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Level 1

4 points

Photolibrary problem

I wanted to transfer my photos to my external drive. I copy and pasted the photolibrary file to the external drive folder. (ExFat format). The transfer took time, I can see the file in the external drive but I couldn't open it. I just wanted to try if it can copy the photos that way.. but to my surprise I don't see the photos in the original photolibrary location, but I still see the file that contains the exact amount of the photo file.. I didn't get to back up my photos thru time machine.. and also I couldnt see my external drive when i try to back up.. will the photolibrary repair fix my problem?

Mac mini, macOS 11.5

Posted on Aug 2, 2021 12:37 PM

Best reply

den.thed

Level 9

77,254 points

Posted on Aug 2, 2021 1:19 PM

You need to use a Mac OS formatted external drive for your Photos Library.

Caution formatting an external drive will erase the current data stored on it, so you may want to start over using a new or empty external drive.

1. Connect the External HD and open Disk Utility in your Utilities Folder.

2. Highlight the External HD in the list of drives and select the Partition tab.

3. Under Volume Scheme select 1 Partition and click on the Options... button.

4. Select GUID Partition Table in the drop down window and click OK.

5. Set the Format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or APFS for an SSD, click the Apply button.

6. Quit Disk Utility, then copy your Photos Library to the External Drive.

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Photolibrary problem

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