my Mac HD is full. what is the best way to move my photos onto an external harddrive

Ensure that the volume you're putting them onto is formatted as Mac OS Extended, drag the iPhoto library there as an unit, launch iPhoto with the Option key held down, choose that library, and put a copy of it on a second external drive.

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Hi ..

How about freeing up drive space on the iMac > Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk

Click your Apple menu  top left in your screen. From the drop down menu click About This Mac > More Info > Storage

Make sure there's at least 15% free disk space.

Here are some general tips to keep your Mac's hard drive trim and slim as possible

You should never, EVER let a conputer hard drive get completely full, EVER!

With Macs and OS X, you shouldn't let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space.

If it does, it's time for some hard drive housecleaning.

Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.

Have you emptied your Mac's Trash icon in the Dock?

If you use iPhoto or Aperture, both have its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.

If you store images in other locations other than iPhoto, then you will have to weed through these to determine what to archive and what to delete.

If you are an iMovie user, iMovie has its own individual Trash location that needs to be emptied, too!

If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!

Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.

Look through your other Mailboxes and other Mail categories to see If there is other mail you can archive and/or delete.

STAY AWAY FROM DELETING ANY FILES FROM OS X SYSTEM FOLDER!

Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.

Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.

Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.

To find other large files, download an app called Omni Disk Sweeper.

http://www.omnigroup.com/more

Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.

http://www.titanium.free.fr/downloadonyx.php

When you install and launch it, let it do its initial automatic tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the maintenance tabs that let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.

Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.

move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.

If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.

Moving iTunes library

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449

Moving iPhoto library

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506

Moving iMovie projects folder

http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2289

Good Luck!

Just seen this and thought I'd add a caveat.

There appears to be a difference between movie files made on an iPad or iPhone and those made on a video camera. Video files made on a video camera are imported directly to iMovie when you connect the camera. Those made on iPads or iPhones are imported alongside still images into your iPhoto library in conjunction with iTunes sync.

None of this matters unless you make movies. If you do then the iMovie projects look for the various elements any time you access or edit the movie. If you have moved an iPhoto library, then iMovie will not be able to find the the relocated iPad and iPhoto video files. When you next try to edit or access the movie containing video files in your iPhoto library each one will be blacked out and a little yellow warning triangle will warn you of the issue. It is not possible to re-point the link to where the iPhoto library now resides. Curiously, if you have moved an iTunes library as well, then although there is a warning in iMovie that it has 'lost' a soundtrack file when you click on the audio it will automatically offer to point and re-link to where the file now resides. Even more curiously, even though you have moved your iPhoto library, still images remain ok in iMovie projects.

I learnt all this hard way and even though I recreated the iPhoto library where it once was, iMovie still can't find the video files and I have had to re-edit all my projects containing iPad and iPhone video files.

Morel: If you make movies with iMovie using iPad or iPhone video then 'Consolidate' the files before you finish. This will gather (albeit by duplicating) all the relevant files in the project in one place. After this I think it is safe to move libraries. I have yet to discover if I can import iPad and iPhoto video directly into iMovie which would be another solution.

I was not aware of this issue, but because of other types of graphics programs I used, when I use iMovie for the iPad and the newer versions of iMovie on the Mac, I, aways use the Consolidate feature just as I use the Collect for Output features of my page layout apps.

So, I never run into this IPhoto/iMovie "bug"/issues.

I'll make some additonal notes about this and add this info to my reply boilerplate.

You might want to make Apple award of this issue by posting feedback in both the IPhoto and iMovie forums, so Apple can initiate an appropriate fix for this issue.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/imovie_ios.html

http://www.apple.com/feedback/imovie.html

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphoto.html

A lot of users move their iTunes/IPhoto/iMovie libraries to external hard drives. Myself included.

This was very helpful.

I had no idea iPhoto AND iMovie had separate trash.

I deleted so much yesterday from those two programs and my Trash icon (trashcan) on my dock was bursting, so I assumed it was full of all my deleted photos and movies.

Thank you for your great support!

I am a Luddite and really appreciate straightforward answers to simple questions!

Best,

Kathy

I have a 250 GB iPhoto file that when I try to copy to external HD, it says 5 days....

It seems to migrate iPhoto to Photos, both libraries exist.

