents folder on your iDisk, after turning on iDisk Syncing, your computer's free hard drive space will decrease by approximately 5 GB.

Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4

iDisk Syncing (Local iDisk) in Mac OS X 10.3.x and 10.4.x creates a disk image of your iDisk locally (meaning, it keeps a copy of your iDisk on your computer). This image takes up space on your hard drive. The amount of space used depends on the total size of your iDisk (not on the amount of space used). Images are approximately 25% larger than the total capacity of your iDisk.

For example, if you have a 10 GB iDisk, after turning on iDisk Syncing, your computer's free hard drive space decreases by approximately 12 GB.

If you want iDisk syncing to use less space on your computer, you will need to make your iDisk smaller by adjusting storage settings.

Note: For Mac OS X 10.3 users, iDisk Syncing only works with iDisks up to 2 GB in size.