How can I speed up Photos app with external HDD library on Mac?

Question

How can I speed up Photos app with external HDD library on Mac?

Hi,

Photos became extremely slow. How to fix it?

Because my MacBook Air came with less storage space than my previous MacBook I had to move the Photos Library to an external disk. A Seagate 1Tb HDD (not a flash drive) for a 266Gb Photos Library. New, formatted APFS, no Time Machine on that volume (on a different 4Tb volume, big enough to include this one in the backup ritual).

I followed both Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support and How to use the Photos Repair Library tool on your Mac – Apple Support (UK) to the letter already. What else can I try to speed up the sluggish interface of Photos?

Switching between different 'Collections' in the sidebar takes between 10 and 30 seconds for example.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Air 15″, macOS 15.3

Posted on Mar 23, 2025 3:36 PM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

212,157 points

Mar 24, 2025 3:46 PM in response to ReindeR Rustema

In that case please download and run Etrecheck. The free version is sufficient. Be sure to give it Full Disk Access.

Copy the report as shown in this animated screenshot

and use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.

Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.

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Answer 2

Mar 24, 2025 7:09 AM in response to ReindeR Rustema

ReindeR Rustema wrote: … Switching between different 'Collections' in the sidebar takes between 10 and 30 seconds for example.

Seriously? That's awful! This shouldn't be happening, and it isn't characteristic of using a Photos Library from an external drive. Do you have a Library on your internal drive to see if it works OK?

To narrow things down, try these steps:

Restart the computer (of course)
Run First Aid with the Disk Utility
Re-start in Safe Mode. This bypasses certain potentially disruptive processes, and it often helps. Safe Mode is different for different computers, so see this:

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

Rebuild your Photos Library--close Photos and re-launch by option-command-clicking the app icon.
Use another library if you have one, or make a small test Library with a few pictures in it and see if the same thing happens. You can create a new Library by closing Photos and then option-clicking on the Photos icon.
Make a new user and see if the same problem recurs with it

The idea is to find out if the problem is with the Library, with your account, or with caches and login items, and stuff like that. One of these steps may fix the problem, but their failure to work also helps figure out what's happening.

Let us know what happens…

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Answer 3

Mar 25, 2025 9:21 AM in response to ReindeR Rustema

Apple recommends at least 10% of the internal drive be free. I've seen problems with less than 140 GB free out of 1TB-- I mean pretty crazy specific stuff in multiple apps, which disappeared when I cleared another 60 GB. I've not heard of such a requirement on an external drive.

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Answer 4

Mar 25, 2025 3:50 AM in response to Old Toad

I ran EtreCheck and here is the report. The orphaned extensions from PureVPN and TripMode (apps are long gone) give an error when I try to delete them. But I don't expect them to be related. I did delete one from OWC (previous MacBook had an SDD from OWC) first time I ran EtreCheck. Will try tonight if that made a difference. Can then also store my iPhone backup on an external disk to free up 60Gb disk space. Could it be that Photos is using a lot of disk space for a temporary cache while it runs?

Cocoadialog comes with TextMate, an app I sometimes use to edit html. LibreWolf is a fork of Firefox. Sequel Pro to access a database.

