Double library size after iPhoto to Photo upgrade

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rehashed1984 Author

Level 1

0 points

Double library size after iPhoto to Photo upgrade

Dear All,

I am concerned about the waste of hard drive space after the latest Apple photo library update. Here are the steps I took to get here:

I purchased a new imac (5k retina with latest operating system) to replace my imac (late 2009 with latest operating system)
I used an external hard drive to manually copy my iPhoto library from one computer to the next
iPhoto worked gracefully as if nothing happened for about a week
Apple released an update to iPhoto, which turned it into Photo
After a few weeks I noticed I now have two libraries, one for the new (320gb in size) and one for the old (337gb in size).

I was under the impression that the old library would be left in tact, with any new photos being added to the new library. It seems that I now have two massive libraries instead. What happened, and how can I fix this huge waste of space?

Many thanks,

Rehashed1984.

Edit, photo to demonstrate:

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), null

Posted on Jun 1, 2015 3:03 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

léonie

Level 10

194,653 points

Jun 1, 2015 3:33 PM in response to rehashed1984

Apple released an update to iPhoto, which turned it into Photo

Photos is not an update to iPhoto; it is a completely different new application.

If you migrated your iPhoto Library to photos you will have two libraries as shown in your screenshot, apparently the same size, but both libraries are sharing photos. The do not actually use twice the disk space. See this document:

Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support

and also: Six Colors: The (hard) link between Photos and iPhoto

You could delete the iPhoto Library, but that would not free much space.

If you prefer iPhoto, you could continue to use it. iPhoto 9.6.1 is working well with Yosemite.

It should still be installed in your Applications folder.

You may need to update to version 9.6.1, however, see: Get iPhoto 9.6.1 if you didn't update before OS... | Apple Support Communities

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Answer 2

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Jun 1, 2015 3:32 PM in response to rehashed1984

1 - there has been no upgrade to iPhoto - there is a totally new and different program names Photos installed with OS X 10.10.3 - iphoto is still there too

2 - you are not using double the space - you are using just a bit more as iphoto and Photos share the same original photos using hard links - see Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support for details

3 - you can delete your IPhoto library if you want however it is not recommended - you might want or need it and if it is gone then you have major problems and since you will not save much space at all it is best to keep both for now

LN

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