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I have 3 photos libraries between two hard drives. None seems to have the photos that match what's on my iPad and iPhone. However, the photos at iCloud.com has them all, going back to 2002, and in one place.
How can I create 1 new Photos Library on a hard drive, copy all of the iCloud photos to it and then delete the 3 libraries I have now?
Thanks for answers.
DG
Mac mini, macOS 10.14
The file system format shown in your screenshot "MacOS Extended (Journaled)" is compatible with Photos.
Here is some information on a System Photos Library: System Photo Library overview for Photos on Mac - Apple Support
You can make any of your libraries your System Photos Library. It will remain your system Photos Library until you move it to another volume. After moving a System Photos Library lyou have to make it again the System Photos Library.
Got it. I've created a new Photos app on my remote drive and made it the System Library. I then opened iCloud.com and then Photos, tagged 1,000 photos and clicked download. It created a zip file which I saved in a new directory on the remote drive. When all are downloaded, I'll have 10 zip files. I'm guessing I will unzip them all and then copy and import them into the currently empty new Photos app. When I'm all done and double checked that everything is where it should be, especially still in iCloud, I can then delete all of the other Libraries.
Thanks, léonie. This is a big help.
David
Hi
The best way is to sync iCloud with a new empty library:
1 - Make sure your external drive is formatted correctly as described here:
2- Prepare it as described at the link below:
It 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.
See
Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac – Apple Support (UK)
3 - Create a new EMPTY library on the external disk. (Hold down the option key while starting photos and click "create new")
4 - Open the new empty library in photos.
5 - In photos preferences set it to the system library (click the button)
6 - In photos preferences iClound - turn icloud on with download originals.
7 - Wait - for photos to download all your images from iCloud into your freshly minted library. It may take some time - possibly days. Leave the mac on with photos open while it is doing it.
Tony, below is the info on my default external drive, where two of the Photos libraries are and where I've created the new one. I have another one that is almost identical, that I plug in once a week and run SuperDuper to sync the two drives.
When I click on Preferences in the new Photos, or in the original one on my C drive, I get the message that iCloud features for Photos are only available in the System Photo Library. I thought that 'Photos Library' on C was the System Photo Library. If not, where should I look for it?
Thanks again. Please don't invest too much time on me. I've been screwing up computers for many, many years. The people at Lightroom choke when I ask for their help.
But is it formatted correctly - if not, you will likely have problems in the future. It is worth checking now because once you’ve put your library on it, you can no longer reformat it without moving the library somewhere else.
Incorrectly formatted drives can work - until they don’t
Thank you, Tony. I'll try this. The external drive is one that I've been using for some years and contains all of my photos and videos, so it's already formatted and ready to go. Wish me luck!
Replacing photos libraries with iphotos
