User profile for user: kristafromoh
kristafromoh Author
User level: Level 1
1 points

Photo (iPhoto) sync not working on old iMac (Sierra)

I have an old iMac running Sierra which uses iPhoto. I need to use the iMac CD/DVD drive to read and import some old photo discs to the photo library and then have it sync to my iCloud Photos. I’m able to import the photos to the library however the photo library on the iMac will not finish syncing to the cloud so that I can see all photos on all of my newer devices (iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air). It used to sync without issue, but now It seems to be stuck and won’t sync any photos dated after Feb 2024 including the photos that I just imported into it which are older than that. I’m now not sure how many photos on the iMac have never finished syncing to the cloud. I’ve tried logging out of iCloud and back in but that didn’t work. I’ve tried repairing the library file but that didn’t work either. What other things can I try to get the library on the iMac to finish syncing all of the photos? I don’t want to lose any photos and want to avoid creating multiple photo libraries so that I don’t end up with lots of duplicates.

iMac 27″

Posted on Mar 24, 2025 5:50 PM

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User profile for user: Richard.Taylor
Richard.Taylor
User level: Level 6
12,750 points

Mar 25, 2025 2:37 PM in response to kristafromoh

I'm a bit lost with the "Photo (iPhoto)" thing. iPhotos was an app that was discontinued about 10 years ago, though some people do have old machines with iPhoto on them. iPhoto was replaced by an app called Photos. There is no "Photo" app in the Apple system. Can you help by telling us exactly what you're talking about?


How much storage do you have on your old iMac? I have 234 GB free out of 1000 GB, for example, How about your storage at iCloud?


Are you pictures on the iMac all OK?


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User profile for user: kristafromoh
kristafromoh Author
User level: Level 1
1 points

Mar 27, 2025 6:23 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Since it is an old iMac (running Sierra), it is using iPhoto. I have 688.45 GB available of 999.35 GB on the iMac. On iCloud, I have 52% of 2TB of storage still available. I want to ensure that the iPhoto sync completes so that I don't lose any photos that may still be on the iMac. It seems to be "stuck" in syncing. I also want to use the CD drive on iMac to import any photos not already in my photo cloud. However, I may need to just buy an external CD drive and hook it up to my MacBook to do this. In the end, I want to ensure all photos are synced to the cloud from my iMac, before I retire it.


Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

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User profile for user: Matti Haveri
Matti Haveri
User level: Level 6
17,718 points

Mar 27, 2025 6:50 AM in response to kristafromoh

Sierra and iPhoto are quite old so I would not trust them to 100% sync to current iCloud. Instead, I'd concentrate getting all images and movies local.


...but FWIW I have recently planned to finally do the opposite and upload my ≈400 GB Photos library to iCloud Photos to give it a test and cough up some $$ while doing so. ...but I still plan to keep my master archive local on backup HDDs...

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User profile for user: Richard.Taylor
Richard.Taylor
User level: Level 6
12,750 points

Mar 27, 2025 8:00 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Matti Haveri wrote: Sierra and iPhoto are quite old so I would not trust them to 100% sync to current iCloud. Instead, I'd concentrate getting all images and movies local.

kristafromoh: Matti suggests exactly the first step-- you need a more modern Photos Library for syncing. I think that you should make sure that everything is OK on your local "iphotolibrary" package--that you see all your pictures screen sized in full resolution in iPhoto, and then convert. You may be able to open the iPhoto Library in Photos, and then you can have more faith in its working properly.


One option that might give you more flexibility is to use the trusted 3rd party app PowerPhotos ($30). This is probably the most reliable way to transform an iPhoto Library to a Photos Library. Many of us use it all the time for all sorts of things.


It's good that you have lots of space on your iMac and at iCloud. What about the MacAir? Any new pictures synced to iCloud will also copy to your MacAir, and you will need the room to catch them. After getting all the new pictures on the MacAir, you will still need 10% free storage space. Photos (or PowerPhotos) will do its best to weed out duplicates, but you should expect some to have different filenames or different sizes and to leak through.


I would backup all these Libraries to an APFS formatted external drive! You want to be prepared for the unexpected!


Let us know how it goes!

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Photo (iPhoto) sync not working on old iMac (Sierra)

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