EtreCheck Report

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.9 (68074) Report generated: 2025-03-25 11:41:47 Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com Runtime: 1:39 Performance: Excellent Problem: Computer is too slow Description: When loading the Photos Library from an external HDD the Photos app is too slow to work with. With a library on the machine itself all works well. Major Issues: Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention. Low disk space - This computer is running critically low on free hard drive space. Orphan system extension - A system extension has not been properly uninstalled. Minor Issues: These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement. Time Machine auto backup disabled - Time Machine auto backups are disabled. Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage. Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems. They should be reviewed. Hardware Information: MacBook Air (15-inch, M3, 2024) Status: Supported MacBook Air Model: Mac15,13 Apple M3 (m3) CPU: 8-core 16 GB RAM - Not upgradeable Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 92 Video Information: Apple M3 Color LCD 2880 x 1864 Drives: disk0 - APPLE SSD AP0512Z 500.28 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes) Internal Apple Fabric NVM Express S.M.A.R.T. Details: 0% used, 22.08 TB written, 100% health, 6 unsafe shutdowns disk0s1 [APFS Container] 524 MB disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 524 MB (Shared by 4 volumes) disk1s1 - iSCPreboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (6 MB used) disk1s2 - xART (APFS) (6 MB used) disk1s3 - Hardware (APFS) (2 MB used) disk1s4 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (20 KB used) disk0s2 [APFS Container] 494.38 GB disk3 [APFS Virtual drive] 494.38 GB (Shared by 6 volumes) disk3s1 (APFS) [APFS Container] (11.16 GB used) disk3s1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (11.16 GB used) disk3s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (6.85 GB used) disk3s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.03 GB used) disk3s4 - Update (APFS) (3 MB used) disk3s5 - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (443.87 GB used) disk3s6 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (25 KB used) disk0s3 [APFS Container] 5.37 GB disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 5.37 GB (Shared by 2 volumes) disk2s1 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.85 GB used) disk2s2 - Update (APFS) (2 MB used) Mounted Volumes: disk1s1 - iSCPreboot [APFS Preboot] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/iSCPreboot Used: 6 MB Shared values Size: 524 MB Free: 506 MB disk1s2 - xART Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/xarts Used: 6 MB Shared values Size: 524 MB Free: 506 MB disk1s3 - Hardware Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Hardware Used: 2 MB Shared values Size: 524 MB Free: 506 MB disk3s1s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: / Read-only: Yes Used: 11.16 GB Shared values Size: 494.38 GB Free: 31.31 GB Available: 65.71 GB disk3s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot Used: 6.85 GB Shared values Size: 494.38 GB Free: 31.31 GB disk3s4 - Update Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update Used: 3 MB Shared values Size: 494.38 GB Free: 31.31 GB disk3s5 - Data [APFS Virtual drive] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data Encrypted Used: 443.87 GB Shared values Size: 494.38 GB Free: 31.31 GB Available: 65.71 GB disk3s6 - VM [APFS VM] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM Used: 25 KB Shared values Size: 494.38 GB Free: 31.31 GB USB: USB 3.1 bus <Empty> USB 3.1 bus <Empty> Network: Interface en6: USB 10/100/1000 LAN Interface en3: Ethernet Adapter (en3) Interface en4: Ethernet Adapter (en4) Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge 3 Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge Interface en0: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax Interface en5: iPhone USB Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge 2 System Software: macOS Sequoia 15.3.2 (24D81) Installed 2025-03-13 Time since boot: Less than an hour Notifications: EtreCheckPro.app 7 notifications Viscosity.app 33 notifications Security: Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers System Integrity Protection: Enabled Secure Boot: Full Security Antivirus software: Apple Unsigned Files: Apps: 5 System Extensions: [Not Loaded] Viscosity Network Extension - version 1.0 (SparkLabs Pty Ltd - installed 2024-12-03) Application: /Applications/Viscosity.app - version 1.11.4 (SparkLabs Pty Ltd - installed 2024-12-03) [Disabled] PacketTunnelMac - version 1.0 (GZ Systems Limited - installed 2024-09-02) Application: Not found! [Disabled] PacketTunnelWireGuardMac - version 2.0 (GZ Systems Limited - installed 2024-09-02) Application: Not found! [Disabled] FilterExtension - version 1.0.0 (Ludovic LEGER - installed 2024-09-02) Application: Not found! Description: TripMode filter extension [Not Loaded] DuckDuckGo VPN Network Extension - version 1.126.0 (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2025-02-19) Application: /Applications/DuckDuckGo.