How do I use WD my passport SSD and iCloud to free up space on my iMac and Avoid Errors?

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How do I use WD my passport SSD and iCloud to free up space on my iMac and Avoid Errors?

I bought an imac in early 2020, and at the time didn't upgrade that storage, as I was mostly using my macbook pro at the time. But now I'm constantly at the 250gb limit.

I pay for icloud, and I also bought a WD DIscovery My Passport 2tb SSD. But I can't figure out the best way to use these? Is there a way for me to run application (Movies, Garageband etc), can they be moved and run off of the SSD? Can my Apple Music library be run off of the SSD or icloud?

Every time I try and move one of my desktop folders from my desktop to My Passport I get this error: The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “Media” can’t be read or written.

(Error code -36)

I'm really lost how to leverage an SSD and icloud.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 27″, macOS 15.0

Posted on Jan 7, 2025 7:06 AM

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Answer 1

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den.thed

Level 10

92,350 points

Jan 7, 2025 8:16 AM in response to JoeGreco

1) It sounds like the WD Passport is your Time Machine backup or not formatted properly.

If the WD is your Time Machine backup, then it is locked and can not be used for other storage.

Warning: if reformatting is required, it will Erase all of the currently data stored on the WD Passport

see > Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

2) The following articles will help you move your Photos, Music and Movie libraries to an external hard drive.

see > Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

and > Change where your music files are stored on Mac - Apple Support

and > Move your iMovie for Mac library - Apple Support

3) However, it is not safe to move your Photos, Music and iMovie Libraries to just a single external drive.

You also needs a second external drive to Backup the Photos, Music and iMovie Libraries on the first.

4) You can use iCloud to free up space if you don't mind paying a fee for slower storage space.

see > Use iCloud Drive on iCloud.com - Apple Support

and iCloud+ plans and pricing - Apple Support

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How do I use WD my passport SSD and iCloud to free up space on my iMac and Avoid Errors?

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