Apple Photos quits when importing large number of photos (1000 )

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Level 1

8 points

Apple Photos quits when importing large number of photos (1000 )

I am using Apple Photos on MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020) with 16GB of RAM. I need to import about 100,000 photos that I'm moving from another photo storage service to Apple / iCloud Photos. I am using the Apple Photos desktop app's Import command (File > Import) and anytime I try to import more than about 1000 photos at once, the little progress bar icon vanishes and the import process quits. At this rate I will never be able to migrate my photo collection. There has to be a better way to do this. Any suggestions welcome.

Thank you!

Posted on Dec 24, 2022 4:30 PM

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Answer 1

brbo

Level 8

39,037 points

Dec 24, 2022 7:23 PM in response to meowist

Hi meowist,

You did say "Any suggestions welcome."

So although I do not know a quick way to just import the 100,000 photos to your Mac,

several ideas come to mind ... please excuse if these ideas are surplus to requirements.

We can not know your level of expertise, and the preparations you have made for the task,

or how much free storage is available on your Mac, or the memory available for the task.

At the least, we may begin a discussion, that those with expertise may choose to join.

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Wondering if your Mac has enough memory / storage space free for the photos you want to import, and sync with iCloud.

How to: See used and available storage space on your Mac – Apple Support

And: Find out how much iCloud storage you need for your Photos Library on your Mac - Apple Support

How to: Check your iCloud storage on any device – Apple Support

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If necessary: you may need to "optimise" the photo storage on Mac.

Eg: Online (non-Apple) article below:

How to load a massive amount of data into Photos on a Mac set to Optimize Mac Storage

https://www.macworld.com/article/233281/how-to-load-a-massive-amount-of-data-into-photos-on-a-mac-set-to-optimize-mac-storage.html

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Wondering too, if you may want to import/ and / or / keep a back-up of all your photos for the safety of your large photo collection. Apple seems to recommend we do this. (ie: Deleting synced files either on Mac, or on iCloud, deletes them from the other synced storage.)

An idea: Would it be be easier to download everything to an external hard drive with plenty of storage space. You could then transfer the photos to Mac at your leisure, or as needed, while keeping a back-up of all photos at hand.

Eg: Connect and use other storage devices with Mac - Apple Support

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If needed:

MacBook Pro Support Team:

MacBook Pro - Official Apple Support

Cloud Support

iCloud - Official Apple Support

All the best :-)

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