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/DuckDuckGo VPN.app - version 1.126.0 (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2025-02-19) Description: DuckDuckGo VPN System Launch Daemons: [Not Loaded] 39 Apple tasks [Loaded] 203 Apple tasks [Running] 166 Apple tasks [Other] 2 Apple tasks System Launch Agents: [Not Loaded] 20 Apple tasks [Loaded] 231 Apple tasks [Running] 195 Apple tasks Launch Daemons: [Running] com.sparklabs.ViscosityHelper.plist (SparkLabs Pty Ltd - installed 2024-12-03) Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.sparklabs.ViscosityHelper Launch Agents: [Not Loaded] com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2024-04-17) Command: /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Update Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Update Assistant --launchByAgent User Login Items: [Running] 1Password Browser Helper (AgileBits Inc. - installed 2025-03-20) Modern Login Item /Applications/1Password.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/1Password Browser Helper.app [Loaded] 1Password Launcher (AgileBits Inc. - installed 2025-03-20) Modern Login Item /Applications/1Password.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/1Password Launcher.app [Running] Beeper (Beeper Inc. - installed 2024-11-11) Application /Applications/Beeper.app [Loaded] DeepLLauncher (DeepL GmbH - installed 2025-03-16) Modern Login Item /Applications/DeepL.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/DeepLLauncher.app [Not Loaded] DuckDuckGo Notifications (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2025-02-19) Modern Login Item /Applications/DuckDuckGo.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/DuckDuckGo Notifications.app [Not Loaded] DuckDuckGo Personal Information Removal (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2025-02-19) Modern Login Item /Applications/DuckDuckGo.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/DuckDuckGo Personal Information Removal.app [Not Loaded] DuckDuckGo VPN (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2025-02-19) Modern Login Item /Applications/DuckDuckGo.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/DuckDuckGo VPN.app [Running] Viscosity (SparkLabs Pty Ltd - installed 2024-12-03) Application /Applications/Viscosity.app [Not Loaded] PasswordsMenuBarExtra (Apple - installed 2025-03-06) Modern Login Item /System/Applications/Passwords.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PasswordsMenuBarExtra.app [Not Loaded] WeatherMenu (Apple - installed 2025-03-06) Modern Login Item /System/Applications/Weather.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/WeatherMenu.app Applications: 790 Apple apps 79 3rd party apps 25 x86-only apps 3 unsigned apps App Extensions: Safari extensions: [Loaded] Subscribe to Feed - /Applications/NetNewsWire.app [Loaded] 1Password - /Applications/1Password for Safari.app [Loaded] Open in Ivory Extension - /Applications/Ivory.app Widgets: [Loaded] Ivory - /Applications/Ivory.app Plugins: [Loaded] Intents - /Applications/WhatsApp.app Notification providers: [Loaded] Notification Service Extension - /Applications/Ivory.app [Loaded] ServiceExtension - /Applications/WhatsApp.app Share services: [Loaded] Share Extension - /Applications/Quodari.app [Loaded] NetNewsWire - /Applications/NetNewsWire.app [Loaded] Ivory - /Applications/Ivory.app Finder sync extensions: [Loaded] DeepL Finder Integration - /Applications/DeepL.app Action services: [Loaded] Add to Tapestry - /Applications/Tapestry.app [Loaded] Open in Ivory - /Applications/Ivory.app QuickLook Previews: [Loaded] EtreCheckQuickLook - /Applications/EtreCheckPro.app com.etresoft.etrecheck4 *.etrecheck Audio Plug-ins: SyniumAudio: 2.1.1 (Synium Software GmbH - installed 2021-02-18) MSTeamsAudioDevice: 2023.31.01.2 (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2023-08-07) TVRemoteAudio: 1.0.1 (TeamViewer Germany GmbH - installed 2024-10-29) CiscoAudioDevice: 1.0.1 (Cisco - installed 2022-06-07) Backup: Skip System Files: Yes Auto backup: No Destinations: S***********c [Local] Total size: 2.00 TB Total number of backups: 7 Oldest backup: 2023-08-12 15:54:29 Last backup: 2024-08-25 14:11:09 O*******h [Local] (Last used) Total size: 3.96 TB Total number of backups: 12 Oldest backup: 2024-10-21 07:07:10 Last backup: 2025-02-08 09:31:35 S*********************e [Local] Total size: 4.00 TB Total number of backups: 14 Oldest backup: 2024-05-24 22:49:30 Last backup: 2025-03-24 06:01:04 One local snapshot Oldest local snapshot: 2025-03-23 23:45:11 Last local snapshot: 2025-03-23 23:45:11 Performance: System Load: 2.16 (1 min