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Cannot move photos from iCloud into Photos 1.5

I was having trouble with my photos library. So I turned of iCloud photos, and deleted my macs photo library. My iCloud photo library is of course untouched. I then turned my iCloud photos back on. Unfortunately when trying to turn iCloud photos back on in preferences, I'm getting the message iCloud features for Photos only available in the System Photo Library. How do I bring my photos from iCloud into iPhotos again. I looked up what the message meant, and apparently I have more then one photo library on my mac. I only want one, but this might explain why duplicate photos always occur ... IDK Any suggestions on finding and removing the other library, and then moving my cloud library into Photos.

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Oct 6, 2020 4:58 PM

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Posted on Oct 7, 2020 1:04 AM

greenmind wrote:

I looked up what the message meant, and apparently I have more then one photo library on my mac.

It only means, that you did not yet make your current library your system Photos Library. The previous library, that you deleted, has been your System Photos Library (or you could not have been using iCloud Photos with this library).

and apparently I have more then one photo library on my mac. I only want one, but this might explain why duplicate photos always occur ...

Photos is only showing you one library at a time, so several libraries would not explain duplicates.


Are you using iCloud Photos with other devices as well, for example an iPhone? Are you using My Photo Stream in addition to iCloud Photos?

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11 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 7, 2020 1:04 AM in response to greenmind

greenmind wrote:

I looked up what the message meant, and apparently I have more then one photo library on my mac.

It only means, that you did not yet make your current library your system Photos Library. The previous library, that you deleted, has been your System Photos Library (or you could not have been using iCloud Photos with this library).

and apparently I have more then one photo library on my mac. I only want one, but this might explain why duplicate photos always occur ...

Photos is only showing you one library at a time, so several libraries would not explain duplicates.


Are you using iCloud Photos with other devices as well, for example an iPhone? Are you using My Photo Stream in addition to iCloud Photos?

Oct 7, 2020 12:12 AM in response to greenmind

Open photos with your new library, go to preferences. In the general tab, click the button "use as system photo library"


Having other libraries wont cause any problems other than taking up some space. However, if you want to delete them...


preferences will also tell you the location and filename of your library. Look in the same folder (Usually pictures) for any other libraries and delete them IF YOU ARE SURE THERE ARE NO PHOTOS IN THEM THAT YOU NEED. Once they are gone they are gone.



Oct 7, 2020 6:28 AM in response to léonie

I will read this completely when I return from the dentist, but it looks like I have to many photo libraries.I just did a search of My Pictures Folder. They include My iCloud photo library, My Photo Library, My Photos Booth Library, Photos Library, & Photos Library 2. This might explain why my Mac is staving for space, and photos duplicate themselves ... IDK. How would I consolidate every library into one?


I have an Phone 7 connected to iCloud & my late 2009 iMac

Oct 7, 2020 7:30 AM in response to greenmind

Over the years, my library has become corrupted on several occasions. I had to start anew. Unfortunately I don't think I properly imported the new photos, and created duplicate libraries. I'm thinking that just deleting my old libraries would be the thing to do. Perhaps keeping the iCloud library ... I went through it, deleted some dupes, and unwanted photos. I think everything is there. Any suggestions?

Oct 7, 2020 8:00 AM in response to greenmind

Re-reading what you wrote, no nothing else besides iCloud is connected to my photos. I can also see where you say that the duplicate libraries aren't causing duplicate photos. Nothing else besides my iPhone & iCloud are connected to my current library, Would deleting all those libraries other then iCloud be safe, or do I still need a photo library on my computer. The latest one perhaps?


Also once there gone, how to I properly add my photos back into my photos program.


Still I am really perplexed as to why my photos always duplicate. It doesn't happen immediately after I manually remove dups. It takes several weeks to occur.


Oct 7, 2020 8:17 AM in response to greenmind

Before you start deleting libraries, check each library what is in them. I would collect them on an external volume, just in case you may later miss some photos. As Tony pointed out - deleted photos will be gone. And if you ever imported photos to a library that has not been syncing with iCloud, the imported photos will only be in that library.


Keep your current System Photo Library on your internal volume. Photos needs one local library to keep in sync with your iCloud Photos Library.

Oct 7, 2020 3:38 PM in response to léonie

I have an external hard rive for Time Machine, but wt copying two and three copies of my photos it has long filled 1TB. I have time, and looked through my current photos folder, plus iCloud completely. Their might be a photo stored in an old library, I might want to save, but I'm pretty sure they are just older versions of what I have now. Anyway, how would I even look at them, w/o room. I obviously have room for the representation of the photos, but cannot open them.


The thing I can't understand is I went to iCloud & deleted a bunch of photos that I didn't want anymore from iCloud. Faces, Bursts, badly taken photos, & just photos I didn't want anymore. Unfortunately it still wouldn't synch wt my computer. It had synched only 2 months ago. The additional libraries are from 2015 & 2017, so I've had them for a while , and they didn't cause me any problem. Is there a way I can inspect those other photo libraries contents w/o opening the folders.


Honestly I'm tempted to just get rid of them, and start anew.

Oct 7, 2020 5:16 PM in response to greenmind

I'm fairly sure iCloud has every photo in it I need, and is 308.3 MB. Still my Photos library which is 5 years old contains 448.6 MB. I'm not sure why it's so large, but I'm guessing it contains a whole lot of faces & dups I never bothered removing. My iPhoto Library is really small at 7.4 M.B. Is there a way to see what's in these libraries w/o bringing them into my current Photos program.

Oct 7, 2020 8:43 PM in response to léonie

I’m guessing that keeping the current system Photo Library In my internal volume means I’ll have to also keep one library on my computer.


About checking the volumes before deleting them, can I look at what’s in a volume w/o moving the pictures into my Photos folder. Just asking because currently I don’t have room to move them into Photos.


Sorry for so many questions. I want to learn how to properly use Photos.

Oct 10, 2020 3:30 PM in response to greenmind

I had multiple photo libraries, taking up enormous amounts of space, so I removed some. I kept the newest 4 gig photo library on my mac. I'm positive this was the same library, my mac was currently using. All photos are found in iCloud photos page, and initially synched wt Photos on my Mac. It just wouldn't synch the folders. They were in iCloud, but not Photos. So I tried repairing the library.


Now nothing synchs wt my iMac. It connects only about 100 photos, and the rest are unseen & not openable. Photos will also only stay open for 20 seconds, so maybe it doesn't all tim. IDK My photo library is 4.34 gigs. iCloud has 2099 photos. The Photos app has 2098 Photos & 1 video, so they seem to match. Unfortunately Photo's on my Mac only holds about 100 from iCloud. It also crashes in about 20 seconds after opening.


Apparently iCloud works wt the Designated System Library, and if you only have one library it automatically becomes designated. This is the only library I have, so it should automatically work. I have an early 2009 iMac, using Photos 1.5. I don't have a ton of space, about 2 gb of free space, but more then before. I have about 100 gb free, on my external hard drive. It has saved files going back to July 2015. I tried to disconnect & reconnect wt iCloud on my computer, thinking that might help, but no dice. I was thinking perhaps if I reinstalled Photos, that might help. Still I don't want to mess it up anymore. Thank you in advance for your time.



Oct 10, 2020 4:03 PM in response to greenmind

Apparently I still had a slightly older Library connected to iCloud. I thought I had deleted all other libraries, but it luckily it was still there. As far as I can tell every photo synchs along wt the folders. I think that the way iCloud works is always going bewilder me. Still I am glad to have close to 6 GB free on my Mac now.

Cannot move photos from iCloud into Photos 1.5

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