How To Safely Move Your iPhoto Library to Another Hard Drive (Video Tutorial)
Sometimes your scanned or digital camera's photo collection is just so massive it takes over your entire hard drive. Maybe even to the point where now it's completely full!
If you don't want to replace your current hard drive with a larger one, moving your photo collection to an emptier secondary hard drive is always another option.
A Real World Example
The other day, I overheard two friends of mine discussing how one of them wanted to move her iPhoto collection off her packed Macbook Pro laptop. They were looking for the solution in the most obvious place, the iPhoto “Preferences” menu option. But they couldn't seem to find an option to point her collection's storage location to her external hard drive.
It took me a moment, but thankfully I was able to remember on the spot this seldom needed secret trick. (There was a little pressure on me)
Because Apple wanted to make iPhoto so easy for someone to use, it only makes sense they also want to protect their users from doing anything that would accidentally ruin their collection. And one quick way to do that would be for you to make iPhoto lose the connection with the correct library and database and not know how to fix it.
Thankfully Apple lets us change which photo library loads and where we store it, they just didn't go out of their way to make sure we would know how to do it!
My Very First Video Tutorial
So it occurred to me this is a situation a lot of iPhoto users will probably face at one time or another and would therefore be a perfect topic for my very first video tutorial on this website.
Oh, by the way, this technique will also work if you just want to move your library to a new folder location on your current drive.
Now go easy on me here! I haven't recorded my voice (on purpose) in a long time. And it certainly wasn't as easy as I had hoped! (I'm man enough to admit serious editing was involved)
For anyone who is unable to watch or listen, I have provided [CC] captions in the video as well as a full-text transcript below.
Additionally, if you have an extra moment, I would love to hear what you thought of my first video tutorial down in the comments below. You can give me the bad as well as the good, of course!
Thank you so much!
Hello and thanks very much for this video and transcription–really helped me out where others only left me confused! One thing I might mention is where you describe how to open the ‘new’ iphoto folder, you say to move to the dock and click on iPhoto while holding the option key. But I think you have to first open iPhoto (old?) in order for it to be in the Dock so you can use it? Hope this makes sense and that you might clarify it. Thanks very much.
One more thing-is there any way I can confirm that when I do an Option click on iPhoto in the Dock that it is the iPhoto from my external drive that has opened? I also have answered my own question above by having iPhoto in my dock by using ‘Keep in Dock’ command.
Hi Curtis, I hope you’re able to receive this message. I am late jumping on board. I have a huge iPhoto library that I plan to move to an external drive. The new problem as i’m sure you know is how to access the photos now that there is NO iPhoto anymore?! Can you help me? Thanks in advance.
Why yes! iPhoto is a little “different” now that Apple discontinued it for their newer Apple Photos application. But, that doesn’t mean they left people who want to use iPhoto (still) with no options.
Whenever a Mac user upgrades their operating system from a version of 10.10.2 or below, to version 10.10.3 or later, Apple’s new Photos application is installed to take over the job of their longtime iPhoto application.
When you first open Photos, it imports everything from your iPhoto library (though in a way that doesn’t occupy more disk space), and creates a new Photos library. From that point onward, anything you do in the new Apple Photos application won’t appear in the old iPhoto application, and anything you do in iPhoto won’t appear in Photos. It’s a one-time copy only.
So, it’s wise to choose one application over the other and stick with it. (And since iPhoto is no longer being updated/supported, it’s a far better choice and begin to start distancing yourself from iPhoto as quickly as you can)
The iPhoto application should not have been automatically removed from your computer. It should still be in your Applications folder (If it’s not, you can still get it back).
You can open your library file in iPhoto if you would like, or you can open it in the new Apple Photos application. They are interchangeable. If you launch iPhoto and your old library file doesn’t open, you need to manually tell iPhoto where it is and to launch with it (again). To open it in iPhoto, hold down the “option” key while clicking on the iPhoto application icon to launch it. This should bring up a menu to allow you to choose your library file.
However, if it wasn’t already updated to version 9.6.1, it will have a big “DO NOT” icon superimposed on the launch icon and you won’t be able to open it. This makes it seem as though you can never load it, but you can, you just will need to get it back by downloading the latest version of it before Apple stopped allowing you to do automatic updates through their system.
