Transfer Photo library to external hard drive
How long does it take to copy an entire photo library to an external hard drive? My photo library is 450 GB and it is taking forever to transfer my library!
iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.14
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Yes, 450GB is a lot of data and it will take a long time. Exactly how long depends on the speed of the drive, and of it's connection to your mac.
While it is not complete - please check you have correctly formatted the external drive. If it is not you should stop the copy now (hopefully you are copying and not moving). And reformat the drive correctly. You cannot run a photos library on a drive with an incorrect format without storing up a ton of trouble for the future.
It must be formatted APFS or MacOS extended (journaled) (preferred and faster for spinning drives)
It Must not be (or have been) used for time machine. (A time machine drive can be used if re-formatted)
It must have the 'ignore ownership" checkbox ticked.
It should not be on a memory stick, SD or similar.
It must also not be a network drive (a direct connection is required - eg USB or Thunderbolt).
File sharing services such as iCloud Drive, Drop box, Onedrive etc are not compatible with Photos libraries.
It stands to reason that if you want any sort of reasonable performance it should be a fast drive with a fast connection.
See
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201517
Note - if you have not formatted the drive yourself it is almost certainly incorrect. Most new drives come formatted ExFAT - which is NOT suitable for a photos library.