BananaFlambe

Q: Photos: 0 pictures, Photos Library: 3.98 GB

Hello, I am having a terrible time understanding why [Pictures > Photos Library] says it's size is 3.98 GB but there are 0 pictures in the Photos app.

I am trying to clear up some space on my laptop. How should I go about in locating these 'ghost' pictures and removing them for free space?

 

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012)

OS X El Capitan Version 10.11.2

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 7, 2016 10:12 PM

Close

Q: Photos: 0 pictures, Photos Library: 3.98 GB

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Jan 8, 2016 9:30 AM in response to BananaFlambe
    Level 10 (105,776 points)
    iCloud
    Jan 8, 2016 9:30 AM in response to BananaFlambe

    The Photos library may contain left-over files from iPhoto or Aperture, if you used external editors, photos that failed to be moved to the trash, or similar. There may be also an iPod Photo Cache, that can be quite large, if you synced the library with iTunes.

     

    Where are you checking the number of photos in Photos?  The "Photos" view will only show the number of photos that are not hidden, the "All Photos" view will show all photos, including hidden photos. The Recently Deleted album will also show photos, that are waiting to be finally deleted.

     

    Have you checked, if the "Recently Deleted" album is empty?

    If yes, check, which Photos library you are currently browsing in Photos.  The Photos > Preferences General tab has a button "Show in Finder". Does this take you to the library in your Pictures folder or a different Photos Library?

     

    If your Library is empty and does not contain any photos you want to save, you can simply delete the Photo Library you are seeing in the Finder and start over with a new library.

  • by BananaFlambe,

    BananaFlambe BananaFlambe Jan 8, 2016 9:40 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 8, 2016 9:40 AM in response to léonie

    I don't have an iPod, but I have an iPad. I have synced that device a few times, where would the iPad photo cache be located and how can the size be consolidated if needed?

     

    In the Photos App, there are 0 pictures in the Photos view. Each tab is empty (Photos, Shared, Albums, Projects).

    I don't see where I can change views for Hidden or All in Photos.

    There is nothing left in the Recently Deleted either. -- I went through Photos App and deleted everything (initial visible photos, recently deleted and albums). There were only 177 photos visible and a few albums with those photos at the start of this post.

     

    Before deleting everything, Finder > Pictures > Photos Library size: 3.98 GB

    After deleting everything, Finder > Pictures > Photos Library size: 2.84 GB

     

    The Photos > Preferences General tab takes me to the same location in Library.

     

    The pictures that I have in Finder > Pictures, is no more than 1.5 GB at most. These pictures were not in Photos previously.

  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie Jan 9, 2016 4:48 PM in response to BananaFlambe
    Level 10 (105,776 points)
    iCloud
    Jan 9, 2016 4:48 PM in response to BananaFlambe

    I don't see where I can change views for Hidden or All in Photos.

    Reveal the sidebar in Photos.  It will show, if you enter the key combination option-command-S   ⌥⌘S

    • The top entry in the sidebar is the "Photos" view. Here you can access Moments, Collections, Years by stepping the arrow keys to the right of the red-gold-green traffic light buttons.  This view will not show or count photos that are hidden.
    • The first item in the Albums section is the "All Photos" view.  It will show all your photos, even hidden Photos. If you have hidden photos, there should also be a Hidden album.

     

    I don't have an iPod, but I have an iPad. I have synced that device a few times, where would the iPad photo cache be located and how can the size be consolidated if needed?

    It is called iPod Photo cache for any iOS device, even if you are syncing an iPad or an iPhone.

    See this document on how to reveal this folder: About the iPod Photo Cache folder - Apple Support

  • by BananaFlambe,

    BananaFlambe BananaFlambe Jan 9, 2016 4:52 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 9, 2016 4:52 PM in response to léonie

    I didn't see any hidden photos or albums.

    I also didn't see the iPod Photo Cache folder as described in the link, but I did see "preview" and "thumbnail" folder and noticed that those images were from pictures I had already deleted. So I guess that is what was taking up all the space and so I just deleted the Photo Library and started over.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jan 9, 2016 11:23 PM in response to BananaFlambe
    Level 10 (105,776 points)
    iCloud
    Jan 9, 2016 11:23 PM in response to BananaFlambe
    so I just deleted the Photo Library and started over.

    That's fine, if there were no more photos that you want to keep.  Good Luck for the new beginning.