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If I put my photos on a external hard drive disk and I delet it on my Mac can i still retrieve I it on my Mac.

If I save my pictures on a external hard disk drive can I still retrieve it for later.

iMac 27″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Jan 3, 2021 5:54 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 4, 2021 12:20 AM

Hi


Are you talking about putting your library on an external drive? You can completely move the library to external storage with the disadvantage that you must have the external storage connected whenever you want to use photos. (in fact you should have it connected whenever you log in) You can then still use the photos app to view, manage and edit your photos.


The external storage must be formatted APFS or MacOS extended (journaled), and not be (or have been) used for time machine. It must have the 'ignore ownership" checkbox ticked. It should not be on a memory stick, SD or similar. It stands to reason that if you want any sort of reasonable performance it should be a fast drive with a fast connection.


It must also not be a network drive (a direct connection is required - eg USB or Thunderbolt)


See

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201517

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 4, 2021 12:20 AM in response to mamie5x

Hi


Are you talking about putting your library on an external drive? You can completely move the library to external storage with the disadvantage that you must have the external storage connected whenever you want to use photos. (in fact you should have it connected whenever you log in) You can then still use the photos app to view, manage and edit your photos.


The external storage must be formatted APFS or MacOS extended (journaled), and not be (or have been) used for time machine. It must have the 'ignore ownership" checkbox ticked. It should not be on a memory stick, SD or similar. It stands to reason that if you want any sort of reasonable performance it should be a fast drive with a fast connection.


It must also not be a network drive (a direct connection is required - eg USB or Thunderbolt)


See

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201517

If I put my photos on a external hard drive disk and I delet it on my Mac can i still retrieve I it on my Mac.

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