Scott Horn

Q: What should i do with iPhoto after upgrade to Photos.

I seem to have a large file named Photos Library.photoslibrary and one named iPhoto Library.migratedphotolibrary in my pictures folder. Their are of similar size one is 100.43 Gb the photos library is 105.57  Gb. I would imagine the difference is the amount of photos I've added since I upgraded to photos. It appears to me that I have 100 Gb of duplicated photos.  Is it advisable to delete iPhoto Library.migratedphotolibrary in my pictures folder? Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated thank you.

 

Scott

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), iPhone 6 apple tv 1,2,3 iBook......

Posted on Oct 1, 2015 10:24 AM

Close

Q: What should i do with iPhoto after upgrade to Photos.

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by LarryHN,Solvedanswer

    LarryHN LarryHN Oct 1, 2015 10:44 AM in response to Scott Horn
    Level 10 (85,481 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 1, 2015 10:44 AM in response to Scott Horn

    No - it is advisable to keep the iPhoto library as you might need it or want it in the future - and deleting it will save very little space as the original photos and teh previews are not duplicated but linked with hard links - Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support

     

    You can delete it but until you are 125% sure you do not need it it is best to keep it - and if you delete it be sure you have a good backup

     

    LN

  • by er1c15,

    er1c15 er1c15 Oct 1, 2015 10:46 AM in response to Scott Horn
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 10:46 AM in response to Scott Horn

    I have a thread similar to this. I prematurely deleted the iPhoto library and made a copy of the Photo library, and moved it to my new MBP to see if all my photos were contained in there - and they were! Looking back, I kind of regret deleting the iPhoto library and would have instead simply moved it to an external HD as a just-in-case file. They were the same size (pretty much), so I figured all the photos were in both files (again, I probably should have thought twice about assuming things like this). Basically, I'm 99% sure it's ok to delete/remove from your computer, but I would keep it on an extra HD... just-in-case.

     

    I do have questions for you, though. Have you upgraded to El Capitan? If yes, is the iPhoto app still on your computer?

  • by er1c15,

    er1c15 er1c15 Oct 1, 2015 10:58 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 10:58 AM in response to LarryHN

    I've also read that deleting the iPhoto library will recover little space. However, I don't understand how that can be if the iPhoto library is the exact same size as the new Photo library. Like I said in my previous post, I moved the Photo library to a new computer, and all the photos/videos were there - which tells me that the Photo library has no connection to the iPhoto library whatsoever (at least not anymore). If the Photo library relied on the iPhoto library via the hard links, moving the Photo library (alone) onto a new computer would not have worked.

     

    Am I getting this right?

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Oct 1, 2015 11:09 AM in response to Scott Horn
    Level 10 (85,481 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 1, 2015 11:09 AM in response to Scott Horn

    Yes and yes - but again ThreadJacking is confusing for you, the volunteers, the OP and future readers - please start new threads with new issues and new questions - Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question

     

    specifically

     

    Ask your own question. Don't tag a new question on to someone else's. No two Macs remain completely identical after they leave the factory, so it's very likely your problem is quite different than that described by the originator of a thread, even if your symptoms are exactly the same.

     

    Tacking on "me too" replies to someone else's question is an annoying distraction that hinders others from addressing the originator's concern. It's analogous to barging into a physician's examining room while another patient is being treated, and saying "hey, I've got the same problem". If you really are experiencing the exact same problem, merely subscribing to that thread by clicking the "Follow" link (checkmark icon) is sufficient to receive email alerts whenever someone replies to it. You can wait for a solution to be posted and for its originator to mark it "solved", but it's better to ask your own question so that you can receive the individual attention you deserve. This is the best way to receive timely, relevant, and accurate replies to your question.

    LN

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Oct 1, 2015 11:05 AM in response to er1c15
    Level 10 (85,481 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 1, 2015 11:05 AM in response to er1c15

    er1c15 wrote:

     

    I've also read that deleting the iPhoto library will recover little space. However, I don't understand how that can be if the iPhoto library is the exact same size as the new Photo library. Like I said in my previous post, I moved the Photo library to a new computer, and all the photos/videos were there - which tells me that the Photo library has no connection to the iPhoto library whatsoever (at least not anymore). If the Photo library relied on the iPhoto library via the hard links, moving the Photo library (alone) onto a new computer would not have worked.

     

    Am I getting this right?

    no

    deleting it will save very little space as the original photos and teh previews are not duplicated but linked with hard links - Photos saves disk space by sharing images with your iPhoto or Aperture libraries - Apple Support

    When you moved it then duplicates were created since you broke the hard links - no duplicates were created by the migration

     

    and you have not previously posted in this thread - ThreadJacking with different issues is confusing to everyone

     

    LN

  • by er1c15,

    er1c15 er1c15 Oct 1, 2015 11:21 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 11:21 AM in response to LarryHN

    Does this mean... if I had a 64gb HD and my Photo library was 35gb, I would be able to transfer BOTH the iPhoto and Photo libraries to that HD without a message saying I don't have enough space?

  • by er1c15,

    er1c15 er1c15 Oct 1, 2015 12:41 PM in response to Scott Horn
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Oct 1, 2015 12:41 PM in response to Scott Horn

    Scott, after reading everything over and over, my advice is this (and since you welcomed other thoughts on the issue, I hope you don't mind)... move your iPhoto library onto an external HD. Open Photos. Is everything there? If yes, just keep the iPhoto library on your external HD. If no, move it back.

     

    Not sure what LarryHN is on about threadjacking since I think everything I said pertained to your original inquiry. I guess no one is supposed to contribute to a conversation unless they know the 100% correct answer to what is being asked? oh well.

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Oct 1, 2015 1:42 PM in response to er1c15
    Level 10 (85,481 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 1, 2015 1:42 PM in response to er1c15

    ThreadJacking is about asking non repeated questions thereby confusing a thread which is exactly what you are doing -  you gave no answers but ask several non related questions all of which demonstrate your lack of understanding on how Photos works

     

    And your advice to move the library to an external drive is poor advice since you do not have adequate information to make such a suggestion and you do not have enough knowledge to provide the parameters for doing that and explaining the requirements

     

    And one is welcome to provide tested answers - posting non related questions and totally speculative guesses that do not address the OP's question and could be destructive to their photos is bad

     

    Hopefully the OP will see that you have only answered one question successfully and ignore your bad advice

     

    LN

  • by Scott Horn,

    Scott Horn Scott Horn Oct 6, 2015 10:04 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 6, 2015 10:04 AM in response to LarryHN

    Thanks I have lots of space I'll just leave it alone.

  • by ronroberts,

    ronroberts ronroberts Oct 18, 2015 11:55 AM in response to Scott Horn
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 18, 2015 11:55 AM in response to Scott Horn

    After migrating all the pics in Iphoto to photos, I deleted iphotos library and freed up the space that they were taking. I now have more free space showing on my drive. This seems contrary to the information on this thread.