Here are the steps:
Hope this helps you Mackytack!
Thanks so much for your quick reply! When I first upgraded (and I regret it to this day) I lost all the photos, and somehow managed to get a bunch, if not all over to ‘photos’ from iPhoto, HOWEVER, they did not merge. I still have an iPhoto folder that is inaccessible. Now i’m nervous about deleting and reinstalling, though I like the idea of being able to merge the 2 rather than have 2 separate. ‘IPhoto’ has 36.62gb of photos and ‘photos’ has 12.33gb. I’m not too good with this stuff…
Without seeing both of your library files, I can’t be assured they are the same and one is for iPhoto and one is for Photos. But, it’s likely they are (I just can’t verify it without seeing more on your computer). So, let’s assume they are.
It’s actually very normal for the “duplicate” library file that was created with Apple Photos was installed to be a different file size than the original one for iPhoto — even though they have the SAME photos and videos inside! Yes, crazy. But, Apple did this so that you could still work in both applications, but your photo libraries (plural) wouldn’t take up TWICE the space as before.
It’s pulling this off with a little magic. Check out this article, which does a pretty good job of explaining quickly how it is able to save space: Why your Photos and iPhoto libraries take more space on Mac’s external drive.
First thing I would do right now is to drag both library files to an external drive and make this be a backup that you don’t mess with. If you do something that messes up the ones on your internal drive, then you always have these backups to refer back to.
Then, after you’ve made backups of both, I would load up Apple Photos and iPhoto and see of all of your photos and videos are in both. You will need to make sure you are looking in the place — the button/link — that shows ALL photos. This will be a better test to show if both of your libraries, have access to the same amount of photos and videos.
If both libraries have the same amount inside, or VERY close to it, then this shows that the library sizes can be different, because like that article I linked to above, Apple is trying to give you access to all photos AND also minimize the amount of space they are taking up on your storage drive.
You shouldn’t regret upgrading. Apple Photos IS different yes, and it’s missing some things iPhoto had, but this doesn’t mean Apple Photos doesn’t have benefits over iPhoto. It’s possible if all of your photos come up in Apple Photos, you could consider starting to use it instead of iPhoto. And you could eventually get used it and enjoy using it more. As an example, it’s certainly nice to be able to have our Photos on our desktop/laptops sync with our photo collection on our iPhones in the Photos iOS app! (with iCloud). It’s a huge benefit for most.
Hi! Update…I also just looked and when I click on iPhoto library, it DOES open the new photo app, BUT when I click on the old iPhoto library is says it cannot be opened because it has migrated to the new one. But instead of everything being in one photos folder I think I still have photos in both because the old one is so much larger than the new one?
Is this the message you are seeing? (the attached screenshot below) If so, this is just letting you know that when you upgraded your system, it already did the “migration” process and now your photographs and videos are ready to be loaded inside of the new Photos application, OR the old iPhoto application if it’s available on your system (still).
Likely, you are seeing this message if you are clicking on the library file with the word “migrated” added to the filename.
Do you actually have the iPhoto application still on your system? (Look in your Applications folder in your user folder and see if the iPhoto application is in there). If it’s not, then it’s possibly either in your trash (if you haven’t emptied it since updating, or you can likely re-download it by loading the App Store and then clicking on the purchases tab and look for it in your list of purchases (even if you didn’t buy it, it still might be there with a download link)
Once you get a copy of the latest iPhoto application, then try these instructions:
Try loading the application iPhoto while holding down the option key as you click to launch it. Then in the window that pops up, select the your iPhoto library as the one you want to open with iPhoto.
how long does it take for 34k photos/movies? using the method described? should I just choose bundles of photos which probably takes me a year!!
Hmm, I’m not exactly sure what you mean by just “choosing bundles of photos.” You need to move the entire library file at one time in order to make sure you don’t risk corrupting your library file by going inside of it and trying to move stuff out of it manually.
Curtis, very much enjoyed the video. You have a very pleasing voice also. Your navigation on the screen was easy to understand. I am always paranoid about loosing precious items. A question…. I find it confusing that apple lets you “move” a folder and in reality it is “copied” .. You drag and drop the iPhoto folder from its place in applications to the external hard drive but it copies it not moves it. Correct?