ago) 2.11 (5 min ago) 3.05 (15 min ago) Nominal I/O usage: 0.82 MB/s File system: 8.13 seconds Write speed: 2433 MB/s Read speed: 2450 MB/s CPU Usage Snapshot: Type Overall System: 3 % User: 5 % Idle: 93 % Top Processes Snapshot by CPU: Process (count) CPU (Source - Location) WindowServer 14.26 % (Apple) EtreCheckPro 13.24 % (Etresoft, Inc.) firefox 8.02 % (Mozilla Corporation) kernel_task 7.80 % (Apple) Beeper Helper (Renderer) (3) 5.80 % (Beeper Inc.) Top Processes Snapshot by Memory: Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location) EtreCheckPro 1.67 GB (Etresoft, Inc.) mds_stores 1.58 GB (Apple) plugin-container (12) 1.20 GB (Mozilla Corporation) Beeper Helper (Renderer) (3) 567 MB (Beeper Inc.) firefox 522 MB (Mozilla Corporation) Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use: Process (count) Input / Output (Source - Location) mDNSResponder 1 MB / 257 KB (Apple) apsd 189 KB / 2 MB (Apple) firefox 511 KB / 67 KB (Mozilla Corporation) Ivory 485 KB / 53 KB (App Store) 1Password 5 KB / 1 KB (AgileBits Inc.) Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use: Process (count) Energy (0-100) (Source - Location) Beeper Helper (Renderer) (3) 8 (Beeper Inc.) Beeper 7 (Beeper Inc.) com.apple.DriverKit-AppleBCMWLAN 5 (Apple) fseventsd 4 (Apple) Beeper Helper 4 (Beeper Inc.) Virtual Memory Information: Physical RAM: 16 GB Free RAM: 495 MB Used RAM: 9.26 GB Cached files: 6.26 GB Available RAM: 6.74 GB Swap Used: 0 B Software Installs (past 60 days): Install Date Name (Version) 2025-01-24 1Password for Safari (8.10.58) - App Store 2025-01-28 macOS 15.3 (15.3) - Software update 2025-01-28 RosettaUpdateAuto (1.0.0.0.1.1741264180) - Install on demand 2025-01-29 XProtectCloudKitUpdate (5286) - XProtectUpdateService 2025-01-30 XProtectPlistConfigData (5286) - Software update 2025-01-31 GarageBand (10.4.12) - App Store 2025-02-04 ‎WhatsApp (25.1.10) - App Store 2025-02-06 XProtectPlistConfigData (5287) - Software update 2025-02-07 1Password for Safari (8.10.60) - App Store 2025-02-17 ‎WhatsApp (25.2.79) - App Store 2025-02-18 macOS 15.3.1 (15.3.1) - Software update 2025-02-18 RosettaUpdateAuto (1.0.0.0.1.1741264180) - Install on demand 2025-02-20 1Password for Safari (8.10.62) - App Store 2025-02-24 ‎WhatsApp (25.3.80) - App Store 2025-02-27 XProtectCloudKitUpdate (5288) - XProtectUpdateService 2025-02-27 XProtectPlistConfigData (5288) - Software update 2025-03-03 ‎WhatsApp (25.4.75) - App Store 2025-03-04 XProtectPlistConfigData (5289) - Software update 2025-03-04 XProtectPayloads (151) - Software update 2025-03-05 1Password for Safari (8.10.64) - App Store 2025-03-08 Ivory (2.3.1) - App Store 2025-03-11 XProtectPlistConfigData (5290) - Software update 2025-03-13 macOS 15.3.2 (15.3.2) - Software update 2025-03-13 RosettaUpdateAuto (1.0.0.0.1.1741264180) - Install on demand 2025-03-18 1Password for Safari (8.10.68) - App Store 2025-03-20 Ivory (2.3.3) - App Store 2025-03-23 ‎WhatsApp (25.7.77) - App Store 2025-03-24 Disk Speed Test (3.4.2) - App Store Clean up: [Disabled] PacketTunnelMac - version 1.0 (GZ Systems Limited - installed 2024-09-02) Application: Not found! [Disabled] PacketTunnelWireGuardMac - version 2.0 (GZ Systems Limited - installed 2024-09-02) Application: Not found! [Disabled] FilterExtension - version 1.0.0 (Ludovic LEGER - installed 2024-09-02) Application: Not found! Description: TripMode filter extension Diagnostics Information (past 60 days): 2025-03-25 09:46:03 Finder.app High CPU Use Executable: /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app 2025-03-25 07:52:06 mediaanalysisd Crash Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MediaAnalysis.framework/Versions/A/mediaanalysisd 2025-03-25 04:09:00 photolibraryd High CPU Use Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PhotoLibraryServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/photolibraryd 2025-03-25 03:53:40 spotlightknowledged High CPU Use (20 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-18 00:22:52 Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreSpotlight.framework/spotlightknowledged 2025-03-25 00:19:57 knowledgeconstructiond High CPU Use (4 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-21 22:32:47 Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/IntelligencePlatformCore.framework/Versions/A/knowledgeconstructiond 2025-03-24 04:00:25 corespotlightd High CPU Use (5 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-21 01:27:17 Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/corespotlightd 2025-03-23 10:40:11 Mail.app High CPU Use (3 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-19 19:03:32 Executable: /System/Applications/Mail.app 2025-03-22 02:20:33 backupd High CPU Use Executable: /System/Library/CoreServices/TimeMachine/backupd 2025-03-18 23:36:58 signpost_reporter High CPU Use (2 times) First occurrence: 2025-03-17 23:35:27 Executable: /usr/libexec/signpost_reporter End of report

