Copying Photos library to another computer.

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RonMe Author

Level 1

6 points

Copying Photos library to another computer.

What is the best way to copy the Photos main library from my MacBook Pro to my wife's MacBook Air. Both running Mojave.

MacBook Air

Posted on Oct 11, 2019 6:31 AM

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Answer 1

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léonie

Level 10

197,071 points

Oct 12, 2019 4:43 PM in response to RonMe

It is not necessary to put the Photos Library into the Pictures folder; any other folder in the home will do. But other applications are expecting the library in Pictures, and Photos will be looking there by default.

Just do not put the Photos Library onto the Desktop or the documents folder, if the mac is syncing the Desktop or Documents with iCloud. That will damage the Photos library.

If photos keep vanishing from the library, when you copy it to a new machine, it could be caused by iCloud Photos. Is iCloud Photos enabled for your Photos Library? With iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage enabled it is not possible to copy the library directly, unless you disable "Optimize Mac Storage" for the Photos Library and wait for the photos to download from iCloud before you copy the library.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

197,071 points

Oct 11, 2019 7:42 AM in response to RonMe

To avoid permission problems and file ownership problems copy the library from your own mac to an external drive, where you can enable the "Ignore ownership " flag. How to prepare the external volume is described here:

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

Once the library has been copied to the external volume, dismount it and connect the drive to your wife's mac. Then drag the library from the external volume to the Pictures folder on her Mac.

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Answer 3

RonMe Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 12, 2019 4:13 PM in response to léonie

Is it important to place the file in the Pictures album? I have a Photos album on both computers that contain our four photo libraries. The file I'm trying to copy is the main library, which somehow became corrupted on her computer, and is much larger than the others: over 36,000 photos and 112.62 GB. I followed all the steps twice but somehow only about 6000 photos made the transfer. All the folders and albums are there but most are empty. Not sure what to do.

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Answer 4

RonMe Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 14, 2019 7:19 AM in response to léonie

You are correct about iCloud Photos and the Optimize Mac Storage option. I've turned it off and the stored photos are downloading to the library. I can watch the file size slowly increasing. This could take a while since we have a lot of photos and my VPN service slows my internet connection. But I am confident that your suggestions are accurate and eventually I'll get the library shared to my wife's computer.

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Answer 5

RonMe Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 16, 2019 5:07 AM in response to léonie

Leonie,

Your recommendations worked. The photo library have been successfully shared to my wife's computer although I put it on the external drive on her computer so as not to use up too much RAM on her computer. It works fine. Thank you very much for your help.

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Answer 6

RonMe Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 12, 2019 4:24 PM in response to léonie

By the way, judging by the file size on my wife's computer, I think all the photos are there but somehow hidden.

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Copying Photos library to another computer.

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