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How can I remove my photo files to an external drive

How can I remove my photo files from the Mac to an external drive

iMac 27″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Jan 12, 2023 1:28 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jan 12, 2023 3:32 AM

Hi treckymom2,

Please have a look at these instructions.

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac – Apple Support (UK)


You must follow the definition of the allowed format of the external drive and it can not be used for TimeMachine backups!

If you don't follow this you can loose your photos / videos!


Prepare your storage device

Make sure your external storage device, such as a USB drive or Thunderbolt drive, is formatted for Mac: either APFS format or Mac OS Extended (Journalled) format.

You can't store your library on a storage device used for Time Machine backups. And to avoid possible data loss, don't store your library on a removable storage device, such as an SD card or USB flash drive, or on a device shared over your network or the internet, including over a cloud-based storage service.


Regards Ralf

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jan 12, 2023 3:32 AM in response to treckymom2

Hi treckymom2,

Please have a look at these instructions.

Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac – Apple Support (UK)


You must follow the definition of the allowed format of the external drive and it can not be used for TimeMachine backups!

If you don't follow this you can loose your photos / videos!


Prepare your storage device

Make sure your external storage device, such as a USB drive or Thunderbolt drive, is formatted for Mac: either APFS format or Mac OS Extended (Journalled) format.

You can't store your library on a storage device used for Time Machine backups. And to avoid possible data loss, don't store your library on a removable storage device, such as an SD card or USB flash drive, or on a device shared over your network or the internet, including over a cloud-based storage service.


Regards Ralf

How can I remove my photo files to an external drive

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