arildfromstrømmen

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

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Q: Migrating large iPhoto library to NAS disc

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  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie May 20, 2014 4:36 AM in response to arildfromstrømmen
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    iCloud
    May 20, 2014 4:36 AM in response to arildfromstrømmen
    I have just bought a NAS drive (WD MyCloud) and want to copy the complete iPhoto library (+400GB) to that drive.

     

    Just a warning - iPhoto libraries on a network volume are not supported. You are risking to corrupt your iPhoto library this way for two reasoons: The filesystem of a drive with an iPhoto Library needs to be MacOS Extended(Journaled) and the drive needs to be directly connected, because network access is not supported. And additionally, working with the library on a network volume will be much slower.  (see: Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library)

     

     

     

    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.

     

    The copy problems may be due to an incompatible file system - this can cause path name conflicts.

  • by arildfromstrømmen,

    arildfromstrømmen arildfromstrømmen May 20, 2014 6:44 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2014 6:44 AM in response to léonie

    The article you referred to, léonie, is very interesting. I have not reformatted the drive, so it is most likely FAT32.

     

    I guess that if I connect via ethernet, the problem of loosing connection  will be minimized?

  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie May 20, 2014 6:56 AM in response to arildfromstrømmen
    Level 10 (108,438 points)
    iCloud
    May 20, 2014 6:56 AM in response to arildfromstrømmen

    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.

  • by arildfromstrømmen,

    arildfromstrømmen arildfromstrømmen May 20, 2014 7:08 AM in response to léonie
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    May 20, 2014 7:08 AM in response to léonie

    Yes, I have several backups, so if things go really bad, I can easily restore.

    It's too bad I cannot store the iPhoto library on a network drive. I do not have enough space on my Macbook, and I would have liked to avoid having to connect and disconnect the external harddisk every time I am going to use iPhoto. I guess for the time being that I will continue as before and wait for a better solution or another Mac with a bigger disk, whichever comes first.

     

    Thanks for the good advice.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie May 20, 2014 7:13 AM in response to arildfromstrømmen
    Level 10 (108,438 points)
    iCloud
    May 20, 2014 7:13 AM in response to arildfromstrømmen

    I guess for the time being that I will continue as before and wait for a better solution or another Mac with a bigger disk, whichever comes first.

    I solve the space problem by replacing the optical drive in my MacBook Pro by a second internal drive. This works well, since I rarely need CDs or DVDs.

  • by arildfromstrømmen,

    arildfromstrømmen arildfromstrømmen May 20, 2014 7:21 AM in response to léonie
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    May 20, 2014 7:21 AM in response to léonie

     

    I solve the space problem by replacing the optical drive in my MacBook Pro by a second internal drive. This works well, since I rarely need CDs or DVDs.

    I did exactly that with my old Macbook, and I agree, it works very well, but the new one does not have an optical drive, unfortunately, and I have heard that it is very difficult to change the harddisk it has too.