Cant copy over iPhoto Library to new Macbook Pro (Retina 15")

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Level 1

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Cant copy over iPhoto Library to new Macbook Pro (Retina 15")

So I tried migrating everything to a new Macbook Pro, all in all it was successful, but when I tried to start iPhotos up, the iPhoto Library got corrupt during the Library Upgrade process. I then copied my original iPhoto Library file (90GB) to an ext. harddrive to try again, but when I tried to copy that (original) file on to the Macbook Pro, the computer kept telling me that there is not enough free space. This dont seem right to me, given that I have 175GB free space available out of 256GB.

Does anyone know why this is happening? Is it because of the large file size? Is there a way to copy this file on to the machine? I've never ran into a size limit for files before, but then again, I cant remember the last time I tried to copy a 90GB file.

Any people would be greatly appriciated!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 2.3 GHz Intel i7 256GB SSD 8GB RAM

Posted on Nov 20, 2012 5:20 PM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,535 points

Nov 20, 2012 6:55 PM in response to zianana

First, make sure you have backups of the iPhoto library and all other data.

Can you open the library in situ on the external drive by holding down the option key when you launch iPhoto?

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Answer 2

zianana Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 21, 2012 11:37 AM in response to Linc Davis

Yeah thats all fine, and everything is backed up. but I dont want to link the library to an ext drive.

I actually got it working in a really convoluted way:

I opened the iPhoto Library Package and copied the MODIFIED and ORIGINALS folders (these were the largest sized folders) over seperately from the rest of the Library. There seems to be some sort of size limit to Mountian Lion that wont let you copy files that are larger then 24GB in size (maybe an SSD thing?). So I copied over everything to the desktop, and then put all the folders back in the package. That worked like a charm!

*I wouldnt recommend this method to a novice. Its imperative that everything goes back in the right place, or you can destroy your Library.

I guess if I didnt do it this way, I could have also tried CCC, or time machine, which I believe circumvent this size restriction.

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