How do I backup my Photos to an external harddrive

I am trying to save space on my Imac and I have 160000 photos which I want to protect. Currently my system library is on a 4TB hard drive and I sync with icloud.


I also have a SanDisk G-Drive Pro.


How do I backup my photos on the G-Drive Pro?


Posted on Nov 17, 2023 9:06 AM

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9 replies

Nov 17, 2023 9:25 AM in response to Moi0703

Assuming your Photos are in the default Apple Photos app, make sure the G-Drive Pro is formatted as HFS+ or APFS, and then simply copy the Photos Library.photoslibrary file in the Pictures folder of your Profile, to the external drive.

Make sure the Photos App is completely shutdown for this.


click here ➜ Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support


Nov 17, 2023 9:34 AM in response to Moi0703

Do you have "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled? If you don't just drag the Photos library to the G-Drive (it must be formatted either APFS or OS X Extended (journaled). Then you can use an incremental backup app like Carbon Copy Cloner to periodically copy any changes to the library to the library on the G-Drive.


You should also have a backup strategy for your boot drive which will include all of your user data. Time Machine is the easiest to setup and the drive should be 2 ½ - 3 times the size of the files you're backing up. If you have Time Machine enabled and do not have "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled you wouldn't need to add the library to the G-Drive. Time Machine would be sufficient.


Nov 17, 2023 10:23 AM in response to Moi0703

Moi0703 wrote:

Thanks much appreciated! I didn't know my drive should be that much bigger than the size of my files being backed up. What happens if its not?

You won't be able to have as many backups on the drive, i.e. you won't be able to go as far back in time as with a larger drive.


Also If you don't have "Optimize Mac Storage" enabled your original files will be in the local library and in the iCloud Library.

How do I backup my Photos to an external harddrive

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