Running low on space - delete iPhotos Library?

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Level 1

8 points

Running low on space - delete iPhotos Library?

I've found myself running quite low on space, I decided to investigate and saw that in my 'Home > Pictures' directory I have two libraries, my iPhoto Library (156 GB) and my Photos Library (21 GB), I am quite confused as to why iPhoto Library still remains since I migrated to Photos app when it came out. The other part that confuses me is I use iCloud Photo Library and have 'Optimise Mac Storage' so I don't see why it needs a combined 177 GB of storage.

What I gather is the 21 GB Photos Library is actually the 'optimised' version of my iCloud Photo Library (which currently sits at 138 GB), but if that's the case what is the extra iPhoto Library used for? And more importantly, can I delete it?

Posted on Apr 5, 2016 7:32 AM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Apr 5, 2016 7:35 AM in response to gtau4592

Yes you can (and probably should) delete it - I suggest archiving it just in case you want or need it later

LN

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Answer 2

gtau4592 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 5, 2016 7:37 AM in response to LarryHN

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the reply. I thought this was the case.

I'm quite surprised that this wasn't handles as part of the Photos upgrade process. I know my parents for example wouldn't have a clue about what an iPhoto Library is versus a Photos Library and how/where to archive it.

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Answer 3

Apr 5, 2016 7:38 AM in response to gtau4592

When Photos was first released, most people were using it and iPhoto at the same time.

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Answer 4

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Apr 5, 2016 7:38 AM in response to gtau4592

Because no installation should delete the old data - lots of people want or need their iPhoto library after upgrading to Photos

LN

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Answer 5

gtau4592 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 5, 2016 7:41 AM in response to LarryHN

Understandable, but don't forget, we understand these use cases. My parents and other 'regular users' (or less savvy) would not understand the difference between 'iPhotos' and 'Photos' and what an 'iPhoto Library' is and that they could 'get rid of it' once they started to run low on space.

Just think about it, hundreds of millions of Macs that had iPhoto upgraded to Photos and at some point in time they're probably going to have to figure out that they need to archive this 'iPhoto Library' file somewhere once they run low on space.

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Answer 6

Old Toad

Level 10

216,100 points

Apr 5, 2016 8:30 AM in response to gtau4592

When you delete the iPhoto library you will not recover as much free space as you might think. For example if the original iPhoto library is 58 GB and the results PHotos library is 52 GB (due to structure differences) you may only recover about 6 GB of space when deleting the iPhoto library. That's because the two libraries initially share the same data on the HD via hard links so they don't take up twice the amount of space on the hard drive. They can be copied/backed up independently.

New photos added to either library are independent of the other library.

Here's more info on hard links:

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

The (hard) link between Photos and iPhoto

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Answer 7

LarryHN

Level 10

106,142 points

Apr 5, 2016 8:37 AM in response to Old Toad

Since the OP is using ICPL with an optimized library they will save a ton of space by getting rid of the old iPHoto library

The Hard links only save space on the initial migration - as the PHotos library changes and the iPhoto library does not the saving get arger nad larger - sinc ethey are using an optimized library they will save nearly all of the size of their iPhoto library - all 156 GB

I decided to investigate and saw that in my 'Home > Pictures' directory I have two libraries, my iPhoto Library (156 GB) and my Photos Library (21 GB), I am quite confused as to why iPhoto Library still remains since I migrated to Photos app when it came out. The other part that confuses me is I use iCloud Photo Library and have 'Optimise Mac Storage' so I don't see why it needs a combined 177 GB of storage.

LN

Reply