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

212,157 points

Mar 24, 2025 8:50 AM in response to ReindeR Rustema

What do you mean by "good"?

What speed do you get with the HDD?

This setup, which is probably the slowest SSD configuration, gives me a read and write speed of 500 Mbs:

An SSD in its own case with a communication chip can triple or quadruple that speed. If you're considering an external SSD I recommend those from OWC (MacSales.com).

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

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Answer 6

Mar 24, 2025 8:00 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Safe mode and another user, that's what I did not try yet. Will do! Perhaps another Disk Utility run to check permissions, to exhaust it all.

Local library is snappy, but then again. It's a small one with a dozen pictures.

Tried a repair/rebuild on the 266Gb last weekend...

Thank you!

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Answer 7

Mar 24, 2025 8:09 AM in response to ReindeR Rustema

You should get Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, free from the App store. If the results are slow, then the problem may be with the cables connecting the drive. Some cables (are you using USB-c?) look great and work fine for charging, but there's quite a difference in data transfer rate among them. The SSD that I'm using right now shows speeds of about 7000 MB/s, and my Photos Library on it behaves the same as on my Internal drive.

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Answer 8

Mar 24, 2025 2:10 PM in response to Richard.Taylor

Launching the Photo Library from the external disk under another account made a big difference! It sort of became an acceptable speed. So there must be something wrong in my usual user account I am accessing it from. Something hidden in the system library or something?

I think it is worth noting that it initially took a long time to open the Photos Library from the other user account. I assume it was creating caches and such.

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Answer 9

Mar 25, 2025 6:51 AM in response to ReindeR Rustema

Yes-- something crazy is going on in your user account. As OT suggested, this can often happen when we run "Cleaning" apps or other system-wide gadgets. You should look first at the Login Items (I just search for that in System Settings) and see what's turning on by itself and messing with your system. I have 0 things in Login Items, a perfect number.

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Answer 10

Old Toad

Level 10

212,157 points

Mar 25, 2025 11:01 AM in response to ReindeR Rustema

Unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's, school's or bank's servers, they provide false security from a privacy standpoint. Read these articles: Pubic VPN's are anything but public and Security Risks: The Dangers of Using Free VPNs (eccu.edu).

Did you have the VPNs activated in the second account that you tried? If not then the VPN apps have a high probability of contributing to the problem. I recommend you uninstall all VPN apps and their supporting files from your original user account and test Photos on the external hard drive.

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Answer 11

Mar 25, 2025 4:03 PM in response to Old Toad

At some point in the past I have used a VPN to get an IP-address in the UK so I can watch a tv-show on the BBC. I since moved it to another machine dedicated for this and I deleted the app (PureVPN). For some reason some extentions can't be deleted, although I am admin on the machine. Viscosity I need for work.

But as I said, even without that, the situation improved considerably by creating extra disk space on the machine that runs macos. Apparently that disk space is needed to run a big photo library, even if it is actually stored externally. On a volume that is quite full actually.

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Answer 12

Mar 24, 2025 8:16 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Disk Speed Test and Disk First Aid all good.

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Answer 13

Mar 25, 2025 9:12 AM in response to ReindeR Rustema

With more free disk space, after deleting the iPhone backup and some other files, the speed of Photos is sort of acceptable! Could that have been the problem?

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Answer 14

Mar 25, 2025 9:31 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Actually, on the external HDD there is only some 45Gb from the 1Tb available. It is freeing up the SSD drive of my MacBook Air that seems to have made the difference!

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