Saving disk space on Workstation Pro 14.1.4

[WTig3ner]

Apologies if someone previously asked this; I could not find anything on it.

I run Kubuntu 18.04 with a Windows 10 VM and 64G RAM, using Workstation Pro 14.1.4.  I obsessively back everything up, possibly counter-productively.  As a result, I have a lot of old snapshot and vmdk files.  I know how to get rid of snapshots one at a time, but I'm wondering (a) whether there is a quicker way, and (b) do I really need all those vmdk files?  Their dates suggest to me that I don't, but I don't want to do anything rash.  (I have, though, a complete copy of all of the files on an external hard drive.

Here is the file listing, showing the size of each file:

total 512G                                         Date
660K vmware-0.log                                  11/14/18
2.9M vmware-1.log                                  11/11/18
636K vmware-2.log                                  10/25/18
484K vmware.log                                    11/15/18
56G Windows10x6412217-000001.vmdk                  4/21/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217-000001.vmdk.lck             11/14/18
46G Windows10x6412217-000002.vmdk                  2/24/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217-000002.vmdk.lck             11/14/18
33G Windows10x6412217-000003.vmdk                  5/8/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217-000003.vmdk.lck             11/14/18
46G Windows10x6412217-000004.vmdk                  2/24/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217-000004.vmdk.lck             11/14/18
51G Windows10x6412217-000005.vmdk                  7/3/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217-000005.vmdk.lck             11/14/18
62G Windows10x6412217-000006.vmdk                  11/14/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217-000006.vmdk.lck             11/14/18
12K Windows10x6412217.nvram                        11/15/18
33G Windows10x6412217-Snapshot10.vmem              7/3/18
6.0M Windows10x6412217-Snapshot10.vmsn             7/3/18
33G Windows10x6412217-Snapshot5.vmem               12/13/17
8.4M Windows10x6412217-Snapshot5.vmsn              12/13/17
33G Windows10x6412217-Snapshot6.vmem               12/21/17
7.4M Windows10x6412217-Snapshot6.vmsn              12/21/17
33G Windows10x6412217-Snapshot7.vmem               2/24/18
5.9M Windows10x6412217-Snapshot7.vmsn              2/24/18
32K Windows10x6412217-Snapshot8.vmsn               4/21/18
33G Windows10x6412217-Snapshot9.vmem               5/8/18
4.5M Windows10x6412217-Snapshot9.vmsn              5/8/18
61G Windows10x6412217.vmdk                         2/24/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217.vmdk.lck                    11/14/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217.vmsd                        7/13/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217.vmx                         11/14/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217.vmxf                        6/19/18
4.0K Windows10x6412217.vmx.lck                     11/14/18

My "logic" says I can't possibly need all those old, bulky files.  OTOH, what I think doesn't count; everything depends on what VMware Workstation thinks.  So does anyone know how I might begin to approach this job?  I am most grateful for your consideration.

[a_p_ · Accepted solution]

I obsessively back everything up, possibly counter-productively.  As a result, I have a lot of old snapshot and vmdk files.

Snapshots are not comparable to backups! A snapshot may allow you to revert to a specific point in time, but if something goes wrong with one of the .vmdk files, your lost.

These .vmdk files are used as a chain, where each chain link is important.

but I'm wondering (a) whether there is a quicker way, and (b) do I really need all those vmdk files?

a) You can select multiple snapshots in the Snapshot Manager, and delete them in a single step

b) Whether the snapshots are necessary depends on your needs. As mentioned before, each of the files is important for the VM, so never delete the files directly from the file system!

André