Just finished upgrading to Photos app when i noticed it create a new photo library. Now i have both the old iPhoto library and the new Photos library. Is it safe to delete the iPhoto library? i could use some extra drive space.
MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)
Yes if you are sure you no longer wish to use iPhoto - as long as you have both libraries you can easily use one ot=r the other if you find it better for your needs
LN
I have a quick question about deleting pictures in the new Photos. In the old iPhotos, deleted pics went into the trash folder in application and had to be permanently deleted from there. In the new Photos, when I delete pics, I can't tell if they are gone for good or if they go in similar Trash folder?
They go to the recently deleted folder
From Photos Help
Delete photos and videos
Do one of the following:
- Delete a photo from an album, but not from your library: Select the items you want to delete, then press Delete.
- Delete a photo from a moment (placing it in the Recently Deleted album):Select the items you want to delete, press Delete, then click Delete.
- Delete a photo from a moment or album (placing it in the Recently Deleted album): Select the items you want to delete, then press Command-Delete.
Deleted photos and video aren’t immediately removed from your library; they’re placed in the Recently Deleted album, where they remain for the number of days shown, and then are deleted. You can recover the items before that period of time (see the next task). If you have iCloud Photo Library turned on, the photos may remain in iCloud up to 40 days and then are removed from all your devices that use iCloud Photo Library. If you’re not using iCloud Photo Library, your deleted photos are removed from your Mac only.
LN
Go here to either complete the deletion process or recover an accidentally deleted photo:
**** no it's not. This Photos for Mac thing seems a little half-baked...at least as it relates to photo sharing and photo organizing. I wouldn't delete anything yet.
NO!
It is messed up and counterintuitive, but those two "library" files you see that finder claims are both XX Gb in size are not really two files of that size. The new Photos one is just referencing the old one. You delete that old iPhoto library file and I believe you'll lose every photo you have that predates the Photos upgrade.
That's wrong. The Photos library uses hard links to the location on the hard drive of the photos that are were in the iPhoto library at the time of conversion. If the iPhoto library is deleted the hard links still point to the photos and are still viable.
The (hard) link between Photos and iPhoto
However, I would hold off on deleting the iPHoto library until one has the opportunity to use Photos for a while to see if it's right for them. That's because Photos does not have a lot of the features that iPhoto has and it's GUI requires a learning curve that's not intuitive or easy.
You lost me there. So if the images inside iPhoto is a hard link. where's the actual file? sorry if i misunderstood the concept. i was under the impression that all the photos i import was stored inside iPhoto library.
But basically from what you saying and from that link you sent. It's safe to drop the iPhoto library, yes? I already have it backed up to the cloud. i just don't want it in my computer eating precious space.
"But basically from what you saying and from that link you sent. It's safe to drop the iPhoto library, yes? I already have it backed up to the cloud. i just don't want it in my computer eating precious space."
The concept is definitely abstract and hard to understand, especially if you're not familiar with Unix. I'll put it in plain English:
- Yes, it is safe to delete the iPhoto Library;
- No, you will not regain space on the hard drive, because there's no duplication of "originals" between the two libraries;
- Therefore, for the time being, you're better off leaving the iPhoto Library alone "just in case," or move it to an external drive.
You lost me there. So if the images inside iPhoto is a hard link. where's the actual file? sorry if i misunderstood the concept. i was under the impression that all the photos i import was stored inside iPhoto library.
But basically from what you saying and from that link you sent. It's safe to drop the iPhoto library, yes? I already have it backed up to the cloud. i just don't want it in my computer eating precious space.
Hard links are very different from aliases and symbolic links. If you have a symbolic link or an alias, deleting the original file will break the link, because one is the actual file and one is the reference to that file.
But a hard link and the original are both files. Both are entries in the file table; only these files use both the same blocks on the disk. If you delete either the hard link or the original, the other file will still work, because the blocks on the disk will only be released, if the other file is deleted as well.
Is it safe to delete old iPhoto library after upgrade to Photos?