I have a 500GB HD

Thanks

Yosemite 10.10.3

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)

Processor 2.3 GHz

MervynG

I am so relieved to read your post regarding iMovie and how it interfaces with still photos, audio and video. I am trying to free up space on my MacBook Pro 17"running OS X Yosemite version 10.10.3.

As you mentioned, when I bring other media files into iMovie that "live" in other places like iTunes, iPhoto, and video clips from my camera and then at some point if those media files are moved, iMovie simply won't run and crashes each time I try to use when there are missing media files. I thought those media files that I brought into iMovie would literally become embedded in my iMovie project but apparently they don't?!

This used to be a problem with Adobe's Illustrator until recent years. Now the program has an easy to find "embed" button within the document workspace so placed images stay within the Illustrator document even if the embedded image is moved somewhere else.

So circling back, I am still stuck with this dilemma of how to correctly move iMovie and iTunes files off my computers hard drive and pnto an external drive and avoid the missing clip, music, etc. error messages.

I hope there is a Mac guru who reads this and can help me out. I am VERY low on storage space and have done all the suggestions from MichelPM and still need to move the 2 big libraries from iMovie and ITunes.

Thank you all,

Candace

Moving your iTunes library presents no issues.

Your iMovie project files should always remain in the iMovie projects folders created every time you start an iMovie project on the Mac.

If you have rendered your finished iMovie project and have consolidated/rendered all the data and edits together and saved this version and placed it it in iTunes, it should be fine to move those versions of your movies that you placed iTunes should be fine as they will no longer have links to the original data in the iMovie or iPhoto projects folders as you have rendered the movie to mp4 format and no longer is the movie in iMovie's native format.

ANother way to insure the movies you make and place in iTunes are not affected by anything from the iMovie or iPhoto folders is to render them out to DVD format using iDVD. You can then save that version to iTunes OR burn to DVD first, then reimport the movie from the DVD and that version on disc should, automatically, get saved into your iTunes library.

Never, EVER save a working iMovie project or non-rendered/non- DVD formatted iMovie project to iTunes.

If this is what you have been doing all along, then this is why you can't move your iTunes library.

You are NOT supposed to do this!

THis is why iMovie on the Mac creates separate iMovie project folders to work in.

You need to move those unfinished/urendered iMovie movies back to their respective iMovie project folders OR if these are duplicate iMovie movie files you simply copied to iTunes, you can simply delete these as they are copies of what you should already have in your iMovie project folders.

THEN,

Follow my link for moving your iTunes library.

Regular DVD or personal DVD movies that have been transferred from DVD disc are NOT affected by anything and are automatically saved in the iTunes library and are safe from issues when you move your iTunes library to a new location.

The issue with iMovie and moving iMovie project libraries involves an issues where if you are using both iMovie for Mac and iMovie on iOS devices to go back and forth editiing movies from an iPhone or iPad on iMovie for the Mac as the iOS version of iMovie places movie files into the iPhoto library instead of creating a new iMovie Project folder and placing the iOS iMovie data into a separate iMovie project folder.

This this is where moving the iPhoto library can become problematic.

It is the iPhoto library that moving can be problematic. NOT moving your iTunes library.

This issues DOES NOT affect anything to do with moving your iTunes Library if you have not placed any working iMovie project movies into iTunes (which you SHOULD NOT BE DOING!)

You can move your iTunes Library to an external hard drive by following the supplied link in my posting with no issues.

I have multiple copies of my iTunes, iMovie libraries and have created copies of my iPhoto libraries (that do not contain any iMovie footage from iOS version of iMovie to multiple external hard drives and have successfully re linked all of these folders.

Doug,

Don't use Wi-Fi to move it, use a USB or Firewire cable.

If you are bringing in video clips from your camera if they are in a format that allows them to be saved in iTunes as short mp4 formatted movies, in order to keep these files from being linked in iMovie, you either need to make copies of these video clips and place these into the iMovie project folder for the movie you are working on OR when you start an iMovie project, use the import function of iMovie to bring those video clips on your camera directly into iMovie where they will be saved with all the other iMovie data in the appropriate iMovie project folder for the movie you are working on.

All video and picture data should all reside as originals OR copies inside of the iMovie project folder and you SHOULD NOT have photos and video clips linked to whatever and wherever the original clips resided on your Mac's hard drive.

An iMovie project should have all of its data completely inside of its project folder with no external links outside of that folder until it is time to render out the entire movie and save it as an mP4 format ready for burning to DVD using either iDVD or something like Roxio Toast.