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mygirlroo Author

Level 1

4 points

converting photos from iphoto

I had an OLD MacBook that was running an ancient version of OS, using iPhoto of course. The computer itself would not have been capable of updating and I just had my backup on an external hard drive. Now I bought a new MacBook Air and when I attempt to drag my iPhoto over from the external hard drive, it is not compatible and I can't seem to find specifically this situation in any help guides. I can go in to the Genius Bar if no one here knows. TIA

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.4

Posted on Jul 22, 2022 11:38 AM

Top-ranking reply

Keith Barkley

Level 7

20,982 points

Posted on Jul 22, 2022 12:34 PM

Getting access to your photos is easy. First get your iPhoto Library to a place where it is accessible. If that external backup is a regular file, you can leave it there or copy it to your new computer. If your external backup is a Time machine backup you will need to restore your iPhoto Library to your new computer. The location of the library is not important, but it usually goes into the Pictures folder.

Next Launch Photos (the app that replaced iPhoto*) with the option key held down. From the dialog, choose your iPhoto Library. Photos will create a new library from your iPhoto Media. You will now use Photos to access your images.

Note: If your iPhoto Library predates iPhoto 9.6, you might have to get the iPhoto Updater and run it on your old computer before you transfer the library.

*The icon for Photos looks like this:

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converting photos from iphoto

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