So when you delete the actual iPhoto file after you moved the new one to your external hard drive.. how do you create a new iPhoto file on your laptop for future photos?
Tank you,
Yolande
Thank your for the wonderful compliments Yolande! 🙂
As far as your first question. It’s not just Apple, I believe Microsoft Windows works the same way. The idea, I believe, is that when you move a file from one folder to another on the same storage drive, then the operating system feels safe you are trying to just move the file, and you will know how to retrieve it later. If however, you move a file from one folder on one storage drive to a folder on a different storage drive, it’s programmed with concern for your well-being, and worries that if it doesn’t actually make a COPY of this file — instead of just moving it — that if you no longer have access to this other storage drive that you will no longer have access to the file anymore.
Additionally, and probably more importantly, if your operating system is actually USING that file for something (like Apple does with iPhoto or Photos with a library file), then if dragging and dropping it to another storage drive moved the file and didn’t copy it, then it’s possible the application will no longer be able to access that file you moved, because it can’t guarantee you will always have that storage drive plugged in at all times. So, it’s more about safety than it is anything else.
Second question: When you delete the an iPhoto library file, or move it, and iPhoto (or Photos) can’t find the library file on its own when you launch the application, then a window SHOULD popup when you launch iPhoto the next time, asking you to select/find another library file manually on your computer, OR, at the bottom there is a button to “Create New” library file. Just click that button and give your library a new name and location where you want to save/store it.
Or, another way, is before you click on the iPhoto or Photos application to launch it, hold down the “option” key on your keyboard, and keep it held down as you click to launch the application. Then that same window will popup, with the same option to “Create New” at the bottom.
Those are the tricks. 😉
Amazingly helpful video and follow up comments!
If I move iPhoto to external drive will this affect the photos on my iPhone the next time i back up my iPhone? I.e. deleted or unavailable?
Thanks Derrill! I appreciate that.
And no, it won’t affect photos on your iPhone. Backups can mean a lot of things though — backups of entire phone through iTunes, or backup of entire phone to iCloud… or it could mean backup of photos into iPhoto or Photos. But, in general, Apple doesn’t care where you store your iPhoto or Photos library. As long as iPhoto or Photos knows where it is, or you tell it where it is. If iPhoto is closed, and you move the library file manually to another storage drive, and then 2 months later you launch iPhoto, it may not know you moved it, and you will have to tell it where you moved it to by choosing that folder on that drive. And by default, backups of your iPhone through iTunes, go to your main storage drive — internal drive.
If this was your first, I am looking forward to all the rest. This is one of THE best tutorials I have seen. And I have seen a lot because I need tutoring in many areas.
Thank you so much for your kind words Robert! That’s great to hear! 🙂
Great of this. Moreover if you want to recover deleted photos from Photos on Mac or iPhoto library, follow this video
youtu.be/4Bn7DGqnHy0
Curtis,
I transferred all my pictures and videos to my external hard drive without even paying attention to how it transferred. When I went back to look I notice all my pictures says unadjustednonraw_thumb and my videos only show up as an image. How do I get my original copies and my video back to a video if that makes any sense.
Same problem
Once I move my photo library to the external hard drive and delete my old photo library from my internal hard drive, can I upload new photos to the internal hard drive? If I do that, and again I want to move all these new photos to the external hard drive, will it overwrite the photo library on the external hard drive from the first time?
Fatima, if you only have one iPhoto (Or Photos for anyone use this application, which works the same way) library file, and you move it to an external drive, then the only way to save files to your internal drive now, is to create a second iPhoto (or Photos) library file to contain photos in that location. Think of a library file like a folder to hold photos and videos, and it can only exist in one location.
If you hold down the option key while clicking on the iPhoto or Photos application icon to launch it, you will get the menu option to create a new library file, which you can name and save anywhere you’d like.
If you create a new library file, and start importing new photos and videos into it, and eventually it grows so large that now you need to move it as well, you can. Just make sure that you give your library file a unique name — different from your old one — so that when you move it to the same location as your old one, it won’t (as you pointed out) overwrite the old one.