Q: Migrating large iPhoto library to NAS disc
My iPhoto library is stored on an external harddrive with USB 2 connection. I have just bought a NAS drive (WD MyCloud) and want to copy the complete iPhoto library (+400GB) to that drive. I have connected my Mac to the network via ethernet and a TimeCapsule. The NAS drive is also conencted to the Time Capsule.
I tried to use Finder for copying the library, but after twice failing to copy, I decided to give Carbon Copy Cloner a try. It managed over a couple of days to copy about 100Gb of the library before the program freezed. When restarting CCC uses more than 11 hours just to check what has been copied.
I know that USB 2 is not the fastest connection and I would have liked to take the harddisk out of it's enclosure and put it into a cabinet with USB 3 that I have. However, it does not seem to be possible to open the enclosure.
Another option is to use the Time Machine backup that I have on the TimeCapsule. If the CCC copying freezes again, I will probably try that option.
However, I would be interested to know if this long time to transfer the files that I have experienced, is normal when copying from a USB 2 disc via ethernet?
MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.3)
Posted on May 20, 2014 4:20 AM
I guess that if I connect via ethernet, the problem of loosing connection will be minimized?
That might help a bit, but the problem of network access is not only a problem of network dropouts, but a problem of timing, database integrity, and synchronized database transactions. You cannot rely on the fact, that asynchronous accesses to the iPhoto library will be properly synchronized, since Apple did not design iPhoto for network access. Simply said, read and write accesses to the library might arrive in the wrong time sequence and interfere with each other.
If you are going to riks this, make sure, that you have a rigid, reliably backup scheme in place.
Posted on May 20, 2014 6:56 AM